1 WEEK LATER
CURRENT AGE = 26 YEARS 5 MONTHS
Christmas had come and gone without much fanfare. Jeff received all of the new clothes he'd been desperate for, varying from comfortable to snug. He was practically set for the winter. He'd also received a hefty stash of protein powder, some beard grooming products, and a few gift cards he'd likely forget to use. He himself managed to get Adam a new pair of shoes in a similar sized box to the Chronivac, which would hopefully throw him off the scent of the machine. Luckily, his brother had gotten less suspicious as the days passed and they spent more time together.
The only downside was, as always, Bryan. Jeff stared at the Christmas text he sent a few days back with a sad expression. Bryan had left him on read. Even Shiro made the effort to send a text back, and his family didn't even celebrate Christmas! What was it going to take to get Bryan to forgive him... Jeff felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Adam dressed in his athletic wear. "How's about a gym session to take things off your mind?"
After changing into his usual gym clothes, the two men went down to the makeshift gym in the basement. It originally used to be Adam's before he left for the army and Jeff took over. There were plenty of dumbbells and barbells, a treadmill, a rowing machine, and a few gym mats scattered across the floor. It didn't compare to a proper gym, but with their local gym closed for the holidays, it was better than nothing.
Exercise came easy to Jeff. Before the Chronivac changed him into the buff man he was today, he was an active guy but he didn't have much knowledge in how to train. He used to find YouTube tutorials that interested him and cherry picked the exercises he liked. Nowadays, he had a plethora of knowledge that had leaked into his brain. It allowed him to push himself to new limits and attain the best gains with all the energy he had. A good hour's session later and the two men were glistening with sweat.
Adam leant back against a wall and squirted his water bottle into his mouth. "Phew! That was intense! No wonder you're so massive."
"Yeah, well, I try..." Jeff said with a grin, posing and flexing his buff muscles as he admired his reflection. He yanked off his sweat coated tank-top and grinned at his masculine body, his thick body hair plastered to his thicker muscle.
Adam joined him in front of the mirror and did the same, flexing his toned muscle with a smile. "I've got a lot of catching up to do if I want to be as big as you," he said, giving his brother a pat on the back, then wiping his sweat-soaked hand on his shorts with a grimace. "Though hopefully I won't ever be as hairy as you. Damn, you've practically got a fur pelt! You should keep that shit in check, the ladies hate a man with back hair."
Jeff rolled his eyes and replied "Like I give a shit what ladies think of my body. If back hair's a deal breaker, then that's their loss."
"Ooooh, you're a little feisty today, huh? I'm just saying, it's a little unsightly. I could help shave it off for you if you'd like. You'd be surprised how many guys in the army need it dealt with."
Jeff stroked his beard in thought. His body hair was getting more and more out of control by the day. His back was smooth as anything a mere few weeks ago and now he had a coating of hair that almost rivalled his chest. But it didn't actually bother him. He was a manly man after all, and men had lots of body hair. Besides, he had a feeling it would grow back as quick as his beard if he did shave it, and he wasn't prepared to deal with that on a daily basis. "Believe me, I'm fine. I'm happy with how I am. You of all people should know to love yourself for who you are. " He tapped Adam's prosthetic leg with his foot to push his point.
Adam chuckled "I suppose you're right, Furball." He stretched out his body and walked back to the stairs. "Well if you're really happy with who you are right now, I'll so graciously get in the shower first. I'd hate to part a man from his beloved stench, after all!"
Jeff watched his brother run up the stairs with a grin. He took a whiff under his armpit and cringed. He wished he could say it was the stench of a true man but there were limits to how musky a person should be. He thought about storming the bathroom before Adam could get in the shower, but things were going so well between them. He didn't want to ruin things.
Spending all this time with his brother had left him conflicted. Since he came home, Adam had been treating Jeff more like an old friend than a little brother. They even shared a couple of beers the previous night while watching an old buddy flick and Adam didn't rat him out to their parents. It kind of made up for the fractured friendships he'd had to endure at school. It left him in two minds about changing back. He loved being a man, being so huge and hairy. He just didn't like how it had changed his life. His friendship with Bryan was more of a lost cause with every passing day. Maybe instead of reverting back to a teenager and losing everything he'd gained, he could simply invent a new life for himself as the adult he had become.
As Jeff finished putting the weights back and wiping down the equipment, he made his mind up. With Adam in the bathroom taking one of his notoriously long showers, maybe he could get the Chronivac out and make a change for the better. He ran up the stairs, checking if the shower was running before entering his bedroom. Jeff got down to his knees and clamoured underneath his bed for the Chronivac. He pulled the bag out and frowned at the amount of dust covering it. When was the last time he cleaned under there... As he pulled himself back up from the floor, he turned around, bag in hand, and stopped.
Adam leant against the doorway. He was fresh out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was plastered to his head, his unshaven face still dripping with water. He was missing his prosthetic leg, which wasn't waterproof. He looked down at the bag with a sneer, then hopped over to Jeff's desk and sat down, swivelling his chair to face his larger brother. "Mom and dad won't be back for a while. So I reckon it's time you spilled the truth."
"Huh?"
"You know, about your huge, hairy body. I don't know how you've fooled everyone else, but you haven't fooled me. There isn't a 16 year old alive who looks like you right now."
"Well I'm 16, I'm alive, I look like me. Wait... You know what I mean..." Jeff sighed and fell back onto his bed. "Can't this wait until after I've showered?"
"Well clearly you couldn't wait yourself." Adam replied, nodding to the bag on Jeff's lap. "Cut the crap, Jeff. Is it steroids? Have you been using steroids? Because it may make you all buff and manly now, but I've seen steroid abuse in the army and believe me, that shit messes you up! It causes hair loss, it shrinks your balls and makes you sterile, it can even give you tumors and heart attacks if you're not careful."
Jeff's eyes bulged wide and he flustered, "It's not steroids! I don't even know where I'd get steroids to even consider using them."
"Bullshit! There's no other explanation!" Adam sighed and leaned over to grip Jeff's shoulders in an assuring manner. "Listen, you can trust me. I won't blab to mom and dad, it's why I waited until we were alone to bring this up. I just want to help you."
Jeff looked into his brother's eyes, they were sincere. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I have been using something but it's not steroids! It's... I don't know if you'd believe me if I said it..."
"Well I'm not leaving until you show me."
Jeff reached inside the canvas bag on his lap and pulled out the bulky box from within. "It's a... Uhm... Magic computer, for lack of a better term."
Adam grasped the box and whistled slowly. "A Chronivac? YOU have a Chronivac?"
"Wait, you know what this is?"
"Of course I do, it's like an open secret at the base. The higher ups have been hunting these down for years! I've always wondered what one looked like... How the fuck did you get one of these?"
Jeff shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. It just came in the mail one day, with my name and address and everything."
"Strange... And you've been using this to make yourself bigger without anyone knowing?"
"Kind of... I set it up to make me a month older every day, along with an added masculinity boost. So me getting bigger and hairier is a byproduct of me getting older."
"You have a machine of untold cosmic power and you've only used it to get a month older every day? I have to admit, that's pretty lame..."
"Well it adds up fast. I'm already as old as you are, older even. And the Chronivac deals with the whole memory altering thing. I don't think it's quite as refined as the physical transformation though..."
Adam leant back in his seat and scratched his chin. "Hmm... It's not that I don't believe you, but this is some dangerous, hi-tech stuff you really shouldn't be tampering with. How do I know it's the real deal?"
Jeff pointed towards his furry abs with a smirk. "Well, aren't I the proof?"
"Maybe... Or maybe this is an elaborate cover up for your real life steroid abuse."
"Now you're the one that sounds crazy... But it would be fun to use it on someone else for a change..." Jeff stroked his beard and imagined the possibilities before a small smile broke his lips. "Let me show you how it works!"
Jeff opened the box and pulled out the Chronivac hardware, connecting it up to his laptop and opening it up. Meanwhile, Adam left the room so he could get dressed and grab his faux leg. When he came back, Jeff had the programme up and running. There was a 3D model of Jeff on the left of the screen while a list of stats and user history sat on the right. Jeff turned the screen to show Adam the main page. He whistled loudly. "That's some cool shit right there. So according to this, you're... 26 years old? Fuck, you really are older than I am! That's not right, I'm the big brother!"
Jeff laughed and ruffled Adam's hair. "Sorry bro, looks like I'm bigger in size and age. I should start calling you little bro!"
"Please. Don't." Adam replied, whacking Jeff's hand away with a frown. He mumbled under his breath as he continued to read through Jeff's stats. "Too tall... too hairy... 9 inches? That's ridiculous... Orientation... Wait, you're... Huh, that explains a lot..."
Jeff tapped his foot impatiently. "You gonna keep invading my personal info or are you gonna let me make your profile?"
Adam stood aside to let his former little brother access the laptop. Jeff scanned for new participants, which immediately brought up Adam's name and automatically created a profile for him. Adam was in awe as a complete 3D model of himself appeared onscreen, right down to his prosthetic leg, alongside a list of his own stats. "Holy shit, it knows everything about me..." he muttered in awe before scoffing loudly. "But it doesn't prove anything! It's going to take a lot more than that to convince me that this is the actual Chronivac."
"Duly noted." Jeff replied, opening the transformation hub. There were a lot of things he could do to his brother to make him believe in the Chronivac. But what... As if reading his mind, a category came to his attention. OPTIONS FOR NON-BELIEVERS. What luck! There were dozens of pre-set transformations that could be used to prove the Chronivac's powers. One, in particular, drew Jeff's attention. He grinned and clicked it, allowing the transformation to start immediately. He spun around to face Adam and smiled. "You want proof, you're going to get proof!"