A New Beginning

Anne ran the goo through her hands.  "Then they're really gone?  Forever?"

"Yes."

She sighed.  "This won't be easy.  I'm already tired."

"I understand."

Without another word, Anne reached into the mind of every former man on Earth.  One by one, each's memories were rapidly replaced.  Father-son bonding became father-daughter bonding, as the fathers themselves came to remember it as mothers and sons.  Blood brothers became sworn sisters, and lovers became dear companions.  Within an hour, not a single woman believed she used to be a man.

That, however, wasn't enough.  There was no point in having some forget their own pasts when everyone around them remembered.  Anne started a second wave of memory magic, this one affecting every last woman - that is to say, every last person.  Any memory of a man they had became one of a woman.

Men hadn't been forgotten completely.  Everyone who'd been that lucky remembered they'd had a mother and a father, just not which was which.  Even they knew they'd been husband and wife, but not even they could remember which.  Everyone remembered that crowds used to have some men in them - just not anyone they could remember specifically.

There was one even more important exception - the dead.  Everyone who had been killed by the aliens, or men who were already dead, would be remembered just as they were, except for the fact that they were always surrounded by women.  Maybe some people would be able to piece together whether certain people had or hadn't been changed, but Anne didn't care, and hoped the aliens didn't, either.  The fatigue was starting to get to Anne, and the sun had gone down by the time she'd finished.

There was only one thing left to do: change her own memories.  She would remember changing her memories, of course, but not which memories she'd changed.  This was the easiest step; it only took a second.  Had Wolfie been female?  Kind of a tomboy if she had.  Katie?  Cassie?  Yvonne?  Jamie?  Irene?  Alberta?  Lillian?  Morrigan?  Mingmei (post-transformation)?  Prof. Madison?  She knew either Jamie or Irene, and either Julie or Alberta, had once been male, and remembered the essentially-dead Prof. Sorgaz, but beyond that, she had no idea.

That was her last thought before she collapsed from exhaustion.

A year later, Anne walked to her table.  Say what you would about the Venutian invation - and they did let you say what you would - school lunches had improved.  It was an all-girl school, of course, but no longer all human, what with the various alien transfers...not to mention that Anne's old ka-girling mischief had gotten a little stale, and she'd had to be more creative.  Ka-catgirling was her new favorite; plus, with her secret absolutely out, it didn't have to wear off quite as soon.

She sat down with Wolfie, Katie, and Cassie.  It still bothered her sometimes which, if any, of them had been male, but she'd learned to live with it, just like she'd learned to live without Robin, Jason, and Milo.  She tried to take her mind off it...with an immediate segue.

"So, Cassie, how are things going at The Magic Touch?"
"Same old, same old.  A lot of goths, a few dabblers, the 'don't you sell lingerie' crowd, and once in a blue moon, someone with a clue."
"Hey, remember how you used to be."
Katie smirked.  "I'm sure she'd like to..."
Anne scoffed and ka-satyred Katie, since ka-catgirling her was just too easy.
"Oh, and Yvonne.  Can't forget Yvonne," said Cassie.
Katie shook her head.  "I liked her better when she was just nuts."