Cassie's Discoveries

Cassie laid back in the tub relishing the moment of privacy and relaxation. The phone had started ringing about 6 a.m. The first calls had been polite inquires about whether she would like to give an interview, explain what happened. Apparently word had leaked out about her new "appearance" and every reporter in town wanted the scoop. After the 12th call Cassie had pulled the plug on the phone. She hadn't wanted to. She was still hoping that Tony would call. But finally she had to realize that if hadn't called by 8 a.m., he wasn't going to.

She had been angry at first. After Moira had left she had tried to go to sleep, but found she couldn't. She wandered around the house for another two hours alternating between cursing Tony for walking out on her when she most needed him and praying that he would come back. Around 3 a.m. she fell asleep in the middle of a re-run of John Wayne's "Rooster Cogburn."

When the phone woke her up at 6 a.m. she instinctively thought it was Tony. Her hopes were dashed as a representative for Nightline explained that they were looking for an interview. She politely declined saying it was too early to talk about it. Hanging up, Cassie had realized that for the first time in her life, she had slept alone in a house. No parents, no siblings, no uncle, no Tony - just her.

"Well, me and you Lobo," Cassie said, giving the dog and affectionate pat. Rummaging around the kitchen, Cassie found some Captain Crunch and milk and sat down for a quiet breakfast. It was the last peaceful moment she would have for the day.

First there was Uncle Alex, who came running over immediately when Cassie explained that Tony had left and that she had "changed." He had been startled, certainly, but he did his best to hide his surprise, coughing several times, pretending to have a frog in his throat, but Cassie suspected that he was really choking on his greeting of "What happened?"

Actually, the conversation with Uncle Alex had gone quite well considering, Cassie thought, sinking deeper into the bubble bath. He hadn't interrupted her when she explained everything, only uttered sympathetic "I sees" and "You poor dear." He had tactfully said very little about Tony leaving, but that didn't stop Cassie from sensing that he was very disappointed. All Alex did say about Tony was the cryptic advice that perhaps this Cassie should take this time to consider her life and what choices she wanted to make with it. Then Alex busied himself with cooking a "dinner" for her return. Michael was a little more vocal.

"Seriously Cassie, a few snips and the Bronco won't be drivable without a major engine overhaul," he suggested. "I can pack up all of Tony's clothes and leave them on the doorstep. We'll change the locks in an hour and he'll be out of your life by the end of the day."

"No, Michael," Cassie said, giggling slightly at the thought of the slight man taking revenge on her hulking husband by sabotaging his pride and joy - the car. "I'm not getting rid of him just yet."

"Well, the offer is always there," Michael harumped, obviously disappointed. "But on a more serious note, Cassie. You've got to start making decisions for yourself," he advised. "You've always followed along blithely where your life and your upbringing led you. Alex would never tell you this, because he worries about saying anything that might hurt his favorite niece's feelings. But I know you don't break easily. Hell, look at all you've survived in just a week. Anyway, like I was saying. You always try to please everyone around you and make the perfect little happy home. Well it's time you forget that and ask yourself what you want and what you're going to do to get it."

Choices, choices, choices. That's what everyone was telling her she had to make. That's all she'd been thinking about today, Cassie thought morosely, splashing through the bubble bath. She had finally admitted to herself that something was definitely wrong between her and Tony. Something that apologies alone were not going to take care of. We've never really faced the problems that my superheroing has brought, Cassie reluctantly admitted to herself. We've been like a circus clown's fire truck. Putting out one emergency after another with very little thought as to what the future holds or if were even enjoying this new life.

Tony's feeling neglected and probably a little shocked that I don't need him as much anymore, Cassie thought wryly. It's true. I've got to admit that to myself first and foremost. I don't need Tony holding my hand every time I make a big decision. And you know, I like that. I like being able to help people and make a difference. I used to always talk to Tony about my problems and tribulations. But since I acquired these powers and all the dangers and wonders that go with them, I've had to make more of my own decisions without consulting him. He's not used to having a wife whose growing independent on him. I think he's a little hurt that I don't rely on him all the time.

At the same time, I've been blocking him out of a lot of my activities needlessly. In some ways, he's been regulated to the status of "Odyssey's husband" not Tony Salvatore and that's not fair either. I know I never really liked being called the boss's wife when I stopped by Tony's construction sites. I think he's starting to experience what that feels like and I bet you he hates it.

Things have changed around here and were going to have to sit down and face it or this marriage won't survive, Cassie finally decides.

Cassie slides down in the tub, ducking her head under the sudsy water to prepare for washing her hair. That's queer, she thinks. I can taste soap.

Suddenly Cassie shoots up out of the water. A choking gasp breaks forth from her lips. The perfume taste of soap is in her mouths and lungs. Stumbling out of the tub she grabs a towel, still dry heaving, trying to expel the taste from her mouth.

"How?!" she gasps, looking at herself in the mirror.

On either side of her neck, Cassie notices tiny slits in the skin. As she struggles to catch her breath, the skin near those slits expands slightly and the collapses, falling flat and sealing it self. Looking close, you'd never guess that they had been there at all.

"I've got gills," Cassie says, somewhat dumbfounded. Unbidden the memory of last night's plunge in the Bay comes back. "I had been underwater. Underwater. I was breathing underwater." Tenderly she touches the spot where the gills had been.

"Cassie, are you OK," Alex calls from the other side of the bathroom door.

"I'm fine, Uncle," she says, laughter creeping into her voice.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she says, breaking into a full-throated giggle. "I'm feeling just fishy," she says.

Alex just shakes his head.

Two hours later, Cassie was sitting in the living room watching MSNBC's correspondents theorize about exactly how she now "looked." Someone on the Web had already come up with a game that let you change Odyssey's hair color, eye color, hairstyle and features to create this new appearance.

"Cassie there's someone at the door," Michael said, poking his head into the living room. "She says she's a friend of yours."

Puzzled Cassie gets up. She'd been expecting a call from Moira or Selena and had plugged the phone back in, but had given up when all that happened was a steady stream of media calls. Maybe Selena had come by in person, Cassie thought as she head toward the door. Glancing through the peephole, she saw Antoinette on the doorstep.

"It's Toni!" she exclaimed, opening the door but keeping herself concealed behind it.

Michael looked surprised at the announcement.

Toni stepped quickly through the door as flash bulbs went off behind her. "Do you know the entire state of Vermont is camped out on you door - " Antoinette broke off when she saw Cassie's face. "Oh my! You know Cassie, when I suggested you dye your hair, I meant only a white streak. Not the whole thing."

"Well, I thought I'd go for the big change," Cassie joked in reply. "I never was gifted with subtly. Oh, but I'm being rude. Antoinette this is Michael, my Uncle's Alex's boyfriend."

"Ah, Antoinette or do you prefer Toni?" Michael realizes, kissing her hand.

"Toni is great," she says. "It's nice to meet you."

"Well, I'll just go get you two something to drink. I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on. And I'll tell Alex to set another place for dinner."

"All the good ones...." Antoinette sighs as Michael walks off. "So what happened to you?"

"Didn't you hear? I thought everyone had by now," Cassie says, leading Antoinette into the living room. Then she launches into an explanation of what happened. But she keeps it an abbreviated version, unsure of how much to say. She doesn't mention Moira or the Wild Geese.

"Wow! You can breathe under water?! What other new powers do you have?" a rather stunned Toni asks.

"Well, it's more what I've determined I don't have any more," Cassie says, settling back into the couch. "I've figured out that I can't teleport. At least when I stood here in the living room and tried to teleport over to the museum to pick up some paperwork for taking a few vacation days, my new powers failed to transport me there. Nothing, not even a funny popping sound."

"But I can swim really fast," Cassie adds. "I'm not sure about the healing powers though. And I don't want to practice on someone who is really injured in case they don't worked. It's kind of hard to test these things carefully."

"Well, let's be reasonable about these things," Antoinette says, putting her soda down on the coffee table. Uncle Alex surreptitiously puts a coaster under the glass. "You say your amulet was worn by priestesses of a goddess who symbolized water. Now you've got white hair, blue skin and slightly, um, webbed hands and feet. Wouldn't it stand to reason that you've somehow got powers related to water?"

"That's a reasonable assumption, but how do you go about testing that?" Cassie asks, a perplexed look crossing her features.

"Stop by a swimming pool," Michael volunteers.

"Maybe concentrate really hard in the shower," Toni suggests.

"Water the lawn," Alex throws in.

"OK, OK. I get the idea," Cassie laughs. "I've got to practice."

"Don't make it sound all that bad, Cassie," Toni says, picking up a copy of Vogue magazine that had been lying on the table. "Just think of what you can wear as a costume now. Bright blues, pinks and green. You know the Japanese are going to love you. You're like a character from one of their cartoons. Like the Sailor Moon series."

"Great, I'll be able to have my own cartoon series. But instead of Josie and the Pussy Cats. It'll be Odyssey and the Guardians." Cassie puckers up her face in feigned distaste.

"Ahem," Alex clears his throat. "On a more serious note. Have you ever thought, Cassie, that your experiences might be a metaphor for something larger."

"Meaning?"

"Well, not to point out the obvious, but you chose the hero name of Odyssey," Alex reminds her. "And if I remember my Greek tales correctly, was it not Odysseus who wandered for 20 years on the seas, encountering one adventure after another. Specifically, one adventure involved the sorceress Circe who could change the outward appearance of humans, making them what they were not. Odysseus underwent several tests and in the end he returned home to his loving spouse who had remained faithful and his dog who recognized him when no one else did."

Lobo punctuates Alex's statement with a bark.

"Oh so you agree," Cassie says, petting the dog who tries to climb into her lap. "No Lobo. Not on the couch. I see what you're saying, Uncle, but I don't like where it's going. Twenty years is an awful long time to be wandering around before Tony and I work things out."

"It's metaphor, my dear," Alex chidingly adds. "Maybe for you it'll be 20 days or 20 hours. The point is that Odysseus and his spouse saved their relationship despite all his travails. Well, I'd better go check on the food."

After Alex leaves, Michael whispers, "Well I don't know how forgiving Penelope would have been had she known that while she was remaining chaste and loyal, Odysseus was sleeping his way across the Mediterranean, including with that sorceress Circe." Then he gets up and leaves.

"Come on, Cassie, let's leave the metaphors alone for now and go try out these new powers of yours." Toni hauls Cassie up of the sofa and marches her upstairs to the master bathroom.

A half an hour later the two women stand drenched to the bone in Cassie's bathroom. They are mopping up three-inch deep water that covers every surface. A bar of Ivory soap floats by.

"So what have we learned from this experience?" Cassie mutters in her best curator with authority voice.

"We've learned not to try this in a small room ever again," Toni says, ringing out the bottom part of her shirt. "How did you do that, by the way? There was water everywhere. I thought I was going to drown, in the bathroom of all places! The water just seemed to grab me."

"Hey you were the one who turned on the faucet and said, 'Do something!' I just reacted," Cassie says, pushing a new towel around the sink. "It was like I wanted water and it was here and then I could feel it, sort of control it. It's all very - different."

"I'll say," Toni says, wringing out a towel in the shower. "Well, it looks like we sort of got this place cleaned up. One thing I can say, you'd be great to have around when I need to wash the car."

"Cassie," Michael says, sticking his head in the bathroom. "Are you um doing something...." His voice trails off as he sees the wreckage in the bathroom.

"What is it, Michael?"

"Oh nothing really," he says, regaining his composure. "Dinner is ready."

"Hmmm and it smells great from here," Toni says, taking off down the stairs. Cassie follows, leaving Michael to shake his head one more time at the disarray of the bathroom before he too returns downstairs.

After dinner Uncle Alex and Michael say their good-byes leaving Toni and Cassie to do the dishes.

"Go ahead, try it," Toni urges. "It'll save us a lot of time."

"Why are you standing over there?" Cassie asks as she concentrates on the dishes in the sink, trying to bring the water out to clean them.

"Oh no reason, just want to be out of your way when you work your magic," Toni says, a hint of laughter creeping into her voice.

Cassie snorts at the statement. "You're worried it won't work. Well prepared to be amazed as I finish this dishes in no time flat. A good drenching should do the trick." Cassie concentrates and tries to visualize water over the sink. A few seconds later, a stream of water explodes out of the faucet, shooting all over the sink.

Cassie immediately drops her concentration, but the water continues to spray out of the obviously damaged sink faucet. "Great," Cassie yells as she and Toni battle back the spray to try and turn off the water.

"Get the valve -- it's under the sink," Toni says, trying to hold back the water with a hand towel. Cassie yanks open and pushes bottles of soap and cleaning supplies out of her way. Reaching the valve, she turns it. "The other way!" Toni yells as the water pressure increases. Cassie frantically turns the knob. The water seemingly helping her rather than hindering.

"There!" she leans back and looks at Toni who once again soaked. "Want to try it again?"

"No, no," Toni says, laughter shaking her body. "I think I'll pass on any more power experiments tonight. I should be going anyway. Martha, my roommate, has moved out and now I have to get the place cleaned up so the realtor can start showing it. It's a great apartment. Hardwood floors and a huge studio living room. Someone converted this whole warehouse into flats. But I can't afford the rent alone." Toni shrugs.

Cassie is quiet it for a few moments and then asks, "What's the rent like?"

"$600 a person. I just barely get by on my salary. Let's just say I've learned to shop the thrift stores and the bargain boutiques. Why?"

Sighing, Cassie looks at the floor. "I think I should move out of here."

"Is it really that bad?" Toni asks, putting her hand on Cassie's shoulder. "I mean, I know you guys are having problems, but?" She shrugs kind of helpless at what to say next.

"It's that bad," Cassie admits. "He left me, walked out on me when I needed him the most. I don't know if I can accept that he was just angry. It's been 24 hours and he still hasn't shown back up. We've had our problems, but I never walked out on him. I never quit. I was always here. Now, now I'm not sure I want to be here when he decides he wants to face this. I think it's time for me to leave and do some living on my own. I need to know what I want before I start talking to Tony about what we want. And I think he needs to do that too."

"We need time apart," she concludes.

"Well, I won't deny that I could use a roommate," Antoinette says. "Why don't you let me get the place cleaned up and you can call me tomorrow if you're sure. We could move you in on Sunday if you want."

"OK, I'll call you," Cassie says, walking with Toni to the door. "Sorry to send you back out through the pack of jackals. Though they have appeared to thin out."

"That's OK," Toni says, before opening the door. "I'm living my 15 minutes of fame. Do you think they'd believe me if I told them you're blue?"

"Who knows, stranger things have happened in San Francisco." Cassie smiles.

PBEM Turns