The Necklace – Part 2

 

by Rick Powers (a.k.a. The Power Company)

 

 

The rest of the day went without incident, although it seemed that all of the girls that were in his classes were by far stronger than the majority of the boys. They seemed to hit the ball harder and throw farther than any of the boys. This lead to very unequal teams for most of the day. The disparity of strength levels was especially noticeable with the seventh graders. About lunch time, Mike suddenly realized that he had actually wished that all of the girls in his classes, not just the ones in last period, had the strength of Zeke. Now he had 13 year old girls walking around with the strength of a young man.

During his lunch hour, Mike retreated to his office. He took out the necklace and examined it. It had a small, dull colored stone set in the middle, but other than that there was nothing special about it. “Dang,” Mike mumbled to himself as he looked at the trinket, “I wish I knew more about this magic thingy.”

Suddenly the entire world got quiet, or so it seemed to Mike. He sat on his chair behind his desk, staring at the wall in front of him. But his mind was not seeing what his eyes were looking at.

In Mike's mind a scene was being played out inside of a castle with people dressed in medieval clothes. A woman on her knees was clutching a chain and necklace while desperately chanting words. It was the same necklace that Mike held in his hands. Suddenly a large man ran her through with his sword and she fell dead on top of the necklace. Mike could see as the woman's last breath left her body and swirled into the jewel in the middle of the necklace, mixed with her blood. The scene changed swiftly and he saw a peasant girl in what looked like the 1700s wearing the necklace. She was crying in the woods and wishing she was home. Then suddenly she was outside her cottage. Then he saw a woman dressed as a dancer in the American West. She also had the necklace, and as she wished she were rich enough to buy a piece of land, she turned a corner and found a bag full of gold nuggets.

Then there was a young woman sitting on a stool at a drug store in the 1950s, playing with the same necklace and chain and wishing she were a famous movie star. Mike saw her being approached by a man that was offering her a chance for a film role. Mike realized that all of these women had unknowingly used the magic of the charm. But more importantly, its purpose seemed to be to help specifically women. He had seen no men using it. Until today.

And one more thing he realized. Every drop of blood that was spilled onto the jewel was another wish granted. And that through all of the centuries of magic, there was only one wish left. It was his wish to wish. And he knew he better not blow it.

Mike grabbed a notepad and a pen. He quickly scribbled his wish without saying it. He checked it over and scratched out some words. He realized that it had to be as clear as possible to avoid any problems like what happened to the girls. Finally, he was satisfied with his wish.

Mike held the pendant in one hand and the notepad in the other. His hands began to tremble as he silently rehearsed his wish several more times to make sure that he got all the words right. He cleared his throat and spoke softly, “I wish I had the ability to be able to know what any woman truly desires and the power to change any woman's attributes and abilities in any way I want.”

A hush fell over the office. All the noise of a busy junior high faded away and the the stone on the necklace seemed to glow brighter and brighter. Mike stared at the light, mesmerized by its brightness. Then the bell rang to signal the end of lunch and the office returned to its normally dingy state. Mike shook his head and looked back at the necklace. The stone in it was now a dull, lifeless red, and suddenly as cold as a piece of ice.

The door to the locker room burst open as several boys entered to get ready for class. Startled, Mike jumped up from his chair and shoved the necklace back into his pocket. “All right boys,” he boomed as he opened the office door, “Let's get moving … no screwing around.” That was his usual greeting to them as they filed into the locker room. But now with his added size and strength, his voice filled the locker room, bouncing around the concrete walls.

Mike walked through the locker room with a presence and authority that stopped some of the boys in their tracks. Some were wondering if this was the same sub that they had the day before, others merely averted their eyes and quickly went about dressing down. Mike made sure that everyone was busy getting ready for class, then he instructed some of the boys to grab the equipment and he headed outside to prepare for roll call.

As he stood outside, he saw Jenny Osbourne, the girls' PE teacher emerge from the women side of the building. Jenny was all business. She had been a PE teacher for twenty years, and although she was still in almost as good of shape as she was in college, the years had taken a toll on her outlook on teaching, students, and life in general. Mike thought that she might be a nice person under her gruff exterior. He hoped that he didn't get so disillusioned by teaching, but he realized that it could happen to the best of teachers.

Still, he thought, I wish that she had a more positive outlook on life and teaching. It would go a long way to making PE a fun class. Suddenly, the whole area seemed unusually hushed and time seemed to slow down.

Oh crap, Mike thought as he was beginning to recognize the tell-tale signs of a wish being granted, I've got to be more careful in the future!

Jenny looked up and caught Mike's eye as a wide smile spread across her face, “Hey Mike! How's it going? Isn't this just the most beautiful day? God, I love teaching outside in the springtime!”

Several students came up carrying equipment, Ms. Osbourne sent them out to the field. “Say, Mike,” she continued, “Isn't this your last day at our school? Where are you off to next? It sure has been great to have you filling in these last two weeks.”

“Oh, I don't know, I've got a few assignments scheduled over the next couple of weeks. But you know, something usually comes up.”

“Well good luck. I can see by the way you handle the kids that you'll be a great teacher.” She smiled and gave him a pat on his big shoulder as she headed out to organize her students.

Boy, that was close, he thought as he watched the woman walk away with a noticeable spring in her step. What if I had wished for something … he stopped himself before he accidentally altered Jenny again.

Still, he thought, maybe I should just test this out a little more. Just to get the hang of it. He concentrated on Jenny, picturing her smiling face in his mind and suddenly he was filled with a longing for speed. Mike realized that he was tapping into her unspoken desires. He was receiving images of sprinters racing in track meets, their thighs bursting with power as they pushed themselves to be the fastest in the world. Shoulders and arms developed into finely tuned pistons working in symphony with their amazing lower bodies. And one recurring image of Carl Lewis, certainly not the fastest man alive today, but in his prime, and in Jenny's prime, he was the ultimate track athlete.

Okay, thought Mike, maybe just a little bit of a wish to try this out. He whispered to himself, so he could be sure of what he wished for. “I wish that Jenny Osbourne who teaches PE at this school would have the strength, speed and agility of Carl Lewis, the Olympic track athlete, while he was still in his prime.” He was trying hard to be as specific as he could be so nothing could go wrong. He continued to watch Jenny as she joined the class.

Suddenly he could feel that odd quiet fall over the field and things seemed to move in slow motion for a second. Mike's eyes widened in shock as he saw the shoulders of Jenny's shirt stretch slightly outward. If the change was visible from his distance, then that would mean …

Jenny shook her head a little and raised a hand to brush back her hair. Mike gulped as he saw a sprinter arm reach up and a big bicep bulged out on top. His eyes moved down in time to watch her forty-something butt slowly tighten into hard balls of strong muscle. Her thighs began to flare out and with each step became larger and larger until they could easily be seen from the rear. Even her pace changed to that of a confident world class athlete.

Suddenly, she grabbed the equipment bag out of the hand of the boy who was carrying it. “Come on slow poke,” she said as she swung it over her shoulder, I'll race you to the field!”

The boy and some of his friends took off running after their teacher. But for all their youth and strength, they were no match for Jenny, even though she was carrying a bulky bag full of equipment. She easily outran them, pulling away in the last 50 yards by so much that she spun around and ran the last few feet backwards and it still took them several seconds to catch up.

Damn it! Mike thought to himself. I had better be even more careful in the future. This could have been really bad. Someone could suspect that something weird was going on.

The rest of the day went as it usually does. No surprises. Except that, when it came to choosing teams this day, the boys all wanted to have some of the girls on their team. Especially Gabby and Melinda. Gabby was always recognized as a 'femjock' so she was of course picked first of the girls.

But Melinda had finally come dressed in shorts and a t-shirt instead of sweats for the first time all year. You could almost hear a collective “Gulp” come from the boys in class when she was showing off her new bulging biceps to some of the girls. Several of them nervously tried to shift their shorts around to avoid embarrassment, then quickly turned their attention to something less scintillating.

 

By the end of the day, Mike was ready for some time off. He dropped off the keys he had been given at the beginning of the week, signed some paperwork, and headed for home.

As he drove home, he reviewed his upcoming weekend. Nothing. No homework, no papers to grade, no housework to do. But then again, no dates, no girls to look up. Nothing to look forward to. Maybe he would grab some pub grub at the local watering hole. Even that didn't sound very appealing – trolling for girls at a bar.

Finally he decided to stop by the local sports store to buy some clothes that might fit more comfortably and then head over to a gym in a neighboring town. It was a small place, not like his mega-gym that his parents had given him a membership for. And on a Friday night, there probably wouldn't be too many people there. What he wanted was a little privacy to test out his new strength. To see how strong he really was.

 

After reluctantly spending nearly two days pay on some new clothes, Mike found his way to the gym. The place was perfect, and nearly empty. There were stacks of weight plates all over. This looked like a hard-core powerlifter gym. A huge man was doing the snatch and jerk over in one corner and another was getting ready to bench a bar with lots of big plates on it. There were a couple of women there, too. They were working out with partners and all had the solid look of a powerlifter.

Mike paid his money and was told that the gym would be closing in an hour and a half. He thanked the man and went to go find some secluded spot to try some lifts. He knew that his original wish had given Melinda and Gabby and all the rest of the girls in his last class the strength of about fifteen 14 year old boys. And he had wished to have twice the strength of Melinda. That would put him at a strength level of 30 boys. Even so, each boy could easily curl a 15 pound dumbbell at least once. So he should be able to curl at least 450 pounds with one hand.

Mike quietly collected several large plates, placing them on either side of a thick bar that was resting on a bench press rack. He stepped up to the bar and found the center with his right hand. If he was going to do this without attracting attention, he would have to keep it balanced and do it quickly. He glanced around once more to see if anyone was watching him. Everyone seemed involved with their own workout. He tightened his grip on the bar and prepared to lift.

“Hey there!” Mike heard a voice coming from behind him. He was so startled that he almost jumped in the air. “Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.”

Mike spun around to see a small woman standing behind him. He thought she looked familiar, but wasn't sure. She was dressed in a tank top and sweatpants. Her straight brown hair was tied back in a ponytail that reached to her shoulder blades.

“Ah,” he started, “I'm … no. No, I'm okay,” he lied as he tried to conceal his surprise.

The small woman extended her hand, “I'm Ashley Scott. You're Mike Green, right? I teach math at Riverside Middle School. I met you in the teachers room while you were subbing there.”

Mike took Ashley's hand trying desperately to remember her. But she was one of those sort of really unremarkable personalities that are hard to distinguish in a crowded faculty room at a large middle school. Even her physical presence was altogether rather plain. “Oh, sure. Ashley. You teach Algebra, right?”

“No, just general math for the 7^th graders.” She smiled as if she were a little embarrassed. “And … and a couple of periods of pre-Algebra.”

“Oh, sure.” Mike paused not sure of what to say. He looked around and noticed that Ashley was the smallest person in the place. In fact, she was so unlike the other customers that she sort of stood out now. But not in a good way.

“So,” Ashley tried to change the subject, “I haven't seen you in here before, are you joining the gym?”

“Oh,” Mike wasn't sure how to explain what he was doing, “Well, I was just checking things out here. I don't work out much and I was just seeing how things … were … here.” God, he sounded so dumb, but he didn't know what else to say.

“Really? You don't work out? I thought you might be a bodybuilder or something. I mean, I never noticed before at school but you're pretty big, like you've been at this for quite some time.”

“Well, yeah, I guess I have done a little bit of lifting.”

“Isn't that just how it works?” Ashley said as she placed her hands on her hips, “I've been busting my butt for years here and what do I have to show for it? I'm still trying to bench press just an olympic bar for more than eight reps. And you put on muscle just picking up a weight. God, I wish I had your secret or your genetics or whatever it is you've got.”

Almost without realizing it, Mike had begun to probe Ashley's mind to see what it was that she really desired. He saw images of a strong, assertive woman, comfortable in any situation, not intimidated by men. She wanted to be full bodied, but not overly muscular. The kind of physique that would earn her the respect of her junior high students, but not put them off as freakish.Suddenly Mike hit upon an idea.

“Isoplyotonics,” he said abruptly.

“I'm sorry? Iso what?

“Isoplyotonics,” Mike whispered with a look around the gym to see if anyone was listening or watching. Of course no one was, they were all too concerned with their own workouts. “It's kind of a cross between isometrics and weightlifting. That's my secret.”

“Really? How does this work? Will it work on me?”

Mike grabbed a thin steel bar that weighed about 15 pounds. “Let's find out,” he said as he handed the bar to her and smiled, “The secret of isoplyotonics is to stress the muscles without using a lot of weight and with a small amount of movement. Here, just do these exercises exactly as I tell you to.”

Ashley took the bar in her hands. This wasn't a particularly light weight for her and she adjusted her grip until she held it firmly.

“Okay,” Mike continued, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about, “First cross your legs at the ankles and bend over at the waist until your upper body is parallel to the floor. Now the first move is to slowly curl the bar to your chest. Concentrate on your biceps. The secret is to keep the target muscles as tense as possible through the whole movement.”

Ashley obeyed and slowly raised the bar to her chest.

“Next, lower the bar and switch to an overhand grip, then pull it up once more like you're rowing a boat. This time concentrate on your back muscles.” Again, Ashley did the movement as Mike described it.

“Okay, now straighten up and bring the bar up to your shoulders. Do you feel the difference in doing it tensed and not tensed?”

“Yeah, I think I'm getting it,” Ashley replied with a pleased smile.

“Good, now here comes a three part move. Squat down as far as you can comfortably go, focus on your legs and slowly rise up. When you're all the way up, shift your focus to your shoulders and push the bar up as high as you can. Then lift yourself up onto your toes and squeeze your calves.”

Ashley did as Mike said. She was a bit wobbly on the ascent and the bar was almost too heavy for her to hold over her head, but she completed the movement.

“Good. Now relax and sit down on the nearest bench and rest the bar on your knees. Then lay down and lift the bar overhead with your hands close together. Lower the bar until it touches the bench above your head and press it back up…”

“I should be tightening my triceps, right?”

Mike smiled at how quickly she was catching on. “Right, this is for the triceps. Then spread your hands out until they are shoulder width apart and lower the bar to your chest for the bench press. And that's the whole workout.” Ashley was already doing the movement even as Mike described it.

The young math teacher sat up amazed. “What's it? That's how you got so big?”

“Well, you don't need to kill yourself to build muscle. But remember, you need to do this three times a week. So try it once more while I watch you to see if you've got it.”

Mike had been quickly rehearsing his wish so that he wouldn't blow it. He thought to himself, I wish that Ashley Scott would increase her strength by a factor of 1.5 every time she does these exercises with a bar similar to this one for the next two weeks and that her body will grow more muscular over the next two weeks until she reaches the level of development that Melinda has and that her breasts will grow slowly over that time into perfectly shaped C-cup size breasts. He had decided not to go for the usual wish of doubling her strength each day because it begins to get out of hand rather quickly. He figured a slow steady increase like this would be best. By the time two weeks was up, she would be really strong for a woman, but not even close to some of the strongest women in the world. He also threw in a quick wish that she would adjust to her new strength level immediately. That way she wouldn't break anything or hurt anyone accidentally.

Ashley performed the routine just as Mike had given it to her. When she was done, Mike took the bar from her hands.

“So, how do you feel?”

Ashley looked very surprised, “I feel fantastic! That's got to be the best workout I've ever had! I don't feel tired or exhausted, in fact I feel refreshed and strong!”

“Great,” Mike congratulated her (and himself on his brilliant plan), “Just remember to use an empty bar and tense the target muscles. Hey! You look like you may have put on a little muscle even tonight.”

Ashley held up an arm and flexed it. The tiniest little bicep pushed up from her formerly thin arm. She probed it happily with her other hand, “Yeah! And it feels a lot more solid already. Thanks, Mike! Hey can I buy you a fruit smoothie or something?” Not only was he friendly and helpful, he was a real hunk, too. She thought to herself that it might be nice to get to know him a little better. It might even lead to going on a real date for the first time in a year.

“Oh …” Mike hesitated. He really wanted to get back to seeing how much he could lift.

“Oh, um,” now Ashley was embarrassed for being so forward, “If you've got something else going on …”

“No! No, that'd be great, it's just that … well … I wanted to get in a couple of reps on the bench press tonight.”

“Well, I was going to shower and change clothes,” Ashley suggested, “Maybe we could meet in the lobby in like 20 minutes?”

Mike smiled broadly, “Yeah, okay, okay. I meet you in 20. In the lobby.”

Ashley waved as she retreated to the locker room. When Mike was sure that she was gone, he settled himself under the bar for a bench press. Lifting the weight was effortless, as was pressing it three times, but he didn't want to attract undue attention.

Then he rose from the bench and walked behind it. Checking once more to see if anyone was watching, he quickly grabbed the bar with one hand and lifted it from the rack. As he suspected, he lifted it without much effort and quickly did two single hand bicep curls. Satisfied that his calculations were at least close, he racked the bar and removed the plates. He wanted to get out of the gym before anyone else could approach him.

Mike and Ashley met as planned and enjoyed the smoothies and each other's company. When they parted for the night, Mike told her that he was going to be in another town for another long term sub job but that he wanted to get together in two weeks to check on her progress. He set up a time to meet at the gym and then go out for dinner. Ashley fairly floated home, excited at the prospect of spending time with a man – a handsome, hunky one at that – on a real date. Now if only she could remember all of those moves he taught her.

 

The next two weeks seemed to fly by for Mike. He was teaching at an elementary school (fourth grade) in a town about an hour drive away. The long commute combined with trying to keep up with the energetic students left him exhausted at the end of the day, even with his enhanced strength. He would often wonder how those older ladies that did this year after year could keep it up!

So Mike didn't get out much and even had to spend most of the weekend grading papers and making plans. For the most part, this kept him from trying out his new powers. He did have a couple of occasions for helping some women, though.

One day, an older female teacher was complaining about how brittle her bones were becoming. Mike found himself focusing on her bone structure when suddenly he was having a 'mind tour' through the skeletal system: how bones are built and strengthened and how years of losing calcium leads eventually to osteoporosis. He wished that her bone strength would be the equal to what it had been when she was in her twenties. Immediately the woman began to look more comfortable and relaxed. Her whole attitude changed. Mike noticed that she was kinder to her students and smiled a lot more.

Another woman, the secretary at the school, was talking about how she wished she had stronger fingernails. So Mike wished for her to grow fingernails that were tough enough to turn screws. She came to love her nails and found that she needed extra strong clippers to trim them.

But all in all, Mike was rather disappointed in the the mundane wishes of these women. He could have turned them into geniuses, or opera stars, or athletes. But he had promised himself that he wouldn't use his power to change women unless they actually wished it themselves and he was going to stick with that promise.

So it was with great anticipation that Mike pulled into the parking lot of the gym where he and Ashley had agreed to meet after the two weeks were up. Here at least was a woman that really was striving to better herself and he was glad that he might be able to help her.

Mike scanned the sparsely populated gym and found Ashley in the same place that he had demonstrated his isoplyotonics method. He had instantly regretted making up such a silly sounding name, but it was the best he could come up with on the spot.

Ashley was performing the exercise exactly as Mike had shown her and was just completing it when he walked up. She was dressed in some sort of exercise pants that were tight at the waist but were loose around the legs to offer plenty of comfortable movement. She had on a top that looked to be two or three sizes too big with sleeves that went down to her elbows. So If Mike was hoping to see the improvements in her physique, it would have to wait for another time.

Ashley saw Mike as he approached and turned her head to smile at him while she finished her last movement. Mike was caught off guard by the intense radiance of her smile. Her face practically glowed with health and beauty. He blinked twice and could barely stammer out his greeting.

“H … hey Ashley,” Mike stuttered with a goofy smile on his face, “How … how's it going?”

Ashley set the bar down gently and pulled her long brown hair back over her ears. Mike was hoping to catch a glimpse of her arms as she tied her hair back with a rubber band, but the long sleeves stayed up blocking the view. Mike did notice that her hair that was straight and rather mousey looking before had taken on a new fullness and radiance.

“Hi Mike! Right on time,” Ashley cheerily greeted the large man. “I just finished up here. Give me a minute to freshen up. I'll meet you at the front desk.” With that she disappeared into the locker room.

Mike didn't have to wait long at the counter. Ashley was ready to go in about ten minutes. She had changed into a light summer top with shorter sleeves and a nice pair of walking shorts. Mike didn't have to wait any longer to find out if Ashley's physique had improved. It was quite obvious. Her arms looked thick and defined with a visible separation at the bottom of the shoulders and between the biceps and triceps. Her quads bunched powerfully as she approached him and her calves swelled enough with each step to be visible from the front.

“Wow!” Mike said as she stepped up to him. Even some of the old hardcore lifters in the gym seemed to be watching her out of the corner of their eye. “You … you look terrific! I guess my program really worked for you, eh?”

“Did it work? Check it out!” Ashley held her arms out, inviting Mike's inspection, and turned around. When she came back facing her friend, she raised one arm and flexed her bicep. A big, rock hard muscle popped up out of her formerly skinny arm. “I never thought I could look like this, it's like magic or something,” she gushed. “Your isoplyotonics is really great!” She hooked one arm around Mike's thick bicep and began to lead him to the door, “Come on handsome, dinner's on me tonight.”

Ashley treated Mike to dinner at an all you can eat place down the street from her apartment. Mike was impressed by how much food she seemed to be able to put away, but then again, he was eating quite a bit as well. After both were stuffed, Ashley suggested a stroll around the neighborhood to walk off the dinner.

The two teachers were again having a wonderful time catching up on the things that had happened over the last two weeks and how they were preparing for the summer break and what plans they had for summer activities. Suddenly, Mike noticed a little girl with her arm seemingly stuck in a drainage grate next to a curb. She seemed to be reaching for something and had gotten stuck.

Just then a delivery truck pulled to a stop up the street. The delivery guy hopped out anxious to get his last delivery done after a long day. The truck brake was not completely engaged and the large van began slowly rolling toward the unsuspecting girl.

“Oh my god!” Mike yelled as he bolted toward the girl. He thought he might be able to hold back the van while Ashley freed the girl's arm, but how would he explain his super strength? So he went for the girl, hoping to pull her to safety, even if it meant lifting the heavy grate with her.

He had just lifted the girl and the grate when he looked back at the van to see how close it was and to see where Ashley had gone. Ashley was standing holding the van above her head with both hands.

Mike eyes were wide as saucers. He was speechless.

Suddenly he remembered the little girl in his hands and set her gently down on the sidewalk and just as gently removed her arm and the little red ball she was clutching by slightly pulling the grate apart.

“Thanks mister,” the little girl said as she skipped home, never looking up at the sight of the woman hefting a truck over her head.

Mike spun back to face Ashley. “Wha …? How …?” It was all he could muster in his shock.

“Mike, please, don't say anything, don't even think anything, just listen to me,” Ashley pleaded with him. “Promise?”

Mike could only shake his head in agreement.

“Okay, first of all,” Ashley calmly began, “However wild it may seem, I know that all these changes to my body and all has something to do with magic, and I suspect that it was a result of some kind of magical wish or something that you wished or did or whatever and if you take it back right now, this van will crush me and I don't want that to happen and I hope that you don't either, right?”

Mike nodded his head to indicate that he didn't want her to be crushed by the van suspended over her.

“You see, I snuck a peek at you two weeks ago after I left you and saw you lift that 450 pound barbell – I'm a math teacher after all and I can add these things in my head really quickly – and I knew that no one could actually lift that much with one hand. But then when I went back to the gym like you said and did your program. I couldn't believe the results I was getting but I kept going like you said, Sunday, and Tuesday, and Thursday. But then I picked up a real dumbbell just to see how much stronger I was getting and I started curling 50 pound dumbbells like they were my usual 15 pounders. So I started going every day and doing the same exercise and my strength kept jumping up and up and my body wasn't growing as much as my strength was and then I finally recognized the pattern. I am a math teacher after all and I love to look for patterns in numbers. I came to the conclusion that you were somehow increasing my strength about one and a half times each time I did your program, right?”

This time Mike didn't nod, but he chanced a question, “Everyday? How many times did you do my … my program?”

Ashley looked down and shyly replied, “Well, once a day for a few days and then twice a day … and then three times yesterday and three more today.” She shifted the ponderous load to one hand and calculated on her other fingers, “About twenty times I guess counting the first night.”

Mike's eyes opened wide again as he watched her balance the van on one hand, “My god, Ashley, how strong are you?”

“I … I guess about two thousand times stronger than before.” She pressed the van up and down several times for effect. “This truck must weigh about 8,000 pounds but it feels like a little 5 pound weight now.”

“The point is, Mike, I love this body you gave me and I love being this strong. Okay, maybe I overdid it a little on the strength thing, but I love being strong for the first time in my life. And I know you're a good guy and I hope that I can convince you to not change me back without talking about it first. Okay?”

Mike nodded slowly.

“Promise?”

“I promise, Ashley. Now can you put that thing down before someone sees us?”

It was highly improbable, but they really had not been noticed by any of the neighbors. Ashley had a little shocked look on her face as she suddenly realized what she was doing and set the truck down, but sideways so it couldn't roll away. She dusted off her hands and stepped over to where Mike was replacing the sewer grating. Just then, the driver emerged from the building and stopped in his tracks. How had someone managed to move his truck ninety degrees? And how long was it going to take to get out of this narrow street. He looked up at the two very strong looking young people and motioned to his van.

“Hey, did you guys do this?” he asked with a touch of anger in his voice.

“Yeah, sure buddy,” Mike replied, “We just picked up you truck and turned it sideways like it was a paperweight. Maybe you forgot to set your brake and it rolled into that position.” With that the two continued their walk.

Ashley once more linked her arm around Mike's, “Thank you, Mike,” she whispered as they walked along. “So, what exactly is going on here?”

Mike felt relieved that he could finally tell the whole story to someone. He told her of the necklace that he was given to hold and his first wish that almost turned into a disaster and then his second wish that gave him his power. Then he told her of his following wishes and how something always seems to go wrong with them. “I can hardly believe it myself, but that what really happened and now I don't know what to do.”

They had reached Ashley's apartment and she motioned with her head, “Come on inside. I've got a couple of ideas.”

Mike wasn't about to resist and invitation from a woman that could win a tug of war single handed against the whole student body of his college. And such a cute one at that. He followed her in.

“Okay,”Ashley said as she locked the doors and closed the blinds for privacy, “We've been giving this some thought these last few days. After I figured out that some kind of magic was involved. Here's my proposal: It struck me that a super powered woman could do a lot of good in this world. Floods, hurricanes, wars, terrorists. You have the power to create such a woman and I would like to volunteer.”

Mike looked troubled and not quite sure of her idea. Plus he had seen how even some of his best intentions went awry when he made his wishes.

“Wow, I realize that I would have to make a living somehow and I think that my teaching job would be just the thing. With breaks during the day and days off at holidays and summers, I could do quite a bit of superheroing. Of course I couldn't look like this,”Ashley motioned to her body, “But I have to say that I really like the physique you wished up for me.”

She walked over to a desk and picked up some pictures that she had printed off from her computer. “These girls look like the kind of super heroine that people would expect, I would guess.”

Mike looked at the pictures. Ashley had found some supergirl sites with blond haired models with supergirl like outfits on. Most had been enhanced quite a bit, not their muscles, just their breasts.

“You see, Mike, I actually think my current body looks better than those enhanced ones. I really don't see what men find attractive about their figures – except, you know, their big boobs.” She held her hands up, fingers spread wide in front of her chest. “I would prefer to look like me.” She flexed her arm and smiled again at her big bicep. “So that would insure that I would change back to my everyday persona and not get caught up in the supergirl thing. And you can power down this body, if you really think you need to. I would ask you to leave me with some of my new strength.”

“Do what do you think?” Ashley ended her fast-paced sales pitch and stood there smiling at Mike.

Mike plopped down on a chair at her kitchen table. He stared at the pictures in his hand and then off into space. Space! My god, he thought, he could give her the power to fly off into space like Superman in the comics, lift a skyscraper with a single hand, change the course of mighty rivers, change the course of humanity! But what if he screwed up again?

Mike looked back at Ashley's face, lit up by her most gorgeous smile. “Okay,” he shrugged. “Let's give a shot. But first, give me a piece of paper and a pencil.

Ashley practically jumped across the room and hugged Mike as gently as she could. Still he had a tough time catching a breath. Then he settled down to write out his wish so that nothing – okay maybe as little as possible – could go wrong.

Mike and Ashley worked out the details of the wish over the next thirty minutes until both were fairly satisfied. Ashley nervously stepped back into the middle of the room. Mike cleared his throat and began his wish.

“I wish that Ashley Scott, who is standing before me now, will be as strong as I am right now but will be able to increase, maintain, or decrease her strength and physique as any normal human could. And I wish that she will be able to magically change her appearance and powers by saying the words 'I am Superwoman' which will cause her physique to resemble that of this woman in this picture – except with slightly larger breasts (at that Ashley's eyes widened and she began to scold Mike, but he held up a hand to keep her from messing up the wish) – and will grant her all of the powers of Superman, that have been chronicled in the comic books. And I wish that when she says those words, her clothes will magically change from whatever she is wearing to the costume that she has designed. I wish that these changes will remain until such time as she says 'I am Ashley Scott', whereupon she will return to the physique, powers, and clothing she had before.”

Finally Mike was finished with his wishes. A strange silence seemed to envelope the entire room. Ashley felt a sudden drop in her strength, like she was riding a fast moving freight elevator from the top floor of a building to the basement.

“Is that it?”Ashley asked.

“Yep. That's it.”

“I'm still strong?”

“Let's see.” Mike sat down at the kitchen table and presented his hand in an invitation to Ashley to arm wrestle him. She smiled and took a seat opposite him. They locked hands and she began to push at the same time that he did. Mike's arms swelled hugely in response to the challenge the small woman was giving him, but he couldn't budge her. On the other side, Ashley was putting everything she had into the contest and was barely able to keep their hands at the middle point. Moments before, she could have taken on a whole squad of guys like Mike and wiped the floor with them. But still she was pleased with the draw. Maybe his wishes really did work.

“Okay,” Mike said, finally breaking off the game. “Time to see what else you got.”

Ashley smiled shyly again and rose. “Okay. Here goes.” She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.

“I am Superwoman.”

Mike watched in awe as Ashley's body seemed to lengthen. Her wavy brown hair began to straighten and turn to a dazzling blond with short bangs above her eyes. Her chin squared slightly and her nose turned up a little. Her muscular shoulders and arms seemed to compress from bodybuilder size to fitness competitor size while her clothes morphed into a superhero costume. Her breasts pushed out on the front of the uniform and then pushed a little bit more, showing more cleavage than Ashley had anticipated, but also accentuating even more the dramatic difference between her huge boobs and her now waspish, steel hard, waist. Her hips, full and muscular, led to long sexy legs that were covered only by red calf-high boots.

“Oh … my … god … dess …” Mike was nearly speechless.

Ashley produced a red cape from a small pocket in her red Daisy Duke's short shorts. Mike wondered where that had come from, but then remembered that she had designed this costume herself. She drew the cape across her slender shoulders and somehow fastened it to her blue top. The top itself looked like one from an old Supergirl comic with a little Superman emblem over the left breast and the neckline cut low.

Super Ashley stepped boldly to a full length mirror to examine her new body. She seemed pleased, but then a dark look crossed her beautiful face.

“I don't seem to be able to use any of my powers.”

Mike thought quickly. He realized that he had wished for her to receive the powers but hadn't wished that she would know how to use them. He also realized something else.

“I think I can fix that,” Mike said. “I wish that Ashley Scott will know how to use all of her powers that she receives when she said, 'I am Superwoman' and that she will never knowingly or accidentally cause me any harm or injury in any way.”

Again, the strange silence filled the room. Immediately afterward, Superwoman was using her x-ray vision and her microscopic vision. She was listening in on conversations miles away and staring off into space at distant planets and solar systems. Then in a flash of red and blue, she was gone.

Moments later, she back, hovering in front of Mike. “I just flew to the North Pole! It was fantastic!” Then she lifted the big man gently to her lips and kissed him.

Mike head was spinning from the effects of her super sexiness and her super kiss.

“How can I ever thank you Mike? Wait, I know.” In a blur of super speed, Ashley had carried him into her bedroom, undressed him, and laid him in the bed. Then she very suggestively began to remove her boots and cape. She was about to strip her top off when she stopped, staring at the wall behind the bed.

“Don't move, Mike, I'll be back in just a minute.”Again Superwoman disappeared in a blur.

This gave Mike a few seconds to gather his wits. She was moving so fast. And he wasn't sure he was ready for this.

Moments later, Superwoman was again standing by the bed.

“Where … where did you go?”

“I saw that delivery truck starting to roll again. So I thought I would each that man a lesson. I picked up the van when he got inside. I couldn't believe how light it was. I mean I was strong before, but now! Wow! I could have launched that van into orbit without even trying.”

“You didn't … did you?” Mike was hoping that he had guessed right that Ashley was a deeply moral person.

“Oh no, that would have killed the poor man. I just threw him and his van a couple of miles straight up and then caught him on the way down. And I gave him a stern talking to about safety while we floated slowly back to earth. And now, as for you Mr. Green …”Superwoman once more began to strip off her clothes.

“Wait! Ummm, Superwoman,you are incredibly beautiful and very,”Mike glanced down at his hard and throbbing member, “Very sexy. But to tell you the truth … I was kind of … I was hoping that … well, I really kind of would rather be with Ashley right now.”

Superwoman looked down at the handsome man laying naked in her bed. Mike wasn't sure if she would leave or try to fry him with her heat vision. But she simply smiled and said, “Thank you, Mike.”

Then Superwoman struck an heroic pose and said, “I am Ashley Scott.”

Again, Mike got to watch the amazing transformation. This time from the Superwoman that the world would soon come to know and love to the math teacher that Mike had begun to fall in love with. While he watched, he pulled his pants and shirt back on. He was after all, a modest man and although someday he would like to explore a physical relationship with Ashley, he felt he really should get to know her better.

Ashley opened her eyes and surveyed the room from a lower vantage point. She was back to her old – new self again. “Oh Mike,” she gasped as she saw him dressing himself, “I'm so sorry. I guess I got a little carried away. I just naturally assumed that … uh … you know … but I guess that … um … well, sorry.”

“That's okay … really very generous.” Mike fumbled around for a proper exit strategy. Finally he just shrugged and said, “Well, I better be going. Listen, I'd love to see you again if you're available.”

“Yeah, sure. How about tomorrow night?” Ashley suggested. She really wanted to pursue this relationship as much as he did. “How about I pick you up at 8?”

Mike hesitated, “In a car … or …” He made a little flying gesture.

“I promise I won't invite her along,” Ashley said smiling. Then she flexed her arm again, much to Mike's pleasure, “Besides, I figure that plain old Ashley Scott can handle any problem we might encounter at the movie theater.”

“Sounds great. Here's my address.” Mike scribbled his address down an a piece of paper and then gave Ashley a friendly hug that she held onto a little bit longer.

“Thank you so much,” the shorter woman said as she separated slightly from the massive man and looked up into his eyes. Then she gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

Mike blushed from the hug and the kiss. “See you tomorrow. Take care of yourself.” With that, he slipped quietly out the door.

Ashley leaned against her door as it closed and wrapped her arms around herself, reliving all of the fantastic events of the evening. The impossible dream of a child who would immerse herself in comics every chance she could get had come true. “I am Superwoman!”

 

The End.