One of Jess's bodies came into Ben and Gina's shared quarters. She was, as always, fresh-faced and ready for business. It helped that she had her bodies
sleep in shifts.
"Okay Boss, why all the se… cre… cy…"
Jessica Ayanami didn't get much further than that. Her blood-red irises locked onto a set of brown ones that did
not belong to Ben. This was a bit disconcerting since the face they were in looked like his anyways. "Holy shit! Ben, what the hell have you been doing?"
Benjamin shook his head ruefully and Gina sighed.
"As much as I hate to say it, Ben can't take credit for this one, Wonder Girl. Say hi to Midnight."
Jess blinked at Gina then looked back at the dark girl with wings, who smiled and waved
happily at Jess. Gina grinned, savoring the Rei-look-alike's shock. Jess
then approached the girl and hunkered down before her.
"Midnight?" asked Jess, her face uncharacteristically colored with
shock. "You mean… You're THE Magnificent Midnight?"
"Who else would I be?" asked the girl nonchalantly.
That seemed to do it for Jess as she the rocked backwards, taking a clumsy seat on the
floor before she could do something even more embarrassing. She then snatched off her A10 clips, making her into an
independent runner - apparently the shock was hitting her productivity a bit harder than I though it would.
"Every time I think I've seen everything the Goop can do, it comes up with
something new."
Benjamin scoffed and pulled Jess up off the floor.
"Jess, this is Handwavium. It takes its direction from us. This time,
though, it took its direction from someone who is other than human. Both interesting and worrying if you ask
me."
"Why's that?" asked Gina.
"What happens if some AI out there gets the idea into its CPU that humans really
shouldn't be in charge and starts acting on it?" Gina's expression darkened, sending him a clear message
that she didn't appreciate the implications. "Hey, take it as a complement that AIs are sophisticated enough
these days that your starting to get the bad side of humanity as well as the good."
"Uhm," mumbled Jess tentatively.
"As interesting as the topic is, I'm pretty sure you wanted me for more than just show and tell."
"Right, sorry about that, Jess," said Ben, blushing a bit. "We need clothes for our little girl."
"Ah, okay then," said Jess. She then
carefully fitted her A10 clips back into place, then waited a moment as the Independent Runner re-synchronized with her collective consciousness. Suddenly, her eyes went into puppy-dog mode as she clasped her hands together.
"SHE'S SO CUUUUUUUUUTE!" came the resounding noise of one-hundred and one Jessica Ayanamis sounding off at once.
Some people would be a bit puzzled when, during routine observations, 36 Atalante suddenly
and sharply listed the left. This, however, was discounted due to the Asteroid's population of Senshi.
Benjamin and Gina both stared at Jess, their expressions blank save for the wide eyes.
Jess rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Eh-heh-heh… Sorry."
Benjamin then turned to Gina. "You know, if
this is going to be a typical reaction, then we'll need to take some precautions when introducing her to any Senshi."
Gina only rolled her eyes in response.
Soon enough, another Jess arrived with some basic clothes for the little girl to
wear. It had been a crude rush job, but it would work for the time being.
"So… What now?" wondered Jess as her
other body took measurements to outfit a wardrobe. ("OH! I got so many
costume ideas for you!")
"Medical's the next thing," said Ben.
"We gotta establish her baselines as soon as possible. Would you mind getting my Mother for me and giving
her the news?"
"Sure thing. Want it to stay
hush-hush?"
"For now. This is gonna get out eventually,
but I want it to be on our own terms."
"No problem, boss. You're Mom says that
she'll meet you at Medical."
Kaitlyn Jones, Mother of the Brood, Elder Neo-Hippy of the Wave, and Master of Holistic
Space Medicine, practically flew into 36 Atalante's medical center, her jean-skirt billowing around her impressive hips and her sea shell necklace
clattering around her neck.
"Where is she?" she asked Gina and Ben, a hint of desperation in her voice.
They were both smiling as they turned aside. There
between them, sitting on an examination bed, was the girl. She was now wearing a pair of gray sweatpants that Jess had
been able to scare up and a white t-shirt that had the back cut out to accommodate her wings.
"Ohhhh, Benjamin!" cooed Kaitlyn as scooped up the somewhat confused
girl. "She looks just like you! What's her name?"
At this, Gina and Ben blinked at each other, while the girl answered, "I am
Midnight."
Kaitlyn looked slightly consternated at this, as though she had to choose between buying
one brand or another at a grocery store. "That may be true, sweetheart, but I think you should have a name that
better reflects you as you are now." She then shot a sharp look at Benjamin as though she were demanding an
answer.
Ben put up his hands in the universal sign of 'Not my fault!' "Easy, Mom! I just found out about her half an hour ago! You at least had six months with me and the rest of my brothers."
Kaitlyn sighed and set the girl back down gently on the bed and began gathering her
supplies. The ready-service items she kept in sterile warmers - she was a medic with the most gentle of touches.
"She still needs a name," said Kaitlyn as she worked. "I'll help out, but she's your daughter, so the both of you have the final say."
Gina and Benjamin looked to each other once more.
"Langley-Rhodes," she said suddenly. "I'll be damned if it's going to be any other
way."
"Fair enough," Benjamin conceded.
"While we're at it we might as well change our own names to reflect that. It's been official for three
months now anyways."
Gina grinned at Ben. "Lucky for you,
bureaucratic BS here in space is nowhere nearly as bad. I just had the electronic requests submitted."
Ben sighed at that. "Thank Skuld for modern
technology."
"Amen," added the girl, which drew a smile from everyone. Benjamin then hunkered down in front of her and looked at her in the eyes.
"Well, Midnight actually seems to suit you.
Your hair's perfectly black. And these wings!" Ben added as he gently ran a hand down one of them, causing his
unexpected daughter to giggle. "By Skuld, these are going to be beautiful when you grow up."
"How about Mayonaka?" wondered Gina.
Benjamin gave her a questioning look and she sighed. "I know you have a deep love and appreciation for Japanese
culture. Personally I think it's a miracle you didn't wind up marrying one of those J-girls that came out into
space with the first wave."
"Most of them wanted little to do with their culture," Ben reminded her.
"Point," she conceded. "Anyhow,
Mayonaka is Nihongo for Midnight. It has a nice, feminine ring to it, don't you think?"
"Mayonaka Langley-Rhodes," Benjamin said softly, tasting the name on his tongue
and letting it echo through his mind as he judged its worthiness. He then smiled and gathered Gina into an
embrace. "You are too kind to me sometimes," he said as he pecked her on the lips.
She scoffed as Ben kissed her. "I think you
have that the other way around, lover boy, but I appreciate the sentiment anyways."
Grinning, Ben let her go and then scooped up his daughter.
"You hear that, small stuff? From now on, your human name is Mayonaka Langley-Rhodes."
"I like it!" said Mayonaka gleefully.
"Do I get a nick-name too?"
Gina chuckled. "That's earned over
time."
Mayonaka settled for that and Kaitlyn came over with a tray loaded down with medical tools
and supplies.
"At least you two didn't need my help after all," she said with a knowing
smile. "Okay, sweetheart, time for your first physical."
Some people thought it was weird that a home-maker from the US would suddenly become a
capable medical professional shortly after moving out into space. Obviously they didn't know Kaitlyn Jones too
well. She raised the sort of family where she usually came to be on a first-name basis with the doctors at the local
emergency room. It only made sense that she had at least some informal training somewhere along the line. That, combined with her self-taught knowledge of holistic medicine and the myriad of medical-marvels brought to us by the
'Wave, then it was no real surprise that the mother could readily manage a medical emergency… or just a regular physical.
Mayonaka's experience was not an unpleasant one.
It was a bonding experience with her new Grandmother. The only moment of discomfort came when she had to
perform the blood-draw. Benjamin gently turned Mayonaka's face away as his mother carefully slid the needle into
the vein in her elbow.
Mayonaka remained stoic. "I don't like
that sensation."
"Nobody does, my little raven," Ben told her.
"Pain is something we all have to deal with. Do you think you can stand to look at it?" Mayonaka nodded her head firmly and Ben smiled. "Brave girl," he said as he
allowed her to look at the needle in her arm. She remained calm, even as Kaitlyn inserted the vacuum tube that
collected the blood sample. Once it was full, she removed and set it aside in a brisk and professional manner, and then
carefully removed the butterfly syringe from Mayonaka's arm, holding a piece of gauze over the entry point as she did so.
"Now, I think you have just enough of the Wave in you already for me to do
this," said Kaitlyn as she closed her eyes and held the gauze firmly, yet gently, over the small puncture wound.
Mayonaka blinked in surprise.
"It's… Gone!"
Kaitlyn chuckled softly as she opened her eyes.
"Not quite, sweetheart. I just put a patch over it, but it should heal up pretty quickly now." She then turned to Gina and Ben. "Ruri and I will go over her blood work and DNA
profile. Ruri should let you know if we find anything special… aside form the obvious."
"Thank you, Mother," said Gina as she gave the much larger woman a hug.
"I'm just looking out for my family, Gina," said Kaitlyn as she returned the
hug. "Why don't you three get to bed? It's getting late and
it's been pretty eventful."
At that, there was the sudden sound of a tiny stomach making its empty status known.
"…That is, after we get some food into her belly," added Kaitlyn.
"How did that just happen?" wondered Benjamin aloud. "You're digestive track should be empty."
Mayonaka smiled. "During the development
process I took a page from human reproduction. My digestive track has been working."
Gina blinked. "Then why was there no
mess?"
Mayonaka only smiled.
Ben hunkered down and looked his daughter in the eyes.
"Little one, later on you and I are gonna have to have a look at that rig you cooked up in your cargo bay."
For my first meal, I was given something simple.
Even though it seemed my body's ability to digest food was complete, Grandmother felt it best that I was given something easy to digest. And so I enjoyed a meal of spiced hot applesauce and pureed beef stew and a glass of water.
The meal wasn't much to look at, but it did taste very good. Mother and Father were not exaggerating in
saying that Grandmother is an excellent cook.
I spend my first night as a human sleeping with my new parents. My new Grandmother was right. Even though I had been active for only a few hours, I was
already exhausted. I knew this going in, however, and it won't be the first day that I am like this.
For the moment, though, I lay there between my parents in a happy daze. My mother is to my right and my father to the left. They both have an arm draped over me
protectively. It feels most agreeable. Humans are so fortunate to be able to
experience tactile sensations. There's no way for me to describe how soothing the warmth of their bodies protecting
mine feels, along with the soft feel of the bed sheets and the occasional grazing of bare skin.
Almost as intoxicating is the smell.
Some people say that humans smell horrible and prefer to scent themselves with other
things to cover up their own scent. I don't feel that way. As long as a
human takes care of their body and bathes regularly they are really not unpleasant smelling.
My Father is like this. He smells distinctly
masculine, but there is nothing unpleasant about it. It makes me feel safe and secure.
Mother is different. She prefers to scent herself,
but only lightly so. At the time I had no way to describe it, but in retrospect I would say that it is very much like a
flower with a subtle, slightly musky, fragrance.
But more than even that is something else. It is
something that goes beyond the mere tangible things like tactile sensations on my new skin and the effect of airborne chemicals on my olfactory
receptors. Is this what it feels like to be loved? I have read about this thing
humans call love - the most special being the unconditional love only given to mates and their children.
Sleep finally comes to me, and I sleep for the first time as humans do, protected by the strong arms of my loving parents.
sleep in shifts.
"Okay Boss, why all the se… cre… cy…"
Jessica Ayanami didn't get much further than that. Her blood-red irises locked onto a set of brown ones that did
not belong to Ben. This was a bit disconcerting since the face they were in looked like his anyways. "Holy shit! Ben, what the hell have you been doing?"
Benjamin shook his head ruefully and Gina sighed.
"As much as I hate to say it, Ben can't take credit for this one, Wonder Girl. Say hi to Midnight."
Jess blinked at Gina then looked back at the dark girl with wings, who smiled and waved
happily at Jess. Gina grinned, savoring the Rei-look-alike's shock. Jess
then approached the girl and hunkered down before her.
"Midnight?" asked Jess, her face uncharacteristically colored with
shock. "You mean… You're THE Magnificent Midnight?"
"Who else would I be?" asked the girl nonchalantly.
That seemed to do it for Jess as she the rocked backwards, taking a clumsy seat on the
floor before she could do something even more embarrassing. She then snatched off her A10 clips, making her into an
independent runner - apparently the shock was hitting her productivity a bit harder than I though it would.
"Every time I think I've seen everything the Goop can do, it comes up with
something new."
Benjamin scoffed and pulled Jess up off the floor.
"Jess, this is Handwavium. It takes its direction from us. This time,
though, it took its direction from someone who is other than human. Both interesting and worrying if you ask
me."
"Why's that?" asked Gina.
"What happens if some AI out there gets the idea into its CPU that humans really
shouldn't be in charge and starts acting on it?" Gina's expression darkened, sending him a clear message
that she didn't appreciate the implications. "Hey, take it as a complement that AIs are sophisticated enough
these days that your starting to get the bad side of humanity as well as the good."
"Uhm," mumbled Jess tentatively.
"As interesting as the topic is, I'm pretty sure you wanted me for more than just show and tell."
"Right, sorry about that, Jess," said Ben, blushing a bit. "We need clothes for our little girl."
"Ah, okay then," said Jess. She then
carefully fitted her A10 clips back into place, then waited a moment as the Independent Runner re-synchronized with her collective consciousness. Suddenly, her eyes went into puppy-dog mode as she clasped her hands together.
"SHE'S SO CUUUUUUUUUTE!" came the resounding noise of one-hundred and one Jessica Ayanamis sounding off at once.
Some people would be a bit puzzled when, during routine observations, 36 Atalante suddenly
and sharply listed the left. This, however, was discounted due to the Asteroid's population of Senshi.
Benjamin and Gina both stared at Jess, their expressions blank save for the wide eyes.
Jess rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Eh-heh-heh… Sorry."
Benjamin then turned to Gina. "You know, if
this is going to be a typical reaction, then we'll need to take some precautions when introducing her to any Senshi."
Gina only rolled her eyes in response.
Soon enough, another Jess arrived with some basic clothes for the little girl to
wear. It had been a crude rush job, but it would work for the time being.
"So… What now?" wondered Jess as her
other body took measurements to outfit a wardrobe. ("OH! I got so many
costume ideas for you!")
"Medical's the next thing," said Ben.
"We gotta establish her baselines as soon as possible. Would you mind getting my Mother for me and giving
her the news?"
"Sure thing. Want it to stay
hush-hush?"
"For now. This is gonna get out eventually,
but I want it to be on our own terms."
"No problem, boss. You're Mom says that
she'll meet you at Medical."
Kaitlyn Jones, Mother of the Brood, Elder Neo-Hippy of the Wave, and Master of Holistic
Space Medicine, practically flew into 36 Atalante's medical center, her jean-skirt billowing around her impressive hips and her sea shell necklace
clattering around her neck.
"Where is she?" she asked Gina and Ben, a hint of desperation in her voice.
They were both smiling as they turned aside. There
between them, sitting on an examination bed, was the girl. She was now wearing a pair of gray sweatpants that Jess had
been able to scare up and a white t-shirt that had the back cut out to accommodate her wings.
"Ohhhh, Benjamin!" cooed Kaitlyn as scooped up the somewhat confused
girl. "She looks just like you! What's her name?"
At this, Gina and Ben blinked at each other, while the girl answered, "I am
Midnight."
Kaitlyn looked slightly consternated at this, as though she had to choose between buying
one brand or another at a grocery store. "That may be true, sweetheart, but I think you should have a name that
better reflects you as you are now." She then shot a sharp look at Benjamin as though she were demanding an
answer.
Ben put up his hands in the universal sign of 'Not my fault!' "Easy, Mom! I just found out about her half an hour ago! You at least had six months with me and the rest of my brothers."
Kaitlyn sighed and set the girl back down gently on the bed and began gathering her
supplies. The ready-service items she kept in sterile warmers - she was a medic with the most gentle of touches.
"She still needs a name," said Kaitlyn as she worked. "I'll help out, but she's your daughter, so the both of you have the final say."
Gina and Benjamin looked to each other once more.
"Langley-Rhodes," she said suddenly. "I'll be damned if it's going to be any other
way."
"Fair enough," Benjamin conceded.
"While we're at it we might as well change our own names to reflect that. It's been official for three
months now anyways."
Gina grinned at Ben. "Lucky for you,
bureaucratic BS here in space is nowhere nearly as bad. I just had the electronic requests submitted."
Ben sighed at that. "Thank Skuld for modern
technology."
"Amen," added the girl, which drew a smile from everyone. Benjamin then hunkered down in front of her and looked at her in the eyes.
"Well, Midnight actually seems to suit you.
Your hair's perfectly black. And these wings!" Ben added as he gently ran a hand down one of them, causing his
unexpected daughter to giggle. "By Skuld, these are going to be beautiful when you grow up."
"How about Mayonaka?" wondered Gina.
Benjamin gave her a questioning look and she sighed. "I know you have a deep love and appreciation for Japanese
culture. Personally I think it's a miracle you didn't wind up marrying one of those J-girls that came out into
space with the first wave."
"Most of them wanted little to do with their culture," Ben reminded her.
"Point," she conceded. "Anyhow,
Mayonaka is Nihongo for Midnight. It has a nice, feminine ring to it, don't you think?"
"Mayonaka Langley-Rhodes," Benjamin said softly, tasting the name on his tongue
and letting it echo through his mind as he judged its worthiness. He then smiled and gathered Gina into an
embrace. "You are too kind to me sometimes," he said as he pecked her on the lips.
She scoffed as Ben kissed her. "I think you
have that the other way around, lover boy, but I appreciate the sentiment anyways."
Grinning, Ben let her go and then scooped up his daughter.
"You hear that, small stuff? From now on, your human name is Mayonaka Langley-Rhodes."
"I like it!" said Mayonaka gleefully.
"Do I get a nick-name too?"
Gina chuckled. "That's earned over
time."
Mayonaka settled for that and Kaitlyn came over with a tray loaded down with medical tools
and supplies.
"At least you two didn't need my help after all," she said with a knowing
smile. "Okay, sweetheart, time for your first physical."
Some people thought it was weird that a home-maker from the US would suddenly become a
capable medical professional shortly after moving out into space. Obviously they didn't know Kaitlyn Jones too
well. She raised the sort of family where she usually came to be on a first-name basis with the doctors at the local
emergency room. It only made sense that she had at least some informal training somewhere along the line. That, combined with her self-taught knowledge of holistic medicine and the myriad of medical-marvels brought to us by the
'Wave, then it was no real surprise that the mother could readily manage a medical emergency… or just a regular physical.
Mayonaka's experience was not an unpleasant one.
It was a bonding experience with her new Grandmother. The only moment of discomfort came when she had to
perform the blood-draw. Benjamin gently turned Mayonaka's face away as his mother carefully slid the needle into
the vein in her elbow.
Mayonaka remained stoic. "I don't like
that sensation."
"Nobody does, my little raven," Ben told her.
"Pain is something we all have to deal with. Do you think you can stand to look at it?" Mayonaka nodded her head firmly and Ben smiled. "Brave girl," he said as he
allowed her to look at the needle in her arm. She remained calm, even as Kaitlyn inserted the vacuum tube that
collected the blood sample. Once it was full, she removed and set it aside in a brisk and professional manner, and then
carefully removed the butterfly syringe from Mayonaka's arm, holding a piece of gauze over the entry point as she did so.
"Now, I think you have just enough of the Wave in you already for me to do
this," said Kaitlyn as she closed her eyes and held the gauze firmly, yet gently, over the small puncture wound.
Mayonaka blinked in surprise.
"It's… Gone!"
Kaitlyn chuckled softly as she opened her eyes.
"Not quite, sweetheart. I just put a patch over it, but it should heal up pretty quickly now." She then turned to Gina and Ben. "Ruri and I will go over her blood work and DNA
profile. Ruri should let you know if we find anything special… aside form the obvious."
"Thank you, Mother," said Gina as she gave the much larger woman a hug.
"I'm just looking out for my family, Gina," said Kaitlyn as she returned the
hug. "Why don't you three get to bed? It's getting late and
it's been pretty eventful."
At that, there was the sudden sound of a tiny stomach making its empty status known.
"…That is, after we get some food into her belly," added Kaitlyn.
"How did that just happen?" wondered Benjamin aloud. "You're digestive track should be empty."
Mayonaka smiled. "During the development
process I took a page from human reproduction. My digestive track has been working."
Gina blinked. "Then why was there no
mess?"
Mayonaka only smiled.
Ben hunkered down and looked his daughter in the eyes.
"Little one, later on you and I are gonna have to have a look at that rig you cooked up in your cargo bay."
For my first meal, I was given something simple.
Even though it seemed my body's ability to digest food was complete, Grandmother felt it best that I was given something easy to digest. And so I enjoyed a meal of spiced hot applesauce and pureed beef stew and a glass of water.
The meal wasn't much to look at, but it did taste very good. Mother and Father were not exaggerating in
saying that Grandmother is an excellent cook.
I spend my first night as a human sleeping with my new parents. My new Grandmother was right. Even though I had been active for only a few hours, I was
already exhausted. I knew this going in, however, and it won't be the first day that I am like this.
For the moment, though, I lay there between my parents in a happy daze. My mother is to my right and my father to the left. They both have an arm draped over me
protectively. It feels most agreeable. Humans are so fortunate to be able to
experience tactile sensations. There's no way for me to describe how soothing the warmth of their bodies protecting
mine feels, along with the soft feel of the bed sheets and the occasional grazing of bare skin.
Almost as intoxicating is the smell.
Some people say that humans smell horrible and prefer to scent themselves with other
things to cover up their own scent. I don't feel that way. As long as a
human takes care of their body and bathes regularly they are really not unpleasant smelling.
My Father is like this. He smells distinctly
masculine, but there is nothing unpleasant about it. It makes me feel safe and secure.
Mother is different. She prefers to scent herself,
but only lightly so. At the time I had no way to describe it, but in retrospect I would say that it is very much like a
flower with a subtle, slightly musky, fragrance.
But more than even that is something else. It is
something that goes beyond the mere tangible things like tactile sensations on my new skin and the effect of airborne chemicals on my olfactory
receptors. Is this what it feels like to be loved? I have read about this thing
humans call love - the most special being the unconditional love only given to mates and their children.
Sleep finally comes to me, and I sleep for the first time as humans do, protected by the strong arms of my loving parents.