"Hey...Guys...you gotta check this out..." Jay called out as he followed his friends up the stairs.
He found them in the kitchen, sorting through cereals. Bryan had already ripped into a bag of toaster pastries while Simon was whipping up some pancake batter.
"Yeah," Simon laughed. "Check me out, too. So, I guess I can cook, now. I remember my dad teaching me." He laughed. "No wonder there's a bit more to me than before."
"Yeah, that's nice," said Jay. "But check THIS out!" He spread his arms, showing off his thickly muscled body, complete with football jersey.
"Woah!" Bryan exclaimed through a mouthful of pastry. "Nice mustache!"
Jay was caught off guard, but still flattered. "Oh, thanks, Bry." He smirked and stroked the thick facial hair. "It comes complete with sideburns."
Bryan put the pastries aside as Simon looked on, quizzically. Bryan held a thick hand up to Jay's face. "Can I touch it?"
Jay shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
Bryan ran a finger off to the side of Jay's mouth, where the 'stache arched down to his jawline. "Wicked," he grinned. He then sighed. "Man, I'd kill for one of those."
Simon plopped a plate onto the table, already containing a short stack of pancakes smeared with thick syrup. "Bryan, you need to stop worrying about what other people have that you don't. Take pride in yourself, man!"
Bryan rolled his eyes and jiggled his belly. "But I look like I swallowed a beach ball."
Jay laughed and patted Bryan on the stomach. "Man, that's a body to be proud of. You're built! Just because you're a little soft doesn't make you any less... I dunno. You look fine, Bryan! Maybe you'll grow into it."
Simon chuckled as he stuffed a forkful of pancake in his mouth. "Hey, I'm almost a chunky as you, and you don't see me complaining." Simon smacked his own belly, causing it to wobble and shake under his shirt. "Embrace the gut, man! Have some fun with your body!"
Bryan looked down at his rounded form, the ball that was his gut spilling over his waistband, barely contained by his own jersey. "You think so? I mean, I guess you're right. I'm kind of getting used to it. We'll see, I guess."
Simon shoved another helping of pancake into his mouth. "That's the spirit! Hey, Jay, did you buff up, recently? And why do I remember you being a big-time football star, now?"
Jay set the Chronivac down on the table, grabbed an apple from the counter and draped himself over a chair, as if it were something he'd done a thousand times before. One of his feet naturally kicked up onto the table and an arm hung over the back rest. He shot a cocky grin at the other two, his mustache framing his near perfect teeth. "'Cause I am, now. The Chronivac of yours has some nifty settings on it. Hey, Bryan, what do you think 'Future Potential' means?"
Bryan grabbed another box of toaster pastries and sat between Jay and Simon, his large rear hanging a bit over the edges of the chair. "Future potential? How do you mean? In relation to the Chronivac? Wellll... My best guess is that it has something to do with your genetics and personality, what you yourself have the most potential to accomplish. I think what it did was rewrite your past actions up to this point to give you the best possible future as a, um..."
Jay continued to smirk. "NFL quarterback. Hey, does that mean I'm going to become an NFL quarterback?"
Bryan shrugged. "Hell if I know. It's all new to me. I mean, I would assume that you can still steer your own destiny. All 'Future Potential' means is just that, future potential. You have a potential future as an NFL quarterback, not a guaranteed one. I mean, if I'm interpreting it correctly."
Jay tossed his half-eaten apple aside and picked the Chronivac back up. "Hey, you guys wanna try some more stuff? You guys could try out some potential futures. I mean, if Simon's okay with it."
Simon shrugged. As far as he was concerned his friends were basically running experiments for him at this point. "Sure. But, there is one thing I am curious to see."
Jay was already scrolling through the remote device's settings. "What's that?"
Simon sopped up the last remains of syrup from his plate with the last of the pancakes. "I'd like to see what this body o' mine is like in a few years. Could you make us sixteen?"
Bryan smirked. "Yeah. Maybe I could join you in the facial hair club." He rubbed the sparse hairs in front of his ears. "I'm not too far off, you know."
Jay nodded. "Sure, I can do that. Just give me a sec. Just age changes? Nothing else?" He half turned to Bryan.
Bryan glanced at his own stomach and shrugged. "Nope. Fine with me. I want to see what I'm like at sixteen. Go for it!"
Jay smirked and continued to fiddle with the device. The three sat in silence for a minute as Jay scrolled and tapped.
Simon cleared his throat. "So, uh, Jay. Do you need a hand with-"
The Chronivac beeped and shot two pulses of light in quick succession, one at Simon and one at Bryan.
Jay laughed. "I just wanted to see if it could do two in one. Looks like it can."
Simon felt a tingle engulf his body. He felt a twinge in his hand. He looked down to see the limb thickening, the hand becoming larger. Both arms were following suit filling with muscle as the red hairs on his arms multiplied in thickness and density. Simon stood up as he felt his limbs ache as he grew taller. The world around him seemed to sink downward as he grew in height. He looked down, seeing his round stomach becoming more pronounced, pushing out rounder under his shirt. His pecs made themselves known as well, large square shapes growing from his chest, padded a bit with soft fat.
Simon felt a prickling sensation and made his way to the kitchen mirror. Red stubble was filling in on his round face. He laughed a bit at his reflection. He looked sort of like an overstuffed easy chair, with his thick arms and chest of padded muscle, all framed in red hair. Though he couldn't see it, he could feel the hair on his chest increasing its spread and density, joining with the hair trailing up from his thick, round stomach.
A few times during the process he felt his pants tighten, then suddenly loosen as they jumped up in size. His shirt would do the same, changing in style as it did so. His clothes eventually settled on boxer shorts and a short sleeve, tight fitting t-shirt, the clothes he'd slept in the previous night.
Meanwhile, Bryan was undergoing his own changes. He felt an intense itching erupt all over his body. As he scratched his arm, he saw the sparse but clearly visible dark hairs dramatically increase in density. He pulled up his shirt, feeling a similar sensation on his chest. There was an explosion of dark hair flowing from his chest. The sparse hairs below his belly button also blossomed and spread to cover his entire gut, which seemed to be growing of its own accord. A painful ache filled his limbs as he felt himself growing all over. He groaned, the sound coming out as a surprisingly low rumble. It almost felt like the chair he was sitting on was shrinking.
Bryan also felt a prickling sensation on his face. When he reached up in excitement to feel it, instead of touching the short stubble that Simon now sported, Bryan's hand encountered thick growth.
"Mirror," Bryan mumbled, standing suddenly. The movement caused his expanding frame to thump into the side of the table, sending it scooting several inches.
"Hey, careful there, big guy," Jay said, a little in surprise, and a little in awe of his friends' changes, especially Bryan's.
Bryan heaved his heavy body to the hall mirror. He arrived, shocked to see the short, messy beard he now sported. His hair stayed buzzed, but he could see copious amounts of body hair poking out from his collar, both front and back, and from his sleeves. Again and again his clothes hopped up in size. His tight jersey reformed into a button up shirt, the buttons straining to contain his girth. Unconsciously, Bryan straightened his posture. He'd been leaning forward slightly before, in a vain effort to minimize his gut. But now he stood straight-backed, his gut jutting proudly before him. The action popped a couple of his buttons, which quickly mended themselves.
Bryan felt the changes slow and stop. He looked himself over, pale blue button up shirt, brown belt, khaki slacks, inch long beard, massive gut. He patted the large sphere which hung over his waistband. Jay was right. It was growing on him. Or, was he growing into it? It was years ago, he couldn't remember the exact wording.
"Not bad, Bryan," said Simon, his voice deeper than before. Him and Jay were now standing in the hall with him. It was then that he discovered not only was he large in circumference, but extremely tall. Simon, who was now just taller than Jay, barely came up past his shoulder.
Jay turned to Simon. "What the hell did you do to him? I mean, I'm not complaining, but still. He's massive. And so hairy! This thing says sixteen but he looks like he could pass for double that, easy."
Simon frowned and rubbed his stubble. "Now's probably a good time to ask. What's 'Puberty Percentage' mean?"