4/18/99
SRU: Trading Cards
By Morpheus

 	Marshal felt disappointed as he walked out of the arcade. He'd 
thought  for sure that he would have beaten that game this time.  Still, after  
another $3 he only got another level than his last time.  And at 13  years old, 
$3 wasn't something to just be thrown away.  Shrugging to  himself, he 
thought "better luck next time."  Having gotten bored of  playing video games 
for the moment, Marshal started walking through the  mall, hoping that the 
comic shop might have something interesting in.

	As he walked past Kaybee Toys, Marshal noticed a new store with 
the  name Spells R Us above it.  "Never saw that one before"  he muttered to  
himself, wondering what they sold there.  Normally he wouldn't bother to  
go into most of the stores in the mall, but Spells R Us sounded a little  
different.  Might be interesting, Marshal thought to himself  skeptically.  
Since he still had time to kill, Marshal decided that he  might as well check it 
out.

	Stepping inside, Marshal wasn't too impressed.   It looked sort of like  
an antique store, though there were a lot of newer things as well.    Some of 
them even looking interesting to Marshal. After his second  glance around, he 
thought that it might be more interesting than he'd  first thought.  It certainly 
was different at least.  

	But other than Marshal, the only other people in the store was some 
old  man behind a counter, and another customer that the old man was talking  
with.   Marshal just started looking around, noticing after a minute  that the 
other customer was walking to the door with a box in his   hands, looking 
rather satisfied.  Just as the other customer was about  to leave, the old man 
called out to him "And Steve, remember not to get  that Catwoman costume 
wet."  The other customer called back that he  wouldn't and left, leaving 
Marshal as the only remaining customer in the  store.

	After looking around a little more, Marshal was about to leave.  
Before  he got near the door however, the old man behind the counter called 
out  to him "Mar....I mean young man, I think I have something that might  
interest you."  

	Curious as to what the old man had, Marshal went up to the counter. 
The  old man smiled faintly, saying "You look like the kind of young man 
that  enjoys comic books, am I right?  Marshal nodded yes, wondering if 
maybe  this guy had some around.   "I don't have any comics in at this 
moment"  the old man said quickly, "but there are some things in stock that 
you  might like."  With that, the old man gestured to a small rack on the  side 
of the counter where Marshal noticed packs of baseball cards.  

	Looking again, Marshal realized that there were other types of  
collectors cards sitting there as well.  Types from several movies,  other 
sports and even Magic the Gathering cards.  However it was a  particular 
pack of cards that caught Marshal's eye.  A pack of comic  cards.  Picking a 
pack up, Marshal asked "How much?"  After the old man  said they were 
$3.00 a pack, Marshal handed what little money he had on  him.   Though he 
was a little disappointed, having planned on using that  for the video game 
again the next day, Marshal did like comic cards and  hadn't seen them 
packaged quite like these ones before.  

	Satisfied with his small purchase, Marshal said a quick "Thank you"  
to  the old man behind the counter and left, wondering suddenly if it had  just 
been his imagination, or had that old man really been wearing a  bath robe?

 	Getting home, Marshal immediately called up his best friend Gary,  
telling him to come over.  Going into his room, he dropped his coat onto  the 
bed, the pack of cards in the pocket forgotten about at the moment.   Once 
Gary arrived a short time later, both boys disappeared into  Marshal's room 
to listen to music and talk.

	Marshal laughed as Gary told him some of the latest gossip from 
school,  thinking how cool it was that Gary was able to make him laugh with  
almost no effort.  Gary, unlike Marshal had a knack for talking with  other 
people.  He seemed to be able to find the humor in any situation,  and then 
share it with everyone around him.  Sometimes to their  annoyance.  But then 
again, that was why he liked hanging around with  Gary.  It was fun.  

	As the two boys talked for awhile, the conversation drifted through  
several subjects, finally going to recent issues of their favorite comic  books.  
In the middle of it, Marshal suddenly remembered the pack of  comic book 
trading cards he'd bought earlier and realized that he'd  never even opened 
them.  Quickly Marshal pulled the pack out of his coat  pocket, hoping that he 
hadn't wasted his money on them.  

	"Well, what are you waiting for?"  Gary asked impatiently, "Open 
them  up" 

	Marshal smiled back at him, "All right already."   Tearing the pack  
open, Marshal pulled out the 15 cards that were inside and quickly  flipped 
through them, impressed by their artwork but noticing something  odd.  

	 "They're all girls!"  Gary says, repeating Marshal's thoughts exactly.   
They were all comic book girls from Marvel comics. 

	"That's kind of weird"  Marshal muses to himself, pulling the top 
card  to examine more closely since Gary was looking at the rest.   The  
package had said they were cards of Marvel characters, but hadn't said  
anything about them all being girls.  "What a coincidence" he chuckles,  
glancing over at Gary who was looking curiously at one card in his hand.   
Shrugging, Marshal started looking over the one he'd grabbed, once again  
impressed by the artwork.  "I might have go get some more of these"  he  
thought to himself, hoping that the next pack would have a little more  
variety.   He certainly had nothing against the girl cards, but he would  have 
liked a few guys thrown in as well.

	The picture of the card in Marshal's hand was that of a tall green  
skinned woman. The She Hulk.  Something about the image kept Marshal's  
eyes focused  on it, almost as if drawing his attention in deeper. He  could 
almost imagine the picture moving around slightly.  Something  about that 
picture was completely fascinating.  "Ow"  Marshal suddenly  cried out, 
dropping the card to the ground. It had felt like almost like  the card had given 
him an electrical shock. Rubbing at his sore hand,  Marshal looked over and 
saw that Gary was similarly rubbing his hand.  

	Marshal's hand was still tingling from the strange shock, and starting  
to itch as well.  Absently he scratched at it, bending over to look at  the card 
he'd dropped and noticing that the picture seemed to be faded  slightly.  
"What the?"  Marshal said startled, wondering what was wrong  with the 
cards.  As he went to pick the card up, he gasped suddenly and  jumped 
back, leaving it where it was. Instead he just stared at his  hand, noticing that 
his fingers had turned green, and that the green was  slowly spreading.  
Seconds later his whole hand had turned green.  "Oh  my God!"  Marshal 
said, staring at his hand in horror.  "What the hell's  going on?"  However 
Gary made no response, and Marshal noticed that he  was staring at his own 
hand as well, though Marshal didn't see it  changing colors or anything.

	Looking back at his own hand, Marshal realized that the green had  
spread up to his elbow already and was still spreading.   Marshal tried  to 
think of what to do, but couldn't decide.  He wanted to go running  out of his 
room, screaming for his parents to help him, but he knew that  neither of 
them were at home.  It was just him and Gary.  He glanced  back over at 
Gary, seeing that his friend was sitting down, watching his  hand with 
amazement and curiosity rather than horror.  By this time, the  green had 
spread all the way up to Marshal's shoulder.  Though Marshal's  initial 
instinct was to feel panicked, he didn't.  He felt oddly calm.   The green skin 
didn't feel painful, just itchy. His whole arm felt  tingly and itchy.  Since 
Marshal couldn't think of anything he could do  to stop it, he just watched as 
the green quickly spread.  Within a  minute, Marshal's whole body had 
turned green.

	Gary smiled at him, chuckling. "You look sort of like a scrawny ass  
Hulk" he said, then added "Or maybe Brainiac 5 or Changeling"  Marshal  
smiled back, though he didn't think it was that funny.  Gary on the  other 
hand seemed to think it was hilarious, even holding out his arm  and pointing 
out that it had gotten a lot smoother.  Marshal didn't  think that smoother skin 
was in the same category as green skin though.

	Marshal felt his skin, thinking that it didn't feel any different.   Except 
of course for the itching and tingling which hadn't gone away  yet.  Marshal 
noticed that Gary was staring at him, and wondered if he  looked that bad.  
Then Gary said "Man, you do look weird"  Gary shook  his head grinning.  
"How the hell did you do this?"

	"But I didn't do anything" Marshal protested, suddenly realizing that  
Gary didn't look quite right either.  For one thing, he normal head of  brown 
hair was looking a lot lighter.  Marshal pointed it out, and Gary  was amazed.  
"What's happening to us?"

	Gary shook his head, then said "Ain't got a clue.   But it's kind of  
cool"  Marshal didn't really agree though.  

	Feeling uncomfortable, Marshal pulled at his clothes which had 
suddenly  started feeling too tight.  He noticed that Gary was doing the same.   
Quickly Marshal stripped down to his boxer shorts, wondering what was  
happening to him next.  Looking down at his legs, Marshal was sure that  
they were looking a little more muscular.  Flexing his arm, he was sure  that 
he was getting bigger muscles.  Glancing back at his legs, he  noticed the 
trading card he'd dropped on the floor, seeing that the  picture had faded even 
more.  "Uh oh"  Marshal said, suddenly realizing  what was happening to 
him.  

	By this time Gary's hair had turned completely blonde and seemed to 
be  growing a little longer.  He was even starting to look a little like a  girl.  
Marshal asked hesitantly, "What card were you looking at?"  When  Gary 
told him, Marshal nodded, then pointed out what card he'd been  looking at 
when he got shocked.  Gary stared down at himself, suddenly  realizing just 
what he was going to turn into.  

	Marshal sighed, figuring that since there didn't seem to be any way to  
stop it, he might as well enjoy it.  He smiled to himself as he realized  that 
Gary was beginning to look a little short to him.  He was growing,  getting 
taller.  Marshal chuckled the distance between his and Gary's  eyes  kept 
growing.  Then Marshal rubbed his chest, realizing that it  was beginning to 
swell out.  He'd expected that though so bore it  patiently.  It was when he 
started feeling the tugging in his groin that  he felt uncomfortable.  

	Continuing to change, Marshal saw the breasts protruding proud and  
firmly from his chest, though he didn't really feel their weight. As he  flexed 
his newly grown muscles he wasn't surprised.   Marshal seemed to  have 
finished turning into the She Hulk but still felt the itching and  tingly.  He 
saw that Gary seemed to have finished as well.  He chuckled  as he realized 
that Gary was already playing with his newly formed  breasts and fondling 
them.  "Control yourself"  Marshal said grinning.

	"Your just jealous"  Gary said grinning back, though as Marshal 
looked  down he saw that he was definitely bigger than Gary.   It was then 
that  Marshal realized the tingling had stopped, and looked down to see that a  
purple spandex costume had even appeared on him. He looked just like the  
She Hulk picture on the card. And the card when he looked at it was  
completely blank.  Then it crumbled to dust in his hand.   Marshal  looked 
down at Gary, smiling. He felt so great. So tall and powerful.   Marshal 
wondered just how long this would last.  Gary looked at him and  said "I 
don't know"  Marshal froze, realizing that he hadn't said  anything aloud.  
"That's right" Gary said again, looking pleased.

	Marshal snapped "Will you quit that?"   He glared at Gary, who was 
by  this time looking like a gorgeous woman with blonde hair cut into a sort  
of bob.  He was dressed in a skimpy and revealing white costume with a  
corset and even a white fur lined cape. The exact image of former comic  
book villainess Emma Frost.  The telepathic White Queen.  "Don't read my  
mind"  Gary grinned, promising that he wouldn't, though Marshal trusted  
that promise about as much as he'd trust a used car salesman.   Gary  
suddenly looked hurt, only confirming Marshal's suspicions.

 	They both looked over their own and each other's bodies in 
fascination.   And though both of them were very curious, neither of them 
were ready to  strip in front of each other to check their bodies out 
completely.   Since they'd already proved that Gary had the White Queen's 
power,  Marshal wanted to see just how strong he was.  He already knew 
that he  felt strong, and wanted to see just how strong that was.

	Going into the back yard, Marshal tested his newfound strength by  
tearing a stump out of the ground. As he tossed it to the other side of  the 
yard with ease, he was amazed at how easy it was.  And at how great  it felt.  
Gary just watched in equal amazement, suggesting that Marshal  could make 
a fortune removing stumps.  Marshal chuckled, wanting to try  more.  
Wanting to see just what they could do.  

	"Then lets go out" Gary suggested with a smirk.  Marshal glared at 
him,  but Gary didn't seem to care.   "I mean, I can make it so that people  
don't think we look weird"  Marshal thought about it for a moment, then  
agreed.  

	They started walking down the street, and only twice the people they  
passed looked at them strangely before Gary altered their perceptions.   
"Would you believe that he,"  Gary pointed at a passing man "is having  an 
affair with your neighbor?"  Marshal chuckled, wondering just what  other 
secrets Gary would find out.   Taking their time, they strolled  down the 
street, with Gary making snide comments about a number of  people they 
passed. "She just had a boob job" or "He can't get it up  anymore" and even 
"She's cheating on her husband with his best friend."  

	Marshal on the other hand took advantage of his new strength to pick 
up  a car someone had parked in a no parking zone, and stand it on end up  
against a tree.  "That ought to show them"  Marshal said, feeling  satisfied.  
They were both looking for new things to use their powers on  when 
suddenly they both felt a tingling and itching rushing through  their bodies.  
Within moments, it was quite noticeable that they were  starting to change 
back to normal.  Horrified that the costumes would  fade as well, leaving 
them standing out in public in their underwear and  without any powers to 
cover for them, they hurried back to Marshals  house, getting there on time 
only due to Marshal's picking up Gary and  jumping most of the distance 
before his power faded.

	They both received a number of odd looks from people since Gary 
could  no longer use his powers, and only barely managed to get back to  
Marshal's house before being humiliated.  Marshal's parents had returned  
home, so both boys had to sneak back into his room.  Getting safely   inside, 
they quickly got dressed again, watching the remaining green  fade from 
Marshal's body.  "That was AWESOME"  Gary says excitedly.   "We've got 
to do that again.  Where did you get these cards?" 

	"Just some store in the mall"  Marshal says with a grin, in complete  
agreement with Gary.  As excited as he was about changing and getting  real 
super powers, he was still greatly relieved that they were only  temporary.  
He estimated that they'd both returned to normal after about  2 hours.  
Unfortunately, they found no signs of the She Hulk or White  Queen trading 
cards. They were left with the 13 remaining cards.   Marshall carefully 
gathered them together and put them in his dresser.   As much as he wanted 
to try them again, he didn't think it would be safe  with his parents both back 
in the house.  Or knowing if they needed to  wait between uses. 

	Gary beamed at Marshal, "Awesome."  Patting Marshal on the back, 
he  asked "Mind if I come over tomorrow and we can do it again?"  Marshal  
readily agreed, wondering absently if there were any kinds of side  effects 
from using the cards.  Or just as importantly, if they could use  them again.  
How did they know that it wasn't a one time miracle?

	After saying "goodbye" to Gary who had to go home, Marshal went 
and sat  with his parents in the living room for awhile, unable to stop thinking  
about the cards the entire time.

 	When it was time for Marshal to go to bed, he found that he couldn't  
get to sleep. He was too excited and his mind kept going back to the  cards. 
Wondering if they would work again or if it was a one time thing.   Finally 
giving up on sleep, Marshal crawled out of bed and turned the  light back on.  
Pulling out the remaining cards, he looked through them,  feeling tempted. 
Very tempted. 

	Holding one card separate from the others, Marshal looked at it for  
moment before saying "What the hell."  Taking a deep breath, he stared  at 
the image hoping that it would work.  After a few seconds, he again  realized 
that the image almost seemed alive, then without warning felt  the strong 
electrical shock run through his hand where he held the card. 

	This time Marshal was more prepared for what was happening, and 
watched  in eager anticipation as his body slowly changed.  This time he 
stripped  completely naked so as to keep a closer eye on the changes.  He was  
pleased as his chest developed into a pair of breasts within several  minutes.  
He winced as his penis and testicles pulled inside of him,  leaving his crotch 
to form a moist slit instead.  Just as Marshal was  beginning to look at his 
new genitals, a thin black costume formed  around him, blocking his view 
and access.  "I guess it's done"  he said,  pleased to hear a woman's voice. 
An adult woman's voice and not a 13  year old boys.   Just like earlier.

	Standing up and stretching, Marshal was pleased to realize how agile 
he  felt.  He felt stronger than normal, but not in the same way he had as  the 
She Hulk.  Instead, he felt more limber, flexible and graceful.   Smiling to 
himself, he snuck into the bathroom to examine himself in the  mirror, seeing 
a white haired young woman in a black spandex costume.  White boots and 
gloves with white fur lining them.  The image of the  Black Cat.  Gently 
touching the small black mask around his eyes,  Marshal smiled and said 
"I've got to try this out."

	Being very careful not to be seen, Marshal slipped out of his window  
and onto his roof.   Glancing around at the nights darkness, he smiled  to 
himself feeling confident.  Quickly he jumped to the neighbors roof  and kept 
running and jumping, passing from roof to roof, from house to  house.  He 
felt so exuberant. So energetic and so alive.  He could  barely believe how 
agile he was, how graceful and quick.  It was  amazing.  

	After a quick trip around the neighborhood, and peaking into a few  
windows, Marshal went back to his own house.  Though he was sorely  
tempted to continue trying out his newfound athletic abilities, he  wanted to 
try something else as well.  

	Getting safely back into his own room, Marshal sat down on his bed,  
amazed at just how alive and energetic he felt.  Letting himself calm  down a 
little bit, Marshal started walking back and forth across his  room, enjoying 
the way every movement in his new body felt. Even the  breasts shifting back 
and forth on his chest slightly felt good, though  unusual.  

	Unable to contain himself much longer, Marshal stripped the spandex  
costume off, gently placing it over his chair.  He ran his hands slowly  over 
his body, amazed at how different it was.  Marshal posed in  different 
positions, imagining how sexy he must look.  Since he didn't  have a mirror 
he couldn't see for sure, but he knew that he must look  hot.  He even felt 
excited.

	Sitting down on his bed, Marshal purposely crossed his legs the way  
that he'd seen a number of women do, finding that it felt perfectly  
comfortable.  Then moving out of that position, he spread his legs open  and 
gently  probed the are around his new slit, finding it sensitive and  moist.  
Smiling to himself, Marshal examined his breasts though he'd  already done 
so as they formed on him.  They were firm, and soft at the  same time.  His 
nipples seemed huge to him, and all a darker color than  his own.  Caressing 
his breasts, he found felt good, and his nipples  immediately hardened, 
feeling even better.  His new slit got even wetter  and felt kind of tingly, but 
very good.  

	Amazed at the sensations, Marshal rubbed his breasts and his new  
vagina, soaking up the pleasure they offered.  He gently slid a finger  just 
barely into his moist slit, finding it strange to feel something  inside him at 
all, though pleasurable, but avoiding the temptation to  stick it in all the way.  
Marshal continued to play with himself until  he orgasmed, sending massive 
waves of pleasure through his body and  making see bright colors.  

	"Wow"  he said  to himself as he laid on his bed, breathing deeply 
and  enjoying how nice he still felt.  His heart beat rapidly, but he felt  
relaxed, and oh so good.  Marshal continued to lay there enjoying the  new 
sensations until the tingling returned, reminding him that his time  was over.

 	The next day, Gary was upset to find out that Marshal had used 
another  card without him.  "But they're my cards"  Marshal reminded him, 
"I  bought them."

	"I'll just have to get my own then"  Gary said, still angry, though  
calming down a bit as Marshal suggested they use another pair of cards.   
Marshal felt a little wary of sharing them with Gary, wanting to keep  them all 
for his own use.  The more he let his friend have, the less  there were for 
him.  Still, Marshal reminded himself that Gary was his  friend and that they 
should share.  Feeling a little guilty over his  private selfish thoughts, 
Marshal let Gary pick his card first.

	Gary had picked the Invisible Woman card, explaining that "I always  
wanted to see what it was like to turn invisible"  Marshal shrugged,  
wondering if Gary just had a thing for blondes.  For himself, Marshal  chose 
the Wasp card.  Though he felt a little unsure of being small, he  thought that 
the power to grow wings while shrinking to a pixie like  state could be 
interesting. Though there were a few other cards left  that could give the 
power of flight, Marshal thought that shrinking   might go good with Gary's 
soon to be power of invisibility.

	Once they'd both used the cards and finished changing, Marshal felt  
tiny.  Though he was still at human size, he realized that the Wasp was  short 
even then.  Unlike the day before, Gary was taller than him,  making Marshal 
feel rather weak. He didn't even feel the athletic  strength that he had as the 
Black Cat, though he did feel a lot more  limber and graceful than normal.

	Marshal watched with amusement as Gary said "Now you see me" 
then  turned invisible and vanished, adding "Now you don't."  For several  
minutes Gary just changed back and forth, then practiced making the  
invisible force fields.  Marshal felt a little jealous, wishing for a  moment that 
he'd chosen that card instead.  Turning invisible looked  like fun.  Regretting 
his choice, Marshal decided that he might as well  try out his powers.  

	With a bit of concentration, Marshal suddenly found himself 
shrinking  until he was no bigger than a Barbie doll.  He also had a pair of 
insect  like wings growing out of his back.  Biting his lip, he tried  
concentrating on them and found that he could move them.  After a few  
minutes, Marshal was flying around the room, enjoying the ability.   "Look at 
me"  he called out to Gary cheerfully, wishing that he could  see his friend at 
the moment, "I'm Tinkerbell."  When Gary suddenly   appeared into view, 
Marshal landed on Gary's shoulder, feeling so tiny  and helpless. It was like 
Gary had suddenly turned into a giant. Marshal  wasn't sure that he really 
liked that feeling, and comforted  himself by  thinking how much fun the 
flying part was.

	After experimenting with their new powers for a little bit, the two  
boys decided to go over to Gary's house, just to play a prank on his  brother.  
Marshal was a little reluctant at first, but Gary insisted  that it would be fun. 
Finally Marshal had given in and they both went  over to Gary's house, 
easily avoiding any notice.

 	When they got to Gary's home, they walked in, right past Gary's 
mom  without her even noticing them. Though Marshal was tiny at the time 
and  could have avoided notice anyway, Gary made him invisible as well.  
They  found Gary's 16 year old brother Kenny in the living room with his  
girlfriend Sandy, watching something on the TV.  Marshal had met Kenny  
several times and didn't really care for the older boy, thinking him  pushy and 
insulting.  It was due to this that he'd finally succumbed to  Gary's plan.  

	Marshal sat on Gary's shoulder as they whispered their plans to each  
other.  Smiling in anticipation of what was to come, Marshal flew over  to the 
bookshelf and made himself comfortable.  His turn would come soon  
enough, but for the moment it was up to Gary.

	Tough Marshal couldn't see Gary, he knew very well what was going 
on.   Gary started by grabbing Sandy's thigh,  making her jump and glare at  
Kenny.  Several minutes later, he did it again, grabbing her breast as  well.  It 
was all Marshal could do to keep from laughing too loud as  Sandy started 
yelling at Kenny that she wasn't that kind of girl.  After  Sandy furiously 
stormed out of the house, Kenny just stood there, looked  extremely 
confused which sent Marshal into another uncontrollable bout  of laughter.

	After waiting several minutes for Kenny to calm back down and sit 
back  onto the couch, Gary picked up a pad of paper and started writing on it.    
Marshal loved the look on Kenny's face as the pen seemed to write on the  
floating paper by itself.  Then Gary turned it so that Kenny could read  the 
message.  "I AM A GHOST.   BOO!"   Kenny's eyes bulged  and he  turned 
and started to run, only to run face first into an invisible  forcefield wall.   
Gary had Kenny trapped in the living room, unable to  escape their plans.

	Realizing that it was time for his appearance, Marshal got up and flew  
right in front of Kenny's face, and said "HI.  I'm Tinkerbell. Have you  seen 
Peter around anywhere?"  Kenny screamed, looking like he was about  to 
faint or at least shit himself.  Marshal tried to pout, saying "Well  I was going 
to grant you 3 wishes. But since you're so rude, I'll be  saying goodbye 
instead"  With that, Marshal flew back out of the way,  laughing as he and 
Gary both left the house. 

	Marshal met Gary again back out front after Gary had turned visible  
again briefly.  Laughing together over the look on Kenny's face and how  
successful their joke had been, the two boys started back to Marshal's  
house, not wanting to get caught changing back on the street.

 	The next day Gary came over, complaining that he'd gone to the mall 
and  hadn't found the store Marshal said he'd bought the cards from. Marshal  
looked at his friend, wondering how difficult it was to find a single  store in a 
mall.  Shrugging, he promised Gary that he'd show him where  it was at the 
next time they went.  

	"I think I should choose first"  Gary said, looking at the cards with a  
grin on his face, making Marshal suspect that his friend had already  made up 
his mind.  He suspected that it would be one that he wanted to  use.  For 
several minutes they argued over who would choose first before  Marshal 
came up with a compromise. They each chose a card at random from  the 
remainders, with Marshal becoming Rogue from the X Men, while Gary  
became Jolt from the Thunderbolts.   Marshal teased Gary about being a  15 
year old Asian girl, but only good naturally.   He did like being  taller and 
stronger than Gary again though.  

	Over the next week they went through the remaining cards, Marshal 
using  several of them on his own when Gary wasn't around.  Finally they 
only  had two cards remaining, and Marshal set them down on the table. Both  
boys looked at them sadly, realizing that this might be the end of their  fun.  
They didn't know if they could get more of the cards, and if they  did that 
they would work like these had.  Looking across at each other,  Gary said "I 
want this one", pointing to his choice.

	"But that's the one I want" Marshal protested.

	Gary frowned, then said "I'll flip you for it" holding a quarter out.   
Marshal nodded agreement, calling out heads.  After Marshal won the coin  
toss, he picked up his prize, while Gary reluctantly took the last card.

	After they'd finished changing, Gary had become the green haired  
villainess called Viper, dressed in a skimpy green costume.  Marshal  smiled 
at his friend, thinking that the green lipstick certainly helped  make Gary look 
like a truly nasty villainess.  

	Marshal on the other hand had shoulder length red hair, dark blue 
skin  and a skimpy white costume, with a belt of skulls.  A long white  
loincloth hung down between his legs.  Marshal had turned into Mystique,  
wearing the same costume the comic villainess had worn when she first  
showed up in the comics.  

	Smiling, Marshal used his new shapeshifting powers to make himself 
look  like his normal self, then after Gary cried "That's not fair"  he  changed 
into a black haired woman.  Both boys looked at the bad girl the  other had 
become and smiled to each other. "Well" Gary said excitedly,  "Lets go have 
some fun."

	Looking at the clock, Marshal smiled.  It was already nearly his  
bedtime, and a little longer would be fun.  "Let's go" he agreed.

 	Marshal felt rather nervous as they walked into the bar.  He could feel  
almost every eye in the place on him and Gary.  Whereas Marshal felt  uneasy 
by the attention, Gary seemed to soak it up, even flirting with a  guy.  
Marshal just smiled nervously and turned down an offer a strange  man had 
just made him to go home.  When another stranger offered to buy  him a 
drink though, Marshal accepted, wondering what it would be like to  drink.

	After a little bit, the two boys found themselves sitting at a table  with 
two men talking to them.  Marshal felt embarrassed but tried not to  show it.  
He took slow sips of his drink, talking pleasantly with the  guy who seemed 
intent on him. Though Marshal wasn't very comfortable, he  did start to 
enjoy the attention that this stranger was giving him.  It  felt sort of good.  

	Gary on the other hand was going through several drinks, and as far 
as  Marshal could tell, was already very drunk.  The man talking to Gary  
seemed interested in his exotic green hair, and Marshal wondered just  how 
interested he'd be if Marshal used his powers to shape shift back  into 
Mystique.  Or someone else even.  Marshal was sure that Gary  probably 
would have gone home with that guy, as drunk as he was if  Marshal hadn't 
stopped him, reminding him that they had to leave.

	Though Gary argued for a little bit, Marshal got him to leave, much to  
the disappointment of the two men that they left behind.  Marshal had to  
support Gary who kept wanting to fall down, and was disappointed in his  
friend for getting so drunk.  It wasn't like they could just sit around  when 
they would change back after a little while. Once again they barely  managed 
to get back to Marshal's house in time.  And even after they  changed back to 
normal, Gary remained drunk, emptying his stomach into  the toilette.

 	The next day Marshal went to the mall with Gary to show him where 
the  store he bought the cards was at.  It was the first time that he'd been  
back to the mall since buying the cards a week earlier, and he was  eagerly 
looking forward to buying more.  Unfortunately the store wasn't  where 
Marshal remembered it.  Confused, he started looking around, but  even after 
an hour of looking, they found absolutely  no sign of the  store. It was as if it 
had completely vanished without a trace.

	Reluctantly, both boys gave up and went to the arcade instead.

	Two days later, Marshal went back to the mall, wanting to finally beat  
that video game.   He'd gotten a little closer, but after the events of  the past 
week, he found it much harder to get into the game as much. It  just didn't 
seem as exciting as it had before.  However, he wasn't just  going to quit on 
it.  At least not yet.

	Walking towards the arcade, Marshal suddenly stopped as something  
caught his eye.  A smile formed on his face as Marshal recognized the  Spells 
R Us sign across from him.  Chuckling to himself, he made sure  that he had 
some money for trading cards and started walking in,  wondering if maybe 
this time he shouldn't keep the cards to himself.

The End