Pop Goes the Weasel (Part 1) by Amethyst

Milagro Middle School
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Friday, January 15th, 2016 – 3:05 p.m.

Oh boy, early in the story, and already having to deal with a bully. Esteban needs a lesson in compassion.

As long as there weren’t any blows exchanged, most of the teachers would just put it down to boys being boys and have everyone go about their day as if nothing had happened.

Boys just being boys, that is code for "I'm too lazy to do my job as a teacher to protect my students." Carlos Melendez, this kid needs a break.

Already in the day: Thief, damage or destruction of private property, and multiple counts of aggravated assault.

I had also been feeling terrible all day long; sick with this uneasy feeling that hovered in my chest all day and feeling itchy in the weirdest places, mostly my ears and tailbone.

And Carlos has started to manifest, this is definitely the worst place for that to happen. Tony Marsden, so many bullies in this place, a game of keep away is cruel at that age.

Lighter-skinned than the other Hispanic kids in school, ouch, as if they didn't use his height and weight already as an excuse for bullying. Longer, thicker eyebrows, so Carlos is a changeling at the start of their change. A long walk home, I'm glad Carlos is smart enough to know not to tempt fate. An inhaler, no wonder he is out of shape, hard to exercise regularly when you have asthma.

Depressed and lonely, hates how he is treated at school, but prefers it to being at home, yikes. His mother is angry or upset. *eyes bug out*

“That’s the second time this week. If I find out it’s more than that then I’ll start the paperwork to have you homeschooled so you can’t get into any more trouble. You’re just like your father… can’t be trusted.”

Oh god, I'm scared for him and think if she lays hands on Carlos he should call PDS immediately.

“Men,” she spat bitterly, this time in English. “Fine. I’m leaving for my meeting so make yourself something for dinner, but you better be downstairs and quiet when I get back. I’m having friends over.”

On second thought call PDS now, I'm scared for Carlos' safety around his mother with her attitude towards him because he is male.

Three hours later…

Oh god, his mom and her friends talk like that about men, get Carlos out of there now!

Feminists For Freedom takes about as militant a stance on feminism as you can get. They don’t want or need men in their lives and if you have a Y chromosome, you’re the enemy.

I hope the local authorities are keeping an eye on that group in case some more extremist members decide to take drastic actions.

My mother never wanted or needed kids, I was an unwelcome surprise, and she made sure that I knew it.

I wish people like his mother would have revealed how they treat their kids sooner rather than later.

She was the personal assistant for some rich CEO in Silicon Valley but then she had to quit her job when she found out she was pregnant and started to show. She moved us to Santa Fe not long after I was born and some kind of deal was made with my father.

So the father is most likely the rich CEO she worked under and he didn't want his reputation stained by a child out of wedlock so sends her money to keep quiet. Yup, all that money, never having to work, and his mother is still bitter toward all men including her son. I hope she hasn't been skimming if not outright taking Carlos' allowance or from his savings account.

I often wondered why she didn’t just give me up for adoption or have me placed in a foster home, but that answer was obvious, it was the money, and since we were Hispanic, child services didn’t really give a shit as long as I was taken care of, and my basic needs were met. There was no obvious abuse, so they were happy not to have another foster kid on their hands.

Arrggh! Mental and emotional abuse is abuse! Time-out closet for a few hours, his mother is a monster! Moved into the basement in preparation for Carlos starting puberty, I want Carlso safely away from this monster asap.

A monitor sensor at the top so Carlos can't sneak out after curfew, he is more her prisoner than her son. Curfew at 6 PM for a 13 going on 14 in just months teen, that is ridiculous. Good lord, his life reminds me of the song with the lyrics "I'm just a kid, and my life is a nightmare." Carlos, thinking positively can help sometimes, but depression needs more than that to overcome. You need help that your mother won't get you. Itchy ears, his ears are changing drastically and this is just the start.

Two months later…
The Melendez Residence
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Monday, March 21st, 2016 – 6:30 a.m.

Feeling achy all over, 2 months, I wonder if any of the changes have become even a little noticeable.

Both of my ears were covered in a thin coat of brown fur that matched the color of my hair, and even when I tried to mentally subtract the fuzziness, they seemed slightly rounder and higher up on the sides of my head than they should be.

So animal-based BIT or GSD and noticeable now.

Crud, something happened to a girl named Mindy Meyers last year after she manifested as a mutant. Slitted eyes and scales like a snake, called Vibora by kids and it stuck.

Things came to a head when Mindy was alone in the bathroom with a group of the meanest girls in school and they got brave. They beat the living crap out of her, but she tried to fight them off and bit one of them while trying to get free. Mindy was hospitalized and the girl she bit nearly died from the venom in Mindy’s bite. The last rumor that I had heard said that she had disappeared from the hospital and the MCO was looking for her.

Just how bad is the MCO in New Mexico? Is Mindy okay somewhere out there?

Carlos has a panic attack and it sounds like he was on the verge of passing out due to fear of something similar happening to him if he goes to school now. A plan in case his mother freaks out, with her attitude that is a given, she might call the MCO on you herself or have her friends in FFF attack you. Ah, it seems his mother hasn't touched his allowance or savings account. Keep the loose hoodies on, the hood is a shield from trouble right now.

The weight loss started 6 weeks ago, and at least some good has come out of Carlos manifesting.

In fact, I was pretty sure that I was eating more now than before, and I had been especially craving meat a lot lately.

Uh oh, so his changes are based on a carnivore and either one with a fast metabolism or the changes need more fuel so he is eating more.

I had lost most of my flab without even trying to, except for a bit of the fat around my chest and hips that was particularly stubborn. It almost looked like I had breasts, especially with how much my nipples stuck out and how the area around them had gotten darker, puffier, and took up more surface area.

I knew the sensation in his chest earlier was due to being a changeling, his BIT was probably shaped by his mother's attitude towards him and all males and his thought she might care for him if he was a girl.

All these changes point towards you becoming a girl, Carlos, sorry. Finger and toenails growing into claws, oh boy. *sigh* Push it aside, Carlos, it doesn't change the fact it is true. All these details, all these changes, and Carlos is still in too much of a hurry to realize the truth.

Darn, avoids his mother at breakfast, gets to school, and through the day okay, but heading outside to catch the bus to head home things go sideways. A hard shove and Carlos rights himself and gets in a fighting stance that quickly, he seems to have improved balance and reflexes already.

Esteban, this kid needs to be punished for his actions, the teachers won't do it so someone else needs to. Sorry, Carlos, even with developing breasts as small as you have already a punch there is going to hurt. Carlos lets Esteban shove him aside and onto the floor just to avoid a fight, smart move to keep your secret.

Even with his breasts bouncing and rubbing against the shirt painfully, Carlos runs instead of walking home.

Still, for some reason, I found myself wanting more. I wanted to move faster, burn off some of this nervous energy, and feel the wind in my face.

So he has the abilities of a small, predatory mammal known for a lot of nervous energy.

“Wait a second, did I just pass that car? No, I must have been imagining…” I passed another vehicle and realized that I wasn’t in the school zone anymore either. I was on the major street that would take me most of the way home and could see the corner store I often stopped at coming up fast. “Just how long was I stuck in my head?”

I slowed my pace and glanced at my watch, which announced the time as 3:48. That… wasn’t possible. It was five miles from school to home, a walk that usually took me a little over an hour. If I had missed my bus, that meant it was sometime after 3:30 when I left the school. Had I really breezed through it at a run in ten minutes or so?

So Carlos ran around around 50 mph approximately, dang.

No panic attack, ducks into an ally to gather his thoughts and figure out what just happened. His chest is sore, but barely breathes heavily after a run like that, wants to run more, but he is hungry. So an internal energizer speedster with an exemplar trait is what he seems to have for powers so far. Oh god, the MCO talked about Mindy Meyers like that, the bullies acted like they were heroes, they are corrupt.

Snacks and drinks from the corner store, good thing Mr. Reyes knows how to read Carlos' mood. Oh crud, Carlos is going to tell his mom about what is going on. Great, at least she makes Carlos an appointment with a doctor, now to see her reaction when the doctor says Carlos is a mutant and turning into a girl.

Arthur Pond hates mutants and would have a stroke if he knew Carlos was becoming one.

Memories of the night that her former employer had her stay late and then forced himself on her still haunted her dreams at night. She had been a virgin, saving herself for marriage, and he took that from her.

Oh shit! I seriously misjudged their relationship earlier, Arthur is a rapist and destroyed Lucia's thoughts towards all men with his actions. I swear Arthur Pond's name is familiar to me, but I can't place where.

Oh god, left an emotional wreck, her own parents said that to her without knowing the circumstances of her pregnancy, no wonder she resents Carlos even though he is innocent in all this. Natalie Geller is a good lawyer, I hope Arthur didn't arrange any retaliation against her. Hatred of men so much because of Arthur she couldn't even love her own son, I wish men like him would get true justice served to them.

Okay, I pity her for what Arthur did, but using Carlos for further revenge, you need counseling Lucia.

It would be worth it in the long run to try to spend more time with him and treat him better. She could keep him in her corner and eventually turn him against the bastard who fathered him.

Lucia, that would have worked if you had treated Carlos with kindness over the years, but now it is too late. All these plans to control Carlos and for further revenge on Arthur, someone get PDS there now to save Carlos already!

Doctor Davies, has no experience with mutants and doesn't want to deal with any, just how many bigots are there in New Mexico toward mutants? A female doctor in the Phoenix area who specializes in mutants, hhm, I should remember who this is but I just can't recall her right now. 6-8 hour drive and Lucia actually made the appointment for Friday with Dr. Deville.

Oh, good, Carlos gets away with just telling her the minimum of details and has her check his ears for her to be convinced, no further embarrassing examinations until Friday. Oh, Carlos, Phoenix is different in its attitude toward mutants than Santa Fe. Yay! No more school for a while, at least his mother is finally protecting him. Rats, he is stuck at home with his mom for homeschooling and has no escape anymore even for school. Carlos, your feeling is spot on, and you are going to learn you are changing more than just being a mutant with GSD.

Claremont Road
Mesa, Arizona
Friday, March 25th, 2016 – 11:34 a.m.

Road trip and overnight at a hotel in Phoenix, oh boy, I hope mom didn't see anything Carlos didn't want her to. A neighborhood called Claremont Road, great callout. Everyone who lives there is a mutant with a lot of obvious ones, cool. Goat legs and horns, I would wear a similar outfit to her myself, too hot to care who stares. 7 feet tall and looked like a tree, that wouldn't be someone from Gen 1 who was a humanoid tree, would it? Ah, home to the Elementals, that might have been one of the local heroes' husband.

Aww, Carlos, you shouldn't worry so much about your future, it will come and if you need to live in a place like this then you will find one. Grilled ham and Swiss sandwich, now I'm hungry. I knew this would freak out Carlos, you can't act one way to a kid for years then suddenly shift like this and not freak them out. Jackalope, I wonder why he chose that codename?

Third Leg Tailors, oh god, I would be blushing too. Games A Jack Ass Plays, some of these shops have names that really stand out. Cool Cat Creamery and a white-haired cat-girl is behind the counter, I love these themed stores. Stacy the receptionist has a unique look, I wonder how she gets gloves made for herself.

More forms to fill out, the waiting room is half full and most have obvious GSD.

She looked to be somewhere between twelve and fourteen and had mint green-colored skin. She nervously played with her long hair which looked more like flowering vines than actual hair, and flowering plants seemed to be growing from her bare upper arms and shoulders.

Clover aka Weed, so this is the local doctor she saw.

*wipes brow* No mom in while Carlos gets examined by Dr. Deville. Red, devil-like horns and a red, spaded tail, no wonder she goes by Deville.

I created all the devises in this room to help people like you find out what’s going on with their bodies, how they might be changing, and to ensure good health going forward.

A Devisor who makes medical devises, I love to see more gadgeteers and devisors in the medical field. The devil you know, she made a joke about her own GSD, I like her. Oh, I really like her, she needs to do a guest lecture at Whateley to the students with GSD, they all need to hear this.

A good doctor keeps their patient at ease and explains what they are doing at all times, she is a good doctor. Oh boy, frowns and asks to examine Carlos' chest. Lost an inch in height, uh oh. Dang, I wish her devises could work for anyone and Whateley could get some of them.

Port was at Cool Cat Creamery, he gets around with that teleportation portal of his. Kelly the cat-girl is confused and Carlos has the scent of a female already that she picks up so she calls him Miss, oh boy. Chocolate milkshake and banana split, energizer/exemplar combo burns a lot of calories. Sweetheart in Spanish, *shudders*, Carlos needs a way to escape his mom and soon. As Carlos is returning to the counter a mutant girl shows up wearing a parka, underneath is a long skirt, sneakers, and a camisole. Those scales, those eyes, those feathers in place of hair, it can't be.

Sluggish from the cold and sent up front by Frosty to see if Kelly needed any help. Despite all the changes Carlos recognizes those eyes and the scales, it is Mindy. Mindy drags Carlos to the ladies' room to confront him.

The moment we were inside she turned to me and hissed, “Don’t call me that! I’ve left that life behind and I can never go back! Now, who the hell are you, and how do you know me?!”

She looked pissed, and I unconsciously took a step back as I shrank away from her, though her grip on my arm remained. “C-C-Carlos Melendez. We were in the s-same school last year… b-before those bullies ganged up on you and you disappeared. I… I was w-worried the MCO might have got you.”

Her eyes narrowed again, but I couldn’t be sure whether it was due to suspicion or her trying to recognize me. “Carlos… he was the…” she stopped herself before saying anything that could be taken as insulting. “He was bullied as much as I was. I didn’t know he had a kid sister.”

Even Mindy thinks he is a girl and a younger girl at that, oh boy.

Carlos has to explain what happened, and Mindy realizes he is a mutant too. Aww, Kelly took Mindy in, I'm so glad someone rescued her. Exemplar two with regeneration and flight, so she escaped the hospital by flying until she arrived here, Kelly took her in and got her a new identity as her cousin and an MID, dang, they really look out for fellow mutants there. Shoot, I'm with Carlos, I would have been worried about what happened to her too.

Megan or Cloud Dragon, she chose an awesome codename. Aww, become friends with Carlos and I hope she becomes friends with Clover too, that girl needs more friends. Good, Mom can't see Carlos come out of the ladies' room. Mom is still on the phone, I wonder if she is exchanging messages with her FFF friends or looking something up online. A good ice cream place that has reasonable prices, I want to go there! Explore the neighborhood, why do I have a bad feeling about this?

Oh boy, the act Lucia is putting on for Carlos, you aren't fooling anyone and are just creeping out Carlos. Seesh, the description of how Carlos is feeling because of this, he might need therapy after today if Lucia keeps this up. The Odd One, 'No Costumes' policy, makes sense with how many superheroes and possibly villains visit or live there. Eep, I would not want to mess with those bouncers.

Jasmine, their waitress, is adorable. Oh, part truth and part lie to manipulate Carlos into being on your side against Arthur when the time comes. Oh, good grief, tears as well. Lucia made herself vulnerable in front of you as part of her plans for the future, Carlos, please don't fall for this. Darn it, Carlos gave in because he finally wanted to have a good relationship with his mother.

Time for the news from Dr. Deville. Time to get info from the DNA tests back, rats. GSD, animalistic in nature, shrink a bit more until he reaches what his BIT has in mind. Not the worst of the changes he will have to adjust to, here it comes. Confirmed changeling, already has a solid B cup yet was in denial.

Even my mother’s impassive expression broke down into confusion and worry as she asked, “Is this… permanent? Can anything be done?”

What, worried if Carlos changes gender the paternity test will no longer work to blackmail Arthur in the future?

There’s an unknown organ that I spotted in one of the ultrasounds and that, combined with things that you told me, lead me to believe that you’re an internal energizer. That Energizer ability could be accelerating the change as well since you haven’t been actively using any powers yet.

I knew it! And completely female by the end of the year, if not sooner, oh boy. A new appointment before Christmas, please don't let Lucia become abusive towards Carlos again because she thinks her 'meal ticket' is being lost.

Help from Dr. Deville with paperwork on getting his name and gender legally changed on Carlos' birth certificate and other documents, helps a lot. Information handouts for living with GSD and being a Changeling, that is one prepared doctor. Carlos is too stunned to know how to feel about turning into a girl.

Ugh, finds out she is turning into a girl and still thinks he will never be a real woman, I don't like Lucia's attitude on this. Great, she is already thinking of how to twist this new detail in her favor for her plans on how to blackmail and ruin Arthur in the future. All her thoughts about Carlos, no danger to real girls, arrgggh, she is a TERF! No truly dangerous powers, think again, even the most minor of powers can be dangerous in the hands of someone creative.

She would need to get him tested eventually, but for now, it was best to isolate him, to get him to depend upon her and look to her for safety. He was already a nervous coward and that would likely get worse when he was smaller and had to worry about men as much as any real girl did. It was a good thing that his loving mother would keep him close and safe from harm.

Someone get Carlos out of there already! She is a monster for thinking this way about her own child, as nothing more than someone to manipulate and use for her plans of revenge.

Brainwash Carlos into the Feminist for Freedom ideology, indoctrinate Carlos all to turn them against all men and Arthur. You were hurt by this man greatly, but you let it turn you into a monster, any sympathy or pity I had for you is gone now. A high profile hero to fight for your ideals, the FFF needs to be shut down if you are an example of what they want to do to males including children. Lucia, Arthur took more from you than you realize. He took your compassion for your own child, and it seems your sanity as well if you go through with this plan.