Follow the Silent Stranger

Sometimes being Flicker Luna was easy.

Fighting Hellbeasts was straightforward, honest work. Dash in, punch, teleport around, punch some more, draining away bits of energy at a time until she could release an explosion that would end the flight. A lot of the larger monsters even ignored her, like the one today, unable to see their impending doom until it was too late. Fighting was what she was made for, and she was good at it.

Everything else was hard.

Ogen’s gift and curse, “The Twin Truths,” prevented Flicker Luna from speaking truthfully, muddling everything she said into a lie, or twisting her intentions until even she didn’t know whether or not what she said was what she meant. After the first few times, she found it easier to just stay quiet, and let her actions speak for themselves. And then being Flicker Luna was easier, again.

But you can’t be a superhero all the time.

When the time for fighting monsters was over, Flicker Luna’s costume and superpowers faded away, leaving behind Jen. The Twin Truths, unfortunately, followed Jen for a short while, mixing up her words and causing the normally outgoing young woman to become more shy and reserved. More like her other self, her first self. Chris.

Chris was a college student who mostly kept to himself. He’d always known that he was genderfluid, of course, but found it more difficult to express a female identity when everyone else simply saw a male body. Ogen changed that, though. While the demon’s most dramatic powers were reserved only for Flicker Luna, the ability to change forms was not. Chris could be Jen, and Jen could be Chris, and they could flow into each other as the dominant mood required, and they were the same person and also a different person and everything finally made sense.

Except for that short period, when The Twin Truths were muddying the water and Jen couldn’t be Chris and couldn’t be Flicker Luna, and everything was backwards and confusing again.

Teleporting back into their off-campus apartment, Flicker Luna let go of the power, and became Jen.

“You know,” Ogen whispered, “Hiding out all day after making a public appearance isn’t helping you mask your identity.”

Jen gave the demon an irritated huff, approaching her desk and opening up a textbook. She was a student, or rather, Chris was (the male persona was the one with a student ID, after all). Explaining away missing time with made-up assignments was part of the job description. One of the many small deceptions that made the world turn. Besides, nobody had yet been able to piece together that studious, quiet Chris and adventurous, social Jen were the same person. If people couldn’t manage that, they certainly wouldn’t be able to nail down Flicker Luna as part of the puzzle.

Glancing at the clock, Jen guessed that she wouldn’t be able to tell the truth or transform freely for at least two more hours. Sighing, she turned the page and got back to work.