4/17/99 This story is something of a sequel to Trading Cards, using the same characters. I hadn't intended for it to be this long, but once I started writing it just kept coming. SRU: The Vial By Morpheus Taking his time as he walked through the mall towards the arcade, 13 year old Marshal smiled faintly as he remembered how 3 weeks earlier he'd found a rather interesting store in the mall and bought some magic trading cards that had let him and his best friend Gary change into comic book characters. Unfortunately they'd used the last of the cards two weeks earlier and neither of them had been able to find that store again so that they could buy more. And they'd both tried rather hard, with nothing to show for it. Sighing, Marshal put a hand to his pocket, double checking on the money he had there so that he could play more of his favorite video game. He couldn't wait to beat Gary to the next level. Just then Marshal stopped, staring in surprise at something across from him. A large grin formed on Marshals face as he read the sign "Spells R Us" Marshal chuckled in glee, finally having found that store again. The one that he'd bought the cards at. Feeling slightly disappointed that Gary wasn't there with him, Marshal hurried to the door. Going into the store, Marshal saw that it looked the same as the last time he'd been in there. All sorts of stuff was scattered around on lots of shelves, much of it unrecognizable. And behind the counter was the same old man wearing the wizards robe. Marshal paused, watching the old man talking to some gorgeous black haired woman, saying "Now Steve, I warned you about getting that costume wet." Marshal shrugged and went to look around the shelves, already knowing that he just wanted more of the trading cards that were kept up front. Once the woman had left though, he felt a little more comfortable and went up to the counter. "Hello Marshal" The Old Man said smiling, "What can I do to...for you today?" Startled, Marshal asked "How do you know my name?" "I always know who my customers are" the Old Man chuckled. Nodding slightly, Marshal decided that he shouldn't be surprised. Not after what happened the last time he'd found that store. Looking towards the corner of the counter where the cards where at last time, Marshal frowned seeing that the rack of cards was gone. Not a single pack of trading cards was visible. "I was just looking for more cards" he said nervously, avoiding looking at the Old Man behind the counter.. "I'm sorry, but we're out of cards." The Old Man said, and Marshal nodded disappointed, missing the twinkle in the Old Man's eyes. "But feel free to look around" The Old Man added pleasantly, then just as Marshal was going to start looking again, the Old Man continued "I think that I just might have something else for you though." Stopping where he was, Marshal turned back towards the Old Man, asking "Really?" wondering just what the Old Man was talking about. Chuckling slightly, the Old Man set something down on the counter and it took Marshal a moment to realize that it was some sort of bottle or vial. It looked sort of like a rather large test tube, and was full of some green liquid. Then before Marshals eyes the liquid inside suddenly turned silver. "Wow" Marshal muttered, staring intently at the little vial on the counter. "What is it?" He finally asked. "This is something that I think you might enjoy" The Old Man told him. "Not quite as interesting as the cards, but I'm sure that you will be able to have some fun with this." Pausing for a moment, the Old Man cleared his throat then said "This vial contains a special potion, which has varying effects depending on the color." Marshal looked at him curiously, wondering what he was talking about, but forcing himself to remain patient, remembering that it was this Old Man who had suggested the cards to him, and that they were really magic. "Yes, this is magic" the Old Man said as if reading his thoughts, gently touching the vial with his hand. "The liquid within the vial changes colors frequently, and each color possesses a different attribute when drank. Blue for example changes a persons gender, red makes them older and green makes them younger. And of course the other colors also have their effects as well." "Wow" Marshal said again, bending over and staring closely at the vial of golden yellow liquid. He didn't doubt that it would do as the Old Man said, not after having dealt with those cards. Still, Marshal wasn't sure that this was what he wanted. The Old Man grinned, saying "I suggested the cards to you and you liked those. You'll like this too." The Old Man's eyes sparkled mischieviously as he added "Trust me." "How much?" Marshal found himself asking, his eyes still locked onto the vial, knowing somehow that he'd be able to afford it. "Twenty dollars" The Old Man said in a businesslike tone. Marshal groaned. "But I've only got ten dollars on me." Looking thoughtful for a moment, the Old Man finally said "All right for now. You can bring me the rest later." Marshal nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. After Marshal handed the money over, the Old Man pulled out a piece of paper and set it directly in front of Marshal, grinning as he said. "I almost forgot to give this to you." Marshal picked up the piece of paper, seeing that it was instructions for the liquid. Or at least a list of what the colors did. "Um...Thanks" Marshal nervously said as he slipped the instructions into his pocket. The Old Man just nodded and warned Marshal "Be careful not to lose the instructions." Moments later Marshal was walking out of the store, the vial full of blue liquid clenched tightly in his fist, and a grin plastered firmly on his face. Marshal hurried home, forgetting all about the video game that he'd come to the mall to play in the first place. Instead, his mind swarmed with thoughts about the vial and what it could do if what the Old Man had told him was correct. And Marshal had little doubt that it was. "Wait till I tell Gary" Marshal told himself, thinking how jealous his best friend would be. Gary hadn't even found that store once, and Marshal had twice now. Ignoring the burning desire to try using the potion, or even read over the instructions, Marshal went straight home, trying to control his curiosity. As soon as he got home, Marshal artfully dodged a few questions from his Mom about how come he was home so soon and went directly to his bedroom. Throwing himself onto his bed, Marshal very gently set the glass vial down next to him and excitedly pulled out the piece of paper that the Old Man had given him. "Wow" Marshal muttered as he looked over it, realizing just how much that little bottle could do. He picked it up and stared at it in renewed interest and amazement. Again Marshal read through the list that the Old Man had given him, this time being careful to try memorizing it. "Blue reverses gender" Marshal read aloud, "Just like that guy said" he chuckled to himself, then went back to his reading "Red increases age, green decreases age, white increases physical attractiveness, black decreases physical attractiveness, gold causes mythical transformation." Marshal paused, wondering at that last one. "What the hell does that mean?" Shrugging it off, Marshal continued "Violet increases physical stature, yellow decreases physical stature, silver opens the mind to suggestions." Pausing again, Marshal looked at that last one, smiling slightly as he mused. "Mind control?" Then glancing at the last on the list, which was clear, Marshal saw that this was the antidote to any of the other colors. "Cool" Marshal said with a grin, noticing the warning on the bottom of the note which gave the dosages for some of the colors. "Definitely cool." Grinning to himself, Marshal looked at the bottle, wondering if he should try it right then. However the thought of his Mom out in the living room caused him to hesitate, then decide to wait until just a little later. The decision was torture, but Marshal forced himself to put the bottle into one of his drawers and leave his room before the temptation became too much for him. For the rest of the day Marshal silently suffered from the impatient curiosity that was demanding that he go and try out the vial. That he prove to himself that it really worked, that it really could do all of those things. And he also had to fight down the temptation to call Gary and tell him about it. Promising himself that he'd tell Gary about the vial once he'd proven that it really worked, Marshal managed to keep himself from reaching for the phone. After suffering through the usual quiet dinner with his parents, Marshal finally went back to his room, back to the vial. Once Marshal had made sure that his door was locked, he pulled the bottle out from the drawer he'd hidden it in, and looked at it for a moment before he pulled the stopper out of the top. A slightly sweet smell almost immediately tickled Marshal's nose. Taking a deep breath, Marshal stared at the liquid, seeing that it was currently a bright golden color. Almost like it was melted gold or something. "What was that?" Marshal asked himself, trying to remember what gold was supposed to do. "Oh yeah, that mythological stuff. Whatever that is." Not wanting to take a chance, Marshal waited. When the liquid had changed, to red Marshal noted, he decided that he might as well try it. "I can handle being a little older" he told himself nervously. Being careful not to get too much, Marshal raised the vial to his lips and let just a little bit into his mouth. The sweet taste hit his tongue and Marshal knew that there was no turning back. Almost immediately he could feel a slight tingle run through his body Nervously wondering if he'd made a mistake, Marshal put the stopper back into bottle and set it to the side before sitting back down on his bed. Feeling his clothes beginning to get tight on him, Marshal looked down, knowing that it was working. As they quickly started to get extremely uncomfortable, Marshal groaned and struggled to get his clothes off. Tossing his clothes to the side, Marshal looked over his body in amazement, seeing that he was bigger and harrier. His arms and legs were all a lot harrier, and he even looked more muscular. Then suddenly it stopped and Marshal stood in the middle of his room, staring at himself and wishing that he'd thought to bring a mirror into his room with him. He really wanted to see what he looked like, wondering just how old he was at the moment. Rubbing a hand across his jaw, Marshal thought that it felt rough, and smiled faintly as he realized that he had a little stubble. As it was he normally only had just a tiny bit of peach fuzz. At least that was what his Dad called it. After several minutes Marshal decided that he'd seen as much of himself as he could where he was and he wanted to see more. He wanted to know just how old he was. Giving into temptation, Marshal cautiously stuck his head out of his bedroom door, making sure that no one was there, then hurrying into the bathroom just across the hall. Shutting the bathroom door behind him, Marshal turned and looked in the mirror, seeing a man looking back. A man who looked around 25, but definitely showed a resemblance to the reflection that Marshal saw everytime he looked in the mirror. "Wow" Marshal said aloud, slightly startled by his deeper and more mature voice. Several times before Marshal had turned into an adult with the help of the magic trading cards, but always as an adult woman. Never an adult male before much less as himself. "So this is what I'm going to look like" Marshal said, feeling slightly pleased. At least now he knew that he would get taller and a little better looking when he got older. Deciding that he just couldn't stay around the house Marshal carefully snuck into his parents room, borrowing some of his Dads clothes since he knew that his own wouldn't fit him at the moment. Grinning to himself, Marshal clenched the belt tighter around his waist, hoping that it would keep his Dads larger pants on him. Even though he was grown up, Marshal still couldn't fill his Dad's pants all the way. Of course that also had to do with the fact that his Dad had a little bit of a spare tire whereas Marshal's waist was still fairly slender. Still grinning to himself, Marshal snuck back to his room, locking the door behind himself and heading straight for his window. Within moments Marshal was out of the house and heading out to explore his newfound adulthood. Several hours later Marshal snuck back into his room, greatly disappointed by his excursion. Though he'd built up his courage enough to go to a bar, they wouldn't let him in because he couldn't show them any ID. What annoyed Marshal the most was that it was obvious that he looked over 21, but that they still wanted to see a drivers license. Same with the store when he tried to buy some beer there. After several failed attempts, Marshal went back home in disgust. After all, what was the good of being an adult if he still couldn't do all those adult things anyway. Once Marshal was safely in his room, he reached for the vial, waiting for it to change to the right color. As soon as it had turned green, Marshal was about to take a sip then suddenly stopped, staring at the bottle nervously. Gulping, Marshal realized that he came close to making a mistake. How could he really be sure that he didn't get too much of it and change back into a little kid. The dose was supposed to be about 1 year for every drop, but how could he measure it exactly from the bottle? Sighing, Marshal forced himself to be patient and wait several more minutes as the vial changed colors several times, even going through several colors twice before it became clear. "Finally" Marshal muttered as he quickly raised the bottle to his mouth and took a small sip of the sweet liquid. A tingling feeling rushed over his body and he quickly corked the vial again, watching in fascination as his clothes started to get looser and looser on him. When Marshal had finished returning to normal, he quickly stripped off his Dads clothes, stuffing them into a corner of the closet. "I can't wait to show Gary" Marshal told himself excitedly as he hid the vial, imagining just how his friend would react. With a satisfied grin on his face, Marshal went to bed, though he got little sleep that night as his mind ran over the possibilities of the Vial. The next morning, Marshal got up and went to the kitchen for breakfast, seeing that his Dad had already gone to work and that his Mom didn't seem to be home either. Finding a note on the table from his Mom, Marshal grinned as he read it and saw that she was going to be gone for most of the day visiting one of her friends. "Perfect" Marshal said grinning, wondering just how he could take advantage of that opportunity. Running back to his room, Marshal grabbed the vial and grinned as he saw that it was white. "I can handle being more handsome" Marshal told himself as he remembered what that color was supposed to do. "Lets see how it works" Then with that Marshal raised the vial to his lips and took a small sip, not noticing that the color had changed once again just as it touched his lips. Marshal smiled as he felt a tingling sensation, then absently put the stopper into the bottle and set it to the side, noticing that the color had changed again. As Marshals body started to change, he grinned at the thought of walking into school and having all the girls t here staring at him in lust. But moments later Marshal realized that something wasn't right. And as his chest began to push out against his t shirt, forming two gentle bumps that were still swelling a little, Marshal realized what had happened. The vial had changed to blue just before he'd taken his sip, and now he was turning into a girl. The thought didn't bother Marshal too much since he'd turned into girls before with the magic trading cards, and he knew that he could change back. All he needed to do was wait for the vial to turn clear again. Once the changes had stopped, Marshal quickly stripped out of his now uncomfortable clothes and looked over his body. "Amazing" he muttered as he looked himself over, finding the body of a teenage girl with rather small breasts instead of the very well endowed adult comic book women that he'd become before. Quickly Marshal ran to the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. "I'm a girl" he said in a higher voice. The voice of a 13 year old girl. Frowning a little Marshal gently touched his chest, seeing that he was probably an A cup, but almost wishing that it was bigger. That they were bigger. "Well they'll be gone in a minute" Marshal chuckled as he looked in the mirror, seeing the resemblance to himself there, though a little different. The shoulder length brown hair was certainly a lot longer than his and made him look even more different as well. Going back to his room, Marshal picked up the vial, waiting for it to turn clear again, or blue. But as he was waiting, Marshal started to wonder what Gary would say if he could see him at that moment. Chuckling to himself, Marshal thought that it could be rather funny. He doubted that Gary would even recognize him. Beginning to get an idea, Marshal's mind was made up as soon as the liquid in the vial turned white again. Without hesitating Marshal took a tiny sip, not getting more than a drop or two, but enough so that he could taste the sweet nectar on his tongue. Plugging the vial up again he gently put it away in his dresser drawer, ignoring the slight tingle that was running over his body as he took his time going back to the bathroom to see what the the newest changes were. "Wow" Marshal said as soon as he saw himself. It was still the same 13 year old girl as before in the mirror, but prettier. She looked a little cuter, her breasts looked just a little larger and she looked just a little bit less like the reflection he was used to seeing. "This is so cool" Marshal told himself as he ran his hands over his female body. Since he'd been female before and more attractive, he managed to pull himself away from his explorations, reminding himself that he still had to go to school. He was supposed to meet Gary before first period too. Then Marshal realized that he didn't have anything to wear. At least not while he was a girl. After thinking about it for awhile, Marshal suddenly remembered his older sister Meggan who was away at college. Grinning to himself, Marshal hurried to her room, which was still just like it was when she left, though she had taken some of her stuff with her. However what Marshal was after was in the back of her close, buried in a few boxes which he quickly opened. "Yes!" he said excitedly as he pulled out some of Meggan's old clothes, looking to see if any of them would fit him. Marshal was satisfied as he quickly dressed and looked at himself in Meggan's mirror. Her pants were too small for her, but were just a little baggy on him. Not that it mattered though since baggy pants were currently in style. Once Marshal was completely dressed, he frowned at the slightly loose shoes on his feet and the fact that the clothes didn't fit real comfortably, but they were girls clothes and they looked about right on him. Knowing that he was going to be late for school, but not caring, Marshal brushed his hair and tried to make himself look like a normal girl. Even though it meant trying to put on some makeup, which didn't really work too wall, but looked reasonable. "How can girls stand this?" he asked himself as he pushed a bit of his hair out of his face for the hundredth time. "That should do it" he told himself as he looked over everything once more, trying to remember if there was anything he'd left out. Satisfied that he looked just like any other girl from school, though perhaps a little cuter than some, Marshal left the house and started walking towards school. At school Marshal walked through the hall nervously, lucky to have arrived between classes. He'd missed first period entirely and regretted it, knowing that he'd get in trouble for missing school if his parents found out, but Marshal just had to see what it was like to be a girl at school. It was embarrassing. Being a girl while by himself, or even when he was with Gary was one thing, but having everyone around him actually thinking that he really was a girl was strange. Several guys even "accidentally" bumped into him while he was walking down the hall, and he could swear that a lot of the guys were looking at his chest. It was somewhat embarrassing to be treated like that, though he found it rather nice that all the girls were a little friendlier to him. Trying to keep his goal in mind, Marshal ignore the embarrassing looks towards him and went straight to where he knew Gary would be. Waiting by his locker till the last minute before the bell rang as he always did. As soon as Marshal saw Gary standing at his locker, cheerfully telling jokes to several people around him, Marshal let himself smile a little. Gary always was popular, though in the class clown kind of way while he had pretty much been unnoticed. Marshal had never gotten as much attention at school as he had in just the last few minutes. "Maybe I should have taken some more of the white" he told himself under his breath as he felt a faint stirring of jealousy over the way Gary always got the attention. Shrugging it off though he went and stood alongside some of the other students who were intently listening to Gary's graphic description of his jokes punchline. Marshal laughed along with the rest of the audience, then the bell rang, causing the students to all rush to their classes, knowing that they were going to be late. Marshal just smiled faintly and told Gary "Pretty funny" waiting to see if Gary would recognize him. "Thanks" Gary responded, giving Marshal a good look but without a hint of recognition appearing in his eyes. That made Marshal smile more. He was finally getting even with Gary for the many jokes Gary had played on him. Marshal didn't think that Gary could top this one easily, though he realized Gary would certainly try sooner or later. Gary smiled at Marshal, saying "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new?" "Um....yeah" Marshal told him, beginning to get nervous and uncertain again. The way Gary was talking to him certainly wasn't like normal. "I'm Gary" he said, extending his hand. Marshal shook the offered hand, and said "I'm Mars.....Mary" Marshal winced. He had been tempted to call himself Marsha, but that was a horrible name. It was so lame, but then again Marshal didn't think that Mary was too much better. "Nice to meet you Gary" Marshal told his best friend, amused by the whole situation but also somewhat nervous. "We're gonna be late for class" Gary excused himself with a grin. "See ya later" Then with that Gary hurried off to class. Marshal nearly followed behind him, but reminded himself that he couldn't very well go to his own classes like he currently was, though he was tempted to at least try. Maybe tell the teachers that he was new and hadn't yet had his records shipped over. Knowing that this wasn't likely to work, and not wanting that much attention, Marshal found himself heading towards the spot behind the school that Gary had shown him once. A good place to skip classes at. For the next hour Marshal hid, wishing that he'd thought to bring his own clothes and the vial so that he could be in class instead of hiding. Trying to pass the time, Marshal couldn't resist exploring his new body a little more, though he also feared someone might possibly find him. As soon as Marshal heard the bell dismissing the classes, he hurried out of the hiding place and went back to the hall, keeping a lookout for Gary. It didn't take him very long to find his friend. "Hi Gary" Marshal said sweetly, seeing that Gary was even blushing a little. "Oh, hi Mary" Gary responded nervously at first, then quickly got his confidence back, asking "What classes are you in?" Marshal dodged the question and asked one of his own. For the next several minutes he talked with Gary then they went their separate ways just before the bell was due to go off. After avoiding several teachers that were keeping an eye out for students that were skipping class, Marshal left the school, not wanting to spend any more time hidden away. That was way too boring. Heading back home, Marshal hoped that his Mom wasn't going to get home till a lot later. Safe at home, Marshal sat down on his couch and laughed aloud at the memory of how well he'd fooled Gary. At how well his trick had worked. Grinning to himself, Marshall got up and headed back to his room, planning on turning back to normal. Being a girl was kind of fun, but it was also kind of uncomfortable. He felt so strange, though he had to admit in a kind of good way. As soon as Marshal got to his room, he pulled the vial out of its hiding place, noticing that it was a golden color at the moment. Staring at it for a moment, Marshal realized that since he was home alone, this would probably be his bet opportunity to test the magic potion. To see just how well it all worked. Looking at the black liquid, Marshal decided that he really didn't want to turn ugly. "Another color" he told himself, wondering just what he was going to try next. Seeing it change to silver, Marshal didn't want to try that color either. He wasn't sure that he remembered correctly, but was fairly sure that this was the mind control one. Pulling out the instruction sheet, Marshal was relieved that he hadn't tried it. Once it changed red, Marshal immediately drank several drops, then quickly stripped out of his clothes as he felt himself getting bigger. He wasn't sure if he would have needed to since his clothes were a little loose, but he wanted to be safe, just in case. Marshal smiled faintly as he felt the weight on his chest increasing slightly, and saw that his breasts were definitely larger. Hurrying to the bathroom he looked into the mirror and saw that he looked to be a 17 year old. "This is so cool" he said in a slightly more mature girls voice, then laughed as he heard himself. Feeling rather smug and satisfied, Marshal went back to the bedroom and waited then took a little bit of the white. Several minutes later Marshal was staring down at himself in complete amazement. "God I'm gorgeous" he said in a soft sexy voice, "I look like a model" Stunned by the incredibly gorgeous woman staring back at him from the mirror, Marshal smiled and felt himself getting very, very horny. His nipples were sticking out from his even larger breasts and his crotch was very wet. Hurrying back to his bed, Marshal threw himself on it and began to frantically rub at his breasts and his crotch, moaning in estcasy as he brought himself to orgasm after orgasm. After Marshal had finally satisfied himself with masturbating, he just laid back on his bed with a smile on his face, loving the amazing feel of his breasts and the warm afterglow. He'd masturbated as a girl before, and this was even better than the last time. "Amazing" he mused lazily as stretched out comfortably. Once Marshal had finally gotten himself to get off the bed, he smiled as he looked over his still naked body, then more so as he saw the vial of liquid on the floor. "I wonder what the growing stuff does" Marshal mused to himself as he waited for the right color. Once it changed to violet, Marshal took a very small sip, and found himself feeling warm and tingly. He could feel something about him changing, though he wasn't exactly certain what it was. After glancing back at the instructions, Marshal realized that he had grown. An inch for every drop that he'd drank, and he was sure that he'd taken around 5 or 6 drops. That would make him just over 6 feet tall. Laughing to himself, Marshal walked around the house, loving how much smaller everything looked. He had already been a little taller than normal several minutes earlier, but this was even better. "I love this" Marshal said excitedly as he tried putting on some of his Mom's clothes, which were far too tight. Going back to the vial, he decided to try some of the gold liquid, wondering just exactly what that did. Not wanting to take any chances, Marshal was careful to take only several drops. This time the tingling hit his body even stronger than before, and Marshal felt his legs going out on him. Collapsing to the floor, Marshal winced as his legs seemed to twist and move around without his control. "Oh shit" he cried out, realizing that he'd made a mistake. Then he looked down at his legs in horror, seeing that they were fused together and strange bluish scales were beginning to form on them. Losing his fear as curiosity and interest grew, Marshal watched in fascination as his legs quickly vanished, being replaced from the waist down by what could only be described as a fishlike tail. "I'm a mermaid" Marshal said in awe. Shifting position so that he could get a better look at his new tail, Marshal felt so strange. Even stranger than turning into a girl. "I wonder if I can breathe underwater" Marshal muttered as he started pulling himself towards the bathroom, finding it rather difficult since he couldn't just get up and walk. And once Marshal had made it to the bathroom, he couldn't even stand up so as to get a look at himself in the mirror. Not like it would have made much difference since he suspected that he still looked the same from the waist up, though he didn't realize that he had several faint bluish scales on his forehead and scattered around elsewhere on his body. Giving up on the mirror, Marshal crawled back to his room, and the bottle. Deciding that he's experimented enough for awhile, Marshal waited until the vial had turned clear then took a sip, feeling relieved as his legs started to return. Knowing that it wouldn't be too much longer until school was out, Marshal wondered just how he was going to tell Gary about the vial, or even if he should. After all, there was only so much stuff in the bottle and he wasn't sure that he wanted to share it. Feeling guilty for that thought, Marshal reminded himself that Gary was his best friend and that he really should share. Sighing, Marshal walked around the house, running a hand over his flat chest and deciding that he'd have to show Gary in just the right way. Beginning to chuckle, Marshal hurried back to his room, already starting to take off his clothes again, knowing that they'd be rather useless in just a few minutes. Though it took Marshal several minutes to get the right colors, he turned himself back into "Mary" "That should do it" he told himself as he finished dressing and fixing himself up again. As he glanced at his reflection in the mirror, he thought that he may have gotten just a little bit more of the white stuff than he had earlier. Not that he really minded at the moment. Satisfied that it would work, Marshal left the house and started back towards the school, hoping that he could get there in time. Marshal was relieved that he got to school before it cut out for the day, and was more than happy to suffer through the embarrassment of having the boys look at him just so that he could find Gary. "Hi Gary" Marshal called out to his friend in his sweetest girl voice, chuckling as he saw Gary blush slightly, "Can you walk me home?" he asked Gary, trying to give that look. The one that girls all seemed to know how to give in order to get what they wanted. And Marshal was overjoyed that it worked. "Sssure" Gary stuttered, obviously surprised at Marshal's behavior. Just what Marshal wanted. Then still pretending to be a normal girl, Marshal said "Its over this way" gesturing in the general direction. Gary nodded and they started walking, with Gary obviously feeling a little nervous but trying to cover it up with talking and jokes. Marshal just smiled back. When they finally got in near his house, Marshal stopped and said "Here it is" "But that's....." Gary said confused. Smiling, Marshal chuckled and asked "You remember some comic cards from a couple weeks ago....?" Gary looked at Marshal even more confused, then asked "What....?" Then shaking head he asked "Marshal? Is that you?" "Yep" Marshal grinned back, "I found that store again." Looking angry suddenly, Gary snapped "You asshole. How could you do that to me?" Suddenly feeling a little guilty, though not enough to erase the grin completely, Marshal apologized, "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist" Glancing at the driveway to make sure that his parents weren't home yet, Marshal continued, "Come on inside and I'll tell you all about it." Still looking both annoyed and disappointed, Gary nodded and followed Marshal inside. In Marshal's room, he carefully pulled the vial out from where he'd hidden it, explaining "This is what caused this" he gestured down at himself. "You wouldn't believe how awesome this stuff is." Then with that he handed it over to Gary, warning him to be careful. "I've got to try this" Gary said excitedly, then took a sip from the vial before Marshal could tell him to stop. "God I feel....." Gary started, then looked around. Marshal winced as he saw that the vial was green, and he didn't know how much Gary had taken. Almost immediately Gary started shrinking and Marshal quickly grabbed the vial from him before Gary dropped it. "It doesn't work that way" Marshal said to the 10 year old Gary who was still shrinking and getting younger, looking scared at what was happening to him. "You didn't let me explain" Marshal apologized, while Gary demanded that Marshal turn him back. Finally it stopped with Gary looking like he was two years old, and buried in his massively oversized clothes. "Change me back" the two year old Gary demanded, sounding afraid. "I can't" Marshal told him, relieved that his friend hadn't gotten any younger, "I have to wait a few minutes." Then while Marshal was waiting for the vial to turn to the right color, he explained that each color had a different effect. Though the vial had turned red, Marshal ignored that, not being too sure of getting the right dosage. Not when the antidote would be a lot easier. Finally the liquid turned clear and Marshal gave a little bit of it to Gary, then took a quick sip himself. Within a minute both boys were back to normal, though Marshal was struggling to get out of his sisters clothes before he returned to normal, not having thought about that before he drank the antidote. Once Gary was back to 13 years old, he said "That was scary dude" Taking a deep breath, he glanced nervously towards the vial and added "Where did you get that shit? Why didn't you get more cards? And where the hell was that store?" Forcing himself to stay calm, Marshal explained that he'd just stumbled across the store again and that they were all out of cards. But grinning, Marshal added "This stuff is pretty cool though. I kind of wish I had more cards and could get those super powers, but this stuff is really neat. You ought to see some of the stuff it can do." However, before Marshal could demonstrate some of the other colors effects, he heard a sound outside and looked out the window to see that his Mom was home. "I guess we can't do anything right now" Marshal said disappointed, knowing that his Mom would be up to see him and say hi. He wasn't wrong since minutes later she was knocking on his door, wanting to know how school was. Once Marshal had gotten rid of his Mom, he and Gary sat in his room, with Marshal explaining some of what the magic potion could do. Gary was getting more and more interested and excited, then asked "You think your folks will mind if I stay for dinner?" Marshal thought about it then said "I don't see why not." Gary just grinned back mischieviously, "Perfect" Marshal's Dad got home from work just a little while later, and Marshal talked his parents into letting Gary stay for dinner. It wasn't difficult since Gary had eaten with them several times before, just as Marshal had eaten over at Gary's house. Just as they were sitting down at the table, waiting for Marshal's Mom to bring the food in, Gary excused himself for a minute and got up, leaving Marshal to wonder what was going on. Several minutes later Gary was back, with a satisfied and mischievious look on his face that made Marshal wonder what was going on. Marshal didn't have to wait too long since after they food was served and his parents were starting to eat, Gary suddenly grabbed Marshal's arm saying "Don't touch the green beans" "What did you do?" Marshal demanded, suddenly seeing that his parents didn't look quite right. They were shrinking. "Oh my God, you didn't." But it was very obvious that Gary had dosed the green beans with the potion from the vial, and from the two confused children sitting in his parents seats, he knew that Gary's sense of humor had struck again. "What's happening? Marshal's Mom cried out in a panic. Still grinning, Gary said "Relax" And Marshal was startled to see that both of his parents did relax and calm down immensely. Gary grinned even wider and said "You are both good little kids, right?" Marshal was even more stunned to see both of his parents nod numbly, then start chattering with each other, sounding just like little kids and apparently not even noticing that anything was wrong. "What did you do?" Marshal demanded of his friend, getting very scared to see his parents both as little kids sitting in their seats, playing with their food. "I poured a little bit of that green stuff in the beans, and then I poured some of the silver" Gary looked proud, "Don't worry, we can change them back to normal. I just had to see how well it worked." Getting angry, Marshal asked "How could you?" "Relax" Gary protested, "It's not like it's permanent or anything. I was just having some fun." Just then a blob of mashed potato hit Gary alongside the face, and he turned to see the giggling little girl had already loaded another blob of mashed potatoes into her spoon, the little boy was following suite. "They're just having fun" Marshal mocked, until he too was hit by a blob of food. Gary snapped at the little kids that had been Marshal's parents moments before, "It's bed time, go to bed" Without protesting both children suddenly got up, struggling in their oversized clothes and heading towards their bedroom, leaving Marshal in amazement. Then Gary turned to Marshal, apologizing "I'm sorry. I guess I got a little carried away, but this way we can experiment with the stuff and then make them forget all about what happened before changing them back." Groaning Marshal knew that it was too late to do anything about it now, but he still felt bad about what had happened to his parents. He looked suspiciously at Gary, wondering if he'd made a big mistake in telling his friend about the vial. After the boys has finished scarfing down dinner, they Gary pulled the vial out from where he'd hidden it in the kitchen, making Marshal start to get angry again. It was his vial and what right did Gary have to do stuff like that without telling him. Marshal still wanted to use the vial to turn his parents back to normal, but even as annoyed as he was with Gary, he still didn't want to offend his friend. Giving in, Marshal went along with Gary who insisted on trying out some of the colors. Gary grinned and took a quick sip from the bottle, not letting Marshal see what color he'd just taken. Almost immediately though Marshal got a very good idea as his friend legs started to change and his back started to stretch. Moments later Gary was standing up, looking down at Marshal and grinning. Marshal just winced at seeing that his friend had turned into a centaur. "Oh my God" Marshal whined, "Mom's not going to like this" "So what?" Gary responded carelessly, obviously impressed at having his lower body being that of a horse. "This is great" Marshal just groaned miserably, even more so when Gary accidentally bumped up against a shelf, causing his Mom's favorite porcelain statue to fall to the ground and shatter. "Oops, sorry" Gary apologized half heartedly, more interested in trying to get used to his new balance. "Your turn" he told Marshal suddenly, carelessly tossing the stoppered vial to Marshal who grabbed at it desperately, suddenly afraid of what might happen to his parents if the bottle was broken. "Good catch" Gary grinned. Marshal glared at Gary, forcing himself to remain calm. "Don't do that" Then smiling faintly, he added "Unless you wanted to live in a barn for the rest of your life." Gary paled slightly at that realizing that he'd just come close to being stuck as a centaur. Sighing, Marshal looked at the vial, hesitating for a moment, but as he glanced towards his transformed friend, he took a small sip. "Whoa dude" Gary said staring, "You're like shrinking." Marshal looked down and realized that the ground was getting closer, while everything else around him seemed to be growing. As he tried to control the rising fear, Marshal wished that he'd bothered to look at the stuff before he'd taken it. What would have happened if he'd gotten that mind control stuff instead? Marshal shuddered at that thought, promising himself to be more careful. When it stopped, Marshal struggled to get out of his clothes, noticing that his body hadn't really changed. He hadn't gotten younger like he'd first suspected, he'd just gotten smaller. Now he stood about 3 feet tall, and Gary towered over him even more than before. Gulping, Marshal clenched the now much larger vial tightly in his hands, hoping that Gary wouldn't get the idea to take it away from him and trap him like that. By the grin on Gary's face, Marshal knew that very idea had just dawned on him. Then relieved to see one of the colors that he wanted, Marshal quickly took another sip, feeling himself starting to grow larger again almost immediately. Within moments he was back to his old size, and still growing until he was looking down at Gary. "Wow" Marshal said amazed as his head bumped against the ceiling, "Now this is cool." Gary obviously agreed, probably wanting to use that growth stuff on himself Marshal decided. Deciding to have a little fun with it, Marshal took another sip from the small seeming vial in his hand since it was one of the colors he wanted. He could feel himself growing bigger again and grinned as he got older this time. "Whoa, you're like 21" Gary added unnecessarily. Marshal just grinned, not having finished what he wanted to do. Taking another sip, Marshal felt some more familiar changes taking place as he started to change into a woman. Breasts grew on his chest, which he knew that at his current size would be huge. At least to a normal sized person since they seemed about normal size to him. Marshal chuckled at that thought. How could any breasts be normal sized on him when he was really a guy? "Maybe I should shrink down a little" Marshal suggested slightly as he bent forward to avoid banging his head too much against the ceiling. Since he'd turned into a woman, he was just a tiny bit shorter than he had been as a 21 year old guy, but still too tall to stand up straight in the house. "God I'm huge" Marshal said, almost feeling satisfied to be looking down at his friend. "You look like a pony" he told Gary with a grin. Waiting for the liquid in the vial to turn yellow so that he could become a little bit more of a normal height, Marshal saw it turn white and decided not to waste the opportunity. Quickly had become even more beautiful, and his breasts were pushing out even further from his chest. "Fuck" Gary said, his eyes wide open and much to Marshals embarrassment, his horses equipment fully erect. "Don't get any ideas" Marshal snapped, reminding himself not to get any of that mind control stuff in him. He didn't trust Gary not to make some sort of sex slave out of him. By the look on Gary's face, Gary must have been thinking of that himself. Several minutes later Marshal was back down to almost normal size, though he knew he was probably an inch or two too tall. Not that it mattered much since he could change back to normal with a single sip of the clear liquid. Looking at the vial, Marshal was startled to realize that it was a bit over half of the way full. He hadn't realized that they'd used so much of it so quickly. "You look so hot" Gary said, practically drooling over Marshal. "Let me try again." Reluctantly Marshal handed the vial over to Gary, warning him not to use too much. After Gary had changed himself back to normal, he followed Marshal's lead by turning himself into a girl, though he ended up looked around 18 instead of 21 like Marshal. Feeling embarrassed to be walking around naked, Marshal went and got dressed in some of Meggan's clothes, clothes which fit him a lot better than earlier though they were now just a little tight on him in some places. Marshal also lent some of Meggan's clothes to Gary, praying that Meggan never found out about this. He'd die of humiliation. Looking like two women, Marshal and Gary sat in the living room, trying to avoid using the vial at the moment, instead talking about what they could do with it. "Just imagine" Gary said excitedly, "I could become a grownup and go out with Ms. Serling" Marshal nodded, thinking about their teacher. She was certainly the youngest and most attractive teacher at school, but he doubted if she'd go out with Gary even if Gary was a grownup. She didn't seem the type to like his kind of jokes, but then again Marshal had a slight crush on her himself. Not that he'd admit it though. "Wouldn't work" Marshal pointed out, then smiled as he suggested what they could do to the school bully, causing Gary to break out laughing. As the boys were laughing, the phone started ringing. Picking it up, Marshal nervously answered "Hello?" After listening for a moment, he said "I'll get him for you." Then turning to Gary, he said "It's your Mom. She says she wants to talk to you." Gary reached for the phone, but Marshal pulled it out of his reach, saying "I don't think she's going to recognize your voice right now." Looking down at himself, Gary visibly blushed and said "Damn, you're right" "Just a minute" Marshal said into the phone while Gary waited for the vial to turn clear again. The boys waited impatiently for the vial to change, and were relieved when it finally became clear. Almost immediately Gary took a sip, making Marshal wince as he thought Gary didn't need that much of it to turn back. As soon as Gary had finished changing back to normal, he picked up the phone, "Hi, Mom." Gary nodded for a moment then hung the phone up, apologizing to Marshal, "Sorry, but I've got to go home." "Too bad" Marshal said, feeling slightly disappointed. While Gary got up and started to get his coat and school bag, Marshal set the vial down on the coffee table and went in to check on his parents, feeling bad about leaving them as little kids. However as he peaked in on them he couldn't help but smiling at seeing two cute little kids looking so innocent in his parents bed. Going back to Gary, he saw the other boy about ready to leave. "I'll see you later" Gary said with a grin, then went through the door and was gone. Marshal shook his head and decided that before he changed back to normal that he wanted to have just a little fun first. Grinning to himself Marshal started to strip off his clothes as he made his way towards his bedroom. After a long, extremely satisfying session of masturbating, Marshal couldn't help but wondering what sex would be like with a woman, or even with a guy since he was in the body of a woman. He blushed furiously at that and pushed it out of his mind, knowing that he wasn't at all interested in guys, even though he still looked like a woman. With a smile Marshal put a hand between his legs and felt the moist stickiness that he'd left spread around. "I need a bath" he told himself as he started walking towards the bathroom, deciding to at least clean up before changing back to normal. It was with a deep sigh of pleasure that Marshal let himself slide into the hot soapy tub, chuckling slightly at how strange it felt to have his breasts sort of floating in the water. "I could almost get used to this" he mused, warning himself that he'd better not. Finishing up with his bath, Marshal forced himself to climb out of the tub in spite of the strong temptation to just stay there and continue soaking in the warm water. Slowly drying himself off, Marshal looked into the bathroom mirror and smiled, liking what he saw, though knowing that he'd rather have it on a girl he was with than on himself. With just a towel wrapped around himself, Marshal went in and checked on the two little kids in his parents bed again, then went to the living room to get the vial. However as soon as he walked up to the coffee table, Marshal froze, realizing that something was wrong. The vial wasn't there. For a moment he wondered if he'd put it somewhere else, then muttered "Damn him." as he realized he hadn't. "Gary!" Marshal muttered threateningly, knowing exactly who had it. After Marshal had quickly gotten dressed in Meggan's clothes again, he ran out the door and started towards Gary's house. It was already dark and he didn't like walking alone at night, especially since he realized just how inviting he probably looked to the psycho's at that moment. Still, he didn't dare leave the vial in Gary's hands any longer than he had to. Who knew what Gary would do with it. Marshal shuddered at the thought that Gary might use it all up, or break it and leave him trapped as a woman for the rest of his life. A woman who was 8 years older than he normally was at that. Marshal was almost overwhelmed with fear when he finally got to Gary's house, worrying himself with thoughts of what would happen if Gary had broken the vial. Trying to force himself to calm down, Marshal stood at Gary's front door, realizing that Gary's parents wouldn't recognize him, and it would look pretty odd for a 21 year old woman to be asking about a 13 year old guy. Still, Gary wasn't sure what else to do. The light in Gary's bedroom was off so he couldn't even toss pebbles up there to attract his attention. No, Marshal told himself, it was the front door or nothing. Taking a deep breath, Marshal slowly let it out then rang the door bell, nervously waiting for someone to answer. When the door swung open, an 11 year old girl stuck her head out, smiling and saying "Hi" "Um....hi" Marshal responded, wondering who this girl was. He absently noticed that her clothes didn't look quite right on her but ignored it, asking "Is Gary here?" "Oh yeah" she giggled, "My big brother is in the living room. By the way, I'm Candy. Who are you?" Marshal stared at her stunned. Gary didn't have a sister. The only sibling he had was his 16 year old brother Kenny. Then Marshal choked and muttered "I'm Mar...Mary" He looked again at little Candy, knowing without a doubt that this was Kenny. That Gary had been busy with the vial already, and he hadn't even had it for more than a couple hours. "Can I come in and see Gary?" Marshal nervously asked. Candy frowned a little, then nodded and gestured for Marshal to come in. He shook his head, realizing that she didn't even seem to notice that anything was odd. The mind control stuff obviously. Nervously walking into the living room behind Candy, Marshal stopped, startled to see a 16 year old Gary sitting there on the couch, right next to his parents who didn't seem to notice anything wrong either. More of the mind control stuff. That made Marshal burn inside. How could anyone purposely do that to someone else's mind. That was horrible and just seemed so wrong to Marshal. Frowning he stepped into view, noticing Gary turn to him and grin broadly. "I see that you met Candy Gary said with a smug look. "Can I talk to you alone?" Marshal asked in his coldest tone, earning a slight frown from Gary's parents and from Gary himself. Gary nodded and the two of them went into the next room. "What the hell did you do?" Marshal demanded, trying to keep his anger under control. "I thought it was obvious" Gary replied, trying to look hurt. "I got even with Kenny. He always picked on me, so I just changed things around a little, and made sure that no one here remembered it being different." "You just can't do that." Marshal told Gary. "It's not right. We've got to turn them back." Gary stepped back, saying "No way." "Where's the vial?" Marshal demanded suddenly, realizing that he'd probably have to fix things on his own. Gary didn't look like he was going to be of help. Seeing the vial sitting on the other side of the room, Marshal hurried past Gary and grabbed it, holding it tightly since he saw that Gary looked like he was about to grab it back. "You used mind control didn't you?" Marshal demanded, realizing as he said it that it was already too obvious. "Then I'll just tell them all to forget anything you told them" "Won't work" Gary said smugly. "They only follow the instructions of the first person to give them an order. I found that out after using it on Kenny when Mom tried telling him something." "Then you tell them" Marshal demanded. Gary just shook his head no. "You can't just do that to people" Marshal pleaded. "It's not right. We've got to fix things back the way they should be." Just then Gary jumped at Marshal, grabbing for the vial. Marshal struggled, being pushed over onto the ground by the other boy as they fought for control of the vial. Though Gary managed to pull the vial out of Marshal's grip, grinning as he did so, Marshal wasn't about to give up. With great effort Marshal managed to pull free from Gary's grip some, wincing at the pain of Gary's rough hands grasping his breasts. Clenching his teeth, Marshal lashed out with his knee, sending Gary flying back, crying in pain as he rolled around on the floor clutching his crotch. "Serves you right" Marshal told his friend as he unsteadily got to his feet. "What's that racket in there?" Marshal heard Gary's Dad call out. Ignoring him, Marshal calmly walked over to Gary and picked up the vial which had been dropped onto the floor. Smiling as the bottle immediately changed to silver in his hands, almost as if it knew what he needed, Marshal opened it and forced a drop into Gary's mouth, feeling vaguely guilty as he did so. "Now get up" Marshal told Gary, and without hesitation Gary stood up, looking startled as he realized that he'd just taken some of the mind control potion. "Don't move" Marshal instructed as he noticed Gary's muscles beginning to tense for another jump. Gary just glared at Marshal but didn't move. Hearing Gary's Dad calling out again, Marshal made Gary tell him that everything was fine, then they went into the living room and Marshal ordered Gary to give his family instructions, which Gary immediately did. Within minutes Gary's parents and his older brother/younger sister were all sitting motionless on their seats, glazed expressions on their faces. They'd been ordered by Gary at Marshals instructions to go into a trance, remembering none of the events that had transpired. Marshal hoped that it would work. Making Gary sit down as well, Marshal impatiently waited for the vial to turn clear. As soon as Marshal had the antidote, he gave a drop to each of Gary's family, saving Gary for last. He really hoped that it would work and that they wouldn't remember what had happened. Once they all had their cure, Marshal waited until he saw Kenny starting to return to normal and then rushed out of Gary's house, going directly home. Furious, Marshal couldn't believe that Gary had done that. Had stolen the vial even. Shaking his head Marshal went back into his own house, locking the door behind him. As soon as he'd taken off his own clothes he used the vial to return himself to normal, relieved to have something between his legs again, though vaguely missing the feeling of weight on his chest. Walking to his parents bedroom, Marshal paused to watch the two children sleeping, still looking so innocent. Smiling faintly Marshal waited until the liquid had turned clear again, then gently put a drop onto each of their lips, hoping that it would work. As soon as they had both started growing again, Marshal sighed in relief, praying that in the morning they'd only think that they'd had a strange dream. Hiding the Vial very carefully, not wanting any accidents, Marshal yawned and decided that it was time for him to go to bed as well. He still had to go to school in the morning and his parents were bound to notice if he wasn't at school for two days in a row. The next day Marshal avoided Gary at school, still being angry at his friend in spite of Gary's attempts to apologize. Still, Marshal knew that he couldn't stay angry with Gary forever and that he'd have to forgive him eventually. They'd been best friends since second grade and it would be a shame to throw that away. Deciding that a couple days should do it, Marshal let Gary keep apologizing. As soon as school was over Marshal hurried home, pulling the vial out of the place where he'd hidden it. It was still about half full. Frowning, Marshal stared at the vial of green liquid, regretting what he was about to do but knowing that it needed to be done. Making sure to grab the ten dollars off of his dresser as well, Marshal started towards the mall. Finding the store was no problem for Marshal this time, though he was somewhat surprised at just how easily he'd found it after all the times he'd looked without success. Nervously he stared at the door, gathering his courage. Taking a deep breath, Marshal walked in. Seeing the Old Man behind the counter, Marshal hesitated at the door, but the Old Man looked up and smiled. "Marshal" he said gently, "How have you been?" "Um...fine" Marshal mumbled. Remembering why he was there, Marshal dug into his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. "I brought the money I owe you" he said nervously, handing it over to the Old Man who silently accepted it. "Thank you Marshal. Was there anything else you wanted?" Gulping, Marshal glanced around nervously, then he pulled the vial out of his back pack and set it down on the counter. "This was really neat and all...." he started, "but I really don't think that I'm ready to handle this" Looking regretfully at the blue vial, Marshal added "I'm not responsible enough. It just caused too much trouble." The Old Man nodded. "There's no refunds you know" "I know" Marshal said quietly, still looking at the bottle. Looking thoughtful for a moment, the Old Man nodded. "Most people wouldn't realize or admit that they have more power than they know how to handle. You're more responsible than you realize, and perhaps a little wiser." Carefully taking the vial, the Old Man put it somewhere behind the counter, then turned back towards Marshal. "Since you've already paid for it, I'll keep it here safely until you feel that you can handle it." "Um....thanks" Marshal muttered, feeling embarrassed by the compliments. "I guess I'd better be going" he told the Old Man, quickly saying goodbye then leaving the store. Smiling to himself as he watched Marshal leave, the Old Man knew that Marshal would be back before too long. If not for the vial then for something else. There were too many things here to draw Marshal back. The Old Man sighed as he started cleaning his counter, knowing that there was something special about that young lad. He had potential, and possibly even a destiny. Chuckling aloud, the Old Man began to consider though, how best to deal with Gary. However as a new customer walked into the store, the Old Man put those plans aside for the moment, knowing that there'd be time for Gary later. The End?