AN: As mentioned in Chapter 13, there has been a rewrite to this chapter to remove some plot points, Update in the description below incase of TLDR.
***
Granola, I’ve never actually gone out of my way to have it before. But it’s actually quite good. Mother settled across from me on another stool, while Jodie stood by her side. Two coffees sat before them. there was a kind of awkward silence between us, muted somewhat by the fact I was eating. I asked for the meeting. They also wanted this meeting. I suppose I was supposed to start it. I kinda wanted them to start to be honest.
After a few mouthfuls to settle my initial hunger, I straightened up, pausing to begin. “…Mother, mom. I mean, I’ve been calling you that… but…” I scratched my head awkwardly.
“Jason, its fine.”
“It isn’t, though. I’m not your Jason. You may have lost your son for good, and now a stranger has been dropped here in his place. Your world at least understands enough to know what happened, even if it can’t fix it. Mine doesn’t. No one there will be able to explain this to your Jason.” I paused, trying to steady my thoughts, and saw worry break through Mother’s calm mask. “My parents are good people. They’ll realise something is wrong, and if your Jason knows this kind of thing is possible, maybe they’ll believe him. They’ll protect him as best they can. And even if it’s not the altruistic reason to help others that they have in spades, they’re god-fearing people, do unto others that which you wish upon yourselves. But it’ll be them against the world.”
I cradled my head in my hands and stared down at the bowl.
“You look like the people I know, and there are similarities, but there are differences too. Culture, history, everything. And what if those agents come back and say I’m not related to you at all? If you don’t want me here, or don’t see me as family, I’d understand.” Tears began to well in my eyes.
I didn’t hear either stool move, but suddenly they were both beside me, wrapping their arms around me. “Jason, we’re God-fearing Christians too,” Mother said. “This will be hard for us, but we are parents. Like it or not, we’re your parents now, whether we find you a way home or not.”
“Thank you.”
“If anything, we should thank you,” Jodie said, rubbing my back. “You could have hidden it and pretended to be our Jason, but you told us the truth. You woke up somewhere strange and frightening, and still trusted us enough to be honest. That takes real bravery.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I leaned into them for a moment. Taking in a deep breath. apple pie, spicy apple pie. It was coming from mom. “Mom, are you using dessert flavoured perfume too? you smell like spicy apple pie.”
“Too? err, no, I just use standard deodorant.”
“Weird, every girl I’ve interacted with has smelt like a different sweet treat.”
“Oh, and what does Jodie smell like.” Mother teased, getting a blushing pout from Jodie.
“Chocolate fudge cake.”
“Aren’t they your favourites?”
“Err, yeah…” I answered hesitantly.
“Maybe your nose isn’t calibrated to our worlds smells properly. Maybe your brain is matching smells of your favourite treats to the smell of those you feel safe with.”
“Sure…” I went with that, too scared to tell them the maid I’ve never met before in my life smelled like cookies. Then another thought struck me. “But I’m still not your Jason. I don’t know how to act like him. I don’t know how to be him. Even my body chemistry is different. I’ve read stories like this, where things go wrong because the replacement can’t live up to the person everyone remembers.”
“Jason.” Mother stopped me with a finger against my lips. “We have twins.”
“Huh?”
“Hayley and Helen. Identical twins,” Mother said.
“Right?” I looked up at her, confused.
“They only look different because of how they present themselves. If they dressed the same, most people wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.”
“Not until Hayley opens her big mouth,” Jodie added, drawing a small laugh from all of us.
“We don’t expect Hayley to act like Helen,” Mother said. “You could say we have the experience to understand you won’t be like him.”
“We’ve watched you all morning,” Jodie said. “You feel like family. You bounce off Hayley like a brother would, and Helen’s harder to read only because Hayley’s got a stronger presence. If someone told me you were Jason’s twin, I’d believe it—and I know how many children I gave birth to.” She smiled faintly. “Our Jason was more like Helen. You’re more like Hayley. You still feel like one of our children.”
The two returned to their positions. “I still believe there is something you want to discuss, Jason.” Mother raised an eyebrow. “Something to do with keeping a certain maid in the dark.”
A complete blush lit up my face. “There’s no… clean way to talk about this with family.”
“Sex.” Mother just came out and said it. I had no clue on where else to go. And my face felt like it was on fire. “We’re not dumb, Jason, Testosterone drives sex. And you’re claiming to have way more of it than us women. 3-5 times as much you said to Hayley, right?”
“How on earth did you hear that?”
Jodie answered in a roundabout way. “You asked what F-BASEE is earlier and said your world didn’t have the physical laws to allow what happened to you. F-BASEE stands for Federal Bureau for Augmentation, Supernatural and Experimental Events. Your mother is an active metahuman, a Guardian of the State. That service is half the reason we have our standing. The other half is having you as our son.”
I tilted my head, not quite following.
Catherine leaned forward, resting her forearms on the desk as a knowing, calculating grin touched her lips. “The Henderson family carries a hereditary psychic lineage, Jason. It doesn’t always manifest into live, active abilities with every birth—I awakened mine, while Jodie’s remained dormant. But even when sleeping, the genetic blueprint carries forward into the next generation.”
She paused, tapping a manicured finger against the mahogany wood.
“When my abilities fully awakened and I earned my rank within the state, I leveraged that clearance for a quiet, classified deal. I secured samples from an extraordinarily rare male metahuman—one of the few in existence with confirmed hereditary markers. Jodie and I both used that same donor. I had Hayley and Helen, and Jodie had you.”
The implications hit me in pieces. “So… I’m carrying dormant metagenes from both sides?”
“Precisely,” Catherine murmured, her eyes gleaming with dynastic pride. “A male born of a meta-lineage is already a statistical miracle. A male whose bloodline is stacked with meta compatibility from both parents? You represent an apex genetic pedigree. Your dormant genes were the ultimate bargaining chip. Through a few very lucrative backroom agreements and marriage compacts, having you as our son is what elevated the Henderson house from a modest County to a full Duchy.”
Catherine chuckled softly, offering me an affectionate wink. “So, if you’re ever not convinced by our emotional attachment to you, darling, the cold, cynical reality is that you are our family’s crowning achievement. You provide this house with unprecedented prestige, political leverage, and economic power.”
“Wow, that weirdly feels reassuring. But how do I provide that.”
“Well, you know, backroom deals, female citizenry is heavily reliant on getting pregnant, A lot of powerful women seek me out for their children, plus, even amongst males, you or Jason has very good high-quality genes.”
I blinked, and blinked again. Face heating up as a weirdly intrigued smile took place on my face. “You pimp out your own son?”
“No, Jason! We would never...” Jodie paused. “did you just blush from that thought?”
“No?”
“Listen, Jason, that is disgusting and abusive, we would never do that to you.”
“Oh, ok.” I accidently leaked a little disappointment in my response.
“Why on earth are you disappointed in that!” Jodie was getting a little irate at me.
“Jodie.” Mother cleared her throat. “Imagine your father pimping you out to his hot mature male friends.”
Jodie stood ramrod straight at that imagery. Her face going mortifyingly red. “S, S, Sis, Stop. This, this, this is inappropriate, Jason’s here.”
“That is how Jason interpreted what I said.”
It took me a moment to connect that mom was reversing the scenario to Jodie. “Mother, I, I, I wouldn’t allow such, such dirty thoughts to enter my clean and naïve… no, that’s exactly how I took it.”
“Jason! Sis! This!”
Mother laughed. “So, have I sussed it out, Jason, the main difference in our worlds falls around gender morality and expectations of the sexes being reversed?” All I could do was nod.
Mother looked at the clock for a second, “Any other issues you need clarifying as well, Jason?” she asked.
“A few, the first one I have seemed a bit paradoxical to me. There seems to be an expectation on me to be more… chaste, but just to replace myself, I need to produce what, 7 heirs? That’s gotta be harsh to put a single woman under, right? Especially if, as Hayley claimed, she’s supposed to be the bread winner. And surely society wants more than just meeting replacement quota’s, right?”
A grin formed on mother. “Yeah, no, that expectation is a form of protection for you. And by the way, I don’t pimp Jason out. I’m simply selling his seed for IVF treatment.” Mother paused, elbows on the table as she cupped her mouth in contemplation. “Sexual trauma lowers testosterone which is key for sperm production. With men having such low testosterone levels, it’s very common, or the ‘expected result’ that a man who has experienced rape becomes infertile. Temporarily or permanently.”
“And you fill our house with horny young maids who would gain citizenry if they copulated with me?” I squinted my eyes at her.
“They’re eunuchs.” A dreaded, almost disgusting feeling crept up on me. It must have been obvious as Mother quickly carried on. “It’s a temporary magic seal we place on them for their tenure. After working in the house for 10 years, we undo it and they are also rewarded with guaranteed pregnancy.”
Jodie added more. “It all falls under MAIDS regulations; they are temporary citizens, giving them the right to vote, better healthcare, and standards of living, while they are Eunuchs under a household with a male member.”
“Just out of interest, what happens if one of them upsets me so much that I want them kicked out.” I asked. “Say if it was sexual in nature, cause I’m guessing the whole eunuch part is to discourage that.”
“Why, did something happen, was it that Emma.” Mother frowned.
“Just… please, answer the question.” I felt myself in a daze. I tried to pull fantasy into reality and may have just royally fucked up.
“Well, depending on the severity, we’d at least kick her out, she’d lose her citizenry, and we’re in no obligation to remove that magic seal. But it could go much worse, prison, or possibly a death sentence if you became infertile or committed suicide over the ordeal.”
I leaned off to the side, not looking at anything in particular. “Ahhhhhh, fucking hell.”
“Jason!” Mother growled. “Just… explain to me what happened.”
I turned to look at her straight. “I bullied her, mother, that’s what I did, mother. When I first met her, I was walking to the shower room in nothing but my boxers…” I reiterated the events with her. “So, I blamed her for my actions seeking an IOU to play with, and instead she almost shit herself.”
Mother nodded in contemplation, “So, what did you want out of it, sex, you can just ask me, and I could just send her to your room.” Mother stated.
“First off, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know the ‘way of the house’ so to speak. And secondly, you can’t just have conventional sex with your maid, where’s the fun in that. I saw her interest in me and wanted to play on the whole power dynamic with her. In fact, I wasn’t going to use the IOU for actual sex.” These smells were really loosening up my inhibitions, how am I even talking about this with my own parents.
Jodie turned to mother. “he’s definitely your son in that regard.” A playful pout on her face.
Ignoring Jodie’s quip with all but a slight grin mom leaned in closer, “So, what were you going to use it for?” a glint of curiosity in her eye.
A flustered annoyance came over me. “You actually want to hear your son’s dirty fantasy.” I growled. Mother just looked at me with a pervy grin, waiting. What the hell.
***
I sighed for the last issue I had. “In my world, incest is taboo and illegal, but Hayley clearly has no qualms openly thirsting over me, even in front of strangers.”
No good waiting for Jodie to answer, her mind hadn’t left my fantasy yet. “Some like to cling to it being taboo, its illegal status was repealed over half a century ago. MAIDS reluctantly conclude that the best way to coax boys into the sex life with minimal trauma is with a family member they know or trust.”
“I still don’t know what MAIDS stands for. Wait, who was Jason’s first time?”
“Me.” Mother winked, a grin plastered on her face. “And MAIDS stands for Male Administration, Inquiries, Development and Security. They handle any administrative needs you have, if any government agency flags our house as part of an investigation they get informed immediately. They run the IVF clinics. They research ways to develop males’ sexual drives or counselling, medical needs, and aid in your protection.”
Jodie added. “its illegal for you to speak to a government agent without your liaison present. Although it’s not you who would be breaking the law but the agent. And punishment could be severe.”
“Him and you?” I can’t believe Jason got to bang this dommy mommy; lucky bastard? I think my thoughts were transparent because her grin widened a bit.
“Oh, and Jason, you were right about one thing.”
I tilted my head. “I was?”
Mother grabbed Jodie by the hip and pulled her in. “Ahh, Sis?” Jodie let out such a cute squeal, Mother looked exactly like a man claiming his territory with a satisfied grin.
“Redheads are a wild fire in bed.” Man, the switch in Jodie from a loving caring mother, with a mature feminine power behind her to a little blushing girl the moment she was pulled into mother’s embrace was bloody wild.
“You two are a couple?” damn it. What the hell is this world.
“Of course, we’re married. Otherwise, we’d both be counts. Me through my powers and my little sis through having you.”
I stood up straight. Stiffly, “I need to take a very cold shower.”
“Hahaha.” Mother landed a smooch on Jodie’s cheek, letting her go with a smack to her ass. Another harmonious squeal fell out of Jodie. “Come on, we’ve been here long enough.”
A maid stepped in to clean the counter. I don’t usually leave food to waste but by the fourth bowl I realised that the maids would just automatically refill empty bowls. Well, at least I was full.
As I walked back to the foyer, I couldn’t help myself but notice, I’ve been in this world what, 1-2 hours and I’ve practically done nothing but talk about sex, right from the technical and mechanical side of it to fantasies, and I was just getting hornier by the minute. I, I, it felt like I was inebriated, a few glasses down of liquid courage. I’ve been drunk before once or twice. And while I wasn’t tipsy, I felt like my inhibitions were slowly being unravelled. Thinking back, I wouldn’t talk so openly about sex, I mean, maybe a joke or two with dad, but… was it that the opposite genders in the room were also way more interested in it, and we ended up in a feedback loop.
Mother called down the girls as we passed the stairs, and we all entered the foyer together.
“My apologies, we ran over the clock.” Mother gave the courteous apology for us taking an extra 10 minutes, but it was clearly for show. Was this the social status difference between my family and the agents.
“Please, don’t mind us, Duchess Catherine.” The agents were tense, focused on something other than our lateness. The whole family noticed it. An uneasy silence followed me as I returned to my seat.
“Is something wrong, Agent Dorcy?” Mother asked, her voice calm despite the stiffness in her posture.
Abigale hesitated. “We have some interesting results. First, I can confirm his DNA is related to both of you.”
“Right.” Mother’s brows drew together. “That’s good, yes?”
“When I say both of you, Duchess Catherine, I mean the test identifies you both as his parents.”
“That is confusing,” Mother said. “Please elaborate.”
Abigale checked the display again. “From what we can tell, the paternal half of his genome has been stripped and overwritten with your genetic data. Anyone unaware of the circumstances would assume you were his father, Duchess Catherine.”
For a moment, no one spoke.
I let out a dry chuckle. “And here I was worried I wouldn’t be related to any of you.”
Jodie looked at Mother first, and whatever she meant to say caught there, trapped between them. Mother’s eyes softened despite the shock, and Jodie’s did the same a heartbeat later, the two of them sharing a fragile, impossible kind of relief they were both too careful to name. “That doesn’t change that we want our Jason back,” Jodie said quietly, choosing each word as if one wrong step might hurt us all. Her gaze flicked back to me, warmer now, uncertain but real. “But it means you’re not just some stranger dropped into his place either.”
Mother let out a weighty breath for a moment. Then straightened, looking back at Abigale, “shall we move onto the next issue Agent Dorcy.
“Yes, My Lady.” Abigale checked the display again. “I would like to ask for a confirmation scan. We want to confirm one of the results, as it is unusual enough to need verification before anyone panics.”
“Too late for that.” Jodie grumbled.
Mother ignored her. “Define unusual.”
“A quick endocrine scan,” Abigale said. “It will confirm whether Lord Jason’s testosterone reading was an error or trend.”
With agreement from mother, I placed my hand on the plate. White lines swept over my palm while everyone watched like it might bite.
The numbers appeared. Abigale went still. “Initial result, nine hundred and ninety-five. Confirmed, one thousand one hundred and fifty-five. Extreme by our standards—and rising.”
The room tightened. Even Hayley stopped fidgeting.
I swallowed. “That’s high in my world, but at best it would be considered above normal.”
“The number itself is not the problem,” Abigale said. “Even if your body treats the level of testosterone as normal or stable. The problem lies in the fact that exposure appears to be pushing it higher.”
“Exposure to what?” I asked.
Abigale showed everyone a chemical diagram. “You’re releasing volatile markers through sweat and skin vapour. Functionally, pheromones.” Abigale continued. “Women exposed to him show endocrine elevation. They release secondary markers. His system reads that as stimulation and raises output again. If this goes unchecked” Abigale swallowed. “We would expect to see, Progressive cognitive regression, Lower inhibition, poorer judgement, stronger instinctive responses. Left long enough, the mind becomes more animal than rational.”
At the start, everyone was horrified. But as they understood the underlying situation, the family came to a slow, hilarious realisation. “He’s outpacing the rest of us, meaning he’d reach that state first, but everyone else affected would eventually reach that point.
Then Hayley raised a hand. “So, Jason is… turning into a horn dog?” Hayley asked, pulling her head back with a humoured grin.
Helen made a noise between panic and laughter. Jodie sighed. “Please never say that again.”
“Lady Hayley, this is a serious matter.” Abigale turned to me. “there’s a chance you might be becoming… sexually ‘drunk’ off of the pheromone’s women are releasing, making you feel like your inhibitions are loosening. Have you… have you noticed any ‘good or nice’ smells from women around you, that may be grabbing your attention or maybe turning you on.”
I froze at that. I had a sinking suspicion. “…Desserts.” I answered. Fearing to look at my parents.
“Sorry?” Abigale asked. Not sure what I meant.
“All the women I’ve interacted with has smelled like different desserts. But if it’s just a smell to get me… horny, why are all of them so different.”
“Oo, oo, what do I smell like, brother?” Hayley’s question went ignored.
“Well, that’s an interesting way your brain has interpreted that, but the differences could factor in quite a few different reasonings, my best guesses would be that you’re smelling their personality, or if you have certain preferences when it comes to desserts, you might be associating the women who turn you on the most with desserts you like the most.”
I suddenly became very aware of the conversation I just had with my own parents. This is just not right. I stiffly slowly turned my head, Mother coming into view at the corner. Fear and trepidation washed over me as I began to sweat. All day I could tell there was a casual interest from them, but I just chalked it up to a back of the mind interest in most people of the opposite gender, but now there was a predatory glint in her eyes. A grin formed as we made eye contact.
I turned back to Abigale. “Right, cookies, cookies are definitely my favourite dessert.”
“Oh, that’s different.” Hayley explained, “The other Jason lo~oved apple pie and chocolate fudge cake. Of course, cookies were a close 3rd. But every Sunday we’d have one of those two because it was his favourite.”
Shut the fuck up Hayley. My face went completely crimson at that. “Well, I’m different, ok.” I sounded a bit snappy in my response.
“Maybe you just haven’t tried a spicy apple pie and custard from our world yet, Jason?” Mother teased, a deep sultry voice in her tone. Making me fidget uncomfortably. “Or a nice chocolaty fudge cake.”
“No, no, I think I’m good.” I was trying to focus on the two agents; one by one their faces lit up, looking between mother and me they seemed to have worked out the strange, thick tension.