Feminine

Maya was not at all shocked when the Sentinels came with that ridiculous platinum get-up of theirs and those goofy looking silver hats. Nor was she surprised when her sycophantic father opened the door for them, stupid wide smile on his face. Her mother, the one good adult in her life had told her they would come, had told her that if she couldn’t even fake interest in a boy they would fake it for her. Mother had taken her leave, unable to see what they would do to her daughter, what they had once done to her. At her fathers shrill command downstairs Maya tightened her cybernetic collar, making sure the slave device was visible and glowing and trudged down the stairwell.

The walls on the stairwell had always made her feel better but even they could not do that today. Memories of a time her family could at least pretend to be happy. Years of Christmases, Halloween, family gatherings, amusement parks, and birthdays, although the last event had left a sour taste in her mouth. Maya looked at the 18th addition to the birthday pictures, one her father had insisted upon despite both Maya and her mother’s disapproval. Maya stared at the blue dress she had worn and the fake smile that graced her face, along with the all too real one her father possessed. Mother had worn a neutral expression, acting as the bridge she had always been, standing between the two of them to prevent Maya’s fire from boiling Fathers water.

She hopped down the last of the steps into a pristine living room and unfriendly prying eyes. Mother had spared no expense in preparing for their arrival for not a speck of dust could be found, a pillow out of place, or a table untidy. Father beckoned her forward to the door and with each step Maya felt like she was walking towards her own hanging. She had no male friends, much less a boyfriend or fuck buddy, which made her a threat. All women were born with powers, powers which these collars they were given restrained. This situation was of course untenable for men who thought themselves divinely ordained to rule everything until they had found a drawback that suited their base instincts. Men had quickly discovered that when a woman gave birth their gifts disappeared, turning them into easily controllable, physically disadvantaged playthings. When a girl turned eighteen, and if she were not already an eager beaver with a boyfriend or kid before that age, she and a male of The States choosing would be forced to mate.

It did not matter if you were lesbian, transgender, asexual, didn’t want kids, or just had the audacity to want command of your body. If you were able to have a child you would. If you refused or were infertile you would disappear, and any idiot knew exactly what that meant. Were it not for her family Maya would tear the sentinels to pieces and tell The State to fuck off.

“ Pretty girl isn’t she? It’s a shame that she has never had much of an interest in boys. I’m sure you can find one worthy of her. Maya come outside.” Father kept calling.

Disgusted Maya obeyed, walking right past the Sentinels at the door and into the front lawn. From the sides of her eyes Maya saw the looks they gave her. Some of them were probably praying that they would get to taste her first, and one on her left looked like he would mount her right now if given a chance. She gave him a crooked smile and he returned it patting his crotch. Men were so pitifully predictable. Her smile turned to a scowl as they began to move with her, herding her towards a white truck that glimmered in the light of the full sun. To think that she would be put in the back of a truck like she was a cow or pig was humiliating. Any man who thinks he will just take me easily is sadly mistaken, I’ll bite his dick off if I have to, Maya thought to herself. If she was going to be violated it was going to be on her own terms.

Maya heard a strange sound and something hit her neck. She placed her fingers where the impact had been and felt no collar restraining her. Quickly the Sentinels formed a perimeter around her, manifesting electro shields and pulling out the shock guns concealed by their cloaks.

“ Rebel attack! Stay in formation! They will not take the girl with them.” The tallest sentinel barked.

The Rebels! Girls who had refused to live collared and pregnant, who fought against the draconian policies of The State. They had come to save her, of all people? How could she stand her and let them risk their lives for her when she could do something? Maya began to shift, even in the midst of her oppressors. Many of the sentinels turned to contain her but found bullets in their temples before they got a chance. White fur grew where tan skin had once flourished. Ivory fangs longer than a man's arm jutted from her mouth. Hands and feet became brutal paws and blades grew from her elbows and knees. Within seconds she was in her favorite non-human form. A bladed saber tooth tiger.

Maya whirled, letting her blades do the dirty work. Arms, legs, heads, faces were torn apart by her bloody dance. Those she did not kill fell to a storm of bullets and flame and lightning. It was over pretty quickly. A small group of sentinels lay dismembered and dead all around her before Maya had even had time to process what she had done. What would happen to her family? What would mother think? She had killed, and did not feel bad about the killing. The State would not tolerate this loss, they would come back over and over again until she too lay dead. Her or her family.

Maya began to hyperventilate, barely able to breathe and only a strange whirring sound snapped her out of it. A purple ship descended, its docking bay opening and several strange women all waving at her. Her hearing and sight were much better in this body, and she heard what the tall lady with short black hair was saying as she waved her gun around in victory.

“ Hey pussycat! We could use someone like you in our ranks, come on up.”

Maya turned to her father who had seen the whole thing. His jaw was slack with shock, but his eyes told her all she needed to know. They were begging her to come back, already coming up with a way to explain this away, planning to give her right back to The State. She would not allow it. Not after what she had just experienced. Maya mouthed the word sorry and shifted again, taking the form of a raven and made a beeline for the ship, not daring to look back again. When she landed Maya returned to her human form and found herself surrounded by the strangest group of women she had ever seen. The tall lady with the black hair, the one who had called her pussycat, walked up to Maya and gently patted her shoulder.

“ Welcome to Fem!”