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Thursday the 24th of December, 2015 – Ottawa, Ontario

When Kitty had taken over Adelaide’s body, she’d taken some parts of herself with it. That included enhanced senses. It wasn’t magic but it wasn’t human either. It meant almost no one could sneak up on her.

“Hello MacKenzie, did you forget something?” Kitty asked as the other woman walked softly up the corridor to her office.

“How did you know?” MacKenzie asked. 

Shrugging, Kitty said, “You don’t want to know.”

“No, come on. I was being as quiet as I could.”

“I could hear and smell you coming,” Kitty said, bracing for the upcoming awkwardness.

Instead, MacKenzie walked in and after a few seconds, said, “I’m sorry, that’s got to suck.”

Surprised by the other’s empathy, Kitty added, “It’s not that bad. I’ve always had them and can filter out what I want. It can get overwhelming, but I carry mints and earplugs for those times.

MacKenzie nodded and Kitty could almost see the other girl trying to work out the biology. Both of them ended up looking at the little Tim Hortons ornament on her desk. It was a gift from Kitty’s first partner, Lieutenant Arrage. It was a joke on her having two sets of memories: she’d called Kitty Double-Double.

MacKenzie looked sad and said, “I miss her. She recruited me.”

“I didn’t know that. I miss her too, I wish I had been there for her.” Kitty had been injured and couldn’t go with Arrage to what should have been a routine meeting. She’d been killed by a recently summoned Aether-creature, a magical beast created by the stuff of magic. 

MacKenzie’s voice was stern as she said, “Don’t do that. It’s not your fault. According to the Gatekeepers that found her, you’d have been killed too if you’d been there.” The Gatekeepers were specialized mages that took care of Aether-creatures and Aetherborn. Aetherborn were people created by magic and imagination. It was usually accidental but some wizards could do it on purpose. 

“I just feel like I’m cursed.” Maybe it’s better that I’m alone. She didn’t say it aloud because she knew it sounded a little too self-loathing.

“I was going to invite you to my family’s party, but if you’re cursed, I probably shouldn’t,” MacKenzie said straight faced.

“Oh. Okay.” Kitty didn’t know how to reply.

“I’m kidding. Did you want to come? I have to warn you that they’re a lot. Also, a bunch of them will see right through any illusions or glamour.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Kitty said tentatively. She really wanted to, but was terrified of getting attached.

“Curses don’t bother me. I’m extremely lucky,” MacKenzie said with confidence and stood. “No seriously, it’s part of why I was recruited: I have supernaturally enhanced luck. We’d better go soon if we want to make it on time.

They stopped at Kitty’s apartment quickly to pick up her overnight bag and then set off for Westmeath. The Queensway was clear by this time, most of the public servants had gone home around lunch. The sun was already setting which made MacKenzie squint as she drove.

They parked in front of a small bungalow in the Oldtown portion of Westmeath. When MacKenzie didn’t move, Kitty asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just bracing myself.”

“You’re scaring me a little. Anything I should know about?” Kitty asked, fidgeting with her coat’s zipper.

“My family is very mixed. There are going to be Aetherborn, wizards, humans, and possibly some aliens.”

Kitty chuckled and replied, “That is varied. Thank you for the warning. I would have been confused by the sounds and smells.”

“Also, my brother-in-law is Jason Johnson.” MacKenzie grimaced as she said it.

Kitty recognized the name and asked incredulously, “The king of Aetherborn in Westmeath? I thought the woman with him looked familiar. I met them both this fall during the whole Ansonville incident.” That was when her former partner tried to take over the world. “I’m pretty up to date on the office gossip. How have I not heard about this?”

“We all have our secrets that are left out of our files. The General agreed to keep it a secret  since not everyone in Elmsley is Aetherborn friendly. Also maybe not mention Elmsley too often.” MacKenzie bit her lip nervously and furrowed her brow.

Putting her hand on MacKenzie’s, Kitty said, “Hey. I’m not going to start a fight. I understand that we’re not well-liked by the Community. I promise to be respectful.”

Kitty felt Mackenzie squeeze her hand and a sensation of warmth washed over her. I can’t fall for her, she’s a coworker and my crushes never end well.

They walked up to the door and MacKenzie pressed the doorbell. A tall blonde with uncannily similar features to MacKenzie answered the door. The two women hugged and they were ushered in. 

The heavenly smell of food enveloped them like a warm hug. Kitty was appreciating the aroma and missed MacKenzie introducing her to her sister. 

“Agent Price, Nice to see you again.” 

“Hello, you can call me Kitty. I’m glad we could meet again without anything world ending,” she said, trying to smile casually and not show her nerves. 

Kennedy pulled her into a hug and said, “I’m glad you’re here. Call me Kennedy.”

A small tug on her dress made her look down at a small boy, maybe four years old, with dark skin and bright blue eyes looking up at her. “Hi. You’re very pretty, you don’t need the glamour.” His oversized Santa hat bobbed as he talked. 

Kennedy’s eyes grew wide and she said, “Hammond, we don’t peek through people’s glamours.”

Kneeling to be at the boy’s level, Kitty said, “Thank you. Do you think I should turn it off? I feel a little naked without it.”

The boy nodded vigorously, adding, “I like being naked. I can do the naked baby dance.”

All three women laughed and Kitty dropped the glamour. 

Little Hammond hugged her and took her hand. “Come on. Papa made lots of yummy food.”

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Thursday the 24th of December, 2015 – Ottawa, Ontario

Kitty, Katherine Price, sat crosslegged on a comfy chair in the conference room of the Burt Grande in downtown Ottawa. She closed her eyes and took in the sounds and smells of the Elmsley Christmas party. There was sweet and savoury foods, hot chocolate, coffee, alcohol, and the smell of wet carpets from the rain. The sounds were of people chatting, Santa talking to the kids, happy shrieks and the rat-a-tat-tat of rain on the windows.

It was warm and comforting. The whole thing made her sad. She didn’t have a family but this is what she imagined it would feel like. She’d lived a complicated life. Her body was born dead and her soul had latched onto her twin sister. As a part of her sister, Kitty had been stuck as an imaginary friend until five years ago when through a complicated set of circumstances, her sister died and gave her all her memories and her body.

It was strange living in a body that wasn’t yours, but she’d adapted, and with her affinity for illusions she could make herself look different. The hardest part was losing the only person who’d known her her whole life.

Her parents had been part of a strange cabal of wizards that wanted to create a new world. That was why she existed, but they had died before she could remember them. She’d attended her sister’s funeral in disguise and even considered talking to their adoptive parents, but in the end, Kitty knew she couldn’t explain what had happened.

The Elmsley Project was her only family at this point, and although General Stuart was a strong role model, she was busy with her biological family.

She had considered her first partner family but she’d been killed in action. Her second partner had turned villain and tried to take over the world using supernatural sapient goo just this fall. 

The hard rain falling outside was unusual but paired well with her sad mood.

“Sleepy already Kitty?” asked MacKenzie Fairfield, her long brown hair in a perfect bun. It was quite the contrast with Kitty’s shoulder-length red curls.

“No, just taking in the whole scene, doctor, or do I say Major?”

MacKenzie blushed a little. “Thanks, and we’re technically the same rank even if you’re a civilian.” She sat in the chair across from Kitty and put down her empty mug that had been hot chocolate.

“Does that mean I have to salute though?” Kitty teased.

A woman with hair almost as bright as Kitty’s but with a perpetual sneer on her face walked up to them. She was one of the only people in uniform. “Director Price, Major Fairfield. Congrats on your promotion.”

With a sigh, Kitty said, “With all due respect, Director Lanthier, don’t you have some naughty kids to shove in a sack?” Lieutenant-General Lanthier was the head of the military division of Elmsley, while Kitty and MacKenzie had recently been promoted to co-directors of the science division. The two groups didn’t get along.

Adding a scowl to her sneer, which was quite the feat, she said, “You’ll get what you deserve, freak,” and then walked away.

“Why do you antagonize her?” asked MacKenzie.

Kitty thought about it for a little and said, “Because she’s the worst of us and it’s fun.”

“I can’t argue with you there.” MacKenzie picked up her cup and pouted when she looked inside. Putting it back down, she asked, “What plans do you have for the holidays?” 

This was the question Kitty hated. Most people only asked to be friendly, another script of polite society. She still got in trouble when she answered without thinking. She’d worked out the perfect reply and used it, “I’m working. I need to review the information from the Project Paracosm tests and try to figure out what went wrong.”

“Oh… Um… What about your family?” MacKenzie asked.

“I don’t have any, not really. My twin sister died five years ago and my parents died when I was a baby. I usually use the holidays as a way to catch up on work. It’s quiet and I can focus better.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my twin.” The other woman sat up straighter and looked uncomfortable. ”I’m going to Westmeath. Two of my siblings live there now. We get together for a big family thing tonight. I’ll be gone until just after Boxing day.”

Kitty was curious, an attribute that had been mentioned enough to annoy her. She asked, “Why only then? You’ve had a packed year, you should take time until New Year’s.”

“I love my family but they are a lot. My siblings are happily married with kids, and my mom is always on my case about finding someone to settle down with. Between that and the fact that I can’t talk about anything I do, it’s just better in small doses.”

“I have no idea what that’s like, but it sounds fun and exhausting.” Kitty sighed looking over the party. Starting to stand, she said, “I should get some work done before… Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas Kitty.” It looked like MacKenzie was going to say something else but instead she picked up her cup and scowled at its emptiness.   

As she walked away from the joyful chaos-symphony, Kitty couldn’t help but shed a few tears for what she was missing. It wasn’t Christmas, that was as important to her as the Civic Holiday, but the togetherness of family.

Read Part 2 (Friday the 19th of December)

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