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Description

The wind, laden with snow and sleet and depression, whistled around the slightly warped edges of his window frame. Outside everything was dark except for the sodium yellow glow of the street lights, noxious yellow pinpricks of illumination in a sea of gray concrete walls and swirling flakes. Caleb looked at his watch, an expensive model that he’d bought back when he could afford such things. It could track heart rate, breathing, even blood sugar- and right now, all it was tracking was the fact that once again he wouldn’t be able to go work out. Gym memberships were expensive after all- and now that he was approaching the one year mark of being without work, he was lucky that he even had a roof over his head- as drafty and drab as that roof might be.

Caleb pulled the curtains closed again and sat down at the tiny desk. This apartment had been just a temporary measure after he graduated, a temporary measure that he would soon leave behind for more suitable lodging once he started to rake in money from his awesome personal training job, just like he’d planned.

That… hadn’t been what happened. The private gym he’d been going to work for had gone out of business in three weeks of his arrival due to some kind of scandal. Just long enough for him to get a single paycheck, and then be dismissed. What a paycheck though…

Well, he wasn’t being paid that much now. That was for sure.

After making himself a bowl of ramen- the noodles were tasting the same as the styrofoam that contained them at this point- he once again used his old college laptop to look up job listings. As usual, there was nothing here in the Windy City. Apparently personal training jobs were few and far between here. Unless you knew the right people, and he did not.

Well. No avoiding it now. Caleb picked up the bundle of mail that he’d been ignoring all evening. Bill.

Bill.

Spam.

Coupon catalogue.

Bill.

Caleb paused, then picked the coupon book back up. There was an advertisement on the back, for a free gym membership. That…

Okay- that was probably a scam, loaded with fine print of all sorts and hidden fees as well- but even if Caleb only went for a single workout, he knew that it would help break him out of his current funk. He needed the chance to lose himself in the simple act of lifting and straining, struggling and testing his limits.

A quick web search showed that the gym in question was legit- it had hundreds of positive reviews and it looked like a clean, modern facility as well. If the photos were not just pulled from a stock image site, then the gym promised lines of treadmills, plenty of free weights and exercise machines. Most important of all, it was apparently open at all hours. Which was perfect, since otherwise he wouldn’t have the time.

Caleb glanced at the clock. It was almost nine. But if he went to sleep, that would just make the next day, and the next frustrating work shift, come all the sooner. So Caleb grabbed his jacket to shield him from the snow and sleet still pelting the world outside, and headed out.

Buses were not running anymore- but he found a taxi, and convinced the driver to take him. The driver took the money and transported him without so much as a backwards glance. Honestly Caleb preferred it that way. He wasn’t really in the mood for conversation.

The address looked more like a warehouse than anything. The only sign that he was in the right place was a somewhat tattered sign reading ‘Muscle Magic’; that sounded more like a quack nutritional supplement than a gym. But there was light streaming from the door, so Caleb went in to try his luck.

The front office was just as underwhelming as the exterior. Grime encrusted the corners of the floor, cobwebs clinging to the edges of the ceiling. There was a counter with a chipped corner that reminded Caleb of a bar that he had frequented a while back. There, the chipped corner had been caused by someone's head. Hopefully this place did not have so many bar fights.

Behind the counter sat an overweight man wearing a grimy t-shirt, eyes closed as he leaned back in his chair.

Not a good sign- but, Caleb reasoned, maybe this was just the gym owner. That would be different from seeing an overweight trainer. Caleb glanced down. He wasn’t overweight- but a lot of his muscle tone was gone now. He was willing to risk this place, if he could avoid getting even more out of shape.

“Hey. I’m here about this membership deal.” Caleb said.

“Hngh.” the man grunted, opening a bloodshot eye to glance at the advertisement that Caleb was holding up. “Sign in. Waiver. ”
Caleb nodded. Signing a waiver before using the equipment at a gym was a standard practice to guard against lawsuits. Even the non-sketchy looking ones. There was a sign-in book, and a somewhat ragged stack of waivers. Caleb examined everything, making sure that there was no tricky legal language that would mean he was signing up for a long term membership or signing away his first born son or something. There was a slightly odd ending line to the waiver-

``By signing below I acknowledge that the Muscle Magic gym can have a significant effect on my life, health, career, and mental state.”

Sounded like a fancy way of saying that working out at the gym could lead to injury. Just like any other gym on the planet. Caleb signed the waiver, and went inside.

The inside of the gym was cleaner than the front office- not like the website had made it seem, but still clean, and all of the equipment was well maintained. Caleb breathed a relieved sigh. This was a place he felt comfortable. This was something he knew how to do.

He changed into his usual workout clothes, sleeveless shirt and shorts, and got started stretching. Once that was done, a warmup on the treadmill was his next step. There were several regimens that he could go through- but he just needed to exercise. Not worry about numbers and such.

He ran for a while, losing himself in the whirr of the treadmill and the thump thump of his footsteps, enjoying the feel of sweat rolling off his forehead. He’d missed this. There- he had a good heart rate going now. Time for weights, he thought, tying a bandana around his forehead to keep the sweat from his eyes.

He wouldn’t be able to go all out since there was nobody to spot him, but that was okay- he could compensate just by increasing the number of reps. He grabbed a kettle bell weight and got started, working on individual muscle groups one at a time. If someone were to be present in the gym, they would have noticed something odd. As Caleb worked his biceps and forearms, his hands shrank, fingers becoming more slender. His forearms smooth out, body hair vanishing. Caleb, unaware of this, shifted his grip on the kettlebell and switched his grip to target the deltoid groups in his shoulders. Shoulders which rapidly started to compress inwards even as new muscle appeared. Bone and tendons popped and pinged as this happened. Caleb didn’t notice- though he did pause to stretch for a moment, shaking out his arms and neck. He coughed, a sudden tickle rising in his throat. He grabbed his water bottle and drank, and the tickle went away. So did his Adam's apple, his neck becoming a match for his narrower shoulders. Both still muscular- but definitely not the same as they had been moments ago. His shirt now hung more loosely around him, drooping off one shoulder. Without a second thought he tugged it back up, and did a few more reps.

Caleb winced, feeling like he’d aggravated a sore muscle or something in his neck. Served him right for just launching into his typical kind of workout, rather than easing into it.
Well, this wasn’t a reason to stop. He set the kettlebell weight back down on the rack and went over to the weight machine section. There was a power lifting rack nearby, which was his real goal, but after feeling that twinge, he wanted to start off easy. Loading the machine, he got started.

This time there was a veritable chorus of pops and pings from his lower body, progressing in a sequence from his toes to his ankles and on up. His feet shrank a few sizes, his legs becoming slightly longer proportionally, as any sign of leg hair vanishes. His hips expanded outwards in an inverse of what had happened to his shoulders a moment ago, starting to strain the seams of his shorts. Not enough to break the thread- but enough to be uncomfortable.
“Might need to get new shorts.” Caleb muttered. Time for the power lift. Cautious of doing too much too soon, he loaded a hundred pounds onto the weight bar and got ready. This was an excellent exercise- it worked both legs and core at the same time.

This time his legs didn’t make any pops or pings. The first rep did, however, make his abdominal muscles quiver. Again without Caleb noticing, his midsection began to pinch inwards at the sides, creating an attractive hourglass figure when paired with his newly compressed shoulders and expanded hips and legs, his ab muscles defined and trim beneath the ill-fitting t- shirt he still wore. The shirt wasn’t as ill fitting as it used to be, however. It too had begun to change, beginning to shrink and change. His shorts were doing exactly the opposite, lengthening downwards. His legs filled the extended pant legs, gaining further muscle as well as a sleek, even sculpted shape that matched the rest of the gym goers changing body. Other changes happened as well- including something that would have been pretty alarming for Caleb, given what it entailed. Suffice it to say that Caleb would not be using the same set of showers on the way out. But Caleb hadn’t noticed anything so far- she didn’t now, either

Twenty reps later the gym goer set the weights down and stretched one more time, feeling pretty good now. Sure, these workout clothes were fitting a bit oddly all of the sudden- but that was a good sign, right? A sign that gains were being made!

One last exercise. It was getting late. The classic bench press.

As the gym goer set up, moving weights to the lift bar, an observer would note that her skin tone had become a much more tanned color, like she’d been spending a lot of time on the beach. As she raised the weights, she could feel the strain in her chest. The swelling that happened there was only partly due to muscle however.

Finally finished, she undid the bandana around her forehead and dark hair, cut in a bob style, tumbled down around her face, the tips of each hair bleached to a lighter shade. Her face had significantly changed, now with hazel eyes, high cheekbones, and full lips. Her clothing was finished changing too- the t-shirt had become a gray colored sports bra, and the shorts, a pair of leggings of the same color.

The man at the front desk glanced up as she emerged from the gym. “Sign out.” he grumbled.

She nodded, and initialed next to her name. Keira. A nice name.

Her watch beeped, reminding her to get moving. She had to get some rest. She had customers with training sessions the next day. But it was worth it for the chance to have time to herself.

Gym bag over her shoulder, Keira stepped out into the still sweltering Los Angeles evening, and went to get a taxi.

===================

It's summer ! And you know what this means - it's time to get those GAINS !!!!

I wanted to do something special with this one, so I commissioned the spectacular StellarVulpine to write an excellent story for this sequence ! Go check them out !

As always - comments and critiques are appreciated !

Description

The wind, laden with snow and sleet and depression, whistled around the slightly warped edges of his window frame. Outside everything was dark except for the sodium yellow glow of the street lights, noxious yellow pinpricks of illumination in a sea of gray concrete walls and swirling flakes. Caleb looked at his watch, an expensive model that he’d bought back when he could afford such things. It could track heart rate, breathing, even blood sugar- and right now, all it was tracking was the fact that once again he wouldn’t be able to go work out. Gym memberships were expensive after all- and now that he was approaching the one year mark of being without work, he was lucky that he even had a roof over his head- as drafty and drab as that roof might be.

Caleb pulled the curtains closed again and sat down at the tiny desk. This apartment had been just a temporary measure after he graduated, a temporary measure that he would soon leave behind for more suitable lodging once he started to rake in money from his awesome personal training job, just like he’d planned.

That… hadn’t been what happened. The private gym he’d been going to work for had gone out of business in three weeks of his arrival due to some kind of scandal. Just long enough for him to get a single paycheck, and then be dismissed. What a paycheck though…

Well, he wasn’t being paid that much now. That was for sure.

After making himself a bowl of ramen- the noodles were tasting the same as the styrofoam that contained them at this point- he once again used his old college laptop to look up job listings. As usual, there was nothing here in the Windy City. Apparently personal training jobs were few and far between here. Unless you knew the right people, and he did not.

Well. No avoiding it now. Caleb picked up the bundle of mail that he’d been ignoring all evening. Bill.

Bill.

Spam.

Coupon catalogue.

Bill.

Caleb paused, then picked the coupon book back up. There was an advertisement on the back, for a free gym membership. That…

Okay- that was probably a scam, loaded with fine print of all sorts and hidden fees as well- but even if Caleb only went for a single workout, he knew that it would help break him out of his current funk. He needed the chance to lose himself in the simple act of lifting and straining, struggling and testing his limits.

A quick web search showed that the gym in question was legit- it had hundreds of positive reviews and it looked like a clean, modern facility as well. If the photos were not just pulled from a stock image site, then the gym promised lines of treadmills, plenty of free weights and exercise machines. Most important of all, it was apparently open at all hours. Which was perfect, since otherwise he wouldn’t have the time.

Caleb glanced at the clock. It was almost nine. But if he went to sleep, that would just make the next day, and the next frustrating work shift, come all the sooner. So Caleb grabbed his jacket to shield him from the snow and sleet still pelting the world outside, and headed out.

Buses were not running anymore- but he found a taxi, and convinced the driver to take him. The driver took the money and transported him without so much as a backwards glance. Honestly Caleb preferred it that way. He wasn’t really in the mood for conversation.

The address looked more like a warehouse than anything. The only sign that he was in the right place was a somewhat tattered sign reading ‘Muscle Magic’; that sounded more like a quack nutritional supplement than a gym. But there was light streaming from the door, so Caleb went in to try his luck.

The front office was just as underwhelming as the exterior. Grime encrusted the corners of the floor, cobwebs clinging to the edges of the ceiling. There was a counter with a chipped corner that reminded Caleb of a bar that he had frequented a while back. There, the chipped corner had been caused by someone's head. Hopefully this place did not have so many bar fights.

Behind the counter sat an overweight man wearing a grimy t-shirt, eyes closed as he leaned back in his chair.

Not a good sign- but, Caleb reasoned, maybe this was just the gym owner. That would be different from seeing an overweight trainer. Caleb glanced down. He wasn’t overweight- but a lot of his muscle tone was gone now. He was willing to risk this place, if he could avoid getting even more out of shape.

“Hey. I’m here about this membership deal.” Caleb said.

“Hngh.” the man grunted, opening a bloodshot eye to glance at the advertisement that Caleb was holding up. “Sign in. Waiver. ”
Caleb nodded. Signing a waiver before using the equipment at a gym was a standard practice to guard against lawsuits. Even the non-sketchy looking ones. There was a sign-in book, and a somewhat ragged stack of waivers. Caleb examined everything, making sure that there was no tricky legal language that would mean he was signing up for a long term membership or signing away his first born son or something. There was a slightly odd ending line to the waiver-

``By signing below I acknowledge that the Muscle Magic gym can have a significant effect on my life, health, career, and mental state.”

Sounded like a fancy way of saying that working out at the gym could lead to injury. Just like any other gym on the planet. Caleb signed the waiver, and went inside.

The inside of the gym was cleaner than the front office- not like the website had made it seem, but still clean, and all of the equipment was well maintained. Caleb breathed a relieved sigh. This was a place he felt comfortable. This was something he knew how to do.

He changed into his usual workout clothes, sleeveless shirt and shorts, and got started stretching. Once that was done, a warmup on the treadmill was his next step. There were several regimens that he could go through- but he just needed to exercise. Not worry about numbers and such.

He ran for a while, losing himself in the whirr of the treadmill and the thump thump of his footsteps, enjoying the feel of sweat rolling off his forehead. He’d missed this. There- he had a good heart rate going now. Time for weights, he thought, tying a bandana around his forehead to keep the sweat from his eyes.

He wouldn’t be able to go all out since there was nobody to spot him, but that was okay- he could compensate just by increasing the number of reps. He grabbed a kettle bell weight and got started, working on individual muscle groups one at a time. If someone were to be present in the gym, they would have noticed something odd. As Caleb worked his biceps and forearms, his hands shrank, fingers becoming more slender. His forearms smooth out, body hair vanishing. Caleb, unaware of this, shifted his grip on the kettlebell and switched his grip to target the deltoid groups in his shoulders. Shoulders which rapidly started to compress inwards even as new muscle appeared. Bone and tendons popped and pinged as this happened. Caleb didn’t notice- though he did pause to stretch for a moment, shaking out his arms and neck. He coughed, a sudden tickle rising in his throat. He grabbed his water bottle and drank, and the tickle went away. So did his Adam's apple, his neck becoming a match for his narrower shoulders. Both still muscular- but definitely not the same as they had been moments ago. His shirt now hung more loosely around him, drooping off one shoulder. Without a second thought he tugged it back up, and did a few more reps.

Caleb winced, feeling like he’d aggravated a sore muscle or something in his neck. Served him right for just launching into his typical kind of workout, rather than easing into it.
Well, this wasn’t a reason to stop. He set the kettlebell weight back down on the rack and went over to the weight machine section. There was a power lifting rack nearby, which was his real goal, but after feeling that twinge, he wanted to start off easy. Loading the machine, he got started.

This time there was a veritable chorus of pops and pings from his lower body, progressing in a sequence from his toes to his ankles and on up. His feet shrank a few sizes, his legs becoming slightly longer proportionally, as any sign of leg hair vanishes. His hips expanded outwards in an inverse of what had happened to his shoulders a moment ago, starting to strain the seams of his shorts. Not enough to break the thread- but enough to be uncomfortable.
“Might need to get new shorts.” Caleb muttered. Time for the power lift. Cautious of doing too much too soon, he loaded a hundred pounds onto the weight bar and got ready. This was an excellent exercise- it worked both legs and core at the same time.

This time his legs didn’t make any pops or pings. The first rep did, however, make his abdominal muscles quiver. Again without Caleb noticing, his midsection began to pinch inwards at the sides, creating an attractive hourglass figure when paired with his newly compressed shoulders and expanded hips and legs, his ab muscles defined and trim beneath the ill-fitting t- shirt he still wore. The shirt wasn’t as ill fitting as it used to be, however. It too had begun to change, beginning to shrink and change. His shorts were doing exactly the opposite, lengthening downwards. His legs filled the extended pant legs, gaining further muscle as well as a sleek, even sculpted shape that matched the rest of the gym goers changing body. Other changes happened as well- including something that would have been pretty alarming for Caleb, given what it entailed. Suffice it to say that Caleb would not be using the same set of showers on the way out. But Caleb hadn’t noticed anything so far- she didn’t now, either

Twenty reps later the gym goer set the weights down and stretched one more time, feeling pretty good now. Sure, these workout clothes were fitting a bit oddly all of the sudden- but that was a good sign, right? A sign that gains were being made!

One last exercise. It was getting late. The classic bench press.

As the gym goer set up, moving weights to the lift bar, an observer would note that her skin tone had become a much more tanned color, like she’d been spending a lot of time on the beach. As she raised the weights, she could feel the strain in her chest. The swelling that happened there was only partly due to muscle however.

Finally finished, she undid the bandana around her forehead and dark hair, cut in a bob style, tumbled down around her face, the tips of each hair bleached to a lighter shade. Her face had significantly changed, now with hazel eyes, high cheekbones, and full lips. Her clothing was finished changing too- the t-shirt had become a gray colored sports bra, and the shorts, a pair of leggings of the same color.

The man at the front desk glanced up as she emerged from the gym. “Sign out.” he grumbled.

She nodded, and initialed next to her name. Keira. A nice name.

Her watch beeped, reminding her to get moving. She had to get some rest. She had customers with training sessions the next day. But it was worth it for the chance to have time to herself.

Gym bag over her shoulder, Keira stepped out into the still sweltering Los Angeles evening, and went to get a taxi.

===================

It's summer ! And you know what this means - it's time to get those GAINS !!!!

I wanted to do something special with this one, so I commissioned the spectacular StellarVulpine to write an excellent story for this sequence ! Go check them out !

As always - comments and critiques are appreciated !