Blood Sisters

Allison Ashton smiled sadly at her naked baby girl as she fumbled with her father’s boot. It was hard to tell which was brighter: the yellow of her husband’s old fashion fold-over footwear, or the sparkling golden radiance that surrounded her daughter, Jenny, like a second womb. This translucent energy felt solid to the touch, like thick rubber, and emitted a slight hum whenever the little girl moved. The phenomena was not uncommon among the population of Earth's New Humans, and was usually referred to as a force-field. It was this force-field that was causing Jenny’s difficulty with Daddy’s boot. Her little hands pushed against the protective radiance trying to grasp the yellow treasure, but it prevented her from getting a good grip, so the boot kept slipping away.

Jenny seemed anything but vexed by this, her playful giggle floating over the faint hum of the field with each failed attempt. Jenny looked over at her mother with her big blue eyes, shifted slightly green through the candlelight wall. With a wide-mouthed coo she smiled at Mommy, which filled Allison’s heart to bursting and she smiled back with a ducky wave prompting more little giggles from the girl. Jenny’s attention turned back to the boot, her brow crumpling in focus. Lightly stroking her fingers over Jenny's bubble, Allison’s thoughts wandered back to her daughter’s birth; nearly a year ago.

Allison possessed great strength, the upper limits of which had never been tested by the meta-physicians that both studied and provided medical treatment to the New Humans. The meta-doc's that had studied Allison estimated that she could lift the equivalent mass of a small mountain. She had recently moved a supertanker in the Aleutians after it had run aground in a storm, ruining the shorelines and fishing grounds of some Unangan Islanders. Regardless, It had still been full of oil and was pretty heavy. She wasn't too sure about the whole “can lift a mountain” idea after that.

It was Allison’s incredible strength which was likely the cause of little Jenny's force-field. The steel crushing muscle of Allison’s uterus would have doomed any fetus that could not protect itself somehow, and nature had provided. However, it provided too well. The dilemma facing Allison now was how to help her daughter turn the force-field off.

Allison had never been able to touch her baby girl, who had been wrapped in the golden cocoon since before she was born. The meta-doc's told her that Jenny’s metabolism was sustained by the same energy that powered her force-field. They called it bio-mutant energy and many of them believed it was this energy that fueled the extrodinary abilities of all New Humans.

The force-field kept Jenny quite safe. She had never gotten sick, she did not need to eat, so she never needed to be changed, and she hardly ever cried. Despite this, her daughter's condition was painful to Allison, who rarely felt pain at all since her body was tougher then a tank.

Despite all of her New Human abilities, Ally reacted to the birth of her child like any other woman. Allison would trade all her might to just be able to touch her little girl. Her longing to cradle Jenny in her arms was ocean deep and her breasts ached for want of suckling. Sadly, all of this was denied to her just as daddy’s boot was denied to Jenny.

Brushing away a tear Allison bitter-smiled as she considered what her husband, Marty Goldstar, had to say about it: “Look at it this way, you can’t feed her, but I won’t have to change her diapers! Personally, I think we made out on the deal.” Marty had a force-field similar to Jenny's, though he could turn his off. He seemed to like that his little girl had a power like her old man, and with his customary optimism just assumed she would figure out how to control it eventually. Allison prayed that he was right.

Allison Ashton was known to the world as the country music star, Ally Ashton, fondly called the Lady from Texas, she certainly lived up to the name. Towering two inches over six feet with a thick athletic frame, Allison had full blond hair to her wide shoulders and piercing sky-blue eyes. Allison had also been openly known as the American New Human hero Miss Liberty since she started making use of her great strength and invulnerable body to try and make the world a better and safer place. Now, as a mother, she felt the need to do so even more deeply.

Allison's efforts had made a significant impact since she donned the mantle of Miss Liberty. In addition to her physical poweress, she could use her immense reserves of bio-mutant energy to rocket herself through the air up to supersonic speeds. She could also project this same energy from her body in destructive flares when needed. As a result of these remarkable gifts, Allison, and those with abilities of similar magnitude, were among the first New Humans that had been designated as omega class New Human. A more powerful generation of New-Hums that had began appearing across the world since the 1970's.

Allison was suddenly brought out of her musing by a popping sound and a bright flash that filled the room. Her hand, which had been resting on Jenny's force-field now held empy air. Looking over at Jenny, who was cooing with glee, she saw that her husband's yellow boot was now inside Jenny’s golden force-field with her. Jenny took the top of the floppy boot in her bare hands and stuck her head in the top, as if exploring a small leather cave.

“Jenny!” Ally gasped with delight “How did you get that in there?!” In reply Jenny just cooed into the boot. Allison kelt down next to her glimmering child on the floor, running a hand over the resilient barrier that divided them once again. “Huh,” she exclaimed, finding that the force-field was as intact as ever.

Jenny’s head popped out of the boot and she smiled at Mommy, holding her daddy's boot towards her as if to share it. Mommy melted and said “Oh... thank you Jenny, you hold on to that for now.” Allison’s hand pressed against the field, more then she had ever dared before, until she felt it spark slightly below her hand. Everything on the other side remained out of reach. Six inches of solid steel would be no barrier for that hand, but this bright radiance held her at bay. Ally feared it would harm Jenny if she forced her way inside of it. Jenny held the boot out for a few more moments, then with a shrug went back to exploring it, perhaps the first thing other then her own body that she had ever touched.

“Well Jenny,” Allison said softly. “If you can manage to get the other boot in there too, just hold onto them, I’d rather your father got better looking boots anyway. Those have been out of fashion so long cavemen had more style” she smirked and shook her head in resignation. She loved her husband, Goldie, as she called him privately, very much. However, Goldie thought the height of human culture was reached with Saturday Night Fever and he therefore saw no reason to leave the 70’s behind. He was a disco dinosaur in a hip-hop world.

Ally sighed, looking up at her trophy wall where several framed gold records hung on either side of an enlarged photograph of herself. In the picture she was dressed in her specially made cowboy boots (a gift from the state of Texas), M-Tech gold bracers, blue jeans with a big-buckle belt and the patriotic top of Miss Liberty shaking hands with the last President. Allison had a few different beta-cloth uniforms for Ms. Liberty, but this simple one was her favorite.

On the other wall was Goldie’s vinyl collection and a large photo of Allison and Marty. He was a handsome man with tanned surfer good looks, dressed as the hero Goldstar: a white and yellow outfit that could have come from the Krofft Supershow. In the photo he had his arm around Miss Liberty and the two made quite a pair; Allison was 4” taller then Marty, including the heels on his boots. They both had blond hair and blue eyes. The picture was from shortly after they met and Allison gazed at it fondly for a long moment before returning her attention back to Jenny.

“Hopefully your father’s good looks and force-field are all you inherit from him, Jenny. Otherwise I can’t be held responsible for what may happen,” she smiled and hugged Jenny, getting an armful of humming golden orb, then left her to play with the boot.

Miss Liberty, Allison Ashton, country music star and one of the world's first known omega class New Humans. Goldstar, Marty James Goldstar, her husband, also an omega class New-Hum. They were two of the hundred or so omega class New Humans identified so far. Jenny Goldstar, their daughter, was the first known child of two omega class New Humans.

'What a family I have here' Allison mused, glancing back at the joyful star at her feet. The strongest person on Earth wondered if she would be strong enough to get through the days to come. That is until she looked at her daughter's beautiful face, then she knew she would have to be. What other choice was there?