(F to Inflatable Love Doll)

In some ways, it was funny – the people who relied the most on ‘smart’ technology were typically the slowest of the bunch.

This was a thought shared by the employees at Lorde Financial, watching Marie Lorde struggle her way through their monthly report. None of them offered a hand to help, though. They’d learned their lesson when Mary had laid off the last person who’d tried to correct her.

“So, you see,” Marie tried tapping at the board, her nose crinkling. Some of the workers in the front could have sworn that they saw small flecks of makeup fall from her face. “Damn it. This thing is always broken.”

Subtly, one of the few remaining IT technicians tapped at her laptop, advancing to the next slide. A few stern looks were passed his way, but everyone had long since reached an understanding not to snitch on each other.

Besides, they were all too distracted by the words on the board: NO BONUS.

“Hold on,” one of the younger engineers spoke up before her supervisor could restrain her. “I thought you said that we had record profits.”

Marie sneered at the girl. “I’m happy that you paid attention for a change. But I’d change that tone if I were you.”

The girl persisted. “Then why isn’t there a bonus?”

Marie chuckled. “I expected they wouldn’t teach this at that kiddie school you went to.”

“Yale,” the girl muttered sotto voce.

“But you see,” Marie had gotten into one of her moods and was no longer listening to anything save herself. “There’s such a thing as a growth target. And we didn’t meet ours.”

Marie turned back towards the board. “The fact of the matter is, you all didn’t meet my expectations, which means that next month we’ll have to work even harder to try and pass them. Of course, you need to work harder without overtime. That was another issue this monfff.”

If she noticed the slight lisp she now sported, she didn’t react to it. Still, a few people leaned in closer. It looked like something was happening to Marie’s lips. They were a little fuller than they’d been a moment ago, and were glossier too.

“The fact of the matter is, you all are working too much overtime. That’s a problem,” she turned to berate them further, but as she did, her chest bulged. The slight motion made her newly swollen breasts jiggle, though there wasn’t any of the natural bounce they should have had. Instead, they thumped against each other like a pair of swollen beach balls.

Even the slowest-witted of her listeners could put two and two together. Somehow, she was changing. It had become a common part of their society, thanks to Shifters. The real thing to figure out was why it was happening.

“Nobody going to respond?” Marie still seemed oblivious as ever. Perhaps unfortunately for her, her cackling laugh drowned out the sound of her top button giving up its best attempt to keep her shirt together.

Some of the closer people to her swore that they heard a hollow poomf, like a pair of dodgeballs hitting one another. Marie’s hair fluttered like it was caught in a breeze. The strands flowed into one another, thickening and clumping.

In seconds, it looked like she’d stuffed a balloon on her head in lieu of a wig. And she might not have noticed this either, if she hadn’t taken that moment to adjust her headband. It slid along her rubbery hair with a sqrrk, and she froze.

As if sensing her attention, her hands changed next. It started with a twitching in her fingers that even Marie couldn’t have missed. She turned her attention to her spasming digits, only to gasp at the sight of them bulging like they’d been hooked up into an air hose.

FwoompfwoompfwoompfwoompPOMF. Each finger made a cartoonish sound, followed by the sudden swelling of her palm. Her fingers simply blended together, leaving the woman with flesh-toned mittens where her hands should have been.

“What the hell is going on!? Who’ff doin’ thiff!?” She smacked her swollen lips together, and people realized that their glossiness wasn’t from any lipstick. It was because they’d turned to rubber, just like her hands and tits.

More than a few sidelong glances were sent, as each employee wondered if their neighbor had the infinite potential that came so easily to Shifters. A few of the more well-read in the room remained as silent and still as possible.

After all, there was no guarantee that this even was a targeted change. It might have just been random happenstance, a puckish Shifter deciding that everyone currently standing or talking would turn into… Whatever Marie was becoming.

Their silence did little to ease Marie’s nerves. “AnfffwrrRRK mrrff!” Her lips swelled a little more, and some of the more lecherous employees noticed that her hips had bulged, as did her already ample backside.

At this point, her leggings gave up the ghost. The sound of tearing cloth was quickly followed by a hollow pomf as they exploded off of her. Apparently this was also enough to unsteady her, as she fell onto her inflated backside, showing off to the crowd that she’d picked today not to wear underwear.

Anyone actually curious enough for a look was sorely disappointed – she now sported a cartoonishly swollen hole like could be found on a cheap sex toy.

“MrrrfFFFFSKWRK!” Marie clearly was still trying to berate her staff, but the impact was lost by her compromised position. This position was made even worse as her elbows, knees, and back bent.

Her arms had moved into a half-hug. Her legs had spread. And her back curved just enough to make it look like she was eagerly expecting a man to take her into their arms.

As if she realized how helpless she’d become, some of the fury in her eyes started to melt away to panic. At the same time, her wriggling grew less and less insistent as the last of her muscles were replaced with air.

Marie Lorde was nothing more than an overinflated lovedoll, mockingly wearing her old clothing.

“W-well, I guess the meeting is over, right?” The engineer who’d challenged her moments ago laughed a little uneasily.

A few uneasy smiles turned her way, only to vanish at the sight of the girl’s own smile. Her mouth had sealed over, and looked almost painted on. Her hands flew to her face as it bulged. Unlike with Marie, her changes weren’t human in the slightest.

Her throat bulged like a frog’s, only to stretch away from the rest of her body. Her breasts bulged until they were the size of yoga balls. Hard plastic handles burst from her sides, at the same time that she fell onto a newly-hollow body.

A lone tear streaked down a painted eye, as her cute features stretched into a muzzle. Her hands and feet became little more than flippers. She’d become some kind of sex-styled pool toy. And worst of all, nobody was stepping up to take credit for it.

The room fell silent. Was it standing? Was it speaking? Why had both of them changed? It seemed unlikely it was based solely on gender, as the rest of the women in the room seemed fine – albeit as panicked as the rest of the men, if not more so.

They all remained seated and silent, staring at their changed boss and coworker. And there they would remain, until someone else dared to make the first move.