Chapter 13

As she sped down the mostly empty highway, Megan pondered whether she’d finally lost the last shreds of her sanity. Seriously, what in the hell was wrong with her? She had sworn to head to the mall and ignore her earlier strange thoughts. But shortly after getting in her car, her phone’s map app brought up a location on its own accord. Megan zoomed in and recognized the photos as the area from her earlier weird visions. Rather than disregard it like a rational person, she instead opted to follow the directions. Now here she was, driving toward a busy part of the city she’d never visited, all because of some nagging voice in her head, brief hallucination, and a buggy app? Yet in the end, it all seemed no less ludicrous than the alternative of simply waiting around to see how the nearly omnipotent Amy decided to toy with the universe.

Wonder if Nolan will do anything to keep her in check. Doubt it. Guess I can’t really blame him, though. Probably not much you can do to resist a literal god who’s head-over-heels in love with you. Just means I’m in this alone, that’s all. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and sighed. I’ve just got a bad feeling Amy is going to do something outrageous, and I’m the only person in the entire universe who may have any chance of stopping it.

After a few more minutes of quiet driving, Megan finally arrived at her exit. She followed the directions through several winding, packed streets, honking her horn at more than one person crossing the road without paying attention. Taking a few more turns, Megan found herself in nearly the exact spot from her earlier vision. Miraculously, there was a curbside parking spot available directly in front of her

destination – at least, if she could wedge her SUV between two other parked cars. Summoning distant memories of learning how to parallel park, Megan managed to narrowly squeeze her way between two other cars, only coming close to scraping them three times.

Narrowly avoiding having her door taken off by a negligent passing car, Megan hopped out and looked at the building in front of her in disbelief.

A coffee shop, she mentally fumed. Not a jewelry store or a museum or anywhere that might give me some clue about Amy’s ring. No, it’s a fucking coffee shop.

Please, just go inside, pleaded the voice from before, louder and clearer than ever. Trust me! That goddamn voice again. You know what? Fine. Fine. If it’ll make this stop, fine!

Megan hastily made her way inside and took a look around, wondering just what precisely she was supposed to find. Given it was rather late in the morning, the shop was still rather busy and mostly full, but not nearly the absolutely zoo these sort of places typically were in the early hours.

Most of the customers were young people like her on summer break from high school or college, though she recognized none of their faces: that is, until her eyes drifted to the back corner and spotted a spectacle almost too ridiculous to believe.

Dear God...

Sitting at a table was blonde man who she quickly recognized as Daniel, Amy’s shy but cute friend from the beach with whom Megan hit it off quite well. Surrounding him were three young, voluptuous and, most strikingly, enormous women who absolutely dwarfed the red-faced Daniel. A brunette and a blonde, both easily pushing eight feet in height, sat to either side of him, rubbing their hands along his arms and chest. Remarkably, they weren’t even the largest women in the room. Flanking him and gently massaging his shoulders knelt a breathtaking beauty rivaling even Amy in size, with flawless skin and flowing ruby hair. Daniel’s head rested against her enormous bosom which threatened to burst out of her plaid shirt.

Good lord, they’re huge! Uh, the girls, not the boobs. Well, okay, both. But HOW? Did Amy do this? No, that makes zero sense. She wouldn’t nudge me and the nerd together and then surround him with a bunch of giant co-eds. Daniel’s probably not even on her radar anyway. So then what the hell did?

As Megan continued to gawk at the spectacle, Daniel’s gaze soon drifted over and met her own, and the young man turned bug-eyed. While he didn’t seem to be in great distress, he nonetheless mouthed ‘help’.

Help? How exactly am I supposed to help? Megan frowned and sighed. Guess I can’t very well leave him hanging, but I’m not getting into a brawl with three amazons. You’re cute, Danny, but no one’s THAT cute.

After taking a moment to weigh her options, she strolled towards the table, pretending the situation was perfectly normal. The girls soon took notice of her, turning guarded and eyeing her more suspiciously with each step. In particular, the redhead took on a protective stance, draping her arms over Daniel’s shoulders and resting her chin upon his head.

“Um, don’t worry, girls,” Daniel assured his companions. “This is Megan, a friend of mine.”

Along with the other two women, the ruby-haired girl’s expression softened almost instantly, morphing into a warm smile. “Oh, I see. Sorry for the rude welcome,” she apologized in a much softer and gentler voice than Megan expected. “Just being cautious. We’ve seen Danny get picked on in the past, and that’s not happening again on our watch.” The giantess brought her hand from Daniel’s chest and extended it. “I’m Kate, by the way. Good to meet you.”

Megan reluctantly shook her hand; more accurately, she made a brave attempt to do so, but the hand was simply too massive. The enormous, soft palm completely engulfed hers in its warmth, and Megan winced slightly as Kate, no doubt ignorant of her newfound strength, squeezed her hand tightly.

“Likewise,” Megan answered meekly. “Mind if I ask exactly you know Daniel?”

“Oh, we’re his group for a summer class,” explained the blonde. “And boy, did we ever luck out. We thought this project was going to take forever, but Danny here plowed through it like nothing. He’s a freaking genius! And he’s absolutely adorable to boot! How do you keep your hands off of him?”

“It’s, um, not easy,” Megan replied.

Hard to believe I’d see anything weirder than what Amy’s pulled off the past few days, but this sure takes the cake. It’s like these girls are hypnotized. Do they not even realize how massive they are? What on earth could have done this?

Whether she liked it or not, Megan soon received an answer. A brief flash of light drew her attention to Daniel’s hand, and her heart practically ground to a halt at what she spotted Resting upon his middle finger was a platinum ring, adorned with numerous emeralds. Though it bore almost no resemblance to Amy’s own, it emitted a barely visible glow, and simply gazing upon it filled Megan with the same eerie feeling. Her body began to tremble, partly with fear but mostly with sheer rage.

No. No way. No. FUCKING! WAY! Are these things nerd magnets?! How the fuck did he wind up with that?! This is so unfair! So fucking unfair! I’ve had to spend the last two days watching my best friend turn into an all-powerful goddess before my eyes, and yet he’s the one who gets this dropped right in his lap?!

Please forgive me, pleaded the voice. I had no other choice!

“Everything okay, Megan?” Daniel asked. “You look pale as a ghost.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Megan insisted, perhaps too strongly. “I just zoned out for a second.”

Does he realize what he’s wearing, or was this all his subconscious like happened with Amy at first? Please let him be ignorant of it. He must be. There’s no way he’d still be this timid otherwise.

“Um, anyway, ladies?” Daniel spoke up. “I apologize for being rude, but do you think I could speak with Megan privately about something? It’s actually rather important. I’ve enjoyed your company so much today, really! And-”

Kate’s finger pressed against Daniel’s lips to shush him. “Say no more. You’re too cute not to share. We’ve got stuff to take care of, anyway. Probably should have left sooner, but it’s just so hard to pull ourselves away from you! Call us soon, though, okay?”

“A-absolutely!”

Rising to their feet in unison, it became clear how much the three enormous women utterly dwarfed the six foot tall Megan. Even with their heartwarming smiles, the gentle giants were an imposing presence. She thanked her lucky stars Daniel had wound up in a group with a few friendly ladies rather than creating some giant, stuck-up sorority sisters.

Up until two days ago, I’d never felt short in my life. Now I might as well be a fucking dwarf.

Letting the other two stroll ahead to the exit, Kate stopped within a few inches of Megan, close enough for her to truly appreciate the redhead’s beauty. A tinge of jealously entered Megan’s mind, not only at Kate’s unbelievable body but that Daniel had gotten her all to himself. The comforting warmth radiating from her body, the pleasant fragrance of her perfume, those absurdly huge tits begging to be freed...

“Take good care of him, alright?” Kate implored with a wink.

For reasons unclear even to herself, Megan’s cheeks flushed bright pink as she managed nothing more than a nod, much to Kate’s amusement. Shooting Daniel one last smile, Kate turned and followed her friends’ lead, squeezing her shapely hips through the doorframe and nearly cracking it in the process. Once the giantess had forced her way out, Megan turned to face a still-flustered Daniel, trying in vain to straighten his hair.

“Oh, God, Megan, thank you so much,” he proclaimed.

“Sure didn’t look like you needed rescuing, but you’re welcome,” Megan responded as she took a seat. “Guess you don’t have any explanation for all that, huh?”

“You’d guess right. I have no idea how they got so huge. They all used to be around my height, give or take a couple inches. Imagine my shock when I answered my doorbell and saw that. My jaw practically hit the floor and I just gawked for about ten seconds. Or, at least, that’s what the girls tell me I did

before I fainted. Eventually, I came to in Kate’s arms, being cuddled like a stuffed animal. I asked how in the world they’d gotten so tall and they looked at me like I had three heads.” His cheeks flushed hot and red. “Kate insisted they’d always been that size, just like I’d always been so cute.”

Listening to how Daniel’s subconscious turned those women into voluptuous giants only fueled Megan’s jealousy, not to mention giving her the urge to gag at Kate’s line. Everything she’d desired had been handed to girls too brainwashed to appreciate their amazing gift instead of drooling over him.

“After a few more futile attempts to argue, I decided this was a lucid dream of some sort and got to work. I was a little amazed at how quickly I blazed through problem after problem with the girls being, uh, frisky. Once we finished the project up, the girls insisted on taking me out for coffee as a thank you. By that, I mean Kate quite literally swept me off my feet and carried me here in her arms. At least she was gentle about it. And truthfully, being protected by three of the biggest, strongest women on the planet gave me a sense of security I could have never imagined.”

“Yet you got me to bail you out of it.”

“Because you were the first and only person all morning to notice something was off! Everyone else acted like three giant, gorgeous women fawning over a dorky little guy was utterly unremarkable. I needed confirmation that I wasn’t insane.” He averted his gaze momentarily. “And, well, it meant I’d get to talk to you again.”

Megan’s eyebrows perked up. “Even if it meant getting rid of your little harem?”

“Yes.” Daniel’s cheeks flushed crimson yet again. “I had a great time with you yesterday. You were funny, friendly, interesting.” He paused and chuckled. “Not to mention I know you’re actually real.”

Nothing stroked Megan’s ego like being admired and crushed on, and Daniel certainly provided no shortage of that. She only barely prevented a wry smile from warping into a full-blown smirk.

“Those girls were right about something, at least; you really are adorable.”

“Really?! Um, I mean, thanks.” Daniel wiped his brow with his ring-bearing hand, reminding Megan of her objective.

“By the way, what’s the story with the ring? You don’t strike me as a jewelry-wearing kind of guy.”

“Oh, this? That’s actually a good question. It was sitting on my nightstand when I went to bed last night. I don’t actually know where it came from, either, but I just felt compelled to try it on and apparently forgot about it.”

“Mind if I see it?” Megan blurted out.

The prospect of taking off the ring clearly caused Daniel some discomfort. His thumb and forefinger fiddled with the ring while he spent a moment staring at it.

“Um, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d rather leave it on. It seems kinda valuable, you know? Not that I don’t trust you, but I’d hate for it to get dropped or roll off someplace.”

Damn.

“Oh, no, I didn’t expect you to let me try it on. Just thought I’d look at it on your hand.” “Oh, sure,” Daniel answered, a smile returning to his face. “Knock yourself out.” Here’s hoping he doesn’t have Amy’s  strength and crush my hand into dust.
Megan clasped the rough skin of Daniel’s hands with both of her own and pulled it closer. With her fingers only a few inches from the ring, the hairs on the back of Megan’s neck stood on end. The power emitted by the ring was familiar and palpable, the same as she sensed whenever Amy’s godlike body towered over her.
Quick, just make contact!
Following directions, Megan ever so gently pressed her finger to the cold metal of the ring’s underside. YES! YES! It really is you! Give me just one moment and I’ll release myself from this caretaker! Caretaker? Was the
ring itself speaking to her? And why was it so interested in her in particular? “Actually, Megan, you know what? I’m being paranoid. Why don’t you try it on?” “Aw, really?” Megan chirped. “Thank you!”

Megan resisted the urge to simply yank the ring off Daniel’s finger, lest it go rolling away just as he’d feared. Instead, she put her fingertip to his and gently slid it forward. Her restraint broke the moment it touched her flesh and she quickly plunged it down to the very end of her finger. Expecting to experience a surge of energy, a tingling feeling, any sort of indication of the powerful artifact she believed herself to be wearing, Megan felt nothing of the sort.

Shit. Do I need to activate it somehow? Hey, voice, you still there?

Silence.

Another few moments passed with Megan staring at the ring, hoping for something, anything to happen. A knot in her stomach tightened with each passing second as she expected Daniel to soon ask for it back. Suddenly, a fire ignited inside her, heat blazing through her entire body. Megan clasped her hand over her mouth just in the nick of time to muffle a deep moan from the wave of unimaginable

pleasure rippling through her body, followed by several more, each better than the last. The waves of near-ecstasy soon morphed into an all-out flood, continuing for a few moments before finally relenting.

“Are you all right, Megan?” Daniel probed, leaning over the table.

All right? Was he kidding? Megan had never been better in her life! The pleasure may have vanished, but whatever caused it had clearly altered her body. A feeling of power unlike any Megan had every experienced coursed through her veins. She felt strong. Invigorated. Alive.

Sorry, master, proclaimed the voice. Maybe that was too much at once, but at least now you’ve got some power to work with!

Pulling back her hand, Megan revealed a smirk that would have frightened anyone aware of the reason behind it.

“Don’t worry, Danny,” she chirped. “I’m absolutely fantastic.”

So I’ve got some ‘power’, huh? I wonder just how much. Like, can I make him forget he ever had the ring in the first place?

Bringing her hand beneath the table and snapping her fingers, Megan watched Daniel’s flinch and shake his head.

“Whoa, sorry about that,” Daniel apologized. He looked around the room in a daze. “Felt a little dizzy there. Um, I’m going to grab a bottle of water real fast. Would you like anything while I’m up?”

“Nah, I’m good,” she replied, and Daniel trotted off.

Chills ran down Megan’s spine from the realization of what she’d done. With a snap of her finger, she’d selectively altered someone’s memory. And to think it had only taken seconds of wearing the ring to become this powerful. How long would it be before she matched Amy’s might?

Oh, shit. Amy.

A sudden sense of panic gripped Megan. What was going to happen when Amy found out what she’d gotten her hands on? She’d probably be livid at the idea of someone matching her might. Regardless of how powerful the ring might make her down the road, right now Amy could still figuratively and literally swat her like an annoying insect.

Don’t fret, master! As long as you don’t use your powers for anything too drastic, I can keep us under the radar while we rebuild your strength. Amy won’t suspect a thing until it’s too late! Then you can reclaim your rightful place atop this world before that usurper tears this universe apart!

Okay, I have so many questions right now, Megan thought, hoping the voice could hear her. Why are you calling her a usurper? Are you the ring? If you are, why did you pick me out? Why do you keep calling me master? And how the hell is Amy a threat to the universe itself?

I can explain everything! But, if I may say so, perhaps this isn’t the best time or place? Don’t you want to play with your new powers a bit? Using them will strengthen our link and help me make you even more powerful! Don’t you want to make yourself a little bigger and bustier?

In another, more rational state of mind, Megan might have demanded an explanation right then and there. But after spending the past two days in both aw and envy of Amy’s ever-growing power and progressively more incredible supernatural feats, Megan didn’t need much convincing to have some fun of her own. Besides, the ring viewed her as its master and seemed almost ecstatic at the idea of turning her into an almighty being. Why question her fortune?

Megan concentrated on making herself just an inch or so taller, enough to escape Amy’s notice. It took barely a second for her wish to become reality. Without moving a muscle, Megan watched her perspective rise ever-so-slightly, her butt expanding against the seat and stretching the already tight fabric of her pants just a bit more.

It’s working! Oh, God, it’s really working! She bit her lip as she swelled even larger. Christ, this feels amazing! No wonder Amy lost control of herself in the mall. I can’t imagine what this would feel like to a virgin like her.

After sprouting up another couple of inches, Megan begrudgingly brought her growth to a halt at a formidable six-foot-four. She took a moment to catch her breath and savor the lingering pleasure from what she planned to be the first of many growth spurts.

Well, that was supposed to just be an inch. Looks like I went a little overboard. Ah, hell, Amy won’t tell the difference at her size anyhow.

The thunk of a water bottle on the table signaled Daniel’s return, interrupting Megan’s trance. She glanced up to his smiling face and could practically hear the gears turning in her head. Before Daniel could sit down, she quickly stretched out a long leg and pushed his chair away with her foot.

“I’ve got an idea, Danny,” Megan purred. “How about we go for a little walk? Maybe see a few shops? I don’t come around this side of town very often, so maybe you could show me around?”

“R-really? Aren’t you worried people might get the wrong idea? You know, just you and me out together?”

“Wrong idea, huh?”

Megan savored every moment of standing to her new height, including Daniel stumbling backwards from her imposing presence. She flashed an almost predatory smile at the even tinier Daniel, now only eye-level with her breasts and making a valiant attempt to keep his eyes from them.

God, he’s even more adorable at this size. He’s so innocent, too. I’ve got half a mind to be offended that he’s not gawking. Of course, once they’re big enough to smush a person between them, it’ll be pretty hard for anyone to look away.

“Are you saying you wouldn’t want to be seen with me?” Megan continued.

The question turned Daniel’s face the deepest shade of red she’d seen yet. Maybe it was mean to make him squirm like this, but Megan decided it was harmless enough. It wasn’t like she was just toying with him; she really did enjoy his intellect, his boyish face and, perhaps most importantly, the way she looked upon her with admiration and awe like she was some sort of goddess, a description that would soon be fitting of her status.

“O-of course not! Quite the opposite!”

“So quit with the protesting and just go with it. Okay?”

“O-okay.”

“Great. Let’s get going, then. There’s a whole lot of places I want to visit.”

Megan wrapped her arm around Daniel and pulled him to her side, only somewhat intentionally brushing his head against the side of her breast. The smug smile on her face stretched even wider as she enjoyed the rush of having wrapped someone around her finger. She hadn’t even used the power of her ring to get him under thumb, but with it, no one would be able to resist her charms, right?

Oh, yes, master! You’ll have that power over anyone you desire! Once you’ve returned to your full strength, every person on the planet will be under you control, bound to your will!

Such power was really at her fingertips. All she had to do was bide her time. But of the corner of her eye, she watched the clock strike noon, and Amy’s words about “something big” at twelve o’clock sprung to mind. This left just one question: just how much time did she have?