Note to Unnamed: The timing of what happened between Lucie and Tabitha is going to move back into the afternoon, as you had Tabby calling Frances at the end... Now the prep time for the Anderson family and the Skulk's induction ceremony is going to be in the early evening hours (5-7PM), well after a private clinic, like Frances' would close for the night.
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Frances' afternoon had gone quietly with largely no problems. She had had her session with Tad and his mother, which had went well and she had learned plenty. She privately figured that Tad was doing fine with his father's death and that he wouldn't need to come to future sessions if he didn't want to, though there seemed to be plenty that Jen Decker needed to really help her fully get over her husband's murder. The loss of a loved one was never easy, and often created a fair number of issues with loving couples. The oddness of the murder certainly weighed on Jen's heart, and she wanted justice for her husband, which made sense, even if it meant that Jen might not fully get over it until after the killer was caught, tried, and punished. There might be some other issues, but they would have to wait for a later session.
"Still," Frances mused to herself as she looked over her notes, "We made good progress for a first session... letting her get all of that out..."
Her musing was cut short around two thirty in the afternoon when she heard her phone beep and the intercom function turn on. Rudy's voice soon followed.
"Doctor Twist, you have a call on line one," came Rudy's voice.
"Who is it?" Frances asked.
"I don't recognize the voice, but the number belongs to Luc Damocles according to our files," Rudy answered.
"I'll take it, Rudy, thank you," Frances answered and picked up her phone and pressed the button to answer on line one.
Luc Damocles was a Moon Lake normal and former patient. He born to a family who had moved to Moon Lake with an sixteen year old son who became the family were, and then Luc was born to the couple later. He grew up normal and had the same acceptance of Moon Lake's weres as any other Moon Lake normal would and from what Frances had learned had made good friends to perhaps even romantic friends with another Moon Lake normal, Tabitha Halberd. But after a drunken incident in which Tabitha became a werecat, Luc had had a mental/nervous breakdown and sank into depression. Tabitha tried hard to get Luc help and make hims smile, including setting up appointments for him with the clinic, where Frances met and talked with Luc.
Frances had found him to be nice enough, and actually in love with Tabitha, but seemed to be depressed that he couldn't be the same were as Tabitha. In the course of their interactions, eventually Luc came to see himself as female as though that would make him acceptable to Tabitha. Some of that had been a bit odd and Luc couldn't or didn't fully explain where this feeling of being transgender came from, as most transgendered people tended to see themselves as the opposite gender all their lives, not suddenly seeing it in their 20s or 30s. However, since Luc didn't say when these feelings started, Frances couldn't give any judgement on that end, however, she did warn him that while a sex change operation could help him transition into being female that even with the interjection of hormones, he wouldn't be physically woman enough to survive any transformation into an all female were-species.
"Maybe he found out he was like Rick Plunkett now Rikki Tucker," Frances thought to herself, "Being XXY... and after the mess caused by one accident and a nutty geneticist, he went from a male cryptozoologist to a fully functional female werecheetah. The local news did cover that a bit more than the Tucker family preferred and created a major stir at the hospital, but as far as I know, the the police haven't published the formula and the hospital hasn't made any statement on replicating it."
Frances, however, couldn't fully know without answering and talking with whoever was on the line. She assumed that Luc had had a sex change operation to be what he saw himself as, and that was why he had stopped coming to his appointments. She hoped that things were fine.
"Hello, Luc?" Frances spoke into the phone as she answered, unsure of what word to use.
"Actually it's Tabby, Luc's friend... err... lover... er... friend," came a female voice that Frances didn't fully recognize, but she did remember the name Tabby.
"Is something wrong?" Frances asked, wondering why Tabby had called on Luc's phone.
"I'm not sure... something might be," Tabby answered over the phone.
Frances detected a great deal of fear and nervousness on the issue. She then listened as Tabby began to explain She started with saying how she had loved Luc dearly and honestly hoped that after she became a werecat that he would join one of the other were-species and they could be together. Frances thought that was understandable, but then she got into Luc apparently studying some old books and using them to create a potion that would enable him to become fully female and thus a werecat.
"You didn't..." Frances spoke.
"He begged me... and I... I couldn't say no," Tabby answered, and Frances actually heard her crying on the other end of the line, "I loved him too much..."
Frances then felt the bigger surprise come when whatever this potion was actually worked. Luc had become Lucie and was a fully functional werecat complete with all the appropriate lady parts, though for some odd reason, Lucie was only an A cup. It was a surprise, and if Frances wasn't already sitting down, she would have fallen down. She had always been more a believer in science than sorcery. She understood that there were plenty of legends, but that didn't mean she believed them. She wondered if maybe Luc was like Rick Plunkett, now Rikki Tucker and had XXY Chromosomes, but then the only think that had worked in that instance was that a rogue normal geneticist Henry Wendz had issued specialized retrovirus into Rikki's system while she was still transforming, allowing her to complete the transformation. With Wendz presently in jail and awaiting trail for various crimes, including misleading and manipulating three weregorillas to his own morally weak ends, Frances doubted that Luc would have been able to somehow gotten another dose of that retrovirus.
That only made Frances wonder more on how some of those theories worked. The theories that weres were "magical" creatures did float around some rumors, but it was never something serious. Most those that believed it were generally more spiritual weres while most weres in various medical professions didn't believe in it, as their studies into were genetics demonstrated good scientific explanations. Most of the rest had only made mention of "magic" as more of a joke. The Moon Lake Public Library had no old mystical tomes to Frances' knowledge, and if the Founders had believed in it, those records would have been kept in a vault at City Hall along with other laws for the city. Samantha had never told her about that. Maybe some things related to "magic" was real and that many aspects of the were condition were both or were magical in creation but scientific in how the "magic" worked. Regardless though, she was certain that as soon as Luc's transformation into Lucie came about, the whole Moon Lake community would be abuzz. Probably even more so than when Rick became Rikki and had nosy reporters blab it and show her in her hospital room.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Tabby," Frances spoke, "from a legal standpoint, you could potentially face trouble. No one's going to believe in magic as a legitimate defense for exposing a normal male to a strain of the were-virus that has been documented to kill normal males if exposed to it. For all you knew that potion could have just been food coloring. The fact that it worked isn't going to change that... Now, given some of the things Luc said to me in therapy before he stopped coming, I doubt he/she will press charges, but with regard to Statute 1A, the CITY will have the ultimate decision on prosecuting that case."
"I..." Tabby said weakly, "I understand."
"Where are you now?" Frances asked.
"I'm at Luc's... Lucie's," Tabby answered.
"I'm going to get my wife and we are coming over," Frances instructed, "Don't leave and don't let "Lucie" leave, either."
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About fifteen minutes later, Frances and Samantha got out of their car to look to stand before Luc Damocles' rather modest home. Frances had given her wife the best explanation that she could based on what Tabby had told her over the phone on the issue. After Samantha calmed down, they did agree to meet. It created an unwelcome surprise and that neither had gotten Ben's message, or would get it when it was delivered. They rushed to Luc's home, Samantha in her role as Town Chancellor and Frances because Luc was a former patient.
"You okay," Frances asked her wife.
"I'd be better if we weren't dealing with a potential 1A violation," Samantha answered, "If not a a Statute 1 violation."
"Tabby did say that Luc did survive," Frances reminded her.
"Which assumes one believes in magic," Samantha sighed back.
"It is possible, considering old legends and what you said about the library," Frances warned.
"I said they had old journals that date back to when the town was founded," Samantha argued as she rang the doorbell, "I did not say they had magical texts that could allow for the successful transformation of a normal human male into a complete human female."
"So... Henry Wendz somehow made a second vial of his retrovirus and Luc was just another normal with Klinefelter Syndrome?" Frances asked. "Or Luc somehow duplicated Wendz's retrovirus and somehow made it into a medicinal beverage? Sam... last checked, Luc WASN'T a genetics expert. If Dr. Wendz didn't have a spare dose of that serum that we didn't confiscate when he was arrested... Luc wasn't smart enough to duplicated a retrovirus on his own as is."
"Okay... suppose magic is real," Samantha answered, "How is a guy who isn't a genetics expert a practiced sorcerer? Many of those fantasy novels and legends don't necessarily say magic is easy."
"Maybe one of the journals contained specific instructions," Frances answered, "or maybe Luc... Lucie was just talented. We don't know much right now."
"You do realize that no one's going to believe this, even the weres," Samantha warned, "and that Tabby was seriously gambling by having sex with him."
"I know," Frances nodded, "it's happened, and Tabby seemed upset on the phone. The last thing we want to do is rush in arrest her or have her turn herself on Statute 1A and make her feel worse... especially when if Luc/Lucie is a healthy female now, she won't press charges and will demand we back off."
Samantha sighed heavily and nodded. She was about to ring the doorbell again when the door opened to reveal Tabby standing at the door. She looked to both Samantha and Frances and sighed.
"Lucie is still in the bedroom," Tabby said with a weak sigh, "come with me."
Frances and Samantha slowly followed. Samantha kept a firm face, and tried to reserve judgement. There was still a lot that Tabby would have to answer for, as even if Lucie was not only alive but happy and healthy as a female, there was still the fact that Luc/Lucie didn't go through the protocols that the town had passed in the wake of the Rick/Rikki situation that demanded every person wanting to become a werecat ("male" or female) or a werecheetah have their DNA tested to check to make sure their chromosomes were healthy enough to survive the transformation. There was no exception that could be made for that. She did note that Tabby looked down and depressed about something.
"You don't believe that Lucie became a werecat," Tabby said slowly.
"I don't know what to believe right now," Samantha answered.
"She did change, she said she had an odd vision," Tabby spoke, "Like the oracles of Ancient Greece..."
"Or more likely hallucinated under the strain of the transformation, even if she somehow survived," Samantha countered, "and even if true... the warning is irrelevant."
"That someone could try to kill the girl that the rogue clawed?" Tabby asked, "Wouldn't that something to be afraid of?"
"It would be," Samantha answered, "BUT we are aware of the Harper family's issues and the background of Dieter Wilhelm. Steps have already been taken to make sure the area is not only secure but there will be no rogue normals with guns attacking the church."
Samantha was sure of that, as she had talked with the police chief to review some of the plans on their end earlier in the day. Their uniformed officers would be on patrol with extra shifts on hand and would be patrolling every street. Anyone remotely suspicious would be detained to make sure they weren't causing trouble. If they were not a threat, they'd be let go immediately, and any sign of weapons would mean immediate arrest. The police chief was confident that nothing would get by them, and even if something managed to allude the police, the Skulk would likely have their own security services committed given the importance of "apologizing" to Jennifer Harper for Yvette Smith's actions had taken. It wouldn't matter if what Lucie saw was real, imagined, or only one possible future. Moon Lake would be ready.
Tabby didn't answer and lead them on. They eventually came to the bedroom, and Tabby opened the door and let Samantha and Frances in. There seated on the bed was a naked Lucie Damocles. Her black hair in its pixie cut, somehow, or maybe she'd had it done that way before her transformation. She was practically flat chested, but both Samantha and Frances could see the soft pink folds of Lucie's vagina. It was clear as the nose on Lucie's face and obviously not something that would be the result of surgery. On top of this, Frances could see that her scent was different. Frances remembered Luc's normal scent. This scent was not only female, but a werecat's scent.
"Hello, Doctor Twist," Lucie said politely, "I did it..."
"Luc...?" Frances said slowly.
"I'm Lucie now," Lucie corrected.
"Is this...?" Samantha asked to Frances, as she had never met Luc before, so she didn't remember his normal scent.
"Aside from the obvious scent of werecat and femininity... yes," Frances said slowly, "her scent is practically identical to what Luc's was."
"Impossible," Samantha spoke.
"It isn't," Lucie answered, "I've always been rather spiritual... and while it isn't super common or easy... it is real, and it was the only option so that I could be with Tabby."
"You could have become some other were," Samantha pointed out, "a "male" werecat... like a lynx, a bobcat, a wildcat..."
"Didn't want to risk being a gay man," Lucie answered, "Especially when the male werecats aren't true werecats. I'm okay with being a lesbian woman."
"You could have become a were that has both genders, werefoxes, werewolves, werelions, weretigers, werecougars, wereleopards/panthers, or weredogs," Samantha pointed out.
"But then I wouldn't be the same as Tabby," Lucie answered, "I've loved her so much..."
"How did you know this thing would work?" Frances spoke.
"It took a little effort but I did figure it out," Lucie answered, "though I had to have the right ingredients for the potions and according to the old journal in the library from a werecat that moved her shortly after the town was founded and was something of a gypsy, I had to mix them on specific days and specific times of the day in order to align with various cosmic and natural magical forces."
"But how could you be sure that it wasn't just herbal stomach ulcer cure?" Samantha asked, "Do you realize that Tabby could have killed you if you'd been wrong?"
"I tested it, first," Lucie pointed over to a small wire cage that sat on a long dresser along the wall.
Samantha and Frances both walked over to it. It was a wire cage with it split down the middle and with the scent of wood-chips rising from the bottom. There were two water bottles hanging from the sides and there were two dishes of food in a corner of each half of the cage. In each half was a pet rat, all typical of pet rats. There was male, with its obvious testes sitting on one half with a pink bow and was a hooded pet rat with its fur gray and white. A sign on that side read "Lola" on that side. On the other side was a female rat with no bow and was a capped pet rat with brown and white fur. A sign hung on that side that read "Ezekiel." Tabby came over as well.
"You tested this on Zeke and Lola?!" Tabby gasped, remembering when Lucie as Luc had bought those pet rats two years ago.
"She could have easily flipped them into different sides," Samantha pointed out.
"She could have, but didn't," Tabby answered, "I was there when she bought them."
"I gave each the potion that I used to change my gender to become a werecat," Lucie explained, "They mated and changed. I then gave them the other potion and they didn't change back. Just as journals promised. It allowed me to become Lucie and be with Tabby."
"At some point I'll need to see the journals," Samantha said slowly with some of her puzzlement at how this happened becoming greater. Mostly as she began to wonder on whether or not magic was really fake, but there was still plenty that she could question, but in terms of the consequences of this stunt, at least the pair were together. She turned to Tabby. The other werecat looked down and away for a moment.
"I know I screwed up, ma'am," Tabby said weakly, "but... I have loved Luc as Luc and I wanted him to be happy. And the past two years were lonely without him. I'd hoped he would become another were and come to me... the other members of my pride are great and I've had plenty of fun with them... but Luc... Lucie has always had a special place in my heart. I wish she could have stayed male and stayed Luc, but I wanted him to be happy and couldn't see him sad... and... maybe I just hoped the the potions would work..."
"Well it did," Samantha said slowly, "or at least appears so, so unless Lucie decides to press charges, it's not likely that you'll face Statute 1 or 1A charges. However, you do realize that Moon Lake has recently upgraded its polices for the turning of normals to any mono-gendered were-species. And in the course of all this, I take it you didn't make sure that Lucie was tested genetically before her transformation and induction into were society was carried out."
"Yes," Tabby looked down.
"I will have to report this to the police," Samantha said slowly, "I want you and Lucie to come with me to the police department tomorrow morning. We'll go through the paperwork for the violation, Lucie can give an official statement that the mating was consensual absolving you of a Statute 1A violation, I will let them know that the town won't press charges in this case, and the two of you will have to pay a fine for not following the regulations for genetic testing prior to transforming a normal into a werecat."
"Okay," Tabby said slowly.
"In the meantime," Frances spoke up, "if Lucie could get dressed... it'd be best to take her to the hospital, make sure she's a healthy werecat and make sure that there is anything missed."
"Which could be a question," Samantha thought, as while Lucie's pert nipples did look nice, she was practically flat chested, despite carrying a werecat's scent, which was odd as every female were was at least a D cup, if only to attract the attention of their mates or to be able to produce enough milk for their children, who would have high metabolisms even while they were infants and hadn't had their first transformations yet. Maybe a consequence of the potion that was used to enable the transformation, the potion allowed for the main part of the gender change but somehow prevented Lucie's full breast development.
"But wouldn't...?" Tabby began.
"You're not going to be able to hide it at all," Samantha pointed out, "eventually someone's going learn that Luc isn't male or a normal anymore. Frances and I will go along to assure the hospital that things are under-control and being handled. And they won't reveal anything that goes beyond patient/doctor confidentiality."