Tom fired the wand at the older brother, the energy playing over Tyler's scrawny form. Immediately the nine year-old's muscles began to swell with size and power. His pecs inflated and defined themselves while his flat stomach changed to a set of chiseled, six-pack abs. His arms grew to the size of Tom's and then became far bigger, with ripped, cannonball-sized biceps and taut, iron forearms. His thin legs were soon thick as tree-trunks with solid muscle and they even got longer, making Tyler taller to accomodate his much buffer and more developed build.
The now-tremendously stronger Tyler caught up to his little brother almost instantly, sprinting across the sand like an Olympic athlete. Steven screamed when Tyler grabbed him by the shoulder, but it didn't sound like they were playing anymore; it sounded like a cry of fear.
Tyler took seized Steven's ankle with his other hand and effortlessly hoisted the smaller boy high overhead. He started to rapidly twirl his sibling in the air, asking menacingly, "What have I told you about bugging me, shrimp?"
"I-I'm sorry, Tyler!" Steven cries out helplessly, utterly at the mercy of his mighty big brother.
Tom wondered if he should do something, when Mrs. Chaney's exasperated voice called out, "Tyler, put your brother down!"
Grudgingly Tyler lowered Steven to the sand and Tom saw that, far from being the same size, the elder was now a full head taller than his younger sibling, and far broader and thicker. In fact Steven looked like a stick-figure next to Tyler's power-packed, Herculean physique.
"Watch it, wimp! Remember, Mom won't always be around to save you," Tyler warns, before intimidatingly pumping up a bronzed bicep nearly the size of Steven's head! The younger boy seems virtually hynotized by the sight of the massive muscle, staring at it for several seconds before swallowing hard and nodding. "Now get outta here!" Tyler commands, and Steven turns and runs away.
Tom stood there, a bit non-plussed by the results of his intervention. Apparently Tyler's unbelievable physical superiority had completely changed the relationship between the brothers. Instead of them playing with and pranking each other on a more or less equal basis, it was clear Tyler was large and in-charge, with Steven obeying him or else. Maybe this was inevitable. After all, now Tyler had to be what? Thirty, forty times stronger than his younger brother? He could snap Steven in two like a twig if he wanted to, and both boys undoubtedly knew that.
How often, Tom wondered, had the muscle-bound, superhuman nine year-old shown off for his brother, proudly flaunting his amazing strength? It was pretty surprising that the seven year-old still had the courage to defy his dominant, He-Boy big brother in any way whatsoever.
A sudden shout of "Hey, Tom!" interrupted the wand-wielder's train of thought as Tyler spotted him and ran toward him at blinding speed.
"What've you got there?" Tyler asked and Tom quickly put the wand in his back pocket. "Nothing, just something I found on the beach," he said hastily. "How are you doing today, Tyler?"
"Great! Every day's a good day to be me," Tyler said with a sly smile. Up close Tom could fully appreciate just how much the child had changed. For a boy who'd not yet hit puberty he was impossibly, inhumanly muscular and cut, putting that Richard Sandrak bodybuilder to shame. Even as he stood relaxed, his immense, sculpted muscles still seemd to ripple across his statuesque frame. Like Alex he radiated pure physical power, and Tom knew without question that Tyler was much, much stronger than he was.
Unlike Alex, however, Tyler also seemd to exude an almost tangible pride and self-confidence. He faced Tom fearlessly, like an equal or even a superior, with none of the shyness or deference he had displayed toward the teen in the past. Even his voice had changed, carrying in its tones an authority and self-assurance which no nine year-old should possess.
"So have you seen Alex anywhere around?" Tyler asked.
"Yeah, he's resting right over there," Tom answered, pointing to his slumbering behemoth of a best friend.
"Good! Maybe he can come back with me to work out then."
"Work out with you?" Tom questioned.
"Yeah! You know Alex is the only one I can lift weights with; everybody else is too weak," the young superboy said disdainfully.
"Have you and Alex worked out together before?" Tom asked.
"What? Course we have! You've come over and watched us sometimes, remember?"
Tom didn't remember, but he supposed it made sense. Alex and Tyler were certainly the two of the strongest people in the world, if not the strongest; it was only natural that they would spend time together. Knowing Alex, he was probably serving as a mentor to Tyler, though he could be working a bit harder on the little alpha male's attitude.
"Oh, yea, that's right," Tom agreed unconvincingly. Tyler stared at him strangely, then shrugged his extremely broad shoulders and headed for Alex.
Tom started to follow, then turned back toward Steven, who was playing by himself in the sand. Should he use the wand on Steven now? Or should he wait and first satisfy his curiousity about how Alex and Tyler got along in this reality?
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author