Chapter Text
So, no one told him that a life as a Librarian would lead up to this.
Granted, he guessed it was somewhat his fault for messing with the artifact in the first place.
(It was completely his fault.)
Staring into the mirror, Ezekiel turned this way and that way, checking out his new body. You see, the artifact that was previously mentioned had a major effect on whoever was messing with it. And by major, I mean it can genderbend that person, which is the exact predaciment that Ezekiel was in. He could only imagine the rest of the gang's reactions. Eve would be annoyed with him, Jake and Cassandra would find it humorous, and Jenkins would probably give him a lecture about touching certain things.
Analyzing himself, he began to take note of the many different changes. Like his hair, for starters. Instead of it being short and black, it was long and wavy, stopping at the middle of his back, accompanied with side bangs. His physique seemed to become smaller and more delicate; he even dropped a couple inches. Not to mention the new addition to his chest, which he spent some time fondling and getting used to. Long eyelashes framed his brown, doe-like eyes, which created shadows across his cheeks whenever he closed them. Another change was the clothes that he used to fit were big and hanging off of him now. He was practically drowning in his old clothes. The artifact could have made my clothes fit my new body, he thought with a slight frown. He made a mental note to go shopping with Cassandra later on. Speaking of the bubbly, strawberry blonde, he remembered that he still had to face the others. Sighing, he turned away from the mirror and began to make his way back to the others, getting nearer and nearer as their voices got louder and louder.
All noise stopped when he entered the main room of the Annex, making him tense slightly. Biting the inside of his cheek, he walked further into the room, eyes flickering from one person's face to the next. The silence only got heavier as time ticked by. He desperately wanted someone to say something as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Thankfully, it was Eve who broke the silence, eyes narrowed and hard as she continued to stare at Ezekiel, though she didn't know that.
"Who are you? And how did you get here?"
Ezekiel mentally rolled his eyes. Of course, they wouldn't notice him! He was a girl, for crying out loud. Guess he's going to have to prove himself. "It's me, Ezekiel. Jones, world class thief," he responded, wincing internally at how much higher and softer his voice sounded now. His accent was as thick as ever, though, so that was nice to know.
"How do we know that you're not lying?" Jake questioned, just as tense and alert as Eve, eyes calculating.
"Ask me a question! I bet you that I'll be able to answer it."
"What's the...nickname for the tumor in my head?" Cassandra piped up, beating everyone else to asking a question.
"A brain grape," Ezekiel answered without a moment's hesitation. He watched as everyone relaxed slightly. They still seemed on edge, though.
"One more question. Just to make sure," Cassandra suggested. "What did you, if you're truly Ezekiel, give me a first place trophy in?"
"In Mathemagics," Ezekiel answered once more. At this, Cassandra relaxed fully, which caused everyone else to do the same. The tension began to dissipate as the strawberry blonde made her way towards Ezekiel, eyes wide and full of curiosity and awe. He couldn't blame her. It wasn't everyday that someone changed genders so suddenly.
"Ezekiel...you're a girl!" She exclaimed, voicing everyone's thoughts. As her eyes scanned him, her bright expression dimmed slightly when she took note of his chest, which made him bit his tongue, holding back a grin. Well, it would seem that his personality didn't change one bit.
"I'm assuming there is an explanation for this?" Eve questioned, arms crossed as she waited for the Australian to explain himself, or herself. She could already tell that this was going to be confusing and hard to get used to. She could only hope that Ezekiel wouldn't stay as a girl for too long.
"Well, you see, Colonel Baird," Ezekiel began, "I was just wandering, looking at all the many different artifacts around here, and I came across an extremely gorgeous one. So, I picked it up to look at it closer. Suddenly, white light engulfed me and, before I knew it, I had gotten shorter and was drowning in my clothes," he finished.
"Quick question, was the artifact a gem shaped as a heart, by any chance? Perhaps one that was quite colorful and had a slight glow to it?" Jenkins intervened, speaking for the first time since Ezekiel shown himself.
"Yeah, why? Does that have something to do with my gender swap?"
"It has everything to do with your gender swap," Jenkins answered before going on to fill everyone in on what he was getting at. "You see, the artifact that caught your eye is the Gem of Aphrodite, who we should all know. It has the power to make one more desirable, if a female, and, in your case, gender swap, if a male."
"How long will the change last?" Eve questioned.
"Oh, I'd give it about a week. After a week, you should be back to normal," Jenkins reassured with a nod of confirmation.
A week?! An entire week as a girl? Ezekiel was torn between being upset or excited. He was quite sure that the days fo come would be full of new and exciting things as he lives his life as a girl, but he was also upset about actually being a girl. He opened his mouth to protest, but was interrupted by Cassandra pouncing on him, enveloping him in a hug, squeezing tight. She seemed to be the only one who was truly excited about his situation.
"This is going to be fun! I can take you shopping to get you clothes for the week and show you all the wonders of being a girl! Oh, but we'll need to change some things," she stated, loosening her grip so she could back up and look at Ezekiel. "We can call you Ezekielle from now on. Like Gabrielle. And I guess we'll have to start using female pronouns now. You know, she, her, herself. All of that." Ezekiel, now known as Ezekielle, could only nod in response to Cassandra's rambling. It was in that moment that the Clippings Book began to glow, signaling that they had a new mission.
Cassandra was the first to reach it, racing towards it and cracking it open with glee. She was soon joined by Jake and Ezekiel, who peeked over her shoulders, trying to see what mission they had now. Though, they didn't have to read for Cassandra began to explain what was going on.
"Apparently, in a small town in South Carolina, people are claiming to see double," she explained, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Whay do you mean by double, Cassie?" Jake asked after a moment.
"Double people. Like dopplegangers," the strawberry blonde elaborated. Dopplegangers were new. She wondered what kind of magic was going on there.
"Well, I guess we should be on our way. And we can buy Jones some new clothes while we're there. In the meantime, borrow from Cassandra," Eve suggested as she made her way to stand in front of the door, followed by Jake. After getting Ezekiel something to change into, she also joined the two. Ezekiel was last to join them, now wearing black leggings that hugged his legs, the sweater that he had wore when it was Christmas, which was hanging off of his shoulders and stopped a few inches above his knees, and a pair of grey Converse. Jenkins had been waiting the entire time before he spun the globe of the world, watching the door flip and change, white light coming from it. Soon, it stopped and the four of them exited out of the Annex and into South Carolina.
As they left, Jenkins couldn't help but say to himself, "This is going to be an interesting mission and an even more interesting week."