The New SheZap?
Episode 16, Part 1
By Neoraichu
All Characters are the property of Frederator Studios, and I hope that the Manstache is something I dreamed up myself.
...
"So let me see if I got this right," said Kelly, "SheZap is happy being a woman? You don't mind that she looks like Kelsey's double now?"
"I suppose," said SheZow, "and that wasn't exactly planned."
"It's not like she can impersonate the Manstache," added the Manstache, "and after I go back to Smalltownsville, it seems unlikely I'll ever see her again."
"Aw," moaned Maz, "I never got to try my special button."
"Don't worry," replied Marilyn, "That was a temporary measure. I'm sure I can replace it with something even better."
"You're like so awesome future Kelly dudette," he answered eagerly.
"I aim to please," she replied with a soft smile.
The group walked along for a fair while where no one said anything.
"Do you think SheZap has changed in more ways than her body?" asked Kelly.
"Since this is all new history," replied Marilyn, "I guess we can only see how things turn out."
They all nodded.
"Now that Dark Snide-R has reared his head, I suppose it's time we start preparations for stopping his future plans. While SheZow and the Manstache are part of history again, I'm sure that he will develop new plans to rule the world in spite of that."
"That sounds pretty normal to me," commented SheZow.
"Dark Snide-R is not like your typical rogue's gallery," said Marilyn, "His plans are much more complex and dangerous. He's willing to wait decades for his schemes to bear fruit."
"Right now," said the Manstache, "I think we should get our lives switched back. We can go back to our normal homes now, though I might just miss having a big sister like Kelly."
"I might just miss having a big brother like Gerald," added SheZow.
"And perhaps you know a little more what it's like to be a woman instead of just dressing like one, little brother," commented Kelly, "and I'm talking physically instead of just some of the mental aspects that are... forced upon you by the powers of SheZow."
"Forced?" asked Gerald.
"Yes, SheZow has some powers like shelatability that kind of force a more feminine outlook on the one bearing the ring. It wasn't so strange to all the other SheZows who were born and raised as girls."
"Well, I do have some macho moments because of the Manstache Ring," admitted Kelsey.
"Macho moments?"
"Yes, when I think about things I never thought about before I put the ring on. You know, dude thoughts. About violent solutions. About the way women walk or hold themselves when they believe that a man is... appreciating them with their eyes."
"That doesn't change our plan to sell that house and move back to Smalltownsville," announced Gerald.
"It seems like we just got to know each other," said SheZow wistfully.
"Well Smalltownsville needs their Manstache back."
"Well, I suppose this place could use me just as much," replied the Manstache.
"Our family needs us too."
"Yeah, but I'm a big girl now and I could use a little space of my own. Someday, I'll leave the nest and fly free, you know."
"But that will take a few more years," said Gerald evenly.
"Let's slip into this alley so you can change back," whispered Kelly, "I don't think anyone is looking at us right now."
They slipped into an alley between buildings where SheZow changed back into Guy, the Manstache changed back to Kelsey, and Maz just folded up his Quick Change costume and stuffed it into a gym bag.
"Now we just look like a bunch of teenagers wandering around looking for something to do," mused Kelsey as she looked at the others.
"I suppose we do," observed Guy, "and I would rather go to the arcade and do some of those teenager things."
"Me too," agreed Maz.
"Well I have a house to clean up and fix so it can sell at a reasonable market price," said Gerald, "Even though I'll most likely being doing it alone."
"I'm sure she'll get around to it," snapped Kelly, "but she does need some time to relate to others her own age, and not as the Manstache."
"Well she has responsibilities to her family."
"And she has responsibilities to herself."
"There's more to life than slacking, skating and having a good time."
"But everyone's allowed to have a little enjoyment now and then, or what's the point of it all?" She glanced at Guy when she said the last part. "Sometimes I have forgotten that when dealing with my little brother."
"Please," said Kelsey, "It's all right, Kelly. I should go back home and help. Maybe I can see the rest of you tomorrow."
So Gerald took Kelsey's hand and started walking away with her.
"You could at least thank her," said Kelly.
"She's family," replied Gerald without looking, "I shouldn't have to."
"But that's the reason why you should," said Kelly quietly as she watched them leave.
"I'm sure they'll come to an agreement," said Marilyn.
"I hope so."
And from the bushes, a second Kelsey with a few green highlights in her hair watched them leave as well...
(Interlude between the first part of the episode and the second! She-yeah!)
The Fallout
Episode 15, Part 2
By Neoraichu
Kelsey and Gerald returned home to renew their efforts to put the house into selling shape. He was stripping the old and worn out carpet out of the living room while he expected her to repaint the kitchen area. Looking at the dark green walls, dark blue cabinets, and black stone counter tops, she wondered just what sort of mood their relative was in when the decorated the house. The weak lighting in the room only made it feel darker and deeper.
The general mood of the whole house was set by the heavy curtains keeping the light out, and the weak houselights that always made the house look darker than it really was. The overall look of the house was set by its dark colors on all of the walls, floors and ceilings. It took a lot of effort on her part just to brighten up her own room with plushies, curtains, and other little details.
But then she saw what Guy had done to her room in the relatively short time she was gone, and she felt as if she had walked into a boy's room crossed with a gym. Her stuffed animals had been stuffed into the closet. Weights and dirty clothes were scattered across the floor, almost turning it into a hazard. Her video game system was still hooked up to the TV set, the TV was running, and all of her games were littering the floor all around it. And she couldn't fix it until she was done for the day.
Since they were doing separate jobs, the two of them had not seen each other for at least an hour. Perhaps longer. Since Gerald tended to be quiet and focused when he worked, she could only tell where he was by the sounds he made ripping up the carpet. Kelsey herself had spent a lot of time preparing the kitchen walls to be covered over with a pearlesque white paint that looked so much better than the dark color that was there before.
But then their was a crashing sound. She could hear her brother curse suddenly. As she stepped to the doorway, she almost ran into Gerald coming her way. He was almost covered with white paint. It looked like the same color she was supposed to paint the kitchen with.
"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, SISTER?!" he all but screamed in her face.
"I don't know what you're..."
"YOU DUMP PAINT ON ME, HIT ME WITH THE CAN, CALL ME A 'WORTHLESS DORK', AND THEN HAVE THE NERVE TO ACT LIKE YOU'VE DONE NOTHING?!"
"I've been in the kitchen since..."
"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU, SLACKER! YOU'VE BEEN BITCHING ABOUT FIXING UP THIS HOUSE EVER SINCE WE MOVED IN HERE!"
"That's not fair..."
"AND NOW YOU ATTACK ME?! JUST GET OUT!"
"Gerald, calm down. We'll..."
"JUST GET OUT BEFORE I DO SOMETHING I'LL REGRET!"
Kelsey burst into bawling tears as she fled the kitchen, and then the house. She was all but blinded by her tears as she ran out to the road. Her brother's screaming accusations rang in her ears. The car horn blowing was the only sign she was about to run out into the traffic in front of the house. She stopped and stepped back as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
'How could he think that of me?' she thought as she wept, 'What will I do?'
There was only one place she could think of where she could go. Only one place where she might be accepted in her circumstances: The Hamdon household. She wiped her eyes again and started walking in that direction.
…
There was a knock at the door, and Kelly answered it as she was closest at the time.
"I wonder who could be calling so late?" she half asked aloud as she went to the door. They knocked again before she got there.
"I'm coming," she grumbled as she unlocked the door and opened it.
She opened the door to face Kelsey, who had apparently been crying for quite some time.
"Kelsey?!" she managed to ask before the distraught girl burst into full blown weeping again and hugged Kelly tightly. She awkwardly hugged her back, not quite sure what could have made her so upset or why she was at their door.
"What's all the fuss?" asked Droosha as she looked over Kelly's shoulder. She could hear Boxter and Guy just behind her mother as well.
"I don't know," said Kelly, "She just started wailing and hugged me."
"I think Gerald has something to do with this," said Marilyn from behind all of them.
"Gerald?" asked Guy.
"Woman's intuition."
"Well bring her into the house," said Droosha, "I'm sure she'll tell us what happened when she calms down a bit."
So Kelly brought her inside before closing the door.
…
Kelsey sat in the living room before a pile of wet tissue on the table.
"So Gerald accused you of attacking him with a loaded paint can and threw you out of the house?" asked Droosha.
She nodded.
"But you didn't do it?" asked Boxter.
She nodded again.
"What a jerk," snarled Guy.
"He doesn't sound like a very supportive brother at all," added Kelly.
"What is the level of lighting in the house where he was working?" asked Marilyn.
"What does that..." began Guy.
"It's pretty dark all over the house," said Kelsey, "All of the lights are low wattage."
"I don't see where..." said Kelly.
"Because we know of someone who know looks a lot like Kelsey and is known for causing trouble," she replied.
"Who would that be?" asked Boxter.
"Oh, just a little trouble maker we ran into while Guy and Kelley were showing us around town," she replied, "She seemed like the kind of person who would do something so petty."
"Well she can't go back home now," said Droosha, "It's way too late. Would you mind her sharing your room for tonight?" The last part was asked as she looked at Kelly.
"Sure Mom," she replied, "That's no problem."
"Why don't we go to your room and talk about it?" asked Guy.
"Guy?" asked Droosha, "You want to talk about feelings?"
"Sure," he replied, "I want to think of Kelley as being as much a friend as Maz, so I want to know what made her so upset better."
"I think our little boy is growing up," said Boxter as he smiled at his wife.
"You're right," she replied, and then looking towards the three of them, "So go to Kelly's room and talk about it. I hope the three of you can work something out with Gerald."
"I hope so too," said Kelly as she helped Kelsey stand and walk towards her room. She could see Mariyln wink at her as she left. The older version of herself was well aware of what they were going to talk about already, even if it wasn't history set in stone any more.
Once they were out of hearing range of the living room, Kelley whispered, "Do you think it was SheZap causing some trouble?"
"SheZap?" asked Kelsey quietly.
"With the low lights, she could have easily passed herself off as Kelsey," replied Guy, "and he seems hot headed enough about his sister to believe she would just attack him like that."
"And she's sneaky," said Kelly, "With her ability to move in shadow, she could have easily grabbed a can of paint from a dark corner and used it to attack your brother."
"But that's not fair," sniffed Kelsey.
"I know. We can take you back home in the morning and hope he's willing to listen to reason by then. Hopefully, he'll have cooled off and thought about what he accused you of by then, and how ridiculous it all sounds."
"I hope so too."
"Well, you can wear my spare pajamas later," she mused, "It should fit you well enough."
"I think you need some video games to take your mind off your brother for a while," offered Guy, "You can borrow my portable system." He pulled it out of his pocket and offered it to her along with a handful of game cartridges.
"Thank you," replied Kelsey quietly as she took it.
"Well first you need a nice relaxing bath," replied Kelly, "and have you had any dinner yet?"
Kelsey shook her head 'no'.
"Well I can scrounge together something from leftovers and heat it in the microwave," offered Guy.
She nodded 'yes'.
"Thanks little brother," agreed Kelly as she led Kelsey into her room, "Just tell Mom and Dad we'll need the bath for a while when you see them."
"Sure," he replied as he turned and walked away, "Do you want me to wait with the food until you're done in the bath?"
"No, I'm sure I can get her to eat first. We aren't going to the public pool or anything."
"Then this should only take a few minutes," he replied as he turned the corner.
"For a little brother," said Kelly, "He can be kinda super at times."