4/17/99
This story is something of a sequel to Trading Cards, using the same  
characters.  I hadn't intended for it to be this long, but once I started writing it 
just kept  coming.  

 SRU: The Vial
By Morpheus

	Taking his time as he walked through the mall towards the arcade, 13  
year old Marshal smiled faintly as he remembered how 3 weeks earlier he'd 
found a rather  interesting store in the mall and bought some magic trading 
cards that had let him and his best  friend Gary change into comic book 
characters. Unfortunately they'd used the last of the cards  two weeks earlier 
and neither of them had been able to find that store again so that they  could 
buy more.  And they'd both tried rather hard, with nothing to show for it.

	Sighing, Marshal put a hand to his pocket, double checking on the 
money  he had there so that he could play more of his favorite video game.  
He couldn't wait  to beat Gary to the next level.  Just then Marshal stopped, 
staring in surprise at something  across from  him. A large grin formed on 
Marshals face as he read the sign "Spells R Us"   Marshal  chuckled in glee, 
finally having found that store again. The one that he'd bought the cards at.   
Feeling slightly disappointed that Gary wasn't there with him, Marshal 
hurried to the  door.

	Going into the store, Marshal saw that it looked the same as the last  
time he'd been in there. All sorts of stuff was scattered around on lots of 
shelves, much  of it unrecognizable.  And behind the counter was the same 
old man wearing the wizards robe.   Marshal paused, watching the old man 
talking to some gorgeous black haired woman, saying "Now  Steve, I 
warned you about getting that costume wet."  Marshal shrugged and went to 
look  around the shelves, already knowing that he just wanted more of the 
trading cards that were  kept up front.  Once the woman had left though, he 
felt a little more comfortable and went up  to the counter.

	"Hello Marshal" The Old Man said smiling, "What can I do to...for 
you  today?"

	Startled, Marshal asked "How do you know my name?"

	"I always know who my customers are" the Old Man chuckled.  
Nodding  slightly, Marshal decided that he shouldn't be surprised. Not after 
what happened  the last time he'd found that store.

	Looking towards the corner of the counter where the cards where at 
last  time, Marshal frowned seeing that the rack of cards was gone. Not a 
single pack of  trading cards was visible. "I was just looking for more cards" 
he said nervously, avoiding looking  at the Old Man behind the counter..

	"I'm sorry, but we're out of cards." The Old Man said, and Marshal  
nodded disappointed, missing the twinkle in the Old Man's eyes.  "But feel 
free  to look around" The Old Man added pleasantly, then just as Marshal was 
going to start  looking again, the Old Man continued "I think that I just might 
have something else for you  though." 

	Stopping where he was, Marshal turned back towards the Old Man, 
asking  "Really?" wondering just what the Old Man was talking about.  

	Chuckling slightly, the Old Man set something down on the counter 
and  it took Marshal a moment to realize that it was some sort of bottle or vial. 
It looked  sort of like a rather large test tube, and was full of some green 
liquid. Then before Marshals eyes  the liquid inside suddenly turned silver.   
"Wow" Marshal muttered, staring intently at  the little vial on the counter.  
"What is it?" He finally asked.

	"This is something that I think you might enjoy" The Old Man told 
him.   "Not quite as interesting as the cards, but I'm sure that you will be able 
to have  some fun with this."  Pausing for a moment, the Old Man cleared his 
throat then said "This vial  contains a special potion, which has varying 
effects depending on the color."  

	Marshal looked at him curiously, wondering what he was talking 
about,  but forcing himself to remain patient, remembering that it was this Old 
Man who had  suggested the cards to him, and that they were really magic.  
"Yes, this is magic" the Old Man  said as if reading his thoughts, gently 
touching the vial with his hand.  "The liquid within  the vial changes colors 
frequently, and each color possesses a different attribute when drank.   Blue 
for example changes a persons gender, red makes them older and green 
makes them  younger. And of course the other colors also have their effects 
as well."

	"Wow" Marshal said again, bending over and staring closely at the 
vial  of golden yellow liquid.  He didn't doubt that it would do as the Old 
Man said, not after  having dealt with those cards.  Still, Marshal wasn't sure 
that this was what he wanted.

	The Old Man grinned, saying "I suggested the cards to you and you 
liked  those.  You'll like this too."  The Old Man's eyes sparkled 
mischieviously as he added  "Trust me."

	"How much?" Marshal found himself asking, his eyes still locked 
onto  the vial, knowing somehow that he'd be able to afford it.  

	"Twenty dollars" The Old Man said in a businesslike tone.  

	Marshal groaned. "But I've only got ten dollars on me."  

	Looking thoughtful for a moment, the Old Man finally said "All right  
for now. You can bring me the rest later."  Marshal nodded, feeling 
somewhat relieved.   After Marshal  handed the money over, the Old Man 
pulled out a piece of paper and set it  directly in front of Marshal, grinning as 
he said.  "I almost forgot to give this to you."  Marshal  picked up the piece 
of paper, seeing that it was instructions for the liquid. Or at least a  list of  
what the colors did.  

	"Um...Thanks" Marshal nervously said as he slipped the instructions  
into his pocket.

	The Old Man just nodded and warned Marshal "Be careful not to lose 
the  instructions."  Moments later Marshal was walking out of the store, the 
vial full of  blue liquid clenched tightly in his fist, and a grin plastered firmly 
on his face.

 	Marshal hurried home, forgetting all about the video game that he'd  
come to the mall to play in the first place.  Instead, his mind swarmed with 
thoughts about  the vial and what it could do if what the Old Man had told 
him was correct. And Marshal had little  doubt that it was.  "Wait till I tell 
Gary" Marshal told himself, thinking how jealous his  best friend would be. 
Gary hadn't even found that store once, and Marshal had twice now.  

	Ignoring the burning desire to try using the potion, or even read over  
the instructions, Marshal went straight home, trying to control his curiosity.  
As soon as  he got home, Marshal artfully dodged a few questions from his 
Mom about how come he was home  so soon and went directly to his 
bedroom.  Throwing himself onto his bed, Marshal very  gently set the glass 
vial down next to him and excitedly pulled out the piece of paper that the  Old 
Man had given him.  "Wow" Marshal muttered as he looked over it, realizing 
just how much  that little bottle could do.  He picked it up and stared at it in 
renewed interest and amazement.

	Again Marshal read through the list that the Old Man had given him,  
this time being careful to try memorizing it.  "Blue reverses gender" Marshal 
read  aloud, "Just like that guy said" he chuckled to himself, then went back 
to his reading "Red  increases age, green decreases age, white increases 
physical attractiveness, black decreases physical  attractiveness, gold causes 
mythical transformation."  Marshal paused, wondering at that last  one. 
"What the hell does that mean?"  Shrugging it off, Marshal continued "Violet 
increases  physical stature, yellow decreases physical stature, silver opens the 
mind to suggestions."   Pausing again, Marshal looked at that last one, 
smiling slightly as he mused.  "Mind control?"   Then glancing at the last on 
the list, which was clear, Marshal saw that this was the antidote to  any of the 
other colors.  

	"Cool" Marshal said with a grin, noticing the warning on the bottom 
of  the note which gave the dosages for some of the colors.  "Definitely 
cool."  Grinning  to himself, Marshal looked at the bottle, wondering if he 
should try it right then.  However the  thought of his Mom out in the living 
room caused him to hesitate, then decide to wait until  just a  little later.  The 
decision was torture, but Marshal forced himself to put the bottle into one of 
his  drawers and leave his room before the temptation became too much for 
him.

 	For the rest of the day Marshal silently suffered from the impatient  
curiosity that was demanding that he go and try out the vial.  That he prove to 
himself  that it really worked, that it really could do all of those things. And 
he also had to fight down the  temptation to call Gary and tell him about it.  
Promising himself that he'd tell Gary about the vial  once he'd proven that it 
really worked, Marshal managed to keep himself from reaching for the  
phone.

	After suffering through the usual quiet dinner with his parents,  
Marshal finally went back to his room, back to the vial.  Once Marshal had 
made sure that his door  was locked, he pulled the bottle out  from the drawer 
he'd hidden it in, and looked at it for  a moment before he pulled the stopper 
out of the top.  A slightly sweet smell almost immediately  tickled Marshal's 
nose.

	Taking a deep breath, Marshal stared at the liquid, seeing that it was  
currently a bright golden color. Almost like it was melted gold or something.  
"What was  that?" Marshal asked himself, trying to remember what gold was 
supposed to do.  "Oh yeah,  that mythological stuff. Whatever that is."  Not 
wanting to take a chance, Marshal waited.  

	When the liquid had changed, to red Marshal noted, he decided that 
he  might as well try it.  "I can handle being a little older" he told himself 
nervously.   Being careful not to get too much, Marshal raised the vial to his 
lips and let just a little bit into  his mouth.  The sweet taste hit his tongue and 
Marshal knew that there was no turning back.  Almost  immediately he could 
feel a slight tingle run through his body

	Nervously wondering if he'd made a mistake, Marshal put the stopper  
back into bottle and set it to the side before sitting back down on his bed.  
Feeling his  clothes beginning to get tight on him, Marshal looked down, 
knowing that it was working.  As they  quickly started to get extremely 
uncomfortable, Marshal groaned and struggled to get his  clothes off.  
Tossing his clothes to the side, Marshal looked over his body in amazement, 
seeing  that he was bigger and harrier. His arms and legs were all a lot 
harrier, and he even looked  more muscular. 

	Then suddenly it stopped and Marshal stood in the middle of his 
room,  staring at himself and wishing that he'd thought to bring a mirror into 
his room with him.  He really wanted to see what he looked like, wondering 
just how old he was at the moment.   Rubbing a hand across his jaw, Marshal 
thought that it felt rough, and smiled faintly as he  realized that he had a little 
stubble.  As it was he normally only had just a tiny bit of peach fuzz.  At least 
that was what his Dad called it.  

	After several minutes Marshal decided that he'd seen as much of 
himself  as he could where he was and he wanted to see  more.  He wanted to 
know just how old  he was.  Giving into temptation, Marshal cautiously 
stuck his head out of his bedroom  door, making sure that no one was there, 
then hurrying into the bathroom just across the hall.   Shutting the bathroom 
door behind him, Marshal turned and looked in the mirror, seeing a man  
looking back. A man who looked around 25, but definitely showed a 
resemblance to the reflection  that Marshal saw everytime he looked in the 
mirror.  

	"Wow" Marshal said aloud, slightly startled by his deeper and more  
mature voice.  Several times before Marshal had turned into an adult with the 
help of  the magic trading cards, but always as an adult woman. Never an 
adult male before much less as  himself.  "So this is what I'm going to look 
like" Marshal said, feeling slightly pleased.  At  least now he knew that he 
would get taller and a little better looking when he got older.

	Deciding that he just couldn't stay around the house Marshal carefully  
snuck into his parents room, borrowing some of his Dads clothes since he 
knew that his  own wouldn't fit him at the moment.  Grinning to himself, 
Marshal clenched the belt tighter  around his waist, hoping that it would keep 
his Dads larger pants on him.  Even though he was  grown up, Marshal still 
couldn't fill his Dad's pants all the way. Of course that also had to do  with 
the fact that his Dad had a little bit of a spare tire whereas Marshal's waist 
was still  fairly slender.

	Still grinning to himself, Marshal snuck back to his room, locking the  
door behind himself and heading straight for his window.  Within moments 
Marshal was  out of the house and heading out to explore his newfound 
adulthood.

 	Several hours later Marshal snuck back into his room, greatly  
disappointed by his excursion.  Though he'd built up his courage enough to 
go to a bar, they  wouldn't let him in because he couldn't show them any ID.  
What annoyed Marshal the most was  that it was obvious that he looked over 
21, but that they still wanted to see a  drivers license. Same with the store 
when he tried to buy some beer there.  After several failed  attempts, Marshal 
went back home in disgust.  After all, what was the good of being an adult if 
he  still couldn't do all those adult things anyway.

	Once Marshal was safely in his room, he reached for the vial, waiting  
for it to change to the right color. As soon as it had turned green, Marshal 
was about to  take a sip then suddenly stopped, staring at the bottle 
nervously.  Gulping, Marshal realized  that he came close to making a 
mistake.  How could he really be sure that he didn't get too much of  it and 
change back into a little kid. The dose was supposed to be about 1 year for 
every drop, but  how could he measure it exactly from the bottle?  Sighing, 
Marshal forced himself to be  patient and wait several more minutes as the 
vial changed colors several times, even going through  several colors twice 
before it became clear.  "Finally" Marshal muttered as he quickly raised the  
bottle to his mouth and took a small sip of the sweet liquid.  A tingling feeling 
rushed over  his body and he quickly corked the vial again, watching in 
fascination as his clothes started to  get looser and looser on him.

	When Marshal had finished returning to normal, he quickly stripped 
off  his Dads clothes, stuffing them into a corner of the closet.  "I can't wait 
to  show Gary" Marshal told himself excitedly as he hid the vial, imagining 
just how his friend  would react.  With a satisfied grin on his face, Marshal 
went to bed, though he got little sleep that  night as his mind ran over the 
possibilities of the Vial.

 	The next morning, Marshal got up and went to the kitchen for 
breakfast,  seeing that his Dad had already gone to work and that his Mom 
didn't seem to be home  either.  Finding a note on the table from his Mom, 
Marshal grinned as he read it and saw that  she was going to be gone for most 
of the day visiting one of her friends.  "Perfect" Marshal  said grinning, 
wondering just how he could take advantage of that opportunity.

	Running back to his room, Marshal grabbed the vial and grinned as 
he  saw that it was white.  "I can handle being more handsome" Marshal told 
himself as he  remembered what that color was supposed to do.  "Lets see 
how it works"  Then with that  Marshal raised the vial to his lips and took a 
small sip, not noticing that the color had changed  once again just as it 
touched his lips.

	Marshal smiled as he felt a tingling sensation, then absently put the  
stopper into the bottle and set it to the side, noticing that the color had 
changed  again.  As Marshals body started to change, he grinned at the 
thought of walking into school and  having all the girls t here staring at him in 
lust.  

	But moments later Marshal realized that something wasn't right. And 
as  his chest began to push out against his t shirt, forming two gentle bumps 
that were  still swelling a little, Marshal realized what had happened. The vial 
had changed to blue just before  he'd taken his sip, and now he was turning 
into a girl.  The thought didn't bother Marshal too  much since he'd turned 
into girls before with the magic trading cards, and he knew that he  could 
change back. All he needed to do was wait for the vial to turn clear again.

	Once the changes had stopped, Marshal quickly stripped out of his 
now  uncomfortable clothes and looked over his body.  "Amazing" he 
muttered as he looked  himself over, finding the body of a teenage girl with 
rather small breasts instead of the very  well endowed adult comic book 
women that he'd become before.

	Quickly Marshal ran to the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror.  
"I'm a girl" he said in a higher voice. The voice of a 13 year old girl.  
Frowning a little  Marshal gently touched his chest, seeing that he was 
probably an A cup, but almost wishing that it  was bigger. That they were 
bigger.  "Well they'll be gone in a minute" Marshal chuckled as he  looked in 
the mirror, seeing the resemblance to himself there, though a little different.  
The  shoulder length brown hair was certainly a lot longer than his and made 
him look even more  different as well. 

	Going back to his room, Marshal picked up the vial, waiting for it to  
turn clear again, or blue.  But as he was waiting, Marshal started to wonder 
what Gary would  say if he could see him at that moment. Chuckling to 
himself, Marshal thought that it could  be rather funny. He doubted that Gary 
would even recognize him.  Beginning to get an idea,  Marshal's mind was 
made up as soon as the liquid in the vial turned white again.  Without  
hesitating Marshal took a tiny sip, not getting more than a drop or two, but 
enough so that he  could taste the sweet nectar on his tongue.

	Plugging the vial up again he gently put it away in his dresser drawer,  
ignoring the slight tingle that was running over his body as he took his time 
going back to  the bathroom to see what the the newest changes were.  
"Wow" Marshal said as soon as he saw  himself. It was still the same 13 year 
old girl as before in the mirror, but prettier. She  looked a little cuter, her 
breasts looked just a little larger and she looked  just a little bit  less like the 
reflection he was used to seeing.  

	"This is so cool" Marshal told himself as he ran his hands over his  
female body.  Since he'd been female before and more attractive, he managed 
to pull himself  away from his explorations, reminding himself that he still 
had to go to school. He  was supposed to meet Gary before first period too.  
Then Marshal realized that he didn't have  anything to wear. At least not 
while he was a girl.

	After thinking about it for awhile, Marshal suddenly remembered his  
older sister Meggan who was away at college.  Grinning to himself, Marshal 
hurried to  her room, which was still just like it was when she left, though 
she had  taken some of her  stuff with her.  However what Marshal was after 
was in the back of her close, buried in a few  boxes which he quickly 
opened.  "Yes!" he said excitedly as he pulled out some of Meggan's old  
clothes, looking to see if any of them would fit him.  

	Marshal was satisfied as he quickly dressed and looked at himself in  
Meggan's  mirror.  Her pants were too small for her, but were just a little 
baggy on him.  Not that it mattered though since baggy pants were currently 
in style.  Once Marshal was completely  dressed, he frowned at the slightly 
loose shoes on his feet and the fact that the clothes  didn't fit real 
comfortably, but they were girls clothes and they looked about right on him.  

	Knowing that he was going to be late for school, but not caring,  
Marshal brushed his hair and tried to  make himself look like a normal girl. 
Even though it  meant trying to put on some makeup, which didn't really 
work too wall, but looked reasonable.   "How can girls stand this?" he asked 
himself as he pushed a bit of his hair out of his face  for the hundredth time.  

	"That should do it" he told himself as he looked over everything once  
more, trying to remember if there was anything he'd left out.  Satisfied that 
he looked  just like any other girl from school, though perhaps a little cuter 
than some, Marshal left the  house and started walking towards school.

 	At school Marshal walked through the hall nervously, lucky to have  
arrived between classes.  He'd missed first period entirely and regretted it, 
knowing  that he'd get in trouble for missing school if his parents found out, 
but Marshal just had to see  what it was like to be a girl at school.  It was 
embarrassing.  

	Being a girl while by himself, or even when he was with Gary  was 
one  thing, but having everyone around him actually thinking that he really 
was a girl was  strange.  Several guys even "accidentally" bumped into him 
while he was walking down the hall, and  he could swear that a lot of the 
guys were looking at his chest.  It was somewhat embarrassing  to be treated 
like that, though he found it rather nice that all the girls were a little  friendlier 
to him.

	Trying to keep his goal in mind, Marshal  ignore the embarrassing 
looks  towards him and went straight to where he knew Gary would be.  
Waiting by his locker  till the last minute before the bell rang as he always 
did.  As soon as Marshal saw Gary  standing at his locker, cheerfully telling 
jokes to several people around him, Marshal let  himself smile a little.

	 Gary always was popular, though in the class clown kind of way 
while  he had pretty much been unnoticed. Marshal had never gotten as much 
attention at  school as he had in just the last few minutes.  "Maybe I should 
have taken some more of the white" he  told himself under his breath as he 
felt a faint stirring of jealousy over the way Gary always  got the attention. 
Shrugging it off though he went and stood alongside some of the other 
students who  were intently listening to Gary's graphic description of his 
jokes punchline.

	Marshal laughed along with the rest of the audience, then the bell  
rang, causing the students to all rush to their classes, knowing that they were 
going to  be late. Marshal just smiled faintly and told Gary "Pretty funny" 
waiting to see if Gary would  recognize him.

	"Thanks" Gary responded, giving Marshal a good look but  without a 
hint  of recognition appearing in his eyes. That made Marshal smile more.  
He was finally  getting even with Gary for the many jokes Gary had played 
on him.  Marshal didn't think that Gary  could top this one easily, though he 
realized Gary would certainly try sooner or later.   Gary smiled at Marshal, 
saying "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you new?"

	"Um....yeah" Marshal told him, beginning to get nervous and 
uncertain  again. The way Gary was talking to him certainly wasn't like 
normal.

	"I'm Gary" he said, extending his hand.

	Marshal shook the offered hand, and said "I'm Mars.....Mary"   
Marshal  winced.  He had been tempted to call himself Marsha, but that was a 
horrible name.  It was so lame, but then again Marshal didn't think that Mary 
was too much better.  "Nice to meet  you Gary" Marshal told his best friend, 
amused by the whole situation but also somewhat  nervous. 

	"We're gonna be late for class" Gary excused himself with a grin. 
"See  ya later"  Then with that Gary hurried off to class.  Marshal nearly 
followed behind  him, but reminded himself that he couldn't very well go to 
his own classes like he currently was,  though he was tempted to at least try. 
Maybe tell the teachers that he was new and hadn't yet had  his records 
shipped over.   Knowing that this wasn't likely to work, and not wanting that  
much attention, Marshal found himself heading towards the spot behind the 
school that Gary had  shown him once.  A good place to skip classes at.

	For the next hour Marshal hid, wishing that he'd thought to bring his  
own clothes and the vial so  that he could be in class instead of hiding.  
Trying to  pass the time, Marshal couldn't resist exploring his new body a 
little more, though he also feared  someone might possibly find him.  As 
soon as Marshal heard the bell dismissing the classes, he  hurried out of the 
hiding place and went back to the hall, keeping a lookout for Gary.  It didn't 
take  him very long to find his friend.

	"Hi Gary" Marshal said sweetly, seeing that Gary was even blushing 
a  little. 

	"Oh, hi Mary" Gary responded nervously at first, then quickly got his  
confidence back, asking "What classes are you in?"  Marshal dodged the 
question and asked  one of his own. For the next several minutes he talked 
with Gary then they went their  separate ways just before the bell was due to 
go off. 

	After avoiding several teachers that were keeping an eye out for  
students that were skipping class, Marshal left the school, not wanting to 
spend any more  time hidden away. That was way too boring. Heading back 
home, Marshal hoped that his Mom wasn't  going to get home till a lot later.

 	Safe at home, Marshal sat down on his couch and laughed aloud at 
the  memory of how well he'd fooled Gary. At how well his trick had 
worked.  Grinning to  himself, Marshall got up and headed back to his room, 
planning on turning back to normal.  Being a  girl was kind of fun, but it was 
also kind of uncomfortable. He felt so strange, though he had to  admit in a 
kind of good way.  

	As soon as Marshal got to his room, he pulled the vial out of its  
hiding place, noticing that it was a golden color at the moment.  Staring at it 
for a moment,  Marshal realized that since he was home alone, this would 
probably be his bet opportunity to test  the magic potion. To see just how 
well it all worked.  

	Looking at the black liquid, Marshal decided that he really didn't want  
to turn ugly.  "Another color" he told himself, wondering just what he was 
going to try  next.  Seeing it change to silver, Marshal didn't want to try that 
color either.  He wasn't sure  that he remembered correctly, but was fairly 
sure that this was the mind control one.  Pulling out the instruction sheet, 
Marshal was relieved that he hadn't tried it.  

	Once it changed red, Marshal immediately drank several drops, then  
quickly stripped out of his clothes as he felt himself getting bigger. He wasn't 
sure if  he would have needed to since his clothes were a little loose, but he 
wanted to be safe, just in  case.   Marshal smiled faintly as he felt the weight 
on his chest increasing slightly, and saw  that his breasts were definitely 
larger.  Hurrying to the bathroom he looked into the mirror  and saw that he 
looked to be a 17 year old.  "This is so cool" he said in a slightly more mature  
girls voice, then laughed as he heard himself.  

	Feeling rather smug and satisfied, Marshal went back to the bedroom 
and  waited then took a little bit of the white.  Several minutes later Marshal 
was  staring down at himself in complete amazement. "God I'm gorgeous" he 
said in a soft sexy voice, "I  look like a model" Stunned by the incredibly 
gorgeous woman staring back at him from the  mirror, Marshal smiled and 
felt himself getting very, very horny.  His nipples were sticking  out from his 
even larger breasts and his crotch was very wet.  Hurrying back to his bed, 
Marshal  threw himself on it and began to frantically rub at his breasts and his 
crotch, moaning in  estcasy as he brought himself to orgasm after orgasm.

	After Marshal had finally satisfied himself with masturbating, he just  
laid back on his bed with a smile on his face, loving the amazing feel of his 
breasts and the  warm afterglow. He'd masturbated as a girl before, and this 
was even better than the last  time.  "Amazing" he mused lazily as stretched 
out comfortably.

 	Once Marshal had finally gotten himself to get off the bed, he smiled  
as he looked over his still naked body, then more so as he saw the vial of 
liquid on the  floor.  "I wonder what the growing stuff does" Marshal mused 
to himself as he waited for the right  color. Once it changed to violet, Marshal 
took a very small sip, and found himself feeling warm  and tingly.  

	He could feel something about him changing, though he wasn't 
exactly  certain what it was.  After glancing back at the instructions, Marshal 
realized that he  had grown. An inch for every drop that he'd drank, and he 
was sure that he'd taken around 5 or  6 drops. That would make him just 
over 6 feet tall.  Laughing to himself, Marshal walked  around the house, 
loving how much smaller everything looked.  He had already been a little 
taller  than normal several minutes earlier, but this was even better.

	"I love this" Marshal said excitedly as he tried putting on some of his  
Mom's clothes, which were far too tight.  Going back to the vial, he decided 
to try  some of the gold liquid, wondering just exactly what that did. Not 
wanting to take any chances,  Marshal was careful to take only several drops.  

	This time the tingling hit his body even stronger than before, and  
Marshal felt his legs going out on him. Collapsing to the floor, Marshal 
winced as his legs  seemed to twist and move around without his control. 
"Oh shit" he cried out, realizing that he'd  made a mistake. Then he looked 
down at his legs in horror, seeing that they were fused together  and strange 
bluish scales were beginning to form on them.  Losing his fear as curiosity 
and  interest grew, Marshal watched in fascination as his legs quickly 
vanished, being replaced from  the waist down by what could only be 
described as a fishlike tail. "I'm a mermaid" Marshal said  in awe.

	Shifting position so that he could get a better look at his new tail,  
Marshal felt so strange.  Even stranger than turning into a girl.  "I wonder if I 
can  breathe underwater" Marshal muttered as he started pulling himself 
towards the bathroom, finding it  rather difficult since he couldn't just get up 
and walk.  And once Marshal had made it to the  bathroom, he couldn't even 
stand up so as to get a look at himself in the mirror.  Not like it  would have 
made much difference since he suspected that he still looked the same from 
the  waist up, though he didn't realize that he had several faint bluish scales 
on his forehead and  scattered around elsewhere on his body.  

	Giving up on the mirror, Marshal crawled back to his room, and the  
bottle.  Deciding that he's experimented enough for awhile, Marshal waited 
until the vial  had turned clear then took a sip, feeling relieved as his legs 
started to return.

 	Knowing that it wouldn't be too much longer until school was out,  
Marshal wondered just how he was going to tell Gary about the vial, or even 
if he should.   After all, there was only so much stuff in the bottle and he 
wasn't sure that he wanted to share  it.  Feeling guilty for that thought, 
Marshal reminded himself that Gary was his best friend and that  he really 
should share.

	Sighing, Marshal walked around the house, running a hand over his 
flat  chest and deciding that he'd have to show Gary in just the right way.  
Beginning  to chuckle, Marshal hurried back to his room, already starting to 
take off his clothes  again, knowing that they'd be rather useless in just a few 
minutes.

	Though it took Marshal several minutes to get the right colors, he  
turned himself back into "Mary"   "That should do it" he told himself as he 
finished  dressing and fixing himself up again.  As he glanced at  his 
reflection in the mirror, he thought that  he may have gotten just a little bit 
more of the white stuff than he had earlier.  Not that he  really minded at the 
moment.  Satisfied that it would work, Marshal left the house and started 
back  towards the school, hoping that he could get there in time.

 	Marshal was relieved that he got to school before it cut out for the  
day, and was more than happy to suffer through the embarrassment of having  
the boys look  at him just so that he could find Gary.  "Hi Gary" Marshal 
called out to his friend in his  sweetest girl voice, chuckling as he saw Gary 
blush slightly, "Can you walk me home?" he asked Gary,  trying to give that 
look. The one that girls all seemed to know how to give in order to get  what 
they wanted. And Marshal was overjoyed that it worked.

	"Sssure" Gary stuttered, obviously surprised at Marshal's behavior.   
Just what Marshal wanted.  

	Then still pretending to be a normal girl, Marshal said "Its over this  
way" gesturing  in the general direction.  Gary nodded and they started 
walking, with Gary  obviously feeling a little nervous but trying to cover it up 
with talking and  jokes.  Marshal just  smiled back.  When they finally got in 
near his house, Marshal stopped and said "Here it is"

	"But that's....." Gary said confused.

	Smiling, Marshal chuckled and asked "You remember some comic 
cards from  a couple weeks ago....?"  

	Gary looked at Marshal even more confused, then asked "What....?" 
Then  shaking head he asked "Marshal?  Is that you?"

	"Yep" Marshal grinned back, "I found that store again."

	Looking angry suddenly, Gary snapped "You asshole.  How could 
you do  that to me?"

	Suddenly feeling a little guilty, though not enough to erase the grin  
completely, Marshal apologized, "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist"  Glancing at 
the driveway to  make sure that his parents weren't home yet, Marshal 
continued, "Come on inside and I'll tell you  all about it."

	Still looking both annoyed and disappointed, Gary nodded and 
followed  Marshal inside.

 	In Marshal's room, he carefully pulled the vial out from where he'd  
hidden it, explaining "This is what caused this" he gestured down at  himself. 
"You wouldn't  believe how awesome this stuff is."  Then with that he 
handed it over to Gary, warning him  to be careful.

	"I've got to try this" Gary said excitedly, then took a sip from the  vial 
before Marshal could tell him to stop.  "God I feel....." Gary started, then 
looked  around. Marshal winced as he saw that the vial was green, and he 
didn't know how much Gary had taken.   Almost immediately Gary started 
shrinking and Marshal quickly grabbed the vial  from him before Gary 
dropped it.  

	"It doesn't work that way" Marshal said to the 10 year old Gary who 
was  still shrinking and getting younger, looking scared at what was 
happening to him. "You  didn't let me explain" Marshal apologized, while 
Gary demanded that Marshal turn him back.   Finally it stopped with Gary 
looking like he was two years old, and buried in his massively  oversized 
clothes.

	"Change me back" the two year old Gary demanded, sounding afraid. 

	"I can't" Marshal told him, relieved that his friend hadn't gotten any  
younger, "I have to wait a few minutes."  Then while Marshal was waiting 
for the vial to  turn to the right color, he explained that each color had a 
different effect.  Though the vial had  turned red, Marshal ignored that, not 
being too sure of getting the right dosage. Not when  the antidote would be a 
lot easier.  Finally the liquid turned clear and Marshal gave a little  bit of it to 
Gary, then took a quick sip himself.  

	Within a minute both boys were back to normal, though Marshal was  
struggling to get out of his sisters clothes before he returned to normal, not 
having  thought about that before he drank the antidote.  Once Gary was back 
to 13 years old, he said "That  was scary dude"   Taking a deep breath, he 
glanced nervously towards the vial and added  "Where did you get that shit?  
Why didn't you get more cards?  And where the hell was that  store?"

	Forcing himself to stay calm, Marshal explained that he'd just 
stumbled  across the store again and that they were all out of cards.  But 
grinning, Marshal added  "This stuff is pretty cool though. I kind of wish I 
had more cards and could get those super  powers, but this stuff is really 
neat.  You ought to see some of the stuff it can do."

	However, before Marshal could demonstrate some of the other colors  
effects, he heard a sound outside and looked out the window to see that his 
Mom was home.   "I guess we can't do anything right now" Marshal said 
disappointed, knowing that his Mom  would be up to see him and say hi.  He 
wasn't wrong since minutes later she was knocking on  his door, wanting to 
know how school was.  

	Once Marshal had gotten rid of his Mom, he and Gary sat in his 
room,  with Marshal explaining some of what the magic potion could do.  
Gary was getting  more and more interested and excited, then asked "You 
think your folks will mind if I stay for  dinner?"

	Marshal thought about it then said "I don't see why not."

	Gary just grinned back mischieviously, "Perfect"

 	Marshal's Dad got home from work just a little while later, and 
Marshal  talked his parents into letting Gary stay for dinner.  It wasn't 
difficult since  Gary had eaten with them several times before, just as Marshal 
had eaten over at Gary's house.  

	Just as they were sitting down at the table, waiting for Marshal's 
Mom  to bring the food in, Gary excused himself for a minute and got up,  
leaving Marshal to  wonder what was going on.  Several minutes later Gary 
was back, with a satisfied and  mischievious look on his face that made 
Marshal wonder what was going on.  Marshal didn't have to wait too  long 
since after they food was served and his parents were starting to eat, Gary 
suddenly  grabbed Marshal's arm saying "Don't touch the green beans"  

	"What did you do?" Marshal demanded, suddenly seeing that his 
parents  didn't look quite right. They were shrinking. "Oh my God, you 
didn't."  But it was  very obvious that Gary had dosed the green beans with 
the potion from the vial, and from the  two confused children sitting in his 
parents seats, he knew that Gary's sense of humor had  struck again.  

	"What's happening?  Marshal's Mom cried out in a panic.

	Still grinning, Gary said "Relax" And Marshal was startled to see that  
both of his parents did relax and calm down immensely. Gary grinned even 
wider and said "You  are both good little kids, right?"  Marshal was even 
more stunned to see both of his  parents nod numbly, then start chattering 
with each other, sounding just like little kids and  apparently not even 
noticing that anything was wrong.

	"What did you do?" Marshal demanded of his friend, getting very 
scared  to see his parents both as little kids sitting in their seats, playing with 
their  food.

	"I poured a little bit of that green stuff in the beans, and then I  poured 
some of the silver"  Gary looked proud, "Don't worry, we can change them 
back to  normal. I just had to see how well it worked."

	Getting angry, Marshal asked "How could you?" 

	"Relax" Gary protested, "It's not like it's permanent or anything. I  
was just having some fun."

	Just then a blob of mashed potato hit Gary alongside the face, and he  
turned to see the giggling little girl had already loaded another blob of mashed 
potatoes  into her spoon, the little boy was following suite. "They're just 
having fun" Marshal mocked, until  he too was hit by a blob of food.

	Gary snapped at the little kids that had been Marshal's parents 
moments  before, "It's bed time, go to bed"  Without protesting both children 
suddenly got up,  struggling in their oversized clothes and heading towards 
their bedroom, leaving Marshal in  amazement.  Then Gary turned to 
Marshal, apologizing "I'm sorry. I guess I got a little  carried away, but this 
way we can experiment with the stuff and then make them forget all about  
what happened before changing them back."  Groaning Marshal knew that it 
was too late to do  anything about it now, but he still felt bad about what had 
happened to his parents.  He looked  suspiciously at Gary, wondering if he'd 
made a big mistake in telling his friend about the  vial.

 	After the boys has finished scarfing down dinner, they Gary pulled 
the  vial out from where he'd hidden it in the kitchen, making Marshal start to 
get angry  again. It was his vial and what right did Gary have to do stuff like 
that without telling him.   Marshal still wanted to use the vial to turn his 
parents back to normal, but even as annoyed as he was  with Gary, he still 
didn't want to offend his friend.  Giving in, Marshal went along with Gary 
who  insisted on trying out some of the colors.

	Gary grinned and took a quick sip from the bottle, not letting Marshal  
see what color he'd just taken. Almost immediately though Marshal got a 
very good idea  as his friend legs started to change and his back started to 
stretch.  Moments later Gary  was standing up, looking down at Marshal and 
grinning. Marshal just winced at seeing that his  friend had turned into a 
centaur.  "Oh  my God" Marshal whined, "Mom's not going to like this"  

	"So what?" Gary responded carelessly, obviously impressed at 
having his  lower body being that of a horse. "This  is great"  Marshal just 
groaned miserably,  even more so when Gary accidentally bumped up against 
a shelf, causing his Mom's favorite  porcelain statue to fall to the ground and 
shatter.

	"Oops, sorry" Gary apologized half heartedly, more interested in 
trying  to get used to his new balance.   "Your turn" he told Marshal 
suddenly, carelessly  tossing the stoppered vial to Marshal who grabbed at it 
desperately, suddenly afraid of what might  happen to his parents if the bottle 
was broken.  "Good catch" Gary grinned.

	Marshal glared at Gary, forcing himself to remain calm. "Don't do 
that"   Then smiling faintly, he added "Unless you wanted to live in a barn for 
the rest of  your life."  Gary paled slightly at that realizing that he'd just come 
close to being stuck as a  centaur.

	Sighing, Marshal looked at the vial, hesitating for a moment, but as 
he  glanced towards his transformed friend, he took a small sip.  "Whoa 
dude" Gary said  staring, "You're like shrinking."  Marshal looked down and 
realized that the ground was  getting closer, while everything else around him 
seemed to be growing.  As he tried to control  the rising fear, Marshal wished 
that he'd bothered to look at the stuff before he'd taken  it. What would have 
happened if  he'd gotten that mind control stuff instead?  Marshal  shuddered 
at that thought, promising himself to be more careful.   When it stopped, 
Marshal  struggled to get out of his clothes, noticing that his body hadn't 
really changed. He hadn't gotten  younger like he'd first suspected, he'd just 
gotten smaller.  Now he stood about 3 feet tall,  and Gary towered over him 
even more than before.

	Gulping, Marshal clenched the now much larger vial tightly in his  
hands, hoping that Gary wouldn't get the idea to take it away from him and 
trap him like  that.  By the grin on Gary's face, Marshal knew that very idea 
had just dawned on him. Then  relieved to see one of the colors that he 
wanted, Marshal quickly took another sip, feeling  himself starting to grow 
larger again almost immediately.  Within moments he was back to his old  
size, and still growing until he was looking down at Gary.  "Wow" Marshal 
said amazed as his  head bumped against the ceiling, "Now this is cool."  
Gary obviously agreed, probably  wanting to use that growth stuff on himself 
Marshal decided. 

	Deciding to have a little fun with it, Marshal took another sip from  
the small seeming vial in his hand since it was one of the colors he wanted.  
He could feel  himself growing bigger again and grinned as he got older this 
time.  "Whoa, you're like 21" Gary  added unnecessarily.  Marshal just 
grinned, not having finished what he wanted to do.  Taking  another sip, 
Marshal felt some more familiar changes taking place as he started to change  
into a woman.  Breasts grew on his chest, which he knew that at his current 
size would be huge.  At least to a normal sized person since they seemed 
about normal size to him.  Marshal  chuckled at that thought.  How could any 
breasts be normal sized on him when he was really a guy?

	"Maybe I should shrink down a little" Marshal suggested slightly as 
he  bent forward to avoid banging his head too much against the ceiling.  
Since he'd turned  into a woman, he was just a tiny bit shorter than he had 
been as a 21 year old guy, but still  too tall to stand up straight in the house.  
"God I'm huge" Marshal said, almost feeling satisfied to  be looking down at 
his friend. "You look like a pony" he told Gary with a grin.  

	Waiting for the liquid in the vial to turn yellow so that he could  
become a little bit more of a normal height, Marshal saw it turn white and 
decided not to waste  the opportunity.  Quickly had become even more 
beautiful, and his breasts were pushing out even  further from his chest.  
"Fuck" Gary said, his eyes wide open and much to Marshals embarrassment,  
his horses equipment fully erect.  

	"Don't get any ideas" Marshal snapped, reminding himself not to get 
any  of that mind control stuff in him.  He didn't trust Gary not to make some 
sort of sex  slave out of him.  By the look on Gary's face, Gary must have 
been thinking of that himself.

	Several minutes later Marshal was back down to almost normal size,  
though he knew he was probably an inch or two too tall. Not that it mattered 
much since he  could change back to normal with a single sip of the clear 
liquid.  Looking at the vial,  Marshal was startled to realize that it was a bit 
over half of the way full.  He hadn't realized that  they'd used so much of it 
so quickly.

	"You look so hot" Gary said, practically drooling over Marshal.  "Let  
me try again."  Reluctantly Marshal handed the vial over to Gary, warning 
him not to use  too much.  After Gary had changed himself back to normal, 
he followed Marshal's lead by  turning himself into a girl, though he ended 
up looked around 18 instead of 21 like Marshal.  

	Feeling embarrassed to be walking around naked, Marshal went and 
got  dressed in some of Meggan's clothes, clothes which fit him a lot better 
than  earlier though they were now just a little tight on him in some places.  
Marshal also lent some of  Meggan's clothes to Gary, praying that Meggan 
never found out about this. He'd die of humiliation.

 	Looking like two women, Marshal and Gary sat in the living room, 
trying  to avoid using the vial at the moment, instead talking about what they 
could do with  it.  "Just imagine" Gary said excitedly, "I could become a 
grownup and go out with Ms. Serling"   Marshal nodded, thinking about 
their teacher. She was certainly the youngest and most  attractive teacher at 
school, but he doubted if she'd go out with Gary even if Gary was a  
grownup. She didn't seem the type to like his kind of jokes, but then again 
Marshal had a slight  crush on her himself. Not that he'd admit it though.

	"Wouldn't work" Marshal pointed out, then smiled as he suggested 
what  they could do to the school bully, causing Gary to break out laughing.

	As the boys were laughing, the phone started ringing.  Picking it up,  
Marshal nervously answered "Hello?"  After listening for a moment, he said 
"I'll get him  for you."  Then turning to Gary, he said "It's your Mom.  She 
says she wants to talk to you." Gary  reached for the phone, but Marshal 
pulled it out of his reach, saying "I don't think she's  going to recognize your 
voice right now."

	Looking down at himself, Gary visibly blushed and said "Damn, 
you're  right"

	"Just a minute" Marshal said into the phone while  Gary waited for 
the  vial to turn clear again.  The boys waited impatiently for the vial to 
change, and were  relieved when it finally became clear.  Almost immediately 
Gary took a sip, making Marshal wince  as he thought Gary didn't need that  
much of it to turn back.  

	As soon as Gary had finished changing back to normal, he picked up 
the  phone, "Hi, Mom."  Gary nodded for a moment then hung the phone up, 
apologizing to  Marshal, "Sorry, but I've got to go home."

	"Too bad" Marshal said, feeling slightly disappointed.  While Gary 
got  up and started to get his coat and school bag, Marshal set the vial down 
on the coffee  table and went in to check on his parents, feeling bad about 
leaving them as little kids.  However  as he peaked in on them he couldn't 
help but smiling at seeing two cute little kids looking so  innocent in his 
parents bed.  

	Going back to Gary, he saw the other boy about ready to leave. "I'll  
see you later" Gary said with a grin, then went through the door and was 
gone.  Marshal  shook his head and decided that before he changed back to 
normal that he wanted to have  just a little fun first.  Grinning to himself 
Marshal started to strip off his clothes as he made  his way towards his 
bedroom.

 	After a long, extremely satisfying session of masturbating, Marshal  
couldn't help but wondering what sex would be like with a woman, or even 
with a guy since  he was in the body of a woman. He blushed furiously at 
that and pushed it out of his mind,  knowing that he wasn't at all interested in 
guys, even though he still looked like a woman.  

	With a smile Marshal put a hand between his legs and felt the moist  
stickiness that he'd left spread around. "I need a bath" he told himself as he 
started  walking towards the bathroom, deciding to at least clean up before 
changing back to normal.  It was  with a deep sigh of pleasure that Marshal 
let himself slide into the hot soapy tub,  chuckling slightly at how strange it 
felt to have his breasts sort of floating in the water.  "I could almost  get used 
to this" he mused, warning himself that he'd better not.

	Finishing up with his bath, Marshal forced himself to climb out of the  
tub in spite of the strong temptation to just stay there and continue soaking in 
the warm  water.  Slowly drying himself off, Marshal looked into the 
bathroom mirror and smiled, liking  what he saw, though knowing that he'd 
rather have it on a girl he was with than on himself.  

	With just a towel wrapped around himself, Marshal went in and 
checked  on the two little kids in his parents bed again, then went to the living 
room to  get the vial.  However as soon as he walked up to the coffee table, 
Marshal froze, realizing that  something was wrong. The vial wasn't there.  
For a moment he wondered if he'd put it somewhere else,  then muttered 
"Damn  him." as he realized he hadn't.  "Gary!" Marshal muttered 
threateningly,  knowing exactly who had it.

 	After Marshal had quickly gotten dressed in Meggan's clothes again, 
he  ran out the door and started towards Gary's house. It was already dark 
and he didn't  like walking alone at night, especially since he realized just 
how inviting he probably looked  to the psycho's at that moment.  Still, he 
didn't dare leave the vial in Gary's hands any longer  than he had to. Who 
knew what Gary would do with it.  Marshal shuddered at the thought that  
Gary might use it all up, or break it and leave him trapped as a woman for the 
rest of his  life. A woman who was 8 years older than he normally was at 
that.

	Marshal was almost overwhelmed with fear when he finally got to 
Gary's  house, worrying himself with thoughts of what would happen if 
Gary had broken  the vial.  Trying to force himself to calm down, Marshal 
stood at Gary's front door,  realizing that Gary's parents wouldn't recognize 
him, and it would look pretty odd for a 21 year old  woman to be asking 
about a 13 year old guy.  Still, Gary wasn't sure what else to do.  The  light 
in Gary's bedroom was off so he couldn't even toss pebbles up there to 
attract his  attention.  No, Marshal told himself, it was the front door or 
nothing.

	Taking a deep breath, Marshal slowly let it out then rang the door  
bell, nervously waiting for someone to answer.  When the door swung open, 
an 11 year old  girl stuck her head out, smiling and saying "Hi"

	"Um....hi" Marshal responded, wondering who this girl was.  He 
absently  noticed that her clothes didn't look quite right on her but ignored it, 
asking "Is  Gary here?"  

	"Oh yeah" she giggled, "My big brother is in the living room.  By the  
way, I'm Candy.  Who are you?"

	Marshal stared at her stunned.  Gary didn't have a sister. The only  
sibling he had was his 16 year old brother Kenny.  Then Marshal choked and 
muttered "I'm  Mar...Mary"  He looked again at little Candy, knowing 
without a doubt that this was  Kenny.  That Gary had been busy with the vial 
already, and he hadn't even had it for more than a  couple hours.  "Can I 
come in and see Gary?" Marshal nervously asked.  Candy frowned a little, 
then  nodded and gestured for Marshal to come in. He shook his head, 
realizing that she didn't  even seem to notice that anything was odd. The mind 
control stuff obviously.

	Nervously walking into the living room behind Candy, Marshal 
stopped,  startled to see a 16 year old Gary sitting there on the couch, right 
next to his parents  who didn't seem to notice anything wrong either. More of 
the mind control stuff. That made Marshal  burn inside.  How could anyone 
purposely do that to someone else's mind. That was horrible  and just seemed 
so wrong to Marshal.  Frowning he stepped into view, noticing Gary turn to  
him and grin broadly. "I see that you met Candy Gary said with a smug look.

	"Can I talk to you alone?" Marshal asked in his coldest tone, earning a  
slight frown from Gary's parents and from Gary himself.  Gary nodded and 
the two of them  went into the next room.  "What the hell did you do?" 
Marshal demanded, trying to keep his  anger under control. 

	"I thought it was obvious" Gary replied, trying to look hurt.  "I got  
even with Kenny. He always picked on me, so I just changed things around a 
little, and made  sure that no one here remembered it being different."

	"You just can't do that." Marshal told Gary. "It's not right. We've got  
to turn them back."

	Gary stepped back, saying "No way."  

	"Where's the vial?" Marshal demanded suddenly, realizing that he'd  
probably have to fix things on his own. Gary didn't look like he was going to 
be of help.   Seeing the vial sitting on the other side of the room, Marshal 
hurried past Gary and grabbed it,  holding it tightly since he saw that Gary 
looked like he was about to grab it back.   "You used mind  control didn't 
you?" Marshal demanded, realizing as he said it that it was already too  
obvious. "Then I'll just tell them all to forget anything you told them"

	"Won't work" Gary said smugly.  "They only follow the instructions 
of  the first person to give them an order.  I found that out after using it on 
Kenny when  Mom tried telling him something."  

	"Then  you tell them" Marshal demanded. Gary just shook his head 
no.   "You can't just do that to people" Marshal pleaded. "It's not right.  
We've got to fix  things back the way they should be."

	Just then Gary jumped at Marshal, grabbing for the vial.  Marshal  
struggled, being pushed over onto the ground by the other boy as they fought 
for control  of the vial.  Though Gary managed to pull the vial out of 
Marshal's grip, grinning as he did  so, Marshal wasn't about to give up.  
With great effort Marshal managed to pull free from Gary's  grip some, 
wincing at the pain of Gary's rough hands grasping his breasts.  Clenching 
his  teeth, Marshal lashed out with his knee, sending Gary flying back, 
crying in pain as he rolled  around on the floor clutching his crotch.  "Serves 
you right" Marshal told his friend as he unsteadily  got to his feet.  

	"What's that racket in there?" Marshal heard Gary's Dad call out.   
Ignoring him, Marshal calmly walked over to Gary and picked up the vial 
which had been  dropped onto the floor.  Smiling as the bottle immediately 
changed to silver in his  hands, almost as if it knew what he needed, Marshal 
opened it and forced a drop into Gary's  mouth,  feeling vaguely guilty as he 
did so.  

	"Now get up" Marshal told Gary, and without hesitation Gary stood 
up,  looking startled as he realized that he'd just taken some of the mind 
control potion.   "Don't move" Marshal instructed as he noticed Gary's 
muscles beginning to tense for another  jump.  Gary just glared at Marshal 
but didn't move.  Hearing Gary's Dad calling out again, Marshal  made Gary 
tell him that everything was fine, then they went into the living room and  
Marshal ordered Gary to give his family instructions, which Gary 
immediately did.

	Within minutes Gary's parents and his older brother/younger sister 
were  all sitting motionless on their seats, glazed expressions on their faces.  
They'd  been ordered by Gary at Marshals instructions to go into a trance, 
remembering none of the  events that had transpired.  Marshal hoped that it 
would work.  Making Gary sit down as well, Marshal  impatiently waited for 
the vial to turn clear.

	As soon as Marshal had the antidote, he gave a drop to each of Gary's  
family, saving Gary for last. He really hoped that it would work and that they 
wouldn't  remember what had happened.  Once they all had their cure, 
Marshal waited until he saw  Kenny starting to return to normal and then 
rushed out of Gary's house, going directly home.

 	Furious, Marshal couldn't believe that Gary had done that. Had stolen  
the vial even.  Shaking his head Marshal went back into his own house, 
locking the door  behind him. As soon as he'd taken off his own clothes he 
used the vial to return himself to  normal, relieved to have something between 
his legs again, though  vaguely missing the feeling of  weight on his chest.  

	Walking to his parents bedroom, Marshal paused to watch the two  
children sleeping, still looking so innocent.  Smiling faintly Marshal waited 
until the  liquid had turned clear again, then gently put a drop onto each of 
their lips, hoping that it would  work.  As soon as they had both started 
growing again, Marshal sighed in relief, praying that in  the morning they'd 
only think that they'd had a strange dream.  

	Hiding the Vial very carefully, not wanting any accidents, Marshal  
yawned and decided that it was time for him to go to bed as well. He still had 
to go to  school in the morning and his parents were bound to notice if he 
wasn't at school for two days in a  row.  

 	The next day Marshal avoided Gary at school, still being angry at his  
friend in spite of Gary's attempts to apologize.  Still, Marshal knew that he 
couldn't stay  angry with Gary forever and that he'd have to forgive him 
eventually. They'd been best friends  since second grade and it would be a 
shame to throw that away.  Deciding that a couple days should  do it, Marshal 
let Gary keep apologizing. 

	As soon as school was over Marshal hurried home, pulling the vial 
out  of the place where he'd hidden it.  It was still about half full.  Frowning, 
Marshal  stared at the vial of green liquid, regretting what he was about to do 
but knowing that it needed to  be done.  Making sure to grab the ten dollars 
off of his dresser as well, Marshal started  towards the mall.

 	Finding the store was no problem for Marshal this time, though he 
was  somewhat surprised at just how easily he'd found it after all the times 
he'd  looked without success.  Nervously he stared at the door, gathering his 
courage. Taking a deep  breath, Marshal walked in.

	Seeing the Old Man behind the counter, Marshal hesitated at the door,  
but the Old Man looked up and smiled.  "Marshal" he said gently, "How have 
you been?" 

	"Um...fine" Marshal mumbled.  Remembering why he was there, 
Marshal dug  into his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. "I brought the 
money I owe you"  he said nervously, handing it over to the Old Man who 
silently accepted it.

	"Thank you Marshal. Was there anything else you wanted?"

	Gulping, Marshal glanced around nervously, then he pulled the vial 
out  of his back pack and set it down on the counter.  "This was really neat 
and all...." he  started, "but I really don't think that I'm ready to handle this"  
Looking regretfully at the blue  vial, Marshal added "I'm not responsible 
enough.  It just caused too much trouble."

	The Old Man nodded.  "There's no refunds you know"

	"I know" Marshal said quietly, still looking at the bottle.

	Looking thoughtful for a moment, the Old Man nodded. "Most people  
wouldn't realize or admit that they have more power than they know how to 
handle.  You're  more responsible than you realize, and perhaps a little 
wiser."  Carefully taking the  vial, the Old Man put it somewhere behind the 
counter, then turned back towards Marshal.  "Since  you've already paid for 
it, I'll keep it here safely until you feel that you can handle it."  

	"Um....thanks" Marshal muttered, feeling embarrassed by the  
compliments.  "I guess I'd better be going" he told the Old Man, quickly 
saying goodbye then  leaving the store.  

 	Smiling to himself as he watched Marshal leave, the Old Man knew 
that  Marshal would be back before too long.  If not for the vial then for 
something else.   There were too many things here to draw Marshal back.  
The Old Man sighed as he started cleaning  his counter, knowing that there 
was something special about that young lad.  He had  potential, and possibly 
even a destiny.

	Chuckling aloud, the Old Man began to consider though, how best to 
deal  with Gary.  However as a new customer walked into the store, the Old 
Man put those plans aside for the moment, knowing that there'd be  time for 
Gary later.

The End?



    Source: geocities.com/westhollywood/heights/2671/stories

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