PowerFemme Part II: The Birth of a Tigress

Dr. Thompson's new lab assistant is introduced to stunning new powers…

By SeaRaven and MarkNew

Eileen Huang glanced in her rear-view mirror to make sure her hair was acceptable. She had a confident feeling about today's job interview, but having an acceptable hair-do certainly didn't hurt. Brushing-back an errant strand of coarse, shiny, raven-black hair, she drove north, along Highway 65. The long winter was beginning.

An hour before, she alighted from her apartment admiring the first frost of the year covering the grass. This internship interview seemed like something for which she'd been hoping all semester. It wasn't so much that she needed the money- her parents were more than willing to give her anything she needed- but she really needed an internship to further her educational goals. The graduate schools she was hoping to apply to wanted students who'd had extensive experience in the lab. Back at the State University at Hartfield, all the lab internships were already taken; the few number of opportunities for students earmarked for that year had been further reduced by unexpected funding cuts. At the same time, she considered this semester to be a critical turning point for her education. She either had to get an internship or kiss grad school bye-bye.

So, it was by a stroke of luck that she came across this paid internship opportunity on a computer newsgroup at her university. She had a print-out in her purse. It read: "Paid Internship, $400/week. Private biophysics laboratory. Requires B.S. in biochemistry or biophysics, extensive experience in chemical modeling software. Must be willing to work long nights. Immediate opening." It was followed by a brief description of the responsibilities involved with the job, and requested emailed response.

So, Eileen emailed a cover letter and r#sum# to the lab, and within hours received a reply! The reply asked her to come for an interview immediately. She'd never heard of 'Selenia', it didn't seem to be part of any private research group or foundation that she recognized. Still, their situation was understandable. Research labs often had to meet project deadlines by rapidly bringing-in interns to do low-level tasks during work bottlenecks. And $400 per week wasn't too shabby for an internship besides.

She looked at her map again and glanced at a roadside sign. She was about an hour north of Hartfield outside some little town called Manuxet. Having just passed through the 'town' in the blink of an eye, it was more like a few dozen houses scattered around a central cluster of two-story buildings rather than a town. There wasn't much to see: a town hall, a church, a library, a few shops and a small bar. A friendly-looking, yet sleepy town. Odd area for a research lab, she thought.

"This internship had better be good. No, it had better be damn fantastic…" she whispered to herself, more than a little irritated at the prospect of getting lost.

Several minutes outside of Manuxet, huge pine trees flanked either side. Following to the directions she'd been e-mailed, she followed a single, unmarked, unpaved lane which branched off the main road. It was a single lane a the asphalt had not been repaired for quite some time. She was really getting off the beaten track now. What kind of lab would be so far away from the nearest urban area?

Eileen Huang was a senior at the Hartfield State University. Brilliant as a youngster, she'd entered college at the age of 16. In her studies she was within a hairsbreadth of getting her bachelor's degree in both computer science and biochemistry. Her real dream, she decided, was to go into graduate school to study the emerging field of computational biology. She smiled. Her work in both computer science and biochem made her a shoo-in for the job.

Eileen had been born and raised in the U.S. but her parents, both doctors, had emigrated from Taiwan in the early 70's. She'd found it awkward being the only Asian student at school while growing-up. She didn't care for the teasing she'd been bombarded with at a young age by her peers about her facial features and the ugly glasses she had to wear. But her outgoing personality and charm always managed to compensate somehow. As time went on, she gained the acceptance and friendship from nearly everyone back home.

Eileen was, in short, a gorgeous young woman. "Beauty and brains all in one package" is what several guys back at school had said. She kept herself in shape, and her body was firm and lean. However, Eileen was barely 5 feet tall and her slight, delicate build made it appear that she could be swept-away by the slightest puff of wind. Today, her fashionable wire ovular-framed glasses did nothing to hide a pair of brightly superb, inviting, almond shaped-eyes. They gave her the appearance of a highly-intelligent, capable woman but at the same time hinted she was a woman who could be sensuous and carnal once she took them off and let her hair down. Her smooth skin was the color of coffee and cream without a single blemish to be found.

She drove along the paved road until she came across an old, yet well-maintained cabin. This couldn't be right! She noticed no sign marked 'Selenia'. The house number, however, was the same as the address on her print-out. Parking her car, she checked her direction print-out again. This was the right place, all right. Didn't LOOK like a lab, she thought incredulously.

"Come ON!" She fumed. "I MUST be lost." She turned-off the engine and got out of the car. Walking-up the wooden steps to the porch, she said to herself. "Maybe I can get directions at least." She knocked on the door and turned-up her collar as a cold wind blew-in from the north. She heard movement inside. The door-opened, and before her stood the tallest, most built woman Eileen had ever seen! Even though this huge woman was wearing a lab coat, there was no mistake about it: she had to weigh several hundred pounds, almost all of it was muscle.

"You're Eileen Huang?" The huge woman looked-over the student. Eileen felt positively tiny compared to this giant amazon! The student's mouth hung open for three full seconds before she regained her composure. Eileen began to shiver with fear as this woman stood threateningly huge in the doorway. The lab coat would have been loose on the largest man, but it was very, very snug on this woman. Her hair was done-up in a bun and she wore a pair of bookish-looking glasses to boot.

"Gah... buh.. y-yes. Yes I am." She stuttered, then held-out her hand, slightly afraid this woman would crush it. "And your name is?"

"I'm Doctor Thompson. Of Selenia labs." The woman took Eileen's hand and shook it. The younger woman's hand seemed like that of a child in Dr. Thompson's huge paw. "But you can call me Delilah."

"Uh.. thanks." Eileen stammered. "This is Selenia labs? I didn't see a sign."

"That's right. Well, it's just a name. The unofficial name of this lab at this point in time. Come in, by the way. I understand that you've had a lot of experience in biological computing applications?" She motioned for Eileen to enter.

Contrary to popular conception that biologists relied primarily on petri dishes and microscopes, many of the newest aspects of modern biochemistry are as computer-reliant as highly data-intensive fields like plasma physics and weather system modeling. Certain biological fields involve sifting through huge piles of raw data looking for discrete, hard-to-spot patterns: something that computers are quite good at.

Decoding gene-sequences, for instance, involves massive amounts of raw genomic data which had to be compiled, cataloged, formatted, analyzed and statistically correlated to be useful. 3-D Computer modeling was used to determine the complicated shapes of large proteins and enzymes. Computers were also good at sorting through a mix of thousands of chemical batches to find the one, optimum molecule that might possibly make a useful pharmaceutical.

As a result of her background in both computer science and organic chemistry, Eileen had mastered all the relevant scientific software packages for the topic.

The student surveyed the room: half of it was an impromptu-looking laboratory. It had a large quantity of glassware, lab equipment and even a small ventilation hood to sweep-away chemical fumes. The other half had a pair of worn-looking living-room chairs and a coffee table covered with papers and documents of all types. Delilah indicated for Eileen to have a seat in one of the chairs, stepped-behind her coffee-table 'desk' and sat-down. The chair moaned in protest as she settled her massive bulk onto it.

"As you may recall from the ad, I need someone who is familiar with biochemical modeling software. Your r#sum# is quite impressive." The enormous scientist said.

"Thank you." Eileen put-on her best businesslike smile. "It's true I've had experience with most modelers, and I've worked on a number of projects over the past few semesters. For instance, I've created a program to model the analysis of promoter regions in protein secondary and tertiary structure. I also helped in a project to create a library of 3D motifs for G-protein molecule families and super-families. Over the summer, I've also helped to write a program to apply the principles of 'RNA Knotting Theory' in analyzing prions- "

"Good." The doctor interrupted, obviously impressed. "In a nutshell, this is what I need: I've been trying to model a molecule with a Virtual Chemistry modeler, but I don't have time to write all the programs myself. I need someone to help-out around here."

Virtual chemistry. Eileen nodded. Delilah's software was able to simulate the properties of complex molecules; the student knew Vir-Chem applications well. Eileen could write a program to design and test any conceivable chemical compound without lifting so much as a test tube. Naturally, the more complex and variable the structure of the molecule and the more missing pieces in it, the more complex the program she had to write.

"Yes, I definitely believe that I have the know-how to do-"

"You're hired! Welcome! Can you start immediately?"

"Um.. sure, I guess. Naturally, I have a few questions about the nature of this… lab." She forced a polite smile which could, nonetheless, melt butter.

"Yes, I understand it looks impromptu. I'm afraid I haven't made any structured documentation for your assignment. Time is a serious constraint with my project. I'm sure you understand." Delilah frowned.

A Rube Goldberg plan in a log cabin in the middle of no where? The setting was ridiculous enough to be interesting. Eileen quirked an eyebrow and gave an amused smirk as she nodded curtly.

"Good. I have a serious problem." Delilah leaned her massive frame forward over the desk, it groaned in protest. "This molecule I've been modeling… It's a real puzzle. There are missing pieces to it. Given its' electrochemical valence bonds, I need to know what could be used to fill-in the missing pieces in order to give it the properties I'm looking for. While you're working on this project, I have to run-through the findings I've made in the past few weeks. Come this way."

The woman stood-up and once again shocked Eileen with her size. Delilah showed Eileen to her workstation in one corner of the cabin. It looked woefully worn-out. The machine was almost a decade old, and had a rather pitiful processor by modern standards. One edge of the keyboard was even held-together with duct-tape.

"This workstation is a bit obsolete, I'm afraid." The Doctor sighed with characteristic understatement. "But I managed to do my basic modeling on it before I moved here. I have some data on-screen about the molecule I need to test. There are several missing pieces, unfortunately. As you can see, it's an experimentally-stabilized class of adaptogen."

Eileen looked-over the data. It was a highly complex molecule: a class of adaptogen she'd never seen before. Adaptogens were highly unstable mutagens and were a cutting-edge area of study in the world of biochemistry. They were capable of causing large, hard-to-predict changes in living tissue. Adaptogenic compounds were expensive to obtain and difficult to store. As a result, virtual chemicals were the best way to experiment with them.

Unfortunately, there were missing pieces in Delilah's chemical model. The structure of key bits and pieces of the molecule under study were unknown. Using her programming skills and the laws of chemistry, Eileen would have to write an algorithm to extrapolate what kind of chemical bonds were possible to fill in the blanks. Once these blanks were filled in with likely solutions, that data would need to subjected to the long, tedious process of elimination to determine which of those possible bonds would NOT create the properties Dr. Thompson were looking for. There were thousands of possible combinations, and the program would need millions of iterations to finish! Eileen sighed. There was no way this tiny workstation could run such a massive program. She could tell this was going to be a tough, tedious job.

Suddenly, the young programmer had a burst of inspiration.

"Wait a minute… this workstation IS obsolete!"

"I know, it's all the university gave me." She frowned and began to remember how neglected she felt in building 405.

"No, what you said gave me an idea. I can't possibly use this terminal to get the results within such an aggressive schedule. But, I think I might be able to access additional resources. My university was contracted by the Department of Energy to participate in the big Genome Project."

Dr. Thompson nodded, she was familiar with the multi-billion dollar endeavor to break-down, map and interpret the entire human DNA sequence. It was the largest government science project since the Apollo moon program of the 1960s and promised to bring huge insights to the functioning of the human body.

Eileen continued. "They bought a new supercomputer to digest the genetic sequences. It can perform billions of calculations a second. BUT." She held up an index finger. "I happen to know that they're only running the machine at around 95 percent capacity. They wanted to have spare memory left in case they need to run additional programs from time to time."

"So?"

"So, about five percent of the RAM is sitting idle. I could write a program to carry-out the simulations that you need, dial into the University at Hartfield computer lab and upload it for processing in some of the computer's spare memory."

"But, won't they notice that someone from outside is using the computer?"

"Not at all. I know that system inside and out. I can make it so that the program is invisible to the auditing manager. I can go in and cover our tracks after the program is done. I've done it before." Her glasses slipped-down her nose and she pushed them up again.

Dr. Thompson beamed. "I KNEW it was a great idea to hire you! How long until you can get the program written?"

Eileen stroked her chin in thought. "If you give me all your specifications, it might take about twenty hours or so. Then it'll probably take me about half a day to debug it. Then, it might take a day or so for the university supercomputer to run all the findings running at less than 5 percent capacity. Assuming everything goes as planned, we'll have the results by the day after tomorrow around noonish." Without missing a beat, she added "Do you have any coffee here? I sort of live on caffeine when I program."

"No problem, I'll get some water heated. It sounds like you're going to do a fantastic job!" Delilah was clearly thrilled.

Late that evening, in Dr. Thompson's lab.

Delilah sat-back in her chair, it groaned to accommodate her unusual size and weight. Exhausted from hours of pouring over obscure medical journals about known physiological side-effects of adaptogens, she sipped from her coffee cup. The cup seemed as tiny as something from a child's tea-set to her, she thought. She still hadn't gotten used to being so huge. The original accident which happened to her back at Midgard was remarkable, but had an unpleasant side-effect: delusions of grandeur. The adaptogens had obviously affected her nervous system during her transformation. After the first hours of her changes, she'd become ravenous for power, cruel and sadistic.

She was convinced that she was a goddess and destined to rule the planet. Convincing herself she was a Goddess? Ludicrous! But overwhelmed by her craving for power, she needed to taste the delicious elixir of energy within those men. It was hers for the taking. She'd assaulted and crippled nine people in her uncontrollable rampage. Only after she'd calmed-down after the drive to her new lab did the overwhelming lust for more power subside. But months later, once in a long while, the urge for power would overwhelm her usual sensibilities for a split second or two. Just like an ex-smoker could get a nicotine craving from time to time. It was a good thing that this far out in the woods, no men were around for her to feed off of.

She concluded the biggest personal challenge for mastering the Goddess formula was controlling her own desires. She had to learn to wrestle with that power lust, and win, if her invention would be of any use at all. In the weeks after, she'd managed to learn to control herself somewhat. She felt like she firmly had a handle on herself. More importantly, she no longer saw her experiment as a way to attain the level of goddess, but as a way of improving the health, livelihood and social-standing of women worldwide.

She stretched her wide, furrowed back, stood-up and walked to her shabby bed where she normally slept. The emotions she experienced when she was sucking-in muscle and power left and right were definitely psychotic. It wasn't right to hurt those men, but she just couldn't help it. She DID warn the physical-plant workers that her chemicals were dangerous. They hadn't listened, they were trying to take-away her career and her future. The others had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe if she wasn't so angry at those jerks on the peer review board! She could swear a few of them smirked when they canceled her funding. But still... She frowned and drained her coffee cup.

There had to have been an investigation into the odd happenings back at her old lab the night of her transformation. The day after she'd arrived in the back-woods, she'd heard a news report on the radio that police had investigated a mysterious fire at a Midgard University laboratory. A number of men had been found around campus suffering from a mysterious wasting affliction and were carted-away to hospitals. Local health officials had cordoned-off both buildings for a few weeks, but soon declared the premises to be safe. The nine men were taken to area hospitals and their incoherent hallucinations made no sense to the police at all. Delilah still wondered: were the police looking for her?

There were still so many unanswered scientific questions left about this remarkable host-parasite phenomenon she had discovered. What was the actual mechanics of the energy transfer? Based on her experience and subsequent research, her telekinetic power caused cellular energy in the living muscle tissue of the 'host' to be extracted. After extraction, it was carried through an as-of-yet unknown mechanism into her own body's cells. The output of her own metabolism would make a big leap forward and the energy would be absorbed rapidly by her own muscle and bone cells, resulting in stunning cellular division and growth. Her individual muscle cells had become unusually dense; they were thicker, stronger and more densely-packed than those of any normal human were or ever could be. She did indeed seem super-human in those respects.

She also noted that her body warmed and tingled slightly as she absorbed and converted the energy into muscle. It was like an adrenaline rush. Why was the sensation so addictive? The men's bodies had deteriorated as a result of their energy loss. For them, the effect was devastating. Could there be some way of reducing the damage? Those questions would have to be addressed if the formula was to be improved.

Her telekinetic reach seemed to roughly obey the same laws for an electromagnetic field. Beyond a sphere of about 6 feet, though, the field died-out entirely. Could the range be extended somehow?

She'd done a few small experiments. One of the first was to test for electromagnetic activity emanating from her body. She found nothing. Over the past few months, she'd gone to the nearest towns to buy supplies on a few occasions. Each time, she'd kept a low profile and when the occasion presented itself, she had tried to take a tiny amount of the strength of one or two women she'd come across on each excursion. She'd failed on all attempts. Why couldn't she absorb the strength of women? Was it hormonal? Genetic? Physiological?

She shook her head and rubbed her temple in thought. In the past, she'd seen how adaptogenic isotopes were an effective catalyst in energy absorption. They could effectively amplify energy within cells, so it would be theoretically possible to amplify the effects of the muscle-transfer as well. Hopefully, the data from Eileen's program would help her synthesize an improved, more efficient derivation of her accidental formula.

If a safe variant of the formula could be created and given to millions of women, no longer would women be unable to assert themselves. The change would utterly bury the social order of the past and shatter every unjust restriction on females. That was a goal worthy of every effort she could spare. Eileen seemed the perfect choice for a lab assistant. She was obviously intelligent and knew her stuff. But, could she be trusted in this secret endeavor? That was a question which would have to be answered soon.

Several days later…

Eileen plugged the phone line back into the lab's workstation and dialed-in to her University's computer lab. As the modem tones blipped, she turned to Delilah and smiled.

"Well, it should be finished by now. We'll just download the results, and you can have a look at the data." Her fingers clicked on the keyboard as she started the download.

"I want to thank you for all the hard work you've put in. Frankly, I'm amazed we managed to do this so fast. It would take months of slow number-crunching using only that workstation." The connection was made, Eileen tapped the keys and the data transfer began. Delilah decided to find out if Eileen was on her side. "I must ask you a question while we're waiting: are you satisfied with the status of women in the world?"

Eileen nodded and looked to the doctor through her glasses. "No. Of course not. I resent that women don't earn as much as men for the same work. I also don't like the fact that women have second-class status in almost every society. And don't get me STARTED about abuse…"

"I thought so." Delilah lowered her voice. "What would you do if I told you I know of a way we could solve all that. A solution to women's problems."

"Huh? You're kidding. That would take-"

"A shift in the balance of power?" Delilah cut her off.

Eileen nodded and briefly noted that the data transfer was proceeding smoothly.

"Exactly." The doctor continued. "What would you say if I told you I have a way of causing that shift in the balance of power."

"I'd say: 'let me know what it is!'" Eileen laughed. "But that just seems impossible."

"If it was possible, such an important solution must be kept under the strictest confidence. A lot of men might try to destroy the solution for the sake of preserving the horrible status quo. Outside this room, NO ONE can know. Can I trust you?"

"Of course you can." She swept an errant strand of jet black hair from her eyes. "I promise. Does this molecule have something to do with it?"

Delilah put a gigantic hand on her lab assistant's shoulder. "If you're with me, we can right the world and unimaginable power will be available to all women. We’d go down in history as the most important scientists and social visionaries since… ever! Hell, we'll have a change bigger than anything else in our history. We're talking about a profound transformation in what it means to be part of our species! Think about it." She smiled grandly. "No more violence against women. We'll be able to reach our full potential. We will be truly empowered to create our own destinies."

Normally, Eileen was usually cynical. But there was something about this molecule that looked radically new and important but had no idea what it could be. Dr. Thompson truly believed in what she was doing. She'd staked what little money she had left on the project and this was her now-or-never chance to succeed. Why the hell not? As long as she got credit for her internship, she didn't really care.

The lab assistant smiled. "Hey, I'd love a Nobel Prize! Einstein, Galileo, Fleming… Huang!" Laughing inwardly, she whimsically imagined what she might look as a statue.

But then, the doctor's voice turned dead-serious. "But, if you back-stab me on this. If you betray the project, make no mistake. I'll hunt you down and DESTROY you."

Eileen gulped in genuine fear of what might happen.

"Uh… Understood!" She stammered as a bead of sweat trickled down her temple. "Oh, we've finished getting the results." As she saved the newly-arrived data to disk, she turned back to Dr. Thompson. "Believe me, I'm trustworthy. I mean, if there's the slightest chance that I can improve the lives of women, I'd do whatever it takes."

"Glad to hear it." Dr. Thompson leaned-back. "For the rest of the day, I'll need to review the data myself, so I guess there's not really much you can do until tomorrow, so have a good evening."

"Really? Great! Do you think I’d be able to take Saturday night-off? I've been planning to meet with a few friends over the weekend. Tomorrow night, I'm meeting my best friend Amber at a bar near my college. I haven't seen her in the longest time. She's got this new boyfriend, and she just hasn't seen me much since."

"Well, you deserve to have some time-off. You've done a really great job. In fact, I didn't expect to get to this point for several months. This really simplifies the work enormously." She slapped Eileen on the back a bit too hardly.

"Ouch!" Eileen rubbed her shoulder in pain.

That night in Dr. Thompsons' lab…

The enormous scientist dolefully sipped from her coffee cup. Hundreds of yellow streaked highlighted the documents cluttering Delilah's desk as she shuffled through the reams of output from Eileen's program. She'd been working for hours without a break, and so far it was turning-out to be very informative reading indeed. Delilah took-off her glasses and rubbed her weary eyes.

"Astonishing." Was all she could mutter.

The adaptogenic effect which had transformed her several months ago was one which caused her to gain roughly less than one unit of cellular energy for each unit she took from her host. A .97 to 1 ratio wasn't bad, but the data from Eileen's model proved that synthesizing a modified variant of her original, serindipitous Goddess Formula could create a 'Multiplier Effect'. This would be accomplished by inducing a higher rate of a cellular growth process called anaerobiclycosis.

Tweaking just the right parts of the Goddess molecule would make the energy transfer effect even more powerful. This would, in effect, multiply the energy being fed-in to the receiving cells. Unfortunately, with each change of the molecule came the potential for more severe side-effects as well.

The real advantage of computer modeling was that a program could extrapolate the properties of numerous hypothetical molecules with different multiplier effects and side-effects. One of the outcomes of Eileen's model seemed to be an optimized variant of the molecule: it would multiply the energy transfer effect by at least three, but unpredictable side-effects would be kept to a minimum. She would call this variant Goddess2. Now that she knew the structure of the molecule, it would be little problem for her to synthesize it.

The new molecule would have to have several sections neatly-clipped off using a series of quick chemical reactions. In her initial accident months before, a mixture of adaptogens and reactives splashed against her. Through an astronomical chance, they mixed in the proper proportions to transform her into her present state. But using Eileen's data, she could now design her desired molecule and find out what reactives were needed to make the new molecule. She set to work on the calculations immediately and within an hour had the results.

Using the last few raw adaptogens she managed to salvage from her lab, she spent the night preparing the solution. It was a long process of stabilizing the notoriously volatile isotopes and mixing them with precisely-measured reactives. By morning, she could breathe a sigh of relief: she'd managed to create four doses of the modified formula. Placing them in vials, she stored them safely in the lab's rickety refrigerator. The next time her lab assistant came, she'd reveal the secret.

The next day in Dr. Thompsons' lab…

Eileen sat there, her mouth agape. "So THAT'S why you look that way!"

Dr. Thompson nodded. She felt utterly relieved that she could finally tell someone the whole story. "I have to say that I really regret what I did. It weighs on my conscience heavily. At the time, I just couldn't control myself. I knew that the morning after they would find the bodies so I fled."

"I see. And now you're offering me the same ability?" Eileen was still shaking her head in disbelief.

"Only if you want it. I mean, this is what we've been working on, and you have the right to be one of the first."

"What about the long-term health effects?" Eileen took-off her glasses and looked the doctor square in the eye.

"Well, I've run some medical tests on myself. I have an improved circulatory system, a more resilient immune system. My cuts heal within hours. I'd call those positive health effects. But, I'll tell you, it's also a major life change. The relationships you have with family and friends may change. It'll be as significant to your life as getting married or having children. More significant, perhaps. I wouldn't call my life normal anymore. Now, do you want some time to think about it?"

"No." She took off her glasses. "I've been thinking about it for years. I've always said that if I could be taller and stronger, I'd definitely go for it!"

"Well, maybe I should still give you a few days to think about it?"

"No." she sounded serious. "I'm sick of being short and skinny. I want it tonight."

"Only if you're totally sure?" Delilah looked her square in the eye. Eileen nodded determinedly.

"Well, let's get going." She tossed Eileen her jacket and motioned for her to go out the door into the chilled air of the early evening. "We're going to do this right. Under controllable circumstances."

Twenty minutes later, Delilah was driving towards Manuxet in the former Midgard Physical Plant van. Eileen sat in the passenger seat, almost trembling with excitement. All the while, they discussed the mechanics of the strength transfer and guidelines for safe use.

"So you sort of concentrate, and you get their strength?" Eileen thought it sounded crazy, but, Dr. Thompson was really speaking from genuine personal experience.

"That's right. The actual physics of how their strength went from them to me is a bit of a mystery, though. I hope that we'll be able to figure that out through further experimentation."

"Where are we going, by the way?"

"Well, I've spotted a place where we might be able to allow you get a first practice. This is going to be a controlled event, after all."

Soon, she was at the center of Manuxet; one of the bars seemed to be have about two dozen cars parked in its small parking lot. Still more cars were parked up and down the block.

Delilah pointed towards the bar. "That's where we're going to let you test your new ability. Almost every Friday night, this bar is packed. Almost everyone from the local area comes here." A gravelly, trash-strewn alley ran-along the side of the building. Delilah drove as close as she could to the nearest wall of the bar. Muffled country music could be heard through the wall. Eileen rolled-up her sleeve and took a deep breath.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Only if you're positive. At present, there's no way of undoing this." Dr. Thompson readied a syringe.

"I'm totally ready." As soon as the words left her mouth, Eileen winced as the needle punctured her skin. Then she clutched her arm as it seized-up. First, it pinched. Then, it burned.

"That was just a cramp, you'll feel those now as the formula goes through the muscles." Said the doctor.

"Ow, it feels like… my arm is starting to burn-up! Ow! Ow! I can feel it burning through my veins! Ow!"

"That'll subside in a little while. Just hang in there."

"Owie owie owie." Eileen smarted, but then she exhaled slowly. "It's a bit better now. It's not so bad." She took another series of slow deep breaths and rubbed her arm painfully.

"Good. When I got splashed with the original formula, it burned like hell. The improved variant doesn't hurt quite as much." Delilah pointed towards the bar. "Now, I want you to concentrate in that direction. The first time I felt this, I was trapped under a bookcase, and I was trying to gather all of my strength. That's how I stumbled upon how to use this power. I have to be within six feet of a man in order for this to work, but we just also want to test your range.

"Okay, I'm trying to concentrate..."

"The feeling is difficult to put into words. It's one of those things you really have to feel for yourself in order to understand. Try to feel-out with your mind. You can almost touch something out there on the fringes of your grasp. It feels like a warm, tingling sensation. You can almost taste it." Delilah fought-back the urge to use her own power.

"I... yes, I think I can!" Eileen gasped. "Definitely feel something. It's like it's a prickling sensation way out there... It feels like... I guess, the only way I can describe it is that it feels like living power, if that makes any sense."

"No, that's really a very good description. How near does it feel?" She began to feel a bit tempted herself to reach-out and touch that power.

"It feels within my reach. I can feel about a dozen distinct sources of living power. No way are there a dozen people within a six feet of the wall. My range has to be farther than that. I must be reaching farther into the bar than you initially thought."

"Excellent! I've improved the range!" Delilah pulled-out a notebook and began to scribble her observations. "Now, you can almost taste the power. Try to draw a tiny amount of power equally from every source. If you take a tiny bit from everyone, no one will even notice. Give it a try."

"Okay… I'll try to…" Eileen closed her eyes as she felt the power trickle into her, then shivered. "I... FELT something! I FELT it! It REALLY felt like... wow."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. It was like a shiver I couldn't control. I just... " she shivered again. "Oh! I did it again. It was like a small spark. And I tingle all over!"

"That's very good. Now, try to just take a bit more of it." Delilah felt the urge inside her rising again. Delilah shook her head. No! She couldn't!

Eileen began to moan softly. "I can definitely feel something happening.. it's indescribable." Her limbs, formerly lithe and nimble, suddenly began to pulsate with an unfamiliar force. She clenched her fists and witnessed the beautiful blossoming of feminine power throughout her forearms, abs, chest and legs. Her legs throbbed as rounded thigh muscles began to emerge. Her pecs stared getting thicker and pushing outward; the slow growth was visible through the opening of her T-shirt. Her calves mushroomed into steel balls of muscle.

"Oh God! This feels better than..." Her once-skinny arms were thicker and fleshier, her hips grew fuller and rounder. She started feeling certain areas of her body. Reaching around to slide her hand over her derriere, her face lit-up; Eileen stuck-out her butt.

"Whoa! Baby got back!" She laughed. "It's a miracle!"

She began flexing, moaning as new muscles popped-out all over her body; she flexed over and over every way she could. "This feels incredible; I can't believe this is me! It's what I've always wanted; my biceps are so pronounced!" She held both fists close to her ears, beaming. She swiveled her clenched fist to and fro, her biceps were about the size of tiny potatoes; they danced up and down as she laughed with glee. "Don't look now, but I think I've put-on a few pounds!" She tensed her back and lat muscles. She felt her shirt tighten as her back swelled.

"Ok, now stop the transfer."

"Not yet…" she moaned. "My God, I think I'm a few inches taller now! This… feels so… " Delilah could see her muscles bunch and grow as the spasms overwhelmed her. The cuts between her muscles became more defined, the striations became prominent.

"NOW!" Delilah barked in her most authoritative-sounding tone. Eileen was shocked out of her trance by the powerful woman's voice. Dr. Thompson started the van and pulled-away from the back of the bar.

"Yes ma'am!" she started, but then looked down at herself. "Eek! Look at me! I look like one of those fitness models you see on ESPN!"

"Before you get too caught-up in your new body, I want you to think about the responsibility that goes along with your new power." Delilah nervously looked in the rear view mirror to see if anyone was following her.

"I can certainly see what you mean! I went from nothing to being almost as strong as a guy!" She looked down at herself, smiling ear-to-ear. "I'm the ultimate tigress!" She folded her arms and pouted at the thought of forgoing the tremendous reserve of strength back in the bar. "Wait until Amber sees me tomorrow!"

"Well, 'Ultra-Tigress', I've got to take you somewhere for the next step."

Several hours later…

They drove all the way to Midgard College. Dr. Thompson felt nervous coming so close to where she had fled months before. She used as many out of the way side-streets as possible so the van wouldn't be spotted. Better safe than sorry. Delilah parked the van and shut-off the engine outside a shuttered and darkened Building 405. Slamming the vehicle door, PowerFemme pointed it out to Eileen.

"That's where I had my fortuitous accident a few months ago." She said. "We need to get you something." They quietly walked-up to the building immediately next door to Building 405.

"What are we doing here?" asked Eileen as they walked-up to the rear entrance. Worn paint flaked-off the frame, a single padlock secured the entrance.

"We have to get you a new outfit." Holding one hand against the doorframe, PowerFemme gripped the padlock with both hands and pulled. Eileen's eyes grew as large as saucers as her mentor's arms swelled with size. Twisting the lock left and right, groaning with exertion and gritting her teeth, the massively powerful amazon broke the latch right off the door! "Open sesame." She smiled as they stepped inside and dropped the busted lock on the floor.

Turning-on the lights, Eileen laid eyes on several large pieces of machinery with cloth spools mounted on them.

"What are those?" she asked.

"They're machines to mould and cut an experimental type of Kevlar cloth." She flipped a master power switch, a machine whirred to life. "You need clothes that'll fit you. Preferably bulletproof ones."

"You mean clothes like yours?" Eileen smirked.

"Exactly. Not only that, I think I need to make quite few new items with the same fabric. Having only one catsuit might be a liability."

"So we're going to make outfits? Only if I get to choose the color." She pointed at PowerFemme's 6-inch stiletto heels. "And I am NOT wearing those ridiculous things. I'll fall flat on my face."

"You have to walk tall. Head and shoulders above the rest. Your legs will adjust very quickly."

"Screw that. I'll take a pair of sneakers, thank you."

The hugely muscled amazon crossed her arms disapprovingly and peered-down at the still-petite Eileen with a smirk. "Sorry, you've got to. It's a rule."

"What rule?" Eileen shot-back sarcastically.

"Rule One…" PowerFemme grabbed the nearest roll of Kevlar cloth and fed it into a machine. "Everything I say: that's just the way it is."

The next night at The Cache, a bar near Hartfield University…

The Cache was crowded, as it always was on Friday nights. Dozens of students from Hartfield U were huddling in noisy groups. Drinking, talking, smoking. A number of obviously underage freshman women had managed to sneak-in and were giggling drunkenly with the best-looking guys in the bar. Eileen walked through the door and surveyed the familiar scene.

Eileen was wearing one of her slinkier outfits; a tight, mid-thigh black miniskirt to show-off her incredibly toned legs, matching pair of 3-inch heeled pumps and an off-white stretch-satin top that was very stretched on her, indeed. It left her toned midriff bare, and was low-cut enough to show an inch of mouth-watering cleavage. Her legs were longer and firmer than they'd ever been before, and her (still below-average) new height of 5' 3" made her feel like she was towering over the earth.

Almost all male eyes, and a number of female ones, were immediately drawn to her as she walked-in. With every step, her breasts jiggled ever so slightly. She didn't feel as embarrassed as she normally did about showing-off skin. Hell, she was loving every instant of it. The material of her top stretched almost taut against her chest; it rubbed back and forth over her over-stimulated mammaries. Eileen's nipples poked noticeably straight-out and she loved every hormone-overloading second if it.

Eileen spotted Amber sitting along at their regular table. She was normally the life of any party -- 5'7", pretty, voluptuous body, sharp flashing eyes. But tonight she wore sunglasses and no makeup and seemed almost buried in a large gray sweater, staring sadly at a glass of ice water. She looked-up and saw what looked like a Taiwanese model walking-towards her. The most unusual thing was the model looked like Eileen!

"Damn, girl! Where did you get that body?!" Gawked Amber.

"You mean these?" Eileen replied, grinning. She slowly plumped her left breast and shivered at the sensation. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a few men at the next table started their drool-engines, much to her delight. "They're relatively new.... um... developments." She smirked, shivering from the twin-barrel effect of showing-off so much of her knockout figure and the sensations tingling through her breasts during her public self-groping.

"Are they silicone or saline?" Amber smirked, amazed. She looked-over Eileen and added "You must've worked-out hard to get so toned!" Eileen's pretty face brightened for a split second before recovering her sullen, sad look again.

"No! It's something even better! But -- hey, what happened to you?" Eileen signaled the waitress she wanted a drink and turned to face her friend. "How's everything with your new guy, Jake?"

"Fine." Amber looked at the floor.

"You sure don't sound fine."

"I said I'm fine." Amber forced herself to look happy, but her lip began to tremble.

"No you're not. You're an awful liar. Let's get out of here so we can talk privately."

As they got-up to walk-out, Eileen noticed that Amber was limping slightly.

"Hon, you're hurt." Eileen helped her friend walk outside. By the time they made it to Eileen's car, Amber was trembling visibly.

"Talk to me." Eileen put her hand on her friend's shoulder and noticed a rather painful-looking bruise on the back of her neck. She opened the passenger-side car door and let her friend slide into the front seat. "What happened? Does Jake know?"

"I don't know what it is… he was so sweet. He gave me anything I wanted… but he changed..." Amber sniffed-back the droplets welling-up in her eyes.

Eileen ran around to the drivers' side and hopped-in.

"What happened?"

"Last night, he'd been out drinking with Kyle. They both came in at 3 AM and I- I told him that he shouldn't drink when he had an exam the next day and… " Amber started crying. "He just got so mad at me and started yelling that I shouldn't…" she couldn't go on, overcome with sobbing misery.

"Oh, Amber… I'm so sorry. Did he hit you?"

Amber sobbed. "He hit me so hard! I cried and cried all day today… I- I just… "

"That fucker. That fucker! That fucking asshole! Didn't Kyle do anything to help you?" Eileen hugged her tight and handed her a tissue.

"They were both drunk. Kyle just stood there and…" she collapsed into Eileen's arms and cried so painfully hard. "He just stood there and yelled 'show the bitch whose boss!' I begged them to stop! I tried to get-away, but Kyle blocked the door. Oh God, I was so helpless!" she was crying harder than ever now, barely able to control her shivering.

"Fucking assholes!" Eileen bellowed and pounded her fist on the car seat. "Fucking jock assholes!" Eileen grit her teeth and felt herself turn crimson with rage. "I'm going to fucking make sure they both go to jail for this!"

"No!" Amber wiped her tears. "No, just… I'm too afraid! If they find out I told you, they'll beat me up again!"

"I'm so sorry, Amber. I'd do anything to make it better."

"I just don't want to make Jake mad again. Please don't tell anyone!"

"Those Goddamned fucking…" Eileen just trailed-off, overcome with anger. She regained her composure and turned to Amber. "First off, we're going to have you checked-out to see if you're okay." She started the car and headed for the nearest hospital as she felt her face flaring burning hot with outrage. "Second, I don't want you to see him ever again. Don't ever see him again, promise? I'll make sure both he and Kyle pay for this!"

"Please don't. I just want to forget about this." She sniffled and wiped her salty tears. "I want to forget this ever happened."

"Amber, I can't forget this happened. I promise, no one will ever hurt you again."

Later that evening…

"Please, we have to get even with those two!" Eileen almost shouted into the public phone; she was in the hallway outside the hospital waiting room and was careful to lower her voice when a few eyes drifted in her direction.

"First things first." The doctor replied. "How is Amber?"

"She had a hairline fracture on her wrist and some bruises. She's got a cast on her forearm right now." She angrily brushed-back a lock of hair, fuming.

"I see." Dr. Thompson sounded genuinely concerned. "I don't think we should. I mean, we just can't take their strength with impunity." Dr. Thompson thought for a second, but a little voice in the back of her head told her to reconsider. She sighed. As much as she didn't want to, part of her wanted to punish those guys. And it might help with the research. After a long pause, she replied "On second thought, with the exception of what we did in Manuxet the other night, I've never actually witnessed the power transfer under controlled conditions. I couldn't re-create a power-transfer session with my self as a test subject, too." She sighed loudly. "Yes, very well. For the good of science. We have to plan it right, though. Come over here as soon as possible."

The next night…

Eileen and Delilah sat in the front seats of their van on a darkened alley near the student off-campus residences outside Hartfield University. They were parked just inside a one-car garage that looked like it had been abandoned for twenty years. Run-down, sagging houses lined either side of the graveled and pot-holed alley. It looked like a slum; Delilah had forgotten how rotten student housing could be! They'd already been sitting there for over three hours. The doctor yawned and looked at her watch for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"Are you sure they're coming?" She asked.

"Positive. They tend to park their cars in the free parking lot down the block, and this is the shortest route back to their apartment. I want to thank you so much for agreeing to help-out Amber and me."

Dr. Thompson shook her head. "Don't thank me. I just hope we can pull this off." She yawned again. "I wish I had a book so I could read while we- "

"Shh! I think I see them!" Eileen whispered. She pointed-down the poorly-lit alley. Sure enough, two figures could be seen entering at the end of the alley.

"You're sure it's them?" Delilah whispered back.

"Yeah. That's Jake's favorite jacket." She pointed to the taller of the two. "And the other one's Kyle."

"Okay, you know the plan." Delilah soaked a pair of rags in chloroform and nodded to Eileen. "Let's go. We don't have a second chance."

Eileen nodded and slid into the driver's seat as the enormous amazon stepped-out of the van and crouched-down. It felt like an eternity passed, but finally, footsteps could be heard coming closer. A pair of male voices could also be heard, talking quietly. The footsteps got louder until both Eileen and Delilah saw a pair of tall, beefy-looking 21-year old men walked past.

"Now!" Deiliah hissed to herself.

As quick as foxes, she jumped-out at the two men. Delilah, more than seven feet tall, easily pressed the chemical-soaked rag over Jake's mouth. He gagged, but within seconds, was subdued. Taken by surprise, the other athlete saw the large figure come out of the shadows and attack his companion.

"What the fuck?!" Kyle hollered as he grabbed a brick on the ground and rushed at Delilah. The huge woman threw Jake to the ground and sent a punch flying to Kyle's temple before he could hit her with the brick. He spun a half-turn and wobbled as he tried to stay upright, but his legs gave-out as his massive assailant jammed a chloroform-soaked rag over his mouth.

Eileen ran-out of the garage with duct-tape and a pair of small burlap sacks. As fast as possible, she began to bind their hands and feet, stuffed rags in their mouths and pulled the sacks over their heads.

"Start the car." Delilah commanded as she picked-up both men with one arm apiece locked around their waists and stacked them in the back of the van. Inside of three minutes, they were back on the highway, driving back north to their cabin in the woods.

Two hours later…

Delilah took-off Kyle's hood and pulled the rag out of his mouth. Before him stood Eileen. He saw that they seemed to be in a root-cellar under a log-house.

Eileen was dressed in her newly-made Kevlar workout gear; it was colored in shades of blue and black in a crazy, mixed pattern not unlike that of a mirror which had been broken several times. Her tight, low-cut halter top showed the tantalizing curves of the new, twin fleshy mounds on her chest. Her workout shorts hugged every curve of her deliciously-shaped rear and thighs. A highly-stylized script, like slashes, was written across her top diagonally. It read 'UltraTigress'.

"Let me go, you freak!" he shouted as he struggled against PowerFemme's hold. But his strength was miniscule next to hers.

PowerFemme worked hard to contain her anger. This would be Eileen's game, not hers. She wanted to see how her assistant handled her new power, and the last thing she needed was to lose her control in front of someone so new to the power. She held him firmly, without replying.

"Hey Kyle." Eileen walked towards him, unfazed. He immediately noticed the sensuous sway of her hips, the toned shifting musculature of her shapely legs. She indeed moved like a tigress in heat.

"Who the hell are you?" He paused. "Eileen? Eileen Huang? Why the hell did you do this?"

Eileen looked up at Kyle, her chin jutting out challengingly but barely reaching his neck. "Well, there's a little matter of Amber....

Kyle spat at her "That's between me and Jake and her. I don't recall her even complaining, and in fact she called just last night, apologizing to Jake for making him so angry. That's what I love about you girls. You like nothing more than to please us. You worship our strength, don't you? Yeah, you're so soft and weak, and it gives you a thrill to see our power in action. That's why I think you and your friend here must be some kind of wacko lesbians or something. Your kind doesn't know what girls really want. And as soon as this freakshow let's go of me, I'll give you some of the same treatment. You might even like it," he added. "Maybe it'll help you remember you're a girl." He glared at her, challengingly, utterly confident in his ability to dominate and intimidate her.

She looked up at him with hatred, any shred of guilt rapidly disappearing from her mind. Yes, she thought, this is exactly the sort who would do perfectly. "Maybe I'll take you up on that. I'd love you to show me what a man can do for a woman," Eileen chuckled, "And, especially, what you can do for me." She traced her hand around his biceps, which bulged as he strained ineffectually against PowerFemme's superior strength. "They're so big and hard, aren't they? I bet you're so proud of them; it must've taken you years to get them so strong. I wish I could have muscles like these."

"Ha! Don't make me laugh! Except for your freak-friend here, no girl could get this big and strong." He smiled and flexed harder, "But go ahead and feel them. Tell your friend here to let go of me and I'll show you what a real man can do."

"Oh I will. But not yet. I'm not ready for you." She began to use her unfamiliar new power; concentrating on getting stronger gradually; Dr. Thompsons' formula amplified the trickle of incoming power into a surge of energy. Eileen's body again began to change. Her arms swelled, her traps rose up as her neck thickened. Her chest was visibly filling-out beneath the fabric of her halter-top, pulling the super fabric tighter and tighter. Within seconds, her upper body was as developed as his, and Jake watched in amazement as her abs knotted into a tight, perfect six-pack. Her arms were thick and vascular, with biceps that bulged even though her arms were relaxed at her side. The fabric of her skin-tight shorts creaked as her thighs grew larger. Her stiletto heels kept her calves constantly flexed as they grew.

"Oh, yeah!" she purred, as she began to grow taller. Her height surpassed 5' 5" with no hint of stopping. She looked at Jake as she expanded upwards and outwards. Momentarily pausing her growth, she shivered and collected her thoughts. A strange feeling came over her. She HAD to imbibe his strength again ... she just couldn't stop!

"What the hell did you just do!?" He yelled in surprise. He had only lost two-thirds of an inch in height, but he was feeling woozy and had certainly noticed Eileen's abrupt surge in height and her muscular development. He strained against PowerFemme's hold again and felt, somehow, that he wasn't pulling with as much strength. UltraTigress smiled like the Cheshire cat. The Goddess2 Formula was indeed magnifying the strength she was pilfering at least three-fold. Her muscles had grown much disproportionately larger than Kyle's had shrunk.

"Oh, nothing you can do anything about," she smiled sweetly. "It's just one of those 'girlie' things. So do you want to talk about what you and Kyle did to Amber the other night?" "What for!" he snarled. "That's got nothing to do with you. But I'm warning you, if you slipped me some kind of drug, you'll pay for it. No bitch messes with my body! I'll ruin you!"

"You think so?" Eileen snarled. He was making her so angry that she couldn't control herself, and in a split second her body erupted with more muscle as she took a large gulp of his strength, shooting up another inch and a half in height. Her nose was level with his chin and she noted with satisfaction that his arms no longer looked like a jock's. She suppressed her rage and laid a hand on the side of Kyle's face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't get mad at you. You jocks have to be aggressive. That's why you're so good at sports, isn't it? I really do admire you athletic guys, and your bodies too. It must take a lot of work for you to get so BIG. But what did you say about girls never getting big, no matter what they did?" She looked down at her arms. They already were slightly larger than his. She flexed her biceps, which formed softball-sized mounds, and admired them. "I don't know. My muscles look pretty big to me. In fact, they look a teeny bit bigger than yours." She reached over and ran her finger down his arm, which, unflexed, showed only a small bulge. She nodded to PowerFemme, who released his arms. He held his wrists, rubbing them where she had gripped him tightly, and his jaw dropped when he felt their reduced size.

"What's happening to me? My-my-my muscles! They've shrunk!"

"No they haven't! They've gotten bigger. Look at them!" She raised her arms and flexed her biceps. They were indeed slightly larger than his had originally been. "See? They're not small at all! I've just moved them to a better place. Now, let's see just how big and strong mister jock can make me, okay?" Eileen began to consume his strength again. She looked down at her legs and buttocks plumping up, gaining bulk with each passing second. Formerly athletic, sleek and lean, her legs swelled with power, bulking-up immensely. Their shape was made all the more extreme by her action of continuously leaning forward atop the deadly spikes of her skyscraper-like heels. Kyle's expression went from one of bewilderment to one of fear. Fear as she gained height, stopping only when they were eye-to-eye. She puffed out her chest, pushing her firm, newly-enlarged breasts into him and forcing him to step backwards.

"Now, what were you saying before, Kyle? Something about ruining me? I don't think so." Resuming sucking-out his energy again, she grew another inch in height. She was now taller than he! UltraTigress stepped forward and puffed her chest out again, knocking the bewildered Kyle back another step. "But I do think you've made me more of a woman!" She ran her hands down her chest, pausing dramatically as she traced the outline of her pectoral-backed breasts. They were like small cantaloupes; her outfit pressed them together to form several inches of tantalizing cleavage. "I've got to hand it to you. You do know how to make a woman happy." "Stop it! Whatever you're doing stop it!" He pounded his fists against her, his weakened arms impacting softly against her hardened muscular frame. She shook her head, all the while hiding her surprise at how strong she'd become so quickly.

"Not nice! Not nice at all!" She caught one of his wrists and twisted it, effortlessly forcing his arm behind his back and pushing him onto his knees. He whimpered in pain. "I thought you were made a stronger stuff. You're not afraid of little ol' me, are you?" She smiled, pushing on his weakened arm again and again, as he moaned in pain. "A sweet, innocent thing like me, just playing around, and here you are, a big, strong jock, crying! Aren't you embarrassed?" She spun him around and lifted him back onto his feet. He gripped his arm with his other hand and rubbed it. "Agghh! That was my throwing arm. How do you expect me to play Saturday?"

"Oh, that's an easy one. I don't. Anyway, I don't think you're strong enough to play with the boys now. You need big muscles to play, and you don't have them anymore. I do." She pumped her biceps right below his face, showing off her new muscles and at the same time resumed taking his strength. She steadily swelled larger and larger before his eyes with each pump, slowly drawing out his power. Her shoulders broadened and she grew taller. As her body energized, UltraTigress could tell she was starting to become super-human with unnaturally dense, thick musculature like PowerFemme. She was starting to get dizzy with the pleasure of drawing in all this raw power.

"Oooooh, I just love this muscle-bulging body! Ha-ha! You're getting weak and scrawny! I must be nearly twice as strong as you used to be! Oh, but I'm not quite done with you just yet." Now half a foot taller than the terrified Kyle, she smiled wickedly down at him and gripped his arms, lifting him off the ground straight out in front of her- her biceps bloated by at least another half inch each as she sucked-out more of his strength. "I can feel every fiber in my body thickening... stiffening... growing! You keep getting lighter and lighter with each second... hmm... I wonder why?"

"Put me down!" he cried fearfully. "Stop it!"

"Sorry honey. This is what happens when you mess with my gal Amber!" Planting one hand directly under his ass, she held him up with a single arm. With her free hand, UltraTigress grabbed his wrist and forced his increasingly-frail and bony right hand over her bicep as it continued to grow. "Squeeze 'em." She commanded, he just sat there stunned. "Squeeze 'em!" She growled threateningly. He did as he was told. Try as he could, he couldn't so much as press a dimple into them. They were as solid as steel, as hard as concrete; and he felt their hardness expanding-outwards inexorably beneath his spreading fingertips; he was powerless to stop it! He took a deep fearful swallow and his hand slid nervously off her massive arms. "Ha! Can't even put a dent in them, CAN you? Now YOU make a muscle!"

"No!" He shook his head, afraid to see what his muscles looked like.

"NOW!" she growled.

She grabbed his upper-arm, wrapping her hand around his receding bicep and tricep. Once large and firm, she squashed the slender bit of tissue easily in her hand as Kyle yelped in pain. "You're not flexing!" He swallowed and nodded at her, indicating that he was trying. She squeezed it again. "Oh my God, hee-hee! You ARE flexing! That is the best you can do! That's wonderful! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" she laughed, mad with joy. She held out his arm, examining it to confirm that his arm had lost all definition. "That's not a muscle, that's a joke! It feels like toothpaste to me!"

She began to massage her own large, peaked, growing bicep on the single arm which held Kyle, pumping it up and down, each gigantic flex banging against his back and forcing him upward. "Can you feel that iron-hard strength in my muscles? Don't my muscles feel soooooooo haaaaaaaaaard and sooooooo biiiiiiiiiig to you?? You're becoming such a little thing! Why, to you I must feel so powerful - like Supergirl!" She quivered with pleasure as she felt her body continue to grow and grow. He struggled to break free, to no avail.

"Please stop.." he sobbed.

"Aww, don't be so sad…" she sounded sympathetic and stopped pulling the energy from his body. "You don't like being so weak, do you? You want to be strong again like you used to be, so you can show us girls what we really want, right?" He looked at her beseechingly. "You know how we girls have a soft spot, don't you? We really like our men to be strong for us, right?"

"M-maybe I was wrong about things. B-b-but I can change, really."

"Oh, I'm sure you can change. You've already changed a lot. I can see that." She patted his sunken chest with her hand, which nearly spanned it. "You sweet little pet. Now, maybe you've learned your lesson?"

"Yes, I'm sorry!" he stammered.

"Good. I know just the right thing to do." He looked at her gratefully. "Yes, so how about a little ... more ... GROWTH?!" she laughed and started drawing his strength again, more rapidly now.

"No! Eileen, stop it... please?" he squeaked pathetically as he began to shrink again.

"My name is UltraTigress! And I don't feel like stopping… Goodness! You just seem to keep getting weaker and weaker... " she laughed cruelly. "You're wasting away. Losing every ounce of muscle on you..." She held-up one of his arms and watched it shrivel-up like a dry stick before her eyes. "Whoopsie! Where did your muscles go, Kyle?" Still holding him in the air with one hand, the Asian amazon pumped him up and down while flexing the ever-larger ball of power on her free arm. "Hmm, I think I know! Here they are! They went straight to me! I've got muscles popping-out all over now!" She arched her back, loving every tingling second of it.

"Please stop.." he sobbed.

"And it's not just your arms and legs... I can feel... the muscles lining your digestive tract... your cardiac muscle. Your immune system. The hardness of your bones. The richness of your blood. All of your strength is ebbing-away… every muscle in you flowing in to me...." He was skinny enough to slide-out of his clothes. With one hand, she grabbed him by his shirt; with the other, she pulled-over a chair on the floor nearby.

"Augh! You're not stopping!" he blubbered. "I'm sure not! Am I not big enough for you? Let me fix that." UltraTigress chuckled as she sucked even more energy out of Kyle's body, tripling everything she took. Her pecs and breasts ballooned to even more massive proportions; they were like soccer balls riding high on the huge twin slabs of her pectorals. "Like that better?"

"No!"

"Well I sure do!" She performed a single bicep flex while smiling playfully. Kyle winced fearfully at her growing biceps. "What's wrong Kyle? Is there something wrong?" she teased as she flexed a bit harder. Her biceps rose a quarter of an inch higher, a tangle of huge veins snaked across her arms. "You were saying something about my muscles?" UltraTigress tensed her mighty arm three times in as many seconds, causing the mountainous peak of her bicep to soar even higher with each pump. "Oooh, watch them get bigger… and biiiigger… and biiiiigger!" Kyle's cheeks turned hollow, every rib became visible. His legs became as thin as twigs and his chest caved in.

"It looks like you lost a little weight, babe." She continued to lovingly flex her arm over and over; it grew inexorably larger by a few centimeters each time she did so. "I bet you don't even weigh any more than seventy or eighty pounds." She shuddered as she pumped her ever-mightier bicep again and again, marveling at its growth with each pump. "Oh sure, you could pump iron to get some strength back… but it will take you years and years to have even a normal man's strength again!" she laughed.

"Please stop! Don't do this!"

Stopping the power transfer, she sat down on the chair, it creaked as she transferred her bulk onto its seat. Still holding him, she gently set him down on his feet. He tottered a bit, and then slumped forward. "Tsk, tsk. Look at yourself. You're in terrible shape, let me help you to your knees." She slid her erotic pump off her right foot and let it fall to the ground in front of him while propping him up enough so he could kneel. She stuck-out her bare foot.

"Get my shoe, and maybe- maybe- I'll stop taking your strength!" She indicated her pump on the floor. He put his hands around the pump; it had that high-angled arch that only sexy, very high heels can have; its' stiletto was like a spiky stem. He tried to lift it and struggled to heave it off the ground with both hands. "It's only half a pound. Come on. Lift it!" UltraTigress smirked.

Kyle grunted and groaned. It felt as heavy as a bag of cement! The huge woman leaned a bit closer and began to coo in her sexiest voice. "Come on baby, all you have to do is lift that little ol' shoe and I'll let you go." Kyle grasped it and managed to stand the shoe up on its sole and heel. "Good going! Come on! I know you can do it!" she cheered him on. He tried as hard as he could; placing both hands under the arch of the shoe, he pulled upwards and managed to slowly lift it off the floor. He grappled with it like it was a massive load of bricks. Eileen pointed her toe so he could place it on his foot. "Nice work, baby! Keep going! You're almost there!" As he struggled to hoist the vamp over her big toe, Eileen smiled wistfully and began to drain him of strength again.

"No!" he hollered as he collapsed. He fell-forwards, the weight of the shoe too great now for his muscles to compensate.

"Oh, I'm sorry baby, you didn't pass the test!" Giggling, she reached down and with a single finger plucked her shoe out of his hands and sensuously slid it over her foot. Standing up, she made sure he could see her calves bulging with power. The hard muscles of her abdomen flexed as she raised her arms over her head; her skin straining to contain her bulging might.

"You're so powerful, why don't you leave me something. At least ... at least I could build myself up a little." He managed to croak in a hoarse whisper.

"Ha, ha! Little is right. You're just four and a half feet tall now, and you'll never grow another inch in height, will you?" Her eyes lit-up with delight. "I just thought of something!" She stared at him intently, probing his body with her new power. "Yes, I can DO it!" She turned him over onto his side with her foot.

"Eileen?" PowerFemme walked-over, her towering heels clicking on the concrete floor as she moved. "I think there's no muscle left on him. There's no way you can get any more out of --" She stopped in mid-sentence. To PowerFemme's shock, Kyle's crumpled form was still dwindling! "Good lord…" she mumbled. His suntan faded into a pallid ashy color. His skin began to get dry and sallow. It looked like his internal organs were withering inside his body. There was even a barely audible shriveling noise. "It isn't stopping?" How was this possible? PowerFemme's face registered confusion.

"No, it isn't stopping! Ha ha ha!" UltraTigress laughed as she looked down at Kyle. He started shaking. He clutched at his crotch.

"Wh-what are you doing now?"

Eileen taunted him. "It's a part of your maleness I'm taking now, the only part I want! I'm taking your ability to build muscle! You'll never get any stronger, now. Never, ever, ever! And it's all flowing into me, multiplied three times. I'll build muscle three times faster than you could!"

"No, please!" he whimpered.

She turned him over onto his back with the point of her 6-inch spiked heel so she could look at his face. "Imagine: if I started hitting the weights now, I'd gain mass three times as fast as a normal man!" She struck an enormous double-bicep pose towering above him, her arms looked mightier than Kyle could ever dream as she continued flexing them over and over, they were slowly pulsing larger. "But you, hee-hee! Even if you started lifting weights, you'd never, EVER be able to put on any muscle again! Ha, ha -- unless you loaded up on steroids! But no more natural bodybuilding for you, weakling! You'll be a wimp forever!" She was breathing very hard now as she concentrated, the sweat beading on her face and dripping onto him.

Finally, Kyle gurgled as Eileen stopped the strength transfer. Eileen looked down at what remained of someone who had been a hulking, muscular man not more than a few minutes earlier. Now he was lying face-down, little more than bones inside a sack of waxy skin. She looked down on the floor; she had to bend forward slightly in order to see him over her new, bowling ball-sized breasts. She glowered at him. "I want more! More!! I can feel something left." Gritting her teeth, she squinted down at Kyle's prone form as she concentrated harder as she began to focus her ability on what was left in Kyle's body. All of his muscle gone, PowerFemme could see her lab assistant was exerting herself to squeeze out every tiny bit of remaining cellular energy as if she were wringing drops of water from a wet mop.

UltraTigress laughed as she looked down at Kyle. "I must be converting your life force, your ch'i, into mine -- I'm gaining pure, solid living energy!" Eileen said through gritted teeth. It was getting extremely difficult for her to do it. She grunted as she began to strain herself. "I'm probably taking your ability to regenerate cells…" she huffed and puffed as if she was pedaling a bike uphill. "God this is hard, but feels so GOOD! I don't want to stop!" She ran her fingers over her breasts sensuously. "I think I'm taking your ability to metabolize protein." she grunted with the mental exertion. " I can feel my bones getting stronger, while yours are just getting brittle!"

Looking on to the scene, PowerFemme saw that the strength transfer with the Goddess2 Formula was MUCH more thorough than the original Goddess Formula. Jake had been shriveled more profoundly than had any of the men that she herself had drained several months before. Was it possible that Eileen was absorbing his life-force? What exactly did that mean? She didn't believe in new-age nonsense like ch'i or auras. There must be a new, additional effect that the new formula has produced. Was she going to be even more powerful than PowerFemme? "Oh, I feel dizzy.." UltraTigress put her hand to her forehead. This was too much strain! She shook her head to clear it. "If I really try, I bet I could finish the job."

"No, stop. C'mon." PowerFemme persuaded her. Eileen nodded, stepped away from Kyle and walked towards the room's wall mirror.

PowerFemme took one look at Eileen and saw that the Goddess2 multiplier indeed worked. Frighteningly so. Eileen was marveling at her new, supercharged body. She'd packed-on at least 300 pounds of ultra-dense musculature in the past few minutes and gained at least 8 inches in height. She was flexing over and over, admiring herself in the wall-mirror as her muscles crunched together with mass. She was as large as the largest male pro bodybuilder, but with wickedly exaggerated, over-accentuated feminine curves.

"I am so fuckin' HOT!" She gushed. She turned her back to the mirror and slapped her hot, muscled butt, satisfied at its strained firmness. "I could crack walnuts between these!" she smiled. Then she checked-out her sinewy legs... her quads bulged with power, and her calves felt as hard as if they were molded from bronze.

"Eileen? How do you feel?"

"Oh, better than I've ever felt in my life. I feel so powerful now; no one will ever mess with me; I can kick anyone's ass now! I don't think I've ever felt so great!" Looking down at her legs, she said "Wow, these shoes really do keep my legs nice and taut! Were you ever right! Everything looks smaller now that I'm taller..."

She hefted the weight of one enlarged breast with both hands and gawked at its size. "My God, I'm HUGE!" She tensed her chest, it solidified with bulges and ripples of muscle. She looked at her arms and flexed. "Damn!" A pair of football-sized mounds swelled-up. She used her left hand to squeeze her right bicep, testing its hardness. It was surprisingly dense... more than three times as large and dense as Kyle's muscles were. They must be more than three times as strong, plus whatever muscle she had from the day before. Despite her newly-found size and strength, she was only seemed about half as strong as PowerFemme. Her mentor walked-over and Eileen noticed she was eye-level with PowerFemme's throat. But there was still another untapped source of energy; Jake was still outside the room. UltraTigress shivered and moaned at the thought of taking-in still more power.

"Are you okay? Do you need a rest?" PowerFemme shined a miniature flashlight in her companion's eyes.

"No, I can handle it." The young woman pulled away and blinked a few times, annoyed. Oh, how she ached for more strength! Her crotch was moist and aflame, begging for more. This was better than any experience of her life!

"Are you sure?" PowerFemme didn't like what she was seeing. Was the Goddess2 Formula causing the same kind of behavior in Eileen the original caused in herself? "If you have any doubt, we should stop this now."

"Positive!" She dragged Kyle's skinny, struggling-to-breathe form into the far corner of the room, out of plain sight. He weighed almost nothing; he was a shell of a person. "Time to bring-in Jake!" Eileen exclaimed, trembling in anticipation while her arms involuntarily flexed to frightening size.

To be continued…