Cosmic Combination (Superheroine Merging) - Issue 1

Tier reward for EB18

Tristan and Lucie couldn’t be more different: he’s a washed-up boxer turned security guard, disillusioned with the world, while she’s a starry-eyed fangirl with a heart set on heroism. But when they both touch a mysterious meteorite, they’re fused into one extraordinary being—Clara, a superheroine as busty and beautiful as she is powerful. With the help of brilliant scientist Dr. Lauren Langstom, Tristan and Lucie must figure out how to navigate their shared body, fight crime, and somehow balance their worlds both merged and apart and discover if they can become something greater…together.

Issue #1

It was a warm, quiet night, and Tristan leaned against the back door of the research institute, his flask and the cicadas his only companions for the night. He wasn’t supposed to drink on the job, but it wasn’t like anybody was around to check. He’d be here alone until the day shift took his place, and that wouldn’t be for another six hours, well after the sun had risen. Back in the day, a place this big would have needed a full team of security guards to watch over it each night, but that was back before superheroes became the norm. 

Unlike most people, Tristan hadn’t waited with bated breath to go through what they called ‘second puberty’ and develop powers. He’d been content with his life as is; developing any supernatural abilities could have jeopardised his boxing career. Not that it mattered now. He flexed his left hand and winced before sighing sadly and taking another swig from his flask. This job was mind-numbing, but he was lucky to have it. Since superheroes became the norm, security jobs weren't nearly as common. Why pay somebody to stand around for twelve hours when a hero could be there in seconds and stop the crime, free of charge?

He was just about to start a fresh walk of the perimeter when something made his ears prick. The sound of footsteps where there should have been silence made him freeze; the distinct sound of rubber soles slapping against linoleum on the other side of the door; somebody was running. 

“Ugh, I really didn’t feel like doing this tonight.” He muttered, putting his flask back on his hip and opening the door. 

Inside was dark, but after a few years here, Tristan knew the floorplan like the back of his hand. A good thing considering his limp made running arduous. He moved as quickly as his injured leg would allow, toward the running sounds as they moved deeper into the facility. Whoever this was, they certainly weren’t very sneaky. They went fast, though, and Tristan felt himself starting to get winded; he knew he’d put on a bit of weight since he stopped boxing, but he hadn't realised quite how much. There was a time he could be in the ring for hours before he started to get short of breath; but that was a long time ago. His face flushed with humiliation as he moved, feeling the spare tyre around his middle jiggle a bit; God, this is what he’d been reduced to? It was pathetic. By the time he reached the research lab and saw a figure standing over one of the tables, he had to struggle not to wheeze. 

“You…Freeze!”

The figure jumped in shock, and Tristan turned on his flashlight. 

The first thing he saw was a frizzy flash of red; the woman’s wild hair was falling all over her face and the light reflected off her glasses, hiding her eyes. She held up her hands nervously.

“I just wanted to look!”

“Yeah? So what’s that bulge in your breast pocket?”

“Oh, phooey.”

Tristan snorted; who the hell said ‘phooey’ these days?”

“I just wanted to look at it.” The woman said pathetically. “I only put it in my pocket out of panic, I swear!”

Tristan rolled his eyes; this woman wouldn't be the first. When the first metahumans had appeared, it was because of those meteor fragments the scientists here studied. Now, people could develop powers on their own sometimes, but those meteors were still theorised to be the ultimate cause of superhuman abilities. They were for crazy prices on the black market to people desperate to gain a leg up in life. 

“I’m not stealing it! I just wanted to look! And I will make up for the whole breaking and entering thing when I’m a superhero!” She continued, not giving him a chance to speak. “L-Look! I already have plans.”

She hurriedly reached into her backpack and pulled out a notebook, causing several others to spill out with it. Tristan shone his light on the pages and saw drawings of costume ideas and pages of notes. Oh great, she was one of those superhero fanatics. 

“I’ve been brainstorming costumes already! A-and the perfect route for me to protect. Of course, it depends on what powers I get. If I get some sort of speed power, I could expand the area, and my costume’s material would be power dependant as well-”

Tristan blinked, slightly amazed as she continued to ramble on. She seemed to have forgotten she’d just been caught stealing and was now fully engrossed in her notebooks, explaining the different kinds of fabrics best suited for each kind of meta power. The more she talked, the more obvious it became that she wasn’t a threat. She was just some nerd who desperately wanted to be a hero. It was sort of sad really; for a split second, Tristan saw a bit of his younger self in her, all wide-eyed and convinced he was destined for greatness in the boxing ring. It left a bitter taste on the back of his tongue. He didn’t want to deal with calling the cops and doing a bunch of paper work; he just wanted this woman gone so he could drain his flask and finish this shift so he could wallow at the nearest bar till lunchtime. 

“Come on, I’m escorting you out of here. And we can keep this between us so long as you don’t come back, alright?”

“Oj! Not yet.” The woman begged. “I’m looking for Lauren.”

“Dr. Langstom? You know her?”

“Not yet, but I just know that when we meet, she’ll understand. I know so much about these meteors. I bet I could help with research, and she’ll be able to help me unlock superpowers!”

There was a look of desperate hope in her eyes. Tristan almost felt sorry for her. Almost. She was in her mid-twenties by the looks of it, if she was going to develop any meta powers, it would have happened by now. 

“Come on, I am letting you off easy. Come quietly, and we can get this all swept under the rug.” 

“Oh, fine…Thanks for being so cool, I guess, I’m Lucie, by the way.”

“Tristan, now hand over that meteor.”

“Oh! Of course!”

Lucie reached into her breast pocket and produced the shard of space rock, fumbling with it instantly. Tristan’s heart leapt into his throat; if that thing broke, it would be his head on the chopping block. He dove, and so did Lucie. They both managed to grab it an inch from the floor and breathed a sigh of relief. Tristan winced, his injured knuckles aching at the swift movement. He opened his mouth to reprimand her again when a strange tingling feeling distracted him. The meteor seemed to hum in their hands, and he didn't even have time to swear before a strange tug had him falling forward. The world seemed to melt around him like putty, and his thoughts scrambled. He couldn't tell his head from his feet for a few seconds, or maybe it was a few hours, time seemed to lose all sense of meaning.

Tristan felt his body stretch and warp; for a moment, it felt like he had eight limbs, then two, then four. He could smell through his skin and taste through his ears. His body felt all mixed up: heavy where it should have been light, soft where it should have been hard. He couldn’t concentrate on any one sensation, though; his thoughts were running a mile a minute. His own voice and the muffled sound of another bounced around in his skull, echoing until it was just white noise. 

Then, just as quickly as the cacophony started, it went silent. His body settled into the correct figuration, and his vision came back.

“Ugh, what happened?” he groaned. Wait, that voice didn't sound right. “Who said that?”

Tristan blinked. He hadn't said that, but his lips had moved, and he felt the sound in his throat.

“Wha- I don’t woah this is so weird I…Tristan? Lucie? Are we, where are we? I think…we’re in the same body!”

Tristan and Lucie froze, the meteor falling from their shared fingers with a thud. They were alone in the room, but now there was just a single figure where once there were two. 

‘I can hear you thinking!’ Lucie’s voice echoed about their shared skull.

‘T-this can’t be happening!’ Tristan felt his heart start racing with a mix of his panic and Lucie’s excitement. 

With each thud against their rib cage, Tristan felt his chest move, and he looked down to see a pair of round, heavy breasts pressed together to form tight cleavage. 

“Oh my gosh, we look so…good!” They cried, his Lucie side taking over for a minute. “Omigosh, we’re so strong! Look at these muscles!”

They were wearing a combination of their clothes: Lucie’s tank top and Tristan’s tight jeans. The clothes showed off their defined muscles, and they lifted the shirt to reveal toned abs and a feminine figure. Tristan felt a spike of bitterness; he hadn't even been this buff at the height of his boxing career.

‘Ooooh, you did boxing? That’ll be useful in this body!’

‘We’re not staying like this! And get out of my head!’

They turned in a circle, trying to look at every inch of their new curvy, muscular body. Lucie was delighted, while Tristan only found horror in their new tight ass and long wavy blonde hair.

“I’ve always wanted to go blonde! But my hair never responded to dye. We’re a total bombshell!”

The sound of a door opening and closing somewhere out in the hall made Tristan’s blood go cold. 

“Somebody’s here! I thought you were the only guard-I am! Oh No! Oh we have to get out of here-what? No we, AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

Their legs bent, and before Tristan could properly think through the action, they jumped into the air…and stayed there! Lucie’s delight overwhelmed everything else; Tristan couldn't have taken the smile off their face if he tried. 

“We can fly! Omigosh, we can fly!”

With that, they zoomed upwards, right through the open roof window and out into the open sky. They spread their arms wide and giggled, turning in the air, corkscrewing and flipping across the sky. 

‘We need to calm down, people are going to stare!’

‘Who cares! Do you have any idea how rare flight is as a meta power? Only five point three percent of people are able to do it!’

Tristan had to admit, he felt breathless with excitement but that was possibly just because Lucie’s emotions were so overwhelming. He could feel her thoughts mingling with his own; she had always wanted to fly, this was a dream come true for her. Images flashed in his mind, visions from a childs eye looking up at the clouds with longing. They weren’t his, they must have been Lucie’s. 

As they flew through the sky their new body; their hands flexed and a sense of wonder filled Tristan as he realised his knuckles didn't hurt. The stiffness there was gone, replaced with a tingling power. Their muscles flexed and he experimented, flying through the air acrobatically and feeling the pleasurable burn as his calves stretched out and his muscles tensed and released. Tristan made them flip, kicking an imaginary foe before punching the air. The blood thrummed beneath their skin; this felt incredible! 

For a few short minutes, Tristan and Lucie ceased to be, and their minds melted together to form something new. A new person, not a perfect mix, but an entirely new being with their own thoughts and feelings. Chief among them utter joy and awe at their own power. They flipped one more time and felt the tug of gravity against their massive tits. That sensation was all it took; Tristan was instantly off guard; he wasn't used to feeling his breasts moving. He wasn’t used to having breasts at all!

‘Do they always move so much?’

‘How can you care about our boobs right now?’

‘How can you not? They are right there, and they’re huge! Bigger than yours were.’

‘Good to know you were looking, perv.’

‘I know because we have the same brain!’

‘Well, I don’t know your dick size so you must have been thinking about it! We’re flying, how can you care about-’

THUD!

“Ow!”

They had gotten so caught up in their internal argument that they stopped paying attention to where they were going and smacked hard into the side of a building, leaving a perfect, woman-shaped indent in the concrete. They clutched their noses, despite slamming face-first into the hard surface…they were fine?

“Huh, increased durability too…” They muttered. “I wonder what other powers I have…”

The argument briefly forgotten, they focused trying to see if any other powers lay dormant beneath the surface. 

‘Do you hear that?’ Lucie asked.

They strained their ears, a subtle radio sound followed by muffled voices.

‘Is that…the police scanner in that car down there?’ Tristan said in wonder, ‘It’s over a hundred feet away!’

‘Super hearing! Alright!’

‘Be quiet, I’m trying to listen!’

They floated a little closer to make out the muffled words from the radio:

“Robbery…Cosmeta Inc…”

“Cosmeta!” They cried. “That’s where I work! Where I broke in I…ugh, this is so confusing! We have to go back!”

‘What are you doing?’

‘You heard, they are robbing your workplace, we have powers now, we can help!’

‘They are probably reporting your break in!’

‘I barely even broke in, the side door was wide open!’

‘Wait, the one on the north side of the building?’

‘Yeah?’

‘That was locked when I did my round an hour ago…oh no.’

Cold realisation washed over them.

‘Somebody else broke in before me! We have to go back!’

In seconds, they were flying back across the sky, long blonde hair flowing behind them. The wind seemed to contour to their new body in a way that almost felt sensual. Tristan tried hard not to think about it; mostly because he knew any thoughts that bubbled to the surface wouldn’t be secret. Or deniable. The flight was short, only a few minutes, but a sense of peace settled over them; Tristan merging with Lucie again as they both felt enraptured by the feeling of flight. The same roof window was open and they floated gently back inside, landing back where they started, only there was one thing missing:

“Where is the meteor?” They asked themselves. “I dropped it right here…”

A quick glance around the lab showed that other things were missing too; small bits of equiptment and even a few more meteor samples. 

“Somebody has broken in, we have to find them! For justice!” They grinned, Lucie’s enthusiasm shining through. 

‘I’m going to lose my job.’

‘Don’t worry so much! It’s Cosmeta’s fault for having one night security guard when they have so much valuable stuff! Now, let’s catch the bastard!’

They focused; closing their eyes and listening. Their super hearing seemed to increase; there was the sound of cars outside, voices on the street, bubbling water in a flask somewhere somebody had clearly forgotten about and…footsteps down the hall!

“That’s it!” 

They flew to the door and shoved it open, sending the door flying off the hinges and crashing into the opposite wall. 

“Oops! Okay, lesson learned, no flying inside!”

They started running, muscles burning as they zipped through the facility; it was exhilarating, moving twice as fast as usual, but it wasn't easy to control. Every corner sent them careening into another wall, causing spiderweb cracks to spread up the plaster.

‘We’re destroying the place! Let me take control!’

‘You’ll make us run away!’

‘Because we should!’

‘We can’t let that thief get away with the meteor or that equipment! Who knows what nefarious purposes they might have!’

‘They probably just want to sell it-ah watch out!’

They slammed through another door, knocking it off its hinges as they stumbled out into the parking structure. 

“Oops. My bad. Now, where is that thief?”

They scanned the room, straining their ears as much as possible until finally they heard something. Gentle breathing, rightnear the back of the docking bay where a set of delivery vans were parked. 

“You’d better surrender!” They cried, “I am super strong, fast and-”

They didn't get a chance to finish the sentence because all of a sudden, the trucks came to life, lights and horns blaring. The sound was deafening; their newly sensitive ears throbbed, and their brain felt like it was rattling inside their skull. 

“Ow! Ah, turn it off, turn it off!” They yelled, covering their ears with their hands. 

It was too much. Both Tristan and Lucie were in perfect sync, wanting nothing more than to stop the racket from splitting their skull open. They flashed forward, slamming a fist into each car's bonnet to silence their blaring horns. The sound silenced, and they finally lifted their hands away and looked around, trying to ignore the pounding headache. 

“Ugh…where did they go?” 

A mess of different anxieties swirled in their gut: Tristan’s fear of losing his job, Lucie’s anxiety at failing the very first time she tried to be a hero. They were all mixed up inside them, inside…her? And then they were coming apart again, the two personalities that made up the person waring with one another.

‘Move! We have to catch them!’

‘It doesn't matter! We just need to get out of here. We’re no hero!’

‘Not yet, we’re not!’

Lucie seemed to win out, and they stumbled out into the night air, their ears still ringing. 

“Ugh, what’s the point of all this strength if I can’t even use it? If I could just catch them…”

They didn't want to strain their ears and be taken by surprise again; whoever they were chasing was clearly good at thinking on their feet. Instead, they rose up, spun around and scanned the dark grounds for any sign of movement. For almost a minute, there was nothing and they were worried the thief had gotten away. Police sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer and closer as did several cars, no doubt from the press. The lights and sirens seemed to be the last push needed; a shadow darted from behind a dumpster and started running for the tree line that marked the edge of Cosmeta’s grounds. Beyond that were the winding city streets; if they got that far, they could easily slip away through a back alley. They dove; this was no time to be cautious. It was their hero debut, and they had to do well!

“Stop, thief!”

They were rushing toward the ground, and Tristan’s self-preservation shot through.

‘What if they have a gun? You’re going to get us killed!’

‘We can’t let them get away!’

‘We can't fight them!’

‘Of course, we can! We’re super strong!’

‘That doesn’t change anything with my ha-stop!!’

“Woah!!” They cried out, slamming hard into the ground and creating a small crater in the grass. The thief stumbled thanks to the shockwave but then kept going. They froze in place, torn between Lucie’s desire to be a hero and Tristan’s desire to do anything but. 

‘Somebody has to help!’ Lucie argued. ‘They’re getting away!’

They surged forward again and stumbled, ears still ringing and shoulders aching from all the walls they’d smashed into. Tristan could feel Lucie’s desperate desire to help, but there was something else—an emotion he couldn’t quite place. Not that he had time right now; they had only just gotten these powers. He wasn't about to die because Lucie overestimated their new abilities. They took to the sky, ready to dive down again and catch the thief…but they were gone. 

“No, no, no! We can't have lost them!”

A flash made them flinch, and they turned only to be blinded by several more flashes and the rising sound of voices below.

“It’s true, there is a new hero!”

“She doesn’t have a costume yet…”

“I knew I saw something flying across the sky before!”

“Do you think they stopped the robbery?”

“Hey! Hero, come down here and talk to us!”

A small gaggle of reporters were gathered at the edge of the facility's wall; cameras held high as they snapped photos. Cold dread seeped into their shared veins. Now, they couldn’t hide what had happened. Tristan could feel anxiety bubbling inside him, anxiety that wasn't his. Their eyes were locked on the camera, wide and fearful. It took all his self-control to force them away and start descending.

‘What are you doing? We can't talk to them!’ Lucie squeaked.

‘If we don’t, they’ll think we committed the robbery. Or at least had something to do with it.’

They landed softly, and the reporters gathered around. Cars started pulling up, and Tristan recognised several of the scientists who must have come when the news broke. Among them, he spotted Lauren, and his heart stuttered. His throat went dry as heat crept through his body, tinging his cheeks and shoulders pink, and several other curves he was glad were hidden behind clothing. He’d met Dr. Langstom plenty of times; she was a pretty woman but she’d never really captured his interest, not until tonight. 

‘Oh my God. You have a crush on her!’ He realised.

‘We do.’

‘Only because you’re infecting me with your damn lesbian crush!’

The reporters were all talking; between the multiple voices talking over each other, Lauren slowly walking closer, and their internal bickering it was hard to keep everything straight.

“Who are you? What are your powers?”

“I’m…new. I don't have a hero name yet.” They blushed, “My name is…Clara.”

Tristan winced, they couldn't have at least said something slightly gender-neutral, Like Alex or Robin?

‘Clara?’

‘...I watched The Nutcracker last night.’

‘Oh my God.’

“Do you know who was behind the robbery? What did they take?”

“Um…a meteor…or a bit of a meteor, but I’ll find it! I mean um…”

It was impossible, Lucie’s sudden anxiety around the camera was making talking to these people impossible. Pressure weighed down on their shoulders; they needed to make a good impression if they were going to be a hero! The cameras and microphones were practically shoved right under their nose; they didn’t know what to say. Tristan just wanted to tell everybody to fuck off and leave them alone, Lucie wanted to wow them, as Clara, they were frozen like a deer in the headlights. 

“The suspect will be apprehended in good time, I assure you.”

The confident voice appeared behind them, and they turned around just as the cameras began snapping furiously. A man in a tight-fitting lycra suit that showed off his bulging muscles stood, grinning at them. His cape flared behind him, and his bold red and white costume was clear even in the dim evening light. 

“Thunder Clap…” they whispered. He was one of the most famous heroes on this side of the country and one of the founding members of the Guild of Justice; neither Tristan nor Lucie had ever seen him in person before. Not only was he super strong, agile and durable, but he could create shockwaves strong enough to tear trees up from their roots. Suddenly, their flying didn't feel as impressive. 

“That was quite the show, little lady.” Thunder Clap said, walking right up to them as if the reporters weren’t even there. “Not every day you see a newbie flying after a robber.”

“Well, I didn’t really…catch them.”

Thunder Clap placed a strong hand on their shoulder and squeezed.

“But you tried, and that shows you have the heart of a hero! Isn’t that right, folks!”
 Thunder Clap spun them around to face the crowd, leaning in low to whisper in their ear.

“Just smile and wave for now.”

They did as they were told before Thunder Clap turned them back to face him.

“The Justice Guild is always looking for new members. Silverwind is always saying we need more women on the team.”

‘Silverwind! THE Silverwind, the super speedsters supermodel, oh my God…’

It was one thing to get second-hand embarrassment from somebody geeking out next to you; it was another to get it from somebody inside your head. 

“You want us to join the Justice Guild?” Clara gasped in delight.

“Us? You have a partner?”

“Oh uh, I meant me, haha you know, like the royal we, royal us…is that a thing?”

Tristan wanted the earth to swallow him up. Reporters were recording every second of this awkward conversation, which would be all over the news in hours. Thunder Clap smiled, if he felt awkward, he didn’t show it.

“Regardless, you should join us! A bit of training, and you could be a real pro!”

Lucie’s excitement was incredible; this was her dream come true. She had always wanted to be a hero, but being invited to train and potentially join the Justice Guild was unthinkable! The only thing that could hold them back was Tristan’s sheer stubbornness. This had been the most confusing evening of his life; he had no desire to be a hero or a woman, for that matter. So, no matter how much Lucie screamed, he forced himself into control. 

“I don't think I am ready for that just yet, " they said. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I should get going.”

‘No! What are you doing? This is the chance of a lifetime!’

‘We are not staying like this and not becoming a hero!’

For a split second, Thunder Clap’s charming smile faltered, clearly, he wasn't used to prospective heroes turning down the chance to work with the world's most famous heroes.  He quickly recovered, looking more determined. Tristan knew an incoming sales pitch when he saw it; with all these reporters around saying no a second time was going to be difficult. They needed to get out of here before Thunder Clap started laying it on thick. 

Tristan refused to let Lucie get another thought off. He turned and quickly jumped into the sky, eager to escape everything. He didn't want to give Lucie a chance to take control again and make them change their mind. It was hard to focus on flying when half of their brain was metaphorically kicking and screaming for them to stop. They wobbled in the air and finally settled down on the other side of the facility where it was quiet; hopefully, the reporters would be too busy with Thunder Clap to pursue them. 

“I can’t believe you did that. Of course, I did, but I refused—no, I refused AGH! Stop making us walk. I am trying to centre myself! This is my body, too!”

It probably looked comical, a woman stalking back and forth talking to herself, but both of them were too angry to see the humour in the situation. 

‘We have to figure out how to split up again!’

‘But what if we lose the powers?’

‘So what? Powers aren’t worth this!’

‘Hell, yes, they are!’

‘Wait, what was that?’

They snapped back together at the sound of footsteps. Silently, they floated back up into the air as a figure came around the corner. It was Lauren, the scientist who had them so flustered before. 

‘For somebody with super hearing, we sure do get taken by surprise a lot…oh my God, Lucie, stop making us blush!’

She looked around, probably for them. Lucie’s anxiety reared its head for a moment, but none of the cameramen followed. 

‘You made me turn down the chance of a lifetime, you at least owe me this.’ She said sternly, wrestling control and forcing them to descend softly to the ground. 

Tristan was hesitant, but Lucie remained stubborn as ever.

‘You want us to split up, right? Well, Lauren is the foremost expert on those meta-meteorites. If anybody can help us, she can.’

‘...Fine, just don’t go all fangirl on me again. My dignity can’t take it.’

They stepped forward and cleared their throat. 

“Are you looking for me?”

Lauren spun around in shock but then nodded. 

“Are you alright?” she asked. “I’m Dr. Langstom. I work at this facility with the stolen meteor.”

“Oh, wonderful!” They had no idea what to say. “I’m sorry it got stolen…I tried to get it back.”

“That’s alright, I am sure you tried. Who are you really? I know that meteor piece can amplify powers, the fact that you appeared right after it was stolen can't be a coincidence.’
 “I didn't have anything to do with stealing it!” They insisted. “Tristan was just trying to do his job, and Lucie wanted to meet you so bad and…and…oh gosh, this is all coming out too quickly. Let me start again. So I was guarding the facility as usual, then while I was sneaking in to meet you I…”

They trailed off, seeing the utter confusion on Lauren's face as they switched from one point of view in the story to another. Her brow furrowed, and she tilted her head to one side thoughtfully. Her dark eyes narrowed, and the stare made them feel equally nervous and aroused. Tristan silently begged whatever Gods were listening that she didn’t notice. 

“Are there…two of you in there?” Lauren said after a moment.

Clara’s cheeks turned hot. 

“...Kinda?”

“Alright,” Lauren sat down on a nearby bench and patted the seat. “Why don't you tell me how this happened from the beginning? Take a deep breath and go slowly this time. Alright?”

“Okay.”

It was still confusing, trying to tell the same story from two different points of view, especially when they had such wildly different feelings about it, but eventually, they had Lauren caught up. Tristan was just hoping she could do something to reverse their merging; Lucie was just happy to be talking to her hero. 

“You’re the only person who seems just as passionate about powers as me, or as Lucie.” They said finally. “You have to know how to fix this, right?”

“Maybe, it’s possible that both of you developed powers upon simultaneous touch with the meteor. Perhaps one of you activated the powers of the other.” Lauren theorised. “But working out whose power is who’s would require you to split apart…”

“What happens if we can’t figure it out?”

“I guess you’ll be stuck like this.”

The idea sent dread crashing down over Tristan; stuck in a woman’s body forever? Forced to share his mind with this crazy superhero-obsessed woman? It sounded like hell. No, he hated talking to his neighbours, let alone sharing a body with somebody! All the stress of the night seemed to coursed through their veins. 

“I…I just want to be left alone!”

Just like that, the tingling, stretching sensation started to spread across their skin, and a moment later, Tristan’s head became quiet. He stumbled back into the wall, gasping with shock and relief, only to freeze when he looked up and saw a familiar face staring back at him. Short, wavy brown hair, grey eyes and a strong build: he was looking at himself!

“What the?” He breathed. “Is that…are you in my body!”

“Ew!” Lucie groaned and Tristan cringed at the sound of his voice being so whiny.

Lauren leaned in with interest.

“Fascinating…”

“I don’t feel any powers…” Lucie said sadly. “Maybe they only work when we’re merged? Ow! My hand…”

Tristan grit his teeth and balled his fingers into a fist; no pain. His injury was with somebody else now. Even with this awful situation, he couldn’t help but feel a small amount of relief for that. 

“Don’t clench your fist, or you’ll make it worse.”

“What happened?” Asked Lucie, looking genuinely concerned. 

Tristan looked away. 

“It doesn't matter.”

She didn't care—not really. She only cared because it was her problem now. 

“This is unprecedented. Powers often have side effects or issues when they first develop, but this is entirely new. We have to study it.” Lauren announced.

“Of course!” Lucie grinned, “Omigosh, I can’t believe I get to work with you, this is so exciting!”

“Has this ever happened before, two people merging?” Tristan asked.

“Not that I have heard, but there are several theories as to why certain people develop the powers they do. I believe it has to do with the subconscious and conscious desires of the individual. Hence why some people develop seemingly random powers, only to realise later it helps fufifl them in a way they thought impossible.”

Tristan screwed up his nose.

“So what, you’re going to psycho analysie us? You think I subconsciously want to be a woman or something? Because I can tell you right now, that isn’t true.”

Lauren gave him a hard, analytical stare before shaking her head.

“No, I don't think that’s what’s going on here, but perhaps you or Lucie have some other sort of hidden desire that resulted in this merging power. We will have to thoroughly research you both physically and psychologically.”

Tristan cringed, instantly flashing back to the psychologist visits his doctor had forced him to attend after his injury. The constant questions, the needling into his personal feelings and affairs. It was hell; the last thing he wanted was to do that all over again with these two women. He just sighed. All he wanted was to go home, but he couldn’t just say no and walk away from this situation—not in Lucie’s body. 

“Alright, but I am only doing this until we figure out how to swap back.”

“Perhaps if you merge again?” Lauren suggested. “We can test that tomorrow.”

“Yipee!” Lucie jumped on her toes and ran over to fling her arms around Tristan, who deftly dodged out of the way.

“I’m not a hugger,” he said sourly, “and can you stop making that face? You’re making me look ridiculous.”

“Well, you’re making me look like a sourpuss. Come on, Tristan, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, we may as well be friends.”

She held out her hand, his old hand. Tristan looked down at the slightly misshapen knuckles, the scar tissue still visible on the skin, and shoved his own hands into his pockets. He looked away without a word. Lucie was left hanging awkwardly for a minute before she finally lowered the offered hand and shuffled off to talk to Lauren. Tristan felt guilt start to well up inside him for being such an ass, but he quickly swallowed it down. Once this was all figured out, he wouldn’t be seeing her again, and there was no point in getting close. The only reason she even cared was because of the powers. 

Tristan bit his lip, he wanted to be annoyed, and he was, but there was something else. A lingering feeling buried deep inside his chest. A tiny little flame of hope had been lit within him; maybe, just maybe, his life might get better if he let Lucie and Lauren help. He bit his lip and tried not to think about it. He wouldn't get his hopes up. Not again. Life was, what it was. There was no improving it. Not even with his injury somebody else's problem for a little while. He looked down at Lucie’s body and grit his teeth. At least it would be easier to get drunk.