You've got style, that's what all the girls say

“You already upgraded me, remember?!” Morgana exclaimed. “At the slumber party! You upgraded my spellbook transformation! Remember?”

“O-o-o-oh, yeah… I remember now…” Sylvia nodded. “A lot happened that night, so I completely forgot. …Well, drat! So that means I’ve upgraded everyone here, then!”

Marley couldn’t help but smile at the irony. Sylvia was so excited to upgrade more transformations, and she just so happened to be chatting with three women who she’d already spent it on. Of course, Sylvia could use the boon she’d received from the last round to go for a second bite at the apple, but even with as reckless as the other girl could be Marley doubted she’d go that far.

“Well it’s no big deal,” Vivian said. “We can always find someone who you haven’t used your transformation on yet, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Sylvia nodded, stroking her chin thoughtfully. “Who haven’t I used it on… who… hmm…”

Slowly, her eyes drifted over to…

“…Hey, don’t look at me!” Marley snapped. “I’m not a contestant anymore, remember!? And even if I was, I wouldn’t want you upgrading me, even if it is you, Sylvia.”

She’d had her body played around with enough for one round. Her elimination back when she was Mimi should have given her immunity from further alterations to her bodily autonomy, but no Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin just had to get all handsy with that stupid cactus!

“Marley’s right,” Carly nodded. “I don’t think that transformation would work on women who aren’t technically part of Nick’s harem anymore.”

“Also, my bodily autonomy,” Marley reminded her.

“True,” Sylvia admitted with a sigh. “It would be nice to see how great my cute little Marley could become with some upgrades, but it won’t work if she’s not part of Daddy’s harem.”

“Also, my bodily autonomy,” Marley repeated herself.

“I wonder if it’s possible to buy upgrades for her from the shop?” Vivian considered. “Has anyone ever tried?”

“Are you fuckers even listening to me?” Marley’s eye twitched with frustration.

Morgana reached up and silently patted the brunette on the arm. She gave her a look filled with sympathy and understanding.

Marley sighed.

“There are other ways we can experiment, you know,” Carly said, holding up her watch. “I’m kind of curious to see what else this thing can do, honestly.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sylvia said, not doing a very good job of hiding how bummed out she was. Even the idea of experimenting with Carly’s new watch didn’t completely win her over. She slapped her cheeks and her sunny smile returned. “Yeah, enough moping around! Let’s go, my girls! We can see what other animal transformations are in there!”

Morgana raised her hand.

“Um… can… can I go now?” She asked, scratching her cheek. “I mean… you don’t need me anymore, right?” The flustered girl shot a furtive glance over to Vivian, hoping the heiress would let her off the hook now that she couldn’t be used as an experiment.

“What do you mean, Morgana?” Carly draped her arm over the goth’s shoulder and pulled her in tight for a hug. “We’re just getting started! Come on, the day’s young, don’t you want to see what this baby is capable of?”

“Eh!? Uh…”

“It’ll be just like your anime!” Sylvia said. “You know, when the heroine transforms into her battle costume and replays the same animation scene over and over again!”

Morgana doubted that Carly’s watch had a “magical girl” function, but she did feel kind of tempted by the offer. It was an exciting prospect, and plus, it just felt nice that the other girls seemed to really want her to take part.

When was the last time a group of popular girls asked her to hang out with them, and it wasn’t for the sake of making her the butt of some joke? She couldn’t even remember.

“…Okay,” Morgana said, resigning herself to more shenanigans. “But you guys are okay with this, right?” She looked worriedly around at the others. “You’re not gonna get mad at me later…?”

“Why would we get mad at you?” Vivian asked, raising her eyebrow.

Morgana’s blush deepened. “B-because of my transformation… Sotto Voce,” she reminded them. “Whenever I talk, it… well, you know…”

“We get hornier?” Carly bluntly clarified. “So what? I’m cool with that. Aren’t you guys?”

“I don’t mind at all!” Sylvia chirped, seeing nothing wrong with a transformation like that.

“Eh… well, it… it isn’t a big deal, I guess…” Marley was a little more bashful in comparison, but she would still rather hang out with Morgana than avoid her due to some transformation that the goth didn’t even have control over.

Vivian, meanwhile…

“So that’s what that was!” She said, a lightbulb going off over her head. “I was wondering why I was feeling all warm and hot all morning! So it was your transformation making me like that, I get it now, yeah!”

Morgana’s blush deepened. She’d thought it was impressive that Vivian had seemed so fine with all the talking they’d been doing all morning. So apparently she’d been powering through it without even caring.

“You’re okay with it…?” She asked timidly.

Vivian laughed. “I mean, I just assumed the reason I was feeling that way was because Rose and Nick were off doing a bunch of stuff together, if you catch my meaning,” she said with a wink that made Carly and Sylvia giggle like a couple of dirty old men, made Marley roll her eyes, and made Morgana turn as red as a cherry.

“R-right…” Morgana had forgotten about that transformation of Vivian’s just as much as Vivian had forgotten about hers. Not that either woman could be blamed for that- they’d barely spoken to one another before today.

“Rose has got something big planned,” Carly said mysteriously. “That’s all I’m gonna say on the matter. Kim filled me in.”

Marley rolled her eyes again. “It’s none of our business, anyway,” she pointed out. “Let them have their fun.”

Vivian adjusted her hat. “It’s a little bit my business,” she said with another wink, and Marley blushed.

“W-well, I mean, besides that,” the curvy girl corrected herself, clearing her throat. “I think we can all agree that part is… your business.”

“Speaking of Vivian’s business, it sounds like you’re okay with Morgana tagging along too, right?” Carly glanced down at Vivian’s jeans, which were as dry as a desert. If she was being affected by Sotto Voce, it clearly wasn’t having any physical effects on her. Not any noticeable ones, anyway.

Vivian replied with a crooked grin that seemed to say “Of course! Do you even have to ask?” and waved her hand.

“No, no, I just dressed her up all nice and cute so she could scurry off to her blanket fort back in her bedroom.”

“It’s not a blanket fort,” Morgana mumbled. Was it her fault that the most comfortable way to watch anime was all bundled up beneath a comforter? No!

“Then let’s get this party started!” Carly reached for her watch to press the button.

Marley practically had to tackle her to the ground.

“H-hey! What’s the big deal?” Carly looked at her sister and frowned.

“Don’t mess around with that inside!” Marley said. “It could turn you into some 20-foot-tall Godzilla monster or something!”

Carly smirked. “Sounds kinky!” She teased. “But yeah, good point. No telling what I might get. If I turn into a snake girl with a massive tail, it’s gonna be a pain moving through these hallways. Yeah, better to head outside first, then do it.”

“Hissss!” Morgana shielded her face from the bright sun. It felt like she was going to wither away to nothing! Why did they have to go outside into the field next to the hotel!? The lobby was big enough! And it had air conditioning! And awnings! And window blinds! Who cares if it looks bad? I should have kept my hat!

“Sorry Morgana,” Vivian apologized. “I guess you don’t get out much, huh?”

“Don’t worry, the sun here is specially-tempered!” Sylvia assured them. “Thanks to the island, there’s no chance of getting a sunburn!”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Carly said, laughing. “…Wait, then what about that challenge? The first one we did? When you made us cover each other in that aphrodisiac sunscreen?” She didn’t look upset; she seemed more amused than anything.

“Oh?” Vivian looked at Carly curiously. Morgana was also confused. Neither girl had been present for the first challenge. Not even Marley had, but of course she knew all about it thanks to her altered memories.

She sighed, already anticipating Sylvia’s answer.

“It was sexy, right?” Sylvia bluntly pointed out. “Any complaints?”

Carly responded with a good-natured laugh. “Dani might have some words with you later, but I appreciate the play,” she said, elbowing Sylvia in the side. “Now then, stand back ladies, who knows what this could do?”

Marley couldn’t exactly give her sister the same distance as the other girls. Nobody was really that worried though, not even Carly herself.

Carly began to fiddle with the watch, and then slapped down on the round disk. Another flash of pink transformed her.

Marley had anticipated that Carly would transform into something different from last time. Given what they knew about the watch, it only made sense that it would seek to produce some variety. She was expecting it.

What she didn’t expect was what Carly had turned into instead.

“Whoa, uh… what?” Carly raised her arms, confused. The first and most obvious thing was the fact that where her hands had been were now a pair of long, curved blades, like a couple of scythes, and they were colored the same bright green as the grass beneath her feet.

Speaking of her feet, they were completely different now. Pointed and segmented like an insect, and shiny with green chitin all the way up her legs, to her black skirt. Her “clothes” (they could hardly be called that- it wasn’t her Suzuka cosplay anymore, her outfit had changed to suit her transformation) felt like it blended into what could only be described as an exoskeleton. But she could still see fleshy pinkness from her elbow to her shoulder, and could feel the familiar sensation of cool wind on exposed skin all around her torso and face. So she hadn’t changed completely.

“Antennae!” Morgana awkward, blurted out, pointing at Carly’s face.

She’d become a mantis girl! That was certainly a transformation.

“First that big, powerful lizard, now I’m a bug?” Carly moved her arms and stretched her legs, finding that her new form was a lot more limber than she was used to. She reached down to her chest, wondering if it had shrunk, only to find that she couldn’t exactly feel herself up without hands. But from her eyeline it looked the same size.

Maybe it’s just that I’m shorter now, she thought.

Vivian whistled as she walked over to inspect Carly’s new appearance. “You look like a praying mantis,” she noted, stating the obvious. “How does it feel? Does it hurt?”

Carly blinked. Her antennae twitched and she shook her head. “Hurt’s not the right word for it,” she replied. “It just feels weird. Last time, my body was all scaly, and now it’s all… uh…”

She was drawing a blank.

“…Do bugs have scales?”

Marley sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “While some bugs do have scales, what you’re talking about now is your exoskeleton,” she informed her sister. “And it looks like you have one. …Kind of.”

She reached over and squeezed her sister’s upper arm, which was still as soft and tender to the touch as always. It drew a giggle from Carly, answering her question.

“I thought you were a Grass type specialist,” Carly teased her little sister. “Not Bug types.”

Marley rolled her eyes.

“I wonder what else I can do?” Carly mused. “I feel really light, even though my skin is all hard… hmm…” She reached up to stroke her chin, and then recoiled. “…Ow!” Her curved claws had scuffed her cheek. “…That’s gonna take some getting used to, yeah…”

“You’re a praying mantis now,” Sylvia pointed out. “Having hands isn’t really… yeah. No handjobs for Daddy I guess.”

“I’d advise not having sex with him at all, um…” Morgana mumbled, blushing. “Because of, well… you know…”

Carly looked blankly at her. “No, what?” She was pretty sure she still had a working vagina, given the warm moistness she felt between her legs from hearing Morgana’s voice.

“Uhum, uh, uh, ah… well…” Morgana was floundering as she tried to mime out her explanation, flapping her arms like a mantis’s front legs. She made a few cutting motions, and finally reached both hands up to her neck and pretended to **** herself. “…You know?”

“…Ah! Oh, right, that thing!” Carly laughed. “The whole thing about praying mantises eating their mates’ heads after… you know.”

Morgana turned crimson and just nodded shakily.

Vivian doubled over with laughter. “Gotta say I agree with her on that one!” She cackled. “Let’s keep you and Nick far apart until you turn into something else, sound good?”

“Come on, she’s not going to eat him,” Marley said, blushing a little herself.

“I don’t know…” Carly smacked her lips together loudly. “His semen does taste pretty good… I can see why Gina likes it so much!”

Everyone looked at her.

“…What?” She said defensively. “Come on! I’m kidding!” She waved one of her sickle-like claws. “I wouldn’t do something like that! Unless he finished first and didn’t bother making sure I had an orgasm too, but at that point he would have it coming.”

Marley pinched her sister on the cheek and pulled.

“Owowowow!” Carly flailed her claws wildly in the air. She couldn’t exactly pry herself free without hurting her sister.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Marley chided, relenting and letting her sister go.

Carly pouted at her.

“Grow a sense of humor,” she grumbled. “Besides, I’m pretty sure praying mantises only do that after they get pregnant, right? Well, don’t think we have to worry about that! Nick and I are pretty good when it comes to being careful about that sort of thing.”

Marley had a few thoughts on her sister’s experience with being “careful” but knowing how sensitive of a subject that was, she kept them to herself and just pinched her cheek again.

“It is a pity though,” Vivian said with a sigh. “You said you had super strength in your reptile form? If only you could have turned into a horse girl, that sure would be something…”

“Dani already had that one covered,” Carly noted, recalling Gina’s first party. “But you’re right, that would be pretty cool too… …Hmm. Yeah, what kind of powers DO I have?”

She raised her claws and tested them for a moment, stretching them out and flexing them a couple times, just trying to get a feel of how her body worked.

“If you’re a bug, maybe you can fly!” Sylvia said. “Just a thought, anyway!”

“Fly, huh? Well, praying mantises aren’t exactly known for flying, but I guess…” Carly wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, to be honest. Her body had all sorts of new muscles she had to get used to. She rolled her shoulders and wiggled her hips, and even tightened her ass. Maybe it was one of those motions, or some combination of the three, but…

The two wings on her hips sprung up into the air, much to everyone’s surprise.

“Whoa! That was… weird.” Carly flexed her wings, making them flutter slightly. “I’ve got wings! This is fucking sweet! Now how do I…?”

She tried working newly-formed muscles she’d never used before, and soon her wings were fluttering fast, ready for flight.

“…You’re still standing on the ground,” Marley pointed out, not at all thrilled that her sister was attempting to fly. This was exactly what she’d been worried about last time!

“Maybe try jumping in the air,” Vivian offered. “It could be you need to be up first, and your wings will keep you aloft.”

“Worth a shot!” Carly nodded, fluttering her wings again. She jumped up into the air, and-

“Eeh!?” Marley’s eyes widened in shock as her sister rocketed up into the sky. She passed the ten-foot boundary in seconds, and Marley collapsed into a puddle of slime.

After another second, Carly landed back in the grass, a little dazed and lightheaded.

“So, uh… I can jump really high, but… that’s about it. I couldn’t stay in the air,” she said, frowning. Her antennae twitched.

“That is weird,” Vivian agreed. “Maybe a running start?”

“Or maybe not!” Marley finished reforming, her face red with frustration. “Can we not, please? I don’t like turning into a puddle!”

“Sorry, Marley,” Carly apologized. “But it’s for science! I need to figure out how to fly, in case I need to use it in a challenge!”

“That’s right,” Sylvia nodded in agreement. “Science.”

“Yep, science,” Vivian agreed as well.

Marley glared at all three of them.

“Um…”

It was Morgana who spoke up on her behalf. In a manner of speaking. All heads turned to her.

“I don’t think, uh… I don’t think it’s that simple,” she mumbled, scratching her cheek. “Maybe Carly can’t fly?”

“Eh!?” Carly gasped in disappointment. “Why not?”

“Well… um… okay, so, don’t think I’m like, an expert on bugs or anything, because I’m not! No… no way, that’s just, um, weird… yeah…” Morgana was very bad at telling lies, as everyone was well aware of by this point. “But I do know, um… praying mantises… only the males can fly, usually. The females are generally bigger than the males, so… they’re too heavy to, um… you know. Take off.”

Everyone stared at Morgana as her words sank in.

Then Marley burst out laughing.

“Oh that’s just rich!” She howled, holding her sides. She turned to her sister with vindication in her eyes. “Hear that, sis?! You’re too heavy to fly!”

“You-!” Carly’s face turned red and she puffed up her cheeks. “What do you know, huh!? You’re heavier than I am!” She waved her sickle claws furiously at her little sister.

“Maybe, but you’re the one with wings that don’t work!” Marley teased. “Maybe go on a diet, sis! Just a suggestion!”

“Rrrrr!” Carly growled. Her antennae twitched impotently above her head, but she couldn’t say anything in response.

Vivian watched the two sisters bicker, and smiled. “Those two get along really well, don’t they?” She murmured.

“They… they do?” Morgana asked, confused.

“Yep,” Sylvia nodded, beaming at the twins. “They sure do.”