Going through "the change" isn't easy on any woman. Mood swings, hot flashes, hormonal imbalances, and itchy skin are par for the course. But for these four seemingly unrelated women, menopause brought changes none of them had ever anticipated—super-heroic changes. Helen discovers a spark within that reignites her fire. Jessica finds that her mood is lighter, and so is her body. Patricia always had a tough hide, but now even bullets bounce off her. Linda doesn't have trouble opening the pickle jar anymore…now that she's a man. When events throw the women together, they find out that they have more in common than they knew—one person has touched all their lives. The hunt for answers is on.

Patricia O’Neill never asked to be a hero. But when her best friend’s experiments transformed her into the Lizard Woman of Springfield, she answered the call alongside the other victims. Going Through the Change was only the beginning. The menopausal superheroes wanted answers, but getting them didn’t solve their problems and now their secrets are out. Dr. Cindy Liu never considered if she should do something—only if she could. Now that the consequences of her work have her on the run, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with a ghost from her past, if only to save herself. The chase is on in this between-the-novels story. When your worst enemy used to be your best friend, the battle rages inside and out. A Menopausal Superheroes Novella. (This is NOT the same work as Friend or Foe: A MenoPausal Superhero Short Story Collection, although this novella can be found in that collection.)

With great power comes…great frustration. Several months after the events of Going Through the Change, retired corporate vice president (and occasional lizard-woman) Patricia O’Neill is embroiled in a search for the mad scientist who brought the “change” upon them all . Meanwhile, Flygirl Jessica Roark and gender-bending strongman Linda/Leonel Alvarez have joined a mysterious covert agency known only as The Department. They’re training hard, in hopes of using their newfound powers for the greater good. Patricia thinks they’re being used. Cut off from the other menopausal heroes, she’s alone. And her search has hit a serious dead end. Then Patricia disappears, and all the clues point to a dead man. It’s up to her friends and The Department to find her and bring her home.

Hero life is not all fistfights and mad scientists. Even superheroes need good press, especially when the world hasn't decided whether superpowers are a blessing or... something else. Flygirl and Fuerte's next stop on the Unusual Cases Unit's Good Will Tour is Springfield Women's Hospital, a place close to Flygirl's heart and a place redefined for Fuerte by his change. Autographs and gladhanding ought to be a cakewalk. But when Evelyn Mueller arrives, the PR tour gets quite a shake up. Pushed to the limit by her wife’s cancer diagnosis and denial of experimental treatment, Evelyn shoves back. Will Evelyn find the hero she needs, even if it's not the one she expected? This between-the novels episode takes place between Change of Life and Face the Change.

The Menopausal Superheroes are coming out of the closet and the pressure is high, both on the job and on the homefront. Now that he knows what it’s like to be a hero, Leonel “Fuerte” Alvarez can’t imagine going back to his former life as a grandmother and housewife. But putting his life on the line may cost him his husband even while he saves the city. Jessica “Flygirl” Roark is holding on to her second chance at love with both hands while learning to balance single parenthood with her new career in crime-fighting. Patricia “Lizard Woman” O’Neill is blindsided by an unexpected romance just as she signs on to join the team. Meanwhile enemies old and new abound. When superpowers alone aren’t enough, what a woman really needs are her friends.

The city of Springfield cannot stay saved. Worse yet, the Menopausal Superheroes themselves are at risk this time, when a new mutation causes dangerous spikes in the unusual abilities of all the Liu-vians. Literal sparks ignite, and it’s a race against time to find the cause and cure. Only Flygirl remains unaffected and she’ll have to cooperate with the notorious mad scientist who changed their lives to find the answers that could save them all. Heroism also isn’t easy on domestic life: romances waxes and wanes, adding drama on the homefront. Weddings and divorces loom large on the horizon, making balance more than a question of physics. Can our heroines really have it all?

There’s always more to the story, hidden in the white space between chapters, in the time gaps between novels. There’s what came before and after, and meanwhile… when our attention was elsewhere. The other side of the story, including the part our heroines didn’t know. This collection peeks around those corners and explores the dark alleys of the Menopausal Superhero series. Peer into the past to discover how Cindy Liu became a mad scientist. Follow the bus at the end of Going Through the Change. Find out how Patricia “Lizard Woman” O’Neill spent her Christmas holidays. Flash forward for a hint of where the series may yet lead. These aren’t your father’s superheroes. Whether you’re already a fan or are just meeting these characters for the first time, Friend or Foe: A Menopausal Superhero Short Story Collection explores what it means to be a hero at any age or stage of life.

Hidden in the space between chapters lurk other stories—what came before and after, and meanwhile—and the other sides of the stories, including the part our heroines didn’t know. This collection peeks around those corners of the Menopausal Superhero series. Through Thick and Thin will get you up close and personal with your favorites. Fuerte wasn't always Fuerte—or male. It’s confession time in "Coming Out as Leonel." Join Patricia, the Lizard Woman, as she unravels the puzzle of Dr. Cindy Liu's disappearance in "The Right Thing," and then see her softer side (and her "better half," Suzie) in "Underestimated." Get ready for a wedding, and a heroic rescue, in "Flygirl's Second Chance." These aren’t your father’s superheroes. Whether you’re already a fan or are just meeting these characters for the first time, the menopausal superhero series explores what it means to be a hero at any age or stage of life.