The First Lady

Jack Mansfield had called in his closest advisors. There was his chief of staff Chandra Gupta, Steve O'Reily from the DoD, and Patrick Mangione representing the joint chiefs. The group was small, yes, but they represented the movers and shakers of the Mansfield administration.

At just forty-seven President Mansfield had largely won his office due to his youthful energy and charisma, and less because of any specific policy. He was tall, had a square jaw and thick black hair, and a voice with an undefinable accent that seemed vaguely southern (even if he had been the governor of Utah). The truth was he just wasn't really a policy guy.

He had never wanted to be a politician who argues the minutiae of tax codes, or trade agreements. Every since Jack Mansfield was a little boy, he wanted to be the kind of president who ripped off his shirt and took out the seventeen terrorists that would inevitably invade the Whitehouse at some dinner honoring some sort of Eastern-European diplomat, trying to restart the cold war. Just like in his favorite movie State of Danger.

So far the moment hadn't come, and it was mostly just dumb boring shit like visiting steel miners, or taking pictures with teachers in the oval office. It was a crap job. His wife had far more fun with this than he did. Like any good southern woman she loved to entertain and show off. She had charmed the public as much as he had.

Everyone wanted to make him out to be this perfect American man, with his gorgeous wife Virginia Mansfield (née Pottsfield), and their three children. A perfect family. But he and his wife barely talked anymore. She was a stuck-up prissy rich girl whose rich daddy Moses Pottsfield had bought him his first election, and that woman had held it over him this whole time.

Jack knew he was destined for more.

But when his phone rang and he heard the smartest person in the world needed _his _help, Jack Mansfield knew this is what he had been waiting for. Whether it was a giant asteroid hurtling to earth, or a lab that had finally invented some kind of zombie virus, President Mansfield was going to fucking shoot the tits off of whatever son-of-a-bitch was trying to mess with his country.

Maybe they'd even make a movie about it.

"They're going to catch us and have us arrested!" Julia hissed as quietly as she could as she and her roommate were escorted by marines down the corridors of the West Wing.

"Why should they? We have not committed any crimes." 'Amanda' said.

"You lied to them." Julia said.

"I did not. Every word I said was true, and without any deception. I merely have yet to reveal the scope of my plan. I promise this is the most effective and fastest way to solve all of those problems you and Amanda were always complaining about. Besides if you relax you may even enjoy yourself." 'Amanda' said.

"Did I detect sarcasm?"

"I may be the most intelligent human being to ever live, but I am not a robot. I can be fun. Humor is a very effective means of easing tension, and you seem tense."

Julia wanted to scream.

"Hey you, soldier guy. Do you remember my name?" Julia said one of the marines escorting her.

"You are Julia Summers, ma'am." He said.

Julia didn't like the ma'am bit, but wasn't deterred.

"What's her name?" She said pointing to her roommate.

"That's the smartest human in the world, ma'am." He said.

"Yeah, but what is her name? Did you catch it? Shouldn't you know her name before she sees the actual president."

"I... Well... That's above my clearance ma'am."

"Aren't you supsicious?!" Julia practically shouted.

"Fucking hippies you sure the president wants to listen to them?" A woman marine said interrupting Julia's freak out.

"She's the smartest human in the world. It's not our job to tell the president he can't talk to her."

The two marines just laughed, as if they had made some sort of funny joke.

"See? It appears you are the only person bothered by my lack of a name." 'Amanda' said, and Julia detected a glimmer of smugness.

At least this new identity showed some signs of the old Amanda.

Julia was feeling less confident as she felt enveloped by the plush couch at the center of the Oval Office. She had often talked a big game about what an idiot she thought Jack Mansfield was, but she couldn't deny the power of the room, and the smallness she felt sitting across from four of the most powerful people on the planet.

'Amanda,' however, seemed as unphased by this as she had been about declaring her plan for global domination.

It was both comforting and profoundly terrifying.

"Okay ladies," Jack Mansfield said, congratulating himself on not referring to the girls as girls, his communications chief with her pretty little ass would be so proud. "Tell me, what kind of emergency are we dealing with? Why did the smartest woman alive, and her waitress roommate come barging into the White House and make me cancel my 3:00 pm appointment."

"The smartest human _person _alive. Or ever, for that matter. Mr. President, we all know your appointment was to play golf with the CFO of Savannah enterprises to talk about rewriting energy regulation rules for their new gargantuan Montana server farm." 'Amanda' said without breaking a sweat. "As for Julia here. She is a top advisor to myself and an integral part in the radical solution I am offering you."

"Yeah yeah, global warming. You science types can never agree on that shit though. Either we're gonna kill all the pigeons and the whole ecosystem collapses next week, or you're saying that in fifty years New York will get three inches less snow every year. I've heard it all before." Mansfield said, ready to remind these little girls who thought they were so important who they were talking to.

"I assure you it is far more than just the danger of climate change. Mr. President, by my calculations if the leadership of this country doesn't act soon, we risk a 71.982% chance of experiencing a dissolution of the current American union, with a 91.6% chance of any state secession resulting in catastrophic war, and a 52.01% chance that in ten years there will no longer be any remnant of the American government as any American autonomy crumbles under both internal and external pressures." 'Amanda' said.

Jack Mansfield frowned. Julia knew her friend was still talking in an overly complex way, and realized part of her job was to translate.

"Basically you're all going to either be out of jobs or have your hides mounted on pikes if you shitbirds don't listen to what my colleague here has to say." Julia said. Then she realize she just called the president and his top staff shitbirds. She was mortified, and proud of herself all at once.

"Okay ladies. That's a good elevator pitch. I'd see that movie. But what kind of 'pressures' are you talking about specifically, and what do you want me to do about it?" Mansfield said.

"I expect you, or rather this version of you, to do absolutely nothing. That's why I brought these." Amanda said pulling a stack of stickers out from her purse. "Are you ready Julia?"

Julia froze. She was sure Mansfield was going to have them shot. She looked into Amanda's eyes, and saw this brilliant new being staring back from behind their familiar look. That's what Amanda was asking her to do now. She didn't even know how she would change. Not that it mattered. They were about to be arrested for treason.

Then she looked around.

Jack Mansfield, Chandra Gupta, Steve O'Reily, and Patrick Mangione, weren't moving. They weren't dead. Time hadn't frozen. Their gazes were merely transfixed on the stickers 'Amanda' was holding. Their faces showed only idle curiosity, but their entire focus was on the stickers.

"They won't interrupt us as long as these are out. There is some sort of glamour that I believe fascinates the uninitiated, allowing for easier transmission of the stickers. So if you have any second doubts, I am listening." 'Amanda' said, this time with a kindness and understanding that Julia recognized so well. Her friend was still in there. Somewhere. It wasn't the end of Amanda, and it wouldn't be the end of her. She'd just be... a bit different. Maybe.

"Do it!" Julia said, blurting the words out before she had time to second guess herself.

The smartest human on the planet reached out her hand the finger sticking lightly to it, as she quickly moved to place it on her friend's blazer.

Just before it touched the wool of her jacket Julia made out the words 'Hello My Name is First Lady Julia Summers-Mansfield.' written on it. Her mind reeled as it struggled to comprehend the implications of those words. But before she could even begin to process this new information, 'Amanda' pressed the sticker against her chest.

Everything changed.

"Ms. Gupta, can you tell me the name of the person sitting next to me in the pencil-skirt dress." The old Amanda said, knowing how important this next part was to the identity reintegration magic that fueled the sticker.

"That's the new First Lady, Julia Summers-Mansfield. President Mansfield's wife of course." She said.

"How old would you she say she is Mr. O'Reily?" 'Amanda' said.

"Probably twenty-five." he said.

"And she is the mother of his three children? All of whom are white despite Julia's obvious African heritage." 'Amanda' said, pressing the question.

"Of course she is, damnit. Julia, why did you bring this crazy lady in to see us?" President Mansfield said, getting defensive of his wife.

"Oh my!" Julia said, her eyes fluttering back into focus. She looked over at Jack. It was so odd. A moment ago she had still been the old Julia Summers. A self-entitled young woman who had hated Jack Mansfield and what the toxic masculinity that thrived in his voter base. Now though, she was his wife. She couldn't help but love him.

And she was the First Lady, no less! But of course she was.

"Jack dear, this woman is my closest friend. I can honestly say she made me everything I am today, and we would not be together if it weren't for her. She's got lots of wonderful ideas she has to share with you. I think you should find a place for her in your cabinet." Julia said.

"Babe, I can't show favoratism it's-" Jack started.

Julia huffed. Now that she was his wife, she was filled such knowledge. The magic that had made her his wife, and bent reality and her own mind so she could fill the role as perfectly as possible. The old entitled Julia who had never had a taste of real power had been so reductive of this man. Now she knew him better than anyone on the planet. Julia knew when he was getting ready to bullshit her, and she would have none of it. If she had to love this big dopey idiot she wasn't going to let him bulldoze her for the rest of their lives.

Her heart fluttered at the thought. But regained her composure. There was work to do.

"Jack, you know that's a load of hooey." She said, no longer finding herself able to cuss the way she once could. "You know she's capable. And she's right. We're all in trouble. When she told me she could help, I had to bring her to you. You're my hero, babe. Don't you want to be the hero to save the world?"

President Mansfield didn't like when his wife called him Jack in front of his colleagues, but her words were starting to take hold, still part of him was suspicious. He was about to counter his wife's argument, when several Secret Service agents burst through the doors.

"Mr. President, a strange woman has been sighted in the residential wing. She says her name is Virginia Potsfield. She isn't armed, but is claiming she doesn't know how she got here. We have no idea how she breached the perimeter, but we need you to sit tight while we sort this out."

Julia smiled. That must have been the woman who had been married to Jack before 'Amanda' gave her this new identity. She had never liked her. Virginia Mansfield had always been so phony. Julia was going to do a far better job helping to lead this country, helping to sculpt this gorgeous man, than Virginia ever could have. So as she heard about the raving woman being led to an interrogation chamber she couldn't help but lift her chin a bit higher.

"Okay, what is going on here egghead?" The president said looking to the smartest woman in the world for some answers.