Three Short Shifts

2: Phyllis

It had been a while since Phyllis had last transformed but she felt about ready to have another go.

‘Would you like me to hulk up?’ she asked Finn. Her boyfriend raised a quizzical eyebrow.

‘You’re serious? I thought it was some bizarre fantasy of yours.’

Phyllis smiled.

‘Honey, I only deal in the real world. Now, bear with me – it’s been a while.’

She considered stripping off. There would be some serious growth if she was successful and she couldn’t really afford to go around ripping clothes willy-nilly.

Ah, what the hell, she thought. I’m not planning on making a habit of this.

Phyllis closed her eyes.

How did this go again?

She remembered concentrating on the image of her other self. Although she wasn’t always aware of it, she had a very definite mental view of herself. The trick was to bring that in to focus and reimagine it – will this other Phyllis into existence. There was a physical aspect to it too. It had always taken a bunching of her muscles, a small workout to coax the strength that lay hidden within her into putting in an appearance. Her brow knotted, she gasped and grunted with the strain, her body twitching as she tried to kick start the transformation. She opened an inquisitive eye to see Finn there looking rather embarrassed.

‘Is that it, then?’ he asked. ‘Have you hulked out?’

Phyllis scowled.

‘This isn’t roleplay, Finn. I actually undergo a transformation. If I could just remember how…’

Phyllis raised her arms and flexed her biceps in the traditional bodybuilder’s pose.

‘No, that’s not it,’ she decided after a minute of remaining resolutely unsuperhuman. ‘How about..?’

She placed her hands behind her head and tried a cheesy, if still somewhat sexy, wiggle. She was often uninhibited when she was hulked out, but mimicking that now had no discernible effect.

‘Can we leave this?’ asked Finn. ‘I’m not really into this sort of thing.’

‘Oh, you will be,’ replied Phyllis. ‘It’s pretty spectacular.’

A smile dawned on her face.

‘Of course, that was it – silly of me to forget!’

And without even a second thought, Phyllis instantly changed, violently ripping her dress in the process, standing there, green, huge and more than real.

Finn gaped, obviously overwhelmed.

‘That’s easy enough.’

Phyllis rapidly shrunk down to her pink regular self, fabric tatters hanging limply off her

unremarkable frame.

‘Told you.’