A Bigger Belly

Lois found her gaze drawn to her stomach. Her once flat belly with its hint of abs was gone—she almost looked like she had a potbelly, sticking out nearly as far as her nipples. Except it was hard, rather than saggy and soft, and the arch of the dome was just below her belly button rather than hanging low over her mound.

The invisible sensation of heat from the statue increased. The reporter found her eyes locked on the outline of her belly. She was staring down between her breasts, the tips of her big toes just visible beyond the curve. A sort of breathless anticipation built inside of her, muscles in her neck suddenly straining, hair standing up on her arms and the back of her neck. The heat grew, unmistakable now, in a spot just an inch or two below her navel...

Something invisible seemed to slip into Lois. It passed straight through her skin and muscle, and the heat intensified almost to the point of pain...and then the moment passed, like a hot lamp suddenly turned off, or coming into a cool dark room after hours in the sun. The heat began to dissipate, spreading throughout her abdomen.

Yet Lois couldn't look away.

The edge of the belly was moving outward.

She swore that she wasn't trying to stick out her stomach. The reporter stood absolutely motionless, watching as the sight of her toes slowly disappeared as the heat spread out evenly, and with it Lois could feel a subtle shift in her center of gravity. Her bare feet began to feel the greater weight, muscles in her back began to tense as the balance of forces in her body shifted. Gravity was taking into account the new mass that was being added, the black miracle of her little offering.

The growth ceased abruptly. Suddenly, Lois could breathe again. She ran a hand over her belly, which did not hurt in the least. It had grown perhaps an inch outwards. Lois lifted her feet, one after the other, then stepped over to her scale to see how much weight she had just gained—kicking herself for not checking before.

The red digits on the scale blurred for a moment, and then chirruped.

61.4 kg / 135.4 pounds

She had been 125 pounds this morning.

The reporter stared down at her stomach in wonder. What had just happened? Did the idol respond to her offering by advancing her pregnancy...or by making her more pregnant? Did she have one fetus in there, or twins?

Lois bit her lip and turned to stare back at the squat idol. It didn't seem any more benevolent in appearance, the squat ruin of a stunted head still giving the disconcerting suggestion of staring at her. Yet now Lois Lane couldn't doubt its power. The only question was what their limit was. Maybe if she gave it something else...