Ed stirred as the repetitive buzzing of his alarm clock woke him up. He groaned as he swiped at his alarm's snooze button, hoping for another five minutes of rest.
"Edward! Up up! You have school!"
Ed's groggy brain could barely decipher his mother's words, but he understood the meaning. He sighed and sat up in bed. He had the strangest dream. It involved fish, and possibly a... something else. His nighttime adventures were already fading from his mind, yet another dream lost to wakefulness. Though, he could still recall his other dream fairly well. He had somehow gained the power to steal or copy people's attributes. He had taken his father's ability to grow facial hair, and copied it to his brother. That dream was as clear as the morning sunlight streaming in past his curtains.
Ed rubbed his eyes and looked around his room, trying to force himself awake. His gaze fell upon a little black sphere clipped to the top of his computer monitor. It looked a lot like a web camera, but he knew he didn't have one of those. Then Ed remembered. It was the emitter that came with the Chronivac disc. He'd used it to scan himself and give him the powers when he first got it. He then uninstalled the program and hid the disc in his t-shirt drawer. Did that mean...? Ed tentatively reached up and stroked his cheek. He broke out into a grin as his fingertips touched stubble. It was very short, but it was definitely about 12 hours’ worth of stubble. His dream was real.
Now wide awake, Ed hopped out of bed. He was so excited. He had super powers! His excitement was cut short when he heard his man calling to his brother out in the hall.
"Jacob! I want that beard gone before you go to school!"
"But, Mom-!" At first, Ed mistook the voice for his father's, but given the context it had to be his brother's. It just sounded deeper than usual.
"Don't you 'but Mom' me! You're a member of civilized society, not a hobo!"
"There are other guys in high school who have beards, though."
"Talk to me again when you're 18. Now, shave! And don't hog the bathroom; your brother needs to shave, too." Then she spoke louder to be sure Ed could hear. "Did you hear that, Edward? Make sure you shave this morning!"
"Okay, Mom!" Ed's hand shot to his throat. His voice sounded deeper, too. Ed also felt a large lump on his throat. It must've been his Adam’s apple. It felt so defined, abnormal for a kid of 12.
In fact, now that Ed was getting his bearings, he found his pajamas felt oddly tight. His ankles seemed to protruding extra far from his PJ's pants and the shoulders of his top felt too narrow. Curious, Ed made his way to his bedroom door and grasped for the doorknob. He missed it entirely, his fingers jamming into the wood above the knob. He braced himself for the pain, but found it surprisingly bearable. He was certainly taller.
Carefully, he opened his bedroom door and made his way to the bathroom. There he found his brother, frowning while lathering his beard with shaving cream. He stood there, shirtless in front of the mirror. Ed could see in his brother's reflection that, where he had been mostly smooth the previous night, his chest had a decent covering of hair. It was what you'd expect to find on an adult, but not on a teenager. Not on a normal teen, anyway. Ed could also see a decent coating on his brother's arms and hands, as well. There was even a little fluff on his lower back.
As Jacob prepared his razor he glanced at his brother in the mirror. "Sorry, Eddie. This may take a while. Why don't you see if dad will let you use his and mom's bathroom? Or, maybe you can get away with just using the electric razor. It's not as close, but you only have stubble."
As Ed looked at his brother, he was beginning to notice other things about him. His shoulder seemed wider, his muscles more defined. Ed could also see his brother's Adam’s apple looked enlarged compared to last night. Heck, Ed wasn't sure, but he also though his brother might be taller. This wasn't right. This wasn't right at all. He had only transferred beard growth, not whatever this was.
"Ed?" Jacob raised a quizzical eyebrow at his brother. "You alright?"
Ed tore his eyes away from his brother's altered physique. "Y-yeah. Fine. I'll go find Dad."
Ed wracked his brain, trying to think up a reason as to why all these changes he hadn't asked for were happening. It had to be something to do with the beard. Ed's thoughts were once again interrupted when he found his dad in the kitchen. It seemed Jacob wasn't the only one altered. Ed's dad was standing at the pantry, looking among the various cereals, still dressed in his own PJ's. He still had a total lack of any facial hair, but Ed could see he also was lacking any body hair. The hair that lightly coated his forearms was now gone, or so light that it was practically invisible. Though, the most visible change was the gut he now sported. His dad had been of average build before, but it seemed somehow his body fat percentage had been shifted over. He had much less muscle, but more fat. He also seemed shorter, helping to emphasize his new gut, which strained at his shirt, pushing it up. The more Ed looked at his father, the more changes he noticed. Not only was his body softer, but his shoulders were narrower, and his jawline less defined. His slightly receded hairline was receded no more, now back to its full covering. Ed could also see two lumps on his chest, looking more like feminine breasts than fatty moobs.
Ed's dad finally noticed his son and smiled at him before yawning loudly. "Morning, son. I think your mother was looking for you." His voice was high pitched, a stark contrast from its usual low gravel.
Ed rubbed his stubble chin, remembering what Jacob had said earlier. "Er, dad. I was wondering if I could shave in your bathroom this morning."
Ed's dad frowned. "We talked about this yesterday, remember? You and your brother need to work something out."
Ed shrugged. "I'll use the electric. It'll be quick."
Ed's dad sighed, giving in much too easily. "Aright, fine."
Strangely, Ed felt good having gotten his way. He retrieved the electric razor from the bathroom in which Jacob was shaving and made his way to his parent's bathroom to do the same for himself. The whole way he began to piece together what he thought was happening. In the bathroom mirror, he finally got a good look at his own face. He could see the fine stubble along his jaw, which, like his brothers, seemed wider and more defined. In fact, his whole face looked squarer. He tugged his top off and looked down at his torso. He seemed to have a defined musculature, as well as broader shoulder. In the middle of his chest sat a patch of chest hair. It trailed down his torso, down to his belly button, which had its own surrounding of hair. While he wasn't as hairy as his brother, he was hairier than any 12 year old had any right to be. Looking down at his arms, he could see a light covering of hair on them as well. He looked older, but he knew he was still 12.
He quickly shaved and went back to his room. After running a few quick internet searches, Ed knew for certainty what had happened. When he took his dad's beard and gave it to himself and his brother, their bodies had to have some way to maintain these beards. Apparently, his powers decided to retroactively increase their testosterone levels to do so. To process not only maintained their new beards, but jump started puberty for both of them. However, the process seemed to grant both of them adult levels of testosterone, which would only increase as they progressed through puberty. Of course, this was all a guess by Ed, but with all the evidence, it seemed to add up. Of course, there was also his father. His powers not only took away his father's beard, but seemed to almost completely shut off his testosterone production altogether, causing him to gain fat, lose muscle, and just be less "manly" all around. Heck, it was a wonder he was ever able to sire two children.
There was a knocking on Ed's door. It was his mother. "Edward! Hurry up! You're going to be late for school!"
Sighing, Ed quickly changed into his clothes, only to find them all to be on the small side. He grabbed the baggiest clothes he could and made do. His powers could only alter people's perceptions, not reality itself. He would have to put up with smaller clothes for now. As he made his way out and grabbed his backpack he saw his brother, now freshly shaved. Ed could still make out the shadow on his brother's square jawline. These delayed side effects were very interesting, if a little unpredictable. As he set off for school, he began to consider just what else he could do with his powers.