There was an eruption of light from Tom's hand and Bill's arms shot up to protect his eyes as time seemed to stop.
Tom's body lifted from the sidewalk as his form began to change. Tom felt the changes as they washed over his body, a deep pulsing rhythm and fire not unlike the sensation of feeling returning to his body after being numb and asleep. His hair grew longer as his near-buzzcut bloomed outward, pulling his head back was it cascaded downward with surprising weight. His masculine frame shrinking as his muscles diminished in size, leaving him feeling smaller, weaker. There was suddenly a void between his legs as his pants suddenly felt very tight around his waist and rear, and his chest became irritatingly itchy before Tom's floating form jerked upwards as two...somethings rose from the flesh on his torso. His face felt like he'd suffered from severe sunburn until it suddenly vanished, leaving his lips feeling wrong and the perspective of the green-gold world around him somewhat larger than it had been seconds ago. Tom winced with new eyes as the sharp, stabbing pain of a migraine shot through his head, only to be replaced by a strange...fuzziness that dissipated just as quickly.
Tom was aware that his clothing was different as he regained control over his newly changed form as the tingling subsided as Tom felt his smaller feet regain purchase on the ground. The overpowering light began to fade, the verdant filter that had been applied to Shermer leeching away as reds, blues, browns and all the other colors of the suburb burst back into existence. Time returned to normal as Bill's nearby body began to move once more, arms shooting upward to cover a scrunched up face.
And then, just like that, it was over. The sound of bird song, the distant noise of morning traffic and all the other sounds of the town and nature returning to the world. And a painful coldness bit into Tom's hand, the one that had been holding the strange gemstone BIll had found just minutes earlier.
Tom was acutely aware that it was larger in his hand than it had been just a scant few seconds ago. As the world returned to normal, Tom look down at himself in shock, taking in the two breasts that now protruded out of his body and the canyon of flesh that now hung between them. Locks of long hair slipped into his vision as he gazed downward and he pushed the stray hairs out of his eyes, freezing at the sight of his flawless, hairless, and much more slender arm.
Tom's new eyes grew even larger and panic began to seep into his mind when Bill finally spoke.