Aaron frowned as he walked down the sidewalk, not knowing where he was going or what he was looking for, only that he had to get out and get some fresh air. He clenched his fists in frustration, hoping that this long walk through the city would at least help him calm down a bit.

"Damn game," he grimaced, "Stupid football team..."

The very thought of the football game that day was enough to drive him to distraction. Aaron was furious at just how unfair that game had been...at least to him. He was member of his school football team, though unfortunately, he was not the best member. In fact, there were times like that last game where he spent nearly the entire game on the bench.

"It's just not right," Aaron spat out.

What bothered him the most about the game wasn't just the fact that he was on the bench and not the field, but that he was a senior. He was close to graduating, so it was his final year to play highschool football...and he was stuck on the bench, while younger kids, juniors and the like were given starting positions and got to play the whole game.

"And Jenny isn't any help," Aaron muttered as he thought about his girlfriend.

Aaron would have expected Jenny to at least be a little more sympathetic. After all, she hadn't been able to make the cheerleading squad earlier that year so knew what it was like not to get what you so desperately wanted. But instead of being interested in his problems, she seemed more interested in her jealousy of the cheerleaders.

Just then, Aaron glanced at the little shop that he was walking past and noticed that it was some sort of fortune teller. There was a sign in the window that proclaimed, 'Fortune Teller'. Below that, in smaller writing, it said, 'Fortunes Told. Palms Read. Tarot Cards Read.'

"Yeah, right," Aaron laughed, "Just what I need... I don't think that getting my palm read is going to do much good..."

But as Aaron stood there, he realized that it couldn't hurt either. And maybe the fortune teller could tell him when he'd get a chance to really play...and maybe even star in a game. Aaron laughed bitterly at that, but decided that he might as well go in. If nothing else, it might give him something of a distraction.

When Aaron stepped inside of the shop, he saw an elderly woman sitting behind a table, looking almost nothing like he would expect from a fortune teller. Instead of all of the gypsy clothes which seemed traditional in all of the movies he'd seen, this woman was wearing a purple sweater with a picture of a teddy bear on it. And from what he could see, she was busy playing solitaire on the table.

"Ah, a customer," the woman exclaimed with a bit of a grin, "I am Mrs. O'Reilly..."

Aaron was a little started by that simple statement as her accent didn't quite match her name. With a name like O'Reilly he might have expected a woman with red hair and an Irish accent. But instead, this Mrs. O'Reilly had a few strands of dark hair left, and an accent that would have been more appropriate to the gypsy he had first expected. Her accent sounded more like it came from some Eastern European country rather than Ireland.

"Do you wish fortune told?" the woman asked, then winked at him, "Or perhaps love potion...?"

"Naw," Aaron laughed off the love potion, "But if you had something to help me play football..."

Suddenly Mrs. O'Reilly gave him a shrewd look. "You have problems with this...football?"

Aaron scowled, "My coach just won't let me play much..."

"You look like athletic young man," Mrs. O'Reilly commented.

"Yeah, but there are a lot of other guys who are even bigger and stronger," Aaron muttered, thinking that they were also better players. Or at least that was what his coach told him, though he wasn't sure that he believed the coach. "They can do things I can't I guess..."

"Ah," Mrs. O'Reilly nodded, a bit of a gleam in her eye. "I have potion..." Then she paused, frowning as she rubbed her chin, "No...all out of that... Maybe growth amulet... No...only work for girl."

"There's no need to bother," Aaron told her, rolling his eyes and wondering if this lady was crazy. She certainly seemed...eccentric.

"Ah," Mrs. O'Reilly suddenly exclaimed, slapping her hand on the table. "I know... I sell you egg..."

Aaron blinked in surprise, "An egg?"

But Mrs. O'Reilly was already getting up, "Wait here..."

With that, she went through a curtain into the back of the shop and came out a minute later with a small wooden box. She held it carefully, almost as if it were fragile. Then she proudly set it on the table in front of Aaron.

"What's this?" Aaron asked.

Mrs. O'Reilly didn't say a word at first. She just opened the wooden box, revealing a round crystal of some sort that was resting on dark blue cloth.

"Is crystal egg," Mrs. O'Reilly whispered almost conspiratorially. "Perhaps last one in world." She held the crystal egg up, revealing that the crystal was indeed the size and shape of a large chicken egg. "Is very rare..."

"It looks...interesting," Aaron told her.

"It is powerful magic," Mrs. O'Reilly told him with an intense expression that said she was very serious. "It can give you what you want. It can make you play strong football..." Her eyes narrowed a bit and she added, "It can make you best in world..."

Aaron knew that this was all ridiculous, but he couldn't help being interested anyway. "How can it do that?"

Mrs. O'Reilly smiled at that. "Egg takes things from people and gives to you. Hold egg close and go near one you envy... Focus on this person and say what you want... Say strength or muscle or skill... Crystal egg will take these things from them."

"Yeah right," Aaron snorted, getting up to leave.

But Mrs. O'Reilly said, "Take two inches height..."

Just then, Aaron suddenly felt a strange tingling. He gasped, realizing that his clothes were fitting just a little looser. He snapped around to see Mrs. O'Reilly grinning proudly, holding the egg which was glowing faintly for just a moment.

"Crystal egg works," she announced with a bit of smug look.

"How?" Aaron gasped, no longer doubting. He stared at the crystal egg in Mrs. O'Reilly's hand, "Give me my height back...'

"Patience," Mrs. O'Reilly told him, carefully placing the crystal egg back into the box that she had taken it out of. "Patience must be used with egg... To get whatever egg took...you must take egg to bed. Keep egg close while sleeping, and it gives you what it took."

"So I just sleep with that and I get my height back," Aaron gulped, knowing that he couldn't afford to lose any height. At 5 foot 11, he was hardly short, but that wasn't the point. "I want it back..."

"Must buy egg first," Mrs. O'Reilly grinned hungrily.

"That's blackmail!" Aaron gasped.

But the old woman just shrugged. "Is business.... And is great opportunity for you... You can get back not only your height, but everything you need to be great football player..."
Aaron stared at the box that contained the crystal egg with a growing hunger. If what she said was true... All that he had to do was get that egg and he could become the best player on the team. Hell, with that crystal egg he could do anything that he wanted.

Then Aaron suddenly got suspicious. "If it works so well, why are you selling it?"

"Good question," Mrs. O'Reilly nodded. She gave him a weak smile as she explained, "The egg does not work on me... It can not give or take things from me. It is...you might say...side effect of other magics." Then she shrugged before admitting, "Other reason is that rent is overdue and I need money or be on street..."

"How much is it?" Aaron finally asked, suddenly afraid that something like the crystal egg would be incredibly expensive.

Mrs. O'Reilly stared at him for a moment before answering, "You probably not have enough... I ask ten thousand..." But as Aaron was about to gasp that he didn't have that much, she shrugged, "But I am desperate for money... What say, I rent to you instead? You pay me two hundred for egg...and you give me egg back in one week. That be enough time to get all you need from it..."

"That...that sounds good," Aaron responded. Two hundred was a lot of money, but he knew that he could afford it. "Do you take debit cards?"

"Cash only," the old woman grinned at him.

Aaron cursed under his breath, then rushed out to the nearest ATM to get some cash. It was quite a hassle, but he needed that crystal egg, just to get his own height back if nothing else.

Once Aaron had returned with the money, Mrs. O'Reilly handed him the box. Then she smiled, "Be careful... It is like real egg...you must be patient with it. What it takes fast, it gives back more slowly."

"Okay," Aaron nodded, clutching the box tightly in his hands. He was extremely excited and couldn't wait to try it out.

But as Aaron was leaving the shop, Mrs. O'Reilly called out, "One more thing... Don't be too greedy with egg..."

Aaron nodded at that as he continued on his way, wondering what he should try to do with the crystal egg first. There were so many possibilities. But after a few minutes of careful thought, he decided that it would probably be smart to test it out first. He didn't want to get carried away until he was sure that it really worked like she had told him.

"I just hope I didn't waste that money," he muttered to himself.

It didn't take Aaron long before he had decided on his guinea pig. He carefully took the crystal egg from the box and held it in his hand. Then he stared at a man who was standing around a short distance away. The man looked fairly tall and athletic, but most importantly, he was available at the moment.

"I want two inches of his height, and ten percent of his muscles," Aaron told the egg.
Aaron gasped as the crystal egg suddenly became a little warm in his hand and began to glow with an eerie purple light. Both the warmth and glow lasted for only a few seconds, but they were enough to let him know that this crystal was indeed something special.

"Wow," Aaron whispered.

Then he looked at the man that he had been concentrating on and was even more amazed. The man had definitely changed. He was shorter and thinner, with his clothes hanging more loosely on him. And since he was busy talking on his cell phone, he didn't even seem to realize what had happened to him.

"All right," Aaron grinned excitedly.

However, Aaron decided that he had better get out of there quickly. He didn't want the man to see him around when he realized that he'd gotten shorter and skinnier. There was little chance that he'd connect Aaron to the event, but there was no reason to take a chance either.

"Now to see if I actually get his height and muscle," Aaron mused to himself. He clutched the crystal egg firmly in his hand, then hurried home. "I guess I'll find out in the morning."

--------------------

Aaron stood in the middle of his bedroom, staring at the mirror with a silly grin on his face. The crystal egg had actually worked. He had gone to bed with the egg, and sometime during the night, he had not only gotten back the two inches that Mrs. O'Reilly had taken from him, but what he had taken from the unknown man as well.

"This is great," Aaron exclaimed, more than pleased by how it had worked. He was now two inches taller than when he had started out, and a bit more athletic looking as well. "I can't wait to show Jenny..."

Then Aaron picked up the crystal egg and stared at for a moment, deciding that it was time to really put it to work. It was time to get what he wanted, and school was the perfect place to do it in.

When Aaron arrived at school an hour later, he carefully walked around, feeling like a predator in search of the perfect prey. There were lots of people around, but he didn't want just anyone. He wanted some very specific people. He wanted some of the guys on his team who had kept him from ever really getting to play.

It didn't take Aaron long to spot his first target. Mike was probably the biggest and strongest guy on the team. As soon as Aaron saw him, he quietly took the crystal egg from his pocket and whispered to it that he wanted Mike's size and strength. Almost immediately, Mike began to shrink down, getting smaller and skinnier.

"Holy shit," Aaron gasped in amazement.

When Mike stopped shrinking, he was only 5 foot 10 and fairly skinny looking, which was quite a difference from his previous 6 foot 6 muscle-bound frame. His clothes hung loose all over him and he was looking down at himself and around at everyone in confusion. In fact, everyone in the hall was staring at him as though he had some sort of disease.

"I'd better get out of here," Aaron muttered, quickly sneaking away to find his next target.

Aaron soon found several more football players to try the egg out on. He stole the throwing skills and accuracy of the quarterback, as well as the speed of the fastest running back. And with what he'd taken, Aaron knew that he could easily be the best player in school. But that wasn't enough. He hungered for more.

"Let's see," Aaron said when he saw a two guys gathered together. "I want a quarter of Jack's strength and a quarter of Bill's..." Both players suddenly slumped over a bit as though tired, though neither looked physically altered.

Then Aaron suddenly wondered why he had just taken things from the football players. There was a whole school full of people that could donate their strengths to his crystal. He smiled as he went to his next class, determined to keep a look out for anything he could use.

Aaron sat quietly through class, playing ignorant when several other students commented about how Mike had suddenly atrophied and how several other players seemed to have become weak and clumsy.

"I guess it's a good thing that I'm barely on the team," Aaron told them. "Maybe I'll be lucky and not get anything..." Then he fought back a grin before adding, "Who knows what's going on... If Mike's shrinking like you say, maybe other people change in weird ways too... I mean, if someone could shrink, couldn't other people start growing?"

By the time that the class was over, Aaron had already decided on who his next donor would be. He saw the school's smartest student and whispered to the crystal, "Give me ten of his IQ points..." After all, Aaron knew that it wouldn't hurt to be a little smarter too.

After this, Aaron quietly collected all of the computer teacher's knowledge and skills with computers, as well as the strength and raw athletic abilities of yet another football player. But by this point, Aaron had begun to notice that the crystal egg got just a little warmer each time he used it. That worried him just a little, and when he remembered Mrs. O'Reilly's warnings about being patient with the crystal and not being too greedy, he decided that it was time to quit.

"I've got enough to make me a virtual god," Aaron grinned to himself, eager to go to bed that night with the crystal under his pillow.

Aaron had a hard time keeping to his decision though and had to keep fighting back the temptation to pull out the crystal and use it again. And worst of all was the impatience, knowing that he had everything he really needed, but that he couldn't get to it until that night. It was enough to drive him crazy.

"I'll just leave it in my pocket until tonight," Aaron muttered to himself, knowing that it would be easier to ignore temptation and the impatience if he didn't keep looking at the crystal.

When it was finally time for lunch, Aaron sat back at one of the tables and silently thought about the crystal and what it would be like to get everything that he had taken. His pulse raced but he refused to pull it out of his pocket for another look. He'd made up his mind not to mess with it until it was time for bed, and he was going to stand by that decision.

Just the, Aaron felt a hand on his shoulder. He snapped around to see his girlfriend Jenny standing there. She was 5 foot 5 and very cute, with shoulder length brown hair. Jenny had a pretty decent figure too, though she could have used just a little more up top as far as Aaron was concerned.

"What's wrong with you?" Jenny demanded in annoyance, "You're all jumpy..."

"Sorry," Aaron shrugged, standing up to give Jenny a kiss.

Once they were done kissing, Jenny gave Aaron a strange look. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were taller..."

"I am," Aaron grinned, a little surprised that she'd noticed. No one else seemed to have noticed all day. But then again, no one else was used to getting up close to him like that either.

"Just a couple of inches though..."

"Yeah right," Jenny snorted.

Aaron looked down at Jenny for a moment, then grinned. He had been bursting with excitement about the crystal and now he could finally tell someone about it. "Come on," he gestured for her to follow him, "I want a bit more privacy when I explain..."

Once they had left the cafeteria and were in the courtyard, Jenny said, "Okay... Spill... What's going on?"

"Take a good look at me," Aaron ordered, standing to his full height. He waited for Jenny to good look at him, then he took off his jacket and lifted his shirt, letting her see his chest and stomach which were visibly more muscular than before. "Do you believe me now?"
"What?" Jenny blinked in confusion. She'd seen Aaron without his shirt off often enough to recognize that he was indeed more athletic than normal, though there was no way that he could have improved that much in just a couple of days. "How...?"

Aaron just grinned, then slipped his jacket back on, pulling the crystal egg out of the pocket and holding it out for Jenny to see. "This is what did it," he explained. "I bought this from a weird gypsy yesterday... It can take things from other people and give them to me..."

"Just you?" Jenny asked with a slight frown, "And what kind of things?"

"Well, maybe not just me," Aaron admitted. "I think just about anyone can use it. And it can do it with all kinds of things. I used this to take a couple inches of height and a bit of muscle from this one guy and give it to myself. And wait till you see what I do with it tonight..."

"Wow," Jenny whispered. "How does it work?"

"You just get close to someone and tell it what you want to take from them," Aaron grinned, flexing to show off his improved physique. "It's pretty easy to use..."

Jenny just nodded, "Incredible..."

Just then, the bell rang, warning the students that lunch was over and that they had five minutes to get to their next class. Aaron frowned, hating to be interrupted like that when he was in the middle of showing off but knowing that he couldn't be late for class.

"Damn," Aaron muttered, shoving the crystal egg back into his coat pocket, "I guess we've got to get going."

"Okay," Jenny sighed, throwing herself against Aaron as she gave him a passionate kiss.

Once they broke apart and Aaron rushed off to class, Jenny opened her palm to reveal the crystal egg that she had just plucked out of her boyfriend's pocket. Aaron had said something about not using it until that night so it wasn't like he would mind her 'borrowing' it for awhile.

"Now," Jenny licked her lips greedily as she stared at the crystal egg, "Let's see what you can do for me..."

However, Jenny decided not to do anything with the crystal egg quite yet. She wanted to think about it first, and then carefully make her move. Jenny carried the egg for the next few periods, constantly thinking about what she might take with it and from whom.

At one point, Jenny even briefly talked to Aaron in the hallway between classes. And much to her relief, he hadn't yet realized that the egg was no longer in his coat pocket. That gave her just a little more time to use it.

Finally, Jenny saw her opportunity. During the final class of the day, the cheerleaders had gathered together in the gym to practice their routine for a competition that they were scheduled to attend later in the week. It was perfect, so Jenny skipped class and went to watch the cheerleaders, making sure that she was far back and out of sight where they wouldn't notice her.

"Perfect," Jenny grinned, carefully looking over all of the cheerleaders.

Jenny glared at the other girls, feeling a surge of jealousy. She had tried out for the cheerleading squad herself earlier in the year, but they hadn't let her join. She wasn't pretty enough. She wasn't popular enough. And as far as they were concerned, just wasn't good enough.

"I'll show them," Jenny muttered to herself, carefully taking out the crystal egg and remembering what Aaron had told her about it. "I think I start out with something small and easy..."

After a moment, Jenny held the egg tightly and focused on one of the girls, whispering for the egg to give her the girl's perfectly manicured fingernails. The crystal egg suddenly grew warm in Jenny's hand and even began to glow, but she didn't see any difference in her own fingernails. They didn't look the least bit longer or more manicured.

"Maybe something else," Jenny muttered in disappointment, wondering if the egg might have been one of Aaron's jokes after all. "Give me Karen's long blond hair..."

The crystal egg once again began to glow and become warm, and again, nothing seemed to happen. But then, Jenny looked up at the cheerleader that she had focused the egg on and gasped in surprise. The girl's hair had become much shorter, as well as dull colored and lifeless.

"It took it from her," Jenny whispered with growing excitement. But she quickly grimaced, "Why didn't it give it to me..." Jenny hissed to the crystal, "Give me her hair..." But nothing happened. "Damn."

Jenny scowled, wondering what had gone wrong. Why wasn't the crystal giving her what it took? Then she decided that maybe the crystal only worked on certain things. She focused on the next girl and told the crystal, "Give me Kara's breasts..."

Suddenly one of the cheerleaders shrieked as she noticed that her breasts were deflating and shrinking away. She grabbed at her chest, but it had become completely flat-chested. Jenny just giggled at that reaction, and that of the other cheerleaders.

"My breasts," Kara cried out in horror and confusion.

Then someone else pointed out Karen's dull and lifeless hair, causing her to gasp, "What's going on...?"

"Damn," Jenny growled when she didn't feel any changes in her own breasts. And since the cheerleaders were beginning to freak out, she knew that she would have to hurry up to get what she wanted. "I want Tina's tight butt... I want Joan's great legs... I want Michelle's icy blue eyes and her muscle tone... Oh, and I want 6 inches of Sandra's height..."

Jenny smiled at that last, thinking that it would make her a full 5 foot 11. Unfortunately, the cheerleaders were all shrieking as their bodies changed, as they lost their best traits, but none of them seemed to come to Jenny. The crystal hadn't worked again.

"It's getting kind of hot," Jenny muttered, noticing that the crystal seemed to be getting warmer with each use. "Maybe it just needs to warm up..."

But Jenny quickly turned her attention back to the cheerleaders, who were in a panic and about to run out of the gym screaming. Jenny grimaced, knowing that she only had one more opportunity to get them while they were all together.

"You'd better work this time," she hissed at the crystal, "I want 6 inches of Michelle's height... I want Sandra's breasts... I want Karen's agility and flexibility... I want Tanya's beauty and sexiness... I want Megan's beauty and sexiness..."

The crystal egg grew even hotter in Jenny's hands, and it was working on the cheerleaders as the girls she had named lost the traits she had ordered it to take. Sandra had not only shrunk six inches, but became flat-chested. Karen staggered, suddenly becoming completely clumsy. Tanya's beauty faced until she looked completely dull and uninteresting, more androgynous than like the sexy cheerleader that she had been. Megan screamed as the same thing happened to her.

"Damn it, work," Jenny snapped at the crystal, though that seemed to do no good.

Jenny was becoming furious, with both the crystal egg and herself. All of the cheerleaders were running out of the gym in horror, so she had just lost her opportunity to take their traits. Then again, they didn't really have a whole lot left. Jenny had managed to take all of their best traits away from them, but they seemed to have been lost rather than transferred to her like they were supposed to be.

"Why don't you work right?" Jenny demanded of the crystal egg. She knew that it worked...that it really did give those stolen traits to the person who used it. Aaron was proof of that. "So why aren't you doing it now?"

After a minute of silent cursing, Jenny quietly left the gym, reminding herself that she'd at least gotten her revenge on the cheerleaders. She just wished that she could have gotten those traits for herself...or that she hadn't almost burned herself with that egg. It had been getting pretty hot towards the end, though fortunately it cooled off again pretty quickly.

"Maybe I should ask Aaron," Jenny muttered, not really liking that idea. Sure, Aaron might explain what was wrong since it had worked all right for him, but she didn't like the idea of admitting that she'd stolen it from his jacket. "I can always tell him that it just fell out..." But after a moment, Jenny decided to hold off on this for just a little longer. She wanted to see if she could get it to work on her own first.

Jenny frowned and hurried out of the area, suddenly realizing that it might not be a good idea to be caught near the gym after that had happened to the cheerleaders. Of course, class was supposed to still be in session so she had to be careful not to get caught.

Unfortunately, Jenny's fear proved to be well founded as she found herself confronted by the school's vice principal, a tall and imposing woman who immediately demanded, "Where do you think you're going young lady? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Um," Jenny gulped, "I was just heading to the nurses office... I've been feeling really sick..."

The vice principal stared at Jenny for a moment before nodding. "It seems to be going around today... A lot of students seem to be coming down with something nasty. We may even have to cancel school tomorrow..."

"Really?" Jenny blinked in surprise. The whole thing with the cheerleaders had just happened, so she hadn't expected anyone to have really heard about it yet, much less talk about canceling school. "That's too bad..."

"Yes it is," the vice principal stated, "You students need to be educated." Then she glared at Jenny and said, "Now on with you..."

Jenny quickly hurried away, but glanced back at the vice principal and muttered, "Bitch," under her breath. Then she mocked, "Students need to be educated... I bet she wouldn't be so arrogant if..." Suddenly, Jenny paused, a mischievious grin forming on her face. She carefully took out the crystal egg and whispered, "I want you to take her college education and 30 IQ points from her and give them to me..."

The crystal glowed and became extremely warm in Jenny's hand, but she didn't feel any smarter. She grimaced, feeling a little disappointed but not too surprised. All of her classes would have been a breeze if she had the vice principals college education... But she should have expected the crystal to fail since all that it seemed to be good for was just taking things from people.

"Well, I've had enough of school for now," Jenny muttered to herself, deciding that it was close enough to the end of the day that no one would really miss her if she slipped away. After all, there was only half of one class left and that was hardly worth going to since she'd already skipped the first part of it.

By the time that Jenny arrived home, she had already made up her mind to call Aaron when he got home and apologize for 'borrowing' the crystal egg, as well as to ask him how it really worked. The egg was making her more and more frustrated, taking all of her opportunities for improvement and throwing them away. She wanted it to work the way that Aaron had told her it did.

When Jenny stepped into her house, she was about to let out a sigh of relief to be home, until she saw the backpack by the door. She grimaced, "Just great... Heidi's home..."

Heidi was Jenny's little sister, a 13 year old brat who did absolutely everything that she could to make Jenny miserable. Jenny could have sworn that her little sister was born for that sole purpose. And it appeared that she had chosen that day to come straight home from school instead of hanging out at the mall like she frequently did.

"Maybe she'll keep mom and dad busy," she grinned, liking that idea.

Jenny sighed, wondering if she should leave the house though. Not only was Heidi home, but so were her parents. Her mom was usually around, while her dad worked an odd schedule so was usually gone to work at odd hours. And since Jenny wanted some privacy while she thought about how to make the crystal work, it might not be the best idea to stay there.

After several minutes, Jenny sat down on the front porch and held the crystal egg in her hand, staring at it and trying to see if there might be some sort of hidden switch or trick to it.

"Maybe it's like a vacuum cleaner," she muttered quietly to herself, "Maybe it has to switch between suck and blow..." However, she didn't see anything of the like and let out a grunt of frustration.

Just then, Jenny noticed one of her neighbors across the street. She was a beautiful woman in fairly revealing clothing, which she was how she normally dressed as she had a great body and loved showing it off. Jenny immediately felt a surge of jealousy for the woman, and the woman's prominent cleavage.

"I wish she were only an A cup," Jenny muttered to herself. It wasn't until she felt the crystal egg become hot in her hand that she realized what she'd done. The neighbor woman's shirt went loose as she lost several cup sizes from her chest.

Jenny just stared at the woman for a few seconds, then grinned mischieviously. She had never liked that neighbor woman, feeling jealous of her and all of the attention she got. And the neighbor woman was always so confident that it drove Jenny to annoyance.

"Take her confidence," Jenny instructed the crystal egg, watching the woman suddenly becoming more shy and nervous looking. "And half her beauty..." After all, she didn't want to turn the woman hideous...

Then Jenny sat back for a few seconds and watched the formerly beautiful neighbor woman becoming plain looking and nearly flat-chested. She had gone from a confident beauty to shy and somewhat plain looking. The change was enough to make Jenny laugh. She no longer had to feel inferior to the neighor...or those cheerleaders.

"With this crystal egg," Jenny said aloud, "I can take anything away from anyone..."

However, Jenny silently reminded herself that the crystal still didn't do her much good. After all, what good was taking stuff from people if she couldn't give it to herself?

After a minute, Jenny got up and went back inside the house and went to her room. Maybe it was about time to call Aaron and find out how to make the crystal give her what she wanted.

Once Jenny was gone, Heidi carefully moved from where she had been standing by the window, thankful that she hadn't been seen. She hadn't been intentionally spying on her sister, just getting some fresh air. However, she hadn't been able to help seeing that strange magic crystal and what Jenny had done with it.

"She says that it can take anything away from anyone," Heidi repeated what she'd overheard Jenny saying about that strange crystal.

Heidi remained where she was for a minute before slowly smiling. She just had to find out more about that crystal egg that Jenny had been messing around with. She just had to get her hands on it...

It only took Heidi a minute to get to Jenny's bedroom, where she peaked through the door to make sure that it was clear. When she saw the crystal egg sitting on Jenny's dresser, while Jenny herself was sitting on the bed and reaching for her phone, Heidi knew that it was time to make her move.

Without giving any warning, Heidi burst into Jenny's room and went straight for the dresser. She snatched the crystal egg, but to her surprise, Jenny was faster than she had expected and was almost immediately on her.

"Give me that back!" Jenny yelled, "Get out of here you little brat..."

"I'm thirteen," Heidi yelled back, "And I'm NOT a brat!"

Jenny grabbed Heidi and tried getting the crystal egg away from her. Heidi clutched it tight, trying to fight off her big sister but it did little good. She was 5 foot 3, only two inches shorter than Jenny...but she was also three years younger. Heidi was quickly losing their fight.

Then in desperation, Heidi called out, "I wish you were ten years younger..."

Almost immediately, the crystal started to get so hot that Heidi almost dropped it. But at the same time, Jenny let her go and jumped back, gasping in shock as her body was shrinking. She became smaller and younger until her clothes draped over her now six year old frame.

"It worked," Heidi exclaimed in delight, staring down at her big sister, who now looked to be half her own age.

"Change me back," Jenny cried out desperately, a look of horror in her eyes as she realized what had just happened to her, "Give me that back..."

"I don't think so," Heidi said, holding the crystal up above Jenny's head. She laughed when her formerly big sister jumped up for it but could not longer reach. But there was no doubt in Heidi's mind that she had to keep the crystal away from Jenny. If her sister got it, then she'd probably be stuck wearing diapers. "I don't think you're pick on me or anyone else again..."

Jenny screamed in a panic, grabbing at her body which had become less than half her previous age. She wasn't even half the age of her formerly little sister. She felt so small and helpless.

Heidi just clutched the egg in her hand, thankful that it wasn't as hot as it had been a few seconds earlier. She held it over Jenny's head in order to tease her, then grinned and ran out of the room. Of course it was fun teasing Jenny now that she had the upper hand, but who knew what she could do with the magic crystal...

But as soon as Heidi was in the living room, her mom demanded, "What the heck is all that noise?"

"Um...," Heidi blinked, not sure that her mom would believe that Jenny had been turned into a six year old. Or at least she didn't think that her mom would believe it until she saw Jenny. And then of course, she'd immediately demand that she be given the crystal egg.

"Well, go take the garbage out," her mom ordered, suddenly changing the subject. "Then get started on that garden I told you to weed yesterday..."

Heidi grimaced, hating the way that her mom was so bossy and controlling all the time. Then she paused, glancing to the crystal egg in her hand and having an idea. "I wish she wasn't bossy anymore," Heidi told the egg, which immediately became hot in her hand.

"Um...," Heidi's mom blinked with a strange expression on her face, looking almost as though she'd forgotten what it was that she'd been talking about. Then she smiled, "It would be nice if you felt like taking the garbage out sometime..." And with that, she turned and left the room, still looking a bit dazed.

"Wow," Heidi whispered, staring down at the crystal in her hand with an even greater appreciation.

After a moment, Heidi grinned, suddenly knowing exactly what she was going to do with the crystal egg. She was going to help people... She was going to fix them and make them better. So far she'd made it so that Jenny couldn't be a bully anymore, and then she'd fixed her mom's bossiness. Heidi had no doubt that she could use the crystal to improve other people as well.

Then Heidi laughed, knowing exactly where to work her improvement magic next. She immediately went into her dad's study in the back of the house, and stood at the doorway. Her dad was sitting behind his desk, smoking a cigar as he read through some of his stock reports. Heidi just held her nose, hating the smell of her dad's stinky cigars.

"I wish that my dad didn't like cigars anymore," Heidi told the crystal egg.

Almost as soon as those words left Heidi's mouth, she saw her dad's expression change. He dropped the cigar into his ash tray and started to gag and cough, looking as though he were going to empty his stomach.

"Ouch," Heidi gasped, dropping the egg which had become too hot for her to hold. She grimaced as she carefully picked it up, relieved to find it quickly cooling back down. "I think I need something to hold this with..."

A minute later, Heidi was wearing a glove on one of her hands, thinking that this would be a great way to keep from getting burned by the crystal egg when it got hot. Heidi was in the middle of feeling quite pleased by her cleverness when she suddenly noticed Jenny trying to sneak up on her from behind.

"I don't think so," she snapped at Jenny.

"You can't do this to me," Jenny grimaced, looking as though she had been crying and was about to do so again.

Heidi just glared down at her little sister, "Go away you little brat... If you mess with me again, I'll throw you over me knee and spank you... And then I'll use this thing to make you even smaller...."

Jenny gasped in horror, immediately going pale. And without another word, she turned and ran off, afraid that Heidi was going to use the egg on her again right then and there.

"Now that she's gone," Heidi mused, looking at the egg with a smug grin, "I can try finding other people to help..."

After Heidi had left her house, she paused, sure where to go or who she could fix up next. So instead, she stared at the crystal egg and asked, "Are you some kind of genie in there?" When there was no response, Heidi said, "I wish I could fly..." And when nothing happened, she let out a sigh, "I guess not. I guess all it can do is take things away from people..."

Heidi slowly walked down the street, trying to decide who could use her help. Then she saw him... Just a few houses down from her own lived a guy that her dad always called a menace. From what Heidi understood, he had been in the special forces or something and was always bragging about how good a fighter he was. And she had even heard about how he had beaten up a few guys just to prove how tough and good at fighting he was.

"Well," Heidi grinned when she saw him out in his driveway, "I wish that he was weak and didn't know how to fight at all anymore..." Suddenly the man staggered a bit, looking rather tired.

However, Heidi wasn't paying much attention to the man that she had just used the crystal egg on. Instead, she was staring at the egg in her hand, feeling the heat even through the glove that she was wearing and suddenly feeling very thankful that she'd thought to wear it. She could just imagine the crystal egg burning her hand when she used it.

"Maybe I should let it cool off for a bit," Heidi told herself reluctantly. "I think it might need to rest..."

Heidi sighed and slowly started going back to her own house. She was just about to her own driveway when she saw that Jenny's boyfriend Aaron had come rushing over. He stopped and stared at her, his eyes going wide.

"Give me that egg," Aaron demanded, nearly sounding panicked, "You'll ruin it.."

But Heidi backed up, "No... It's mine... I'm gonna use it to fix people..."

"You don't understand what you're doing," Aaron snapped, moving towards her, "Jenny called and told me what you did to her... Now give it to me. It's mine..."

"NO," Heidi shook her head, clutching the egg even more tightly in her gloved hand. "You'll probably just hurt people with it like Jenny did..."

Aaron scowled, getting more and more impatient by the moment. When Jenny had called him and told him that she'd 'borrowed' the crystal egg without telling him, he had been horrified. But not nearly as horrified as when she told him that Heidi had used it to turn her into a child again.

"Damn it," Aaron grimaced, not even knowing if Jenny had really used the crystal egg herself. She hadn't really said, but he kind of suspected that she might have. And if she had used it at all, then everything that he'd taken with the egg would be ruined... "Give it to me NOW."

Heidi stepped back again, glaring up at Aaron defiantly. She was feeling intimidated and a bit afraid of him and just how big he was compared to her, but she was trying not to let him see that. The magic egg was hers now and she wasn't going to let anyone take it away from her.

And when Aaron jumped at her to grab the crystal egg, Heidi instinctively responded, "I wish you were the same size as me..." She hadn't thought that out ahead of time, but had only blurted out what she'd been feeling about how unfair it was that he was trying to intimidate her with his size.

"NO!" Aaron cried out, but it was too late as the crystal egg was already glowing.

Aaron staggered back, feeling his clothes becoming more loose on him by the moment. From his perspective, Heidi seemed to grow, getting closer and closer to his size. But Aaron knew that the truth was worse... He was shrinking down her to her size, and from the way his muscles were dwindling, he knew that it wasn't only his height.

"Oh God," Aaron gasped, knowing that his only chance now was to get the egg back.

Heidi stared at the crystal egg, which was glowing brighter and burning hotter than ever before. Suddenly there was the sound of a loud crack and she gasped to see that it had come from the egg. There was a series of large cracks running all over the side and the purple glow was pouring right out of the cracks.

"What the?" Heidi gasped, instinctively dropping the egg.

As soon as the crystal egg hit the ground, it shattered into hundred pieces. The purple glow didn't quite vanish with the destruction of the egg though and it continued to pour out and raise up like some sort of gas. It came up and swirled around Heidi who was still standing there in amazement, and then into her.

Aaron stared at the shattered crystal in horror, barely even aware of the fact that he had stopped shrinking the moment it had cracked. He had stopped shrinking at 5 foot 6, three inches taller than he would have been if it had continued. However, he had still lost almost all of his height and muscle, leaving him only a little bigger and stronger than a thirteen year old girl.

Heidi gasped as she felt the glowing purple smoke soaking into her body. It came through her skin as though it weren't even an obstacle. And she could feel it... She could feel things rushing through her, pouring into every part of her body and mind. It was so overwhelming that she felt like screaming.

A moment later, Heidi felt her clothes becoming tighter and tighter, until they burst apart at the seems. Her whole body was growing, expanding in every direction. And her body was changing in countless other ways as everything that the crystal egg had absorbed during the day was released into her.

Everything was so strange, so overwhelming and powerful that Heidi was barely aware of her surroundings. She didn't even notice that Jenny had out of the house to stare at what was going, or both of her parents either.

Heidi's body grew taller, larger and more powerful as she was filled with the height taken from four different people, as well as the size, strength, muscles and raw athletic powers of several more. As she began to completely tower over Aaron, all of her muscles swelled and hardened into rock solid physical power.

And then, all of the beauty and sexiness that Jenny had taken from the cheerleaders and her neighbor began to make itself known. Heidi's body became sleek and sexy, with curves forming in all of the right places. Her chest, which had until this time remained small, began to swell out and grow into a pair of round and very generous, but firm and perfectly shaped breasts. Her muscles remained rock hard and powerful, yet became more subtle and less noticeable thanks to the large amount of beauty she had absorbed. However, a single look was still enough to see her physical power.

At the same time, the age which Heidi had taken from Jenny began to appear as well, causing her body to further mature and age, transforming her from a thirteen-year-old girl into a young woman of twenty-three.

Finally, Heidi felt her mind being flooded with new thoughts and information. Her brain felt as though it were about to burst from all of the new knowledge. She knew all about computers...how to build them, program them...and even hack them. And she knew about so many other things. Heidi suddenly understood math, geography, history and a thousand other things much better than she ever would have imagined. A whole college education burst into her awareness all at once.

"Wow," Heidi gasped out in amazement.

In just an instant, Heidi had gained all of the knowledge of not one, but two high school teachers, and her intelligence had just jumped by 40 IQ points as well. She understood so many things and how they related with each other. Everything suddenly seemed so much clearer. And with this new understanding came a whole new view of the world.

Heidi took a deep breath and stood up to her full height of 7 foot 6, drawing a number of gasps from all those who saw her. After all, she was not only enormous, but had all of the combined beauty and sexiness of several other women added to her own, making her by far, not only the tallest, but the most beautiful woman that any of them had ever seen.

Then Heidi slowly looked around and suddenly realized just how small everyone looked. They all seemed tiny in comparison, especially Jenny who didn't even come up to her waist. Heidi even towered over Aaron by a full two feet, and her own father by a little more than a foot and a half.

Suddenly, Heidi realized that she was standing there in front of everyone without a stitch of clothing on. She had grown right out of everything she had on and was now completely naked. But instead of being mortified and embarrassed, she felt strangely confident and realized that she had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. The old saying, 'If you've got it, flaunt it,' ran through her head, and Heidi knew that she definitely had more than enough to flaunt.

"My God," Aaron gulped as he stared up at the giantess in front of him.

Jenny could only stare up at her sister with a mixture of awe and horror. Then she grimaced, feeling a surge of envy at all of the beauty that should have been hers.

"Heidi?" her dad gasped in disbelief, "Is that you?"

"Yes," Heidi answered, giving him a smile that caused him to take an instinctive step back.

"My little Heidi," her mom suddenly blurted out, looking as though she were about to burst into tears. "Are you all right?"

"I'm better than all right," Heidi slowly turning around to give her mom a better look at her transformed body. Then she caught sight of her hair and grabbed it, "Look...I've even got long blonde hair..."

Then Heidi flexed her muscles to show off, amazed at just how strong and powerful she felt. She felt as though she could take on the world, as though she could do anything. In fact, she suddenly realized that she was probably even stronger than she looked, and that was saying something.

"Get out of the way," Heidi ordered her mom, who immediately jumped out of the way. Even her dad was intimidated by her sheer size and presence, slipping to the side along with his wife.

Heidi smiled as she went to her dad's car, then bent over to grab the front bumper. She hesitated only a moment before lifting, finding the whole front end of the car coming up off of the ground without too much effort. It wasn't quite effortless, but it wasn't much of a strain either.

"Super strength," she grinned, "I can't believe how strong I am..."

"You stole my strength," Aaron yelled out, "I was supposed to be the one to get big and strong..."

"And I was supposed to be beautiful," Jenny whined.

"But they're all mine now," Heidi pointed out with a smirk. "I guess everything that the crystal egg took had to go somewhere... I just never guessed that it was inside the egg..." Then she suddenly burst out laughing, "I guess you really do have to break an egg to make an omelet... And damn, this is one incredible omelet..."

Aaron and Jenny both glared up at her and for a moment looked as though they were actually thinking of attacking her. Of course Heidi didn't feel any fear at all, only a slight amusement that they would even think of fighting her.

But as Heidi thought about fighting, she suddenly realized just how much she knew about the subject. She knew unarmed combat... She knew how to cripple or even kill an opponent with just her bare hands, as well as how to incapacitate them without injury. And she even knew how to use a large variety of weapons and explosives. The realization that she even had this knowledge and so much more was a little staggering, but left no doubt in Heidi's mind that she could fight.

"I need to think," Heidi thought aloud.

Heidi knew that she had changed a great deal and thought that it might be a good idea to sit down for awhile and think things through. She needed to get a much clearer idea of just what kind of things she was now capable of, and of what she now knew. And once she had a better understanding of just who and what she had become, she could begin making plans for what she would do with everything she had gained.

"Make a large amount of dinner tonight," Heidi told her mom, "I have a feeling that I'm going to be as hungry as I am large."

"Um...okay," her mom responded meekly.

Then Heidi turned to her dad, "And you'd better start looking for a new bed for me and some clothes that will fit, because obviously, none of my old stuff will do."

"What are we doing to do?" Jenny cried out, "I can't be stuck like this..."

But Heidi ignored her sister, instead commenting, "I'm going to want some privacy for awhile..."

Heidi looked at both her mom and dad to make sure that they understood, then she went back inside the house, having to duck her head to keep from hitting it on the door frame. She smiled faintly as she realized just how small the house seemed to her now. The ceiling was only a little bit above her head.

"I think I might need a bigger house," Heidi chuckled to herself.

Since Heidi wanted to just sit back and think for a bit, she knew just the place to go. She went straight into the study, pausing a moment to glance around. Then with a smile, she casually reached behind the book shelf and pulled out a metal tube which she knew contained one of her dad's illicit Cuban cigars.

As took out the cigar and ran it under her nose, she smiled, "Nice..."

Heidi knew that her dad had been saving those particular cigars for a special occasion, and decided that this definitely counted. She didn't say a word as she cut the cigar and lit it, then took a long drag. She blew the smoke out overhead, then settled herself down into the couch, smiling faintly as it groaned under her weight.

"Very nice indeed," Heidi mused as she savored the expensive cigar.
After a minute, Heidi looked down her incredible new body and smiled before stating the obvious, "Things are going to be quite a bit different around here from now on..."

--------------------

Aaron paused in front of Jenny's house, feeling extremely nervous. He hated coming there anymore, and usually avoided it as much as he could. But of course, he usually had good reason.

With that, Aaron looked down at himself and scowled fiercely. He was not at all happy with what he had become. He had lost so much of his size and strength that he would not only be unable to ever play football again, but just about any other sport as well.

"At least I didn't lose it all," he tried consoling himself as he had many times in the two weeks since Heidi had stolen his size.

If the crystal egg hadn't cracked when it did, Aaron knew that he would have become even shorter and weaker. He would have ended up 5 foot 3 rather than 5 foot 6, not to mention even weaker. Aaron knew that those three inches might not seem like much for most people, but for him they were very important.

After hesitating for a minute, Aaron finally went in. He was a little startled to see that Jenny was wearing a cute pink dress. She promptly cringed, "Heidi made makes me wear this kind of stuff..." Then she cringed, "She's become so bossy... She's always telling everyone what to do, even mom and dad." There was no need to point out that everyone did what Heidi told them to as well.

"Where...where is she?" Aaron asked, glancing around nervously, afraid that the giantess might come in on them at any moment.

"She went out a bit earlier," Jenny responded, looking rather relieved at that. "I don't know when she'll be back though... But thank God she's gone..."

Aaron gave Jenny a sympathetic look, realizing how horrible it had to be to live with Heidi all of the time. It was hard enough for him just to bring himself to come over. In fact, it was only his second time coming over since the incident two weeks earlier.

"God I HATE being six-years-old," Jenny growled, looking somewhat cute as she sat there in her little pink dress. "I HATE it. Would you believe that Heidi even puts me over her knee and spanks me now? It's humiliating..."

Aaron frowned, realizing that it would have been extremely easy for Heidi to even do that to him. She was so big and strong... And of course, he wasn't quite the man he used to be, thanks to her and that horrible crystal egg.

"At least you'll grow up again," Aaron snapped, losing some of his sympathy for Jenny. "I'm stuck being short and weak for the rest of my life. I'll probably never get any taller than this..."

However, Jenny had little sympathy for Aaron as well. He didn't have to be stuck as a kid again. He didn't have to be stuck living with a horrible giantess who loved to remind everyone that she was in charge.

As the two of them sat there, Aaron stared at Jenny, unable to help but think that she deserved this... After all, it was her fault that he had been shrunk. She had been the one who stole the crystal egg from him and had run around with it, stealing all sorts of things and then letting Heidi get a hold of it.

Then Aaron sighed, silently wishing yet again that he had been able to get the egg away from Heidi. Sure, it had been full of all sorts of girl traits and things that he didn't want, but after he'd absorbed them he would have been able to use the egg to take back the things he didn't want. But it was too late now...

Aaron and Jenny both sat there in silence for several minutes, each knowing that they were really angry at Heidi and the crystal egg itself. Without that, none of this would have happened to them.

And at the same time, they also knew that whatever romantic feelings they'd once had for each other were gone. Not only was there the stress and blame, but the fact that Jenny was now physically a child. As it was, they could only remain friends at best. However, their shared experience...their shared misery in their similar losses was enough to keep them together.

"Misery loves company," Aaron muttered under his breath, guessing that this was why he had come over to see Jenny.

"Is there...," Jenny looked at Aaron a little hopefully, "Is there any chance that you could get another one of those eggs?"

"No," he whispered in response, and then grimaced. "I didn't exactly buy it anyway... I was sort of renting it. And it turns out that when the lady I got it from told me how much it cost, she gave me a low number..." Then Aaron shook his head before quietly telling her, "And since I couldn't give it back, last night she sent me a bill for the full price..."

Jenny stared at Aaron for a moment and gasped, "She sent you a bill?"

Aaron gave a sad nod, "Let's just say...I'm going to be paying for that crystal egg for a LONG time..."

Neither said a word after this. There was no need to. Jenny and Aaron were already quite aware that they would both be paying for the crystal egg for a very long time to come.

THE END

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