Madam Maternity, Part 4 (Superhero TG Preg, Rapid/Hyper Preg) (Patreon)

By FoxFaceStories

A Commission for Planologer

Peter Avery has just discovered that he has superpowers. Enrolled into the organisation Artemis to hone his powers and serve alongside other heroes, his trajectory is complicated by the arrival of a strange villain on the scene: Madam Maternity, who has the power not only to cause instant pregnancy to female victims, but even cause men to become pregnant women as well - permanently! Soon Peter and his friends are tasked with helping end this threat, and finding out what this Madam Maternity wants, and why she is targeting so many virile heroes.

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Part 4: Mother’s Day

The Star City Mother’s Day Parade was not far from starting. Despite the furor in the news and the fear mongering that had begun ever since footage of Madame Maternity’s rampage had leaked, there were still thousands lining up to attend. It was a major event of the city, complete with large parade floats, immense balloons, and several marches from local organisations, including members of Artemis as well as other distinct hero organisations. Hell, even small-time former villains or penny-ante crooks like The Jostler and Disco Dancer often turned up, and the crowd seemed to weirdly love them for it. It wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary for Artemis members to be present in good numbers either; several of the huge balloons were in the likenesses of the most beloved superheroes such as Lady Glory, and there was always the state-sponsored Artemis float from which several graduating and mentor heroes would wave to the crowd. It was a good way to show off Artemis’ maternity healthcare plan for its employees, as well as celebrate the mothers and mothers-to-be of the organisation, particularly those who were known heroes.

And yet . . .

And yet tension was bubbling in the air for those who were perceptive enough. There were a greater number of heroes than usual present, and they were not in themed costume for the parade either; their gear was entirely tactical. A number of floats were also new. They are all innocuous, of course, designed to celebrate various charitable organisations for mothers and celebrations of great women, though the keen trivia fanatic may question the origin of these organisations, as if they had just been fabricated several days before. Concealed within those floats were more heroes, as well as armed and trained members of the AAT: the Artemis Assault Team. Other floats still had displays with parasols and decorated trees and women in flowery dresses, all of which were actually radar dishes for tracking rapid movements and synching weaponry, on top of jamming teleportation and altering energy flow. It wasn’t known if it could stop Madame Maternity, but Artemis was ready for her with everything they had.

And those were just the more concealed preparations. The more obvious ones were out in the open, though the civilian population were unlikely to notice. Suffice to say that there were more police, FBI, and other three letter agencies on hand to help organise and evacuate the citizens the moment anything went down. Heroes in plain clothes were hidden among these groups and liaising with them, some such as Hellaport were already prepared to teleport hundreds out en masse at a time to prevent Madame Maternity from impregnating and gender bending the Star City populace. God knows, the optics of new mothers celebrating their newborn children suddenly having to deal with pushing out new ones would not be good for Artemis. They needed to keep their reputation intact.

“Why, oh why can’t I have a damn kaiju attack,” Lady Glory muttered from her position within a financial building overlooking the fair. The window was tinted, preventing her from being seen, and besides she was ten floors up.  

‘You don’t want that,’ the Director said. ‘You hate kaiju attacks. You always end up coughing up grey debris and get stuck on evac duty for weeks afterwards.’

Lady Glory harrumphed. “True. But it’s better than this. I hate waiting. I goddamned fucking hate it.”

‘Not like you to swear.’

“That’s how bad this is, Shonda,” she said over her comm-piece. “We need a win. If not against Madame Maternity, then against something or someone. We’ve been resting on our laurels too long. We can’t lose the public trust.”

‘You think I’m not aware of that? The city will be calling for an investigation if we end up with dozens - or God forbid - hundreds suddenly getting knocked up down there.’

“I’m guessing that’s why you’ve got all those ambulances and midwives on call.”

‘You’ve known me too long to think I wouldn’t be prepared for the worst eventuality. The best case scenario is we catch her. The worst case . . . let’s just pray the Doom Makers are up to something. At least then we’ll be able to have a high profile case to restore some public trust.;

“Yeah, all while Madam Maternity gets away with it. Again. On a bigger scale than ever before. I may love my kids but I am not letting her foist them on anyone else. Same goes for the gender change. I like being a woman. I accept being a woman. I have for a while. We both have.”

‘But this bitch needs to go down. We’re in agreement, Lady Glory. The moment things start, don’t hold back. And put yourself in the way of her beams if it means saving a civilian. Harsh, I know, but consider it an order. And a request from an old friend.’

Lady Glory sighed, looking down at her voluptuous body with its beautiful dark curves within the white and gold top and skirt and boots. Being pregnant again was a real possibility today, and not one she relished. She’d already talked to her children, who - being the older individuals they were now, even if they’d inherited her slower aging - thought the prospect amusing. The absolute cheek of them!

“You’re right, of course, Director,” she said, keeping her cool as she looked down on the parade. It was starting. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Let’s just hope our secret plan pays off.”

‘Newbies. All our best hopes rest with a bunch of newbies.’

But Lady Glory had more confidence than the Director. Ever since the talk with the group of young heroes-in-training, she’d been impressed with the four of them.

“We were all newbies once,” she whispered. “But we rose to the occasion. So can they.”

They had to. Otherwise, there were going to be a lot of people with new babies in their wombs in a few hours, and not a small amount of them would likely be former men.

“That power of yours better work, Adapt,” she said to herself. 

***

The group were on a rooftop seven stories up, overlooking the proceedings but hopefully far from any potential fighting. All were invisible courtesy of Miss-Appear, though her range of touch when it came to masking others meant that they were waiting in an awkward sort of group hug. She’d chosen to press herself against Peter’s back, while using her hands to keep Dangerbee and Grey Matter out of sight. Peter got the distinct impression that this particular arrangement was one that she didn’t mind, particularly since she was almost nuzzling her cheek against his. 

“This isn’t too bad,” she whispered in his ear. “Wish we had some privacy though.”

“Me too,” he whispered back. They’d gotten more daring with their flirting lately. It was a good experience for Peter, who’d never had a great deal of success with women. But there was something special about Clementine. He loved her energetic personality, her hidden shy side, the way she latched onto him when he complimented her looks, which only he could see.

‘I can read your thoughts, you know,’ Grey Matter mentally communicated. ‘We need to stay on the mission.’

‘Ew, gross!’ Miss-Appear communicated back on the group telepathic network Grey Matter was keeping up for them. ‘Get your thoughts out of my head! Surface level stuff only!’

‘This is surface level stuff only, Miss-Appear.’

‘Yeah, stop being so horny, you two!’ Dangerbee added, lacking tact as ever.

Miss-Appear growled. ‘Just because you lost your dick doesn’t mean others can’t have a goddamned libido!’

‘Yeah, well . . . my tits are bigger than yours!’

‘Are not! Besides, Grey Matter is bigger than you!’

‘So? I’m meant to be a guy! You’re the born woman - you should be jealous!’

‘I can’t even see my own boobs, remember!’

‘Okay, maybe that’s enough for now,’ Peter cautioned. Grey Matter was right, they had to focus. And he had to start thinking of himself as Adapt now instead of Peter. It was his callsign, and the one that others would be referring to him soon.

The plan was clear. The various heroes, traps, AATs and technology in the parade would engage with Madam Maternity. They’d even shipped in the Japanese hero Crimson Artisan, whose reality-bending paint powers could theoretically trap the villainess in an art-inspired world from which only he could bring her out safely into custody. Other heroes, such as Hellaport and numerous others, would work with law enforcement to evacuate the civilian population. But their own group - and man, they really needed a group name to identify their own little junior clique, something they’d argued and fussed over while training for days now - would have other important duties. Grey Matter was irritable not just because she was having to deal with flirty and aroused thoughts, or because nights were getting difficult due to breastfeeding her little grey twins, but also because she was concentrating on keeping a secondary, even larger telepathic communication link open across the entire parade area. It was a feat she never would have been able to manage prior to her gender change and pregnancy. She had spoken more than once about how bizarre it was that Madam Maternity’s effects actually increased the powers of superheroes. Evidently, the villainess wanted to foster a challenge all while having her chaotic fun.

That was Grey Matter’s role; keeping everyone communicating telepathically, synching actions with the police and other agencies, and keeping the Director in the loop. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of activity, but she could take it. For now. The other three heroes of their little quartet were all focused around Adapt. With his ability to take on new skills, learn advanced information, and make deductions from clues that his power automatically generated, the biggest hope was that he could be the one to finally understand Madam Maternity’s weaknesses, goals, skills, and technology. It hadn’t worked in Grey Matter’s mind, but it had a much better chance of working in real life. Miss-Appear’s main role was in keeping him and Grey Matter invisible, and Dangerbee was with them not just as a loyal friend but because her newly-enhanced speed powers could zip them out of danger or to another building top in mere moments. She’d even found that the faster she went, the lighter the load became that she was carrying. Theoretically, the speedster could take all three of them in her arms if she went fast enough, her power naturally protecting them from any friction or g-force.

It was a plan they’d gone over again and again, even mentally discussing different variables, escape routes, worst case scenarios and so forth. Still, the lingering fear of Madam Maternity’s power was evident across the entire network. Both Grey Matter and Dangerbee were now women, and not unattractive ones either, and both had gone through labor and birth. Both were mothers biologically, and Grey Matter was a mother in role and identity too. Monolith was present even after birthing eight babies, all of which were being taken care of by the Artemis Institute. She was a massive Amazonian woman now, with a belly that had recovered well thanks to her power and some benefits of Madam Maternity’s technology, which had allowed all new mothers to regain their stomachs easily. But it was clear the event had taken a toll on the new buff, tough woman. She was angry, and out for revenge. Others like Paper Mache and Negatron were likewise displaying signs of nervousness and needing encouragement, not wanting to be pregnant again. Jaywalker was too nervous to be present; she was working things out with her wife. Thankfully, said wife was bisexual, but it was still a transition. All of this was information that Grey Matter was privy to thanks to the connection, including the fear among regular law enforcement. Oddly, or perhaps not unexpectedly, a number of women and men had turned up with signs begging Madam Maternity to get them.

‘I’m infertile! Please let me have BABIES!’ one sign read.

Another, held by a man, read, ‘Give me something different! My wife left me and I want kids! I’ll take a new life, thanks!’

Hell, even the law enforcement officers and firemen were more female dominated than male despite their usual statistics. Clearly, quite a few men had bowed out, and brave women stepped forward. The rest were the bravest ones, putting a lot on the line. Maybe not their lives, but certainly their livelihoods and futures. Some were almost certainly regretting their choice to be present, even brave heroes like Lady Glory were nervous.

It was too late to back out now though: the parade had started.

Peter/Adapt watched invisibly from his position, neither speaking nor mentally communicating. Neither did the three women who were his friends and teammates. The gender dynamic had once gone the other way, but the flip was a big reason why they were so serious at that moment, watching the first floats begin to emerge down the central parade street of Star City, as well as several enormous balloons. The Delia Anderson Maternity clinic had a fantastic float with mothers of excited toddlers on top of it, alongside the staff. A giant baby bottle was their symbol. A collection of childcare services had pooled together for a couple of floats, and these too had excited children. This had been a huge part of the discussion with the Director. Lady Glory had been absolutely adamant that no child be present, but the Director had overruled her. Madam Maternity had apparently never, not once, targeted a woman underage. Eighteen and over were apparently fair game, with even seventy year olds being reverse-aged to their breeding prime, but never children. And if children were pulled from the parade, it would make things too obvious for Madam Maternity. No one liked it, so a compromise was made: the kids could be part of the early parade floats, and would disembark with the new mothers at an early point. People grumbled, but it at least kept an appearance of normality while preserving caution.

The same couldn’t be said about the floats and balloons that followed after, each extravagant, some openly belonging to Artemis or secretly belonging to Artemis, with huge floating balloons in the shape of great heroes. The Lady Glory one was most noticeable, her gorgeous form rendered into a cute, cartoonish caricature that floated stories about the crowd. Despite cautions being issued, many had still turned up with their children, who ‘ooh’ed and ‘ahh’ed at the images. More than a few were dressed as heroes themselves. The mayor’s voice blared over the speakers along with the commentators, congratulating mothers of the year, announcing new childcare programs, making jokes and puffing up local businesses that catered to anything that could be tangentially connected to Mother’s Day. Naturally, there were also goodie bags, food stalls, and other stores mobile and immobile for foolish husbands to get their last-second gifts for their spouses.

But for the heroes, it was just an exercise in waiting as the parade made its way slowly down the wide central street.

‘Goddamn, can’t she attack already?’ Dangerbee asked mentally. ‘This costume is seriously riding up my crotch. How do girls stand these formhugging outfits?’

‘We don’t,’ Miss-Appear said. ‘I just get the luxury of wearing what I want. Seriously, there’s a reason why the superheroines with the leotard getups all get them specially made.’

‘It’s not a leotard, it’s just tightfitting!’

‘Mhmm, and showy.’

Dangerbee gave an annoyed expression. Her yellow and black bumblebee-style outfit was indeed quite adorable, and she was proud to have an official superhero costume. But the fact that her speed powers necessitated that it be very . . . tight, also meant that her rather lithe, athletic, and attractive figure was shown off. She’d kept the hair long though, which surprised the others. She had explained that she liked the way her black and red hair flashed like lightning behind her when she ran. It was a cool effect. 

‘Jeez, showy is right. At least I don’t have jugs like Andrew’s - uh, I mean Grey Matter’s here - can you imagine the wind resistance I’d pick up from-’

Adapt paused. ‘Dangerbee, Miss-Appear, I need you to stop talking!’

‘She started it!’

‘Shhh! Something’s happening!’

Instantly, the mood changed. The bickering pair silenced, and Grey Matter looked over to Adapt. ‘You sense something? What’s happening?’

‘I’m not sure. I’m picking up clues. Little things that are off about the floats . . . just give me a moment and I’ll have something to report.’

Miss Appear clenched him a little bit tighter, from nervousness as much from worried affection. Even Dangerbee appeared to place his hand on Miss-Appear’s for reassurance, though only Adapt could actually see that part. He kept his focus on the parade though. Something was wrong. Something was off. Little traces of chronotons were in the air, and the arrangement of the floats was slightly off, a few in dimension as well. He’d studied the parade float plans extensively, all the approved ones in particular. No one else could have easily spotted what he was now, but the features of each were off: one was at least a metre wider than it should have been, another two metres longer. One had a giant coffee cup display that was thinner than the specs and images he’d received. The floats were also operating at different speeds, but his power told him this was not human error but a strange coordination that was bringing them closer and closer and closer to one another.

It all clicked into a horrifying realisation.

‘Shit! Madam Maternity has control of several floats. I think - I think they’re connected somehow. Literally! Grey Matter, you need to tell them!’

‘Already on it!’

Grey Matter communicated on the wider band network, his thoughts reaching out to warn everybody. Law enforcement acted quickly, moving to being escorting vulnerable persons first and then larger crowds, thought it would take time, and they didn’t want to cause a panic. This was the best chance to capture Madam Maternity, and they couldn’t spook her. Lady Glory was still in her building, but she was now right at the window, ready to fly in at a moment’s notice. By plan, several other floats were now changing their configuration. They still looked light and silly and fun, but the dishes and counterbatteries belonging to Artemis within were being redirected to the suspicious floats. A number of heroes in the march and new ones joining them began to make their way to said floats, marching faster or flying in, but doing so in a way that simply looked like a natural part of the parade. The tension rose as the floats closed together, and even the crowd was becoming confused. As the connections between the vehicles clicked, so too did it for Adapt. He didn’t even use the mental connection, instead speaking directly to Grey Matter.

“Oh. Oh no. Oh shit. We’ve made a big mistake. She’s brought something much bigger than her usual pregnancy beam.”

‘What do you mean?’

Adapt pointed at the combining floats. “I’ve seen her tech before, and I can see enough of it now. Those are becoming a really big version of it.”

Grey Matter gasped in her new feminine voice, but quickly got to work communicating across all mental bandwidths. 

‘Attention all heroes and law enforcement, the combining floats must be - NGHH!!’

Something caused a sudden psychic backlash that ended her mental network. She stumbled backwards, becoming visible as she fell from Miss Appear’s grasp.

“Brother!” Dangerbee called, zipping fast enough to catch her best friend and hold her.

“S-something’s blocking my p-power!” the other woman gasped, writhing in her grey and purple costume on the rooftop. “Adapt! I need you to f-find it so I can get the network b-back up!”

Adapt searched, but the combining floats were taking up too much of the bandwidth of his own power. The decorations ripped apart as they began to reform like some giant cartoon transforming robot. A cavernous opening erupted from the centre, and a massive ten metre long version of Madam Maternity’s impregnation beam began to rise out. The crowd gasped in fascination, but others were cannier. The heroes began working to evacuate, but it was not just their mental link that was down, but their regular comms as well. Lady Glory burst from her hiding spot towards the large structure, intent on demolishing it.

And that was when the villainess of the hour finally appeared, her visage overlaid on every giant screen in the central square of the city they were currently passing through. 

“Well, well, well, citizens of Star City, it is time for the climax of my plans! And you know what followed a good climax, right? Especially if you aren’t protected enough!? Let’s just say that in Star City, soon a star shall be born! Thousands of stars, in fact!”

The alien-looking beam device powered up, chronotons generating around it like crazy. Red and gold sparks flickered as the cannon rotated, pivoting on a mobile axis. Several heroes rushed towards it, Lady Glory in the lead, but they were smashed back by an hexagonal energy shield structure that was visible only when collided into. 

“Shit, oh shit!” Adapt muttered. “She’s not even here! I can’t do anything if I can’t see her!”

Miss-Appear held him. “Just focus on the beam for now, Adapt. Peter, I know you can do this. I know you can. Find a weakness!”

He took a deep breath and continued to scan, pushing his power to the fullest. Unfortunately, even if he was successful, he would be too late for some: the beam was seconds away from firing, and the crowd beginning to panic. Law enforcement were moving swiftly to get other floats away and evacuate the citizenry, but no one had accounted for this level of supervillainy.

Madam Maternity simply grinned on the screen, her pretty blonde form in her form fitting outfit displaying her impressive curves.

“Like what you see, people of Star City? Don’t worry, you’ll have curves like these soon enough, once you’ve had a baby. Or two. Or three. Or, hell, someone bring Monolith back up here and we can try for the world record!”

To everyone’s surprise, the parade float began to literally float, a series of futuristic looking engines on its underside causing it to rise up into the area and provide the impregnation beam with a much more terrifying series of arcs. The sound from it was immense, drowning out almost everything but Madam Maternity’s broadcasted words.

‘IT’S BABYMAKING TIME! LET’S CELEBRATE MOTHER’S DAY BY MAKING YOU ALL MOTHERS!’

The beam reached its apex, energy swirling around its aperture. A collective breath was held by all in charge of keeping the city safe, while the civilian populace simply screamed in terror in those final seconds before the weapon fired.

BWAAAAAAAAM!!!

It was like something out of the anime that Peter used to watch when he was little. A brief explosion of bright energy before it coalesced into a narrow beam of sparkling purple energy. Vortexes of chronoturgical power surged within its beam, appearing like black dots that flickered at a rapid pace, constantly changing the pattern of the beam. It was far larger, and far more powerful, than any of the small devices Madam Maternity had been using previously, and it was targeting everyone, casting over the crowd in a wide yet surgical sweep. Peter/Adapt’s mind surged with information even as the first hundred or so victims began to groan and swell into full term pregnancy, breasts expanding on men’s chests and inflating on women’s, burgeoning bellies unleashing through clothing. This was not just a scaled up version of Madam Maternity’s weapon. It was designed to hit entire crowds at once, while leaving those outside its criteria unscathed: those who were underage or unfit by some other criteria. 

“Holy shit,” Miss-Appear said next to him.

“This is a fucking disaster!” Dangerbee said. “We need to get down there! We’re useless up here!”

“N-no!” Grey Matter said, even as the beam hit several dozen individuals trying to flee down a side alley. “We need Adapt up here, searching for weaknesses and Madam Maternity herself. I’m nearly past whatever is blocking my p-power. It’s concentrated in the air, I can s-sense it!”

“It’s making everyone pregnant right now though!” Dangerbee called.

“Not just everyone,” Adapt said, witnessing one poor woman in particular swell up with what his power immediately sensed was quadruplets. Her friend, caught in the same blast, only swelled up with one. “It’s giving even more babies to those who carry supergene potentiality.”

“What?” Miss-Appear asked. “Really?”

“I can see it. Look, that man about to be hit! Watch!”

There was no saving him, even as Negatron and Hellaport managed to scoop dozens out of the way using their respective powers. But one man in particular had no chance: he was tubby, and wore an ill-fitting business suit that gave little leeway to his legs. When the beam hit him though, he rapidly received a makeover, becoming a buxom brunette with an impressive set of teardrop breasts that were practically falling out of his now-too large suit. That issue was swiftly resolved by his - now her - stomach expanding rapidly, growing and growing and growing in size. The new woman moaned loud enough for even the quarter to hear as six babies gestated in her new womb, almost rendering her totally immobile, and certainly even bigger around the waist than she had been.

“He - she, I guess - has strong supergene potential. I can read it in people now that my power picks it up. She’s deliberately producing as many superpowers as possible.”

Miss-Appear stuck out her tongue. “What the fuck? That’s psycho!”

Peter was missing something, he knew he was. But he couldn’t figure out Madam Maternity’s motives just yet. He focused his attention further up in the air where the hovering balloons were, and that’s when his power zeroed in on something. He was grateful that the Director and Lady Glory had made him look over books and diagrams over the parade balloons, as well as adopt the skills of several of their operators and makeovers, because now he could spot one that was sitting lower than it should be. Almost as if a device had been secretly planted inside it, likely via teleportation.

“Lady Glory!” he shouted to the air, trusting in her super hearing. “She’s playing a sick joke on you! You need to take down the balloon with your likeness! It has a powerful psychic jammer in it!”

And it had to be very powerful, given how strong Grey Matter’s own renewed abilities were. A comet shot from the sky and tore through the balloon several times in quick succession, tearing at electronics and sundering the device within. Instantly, Grey Matter settled.

‘I’m back on! Co-ordinating now and helping calm elements of the crowd to prevent any trampling! No one injured so far, but many pregnant!’

‘Many’ was an understatement. An entire float of celebrating intergenerational motherhood now looked like it was dedicated to pregnant supermodels all around the same age: the ninety seven year old Nancy Egvard was now biologically twenty years old and carrying twins, her body back in the prime of youth. She, along with some of the other golden oldies, were among the only ones not too upset about the scenario. The Fathers For Moms float, on the other hand, was in a state of panic as the beam swept over them. Men tried to jump ‘overboard’ and run away, but each was swiftly converted. Madam Maternity laughed on the big screens all around the halted parade.

“Fathers for moms? Why not Father to moms? Now you get to experience the real sympathetic pregnancy, boys! And just for fun, I’ll pack you with multiples!”

It was a lie, one that Peter was able to sense immediately thanks to his Adapt power. She was a much, much better liar than most, but it was only those carrying supergene, or paragene as it was sometimes called, that were given the weightiest pregnancies. It didn’t help the silver-haired television presenter who was part of the float. Now he would be a female anchor, once she finished her maternity leave taking care of the triplets in her belly. If she ever did: they could well develop their powers from birth. Some did.

But as terrible as the chaos was, with hundreds already having to waddle away rather than run, and some unlucky individuals being hit twice, impregnating them yet further, the tide was turning. Hellaport managed to get half a group of pregnant moms-to-be away from the rotating beam just in time, and Paper Mache caught nearly the other half. Only five women were therefore hit, leaving them even more exaggeratedly pregnant than before. Grey Matter’s telepathic network was functioning again, and with Adapt honing in on the necessary details, they were able to identify the unprotected shield battery sources hidden in nearby buildings. Lady Glory, Negatron, Monolith, Hyperion, Ajax, Silkweaver and numerous other heroes (and even a few villains who were nearby that Grey Matter convinced to help) all leapt into action, targeting and dismantling the batteries with ruthless efficiency. Aperture’s own scanning added to the gaps in Adapt’s knowledge, and Grey Matter linked the pair to identify the rest through the former’s drone-cams. It was a good thing about shield tech: you couldn’t power a shield from within its shield, so soon the whole thing protecting the beam was down.

“It’s down!” Lady Glory called, her powerful voice dominating despite the chaos all around them. “Destroy the platform, NOW!”

“And be quick about it!” Madam Maternity teased on her screens. “Because I’m being far, far too productive right now. Of course, just about everybody else is being reproductive, my dear!”

The platform erupted into a series of dozens of explosions. Negatrons floating drones broke off massive segments, while Lady Glory tore apart the beam with her powerful punches. Monolith was so angry she was literally biting off sections of the plating, apparently because using her fists and feet to pummel it simply wasn’t enough: she’d used her super strength to jump over three stories up to the beam platform and he wasn’t wasting any time venting her anger on it. Paper Mache used hundreds of paper gliders to sweep up falling debris remnants, and Hypotenuse was nearby, using his miniatiarised technology to vacuum up any smoky debris or dangerously exotic matter. It was a perfect coordination returning to the fore, and the beam stuttered off before it could roar through a large section of the fleeing crowd.

But just as a minor victory was achieved, things took a turn for the worse. Adapt barely noticed in time, his power allowing him to spot that the background behind Madam Maternity’s face on her video feed had changed, as if she were moving and moving fast.

“She’s inside the Mother Maybel balloo-”

But he never got to finish the sentence, because it was untrue half way through saying it. Madam Maternity instantly teleported to a point several stories up, floating over the massed heroes who had fallen upon the beam platform. They were too busy making sure none of its smaller turrets were active that they barely had time to react to the barrage of smaller beams that fired from the floating weaponry all around her: eight miniature guns in total, all functioning like semi-autonomous drones that were slaved to her will. 

‘It’s her!’ Grey Matter communicated, installing her location in their mind. ‘Adapt, QUICK! LEARN WHAT YOU CAN!’

Adapt tried to ignore the events that followed. Madam Maternity fired again at Monolith, taunting the amazonian titan as her belly once more ballooned up with multiple babies. Negatron narrowly avoided a blast, but Paper Mache was hit yet again.

“Goddamn it!” she cried. “Are you f-freaking serious!?”

“I’m never serious, darling!” Madam Maternity said with a cackle, dancing through the air and teleporting rapidly. “After all, I live for the laughter of children, and soon so shall you!”

She fired another barrage. Lady Glory ducked and weaved, distracting her as numerous shots careened in the air. She was clearly summoning her experience fighting this woman numerous times. In fact, she almost got close to punching her lights out, but again Madam Maternity teleported. Adapt could see that the jamming was only having a minimal effect: the specialised Artemis floats were slowing her teleportation rather than outright stopping it, but even that was incremental. Still, every bit of information counted, and so he passed it on to Grey Matter who helped coordinate their own tight beam jamming upon the villainess.

“Ohhhhhh,” Hellaport moaned as he was hit by one of the impregnation beams. “Oh God, I’m g-growing tits! I’m - ahhhh!”

His transformation followed just like so many others, though it seemed the heroes of Artemis were given special treatment by Madam Maternity. Their female forms were unbelievably fertile and beautiful looking. Soon, the formerly lithe and jocular Hellaport was quite literally ‘busting’ out of her costume, a large pair of F-cup breasts ripping open the front, while her hips burst the seams at the sides. She grabbed her stomach, grunting as it filled out more and more and more, rounding out with what could only be twins. She looked mere days away from giving birth, and it made her previous ability to jump to and fro practically incapacitated.

“What’s the problem, ma’am?” an AAT member asked as he ran to her side and offered an arm.

“What the hell does it l-look like? I’m s-so f-fucking pregnant,” she complained. “Now h-help me out of h-here! I’m not ending up like Monolith!”

All of this was within hearing range of Adapt, but the sentiment was communicated as much over the telepathic network. Peter was hooked into it by Grey Matter, and was able to take in just how badly things were going.

‘F-fuck! I’m down. Pregnant. Again. Goddamn it, with twins this time!’

‘She nearly got me! I just missed it. I just managed to - oh shit! Ohhhhhh, ohhhhhh my d-dick! Someone help me before - ahhhh!!!’

‘Um, Madam Maternity set of a miniature version of her birth pulse. I’m - nngh! - affected! So are dozens of c-civilians! I - we - need h-help! Someone get over here before I g-give birth! I’m not meant to have a goddamn v-NGHHH!!!’

And so on. Several had already given birth already, or were in the midst of labor. Adapt was glad that he made sure his own mother wasn’t present, but how many former classmates were here with their own parents and older sisters and cousins? And how many heroes were now heroines? Even Hypotenuse was affected: she was using her technology to the best of her ability, aiding Grey Matter’s planning despite being hit by Madam Maternity several times.

‘I’m in a meditate mindstate!’ she explained over the mental link. ‘I’m not taking in any - ahhh - of this. Soon, I imagine I’ll be quite surprised at my new form. For now it’s - mmhmph - mostly background noise!’

Miss-Appear pressed herself further against Adapt. It didn’t take a genius to realise she was terrified. Hell, so was he. 

“Peter,” she said, whispering his name in his ear. She was holding tight to Dangerbee as well, and it was also obvious that the speedster was itching to help. “We need to do something.”

Adapt focused, pushing the terror and panic out of his mind. His power was close. So damn close to something. Madam Maternity moved so fast that he only got snippets of information, but it was adding up fast. Something she was hiding.

“I’m . . . concentrating. Just t-trust me. I can do this.”

Clementine kissed him on the cheek. “I know you can,” she said.

The revelation came at the exact moment that she took a sideswipe from Monolith and was hit by one of Negatron’s drone beams. Her costume was a little tattered, and her teleportation slightly slowed, but she looked only a little injured.

But injured wasn’t the right word, Adapt now realised.

Damaged would be more accurate.

“She’s not human,” he gasped. “She’s a robot! An extremely advanced one. She reflectively teleports any time one of her vulnerable points is threatened. Quick, Grey Matter, read my mind and transmit all data about those points immediately! We can take her down!”

It was a revelation. It explained everything. Adapt’s power was confused by her Madam Maternity precisely because she was neither an organic being to gain skills from, nor totally a piece of machinery his mind could break down and understand. She was in-between; an actual artificial intelligence that put his power at a strange cross-purpose. But now he’d overcome the dividing line, and could see the points under her ribs where her armour was less capable, and at the base of her spine where a transmitter chip helped regulate her teleportation. On the left underside of her jaw was a point where repairs were intended to be made, and this too was a weak point that was immediately exploited by Lady Glory while Negatron focused on her spine. The latter was already quite pregnant but itching for a fight, though perhaps she regretted it when Madam Maternity twirled on the spot and impregnated her yet again with another baby.

“NNghh! Screw you, r-robot! I didn’t w-want another kid!”

“Ah, but I hear you’ve taken so well to the one you already have!” the Madam returned, just managing to dodge an attack from Lady Glory, who proceeded to demolish two of her eight floating drone guns. “Why not make you a happy mother of more!?”

Lady Glory called across the battle arena. “You’re not getting away from me this time!”

“Ah, Lady Glory! Why so angry after all the gifts I gave you? Especially those ‘gifts’ on your chest. How do you stay upright? Mind you, perhaps its time for those wonderful milkers to produce some actual milk again!”

“SHUT UP!”

“Hardly a witty retort, my dear.”

 But Lady Glory was going toe to toe with the villainess, and thanks to the constant feed of information Adapt was now able to provide she even had Madam Maternity on the ropes. The artificial lifeform’s teleportations weren’t purely random; he could tell from the chronoton release of energy approximately where she would be when she shifted, and in doing so the other heroes including the main woman herself were increasingly intercepting her. She altered strategy, shifting instead to other vantage points. 

‘She’s getting desperate!’ Adapt communicated. ‘She thinks she might not win the engagement so she’s taking other vantage points to impregnate as many as she can before she goes down!’

Indeed, she was darting back and forth between rooftops on either side of the parade, even as her weak points were increasingly obvious. Sparks flew from her sides, and shiny chrome metal was revealed by the peeled back sections of synthetic skin, showing all that she was a robot. 

‘Nicely done Adapt!’ Miss-Appear said.

‘Very nice, now let’s get the fuck moving!’ Dangerbee said, who’d been itching to do something - anything. With Madam Maternity flickering about it was getting hard for them to see her from every angle, but with Adapt’s instructions the lightning speedster was able to carry them easily from point to point, running up and down buildings and accessing new vantage points. ‘Wooo hooo! Finally, you have no idea how much this gal was itching to run.’

‘Did you just admit you’re a gal?’ Miss-Appear asked.

‘Whatever! Who cares what sex I am, so long as I can go FAST!’

Indeed, Dangerbee was finally in handy, darting them back and forth so that Adapt could keep feeding information and Grey Matter could communicate it. With Miss-Appear keeping them invisible they were able to get daringly closer to the scenes of the battles. Ulysses had arrived on his flying motorcycle, his magically-empowered biker flail colliding into the side of Madam Maternity’s head and ripping free some of the electronics on her left scalp. She shuddered, teleporting again, but her beams were becoming less effective: Ulysses was unfortunately hit, but at least he would have time to get used to being a pregnant woman, because the minor chronoton release ensured he was barely halfway into his first trimester. He still ended up a busty biker babe type, though, which left him cursing like a sailor on the high seas.

‘We’re doing it,’ Grey Matter said telepathically. ‘Over half our heroes have been hit. It’s still a pretty big disaster. Monolith has eight babies - again. Poor Negatron is pregnant again too. But we’re doing it! No wonder I couldn’t read her mind before; she’s a robot. Well done, Adapt.’

Peter felt a surge of pride, particularly as Miss-Appear once more gave him a peck on his left cheek. He truly felt like part of a team, and the four of them were working in perfect synchronicity to stay mobile and help coordinate the plans. Even the AAT - many of whom were laden with pregnancy now - were holding their own. Still, it wasn’t decided yet; Madam Maternity geared up another impregnation pulse. Hellaport, even in her pregnant state, managed to sling the device further away. The moans and groans of nearly a hundred civilians starting the agonising labor process began, and she herself was caught in it, grunting as her waters broke between her thighs. Other heroes and even some villains like Cyclope were also hit by the birthing pulse, and a third of the AAT were hurriedly removing their tactical pants in order to spread their legs.

‘M-managed to s-save most of you! Be f-fucking g-grateful!’ Hellaport communicated on the telepathic network. ‘B-because not only am I a f-frickin’ pregnant woman, but I’m out of c-commission birthing these f-freaking b-babies now! NGHHH! Oh God, I have to pu-’

Grey Matter cut her and several others out of the telepathic network. The main focus was on taking down Madam Maternity, no matter what.

“I can’t wait to see that bitch go down,” Dangerbee said, grinning as she sped them to a new location.

But unfortunately, she’d set it out loud, and with their closer proximity to Madam Maternity, Adapt immediately realised what had gone wrong. The robot, injured as it was, twisted its head in their direction. Its eyes shifted through several focal lenses until it settled on one that could see them. Actually see them.

“Well, here’s some busy bees!” she announced. “I see two mothers begging for more babies, and another pair who absolutely need the joys of motherhood!”

“Shit!” Adapt said out loud. “She can see us now! Dangerbee, get us out of here!”

“ON IT!”

Madam Maternity fired a pregnancy beam right at them, and it was only thanks to Dangerbee’s brilliant speed that it was evaded. The villain had cottoned on to the necessity of their group, because she flew after them, teleporting to keep to the sides and ahead, even as she took damage from the other heroes. Another birthing pulse drew some of them away to tend to civilians; the anchorwoman had been hit multiple times and was pushing out the second of five babies. The Fathers for Moms were likewise hit, and would soon be moms themselves. Many were clutching the float and squatting, paramedics (including some pregnant ones) helping them out, though some of them were also going into labor and needing help from their peers.

“You can’t escape motherhood! The clock is ticking, dears! The biological clock, that is!”

“Doesn’t she ever shut up?” Dangerbee whined.

“Evidently not,” Grey Matter replied. “Who programmed her this way? Miss-Appear, can you shift our invisibility on the visual spectrum?”

The invisible heroine grunted as Dangerbee carried her and the others across the streets and away from the parade. The fight was going mobile, but unfortunately it meant new targets for the Madam.

“I’m t-trying! I’m cycling through them, but it can’t hold her off for-DANGERBEE, LOOK OUT!”

Madam Maternity was suddenly in front of them down the alley he’d taken them down. She grinned, her four remaining impregnation guns firing in their direction. Each of them, Adapt including, clenched their eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable.

But it never came, at least for most of them. There was a sudden woosh as Lady Glory surged down from the sky and battered herself against the unsuspecting Madam Maternity, rending part of her shoulder and causing chrome metal flakes to go sparking. The consequences were immediate for the greatest of the heroes; she had knowingly made the sacrifice of teleporting straight into the villain’s beams, and already her body was changing.

“Lady Glory, no!” Miss-Appear cried, as her personal hero’s form began to bulge outwards. 

“J-just g-go!” Lady Glory grunted, punching Madam Maternity across into another building. Her gloriously beautiful form with all its voluptuous curves were suddenly looking a lot more curvaceous. Her impressive bust swelled, straining her white and gold top, while her hips broadened a little further, supporting the belly that bulged outwards. Adapt could immediately sense that the poor woman was now pregnant with triplets, though the damage to Madam Maternity’s chronoton releaser meant she was at least only in the mid-second trimester. Still, she looked absurdly pregnant, clutching her stomach and sweating down her forehead.

“I’m s-sorry,” she managed. “Didn’t expect to g-get pregnant again. Really thought I h-had her. I’ll d-do what I can! But go! Circle back! We’ve almost g-got her!”

She cringed as multiple babies kicked and shifted inside her now-overstuffed womb. Dangerbee needed no more permission.

“Thank you,” she said, for once totally sincere. Then she sped off.

“Poor Lady Glory,” Miss-Appear mused. “I hope she’s-”

“NGHH!!”

It was only then that Adapt saw what Grey Matter was going through. Bunched up awkwardly in Dangerbee’s hands, even if her strength could hold them easily while speeding, he recognised that things would soon be out of control.

“Dangerbee, stop again!”

“Are you serious?”

“A stray beam hit Grey Matter!”

“What!?”

‘It’s t-true. I’m - ahhh - going through it again! I’m s-sorry!’

Dangerbee halted, putting his friend and adoptive brother down gently. Grey Matter groaned, her belly expanding slowly but surely. She unzipped her outfit, allowing it to grow. Her sizeable double-D or E-cup breast also grew yet further, and it was a little awkward for the other three to see them swell with what could only be more fatty tissue and milk.

“Nnghh,” Grey Matter groaned. “D-damn it. F-fuck this. Twins were enough.”

“Shit, is she having more?” Miss-Appear asked.

Adapt used his power. “No, just one this time at least.”

“C-can only sense one. Still, not comfortable! I’m a mother to th-three now. I’ll d-deal. You all go on without me, before she gets here.”

But Miss-Appear gasped, looking up. “Too late!”

The villainess was advancing towards them, her flight now disabled, her motors sparking, her features damaged and requiring repair. Her voice was slightly electronic as she spoke.

“One d-d-d-d-down, three to g-g-g-go!”

She fired, and Dangerbee shifted them all. Her second shot her square in the chest, causing her belly to expand.

“F-fuck! I’m joining you b-bro! Ohhhhhh, sis, I guess! Adapt, d-do something!”

Dangerbee couldn’t act to save them, as all the pregnancy beams were focused on her. It was hard enough to dart around while in the second trimester, but she had no intention of getting even more pregnant. Bad enough that her boobs were pressing uncomfortably as they swelled, and her abs disappearing.

Adapt looked at Madam Maternity as she advanced, one final beam gun in her hand while the drones kept Dangerbee busy. The speedster couldn’t help right now, particularly since one drone was kept aside to target nearby civilians, forcing Marcus to run to their aid instead. Andrew - Grey Matter couldn’t help, except to call heroes in, and they were still twenty seconds or more away.

“Oh crap,” Clementine said. “I really don’t want to become a mother.”

“Nghh - neither do we!” shouted Grey Matter and Dangerbee from the side. The former was rubbing her stomach, trying to calm the kicking baby within.

Time seemed to slow from Peter’s perspective as Madam Maternity advanced. She was quick even with the damage done to her, but as her threat level to him personally increased, so did his power stretch out almost infinitely. Revelations about her internal circuitry, her design, her origins, her purpose and weak points flowed through him. He couldn’t take it all in - no one could in such a split-second moment - but he narrowed his mental fortitude, focusing it entirely upon what she would do next, and how to disable her.

His power worked.

“Clem, when I say, jump to the left.”

“What?”

He kissed her quickly on the lips. It was a major milestone in their relationship, but given the stakes, it seemed the most obvious and easy thing to do in the world. She blushed, clearly surprised, but he continued. “Just trust me! Jump now!”

Madam Maternity shot forth a beam that just missed Clementine, while Peter ran forth, ducking another blast. His power fed him the likely direction of the next, and he managed to best it as well, closing the distance between him and Madam Maternity. Even the robot looked surprised.

“Looks like someone wants to be a supermom!” she declared, adjusting a setting on her beam. He instantly recognised that this made it a short-range widebeam, like an impregnating shotgun blast that would be almost impossible to dodge, and would leave him not only female, but pregnant as all hell. As in, double the octomom situation of Monolith at least kind of pregnant. 

But like his power had determined, it was almost impossible to dodge. Almost. Peter retrieved his standard issue Artemis baton from his belt and slid at the last second like a base baller making a desperate gamble for a home run. The widebeam barely missed him, the hum of the chronotons making his hair stand up on end. The vulnerable spot under her exposed rib-wires was in full view. He jammed the baton in, driving it in deep and causing a catastrophic malfunction.

“You d-d-d-d-dare!?” the robot shrieked, but it was too late. Energy was being released in waves. She tried to use the gun but her arm was paralysed. It shattered into atoms instead in an early self-destruct sequence. Still Peter clung to her, refusing to let go. Heroes were appearing on the horizon, he just needed to hold on for a few seconds more. 

“Just need to k-keep Clem s-safe,” he stammered, the energy coursing over his body, though thankfully not the impregnating kind. 

That was when his power activated again, and he realised what was about to happen. 

“Oh shit!” he shouted, turning his head back to see Clem. She was sprawled on the ground, amazed and dazed but fine, and already moving to try and help him. But it was too late, the energy that was being released was part of one final emergency teleportation sequence from Madam Maternity. The presence of chronotons in the air just meant it was a new kind of teleportation.

The kind that would send her through space and time.

Peter could have let go. He could have allowed her to escape. But he had made his decision. He was going to be a hero, even if it would take some explaining to his mom, if he ever saw her again. And heroes made sacrifices to save those they loved.

“I’m sorry, Clem!” he shouted.

“Peter, no! Peter, I lov-”

And then the teleportation activated, and he and Madam Maternity were catapulted elsewhere, to another time.

***

Desert. Desert and rocks, and a strange sky that looks totally anomalous to Peter’s eyes. He didn’t feel like Adapt at that moment, even after he’d committed an act of ultimate heroism. He felt like him, the real him. The one who’d changed so much since this strange adventure had just gotten started. Unfortunately, he didn’t know when it would end. He was flat on his back staring at a cataclysmic environment that barely resembled Earth at all. Floating crystals dotted the sky, and strange shadows prowled on the horizon like mutant animals, or perhaps creatures that were not of this planet at all, if it even was his homeworld. Red and purple lightning flashed in the storm clouds in the far distance, and the sky seemed wrong. It took him a moment to realise why: the moon wasn’t present, and the stars he’d thought he had been looking at were the rocks of a ring circling the planet. 

“But I see Aquarius,” he said to himself, amazed. “And Cancer. And I think that might be the lion Leo, but the ring is in the way a little. That’s an arm of the Milky Way. The same arm I’ve seen whenever I’ve left the city.”

It was Earth’s sky alright, and his power quickly confirmed it, among several other things. There were so many variables, but his Adapt thought-class ability was able to make several determinations:

One, he was several hundred years into the future.

Two, this was Earth, and it was devastated.

Three, the life on the horizon was not entirely of Earth-origin, though some were partly of Earth origin, something that was messing with his mental categorisation.

Four, the planet was regularly hit by seismic activity, hence the craggy landscape and desert-like vegetation. The activity was likely caused by falling shards of the now-shattered Moon. Where was the Protector’s Guild? Artemis? It was as if this future had failed, some terrible nightmare scenario having rendered it borderline uninhabitable. The cold alone was nearly unbearable.

Five, Madam Maternity was repairing herself on a nearby rock, eyeing him curiously as her robotic hands worked to undo the damage to her internal circuitry. She had his baton at her side. She grinned as she saw him, thrusting out her chest proudly.

“Well, well, well, we have a hitchhiker, do we? Perhaps you’d best take on a more homey life?”

Like in a dream, Peter moved closer towards her, his hands up. She moved quickly, raising his weapon and preparing to zap him with her one remaining weapon.

“Willing to submit to motherhood, are we? Or do you think you can try that neat trick again?”

“I’m not hostile,” he declared. “I know who you are. You’re from the future, where we are now. Hundreds of years from my time. You were sent back with a mission, weren’t you?”

Instantly, her demeanour changed. Her grin disappeared, her stance became stiff, and her expression utterly devoid of emotion.

“You have figured out a great deal,” she said in a flat, monotone voice. There was no cadence of humour or boastfulness in it. In fact, it seemed quite robotic, as if her entire Madam Maternity display had been just a charade. With the aid of his power, he was starting to suspect that this was exactly the case. 

“This is the place you came from, isn’t it?” Peter said, slowly lowering his hands. “The where and when you were built. This is what happens to humanity in the future . . . there’s not many of us left, are there?”

The robot that was Madam Maternity shook its head in a simple fashion. “Correct. My records indicate you are Peter Avery. Codename: Adapt. You have the ability to glean information and skills from your surroundings and individuals in your presence. You are deducing this now?”

He nodded, still marvelling at the barren deathscape that was future Earth. God, it was cold. Marcus would be complaining about it. Clem even more so; she would be clinging to him like he was a warm rug. Who wouldn’t want to cling to someone else, in a lonely dying land like this?

“I’m deducing it now, and putting together previous clues. It’s not just my power, either. There’s a lot that’s starting to make sense. Like how your gender change and impregnation beam heightens our powers, and increases the likelihood of superhuman children. You’ve also been targeting populations with a greater propensity for the paragene too. Or supergene. Whatever you want to call it.”

Madam Maternity remained still, not saying a thing. It slowly continued to repair itself, drawing spare parts and circuit from an open tray from its formerly female-looking midriff. It reminded him of Hypotenuse’s technology, though this clearly had interdimensional folds as well, to contain the equipment she was drawing out. It was so very, very weird to be right in front of her but not have any of her personality on display before him. So he continued speaking, to better fill the silence and collect his own thoughts. He drew together more of his conclusions.

“There’s only one conclusion I can draw from all of this,” Peter explained, gesturing to the horrifying reality around him. “You travel back in time to prevent . . . this. That’s it, isn’t it? Whatever nightmare invasion, or catastrophe, or major supervillain or group or whatever that causes this, the heroes in your time couldn’t stop it. There weren’t enough, or the right ones, or their powers weren’t strong enough. Something attacks Earth, and only by altering the past can you help prevent it. Am I right?”

Madam Maternity stood ramrod straight. She folded her arms, and her various compartments closed. She looked mostly repaired, with very few robotic components left showing at all. She looked up at the sky for a moment, and his Adapt power told him that while her showy supervillainess personality was just an act, that she was still a thinking, feeling artificial intelligence as well. 

“You are right,” she confirmed. “Though I cannot say what attacks Earth.”

“Cannot, or won’t?”

“Both. I am programmed to ensure that the timeline is not too radically changed, at least in ways that would see the future further weakened. Suffice to say that something does indeed attack the Earth. Something mighty. In the timeline of my creators, there were only a handful of heroes at the time, comparable to your own population of them. They were not enough. What occurred next was the destruction of the moon and much of the living space of Earth. After fifteen years of tribal warfare for the scant remaining resources in the attack’s wake, only three thousand humans were left alive. Among them were scientists, roboticians, physicists, historians, and sociologists. Working together, they devised a plan-”

“Create an outlandish supervillain who could be inserted into the past, one whose aesthetic would mark her as just another weird antagonist - albeit a really strong one - but whose powers would ensure the birth of many, many more heroes.”

“Precisely. To avoid this future entirely, the ultimate subversive operation was required. My creators live in a bunker deep below this very location, monitoring my progress.”

Peter took a heavy breath. “And so here we are. In your future. Does that mean we failed to prevent it?”

She shook her head. “The operation is not yet complete. I am merely in Phase 2: the infiltration and insemination phase. The next phase will require me to travel further ahead and ensure the growth of more and more heroes into appropriate roles. Still, more heroes are needed. I have not yet met a sufficient quota, though I am close.”

Peter could have cursed. All of it was making sense, but she still needed to impregnate people? Poor Andrew was in the past, giving birth. Marcus would be due in several months from the point Peter left from. He could only be glad that Clementine had been spared, but if Madam Maternity spoke true, then . . .

He shuddered. “So you’re going to impregnate more people?”

“I must,” she answered stoically. “It is not just my programming, it is the necessary thing to do.”

“They are innocents!”

“I am also programmed not to hurt or kill anyone. All of my victims have healthy births and no complications from pregnancy. The scientists that created me ensured that. Additionally, their health issues are cured as a result, and they are brought into the prime of their life.”

“But what about their mental health?”

She didn’t even look at him, simply recited her programming. “That too is taken care of to the best possible extent. Mental alterations over time ensure that over seventy percent of new mothers raise their children, even the ones that were formerly male. Their sexual orientation also alters to become bisexual, allowing previous relationships to exist. Their fertility remains high, allowing for easy further insemination via natural methods, as well as a healthy libido to ensure a greater likelihood of this being the case. While embarrassment and adjustment persist, over time the victim had enough of their sexual identity altered to match their body, preventing depression and issues of dysphoria.”

“It’s still not right.”

She looked at him, adjusted her eyebrows calmly. “You are correct. But it will save the world. It is the only way.”

Peter sagged back, sitting on a rock. She was speaking the truth. His power could tell so. And it wasn’t just a truth she believed but a total reality: one that was all around him.

“So what now?” he asked.

“Now we have a problem. The information you have gleaned is not meant to be available until much later in the future. Phase Three must be well underway.”

“Are you going to keep me here? I don’t think that’s a good idea. I wouldn’t survive.”

“You are once more correct. The bunker housing the remaining population of humanity is tightly controlled. You cannot stay there. Nor can you stay here. You must return to your own timeline. As such, I am forced to ask . . . for your help.”

Peter realised the implication. “You want me to keep your secret, even help you in the future.”

She nodded. “Your power is significant, and would be crucial in helping train future heroes and setting Artemis on the right path to saving the world. You could even take a prominent position in the Protector’s Guild, allowing you to influence events.”

“I won’t manipulate anyone.”

“I would not ask you too. I was created to wear necessary sins to save the future. But you could be the true hero, helping guide to a better, more protected world.”

Peter thought about it. He’d decided to be a hero. He’d made the sacrifice. Now everything was so complicated. But then, was it really? She wasn’t asking him to do anything he didn’t already want to do. He wanted to graduate from Artemis, to become a member of the Protector’s Guild. He’d just have to keep this terrible secret for most of his life, and allow Madam Maternity to go. 

“Even with such a secret, it’s too easy,” he said. “I thought I made a sacrifice, coming here. But that wasn’t it. I can’t be a hero if I can’t take a hit for the team, and do my part to save the day.”

“What do you suggest, then?”

He looked at Madam Maternity, even as a crazy idea stirred in his head. It was foolish, it was wrong, it was life changing. But it was also the right thing to do. He couldn’t ask others to make a sacrifice that he couldn’t, nor could he allow others to succumb to a fate that he knew was necessary, unless he was willing to undergo it himself.

“Is your preggo gun still working?” he asked.

To Be Concluded . . .