Regrouping

The four of them gazed at each other in disbelief over cups of cold coffee and half eaten pancakes and eggs. They said nothing for a long time. Ever so often, one of the other patrons in the diner would glance over at them. Allie drew the most stares, given that she was now six foot five and two hundred fifty pounds of solid muscle, but Lynn and Anthony received their fair share given that they were both strikingly beautiful women. The only one who wasn't under the microscope was Mack, who did plenty of staring himself. He wasn't sure which of his three companions bewildered him the most.

"So what are we going to do?" Anthony finally said in a soft, squeaky little voice.

In the silence that followed, the boy turned girl fidgeted uncomfortably with his new bra. It had been hastily bought in the middle of the night at the local big box store and it was too small. Anthony didn't really understand why he was being made to wear the bra in the first place, as his new chest seemed to defy gravity, but Lynn insisted he needed support.

"Nothing? No one has any ideas?"

"Chill out, Anthony. This is a lot to process, okay?" Allie snapped.

"Jeez, I'm sorry!"

"Easy, both of you!" Lynn said. "Look, Allie, I know you're hormones are all out of whack, but you have to stay calm. Anthony, I think the first step is to get both you and Allie to a doctor. Maybe these changes can be reversed."

"What about Bonnie?" Anthony asked.

The other three looked between each other nervously.

"What?"

No answer.

"Tell me!"

"Look what that plant you gave her did to me, Anthony! It only had me for a few minutes, it probably had Bonnie for hours. If we go searching for her, I don't think you're going to like what you find," Allie said.

"I agree," Lynn added. "We found the house utterly destroyed. Heavy pieces of furniture were tossed about like they were made of Styrofoam. I think Bonnie is a much more severe case than you two and is probably dangerous."

Anthony wasn't hearing it. He crossed his arms under his large breasts, causing them to surge against the fabric of his sweater. Mack nearly turned purple as he watched. Allie noticed and sullenly gazed down at the table, her large fists balled up.

"I don't care! She's my best friend and I'm not going to the doctor until we find her."

"Anthony, please be reasonable," Lynn pleaded.

"No! I refuse. I'm putting my foot down!"

"Fine. Where do we start?"

"Let's first go back to Bonnie's house."

Allie shook her head, "Absolutely not! What if that plant gets me again? I don't want to imagine what I'll look like after a second round."

"Allie, please?" Anthony begged.

"No!"

"Mack, you hang back at my house with Allie and try to keep her company. Anthony, I'll go with you to Bonnie's and we'll see if we can find her. Deal?"

Mack and Allie exchanged nervous looks, but nodded yes. A few minutes later, the bill was paid and they were going their separate ways. Anthony tried to ignore the new ways in which his body jiggled and bounced as he went. Bonnie was all that mattered. He didn't care what she had become, he needed to find her.