"Mira! You have to get that thing off! Quick!"
Mira makes a half-hearted attempt to remove the gem embedded in her chest.
"I can't! It's stuck. It won't budge," says Mira as she continues to fiddle with it. Suddenly Mira stops and stares down at her chest. "Oh, I feel ... weird...."
You follow her gaze to her chest and see that the skin around the gem is changing. It is getting lighter, shinier, smoother, almost like plastic. You want to help your friend but you fear it is too late. You don't want to touch the gem and risk spreading its effects to your body.
"Mira, you have to...."
"No, it's okay, " says Mira. Her voice sounds strange, with the same dreamy, dazed tone she had when she first called the gem pretty. "It doesn't hurt. It actually feels kind of nice."
The changes accelerate, the shiny texture racing over her shoulders and down her arms replacing her old skin. She laughs a little as it spreads past her groin down to her thighs.
"Really good, in fact," Mira says with a sly smile.
Mira has a brief look of panic as the changes move up over her face. She gasps a little as it covers her mouth and nose, making you wonder if she can breathe. But Mira just smiles and laughs again as it finishes covering her head, changing her hair to the same odd shiny texture. It looks like her entire body has been converted into latex.
"Mira, are you okay?"
She rubs her hands across the plastic surface of a table. You hear it squeak like two balloons running together.
"Yeah, I feel fine," she says, still staring at her hand as it runs across the table.
"We need to get that thing off you before ...."
"Whoa, " says Mira, still staring at her hand and ignoring you. You look down and see that it has stretched across the table like melting plastic. She lifts her hand up and it slowly regains its original shape, like a lump of rubber. "This is so cool! I am like a superhero now!"
Mira begins to play with her body, stretching it and molding it into different shapes. You try to convince her to stop, but she is having too much fun and ignores you.
"Hey! Didn't you say you got this from some kind of latex monster?" she asks.
"Yeah, some kind of wolf-like monster. Well, a cross between a man and a wolf, kind of a like a latex werewolf or something," you say.
"Tell me more. Tell me what it looked like. Exactly what it looked like. Give me every detail, " says Mira with excitement.
You are a little confused, but comply with her demand. Maybe she wants to go looking for the source of this gem or something. She listens to your description with focused determination, soaking up every detail.
"And that's it. Why do you want to know?" you ask.
Mira doesn't answer. She just closes her eyes tightly and grunts, seemingly focusing all her energy and concentration.
"Oh no, " you say.
Mira's body suddenly balloons outwards, her body stretching taller while her limbs inflate. Her feet stretch into long thin canine paws. Her back curves, forming a large hunched back. Her skin color shifts to a dark purple, but still retains its smooth, shiny texture. A thin small wormlike thread emerges from her back, quickly inflating and becoming a long tail. Her head shifts, her ears growing longer and pointed, her mouth stretching out to a canine jaw filled with sharp teeth. Mira howls in triumph as her clothes lay in tatters at her feet.
"Oh, yes!" says Mira as she opens her eyes and smiles wickedly. "This is even better than I thought. I feel so strong!"
Mira suddenly pounds a fist into the table, shattering the tabletop and sending the pieces flying. You cover your face to protect it from the debris.
You have had enough. This has gone too far. You are going to remove that gem, consequences be damned. You reach up to her chest and touch it. Her skin is oddly cool, but the gem is warm to the touch. Mira suddenly grabs hold of your hand with one large clawed paw. She pulls it away from the gem, continuing to hold your small hand tightly in her own. She looks down at you with menace in her eyes.
"I wouldn't try that again if I were you," Mira says coldly.
She lets go of your hand and you rub it. It hurts from the pressure of her grip.
"But it is my gem. I found it," you whine.
"Maybe, " says Mira. "But it bonded with me. Maybe by accident, maybe by choice. It really doesn't matter. It is part of me and it belongs to me now."
Mira's body suddenly began to deflate, returning to the shape of her original human body. She still retains that odd sheen across her old body. You get a little uncomfortable when you realize she is now standing completely naked in front of you. You shield your eyes.
"Mira, your clothes..." you say pointing down to her destroyed school uniform. Although she has shrunk back to her normal size, there is no way the torn fabric remains of her costume could cover her.
"Ah, such a gentleman," says Mira with a chuckle. You hear an odd squishing and squelching sound and see that the latex surface of her body has morphed into an imitation of her school uniform. Like her body, the clothes seem oddly smooth and shiny, but you doubt anyone will look closely enough to notice a difference. "Better?"
You nod your head.
"Good. Because we need to get back to class. I don't want to look too suspicious," says Mira.
You pick up your bag and start running to class. You feel something grab your neck from behind and you jerk to a stop. You turn and see one of Mira's arms stretched several feet long holding tightly to your neck. It retracts as she slowly walks towards you but her tight grip never loosens. When her head is next to yours she whispers in your ear.
"Don't get any bright ideas about telling anybody about this. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you tattle on me," says Mira.
"I won't, I promise, " you say with genuine fear. And you mean it. Mira's behavior is very frightening. Although you are concerned for your friend, you fear for your safety, too.
"Good," says Mira as she gently pats you on the back. "Then there won't be any problems. Now let's get back to class. I have a feeling that this is going to be a great day!"