“I guess so…” Alexis said apprehensively,
“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” His father, Floyd, said, “tell him, honey,” he said to his wife,
“Sweetie,” Alexis’ mother, Selena, replied, placing a hand on his shoulder, “I’m really okay with this. It won’t be the first time,” she reassured her son,
“Plus, this’ll be much less intense than the last time I changed you,” he snickered with his wife, she gave a light giggle back,
“O-okay then. I won’t let myself…” Alexis looked towards his father, “or dad, get too carried. I promise,” Alexis said to his mother directly,
“I trust you, Lexi,” Selena replied, brushing his hair lightly.
“Alright!” Floyd said, making Alexis jump a little bit, “let’s start simple. Can you change her hair?” He asked, giving Alexis the opportunity,
“I-I said my power… it’s gone…” Alexis replied,
“Alex,” his father said with a large smirk on his face, “you just have to. Your power is still there, I can feel it. Just believe,” he said, patting his son firmly on the back,
Alexis looked at his mother, she smiled at him, sincerely. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then imagined his mother’s hair getting longer. He immediately noticed that he didn’t feel anything. He didn’t quite remember what he felt before, but he remembered feeling something when he changed people. He opened his eyes.
His mother looked the same. Nothing had changed.
“Just close your eyes,” Floyd placed his hand over Alexis’ face, obscuring his vision, “all you have to do is relax. Let me tell you, it is so much harder when you have other stuff on your mind,”
“So what am I supposed to focus on!?” Alexis almost lost his temper, but quickly calmed down, “I-I’m sorry…” he apologised,
“It’s okay, Alexis,” his father said sympathetically, “just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and forget about your power,” he said, surprising Alexis, “all you have to do, is say to yourself, ‘let’s make my mom’s hair longer’,” he patted his son on the back once more, and stepped back.
Alexis took his fathers advice, taking his focus off of his power, and just to the thought of ‘mom’s hair longer’.
Within moments, before he could even close his eyes, his mother’s hair began to lengthen. From the usual bob style it was in, it’s volume began to increase. Alexis had found his power again. He could feel it once more. It felt stronger this time, he felt more in control of it.
“Yes!!” Floyd yelled, raising his arms in the air, “great job, Alex!!” He said, watching as his wife’s hair was still getting longer.
Alexis looked at his mother, with a proud smile on her face. He made her hair stop growing. Then made it start growing. Then stopped it. Then decided to make it shorter, and it did just that. It reduced until it gave her a hairstyle similar to his own.
“Looks like someone’s got the hang of it!” Floyd said to his son, once again giving him a hard pat on the back, “now make her hair black; as black as mine,” he instructed his son. Alexis was in the zone, he complied, willing his mother’s hair to turn black. And just like June in the bathroom, streak by streak, her hair turned black. Soon her hair was as black as her husbands. He watched as the hair began to lengthen again, growing until it was at least halfway down her back. He looked to his father, “sorry, I think it works better when she has longer hair,” he winked at his son. Alexis cringed a little, but shook away the thought.
“Okay, so I’m going to ask you to do two things now,” Floyd told his son, Alexis looked at his father, “start by making your mother half her size,”
“W-why?” Alexis asked without hesitation,
“Just change her size,” he was instructed once again. Not aggressively, but not giving Alexis a lot of input. He simply complied.
He looked at his mother, and willed her to shrink. Slowly, but surely, her body began to shrink. Her whole body reducing in size until she was almost exactly half her original size,
“Y’know, it’s funny,” his father said with a smirk on his face, “I’m sure if you’d asked me that question, I would’ve reduced her height,”
“B-but…” Alexis looked at his half sized mother, then back to his father, “isn’t that what I did?” He asked, puzzled,
“No no, you reduced her size. However, you could’ve reduced her height,” his father replied. As he finished the sentence, Alexis noticed his mother’s stature change. Her actual size stayed identical, but her body began to morph, becoming more akin to a dwarf, “see?” His father gestured towards the now fun-sized woman.
Alexis didn’t really like seeing his mother in this state, so against his fathers change, he reverted his mother back to her original shape, but kept her reduced size. He didn’t seem to care, if anything he was likely happy.
“Now watch me,” Floyd said, instructing Alexis to focus on him. He walked over and picked up Alexis’ mother by her hair, holding her like a doll,
“Dad!” Alexis yelled, conscious of his mother’s safety, “what’re you doing!?”
“Alexis, please,” Floyd assured his son, “your mother is completely safe in my hands,” he said, then immediately grabbed her legs with the other hand. Then, with very little forced, stretched her out like a rubber band. He let go, letting her body ping back to normal shape. She looked completely okay,
“Oh Floyd, that tickles!” Alexis’ mother giggled at her husband,
“Y’see Alex, I’ve prevented your mother from damage, and to experience any kind of pain from this. In fact, I’ve completely reworked her body in order to make all of this not only possible, but completely safe,” his father explained,
Alexis was in complete shock. He could just rewrite the biological code of… of anything!?
He looked at his hand, seeing that he had five fingers. Out of pure curiosity, he imagined having seventeen fingers. And like that. An extra finger, one following the other until he had a total of seventeen fingers on one hand. His father looked up, smiling joyfully,
“Glad to see you’re back into the swing of it,” he let go of his wife, placing her down on the ground. Alexis watched as his mother slowly grew back to her usual size. Not only that, but her hair was back to being as red as Alexis’ hair. She smiled at him, approaching Alexis for a hug.
Alexis’ father didn’t notice this, however, instead saying, “well honey, I think you can get back to what you were doing now, thanks for the help,”
And with that, Alexis’ mother diverted her path. She didn’t look back. It was as if she had completely forgotten her original plan to hug her son.
Alexis found this peculiar. But before he could ponder it any longer, he was poked by his father,
“You think you’re ready to go back to school?” His father asked. Alexis wasn’t quite ready to respond, but ultimately agreed with his father,
“Yeah, I think I am,” Alexis looked out the window, seeing that the day was already into the evening, “but it’s a little late, I guess I’ll have to…” he forgot what he was saying as he saw the sun moving backwards at an incredible speed. The clouds moving and forming fast, the sky changing colour like it was paintbrush in water.
“Doesn’t look like the school-day’s begun yet,” his father said, winking at his son as he walked to make himself a drink in the kitchen. Then he paused, spinning back around to face Alexis, “practice getting ready with your power. It makes things much quicker,” he smirked.
—
Alexis stood there, now alone. Finally, with his thoughts. Taking his fathers advice, with the will of his mind, he willed his clothes to suddenly become his private-school uniform. He looked at his hand, still with seventeen fingers. He reduced the number back down to the regular five.
He looked at his watch, time really had been set back to the morning. The bus wasn’t for another half hour.
He wondered what he could do while he waited.