The Spell By Mark (Marknew742@aol.com) Todd needs a spell to save his wife, and his job. But can this go too far? Long story (380kb) Part I Todd Bartel had success written all over his face and all over the rest of his body as well. Tall and solid at six foot one and two hundred ten pounds, he starred in three sports in college, football, basketball and track, and turned down offers from the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Browns to go into business instead. At twenty six, he joined a small family investment firm as the first outsider to be appointed to a management post, and through hard work and clever investing, he was confident he would reach a senior position by the time he was thirty. To live the part he played required him to spend more than he earned, but he and his creditors were confident of his abilities, and Todd rarely went without the things he wanted. For many years, one of the things he didn't want was a wife. As a savvy investor, Todd knew he was a great catch and a rising star and saw no reason to close a deal while his stock was still gaining in value. Throughout his twenties, he circled the field of available women, ascending higher and higher until he met Marta Cunningham Whitney, the niece of the president of his company. She was sweet and beautiful, with a slim body and a pleasing tongue, the clear favorite of her childless uncle. Todd's research was very good on the politics of the match and the wealth of his bride. Immediately, he became an insider at the firm, with a clear track to the executive suite. Marta and he moved into a large estate, far north of the city, bought with a loan on Todd's expected bonus (Marta's money was in trust), and Todd looked forward to expanding his contacts with the exclusive set in which Marta traveled. There was an unfortunate flaw in Todd's research, a side of Marta he hadn't seen, hidden by the glittering surface of her manners and her family. Quite simply, Marta was clever but weak. She had easily learned the ways of her family and her social class, but she had no personal willpower, no force of personality. She lacked the courage to face what life sent her, and used her money, her charm, and her family to protect herself. Her family knew this well and shielded her. They accepted Todd as a force that would take over the job for them in return for their acceptance. But this was not the deal Todd had expected. He still wanted to conquer on his own, not to retreat into the cozy society world of the Whitneys. He wanted Marta to launch him with her family's contacts and as he pushed harder and harder, she began to break. Within six months of their marriage, her social drinking became steady drinking, her infrequent experiments with drugs became a regular habit. She slept constantly, and fitfully. Her carefully toned body became slack and drab. Todd grew more and more frustrated, Marta more and more withdrawn. And this is where our story begins. It was a Friday morning in December. Todd's assistant Becky motioned to him as he entered the office. "R.J. wants to see you right away. He looks very serious. You don't think ...?" Todd looked cross. His eyes swept across Becky's prominent bust, watching the movement of that soft flesh under her blouse. He licked his lips absentmindedly and his face softened. "No, no. We're too careful. He probably wants me to explain to him again what a web browser is." "I feel so bad for you Todd." She smiled at him, turning her wide shoulders slightly, and dropped her voice. "You deserve more, Todd. You know that. You should have married a woman who's got a body with all the curves that count, not that little stick." She leaned back, while Bob ran his admiring eyes up her strong, sensual arms, ending at her bust. "We've been through that, Becky. You're wonderful, all a man would want, and more. You know Marta's not well. Maybe..." Becky put a finger on his lips, flashed him another smile and sashayed out the door displaying her unique combination of muscular legs and round, active ass. Todd looked yearningly at Becky's form until she turned the corner, then waited until he was presentable again and made his way to the President's office. "Good morning Uncle Richard!" "Young man, I have just talked to Adrienne, and if what she says is true, you have a lot of explaining to do." "Uncle? I, I thought you wanted to talk about Netscape." "That stuff again?!! Heavens, this is much more important! It's Marta. Have you seen her lately? Of course you have. That girl is a wreck. Adrienne says she's so weak she can hardly stand. What in heaven's name have you done to her?" "Sir, if you'd let me explain...." "How could I trust you with a single dollar if my dear, dear niece is at death's door. Your first responsibility is the family. Do you hear? The family! Now I don't want to see you or hear you until Marta is healthy and strong again. You hear me?" "Yes sir. You know, I've taken her to a doctor and he says..." "Don't bother me with details, boy. Just do it. She must be well. Now go!" Mr. Whitney turned away and looked out the window. Realizing further argument was useless, Todd left, striding quickly back to his office. Becky followed him in. "What's wrong? Are you fired?" "No! But I have to clear out of here. The old man holds me responsible for Marta's weakness. He says I have to make her better or else I better not show up for work. What'll I do? Send her away for a rest cure? He'll make me go with her and I'll go out of my mind." Becky looked thoughtful. "You poor boy. This wasn't at all what you wanted." She wiggled and eased her way into his lap. "Now I've never been sick a day in my life, so I don't know a thing about doctors. Why don't you call your friend Arnold? He knows everybody in town. He can probably find somebody to take care of your wife so you won't have to go away." "Arnold! Great idea, Becky. What would I do without you?" Becky laughed and rolled over, gripping his arms tightly and rubbing against his chest. "Mmmm. I really don't know, Todd. You go home now, and I'll get Arnold to come out to your house later. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." She stood up abruptly and put her hand on her ample hip, pretending to pout. "I do hope you come back soon. I really don't want to work for a different boss, who might not appreciate me as much as you do." She walked out. Todd looked longingly out his door, grimaced and packed up a few papers from his desk before leaving. When he returned home two hours later, Marta was lying on a sofa, watching soap operas. Her face was pale, with black rings around her eyes. She sat up to cough a few times, chest heaving with the effort, then settled back down into the cushions. Todd heated a can of chicken soup and brought it inside. "How are you Marta? I brought you something to eat." Marta bolted upright. "Todd! God, what a shock. What are you doing home so early? Is Uncle Richard alright? Is the office closed?" "No. I was worried about you. I decided to take a little time off to help you get back on your feet." Marta collapsed back onto the sofa, then turned her head and looked at him quizzically. "That's very kind of you, Todd. Uh, is there some kind of trip you want me to take with you soon? I really don't think I can make it, you know. I have no appetite at all." "No. I'm just concerned; that's all. Have some soup. Maybe this will get your strength back. And we have to find you a new doctor. I'm talking to Arnold about it this afternoon." Marta closed her eyes. "I can't eat that Todd, and Dr. Brewer has always taken care of my family. I'm not going to see some new specialist that your friend Arnold recommends." "Dr. Brewer isn't doing a damn thing for you! Now you've got to do something for yourself and get better!" "Pardon me, Todd. I won't be talked to that way. Please take this soup away." She looked at her watch and stood, unsteadily. Oh well, I've missed the program. I have guests coming later and I need to dress. Would you excuse me?" "But Marta, you're just fading away. Whatever you're doing isn't working." Marta walked slowly by him toward her dressing room. "I appreciate your sudden interest in my well-being. I don't know what's wrong with me, but marrying you has not been very good for my health. I am trying to continue my life as best as I can." "Continue it? You're trying to end it! I see your drugs around here, your drinks. You never eat anything." "I'm depressed, alright? I haven't bothered you about your fun, your nights with Arnold, your late nights at the office with that pumped up secretary of yours. Please have the consideration to allow me my moments of happiness." She looked at his frightened face. "You are concerned about something. Well, I did speak with my lawyers last week. You will have enough to live on when I die, so don't let that bother you." She shuffled upstairs. Todd slumped in his chair. This was turning out to be a disaster. In desperation, he called Arnold. "Where are you?" "I got delayed. I'll be there in half an hour. I got the name of...." "Forget it. She won't see any doctors." "No? Well, the only thing left to you is witchcraft and prayer, and I know you won't go to church." "Very funny." "So, you'll have to see Madame LaFarge." "Who?" "She's a witch. Let her cast a spell on Marta. Make her healthy again, in spite of herself. Then you can get on with your life." "You're an asshole, Arnold." "I knew you'd say that. She works on McDougal Street in the Village. I figured this would happen, so I made you an appointment at nine tonight. Just go. Worst thing that happens is you'll have a laugh and then meet Becky. I'm turning the car around. You'll thank me later, though. For what it's worth, I hear she's for real." "Oh yeah? How would you know? Arnold? Shit. He hung up." Todd shook his head. A witch? He went upstairs to check on Marta and found her sprawled on the floor, half dressed. He tried to wake her, and finally succeeded after dragging her into the shower and drenching her in cold water. He looked at her sadly, her pale, limp body slumped in the corner of the shower, eyes glaring at him. "You should have just left me alone." "Please Marta. Don't talk like that. I love you." Marta made a face. "I don't think so. I don't feel loved by you. If you loved me, our marriage wouldn't make me sick." Todd looked at her glumly. "If you won't go to a doctor, Marta, then I will. I'm going into the city to see a therapist Arnold said may be able to help us. I'll be back late." "What kind of doctor sees you on Friday night? It isn't Doctor Becky, is it?" Todd shook his head and left. Marta put her head back on the shower wall and went back to sleep. Madame LaFarge's meeting room looked like it had been transported directly from New Orleans. Despite the cold, clear December weather, the air dripped with the heat, humidity and fragrance of the tropics, and small flies buzzed around each of the three dull lights over a heavily curtained window to the street. Todd arrived a little early and sat alone for almost an hour until, fifty minutes late, an eccentrically dressed, middle-aged woman entered the room. "Ah, Mr. Bartel. You have marital problems and problems at work, I see. You've come to the right place. I must compliment you on your friend Arnold. It usually takes years for my clients to find me. Your situation has really not progressed very far." "Wait a minute. How much has Arnold told you? This is confidential." "Your friend told me nothing. He set up an appointment for you, that's all. I've been doing my own research. You cannot hide anything from a witch Mr. Bartel, except for your thoughts. We do not read minds, I'm afraid. I will propose a course of treatment, gradual improvement in your wife's mental and physical health so that it is apparent that you are taking proper care of her, which will lead to your reinstatement at work. This is what is truly important to you, is it not?" "Yes, but if you could do all that, why don't you just get me my job back." "We cannot work directly on the psychic properties of the mind, although we can improve its organic function. Mr. Whitney has set a condition on your return. Other than causing his death, which I am disinclined to do, I advise that the simplest course of action is to fulfill his wishes. The rest I would leave to you." "I see. Hmm. While you're at it, why don't you make Marta more like Becky, you know, build her up a little." "You want me to give her a bigger bust?" "Not just that. Becky is, you know, athletic too." "Of course that can be done. You want your wife to be more of an athlete. And if your model is your secretary, I assume you prefer more the Tonya Harding type to Nancy Kerrigan?" Todd smiled. "I don't want someone who's going to break kneecaps." Madame LaFarge looked serious. "You probably don't know this, but that Kerrigan girl arranged the whole thing. It almost worked too, except for that Ukranian." "Really? Well, anyway, it sounds great. Is that all I have to do?" "Yes. Under our arrangement, if the satisfaction of your President's condition for return fails to achieve the desired result, I will take further action at greatly reduced rates. As for your wife's body, well, you may trust me on that." "You said reduced rates. What is your regular rate?" "What you require is fairly simple for me. The price will be one hundred thousand dollars, cash in advance, which you will easily recoup once you return to work." "One hundred thousand? You're crazy. I came here on a lark, maybe to spend a few bucks, but you think I'm just going to give you that kind of cash?" "Most of my clients are more desperate than you. Their fortunes have decayed further, yet they pay, and they get results." "Look, even I can tell this doesn't make any sense. Why do you charge me? If you're legitimate, why don't you just conjure up diamonds or cash?" "That would be distasteful to me. We have our own code of ethics, which I have no need to discuss with you, but I will tell you that I do earn my pay and I do good in this world, which is more than I can say for many of my colleagues and for many of yours." "Well, show me some references. How do I know you will really come through for me?" "I cannot do that. I promise full confidentiality for my clients, and I always keep my word." Todd sat, alternatively raising his eyes to the ceiling, shaking his head, and looking to the floor. "I can't come up with that kind of cash for this. I just can't." "Bosh, Mr. Bartel. You can margin securities, take out an equity loan, borrow on your charge cards. There are always ways to get money. You've done that so well all of your life." "I meant I won't. I won't go further into hock for this hocus pocus." Madame LaFarge shrugged. "I see I am wasting my time. Well, this probably will not help you, but my daughter has set up her own practice, a more modern practice," she added a bit scornfully. "She will probably take you on for a fraction of what I would charge, but her methods are cruder than mine. I won't guarantee her results." "What do you mean, cruder? Will she be able to change Mr. Whitney's mind?" "Oh no. She would never do such a thing. She does cut corners, though. She has to do that if she's going to charge so little. There are no free lunches Mr. Bartel. If you like, I will send you to her office." "Sure. What do I have to lose?" Madame LaFarge looked at him intently. "I wouldn't dream of advising you on that question. Her office is in midtown, in the theater district, of course. She gets a lot of the tourist trade that way." She handed him an address. "I am sorry we could not do business together Mr. Bartel. Perhaps we will do so in the future. Goodbye." She rose and left the room almost before Todd could stand. One hundred thousand dollars for a spell? Well, this is turning out to be a different kind of evening. Todd took a taxi to West 46th Street and entered a small brownstone building. He saw a button for "Spells By Michelle" and pressed it, heard the buzzer unlocking the door, and walked upstairs. He was surprised to see a very modern waiting area, with an attractive, gum-chewing secretary at a desk. "Isn't it a bit late for you to be open on a Friday night?" he asked her. "Our regular hours are 3:00pm to midnight, that's when we get the most street business, but we can arrange other times by appointment. Are you a walk-in or do you have an appointment?" "My name is Todd Bartel. Madame LaFarge said ...." "Oh yeah. I just got a note to expect you from Miss Ford. She'll see you right away. Just come with me. You want me to hang up your jacket or get you coffee or anything?" "No, I'm fine, thanks." She escorted him to a conference room, where he waited, browsing through a pile of Sports Illustrated magazines on a rack. Soon a trim young woman in a short black dress walked in. Todd stood up and held out his hand. She nodded and motioned for him to sit down. "Forgive me if I do not shake your hand Mr. Bartel. It is unbusinesslike, but there are certain traditions in my line of work. I am sure you understand." "I really don't even understand why I'm here talking to you, uh, Miss Ford?" "Michelle Ford. I changed my name. It was one of many breaks from tradition I allow myself. Shall we get started? Unlike my mother, I cannot afford much time for chit chat, due to my lower rates. If it is alright with you, I will ask my assistant to join us to write up your order." "Before we do that, how much will you charge?" "I really cannot tell you until we complete the order. The price depends on the number of units of magic energy I must use, but from the brief description my mother gave me, I will estimate seven thousand dollars. We do take credit cards, Mr. Bartel, and we have a frequent user program I call the Spelling Bee which will provide credits for merchandise at many national chains." "I see. And references?" "I cannot give you names, but I will provide you with several case histories that have been documented in newspapers. Of course, the persons involved will deny they used witchcraft, but you would expect that, wouldn't you? Ultimately, your best protection is your right to stop payment on your credit card if my spell is unsuccessful, but I must warn you not to exercise that right improperly. I almost lost my Mastercard account because of one troublesome client, and I had to terminate that relationship, and the spell, prematurely. In the end, he was not a happy customer, but by then it was too late to help him." "OK, let's proceed." "Good." She pressed a button on the phone. The secretary walked in with a laptop computer. "Joan, please open Form 116." "Now, Mr. Bartel, we will complete the form together, Joan will print out the order and ask you to give her your credit card. She will print the contract and charge slip for you to sign and then I will cast the spell. It is as simple as that. Are you ready?" "Yes." "Ok. Please correct me if there is anything you wish to change. You are married to the former Marta Cunningham Whitney. Your wife is in failing health for various reasons. Joan, check mental and physical deterioration. You would like your wife to reverse these and make her healthier and stronger and, hmm, sexier, both for business and personal reasons. You wish a gradual, rather than sudden, change. You would like the changes to be apparent to an outside observer. Joan, in box 13 be sure to check visible alteration, not invisible. Now, how long would you like the spell to operate? Two weeks? Three weeks?" "I don't understand. I'd like it to be permanent." "Permanent? That's unusual. Joan, check box 16c and disclosure 163. Mr. Bartel, my contract contains extensive disclaimers and disclosures, which you may read before you sign. Two that I always mention in the interview are that mortals are often unable to predict the consequences of the spells and that I do not guarantee results, only the effectiveness of my spells. Are these understood?" "I'm not sure." Miss Ford sighed. "At these prices, I do not have time to do the thorough research my mother does. I do not know, or care to know, why you want me to cast this spell on your wife. I will do it. How that affects your life is not my responsibility. Of course, if additional spells are required, I will do them for an appropriate fee. I do not discount follow-up spells, however. Quite the contrary, as these adjustments often take more work than the original. Now your fee will be five thousand, five hundred dollars." "I'm impressed. That's less than your estimate." "Don't be. It is purely a function of the nature of your request and of the spell I cast. A permanent spell requires only one discharge of energy, not two. And there is a spell in the database that is simple to cast and will accomplish the task, although it does not appear to be used very often." "I don't understand." "Of course not. You are the client, not the witch. Are there any other questions?" "How quickly will this happen?" "I will cast the spell tonight. You have requested a gradual change, so there will be some improvement each day, beginning tomorrow. At this price, I do not fine tune the pace of change to my client's order, although for an additional fee, I would be happy to discuss this with you." "What kind of fee?" "Again, I can only estimate the amount until the work order is complete, but any spell containing other than one of the standard effect-forces requires a detailed examination of the subject and its surroundings, which I would perform from my office here. Unless there are unusual forces at work, I would estimate twenty-five thousand dollars." "Wow! That's several times the original price." "It is simply the difference between a standard product and one that is designed specifically for the client. Shall we start on Form 320 then?" "The special one? No. That's too much for me." "Very well. You understand Mr. Bartel, that the difference between my product and my mother's is simply that I charge for each service. With me, you can choose the level of service you wish and you know at all times what the cost of each service will be. Thank you Joan, the contract is ready Mr. Bartel. Your credit card please?" "This is quite a detailed document." "I try to be thorough. You may of course take it home and read it, or, if you want me to start tonight, you may sign it now." Todd glanced through it. "Most of it is just these disclaimers. I see them all the time in prospectuses. If I paid attention to them I'd never buy anything. Sure I'll sign. The job is just as you've described it. There's my name, address, Marta's. Do I have to sign in blood?" Miss Ford rolled her eyes. "I hear that one at least twice every night. No, a ballpoint pen will do. Good. Mr. Bartel, you must also sign here to consent to any physical changes in your wife made by the spell and to waive any liability on my part for personal injury or damage to property caused by such changes. Thank you. Please do not tell your wife about the spell." She stood up. "Thank you for your business Mr. Bartel. I wish you the best." She walked out. Todd turned to Joan. "She sure is quick." Joan nodded. "She's very efficient. No small talk or nothing. But she gets a lot of customers. It's always busy here. And you almost never see the same people either. Always new ones. That makes it interesting. Ohh. She's calling again. Another job. Nice to meet ya. You can leave by the back door." That was a quick five grand, almost six, Todd thought. Damn. I forgot to meet Becky. She must have gone home by now. I'll call her there. "Hello? Becky?" "Who'd you think it would be? Where were you, loverboy?" "I got tied up. Can I come by?" "I'm tired. Some of us have to work you know. Your boss wants me to come in this weekend. Call me again some time." "But Becky. Damn. She hung up." He kicked the phone stand. "This is just great!" Todd drove home, blasting the radio. He pulled in after one and checked on Marta. She was sleeping peacefully in her bed. He covered her and went to sleep in his room. When he woke the next morning, Todd looked in on Marta. Amazingly, she was still sleeping. Her breathing seemed more regular, more relaxed. He turned to walk out of the room. "Todd, is that you?" "Yes, how are you." "I feel a little better. I guess I slept a lot. Why are you still home? You usually work Saturdays." "I'm taking some time off. I'm worried about you." Marta looked at him sharply. "Well, this is a first. Are you preparing me for something? A dinner? An introduction?" "No. There's nothing on my calendar. I've told my office I'm not going back to work until you're well again." Marta raised her eyebrows. "Are you going to spy on me?" "Marta, dear, I am truly concerned about your health. That's all. Now, would you like some breakfast?" She smiled. "You don't have to bring me breakfast in bed. I can walk by myself you know." She slid out of the bed, knees almost buckling. Todd reached forward and took her arm, pulling her to her feet. Marta frowned. "Thanks Todd, but be more gentle. I bruise very easily." They walked down to the kitchen. "Jesus, Marta, there's no food in the house." "Why are you surprised? We never eat here. Let's forget about breakfast. I'll get dressed and we can go into town for lunch." Ninety minutes later, they were sitting an a small bakery, eating bread and coffee. "This is a nice place. Why haven't we done this before?" "Because you're always working, Todd. But you're right. It is very nice. I'm enjoying it. And the bread tastes great. I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks." Todd let that pass. She did look better, more relaxed, with some color in her face. But that could have been the sleep, rather than any spell. Suddenly, Marta turned pale, stood up and ran to the bathroom. He could hear her retching. Ten minutes later, she emerged, pale as ever. "You'll have to take me back, Todd. I need to go to bed." Todd sighed, paid the check and drove back to the house. While Marta napped, he called Becky. There was no answer at home or at her office. He slammed down the phone, then called the local take out restaurant and ordered a pantry full of food for delivery. In the late afternoon, Marta came downstairs. "You're still here? That nap helped. Sorry about that." "It's ok. Hungry now?" Marta nodded. "I bought some food. You can try some chicken soup. I had it delivered." Marta drank down the soup greedily and finished a second bowl, while Todd munched on a sandwich. "How about some Scrabble?" She shrugged. "You always win, but ok." They sat at a table, not saying much, while the tiles filled the board. "Are you sure 'onyx' is a word, Marta?" "Of course. Dad had a whole table setting made of onyx. It's a kind of stone." "Ok, ok. It's over forty points. You're playing very well." "I know, but you're still going to win." Todd looked at her. It really was a pleasant day. She wasn't so bad looking. A little thin and small, without the voluptuous curves and muscle tone Becky had, but she was acceptably attractive. He remembered how he felt about her when they first met and leaned forward to kiss her. She smiled and put her hand on his neck, returning the kiss gently. "That's sweet, Todd. This is the nicest day I've had in a long time. It's like a gift. Thank you." "It doesn't have to end here, you know." He moved over to her side and slipped his arm around her, pulling her closer. She was so slight, he had to be more gentle than with Becky, but it felt good to hold her. "Did you really want to do that, Todd, or did you just want to see my letters?" He picked her up and kissed her fully, carrying her to a sofa. "My! We are feeling romantic. But Todd, I really don't know if I'm up to it. I still feel kind of sick. Would you just lie here with me?" She noticed the let down in Todd's face. "Oh I'm not rejecting you Todd. This is so nice, really. Maybe tomorrow, if I still feel better and ... if you're still going to be around." "I'll be here for you." He lay her down on the sofa and curled up next to her, stroking her face and neck, slowly working his way down to her small firm breasts when he noticed her regular breathing. She was asleep. What a ball of fire she is, he thought, annoyed, and remembered the heaving of Becky's breasts in the midst of their passion. He called her again. No answer. He checked on Marta several times, then carried her up to her bed for the night. At seven the next morning he felt someone stirring him in his bed. He felt around groggily. It was Marta. "Good morning darling. Are you still my lover? I hope you don't mind the liberties, but I felt so good when I woke up, I decided to seize the moment. You do still like morning sex, don't you?" Todd opened his eyes, and at the same time felt a breast in his mouth. He started sucking and quickly felt his erection building. Marta's hand was on his cock, gently caressing it, molding it higher and straighter. He rolled over on to her. "Please, Todd, not on top of me. Your weight." He remembered her fragile state and turned them over, stroking her hip and round ass. It felt firmer than he had remembered, probably from her lack of real food, but he eased into her quickly. They moved together in sync, and he felt her pulling him inside, faster and faster as she straddled him. Her passion surprised him, excited him, and they came together. After they came, she slumped down on top of him, resting against his hairy chest. "Todd, that was so nice. I had forgotten what a good lover you are. I don't want this weekend to end." "I told you, I'm taking some time off, until you really are better." "Then you're serious? Can we even go away? We've never even had a real honeymoon, just the business trip you took to San Francisco." "Where do you want to go?" "An island. St. Barts or Barbados. Someplace far." "Ok. I'll have Becky book something for us." "No. Not her. Let me have Geraldine do it. She's always done this sort of thing for our family." "But Becky is so efficient, and she'll find the best place." "Please Todd, I don't want to have to explain, it would ruin it for me. Let me talk to Geraldine." "Becky has to know where I am. She's my assistant." "Then you can tell her. After we arrive. Or I'll call your office. I promise." "Ok. What do want to do today?" "I don't know. Imagine, a whole day. Let's have brunch at the inn." "Are you sure you're up to it." "I think so, I really feel a lot better. Mmmm. Especially after making love. Want to do it again?" She burrowed under the covers and started licking him. Todd couldn't believe it. She had never been this playful, even during their honeymoon. But maybe that was partly his fault too. Or maybe this was the spell. The flicking of her tongue was making it hard for him to think and soon he was inside her again. This time they made love more slowly. He kissed her breasts, her neck, up and down her face. Her eyes looked into his with such affection. Could this be love? Was this what he had married? Did his boss actually set him on the right path? These thoughts went through his mind as he came closer and closer to his second orgasm in thirty minutes and arched his wife two feet into the air, pushing deep inside her as her moans filled the morning light. They lay in bed awhile quietly afterwards and Todd fell asleep until eleven, when he found a note telling him she'd gone shopping for clothes for their trip. Todd tried again to reach Becky without success and flipped through the channels watching football for a few hours until Marta returned, laden with packages. "I'm so tired. I think I overdid it, but Geraldine booked us the most marvelous trip leaving tomorrow and I had to do everything today. I've got to go to sleep. Wake me at five so I can pack." She dropped everything in the hall and went upstairs to bed. "But where are we going?" "South," came the faint reply. "It's a surprise, my treat." That's good, thought Todd. I'm flat broke. The next morning, Marta awoke at four-thirty and tiptoed into Todd's room. He was packed, so she turned off his alarm and set to work. I feel so much better, she thought. Is it just Todd's company? There's so arguing with success, though. Maybe all I needed was to know he cared. I haven't even wanted to pop pills for two days. She woke Todd at ten, giving him an hour before the driver came. He came down with his bag with fifteen minutes to spare. "So where are we going?" "It's a tiny place on Barbados. No phones or newspapers, unless you walk a few miles. It'll be just you and me, the beach, tennis and scrabble for a week. It sounds wonderful." "That's a little long to be without any news. What if something happens?" "Uncle Richard said not to worry and that he and Becky can take care of the office. He's very glad I'm back on my feet and sounded quite proud of you. I told him how much you'd done for me the past few days. So you see, I've taken care of everything, and all we have to do is have fun together." Todd nodded. "How'd you get the suitcases down? Did you pack by the door or something?" "No, silly. I took them down myself. It's just swimsuits and summer dresses." She reached up to kiss him. "I feel so much better. I guess all I needed was a little attention from you. I'm looking forward so much to a week together. There's the car. Let's go." Todd let the driver take the bags to the car, and they drove to the airport, Marta chatting all the way down. The flight was delayed, but eventually they arrived. A car was waiting for them, and they stuffed themselves and their luggage into it and drove for over an hour to a small beach house at the end of a dirt road on the north side of the island. Todd tipped the driver after he set up their luggage in the bedroom and showed them how to use the ice box and stove. "We will deliver your food later, Mrs. Bartel, just as Miss Geraldine ordered, and we pick you up next week. Enjoy our island." Todd watched him leave, then turned to his wife. "Let's go for a swim. It's been a long flight." He thought she'd beg off, but instead, she agreed, and they quickly changed. He looked Marta over carefully in her new swimsuit. Her curves were subtle, but she looked great. Her skin looked fresh, no longer pasty, and her stomach was tight under the one piece suit. Even better, she seemed to have a special glow, even after the long flight. She smiled up at him, took his hand and they ran to the surf. The water was warm and fresh, but the waves were high, so Marta and Todd swam beyond the breakers. He watched her stroke easily out to a sandbar and back and admired her smooth form. "It better be. I studied swimming for ten years, like some people studied piano. You have no idea what a fanatic my father was about form. He didn't care if we were succeeded or failed, just as long as we looked good doing it. I'm hungry. Want to race for shore?" "Are you well enough?" "Sure, let's go." They turned and swam, Todd pumping his arms furiously and envying Marta's balletic strokes. He beat her by fifteen seconds, but he was winded, while she seemed barely flushed. She took his arm. "This feels like paradise, dear. Let's see what I can make for dinner. Then we can watch the sun set." "Sounds great." Todd sat in a chair outside and ate a papaya, while Marta stirred some vegetables, spices and pieces of chicken on the portable stove. He didn't remember the last vacation he had taken that wasn't in some way designed to help his career, although maybe he should think of this one in the same way. No, that would be unfair to Marta. He hadn't realized what a genuinely good person she was. This week would be fun all by itself, and if it helped him at work, well, all the better. Through the open door, he watched her fluid motions in the kitchen. Amazing how the resentment he had sensed in her seemed to evaporate. He was sure she suspected he was having an affair with Becky. Was it that sense of form she'd been taught, reasserting itself now that she was feeling better? He wondered if it was the spell. Maybe it was just their being together. If he had any suspicion he could have made her better just by being more attentive. Well, that money would still be a good investment if Uncle Richard was satisfied that he was taking good care of Marta. Then he'd truly be indispensable. "What are you thinking about? You look so happy, I'd almost think you're enjoying being away with me." "I am, Marta. Is dinner ready so soon?" "The chicken's done. The rice is on, and we'll eat our greens raw. That's the way it is with just one burner." "One's enough for me." "Me too." He stood up and reached over to her, hitting her shoulder blade instead of her shoulder, then adjusting his arm, hugging her to him. They held the tight embrace for a minute, then sat down to a hearty meal. Afterwards, they stretched out to read, but he soon fell asleep from dinner and the exertions of the day. He woke with a start to see her staring at him. "What time is it? Have I been sleeping long?" "It's two in the morning, New York time. You were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to wake you." "Why aren't you asleep?" "I wasn't tired. Must be all that sleep on the way down." Todd nodded drowsily. "Well, let's go to bed. Sorry I'm such a bore tonight." "You've been a dream all day. I love you." He looked at her. She was beautiful, and she was his wife. "I love you too." The next morning he woke up at eight. She was already up, and he didn't hear her around the house. He checked the beach, and not seeing her, dressed for his run. He decided to run uphill, toward the town, and check where he could buy a newspaper and make calls. Two and half miles later, he reached a small village and circled the streets until he satisfied himself, then headed back. Halfway back, he saw Marta, walking ahead of him at a brisk pace, carrying a package. He slowed down to keep pace alongside her. "Hi darling. You went the right way! I have your newspaper, and some of the local beer. We can try it with lunch. I've some other treats for breakfast too. "That must be heavy. It's a long walk to carry the beer." "No, I'm fine, really. Finish your run. I get a little tired and rest a bit, but then I'm alright again. The exercise is good for me. By the time you're done with a swim, I'll have breakfast ready. There's no shower, you know." "Right. Are you sure you're ok? "Splendid. See you later." He ran off. What a woman! Marta thought, he's right; this is heavy when I think about it. What a change a week makes. He ran home, stripped off his shirt and shoes and went right into the water. The surf was wonderfully refreshing. He climbed out, toweled himself off and there was breakfast. Fresh local fruit, cheese and coffee! They sat together outside, eating slowly and watching the waves. Marta finished first, and walked behind him to massage his neck, her fingers digging deep into his muscles. "That feels so good. I never get massages." "You should. I miss mine; I usually get one every day." "I'll give you one." "Stay right where you are and finish your coffee. I'm not finished with you yet." He smiled contentedly, enjoying the newspaper and glancing at the newspaper headlines. Her fingers were strong and he could feel the tension in his back melt away, while a different tension began to grow in his crotch. He turned around and picked her up, carrying her to the bed. "Oh, oh, there goes my massage," she giggled. He pulled off her shirt and pants. No underwear? "Another surprise for you!" She looked ravishing, even her smell was fresh. He dove down into her vagina, licking her juices. They tasted different; he couldn't put his finger on it, but he liked it. His tongue burrowed inside her, caressing her button as she bucked up and down. Her screams of pure pleasure thrilled him. Where had this passion come from? He had never suspected her of such desire. He tongued her mercilessly until she had come twice again, and then he felt her pulling on his hair, bringing him up for air. "You're incredible Todd, but I want to feel you inside me, another part of you, that is." He rolled her on top of him and he slipped inside quickly. He could feel the throbbing of her vaginal walls, pulsating against him. Where had she learned this? "What are you doing?" "Do you like it?" "There's no word for it. It's incredible. Oh, don't stop." "Don't worry, I won't forget how. I don't know, it just came to me last night, while you were sleeping. I was thinking of making love and I started flexing this muscle down there I didn't even know I had. It feels pretty good to me too, especially with you inside. Just relax and enjoy the ride." He closed his eyes and smiled. Marta looked at her husband, proud of her new pleasuring technique. Look at him, he's so relaxed, like putty under me, except for that sweet rod of his, filling me with his strength. So this is the power of a woman. I've never felt it before, but now is a perfect time to start. Slowly he began to thrust into her, timing his movements with the pulses of her contractions. Each time he was about to come, she varied the rhythm a little, throwing him off the trick to his orgasm temporally. But the new sensations more than made up for the delay in his release. Finally, when the tingling filled his whole body, he felt her vibrate like a strobe. Her whole body tensed and he thrust into her with all his energy. They both screamed in joy and he filled her with his juice. He looked up at her in amazement. "I have never felt anything like that in my life. You're wonderful." "You're a prize too. Thank you for giving me my life back." They gazed into each other's eyes intensely, then looked away, both almost embarrassed at the depth of their feelings. Marta wrapped her legs around Todd, giving him a playful squeeze. "Come on, I want to get up. We can try it again later, if you're up for it." "I'll have to check my appointment book, but it's a good bet." "My darling." She got up and walked to the sink. What a gorgeous ass, he thought, it moves with a life of its own, and not an ounce of fat on it. Why didn't I ever notice it when we first met? I must have been thinking of other things, like her Uncle and the business. What a dope I can be! "Join me for a swim?" "I don't know. A nap would be good. Come back with me." "Take your nap. You never get to rest like this. I've done nothing else for months, and sleeping is the last thing I feel like doing. I'll wake you later for some Scrabble." "'kay" Marta reached into the drawer and pulled on her suit and admired they way it fit snugly over her body, then ran off to the water. Running feels so good, she thought. Maybe I should go out with Todd tomorrow. No, I'd only slow him down. He hates that. Oh this water is heavenly. I don't remember feeling this good, ever, like I'm just seventeen again but without the awkwardness. Todd really scored for us with his vacation, and I with this trip, probably saved our marriage. Three days later, another perfect day dawned. Todd awoke at six. Marta was sitting in the corner, reading. "What are you doing up so early?" "I don't know. I don't feel like sleeping." "Are you okay? I never see you sleep anymore." "I do. I just haven't needed very much." "What are you reading?" "You'll laugh. The Scrabble dictionary." "Why are you reading that?" "I've read everything else we brought, and it's too early for the newspapers. I thought I'd surprise you with a few new words. You wouldn't believe the stuff that's in here." "I know. I tried it once. There are lists and things of words every tournament player should know, but I've never studied hard enough to learn them." "Let's do something different today. Let's go into town for a nice meal, and maybe some sightseeing. You can go shopping." She closed the book and beamed at him. "Great. I'd love that." She leapt up and dove for the bed. "I was hoping you'd get up early. Did you hear me turn the pages loudly?" She was nibbling at his ear and his neck. "Cut it out, you're tickling me," he laughed and pushed her away, but she was persistent and straddled him, leaning down on his shoulders with her hands. They tussled a little; Todd tried to pry her off, then instead flipped her over and landed on her. "Oh, I'm sorry, Marta. Are you alright?" "Don't worry, I'm fine, you big lug. Put your weight on me. I want to feel all of you. Oh, I'm hot for you. Put it in me, now." He slowly pushed inside her and felt the heat of her desire. She put her hands around his buns and gripped tightly. "Stop treating me like I'm going to break. Let go, Todd. Let me feel you. I can take it." She gripped the checks of his ass so hard he almost came. "Marta, you've really got a grip." "It's those love handles of yours, Todd. I can't resist." She squeezed again. Todd responded by driving harder and harder into her. "Oh, yes, Todd, yes. That's right. Oh, harder, harder. I can feel it all. Oh, come on, come in further, oh yes, oh yes. Yes! Yes!. Oh, don't stop, oh no, oh no, oh, oh." She started to scream and push with her hip while her hands pressed hard against him. Todd had never felt such passion from a woman, or such strength, and it startled him for a moment, but that delay was enough to get Marta to her orgasm, which beat hard against his cock, until the fluttering of her vaginal walls brought him to his climax. He rested against her face, his cheek to hers. "It's amazing Marta. Every time we make love, it's like a new discovery." "It's the same for me Todd. Oh, let's pretend this was our honeymoon and our marriage is just starting now. The last six months didn't happen. Alright?" "Sure. As long as the rest of our lives are just like this week." He got up to wash and shave. He noticed Marta putting on her new clothes one after another and frowning. "What's wrong? You don't like what you bought?" "They must have sized these differently. It's my usual size and They all looked like they'd fit, but all the slacks are a little short and the tops are tight." "I think it makes you look sexy." "It looks cheap Todd, but thanks. Well, this one is mostly open, and I can pick up something else in town." "Your legs look great." "It must be all this exercise this week. I feel great." She looked at him closely. "You're not feeding me anything unusual, are you?" "Marta! Why would you say that? Besides, you've been doing all of the cooking." "I know. It's just that. Well, I'm not the suspicious type, but I just feel so good. It's like someone waved a magic wand at me. Hey, don't look so guilty! I was just thinking it's funny how all it took was some quality time from you." They spent the day walking through the main town. Todd was impressed by, and a little fearful of, Marta's stamina. The miles of walking and hours of bargaining made no dent in her energy, and she was startled when he insisted on stopping for the day, but they enjoyed a pleasant dinner and rode a taxi back to their house. Todd fell asleep the moment they hit the bed. Marta thought of rousing him for some fun, but then decided to let him sleep on the last night of their trip, and spent the next hours trying on her new outfits. I'm sure they're larger than what I usually buy, she thought, but they fit beautifully. The next morning Todd awoke to Marta's heavy breathing. "I just got back. I didn't want to wake you on your last morning. I've been out for a run. I see why you like it so much. It's much more fun than walking." "Huh? Where did you go?" "Oh, away from town, along the shore. I saw some wild beaches, a park, a few small towns. It was so pretty this time of the morning." "Sounds nice." "But now I want you." She dived into bed, on top of Todd, and pulled off his pajamas. Her body was slippery with perspiration, and she gave off almost an animalistic scent, which quickly aroused Todd. He entered her almost immediately and she closed her legs around him, gratefully. She saw him wince. "What's wrong honey?" "Too tight," he groaned, "your legs!" She quickly loosened her grip and immediately became reabsorbed in the act, grinding hard against him to push him deeper and deeper inside. Todd was amazed at her responsiveness and the growing force of her desire. His hands explored her body as she shifted around on top of him. Her upper arms and shoulders were definitely firmer and thicker than he recalled, her back broader, and he could not recall feeling muscle there before between her skin and her shoulder blades. His eyes opened again in grateful surprise as she started to pulse her vaginal walls and he lost his ability to think of anything but the incredible sensations radiating into his body from his rod. Todd called his office from Miami on the way back. Instead of Becky answering, his call bounced to the front desk. "Marsha, why doesn't Becky answer my line?" "She's working for Mr. Whitney now, Mr. Bartel. May I transfer you there? "What! Oh, OK." "Mr. Whitney's office." "Becky. What are you doing there?" "Surprised you, didn't I? I wouldn't worry, Todd. Marta's on the phone with my new boss now, and from the look on his face, I'd say you'll be back here in no time. Look's like you've done a good job, maybe even good enough to get me back, someday. Oh, he wants me. Hold on a sec'." Todd held the phone for a couple of minutes. "Todd? That you? Well I'm damn pleased. Marta sounds like her old self again. And I've got a big project for you. You need to get to California right away. This web browser thing you were telling me about is just too hot to miss, and I think there's a deal for us. Get your secretary to reroute you and call me when you arrive." "Uh, sure, Uncle Richard, but I, I mean, my secretary ...." "What are you saying? Oh, yes, I've taken Becky. Fine girl. There is something we should discuss, Todd, but it can wait until you come back. Just get yourself to San Jose or San Francisco or San something and call me tomorrow. Sorry to ruin the end of your trip, but there's work to be done!" The phone went dead. Marta had come back and was clinging to Todd's arm. "I know honey. You have to go back to work. I told Uncle Richard it was alright, but I'll miss you. Hurry home, won't you? Let's see if we can get your luggage forwarded." "I'm sorry Marta. I hope this doesn't ruin everything again." "We just won't let it. Ok?" She patted his shoulder. "You're my lifesaver, you know." She pulled at his arm again and Todd thought he noticed a momentary bulge in her upper arm. Was she growing a bicep, he wondered. He made a mental note to call the witch and ask about it. Part II Todd didn't mind the detour to San Jose, especially because it meant he was back on the fast track. He didn't like losing Becky, but with the changes in Marta, a break with Becky was probably inevitable, and this would be the cleanest way to do it. The meetings went well. Uncle Richard had a good sense of where the market was going several months in the future and he had found a company that would soon be on everyone's must have list, but that was currently desperate for backing. Todd did his part and by the end of the third day had locked in a deal for twenty percent of the company. Uncle Richard was quite pleased. "And now I have to send you off to Germany. I'm shocked to learn how far behind the continent is on this internet thing. A real opportunity." "But what about Marta? I can't leave her alone for another week. I haven't even been able to talk to her for three days." "Marta says she's fine, and I have to let her be the judge. Besides, you've just had a week off. You never used to complain about the work." "I'm not complaining. I just want to take care of your favorite niece, remember?" Todd heard his boss chuckle and thought he could hear Becky's low voice very close to the phone. "I missed that Todd. Sorry, I have a visitor. Listen, I think Marta will be fine, but I'll tell her you're concerned. She's been hard to reach. It took almost a day for Becky to run her down. Heh-heh. She's a fine secretary Todd. Call me and let me know how it's going or if you need some help." Todd sighed. It was too late for today's plane out. He'd have to leave early in the morning. He tried home. "Marta! At last! How are you?" "Todd! I'm so glad you called. Uncle Richard said you did well and he's sending you on another trip." "Yeah, I'm really sorry." "It's not your fault. I'll keep." "You're really ok about it." "Oh, I'm better than ever. I can't wait to see you again Todd. Hurry home." Todd's business took almost a week, and thankfully there were no more missions from Uncle Richard. In fact, he went on a trip of his own, taking his new assistant along with him to Singapore. On his way through London, he remembered that he wanted to call Michelle Ford about the spell. He quickly reached her secretary. "Spells by Michelle. How may I help you?" "May I speak to Michelle?" "I'm sorry. Miss Ford is not taking calls at this time." "I'm calling from London. Is there any way you can interrupt her? "She is with a client. May I have your name and Spelling Bee number?" "I have no idea what my account number is. I'm Todd Bartel." "Hold on. Yes, Mr. Bartel. I see you have not returned our follow-up survey. I will connect you with our in-house counselor. Hold please." Todd waited. A very professional sounding voice started speaking. "Mr. Bartel. I am Judy Wolcott. You had agreed in your contract to provide us with certain follow-up information to ensure that our service was appropriate and to help up assist you and other future customers." "Well, I've been traveling." "I see. If you wish we can complete the questions now; then you may ignore the survey we've sent to you. Now, in your opinion was the spell effective?" "I think so. How can I be sure?" "Let's see. Is your wife healthier? Stronger?" "I guess. But how do I know whether it was the spell or something else. That's what I want to talk to Michelle about." "Miss Ford is not available right now. Do you have a complaint? Do you wish to do additional business?" "I have some questions." "You're not sure. Do your questions relate to a new subject matter or a modification of an existing spell?" "I don't know, I just want to understand what is happening to my wife. She seems, I don't know, to be changing." "I see. Well, sir, that sounds as if it is within the parameters of the requested spell." "Yes, but I want to know how much she's going to change." "That is not a question I can answer sir. If you like, I'll put you down for a consultation with Miss Ford. There is a charge of $500 per hour or any fraction thereof. How much time do you wish to reserve?" "Five hundred an hour? Forget it!" "Alright, we won't schedule you at this time. Would you answer two more questions for me? You will qualify for a 20% retroactive discount if you name three individuals who may need Miss Ford's services. Would you care to name these individuals now?" "No." "And finally, would you consent to the use of your name in any advertising or other communication?" "Certainly not. Wait. You mean I have to pay $500 an hour to get information about what I've bought?" "Yes sir. Your initial fee covered only the initial consultation and the spell. As set forth in Section 2 of the contract, additional services will be charged separately. The only exception is for discussions regarding spells that were ineffective, but I must warn you that Miss Ford will charge you a premium over the usual consulting fee if she reasonably determines that there was no legitimate dispute regarding the efficacy of the spell." "Great. So I pay if she decides." "That's basically it. She is the witch." "I don't believe it. Hey, one more thing. You said you sent me a survey? Where did it go?" "The address you gave for notices in the contract. I believe it is Two Horsefeathers...." "That's my home address. My wife will have seen it." "Why? Does she open your mail?" "I guess not. Not usually." "Then you have nothing to worry about. May I suggest sir that if you do not want to receive our mail at your house you should rent a post office box." "Yeah sure. Thanks for the advice." "You're welcome. Is there any other way we can help you?" "No, I have to catch a plane." "Very well. Remember Spells by Michelle. We sell spells that tell." Todd hung up. He caught the plane back to New York and slept in the limo all the way to his house. It was empty when he arrived, the mail stacked into neat piles, including a separate one for seven envelopes with the return address for Spells by Michelle, all unopened. Todd breathed a sigh of relief and scooped them into his briefcase. There was also an envelope with his name. He opened it, a note from Marta. "Todd dear. Welcome home. I'm out shopping but I can't wait to see you. Rest up and get dressed. I'm ready for some fun tonight. XXOO Love, M" Todd showered, shaved and changed, then lay on the bed, watching the Knicks. During halftime he heard the door. "Marta?" "Are you ready to go?", she called from downstairs. "Where?" "Out to eat. A country inn over in the Berkshires." "That's an hour away." "I'll have us there in thirty minutes. I promise." Todd sighed, feeling a little disappointed. The sex had been so intense on Barbados. He couldn't believe he was actually excited about seeing Marta. Now he'd be too tired for much fun after dinner. But he roused himself and went downstairs to meet her. Hearing him, Marta bounded into the entrance hall, wearing a short, sleeveless black dress pulled tightly at the waist and flaring suddenly at her shoulders and hips. "How do I look?" Todd stared at her in awe. His eyes traveled up her body. Her legs seemed more rounded, and her skin was flawless and smooth. Even her knees looked as fresh as a child's. The dress clung to her hips and ass and showed the graceful movement of every muscle. Her figure seemed more dramatic, her breasts higher. Was she even wearing a bra? And that skin, so fresh and fragrant. "Incredible. Is this really you?" "I think so." She gave him a quick hug. "Come on. I'm driving. Let's go." He followed her to his Porsche. He wasn't used to sitting on the passenger side of his car, but he was happy to let her take the wheel tonight. She revved up the car and roared out of the driveway onto the road. "Hey, you're going pretty fast. It's night." She accelerated further. They were going eighty and they hadn't even hit the highway. "Watch this." Suddenly, she turned out the lights. Todd couldn't believe she was speeding on their narrow, winding road in the dark. "Are you crazy? What are you doing?" "I can see fine. See, I'm making all the curves. Oh, oh." She slowed suddenly and turned on the lights. "Cop car. He had his radar on me." "Sure. The detector didn't even.... Hey, it just went on and ... there he is! How did you know?" Marta turned to him. "You know, I could see it. I can't really describe it, because it's not like a color or anything. I just sense it. The road too. It's different than the grass around it. Hotter, or cooler, it doesn't matter. It's always a different sense than the shoulder and the grass and trees. It just started a few days ago, and these senses have been getting stronger every day. I wanted to see what you thought. There's more traffic. I'll leave the lights on here anyway, so the other cars can see us." "Are you sure you're alright?" "Never better. I even saw Dr. Brewer today." "Oh? What did he say?" "He was shocked at my recovery. He said he'd never seen anyone in better shape. I was off the scales in blood oxygen, hemoglobin, all that stuff. Some of the readings scared him, but he said that in context I was fine. And you know what?" She turned to him to make a point. "I never told you this, but I was partially deaf in my left ear. From a shooting accident when I was eleven. Well, I can hear again. Better than most people. In fact," she put her finger on Todd's shoulder, "better than anyone. What do you think of that?" She sped onto the Thruway, passing one hundred. "What do you mean, better than anyone?" "Why are you getting mail from 'Spells by Michelle', Todd? I noticed the pile was gone." "It's nothing, really." "I know it's something." "What did you do, open my mail?" "Oh I would never do that. I can hear it in your voice, in your heart, even in your blood." She slowed to seventy and a few seconds later the radar detector went off. "You can turn that off. It's illegal in Connecticut anyway." He flicked the switch. "Thanks, it was annoying me. I've always been sensitive to people's voices and moods. A few days ago I suddenly noticed I could hear the tension in voices. I was arguing with a saleswoman about the delivery time of some furniture. She said the factory was backed up, but I could just tell from the pitch of her voice and her breathing that she was lying. So I called the factory and they said it was funny, but there was a lady on the other line who had just phoned in the order. So she had forgotten and was lying to me to cover it up. And I knew it. And just like my night vision, it gets better every day." She smiled. "I'm making you nervous. I can hear your heart beating just a little bit faster." They passed a police car waiting behind some bushes. Todd was silent. A few minutes later, the traffic thinned. Marta turned off the lights and started speeding up again, one hundred, one hundred twenty, one hundred forty. Before he knew it, she was exiting onto the road to Lenox. She slowed to sixty and turned the lights back on. "I bet you're wondering what else I'm going to tell you. I know you have some secrets too Todd. One of them involves Becky, right? You're trying to breathe regularly Todd, but you can't control your heart. It jumps just a little bit when you try to hide something. I suspected it for a while and I knew it for sure when I stopped at your offices two days ago and saw her. Poor Aunt Adrienne. Don't worry. I'm not angry now. I know she doesn't work for you anymore, and besides, she's no competition for me. I haven't been much fun for the last few months and that's all changed. I can see by the way you looked at me tonight. There. Is that settled? Do you want to tell me about anyone else? Todd mumbled hoarsely, "No, Marta. There's no one else." "Good. I didn't think so. We're almost there. We can talk about Michelle later." Marta pulled up at the restaurant. Todd was sweating. He had to get to a phone and excused himself. "Spells by Michelle. How may I help you?" "I need to schedule a consultation with Michelle." "May I have your name and Spelling Bee number?" "Todd Bartel and I don't know my account number." "Hold on. I'm checking her schedule. We're very tight, and there's a coven next week. It will have to be two weeks after Thursday." "That's too long." "Well, if you're willing to pay premium rates, I can arrange a conference early tomorrow. That would be 7:00 a.m. for $1,500 per hour or any portion." "I can't make it." "Then shall I put you down for Thursday, two weeks?" "Yes, yes, ok. Hey what happened to the receptionist, uh Joan, who was there before when I came in?" "This is she. I remember you Mr. Bartel." "You sound different." "Oh, thank you for noticing Mr. Bartel. Miss Ford did my voice and sent me to a school to work on my diction. It was my bonus for my first anniversary here. I feel much more sophisticated, and people treat me with more respect. Do you like it?" "I guess so. Your old voice had character too." "That's what my old boyfriend said. But he isn't very refined. I have to go; Miss Ford's calling me. Goodbye Mr. Bartel." Todd returned to the table. Marta had already ordered the wine. She lifted her glass and Todd joined her. "A toast. To love and fun." Todd took a long swallow from his glass and Marta drained hers and refilled it and his. "This is very good. A nice Burgundy." "I know it's your favorite. I ordered dinner too. They're closing soon and I know you're tired." "You look bright and cheery." "I don't need much sleep these days. Drink all you want, I'll drive back. You won't believe it, but I don't get drunk. I tried last night. I had a quart of scotch and then tested myself. I wasn't even impaired." "You're full of surprises." Marta smiled. "Just wait until we get home." They ate their dinner, Marta drinking twice as much as Todd. He struggled to keep up, but then gave up, watching Marta finish the second bottle with relish. Feeling groggy, he suggested they skip desert and he slept on the drive back home. Marta tried to wake him when they arrived, then gave up, loosened his tie, pushed the seat back, covered him with a woolen blanket and let him sleep in the car. When he awoke, Marta was in her bathrobe on the couch reading one of his business school texts. "You know, once you master the numbers, this business stuff is pretty easy. When they write about running a company, it's just common sense. Understanding people. I bet I'd be good at it. Art appreciation and literature were much harder." "I wouldn't know. I spent college working on how to get a job and make money." "Oh I know you did. You had to. Not everyone is born rich like me, and you've done really well. I just never paid any attention to this kind of thing before. I can see why you like it. It's kind of like a sport, a competition. Speaking of competition, how about a game of scrabble? I'll make breakfast while we play, and you can shower afterwards." "It's kind of early for that, but ok, if you make some coffee right away." "Already done. Here it is. You pick." Todd played "teary" for 24 points. Marta added "chastity" to Todd's "y" for 82 points. Todd studied the board and added "clam" to Marta's "c" for 30 points. Marta played "monastery" off the "m", using a blank, for 92 points. Todd studied again and changed his letters. Marta played "orgasmic" using the "s" in "chastity" for 80 points. "That's three seven-letter words for you in a row! I've never seen you play like this." "I'm winning 254 to 54. Give up?" "Of course not." Todd played "ax" with the "x" off the "o" in "orgasmic" for 36 points. Marta planed "stanzas" adding the "t" to tax for 92 points. "I can't believe you got two more "s"'s! This is ridiculous." "346 to 90, Todd, and I just picked up the "q" and a "u". Your turn, or are you too hung over to play." He looked up at her. "I am hung over, but that has nothing to do with it. Where'd you learn to play like this?" "You tell me. I started reading the Scrabble dictionary when we were in Barbados and I remember a lot of words. I also read your Scrabble Strategy book. But the main thing is, I'm thinking faster and remembering more. The patterns just come to me. Want to hear something amazing? A couple of days before you came home I went to get my IQ tested. When I was in school it was about 120, bright, but nowhere near a genius, and I'm sure I killed a few brain cells with all the drugs I was taking. Well, Tuesday it was 150. I didn't believe it, but I went to Mensa on Thursday to have a more rigorous test and I tested at 158. Something tells me if I tested today it would be even higher. What do you think Todd? Does any of this ring a bell?" "Uh, I...." Marta took Todd's hands in hers. Her grip was firm. "I'm trying to be patient Todd, but something is happening to me and I want to know what it is. I was brought up to be a good Episcopalian, with a modern education, and I don't believe in black magic, but there is no rational explanation for all this." She looked him in the eye. "If those envelopes from Spells by Michelle have anything to do with this, I want you to bring them here and open them. You owe it to me." Todd's mouth was dry. "Wait here. I'll get them." He returned with the envelopes and handed Marta the thick one. "Open this. It's probably my contract." "Your contract? What did you do? Sell your soul?" "No, no. It's not like that. It cost about five grand." "What did?" "The spell." "You're serious? I was half kidding. What kind of spell? Let's see here. Subject to become healthier, stronger, mentally, physically, changes to commence January 13th 1995, change gradual, spell permanent. It's all here, in a lot of legal writing. Have you read all this?" Todd shook his head. "Only the main parts. It's a lot of legal gobbledegook." "Go take your shower. I want to see what it says." She curled up in a chair and began studying the contract. Todd slunk away and went through his morning routine. He felt a little better when he came back. Marta had filled a pad with notes. "This is amazing. I don't believe it, but if it's true it explains everything. I can see why you need a lawyer to work on your deals for you. You miss all the important details. The key part is that when you asked for the spell to be permanent, that locked in whatever is making me healthier, whatever that means. So it's not like I improved and then stayed at that level. I just keep getting healthier, and smarter and stronger and more attractive. So my senses keep improving, my brain works faster, my body gets stronger." She focused her eyes on him, leaned back and added in a low voice, "And I guess I get more irresistible every day." Todd felt his penis stiffen. She was right; he had never seen a woman so alluring, and all at once that scent was in the air again, stronger than ever. He wanted to make love to her so badly, but in spite of himself he said, "This is not what I intended." "No, you wanted me to get better, back to my normal condition, so Uncle Richard wouldn't fire you. I know why you stayed home from work. Becky told me. No, no, don't deny it. I know it's true." "But we've got to stop this before it gets out of hand." "What do you mean 'out of hand?' This is wonderful. I don't want to stop it. And don't get any ideas about going to her and asking her to stop it. One of the contract clauses you didn't read says that if the subject learns of the spell from any person not associated with Spells by Michelle, the rights of the requesting party under the contract are transferred to the subject, meaning that you no longer have the right to request any modifications to the spell. The contract is now between Michelle and me, and the whole thing is out of your control." She stretched out on the floor and added, "so dear, you know that awful saying, when rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy." He looked down at her in shock. He couldn't believe how sexy she was. Her scent filled the room. His blood was boiling. He could not resist another second and dove on top of her. She laughed and gathered him into her arms, pulling him hard against her. He felt her firm body, the soft curves of her hips and breasts, growing in size and somehow in their power to attract and ensnare him, her sweet lips. He pulled off her clothes and let her undress him and guide him inside, the wet, dark heat of her vagina sending shivers of joy up his spine while a thousand different contractions massaged and squeezed him, making him mindless with desire. He came instantly, her contractions unerringly finding the floating points of sensitivity on his cock, exactly when and where he wanted them, before he even knew. As in a dream he withdrew from her and turned around, his tongue drawn inside her vagina, tasting the ambrosia of her juices, bringing her to one shuddering orgasm after another while her tongue brought him back to an erection more quickly than he'd ever thought possible. Or was time passing faster than he knew? He turned and entered her again, letting her roll him over so that she was on top, her weight surprising him, her legs twisting around him, beneath him now, pulling him inside, tighter and tighter. He thrust hard and felt her thrust back from deep inside, waves of pressure, soft, no hard, no soft, he could not tell what the feeling was, only that it was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He surrendered completely and let her bring them both to orgasm, her phermones filling the air, unfathomable yearning and desire met by immediate and complete satisfaction. The sensations overwhelmed him and he blacked out, seeming to hear Marta through the haze saying, "Poor Todd. I think I'm too much for him now." Meanwhile, Marta looked down at her unconscious husband. He's smiling and I can see he's in no pain, she thought. I probably induced an overload of endorphins in him. I shouldn't show off like that. He might get addicted. On the other hand, it was fun. He held out longer than she'd expected. But what was Marta to do now? Marriage ended her old life, protected by her family's web of social connections, and she hadn't done much to establish a new married life. No, she had almost wrecked hers until Todd arranged for the spell. Now she had to find a new path. Todd had used her, but she had to admit that she had been a problem to him, and there were many worse things Todd could have done to solve his problem. No doubt she could make Todd very happy, but it was only a matter of time before she would move far beyond him, in body, mind, and spirit. Still, until she did, she could have some fun with him and give him something back in return. Unconstrained by financial needs, she was free to pursue whatever interested her. And what interested her most right now was herself: What she was, and what she was becoming. She stared at him. He was stirring slightly and she could hear his heartbeat climb slowly back to its normal level, sense the dilation of his blood vessels ease, his body temperature begin to settle to its normal level. Focusing on herself, she noticed the slight chemical reaction of life forming in her womb. That would be inconvenient now, she decided. Concentrating, she raised the acidity of her fluids and felt the cells lose force and die. A shame, but bad timing, she thought. Next time, remember to lower the ph immediately after he comes. Sperm are very sensitive. Todd was beginning to come to. Marta's face, bending over his, swam into view. "What happened to me?" "I think it was a male version of 'le petit mort,' you know, the little death. I've heard of it happening to women sometimes. You passed out after you came. I shouldn't have pushed you so far. I'll try to remember to be a little less stimulating next time." "What do you mean? You don't have to go easy on me. I can take it." "Todd, don't be like that. You know how I'm changing. You're the one who did this to me. I just don't want to hurt you." Todd felt confused. On the one hand, he was a little afraid of Marta. She saw too much and suddenly she was thinking a little too quickly. On the other hand, she was a woman and he was the man. The idea that she thought she had to go easy on him was horrible, especially in the area of sex. He looked up at her again. That look of concern and sympathy, like he was some sick child, was galling. He stood, a little shakily, to his full height. She definitely had grown taller and had acquired some muscle definition, but he was still a good six inches taller and larger. He had to settle this before it went too far. "You're not going to hurt me. I'm a lot stronger than you, Marta. I'm the one who has to be careful." "This is unnecessary, Todd. We should both be careful not to injure each other. Let's just drop it." "No. I don't like the idea that you feel you have to pussyfoot around me. It makes no sense." "What is this, an ego thing with you? Well, I don't know. You may be stronger than me, for now at least, but there are a lot of other things that give me a real advantage. I'm quicker than you, I have more endurance, better balance and flexibility and I can read your body like a neon sign. Just looking at you I can tell from the tension in your abdominal muscles that you have a gas pain on your left side right now and from the density of your bladder that you'd really be more comfortable if you peed. Each time you move, you telegraph to me where you're going by sending blood and nerve signals to your muscles. Besides, no man can fight with an erection, and I can give you one whenever I want." She raised her eyebrows and suddenly Todd felt her demonic sexiness hit him like a sauna blast, starting in his nose and mouth and quickly spreading throughout his body, draining the blood from his face and making him weak in the knees while it rapidly inflated his cock until it stood almost vertical. Marta laughed. "I'm sorry Todd. I guess that's sort of hitting below the belt." Todd wasn't laughing. In the middle of the argument he was overcome by a tremendous longing for her. He needed to feel her skin against his, to press his lips against hers, feel her heart against his chest and push his engorged cock deep inside her, but her flip assertion of superiority enraged him, and in a quick battle within, love and lust did not deflate his anger, rather, his desire fueled it, turning it into an intense need to subdue her, conquer her, even rape her. He roared and hurled himself at her, reveling in the sensation of the full impact of his body against hers and seeking to overwhelm her with his power and his weight. Seeing him prepare to strike, she steeled her legs against him, meeting the impact without falling. She turned slightly, deflecting to the left the force of his leap, then pushed off with her leg to knock him off balance so that she landed on top of him. She heard the whoosh of the air leaving his lungs, and while he took a sharp breath she bounced forward on him so that she was sitting on his chest, her legs pinning his arms. Todd struggled to lift his chest to push her off but with the muscle she had gained she was too heavy. Instead, he rolled backwards and lifted his legs up and caught her, pulling her down and rolling her over until he lay on top of her, triumphant. "There, see? Who's on top now?" "You are sweetheart. Shall we just say you've proved your point? But I have to tell you, I'd guess that you'd last no more than three more minutes against me." "You won't learn! Then you'd better be prepared to prove it." She twisted her arms around so that she was pushing her elbows directly into his chest, while at the same time digging her knees into his thighs. He tried to push her arms back, but she was stronger than she looked and she was concentrating all of the force of her arms into the two sharp points of her bones. How did she do that without straining her arms? The pressure was starting to give him a dull pain deep inside, and he felt his arms and legs weakening. She must be cutting off my blood supply, he thought. I can't hold her this way much longer. He relaxed his hold and she quickly pulled herself out. But instead of moving away from him as he expected, she darted behind him and started pulling his left arm back. He tried to resist, but she was persistent, and kept shifting the angle of her attack. After the pressure she had applied to his arm before, he couldn't use his full strength to resist. Soon she had his arm fully wrapped behind him. "Give up, Todd? I really don't want to hurt you, but you're making me do this." In desperation Todd kicked backwards at where he thought her knee was. She saw it coming, but was so surprised that she was late in responding. She let out a cry of pain and went down, releasing his arm. He turned to her in a defensive crouch, waiting for the feeling in his arm to return before he pressed on. Marta lay on the floor flexing her leg back and forth to work her knee out, then stood up. She looked determined, slightly flushed but still fresh, while Todd was breathing heavily. "Ok, then, round two." She came at him with her fists, firing punches at his head, shoulders and midsection, not hard, but in continual motion. Todd blocked them with his arms, but the force of her bare hands against his already bruised forearms was making him sore. She left an opening for him and he let loose a blow to her stomach. He felt her firm muscle impede his fist, but she doubled over slightly, and backed off. She breathed heavily for a few seconds but then waded back in. He tried to hit her there again, but this time she blocked the punch with her right arm and caught him in the cheek with a sharp left jab. He spun around and staggered back. She followed him quickly and landed another blow to his face, and Todd's nose started to spurt blood. "Oh no! Are you all right?" He turned away. "I didn't think we'd be boxing bare-fisted." "I'm so sorry. I don't know about these things. Did I break it?" "No, no it's just a nosebleed." "I'll get you a tissue." "I don't want your help," he said testily. "Well we can't fight with you dripping blood all over the rug. Let's just stop here and call it a draw, ok?" He turned around, holding his head up to stop the bleeding. "Offer refused." "Then you want to keep going?" Todd just stared at her. "You can't possibly want to continue? I can go on like this all day, and look at you. Nose bleeding, arms throbbing, chest heaving. You're not in bad shape Todd, it's just that I recover so much more quickly. If we keep at it you'll just get hurt." "Don't be so sure. I had you going a few times." "This is so silly. I really don't have any patience for you when you're in this mood. I've got things I have to think about too." She paced back and forth. "I know what I'll do. I'm going up to Newport. The house is always empty this time of year. You can catch up at work, get back to normal and I'll have time for myself. You can join me next weekend. By the time we see each other again, you'll have calmed down, and so will I." Todd glared at her, but nodded. She turned and went up to her room to pack. Todd collapsed into a chair, then went to his room to shower and think. He drove in to work. His desk was piled with phone messages and drafts of documents from the lawyers for the California and Germany deals, but he didn't want to face them. He called Arnold instead and spun his chair around to look out of the window while he talked. "Hey, Todd. I hear you're back at work. Did a little black magic do the trick?" "Don't laugh! I think I've turned Marta into Superwoman." "What? Always a joker, eh Todd?" "I'm not joking. Marta and I had a fight this morning and it was touch and go." "Come on. You mean that girl beat you up?" "Hey, did I say that? I handled her, but she put up a stiff fight. I'm just.... You have to find a way to kill the spell." "What are you talking about Todd? I sent you to some goofball in the Village. Now you're talking like it's real or something." "It is real Arnold. It's a long story, but the one you sent me to was too expensive. She wanted a hundred grand so I told her to stuff it. Then she sends me to her daughter, whose also a witch...." "A cheap one, right?" "Yeah, and, shit, you don't believe me, do you?" "You can't kid a kidder." "What do I have to ... will you come with me?" "Where, the cheap one or the one you told to stuff it?" "The mother. I can't get in to see the daughter for a couple of weeks." "Must be something going around." "Damn it Arnold, this is serious. I need help." "Ok, ok. You know I'm always here for you, buddy. Name the time and the place." "McDougal Street, tonight at 10:00. I'll call you back if I can't get an appointment." "You're on. This should be good, one way or the other." Todd hung up. There was a knock on the door and a young woman walked in. "Becky said I should introduce myself. I'm Sharon, your new assistant." "Becky sent you?" "She told me to watch for you. I've been keeping things organized while you were gone. I hope everything is alright." "Oh it's fine, thanks." Sharon smiled nervously. "Uh, Becky said she worked very closely with you. I kind of got the feeling that the two of you, um, well, what I wanted to say was, uh...." Todd looked at her closely for the first time. She certainly wasn't voluptuous like Becky, in fact, even though he knew he shouldn't, he searched hard for any trace of sensuality in her, and found none. That's probably why Becky sent her to him, less competition for Becky in the future, even though she was evidently not available to him any more. Sharon was younger, with pale skin and blond hair, thin and very conservatively dressed, almost like an executive. The only hint of something else was the brightness of her lipstick, but was that intentional or an accident? He thought back to earlier this morning. After that, could any other woman excite him, he wondered. He felt drained and tired. "What I'm trying to say Mr. Bartel is I really want to be a good secretary for you, but if ...." "I'm sure you'll do fine Sharon. What's very important to me right now is to catch up on my mail and not to waste time on the telephone. Would you be sure to hold all my calls?" "Yes," she said brightly, "and can I get you coffee? A doughnut?" He shook his head. "I'll call you if I need you." He watched her leave. A few weeks ago he would have insisted on hiring his own assistant. For now, whatever Becky's ulterior motives were, Sharon would suit him just fine. Todd worked through dinner and at nine he drove downtown, parked and barely got to Madame LaFarge's by ten. Arnold was already with her. "Ah, Mr. Bartel. I've been having a nice chat with your friend. Young men are so charming. He tells me you are worried about the spell you bought. I explained to him there is nothing I can do because it is not my spell. Why don't you see my daughter?" "I can't get an appointment. Some kind of coven." "Oh of course. The young witches' division. They're probably all trading promotional videos and accounting programs. Not to mention the papers on Gay Witchcraft and Witches and Madness, and especially The Semiotics of Chants. So boring. Ours are much more exciting! Esoteric spells, stories of love, revenge, betrayal. Good practical information." "Madame LaFarge, this spell is turning Marta into a monster!" "A monster?" She closed her eyes for a moment. "Why no, she's a very attractive woman now Mr. Bartel, and quite lively for a mortal. I think you should be very pleased. Here you're back in your uncle's good graces, and you're married now to a woman who is as impressive personally as she is wealthy. Nice disposition too. Why are you unhappy?" "Wait. What did you just do?" "A little research, you dear boy. I can see you don't believe in witches. But just because you don't believe, doesn't mean we don't exist." "Arnold, it's real. I told you." "Oh yeah? If you're a witch, then turn me into a frog." Madame LaFarge looked at him. "Why do you want to be a frog? Well, it won't do you any harm." Arnold disappeared and a small tree frog appeared in his place. "Arnold! Change him back!" "Don't worry. The experience will be good for him. So long as he doesn't get eaten. Let's talk first. Mr. Bartel, I understand your unhappiness. Marta has gone from being a pathetic wreck to being strong and self-sufficient, and thanks to your generosity, she'll just keep on improving. You've even managed to give her complete control over the situation by telling her about the spell. I admit I'm a little worried myself about how she'll cope with all of these enhancements, but that's one of the chief excitements of witchcraft, watching how you mortals struggle with the supernatural." "But I don't want her to keep getting better and better." Madame LaFarge snorted. "I warned you about Michelle. She always gives her customers what they ask for, not what they want." "Well then, can you make me like Marta? So I can at least keep up with her." "Certainly not. And Michelle won't do it either." "Why not? I'll pay anything you ask this time. I promise." "Money has nothing to do with it. It's just impossible. How can I explain it? It would be like pushing two similar magnetic poles together. You and your wife are part of a momtuu, an ancient word for a group of beings and objects that are linked. The application of a spell to part of the momtuu charges the whole set in a certain way, and no changes can be made to any other part of the momtuu without affecting the original spell, which your wife, not you, now controls, from the mortal side of course. Besides, our code of ethics would never permit us to allow mortals arrange for spells to make themselves more powerful. You can imagine what that would lead to." "So you could do this only if Marta requested it?" "That's right. And I'm not sure she could do it even if Marta asked. She used an ancient and very powerful spell on your wife, much more powerful than I would have used under the circumstances, and the forces flowing into her have channeled themselves quite securely in their current path. I doubt Michelle even knows enough to alter their course. That kind of specialized spell is not the sort of work she normally does. Practical jokes, gusts of wind to push up a girl's dress, lucky lotto tickets. That's more her type of work. Which reminds me, where is that frog?" She looked around, and laughed as Arnold popped out of one of the plants in the room, spitting a fly out of his mouth. "I can't believe I was just eating bugs." "Did you like being a frog, dear boy?" He looked at Madame LaFarge. "I don't know. It certainly was a lot simpler than being human. And catching those bugs was so easy for me. Ok, so now I'm a believer. What do we do next?" "We go home Arnold. Madame LaFarge can't help me." "Wait, I have a question, if it's alright Todd. So, what's going to happen to Marta? Does she become all-powerful, all- knowing? A goddess or something? A witch?" "A witch? Ha! That's a good one. It's not in her blood. As for being a goddess, well, I've never met one so I wouldn't know. Ha, ha! I must admit I am not thoroughly familiar with that spell. So we shall see, my friends. Now, you must go. I have a paying client coming at eleven and I must prepare. No, no, I wouldn't accept your money for this little chat. It has been my pleasure." They walked out onto the street. "Hey Todd, she's really great. Sounds like you should have hired her." "I know. Let's just get drunk." Part III Todd had planned to go to Newport the next weekend, but didn't. The California deal took a lot longer than he'd expected, and soon he found himself buried in the swarm of opportunities arising from the public's infatuation with the internet. There were some good companies out there, and Todd made sure that his company kept a piece of each of them, but many more were just plays on the excitement of the moment. These were perfect "flip" vehicles: buy in at $10 and resell to the public at $50. Todd made sure there would be no scandals; he had the lawyers hard at work. And he drew the line at a company that marketed 3-D glasses as an internet peripheral. But Becky was winking at him again, and from that Todd deduced that Uncle Richard was speaking highly of him, a fact Becky would not ignore in her own personal plans. His pleasure in his success at work and in its likely consequences, both on the job and off, helped him forget the pain of his last day with Marta, but he still was not running back to see her again. Months passed and Marta was still in Newport, almost incommunicado except for e-mail. She refused to use the telephone, which was both disappointing and a bit of a relief, because her velvet voice took him to incredible heights of desire each time he'd call. In fact, she'd stopped asking when he'd come, and Todd sensed she preferred to be alone. Each time, just as he would hint that he was ready to spend some time with her, she'd send him a long letter describing decorating plans for some room of the house, asking his opinion of fabrics and furniture styles and suggesting he visit some showrooms with their designer. Todd could think of nothing less interesting, and he wondered whether she was actually trying to keep him away. In any case, it was working. It was Uncle Richard who again sent Todd back to Marta, who had decided to do some renovation work at the house (without Todd's contributions on decorating). She also had warned her uncle that she needed to increase security after a series of attempted burglaries. "I don't know what Newport is coming to. The townspeople used to know enough to keep their thieving to each other. And I don't see why Marta refuses to call the police. We've always been very generous to them. Even if the police don't know who did it, they can do one of their sweeps. You know, I've learned that a few bashed heads works better than high walls and alarms. It's a small town up there and people get the message. See what you can do." Todd was nearly there before he telephoned Marta. She sounded annoyed on the phone, but her voice was so seductive, even over the static of the car phone, that Todd had to ease his Porsche onto the shoulder to carry on the conversation without having an accident. "I don't need you here, Todd. But, oh well, if Uncle Richard insists, I suppose you're going to come no matter what I say. Just wait at the door until Babette takes you inside." "Babette? What about the butler, Cecil? Did he finally die or something?" He heard a laugh. "Funny you should say that. Well, almost, I guess. I put him on paid leave until I go. You'll understand when you come. Just do as she tells you, ok?" Todd pulled into the circular driveway in front of the house and carried his bag up to the front door, noting that the boy who usually parked the car was missing too. The air was fragrant with something he couldn't identify, and he looked forward to seeing Marta. The door opened and Todd stepped inside. Babette was waiting for him. "Put your bag down and unbutton your pants, please sir." Todd stared at her dumbly. "Now, sir, please, if you would." "What do you " Suddenly, something hit Todd with hurricane force, a shock wave that penetrated his skin and his nostrils, his taste buds and finger tips, engulfing him in a torrent of desire that sent his heart racing and snapped his member upright instantly. Todd's whole body went rigid with confusion. Babette sighed and knelt down, unbuttoning his pants. While he watched, insensible to all except his urgent need, she quickly unfolded a small piece of cloth, wrapped it around the tip of his penis and with a few strokes brought him to a powerful orgasm. He staggered as she folded the cloth and dropped into a bag. "Forgive me sir. Madam's instructions. Now, allow me to show you to your room, quickly, before I will find it necessary to do that again." Skin tingling, Todd followed obediently to a first floor room. Babette closed the door, flipped two switches that started an air circulation system and curtseyed. "Madam will contact you. Please wait here." Todd thought he saw a slight smirk on her face as she left. He heard a lock turn in the door. "Hey, what are you doing?" he called through the door. "Madam's instructions again sir, if you please," she replied cheerfully. Todd grimaced, then unpacked and showered. When he came out of the bathroom, there was a typewritten message for him waiting on the writing table. "You understand now why we cannot meet in person. The spell has amplified my attractiveness to such an extent that I must avoid contact with men. This is why I had the problems with intruders. They were drawn here from miles away. Although I have limited the circulation of air from the house, the effect continues to increase." "You are welcome to stay as long as you like, but the door will remain locked, for your own protection. Babette will assist you when you enter and leave. If you wish to do so without having her service you personally, I recommend that you masturbate immediately prior to leaving your room, but she will escort you to prevent any possibility of overexposure. Although the power of my phermones shortens your latency period considerably, it should give you sufficient time to traverse the hallway from your room to the front door, and, with a little self control on your part, the effect should be manageable for you outside the house until you leave the estate." "You will have to find a way to explain this to Uncle Richard, as I do not want to take the risk of speaking with him directly. The poor dear, it might kill him." Todd frowned. He couldn't believe the effect was really so strong, but he had felt entirely overcome when he entered the house, and even her voice had sent fingers of desire through him. He rang for dinner, phoned some clients and wrote out a reply. "I must see you. There must be a way. I am your husband, after all." He gave the message to Babette. An hour later, she returned with another typewritten letter. "Do you know what happened the last time I went out, a month ago? I dressed in a chador, fully veiled like an orthodox Moslem woman, wearing sunglasses, my face covered, gloves over my wrists. Walter couldn't drive the car straight with me inside, so I took over. I walked down the street and cars kept turning onto the sidewalk and would have run me down if I hadn't been quick enough. Men would leave their wives on the sidewalk and run up to me to touch me, pulling at my veil. I stopped going out, and soon the break-ins began. "Wait awhile. I sense that I will progress to a different level soon and it may be easier." Todd grew flushed reading the note. He looked at Babette. "I need to go out." She nodded. "Shall I get the cloth sir?" He looked at her slender body, her soft hands. "I'll, uh, take care of it myself." "Very good, sir. Let me know when you're ready for me to escort you." Babette withdrew. Todd waited an interval, then knocked. Babette opened the door and Todd walked out, again struck by the scent like a bolt of lightening. Babette raised her eyebrows and dropped to her knee. "Madam does know best, sir." While he turned his head rapidly to sense where Marta was, Babette unbuttoned his pants again and with two stokes brought Todd to another climax. Todd sighed, then pulled up his pants and ran up the stairs. "Sir! Please, don't!" Then louder, "Madam, he's coming to you!" He reached the top of the landing and turned toward her room. His blood was already boiling, and he felt himself start to stiffen already. A door opened in front of him and Marta stepped out. He looked at her and felt like every blood vessel in his body was about to explode. She stood wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts, but on her it looked like the gown of Venus. She was awesome; her breasts put a heavy strain on the top part of the fabric, which tapered drastically to her tiny waist then streamed out again to hug her womanly hips. Her arms and legs were rounded with muscle, but certainly not larger than his, Todd somehow noticed. He fell to the carpet, his legs lacking the strength to support him. "I didn't think you would listen. It's a good thing you have a strong heart." "I can't believe it. You look like, like "You may use the term goddess, Todd. That is where I'm heading. Very soon my power over men will have transcended the sexual stage and men and women may all worship me as a divine being. And for all I can tell, they may be right. Even now, before I make that leap, my powers are extraordinary. You look uncomfortable. Let me help." She curled her fingers and Todd felt a brief spasm of pressure on his penis. He came instantly. "If you don't mind, Todd, I'll just take care of that every few minutes or so. Otherwise you'll get very sick. I don't think you have enough control over your fingers at this close range to take care of it yourself. Am I right?" Todd nodded. "Good. I imagine that outwardly I look a lot like Becky. Is this how her arms look?" "I think yours may be a little bigger, but I'm not sure. I never paid much attention to her arms." Marta nodded. "And this is what you wanted me to look like? Large breasts, fit body." She walked up and down the hallway, her flesh rippling and undulating with each step. Todd's jaw hung open as he watched her, his knees weakened. Marta winked at him, then held her hand up in a loose fist and shook it, like she was mixing a pair of dice. Todd felt a welcome explosion in his groin and relaxed. "You're perspiring, Todd, and also getting your pants very wet. Should I have Babette bring you some water? I don't want you to get dehydrated." "Yes, water would be nice," Todd rasped. Marta signalled to Babette, who brought Todd a glass of water and returned down the stairs. He took it with shaking hands and drank, spilling a third of it on his shirt. Feeling slightly fortified, he approached Marta slowly, then, overcome, leapt on top of her. She caught him, and, standing firm, held him slightly away from her. "What are you trying to do, Todd, as if I didn't know. The answer is no! It really wouldn't do anything for me, you know, you'd come in a couple of seconds, and actually the idea of intimate contact with you is a little disgusting to me. Oh dear, you're suffering again." She lay him on the ground and shook her finger at him. Todd came again and lay, exhausted, on the rug. "I'm going back to my room. I'm not going to carry you downstairs, so I'll ask Babette to help you. Please don't try this again, Todd. I'm sure it's as embarrassing for you as it is for me." Todd struggled to rise to his feet to stop her, but the door closed and locked before he was halfway up. Babette helped him stand and they slowly walked down the stairs, although they had to make a brief stop on the first landing for Babette to minister to his overtaxed member. Todd collapsed in his room, slept for a few hours, then rang Babette. "I'm leaving for now. I can't stay here. Please tell Marta I'll be in touch with her as soon as I can." "Very good sir. Madam asks that I tell you please to drive home safely." He looked at her, armed with a fresh cloth, shook his head, and strode firmly out the door and into the Porsche, although his hands shook until he reached the end of the block, where he discretely masturbated until he was completely drained. Todd drove south on I-95 until he reached New Haven, then checked into a hotel. He first called Arnold. "...she's even referring to herself as a goddess, Arnold. And she's got all sorts of powers. She beat me off without even touching me." "Come off it, Todd. It's just the power of suggestion. You must have a weak will." Todd scowled. "You don't know what you're talking about Arnold. Well, if you're not going to help me, screw you!" "I didn't Todd hung up before Arnold replied. Then he checked his voice mail. There was a message from Madame LaFarge. "Todd, this is Madame LaFarge. It is very important that you come my office. Bring your friend Arnold as well. This is of the utmost urgency." Todd put down the phone and redialed Arnold. "Sorry I hung up on you. LaFarge left me a message. She wants to see us right away. Why don't you conference her in?" "Sure, but why didn't she just zap you over there if she needed to see you right away. Voice mail is a funny way for a witch to communicate, don't you think?" "Yeah. I didn't think of it. Let's ask her." "Hold on." The line went dead for a minute, then Arnold came back. "I've got her. Can you hear me Todd?" "Yes. Madame LaFarge?" "I'm so glad you called. How quickly can you get here?" "Well, if you can zap my car back to my house, you can take me as fast as you can." "And if you have a spare broomstick, send me over too," Arnold added. "I'm afraid that's not possible just now boys. You'll have to get here on your own." "Well, then, I can be there in about two hours." "That will have to do. This may have gone too far already." "I'll meet you there buddy at, man!, is it really four a.m.!?" "Michelle will let you in." Todd checked out drove quickly toward New York City, marveling that the Bruckner was busy even at this early hour. He arrived at 5:30. Arnold was already there. Michelle stared at the floor while Madame LaFarge spoke. "My daughter has precipitated a major crisis. Due to her incompetence in casting the spell and her failure to explain our rules to you, Todd, her actions may destroy us all. I knew this modern way of doing things would end like this. Now, only with your help do we have any hope of stopping Marta's transformation." "Wait a minute. Our help? What happened? What can we do?" "As I told you the last time we met, Michelle used an ancient and very powerful spell, one she did not fully understand. I must confess I was not fully familiar with it myself." She turned to Michelle. "This is what comes from working out of books instead of our tradition!" "Mother! Please. We've been through this a hundred times!" "You boys asked me before whether Marta would become a witch, and I laughed. Well, I should have thought harder before I answered. She does not, and never will, have the magical powers our coven possess by birth. As a mortal, she is still limited by cause and effect. But there is a boundary line between the forces of magic and the workings of the physical universe in which you reside, and on this boundary line it may be hard to distinguish the difference between magic and intentional action. Just as your philosophers and scientists struggle with the question of whether the action of the human will on the physical body is a purely chemical one that is completely determined at the atomic level or whether it is evidence of the free will of the mind acting on the physical plane." Todd looked at her blankly. "Mom! This is way above their heads. Would you get on with it?" "I'm sorry Michelle. I'm not stupid. I just didn't study philosophy. It conflicted with my Advanced Marketing class," Todd said defensively. "Quiet you two! The point is, Marta is gaining the power to work her will directly on the physical world in a manner that is functionally very similar to witchcraft, although of course without our uniquely elegant relationship to the spiritual forces of the universe." "Hey, that's right! She, uh" Todd stopped in mid-sentence. "What is it Todd? Has she already gained this ability? What did she do?" Madame LaFarge looked at him intently. Todd's face grew red. "She, uh, could touch me from a distance." Arnold stifled a laugh. Then he looked curious. "I know what he's talking about. Don't you?" Now Madame LaFarge looked uncomfortable. "This is the problem. So much of the energy we witches utilize is now flowing to Marta that there is little left for us to practice our arts. Our powers are dramatically weakened, and the flow to her continues to increase. Why, we've determined that within a few days even the most powerful witches will be unable to cast a spell. Poor Michelle has had to close her practice for weeks." "That's interesting. Marta told me yesterday that in a few days she expected some kind of momentous change that would allow her to go outside again without, uh, being mobbed by men. She said something about becoming a goddess." Madame LaFarge nodded. "She knows, then. Well, you must stop her before then." "Stop her? Me? Why I can't even be in the same house as her without, uh, without "Without wanting to mount her every two minutes like a rabbit Mr. Bartel? You needn't be shy with us, dear boy. We know you're merely a mortal man and are not in control of your primitive urges. But while she is still mortal, you must either help us reverse the spell, or kill her." "Kill her?!!" "It's the only way. If you fail, by the end of the week she will be the most powerful being in the universe, and those powers will grow geometrically, beyond your comprehension. Perhaps even beyond mine." "Still, I" "You are the only one who can do it, since you are part of her momtuu. We can strengthen your will to provide you with certain protections against her charms. We will do what we can to cast a corrective spell, but there are portions which can only be delivered at close range and only by another member of her momtuu. It is up to you." Arnold got up. "Wait a minute. You told him before you couldn't reverse the spell or help Todd out by giving him a boost too. Now you say you can, but only if he helps you. What's the straight story, huh?" Madame LaFarge looked very uncomfortable. "You have caught me in a bit of a lie. There are ways, but we normally do not expose our clients to the dangers. This is an exceptional situation." "But why should Todd to do your dirty work for you, just to preserve the powers of your coven or something?" "It isn't just to help us. Do you really wish to live under the unchecked will and boundless power of a goddess? Have you read your Ovid? Your Greek tragedies?" Todd and Arnold looked at each other and shrugged. Todd said, "Well, maybe in high school or something." Arnold added, "I think I read the comic books." "Take my word. It would not be pleasant. However, good a person Marta may be, her powers would range far beyond her understanding and she would inevitably use them for her own pleasure. You would have no protection from her, no privacy, no power ultimately even over your own will. You would be like toys to her." Todd glared at Michelle. "As I was to you. What is your game anyway?" "Don't push your luck Mister. I gave you what you paid for, no more, no less." "Silence child! You've caused enough trouble. Mr. Bartel, we witches operate according to a very strict discipline. My daughter may have skated close to the line, but not over it. At least, that is what I told the council. Her judgment is another matter. But, the important thing is your Marta will be subject to no such limitations and her powers will be far greater. Let me ask you. How will Marta feel once she becomes able to see the past? Will she punish you for your infidelity? Will she make you a fly? A microbe? Make you obese, or feeble-minded? Turn you into a plaything servant boy for a cruel master or mistress? Or even transform you into a fire hydrant endowed with consciousness, sight and feeling, but no power to move or communicate? She will have the ability to do any of those things, at any time, without warning, at any distance." "She knows. She said she's forgiven me." Arnold looked at Todd. "Well, maybe she doesn't know everything. But she has the general idea." He thinks. "On the other hand, some of the things I've said and done could be taken out of context "Or put into context," added Arnold playfully. "Maybe you have a point. But what can I do?" "Come upstairs with me. I've assembled our greatest practitioners. Their combined powers will endow you with the will to resist Marta's sexual energy and will enhance your strength to the extent that the limited energy available to us permits. Then they will review with you what you must do when you see her. Michelle, you wait here with Arnold." Todd and Madame LaFarge left. Michelle buried her head in a magazine. "So, uh, Michelle, are you going to lose your license or something?" She looked up and hissed. A small cloud appeared over Arnold's head and let loose a torrent of rain, soaking his hair and clothes. Madame LaFarge's voice boomed from above. "Michelle, stop that at once! We have little enough power available without your wasting it on your parlor tricks!" The cloud disappeared. Arnold shook his head, spraying water throughout the room, and on Michelle, to her disgust. Arnold grinned. "It would be pretty tough for you to live without your powers, wouldn't it?" Michelle rolled her eyes. "You have no idea how unbearable it is! I don't understand why you mortals don't all kill yourselves. How bland the universe is when you can only manipulate matter physically." "Oh I don't know. Getting physical has a lot to recommend it." Michelle stared at him and shivered, then turned her back on him and went back to her magazine. Arnold sighed, then closed his eyes and took a nap. He awakened suddenly when Todd knocked him on the shoulder. "Hey WHAT happened to you?!! You look like Arnold Schwarzenegger to the third power." "I know. It's amazing. They took out these tokens, then they all put their hands on me and recited this endless spell. I'd never seen so much mumbo jumbo. I would have fallen asleep, but I kept feeling this energy pour into my body. I thought my clothes were going to split, but these witches think of everything. Part of the spell made my clothes bigger too." "You're about six feet six inches tall!" "Yeah. I weigh over three hundred pounds too. And it isn't just muscle. They did something to my mind too, strengthened my willpower so that I can resist Marta's phermones." "So what's the point? Are you going to beat her up or something?" "No, no. I wouldn't want to do that. Besides, it wouldn't change anything. They gave me some kind of box that contains the spell. How it works, I don't know, but I have to get within two feet of her, open it, make sure the opening is parallel to the plane of her left earlobe. I guess that's where the energy enters her body." "That's it?" Todd shrugged. "I guess so. I have a feeling it's not going to be so easy, but I have to try. Come on. I'll drive you home and crash at your place for awhile. Then I gotta head back to Newport." By three o'clock, Todd had left the city traffic and was speeding along the Connecticut Turnpike wondering about his mission. Why was he taking the witches' side against Marta's? He liked Madame LaFarge, but Michelle was bad news, and some of the other old ladies treated him more like a toad than a man. Marta scared him, but she had never gone out of her way to hurt him. Why should he injure her? He shook his head. On the other hand, who knows what Marta would do with the immense power she was gaining? Todd's life wasn't easy, but he liked it, the position he'd gained, the fun of being a man in a man's world. Hey, and in less than an hour, those witches had built him up like a fullback, probably stronger than any fullback. The idea that his wife would suddenly have more power than any of them, with complete freedom to act on any whim made him uncomfortable, no matter how kindly she might feel toward him. Why, she might treat him like some pet or something. And what would she do if, as the witches said, she gained the power to manipulate matter and energy, to create matter from nothing, advance or reverse time, be anywhere or everywhere at the same time? Things that even the witches couldn't do. What if she had some hidden agenda, some dream she had never admitted to him, but that she could turn into reality with a flick of an eyelash, immune from any reprisal? He thought uncomfortably about some of the discussions they'd had, early on, before her depression, when she railed about the injustices of being a woman in her family, how her male cousins were all in the family business while she was expected to organize charity benefits. What if she were a closet feminist and wanted to "fix" the world and even the score, or even tilt it the other way. Looking down his newly powerful arms, he shuddered at the thought of seeing those muscles on women, remembering with embarrassment and anger how Marta had beaten him up in their house, and how only yesterday she had lifted him with such ease as he shuddered through orgasm after orgasm, unable to control his own body. The witches had given him the strength and willpower to take care of himself, but how long would that last? What would happen if he failed? There was really no choice. He had to succeed. Feeling more determined, he pulled into Newport up the deserted shore road, but just as he neared the settled areas, he saw Marta speed past him in her Mercedes, going the opposite direction. He turned the car around and chased her. She was driving an incredible 140 mph and he struggled to keep up. When they neared the interstate again he had to slow to avoid traffic, but she headed north toward Boston, continuing to drive at high speeds, slowing occasionally, but then accelerating again suddenly (after she passed a radar trap, Todd assumed), weaving expertly through the lines of cars, and he lost her. He continued down the road and then pulled over to call Madame LaFarge. "She left just as I was arriving." "Hmm. She must be gaining some rudimentary future sight. We will try to track her. Go on toward Boston and call me in thirty minutes." Todd complied and called as she asked. "We think she is heading for Logan. Call us again from there." Todd hung up. Almost immediately, the phone rang. He picked it up warily. "Hello?" "Todd. What are you doing?!" "Marta. How did you "Don't ask stupid questions. Stay away from me. I'm warning you. I know what you're up to and I won't let you do it. Just keep clear." "Marta. This is dangerous. You don't know what this may lead to." "And you do? I don't know what was worse: your bowing and scraping to Uncle Richard for the sake of money or your acting as the errand boy for that band of misfit magicians. You're usually good at reading markets. Take my word. You're betting on the wrong side here. Trust me on this Todd." "Where are you? Let's see each other so we can talk at least." "Oh Todd. So you can carry out their plan? I'm asking you again. Give it up, please!" She hung up. Todd got back into his car and headed toward the airport. At the terminal he called Madame LaFarge. "She's chartered a jet and filed a flight plan to fly west. Take a flight to L.A. Call us from over Chicago." "What's the point? I'll never be able to catch up with her." "Do as you're told. There isn't much time. She's managed to accelerate the process. We'll talk over Chicago." Todd replaced the receiver, wondering if Marta was right. But she was so clever; maybe she was just playing on his fears. How was he to know? He walked to the counter and booked a ticket and handed his Amex card to the agent. She punched it in, then looked at him suspiciously and refused it. "I'm sorry sir. That card was reported lost. If you recently found it you'll have to notify the issuer and apply for a new number." "Lost? Impossible, I. Never mind." He handed her his VISA. She scanned it and spoke to him more sharply. "This card has been canceled. May I ask you to step aside?" She motioned to a police officer. "This must be a mistake, I" The officer took his elbow and asked for identification. It took him half an hour to convince the police that he was actually Todd Bartel and that someone had improperly canceled his cards. He ran to a phone. "Madame LaFarge, how could she have done that?" "Well, she could have manipulated the electrons on the computer disks at the credit card companies, which would be very impressive, considering the difficulty of finding the precise computers, the locations on the disks and reading the information stored in electronic form to find the precise spots containing your card information. It isn't impossible. But she probably just used the telephone to report your cards as stolen. You'd be surprised how much trouble even an ordinary mortal can cause with a telephone. Listen, go back to the counter. There will be a prepaid ticket for you. And do remember to call from over Chicago. Use my Amex number: 3710 456893 42561." "Ok, got it. But, wait. You have an American Express card?" "JUST GO! Call me over Chicago." "Hey! Alright, no need to yell. I know how to get on an airplane, ok?" Todd hung up the telephone picked up his ticket, then checked his watch. He still had an hour before the flight, time enough for a drink in the airline club. He picked up his bag, inwardly thrilled at how light it felt with his added muscle. He loved being strong! He showed his card at the door and headed for the bar, enjoying the attention his outsized frame drew from men and women alike. He ordered his usual scotch and sat down opposite a stunning, athletic blond, who was drinking tomato juice and eyeing him openly. She arched one eyebrow. "Hey. Are we in the same business?" Todd smiled and shrugged. "Well, I don't know." She motioned to him and he moved over to her table. "Do you compete? I know most of the bodybuilders but I haven't seen anyone with your build before." "Uh, no. I work at a private investment firm." "You mean you got that body while working at a real job? I'm impressed! Either you never sleep or the Lord's given you some pretty special genes." Todd blushed. "Well, yeah, you're not so bad yourself." "Why thank you." She slipped her hand on the table and pulled, the effort pumping up the sleeve of her dress. The woman stuck her tongue in her cheek as she watched Todd's eyes follow her growing bicep. "My name is Sally. I won a few amateur contests in Alabama last year, but with the Lord's blessing I've been working hard the last six months and I've gotten a lot bigger. I believe the Lord wants me to turn professional, to spread the good news as I show my strength. I'm also trying for some modeling jobs. What do you think?" Todd shrugged. "My name's Todd. And I'd buy anything you were selling, Sally, but what do I know?" "I bet you know a lot Todd. I'd love to talk more, get some of your training secrets, but I've got a flight to L.A. for another interview, and I think they're boarding." She pulled out her ticket. "The modeling agent flying me out first class. Can you imagine?" "Hey, I'm in the next seat. Let's go down together." Just then Todd heard himself being paged. "Shit! Oh, excuse my language. I forgot to call in at the office. I'll meet you on the plane. This will take a minute." They stood up, Todd admiring the graceful power of her posture as she rose and easily hefted her bag onto her shoulder. "Maybe the Lord meant for us to meet." She winked at him and turned slowly, her tight ass nodding to him as she left the room. Todd knew that with his new size, his erection was plainly visible to the rest of the bar. Well, let 'em die with envy he thought to himself. He walked stiffly to the office cubicles and picked up a phone. "Todd, is that you? Mr. Whitney thinks you're AWOL. I've been trying to calm him down, but he's mad as can be." "I can't talk now Becky. I've got to get on a plane. Tell him "You tell him yourself. Here he is." "Bartel?!! Where the hell are you? All hell is breaking loose with these internet stocks and you're up at Logan Airport. What the fuck are you doing there? There's nothing going on in Boston!!" "Uncle Richard. I'm on my way to L.A. I've got to find Marta. She's "No, no, not L.A. I want you in Silicon Valley. You've got to find out why those companies are tanking. Something about intranets, and China, and a CDA. I don't know, but I pay you to know, don't I?" "Yes sir, I'll do what I can, but first "You've got to learn to manage your life. Work first, then family! That's the rule here, son! Learn it or get out, understand?!" He hung up the phone with a bang. Todd sighed, then looked at his watch. Two minutes to departure! He jumped up, grabbed his bag and sprinted for the door, then barreled through the terminal, his elongated legs eating up the yardage. He arrived just as the gate agent was closing the door. "Please, please, you've got to let me on." She looked at him disapprovingly, then checked his ticket. "I'm afraid we've given away your seat. This is a very full flight." She spoke into a phone. "Hold on, we've got one more!" She consulted her console. "We've got one seat in coach, in the back. It'll be a squeeze for you. Do you want it?" Todd nodded vigorously. "OK, but hurry please!" Todd sprinted down the jetway. He walked through first class. Sally looked at him questioningly, then resumed her conversation with a long-haired man wearing sunglasses and an Armani suit. Todd grit his teeth as he entered the coach section, always a trial, but now certain to be doubly uncomfortable with his added size. He pushed by several families with screaming children, an elderly couple pushing shopping bags into the overhead bins, a line of passengers waiting to use the one rest room before the plane left the gate, and a poorly stowed beverage cart to arrive at the last row on the right of the aircraft, the window seat, 36A. A woman with dark, tangled hair wearing a tie-die t-shirt and shorts looked up at him unpleasantly. "Shit. I thought that seat would be empty. And just my luck, a gorilla! Well, you can't use the middle seat. It's for my stuff, and I paid for both, so just squeeze your hulking body in and don't ask for my sympathy 'cause I don't have any for you!" Todd's mouth hung open. The flight attendant cleared her throat. "Please be seated quickly sir. You can avoid this problem in the future by arriving earlier, at the recommended time." Todd climbed over the dark haired woman and folded himself into the seat. He reached over to lift the armrest. "It doesn't go up in this row, but I wouldn't let you anyway. I need my space." Todd looked over at her. "Hey, lady, what's your problem? I didn't do anything to you. It's not my fault these seats are so small. I was supposed to be in first class anyway." "Don't think you can impress me. I know how the system works, and you can get more space for less money buying two of these coach seats anyway. That's what I do. Then you get two meals too. You big shots always arrive at the last minute and expect the plane to wait for you. What are you, an investment banker or something?" Todd nodded. "I thought so. Just my luck, a capitalist tool, reeking with testosterone, blocking my view all the way to L.A. You'll probably talk on that damn phone the whole trip. At least you can't pull out one of those little computers. No room to put it! Ha-HA-ha!" She laughed loudly at her joke. "Hey, if you want the view, I'll switch seats with you." "Not a chance! I like to get up to stretch my legs, and I'll be damned if I'm going to climb over you to do it. Besides, there's more room here for me where I can put my legs in the aisle." "Stretching out your legs?" Todd looked her over. She had nice features even though it was clear she didn't spend more than two minutes on her appearance. "You're not so big." "I'll thank you not to make comments about my body. Some people have more important things to do with their time than pull on resisting bars and weights." Todd smiled smugly. "I didn't have to work that hard for this. One of the benefits of reeking with testosterone, as you say." "So. Big deal, hulk. What does it get you, except being cramped on the plane? What do you use those muscles for? Bending paper clips? Pounding the ol' keyboard? Carrying your boss's bags? Ha-HA-ha. That's probably it." Todd grit his teeth at her. "Oh, you don't scare me. Not here. But I bet some unlucky women have some broken bones here or there from when you get angry. Huh? Men!" "Hey! I don't hit girls!" "Well, so you display civilized behavior toward children, then. And what about women? What about us grown, double-X's with more brains in our fingers than you've got between the muscles in your ears? But that doesn't scare me. Or maybe it does, a little, but I won't let it intimidate me. I stand as tall as I can for woman. And you men may beat me, but you won't keep this woman down." Todd turned toward the window. "Ha! I'm getting to you, aren't I? A woman's mouth is a much more potent weapon than your meaty brainless fist. We understand how to conquer you, wear you down, bit by bit 'til we've got you so cowed all the muscle in the world won't help you, and we'll throw you in jail if you try to use it anyway." Todd closed his eyes. "I know you can hear me. Closing your eyes just makes my voice sound louder doesn't it. I can whip any man twice my size with just my tongue. You'll see. It's six hours to L.A. and by the time we're halfway to Chicago you'll rather pee in your pants than ask me to get up to let you by. Ha-HA-ha!" Todd started snoring. "Shit, he really is asleep. Jerk!" But Todd's nap lasted only thirty minutes, until the announcement of the beverage service woke him up. They were still over Pennsylvania, not time to call Madame LaFarge. He opened one eye. That women was watching him. Damn! "Aha! You're awake. Hey. I'm an honest woman. I admit it; I am curious. Why did you bulk yourself up like that? I mean, what's the point?" "I really couldn't explain it to you." "Oh, don't be bashful. It's not like I'm flirting with you, not like that blond bodybuilder who came by while you were sleeping. Now she looked good! I'd never waste my time on it, but I have to admit, a woman with muscle is a thing of beauty. Too bad you missed her. They won't let you up front in first class either, and I won't make room. Nope. You're stuck with me. And you won't fall asleep again. Those little naps, not enough to catch up, but when you're uncomfortable, they're just enough to prevent you from falling back to sleep. So tell me." "I don't want to talk about it." "Silly. I can tell you, that blond must have a lot of fun shocking men. And she's probably stronger than a lot of them. But not all. And what's the point? She's still just an toy for them, the way she dolls herself up. Probably wants to be in magazines or movies. What an ambition to have! In the end, she's just trying to please them. "You think you know everything, don't you?" "I'm smart. I'm not shy about it either. What's your IQ? Oh, don't bother, I can tell it's not over 120. You're a high normal at best, an overachiever, probably thanks to your looks and a few lucky connections. Mine's over 160. I've got brainpower to burn. And I have burned more than a couple of cells, you know what I mean? Ha-HA-ha!" Todd turned toward the window. "Hey, you don't have to look at me, but you can still hear me. That's the thing about hearing. You can't shut it out. You can close your eyes but you can't close your ears. Even with those headphones, you can still hear what's going on around you. My voice especially. It's very penetrating, and I'm very animated. It's impossible not to pay attention to me. Am I right?" Todd sighed. "Yes, I'm right. So answer my question. Why are you so damn big?" Todd turned and stared at her. "I'm on a secret mission to save mankind from its greatest threat in thousands of years." The woman looked serious and put her hand over her heart. "Whoa! This sounds important. It must be true. You're not bright enough to make it up. Ha-HA-ha! Don't you love that laugh? Ha-HA-ha! It's the most irritating thing about me, I think." "You are irritating." "I work at it. My voice is my best weapon against men. Now, if I were built like you, I wouldn't bother being irritating and offensive. I'd just dominate, flat out, directly. I'd steamroll over any man I saw, good or bad, just for the fun of it. Not to hurt him, I don't care about that, and the man doesn't care either, you know. Why, whether your on top or bottom doesn't make a difference to you, does it, just as long as your thing's being squeezed. A woman's needs are much more complicated. You can never understand us. A man just has to know how to grunt and to groan. If it were up to you men, there'd be no language, you have nothing to say anyway." Todd opened his mouth, then closed it again. "I've got you don't I? Ha-HA-ha! Well, I'm having a good time. I may as well introduce myself, since you won't. Sandy Stein, from Brooklyn, New York." Todd looked in her eyes and shook his head. "Todd Bartel." He looked out the window. "Hey, Chicago already. I gotta make a call." Todd struggled to pull his wallet out of his back pocket, then remembered his credit cards were no good, and instead keyed in the number Madame LaFarge gave him. The phone rang ten times without an answer. "Secretary's goofing off Todd? When the boss is away Todd punched it out again. This time it rang twenty times before the operator cut off the call. Then he pulled out his Spelling Bee card, rang Spells By Michelle, and using the automated commands connected to the "Alternative Service." Madame LaFarge picked up the phone. Todd was pleased with himself. "I thought I'd never reach you, no one was "Aagh! I know I shouldn't have picked up. Hang up NOW! Marta can trace these phone calls and can use the carrier signal as a medium to ... to ... cast spells!" "Spells, but she "They're not true spells, but that's a technicality. No time to explain. Just hang up and don't pick up any phones. I'll find a way to get in touch." Todd dropped the phone like it was the wrong side of a hot iron, then fumbled putting it back in place. He finally settled it into the slot. His face was flushed and he was breathing heavily. Sandy looked at him and started laughing. "That was interesting. I don't think you were talking about a secretary who doesn't pick up her phone and doesn't spell well, were you? You're really in a panic, aren't you? Are you failing in your mission? Is mankind doomed after all?" Todd set his mouth firmly closed. Just then, the phone rang. He didn't move. "Would you look at that! I've never seen one of those phones ring. Aren't you going to answer it?" Todd shook his head. "Well, I will." "No! Don't!" Todd put his hand over the phone. Sandy nimbly reached up and hit the call button. The flight attendant appeared instantly from the rear galley. "Excuse me, but this passenger won't allow me to answer the phone. I'm expecting a call." "It's not for her, it's for me!" "Sir, how would you know that if you don't pick it up? I'm afraid I must ask you to allow her to answer." Todd's eyes bulged. He couldn't decide what to do. He took his hand off the phone, and Sandy snatched it. "Hello. This is Marta Bartel. Is my husband there?" "Who? Todd? Hey, do you want to speak to your wife?" Todd shook his head. "He doesn't want to talk to you. Hey, how does it feel to make love to him? Does he crush you?" Marta laughed. "Why no, not at all. It was very good with him, at least the last few times." "You had to think about it. Sounds like it's been awhile." "You are nosy. What do you think of him?" "Well, he's too big for me. I've got him pretty intimidated just talking to him, but men are so emotional and unpredictable. They can turn on you in a minute, and strong as he is he could do some real damage. So, I'd pass. Why doesn't he want to talk to you?" "Mmm. Self-defense I guess. Listen, I don't mind if you take him home with you, it would keep him out of my hair. If you let me talk to him for a minute, I can make sure he won't threaten you." "Ha-HA-ha! You sound like you have him trained. Well, I won't make any promises, but thanks." "Don't mention it. Just hold the phone against his ear if he won't take it. Oh, and if he falls asleep, try caressing his left ear. It always worked for me." "Hey, thanks." She looked over at Todd, who was pressed against the window as far away from her as he could go. "Hey Todd, you sure you won't take the phone?" He nodded, turning away. Sandy quietly held the phone against his ear. Marta spoke. "Remember, Todd. I warned you. This is just the beginning." Todd turned with a start and grabbed the phone to push it away. As both he and Sandy were holding it a charge surged through the instrument, binding her fingers and his ear to it for several seconds until both dropped it. Then Sandy picked it up and held it to her ear. The line was dead. She replaced the phone in the slot. "That was weird. Something funny is going on, isn't it? That didn't sound like a normal, marital spat to me." Todd yawned. "Man. Suddenly I'm sleepy again. Maybe I can sleep all the way to L.A. this time." He put his head back and fell into a deep sleep. Sandy looked at him. Typical man, sleeping at the strangest times, without any regard for what was happening around him. She read for awhile, ate lunch and a part of the second portion from her other seat. She got up to stretch her legs and looked out the window at the mountains. She was getting bored with him sleeping so long. She read some more and then looked back at him. There was something cute and puppylike about him under all that muscle. She thought about what Marta had said and lightly brushed her hand against his ear. A warm sensation flew up her arm and filled her body. What was that?! She tapped his ear again, and the same feeling returned briefly. She liked it. She held the tip of her forefinger gently against his ear lobe now, careful not to wake him. Aaaah! It was continuous now. The feeling was like a long, slow orgasm, filling her with warmth, pleasure, life. She wanted more. He shifted in his seat, brow furrowed. Concerned, she took her hand away until his breathing became quiet again, regular. Poor fellow, so much bigger than she was, taking up so much space, so inefficiently. But those huge globes of muscle on his arms, what would it be like to push people aside like they were scraps of paper, instead of "begging pardon, excuse me," and keeping their nasty hands from groping? Power has its prerogatives. He was out cold again; she put her finger back and, oooh, the glow returned. How strange. She could stay like this for hours. She looked down at her arms. Why, they looked different; there were little ridges along her forearms. She didn't feel like she was tensing them, quite the contrary. She'd never felt so relaxed. How would it feel if she put two fingers on his ear? She tried it. The surge of pleasure washed through her, twice as much as before. Hey, why stop here? She lay four fingers across his ear. Wow!! That was a real jolt! She looked over at him. He had opened one eye and was looking at her quizzically. "Shh! Go back to sleep. I like your ears," she purred. He smiled. She stroked his face with her other hand. "There, there, now. Just sleep." He closed his eyes. She looked at her arm. It was bigger, definitely! There was a real bicep poking up into her sleeve. What was going on? Some kind of weird magic. Is this was Marta meant, that she wasn't going to have to worry about handling him? Well, it would take a long time before she got as big as he. Wait a minute. He didn't look quite as much like a gorilla anymore. Thick, vascular muscle was pushing out her frame, covering her body like a new growth of skin. Already her upper arms sported softball sized biceps pulling insistently at the sleeve of her t-shirt. And Todd was definitely looking smaller, still outrageously massive, but less so. She held her whole hand now against his left ear, flexed her arm and watched transfixed as her muscle grew before her eyes, bulging above her shoulder, now much larger than Todd's rapidly diminishing physique. Suddenly she heard a scream and turned back to the aisle. It was the blond bodybuilder again. Todd stirred slightly, but still slept. "What's happening!! What are you doing to him?" For once in her life, Sandy was caught without words. "I-I don't know. His wife, I Sally shook her head, frightened, and looked at Todd, who was now only slightly larger than before his last visit to Madame LaFarge. "Poor man! This is the devil's work! Holy Jesus, cast out this demon!" Sandy rolled her eyes. "I may not be a saint, but I'm no devil. I didn't do this to him." She withdrew her hand and put it on hers. "Why don't you try touching his ear," she added impishly. "Maybe you can wake him up." "Poor dear Todd. You must have worked so hard for your body and the devil has robbed you of your reward. You're lying there so still, so small." She reached over and caressed his face, brushing her finger against his ear. Her eyebrows shot up. She locked eyes with Sandy, who remained expressionless, then her hand drifted back to Todd's ear again. "I've got the power of the Lord, His almighty power, flowing through me!" Sally's body started to grow, her already ample muscles expanding quickly. "Yes, yes, it's his power all right, but not "his" with a capital "H". Look at your dear Todd now." Sally looked over at Todd, whose body was now reduced in size to that of an average teenaged boy. Sally looked at her own fullback-sized forearms and Sandy's massive frame and then screamed, jerking her hands back and wrapping them around her expanding chest. The passengers nearby stared at the outsized women. Todd opened his eyes briefly, then closed them and stretched. "I feel so relaxed and comfortable. What did they do, make the seats bigger?" He opened his eyes and focused on Sally. "Hey, what happened to you?" "What happened to me? Look at you! There's some kind of devil's work here. Pray Todd, pray to Jesus." Todd looked down at his thin arms, swimming in his suit, then over at Sandy who now loomed over him. "Oh no! All my strength is gone. I'm as weak as a child! You did this to me!" He jabbed his finger at Sandy, jamming it painfully against her hardened body. "Oww!" "Jesus, help this poor man," wailed Sally. Sandy snorted. "Oh stop moaning. It's not Jesus, it's not me, and it's not the devil; it was his wife. And just remember Miss Holy Roller Blond, the muscles that were the difference between making Todd a man and a boy are right there in your body now, and I'm not shy to say they look better on you than on him." "We are beginning our descent now into the Los Angeles area. Please fasten your seat belts, move your seats to the upright position and restore your tray tables. Please also turn off all electronic devices." Sally pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows in sympathy. "Poor, dear Todd. But you can be sure I will use this power for good, for the work of the Lord." She looked at Todd a little sheepishly and raised her hands, shrugging, her new biceps erupting through her sleeves. She then looked over at them excitedly, licked her lips, and returned to her seat in the front of the plane without another look back. "I wouldn't waste my time working for them, but I really do think muscles look good on women, don't you Todd?" "What am I going to do?" Todd opened his sleeve and was staring at his smooth thin arms. He tried to make a muscle and looked with dismay as only a narrow bump peeked out where his biceps used to be. Sandy chuckled, touched his ear again and then watched as even that small irregularity subsided into his arm. She reached over and felt it. "Wow! Your arm's not just small. It's soft too. You really don't look like you're ready for battle anymore Todd-o. Ha- HA-ha! Maybe you want to come by my hotel instead. Marta says you're pretty good in bed, and I'm willing to try you out. With the changes in our bodies it will be a new experience for both of us. I love novelty in sex. I'll even let you go on top, some of the time at least." Todd was silent, eyes downcast, staring at his lap. The plane taxied to a stop and they waited as passengers in the rows in front of them left the plane. Finally, space in the aisle opened up and Sandy stood up, followed by Todd. Sandy took her bags and started to head out, then looked back when she heard Todd's bag tumble to the floor. He strained to lift it, his face reddening with the effort of raising it a few inches off the floor, then he dropped it again and started to drag it slowly toward the front of the plane. Sandy watched him struggle, his jacket much too large for his body, his face perspiring heavily. "Ha-HA-ha. Your poor thing. Let me give you a hand." She reached back and lifted the bag with ease. "I don't believe it! You're really weak, Todd. I could have managed this on my own even before." "I probably still could have done it myself if you hadn't taken that last little bit of muscle from me! Why'd you do it, anyway? You already had enough." "Well, I'll give you that one; you're right, one point for Todd. I admit I just was curious to see what would happen, and I've never been able to resist temptation. I get an idea and then just go ahead and do it. That's the way I've always been. It's gotten me into jams more than once, but I've always figured a way out. I guess that's what you'll have to do now. Why don't you get one of those bags with wheelies or something? They have stores right in the airport, overpriced, sure, but what choice do you have at the moment? Anyway, it'll be easier than dragging it all around town. Hey there's one right here." She dropped the bag in front of a store. Todd looked in forlornly. "My credit cards have been canceled. Marta did that to me." "She must be quite a formidable lady. Well, you've sure got yourself a few problems. I gotta go. I'm staying at the Embassy Suites Airport, if you change your mind about tonight. Think about it. And if I don't see you, good luck with your mission." She bounced away, swinging her bags like a young girl carrying her dolls. Todd watched her disappear, then slowly dragged his bag to the airline club and called his office from an empty conference room. There was a voice mail from Madame LaFarge. "Call Michelle's number and leave a message telling us where you are. I'll find a way to get to you. There's still time if you don't make any more mistakes." He complied. Half an hour later, Madame LaFarge walked into the room. "How did you get here so quickly?" She sighed. "I've had to spend precious energy to do that, and it wasn't very comfortable either. I can restore you to the physical state you were in before our spell, but no more. You'll have a major disadvantage now when you face her, but you have to try." "Why? She's threatening me. Frankly, Madame LaFarge, I'm afraid. Look what she already did to me." "Take heart, Todd. You must. That's nothing compared to what she'll be able to do if we fail." Madame LaFarge then spread several tokens on the table and mouthed a long series of words. Todd quickly grew bored, but soon started to feel his strength returning. His arms began to fill out slowly. Just then, he turned and saw Sally in a room across the hallway, staring. Surrounded by photographers test shooting an airline spot, she was dressed as Supergirl, her glowing blond hair falling across her shoulders and cape, the tight fabric clearly showing her now prodigious muscular development. As soon as they finished, she excused herself and walked over to Todd. "Who is she, Todd? What is she doing to you?" "She's helping me." "She's a witch, isn't she? Those look like tokens of the devil!" "Oh no, dear," Madame LaFarge interjected. "Lucifer has nothing to do with this. He's quite feeble these days." She walked around Sally, holding her hand out. "Very interesting, the energy is very stable. This was good work. Marta has certainly made the most of her power." "What is she talking about? Who is Marta?" "My wife, future ruler of the universe." "Don't let her mislead you Todd. Only Jesus is Lord. Only Jesus is our Master." "Oh yeah? Just look at yourself Sally. Where did all that muscle come from?" Sally unconsciously flexed her arm. Todd stopped to stare at the mound that now bulged from her shapely arm, then swallowed and went on. "Marta did something that transferred muscle and strength from me to you, but that's nothing compared with the powers she'll have if I don't stop her." Sally tossed her head. "I see now that you're all allied with the powers of darkness. My trust is with the Lord, not the schemes of man, and he has given me strength far beyond even these massive muscles. If it is His Will, then your Marta shall be defeated, but black magic shall avail you not!" She reached over and snatched the tokens from the table and with her hands compressed the ceramic pieces into dust. Madame LaFarge cried out, then fainted. Todd jumped up to help, while Sally stood to the side, looking very satisfied with her work. "What have you done?!" He reached out to push Sally away, but she intercepted his hand and with a snap of her wrist, twisted his arm around his back. "Oww! You'll break it!" "Yes, I am made powerful by my faith. More powerful than your magic." She pointed her hand down, forcing Todd to bend to the floor, then twisted her wrist and lifted him high above her head, her softball sized muscles rising prominently on her arm. "See? My strength is far beyond that of any mortal man!" Madame LaFarge stood up shakily and pointed a finger at Sally. "That is merely the power we gave to Todd, and now you have used it to destroy our only weapons against Marta. We have no power left, no hope." "But I have power and hope. The Lord is my Shepherd, I "You silly fool. Our coven was the source of Jesus' parlor tricks. We revived the dead, gave sight to the blind, turned water to wine, good wine too, as I remember. It was a wonderful way to deprive the pagan gods of the worship they needed to survive and it left us in charge. Oh, those Christians went further than we would have liked, but they were never a threat to us. But now..." Madame LaFarge sat down, dejected. "Now there is no chance. A new era will begin. I don't even have the power left to see when, but it will be soon." "But Madame LaFarge, the spell you gave me, the box...." "No, my dear, with the destruction of these tokens, that spell would simply dissipate. There's no need for you to resist. Relax, Todd. We must all now await the inevitable." One of the photographers was nearing the group. "Sally, we'd like to finish now. We got some shots of you crushing those stones and wrestling that man. Magnificent!" "Then I've got the job?" She tossed Todd onto the table. "Yes, yes. We'll have a contract for you in a day. Just come with us." They left the room. Todd rubbed his elbow and climbed down next to Madame LaFarge. "So what will happen now?" "That's up to Marta." She looked up. "Oh my! I must leave you now. Farewell Todd, and good luck." Todd looked up but saw nothing. As he turned back to Madame LaFarge he saw one last image of her, then she faded away. Todd reached over to the spot where Madame LaFarge had stood, but it was empty air. He waited for something else to happen, but other than the stare of a businessmen who was walking by and watched him finger the vacant space, there was nothing unusual. Closing the door for some privacy, he rubbed his sore wrist and rolled up his sleeve to check the effects of Madame LaFarge's last spell. Flexing, he was disappointed to see that he had not quite regained all of his size, but he was still a lot stronger than he had been when he entered the club. He tried phoning the office, but Becky and his secretary had both left for the day, and he had no desire to talk with Uncle Richard. He thought about driving up to San Jose to meet with the internet companies, but his heart wasn't in it. What he really wanted was sleep. He settled back into a chair, and closed his eyes. Three hours later, he awoke with a start. What was he doing? He couldn't sleep at the airport. He wanted a hotel room, but without credit cards that didn't seem likely. Becky or Sharon could get him new credit cards tomorrow, but what about tonight? He thought of Sandy. Well, Marta had practically pushed them together, and she was right nearby. Why not? He rang her room. "Sandy, this is Todd. Listen, I "It's a miracle you got through, I've been on the phone the whole time I've been here. I just hung up. What do you think of that? So, you decided to pay me a visit. Well, well, I don't know. If I were you, and in a way I used to be, I'd be a little frightened of me. Aren't you?" "Uh, well "Don't answer me. I have such a big mouth. You can tell me when you get here. I'm in room 711. Don't bother to call, just come up." She hung up. Todd gathered his belongings, pleased that he could at least tote his bag around again, and took the shuttle over. He knocked, heard her yell that she'd left it open for him, and entered. "I'm in the back room, just walk through." Todd edged through the front suite, trying not to step on the clothes that spilled onto the floor from the couch, the TV, the chairs and the table. He saw Sandy, in a blouse and skirt, standing in front of the mirror examining herself. "I guess you've been shopping for larger clothes." "Well, no I haven't. All of my things got larger, and they all fit perfectly! I can't believe it, although I should know it's no harder to believe than my body doubling and tripling in size, whatever, in half an hour. But the level of detail is so impressive. You can tell it was a woman who did this. Even the labels are different. Look at this bra! It even says 48D right on the tag now! It used to be a 34B. And the clothes have all been altered in such subtle ways, like the way the pattern falls across the shoulders and the bust, or how wide the sleeve is. My favorite is the way the waists are gathered. I mean, my waist is actually smaller now than it was before, and I never had curves you would want to call attention to, but now I do and all these clothes show them off. And another thing about the sleeves on these dresses, the material stretches so it won't tear when I . . . No, no I have a better idea, watch how it works!" She smoothed the long sleeve of her blouse, held her arm out and started to tense it. Todd could see her skin press against the sheer fabric as the material expanded to cover the large ball of muscle growing out of her arm. As she tightened further, he could see every separate ridge of her tissue, even the extra peak on top that he remembered had given him such pride during the brief time he had carried it on his frame. He felt a surge of jealousy. He didn't know why looking at that damn peak sitting on top of her biceps brought out his feelings like that, but suddenly he just wanted to leave. "I'm showing off for you now, but it really doesn't take much to make them big. I'd rip through an ordinary blouse just reaching up to get a taxi. Wait, where are you going?" She reached out, took Todd by the wrist and pulled him back. "Oww! That's the second time ...." "Sorry. I guess I don't know my own strength. Ha-HA-ha! Never thought I'd say something like that." "It's not you. Sally bruised my wrist at the airport." "Sally? That blond? What did you do, try to get fresh with her? Ha-HA-ha. I bet she defended her virtue with spirit, get it? Well, you're not such a big man anymore. I bet old habits die hard. Would you believe I actually let the bellboy take my bags up? I could have carried him, the bags and his cart, but it's a habit. Hey, I can see at least you're a little bit bigger now than when I left you in the airport, aren't you? Sure you are. What happened? Did Marta take pity on you?" Todd looked at her. She was speaking more quickly than he could think and his eyes kept focusing on her bust. It struck him that she was more three dimensional than anyone he had seen. That powerful chest thrust out at him from her wide shoulders, then disappeared into a tiny waist which itself flared out into hips that attacked the room's open space in a wholly different direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he also perceived impossibly thick thighs, but that chest kept grabbing his attention, as if at any moment she would take a breath and absorb him whole, to wear him like an ornament. "You're staring at me. Go ahead, I don't mind. I would have minded before, but that was a woman's defensiveness, the instinctive fear I always felt. Well, that's certainly gone. Hey, I've been staring at myself too. Isn't it something the way these muscles look different on me than they did on you? You were all blocky, like a thick slab of meat. But even with all this size, somehow I'm more graceful now than I ever was. I feel as though I am composed of spheres and figure eight's. I've got these large muscles that grow out of nothing, with my thin waist and wrists. I always thought of a woman's curves as soft. After all, most of it was just fat. Now I've got curves of steel. Do you like the sound of it? Ha-HA-ha. Oh I know, "Buns of Steel" was first. It's probably even trademarked, but you get the idea." She stood between him and the door, blocking him. He felt hot. The jealousy was transforming into something else, a throbbing in his groin. Was he attracted to her? The idea of muscles on a woman bothered him. Not that he ever minded the muscle tone on Becky, but she had other much more noticeable attributes, and Sally was a real stunner too, even after she'd bulked up on his muscle. But he'd never seen a woman so stacked with power as Sandy was. And what about that grating voice. Well, it wasn't so annoying anymore, it had gotten deeper somehow, or maybe it was intentional. She had said she used it to be annoying on purpose. That laugh still got to him, but ... that body, that shape. What would her soft breasts feel like on that hard-muscled chest, or those round hips on top of those thick columns of power where her thighs should be? He moved toward her, whether out of desire or curiosity he wasn't sure. "Wait. I'm not ready for you." She stepped forward, put her arms gently around his sides and tossed him onto the bed. "Ha-HA-ha! You have no idea what it's like for me to stand here, a big man like you focusing on my body, wanting it, and not having to think about how I can get you to slow down or stop, not worrying about whether you'll hurt me, or rape me, or both. Just wait there a bit. Undress or something. Let me see your body. I never used to get turned on just by looking at a man's body, but maybe now it will be different. My mind's going too quickly just now to think about sex. I've got some questions and you're the only one who can answer them. What's this mission you were on and what happened?" Todd looked up at her. He decided he wanted her, badly. He didn't care why. If he had to talk to her awhile, well, he could do that. Besides, she'd never believe him. "It's very simple, really. My wife was sickly. I arranged for some witches to cast a spell on her to make her stronger. They used too powerful a spell, and now she's gained so much power that there's none left for the witches. They gave me a spell to recite over her, as well as some additional strength for the mission, but she outsmarted me, I guess. The mission is over. So now I'm back to my old life, and we'll just have to wait to see what happens." She looked as if she was going to burst with laughter. "And where did you go to get a witch to cast this spell?" "A little storefront near Times Square." "No kidding? Was it called, 'Hell's Spells," or maybe 'Casting Calls?' Ha-HA-ha!! You have more imagination than I thought Todd!" Todd replied with a straight face. "Actually, it was 'Spells by Michelle.'" Sandy suddenly stopped laughing. She looked at him seriously. "Is that so? That's a real place. I did the decorating. I thought it was a tourist gimmick, like those palm reading acts." Todd shrugged. "So what do we do next? Hey, we could be a team and finish your mission. I'll supply the muscle, you cast the spell." "It's too late. Sally, the blond bodybuilder, smashed some magic tokens that would have given the spell the power it needed to work. The witches can't do anything. In fact, I saw Madame LaFarge, Michelle's mother, fade away a few hours ago. For all I know, there are no more witches anymore." "So, there really were witches right in New York City and I worked with them? You mean they actually cast spells on demand and I never got to use them? I don't believe it. How could I have missed it? I've always prided myself on knowing exactly what I could buy, where to get it and how to get the best price. I'm very put out that I didn't know a thing about it. And it was right under my nose!" "If it's any consolation to you, I didn't believe it either. I never imagined any of this could happen." "Todd, it's NO consolation to me at all. I've missed the sale of the century." She sighed. "So what's Marta going to do? Set herself up in Michelle's store? Sell her own spells three for a dollar?" "I doubt it. Frankly, I have no idea. I don't even know what she can or can't do," he looked at Sandy, "other than what she's already done." He sat silently, while Sandy looked vacantly toward the window. "I do know the witches were very worried about it. They said they operated under some kind of strict code, while Marta would be free to do as she pleased." "Absolute power? Corruption of the will? So they think only a witch knows how to exercise power? Well, I bet any real woman would know more about using that sort of power for good than a witch. Certainly more than a man! She'll probably just make the world a nicer place to live. More food, less sickness, more flowers, castrating the rapists, the wife- beaters, the ones who won't pay child support or make their beds. Things like that. I have all sorts of ideas. Wish I had known when I talked to her. I could have ... hey, are you falling asleep?" Todd's head started sinking. "Wha-? Sorry, I just suddenly got so tired. I haven't slept in a bed for days." "Poor Todd. Do you want big Sandy to carry you out to the couch?" "But I thought we were going to "So did I, but this bed isn't big enough for the two of us to sleep in, not with my size. I'd share it with you for making love, but you'll never last in your condition. Maybe some other time. Now are you going to argue with me?" She puffed out her chest and tensed her arms, enjoying the power she displayed, but then felt disappointed that Todd was too tired even to try her, as he shook his head, stood up sleepily, walked to the front of the suite and flopped onto the couch, asleep in no time. Part IV He awoke early the next morning. Sandy was still asleep, and he phoned his office. Sharon answered. "Mr. Bartel, I'm so glad you called. You have a million calls from all those internet companies we've been selling. Boy are they angry! They're all threatening to sue the firm, and you personally. Do you "What! Why are we selling them? "Sir? Mr. Whitney gave the order this morning. I thought you knew. Maybe you'd better talk to him. I'll transfer you to Becky." "Hi Todd. Isn't it a wonderful day?" "Becky. What's going on?" "I wish I knew. I woke up today and, I don't know, the world just seemed like a better place. I'll put you through to Mr. Whitney in a minute, but first let me tell you what I know. He came in at 7:00 today and started phoning all our brokers, telling them to dump all the things you got us into and to take all our cash and buy women's apparel companies, on an indexed basis for now. It's amazing. I've never seen him so decisive. It's really very cute. And then he told me that our, you know, thing is off. He was very nice about it, said I don't have anything to worry about, I can go back to you, whatever. Maybe he got up the same side of the bed I did. Wait. He's free now." "Becky. Wait. Go back ... uh, good morning Uncle Richard." "Huh? Oh, good morning Todd. I want you back here right away. New York's going to be where the action is, not Silicon Valley." "But wait, what's happening? Those are good companies you're selling." "I had a nose for investing before you even had a pecker, boy. And I'm telling you, I woke up this morning and it just came to me. This is the age of woman. Don't ask me why, but internet tools are toys for boys and clothes are toys for girls and it's the girls' turn." "But how?" "Can't you smell it boy? You just don't have the nose. Take it from me, son, an old pro. There are figures, sure, but you have to have a sense for these things and I have a feeling that the tide has turned for women and they are going to get their toys!" Todd didn't say anything. "Were you talking to Marta by any chance?" "Marta? No. What's she got to do with it? Did you ever find her? You know, son, Adrienne said she wanted to talk to me tonight about Marta. Is there something I should know? But enough of that. Just get back here. New York's still the fashion capital of the United States of America, and this is going to have all sorts of implications. Real estate, construction, communications. You're not going to get anything done out there!" "Yes sir. I'll be on the next plane." Uncle Richard had already hung up. Todd looked around. He felt better after the long sleep, but he had no idea what affected Uncle Richard so much. He called Sharon back and had her make flight reservations, then tiptoed out of the room. He didn't have time for Sandy now. He hurried through the airport and settled into his familiar first class aisle seat. This was better! The flight attendant greeted him with a big, glowing smile, and Todd found himself smiling back, almost involuntarily. "Would you like something to drink before we take off, sir?" "Whatever you had. I could sure use your good spirits." She laughed. "Oh, thank you! I don't know what it is, but I woke up feeling that the world was smiling at me today and I just have to smile back." "That's a good policy. I'll just have some orange juice, then." "I'll have it for you right away!" She bounced away cheerfully. He turned to the woman next to him. "I know they're supposed to be cheerful, but I've never seen such enthusiasm." The woman put down her paper. "Well, it is a beautiful day. It would make anyone smile. Don't you feel it?" "I don't know. I had a good night's sleep, but then I had to rush over here to get back to New York. It feels like a regular day to me." "You sound like my sister's husband. I've been staying with them for a week, and am I glad to be heading home. But this morning, when I woke up I told him nothing he could say or do would dampen my spirits. Even the newspaper won't!" She folded it neatly and put it in the seat pocket. "Don't think I'm a grump or anything, but why exactly is it such a good day?" "Don't you smell the fragrance in the air? Doesn't it seem richer somehow, like there's twice as much oxygen?" She breathed in deeply and sighed. "I don't know; it fills me with energy. It just feels like Spring to me!" Todd looked at her quizzically. "We're on an airplane, breathing the exhaust from jet engines. And it's not Spring, it's late summer, in L.A. even." The woman sighed. "You men." She reached into her bag and pulled out her paperback, "My Heart Cannot Spell," and buried herself in it for the rest of the flight. After the long cab ride from JFK, Todd arrived in his office at five. The sexless Sharon was waiting for him. "Mr. Whitney gave me this list of companies for you to research. And this letter appeared on your desk during the afternoon. I don't know how. I was outside your office all day. I hope nothing is missing from your office." On the envelope was Todd's name, in Marta's handwriting. "Don't worry, it was Marta." "But I didn't see her! I wanted to meet her too." "Sharon, how are you feeling?" "Sir? Honestly, I feel wonderful. I should be tired. We've all been running around like mad here all day long, but I feel fine! Is it alright if I leave now? Becky will be here. I have a few errands to run and then I'm leading an aerobics class." "That's fine. I'll see you early tomorrow?" "I can be in at 6:00." "Seven-thirty will do. Thank you Sharon. Good night." Todd almost collapsed when he saw the piles of paper on his desk. But he closed the door and quickly opened the envelope. The note was brief, in Marta's small, neat hand. "I no longer consider myself married to you, Todd. A legal divorce may wait, but as between us, I release you from all of your vows." "I have not forgiven your disloyalty. You took the side of the witches against me. You have shown me how shallow your love was." "You are free from obligation to me Todd, but know that you are not free from me. The world is mine, and you must live in it, under my will. Oh Todd, mere man you are, how will you fare? You are not my creature, and I have no love for you." "Marta" Todd shivered. Was she threatening him or just stating facts? How much did she know? Would she strike him down with a bolt of lightning? Torture him? He tried Madame LaFarge. No answer. He decided to call Arnold. "Hey, it's the Schwarzenegger man! Well, what happened? Did we win?" "No. I didn't even get to fight. And listen to this." Todd told Arnold the story and read the note. "Pheww! Where'd she learn to write that stuff? It's almost Biblical. Maybe you'd better bone up on your Job, Todd, you know, the story in the Bible. Poor Job was rich until the big man took everything away from him. His land, his family, his kids. Even his health. It was all the plagues at once." "Why did he do that?" "I think it was a bet or something with Satan. They were arguing about whether Job was really good, or whether he just behaved himself because life was good to him." "What happened?" "Oh, at first Job cursed his fate, but he finally accepted that the Lord has the right to do what he wanted, even though it wasn't fair. And then he got everything back as a reward." "Really? His wife and kids too?" "Well, a different wife and new kids. The old ones were dead." "So they were the real victims? Did they get some kind of heavenly reward?" "I don't know. That wasn't part of the story. They were just in the way. But you'd figure that would be the fair thing, at least in the Bible." "Yeah, but this isn't the Bible. This is my wife, or ex-wife to be. Do you think she's threatening me?" He read the note again. "Well, the best way to read it is she hasn't forgiven you and she doesn't love you anymore. I'd say that's more negative than positive Todd. But it's not a threat. Not a direct one anyway." Todd grimaced. "On the other hand, I don't like the way 'mere man' and 'under my will' sound. I think I'm in trouble, Arnold." He started to hang up. "Wait! I just thought of something. You know it isn't Job you should be reading; it's the Greek myths." "Oh, why?" "Didn't Madame LaFarge say that's what Marta would be like, you know, from before when the witches defeated them." "I know even less about that than I do the Bible. So, is that good or bad for me?" "Didn't you even read them in the comics?" Arnold was silent. "Well, it's worse. Those guys did whatever the hell they wanted, for their own enjoyment. No rules. No ethics. You're in a tough spot. Hey, but don't worry. I'll stick with you. I'm your friend." "I feel a lot better, Arnold. Like you're going to be able to do much against her." "I'm better than nothing. And now there are two female Atlases running around. Hey, look on the bright side. At least it will be interesting. Ha! Hey, I have to go meet a client. I'll be in touch." "Yeah. Bye." Todd hung up. He spent a few hours reading through the more important correspondence and reports, then he went to a hotel; home was too far for the short night he had left and the early morning he faced. Todd shook himself awake at six the next morning and stumbled into work. Sharon showed up at seven. "You look fresh. I feel lousy. Would you make some coffee?" "Sure. I'm rarin' to go. What do you have for me?" Todd pointed to a pile of reports on his desk. "Digest these and make me a list with the names of the CEO's, the marketing guys and the designers. Damn, this stuff is like a foreign language to me. Do you follow fashion, Sharon?" "Not really. I mean, I look at the pictures, but it's out of my league, you know, dollarwise. Is there something I should learn to help you?" "No, that's alright. The coffee would be fine." Todd looked her over when she brought it back in. She looked somehow more vital than he remembered. She was certainly more cheerful. "Sharon?" "Yes sir?" "You seem, uh, very happy again today?" "Why, I do feel happy. Is it bothering you?" "No, no. It's just.... It seems every woman I run into these days is bouncing off the ceiling." "You know, I was talking about that with my girlfriend last night at the health club. The aerobics class had twice the usual turnout for the second day in a row, and they were all shouting out the numbers, you know, really enthusiastic. It really inspires you when you're leading the class. Maybe it's the break in the heat. That always makes me feel better." "Well it hasn't helped me." Sharon looked sympathetic. "You've been working so hard and traveling so much. And," she looked embarrassed, "I know it's none of my business, but I heard you and Marta might be splitting up. I'm really sorry." "How did you ... never mind. Becky I suppose. There's nothing official yet." "You still love her? I understand how it is. When my boyfriend and I Becky was standing at the door. "My, my, it's only seven fifteen and we're all working hard. Todd, Mr. Whitney wants to see you. He looks ... thoughtful. I think it's something important." Todd sighed. "Wish me luck girls." "Oh I do Mr. Bartel," Sharon said fervently. Becky walked with him to the corner office. "Don't you love her, Todd? Didn't I find you the perfect secretary, for now. So loyal." She elbowed him in the stomach. "Miss me?" Todd grunted. They were ten feet from the office. "You're in for a surprise, Todd. Be prepared." Todd walked in. A young, petite, sharply dressed woman was sitting opposite Mr. Whitney. She eyed Todd appraisingly. "Good morning Todd. This is Sarah Phipps. She's a cousin of Adrienne's. Sarah, Todd Bartel." Todd extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you Sarah." She grasped it firmly and held it a moment. Her hand was cool. "I've heard so much about you, Todd." "Very nice. Now, let's get to the point. Todd, you've been a splendid addition to the firm. You'd done solid work for years, and we would have missed the whole internet phenomenon if you hadn't pushed it so strongly, but as you know I've liquidated that portfolio and "But why, Uncle Richard? Sure there's been a bit of a pullback, but in the long term "Todd, I've made up my mind on this. Never bet tomorrow's money on yesterday's horses. I told you there are changes coming, and I want to profit by them. Now, I let you take the lead in the technology sector before, and thanks to my quick action, we've profited handily. I could send you back to the research work, but I want to continue giving you more exposure. You have a good head, and I value that, whether or not you're my nephew. No, don't say anything. We'll talk about Marta later. Now, where was I? Yes. Unfortunately, I think you lack any sort of feel for the area where I want to invest. "Women's apparel? Yes, but I can "Of course you can learn. You will. Now, Sarah here has studied at the Fashion, what is it? "Fashion Institute of Technology. I earned my degree there." "Yes, yes. Sarah has a terrific eye for quality and fashion. She's also quite clever Todd. She doesn't plan to work here, but I think that if she wanted to make this a career she could would be a great success. So I'm going to take her on as an intern and assign her to you. She can educate you on fashion, you will teach her about our business. And Adrienne will be very pleased with me. Do you understand, Todd?" "Yes Uncle Richard." "Good. Now, Sarah, if you'll excuse me for a moment, there is a matter I must discuss with Todd privately." She nodded, knowingly. They all stood and Sarah left. "Todd, Marta has spoken to Adrienne, although I haven't seen her. Adrienne said I'm to tell you she wants to divorce you. This isn't a surprise to you, is it?" Todd shook his head. "I don't understand it. I was just complimenting myself, and you for that matter, on how Marta's returned to health. But between us, she's gotten a little funny the past few months. Went up to Newport on her own. Wouldn't return my telephone calls. Didn't even write her own letters to me. I'm not blaming you Todd. These things are usually the woman's fault. Most importantly, I know you'll take care of this quietly. We all appreciate it. You understand of course that the house must stay in the family. But we'll take care of you. You understand me, right?" "Yes, of course Uncle, I mean, Mr. Whitney." He smiled. "Good lad. Now, you take good care of Sarah. She's one of Adrienne's favorites." "Sir, if I may ask you? What exactly do you see in women's apparel? It's been dead for years. Liz Claiborne. Ann Taylor." "Todd, if I had to explain every hunch I had, I'd be sitting with the $25 million Father left me, instead of the $200 million I have today. Of course I rely on you to find me the few real winners. But take my word, there's something new in the air. Even Adrienne, bless her, looks like a new woman. That's all Todd." He stood up. Todd joined him and then walked back to his office, legs weak. Becky watched as he walked by, waited briefly, then followed him inside and stood in front of his desk. "If you ask me, that Sarah is another Marta. These Whitneys are all cold fish. Remember, you deserve better, Todd. You deserve Todd looked at Becky. He put his hand to his head. It was disconcerting to see her, a few days after he had been so overwhelmed by a Marta whom he had refashioned to resemble Becky. But something was different about Becky too. "What's happening Becky?" "Well, the way I see it, that Sarah may be your real rival to taking over this firm some day. She's "No, I mean, what's happening to women? What's happening to you?" She stiffened. "I don't know what you mean. Is something the matter? Did I say the wrong thing? If you don't want to talk to me, just say so and I'll go." She added sarcastically, "Should I send Sharon in with some coffee for you?" "Becky, please. I want to talk to you. I asked you a question." Becky looked flustered. She replayed Todd's words in her mind and realized he wasn't criticizing her. "I don't know what to say. I feel fine. Maybe even a little better than usual. Why? Don't I look myself?" Gaining confidence, she pretended to tuck her blouse in, tightening the top to accentuate her bust even more. "I can't put my finger on it. Uncle Rich-, uh, he noticed something, although he couldn't say what it was. And all you women, you, Sharon, the stewardess yesterday, you all seem so cheerful." Becky shrugged, knowing Todd's eyes couldn't help but follow her breasts as they resettled themselves in her blouse. Men were so easy to distract and to attract, she thought, but interesting him wasn't enough. She had lost him once, to Marta, and that wasn't a fair fight. But he was asking for her opinion. Maybe she'd have another chance. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but maybe we can talk about it more later, like over lunch?" "I can't Becky. Not today. I have to meet with Sarah. But ... how about tonight? Damn, no. I can't. Soon Becky, soon, I promise." She pouted. She turned to leave then quickly back again, watching with satisfaction as Todd's eyes again followed her swaying breasts. "Ok Todd. Whenever you have time. But remember, I can get busy too." She rose again and left, confident that Todd saw every swish her skirt made as she walked out the door. Todd noticed he was breathing hard. Becky always did that to him. Things were changing too quickly. Divorce, his privileged position at the firm gone, a new industry to learn, Sarah to contend with, and most of all, Marta. Sharon peeked in. "Sir? Miss Phipps called ten minutes ago. I didn't think I should interrupt you. She wanted to know whether you would like to begin today, otherwise, she would come back tomorrow." Todd looked up at the ceiling. "She's already try to set the agenda. Oh no! I 'd better start now if I'm going to stay in control. Sharon, tell her we'll start at lunch today, and we'll have two appointments this afternoon, which you will arrange as soon as their offices open, right?" "Yes sir!" He dreaded lunch with Sarah, but she proved adept at conversation, and to his surprise, Todd quickly felt at ease with her. "This shouldn't be hard Todd. The apparel industry isn't Paris Couture; it's like pop music or MTV: more marketing than anything else. If you like real music, it's a bore. These companies aren't leaders. They don't even care what's new in Paris, unless for some reason it makes the covers of the magazines their customers read." "But explain to me, Sarah, how do you know which lines are going to be better? With other industries, you can compare product specifications, marketing surveys, financial strength. This looks even worse than the movie industry. All the production commitments are made before there's even any product to look at, before anyone even knows what women want to wear." Sarah laughed. "You look like a man struggling with buying his wife a Christmas present. I'll never understand why men think it's so difficult. Can't you just visualize how it will look and decide?" Todd shook his head. "Oh dear. Well, I can't explain that. Oh! I have an idea. Let's go shopping together!" Todd made a long face. "We have meetings this afternoon. Ann Taylor at 2, Liz Claiborne at 4, Bloomingdale's at 5." "Cancel Liz Claiborne. They're history. I'll go with you to Ann Taylor, take me shopping afterwards and then you can decide whether you need me to go to the Bloomingdale's meeting. By the way, Todd Uncle Richard has me all wrong, although he's being really sweet making me an intern here. I love to design clothes, especially for a few friends of mine who have the bodies and the style to show them off. But I couldn't give a hoot if any of these mass merchandise houses buy them. I don't need the money anyway. And the last thing I'd need is to work here, in an office. So let's just be friends, ok?" Todd agreed. They sat through a dull presentation of last year's troubles at Ann Taylor: management instability, overexpansion, poor quality of merchandise, and, as Todd feared, their complete failure to sense the styles that would sell. Next year would be better, they promised. Then they showed the next season's clothes. Sarah perked up, sketching pictures, wrinkling her nose. In the cab on the way to Bloomingdale's, she asked Todd his impression. "Well management is weak, and so is their financial position. It seems they hit the market right two years ago, then overextended themselves." Sarah shrugged. "I don't know about that. I would never buy their clothes. Too serious." "But that's just you. Why wouldn't a woman executive shop there?" "I don't know. I've never been an executive, and I don't plan to shop for one. I'm sorry. I don't think I'm being much help. Sometimes, a woman wants to look professional, but that's becoming less important lately, and not just to me." "Why?" "I don't know. It's just fashion." "That's what I'm trying to understand. How do you know these things?" She thought a minute. "I guess it's in my soul. My female soul," she added with a laugh. "Maybe you'll see it too when we get to Bloomingdale's." They entered on the Third Avenue side in the quiet of the tie department, but the energy level tripled once they reached the women's clothing sections. Sarah pulled him quickly to a small boutique selling a wildly colored assortment of wispy blouses. Todd was astounded at the women working the racks, pulling off clothing, laying it against their bodies, disappearing into the dressing rooms, piles of cloth draped across their forearms. "Is it always this crowded on a weekday afternoon?" "No. But something's in the air. I feel it too. Can't you?" "No. What is it?" "I don't know. A freshness. Optimism. Everyone I know feels it. We're all buying new clothes because we feel different." Todd pulled her aside. "Hey, is something wrong? What did I say?" "I've just heard that again and again the past few days. I want to know more about it." "About what? Feeling different? That's nothing special. I go through this kind of thing at least five times a year." "Maybe, but don't you think it's odd that everyone feels it? At least every woman?" "I don't know. We're all much more sensitive to change than men. That's probably all it is." "Yes, sure, but what change?" "You're being very persistent with this, you know," she said with a touch of annoyance. "Oh well, I know I'm supposed to help you develop a sense for fashion. I guess this is part of it." She stood very still, thinking. "It was two days ago. I was working on a bustier, feeling a bit peeved about some lace I had bought that wasn't the right color. Suddenly a wave of pleasure just washed through me, and I felt a bit like I could breath more deeply. No, I know. It was how you feel when you've had a headache and it's just gone away. Except I didn't have a headache. I felt fine, and then, I felt even better. And it's funny, because my friend Marie, who was modeling for me, looked at me and I could tell she felt the same thing, and we both laughed and hugged each other. I guess I still feel that way." "Two days ago." "Yes. Oooh, look at that!" She walked off to another boutique. Todd thought a minute, then joined her. "I'm going to cancel the five o'clock appointment. Will you be in tomorrow?" "Yes, yes. I have to give this a try. Maybe you can show me how to read The Wall Street Journal or something." "If you like. Shopping with you was a good idea. I've learned a lot Sarah. Thank you." "You're very welcome Todd. I enjoyed it too. See you tomorrow." Todd need to talk to someone. Arnold was as deaf to this as he was. Sandy! The thought of being in the same room with her still gave him a confusingly mixed sense of anxiety and excitement, but she was the only one whom he could talk to about this without seeming like a fool. And he could ignore her muscles if he tried hard enough. He walked to the lounge and found a kiosk with a Brooklyn phonebook. There were two listings of a Sandy Stein and four of S Stein. Todd guessed she would be an "S." He hit it on the first try. "That was quick!" "What, I "Oh, you didn't get my message. I just called your office to let you know I was back in town. I HATE L.A., and I couldn't wait to come home and shock my friends. It was so much fun. Mom loved it, but Dad couldn't wait to leave. I think he's afraid of me. Ha-HA-ha! You should have seen Mom and me. We were bouncing off the walls, laughing and talking. Dad thought we'd both lost our minds. Hey, are you busy tonight?" "Just the usual work, I wanted to talk to you about "I don't have time right now, but I will later. Come to the Nassau Coliseum, out on Long Island. There's a show that you'll enjoy, I know, because I'm going to be in it. That's what I was calling you about." "What kind of show?" "Ha-HA-ha! You wouldn't believe it if I told you. Just come. Don't try to look it up or anything. They don't advertise anyway. You just have to know about these things. I found out about it on the plane ride back. My treat. I'll buy you a ticket. How many "l"s do you use?" "Just one. No "s." "Got it. Wait in your seat when I'm finished. I'll come to you and then we can get dinner and you can talk all you want, if you can get a word in, but you never do around me. Ha-HA- ha! Who knows, maybe we can even have a little fun, if you don't fall asleep!" "I really just want to talk." "Well, whatever. You men are so funny. You should have seen the way my next door neighbor reacted when I came home. He'd never even given me the time of day before, and once he saw the new me, he kept trying to get into my apartment for one thing or another. He wanted to feel my muscles, again and again. Hey, it takes all kinds. I could see his cute little cock just straining to get me, so I took pity on him and practically raped the guy. He was so grateful I laughed. Ha- HA-ha! It's a lot more fun when you're in control. Well, see you soon." Todd picked up his car and drove out to Hempstead. Whatever the show was, it didn't attract much of a crowd. He was searched when he entered, and only then did he get a program. Extreme Fighting! Oh no. What was Sandy doing? The arena was only one-third filled, but the crowd was very enthusiastic, mostly middle aged bikers, it seemed. Todd figured Long Island probably was not the most likely place for this. He settled into his seat, next to a bearded man wearing a black Megadeath t-shirt, who was with a tough looking woman wearing black leather pants and chewing gum vigorously. On his other side was a big, long-haired biker who pounded his right fist into his left hand every couple of minutes, shouting "Let's get going and KILL somebody," at the top of his lungs. Everyone around Todd, who still wearing his suit and tie, looked at Todd like he was a Martian. Todd wasn't squeamish; he loved the smash of linesman against linesman in football and enjoyed the hockey fights more than the goals, but he found this display utterly disgusting. The first three fights had two gouged eyes, a nose broken so badly that the fractured bone penetrated the man's cheek, and, in a horrendous overmatch, the loser's arm was broken in two separate places. The screams of the victims were horrifying, but the enthusiasm of Todd's neighbors was worse. The biker pounded his fist harder with each bone crack and shouted, "Punish him, wimp nuts. Crush his guts" so often and so loudly that Todd was tempted to do the same to him. Even the woman's eyes glowed brightly at the carnage, her mouth chewing more rapidly each time the victor stomped on his opponent's arm and laughing when he spit up blood. Todd was wondering how much more he would have to sit through, when he heard this announcement: AND NOW, IN A SPECIAL OPEN MATCH, FOR A $50,000 PRIZE, BONECRUSHER SMITH WILL TAKE ON ANYONE IN THE HOUSE WILLING TO RISK $20,000 AND THREE ROUNDS WITH THE DEMON OF DESTRUCTION. ANY FIGHTER WHO CAN SUBDUE BONECRUSHER IN THREE ROUNDS WILL EARN $50,000. BUT IF YOU FAIL, YOU WILL FORFEIT YOUR $20,000 STAKE, AND SUFFER BONECRUSHER'S SADISTIC BEATINGS. ARE THERE ANY TAKERS? The crowd buzzed. Even Todd's neighbor fell silent, looking with awe at Bonecrusher's six foot seven inch, three hundred fifty pound frame. The woman's mouth hung open in admiration of his physique, pink saliva dripping down the side of her chin. WE HAVE TWO VOLUNTEERS AND ONE IS A WOMAN! AND CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS FANS? A WOMAN HAS CHALLENGED BONECRUSHER SMITH. A roar filled the arena. The two men next to Todd were laughing so hard that tears spilled down their faced. The woman looked serious and stopped chewing. THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED, BUT IN THESE TIMES, WHO ARE WE TO DENY HER "EQUAL RIGHT" TO EARN $50,000? SO, SANDY STEIN, LADIES FIRST. STEP RIGHT INTO THE RING. Todd couldn't believe it. But he was even more shocked when she stepped into the ring and threw off her robe. She was wearing a frayed muscle t-shirt, which revealed more than it hid, and then with a burst of power, she flexed her chest muscles and shredded the shirt into two strips of cloth hanging from her shoulders. The crowd hooted her arrival, cheered when she exploded her shirt and let the remaining pieces drop into the canvas, then lapsed into silence as they examined her mighty physique. Even the announcer seemed temporarily at a loss for words. Meanwhile, Bonecrusher was looking over his opponent carefully. He had never imagined there could be such a woman. She was a good foot shorter than he. But even disregarding her breasts, which bounced defiantly as she moved around her corner, her chest was more densely muscled and her arms seemed thicker than his, though perhaps that was because of her smaller stature. Like an ape signaling his dominance, he put his arms at his sides and puffed out his chest. If he had been a lion, he would have roared. Sandy looked at Todd and winked, then turned her attention back to Bonecrusher. "Hey, you big lug. Guess how I'm going to spend my $50,000. I'm going to Paris to buy a closet of new dresses, made just for me, full of frills and bows, some silky nightgowns, perfume, hair styling, shoes. Is that what all your opponents plan? Bonecrusher grimaced. "You're no woman." "Oh yeah? Just try to kick me in the balls and see what happens Mr. Crushedboner. Ha-HA-ha! Or maybe you want a taste of these?" She cupped her breasts with her hands. "They may not look very big with all this muscle underneath, but most men find them pretty sweet. But you'll have to get past these first." She held out her arms and flexed. A groan rippled through the arena as the crowd admired the boulders of might that erupted from her arms. She rested her hands comfortably back on her hips where they curved away from her tiny waist. "I'm no poser; I'm a fighter, and I'm not taking it easy on you, woman or no woman. A bucks a buck." He rushed at her and powered a punch at her stomach. Todd winced at the impact of the blow, but instead of hearing Sandy cry out, he heard the deeper sound of Bonecrusher groaning. Sandy quickly took his arm and twisted it behind Bonecrusher's back. "Ha-HA-ha! Not so easy, eh big guy?" She tightened her hand around his wrist and he let out a low groan. "Say it louder. I couldn't hear you." She tightened her hand further and Bonecrusher's face grew white. She put her other hand on his ass and squeezed lightly. "Hey, nice buns. But what if I really pinched them?" She dug her nails into his ass." "Aaah!," he moaned. "I thought ass-pinching was just one of the things you have to put with. Or is that just for women?" The crowd was quiet, except for some high pitched titters sprinkled throughout from the women. Todd looked over at the couple next to him. The man was stony faced, while the woman was staring intently at Sandy, eyes bright, jaw still. Tightly grasping his rear, she lifted him above her head, seemingly without effort, then swung him around, first slowly, then more and more rapidly as she pivoted gracefully on the canvas. Then slowing down, she used her momentum to toss him high into the air. He landed heavily on the canvas as the bell rang. THAT'S THE END OF THE FIRST ROUND. WELL, SANDY, YOU'VE SHOWN YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH TO STAY IN THE RING WITH BONECRUSHER, BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO DO MORE THAN THAT TO EARN YOUR $50,000. AND, HEY BONECRUSHER, ARE YOU GOING TO LET THIS GIRL SHOW YOU UP? Bonecrusher shook his head, clearly frightened by her strength. Sandy reached back to straighten her hair and keep it out of her eyes, incidentally thrusting out her monstrous chest. The second round started. Sandy walked forward, nonchalantly, then reached out with her hand to slap him. Bonecrusher caught her wrist, but then Sandy pulled him closer and wrapped one arm around his back, then another, crushing him into her. Bonecrusher struggled to get free, but his arms were caught in her bear hug. "Don't you want to give me a hug, big guy? I'm not going to let you get away now that I have you." He kicked at her legs to knock her off balance, but she was as sturdy as a tree trunk and seeing he had one leg in the air, toppled him onto the floor. She stood over him, hands on her hips daring him to get up. NICE MOVE SANDY, BUT YOU ONLY HAVE TWO MINUTES LEFT IN THIS ROUND AND THREE IN THE NEXT TO FINISH HIM OFF OR LOSE YOUR $20,000. THIS IS A FIGHT, NOT A DANCE. HEY BONECRUSHER, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET TO WORK? Sandy seemed momentarily unsure how to proceed, then jumped down to pin him, but Bonecrusher rolled away and got to his feet, shakily. Sandy closed in, but Bonecrusher ripped a vicious kick at her kidney, which, unlike her abdomen, was not protected by layers of muscle. Sandy was clearly surprised by the pain, and stepped away from him. Bonecrusher followed her, and using his greater reach rained blows on her shoulders. From the distance he lacked the leverage to hit hard enough to damage her, but the force of his blows against her joints, where she had no muscle to shield her from his fists, left her off balance. The round ended with Sandy rubbing her arms and looking unhappy. A COMEBACK FOR BONECRUSHER. HE'S USING HIS SIZE AND FIGHTING SKILLS TO BATTLE THE POWERFUL LADY BACK TO A DRAW! WILL HE SETTLE IT IN ROUND 3? Sandy looked over to Todd, her tongue silenced. Would she stop him? The bell sounded. She waded in, slowly, then charged through his blows and fired an overhand jab that hit Bonecrusher's chest and knocked him backwards. She reached up to grab his shoulders and started to squeeze the bones with her powerful fingers. Bonecrusher's eyes grew wide with pain, but seeing an opening he hurled his fist upwards at Sandy's face and hit her squarely in the jaw, knocking her teeth together and throwing her hand backwards. Seizing his opening, he followed with two quick jabs at her eyes, then reached back and let loose with all his strength at her temple. Sandy jerked backwards again at the force of the blow and seemed dazed. A cruel smile crossed Bonecrusher's lips and he started pounding her head repeatedly. Sandy's arms rose to cover her face, and Bonecrusher unleashed a mighty kick to her left kidney and then to her right. Sandy screamed with pain and dropped to the canvas. The man on Todd's left was now pounding his fist into hand again, yelling, "Kill the dame, smash her face! Kill the dame, smash her face," rhythmically, like a chant. Other men around him took up the call. Encouraged by the crowd's roar, Bonecrusher kicked her cheekbone with the full force of his leg, and blood spurted from her nose and filled one eye socket. He then lifted his foot to stomp on her neck. Blinded and moaning loudly, Sandy couldn't see the blows, but she luckily caught his foot and deflected the blow. She twisted his ankle, keeping Bonecrusher off balance, but he left his feet, dropping all of his weight onto his knees, and fell directly on her neck and upper chest. Sandy gagged and started to spit up blood. Bonecrusher laughed and started slamming punches at Sandy's head. With each blow, Todd thought he heard something break, a nose, a jaw, a cheekbone, and eye socket. Sandy lay limply on the canvas when the bell rang, her face unrecognizable. AN AMAZING COMEBACK. BONECRUSHER DEFEATS THE FEMALE ATLAS. SHE WAS STRONG, BUT IT WAS ALL FOR SHOW. SHE DIDN'T HAVE THE KILLER INSTINCT, DID SHE MEN? NOW FOR OUR NEXT .... Todd stood up and made his way to the ring, shouting, "Sandy, Sandy, are you alright?" She didn't respond. A guard blocked Todd's way. "Let me get to her. She's hurt," he pleaded. "The company'll take care of her, Mister. This isn't your concern." "But I'm a friend of hers. Let me help." "If you were supposed to be in her corner, you'd a been there already. Now sit down or I'm gonna throw you outta here myself." Todd watched helplessly as he saw the ushers roughly lift Sandy onto a stretcher and carry her out of the ring. He walked backwards, keeping his eye on her progress, and left the arena looking for the manager's office, only to see an ambulance speed away before he could reach her. He found out where they took her and headed for the hospital, only to learn that she had already died from internal bleeding and massive injuries to her head. Todd drove silently back to his house and threw himself onto his bed for the first time in nights and immediately fell asleep. He didn't set the alarm, but slept fitfully anyway, imagining Marta's voice instructing him on playing a new computer game only to find the program crashed each time he'd tried to save his work. When Sharon woke him with a phone call, 14 hours later, he couldn't remember what it was about, although his fingers ached as if he had furiously pushed mouse buttons all night long. Part V Although he was shocked by its violence, Todd felt strangely relieved by Sandy's death. Somehow, it gave him closure on the strange events of the past week. True, he knew that Sally was still running around putting his old strength to her own uses, and females everywhere were acting as bright and cheerful as if they lived in a perpetual May day. He also was sure Marta had something planned, but he felt that life might yet return to normal. Todd let the lawyers handle the divorce and was pleased they were able to arrange it without any confrontations with Marta. He moved out of the Whitney estate, and looking only for a doorman highrise new enough and tall enough that the cockroaches wouldn't reach his apartment for a few years, he found a place on the East Side for his few possessions and a garage space for his Porsche in no time at all. Ten days later he was settled and he was soon busy returning to the life of a Manhattan bachelor. Sarah gave him a new tip on women's fashions: fitness was coming back in a major way. Todd quickly added a few makers of exercise suits to his buy list, along with a health clubs and sellers of swimsuits and exercise equipment for women, and started to accumulate positions for the firm. He tried to find Madame LaFarge, or even Michelle, but their phones had been disconnected and there was no answer at either of their "offices." Michelle's assistant Joan, whom Todd found after Sharon spent an entire morning on the phone checking Canetti's in Brooklyn and Queens, couldn't help him. Michelle had let her go two weeks before, and her severance checks were bouncing. Perhaps seeking the comfort of the familiar, he had renewed his interest in Becky, who seemed more appealing to him than ever. He had always loved her breasts, but there was a new energy in her step, as well as a new firmness to complement her soft curves. Besides, if he was interested, she was easy, and Todd was in no mood for another challenging woman. Becky and Sharon were both enthusiastic about The Vertical Club, an East Side fitness center, so Todd joined too and started the long, slow process of building himself up again. Most nights, Becky waited for him there after her aerobics and body sculpting classes, and they worked the machines side-by- side for an hour before a hearty late dinner at an Italian restaurant, after which Todd went home, alone. Why alone? Why wasn't Todd sleeping with Becky, who would have gladly made herself available? He didn't really want to admit why he was being more discreet now than he had been during his marriage; he told her he it was just until the divorce was final, and that he didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize the financial arrangements that would soon leave him with over ten million dollars. This was an explanation she didn't have to hear twice. But that wasn't the real reason. It still bothered Todd that even after Madame LaFarge had helped him, he had lost about 10% of his original strength and size during that airplane ride. And although he was working harder than ever before, except when he was bulking himself up prepare for football during college, he seemed to be making less progress than ever. He wondered if it was his age, the tension from all of the changes he had gone through recently, or just impatience. What bothered him even more was that Becky seemed to be adding weight to the stations more quickly than he was. True, working nine to five she had a lot more time to spend at the club, and generally had been through two hours of classes before he even started. Becky had always worked out and had been in good shape even before they started doing the club together. But still, that shouldn't be happening. Each night, he looked nervously at her upper arms, and they seemed just a little bit larger to him. And each time she quietly moved the settings just a little bit higher, Todd wondered. He still could do almost 35% more than she on the upper body exercises, and 10% more on the lower body. But why did it take him four or five days to move to more resistance, when it was taking her just one or two? He could see the trend lines converge in his mind, and he didn't like what he saw. The lines on the machines were growing longer. Was it his imagination, or were more and more women using them, and fewer and fewer men? Even Sharon was starting to work the weights. With the conservative suits she wore, he'd never noticed how supple and shapely her legs were. He remembered from the few really warm days, when even she had worn short sleeves, that she had arms like sticks. Now he could see small biceps growing, popping out like mini-muffins each time she did an arm curl. Sharon seemed bashful about it, making sure that there was no man, and especially not Todd, next to her when she did her routines. But long practice at the gym had taught Todd how to look at women out of the corner of his eye, in the reflections of mirrors and windows, even off the equipment itself. He saw. As he always did when faced with a challenge, Todd buckled down and worked harder, leaving work earlier to add an extra half hour, then an hour to his routine. After a week, he felt he was making more progress, increasing the resistance more quickly even though he wasn't gaining much size. He felt relieved, that is, until Becky told him she was dropping aerobics so that they could lift together for the full two hours. Todd was sleeping poorly too. The dream about the computer game returned nightly now. He felt as though his life depended on winning and saving his game board, but the program never let him. Each night he was further behind than before. Each morning his forearm was stiff, his eyes were bleary, and he could remember nothing of what he was fighting about. Finally, the divorce came through. The funds were in his account. Todd paid off his debts and set up a dinner in two days' time with Arnold, Arnold's girlfriend, and Becky to celebrate. He skipped the after workout dinner with Becky and went home to write out his investment plan. At last he could start his new life. When he walked into his apartment, he saw a light in his study. He looked in. Marta was there, playing with the computer. She looked like her old self again, thin, darker hair, but healthy, like she was when they'd first met. "I'm so glad you're back early tonight Todd. I wanted to play while you're awake." "What are you doing here? What are you talking about?" "You remember. We've been playing every night. You always lose, but you do try so hard. I thought you might play better when you're not asleep." "You've changed again." "Yes, I look like my old self. Actually, this is just an astral body. I prefer it to my real body, the one that you made to look like Becky. I can appear in thousands of astral bodies now, all over the universe. It takes a lot of mental energy to control them all, so I only add a few hundred a day, as my powers continue to increase. Can you imagine being in thousands of places at one time, having thousands of different conversations, many in non-human languages. Just mastering the appearance of a ypurturru body one hundred eighty light years away took me several hours. I've really been so absorbed with my travels that I haven't been devoting enough attention to Earth. But as time goes by that won't be a problem." "Why, Marta? Are you losing interest in us?" "Oh no, not at all. I find that Earth is just beginning to get very interesting for me, especially as our game develops. It will just be easier for me to do, that's all." "What is this game? I wake up every day remembering a dream about playing something on the computer. I keep waking up so frustrated." "Yes. I call it SimHuman. It's just like those Maxis games, SimAnt, SimCity, SimEarth you like to waste your time on. That's why I designed it that way, because I knew it interested you and I thought you'd play better. But of course you're no match for me. There are virtually billions of factors to consider in designing DNA-based life, and you cannot be expected to understand them. You never play with more than the first dozen or so, and as a result, your creatures never get beyond the simplest strands of protein. Each time you lose, your design gets wiped out and mine gets saved as the basis for the next game." "But that's a dream!" "No it's not. It's really quite a simple matter for me to speak to your mind directly; that way I don't have to worry about getting you too excited. After all, I can always leave when you get frustrated and let you go back to your dreamland. You don't question why I come or go. You just accept it." "So if that's so good, why are you talking to me tonight? I'm not asleep, am I?" Marta laughed. "Of course not. Can't you tell? Well, I thought we'd play for real tonight. Since you're so close to figuring it out anyway." "What do you mean?" Marta ignored his question, turned around and pushed an icon on Todd's computer. It was a crudely drawn picture of a man and a woman, each naked, looking at each other. A logo that looked like Maxis appeared, although it said Marta instead, then the screen was awash in static, like the monitor had broken. "Ok, let's start." "But I can't see anything." "Of course you can't. I have all of the controls on one screen at the same time. I've enhanced your monitor and video card to a resolution of about 10 billion by 7 billion so it can display all of the options for me, although the resolution is much too fine for your eyes. Don't ask me to explain the other changes I've made to the electronics. The new parts are microscopic, and they only work when I activate them with a code, so you can't access them. I wouldn't want them to get into the 'wrong hands.' Now, I'll take my turn, and then I'll shift the resolution back so you can see it. We'll see whose creatures achieve more, scientifically, culturally, etc. It's really quite fun." Marta took ten minutes at the computer, her hands moving more rapidly than Todd could follow with his eyes. He wasn't sure, but it seemed that it took her longer than it had in his dreams. When she finished, she hit Ctl+S. "There. Before it was just practice. Now I've made all of the changes I've been thinking about. We'll see how they work. Your turn. Take all the time you need." She changed the resolution of the monitor and then stood up. The monitor blinked into focus for Todd and he saw a familiar display of sliding controls, except that in the lower left hand corner there was a ribbon with a slider and the number one next to it. "What does that mean?" "Oh, that allows you to move from page to page in the controls." Todd moved the slider and saw the numbers rapidly change, rising to 3,452,190,679,575. "Those pages have controls for all of the factors that affect the development of living beings. How quickly they grow, when they mature sexually, how tall they are, how resistant to disease, how long they live. Of course, they're not labeled that way. That's for the child's version of the game. Our version is more scientific. The sliders are all expressed in terms of genes, biochemical and biomechanical reactions, even the interaction at the subatomic level. You can remake the laws of physics, chemistry, rearrange DNA. It's much more interesting that way." "But, I have no idea what all this means." "We have the same discussion every night Todd. Each time, I relent and end up letting you play the child's version of the game after you fail miserably even to put together a simple one celled organism. You always insist on trying to save your changes, as if it's the real game, but the program won't let you. You get so excited about it too. That's when I leave. Now try to play. I'm not going to play the child's version with you tonight. Just see how you do with the real thing." Todd stared blankly at the screen. "I don't have any idea what these formulas mean. What's the point of playing?" He fiddled with some of the controls on page 34,693 and then hit save. The screen went blank. "What happened?" "The form of life you tried to create wasn't viable. Looks like I win again. We'll just see how my changes work." "But where do we see it? I can't see anything on the screen." "Do you expect to be able to see the whole of humanity on that little thing? I'm running a larger simulation, where we can follow it easily." "But where?" Marta started to fade away. "Don't you know? I'll see you in a while Todd. Next time I'll let you play the child's version. I promise," she added as she disappeared completely. Todd returned to the computer, but Marta had closed the program, and when he clicked on the icon again, it produced only an "insufficient memory" message and then crashed. He didn't know why, but a feeling of dread rose up inside him. He was restless the next morning at work, and decided that a hard workout was the only thing that would help. He slipped out of the office and parked himself on the gravitron. He set the resistance at the same level he had been stuck at for a week, cursing inside that he had still not regained the strength Sally and Sandy had stripped from him. Without the distraction of Becky's heaving chest beside him, he put maximal effort into each repetition. It felt good moving through the stations, working his body as thoroughly as he could. He began to relax and started to look around him. It was a different crowd than the after work group, younger, mostly students. He saw the men working hard like he was, grunting with each lift, while the women worked more evenly, talking. He eavesdropped on their melodious voices. "This club you got me into is really working. All the fat's just melting off. Look at this flat tummy!" "You look great." "And I have to tell you. Something's just clicked for me with the body sculpting. I'd never had any muscle before, but I'm really getting one here. Do you think it's cute?" "Fabulous. You know that new trainer, Jim? He showed me how to use this gravitron two weeks ago and I swear by him. It's like my body just woke up when I started up on it." "I'm kind of worried about getting too big, you know?" "Mares! It's the thing to do! Look around at all these women. Don't we look great?" "I know. It's like, where were we? Why did we ever think biceps were just for guys?" "Did you see Melanie? She was always big, but she's just exploded the last couple of weeks. I mean, she's bigger than Raymond now." Maret giggled. "Hey, I'm going to move it up another notch. You know, it's the second time I've done that today. I'm just really into it. Oooh! It's like I can almost see them grow!" "Hey, let's take a break. I'm famished." "Wanta go downstairs to the health bar?" "Uh, uh. I don't want rabbit food. Let's get something real." "Cheeseburgers," they squealed in unison, "Mass quantities." They laughed again, unhooked themselves, and walked out quickly, arms around each others' waists. Todd stared at their young bodies, firm bosoms and the bulges that emerged from their upper arms as they gripped each other. He looked around. All of the women had biceps. Not the long thin tunnels women usually had, which looked like the outer part along their arm had collapsed around the center, but round, dense balls of muscle that rose above the plane of the inside of their arms like a generous scoop of ice cream on a cone. He was perspiring. What was happening? He felt a hand tap him on his shoulder and he turned around. A teenage girl wearing a sweatshirt, arms crossed in front of her chest, was standing behind him impatiently. "Are you just going to sit there and gawk? You know, there are people waiting." "I'm sorry, I just felt a little tired." He carefully did two more repetitions. "Come on! I've got homework to do. You've been on there five minutes already." He turned around and stared at her, then got off the station and watched the girl settle into place. Without touching the controls she quickly did five curls, then reset the resistance. She was increasing it! She turned around and looked at him smugly and then did fifteen repetitions, cleanly, easily, and got up. "Go on, you can finish your turn now. I'll turn it back down for you." "I really was done." She smiled and flexed her arm. Todd saw the bulge push up against the soft fleece material of her sleeve as she felt it to her evident satisfaction. "Man, I am getting HARD," she said, boastfully, and swaggered off to the next station. He decided it was time for a swim. He waited for the elevators, then got impatient and headed for the stairs. It was the one thing he hated about the club: waiting for the elevators. He walked down slowly, feeling his legs throb after the pounding workout he had given them. He heard someone skipping down behind him, then felt an arm around his waist. "Hey, didn't you hear me calling you?" It was that girl. He pulled at her wrist to free himself but she was too strong. He felt himself being lifted in the air and carried down two more steps to the landing. "Wow! This is so cool. I can't believe I'm actually doing it!" She put him down, but kept an arm around him and moved in front. She had shed her sweatsuit and was now wearing only a t-shirt and shorts, displaying incredible arm and leg development. "What do you think you're doing?" "Like, pushing you around, duh. I wasn't sure I'd have the nerve to, but, like you're sooo cute, and I could tell I was a lot stronger than you." She kept her left arm around his waist. With the other, she started to massage Todd's crotch. "I'm Melanie, what's your name?" Todd reached down to push her hand away, but she grabbed it and caught it between her knees forcing his head down into her chest. She was rubbing him more rapidly now, and he was responding in spite of himself. "Come on, I've seen you here before. You're usually hanging out with that brunette with the huge tits. Is she like your girlfriend?" Todd kept his mouth closed as he brushed against her young breasts. "Admit it. You like this don't you? Come on, I can tell I'm turning you on. Why don't you just be nice and play?" She started squeezing Todd's ass. Todd realized how close he was to coming and struggled harder to get away, but he was caught fast in her iron hold. Realizing it was inevitable, he shifted slightly, turning his body more directly onto hers, but she quickly caught on and deftly took her hand away and held him away from her, now cupping his ass and lifting him slightly into the air. "Hee-hee! Now you want me. Aren't I a tease? Well, you'll have to be nicer if you want me to finish you off. Come on, tell me your name." She ran her finger lightly across his penis again, to remind him how close he was. He looked down at her arm more closely. Her biceps bulged out of her arm a good three inches, and she wasn't even flexing hard. "How did you ever get muscles like that?" "Jeez, I don't know. Aren't they amazing? Like, I've always been strong for a girl. I've been swimming in meets since I was eight, and even before I got this big, I used to beat a lot of guys in arm-wrestling at school and even regular wrestling, you know, fooling around just, but like, this last month my muscles are just popping! My Mom took me to the doctor, cause she was worried I had a hormone problem, but I'm totally normal, in that way at least. And they're like growing faster and faster. The last two days I've gone from benching 400 pounds to like 470. I feel like that Supergirl on the American Airlines commercial." "Yeah. Sally." "You know her?" Todd nodded. "Wow! Like, she's my idol. She's just started this amazing bodybuilding show on ESPN 2! I saw how smashing she looked, and I decided I wanted to get as big as I could. I mean, my friends used to think muscles were gross on girls, but they're really not. My old boyfriend, Raymond, told me I was disgusting, but he's just jealous, cause he's a bodybuilder, and he's not bigger than me any more. Even my big sister, she was working out near you before, now she's getting into it, but she's never been as big as me and I'm not going to let her catch up. I have to work hard though to stay ahead, I mean, like suddenly all of the girls I know who do weights are just piling on muscle." Todd turned his head to look at her. "You mean, it's not just you?" "Uh-uh, but I'm the biggest on my swim team." Todd could feel her hard biceps digging into his back. She slipped her free hand under the waistband of Todd's shorts and started to stroke him again, lightly, Todd's semi-erect member springing to life. "Hee-hee. Got his attention again! You are so cute. I have to kiss you!" She lifted Todd closer to her face and pushed her lips onto his, her tongue roughly exploring the inside of Todd's mouth. He was amazed at her strength. He still weighed almost 200 pounds, yet she was supporting him with one arm without any sense of strain, her fingers lightly kneading his member, her lips brushing delicately across his, while her right arm held him completely immobilized against her. She was quickening her pace again. Would she make him come now, or was she just teasing him? Suddenly he heard a door slam and footsteps in the stairwell. "Todd! Are you in here?" Todd stiffened. It was Becky! He tried to break Melanie's hold on his lips, but she reacted threateningly by digging a finger into his ribs. He was caught like a fly. He heard her coming closer, as Melanie started pumping him ever more rapidly. Despite all his efforts at distracting himself, he was losing control and came right into her hand, just as he heard Becky stop short and scream. "Todd!! What are you doing??!! So that's what it takes to.... Well, damn you, you bastard. Take your fucking tickets!" She threw an envelope down at Melanie's feet, while Melanie released his lips, allowing Todd to turn his head toward Becky. "Look at you, cuddling with this musclebound little girl. So this is what turns you on?" Todd stared at her helplessly. "Becky, please, I'm sorry, she" Melanie studied Becky while she wiped Todd's cum off her hand and onto his shorts. "No, I'm sorry, Becky," she said, mocking Todd's voice as she interrupted him. "I guess he just likes a little muscle on a girl." She flexed her free arm, and a twenty-three inch cannonball of power shot upwards. Becky wailed and bolted from the stairwell through the nearest door. Todd tried to follow her, but Melanie still held him fast. "Oh, don't go so soon, sweetie. I like having you in my arms, or arm, I guess." "Why are you doing this to me?" "Because I can, you little cutie, hee-hee! And you won't tell, will you. Like, guys think they should be in control. Like, sure. Well, control this!" She held out her arm again and tightened her muscle more deliberately this time. The tissues gathered force, then her biceps pushed upward like a time-action film of a souffle rising, while her triceps thickened below to make a solid block of thick muscle. "Isn't it incredible? It's almost as big as my waist! Being a girl was never so much fun." She looked down at Todd's arm and then spotted his watch. "Ohmagod! I was supposed to meet Jennie at The Gap! I gotta go. See ya Todd." She dropped him, then charged back up the stairs, four steps at a time, to the women's locker room. Todd sat down stiffly on the step, rubbing his back where Melanie had held him, and trying to stretch his t-shirt to cover the stain. The shirt was still loose on him. Damn! He still wasn't making any progress getting his old body back. He remembered the envelope and reached onto the floor. It was a note from Sharon: "Miss Phipps said she and you were taking a trip tonight to Paris to attend a fashion show this weekend. I would have taken your tickets to you myself, but Becky said she would be seeing you at the club. I hope that was alright." Well, dinner was off now. Todd stood up numbly and left the stairwell to look for a phone. "Arnold, I have to talk to you." "You're telling me! I can't wait to introduce you to Felicia at dinner tonight." "Huh? Oh. Well, maybe." He looked around him at the crowded locker room. "Hey, Arnold, can you leave work early? Let me come by your place now. We can talk about dinner. Becky, uh canceled, and anyway, suddenly I've got to run off to Paris with Sarah." "I guess ... alright. I can blow off my 3:30. He never pays his bills anyway. How about 3?" "Yeah. See you then." Todd hurried into the shower, then took a cab to Arnold's apartment. As he got out, he saw Arnold walking briskly down the street. "Hey! It's the ten million dollar man!" "Cut it out Arnold. There's something we have to discuss." "Oh, don't be so serious all the time. You're close to becoming 'Mr. Gloom and Doom!' And for what? Instead of smiting you down, like you probably deserve, Marta's given you your freedom, and ten million bucks. Her cousin, who you thought was ready to take away your job, turns out to be a real pussycat and is helping you cover yourself with glory at work all over again. And now you're going to Paris with her? Oooo-la-la!" "It's not like that," Todd protested, as they walked inside. "Sorry." He laughed. "I'm a little keyed up about Felicia." "What are you, in love or something? Who is this girl?" "Todd. Now listen. Promise me you won't laugh, ok? Todd, she's the girl of my dreams. The girl I've fantasized about my whole life." Todd stared at Arnold. "Are you kidding me? You? You've never said that about any girl before. You've always gone through girls like they were tissues, you know, 'get 'em dirty and throw them away, they're all the same anyway.'" Arnold shrugged. He looked his friend in the eye. "Yeah, well, like, no one I've even gone out with has ever given me what I wanted. Like, I've always had this picture of this certain kind of girl but I never really expected to find her. So it didn't really matter to me who I dated, or fucked. I mean, it's not like I didn't enjoy it, but I knew they weren't what I really wanted. Well, those days are over." "So what's so special about Felicia? Is she a model? Big tits?" Todd shook his head. "What then? Is she rich? Really smart? Really dumb? Come on Arnold, help me out." Arnold blushed and looked down at his feet. He said softly, "She's got big muscles, Todd." "What did you say?" "She's got.... Look Todd, you can think I'm weird or something, but my dick's got a mind of its own. I've never been so turned on by a woman in my life. I met her a couple of months ago, at a party my friends at the beach house were giving. She had a good figure and a nice face and all that, and she was easy to talk to, but I noticed her shoulders, really broad. And then, I don't know, she reached down to move a chair or something and I saw she had real biceps, you know, as big as mine, no kidding. Hey, I'm no jock, Todd, not like you always were, but what was fine on me looked spectacular on her. My breathing just kind of stopped for a minute and I decided, right there, I had to have this woman. I tried to be cool about it and made some small talk, but I was very, very motivated, and she could tell. I think it turned her on too. Anyway, we ended up going to bed that night, and I had never been such an athlete in bed. I couldn't get enough of her body. She was impressed." "We started seeing a lot of each other. She lives downtown, East Village. She's a sculptor, working with metal. That's probably how she got so strong, it's really a physically intense kind of work. The amazing thing is she really liked me too. She said I made her laugh more than any other guy. I mean, you never know what's going to impress a girl, right?" "Pretty soon we were getting pretty intimate, you know, talking about our lives, our futures, what we liked about each other. I couldn't really bring myself to tell her why I was falling for her so deeply. But after a few weeks I was deliriously in love with her and I decided, hell, either go for it all the way, or forget it. So when we were at her place. We'd eaten some kind of pasta she'd made and then settled down on some pillows she had on the floor. It was warm and she was wearing long sleeves, so without too much effort I got her to take off her blouse. The sight of her thick arms affected me again but this time I started stroking her biceps. Her face reddened." "'They're kind of big for a girl, aren't they,' she said." "I nodded. 'You know, Felicia, I really like them. I think they're a tremendous turn on.'" "She was thrilled. She kept asking me over and over if I really meant it. It took me a long time to convince her, and then she put her arms around me and squeezed, and now I felt the full power of those muscles. She had held back before. I was so excited, like I had just been given everything I'd always wanted. I held her and pressed against her more tightly, and under her soft skin I felt her defined muscles, which were so much firmer now that she was holding me so strongly. Hey, Todd, are you ok with this?" Todd shook his head and put his hand on Arnold's shoulder. "Hey, it's not for me. I don't want a woman who's as strong as me. It makes me feel, I don't know, like I'm not the man. But, whatever turns you on, Arnold. He looked at him a little uneasily. "You're sure you're not gay, though, right?" "Come on Todd! Positive. Yeah, well, you probably don't want to hear the rest of it, but it gets even better. From my point of view anyway. So, Felicia and I had another wild night of sex, and in between I was running on and on about my fantasies and stuff. She listened, satisfied now I was really telling the truth. I have to admit I got her a little concerned for awhile about my interest. I mean, it's not like she wanted me to worship her muscles or anything. She wanted me to love her, not her biceps. But I caught the drift and started back telling her all kinds of stuff women like to hear about how I loved her as a whole person. You know the routine. That got her feeling comfortable again. So then she asks me, a little embarrassed even, whether I would like it if she were even bigger. I didn't know where she was going, so I asked what she meant. Well, she told me she'd always been afraid to work out much, because she didn't want to get any bigger than she was, but one of her girlfriends had been pushing her to join a local gym on some two for one deal, and she would do it if I liked. I said, 'sure, that would be fine, I mean, if you want to do it,' playing it cool, because while the thought of her growing even more was like adding gasoline to a fire, I didn't want to freak her out again." "Anyway, it's been amazing. She quickly left me far behind. You know me, I haven't worked out since we stopped compulsory phys. ed. after freshman year. But after a couple of weeks at this gym, she was almost as built as you are now. I really am excited about tonight. She's been down at some artists' retreat in Key West, so I haven't seen her for the last two weeks." "Arnold, why didn't you tell me about this before?" "I don't know. You've been pretty absorbed in your own problems. I didn't think you'd be very interested. Besides, it's, you know, its not the sort of thing we usually talk about. I figured I knew what you'd say." "Yeah, well, Jesus Arnold, this is un-fucking-believable!" "Now wait a minute Todd. We've been friends a long time, but this thing with Felicia is important to me." Todd smiled. "Of course, Arnold. I understand." Arnold looked suspicious, but said, "I hoped you would. Well, anyway, you had something to talk about. What's this about Becky blowing off dinner?" Todd pursed his lips. "Oh, she saw a teenage girl beating me off at the club and took it the wrong way." "Get out of here! Are you crazy? What you mean she 'took it the wrong way.' How's she supposed to take a thing like that?" "I don't know. I think that it should have been easy to tell the difference between sex and rape." "You're asking me to believe that you a teenage girl forced herself on you to beat you off?" "It surprised me too, to say the least." Arnold looked at Todd in disbelief, unable to decide whether Todd was putting him up to something or whether he was serious. "Well, you don't look any worse for wear," he said tentatively "What do you ... Of course I'm fine. She was really quite good at it. I mean, I was a little embarrassed, and it's screwed things up with Becky royally, but I'm not in trauma or shock or anything. I just, I...." He looked at Arnold and suddenly he shuddered. He took a deep breath, then another, but his heart was still pounding. "I don't know what's happening to me. I just ... Arnold, she was huge!" He was talking more rapidly now. "She had such power in her arms. She was holding me with total control! I, I, I tried as hard as I could to get free, but she had me trapped using just one damn arm. I couldn't do anything. She was j-j-j-just playing with me, like I was a f-f-fucking toy. All I could do was just hang there, pressed against her while she beat me off, for kicks, in front of Becky, while she just la-la-laughed like it was a game." "Hey, Todd. Hold on. Are you alright?" Todd was shaking. He reached out for Arnold's arm and gripped it tightly, then slowly relaxed. "Yeah, I guess so," after a couple of minutes. "I don't know what happened to me." "It looked like some kind of post-traumatic stress thing, like you were suppressing how you really felt about what that girl did you and then it suddenly came through. You know, I never would have guessed it, but having a high school girl jerk you off really bothered you didn't it?" Todd glared at him. "Hey, you don't have to psychoanalyze me or anything. Just forget it, Arnold. I'm fine." "Sure. Anything you say." "Do you have a beer or anything?" "You sure you're up to ... Todd glanced at him. "Yeah, sure. In the fridge, I think." Todd popped open the can and drank half of it in one gulp, spilling part of it on his chin and shirt, then letting out a large belch. "Now listen. After what you said about your, uh, thing for lady wrestlers or whatever, you're probably the wrong guy to say this too, but you're my best friend. I think Marta's behind this muscle thing. I've been noticing a lot of really built women at the gym the last few weeks." "So? I've noticed it too. It's the latest thing. We're even looking for models with a little muscle for our ads. It really helps the response to show a little biceps here and there. But it's just one of those fashion things. I figured everyone else is catching up to me." "I don't think so. I can't tell you exactly why, but I think Marta's done something big. You know, she visited me last night." "Really? How'd she look?" "Like her old self. She said she was in some kind of astral body, and I can tell you, she didn't come in or leave through any doors. She just kind of disappeared when she left. Anyway, she did this demonstration or something of a program she called SimHuman. She made it out to be a kind of competition, but I think she was teasing me. I think she's really monkeying with something important in the human body." "I don't know, Todd. How could we tell?" "I haven't felt anything, but all the women around me seem more high spirited than usual. I mean when's the last time you saw a woman look depressed? There's usually some group of them whining about something at the office. You know how they all comfort each other. Well, I haven't seen that for awhile." Arnold was looking off into space, thinking. "You know, you've got a point there. Me neither." "The other thing is women seem like they're growing. Like Becky, for example. We work out next to each other, and she keeps lifting more and more weight, while I'm barely making progress. And th-th-this Melanie g-g-girl ..." Todd's hand started shaking. He turned around, took another big swig of beer, spilling half of it on himself again, then settled down and turned back to Arnold. "She was as big as anyone I've seen except those freaks Marta created on the airplane." "Are you sure you don't need some help Todd?" "Wh-what are you going to do? Send me to some rape crisis center for group therapy with a bunch of women?" His lip was quivering. "Dammit! I just can't control it!" He started pounding on the wall with his fists. "I think you need a vacation, Todd." "Yeah, Marta's out there, remaking the world. It doesn't matter where I go. It's gonna be the same. But I'm probably talking to the wrong guy. This whole thing must just turn you on even more." "I don't know. I don't like seeing you like this, Todd. But, I have to admit. You've got me feeling pretty curious. If you're right, Felicia will have changed a lot in only two weeks. Actually, I can't wait to see." "Look, sorry Arnold, but I don't feel like meeting her tonight. Ok?" "Yeah, yeah. Sure. She's not coming for another couple of hours." "Anyway, I have to pack." "Hey Todd, it's really not so bad, I mean, even if Marta is making women stronger, it's not like they're all going to go around raping men. That was just one girl, you know. You might just get to liking being able to let go, and, you know, not worry about having to be so gentle. I mean, a strong woman is still just a woman." Todd looked down at the floor. "Right. Sure. I don't know. I better go. I'll see you Arnold." He walked outside. His hand was shaking again, and he ducked into SportsBar, a multiscreen extravaganza. There was a loud hubbub, and a local TV news correspondent was standing by the door, interviewing the patrons. She turned to Todd. "What's your name, sir?" "Uh, Todd Bartel." "So Todd, what do you think of the Robin Givens' challenge sir?" "The what?" "Robin Givens has just challenged Mike Tyson to a three round fight. Any reaction?" "That's crazy. She'll get killed." "Let's get a woman over here too. Hey, miss, will you join us? Who are you and what's your opinion?" "I'm Terrie Montale, from New Jersey! Hi Mom!! Well, I don't know. I think women are making great strides in training. Who knows what she can accomplish?" "Any comment Todd?" "Women don't belong in the ring with men. They, uh, don't have the killer instinct." "Terrie?" "That's just a typical man's point of view. Ever see a mother bear defend her cubs?" "Well there you have it. You can be sure that everyone in America who watched the Bobby Riggs matches years ago will be glued to their sets on Thanksgiving Day for the fight. Back to you Bill." The camera lights dimmed. Todd looked around, suddenly blinded in the dark pub. He indistinctly saw Terrie go into a boxer's crouch and mutter "Grrrrrr!" in a low tone. He ducked defensively and heard her laugh. "Had you going there, didn't I? Hey, buy me a drink?" Todd looked at her as his eyes adjusted. She was cute, but he was definitely not in the mood. He shook his head and as he turned around to leave he heard her say to no one in particular, "Oh well, scared off another one!" PART VI Arnold checked the beef stew for the eleventh time. It was still bubbling. He knew if he kept opening the lid it would dry out, but he had to do something while he waited. He was too restless to watch television, and he had already moved all the clutter into a closet. He hoped she didn't open that door. He checked the stew again. Why had he offered to make her dinner anyway? What did the cookbook mean by, "brown the meat?" It still looked gray to him; even after he'd let one side get completely dark, it never went through a brown stage. He didn't bother with the other side, hoping they'd average out somehow in the sauce. What if Todd was right about what Marta had done? He probably was. Marta wasn't the "smiting" kind. She would be subtle. She surely knew exactly what would bug Todd the most. He was a real "man's man;" he'd always used his size as an implicit threat, pushing or gripping too hard if he didn't get his way. Back in college he'd always be horsing around with the cheerleaders, lifting them, daring them to try to do the same him and laughing when they'd try and fail. Arnold knew better than to get in any kind of athletic contest with him. But Todd knew how to have a good time, and he was loyal and generous as could be. But would Marta really change the whole human race just to get back at Todd? Then again, what was it to her? He thought about Felicia. Could she get too big? He imagined her larger and larger, growing in height as well as bulk, seven feet, eight feet tall, shoulders as wide as the doorway. He felt his insistent erection pound away under his pants. Well, it doesn't bother me, he decided. But what if she bullied him, as Todd used to before Arnold learned better? He saw himself lifted in the air effortlessly by a massive arm, looking down at her barrel chest, hearing her laugh at his helplessness, then hurling him across the room to do some petty errand before he returned for a kiss. He didn't like it at all. But he still felt turned on by the image of her. The buzzer rang, he rang back, opening the door downstairs. She was coming. He looked down. Fuck! Gravy on his shirt! Too late to change. The bell rang. He peeked through the hole. She smiled up at him. He opened the door and she walked in. He reached over to hug her but she held up her hand. "Down boy," she laughed. "A little patience." "Ok, but what's with the raincoat? It's warm!" "Silly. I wanted to surprise you. Just look at me." She untied the waist belt, then unbuttoned the coat. His heart pounded. She opened the front and removed her arms slowly, the sleeves giving way only with difficulty. Arnold's chin dropped. She wasn't any taller, but her arms were so thick! She wore a low cut sleeveless minidress, which was made even shorter by the way her expanded chest consumed the fabric. She smiled demurely and turned around halfway, then turned back and looked at Arnold, waiting for his reaction. "Felicia. You're incredible!" "You like it? I know. I wouldn't have believed it myself, except that I saw it happening. And this dress, it fit perfectly yesterday, but I was working on a sculpture since I got home this morning, one of my really large pieces, and in just four hours my arms and my chest grew even more. I don't even look decent wearing it now." She laughed. "But I don't care. I'm so strong now no one would mess with me." She put her hand out and stroked Arnold's arm. "Unless of course I wanted him too." "But how did you "I don't know. The meetings took up the mornings, and instead of spending the afternoons in the usual group criticism sessions I just retreated into the hotel exercise room and pounded away at the weights. I was doing more than six hours a day, and it seemed that every day I grew more and more quickly. There was a guy there who thought I was using some kind of trick. Here I was, at the beginning, doing hundred pound two arm curls, and in the three days he was there I almost doubled it. By the end of the two weeks, the weights weren't enough, so I just did more reps, and faster and faster. I even broke a couple of the cables, because I pulled too hard. Are you sure I'm not grotesque?" Arnold nodded. "But, uh, didn't it surprise you, how much you grew?" "It sure did. Even though I always figured I could put on muscle quickly, I had no idea how easy it would be for me. And you know, there were some other women there working out who have been doing weights for years, and they said it was suddenly a lot easier for them too. I have to say, even if it sounds like I'm bragging, that I worked harder and got bigger than they did. But Arnold, I wouldn't have done it without knowing that you wanted me to. I think I would have felt like a freak or something." "Felicia! No." "Hey, what's done is done. And like I said before, I can already see the advantages." She stepped forward and put her arms on his sides, picking Arnold up like a doll. "You feel so light. Did you lose weight?" "Actually I did, a little." "Well how does this feel to you? Any second thoughts?" Arnold looked down at her. He could feel the strength of her fingers gripping him, see her biceps now partially pumped as she held him a foot off the ground. He reached down to touch the firm mounds under her delicate skin. She smiled and tightened them. Arnold was shocked as they expanded beyond his wildest expectations. His hand failed even to cover the portion that extended upward from her arm, much less allow him to span it to feel them. She chuckled. "They're hard as rocks, sweetheart." She lowered him now and brought him to her lips keeping one arm around his waist and pulling on his leg with the other, wordlessly asking for him to curl his legs around her back. He wrapped his arms around her too and they dissolved into a long kiss. "Mmmmmm. You have something hard for me too, don't you?" He nodded, grinning ear to ear. "Then let's." Then she sniffed. "What's that?" "It's my beef stew burning." She walked into the kitchen, still holding him, and turned off the burner with her free hand. "First things first, sweetheart. Ok?" "I'm all yours Felicia." "And I'm yours Arnold. Forever." Meanwhile, Todd was packing for the 10:00 pm overnight flight to Paris from Kennedy Airport. He tried not to think about what was happening, but he couldn't stop his mind from working. What if all women became like Melanie, or even stronger? That girl in the bar flirting with him, what if under that puffy sleeve lay softball-sized biceps, primed with the power to pin him against the wall if she thought he was getting out of line? Was Molly, his younger sister, still back in Gettysburg working as a secretary in an accountant's office, laying in wait for him on his next visit home to use her new strength to capture his arms and tickle him unmercifully as payback for his childhood bullying? At least he didn't have any real enemies. Then he jumped. What about Christina! He'd dumped her pretty abruptly when he started dating Marta. She'd called him, on and off, for months afterwards, until he'd met with her and pushed her around a little to scare her. He hadn't heard from her since. He hoped she'd forgotten about it now. But that damned interview. She worked as a news editor at one of the local stations. He had no idea which one interviewed him. The last thing he wanted was to remind her of his existence. Not now. He looked at his watch. He still had a couple of hours to kill. He flipped through the mail from the last week. It seemed like months since his life had been settled enough to look at mail. Most of it was forwarded from the old house. He counted the disks from the on-line services. 2 from CompuServe, 3 from Prodigy, 14 from AOL. What was this? A CD-ROM in a plain folder? He slipped it into the computer. Marta's name in the Maxis-like logo sprang up, then SimHuman: Child's Version. Very cute. So she was letting him play. He sat down and started the game. One of those Windows warning notices popped up. "This is a special children's version of SimHuman. This version begins play after the creation of the species Homo Sapien. You will be unable to create new species. You will also be unable to save any changes. You must purchase and register the adult version to utilize the full capabilities of this program." Todd smiled. He clicked "OK". Several icons filled the screen: "current status," "load prior game," "begin a new game," and "quit." Todd tried the second option. One icon, a larger version of the start icon appeared on the screen with a game named "Martatod" He chuckled that Marta hadn't moved on to Windows 95 and long file names yet and pushed the icon. Ten boxes appeared on the page: Aging, Creativity, Disposition, Growth, Immunity, Intelligence, Maturation, Perception, Reproduction, Vitality. He clicked "Intelligence" and saw a number of slider controls appear: Abstract Reasoning, Association, Calculation, Comprehension, Expression, Plasticity. At the top of the page were the usual Windows items. He clicked on "Options," and a pull down menu appeared: "Color Coding", "Confirmation", "General Preferences", "Layout", "View by...", "Zoom". He tried General Preferences, which covered detail, sound cards, fonts, scaling, etc. Confirmation was an on/off toggle for the annoying "Do you really want to do that?" button. He tried View by ..., and another menu cascaded down with the words: age, race, sex. Heart pounding, he hit "sex". Immediately, all the sliders on the Intelligence page divided into two, one for M and the other for F. He quickly glanced through. All the levers were exactly in the middle. That seemed strange. He knew men were better at math skills; women had better verbals. He clicked on Help, then How to Play. That answered it. The sliders showed only the variations from the starting point. So Marta hadn't done anything here. At least she wasn't making him stupid. Nervous, he tried Disposition. Controls appeared for Adaptability, Aggressiveness, Anxiety, Contentment, Determination, Empathy, Independence, Initiative, Optimism, Patience. There were some changes there. Aggressiveness and Independence were slightly higher for females, but Optimism had been moved halfway between the middle and the end. That was it. He checked Reproduction and Vitality. No changes. Damn, he said to himself, quit stalling. He clicked on Growth. There! Bone Mass, Cellular Reproduction, Height, Muscle Mass, Rate of Growth, Regeneration, Response to Stimulus. They were all in the middle except Response to Stimulus, which was pushed almost to the end for females and part way back to the left for males. What did it mean? He clicked on Help, Search for Help on ... and typed res. There it was. "Response to Stimulus in the Growth menu will affect the body's reaction to stimulation of muscle tissue. Movement of this control to the right will increase the rate at which muscle tissue grows in size and density after exertion and strain, while movement to the left will reduce the rate." He sat back in the chair. We must be the simulation! And that's why the effect is so uneven. Women who are engaging in intense physical activity are growing rapidly, the others more modestly depending on their individual characteristics and the amount their normal activities stress their muscles. Whatever equilibrium those activities reached before would now start shifting in favor of greater mass and strength. But how much did she change things? He scrolled down on the topics to "scale" and "scaling". The program supplied a calculator to show the effects of the change on a relative basis to the beginning of the game and between the "view by" categories! Heart pounding again, he went back to the page and highlighted the M Response to Stimulus bar, clicked "Tools" "Calculator" and hit the button. The male response to exercise was now reduced by 50%. He gulped. He highlighted the F Response to Stimulus bar, clicked on calculator again. She had increased the female response by 800%!! Grimly pursuing it to the end, he highlighted both and clicked and then for comparative purposes moved the sliders to the middle and tried. He swallowed hard. Whereas women had previously had a 30% smaller response than men, they were now superior by over 1100%! Females would surpass men in size and strength with ease once they started exercising, probably, he thought, even without working up a sweat. And no wonder he was having so much trouble making progress at the gym. If a man's response was cut by 50%, the average male would have much more difficulty adding strength and muscle mass than a woman would have had before Marta changed things. Even being stronger than average, he still would be very limited in how big he could get. And what would happen if he slowed down his furious regime? Would he keep what he had, or would he start losing mass until he reached a new, smaller equilibrium? He didn't know enough biology to answer the question. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to see more. Who cared about the scales for Disposition. This was horrible. He reached for the on/off switch and heard a clucking sound behind him. "Now Todd. You always used to tell me I had to exit Windows before turning off the machine." "Marta! But you look like Becky again. What have... you- you," he sputtered. "Yes, I'm here in person! I wanted to see at first hand how you liked the program. It _does_ bother you a lot, doesn't it? But you haven't even seen the results of the simulation yet. Oh my, I forget, you can't see into the future. Poor Todd. Just look at these statistics, one year from today." She waved her hand at the computer and print filled the screen. Assaults on women down 95% Rape down 97% Alcohol and Drug abuse down 37% Average earnings by women up 49% Female participation in professional sports up 531,245% "Of course there's a downside too. Among other things, assaults on men do increase and fewer men end up playing professional sports. There will be a few mixed games of football, but that won't last long. The men's injuries will be quite gruesome." "You can't do this!" "Todd, it's already done. It will take a little time before the effects are felt, but the changes in male and female physiology are already becoming known. The Chinese sports scientists are quite excited; they don't realize yet it isn't their new training techniques. But women everywhere are discovering new capabilities and men, new frustrations." "Why, Marta, why? Don't you have better things to do?" "Of course, and I'm doing them too. I've got thousands of astral bodies all over the universe, exploring, learning, meddling. And why shouldn't I try to improve the human race? But I'm not being honest with you. Can you imagine how godlike I feel? How rich my life has become? If you had succeeded in casting the witches' spell, you would have deprived me of the most wondrous experience anyone could imagine. So, in return, I am going to enjoy watching you struggle with being the weaker sex, the much, much weaker sex, that is. I've purposely not looked into your future so that I could enjoy seeing how, little by little, day by day, you adapt to your physical inferiority." "But it's not just me you're doing this to. What about other men?" Marta shrugged. "For every man who's made unhappy, there's a woman who's happy. You saw the statistics. And there are plenty of men who are excited by strong women, your friend Arnold for one. Men are very adaptable generally, so long as they get squeezed in the right places. Look what they do when they go to prison." "But, my dear Todd, you're not adaptable. I know that. You're a reliable, old-fashioned man who likes things exactly the way they've been. I'm counting on it. Ha-ha. You already look so sad. You were thinking of Molly before. Would you like to see how she looks now? There, using one of my astral bodies, I've taken on her form over there. You can barely see the outlines of her new muscles forming in her shoulders and her back. She does a lot of filing, and some of those files get quite heavy. Now, I'll project a second image. Look at her in two months' time, those thick, round biceps. Go on over and feel them Todd. She won't tickle you, I promise. Feel that hard, dense muscle? Remember what that felt like, when you had it? Just try to arm wrestle your sister on your next visit home. "And Christina! She's never been too pleased with me, of course, but I haven't held that against her. On the contrary; look what I've done for her. Let me project an image of what she's doing right now. Why look, we're just in time. She's editing that tape of you talking about the 'killer instinct.' I think she's still angry with you, Todd; look how her lips are pulled tight. She does have a nice body, Todd, a real dancer's body. She always had those lean, strong legs and tight stomach, but look at her arms now! She has so little fat you can see every ridge of muscle fiber pushing through her skin. She's very emotional too; see how her knuckles are white from gripping the desk while she watches you expound on the 'killer instinct.' Just look at those meaty forearms! Now, just how do you think she got those? Oh, she's replaying it again. Now she's making a fist. Hey, nice biceps, Christina. Todd, I honestly think she's already almost as big as the man I used to be married to. Hey, she's picked up the phone. Do you think -- The phone rang. Todd glared at Marta and walked to his desk to pick it up. "Todd? It's Christina." "Oh, hi." "Aren't you surprised to hear from me?" "Uh, sure." "Hmmph. I heard, uh, that you broke up with Marta and moved back into the city." "Yeah, how did you find out?" "I keep tabs on you Todd." "I didn't think you still, I mean, I haven't really "You probably just forgot about me, didn't you? Or maybe you figured I wouldn't call you again, not after the last time I saw you. Do you remember what you did Todd?" Todd looked over at Marta's astral projection of Christina's image and saw Christina feeling her very substantial biceps. He swallowed involuntarily. "You're not saying anything. I saw the interview you did, Todd. You're going to be on the ten o'clock news, you know. Maybe I can come by, see your new place, and we can watch it together." "I really don't "You don't scare me anymore you know." "I won't be here, Christina. I'm going away tonight." There was a pause. "Oh, some other time, then." Todd was silent. "I'll give you a call, or maybe I'll just run into you somewhere, ok?" "Christina, I don't think we "You know, I don't CARE what you think!" Todd watched her slam down the phone and then hit her desk twice with her fist. She took a few deep, calming breaths, then walked across her office to a rack of video equipment. Firmly grasping the bars and keeping her back perfectly straight, she lifted it off the stand and started curling it, first slowly to make sure the cables were clear of obstructions, then more quickly. With each lift, her veins rose more prominently against her skin, her muscles contracting into hard balls of power. "Just you wait, Todd Bartel," she muttered. Marta laughed. "You shouldn't have been so rough with her Todd. She's very motivated, and disciplined. Look at that posture! She's going to be a real powerhouse, maybe even, dare I say, stronger than you." "Marta! You can't keep doing this!" "Do try to stop me. I'd like to see you try." Todd hurled himself at her, but Marta put her hand up against his chest and threw him across the room. "Ha! I'm just a little bit stronger than I look, aren't I Todd? Who needs muscle when I have powers greater than millions of stars flowing through me." "Perhaps I'll get her a winning lottery ticket so that she can quit her job and buy an apartment in your building, perhaps even on your floor. She'd watch you like a hawk, Todd, follow you everywhere. Wouldn't you feel safer that way? I'm sure she wouldn't let anyone ELSE bother you." Marta watched her go back to the rack of equipment. "Just look at her work those biceps! Of course, she'll just keep growing, especially if she keeps working out." She advanced on Todd. "What about you? Wouldn't you like to see how you're going to look in a couple of years. It's just a matter of time before you get frustrated as you see that all of your hard work is just to stand in place. Something will happen, maybe a few months of work on a deal or something, or an illness, or a broken arm, and then, you'll wake up and find yourself soft and small, and you'll never gain that muscle back. Maybe a little toning here and there, keep that butt firm, those abs hard, but bye-bye biceps, Todd, bye-bye pecs. Look down at them and know that's as big as you'll ever be for the rest of your life." Todd was staring at her, growing more and more frightened by her wild talk. He looked back at all of the images moving about his room. Molly, now and later. Christina, strong as a bull and eagerly flexing her massive biceps with an avid gleam in her eye. He reached in back of him, and felt his hand close on the box Madame LaFarge had given him. It was empty now; the tokens smashed. He was sure there was no chance it would work, but he still remembered the incantation, drilled into him by that coven of witches. What did he have to lose? He walked slowly over to Marta, hands in front of him, palms facing up. "What a pleasant tableau, you look like you're walking in to surrender. Sorry Todd. The battle never ends. As I said before, the world is mine, and you must live in it, under my will. I will give you no terms." Todd stood facing her. He put his right hand on her shoulder. "Please Marta. I'm begging you." He placed his other hand on her left shoulder, his fingers extended toward her ear. With a quick move, he touched her left ear and intoned, "revo si lleps eht, revo si lleps eht." A small spark leapt from his fingers to Marta, then connected all of the astral bodies in the room in an arc of light and energy that threw Todd backwards. He heard a scream, and a cloud surrounded Marta, then slowly dissipated. Todd waited eagerly, wondering. Marta stood, hands covering her face. But Todd could see it at once, in her posture, the way her clothes were hanging on her. She was her old self again! "AAAARGH!!! What have you done? You've ruined everything!" She reached out to slap him, but Todd caught her hands easily and held them firmly. "I hate you! I hate you!!" she screamed, then burst out into a coughing fit and collapsed weakly on the floor, sobbing. Todd watched her, pleased as he could be, but as she cried, he felt a little twinge of sympathy. "Well, aren't you at least going to get me some water?! I can hardly breathe." She coughed more, and Todd went into the kitchen. Marta grabbed eagerly at the glass and drank it down. "I feel so wretched." "I must have returned you to the way you were before all of this happened. Your body must still be going through withdrawal or something." Marta held out her arms. "I feel so weak, so limited. I can't even concentrate. You have no idea what this feels like." "Sure I do. I live like a normal man every day." "But you've never had the power I did. And to lose it! You bastard! How could you do this to me?!" Todd stared at her. "Dammit Marta, I didn't want to do anything TO you. Remember, I'm the one who did this FOR you. But you went too far, really too far. I mean, you were changing everything. Well, that's over now." Marta sniffed, whimpering on the floor. "Uh, listen, can I get you a cab? I'm meeting Sarah at the airport." "Todd! You can't just leave me here like this. I'm sick again. Can you at least give me something to eat? I haven't had to eat in months, you know, and it must be catching up on me, all at once." "Are you crazy? You taunt me, divorce me, torture me even, and now you expect me to take care of you?" He looked down at her. She did look pathetic, her face drawn, "Becky's" clothes just hanging on her thin body. "Oh alright. I got half an hour or so. Leftover Chinese ok?" She nodded meekly. "I'll warm it up. You want something to drink? A beer?" "Some wine maybe?" "Wine?!! You really are the old Marta again. Yeah, I got some. White, right? Rhone?" "I'm glad you still remember." "Well, it's too sweet for me, but we used to have a lot of it. I think I took some when I moved." "Really? I'll have to tell my lawyer." Todd looked at her, amazed, poking his head out of the wine closet. "Just a joke, ok?" Todd went into the kitchen to dump the food into the microwave. Finally it beeped, and Todd emerged with a large bowl of Hunan Chicken. Marta ate and drained the glass. "More, if you would." "You're just going to get drunk." "I don't need you to tell me what to do. I know how to make myself feel better. Just fill it up." "You still have that old pleasant personality. You know, for a few weeks when this all started, I really liked you again, I mean, before you became all powerful and stuff." "Well, that says it all, doesn't it? You 'liked me again.' Not good enough Todd. Here I was, grateful to you for making me feel better. I thought you really loved me. It made a difference. Oh, I know now it was the spell, but thinking you loved me made me see you in a totally different light. I would have done anything for you. Then I saw that you were just using me, and that you never loved me. Not at all. Well, what woman wouldn't want revenge? And you just made it worse and worse. With everything you did." "Yeah? Well, sorry. It wasn't easy being married to you either, you know. Why did you marry me, anyway? Did you even love me?" "Of course I did. You made me feel special. I finally thought I was finding myself. At least at first." "That's not how I see it. You were just using me too. To help rescue you from your family." "Is that what you think? That's a lie. I love my family. Oh what's the use of talking to you? It's over. We're divorced. You have my money, right? That should be enough for you now." Todd stared at her as she finished a bowl of warmed over rice. "Well, say something." "I have nothing to say to you. I don't have to either. Now that we're not married, and I don't have to deal with some goddess anymore. You can finish your dinner and leave and then I can ignore you. And life will go on, just as it did before I ever knew you." Marta downed the second glass and held it up to be refilled. Todd scowled, then shrugged his shoulders and poured more wine. "It's just going to make you sick." "That's no concern of yours, is it?" "Nope, guess not. You can drink yourself to an early grave, for all I care." Marta sipped her wine and leaned back in her chair. "There you are, the real Todd. You know, I don't feel sorry for you at all now." "Sorry for me? Why should I expect that?" Marta giggled, then burst out laughing. "Great, you're really drunk now. I'll call you a cab. You're going to the Carlyle, I assume. You're not staying here, so don't pass out on me." "Don't bother. When I go I'll get where I'm going on my own. But wait. I'm not finished talking to you." She started laughing again and slipped down further in the chair. "What's so funny?" "You. You think everything'll be just like before, except that you have money. Ha-ha-ha-ha. What makes you think so?" "The spell's undone. Hey, I can see it with my own eyes." "You fool. How do you know that everything else is changed back? Huh? How much do you weigh, big shot? Let's see if you've got your old football weight. Go on, check yourself." "I don't have a scale." "Turn on the TV. See what the women look like on the news then." "What are you saying?" "I'm saying that just because you've used some mumbo-jumbo to cancel the spell those witches cast doesn't mean that everything I did was undone. Remember, I didn't cast any spells. I changed DNA, and physics. That's completely different." "You mean -- "I mean that all I would have to do is work out for three months and I'd have more muscle than you've ever had or could ever dream of having. You're still going to have to deal with being the weaker sex, big boy." "How do you know?" "I know." "No! I can't believe it." "Believe it. Go on, show me your muscles. I'll remember. I used to know your body pretty well." "I don't need you to tell me." Todd tore off his shirt and flexed his arm. "Dammit, you're right! Look at that. You can hardly see the peak that used to be there. Or the veins. Arrgh!" "Ha-ha. I love seeing you so frustrated. It makes it all worthwhile." Todd turned to her, eyes wild. "Get out of here!! Get out now! I won't be responsible for what I'm going to do to you if you don't get out this instant." "I'll go when I'm ready. You won't hurt me, I know you well enough." Todd was breathing heavily, trying to restrain himself. "Damn you, Marta! I don't care what you say; you're the real witch. All I can say is I hope you always remember how powerful you were. It's the only satisfaction I'll have, knowing I've brought you down. And the fact that you'll have to live in that pathetic drug wrecked body you've made for yourself. And don't tell me how strong you'll get with a little working out. I know you; you'd never have the discipline to do anything in a gym more than two days in a row." Marta looked up at him, nearly horizontal in her chair, and smiled lazily. "Maybe. Maybe not." She gathered her energy and stood up, a little wobbly. "Thanks for the dinner. Just one more thing. How about a goodnight kiss?" "You're crazy, Marta. Stay away from me!" She staggered closer to him and Todd backed away, then held out his arms to ward her off. She leaned over and nibbled on his fingers. "Come on Todd, for old time's sake. Don't you want to play, even a little? You can tell Sarah you were caught in traffic." "Not for anything in the world." "Really? Not even for three wishes. I'll grant you three wishes for a kiss." "I don't want anything from you." "More money, a bigger job, a bigger apartment. I'll help you get big and strong again." She giggled. "Poor little Todd." "That's enough. You're pushing me to the limit. If you don't get out now I may do something we'll both regret." "Little Todd, weaker than he's been since he was a teenager and declining more with every second." "Cut it out! I'm still stronger than you. I'm warning you." She danced back and forth, bumping into his hands. "Last chance. The price is dropping. A wish for a kiss. A wish for a kiss." "I wish you'd get out of here." "It's a deal, but first my kiss." She puckered her lips and looked up at him. "Anything." He bent down to touch her lips. "A proper kiss." Marta put her arms around him and touched his lips. "And now you may have your wish. But first, I have to pee." She brushed by him and wandered down the hall to the bathroom. "Ewww! Don't you ever clean the toilet?" After a minute, Todd heard the flush, then Marta came back with a container of pills. "These are mine! I can't believe you took them." "What? Great. Now I'm going to get arrested for drug possession. What are those anyway?" "They make you feel great, like you can do anything. Want one?" "No. God! I'd forgotten how obnoxious you were when you got drunk. Are you really going to take that on top of the wine?" "They work best that way. Are you sure you won't join me? Last chance." Marta showed him the open bottle, then popped one in her mouth and swallowed. Her eyes closed and she sighed. "Mmmmmm! I can feel it already. I feel a million times better." "I want you and those pills out of here. Now! Do I have to throw you out?" "Oh yes! Throw me out." She stood in the middle of the room, hugging herself, eyes toward the ceiling. "I've had enough. Well, you asked for it." Todd strode over to her, put his arms around her and lifted her, struggling with her weight as she hung limply in his arms. He staggered toward the door. "This is harder than it should be," he grunted. "I hate what you've done to me." "One thing," she said brightly. "What about a coat? You have to give me a coat. It must be cold outside." Todd looked back and dropped her. "Jesus! What do you weigh?" "I don't know. I used to be around one-ten. The coat?" "You can't. I'm sure I can lift that much." She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I still have Becky's weight or something. Who knows how that spell worked? Too bad you don't have a scale. So can I have a coat of yours? I didn't come in with one, you know, and I don't want to get pneumonia." "Take one. Take anything. Just get out of here. I have to go to the airport." "Don't be such a pain. You have time. Tee-hee. I remember when you could lift me like I was a feather. Remember when you carried me two miles to our house, the first time we moved in? So romantic. Looks like those days are over. Kind of a shame for you. And weak as I am, I have nowhere to go but up!" Marta pointed to the ceiling for emphasis. "You're headed right for the gutter, Marta." "Think so? Why, I feel stronger already." She unzipped the front of her dress, which fell loosely on the floor. "That feels nice. It's hot in here." "I don't believe this. You must be out of your mind. You're totally blitzed." "No I'm not. I'm a fucking amazon. Look at my muscles!" Marta puffed out her chest, her small breasts hanging limply. She held out her arms and flexed, producing an infinitesimal tightening of her biceps. "I'm very impressed." "Huh? That didn't work right. Lemme try again." She held out her right arm, took a deep breath and strained. "There, see? It went up." "No it didn't. You've got all the muscle you ought to have, with the way you live. None! Now will you get dressed?" "You don't like my body?" Todd ignored the question and looked at his watch. "Now I really am going to be late. I've got only an hour and a half to get to Kennedy, and it's Friday night." "I'm sure I can make a bigger muscle. I just have to get the right angle or something. Maybe another pill will help." She popped open the container and swallowed one quickly. "They always help." "You've really lost it Marta. I better take those away from you before you kill yourself." He grabbed it out of her hand. "Give them back! You have no right! Give them to me!" "You promised to leave. It was my WISH, remember?" "Oh, yeah. Your only wish. Well, ok. Just give 'em back to me when I go out, ok?" She bent over to pull up her dress. Todd was staring at her. "What are you looking at now?" "Nothing." But Todd continued staring. Marta put her hand on her forehead, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Men! Typical. They start wanting to play just when you're about to put the toys away." She posed like she was bashful, covering her breasts with her hands, squeezing them. "Oh this is so embarrassing, to be caught with my dress down in a man's apartment!" She pulled her dress up and started to put her arms through the sleeves. "No, wait!" "Changing your mind? I knew it. You really are attracted to me!" Todd scowled. "I am not . . . it's just that . . . you looked different suddenly." "Oh?" She put her hands on her hips. "You just liked the little miss innocent look." She put one hand over her eyes and affected a southern accent. "I just can't bear the humiliation of being caught topless! You like that, huh? Well, sorry. I'm going back to the amazon pose, because that's what I am!" She cocked her arm again, pushed out her chest and flexed. "See my mighty muscles!" Todd stared at a small bump on her arm. "You do have a muscle! Where the hell did that come from? I'd hardly call you an amazon, but you didn't have anything a minute ago." "I told you I was going to be strong. Watch me." She flexed her arm again. "Look! It's bigger again. But that's impossible. Even with all the changes you made in women's bodies, you can't be growing this quickly." "Don't YOU tell me what I can and can't do." She poked Todd in the chest to emphasize her point. "Maybe my body's just catching up for lost time. See, my breasts are looking perkier too. Things are looking up for Marta. Down for Todd. Up for Marta. But I want another pill." "Cut it out Marta, you're whacked out enough as it is!" "Don't order me around! I hate when you do that!" She grabbed at Todd's hand to get the pills back but he was too quick. "You really know how to piss me off!" She advanced on him again, but he held the bottle in the air, out of her reach. "Oooh, you're so mean! I'm going to get them, you know." She grabbed his arm and started to pull on it. "Don't make me get rough Marta! I've reached the end of my rope with you." "Warning, warning, tempers storming. I'm not afraid of you, you little blowhard. Not in the least bit." She pulled on his arm again, harder. Todd's arm shook as he struggled to keep his hand in the air while he looked worriedly at the growing size of Marta's biceps. "Do you see that? Do you think I can make them grow just by flexing them?" She held both her hands up and flexed her arms, straining every muscle. Todd held his breath as he watched the flesh tighten in her right arm, condense into a hard ball, and rise into a small hard peak. Then, incredibly, he saw the peak grow, right before his eyes. Almost imperceptibly at first, until he realized that the raised portion was thickening, extending toward her elbow and her shoulder, while it rose higher and higher like cake rising. Then a thin, blue vein appeared, hardly visible at first, then darker and darker, until it lay pressed hard against her skin, and before he knew it, he was staring at an angry solid mass of muscle, twinned by a second mass on her other arm. "I AM an amazon. Look at me!" She reached up again for Todd's arm and pulled on it. Todd strained to hold it up, but steadily she forced him to lower it far enough that she was able to snatch the pills out of his hand. She moved quickly away and popped two more into her mouth. "Oh yeah! Now I'll really fly!" She shook her head. "Wow! I may not be a goddess anymore, but I'm feeling great!" "Good for you. Go ahead. Kill yourself." "Don't count on it. Not with this body. I bet I can drink ten times as much as I used to and not even pass out. Go on, try to push me out now!" She stood with her hands on her hips, daring him to move her. Todd looked at her widening shoulders, the mounds of muscle rapidly forming on her abdomen, the round bulges of muscle on her arms. "I don't understand it. None of this makes any sense." Marta grinned at him. "That's because your mind is so, so limited." She lifted her arms toward the ceiling, puffing out her chest which was now solid with muscle, her arms bulging even when straight. "SHAZAAM!" Suddenly, the room was filled with flashing lights, thunder and smoke. Todd covered his eyes and fell to the floor, coughing. When the noise stopped, he looked up at Marta, who was once again a blond, with Becky's body, and clothed in red tights with an M in the center of her ample bust. She held out her right arm and rotated her wrist gently upward while her biceps rapidly expanded, reaching a peak twelve inches above her arm. "You-you, that was all an act!" "Had you going there, didn't I? You're so easy to fool." Todd collapsed onto the couch, covering his face. "No. No. I can't take this anymore." "Just think, you could have had three wishes, but you couldn't bring yourself to play along. Even one would have been enough to bring things back to the way they were. I would have done it too. I think. Well yes, because I keep my promises." "Marta, you've got to end this. I'm begging you." She looked at him with a touch of pity. "I almost feel sorry for you. But you see, I believe that even apart from considerations of my own personal satisfaction I'm doing the right thing. Did you know that of all the civilizations I've encountered in the universe, less than 15% are patriarchal? In most worlds, males exist only long enough to impregnate the female, as they do in some species right on earth. As far as I can tell, what evolved here was a bizarre mutation with no underlying rationality. You should be thankful I haven't gone any further. Why, on the Grrlia world, males live most of their lives as a small appendage attached to the female's breast. Although they are born as independent beings, with their own consciousness, if they fail to find a willing female upon maturity they just die. It seems that as they reach puberty their bodies lose the ability to digest food. They have to find a willing host, who will then feed them enough to sustain life for a number of years, although not any kind of independence. They quickly lose their limbs and most of their internal organs other than a rudimentary circulatory system and their reproductive system. When the female is ready to mate, she just plucks the male off her breast, inserts him in her vagina and when he's released his sperm, she throws him away. You know, there's a nice idea. I could change the power balance on earth just by making males unable to live without ingesting breast milk at least daily, don't you think?" Todd watched her go on in horror. "There are so many possibilities. Why, you know there is a world where the females actually draw strength from the males who are attracted to them? Describing the Mriblian process is a little offputting, but it's actually quite pleasurable to both male and female. Well, actually, it's orgasmic for the female, while the male is put into a type of narcotic high. You see, when the female senses that the male is interested in her, she attaches herself to him, and his body undergoes changes that produce a morphine like neurotransmitter, which renders him happy and docile during the process, and at the same time transforms most of his musculature into a enzyme, which is then absorbed by her body through the skin and reconverted into muscle. The process takes about two hours. The sex symbols of that world become immensely powerful, which then further increases their attractiveness, as well as their ability to nurture their children. The males of course try to resist their fate. They struggle not to allow the female to interest them, but they can't help themselves, the poor dears, once they mature sexually. Imagine what middle school would be like in a place like that. One year, the boys are stronger than the girls, and then one by one the girls acquire immense strength overnight, and the boys become thin husks, too weak even to walk. Of course there's no need to send them to school there, they don't survive very long in their weakened state. Once a male has given his strength to the female, she decides whether he is genetically desirable and mates with him if she does, killing him of course in the process to prevent other females from acquiring the same genes for her offspring. The successful females can store the sperm from their chosen males for years, bearing children as they wish, thus ensuring that the fittest survive. It's a much better system for evolution, and you can imagine how the sexual differences become more and more strongly reinforced with each generation." "Then there's the planet of Ontuk. It's my favorite, because superficially it is so much like Earth. The males are larger than the females and more aggressive, always fighting each other and trying to outdo the other males in the most obvious ways, but there's no rape, no violence against women, and in fact women control the entire society. You know how they manage that? It's really quite wonderful. You've heard of adrenaline of course. Well when the women of Ontuk are frightened, or in danger, or even just angry, they produce an enzyme that in a matter of seconds makes their relatively small muscles ten times more efficient. And if they are still in danger after that, in a few seconds more they become ten times more efficient again. You can imagine that there are few problems you can't resolve when you increase your strength by one hundred times. Wars don't exist there; the women realize their futility and they quickly kill any man who directs his aggression against a woman, a child, or another woman's man. They do have difficulties with the few women who are mentally ill or social misfits, but every society has its problems. Overall, Ontuk is a very pleasant place to live." "So you see, Todd, it could be worse for men than I've made it. And it may well become worse, for you. I'm still learning you see. Still developing my powers, my understanding. Where this energy that feeds me comes from, its nature, its limitations, all remain shrouded to me. But in time, I will penetrate its source, and then I will be a true god." "But for now, as you wished, I will be on my way. See you later Todd. Enjoy your trip!" She disappeared in a burst of light. Moments later, Todd found himself in the Air France terminal at JFK, dressed for his night flight, suitcases in hand. PART VII Feeling completely at sea, Todd walked dazedly past the lines for coach check in and settled in at the first class lounge while he waited for Sarah. He was too confused to think, much less deal with Sarah, and France. What was happening to him? He'd never felt so alone. Sarah walked in, saw Todd, and approached him with a smile. "I thought I'd be late. My driver thought Kennedy was in New Jersey." Todd stood and shook her hand. "Uh, yeah. Well I'm glad you made it." "We only have fifteen minutes until we board. Not nearly enough time for a proper drink. Well, we can have one on the plane. You look a little pale. Are you up for the trip?" Todd nodded. She sat down and he joined her. "Good. It wasn't easy to get the invitations for this showing." "It was your idea?" "Didn't Becky tell you? That woman! When we first met, you kept talking about some kind of changes you thought you saw in women, remember? Well, this show is going to highlight clothing for the new, fit woman. It's the first decent marriage I've seen of high fashion and an athletic body. I thought it would interest you." Todd nodded, and Sarah looked at him closely. "Hmmm. You're being polite with me, Todd. Please don't. I've been straight with you. If you don't want to go, tell me. I won't be offended." "Oh no, I do want to go. Definitely." "But ... for another reason, right?" Todd's jaw was set. Sarah laughed. "I'm not a mind reader, Todd. It's all over your face. Well, if you want to go, we've got to get up. We can talk about it on the way." Todd stood up and Sarah eyed him. "Are you well, Todd? You look like you've lost a little weight." "I'm, uh, fine." Todd struggled inside, wondering whether he should level with Sarah. "Have you seen Marta lately?" "Oh, no. She and I were never close, you know. I never liked her friends or the drugs, especially once she married you." They walked briskly to the gate and boarded. Todd noted her spare figure. At least she hadn't put on any muscle. "You're looking well." She smiled at him. "You think so? Thank you. I've been dancing for years, and lately I feel I've achieved a new level. It has been a marvelous experience for me. Do you like modern dance?" "Well, I "That's alright. It does seem to be an art form invented for women. Men dance entirely differently, mostly leaping and lifting, I call it. But I find dance to be almost a form of meditation. A disciplined form of self-expression." "That's interesting," Todd lied. "And it keeps me fit, without having to go to those hideous health clubs. I'm sorry, I know you like them. But don't you find that kind of workout mind numbing?" They settled into their seats. "Well, there isn't anything artistic about it, that's true. But it does make you feel good, getting all pumped up." "I suppose so. To me it seems rather mechanical, but I suppose now that the clubs are mixed sexes, they're even more fun for you. My dance classes are generally 95% women. Don't you go to the gym with Becky?" "Yeah. When I moved back to New York I joined her club." "She must like that. She's a nice girl, and she really does like you Todd, although from my perspective, I'm sure you could do better." "Oh?" Todd laughed ruefully. "What perspective is that?" Now Sarah blushed. "I'm sorry. Um, I don't want you to misunderstand. I mean, you've had enough of my family I'm sure. I just wanted .... Excuse me." She stood up abruptly and disappeared into the toilet. Todd cursed silently, ordered a scotch for himself and a wine spritzer for Sarah and wondered whether she became flustered out of interest in him. He wasn't sure how he would feel about that. Involvement with a woman was the last thing he needed now. The plane took forever to load the masses who sat in the back, and Sarah reemerged perfectly composed, taking the drink, thanking Todd for remembering her preference and sitting down all in one graceful motion. "You were telling me, Todd, why you liked your health club. Do you think I should try it?" "Uh, no. I don't think you'd like it at all." She nodded. "Why not?" "I don't know. You said yourself you thought pumping iron was mindless, or something like that. Besides, it's, it's uh, not very refined, you know." "Is that the only way you think of me?" Todd didn't know what to say. Realizing she had backed him into a corner yet again, Sarah smiled to make him feel more comfortable. "Do they have an aerobics program?" "Yes," Todd quickly agreed, then added to discourage her, "although they just announced they're cutting it back." "Oh? Why?" Damn, Todd thought, how did I get onto this topic? "I don't know. There wasn't as much demand for it." "Really? I guess with the summer season over, the women take it easy for a few months." Todd looked at her without saying anything. "Is talking about your club making you uncomfortable? I don't really understand, but if you'd rather nap, or read, just tell me." "No, I, "You've never seemed so tongue-tied around me before. Is it something I've said? After Marta, I wouldn't think you'd find me intimi.... What I mean is, I'm not some kind of ice queen, nor am I a china doll, Todd. You do know that, don't you?" "Of course." They looked out the window as the baggage handlers struggled to load some of the larger bags on the conveyor belt. "Are you in some kind of trouble Todd?" "Why do you ask?" "Your mood seems very different tonight. You usually show so much confidence. If you aren't ill, I would have to assume you're in trouble. Tell me. You know, if there's some way I can help you Todd, I will. Or if you want to talk, I am a very good listener. You can trust me." She put her hand on top of his and looked at him directly in the eyes. Todd looked back. He could get lost in those eyes, so calm, so deep. He felt her firm fingers on his hand and looked down at them. So small and delicate they were ... now ... but later, what would they be like? His eyes strayed to her waist and legs, hidden under her tweedy skirt. Was she still petite there? Or did her skirt mask legs of pure steel and stomach muscles hard and thick as plates of armor? He didn't want to think about it. He bit his lip. The flight attendant approached to bring them new drinks. As she bent down, she extended her arm only inches away from Todd's face to place the tray in front of Sarah, pulling her sleeve back to expose a large muscle, which grew even more as she lifted the tray and moved to the next row. Todd grimaced, unconsciously. Sarah placed her hand sympathetically on Todd's arm. "Can you believe the way she stuck her arm right in your face as if you weren't even there! So graceless. I think when they called themselves stewardesses they were more ladylike." She looked back, and then went on more quietly, "And did you see her arm? She must be quite an athlete! But then, I suppose it goes with the job now, pushing those heavy food carts around, helping passengers with their bags. Not my sort of work!" Todd nodded. "You would do it gracefully, at least." "Oh I suppose, if I had to, but thank goodness I don't. But really, I think you'll find the fashion show quite interesting, if you do decide to go with me. It's quite startling, and unpleasant I think, to have a muscle like that on a woman thrust upon you in such a rude way, but you'll see that an athletic female body can be quite appealing, if presented with taste and style. I was very excited to hear about this show, because I'm seeing that kind of build more and more on women, both in my models and even some of my friends." "Really?" Todd looked at her. "My! Have I finally piqued your interest in something? I was thinking that it's amazing how a change in fashion brings out different body types that one never even thought existed. Clearly, women are capable of much more muscle than I had imagined, yet the women who had muscle like this must have been hiding underground for some time, when it was unfashionable to be strong. I mean, after all, the chemistry of our bodies haven't changed." "Of course not," Todd assented hoarsely. "What do you think? Do you find that body type appealing? You must see quite a bit of it in the club." "Yeah. Well, I guess I don't like it when a woman takes it too far." "But don't you have a different idea of 'too far' than you would have, say, a few years ago? I think society has become much more accustomed to athletic women, and they're increasingly seen as the ideal female body. This is one of the things that interests me about clothing and the human body. Why, we're not even aware of how thoroughly a concept like this spreads through our minds. Just think about that flight attendant. A woman looking like that would never have appeared in a public, promotional type of position twenty years ago, but now, it is accepted, no it is sought after. Think of the woman in the current advertising campaign for that airline, that 'Supergirl' woman. Goodness, judging by the size of her muscles, she must be the strongest person alive. She makes Arnold Schwarzenegger look underdeveloped. And here they are, spending millions to promote her as the symbol of American Airlines." "Yes, but Sarah was getting a bit excited, and held up her hand to allow herself to continue. "I have to confess that even I, unconsciously I suppose, have become part of this zeitgeist." She took Todd's hand in hers. "You do have nice hands, you know." She placed it lightly on her upper arm. "I'm not aware of giving my arms any more exercise than I used to, but, well, just feel this." She tightened her arm, and Todd felt a small, hard, round muscle the size of a ping pong ball pop out of Sarah's upper arm. "Try to squeeze it. I find it's amazingly solid. I don't even know how I got it, but just a couple of weeks ago I started noticing it, and it's continuing to grow. It's just amazing how these changes in thought just sweep in, below the level of consciously, carrying one along, isnt' it?" "Uh, yes." Sarah looked at Todd, who still had his hand on her biceps. "You look so uncomfortable. I hope I haven't been too forward." Todd's face reddened. "Of course not," he said, speaking through a dry throat, "um it's, uh, quite impressive. Funny how I didn't see it before." "Well of course not. I don't dress to expose myself to the world. I actually think it's kind of cute, though, perfectly proportional to my body, at least the way a woman's body is perceived now, just as the size of your arms suit you. But ... you really don't sound yourself Todd. Are you feeling quite all right?" "I...I" Todd stood up abruptly. "I don't think I can go Sarah. Thanks, but I'm really not too well." "I thought you looked drawn. Shall I come off too and see you home? Or have I offended you?" "No. No. It's just been a hard day and . . . I can manage. Enjoy Paris. I'll see you when you come back. Call me. We can . . . uh talk about this some more then." Todd took her fingers and gave her hand a small shake, then turned and pushed his way through the boarding crowd. He felt faint and sat near one of the empty gates, watching the people file by. Was he imagining it, or were the men all straining with their carry-ons? Maybe they always did that. He wasn't sure. Todd stood again and made his way out of the terminal, flagging down a cab for his trip back to Manhattan. Todd entered his apartment at midnight, dumping his bags in the middle of the living room, and flopped onto his bed, sleeping the sleep of the dead for seven hours, until his phone rang. Todd picked up and murmured a hoarse hello. "So! You lied to me. You're still around, aren't you?" It was Christina checking up on him! He sprang out of bed and dressed quickly, grabbed his bags again and took the elevator to the garage for a quick getaway, only to find his car completely blocked in. He swore at the attendant, who claimed not to have a key to the car, considered his options and after looking for a cab on the deserted early morning street, started walking to Third Avenue to an Avis outlet he remembered being in the sixties. After six blocks, he started to perspire and grit his teeth, struggling with his case. It hadn't seemed heavy at first. He'd never even thought about how heavy his bags were. Is this what he had to look forward to? He put the bag down to switch hands, but before he could lift it again, someone pushed him out of the way and he landed hard against a wall. He turned around. Christina! He couldn't believe it. She picked up his suitcase now, trying out its weight. "Why, Todd! What a pleasant surprise, running into you so early in the morning." "What are you doing here?" "Oh, I've been following you, watching you carry this big, heavy bag down the block." "What! You've been following me?" "Of course. All the way from your building. First I drove my little car into the garage to block your car. Then I called you right from the corner opposite your building, figuring you'd want to get away from me, and just waited for you to come out. You don't walk very quickly carrying this thing. It was pretty easy to keep up with you." She took his hand and looked up at him, grinning. "Come with me. We can have breakfast. My place. What do you say?" He shook his head and put his hand on the handle of the bag and pulled. Christina tightened her grip and stood her ground. Todd glared at her and yanked the bag. Christina stumbled a little, dug in her heels and then pulled back suddenly, catching Todd off balance. He toppled onto her, losing hold of the bag. He grabbed it again, but Christina wasn't letting go. "I think I'm at least as strong as you are, Todd. What do you think? C'mon, we can armwrestle over breakfast and see." "Not interested." "Hey, give it a chance. You used to like me. I insist." She closed both hands around the suitcase. "Try to get it back." "I'm not playing those games with you." He walked away, leaving the bag behind. Christina ditched it, then ran up to him. "Are you just going to ignore me?" "Are you just going to hassle me?" Christina got in front of him. "I can see it's impossible to have any kind of normal conversation with you. Well we'll see who has the last word!" Todd tried to walk around her, but she moved in front of him. "Well, why don't you just knock me over? You did it once before." "Stop it Christina. I don't want to start something up." "Why not? I'm ready for you this time. Or are you afraid you'd get hurt?" Todd looked her in the eye. "I've never backed away from a scrap, even if the guy was twice my size." "So. What are you waiting for?" "I don't want to fight you." Christina stared at him. "Well, this isn't the Todd I've known. I've never known you to back down at anything." "Well, I've changed. Now if you'll step aside and let me go on my way." Christina sighed. "OK. OK. If you insist." She sighed again, more deeply. "Maybe I'll just have to accept that you won't be in my life. Well, just to show you I've changed too, I'll do you one better. I'll move the car that's blocking you." Todd stared at Christina, her lean body obscured by the down coat. "Well, you're finally acting like an adult. OK then." They walked back to Todd's building together, Christina looking up at Todd every ten seconds or so, Todd looking resolutely ahead. "I'll carry the suitcase for you, if you want." "No thanks. I can do it." "We can share. I mean, I caused you the problem. I can see it's slowing you down." "It's fine Christina," Todd replied. But he was grateful the light turned red, and he dropped the suitcase on the sidewalk while they waited, his shoulder aching. They walked down to the basement, and Todd saw the attendant trying to move Christina's car. "It's all right. She has the keys. She'll move it." Todd gave him ten dollars for his efforts and he left. Christina fished inside her pocket for her keys and pulled them out, only to drop them. "Damn. I'm always dropping things. My fingers get cold." "Hold on. I'll get it. Todd knelt down to retrieve them from under the car. As he poked his head out, he felt a sharp blow, then . . . nothing. Todd couldn't tell how much time had passed when he awoke. His head ached badly. He reached up to feel it, and realized his arms were restrained. He opened his eyes and slowly focused. He was on a bed in a dark room. The shades were drawn. His mouth was painfully dry. "Is anyone here? HELP! HELP!" He heard footsteps coming down stairs. Christina walked in, looking concerned "I must have hit you harder than I thought. Sorry. You've been out for almost twelve hours." "Where am I?" "A little place my parents have on the Jersey shore. It's quiet here this time of year. No one will bother us, or hear us." "Do I have to be tied up?" Christina looked at him. "I'm not sure. But it's safer this way, at least for now. Let's see what happens. I bet you're hungry." Todd glared. "I bought some Corn Flakes for you. Do you still like them?" "I can't eat them with my hands tied in back of me." "Oh I'll feed you. I'd enjoy that." Todd turned away. "You can't not eat. It's not good for you. You've got to keep up your strength." She chuckled. "I'm teasing you a little, you know. You've lost a lot of muscle. I checked you out before, once I got you tied up. Your arms are thinner, and softer too. It's very interesting. It's happening to a lot of men. I've seen it at work. Some of the guys in production are really struggling to do their jobs. And at the same time, we women are getting stronger. I've got real biceps now, and they're hard, like yours used to be. I bet I'm stronger than you." Todd didn't answer. "Aren't you curious about what's happening? We carried a special from Fox about it. Greenpeace came out with a statement that it's a change in hormonal chemistry or something, caused by the oil spills. That's why it's happening all over the world at the same time. They want to ban fossil fuel use right away. But that's silly. You can't do that. Besides, I don't see what's so bad about it. If this is the result of pollution, I'd run my car 24 hours a day. Anyway, that was just their opinion. Do you want those Corn Flakes? I'll get them, just in case." Christina returned with a snack tray and a cereal bowl. "But I don't think it's pollution. Everybody knows that causes cancer, not good stuff like getting strong. I think it's something more mystical, something wonderful happening. Do you want to hear my theory?" "Sure, Christina." Todd sat up and opened his mouth as Christina spooned the cereal and milk into it. "Well, I was at a yoga retreat just about a month ago. I've been going to this center a lot this year to help me focus my energy better. And all of us were meditating, mostly women, you know, all of these classes are. I was thinking about you, as usual, trying to turn my anger into something more positive, into something I could use, when suddenly I had this breakthrough, and I felt this burst of peace and fulfillment. And at that very moment, I heard this low moan from the other women there, like they had reached that level of understanding at the same moment. We all looked around and smiled at each other. It was peace, and joy, but not passivity. We all wanted to act. To do. But in a really positive way. So we just had to talk about what we were feeling. The leader frowned at us, and there were these other two guys in the room too. They were all trying to hush us up. Well, we all stood up and walked out! We knew something important had been given to us. At the time I thought it was just the women in the room meditating, but then after I left, other women at the television station were talking about the same thing, and I realized that a gift had been purposely sent to us, and not to you. At first I thought it was just spiritual, but then I started noticing the physical part of it too, that we've been given the ability to surpass you men in strength. You've noticed that I'm sure." Todd shrugged. "It's justice, you know. Maybe you men were given power over us as a test, and you've failed it. Now it's our turn. It's just so beautiful the way the universe works. There's a symmetry to it, an art. You've never understood that, have you Todd?" Todd looked into her eyes and spoke quietly and evenly. "You don't know what you're talking about Christina. I've never heard so much New Age bullshit. But if you really believe that stuff, then is it justice to keep me chained to this bedpost? To hold me prisoner?" She stared back at him. "Maybe not. It was the best I could think of at the moment." She went out of the room and came back with a key. "But you can't leave. Promise?" "Do I have to?" "Yes." "OK. I promise." She reached behind him and unlocked one of the handcuffs, and then the other. Todd rubbed his wrists, which were reddened and raw. "I'm so sorry I hurt you Todd. But it was the only way. You know that. We have to talk." Todd stood up and stretched. "What about?" "About us." "Can we go into another room, so we can at least sit down comfortably?" She looked at him suspiciously. "We can go to the sitting room out here. I don't want you going upstairs." "I'm still a prisoner? Well, a chair would be a nice start. I was getting claustrophobic in here." "Sorry it's not to your liking," she said sarcastically, then, in a sincere voice, "This was my bedroom when I was a girl, whenever we'd go to the shore. It means a lot to me to have you here." Todd ignored her and walked slowly out of the room. He took the chair nearer the stairs. "Nice. A basement bedroom." "I liked it. I was happy here." "I see. Can I have more to eat?" "Not now. I want to talk." "I'm hungry. I haven't eaten all day." "No! I'm not going upstairs. I don't know if I can trust you yet." Todd leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. "Well, I'm too hungry to talk." "I don't -- oh, alright." She stood and went up, looking back to make sure Todd stayed right with her. "There isn't much here, I'm afraid. I haven't had time to shop yet. Canned beans ok?" "I'll eat anything." She put the beans in the microwave. "It'll be -- As she turned around, Todd whirled at her with a sharp kick in the stomach. She let out a lungfull of air and doubled over, while Todd ran out of the kitchen, looking for the way out. Finding the door he pulled on it. It was locked! He ran back to find another way out and tumbled right into Christina, who grabbed him. Todd elbowed her sharply in the same place as before, but this time she was ready, and Todd's arm shook with the impact against her hard abdominal muscles. "Ooooh, I should have known. I should have known!! Your word is completely worthless." Todd pushed her back to the wall, Christina putting her arms on his waist, giving way slowly while she tightened her hold on him. Her body felt alarmingly solid. Suddenly she started squeezing his sides, the sharp pain making Todd gasp in distress. He fought to pull her arms off his waist, but the force of her arms was unstoppable. "Oh I'd love just to crush you into me. I was sleek and hard before, with my dancing and yoga, and now I'm big and harder." She tightened her arms further, oblivious to Todd's fists beating against her back, until Todd poked his hand hard into her side. She let out a little cry, then pushed him away suddenly and Todd fell backwards, hitting the opposite wall. Christina leapt after him, wrapping her arms on top of him and pinning his hips to the floor with her legs, which cut into him like heavy iron bars. He struggled to lift his body, but she had attached herself so tightly to him that he couldn't use his arms, and his stomach muscles weren't strong enough to dislodge her. he could feel his energy ebbing, his resistance rapidly fading. "Go on, fight me, fight me harder. I want to use my strength against you, feel my body overpowering yours. It's so exhilarating, Todd, to be outmuscling you. Did you hear that? OUTMUSCLING you!" She fastened herself even more tightly onto him while Todd felt himself weakening, as if she were absorbing strength directly from his body. Finally Todd surrendered and went limp. "Giving up? So soon? Fine then. You won't fight? Fine!" She picked him up, locking her arms around his and his waist and slowly carried him back downstairs, handcuffing him to the bed, then marched out of the room. Todd heard the door slam and her car pull away. Todd lay in bed, in deep despair. Days passed, then weeks and months. Christina installed a deadbolt to the room, allowing him to be unchained for a few hours each day to wash and use the toilet, but he was cuffed to the bed for at least 20 hours a day. She served him bread, green salads and fruit, a healthy low protein, low fat mix, she claimed, but without exercise he barely felt like eating anyway. She wouldn't talk to him, and in fact she wouldn't even let him see her, pinning him face down to the bed, and refusing to come in to lock him up again after his toilet breaks until he turned away from her. He tried to turn and look at her once, and her response was to leave him chained for two days straight. The discomfort, the stench and the hunger discouraged him from trying that a second time. She dealt even more harshly with his one attempt to escape. After days of plotting, he tried to club her with a pipe section he had carefully unscrewed from the sink. Unfortunately, he misjudged its weight and she was able to get out of the way. She took it from him roughly and punched him hard in the gut, once, leaving him writhing in pain on the floor of the room, coughing up blood. That time, he didn't get fed for four days, and since she turned off the water too, his drinking water was limited to the small bit in the toilet's reserve tank. It took him a long time before he could stand again without pain. Christina gave him no books to read, no radio. His only diversion was a copy of USA Today she left him the day after the Givens-Tyson fight, showing a picture of a shockingly muscular Robin Givens with her foot on top of an unconscious Mike Tyson. "IT TOOK JUST 43 SECONDS!" screamed the headline. Todd must have read that newspaper 200 times for lack of anything else to occupy his mind. He knew by heart the article about the surprise win by Northern Colorado over Nebraska when Colorado replaced their front line with a beefed up cheerleading squad, the story about the women of Iran rampaging against the strictures of the mullahs and imposing their own savage regime, the debates about redefining the crime of rape, about protecting seniority rights of men in jobs requiring physical labor, displaced because women could now do twice the work they had done. Todd lost track of time. He wondered why no one came to rescue him, why Marta didn't even materialize to gloat. He called out to her for help, first demanding that she release him, then pleading, then, disgusting himself, abasing himself to her in the most humiliating way praying just to talk to her. But she never responded. He wondered how Christina was able to keep him here for so long. Didn't she have to work? Wasn't she worried about someone looking for him. Wasn't she getting bored with the idea? But nothing happened to break the routine. He lost hope of ever leaving his basement prison. Finally, one day Christina opened the door.. He averted his eyes, but instead of leaving him his food, she tossed a key onto the bed. "You've served your sentence. Take off your cuffs and come out." Todd looked out the door, but Christina had already gone upstairs. He struggled to fit the key into the locks, then staggered outside the room and slowly climbed the stairs. He felt as though his whole body had turned to jelly. Todd looked around cautiously, blinking at the direct sunlight. After clearing his throat a few times, he called out hoarsely, "Where are you?" "In the kitchen. You can make some stir fried vegetables for yourself. Or perhaps you'd like some fruit?" Todd turned the corner into the room. Christina was already at the table, chewing through a two pound slab of steak. She wore a sleeveless sundress, meaning it must be warm outside. Could it be summer already Todd wondered? But then all thoughts of the season flew from his mind when he looked at her body. Christina laughed as she followed his eyes as they swept along her body and held up her arm for show. "It's twenty inches around, if I'm not flexing. It goes to twenty-eight when I do. Quite a pop, isn't it? It's because my arm's all muscle -- my bone structure's as small as ever. Want to see?" Todd shook his head. "That's what a woman can do if she works out in the gym regularly. And eats right." She swallowed a few more pieces of steak. "Mmmm. Lots of good protein. How about you, Todd? Want to show me what you've got? Or got left?" Todd looked down at his own arm, which had shriveled from months of inactivity and was lost inside his shirt. "Hey, you don't need those long sleeves anymore. It's July. Let me help you take those off." "Stay away from me." "Don't be silly. You wouldn't really try to stop me, would you?" She moved quickly over to him and grabbed his arm, holding him effortlessly as he tried to pull away. "This shirt sure got ratty after all these months." She tugged at the sleeve, which easily tore the shirt, leaving Todd's right arm and chest exposed. "Will you look at that thin little arm you have. It's so cute. It's probably not even ten inches around anymore. Make a muscle for me, will you? I want to see what I've done to you." Todd looked down at his naked arm, embarrassed by its puny size. He knew exactly what would happen if he flexed. Nothing. He'd watched his arm shrink rapidly during the first part of his captivity, first becoming soft and fatty, then thinner as he'd burned the fat on the meager diet she'd given him. It had been months since he could bear to see the meager biceps he had left, just like the time on the airplane when Marta let Sandy and Sally suck the muscle right out of him. But this time it was worse. This time, instead of Marta's magic, it was the natural workings of his body, sinking in gradual but steady decline, that had robbed him of his muscle. "Is little Toddy embarrassed to be so weak and small?" She reached up to hold his head between her hands forcing him to look down into her eyes, the thick biceps of her arms lined up on either side of him like living prison walls that on her whim could expand and crush him without warning. "I've looked forward to this moment for months as I've pounded the weights at the little Bally gym down the road for hours each day, watching my muscles grow to proportions I'd never imagined possible. With every increase of my strength, I've thought about how I would use it, how I'd match my growing muscles against your shrinking ones. And look at us. Don't we make a wonderful pair? Your tall, pale body, thin and soft, trembling in fear, against my tan fit one, exploding with muscle, confidence and power." "I'm not afraid of you. I just, I just haven't stood up in so long. You've kept me chained up for -- I don't know -- ten months? You've given me nothing real to eat. You've -- "Yes, and wasn't that diet a wonder? I'd read about it in an old Cosmo, from before the Changes. 'The Best Lose Waist Diet' it was called. It keeps your metabolism high to encourage weight loss. The only danger is it even increases your demand for proteins. Of course, Cosmo warns that you should eat more protein to prevent that from happening, but I didn't give you any, making your body cannibalize its own muscle all the more rapidly. As far as I'm concerned, it all worked perfectly. After all, I didn't want you to get sick. That would have spoiled the fun later after I let you out. But I did want you to get as small as possible. I used to let you have so much power over me, that I wanted to be the only one with any power." "You're the one who's sick." "I am not. Maybe I'm a just a little bit obsessed with you, but my therapist told me that the only way I'd ever get over you is to confront you directly, and you just wouldn't let me." She looked at him intently. "But now I am confronting you." She puffed out her chest, making it almost double it size and pushing Todd backwards. "It's such fun to look up at you, just like I used to gaze up into the eyes of my big, strong Todd in the old days. But now, the muscle's on me. And I will make you want me the way I wanted you. You'll see how completely I can control you now. But now I want you to look up at me." She put her arms on Todd's shoulders and pulled him down, Todd's knees buckling almost instantly. "There. That's even better. On your knees, with your head level with my breasts. See how they've gotten bigger too, now that I'm eating more. When I started eating for size and power, instead of throwing up all the time trying to maintain my dancing weight, I discovered I had real breasts. And these pectoral muscles don't hurt either, they really push them out. Don't you like them Todd?" She pushed them together with her arms. "See, no bra." "Stop this, Christina! Can't you see I'm not interested? You may be able to push me around like a puppet, but you'll never, never make me want you. So just give it up!" Todd tried to stand up, his legs trembling with the effort, but Christina held him down with one hand on his shoulder. "Tsk, tsk, Todd. It's hopeless. But I know you're angry with me. Why don't you try hitting me? Maybe it'll make you feel better. Go on, I'll let you stand up and try that kick again, right in my stomach. I remember what you did before, how you lied to me, broke your promise to me trying to get out. Try it again. I won't even block it." Todd stood up slowly, then rammed his foot as hard as he could into Christina's midsection. She didn't even exhale. He tried again, then hit her there again and again with his fists, the effort making him breathe rapidly. "I can see you're getting tired, and all I feel is a little massage." She tightened her stomach muscles and Todd felt his knuckles crunch against her iron abdominals. "Hey Todd, give it up. My biceps are thicker than your thighs, and a lot harder too. I've been doing crunches with hundreds of pounds of weights. And you think your puny little muscles can do any damage?" "But now it's my turn." Todd flinched. "Oh, don't be a scaredy cat. I'm not going to punch you. I'd kill you with a love tap." She put her hands on her hips, and seeing she had his attention, she tensed her biceps, which swelled into round globes of solid muscle. "Now these are impressive, wouldn't you say?" She tensed her lats, instantly bursting her sundress, which fell to the floor around her feet in shreds, leaving her completely naked. "I'm ready for you Todd, and now it's time to get you ready." She took his pants by the waistline and tore them off Todd's body, then did the same to his shorts. "Awww. Still so limp?" She looked a little disappointed. "Don't you understand Christina, I'm not interested." "I thought this might happen. But there's a way to take care of it." She picked him up and carried him into the bed room, oblivious to the blows he rained onto her back, and dumped him onto the bed, then lay on top of him. "You have a few things to learn, Todd. This little problem you're having -- "It's not a problem. You and your muscles don't interest me in the slightest. I -- "Nasty." She kissed him on the chest and then neck and started peppering his face with light kisses, then checked again. "It's still small and limp. But I know you're just a little nervous being with me. You've never made love to a powerful woman before, right? And this is a shock to you, being so weak, right? I understand. Why, compared to you, I must seem like a Supergirl. Well, Cosmo said that being stronger than men now, girls can show men how to take all of the pressure off, so there's no need for performance anxiety. First you tell the man that he's not responsible for whether it works or not. The girl just takes complete control of intercourse. Half the time that makes the problem go away, right then and there. So Todd, don't even think about getting an erection. I'll take care of it." "I don't have a problem. I just don't want -- "That's what the article says men always say. It's typical to have the man try to avoid the problem like that." Christina lay on top of Todd, licking his neck and then his nipples. "See, your little scrawny nipples are getting hard. Mine are too. Look how big and pointy mine get, now that my breasts are bigger. Doesn't this feel incredibly sexy?" "NO. Get off me." "You're really not in touch with your body. I can feel you getting a little harder." Christina kissed him, thrusting her tongue into her mouth and gently massaging his tongue. She was a good kisser, Todd remembered, and he felt an unwelcome stirring in his groin. He did not want this to happen. "I felt that," she giggled, breaking the kiss for a moment, then went back to his mouth. "Mmmmm, feels good, doesn't it? See how it helps just to let go? But you're still not hard enough. Step four is the new one, and it's why you men really never have to anxious again." She positioned herself against him, and suddenly Todd felt her vagina open up and swallow him, like a mouth. "Isn't that wonderful? We've all gained this marvelous muscular control." Todd felt his penis rapidly being massaged, that almost strobelike sensation Marta had been able to give him soon after the spell had begun. My god, could Christina do that too? He could feel himself getting firmer, even as he wished he wasnt' "There you go. See? Oh, he's so hard now. Mmmm, not too fast. You waited so long to start, but now you want to come already? But see, you don't even have to worry about that either. I can stop you from coming too quickly, just by squeezing you like so. See? You just have to lie back and enjoy it. See how completely you're in my power?" He lay there, pinned between the bed and her powerful pelvis as she rippled the muscles of her vagina, constantly changing the combination, the intensity, building to that overpowering strobe, then squeezing, prolonging the act again and again as she screamed in orgasm, while she kept him from his own release, until his entire body felt like one long penis each touch of her body sending cascading waves of pleasure through him. "Have you ever, ever felt such pleasure with anyone else? Look at me, Todd, look at the body that's bringing you such heights of pleasure." She flexed her arms for him again and again, her muscles exploding in size immediately before each shiver of pleasure, until he could almost anticipate the sensation whenever she tightened her arms. Her massive arms, the vibrating strobe of pleasure, repeated again and again, like a lesson to be learned, when suddenly he realized what she was doing. He looked at her with horror. "Oh Todd, you've just figured it out. You're so smart. That's the fifth step. We girls have to retrain you to look at us as sexual objects again. Some men have had a harder time adjusting," she said, smiling as her swelling chest forced her breasts onto his face. He shivered again in a paroxysm of intense pleasure and finally came in a flood. "That's enough for now. I can tell you've already started to get it." She looked down at him, sleeping already. "Poor Todd, it's just one in the afternoon and you're already worn out. I just love my Cosmo." Several hours later, Todd awoke to Christina's gentle caresses on his face. She was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, her nipples tight against the sheer fabric, while her arms stretched the sleeves. It was his t-shirt, and it wasn't even big enough now for her chest and arms. "Wake up my little precious! That's enough nap for you. I've made you that stir fry I promised." Todd groaned. He was hungry. He hadn't eaten all day, and he could smell Chinese food. In fact, he hadn't eaten anything with flavor since she had taken him to this house. He wanted it so much, he started to tremble, but he hated the idea that she would see him like this. "Come on Todd, I know how good it must smell to you. I can be a great cook when I want. And you've gotta keep your strength up, don't you? " she added teasingly. "Now, do I have to carry you in, or can you can make it yourself?" "Keep your hands off me, if you would!" Todd got out of bed carefully, then realized he had nothing on. "Where are my clothes?" "Those rags? I threw them away, except for a few shirts I like to wear. You wore them out. Besides, they're too big for you now. You'd probably fit into some of my old stuff, although the pants would probably a little too short and a bit wide around the hips. Maybe -- "Your clothes?! No way." Christina giggled. "I thought so. Well, I did buy some new shirts and shorts for you. They should fit. Hope you like the colors." She reached into a dresser drawer and threw out a pale blue polo shirt and briefs. "You won't need much more than this. You're not going anywhere that you'd need to dress up." Todd didn't want to let that remark pass, but he decided dressing and eating were higher priorities for the moment. When he met her in the kitchen she was already at the table, eating a steaming beef stew. Her mouth full, she motioned to Todd to sit down at the place setting next to her. "What's this? You get meat and I get zucchini and cabbage?" "Beef's not on your diet. It's not good for your cholesterol level." "Screw that. I need some protein. Look what your diet's done to me." "Oh do show me. I wanted to see before, but you wouldn't flex your muscles for me," she teased, pretending to pout. "And since when do you eat so much meat? You used to be a vegetarian." "I need it more now. It really helps build muscle fiber. Oh I could get what I need from cheese, grains, and tofu, but I'd have to spend all day eating, at the rate I'm growing." Christina was resting her elbows on the table and flexed her arm muscles, which ballooned outward, pushing the sleeve of Todd's old t-shirt up until it was folded back on top of her shoulder. "See? Like that. Know what I mean?" She raised her eyebrow and then winked. Todd felt a little tingle in his crotch and looked away, hoping Christina didn't notice. "The point is, Christina, that I'm not going to let you keep me here forever, getting no exercise and eating this stuff that's making me waste away into nothing. I have to eat some real food, and you have to let me work out." Christina looked down at her plate and ate a few chunks of meat, chewing carefully but quickly, then smiled and put one on Todd's plate. "You're very persuasive. See? And you can exercise later. There. Are you happier? Aren't I treating you well?" "You're just great, Christina," Todd said quietly, keeping his eyes on the meat as he cut it until he had put it safely into his mouth, savoring every chew. "But as to the other thing -- my keeping you here? -- well I'm not letting you go. I finally have you, and you're staying right here, with me. And before long, you'll want to stay. I know it." Todd kept eating. "Can't I even have a newspaper? A Wall Street Journal? I've read it every day for the last ten years, at least until I went to jail here." "What do you need it for? Don't you have enough money not to worry if things go up or down?" "Christina. It's my job. My life. I need to know what's going on." "But Todd, I'll take care of you. I have more than enough money for the both of us." Todd stared at her. "Alright. You want a newspaper? No problem. I'll see if we can get home delivery. But I can tell you, I don't miss the TV news one bit, now that I'm not working there anymore." Todd looked up. "Yeah, about that. How come you were able to quit your job? Did some distant cousin leave you some money?" "Oh no, silly. I had just the greatest luck. A couple of days before I'd brought you here, I'd bought a lottery ticket. I don't usually waste my time on it, didn't even know what the prize was, but I kept seeing these numbers everywhere. So I played them. And wouldn't you know, the Saturday I took you here I hit the largest jackpot in history! $125 million. So all of a sudden, I didn't have anything to worry about. I didn't know what to do with it. I know you know a lot about stocks, but I couldn't exactly ask you, you know, since I'd just beaten you up and chained you to the bed. Then I remembered that my father had always talked about IBM, how if you'd put $1,000 in it when it first came out, you'd be a millionaire. So I put it all in IBM stock. And now it's already doubled or split or something like that. Anyway, I have twice as much as I did before! I bet I even have more money than you got from Marta. Am I right?" Todd groaned. "Well, you can be jealous, I suppose, but it just goes to show you, it's better to be lucky than smart sometimes. Anyway, I don't really care about being rich, except that I can stay here with you and do anything I want without worrying about how much it costs." She carried the plates to the sink. "I think I'm ready for my evening session. Let's go downstairs. Since you're out of your room now,I can't go to the club to work out yet like before, at least until I know you'll stay around. So I bought some new equipment. They delivered it while you were sleeping." She waited until Todd went ahead of her, then followed him down. "It's the usual stuff, most of the same machines I used at Bally's. And I got some light weights in case you wanted to work out too. See Todd, I've really given a lot of thought to what will be good for you." Todd glared at her and went right to the weight machine. "NO, Todd. That's not for you." "What are you talking about? I've been using these for fifteen years." He sat down at the curling station and looked quickly at the setting, then, remembering his months of inactivity, he lightened it. He took the bar in his hands and lifted, but it stayed rooted in place. This is ridiculous, he thought. He planted his feet and straightened his back, set himself again and pulled harder, straining his arms and shoulders. He may as well have been pulling on a bar welded to a bus. He looked down at his arms, which were trembling with the effort. "Nice biceps, Todd. What would you say, nine inches? I have to admit I'm a little shocked that as much as you're pulling, I can't even see any movement under your skin. Zippo." She stepped up next to him and reached over, extending her arm straight out and grabbing the bar from the top, then lifted it up to her shoulder height. "I'd say it's about seventy pounds. Not enough to work my arms, but it's a good warmup if I isolate the right muscles. Now, would you move out of the way and let me use the machine? I've got some wrist weights, a couple of pounds or so, and you can work with those while I do some real lifting." She bent down and turned the dial far to the heavy side, then planted herself and started doing rapid curls. Todd stared at her arms, which were becoming more and more pumped up with each set of repetitions, the thick muscle erupting from her arms in ragged peaks. "Aren't you going to do your weights, Todd? Isn't that what you wanted so you could get some of your strength back? You have to start somewhere. Who knows how far you'll be able to get? Maybe you'll surprise me." She looked down at Todd's shorts, which showed an unmistakable unevenness. "There's one part of you that's growing for sure," she adding, smirking. "I don't mind your watching me, though. It's good to see you're finding me attractive. And don't worry, I'll be ready for more of that later." She reached over to touch him, continuing to do her curls with the same weight, and now with just one arm, whose biceps now towered over four inches above the already thick plane of her arm. Unable to help himself, Todd stood transfixed by the size of her arm, then realizing she was rapidly stroking him to a climax, pulled away and crossed to the other side of the room. "Just one session in bed, and I've already got you hot over my biceps." Todd ignored her, grimly fastening the wrist weights. He started lifting his arms up and down and running in place, just as he remembered seeing the women do in their aerobics classes. After two minutes, his arms started to hurt, but he continued for five more. He couldn't believe he was getting a burn from these wrist weights. What could they be, one and a half pounds? It was completely humiliating. He turned back toward Christina who was intent on her leg lifts, her thighs pushing the weights like two mighty pistons. She wasn't even breathing heavily. He turned around again to ignore her, as well as his stiffening member. Damn! Since when did that kind of body turn him on anyway? He strapped the weights onto his ankles and started doing leg lifts, but gave up, out of breath, after just ten lifts. He heard the regular clanking sounds of the machines behind him, but he refused to turn around again and look. "If you're finished, Todd, there are some magazines in the corner you can read, 'cause I'm going to be a while longer. Or you can take another nap if you're tired. I know they're probably not exactly your favorites, but it'll give you something to do for now." Then, in a lower voice, "Or you can come back over here and watch me." Her voice sounded as smooth as if she was just standing still, yet he could hear the repetitive sounds of her lifting continuing just as before. Just what was she capable of now anyway? He walked over to the coffee table and looked at the pile of magazines: People, Cosmo, the latest TV Guide, American Dance. Todd had no interest in American Dance, especially after he saw the cover showing a muscular ballerina lifting a slender male dancer. Well, that didn't mean anything. He always was suspicious of men who danced. No point looking at TV Guide. There were no television sets or radios anywhere in the house. Wonder what she didn't want him to see. He decided to look at the program guide. Well! She tore out that part of it too. Didn't want him to see the descriptions of the news programs. Something had happened that she didn't want him to know about! Well, the Wall Street Journal would tell him what was up. He picked up People and looked at the cover, showing Lady Di standing happily in her sleeveless gown, waving to a crowd, biceps bursting out of her arms. Lucky for Prince Charles he has bodyguards. He flipped through the pages. Tom Hanks looked like a bean pole. There was Tommy Lee, arms almost as skinny as Todd's. Hmmph, Todd thought. Rock stars. Todd wagered that Lee hadn't been tied up for ten months like Todd had. Maybe he wasn't in such bad shape himself. He flipped a few more pages. Star Tracks had an exclusive photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger, trying to get away from the camera, with Maria Shriver waving her fists at the photographer, her mouth open screaming. He didn't look too bad, not like the old Arnold, but he still very masculine arms, at least that was what Todd thought until he took a closer look at Maria. Why, her arms were thicker than his! He shut the magazine and looked at the cover again. April! Was there a later issue? He flipped through the pile and found one from June 30. There was Lucy Lawless on the cover, dressed in her Xena outfit, with muscles that made Christina look small, balancing a terrified-looking Hercules above her head with one hand, the caption on the cover in bold black letters: "WHO'S ON TOP NOW?" Further inside, in an article entitled "Suddenly Susan Takes Charge", he saw Brooke Shields sporting 25" biceps and a 55" chest, sitting behind the editor's desk, while her former boss hands her a cup of coffee. The "news" section has a picture of Chelsea Clinton hang gliding near Yellowstone, holding on to the bar with one hand while she waved to the camera. Why, she wasn't any kind of a jock, and her arms bulged more than his ever did. He snapped the magazine shut and threw it onto the table. He could hear the persistent whine of the machine as it battled Christina's stength. How long could she go on like that? This wasn't helping at all. That left Cosmo. He reached for the June issue, with the usual airbrushed model on the cover. Her cleavage looked different, what with the pectoral muscles and all, and the photo was cropped larger to show muscular arms, but at least she wasn't flexing. He turned to the table of contents. What was this? A news section? A finance section? Since when did Cosmo cover that? He turned to the news. Ripped out. Clearly Christina had something important to hide from him. She wasn't clipping articles for a scrapbook. Here was something. An article called "The New Rules." Sounds like the old Cosmo. He flipped to it and read. "All right. You're bigger and stronger than your man. You've shown him that you can give him pleasure like no one else. He needs you, desires you, worships you. And yet you want more." "Of course you do. Women have learned that they have no limits. You're on top, but why stop? You have power and you want to know what to do with it. Well, here are our ideas." "1. Mystery is history. Before the Changes, we had to tantalize, seduce, and confuse him to get what we wanted, and we showed you how. Now the rules have changed, and we're telling you straight. Don't waste your energy on beauty. Let him worry about that. The way to your man's devotion is clear, and if you've trained him as we've taught, it points right at you, whenever you want it. "2. Muscle size is power cubed. You know you're many times stronger than he is. But that's not the only power a woman has. Your breast size used to attract him, but you've trained him to be dazzled by your muscles. Perhaps you've tantalized him to see in your strength the echo of his former self, but enhanced beyond his wildest dreams. Perhaps he sees the curves in your arms in the same way as he saw the softness of your breasts. Regardless, men are genetically programmed to admire size and shape, and with those marvelous muscles you have, you can be bigger in more ways than he can comprehend. Thirty inch biceps are just the beginning. Every little muscle you have has its own special shape, its own unique movement, and every one can become your special signature of power, the expression of the essence that is only you." "3. His tool is your tool. Remember, the only part of him that's still hard is his erection. Use it. He won't mind, not as long as you let him come every now and then. With the Changes, our vaginal muscles have new capabilities, far beyond what they could do before, and infinitely more wonderful than anything your man used to do for you. We've taught you how to use them to condition him, now learn what they can do for your own pleasure. Experiment with positions. Make him wait. Learn how to make your vaginal pressure bring you to heights of sensual stimulation you could never have imagined." "4. Only your girlfriend knows your heart. Of course, the female mind hasn't lost the subtlety and sophistication it once had. We still can run emotional rings around our man, confuse him with our moods, our desire for truth and honesty in relationships. Men have never understood us, but in the past they could pretend that their directness and brute strength took precedence over the higher truths we knew, while we struggled with self doubt over whether there was a male counterpart to our feminine understanding. Well girls, now we know. There isn't. The Changes have stripped men of their power, and we can see their talk and their logic for what it is, a two-dimensional, impoverished version of our rich life of friendship, family and love. So don't waste your time trying to make him understand. He won't because he can't. And he never will. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can redirect your emotional life to your girlfriends, and the happier you will be." Todd crumpled the magazine and threw it against the wall. What a load of crap! He never had any interest at all in women's magazines (except at the age of thirteen when he found their surprisingly frank discussion of breast size and ways to keep men interested exciting), but this was positively insulting. He looked at the wrist weights, lying on the floor where he'd thrown them, folded in a semicircle that looked like a mocking grin. Damn Marta! Damn Christina! Damn those witches! "Such an angry boy! Want to tell me what's on your mind?" Todd whirled around. Christina had crept behind him so quietly, and had shed her clothing. Her skin glistened from perspiration, her face glowed, eyes bright and receptive. Her chest was heaving slightly from the exertion, her muscles now strongly defined, fully pumped, rippling with each movement she made. And she gave off the scent of the ocean at first light. She put her hands under his arms and lifted him off the couch, his chest grazing her breasts. He could feel himself stiffening, his penis sliding through the hole in his briefs. "Hello!" she said smiling. "Let's shower together." "Christina. I --" "Or we can go right to it. We'll only get hot and sweaty all over again." She pulled him closer, her leg pushing against his erection, gently working it. "No. I said no." "I say yes. And I have the only vote. Come on, Todd. You know you want it. Look at me. Look at my arms, which hold you so easily, so tenderly. Watch how they rise at my will. Feel them, Todd. Feel the soft skin, the diamond hardness beneath, the living iron of my muscle, my strength. I can feel your pulse beating through your penis against my thigh. Your special, little muscle, so nice for us both, lying against my largest muscle, carrying both of us so easily, so happily. Isn't it totally romantic?" She sighed and closed her eyes. "Come on, let's go up to bed." She shifted her left hand around, pressing his back into her chest and pulled down his briefs with her free hand while she carried Todd upstairs and dumped him onto her bed, then lay on top of him, all the while ignoring Todd's unceasing cries of "No. Put me down. Christina. Did you hear me? Put me down!" She maneuvered him inside her. Suddenly, Todd's voice changed timber. "Oh no. Oh no, you're starting that again. Oh my god. Christina, no, no, don't please oh my oh, how do you, no, no, haiiai, please don't stop, please, Christina." "Open your eyes, Todd. I want you to look at me. That's good. Oh yes, now put your arms on mine. Now try to squeeze my muscles. Try." "Oh I can't Christina, oh, no, no. You're doing that oh no please I -- "Squeeze them." "Ok, ok anything, just don't oh, oh, this is too much. Oh they're so hard. So hard. So big. And oh my god! Oh, I feel, I feel like I'm going to explode I -- "Don't stop touching them Todd. Don't stop or I'll stop what I'm doing." "No, please. Oh, my whole body is. It's all tingling, everywhere, like a million -- Right. Right. I have to. Have to touch. Squeeze. Oh you're making them even larger. How do you -- I can't even get my hand around -- oh they're so hard and -- oh no, I'm going to -- "No you're not. My turn. I get a long turn too. Just keep running your hands over me." "Yes. Yes. Of course. Oh you're so heavy, so large. Look at all that. It -- "It's starting to turn you on, isn't it?" "Oh yes it, but, oh you're doing it again. Oh my. Yes, squeeze. I try but I can't. They're too -- oh no. Oh no." "Don't worry, Todd, we've got a long night. Ooooh, that was my second. You're such a sweetie. I like to hear you moan. You never used to, before the Changes. Isn't this better?" "I've never felt -- but -- can't even -- ooh, Christina, I " "Just look at our bodies Todd. Your long thin arm alongside my short, just erupting with muscle, with power. See, I can flex them larger, and larger. You haven't seen them as big as they get yet. Do you want to?" Todd shivered again with pleasure. "How can I -- when you do that, that -- I feel like I can't say, I have to -- yes, yes show me. How big? Oh how can you -- how can you do? How can you be so big? Oh you shake me so each time you tremble like that." "Don't be frightened. Oh, yes! That was number four. They get stronger and stronger. But I won't hurt you, Todd. I'll be careful of my little pet. You'd break so easily now. Wouldn't you?" "Yes but. Oh, when you do that I can't think, can hardly speak." "Then, just moan. But keep you're eyes open. I want to see you looking at me. And then I'll keep being nice to you. Wouldn't you like that?" Todd nodded, closed his eyes, then, remembering her command, snapped them open. His jaw opened slightly, his eyes were glazed, a light coating of sweat on his body and he struggled to absorb the sensations filling him, overflowing, trying to keep himself from being overwhelmed. But he was helpless before the intense waves of feeling she was sending through his body, his penis like an antenna receiving her will, his body amplifying the sensations to an unimaginable pitch. He was a tuning fork that Christina could sound at her whim. As he stared at her, immobile, helpless beneath her, it was as if he could feel the power of her muscles pumping those feelings into him. Todd didn't know how long the session lasted. He had faded out several times, and only knew it ended when he awoke the next morning, sore, hungry, and incredibly relaxed. He could hear Christina working out downstairs. It was already 11, so he went quietly to the kitchen for breakfast. He made some eggs and toast and was starting to eat when he heard Christina coming upstairs. "Is that you? Are you up?" Todd hurriedly gulped down the eggs. "Hey, what are you eating? That's not for you." "Christina! Stop running my life!" "It's not good for you. It'll clog your arteries, and I want you to live a long, long time." She took the plate away and dumped it in the sink. "I had some fresh fruit delivered. Strawberries? Melons?" "I want my eggs." "You just think you do. Because you always used to, and because I haven't let you eat them. But you're body has adjusted. It's just your in your mind. You think you still want them. But I know what you really want." "Oh you do?" "Yeah." She looked slyly at him, and flexed her arm. Almost instantly, Todd's penis sprang to life and he felt a strong urge to rush over to her, which he resisted. But his hands were shaking. "You're finding me very attractive now, aren't you? Almost irresistible?" She squeezed harder and Todd saw the peak rise a bit more, the veins becoming more defined. He could feel his mouth start to water. What had she done to him? She walked over to him and picked him up. "I think you're ready for a little fun." "Christina, please." "Sorry, Todd. My call. But I don't think you'll protest too long." She put his mouth over his while she carried him to the bedroom, Todd complaining weakly, his verbal resistance ending as soon as he entered her. For the next few weeks, Todd's days rarely varied. No sooner did he awake from a session with Christina than she started a new one. To the dismay of his conscious mind, with the merest movement of a finger she could make her forearms bulge and set his whole body on fire with intense craving for her, his penis uncomfortably erect, his pre-cum flowing freely, while the rest of his body grew weak with desire and exhaustion. His thoughts of exercise were fading. He barely had enough energy to stay awake more than six hours during the day. He was eating less than before, and only what Christina chose to give him in the brief breaks from their intercourse. Everything he did was being conditioned and controlled by the intense feelings she could arouse in him at will. She hadn't even bothered with the Wall Street Journal. Todd wasn't even sure he would have enough concentration to read it anymore. After six weeks, Todd realized his will was nearly broken. From a small corner of his mind, he watched himself spending every conscious moment trying to keep Christina happy and satisfied, anticipating her needs, trying to entice her into bed, where he could again lose himself in his intense orgasms. She left the house often now, and Todd heeded her instructions to sleep as much as he could during her absence, to eat only the foods on his diet, and not to waste his energy exercising or reading. He wanted so to please her, even as the idea of his total submission left him sick inside. But what could he do? His body was no longer his own. He thought dimly that this must be the end result of the Changes Christina kept referring to, a slavery as complete as any of the alternatives Marta had described. Not just him, but every man, all over the world. Was this what Marta had wanted? He understood perhaps her grudge against him, but why change the world so radically? And even what she was doing to him made no sense. To abandon him so completely to total subjugation to Christina? Why? He finally summoned his will to one desperate act of rebellion. Christina was leaving for two days to visit her parents. She'd left him enough food and promised that if he rested enough, she would reward him for two days of sexual inactivity with the most spectacular fireworks he'd ever imagined. The thought of that experience made him tremble with longing. But this was his life, his chance for freedom. So after she left, he ate, rested, and then, when night fell, broke a window in the rear bedroom and walked quickly away from the house. He quickly realized how difficult his escape would be. He had no money, no means of transport, and very little strength or endurance. Todd summoned his concentration, his will, and then, realist that he was, headed for the parkway to hitch a ride to the city. It didn't take long for a car to stop. He ran for the door and hopped inside. It was a woman, about 25 years old. Todd couldn't see her very well in the dark, but he saw the imposing outline of her chest. She looked even bigger than Christina. Todd fought to keep down the volcano of desire rising in him. "What are you doing out so late sweetheart?" the woman leered, putting the car into park. "I have to go to the city," Todd replied uneasily. "Does your woman know you're out? You're not running away, are you? Where's your permit?" "My permit -- I. She left something behind. I have to bring it to her." "Pretty sloppy of her. She might lose you too." "Please help me. She'd be so upset." She stared at Todd. "You're very cute. What were you before the Changes?" "Uh nothing important." "Really? Well then, maybe no one will miss you." She turned to face Todd, but he saw it coming, and banged open the door, running out into the open field. "You won't get far," she shouted after him, but she didn't follow and drove off. Todd walked for ten minutes, then grew tired. He wandered unsteadily, then happily found a rotting shack, where he pushed open the door and collapsed onto the floor, falling asleep instantly. When he awoke, he noticed a strange flickering light in the room, a series of images of Marta, blinking on and off in different places throughout the small room. He tried to focus more clearly. It was her, wearing a fearful expression, pleading with him silently. He shook his head at her, confused about what it all meant. He staggered to his feet and heard a voice in his mind. "Help me Todd. Help me." "Marta," he said out loud. "Is that you?" "Please Todd. You must help me. Only you can help me." He stared at the lights flashing. The images were unchanging, but it certainly was Marta. He stared at her. "Fuck you, Marta. It's not going to work this time." "Please Todd. I'm trapped. Help me. There's so little time." "Why? Don't you have eternity?" "Yes, but -- oh Todd, she's on her way here to find you. You tripped an alarm when you broke the window, and they've put out an alert. She'll take you away and there will never be another chance." The images briefly grew brighter, and then faded to half their original luster. "I've surrendered some of my remaining power Todd so that you can summon the witches. They can return now. Please. They will come if you call. You must do it now. She's coming Todd. Please listen to me." Todd shook his head. "Todd. Don't do it for me. Think of yourself too. What will your life be like? Please. It's your only hope as well." Todd stared. "I suppose things couldn't get any worse. Madame LaFarge! Michelle?" A wavering image of the two witches, mother and daughter appeared in the room. Michelle glared at Todd, but it was a weak glare. She seemed green, nauseous. Madame LaFarge seemed barely conscious. "Well, look at the little man now," Michelle cackled. "Michelle," Madame LaFarge said faintly. "Todd is not our enemy. He tried to help us. Remember who cast the spell my dear. Tell him what he must do." She smiled at Todd, then fainted and disappeared. Michelle grimaced, sniffed and then spoke to Todd. "Remember when you recited the spell without using the tokens?" Todd nodded. "Sure. It did nothing." "Wrong, stupid. It worked, partially. It took a while, but you completely paralyzed her. And this is the result. All of the energy your wife stole from us is trapped, and she along with it. She can do nothing, and we can do nothing. But because you are part of Marta's momtuu, you can unlock it, release the spell, and free us all. But you must do exactly as I say. We will concentrate the small amount of power Marta has been able to give us while you recite 'Return the power to witches.'" "Sounds pretty straightforward. Since when do you work in plain English?" "There's no time to prepare you. We've kept it simple so you can do it, okay? "Wait. What will that do?" "It will return everything to the way it was before I cast my spell." "How do I know that?" "Look, Todd. Just trust me, okay? You don't have much time. Once that Christina gets here, she'll take you away and that will be the end of it. Just do it." "No! I don't trust you. Nothing you've done has turned out the way you said it would. Not the original spell, not when you told me it couldn't be changed, not when you told me you couldn't make me stronger. Everything has been twisted to suit you. How do I know you're not doing this to get some advantage, to be more powerful than you were before?" "Arrggh! I can't believe I have to stand here like this arguing with a mortal! Please. My mother would never do anything to hurt you. She likes you, though I can't imagine why. Even if you don't trust me, do it for her." "Listen to her Todd," he heard Marta say ethereally. "It's for the best." Todd stared at Michelle. He liked Madame LaFarge too. But she wasn't the one speaking to him. What if Michelle had changed her instructions? What if Madame LaFarge was dead? What if Marta was creating this whole show and the witches weren't even here? He made a quick decision. "All right! I'll do as you say." "Good. We will focus what little power we have. When you see the blue light, repeat what I told you. 'Return the power to witches.'" Todd nodded. Michelle closed her eyes. The image steadied, then a red globe appeared in the room and steadily changed color, to orange, yellow, green, then blue. There was a rustling at the door. "Todd, I know you're in there. Todd!" The door crashed down. It was Christina! Todd spoke. "Return the power to ... to Todd Bartel." There was a flash of intense blue light. Michelle vanished again. Marta, the real Marta, lay on the floor, twitching. And Christina stared at him angrily. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You had no right to leave! You can't go anywhere without being found. You're my property!" Todd stammered. Her muscles were flexed. He could feel his erection rising in him, his desire. Then suddenly, Christina flew to him, naked, and they were locked in an embrace, Todd's prick deep within her, Christina's body pulsating, filling Todd with pleasure. "Hey! What the -- How did that happen?" she said, eyes wide. "I -- I don't know. I just wanted you, and -- Suddenly Todd realized. His words had come true. All of Marta's powers were now his. He could cast his mind into the entire universe. He was all powerful now. He willed himself rid of his addiction to Christina, then threw her off him. She stared at him, amazed, perplexed. Then in the next instant, he undid all of the changes Marta had made in the world. He looked down at his body. It was his old body again, not as strong as when he played football, but it was his. He saw Marta, cowering in the corner of the shack. "Please Todd. Don't hurt me. I know I didn't treat you right, but -- "Don't worry Marta. I don't want a payback." He looked inside her body, down to her DNA and changed it, removing her addictive personality traits, then repaired her body, removing the chemical dependencies that had developed over the years. Marta stopped shaking and started breathing normally. She started to cry. "Oh Todd. I'm so sorry. So sorry. I don't know why I was so cruel to you. Please forgive me." "Forget it. It's over now. It's all over." He turned to Christina, who was still angrily clenching his fists at him, her muscles tense. But they were smaller muscles now. And he neither feared her, nor desired her. He was free. "What is happening here?" she demanded angrily. "Am I going out of my mind?" "You've always been out of your mind," Marta said evenly. "Turn her into a toad, Todd. Or better yet, make her grossly fat. That would teach her." Todd laughed. "That would be fun. Or maybe I should give her an unsatiable sexual appetite, and an ugly blotch on her face." He saw the fear in Christina's eyes, and then caught himself. "Wait. I can't do that. That would be .... ' "Oh do it Todd. Indulge yourself. You have the power. Use it. Since when have you been Mr. Goody-Goody?" Todd shook his head. "No. I've learned something from your mistakes -- and mine. I can't trust myself with this. This power must be destroyed." He closed his eyes, trying to expand his mind to understand how to rid himself of it. "No Todd. Don't. I'm telling you, I never understood it. All this time I tried, with all the resources it gave me, but it's beyond our understanding. Only the witches know how to manipulate it, and even they make mistakes. You don't know what would happen if you tried to let it go. It's yours. Keep it at least and don't use it if you don't want to." "How could I do that? How could I have godlike powers and not use them?" He closed his eyes and expanded his senses until he saw the great flow of power channeling through the universe into him. He sensed its path, its entry into him. Oh it was tempting, but he must stop it, before he changed his mind. And quietly, resolutely, he turned it around and returned the flow to its source. "There. It's done." Marta looked at him, openmouthed. "I can't believe what you've done. You could have been a god. And you'd rather be a man?" "Being a man's not so bad. If you let him be a man, that is." Marta looked at him admiringly. "But -- no, perhaps you're right. Maybe we just weren't cut out to have so much power." She looked him over. "I've misjudged you terribly Todd. Would you -- you know, I mean, we really should sit down somewhere and talk. There's a lot of things I need to say to you, about what it was like. I've seen things that no one could possibly understand, except you." Todd looked her over. "I think it would help both of us to get over this, help us return to a normal life. And if -- I know you were seeing Sarah, but, uh, I think there are a few things I could tell you about her too." Todd smiled. He liked Marta's flirting with him, and even her little cattiness about Sarah felt good. It was so normal. He could always go along for awhile, see where things went. After all, he was a free man again. Meanwhile, Christina was watching them with rising anger. "You make me sick, Marta! I can see right through you, scheming to get Todd back. I don't know how anyone could stand you for a second." She turned back to Todd, pleading "Oh Todd, you wouldn't leave me again for her, Todd, would you?" Todd nodded vigorously and pointedly turned his back on her. Suddenly, Michelle appeared. "I've got thirty seconds before it recharges and I vanish again, maybe for the last time. So let me just say that you will get what you deserve Todd Bartel, you little fool. Double crossing us. How little you know of the powers we wield, and how they work. If you fire a bullet into the air, do you think it stays up forever? Imagine. You don't even know who's in your own momtuu, let alone how to tame the creative forces of the universe. You thought you were better suited than we to manage those powers? Now may you live with the results! Agh, the pain, it's so intense! AAIIII!!!" She disappeared again with a horrible cry that sounded for almost a minute after her image faded away. Christina started trembling. "What was that!? What's going to happen now? This is so bizarre. Witches. Lights flashing. Magical powers. I can't DEAL with this!" She reached out to Todd, then, seeing him move closer to Marta, recoiled, her face like a frightened animal. "NO! Not to HER!" Her eyes went blank, as if they'd turned inward, then she shuddered, her body rigid. "She's having a seizure. Let's lay her down before she falls!" Todd ordered. Marta frowned, unimpressed. "Don't fall for it Todd. She's trying to manipulate you. It's just some kind of hysterical panic attack. She wants your attention. Ignore her and she'll be fine." Christina swivelled toward Marta, then back to Todd, unable to speak. She let out a little breath and gulped in more air, breathing harder and harder, without effect, as if she were inhaling and exhaling at the same time. Todd took a step toward her, and was about to speak when a blinding flash of blue light filled the room, then vanished. He stepped back to Marta. "Are you all right, Marta?" She nodded cautiously. Christina opened her eyes wide and looked around, as if seeing the room for the first time. "Oh my! My, my, my! That's better." She looked at Todd, then Marta. "Oh, yes. Now I see. So much better." She looked up at the ceiling, staring into space. Marta's eyebrows rose. "Todd! That flash! The momtuu. You don't think -- Todd turned to her in horror. "That Christina's in the momtuu? That somehow -- Michelle said -- oh no! "How WONDERFUL it is!" Christina walked over to them and put her arm inside Todd's. She turned to Marta. "Did I hear you say before he should turn me into a toad? Or make me grossly fat?" "Christina. Please. I've never done anything to you. Don't -- "Let's see how this works." Suddenly, a large pimple appeared on Marta's nose, growing and growing until it was the size of a thumb, then popping, leaving a malodorous yellow slime dripping down her cheek. "Cool! Maybe you shouldn't eat so much chocolate, Marta, which leads to ... Marta's stomach began expanding, as did her legs and arms and face, until her whole body puffed out with fat. Marta's legs gave out, her weight too much for them, and she sat heavily onto the floor. "Oh so sad. I wanted to see you waddle." Marta wailed, "Please, I'm begging you don't do this to me. I'll do anything. I won't ever talk to Todd again, just let me go." "Uh-uh. I used to hate you so much. I wanted to talk to you, about Todd, but you just pushed me away. You or your social secretary. I never could get to you." Marta's stared at Christina in terror, her fat cheeks jiggling as she shook her head. "What do you want?" "You can't give me anything now." "Todd. Do something!" Todd looked at her helplessly. "Christina, this really isn't necessary -- "You're still taking her side!" Christina said. "Well, not for long. Marta, I've always used to think of you as a pig, a greedy little pig, taking my Todd away from me! If you're going to act like one, maybe you should just be one." Marta disappeared and was replaced by a pig the size of a cat, snorting and darting around the room. "And now you can go where pigs go," she laughed. She waved her hand and Marta vanished. "Pigs don't last long on those pig farms," she added happily. "Especially scrawny ones." "Christina! Bring her back!" "No, Todd." She turned back to him, smiled and stretched lazily, content, her hands extending upward, the now oversized sleeves of her t-shirt falling down to her shoulders, revealing her sleek, smooth arms. "Oh, that was soooo satisfying. Can you believe what I just did? Imagine! You know Todd, you always surprise me! You had this power, and you gave it up. I can't believe it." "Christina. Undo what you did, then don't use that power, ever again. Let it go. It's not meant for you." She shook her head, looking at him in wonder. "You've got a funny way of thinking. It's like there's one bite of cake left, and you gallantly let the lady have it. It's a nice thing to do, being a gentleman, and I appreciate it, you know, the thought. But I wouldn't do it. And certainly not if that bite would make somebody else superhuman. Even you." Todd grimaced and stepped cautiously toward the door. "But I'm me and that's you. And I just love you for being that way." Todd floated into the air and flew back to her. She hugged him, her hands gripping his back with an unearthly firmness. Her eyes, bright, eager and hungry, met his. "Oh Todd, you're mine now, all mine, and I'm going to have so much fun!"