Edits - Ch 6.2

Chapter 6.2 - He regresses the bully.

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Chris would be so much easier to handle if he were smaller and weaker, and making him younger would be a simple way of cutting him down to size. Obviously, that was the way to go. But, what age would be best? Also, what setting would allow for the maximum amount of humiliation for Chris?

The hallways cleared out when the passing period was nearly over, and Tim headed to his next class. He barely paid any attention to what was going on as he pondered how to regress Chris.

In his notebook, Tim wrote, “He has to be too young to be a threat. Definitely prepubescent or younger. Diapers would be funny but too much? He needs to be old enough that I can push him around without someone calling the cops on me. Middle school? 12? I bet he was big even at 12. 11? Not a bad age. Old enough, but not too old.”

Having settled on that age, Tim started considering where and when to spring the change on Chris. Tim wrote, “It ought to be public. The more people watching the better. Maybe catch him bullying someone. Me? I could bug him in the hall again. What if he beats me up before he has time to get smaller? Need to be careful, but that would be good. I can even push him back before the flash. No one will remember it but him. I could pretend that I forgot as well.”

“Tim!” He noticed the teacher calling his name.

Tim looked up and realized that everyone was looking at him. That must not have been the first time his name was called.

“Yes?” Tim replied.

“Were you paying attention?”

“No,” Tim confessed.

There were some chuckles, but the teacher let him off easy. Tim turned the page in his notebook and waited to the end of class before thinking of Chris again.

When the bell rang, Tim rushed out the door into the hall and pulled out his phone. He opened Chris’s caption in the app and made a quick change to his age:

Chris Baker is an 11-year-old boy. (Show more.)

Next, Tim opened the options menu and selected “awareness.” A note appeared under the caption that read:

(Default Awareness) The user is aware of all changes, but the subject and all other people are not aware.

Tim edited that text to read:

(Custom Awareness) The user is aware of all changes. The subject is also aware of all changes, but all other people are not aware.

Tim held off on pressing “save” as he searched for Chris in the halls. He headed toward where he had last seen him and kept going. The passing period was half over when he finally found the bully lingering in the hallway, chatting with some girl, who was chuckling nervously in response.

Tim took a deep breath and pressed “save.” As soon as he saw the app had begun “initializing changes,” he pocketed his phone and approached Chris.

“Hey, Chris,” Tim said, trying to sound tough. “I thought we’d settle what we started before.”

Chris turned from the girl and gave Tim an annoyed look. “Fuck off, kid,” Chris said. “I’m busy. I’ll deal with you later, don't worry.”

Seeing that Chris already appeared to be getting shorter, Tim gave the bully a quick shove to the side. The girl appeared relieved to have an opportunity to escape. The bully gave Tim a shove back, and he realized he might have miscalculated on when to start this fight as Chris still had considerably more power behind his push. Tim thought of retreating until Chris had become young enough to handle, but the two of them were already encircled by a crowd of students, cheering them on and pulling out phones to record the fight. He would just need to survive until Chris regressed far enough to be beaten.

Chris threw a punch, but he stumbled due to his shoes having become too loose to fit his feet. The swing just barely missed Tim’s face, but from the breeze it made, Tim could tell it would have done some serious damage still. He focused on dodging and circling away from Chris, watching as the bully shrank down to his size and started to struggle more and more with clothes too big for his regressing body.

When Tim assessed that they were about evenly matched, he threw a punch. Chris tried to dodge but stumbled again in his shoes, only managing to turn a direct hit into a glancing blow to his cheek. Tim saw worry appear in the bully’s eyes, glancing around, seeing the crowd appear to grow taller around him as did his opponent. Now, Chris was on the defensive. His size advantage and the gifts of puberty were fading fast, leaving him short and soft. Tim’s next swing hit Chris squarely in the jaw, causing them both some pain. The bully staggered back, real fear apparent on his dazed face.

The crowd chatter had shifted from excitement to confusion as they too noticed the effects of Chris’s transformation. He now appeared to be a small freshman or maybe a middle-schooler in the wrong building, and he was still getting younger. Tim no longer had the stomach to keep hitting the kid. Already, they both could tell who had won. Chris was now more focused on his own body, watching as his limbs shortened and his clothes loosened their grip. His pants dropped to his ankles, eliciting some chuckles from the otherwise silently aghast crowd. Fortunately, his t-shirt hung low enough to cover his crotch, but there was likely not much to see down there, now. Then, just as Chris appeared ready to start crying, his regressing stopped.

Chis’s clothes and shoes drifted back into place, shrinking to fit his pudgy boy frame. He stared down in stunned silence at his 11-year-old body. Then, he looked up at Tim and recognized the superior smirk on his opponent’s face.

“No!” he said, cringing away. “No more!” His childish voice sounded on the verge of tears. “Please. I’m sorry. No more!”

Tim had been feeling satisfied at the reversal he had caused, but now guilt seemed to be overcoming him. He felt bad for the kid, despite how much he might deserve this.

“What is going on here?” yelled some teacher, trying to wade through the crowd.

However, he was too late. Tim’s phone had begun its increasing whine, indicating that the transformation was nearing completion. When the bright flash blinded everyone in the hall, they all stood there a moment, confused. Then, the bell rang to start the next period, and everyone rushed off to their classes. Everyone, except for Tim and Chris and the teacher who had come to break up the fight.

“W-what’s happening?” Chris asked, clearly wondering how everyone had just forgotten what had happened to him.

“That’s exactly what I would like to know,” the teacher said. “You two. Come with me to the office.”

Tim and Chris exchanged a look, both of them wondering if they should follow the teacher or try to run off.

What would they do?

Tim uses the app on the teacher. (6.2.1)

They run from the teacher.

They follow the teacher to the office.