Bridie Hyding 03

Henshin Hangover

It was a big bed. Too big for the slight, curled up woman buried under the massive duvet. It was a double mattress, yes, but even if two people were asleep, they would be dwarfed by this continental expanse of bed. Somewhere in the middle of it a small slumbering feminine form had become marooned, left there by somebody. It didn’t look like the sort of place she’d end up in by herself.

An alarm clock began its early morning chorus of ear-piercing beeps. The woman stirred, turning her back on the noise. In response the clock increased the volume of its alarm and the woman woke reluctantly. She crawled across the bundles of sheets, her limbs entangled in the sleeves of a too-big nightgown, and stabbed the alarm with an outstretched finger.

Silence.

For a moment, the woman was content to be lulled back into sleep. Suddenly she sat bolt upright, wide awake and alert. She grabbed her left hand and held it in front of her face, turning it over, then back again, then over once more, closely inspecting it for some unknown detail. She leapt out of bed and stood in front of the dressing mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door. She looked herself up and down: a pale, almost skinny figure draped in nightwear that enveloped her frame, but would be a skimpy fit for someone several sizes larger. And taller.

The woman frowned and threw her hands into the air in frustration.

‘I’ve changed into an ordinary human again! Why does that keep happening?’

Last night, Ban Mor had gone to sleep in that room, part of a suite in Flying Squad Headquarters that belonged to her alter ego, Bridie Buchanan. An after-show party for the Ruby Rubber musical that had opened in the West End had been interrupted by a trio of would-be supervillainesses wearing powered exo-skeletons. They’d clearly been glory-seekers, only out to get their names in the super-powered gossip columns before beating a hasty retreat. Bridie had tried to pay as little attention as possible to them. Her mind was on something else althogether.

There weren’t many dating opportunities for seven-foot tall women, and Bridie had been making significant inroads with a demigod from a group of Northern heroes who were on the guest list that night. Any chance there was with him was scuppered when the villainesses attacked, so Bridie had been a little more zealous than usual when despatching her opponents. She had returned to the Headquarters later that night in a mood and alone. Having written the evening off, she thought that at least she could get a good night’s rest. Now, with a debriefing of the incident due with her fellow Flying Squaddies in – Bridie looked at her clock – forty-five minutes or so, she was horrified to be confronted with her non-powered identity and a pounding headache.

Well, no time to stand around wallowing in regret. It was time for Ban Mor to put in an appearance. Bridie took a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated.

‘Ow!’

Bridie held her temples and winced. She would never get used to feeling pain like this. It was only recently that she’d even discovered she had a regular human form besides her usual superheroic Ban Mor identity. Consequently, she had discovered all sorts of side-effects that came with her transformations from one form to another. Most unwelcome among these was the way any change was always accompanied by the equivalent of a hangover: splitting headaches and aching muscles. Friends of hers in the business, those with shapeshifting or transformation powers, told her that it would only be after exercising, practicing that shift from one identity to another, that the process would become easier and pain-free. Having grown up being super all the time, Bridie resented having to will herself to transform. She had neglected the exercises suggested to her, and now her body was bearing the brunt of her reluctance to accept her new status quo.

A shower should clear the cobwebs. There was time enough to grab both that and some breakfast before she had to report to the Squad. Without a second thought she stripped off and strode purposefully to her bathroom.

Ban Mor’s world looked very different to Bridie’s eyes. Her shower cubicle was gigantic, the custom titanium fittings difficult for her tiny hands to grip and turn. It was a strange process learning what it was like to be an ordinary human, and not something Bridie had any time for really. She hated being this frail, plain, unexceptional person when inside her was a beautiful, strong, fearless woman who could live her life so much more fully than she ever could. In fact, she was starting to get annoyed at having to spend so much time in this unwanted shape. Her headache had receded to little more than a dull thump now. To hell with it, why not let that irritation feed the strange fire that hid within her, that changed her when she set it free? Why deny her real self any longer?

Bridie closed her eyes once again and raised her face to accept the spray of water as it rained down on her. She became singularly aware of the unearthly energy within her, could almost imagine it raging through her veins, desperate to power her body beyond its human limits. She focussed on that image and willed herself to change.

Shooting pains stabbed the length of her spine as she realised she was beginning to grow. She opened her eyes in time to see her damp brown locks become an iridescent violet. Steam began to form about the skin of her neck and breasts as the water evaporated from the heat of transformation. She let out an involuntary cry as her hips reshaped in preparation for the arrival of her more muscular shape, quickly followed by sensations of growth from her lengthening and broadening thighs.

This was more like it. A little more effort, a push to get the change underway and the transformation would gather its own momentum. When she had fully transformed all her aches and pains would vanish. Bridie ran her hands through her wet, thickening hair and tensed herself, forcing herself to outstrip her human limits.

A knot of agony seared into her neck muscles. Bridie let out a distressed yelp and found herself spluttering as her mouth filled with water. She stepped out of the stream of water from the shower head and wiped her eyes, embarrassed at the feebleness of her reaction. Barely recovered from the muscle she had pulled while effecting the transformation a raft of twinges and cramps racked her body as her form diminished to its more mundane proportions. This culminated in a wash of heat across her scalp as her hair lost its uncanny shine and became plain, dull brown again. Defeated, Bridie leaned back against the tiled wall and nursed her neck, soothing and massaging it.

It was annoying being human.

It didn’t take long for Bridie to polish off the modest breakfast – in her human form she could only face some cereal and toast – that the HQ steward had brought to her room. She had been spared the embarrassment of asking the steward for some painkillers when she had found an unopened packet of ibuprofen in a bedside drawer. When had she bought those? No matter, two tablets taken ten minutes ago had seemed to do the trick. Bridie had put on her Ban Mor uniform, pulling it tight around her so that its voluminous folds wouldn’t simply fall off her modest shoulders. She gave a humourless laugh at the dishevelled reflection that looked back at her from her dress mirror. There was no clearer comparison between what she was and what she was missing than this: a frail human overwhelmed by a goddess’ clothing. Well, it didn’t have to be like that. Bridie stared at her reflection until her hair turned purple once more…

This time she tried to take it steady and calm – no forcing her body into shapes it wasn’t ready yet to take. She flexed both biceps simultaneously, encouraging her muscles to grow as the strength welled within them. The flesh of her arms grew pale as it stretched to cover her powerful frame, only to quickly darken again as between each goose-pimple her skin became impossibly tough.

Her uniform tightened as her spine stretched, inches gradually adding to her height – and her bust. She adjusted the fit of the uniform as her body filled it, loosened the laces on her boots as her feet grew into them. As she bent over, she brushed her gently glowing hair out of her eyes, swishing it back as she stood up to her full, titanic height. Finally, the delicate pink fingers peeking out of her gloves thickened, the power that had been buried deep within finally reaching her extremities. The transformation was complete.

At last. When she’d first learned how to change from one form to another, Bridie had been curious to experience life as an ordinary human being. But now, if it was up to Bridie, she’d stay like this all the time. She felt confident, powerful, invincible. All those little aches and pains that had troubled her that morning were nothing more than easy-to-ignore memories. She was Better, in so many ways.

But it wasn’t up to her, at least not consciously. Bridie had to admit to herself that, for whatever reason, the frail, only human version of Bridie Buchanan had started to put in an appearance more and more often. And having avoided practice, it was proving to be a small ordeal to change into the Ban Mor at the drop of a hat. To a member of the Flying Squad on call, that was not a satisfactory state of affairs.

There were still a few minutes until the debriefing. Bridie looked at her ideal self once again. Much as she might want to ignore it, this wasn’t the only person she was these days. And if she preferred to be Ban Mor, she’d better practice changing into her. She looked at her fingers and imagined the strength, the power, draining away to her feet. A couple of seconds later, that’s exactly what happened.

Muscles lost their definition, arms thinned out, thighs and calves gave up their shape. Bridie’s ears were tickled as her hair danced around them, shrinking and changing colour as if dye was being washed out of it. Bridie winced after every creak and click her reshaping skeleton assaulted her with. Yet despite her desperate desire to be strong and beautiful again she imagined her power draining away, like an electrical charge being earthed. She looked at the ordinary Bridie in the mirror, faintly ridiculous in her oversized uniform, and sighed as the last few inches dwindled away. It occurred to her that this was the first time she had willingly changed to her human form knowing what was in store. In some ways she was glad that she had this choice of identity. Even though it was a choice that would always have the same result.

Bridie straightened her uniform and completed her exercise. She closed her eyes on her human self and made the change again.