Matt and Emma by Marknew and Nomdreserv Chapter 1 "I can't believe we're coming home from college and Mom and Dad won't even be there," Brad complained to Matt, his twin brother. They were riding on the train across New Jersey, having just finished their first year of college at Villanova. They both had blond, tousled hair and athletic builds, although Matt's hair was slightly wilder and his muscles slightly larger due to some extra hours in the weight room. They wore sleeveless t-shirts that showed off their fine physiques, along with tattered blue jeans. "You'd think they'd really want to see us." Matt rolled his eyes. "Like, you WANT them there? I mean, we've lived away from home without them all this time. What's a few days more? Besides, once they're back we'll just be wishing they were gone. I don't know about you, but I've gotten kind of used to coming and going when I please, without having to answer lots of questions. Hmmm?" He elbowed his brother roughly in the ribs. "I mean, remember you and Claire? Do you think Mom would have let the two of you stay in your bed for a whole day?" "I know. But Emma'll be there anyway." "Fuck Emma. She's just a little twerp. She won't get in the way. She BETTER not, if she knows what's good for her." "Yeah, but it's not like Claire's around anyway." "What about Mindy? You know she always had the hots for you, and now you're an experienced college guy. I bet she's a real babe by now. She was looking pretty good even last year. How much you want to bet her tits're still growing?" It didn't take much effort for Brad to imagine Mary. Although he had never mentioned it to Matt for fear of being teased, even after a year away he still fantasized about her. The idea that she could have gotten even sexier during the last year was making him uncomfortable in his seat and he stood up to shift his pants around. "Now, as for me," Matt continued, "First thing tomorrow I'm going to go out to get myself some sun, and I'll bet you a hundred bucks that I'll be banging some girl before the day's over." He shook his head in anticipation. "Yeah, this is going to be one great summer!" A few hours later, the brothers climbed out of the station taxi and immediately heard the sounds of splashing and girls' laughter from the backyard pool. Matt gave Brad a wink and the boys brought their bags up to the house and dumped them in the hallway, not bothering to move the girls' shoes and clothing out of the way. "I don't know about you, Brad, but I think my summer's just begun." Matt stripped out of his clothes and sauntered into the backyard with his tight briefs barely covering his impressive package. Brad, who was a little more modest, ran up to his room to put on his swimsuit, which was only slightly less revealing. Meanwhile, Emma was having a great time with her best friends, Mary, Kate and Ashley. Without the twins around to monopolize the house and pool and tease her and her friends, senior year had been such a blast. She and her friends ended up as four of the most popular girls in high school, and the term had just zipped by with one great event after the other. She laughed when she looked at them around the pool. Who would have believed that the four most popular and best-looking girls at school were all best of friends and were all going to top schools! She was only sorry that the year was ending and that the four of them would soon be separating, although at least Mary and she would both be in Boston, Mary at Harvard and she at M.I.T. Of course it was true that Ashley wasn't exactly in their league in terms of looks, but she was also the smartest, and in return for helping with schoolwork, she, Mary and Kate had given Ashley a real boost in confidence and style. If only Ashley's breasts had developed more -- she was so thin that even at 17 she hardly had any curves and at 5'1" she was several inches shorter even than Kate, and shorter still than Mary and her -- but still, she had a pretty face and nice hair. With the right clothes and make-up, she would do just fine. Having just cooled off in the pool, they were hanging out on the deck chairs working on their tans and exchanging some harmless school gossip. Emma heard a car door slam and then their brothers' voices approaching the house. "Shit! They're back already!" Emma said all at once becoming cross. She grabbed her bikini top and slipped it on. Mary and Ashley did the same, but the wind had blown Kate's toward the house. When she got up to grab it Matt was already there. "Whoa!" he said, holding Kate's top in his hand. He looked down at her, grinning. "Hey, you've developed some real tits this year Kate, haven't you? I'd say 34-C, maybe a D?" He held her top higher, just out of the reach of her hands, which then dived down to cover her breasts once she realized he wasn't going to give it to her. "Matt, you jerk. Give it back to her!" Emma said angrily. "I can't BELIEVE you!" Matt laughed. "Sheez, sis. I WAS gonna be nice and help her put it on, but now ...." He held it out so that the wind caught her top and then let it sail several yards further away. He watched Kate scurry after it and then walked closer to the others. "Hey! Mary! You're filling those cups out nicely too." He turned to Ashley, who was glaring at him. "Sorry Ash. I'm sure you're great in math, but it doesn't look like you're ever going to get past the letter 'B', huh?" Ashley blushed bright red. Emma stood up and confronted him. "Matt! You have NO RIGHT to barge in like this and ruin our afternoon. Get OUT of here right now!" Matt looked down at her. Even though she was his sister, he had to admit she too had gotten pretty sexy in the past year, and seeing her in her bathing suit made it even more apparent. Of course he was no slouch himself. He was sure that the other girls were checking him out this very minute. He knew he was being a jerk, but in his experience, although girls would SAY that they hated this kind of behavior, the truth was that girls always liked guys who had the confidence to show off. Not that he had any great interest in these girls. Mary was a real looker, with jet black hair, round soulful green eyes and a bust that was larger every time he saw her -- today being no exception -- but he'd always figured he'd leave her for Brad. Although -- nah! No, this was just good for a little fun. "What?! You're kicking me out of my own yard? Last time I checked, this was still my house too." His 6'2" frame loomed over her 5'7" one, and he flexed his superb abdominals so that the other girls could see, and making sure his sister knew that in any confrontation, he was going to come out on top. Just then Brad appeared. "Hi Em. Hi Kath, Ash." He looked over at Mary and his heart did a double flip. He swallowed twice to make sure his voice didn't crack. "Uh, hi Mary. Lookin', uh, pretty good there." "Hi Brad," Mary replied, glad to see him too, but too angry at Matt to be very friendly to his twin. Still, she couldn't help but look him over and notice that the year in college had only made him even better looking. The thought that she might be responsible for the growing bulge in his speedos thrilled her inside, and she struggled not to smile. Emma grunted a hello at Brad. He wasn't as bad as Matt, but he wasn't any help either. He would never stand up to him, and in any family issue he just went along with his brother. Maybe this time though, Brad's presence could work to her advantage. She turned back to Matt. "Hey Matt, I'm sure you and Brad have lots to do. I'm just trying to have an afternoon with my friends, ok? We're going out later. Why don't you guys use the pool then?" Matt wasn't having any of it. "As I said, this is my house too, and I don't think my baby sister is going to kick me out of it. What do YOU think?" he said, leaning down at her. "Ooooh, you make me so mad!" Emma growled. She put her hands against him and pushed, but only succeeded in moving him back half an inch before he tightened his muscles and stood his ground. "That's a good one! My baby sister thinks she can push me around! Hey Emma, when you've got muscles like these," taking the opportunity to show off the 17" biceps he'd developed while he was away at school, "then you can start at me. Ooops, I forgot. Girls can't get muscles." "Oh yes they can," Ashley informed him. "If they lift weights they can develop their bodies too!" Matt rolled his eyes. "Oh really? I suppose you're proof of that Ashley?" He laughed and snorted and then flexed his right biceps again. "Maybe we should compare -- see if my biceps are really bigger than your tits, or if they just look that way." "I just meant that ...." her lip quivered and she looked at Emma, then ran crying into the house. "What'd I say? What'd I say?" Matt said in mock concern. Emma was red with anger. "You asshole!" she said and charged at him. Matt was stunned and off-guard -- for half a second -- but quickly recovered enough to step aside and grab his sister around the waist. He lifted her in the air, took two short steps toward the pool and threw her in, the impact neatly splashing Kate too. "Well," he said, satisfied. "It sure is nice to be home again. Hey Brad, I think we have a few things to unpack. Then let's go out for a beer, huh?" Brad looked at Mary. He wanted to stay with her, but it was clear she would be in a terrible mood just now. Maybe another time would be better. "Sure Matt. Uh, bye girls. Bye Mary" He followed Matt inside. "I HATE my brother!" Emma said, hoisting herself out of the pool. "Where's Ashley?" Kate asked as she dried herself off. They heard the door open slowly and Ashley came out, her face red with tears. Mary leaned over. "Look how she's been crying!" "Yeah, this is the worst thing for her confidence. Matt can be so mean!" "And I think she's always kind of liked him. It's so sad." Ashley joined them and Emma sat down between her friends. "I'm really sorry guys," Emma said. They all reassured her. "Hey, it's not your fault, Emma." "You couldn't do anything." "I mean, yeah, you tried, even." Emma balled her hands into little fists and hit the cushions of her chair twice. "It's just not fair! Why does he have to be stronger? If WE were the stronger sex this would NEVER happen." "Well, we ARE the stronger sex, really," Ashley said tentatively. They all looked at her. "I mean, in all sorts of ways, other than muscle." "That doesn't exactly help us in this situation, does it Ashley?" Kate said, sighing. "Boys will always be bigger than girls, and with bigger muscles, and there's nothing we can do about it." Emma spotted a dandelion on the lawn. She got up, plucked the seed stem and went back to her friends. "Well, I'm making a wish. I wish that I COULD do something about it." She blew the seed ball and it scattered to the wind. "Good one, Emma!" Mary said, putting her arm around her. "Yay!" said Kate. "That'll give you more weeds," observed Ashley and then she smiled, "but it was certainly worth it." Chapter 2 Matt woke up the next morning at about 9:30. He would have slept later, but he started feeling dizzy, almost like he was going to throw up, and although the feeling passed quickly he couldn't get back to sleep. It had been like that, on and off, for about an hour last night, just after midnight, and he was hoping it had gone away for good. He slowly rolled out of bed, still feeling odd. There was nothing else wrong that he could actually put his finger on. It was just that everything seemed, well, a little wrong. It started the moment he swung his feet out of bed and stood up, just a little something different about the way the bed and floor felt as he got up. The feeling intensified when he walked by the mirror. Was it tilted slightly? His reflection and relation to the room didn't look quite right. He'd never been THIS hungover before. But then, drinking Margaritas until 5 may not have been the smartest thing to do. The feelings persisted as he used the bathroom and shower. The toilet, the shower nozzle, the countertop -- they just didn't look or feel quite the same to him. Maybe his parents had put new knobs on and they were a bit stiffer than he'd remembered, but he didn't understand why the countertops seemed a little higher. He KNEW they were the same old countertops they'd always had. He tried to put the thoughts aside as he got dressed, but even the presumed familiarity of his clothes wasn't there. His shirt didn't look right. Maybe it was big, but it seemed to make his arms look thinner. His pants also seemed a little loose, except that the crotch was too tight. And his sneakers weren't as comfortable as they should be. The soles seemed too thick somehow, as though he had taking to wearing elevated shoes. Brad had gotten up earlier to go out so Matt went downstairs alone to get breakfast. Emma was already there, making sandwiches and snacks -- she must be having her friends over again. She was wearing her usual hang-around summer clothes, a pink t-shirt and cut-off shorts. He chuckled to himself at how girls played with their clothes to make themselves look better, like the way this morning Emma was wearing an obviously too-small t-shirt to create the illusion of a smaller, tighter waistline and a bigger bust. He snorted. Just which pimply high school senior was she trying to ensnare today? She looked at him intently. "Good MORNING, big brother," she said with obvious sarcasm. "Finally up?" She looked up at him with a snotty, slightly defiant look -- the kind she always gave him when their mother was in the kitchen with them and she was "safe." She went back to put some wrap on her dip and then got a box of cereal and sat at the other end of the table. She was eating Wheaties. "Ugh! Since when have you been eating THAT?!" he said, grimacing. Emma had always been a Fruit Loops girl. "I don't know," she replied nonchalantly, shrugging. "But you can't have any. I just finished it." She showed him the usual orange box. Sheryl Swoopes was on the cover, looking pretty buff. He was trying to decide if it was worth beating up on her a little. He decided hunger was his first priority, and opened the cupboard to get a bowl for his cereal. Once again, he had that odd feeling of slight disorientation. It almost seemed like the shelf in the cupboard was higher than it should be, and he had to actually reach up to get the bowl. "Who would want THAT stuff?" he said, pouring out a large bowl of his favorite, Cocoa Puffs. At least his Mom remembered to get them for him. He'd had to endure a year in the campus dining room without them. "You should. It's good for you. Makes you strong," she said, eating every last drop and then drinking the vitamin-enriched milk at the bottom of the bowl. "That's junk food, and it'll just make you fat," she said pointing at his box. She flexed her muscle, but of course nothing much happened. Jason laughed so hard the chocolate-tinted milk ran out of his nose. "Yeah, right. Look at little Miss Jockette here! Har-har-har!" He couldn't resist. He reached over and grabbed her upper arm and squeezed hard. "Owwwww. Quit it!" she cried, pulling away and then rubbing her arm where he'd held it. "That's not funny!" "Oh yes it is," he replied, laughing. "Still pretty soft'n small, sis! I guess the Wheaties isn't working," he teased. Emma's face reddened with anger and she glared at him. She stood up and seemed ready to kick him, but she kept her temper under control and sat back down again, breathing heavily. Matt still expected her to do something to get back at him, so he grabbed the milk jug before she could throw the milk on him. It was weird. Based on its weight the gallon jug seemed fuller than he thought. He must have had too much to drink last night. THAT was the problem! Then he started feeling a little dizzy. When the feeling stopped he felt disoriented again. Something was different but he couldn't quite place it. The jug was getting heavy so he put it down out of her reach and took a few more bites of his cereal, but even the cocoa puffs didn't taste right. He was feeling too weird to be hungry. He was going to have to drink less if he was going to stay in shape this summer. Emma was smiling at him, her cocky expression back again. "Losing your appetite? Or is the taste too strong for you this morning?" Matt rubbed his head and gave her his most unpleasant look. She stared back at him and then looked away. She took a deep breath and seemed to decide to shrug off the fight. "So, I assume you and Brad will be doing something later today," she asked, brightening her voice. "What's it to you?" he snapped. He wished she'd mind her own business. "I haven't seen Brad since early last night. I don't know what he's doing later." "Oh really?" She thought a minute, a smile playing across her face. She leaned forward and looked at him carefully. "Well, my friends are coming over again later today. Please don't behave like you did yesterday. Ashley was really upset." That was one of her oldest tricks, pretending to be nice again to get him to do what she wanted him to do. He smirked. Just let her try. It might work with their parents around, but he wasn't going to fall for it. Yesterday had been fun, and with their parents still away he'd be able to do whatever he wanted and either force her to secrecy or claim a "misunderstanding" later. He looked forward to some more heavy-duty teasing, ESPECIALLY with Ashley. She DESERVED to be put in her place a little. She thought she was so hot, going to Stanford, when she was really a total geek. Then he remembered that bet with Brad about getting laid today. He'd have to work on that later too. Then again, assuming the girls would be out by the pool for the afternoon he might see whether yesterday's fun got him some attention. That Kate wasn't half bad, and nothing would make Emma madder than him banging one of her best friends. "Oh, yeah, I'm really sorry about that," he said in mock sincerity. "But don't worry. I'll try really hard to make a better impression today." "I'm sure you will," she said softly. "What?" "Nothing," she said, smiling brightly again. No, nothing was going to get in the way of her good mood today. Matt ate another spoonful of cereal. It tasted sweeter suddenly, more chocolaty too. He frowned and looked up. Why was Emma still hanging around, like she was watching him? Girls! Then he noticed the Wheaties box. The picture of Swoopes looked different. Emma must have turned the box around, and in this one, instead of guarding someone, Swoopes was now driving toward the basket. He'd never realized she could jump so high or that she was so muscular. Those were some real biceps. He'd never seen a WNBA game, but he understood now how she'd gotten to be MVP. She must be the most muscular player in the league. Emma watched him stare at the box. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself. She couldn't just sit there. Her heart was pounding. She'd probably explode if she didn't do something! So she stood up. At least she succeeded in keeping her expression calm. "So, I suppose you're going to be working out all summer to get in shape for football?" Matt sighed. With this hangover, the last thing he wanted was to engage in inane chitchat with Emma. "Yeah, well of course, what do you THINK?" he said, not even bothering to look up at her. She paused a moment. "I think you need it," she said, with a slight giggle. He put down the spoon and looked up at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" Emma shrugged. It was so hard to contain herself, to stay cool. "Um, well, nothing." She stared at him. "It's just ... well ... you've REALLY been working out for the team this year?" The note of doubt in her voice was plain. "Well, yeah! Jeez Emma. I know you're my sister, but I'd think even you'd notice it." "Well, ok. If you say so." She peered at him closely. "Well, I'm just saying ... I can't really tell." "Are you crazy?!" Matt was very vain about the way his muscles had developed in the last year. He'd increased his lifting weight by almost 40% during the year, and twice he'd had to buy a larger shirt size. "Show me then," she said, challenging him. "What do you say? Pump 'em up." "Forget it, runt." He loved showing off, but there wasn't much point when it was your sister. "Aw, come on. Please?" Emma crossed her arms in front of her chest. Matt stared at her. What was she trying to pull? Did she think that by pushing out her boobs she was going to get him to do what she wanted? He KNEW her chest wasn't THAT big. "You know, I've been trying to tone up too. See?" She flexed her right arm -- not the right way, but with her fist touching her shoulder. Why did girls think THAT was the way to do it? Matt was about to curl his lips in a derisive sneer when something caught him short. She actually did have some biceps, even in that pose, something that you could actually call a muscle. They weren't very big, but they looked firm, certainly bigger than anything he could remember seeing on her before. In fact, her pose seemed to emphasize all of her upper body musculature, and her shirt stretched tightly across her chest as though she had bigger chest muscles as well. And that wasn't all that seemed bigger. She'd moved her arms from her breasts, and they still looked bigger. Perhaps it was the tighter shirt, but her breasts seemed to jump off her chest and looked at least half a cup size bigger. (Matt considered himself an expert on cup sizes.) Matt belatedly realized he was staring hard at his own sister's boobs, and finally broke his gaze away to find her smiling at him, having observed exactly what he'd been looking at. Embarrassed, he decided to put her in her place by showing off a real muscle. "Girls!" he said in contempt. "They think it's such a big deal if they have any muscle at all. Well, take a look at this." He brought his arms up and tensed into his own pose, making sure his sleeves moved up enough to provide the big show. Except it wasn't. Maybe it was just the effect of the big build-up he was giving it. Maybe it was his hangover. Or maybe it was just too early in the morning. But his own biceps just didn't seem as imposing as they should have. They just weren't as large as his image of them in his own mind. They looked just like they had several months ago. Sure, they WERE bigger than they had been when he'd left home, but they weren't the imposing balls of power that he was so proud of. He immediately resolved to do double sessions with his weights for the next couple of weeks. "Well, yeah. Like I was saying." She shrugged. "I guess that's why you need to work out so hard this summer. So, were you, like, spending too much time studying to do your weight training during the year? From what Mom and Dad were saying about your grades, that extra studying didn't do you much good." He flushed angrily. He can't believe they talked about his grades in front of Emma. He never worried much about them, not with his football scholarship, but she was taking things too far. "Listen, Emma. I may be feeling a little off this morning, but you KNOW I've really built up my body this year. You and your friends saw it yesterday. So don't start making cracks about my strength. Not when it's just you and me in the house together. Understand?" He leaned closer to her, threateningly. Emma pulled back slightly and swallowed. For all her teasing, she knew Matt was strong and he'd hit her before. She hated being hit and she didn't want to confront him now. "Well. OK. I'm sorry if I offended you. I was just trying to be honest. But I shouldn't have said anything about your grades. I know it's kind of a sore spot for you." She knew she shouldn't have said that either; it was just making him angry again, so she moved further away. "And about your muscles, it's probably just that you're sitting down. Or you're not fully awake yet. I mean, don't you have to work out a bit before they really get big?" she suggested helpfully. "Shut up!" he ordered, pushing his partially-finished bowl away and getting up angrily. Emma got nervous and backed away further, and as she did, he felt a momentary dizziness and put his hand on the table to steady himself. When he felt right again, he looked at her. Her shirt looked different somehow. It was her shoulders. He hadn't realized before that she must be wearing shoulder pads. Was that her new style idea or something? It looked pretty stupid, he thought, for a girl in a t-shirt on a summer day. But that wasn't all. Her arms looked almost like she was still flexing them a little, even though they were just at her sides. Maybe it was because he'd scared her with his threatening talk. Well good! It was pretty funny that even in the middle of a "flight or fight" reaction, her biceps were still so small. Determined to put her in her place, he walked out of the room. "Don't forget to do the dishes," he ordered. Emma watched him go and then looked down at her shirt and the way it fit over her chest. She pulled it down to smooth it, ran her fingers up her arm to adjust her sleeve and smiled. Even with the ups and downs, the morning was going just as she'd hoped it would. She ran to phone Mary for a quick chat, then got off and sighed happily. She couldn't wait to see what happened next. She didn't have to wait long. Matt headed down for his room and then stopped at the basement stairs. He definitely did not like the way his arms had looked when he flexed them. Why not go downstairs now for a workout? Exercise probably was the best way to knock off the hangover anyway, and it would be good to see how much more weight he could lift on his old gym set. So, he rumbled down the stairs, looking forward to the musty smell of the basement where he'd spent a lot of time during high school, alone and with his friends. But when he got downstairs, everything looked different. Instead of the dark wood paneling there was a light, pink color on the walls and a pink and black polka dot carpet. Where the bar and TV should have been there was a library, a sewing table and a bridge table. Even worse, instead of the series of New York Giants posters that should have been there, there was a wall plastered with posters of wimpy "Boy Band" singers in tight leather pants. The weight machine wasn't there either. No -- it was. It was in a different part of the room, and it was a different machine, with red cushions instead of black ones, and padding on all the bars instead of the familiar shiny metal. "Hey! What'd you guys do to the basement?" he yelled upstairs. Emma didn't answer. "Emma! Hey! I'm asking you a question!" She walked to the top of the stairs. "What did you say Matt? I couldn't hear you." "I said, who fucked up the basement?" "What do you mean?" "Get the fuck down here and I'll show you what I mean." Emma felt a thrill of excitement go through her from her head to her toes and started down the stairs. "All right. But this better be good!" She had a feeling it would be. Matt was standing in the middle of the room, his arms folded in front of him. "Well?" he said. "What is all this shit?" Emma looked around. She had been arguing with her parents for years that the basement looked awful and that they should do something to fix it up, but Matt had always insisted he liked it just as it was -- probably because he knew that only he and his friends would use it. Well, maybe now his opinion didn't count for as much. She had to admit it still wasn't great. It looked exactly like the stuff her mother would pick. But it was a lot better than the way it used to look. A lot cleaner too. And the posters were ... interesting. She peered closer at the pictures. "Oh yeah. That." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Well, just that -- what's the big deal? It's not that bad. It's brighter and cleaner. And you were away." "Where are my football posters?" he demanded. "I don't know. Mom might know," she suggested, although she doubted that was true. "I paid $100 for those. And what am I supposed to do now? Look at these pansies while I work out?" indicating the new posters. "I mean, just look at those guys." Matt shook his head in disgust. Emma did look more closely. She could see why Matt was pissed. They weren't at all masculine-looking, with fairly thin arms and narrow shoulders, but they were well-endowed in other respects, their clothing certainly accentuated their most impressive attributes and their facial expressions were very sensitive and, uh, appealing. It was not at all the kind of thing Matt would find inspiring. But then, looking at them made her feel kind of hot. She liked the feeling. "Well, you'll have to ask Mom when they call us. For now, I guess you'll have to ignore them. I don't really look at them much anymore while I work out. It was just sort of a joke when I picked them for Mom to put up, so we could move them if you want." "YOU'VE been using this to work out?" he said, incredulous. She nodded. Well, he thought, that would explain Emma's slightly better body. "I can't work out looking at those faggots in leather pants." "Then don't," she said, shrugging. "Close your eyes then. Go to a gym. Or just ... go soft." She knew she was just making him mad, but with the exercise machine next to him and her standing all the way across the room, she calculated that she was safe, so long as she didn't go too far. "Yeah, well." He pulled on the padded bars. "And this padding just feels so lame. What did you guys do to the old weight machine?" "I don't know, but I'm sure you'll find this one works fine. Try it and tell me what you think." She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall comfortably. Matt rolled his eyes to make sure she knew how pissed off he was, but then got down to business. He did a few stretches and then set the weight for the pull downs at about twenty pounds less than he had last done them. It had been a few days since his last workout and he wanted to start slowly. Besides, doing a few easy pulls at more than twice the weight SHE could ever use would demonstrate his superiority -- and make him feel better. He gripped the bar, his hands testing the unfamiliar softness of the padding, and pulled down. The bar moved slightly. He pulled harder and got it down a few inches then had to let it rise again. Emma tried desperately to suppress her laughter and ended up snorting and then coughing loudly to cover it. She turned to the wall and got herself under control. Meanwhile Matt was looking at the settings. He couldn't have gotten them wrong! "Um," Emma said, her voice almost back to normal, "I think maybe the weights are in kilos. It's a European model. I think." "You think?" Matt stared at her. "How could you not KNOW something like that! It's so ... basic! I can't believe you didn't tell me." "Well, I never really care exactly how much I lift. It's not like I'm competing with anyone. I'm just trying to keep in shape, you know," Emma replied. She pulled her t-shirt up a couple of inches and did a few twists to demonstrate the good tone of her abs, which were slightly visible. Matt could not help looking at how trim and hard her waist looked, and how the muscles of her legs twitched as she moved. Why, she really had developed since he had been away. Why hadn't he noticed it yesterday, he wondered? Of course, he'd probably been looking at her girlfriends, he reasoned, especially Mary. Why would he ever inspect his own sister's body? "Yeah, yeah. Very nice." He scowled and bent down to adjust the settings. "Uh, how many pounds is in a kilo?" he asked, a little embarrassed that he didn't remember. "About two," she replied. She knew it was 2.2, but there was no point being exact. "I'm going back upstairs," she announced and disappeared. Matt didn't bother to reply. He couldn't believe that she could use a weight machine and not care how much she lifted. It was so like her, so like all girls. They had no sense of competitive sports. No idea what games were all about. He took a deep breath, divided by two and moved the key up. He pulled the bar down easily now -- almost too easily. He went around to another station and tried the curls. Again, it was much too easy. Something was definitely wrong. He moved the key back down again and tried the curl. That was better. Something about the machine was just screwy. He'd have to find the manual and figure it out. But for now, he was just going to concentrate on his workout. He would just have to feel his way to the right weights. Emma heard Matt clanking away on the machine. It was such an annoying sound. He was really going at it. Well, he should have his fun now. She could not believe how much effort he put into building his muscles and getting stronger. She could never do that. She looked at the soft, smooth skin of her arm, the gentle curve of her biceps. She touched them, pushing the firm tissue. Weren't they large enough? She had never felt any need to be stronger. She couldn't really understand why it was so important to him. But she knew it was. She knew how much he loved to flex, to see his biceps bunch up and harden and to see how other people, male and female, reacted to the sight. He liked the intimidation they produced, the jealousy, the admiration, the fear. Everyone else had to wonder what HE was going to do, how HE was going to react, knowing that there was little THEY could do to stop him IF he wanted to start something. And he usually didn't have to start anything. He got what he wanted just because people knew what he could and might do if he didn't. It was so annoying. Yes, she liked her body now. Her breasts were nice, her hips had a good curve to them, while her ass was still pretty tight. And her legs were firm and strong, but not all bulgy. It was funny last night, hanging out with her friends talking about what women would look like if they were the ones who were bigger and more muscular. They all laughed and giggled, even on just one can of beer. And Kate was so good at drawing. They'd just suggest something and she'd draw it. First a picture of how they were now, and then as if they had more and more muscle. The funniest was a picture of Ashley and Matt, with Ashley the tall and powerful one, with thick round arms and a large chest, half of which was bulging muscle and the other half round high breasts, with a tiny thin Matt looking up at her wistfully. They laughed so much. What a great group of friends. What a shame everything would change soon, the four of them scattering to different schools. Well, they'd made their decisions. They really couldn't do much about it now. Of course they COULD change their minds. But they wouldn't. That is, she wouldn't. She could hear Matt's heavy breathing from all the way upstairs. If he didn't stop soon it wouldn't be long before she'd be able to smell him too. She wrinkled her nose. She HATED that. The basement would start to stink too, and it always took hours before it was ok again. She took a deep breath and concentrated. It got quiet. She looked downstairs and called "Hey, are you all right?" and then went down. Matt was kneeling on the ground, his hand on his head, just ready to stand up again. Emma's eyes shifted to the posters and then back to Matt. "What happened?" "I don't know. I've been having these dizzy spells this morning." He leaned against the machine. "It looks like that was a bad one. Maybe you shouldn't be working out like that," she suggested, still standing by the stairs. "Maybe it's not good for you, especially after you've been out late drinking." "Aww, cut the shit, Emma. You sound like Mom. You know I do this stuff all the time." She didn't say anything. He felt better now, the light-headedness passing quickly. He had been working on his second set of curls with the heavier weights and had just been starting to get that burn in his arms. He wanted to go back to it while they were still pumped. He gripped the bar and pulled. The bar hardly moved. He pulled harder, straining on the cable and again it moved only slightly. Then the weight was too much for him and it settled back to his starting position. Matt pulled on it again but he couldn't move it at all. Emma walked closer. "What are you doing?" she asked. "This stupid machine. The cable's stuck or something!" he said, very annoyed. "That other one always worked perfectly. Why did you guys have to get rid of it?" Emma ignored his question. She stepped next to him and quickly put her hands on the bar. She pulled it up a few inches and then let it go back down. "It feels all right to me," she said nonchalantly and then stepped back. Matt took a sharp breath in. That was really weird. He gripped the bar again, tightly, and pulled. Again, he could raise it just a little bit. Emma was standing right there now. He pulled as hard as he could and lifted it two, then three inches, before his strength gave out and the bar dropped quickly, the weights clanging loudly. "Hey, watch it!" Emma said. "You're going to break it. Just do it with less weight, ok? You don't have to impress me." "Hey, I know I can do it with this weight, ok? I just did." He gripped the bar and pulled again. Emma stood next to him, watching him strain, his arms shaking from the effort, his muscles tensed and the veins on his arm just visible. She looked at his muscles and wondered what he was thinking -- after all, they were just the size of an average boy's, not a football player's, the biceps rounding noticeably but looking neither particularly large nor hard. Matt was growing more and more frustrated, well aware of Emma's presence and the way she was looking him over. He let go, exhausted. "It's this damn machine. Something's wrong with it," he said, ignoring for the moment -- or perhaps not noticing -- what was -- or wasn't -- on his arms. "Come off it Matt. You're always making excuses, aren't you." She nudged him aside with her hip and put her hands under the bar, just as she'd seen him do it. "Now you're the one who's gonna get hurt ..." he said, his voice trailing off as she smoothly and confidently curled the bar to her chest and let it drop, then repeated it five more times easily. She leaned forward and moved the key up to the first weight, paused a moment and then down to the second. "Try that one. You can work your way up to the heavier weights when you start to develop your arms." She stepped away to let him try but he just stood there staring at her. She shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to." She leaned back and moved the key down, adding several weights more than she'd just lifted. She positioned herself and then started curling again. It was harder, but she was able to do seven curls quickly enough and then slowly finish out three more. It felt good to push her muscles that way. Her heart beat hard and her arms tingled. She really liked the feeling, much more than she'd thought she would. Matt stared at her. It wasn't only that she'd just curled more weight than he'd just been able to lift. But he suddenly noticed that she was as tall as he was. And her shoulders were broad, her arms thick and her chest full. No, not just broad, think and full. Broader, thicker and fuller than his. No, that couldn't be Emma. He shook his head violently. He stared at her. No, otherwise she looked the same. Her face, her expressions, her voice. He shook his head. Then he glanced at the posters. They had changed again! They all had styled hair now, and the crotches of their leather pants suits now bulged into visible balls. He looked away. He was feeling more weight in his crotch too, but he was afraid to look down. Maybe he WAS getting sick. He looked at the next station on the weight machine but then had second thoughts about trying it again with Emma standing right there. As if reading his mind she said, "Get over it Matt. If you want to keep trying, go right ahead. But don't feel bad if you can't do as much as I can. You don't have the muscle for it. I mean, you're a boy, right?" "Are you fucking CRAZY?!" he roared, his feelings of shock and anger finally bursting. He put his face next to hers aggressively. "We both know I'm much stronger than you are." Emma almost followed her automatic reaction to back off. Her heart was pounding and she wanted to fall on the floor and curl into a ball, but she steeled herself to hold her ground and managed a laugh. "I don't THINK so, Matt." She took his wrist and held up his arm, showing how the tight, embroidered sleeve hugged his skinny arm. "Nope. It sure doesn't look that way." He pulled his arm away. Emma rolled her eyes and pulled her own tight sleeve back. Even unflexed there was a noticeable bulge in her upper arm. "This always happens. Boys are competitive and they always imagine that they're tougher and stronger than they really are. It's cute, but it's so silly when they try to compare themselves with GIRLS." She tightened her fist and already there was a pop in her arm. She continued to tighten her biceps and enjoyed watching it rise further. "Well, come on, Matt. I thought we were comparing. Aren't you going to flex yours?" she said. To her surprise he did, producing a round, but much smaller and softer looking bulge. She could feel Matt staring at her arm and she managed to resist the strong temptation to stick out her tongue at him and say, "NYAHH, nyahh, MY muscle's BIGGER! NYAHH, nyahh, MY muscle's BIGGER!" But she did say it to herself. "What the FUCK'S going on here?" he said. He strained his arm in a futile attempt to make his muscle expand. Maybe it rose a fraction of an inch more, but that was all. He stared at it. Why did his muscle look so pathetic? Emma put her arm next right next to his and flexed again, her muscle rising far above his. "That's really GOOD, Matt. I can see you WERE working out a LOT when you were away at school. You see what you can do when you stick to it!" she said encouragingly, knowing just how patronizing and condescending her voice would sound to him. Enraged, he pushed her away. Emma fell back a couple of steps. Her blood rushed again from a habitual fear that he was going to hit her, but in the next instant she perceived how much less force he managed and how easily she held her ground. And then her conscious mind kicked in. "Ma-aatt," she said in her bossiest tone. "Don't start that again. You know who always gets hurt when we fight and then runs crying to Mommy." She didn't really know, but it sounded good to her. "What are you TALKING about? Have you gone TOTALLY off your rocker?" he exclaimed, choosing to believe his memory rather than his eyes. He grabbed Emma's arms, meaning to push her backwards against the wall near the stairs. Then, with her squealing, he'd decide what kind of punishment she deserved. She looked at him with amazement. Was he KIDDING? His hands felt so small against her upper arms, and she'd just shown him how much stronger she was! Well, this would be fun. She let him back her against the wall, slowly tensing her arms and her chest as she moved backwards. The sensation was so strange to him. He'd seen how large her biceps had looked when she flexed before, but now he felt them flex beneath his hands. They felt so firm, like a real athlete's muscles. Not like hers had felt just at breakfast. He was SURE of it. But now he was having trouble keeping his hold, as her muscles expanded beyond the size of his grip. And her chest seemed to swallow the space between them. It wasn't just her tits. They stuck out farther; but it was muscle too, a lot of muscle. "So," she giggled. "What are you going to do to me?" She licked her lips and her mouth was open expectantly, like she was waiting to see what surprise he had in mind. He grit his teeth and started squeezing her biceps, like he was sure he had earlier this morning. That had made her scream all right. He'd start with that. He waited for that mouth to purse with pain, for her eyebrows to rise, for her to whine and beg him to stop. But none of that happened. Her muscles felt so hard under his fingers. No, the only thing that was happening was that his fingers were getting tired and his forearms were starting to hurt. "I know you like muscles, Matt, but, I mean, aren't you even a little bit EMBARRASSED feeling up your sister's?" she teased. She tensed them some more and shook off his hands. "Not that it hurt, but your nails are kind of sharp. Look at the marks they made on my skin." She held up her arms to show the tiny indentations, which quickly faded. "I've told you so many times you should file them smooth. Girls notice these things, you know. Let me show you how." She grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm, forcing him up the stairs. To his amazement, he couldn't stop her. Her grip was cutting off the circulation in his hand and if he didn't move his feet it felt like she was going to tear his arm right out of the socket. Then he started feeling dizzy again, and if she hadn't been holding him he would have fallen right down the stairs. By the time his head cleared they were sitting on the floor of the den and she was rubbing his nails with a file. It felt very unpleasant and he tried to pull his hand away. "Hey, don't move! I'm almost finished with this hand." Matt tried again but she just held his wrist more tightly. "Owww! You're hurting me." "Don't be a baby! It doesn't hurt." She rubbed the file across her own nail. "See?" "No! My wrist. You're gonna -- "Oh!" She laughed. "Sorry, Matt. I didn't realize." She eased up a bit. "I just wanted you to keep still to let me finish. Be a little more patient, will you?" He glared at her. Wait! Just when had she changed her clothes? She was wearing a bikini type halter now tied around her waist; its only function being to contain her large breasts. Her arms were so thick; much thicker than his had ever been. And he felt so weary. He must be sick, that was it. He must be hallucinating. "I don't feel so good," he said, vaguely. Emma laughed and guessed that with his reduced size he was having a lot more trouble with his hangover now than before. "Well, what do you expect when you go out drinking all night? You know it always takes you a few days to recover after you have more than one beer." She looked at her arms. Wow, she was powerful. Her biceps were the size of softballs and she wasn't even flexing them. Maybe she had taken things too far -- for now. Well, he looked like he was ready to fall asleep. She'd have time for fine tuning while he napped. She finished his nails then picked him up. He felt so light to her! This was a lot better than she had even imagined. Using just one arm she carried him to his room and tucked him into bed, wondering what he would think when he awoke of the poster above his bed: there was Cameron Diaz, "Jane Bond," with one well-muscled arm brandishing her trademark submachine gun while the other tenderly touched the cheek of a frightened but very erect Pierce Brosnan. It was cool. So, had she gone too far? She'd have to see what her friends thought. They'd decide together. Chapter 3 When he heard Matt stumble in at six, Brad woke up for a minute, disoriented, but then settled back to sleep. He was so glad he'd left Matt at the Sports Bar when he had. Otherwise he'd be tired and sick all day. He was looking forward to seeing John, playing a bit of B-ball and talking about girls. John was his oldest friend, apart from Matt of course, and was a grade behind him even though he was just two months younger -- he had always had been a bit small for his age, so his parents kept him back a year. He hadn't seen John much all year and he was looking forward to catching up on what had happened at the high school and where the hot girls would be going to college and just hanging out. John was usually so much easier to be with than Matt. But then, Matt was his twin. They were supposed to stick together. And John sounded a bit annoyed with him when he'd called, wanting to know why he hadn't heard from him all year. Brad apologized, but he didn't want to admit that every time he'd brought up John's name Matt made such a fuss that he avoided calling him. Emma was in the den, still in her night t-shirt, when he came down around nine. She had a bunch of drawings on the table and looked startled when he saw them. She started picking them up, but he'd seen them already. "Hi sis. What're those?" he asked. She hadn't expected him up early and she'd forgotten how quiet Brad could be. "Uh, just some of Kate's drawings," she said, embarrassed. Brad was casting his eyes over them quickly. It would be even worse if she took them away to hide them. He'd probably just wake Matt up and they'd wrestle them away from her. That wasn't how she'd planned to start the day. "Who did these? Kate?" He chuckled. "They're good! Pretty funny, though, drawing you and your friends with muscles like that. Is that, like, what you girls want? We learned in psychology that girls have, like 'penis envy' or something. But they didn't teach us anything about 'muscle envy'." He laughed at his own joke and checked Emma for her reaction but was disappointed that she just looked back. She really didn't have much of a sense of humor. "It's just some old stuff. We, uh, did a comic book in English and Art. These were just the drafts." "Really? So Miss Hoover is still doing that stuff? Jeez. High school was so much more fun than college. I'd love it if I could get a grade by making up comic book superheroes instead of reading stuff like Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales. It's supposed to be English but it isn't really." Emma had slowly gathered everything up. "They're in old English or middle English, Brad," she said patiently. He was still looking at Mary's picture, which Emma had left on top. "Yeah, whatever. Well, I think your project is much more interesting than that monster story. I would have loved to do something like that in high school, but Mrs. McDonald only assigned book reports and shit. Do you have the final one? Can I see it?" "Well," Emma said thoughtfully. "I'll talk to my friends. Maybe we can let you see something like it later today, ok? The final will look a lot more realistic." She smiled. Brad could be kind of sweet without Matt around. "OK. That's great. I'm going to get some breakfast. I'm meeting up with John. You want to eat with me?" "Umm, I'll come in. I thought you and Matt would be doing something." "Naah. He was out pretty late last night. I haven't seen John much all year, anyway." She took the drawings and followed him into the kitchen. "So where are you going?" "We'll just shoot some baskets I think, see who's around at the school." Emma nodded. "Well. My friends'll be over for swimming later. Mary will be there, you know." His head perked up from his cereal. "Oh? That's nice. Well, tell her maybe I'll see her later. Or ... no. Don't tell her. But I'll come by. I think." He smiled. "I think I'm a bit tired still from traveling all day yesterday." He took more cereal, then snuck another look at the drawing of Mary. He stood up. "Well, see you later." He walked halfway out of the room, then remembered he'd left the bowl on the table, went halfway back, then looked at Emma. "Um, would you mind?" Emma looked at him, annoyed for an instant, then said. "Hey, it's your first day back. I'll do your dish. But just this once, ok? The rest of the summer you do your own." Brad grinned. "Thanks a lot Em. See you later." He went out the door, letting it slam as usual. He hopped on his bicycle and sped toward the high school. He'd told John he'd meet him there at 9:30, but he was going to be a few minutes late. First, he wanted to stop at the newsstand on the way to see if the new Sports Illustrated was in. A few months ago he and Matt had been mentioned in the back pages as promising young college athletes, and a friend had told him he might be in it again this week. And even though it was out of season, he was always eager to read the features on football and basketball. The day SI came out was always his favorite day of the week. It was twenty past nine. Emma rinsed Brad's bowl out in the sink and put it in the dishwasher, then took the drawings into her room and put them away. What would happen to them? She didn't really understand how her new powers worked, but when she tried them out last night for awhile, after her friends had gone home at midnight, all sorts of things seemed to change. Side effects, she guessed. She'd brought everything back to normal so that she could sleep on their decisions, but the morning had just made her more confident ... and excited. Her heart was pounding, she couldn't sit still, so she went back to the kitchen and started making some snacks for her friends. She bit her lip, feeling a little guilty, but then shrugged her shoulders. It was 9:30. As good a time to start as any. Brad was almost there when felt a little dizzy and almost fell off his bike. He was able to recover enough to stop the bicycle and hop off but he had to lean against a wall for a minute before he felt right and he decided to walk the last half block until he was sure he had his balance back. It looked like the old newsstand had gotten cleaned up a bit. Most of the XXX magazines were gone and the few that remained were at the top shelf, shielded by plastic covers. He scanned the rack, noticing a lot of new publications. Active Woman. Family Man. Homemaker's Journal. There was Men's Fitness, but Women's Fitness right next to it. Since when was People magazine so large? And there was US, We, Now, Hello, all of which seemed to be clones of People. SI was usually right up front. There were the fashion magazines. Elle, Vogue (with a surprisingly toned model on the cover), but also GQ, Men's Style, and El. That was a new one. He went back to the sports magazines. Golf, Ladies Golf, Tennis. He stopped for a moment to look at Mary Pierce on the cover. He shook his head. There needed to be more drug testing in tennis, for sure. There was no way her biceps were natural! Finally he found the new copy of SI. He sighed in pleasure and lifted it. What was this? Annika Sorestram in the Colonial. Why did that deserve a cover? She'd dropped out before the cut! But the cover said she finished fifteenth, with Michelle Wie twenty-second. There was a shot of Annika flexing her biceps after sinking a put. She was pretty well-built too! You could see the curve of her muscle push up the sleeve of her polo shirt. Either she was on the juice too, or he had underestimated how much more professional sportswomen were developing their bodies. There certainly wasn't anyone like that at Villanova. "Kid, this ain't a library, you know!" the grumpy owner said. Brad always hated that guy. No matter how often he came here, he still treated him like shit. He'd have to go through the magazine with John later. Maybe it was a gag issue. He closed the magazine and checked the other sports titles to see whether the annual football review issues were out yet, but none were. In fact, the coverage of football seemed minimal. Instead, almost half of the magazines were for women's sports. He hated when magazines pandered like that. He paid for it and tucked it under the bicycle clip and pedaled hard to finish the trip to the school as quickly as he could. He didn't want John to think that just because he was a year behind him it was ok for him to make John wait around. That's what Matt always did, and Brad didn't think it was right. Besides, he wanted to wipe that queasy feeling out of his body and get his heart racing. Surprisingly, he tired much faster than usual, and he felt the strain with each push. He stepped the gears down from 12 to 10 before he felt comfortable. In fact, his muscles actually seemed quite exhausted by the time he arrived. It didn't help his mood when one girl came whipping up alongside and passed him on the way to the entrance. She was wearing tight shorts that emphasized her long, strong legs that seemed to move her bike effortlessly and much more quickly, but he consoled himself with the thought that she had probably only ridden a few blocks. "Hey," he called, seeing John standing with a basketball under his arm. He was watching the girl who had sped past. She was shooting baskets with surprising accuracy. "Hey yourself," John answered and walked over to Brad, who was standing at the next court. He raised his hands for the ball and John pushed it to him in a bounce pass. Brad grabbed it and jumped for the ten foot shot. It hit the front rim and bounced off past John, who chased it and dribbled it back to the court slowly. "Damn!" Brad said. "What's the matter?" John said. "I just feel a little off. That's all." John shrugged. "Hey, great to see you." "Yeah, you too. So, how's the big college man?" "Pretty good, pretty good." Brad slapped the ball away and shot again from fifteen feet out. It bounced on the side rim, went up in the air and dropped in. "Lucky, lucky." John said. They heard the rhythmic bouncing of the ball in the next court and the sounds of the ball dropping through the chains under the net with tiresome regularity. "Who is she?" Brad asked. "She's pretty good." "I'll say!" John said. "That's Kim Russell. She was All-State. She's the reason the girls' team won the state finals for the second straight year. They would have gone all the way in the nationals if anyone else on the team could play." "I don't remember them winning my last year," Brad said, confused. "But then, I guess I didn't pay much attention to girls' basketball." "Are you crazy? That was the first time our school's won anything except chess in twenty years. The whole town went nuts." "OK, well don't get all excited. It's still just girls' basketball." Brad watched her sink a few more baskets from 20 feet out and further. "Although I have to admit, she's pretty good for a girl." He bounced the ball a few more times and shot another one, a swish from fifteen feet out. "That's more like it." He ran to grab the ball as it bounced and tossed in a reverse lay-up. "Yes!" John rolled his eyes. "Give me a break. She could beat you any day. She beat Coach Hart one-on-one." "Coach Hart is forty-five, right?" Brad tossed the ball at John, who grabbed it, then dropped it. He dribbled slowly up to the basket and shot. It fell short. "Hey, you feeling off too?" "No, I'm fine." He shrugged. "You know I don't really like playing basketball." Brad looked puzzled. He had John had played basketball together since John had moved here. Of course, John was too small for the school team, but he always came to the games. Brad grabbed the ball and moved out from the basket and then fired it from twenty-five feet. It sailed wide for an airball. "Damn." "If you think you're better than she is, why don't you challenge her? Play her one on one. I bet she wins." "Do you think she'd do it?" "Sure. If you bet on it. She usually plays guys for money. That's like her summer job." Brad looked over at her. She was about three inches shorter than he was, but she had a very athletic build. Sturdy long legs and arms and broad shoulders. And she rarely missed a shot. "Hey, you want to play?" he called out. She stopped dribbling. "You want to play me?" She tossed the ball to him, hard. He caught it, palms stinging, and loped over to her, dribbling. She watched him coolly, appraising his abilities. "Well, you're a few inches taller than me, and older, and a boy. So what do you say I'll bet $10 to your $20? To make it fair." "Whoa! From what I hear, you're the one who should be giving me odds," he said, feeling a little uneasy about his argument. She smiled and smoothed her t-shirt over her chest and wiggled her hips a little. "You mean, you actually think I could beat you? Tell you what, give me four to one, and your friend can play on your team. Two boys against one girl. And I'll put down $25." Brad stared at her. "Are you serious?" She nodded. "Then you're on." "Brad!" John protested. "That's too much!" "Hey, I'll cover the bet." "But I told you, she's great. This is her summer job. She takes everybody. I thought you'd just bet five bucks." "Well, she can't take me and she certainly can't take both of us." Brad tossed the ball to John who flubbed it and quick as a cat Kim was on it and hit a fadeaway from twenty feet. "You ready?" she called. "We play to eleven. I'll take it first," she winked, "'cause I'm a GIRL." She took the ball back, Brad guarding her in front while John nipped around, trying to steal the ball from her. Brad kept his hand on her back. She felt solid and moved slowly and confidently, keeping the ball away from John's clumsy efforts to steal it. "Come on, John," Brad said. "Get it." "It's not that easy, you know," he said, stabbing for it. Kim faked and then went the other way, leaving Brad half a second behind. That was all she needed and she drove in for the easy shot. "One zip," she said, tossing John the ball. John dribbled tentatively, Kim staying between the two boys, but keeping her eye mostly on Brad. His back to the basket, John came closer, then stopped dribbling. Kim moved behind him. She was a few inches taller than John and with her hands up, he couldn't pass it out. Brad came around and John flipped it back to him and he used John as a pick, shooting behind him. The ball bounced off the back rim and Kim beat him to the rebound. She brought it back and then dribbled to the left corner and shot it up again for a swish. "Two zip. Double if I shut you out?" "Just play," Brad snarled. He took the ball back, deciding to ignore John. John wasn't being much help against her. He'd been suckered into raising the odds. Now he had to win. He pushed toward the basket, faking several times but she wasn't fooled. Damn she was good, he had to admit. He tried another head fake and finally she went for it. He waited and then jumped. To his amazement, it just cleared her outstretched fingers but it was true and banked in. "Two-ONE," he said, his game face on. She smiled. "O-ho, so you HAVE played before?" She took the ball and spun it on her finger, then put it on the floor and started back. Brad was right on her, playing as close as he could. She was using her elbows now, pushing against him. It probably was a foul, but he was damned if he was going to call it. Then John appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the ball. Brad dropped back and called for it but Kim whirled around and took it right out of his hands, and before Brad could get back to her she tossed it in for another point. "Three-one." She bounced it smartly back to him and he touched the back line then started for the basket. He faked a pass to John but she didn't even move. He took it down the side of the court, then threw it over his head to John, who fired a shot from close in. It bounced around the rim and fell in. "Three-two." This was better. She was driving now. Brad jumped to block her and tipped the ball slightly. It hit the backboard and they both went up for it, both grabbed it and then wrestled for it. Brad was amazed at her strength, but finally pulled it away from her and took it back. He looked back at her, nodding to show her respect and she gave a little grin. She wasn't all bad. He wished he didn't have $100 riding on the game, but it was a good contest. He dribbled toward the basket. He'd almost forgotten about John now and in fact, John was open right underneath. He raised his arm to pass and again she didn't respond to the first fake but she did to the second. This time he put it up to the basket and it went in. "Three-three." Now she was looking pissed. She took it back and Brad was right on her. She pushed against him and he pushed back harder. For the moment, he'd forget she was a girl. She was just another player he had to beat. Then suddenly he felt a dizzy spell. He held up his hand for time and shook his head to get his bearings. She had the ball against her hip, one hand keeping it there. "Well? Are you playing or what?" "Sorry. I just --" He looked around, confused. John had changed his shirt and was sitting on one side of the court. Some girls were sitting nearby, clapping their hands rhythmically. "Beat him Kim. Beat him Kim." they shouted, over and over. "Yeah, yeah. I must have blacked out for a second." She rolled her eyes. "Can we get this over with already?" She took the ball toward the basket. He was startled for a second. She must have changed balls -- it was a salmon color now, almost pink. She was about to say something but then decided to move for the ball instead. She zigged-zagged right around him for an easy score. "Seven-zip," she called. "What? It's four-three," he cried in protest. The girls hooted. He looked at John. "It's seven-nothing, Brad. Really. Are you ok?" "I swear!" "Look, if you want to play, play. Otherwise, you can just give up and my friends and I -- "No, I'm not giving up. I'll play," Brad said, hurriedly. "But why the new ball?" She looked at him. "What? This is the -- oh, is that a little psychological tactic? Typical!" "Never mind." He could beat her, even at seven-zip. He was getting to her now. He took the ball and started dribbling. It wasn't just the color. It felt strange to him. Too large and heavy. He didn't have the control he should have. But for some reason she wasn't playing him as closely. He got closer to the basket and she let him take the shot, a free shot from just six feet out. He tossed it up and it hit the front rim. They both jumped for the rebound, but she jumped a full half foot higher and pulled it down easily. She took it to the back line. He came up to her, guarding her closely like before. What was going on? She seemed taller, and although he was trying to hold his space she was steadily moving him backwards. She stopped dribbling and turned around. He put his hands up and realized they were eye-to-eye. "What's the matter, Bradley?" she said. "Bit off a bit more than you could chew?" She didn't even bother to fake, taking a jump shot. He went up with her but again she outjumped him by a good half foot and the ball went in. "EIGHT-zip," she said, bored. She flipped the ball to him. He took it back. She stayed on him close this time, doing to him what he'd tried to do to her. But her hand dug into his back. Why, she was as strong as any guy he'd played with on JV. Stronger maybe. He elbowed her to push her away, and his arm hit her chest. "OWW!" she said, suddenly angry and with one arm she shoved him. He went flying across the court and hit the ground, not far from John. "Shit! Don't you EVER elbow-tit me again, or I'll smash your balls so hard they'll come out the other side. Jesus!" Brad shook his head. "Wow, she's strong!" he said to John. "I told you she's Muscles Russell. She's the strongest in the school. And she's only a junior. I still don't get why you wanted to play her. You'll be lucky if you still have your teeth at the end of the game." Kim was laughing with her friends now. She pulled up her t-shirt to inspect her breast, which was twice as large as Brad had thought at first, and then went back on the court with them. Brad came back up. "C'mon, let's finish up." He looked over and saw that his court was now taken up by ten girls playing a vigorous game. They were surprisingly good. "You going to watch them or finish?" He called for the ball. "Uh-uh. You fouled me. My ball. She dribbled back and then fired a shot from thirty feet. It went right in. "NINE-zip." She whipped the ball to him. It knocked the wind out of him but he held onto it and took it back to the baseline. She played him closely again this time. He couldn't get free from her and finally jumped for the shot. She grabbed it before it left his hands and held it in the air above him. Brad jumped, but she moved the ball and avoided him easily. He jumped again and again, but each time she kept it away effortlessly, using her height advantage to full effect. Finally she got tired of showing off and dribbled slowly toward the basket. He set himself underneath to block her and maybe get a rebound. She dribbled for a moment, standing still, then started coming at him like a freight train. He jumped out of the way. She soared high in the air and stuffed the ball through the hoop. "Good move, little boy. You're getting smarter." She tossed him the ball and he felt another wave of dizziness. The next thing he knew he was in the middle of the foul lane. The girls were all around him. They were all taller than he was. They all looked like they'd worked with weights for years. They all talked among themselves quickly about the game and who was playing and who was watching and what they were going to do later. "What ARE we waiting for?" Kim said impatiently. She was bouncing the ball angrily and practicing her slam dunks. It changed color again. It was bright pink! "Wait a sec Mussy. Come on Bradsie. Let's see if you can get it in," one of them said. She tossed him the ball and he reached for it but it hit his fingers, bending them backwards. "Oww!" he cried. "Caroline! Throw it to him softly. He's a boy, remember? He can't catch." One of the girls handed it to him. "Try again." He set up for the shot, but the ball seemed so heavy and the basket so high. He pushed the ball with both hands, but it barely made it to the height of the rim and didn't go nearly far enough. "Underhanded, Bradsie, remember?" "We'll be here all day," Kim complained. Brad looked at her. She was a good eight inches taller than he was, with a full bust and enormous biceps. He felt dizzy again, and now she towered more than a foot above him. He looked up at the basket and tried to shoot underhanded. The ball went straight up five feet and then down. Kim sighed. With her hulk-like muscles, she lifted him in the air with one large hand on his rump. With the other she palmed the basketball and gave it to him. "Just put the ball in the basket Bradsie and then let us play, all right?" He was so confused and frightened that he did just what she asked. The girls all clapped. Kim put him down and patted him on the head. "Now you sit there with Johnnie and cheer for us, ok Bradsie? Hey Melissa! Let's have that ball!" Melissa whipped the ball across the court so quickly Brad could hardly see it, but Kim jumped for it, snatched it out of the air and flipped it into the basket, a good twenty feet away, with one easy motion. "Hey! Let's play some B-Ball!" Brad turned to Johnnie. "Wh-what just happened? I was just playing with Kim. It was tied 3-3." He shook his head. It didn't make sense. John turned to him. "What are you talking about? You've been talking about nothing since you got home from school except seeing 'Muscles' Russell play basketball. Well here we are. OK? I mean, she's great and all, but it's a girls' game. You can't play it. You can't even throw that ball. It's WAY too heavy for boys." Brad looked down at his arms. They were so thin and soft. But he was sure that wasn't right. "John, aren't boys supposed to be bigger and stronger than girls?" he asked tentatively. John looked at him as though he had just suggested that the sky was pink. Then he grinned and rubbed Brad's hair. "You really had me going for a second, Bradsie. You're such a kidder. Hey, enough of this 'sports day'. Let's go to my house and play some computer games. He hopped on his bicycle, which to Brad looked like a child's bike, but then Brad realized his racing bike had disappeared, replaced by one similar to John's. He looked over with envy at the sleek racing bikes the girls had leaned against the fence. Brad continued to watch the girls go at it, surprised both at their ability and with the degree of physicality in their game. They really played hard, bumping and elbowing each other freely, and would have given even the best college male players a tough game. He had to admit, they looked a lot better on the court than he ever did. Not only were there ball skills on a whole different level, but their size and builds just seemed naturally athletic. All the girls had defined, diamond-shaped calf muscles and strong thighs that bulged and rounded with their quick starts and stops. Matt looked down at his own legs that seemed scarily smooth and thin, especially in comparison. Even more daunting, both girls had obvious upper body development that seemed more in line with weight trainers than basketball players. They had extremely strong back muscles that made their shoulders look square and wide, and real curves to their arms from large biceps. The size and swell of these was noticeable even while doing simple things like bringing their arms up to shoot. "OK. I guess so." He stood up, his stick-like legs feeling a little wobbly, and lifted the small bike off the ground. It felt so heavy! He started to push off with one foot on the pedal, but he felt awkward and unsteady trying to lift his leg over the seat while the bike was moving, so he stopped, put his feet on both sides as he used to do when he first started to ride and pushed off with one foot, then started pedalling. It was slow going, even though he was pushing as hard as he could. His legs started feeling tired even before they'd left the school, and already John was a hundred yards behind, calling on him to wait. Just then a girl ran in front of him and halted the bike by grabbing his handlebars. Brad almost flew off the bicycle but stopped himself and put his feet on the ground, straddling the bike. He looked up at the girl, his head only coming up as high as her fabulous breasts, which were bound only by the thinnest string bikini. She was beautiful, with long, flowing dark hair, bewitching green eyes and ... goodness, it was Mary! "Hi Brad," she said, smiling. John had just caught up and he looked up at Mary worshipfully. "Oh, hello John." John seemed to go weak in the knees and just stared at her, his mouth agape. "John, I wanted to talk to Brad privately. Why don't you just run along home? Brad will see you another day." She spoke softly and sweetly but her intentions were plain. John nodded obediently and took off right away, looking back at her several times before rounding the corner. "He's such a good little boy, isn't he? He'll do very well working at the family store." "The store? He's going to business school," Brad said. Mary laughed. "I don't THINK so. He doesn't exactly strike me as the high-powered business type. Can you imagine John holding his own in a confrontation with a large, confident woman? No, a flower store is just right for him. Come, Brad. Let's take a walk. You can leave your bike at the school, can't you?" She picked it up one-handed and dropped it behind a fence. "I don't think any of the boys can get it out there, and girls can't use a bike that small." She put her arm on his shoulder and pulled him closer as they started to walk. Brad was going to say something. Her arm was so heavy that it made him slump slightly, and her pulling him hurt a little. But he liked being close to her so he held his tongue. Brad looked up at her and nodded. "I guess not," he said. "Mary -- "You know," she interrupted. "I was glad to see you yesterday at your pool. But I was really mad at Matt. He was being such a jerk. You don't mind me saying that, do you?" "Well, no. A lot of people think Matt's kind of -- Mary! Yesterday ..." He stopped and looked up at her. "Yes Brad?" She took a deep breath, enjoying his distraction at the swelling of her chest. "You, uh, remember yesterday at the pool, right?" She nodded. "When Matt was, you know, showing off his biceps." Mary grinned. "Yeah, sure. Like this." She held out her arm and flexed, her muscle exploding into a massive rounded peak. It was the largest flexed muscle he'd ever seen up close. Brad stared at it transfixed, looked over at her full breasts, and then back at her muscle. He swallowed. "Um, yeah." "You mean, not exactly like that. I mean, he's a boy so he doesn't have breasts like me. Or muscles this large." "Um right. But wait, no. Mary. Don't think I'm crazy or anything. John did." He didn't want her to laugh. "But, boys ARE bigger and stronger than girls, aren't they?" He tried to make it a simple question but he couldn't hide the pleading tone in his voice. She looked at him, her face impassive. "I mean, remember when Matt threw Emma in the water yesterday? I mean, he shouldn't have done that," Brad added quickly. "But he DID do it, right? And ... and he couldn't have if he were as small as I am and Emma -- Jesus!" The image just went through his mind. "I mean, if Emma were as big as you are." "Brad! She isn't. You KNOW I've always been a couple of inches taller than Emma!" she said. "So she's still two inches shorter -- nothing's changed." She looked down on him, patting his narrow, bony chest with her big hand, then running it lightly down his back all the way down to his crack. She could see he was very aroused, especially because the tip of his dick was poking through the top of his shorts! Poor thing, he must be having trouble walking! She put her hand under his rump and picked him up. He felt light as a feather. It was easier to talk with him now, with his head level with hers. She continued on toward her house, which was just a couple of blocks from the school. Brad gasped when she lifted him, and now she was carrying him with just one hand. He looked down. Her breasts looked even larger from his new vantage point. And he could feel her extended biceps behind him. They were so hard! She must be immensely strong, much stronger than he had ever been, or even Matt! But how -- "But Mary, you DO remember. I'm not crazy!" "Of course not Brad," she said soothingly, running her finger down his smooth, soft arm. "Well, yeah. Good. But as I was saying. Boys ARE stronger than girls, right?" Mary laughed and gently pinched his tiny biceps between her thumb and her forefinger. "You think so? You want to try carrying ME?" He looked at his arm, so small compared to hers. "I ... I ... there's no way! But Matt picked up Emma yesterday and threw her into the pool. Right?" Mary looked at him, dragging the moment out as long as she could. "Yeah, right ... but you said it yourself. That was yesterday." "What does that have to do with it?" he said, completely mystified. "A lot. Obviously." They had reached her house and she took him inside. With some privacy now, she pushed his head closer to hers and then kissed him as she'd always wanted to. She pressed him against her body, feeling it settle around her curves, his feet dangling in the air, his leg pushing into her crotch while his erection throbbed against her hard abdomen. He still had the same smell she loved, the same taste she'd sensed with they'd kissed briefly at a dance two years ago. It was a little strange being the larger one. But she liked it. Liked having the control. Liked not worrying about being crushed or poked. And like keeping things going the way she wanted. And although comparatively he had the size and strength of a child, he was by no means a child. His throbbing erection made THAT pretty clear. She could hold him and kiss him all day. She pushed his leg closer, tucking it between hers. Mmmm, this was nice. Brad was torn. At last someone else had noticed that the whole world had changed. She seemed to know what had happened, and he wanted to find out what she knew. But she was so aggressive he didn't have a chance to speak. She had planted his lips firmly onto his and pressed him into her body, and there was nothing he could do short of biting her tongue (which he would NEVER do) to stop her. Besides, he was on fire for her. Amazingly his hard-on had pushed above his waistband and each brush against her firm abdomen was bringing him closer to coming. Her massive breasts were pushing against his chest, and although he couldn't move his hands to touch them, he couldn't help imagining what they must look like. How large were they? What did her nipples look like? How round and firm must they be? The images were swimming in his mind. Oh god! He couldn't stop himself and spurted all over her stomach. He couldn't believe it. She'd be so angry! Mary felt Brad clutch at her, then a warm sensation against just above her navel and then he relaxed slightly. Already?! Her annoyance passed quickly. It was just on her skin so it didn't stain anything. More important, it proved to her that he didn't find her new size and muscularity at all a turn off. On the contrary! And it was so cute the way he pressed against her and it didn't hurt at all. Not at all like the time she'd been with Adam, in the car, and he'd almost broken her shoulder urging her on with a hand job. She released Brad from the kiss, feeling his enthusiasm flag for the moment anyway. "Well, I guess YOU'RE feeling pretty good," she remarked. He blushed. "I -- I'm sorry. I couldn't help it," he said apologetically. "Oh, I know that!" she said putting him down carefully. "Looks like your shirt got a little dirty, and I'm sticky. Do you think we should clean up?" He looked down at it in dismay and embarrassment. "Shit!" She put a reassuring arm on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Brad. I'm not angry." He looked up. "You're not?" "Should I be?" He shook his head. "Well then. I think I need a shower." She took a step away from him then stopped and reached behind her and unhooked her top. "Wanna come?" She pulled her arms out of the straps and let the bikini drop to the floor. She looked down at herself, then turned slowly to let him see too. Brad stared at her as in a trance. He had never in his life imagined breasts like hers. So large, but perfectly shaped, the nipples large and pink, and as he looked at them, they quickly became erect and rose slightly and his dick stiffened in sympathy. He pulled his own shirt off but then became self conscious about his thin chest and unmuscled arms. He crossed his arms in front of his chest in embarrassment and turned away. "Awww, Brad," Mary said. "What's wrong?" "It's just ... LOOK at me!" he exclaimed. "I can't, not when you're hiding yourself," she said matter-of-factly. He turned around slowly. "I look so ... weak." The girls had agreed last night what their story would be. For Brad, honesty would be the best policy. Of course they had a different plan for Matt. "Well, you are. Compared with how you used to be. And compared with me. Or with any girl." "But how? Why?" he said in anguished tones. Mary tried hard not to laugh. He was waving his hands around, but the gestures, which would have looked bold if he had been his old height, now looked comical, especially when his arms tensed and produced only the slightest tightening of his biceps. "I'm supposed to be the stronger one!" he insisted. "According to ...." she said, then paused. He sputtered. He wanted to say something like God's law or the natural order but he knew he didn't really know what he was talking about. "Don't worry, Brad. I still think you're cute. I've always thought so, you know." "But this is crazy! This can't be happening!" Mary lifted her arms. Her biceps expanded and her already firm breasts stuck out further as her pecs flexed. "Is it really SO bad, Brad? I mean, you and I can have a very nice shower together. Why don't we try that, and we can talk about it some more later?" She lifted her bare foot and gently massaged his rising erection. "Maybe 'he' wants to get a word in too?" she added suggestively. Brad exhaled loudly. "Well ... I -- all right." He followed her upstairs. Chapter 4 Kate yawned. "Was it really NECESSARY that we start so early?" she complained, leaning back on the headrest and closing her eyes. Ashley drove on to the mall, carefully checking her mirror before changing lanes and then turning into the parking garage. Once safely in her spot she turned to Kate. "Yes it was. Emma told me Matt was out all night, but Brad will be up early. We have to be ready before Emma starts making the changes so we can observe everything. It might affect what we decide to do this afternoon." Kate sighed. "Only if we can start observing at Starbucks." "I guess so," Ashley said. She got out of the car, locking it after Kate closed her door and then skipped to keep up with her taller friend. Even though she claimed it was too early for her, Kate was put together immaculately, every hair in place, her make-up perfect, her light pink skirt with thin white stripes perfectly set off by her short top, exposing a two inch strip of skin above her waist, and a matching belt and hairpiece. Ashley looked down at her own tan slacks and black pullover. How did Kate find all those things to match so well? It was a kind of genius, Ashley thought, one she certainly didn't have. It was nine o'clock. They stood on line for coffee. "Could you order for me, Ash? I'll get us a table. I'll have a tall, skinny latte, half-decaf, with extra foam." Ashley looked at her friend's slender waist. "Um, you know Kate, our bodies are going to change anyway this morning. You can have regular milk -- if you want. I'm sure it won't make a difference." "Oh really? I hadn't thought of that. Well, then make it a grande latte, extra foam, and with an extra shot of espresso. Live dangerously! What are you having?" "Just a short drip." Kate looked at her in surprise. "I don't want to be peeing all morning. We didn't really talk about what the changes would do to our bladders, and mine -- "Sure, sure, Ashley. I get it." Kate turned and laughed to herself. As hard as they worked on her, Ashley would always be a bit of a nerd. Ashley came back with the drinks and the two watched the stores open up. The mall already had the usual crowd milling about: purposeful shoppers hurrying from one store to another, window shoppers, families, and of course, a large population of young people who spent more time observing or talking to each other than shopping -- the mall was as much about display and socialization as buying. At a bench in the mall, for example, a group of high school boys ostentatiously wearing their varsity jackets had several girls giggling and flirting with them enthusiastically. Groups of girls and boys sat or walked together, with the girls dressed in the usual tight or revealing clothes guaranteed to catch the boys' attention, while the guys seemed relatively slovenly, deliberate or otherwise. Nothing seemed any different than usual. Not one of them knew that their whole lives were about to change. Ashley took out her notebook. "Do you notice anything so far?" "Well, Sharon Bosman is wearing some really hot shorts, and from the way they're walking around I think she's going out with Kevin Mell now. And there's a dress at Hit Parade that would really look good on -- um, no, not really. You?" Ashley shook her head. "I wonder when Emma's going to start. She should have told us, or we should have had some kind of signal." "Ash, relax. This is just for fun, right? Emma's doing all the hard work. Just sit back and enjoy the show, ok?" Ashley sighed. It was just nine-fifteen, now. Maybe she WAS taking this a bit too seriously. But it was so exciting. She sipped her coffee and looked out the tall glass window. Suddenly she had a brief unsettled feeling, as though a double espresso had just kicked in. Kate must have felt it too, because she made a little noise and turned to Ashley. The two girls looked at each other breathlessly. "You felt it?" Ashley asked, scribbling the time in her notebook. "I sure did! That was some kick!" They looked at each other eagerly. "Y-you're a little bustier, Kate, and your shoulders. I can tell they're a little broader." Ashley looked down at herself and, losing her scientific objectivity for a moment, squealed. "Ohmygod! Look at me! I've got breasts!" Then she blushed. Kate laughed. Everyone at Starbucks was looking at Ashley. "I think we better take a walk around, Ash. Somebody might think having breasts has made you lose your mind!" Ashley blushed a deeper red and slid off the stool. Her feet hit the ground sooner than she'd expected. Was she already taller? She scribbled in her notebook, then Kate clamped her hand over it and pulled Ashley along. "Stop writing and look around!" she insisted. "Hey, I think I can see some changes already, Ash." She pulled Ashley toward Hit Parade. "That dress I noticed? Look how it's more open on top, and the shoulders are wider too. And look at Sharon Bosman's legs. They look great!" she added in a whisper. They walked toward the Go-Go Sports shop. As usual, the varsity boys were hanging out in front on a bench, waiting for the girls to walk by. "Look Ash, the jocks we saw. They don't seem as intimidating, do they? And I could have sworn there were more of them there when we came in." "Really? They still look pretty big to me." Kate shook her head. "Uh-uh. And, they seemed to be looking around more, like they're not as confident. And how many girls are hanging around them?" "There aren't any. You're really observant," Ashley said, admiringly. "But they're still all wearing those 'letter' jackets." She studied them more closely. Did they actually look a little smaller? She guessed that they didn't seem as bulky or imposing in their upper body development. And now that she noticed it, some of the girls and women sitting nearby were larger. Several of the teen girls wore the usual attention-grabbing belly shirts, but now they seemed even tighter, stretched across their chests by slightly larger breasts and shoulders. At least one woman sitting and reading a fitness magazine seemed even obviously muscular, her tight top and short sleeves emphasizing her build. "Hey, look at her! Do you think we've got muscles now too?" Kate suggested. "I guess we must have some," Ashley responded. She looked around to make sure no one was looking and tentatively brought her arm into a curl. She could feel a small, but nicely rounded biceps bulge. Not huge and hardly "unnatural," but definitely more than she'd ever had before. "Kate! I've got a muscle!" Kate smiled and then examined herself cautiously. She'd picked her outfit in part so that she'd be able to see any changes more easily. At first, she didn't notice anything, but then, she saw that her legs looked a little more defined -- stronger, and maybe even a touch longer. She flexed her calves slowly, surprised to see a prominent, diamond-shaped muscle appear. "Whoa!" And then they felt another jolt. They both gasped. "Did you --" Ashley began. "I know! I know! I'd bet anything that -- hey, look at this!" Kate flexed her legs again and her muscle was even larger and more defined. She pulled her top up a little, revealing a flatter, tauter abdomen and then pulled it back down, awestruck. "It's amazing! I haven't done anything. And now I'm a real hardbody!" She looked around. "They're all just going about their business, like nothing's happening. How can they not notice?!" "I think the way it works is the changes are being made on such a fundamental level that all of history, from the beginning of time, has been changed as well. Just imagine. Maybe women now have always had the right to vote! The whole structure of society might be totally different, like marriage customs, property distribution, child-rearing practices. I mean, think of all the traditionally male-dominated societies, like Saudi Arabia. I wonder if --" "Ashley! Who CARES about Saudi Arabia? Look at my dress in the Hit Parade! It's just a couple of pieces of cloth on top around the bust, and look at the way the hips flare! I can't believe they'd DARE to sell that here! It's like rape bait!" "Maybe not. Not if women are strong enough to protect themselves," Ashley argued. Kate looked at her, considering the point. "Yeah, maybe. Cool! Let's look around some more." They walked down to the other end of the mall to see what was happening. "Hey, look at the jocks! I mean, they're not just hanging around. There they are, Bobby and Shawn and Tommy. They look so different!" The two girls looked at the three, who were no longer wearing varsity jackets but were now dressed in colorful shirts and leather pants that emphasized the bulges in their crotches. They walked past groups of girls who laughed and pointed at them, some of whom ran up and grabbed an arm or a leg and then ran away giggling. The boys didn't seem to mind, mostly, although they did shy away from one tall, not very attractive girl, who held on to Shawn very persistently. "That's Brenda Carron," Kate said. "She was always tall and awkward, but now she's over six feet. Look how thick her arms are. She looks so much stronger than any of the boys!" "Well, girls mature earlier than boys and Brenda was tall even in fifth grade, remember? She's seventeen now, and if she's been working out for seven years she could be pretty strong by now." They felt another brief wave. Kate could almost feel her muscles harden beneath her skin, and her clothes became tighter, gathering around her muscles as though they were designed to show them off just as much as her figure. It almost felt like she had tensed them, but the increased hardness and size simply persisted without any effort on her part. Her legs also seemed to stretch slightly. A quick survey of the crowd again showed no one else noticing anything unusual. They seemed to be more mixed groups now, the boys and girls interacting on an easier, friendlier basis, with less macho posturing by the boys and less coquettish giggling by the girls but in most of them, the girls were the tallest members. Their clothes were different as well. The boys' clothes were much tighter in the crotch, clearly showing the bulge of their seemingly larger packages. Kate guessed that some of them might even be "stuffing" their pants, or perhaps they were actually bigger there in fact. She wasn't sure what Emma was up to with these changes, although Mary had been very clear that this is what she wanted out it. The girls wearing sleeveless tops all had defined biceps, while the boys seemed slightly less muscular. Generally it was more casual and athletic gear for the girls, and more stylish, colorful clothes for the boys. "You know what's interesting?" Ashley said. "See how the boys are all clustered in groups now? And how the girls are roaming around in twos, kind of like they're hunting the boys? There's Brenda. She must be almost 6'3". Look at her shoulders!" Kate laughed. "Poor Shawn! She's cornered him. But it's like she's also got him completely mesmerized by her breasts! You can see his erection pushing out his pants. He certainly is well-endowed. Speaking of which, you've got yourself a real pair, Ashley!" "Kate!" Ashley looked down at the cone-like objects that protruded from her chest and said quietly, "I know. They feel so weird! But it's ... nice." "You really ought to be wearing something other than that black pullover to show them off." Kate looked down at her own ensemble, which had gotten skimpier and skimpier with each change. Now it was just a four inch strip of the same pink top that circled around her breasts, leaving her muscular arms and slender abdomen bare, and a pink micro-miniskirt with subtle white stripes, which emphasized the dramatic curves of her hips and her strong and shapely legs. Ashley's clothes hadn't changed at all. "Let's find something for you." "But we're supposed to be investigating, Kate!" Ashley protested. "So, we'll investigate the store. I mean, shopping, fashion, that's an important part of the mall experience, right? It's not ALL about checking out the boys." Kate winked at Ashley, who reluctantly agreed. They went to a store that catered to teenagers, and thus was well stocked with everything from timeless jeans to the latest, ephemeral fashions. The store layout seemed slightly off, especially in the girls' section. Kate knew the store well, but she saw several racks of clothes that she couldn't remember, and a surprising amount of space devoted to athletic gear. Even more strangely, the posters and ads didn't feature the usual waif-like or anorexic size zeroes. Instead, most of the girls pictured seemed quite buff, and many were photographed in poses or activities that emphasized a strong upper body and an aggressive posture toward the boy, who was invariably grinning, but off balance, as though ready to be caught by the girl. Across the store, in the boys' section, there were more changes. More stylish clothes, with bright colors and clinging fabrics, and far fewer sports jerseys, as though the boys had finally caught some fashion sense. Or, perhaps, Kate mused, they were dressing to please those who did. A few boys there were trying on jeans, and Kate was struck with how much tighter the legs and behind were cut than usual. She also couldn't help noticing that the fronts bulged out a lot more than usual. Was that just the cut too, or was it something else? She remembered what Mary had kept talking about as her request if the tables were turned, and wondered how boys would feel if they knew they were on their way to becoming sex objects? Undersized in every way but one that mattered most to girls. She had picked up a skirt and top for Ashley to try on when she felt the wave of energy pass through her again. Instantly, she looked around. The girls shopping around her had all experienced sudden growth spurts, and they now stood much higher than the clothing racks, while the boys across the way were almost hidden. The boys jeans had changed again, to a softer color, though they were cut the same provocative way. The boys had shoes with thicker soles, to give them a little extra height. She saw some new accessories in the boys' section, featuring soft sweaters in pastel colors, and some knickknacks in bright colors that it was hard to imagine boys wearing voluntarily -- headbands, wristbands, belts. And most of them were wearing earrings. The girls around her, on the other hand, although still talking happily about the clothes' styles, seemed to be shopping as much for durability and wearability as for show. Many of the clothes, especially the shorts and shirts, had considerable elastic qualities to allow for the flexing of muscles, or, even better, to emphasize them. Their clothes had names emphasizing ruggedness and strength, like "Marauder" and "Valkyrie" and they were cut to emphasize long legs, powerful and buxom chests and bulging arms. Indeed, she saw that the skirt and shirt in her hands had jumped a size and were made with thicker fabric. Kate's skirt now left her legs almost completely bare and had shrunk into a mere ruffle around her waist. She hurried Ashley into a changing room and the two of them burst out laughing. "Did you see that?" Kate cried. "Those boys look so small, like they're still in middle school! And you, Ashley. You must be a D-cup now!" "I know," Ashley said. She blushed and looked down. "Yeah," she said proudly. She shed the dark pullover and put on the violet-colored elastic vest Kate had picked for her. It tied in front and back, leaving her arms and most of her torso open, showing parts of her new sixpack, her round shoulders and muscular back and arms, then changed her loose tan slacks into stylish pink bicycle shorts. Ashley was amazed at how long and strong her legs were. They looked like a model's -- a fitness model at that. Her calves were several inches longer with real diamonds of muscle that bulged when she stood on her toes. Her thighs bulged even at rest, adding extra curves that emphasized her femininity. Her hips were wider, but her waist was thinner and her ass was firm, giving her a perfect bubble butt nicely set off by the skin-tight panties. The vest emphasized the bare expanse of her stomach, which had flattened and firmed. Then she suddenly realized that she wasn't wearing a bra! It had disappeared in one of the shifts. She'd never really needed one when she was an A cup, but now she was three cup sizes larger. She looked back down at her vest in horror, until she saw how high and pert her breasts were without it. Even though significantly larger, her expanded and stronger chest muscles lifted them higher and more easily than ever. She looked at herself in amazement, then couldn't resist trying the sort of flexed arm, double-biceps pose she had seen in muscle magazines. She giggled at the result. Her upper body was amazing -- larger and stronger than just about any boy's she had seen. Her shoulders seemed double their former width, and her biceps were firm and round, like a couple of baseballs. Her chest muscles swelled and ridged, making her breasts pop up even higher and prouder than before. She switched poses and made her thigh muscles bulge and dance like a running back -- indeed, she looked even bigger and stronger than Matt ever had been. For a moment she imagined comparing muscles with him. She could just imagine his reaction. On the other hand, her breasts were so much bigger maybe he wouldn't mind. And it's not as though he would find other girls with smaller muscles. "Well, I've never seen YOU look at yourself like THAT before, Ash! One might think you're getting a little vain!" Kate winked. "Um, I was just, uh, doing some research," Ashley said, remembering suddenly she wasn't alone and hugely embarrassed to be caught out like that by Kate. "I was just thinking that if I'm this strong, uh, think how much stronger the other girls must be. I mean, I'm still smaller than you are. I still must be pretty small -- for a girl I mean." But while she was saying this she was thinking of the new Matt. If he was like the other boys they'd seen in the store he wouldn't even be close to her in size or strength now. For some reason, that made her giggle even more. "Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what you were thinking, Ash!" Kate said. "You always get that lusty expression when you're thinking about other girls." Ashley blushed bright red. "But really, Ash, all kidding aside, this is all about fun, isn't it? You ought to let yourself go a little, indulge yourself. We have this fantastic opportunity. Let's enjoy it!" "I know. You're right, Kate. It takes a little getting used to -- not being so small." Ashley said and let Kate adjust the new clothes, loving the way they stretched and hugged her body. She realized that unless her personality had changed, her muscles had probably developed even without any real exercise. She couldn't help wondering. "You know, if a small woman like me can grow muscle this way without even trying, what do female athletes look like now? And just look at this." She pulled her sleeve up to flex, showing off a 17 inch biceps bulge. "That's nothing," Kate boasted, flexing her own arms in their tight, short sleeves and raising a hard, dome of muscle, a good inch and a half larger than Ashley's. "Feel that!" Ashley did. It was amazingly firm, harder than any muscle she'd imagined and wider than her hand. "Um Kate, after I pay for this, let's go to Go-Go Sports. I think it'll be interesting." Kate sighed. Ashley never wanted just to have fun. But then, with the changes going on, that store would probably be good for a few kicks, so the two headed to the sporting goods store across the way. Go-Go Sports catered to the usual wide array of activities, but had always featured a Nautilus weight machine in the front of the store, flanked by posters of magnificently muscled men and less bulgy but certainly fit-looking women. Now, the machine was gone, replaced by gymnastics equipment and pictures of muscular women soaring over the uneven parallel bars and twisting gracefully on the rings, which used to be only a mens' event. There were other changes. There were more women than men working there; before it had been 80%. There was far more clothing for women, and it was designed for just about every sport, although with fashion labels rather than team names and insignia. Those were reserved for the men's clothing, which in terms of quality was a poor imitation, clearly made for show and to play to a fantasy-like sense of possessing the strength and fame of a true athlete, rather than for real sport. The clientele were evenly distributed between young men and women, but the women were handling the equipment, trying it out for weight and balance, while the men seemed more to be playing with it than really assessing it, in the mean time stealing frequent looks at the women in the store. "Can I help you?" one woman asked as they came in. Kate couldn't help noticing that she was quite tall and fit, with short sleeves that emphasized healthy biceps and a shirt drawn tight by both her powerful chest and prominent breasts. "What happened to the weight machines?" Kate asked, indulging her curiosity. They were there when they arrived at the mall early that morning. "We always keep them in the back," the woman answered, pointing. "They're too ugly for up front, don't you think?" Kate and Ashley nodded, obligingly. Sure enough, in a back corner of the store there was a room filled with free weights and machines, though fewer in number than usual. Two women were trying them out, talking to each other about which was better. A single sales poster showed a man and woman working out together, and Kate immediately noticed that while both were in good shape, the woman was larger and with more impressive muscles, emphasized by the curling exercise she was doing, while the man was performing sit-ups on the incline. "Can I show you something there?" the woman continued. "Actually, I came in for a new workout outfit," Kate said. She couldn't help looking around the changed store and decided to ask a few more questions. "I could use a new tennis racquet, too," she added. She looked around curiously at the new store layout. "Where are the women's racquets?" The salesclerk looked puzzled. "Women's racquets? Well, we do have the Williams' Power model. All the gals seem to want them. They're all right, I guess, if you have a 150 mph serve, but if you want my opinion, for most amateurs there are better choices. I can show you some that will cost less and do more for your game." She indicated an area with a couple of boys trying models out. "But the boys are using those." "So? Don't let that put you off." "But don't you have a separate area for the women's equipment?" Ashley asked in surprise. "Why would we do that?" the clerk answered, obviously perplexed. "This is the regular gals' equipment. Most of our sales are to women, of course, but there are always some men and boys there trying to use it instead of their own lighter models. We can't exactly stop them from trying it, especially if they buy it." "Yes, but --" Kate faltered. "It always seemed like because guys and gals are different, shouldn't the equipment reflect that?" Kate suggested. "Stores should lay out their equipment the same way." The woman looked unconvinced. "I guess." Kate gasped slightly as another surge from the changes passed through her, grunting as she seemed to be rising higher and higher above the floor. She looked over at Ashley's shocked expression. Why, little Ashley was now well over six feet tall and looked like she could outmuscle the Terminator. Even better, her breasts were easily a DD size. The little vest she'd bought her was now held together with a small elastic strap and had molded itself tightly around her bosom and chest muscles. What a blast! Meanwhile, her own top was now just a strip of cloth to hold her bust in place, with a light skirt barely 6" long flouncing down from her waist. Nice! These changes were such a rush! As soon as she recovered, she looked around the store in eager curiosity. The saleswoman still stood next to them, completely oblivious to the fact that she had just grown a full six inches in height. Her shoulders were quite wide now, and she sported thick, hard biceps that stretched her shirt sleeves impressively. Her breasts were like soccer balls beneath her tight shirt, and Kate wondered what size they might be now. EE, maybe? The woman didn't seem to notice, and though they had all agreed that this was another area they wanted to become larger, Kate was beginning to wonder if Emma had overdone it. Her own breasts seemed huge. On the other hand, the girls in the store didn't seem to be unhappy about their size. And in fact, her whole body felt lighter and more energetic than ever. "Are you girls all right?" she asked, noting their self-absorbed expressions. Kate and Ashley nodded. "Well, the racquets are right over here." Kate was confused. The scene had changed completely. "But weren't the boys just playing with them?" she started to protest. "Boys? Playing with the tennis racquets!!" The saleswoman paused. "I don't THINK so!" she snorted. "We wouldn't allow that! Our equipment is high quality, and we don't allow boys to handle valuable racquets they wouldn't buy. Of course, sometimes when their mothers or girlfriends bring them in they like to try them, you know, to feel what they're like, or maybe to pretend a little, and we can't really stop them. But they wouldn't DARE just come in by themselves and use them. THOSE boys have been fooling with the badminton sets for half an hour." She shrugged. "So, I guess boys don't play football either?" Ashley said tentatively. The saleswoman looked at Kate sympathetically, as if to say, I guess your little friend isn't much for sports, is she? She looked at the boys and smiled. "I guess some boys like to play too, but it's not really a sport when they do it. It's more like they play AT football, if you know what I mean?" she winked conspiratorially. "But seriously, they're much better off when they play their own sports, like badminton, short golf and light volleyball. And of course the sports they're best at: track and swimming. And darts." Ashley looked at her, wanting an explanation. "Well, their straighter and lighter bone structure and less heavily muscled bodies actually give them a small advantage in short races, although of course their lack of strength and endurance holds them back in the middle and longer distances, and they're not allowed to compete in the real distance tests. Their poor, weak little hearts would just burst and we can't allow them to take that kind of chance, because we all know of course they'd try." She shrugged as if to say 'the little dears.' "And darts of course uses their spatial sense to its best advantage and requires very little in the way of physical strength. It's nice that they can point to some things they can do better than we can, isn't it? Like addition and subtraction in their heads. It's not terribly useful -- with calculators and all -- but it's something. The important thing though is they have to be protected for their own good. That's why we keep the boys' things separate, so they don't use equipment they're not suited to and hurt themselves." She indicated a small, lightly stocked area where they boys were and then the pink line around the part of the store where most of the equipment was kept. "Sometimes a guy will come in to this part of the store and get all huffy when we escort them outside the pinkline, but it's for their own good, you know? The mature ones understand that, but at your age they can get very emotional and unruly." She grinned. "It's a good thing they're so small, isn't it. Pinklines are great but we can't have them everywhere." "Um, I guess," Ashley answered, wondering just how much more things were going to change. She looked around the store in surprise. Almost all of the posters now were of women, playing virtually every sport, with the models looking positively ripped and Amazonian. The only men's pictures were for running gear, with the models looking quite slim, and for ... darts. "Oh, my manager's calling me. The workout clothing is right here. Let me know if you want to try a few of the racquets. I'll be over there." The saleswoman left. "Emma must be having a lot of fun with Matt now!" Kate laughed. "I hope he's okay," Ashley replied, looking down at her biceps in amazement and then over at the boys who were looking at a poster of a female basketball player. "Ohmygod! Isn't that Kim Russell?" Kate turned to look. "'Muscles' Russell is what it says, Ramapo High School. Hey, it must be her! She looks amazing! Look at those biceps!" Ashley stared at the poster. "She's huge! I guess I'm still sort of a shrimp," she said, sighing. She was also still worrying about Matt. "I think we should get going. It's almost 11. We told Emma we'd be over by noon." Kate nodded. "OK. Give me five minutes." She felt through the workout suits, picking them up and holding them against her chest and then sighed. "Forget it. I can't buy anything for myself that quickly just now. It'll take too long. I really don't know my body well enough now. I have to wait until I know what I look like." "But can't you just check your size and buy something?" Kate sighed. "Ashley, that's not at ALL how to shop." Ashley looked down. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's just something you have to learn. I'll help you." Ashley managed a small smile. "Come on then, let's show off our new selves a little before we have to go to Emma's." Kate put her arm around Ashley and they left and walked around the mall. Ashley at first felt self-conscious, especially since most of the women, including Kate, were taking such pride in showing off their well-muscled bodies. All the girls wore tight shirts and short sleeves, though there were still a lot of belly shirts, especially on the younger girls. They were even skimpier than usual, but instead of being designed to flash a little skin and the occasional navel ring, they ended several inches above the navel to emphasize strong hard stomachs and prominent abs. And all of the women sported bulging biceps and thick, powerful leg muscles. It seemed to Ashley, that the amount of muscle on the women and girls was so universal that it had to be simply another secondary sexual characteristic, emerging almost automatically from maturation, rather than through exercise. The male/female difference was not as extreme in the younger children, but even among them the boys were thinner, smaller and decidedly more cautious than their larger sisters, with their thicker arms and chest, even though their biceps weren't yet fully formed. The differences started to become more pronounced for girls just reaching puberty. The early blooming 10 year olds already had more muscle than their fathers and nearly all the 12 year old girls were stronger and taller than adult men. She observed how grown men watched warily as groups of laughing, swaggering junior high girls walked by them. Three times in less than ten minutes, she saw a girl grab a man, secure him in a hold and then laughingly play with his body, easily dominating him, perhaps kissing or hugging him, licking his neck or just tickling him. One even fondled him through his thin pants. The man would struggle ineffectually, but half heartedly, knowing he had no chance of physically preventing her from doing whatever she wanted. They all seemed slightly embarrassed afterwards, especially if the girl had made him cum and stain his pants, but there was no violence and no anger or shouting. No one interfered or called security. In fact, the other men appeared to look on with some envy. "I'm amazed that's allowed," Ashley said. "You'd think that with all that saleslady said about protecting boys there'd be some laws against that kind of harassment." Kate shrugged. "I don't know. My guess is the guys don't really mind. They don't look like they're getting hurt. And look how they're staring at the girls. If they didn't want the attention, wouldn't they be keeping to themselves more or even just stay at home? Maybe being the weaker sex is different for guys than for girls. I mean, they can't get pregnant. Are they really going to complain just because some girl gets their pants sticky?" Ashley looked at them and immediately felt it in the looks they returned. Their intense interest, almost worship, of her body was intoxicating. But contrary to her whole life experience, the boys weren't intimidating or aggressive. For all their interest, they seemed docile, not daring to make the first move. They kept in groups, talking together, their attention was easily diverted by each passing girl. When a girl came over to talk, the boys took a decidedly less active role, often just listening, nodding frequently and laughing appreciatively at the girls' jokes, while looking hungrily at their large, powerful and curvy bodies. "You know, I think I'm going to like this!" Kate exclaimed as they passed a newsstand, which they had always known as the sleaziest in the town. Ashley pulled her to a stop. "Kate! Look here!" Kate looked bored. "Ashley, I told you I wasn't interested in Saudi Arabia!" "No, no, look what's not here." The many thinly-disguised babe magazines and macho titles were all missing, replaced by sports magazines showing the strength and accomplishments of the top female baseball players of the week. There were numerous women's titles, all directed at success in the business world, managing husbands properly, and, of course, fashion. But the women's fashion magazines were matched by similar male titles featured nattily dressed men, and had covers promising "The Clothes That Will Catch Her Eye!" "Making That Evening Special for Her" or "She Grabs You Once: Make Her Do It Again ... And Again!" They was even a magazine familiarly titled "Playboy," but on the cover was a man in a tuxedo, with the blurb "Keeping Her Interested: Dressing Up Instead Of Down" and "Playboy's Sex Tips: The G Spot, Part XXII." Almost all the sports titles featured women on the covers. One showed a powerful blonde wearing a red batting helmet connecting on her swing while her biceps almost exploded off the page. Underneath, it said "Becky Mills: Can she beat the Babe?" An insert showed an old black and white photo of a player from the 20's, but instead of the expected Babe Ruth, it was a woman named Babe Didrickson! Even the baggy, grey, pinstriped flannel uniform, however, couldn't hide the fact that it was a Babe Didrickson who seemed twice the size of any woman she had ever seen. There was Cosmo, but the as-always gorgeous and partially clad model on the cover was anything but primped. She was sweating, covered in a thin sheen of perspiration, and her hair in a simple ponytail. She was also pumping iron, a huge dumbbell raised in her hand and 25 inch biceps straining, dressed in a grey-flannel half-shirt, barely covering her gigantic breasts, her stomach ripped with a powerful 12-pack of muscle. Underneath it said: "Rock Hard! Our New Music And Exercise Guide" Other articles trumpeted: "The New Cosmo Diet: Add 20 Pounds In Two Months!" "Sex Guide: Have You Tried Him On Top?" and "Stoked And Stacked: Breathing Exercises To Make You Bigger And Better." "Wow!" was all Kate could say. They happened to glance back at the food court. They saw the same teenaged boys as before, but they were standing now, giggling and smiling fawningly over a couple of smirking teenaged girls. They were just part of a group though now, and the reason for their adoration was obvious: the girls wore their varsity athletic jackets very proudly. "You know," Kate said smiling and leading the way out. "I think I'm ready to go to Emma's now. I'm almost as curious about how Matt's doing as you are. Chapter 5 Matt awoke with his headache slightly diminished but still feeling very woozy. What a bizarre dream he'd had. But as he opened his eyes he had a shock. His room looked completely different. Gone were his football sports posters, replaced by a picture of an unbelievably busty and muscular Anna Kournikova one-handedly lifting a man by his belt so that she could kiss him. It was such an obvious fake. He'd get Emma back for this! He heard splashing outside in the pool again and the voices of her friends. It was already 1:00! He kept his t-shirt on and pulled on a swimsuit. What were all of these bright colored suits doing in his drawer! Another bone to pick with his mother, who was always trying to replace his favorite clothes with something more to her taste. But this was going too far! He was still groggy, but he pulled it on. At least it showed off his package well. Just let Emma try to complain about the way he was dressing. He strode angrily through the house, noticing other changes in decor. The bright colored carpeting, the pastel wall-covering, the large screen TV gone, replaced by a smaller set and two comfortable reading chairs. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed all these things yesterday. He was absolutely furious. It was time to strike back at somebody. And luckily, he had a whole flock of female targets that were already in his sights. As he stood up and brushed himself off, his thoughts became darker than ever. He glanced out the window. Excellent. Emma and two of her friends were there already, decked out in bikinis and playing in the water. It was the perfect setup. After all, he had every right to swim in the pool as well. He'd made that clear enough yesterday. And if they happened to get in the way, well, it wouldn't be his fault. With luck and a couple of fortuitous "accidents" he'd not only be able to ruin her party, but get free peeks at their tits as well. He opened the fridge to help himself to one of the sodas Emma had set aside for her party, then decided to have a quick snack as well. The door on the fridge was stuck, and he had to pull on it hard to get it open. Another stupid change in the house. This was so pathetic. He sat at the table and turned on the TV, switching immediately to ESPN to see the game highlights. He was shocked to see that they were featuring some baseball game that had both men and women players, obviously some amateur or promotional league event. Or perhaps it was a women's league that had decided to import a few male players as ringers, since most of the players were obviously female. Strangely enough, however, the male "ringers," far from looking imposing, looked shorter and thinner than their female teammates. Indeed, as they showed a few highlights, it seemed that on one team, the NY "Highlanders," only the shortstop and third basemen were men, and they seemed to be mainly for defensive ability. All three outfielders were women, which was obvious because of their bounteous breasts, although their bodies otherwise more closely resembled Barry Bonds. They were playing the Boston Beaneaters, and Matt was surprised to see the professional look to their play and uniforms. The woman on the mound had a motion indistinguishable from a major league veteran, and seemed to throw really hard. For a girl, anyway. Matt consoled himself with that thought as he saw an apparently overmatched Boston player, a man, flail helplessly at the fastball, and they announced the pitcher's 9th strikeout of the game. No doubt they only let the smallest and weakest men play so they wouldn't show up the women. In disgust, he switched to ESPN2, only to find they were apparently doing highlights from a WNBA game. He started to hit the remote automatically, though he briefly noted the women players were bigger and playing much better than he had ever seen before. Maybe the league wasn't a joke after all. He saw one of the women make a spectacular dunk and stood a moment in shock. It was a big deal for women to dunk, and he'd never seen anything like that one short of the all-star show. Yet the announcers, both women, while properly appreciative, seemed to feel the play was no big deal. He turned to MTV. A female hip-hop video was playing, the singer a muscular woman dressed in leather. The beat was indistinguishable from the male-dominated music he was used to, but in obvious parody, instead of the scantily clad women dancing and simulating sex, this woman was surrounded by men wearing tight clothes and obviously worshiping her. The men were short and slim, their arms looking puny next to hers, and wore tight pants to emphasize their behinds, which they pushed out unashamedly for the camera. Disgusting. Why would anyone make a video like that? He switched through the other channels. An action movie, featuring a tough-talking woman and her male companion who seemed to do little other than stand around encouraging her while looking good. A game show, with a woman host, and several men jumping giddily to get her attention. A cartoon show. He paused again. It featured a character her didn't recognize - a wisecracking rabbit, very much in the Bugs tradition, but female - tormenting a hulking but slow-witted woman fighter. Weird. He felt another bout of dizziness, this one severe enough that he sat down. When he looked up, the channel seemed to have switched itself to another sports station, but with the unrecognized call letters PSN. There was another baseball game in progress, also featuring NY and Boston teams, but these were entirely female, the "Amazons" vs the "Minutewomen." What was really amazing was the venue: as the camera panned the stands, the stadium looked as big as any he'd seen, and it was completely filled with enthusiastic fans - tens of thousands. He'd never seen that kind of stadium or crowd for a women's game. Of course, most of the fans were women, which seemed initially reassuring, but even so, he was surprised. Just before turning the TV off, he heard the announcer give their hourly identification, "This is the Professional Sports Network." What the hell was that? With nothing to watch, he lost his appetite for lunch and went outside, finding the girls in the pool laughing and throwing a Frisbee around. Emma was on the near side, with Kate and Ashley facing them. Before they noticed him, he ran at full speed, leapt into the air, and cannonballed into the water, trying to splash Emma and Kate as much as possible. He knew how much they hated being splashed unexpectedly, and was pleased to hear exasperated and annoyed groans as he surfaced. "Hey, little sister," he called, breaking the surface. He went to splash Emma again with his hand, but unexpectedly found himself needing to tread water. Apparently, he'd jumped in a little deeper than he'd thought. "Matt!" she called, not sounding at all unhappy at his intrusion. "Look guys, it's Matt. That workout really tired you out, didn't it? We were wondering when you'd get up from your little nap." He stared at her. It had been a dream, right? It had to be. A remnant from his hangover. It couldn't have been real. "Yeah, I bet you were," he replied sarcastically, swimming to where he could stand again. The pool seemed bigger and deeper than it should. It had to be that general disorientation he'd been feeling all day. He really must have gone overboard with the Margaritas. Well, OK. Maybe he'd learned something. Maybe they made them stronger here. But now he had some "business" to attend to. He briefly dropped under water to swim closer to Kate. With Mary away, Kate was the prettiest and best developed of his sister's friends, and he was determined to be banging her by the end of the day. That would teach Emma to mess with his head. And with a closer look he decided he'd made a very good choice. Although the underwater view wasn't the best, her bare legs looked spectacular: long, strong and wonderfully curved, even though the water must be magnifying the image since they looked much bigger than normal. He broke to the surface near her, intentionally splashing her. "Surprise, Kate!" he teased. "Well, hi there, Matt," she said, smiling mysteriously. "All that partying wearing you DOWN?" It was more than her tone that made him feel strange, but it wasn't until a moment later, after stabilizing on his feet, that he realized what was wrong. Kate was smiling down at him. He looked into the water in surprise, assuming she was treading water or standing on a step. But no -- her feet rested flat on the bottom. She must be in a shallower part of the pool or something. Disconcerted, he backstroked away. "Where are you going, Matt? I'm not too big for you, am I?" Kate teased putting her hands on her large breasts and squeezing them together provocatively. "Aw, don't make him feel bad," Ashley suggested, looking at Matt shyly. Even though he'd been so mean to her, she still had a crush on him. And maybe now he'd be different. "Don't be ridiculous. Nothing she could do or say could bother me!" Matt took the opportunity to steal the Frisbee from where it lay in the water. "Oh, girls," he called teasingly. "How about if I show you how far I can throw this?" He intended to sail it over the house. "Hey, that's mine! Give it back, asshole," Kate growled. "Whoa! Feeling a little emotional? Why don't you make me?" he taunted, making a move as though to throw it. She grinned and jumped toward him. The speed with which she propelled herself through the water astonished him, and she had reached him before he could throw, quickly getting her hand on the frisbee. He pulled it to wrest it from her, and even more remarkably, despite his best efforts to hold on, she held on with one hand while with the other easily bent his fingers back and pried the frisbee away. "Oww!" he said, unable to help himself. He opened and closed his hand. What was going on here? She had the disc back and tossed it to Emma. "Serves you right, twerpface," she said. The girls began tossing the Frisbee around, and he moved to get it back, but somehow, they kept it moving just high enough to keep it away from him. He was too busy splashing and swimming to notice that based on their relative heights, all of the girls somehow seemed to be standing in the shallower part of the pool. "Damnit!" he called, tired and angrily splashing the water. He jumped for the next toss, intentionally bumping into Kate and planning to knock her down to intercept it, only to find that he was the one knocked rudely into the water. It had been like slamming into a lineman at practice. He came up winded and struggling in the water, splashing frantically. "Hey, you OK?" Ashley asked, alarmed at his expression. "He's fine," Kate snorted. "That's what he gets for trying to play with the girls." "You be careful, little guy," Ashley suggested, patting him on the head. She smiled at him and leaned over, letting him see her breasts pour over the small bikini top she wore. "I learned some new letters, Matt. A-B-C-D-E! See?" Matt was staring. Now that Ashley had come next to him, he realized just how big she was. She stood at least 4 inches taller than him, and her shoulders looked huge. He hadn't noticed it before because her breasts were also huge, making her look normally proportioned. If they were "D's", they were the largest ones he'd ever seen. And -- did she just say "E"?!" "Wh-wha?" he gasped, only now looking from one to the other of the girls, and finally taking in just how big and strong they all looked. "H-how did you girls get so big?" he demanded. There were some embarrassed giggles. Kate rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Geez, Matt, do we have to explain everything to you? Like, haven't your parents told you about the birds and bees and stuff? What happens when girls mature and start to grow -- and grow -- and grow!" "Now, now," Emma rebuked her. "Matt isn't a big studier, you know. Don't tease him about biology." "It's really very simple, Matt. I'd be happy to go through it with you. You see, when a girl reaches puberty, her glands begin to -- "I'll explain later," Emma interrupted. "I think we should take a break. Come on." She led her friends out of the pool, and Matt simply stared in awe. As the girls waded to the shallow water and then up the steps, it was like watching some fitness model parade. The girls were huge - in more than one sense. Each seemed to be near 6 feet tall, but just as impressively, their breasts seemed double their usual size. This was emphasized by their bikini tops, as was the overall and remarkable development of their physiques. Their legs were long and incredibly firm and toned, with cords of muscle visible in the thighs and strong calves that bulged out to the sides. Their triangular bikini bottoms seemed briefer than usual, and designed to emphasize their powerful glutes. Although they still had large, round asses, their behinds seemed tight and firm, as though it was all muscle rather than fat that made them stand out. This also emphasized their small waists, and the bikinis showed off flat, muscular abs - too flat and too muscular, as though 6-pack abs were the standard for girls. The width of their shoulder now became more obvious as well, since they were broad enough to match those wide, powerful hips. The girls grabbed their towels, displaying baseball-sized biceps that he'd never seen on high-school girls before, let alone his own sister. It was impossible! Matt simply goggled at the beauty and muscle parade. Kate noticed and giggled. "Your brother's checking us out," she informed Emma. Emma smiled warningly at him. "Matt's always liked to check us out, haven't you? Like all guys, he only thinks of one thing, and right now, he's getting more than he bargained for, don't you think?" Despite his disorientation and shock, the display of buff, beautiful and nearly naked bodies was having its expected effect, and only his baggy suit kept his growing erection from being obvious. "Emma?" he gasped. "What happened to you? All of you?" Emma smiled at her friends. "Why, whatever do you mean, bro? Are you talking about this?" she asked nonchalantly, indicating the height of her overdeveloped, amazonian body in delight. "Or this?" She brought an arm up and flexed, raising a muscle that made him gasp yet again. "I don't know. I always wanted to be bigger, and once I got started working on our weight machine, they just got sooo big and hard!" She shrugged. "I guess it , it was hard to stop." A wicked glance. "And speaking of hard." She walked abruptly to the side of the pool where Matt was staring. Too late, he guessed her intent, but not before she'd managed to grab his suit as he started to swim away. He floundered helplessly, swimming awkwardly while she held him in place. "Out you go," she announced, and to his utter amazement, she lifted him clear of the water. He scrambled to his feet as she kept her hand on his arm, preventing him from running. He felt another sense of disbelief as he found himself looking up into his little sister's eyes. He struggled against her grip, but found it unbreakable. "Emma, what's going on?" he demanded. "You're messing with me, somehow. Messing with my head!" He winced at the strength in her grasp and became angry. "You cut it out and let go of me, or I'll have to hurt you." "Your head?" Emma laughed. He heard giggles from the other girls, who were nonchalantly toweling off. "What is going ON with your brother?" Kate asked, rolling her eyes in amusement. "He's just having a little trouble getting used to things," Emma replied. "Matt has this ... funny idea that he's actually supposed to be stronger than us!" This produced a musical torrent of laughter, even from the indulgent Ashley. "That's so weird! Even for a boy," Kate said. "OK Matt," Emma said, finally letting him go. "No, will you be a good boy and get us some sodas and the sandwiches I made this morning? If you do, maybe we'll let you play with us in the pool later." Matt rubbed at his sore arm. "Get your own fucking snacks," he snarled. "Oh, that wasn't very nice," Emma pouted. Kate growled. "Don't talk to your sister like that. Emma, I really think you let him get away with too much. He's going to get in trouble if he doesn't learn to be more polite." "You just wait until Brad gets here," Matt warned her, backing away. He still couldn't understand what was happening. It had to be a dream, but it was the strangest one he'd ever had. All he knew was that right now, he wanted to get away. Kate sat up. "That sounded like a threat!" she said hotly. She turned to Emma. "Brothers have got to learn their place, Emma. You really need to work with Matt more. It's for their own sakes, you know. Once they get to be this age, they're supposed to be all mature. They need to learn what's what." To Matt's chagrin, Kate had moved to cut off his retreat. "Hey, doofus, you sister asked to real nice like to get her something. What do you say?" "I say fuck off," Matt said, pretending bravery. "This is all some stupid dream anyway." Another set of giggles. Emma had walked up. "A dream, huh? You know, I had a dream once where you were being really, really mean to me. And it was right out here by the pool. At a party like this. It was incredibly embarrassing, and I just couldn't forget it." Matt was feeling more and more disoriented, sandwiched between two younger girls who towered over him like amazons. "Hey, girls, you ever have that dream where you find yourself naked?" Before he could react, she'd reached down and pulled his very loose swimsuit down, leaving him naked, his still half-hard erection in full view. His hands flew down to cover himself, and he ran away, tripping over his suit which got left behind on the deck. The girls were all laughing too hard to make a move to stop him. He stumbled into the house and ran to his room, too humiliated to think straight. He jumped into bed without even dressing and closed his eyes, determined to outwait the nightmare. It was probably a half hour later that he heard a knock at the door. "Go away," he ordered. He was just going to lie here until he woke up. He couldn't understand why the dream was continuing so long anyway. Ashley's voice came through the door. "I just wanted to see if you were OK," she said softly. "I'm sorry Emma embarrassed you like that. Please open up." He grabbed a shirt and shorts and opened the door, once again taken aback at her size. Ashley had always been such a scrawny girl, so much less developed than her 16 year old friends. Now she was a head taller than had the size and figure of a voluptuous woman, and a remarkably tall and strong one at that. "What's going on?" he demanded. "How'd you get so big?" She seemed taken aback by his question. "What do you mean? I've grown up. Everyone does that as they get older. Anyway, I'm not that big. I'm smaller than all of my friends." "You are so!" he snorted. "You're taller than I am!" "Oh!" she said brightly. "You mean, like we're friends now?" That perked her up, but she still looked at him pityingly. "Well, of course I am, silly! I'm a girl." The answer didn't make sense. Why didn't she find their size reversal unusual? "But I ... I've always been taller," he complained. "I was taller than all of you." She smiled condescendingly and stroked his hair gently. "But, Matt, that was only because you were older. Once we girls catch up, we're almost always taller than boys. You knew that would to happen, right? You must have just forgotten we would still be growing while you were away at school. It's natural that we would grow up while you were gone. Poor little Mattie!" She touched his cheek and looked into his eyes. He shook his head. "No. No!! This is all some kind of nightmare. Look at me!" He emphasized his small, thin body next to hers. "You really think this is normal?" She shrugged, finding his ranting amusing. "Well, pretty much. You are a bit big for a boy. You should be proud of that, you know. Even boys should have some strength and stay in shape." "I suppose you don't remember me playing football either?" he demanded. She giggled. "Oh, Matt! Boys playing football? You're bones aren't nearly strong enough. Come on; you'd all hurt yourselves!" She paused a moment, as though she were imagining the scene. "If you play again I'd come to watch. I think it would be really cute!" "It's not cute!" He flushed angrily. "I'm the starting linebacker, damn it!" She tried to suppress her giggling. "OK, OK," she said soothingly. "Don't get so mad. So, what are you playing, flag football or something? With one of those little rubber footballs so you could throw them? The regular ones would be too large and heavy for you, I'm sure." "Look, this isn't funny!" he shouted, stamping his foot. "I ... I ...." He felt the wave of dizziness again and closed his eyes. When it cleared, he looked back at Ashley and his mouth dropped open. She'd grown again. Or he'd shrunk. He was so confused now he didn't know what was happening, but the net effect was that he was now only eye-level with the tops of her prodigious breasts! And her arms! Her biceps were bulging more with her arms hanging loosely by her sides than his ever did! "Anyway," Ashley continued, smiling slightly, but otherwise going on as though nothing had happened. "Come on back down when you feel like it. I'll protect you from the other girls. I won't let them make fun of you -- if you try to behave yourself." She reached down to pat his behind in a totally intimate and inappropriate manner, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Unexpectedly, she also leaned down to whisper in his ear, exposing her cleavage and nearly all of her full, round breasts to his view. "And don't feel so self-conscious. You are a very cute guy! I know not every girl does, but I LIKE tall guys like you." She put her hands under his arms and lifted him in the air and kissed him full and hard on the lips, then left, pounding down the stairs playfully, and leaving him dumbfounded. Willing unsuccessfully that this nightmare would end, he didn't dare leave his room. Real or not, he had no desire to experience more humiliation and punishment from Emma and her friends. Meanwhile, the noise and gleeful laughter continued downstairs and only seemed to grow more boisterous. Some time later Emma showed up. He could still hear the other girls laughing downstairs as Emma entered, smiling. "So, don't you like the brave new world?" she asked breezily. "I made it just for you!" He stared at her uncomprehendingly. "What? You ... Emma!?" he called anxiously, seeing that she must actually recognize that things were changed. "What the hell's happening? To me, to you - to everyone? Why doesn't anyone else notice?" "Oh all of us know! All four of us girls, that is! And Brad knows too, at least as much as Mary's told him. As for other people ...." she shrugged her shoulders and looked a little uncertain. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'm not exactly sure what they think. It may be that they haven't noticed a thing -- that as far as they're concerned, this is the way it's always been. Maybe the way it used to be seems like a dream -- a bad dream!" She covered her mouth with her hand. "Is that a riot or what!" He glared at her. "It's NOT funny! It's sick! But what do you mean -- you made it for me?" "Well, it was yesterday afternoon when it happened. You'd been so mean, and I was so upset with the way you'd messed up our day. This year had been so nice while you were away, but now I could see you spoiling everything for us. So I started thinking what it would be like if girls were bigger and stronger, that maybe we wouldn't get pushed around or have to put up with all of boys' gross and selfish behavior. So, I just kind of made a wish on ... a wish." She decided not to go into too much detail. After all, the lawn was filled with dandelions. "And, uh, after my wish was granted, we all talked about it, all last night. And then, when I got up this morning," she shrugged, "I started to do it." She smiled at the memory. "What do you mean, do it?" "I just did it! I made boys smaller and girls bigger. Just like that!" She snapped her fingers. Matt jumped and looked around anxiously, but nothing had changed. Emma grinned at him. He stared in disbelief. "You're doing this?" he gasped. "How?" "You think I know? Mass delusion? "ESP? Magic? Or maybe," she extended her fingers toward Matt and made a threatening face, "God-like powers? Moo-hoo-hoo-ha!" She grinned and blew on her fingernails, then polished them against the bikini top covering her bountiful bust. "Then again, maybe I'm just the channel for cosmic retribution or something. But, for the moment, at least, it seems that whatever I say ... goes." Matt couldn't believe any of this. But still, how could he get past the fact that he had to look up to see past his sister's tits. "If you have so much power, why did you need to make me so small?" he challenged. "Well, I didn't HAVE to. And, actually, I didn't intend to -- at first. I imagined you and all the other guys shrinking a little, and you just did, instantly. It was so totally amazing to see you just a little smaller, just a little bit less in control. But, as usual, you reacted by being even more of a jerk, threatening me yet again! So then, after that, I don't know, I was thinking maybe things would be better if men and women were about the same size, you know? It was really cool seeing what the world was like with men and women so equal." He stared up at her, and more particularly at her bulging muscles. "The same size?" he demanded angrily. "You call this the same size?" "Well, no," she admitted, before waving her hand impatiently. "My ideas just sort of evolved, you know? Mary, Kate, Ashley and I all talked about how much we ought to change things, but in the end they pretty much left it to me to decide. I started out with a plan, but ... well, it changed. Anyway, I was going to leave it like that, with everyone about equal. But then I heard you clanging away downstairs on that weight machine, and I figured, you'd probably still work a lot harder on your physique than I would, and then you'd end up stronger anyway and be just as domineering. I mean, guys are more aggressive too, right? So then I decided you'd have to be a little smaller before you'd learn your lesson and start being nice. But of course you didn't. You just kept trying to bully me. So it just got easier and easier to do it. And it's been really interesting too. You missed it all when you were downstairs working out. I was upstairs, reading the newspaper and watching TV as things kept changing. You should have seen the way all the sports teams changed? And you know who became the president" A grin. "She sure surprised me. And like your Sports Illustrated. I've been checking it out all day as the men got smaller and smaller. Most of the magazine soon focused on women, but the little guys looked so cute in the little articles about them, sandwiched between the long features about muscular female athletes with double-page full color pictures. There you guys were, playing tennis with your little powder puff serves using special, light racquets and balls on smaller courts, or playing golf from the special men's tees. Then after I made the differences even greater, it was just badminton, fencing and darts, and then some real non-sports I couldn't even identify, like synchronized walking. And then." She shrugged again and held up the magazine with a picture of Sheryl Swoopes on the cover, her hand poised to stuff the basketball through the hoop, her melon-sized biceps glistening with perspiration. Emma flipped through the pages quickly. "Well, look for yourself. The men are all gone." He stared at the magazine in disbelief. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, enjoying the experience of looking down at him, at seeing him so much smaller and weaker than she was. For the first time in her life he couldn't threaten or bully her. He had no choice but to listen! She could MAKE him take account of what was on her mind! When he finished flipping through the pages she went on, "So, Matt, what do you think? Do you think that maybe now it's time we had a REAL talk about the way you treat me and my friends? Do you think maybe a few apologies might be in order, to me, to Kate, and most of all to Ashley? Hmmm?" Her heart pounded with anticipation that finally he would get it. That was the most important thing, after all. All of her friends had agreed about that. He stared at her in disbelief, but he wasn't really seeing anything beyond her intent expression. His face reddened, and he became angry all over again. All he could see was Emma, his little sister smugly trying to tell HIM what to do. How DARE she! He thrust out his chest and put his hands on his hips, unaware of how ridiculous his aggressive posture looked next to his sister, who stood so much taller than he and was simply bursting with muscle. "I just can't BELIEVE you've got me standing here LISTENING to you TELLING me that YOU did this. My own SISTER can suddenly can change the whole world just by thinking about it?! That is so FUCKING ridiculous. I don't know WHAT'S happening, but only a TOTAL LOSER like you would EVER imagine that I was going to believe that crap! And if you think that I'm EVER going to apologize to you and your twerpy friends --" Emma hadn't really known what Matt would say, but for some reason she never imagined such hostility, such a complete refusal, even now, to deal with or even acknowledge her feelings. She wasn't asking for so much, was she? But no, he was just impossible. He'd never learn how to behave. Never! Well, fine then, FINE! Her diffidence disappeared, replaced by annoyance, no, not annoyance, anger. No, it wasn't anger at all. She'd felt as though she'd been angry with Matt for her whole life. Now it was fury. Unadulterated fury. She took a deep breath, not to calm herself, but to gird for battle. The adrenaline flowed. All of her prodigious muscles tensed, expanding to immense proportions. Her eyes flashed, her nostrils flared and her lips tightened. She stamped her foot and the floor shook. "Hey! I've got some important news for you, Matt. This is no dream. This is real, and your old life, the one you think and feel is real, well, it's over. It's no less real now than a dream." Matt folded his arms across his chest, oblivious to how thin they were. "This would be funny if it weren't so sad and pathetic. You actually believe what you're saying!" Emma replied with a loud "HA!" and then went on, "Oh I do! Think about it, Matt. If this IS a dream, then NONE of this is happening, INCLUDING this conversation. You're just talking to yourself. So, if you win this argument with me, you're only beating yourself. But if you lose it ...." "That's a bullshit argument. This is all bullshit! You know it and I know it. That's all there is to it." Emma looked down at her imposing biceps and smiled. "Right then. It's as clear as can be. So as far as you're concerned I can do just as I like, right? 'Cause none of this is real, just a twisted daydream of my asshole brother. You just let me know if you change your mind, Mattie." He glared at her. It had taken years for him to get his mother to stop calling him that. "WHAT did you just call me?" She stuck her finger in his chest. "I called you Mattie. But who are you arguing with, Mattie? I'm just a figment of your imagination. Right?" Matt opened his mouth to argue and then shut it. "Now, let's see. You're calling ME a loser? You? The one who was always so proud of his muscles?" she said, taunting him. "But aren't YOU the one who's lost something? How do your muscles compare with THESE, brother?" She thrust her upper arm in front of his face and pushed her muscle upwards, raising softball-sized biceps that awed him. And there was no mistaking the fact that these were a woman's biceps, not cut, veiny and jagged, but rounded, with smooth pink skin, yet looking larger and more powerful than any biceps he'd ever seen. And the muscles of her chest and shoulders rose into relief as well, also lifting her jutting breasts up and out, making them look as large as basketballs. Despite the intimidating display, he maintained his hostility. "So what? You have big muscles in my dream. They look gross on a girl anyway. Only boys should have muscles like those." "Oh yeah?" she asked, eyes blazing. "Nice dream you're having. Dreaming about your SISTER's SUPER-biceps and her 50 inch chest with DDD boobs!" She reached forward and felt his cock. "Getting hard for your sister, Mattie? Or is that just a dream too? Tell me what KIND of a dream it is, then." "Get your hands off me!" This was all seeming much too real and going on far too long. And what if-- She put her fingers back on his chest. "C'mon Mattie. What are you going to do about it? Show me your great big guns and threaten me?" She poked him a couple of times, painfully. "Hey, that ought to wake you up, huh? And certainly that!" She held her hands up and smiled angrily, flexing her biceps yet again. "Uh, oh! But I'm still here, still larger than life! C'mon Mattie, show me what you've got. Knock me down a few pegs. Put me in my place!" She stood in front of him, balling her big hands into fists and setting up into a boxing pose. She didn't know the first thing about fighting, but she gently tapped her fists against his chest, pushing him back easily with each blow until he stood against the wall. "Hey, aren't you going to fight me back? You going to let your little sister bully you? What kind of wuss are you?" Each "tap" sent a painful jolt through his body and threw him backwards. He could already feel bruises forming. He put his hands up in self-defense but he seemed unable to put up any real resistance, his arms collapsing into his chest each time she hit them. And he could see that she wasn't even trying! "Hey, c'mon, let's see what you've got! Show me, bud, like this morning!" "No way," he said. "Of course not! You're too scared even to try. Too scared about what you'll see! Too scared of your own 'dreams.' Too scared even of your own 'little' sister! Well, you should be! A little boy like you SHOULD be scared of what big, strong girls can do, right? RIGHT?" "I am NOT scared of you!" he roared. He raised his arms into a double-biceps pose, straining with all his might, willing his muscle to rise. And he still DID have a noticeable biceps, even if they were relatively small compared to what should have been there. "Oooooo, woooooh," she said in mock admiration. She quickly placed her biceps next to his. 'Hey, not bad for a boy. I bet we could fit no more than five of your muscles inside mine. Hmmmm?" He looked over and swallowed nervously. At least five. "Oh, I just don't know!" she started again, in her best little girl voice. "Just LOOK at those big, big guns of yours! They're so frightening! Just THINK what they could DO to me!" She crossed her hands in front of her chest like she was pleading in a little girl sort of way for him not to hit her, while mocking him at the same time and leaving her stomach completely undefended, right in front of him. She blinked her eyes innocently several times and just stood waiting, just daring him to do something. Then she smiled slightly, and snorted a half-laugh, a mocking laugh, her lips tightly pursed together in the slightest hint of a sneer. That, finally, sent him over the edge. Teeth clenched, he balled his right hand into a fist. Emma rolled her eyes, looking bored and then glanced down at her bare abdomen, thin and taut, with a visible lattice of muscle. Matt followed her eyes down and once she'd seen he did, the lattice immediately thickened, first into a classic sixpack and then, as she tensed her abdominals further, into a veritable wall of muscle. She looked into Matt's eyes now, daring him to hit her. Matt glared back, but then glanced back down at his target. He swallowed and looked down at the ground. "Second thoughts? Isn't this a first! Maybe you need to work out a bit more before you think about threatening me, huh Matt?" She hit him on the cheek in slow motion, but with enough force to turn his head and push it backwards. Matt grabbed her hand -- first with one hand and then using both -- and tried with all of his strength to pull it off or even to stop her. She giggled at the futility of his efforts. He was so weak now compared to her! "Don't be too sure of yourself, Emma. Maybe you've done something to fuck me up today, but I'm still no weakling. I know a lot more than you'll ever know about training and fighting. And I swear to you, when things get back to normal you'll pay for this. Oh you will pay!" "Is that so? Well, I think it's time to see what this LOSER can do." She lifted him in the air, holding him at arm's length, while he swung at her, his arms too short to reach her. Then she caught his upper arm in her free hand to feel his muscle. "Mmmm, it still feels firm, I suppose. But not for long, Mattie. Just watch." And almost immediately he started feeling dizzy, that same feeling he'd been having on and off all day. "Uh, oh, I think it's getting kind of soft, you know. A little squishy. Yeah, definitely." At her words, he could feel his muscle lose its hardness and tension. It stayed about the same size, but became spongy. And he was feeling so woozy! She was moving her fingers back and forth along his upper arm now, not even pushing down but still meeting no resistance at all between his skin and his bone. "Hey, what happened, Mattie? It's all gone so soft. You think you're having another dream?" She put him down and he stared up at her. Had she grown even more?! His head didn't even reach her chest anymore, and it was unreal the way her chest bulged outwards, her breasts now resting on a shelf of muscle. And her arms! Were those muscles or boulders? She looked at the still packed suitcase on the floor. "You know, I think I'll just accept that little gift you offered me of your luggage. It'll be really useful for getting my stuff up to MIT next year, and I may as well get used to it now. Thanks, bro!" "What? No way, Emma. I bought that with my own money!" "What did you say? That you bought it for me with your own money? That's so sweet! It's just the kind of thoughtfulness and consideration I've always wanted in a brother." She lifted it up. "Give that back!" he cried out, grabbing on to the handle with both hands. Emma smiled and let go, and Matt tumbled to the floor with it in a heap. Emma looked down at him pityingly and then easily lifted it into the air with one arm. "I don't think you're strong enough to carry this anymore. Maybe you should ask Mom for one with little wheelies, hmmm? But just a little one, Matt, 'cause you'll still need to carry it up and down steps, and with a boy's soft little muscles, you won't be able to manage much more. Why, just look at those weak arms!" Matt looked down at his arms with horror. "You know," she continued, "I could swear they seem to be shrinking right before my eyes, um hmmmm?" she said, winking. As though they were a couple of scoops of ice cream cone melting in the hot sun, even the soft biceps bulges began to shrink and flatten. Ignoring his dizziness, he desperately tensed and retensed, each time producing smaller and smaller biceps curves, until his arm remained smooth and flat no matter how hard he strained. Flat on top, that is. Below there was a little roll of fat that jiggled as he moved his arm. He felt the soft flesh and screwed up his face with intense distaste. This flabby body! It CAN'T be mine! He looked up at her pleadingly, and she smiled back sympathetically. "Poor little Mattie. So weak and helpless." She reached down and felt the sides of his torso, squeezing a couple of times to tickle him. His body jerked spasmodically in her hands, but she held him firmly. "So cute! And, you know, you'll always be just like this -- if you don't let up on the exercise and get fat. But just a little warning, Mattie. Don't expect too much from working out, 'cause if you do, you'll find it a bit frustrating now. You see, boy's bodies just don't produce the same kind of hormones as girls. For boys, exercise uses up calories, of course, but they really won't be able to develop muscle size or strength very much, no matter how much or how hard they work out. Oh, you'll be able to tone them up a little, to keep them firm for a boy -- like yours," she winked. "You call this firm?!!" he shouted angrily. "Well, for a boy! If we girls want, on the other hand, we seem to be able to grow more muscle just with a few flexes." She pumped up her arm and her already prodigious biceps grew even more with each flex. " She flexed her biceps, admiring the hard softball-size muscle that erupted from her arm. "You'll find that girls on the other hand will be able to grow their muscles almost at will." She pressed her hands together in front of her chest, forcing her pectoral muscles to bulge and harden. "Good for the bust too! If you look at the new Sports Illustrated -- which just changed again! -- you'll see that women's fashions ALWAYS leave arms bare. Our muscles are so big and hard now, and so, well, EXPLOSIVE, that it's just not practical to cover them. Besides, our big biceps really drive the guys wild, you know? Why d'ya suppose that is, Mattie? Why? Can you tell me Mattie? Huh?" She started bouncing her biceps in front of his eyes, and they grew larger and larger with each flex. "Emma!" he cried out in terror. There was a knock at the door and Ashley peeked in. "Are you finished, Em? I thought maybe it was time for me to spend a little time with your cute little brother. Would you mind?" "Oh no, Ashley, not at all! I'm completely finished now." And once she said it, a bright light seemed to emerge from Emma and then exploded, as though millions of tiny stars were swirling around Matt's room, like the seeds of a thousand dandelions scattering to the winds. "Wow, did you see that?!" Ashley came in. The formerly slight girl now towered above Matt, whose head reached only the top of her chiseled abdomen. "I'd have to suppose that meant you've just lost the power, Emma. So the changes you made must be permanent now." "You don't mind do you, Ashley? You don't think I went too far?" Ashley lifted Matt and held him in her big arms as though he were a small child. Matt looked in one direction at her basketball-sized breasts, then at her arms where Ashley obligingly flexed her melon-sized biceps for him, and guided his hand around her tiny waist and down to her wide hips and muscular thighs. Matt looked at Emma and then, in fear, buried his head in Ashley's bosom. "Oh no! It's perfect!" The end