This is a work of fiction intended for mature readers. 18 and over please.

All rights reserved by author.

Time Bomb by Nomdreserv

Part 2

Karen swore, getting Lisa's answering machine again, and hung up. She had already left
a message, but kept trying the number, hoping Lisa was asleep or in the shower. She had
kept to herself after the episode with Gina, and had pretty much convinced herself it was
another trick of her imagination. After all, the medallion was safely home, and she didn't
know any magic herself.

She tried to attack the pile of work on her desk, but couldn't make much headway. Not
only did she have absolutely no interest in this boring stuff (a twinge - she hadn't thought
of her work as boring before), but she couldn't get her mind to concentrate at all. Visions
of Gina as a teenager also kept returning to mind, effectively destroying even half-hearted
attempts to get started. As she tried to run her pen over a document, her attention was
caught instead by a stray line of ink. She lengthened it, then began to embellish, and
before long had a reasonable picture of a horse obscuring one paragraph. Realizing what
she had done, she crumpled the paper into a ball. She wouldn't let herself make that
mistake again.

Instead, she pulled out a clean sheet of paper to doodle on.

After thinking a few seconds more, she opened a drawer to get her colored markers out.
Only red and green for corrections and highlighting, but they'd help liven the pictures up.
Soon, she was busy for the first time that morning, her tongue out the side of her mouth
as though to help guide the artistic spirit.

Her phone's ringing jolted her. She looked around guiltily, and shifted in her seat
unconsciously, her body feeling odd. She picked up the phone, hoping to hear Lisa.

"Hi, hon. It's me," Bob answered her greeting. "Have you heard from Lisa?"

"No," Karen replied, squirming again. "I left a message, but she's still out." She noticed
some tension in his voice. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Well, not really. It's just that I noticed after getting to work that I really needed that
shave after all. I was wondering if there were still some residual ... I don't know - jet lag
effects or something. How are you doing?"

"Oh, fine. Busy. You know." She was feeling a little embarrassed as she surveyed her
total morning's work so far. Still, this picture of a fish was pretty good....

"Yeah. Sorry, I'll let you get back to work. Let me know if Lisa has any thoughts."

"Right. Talk to you later."

Karen hung up and determined to get right back to real work, then stopped again,
entranced watching her screensaver. It was a Looney Tunes product, with stills and clips
from classic cartoons, and had been a gift from Bob. A sort of joke gift, she had thought
at the time, since she had never really liked cartoons, and she had only installed it to keep
from hurting his feelings. Right now, though, she watched it in delight, surprised she had
never noticed how funny the expressions and snippets really were.

It reminded her of last night, when she had walked into the family room to find Bob
watching a Tex Avery cartoon on TV. He had grabbed the remote, knowing she didn't
care for them and feeling a little guilty about his own pleasure in watching.

"Here," he apologized. "We can find something else."

"You and your cartoons," she had started, then glanced at the screen. "I ... um ... "

Strangely, far from teasing him about them, she had immediately plopped down on the
couch and joined him, a smile forming. She took the remote when he looked as though
he were about to switch stations.

"Don't be silly," she finally said. "You can watch cartoons ... heh, heh!" a scene caught
her eye, "whenever you ... HA! ... " Another pause, her attention to conversation waning.
"I think I'm beginning to see why you like some of these."

This was an understatement - Karen laughed loud and hard at the corny puns and
outlandish violence, seeming to enjoy them even more than Bob. She positively pouted
when he suggested changing to Masterpiece Theater, although she vaguely recalled
wanting to watch it that week. These were just too wonderful.

Bob hadn't required much persuasion to leave them on, pleased Karen was getting such a
kick out of them. In fact, only the eventual suggestion of a last weekend fling upstairs
had been enough to tear her away from the TV.

Now, Karen worried slightly, lost again in fascination with the cartoons on her PC.
Could her sudden interest in toons be related to ... um ... that problem ... um ...

Her mind wandered further, and she lost track of time. In fact, she must have fallen
asleep, because she was suddenly jolted alert when her shoes fell off. Startled, she
looked around in surprise, immediately overcome with a strong tingling. Just for a
second, everything looked wrong - too big - and she panicked, but almost immediately,
things took on their normal semblance. She looked down and saw her shoes on the floor,
then shifted in her seat, her clothes feeling oddly twisted round and slightly out of place.
She shook her head ruefully: she must have really been out of it. Thank goodness
nobody walked in to find her daydreaming or napping.

She deliberately bumped her mouse to dispel the captivating screen saver, then bent to put
her shoes back on, not thinking to wonder how they could have fallen off so easily if her
feet were on the floor like normal. She stood, stretched, rearranged her slightly
dislocated bra and blouse, smoothed her skirt, and decided she needed some coffee.

She walked out into the common area and headed for the mecca of every office: the
coffee pot. She poured a cup, started to take a sip, then hesitated. A bit sheepishly, she
put the cup back down to add cream and sugar - quite a bit of both. Now she sipped and
smiled in satisfaction, wondering why she had ever stopped drinking it this way. Her
smile faded when she saw Kelly approaching.

Kelly was one of the new members of the office, but already acted as though she owned
the business. She was irritatingly confident and smug, and word was she had already
attracted attention from the higher ups. Well, no wonder, Karen thought. Most of them
were men, and the way she dressed ...

Karen scolded herself, knowing at least part of what she felt was jealousy. Kelly was
young and beautiful, and dressed to make sure people noticed both. Fresh out of college,
but poised and assured, she had cascades of glossy brown hair and a flawless complexion
to complement her great figure. As usual, she wore a tight, short skirt ending several
inches above the knee and nude hose to showcase her long, trim and tanned legs, calves
accentuated by 3 inch heels. A translucent silk blouse with the top buttons left open
proclaimed still firm breasts. Kelly smiled her usual cool smile as she approached.

Karen tried to return the smile convincingly. After all, Kelly hadn't actually shown her
any real malice ... well, except maybe that inventory report, but she had assured Karen
that was somebody else's doing. As she approached now, Karen could see every male
head in the office or the cubicles swiveling to follow Kelly's progress, some almost with
tongues hanging out.

Karen redirected her jealousy into anger. These guys were disgusting, drooling over a
pretty woman. Men could be so immature. Of course, Kelly seemed to revel in it. She
would love to see their reactions if Kelly were 20 or 30 years older. Her smile became a
tad more wicked, as she imagined what she could do if she had the medallion.

"Morning, Karen," Kelly greeted her while reaching for the coffee pot. Then, she
glanced into Karen's cup. "Tsk, tsk. Cream and sugar are bad for maintaining that girlish
figure."

Karen fumed at Kelly's back as she replaced the pot. She was irritated enough that she
didn't notice the boyish whoops which began to sound from the cubicle area, as a paper
clip and rubber band war broke out. Occasionally, a teen or preteen in baggy clothes
surfaced briefly, followed by a hail of missile debris at his head. When Kelly turned
back to check the effect of her remark, Karen's eyes widened with surprise, and a slight
smile of satisfaction crept into her expression. Miss Young and Gorgeous lacked her
usual youthful glow this morning. In fact, as she looked carefully, she could see some
faint lines around her mouth and on her forehead, and circles were visible beneath her
eyes. Nothing unsightly, but no longer giving her the look of a vivacious college girl.
Karen was surprised she hadn't noticed them before - they were pretty obvious close up
like this - and that somebody as young as Kelly should be showing them. Probably too
much sun exposure as a teen, she reasoned, or a bad weekend. Even Kelly's lustrous hair
looked dull this morning.

"Hi yourself, Kelly," she smiled sweetly. "You're looking ... tired."

Kelly was put off. "What do you mean?" The worry lines seemed to deepen.

"Oh, nothing," Karen answered. Were her cheeks actually sagging a bit? "Late night?"

"As a matter of fact ... OW!" Kelly winced and looked down accusingly at her feet, now
wobbling a bit on her stiletto heels. "Damn! My ankle just went out." She hobbled
towards a nearby chair. Karen noticed from behind that the dress she wore was a little
too tight, not nearly as flattering to her figure as usual. Either that, or that she had gained
some weight - the fabric was stretched to the limit across her full ass, the small gap at the
hem pulled wide. Even her legs looked heavier from this angle.

Kelly collapsed into the chair and rubbed the offending ankle.

"You OK?" Karen asked solicitously, coming to stand over her.

"Yeah ... I guess so," Kelly replied uncertainly. She slipped off her shoe, revealing
surprisingly bent toes. Karen tried not to gasp in surprise - were those arthritic changes
she saw?

"These shoes are really pinching me, too," she admitted. "Funny, they never gave me
any trouble before." She tried to replace the shoe gingerly.

Karen nodded absently, a dreadful certainty building inside her. Looking carefully from
her vantage point, she noticed a few gray hairs sprinkled in Kelly's mane, but, chillingly
and as though in response to her attention, they multiplied as she watched. She tried
desperately to picture Kelly as her normal, youthful self, willing the change to reverse.

"Lucky I brought my walking shoes," Kelly continued, speaking in a deeper, raspier
voice, then groaning as she stood up and tested the ankle.

Her face was now lined, with a more mottled skin tone and several darker blemishes
replacing her formerly pristine complexion. Her silk blouse was distorted by larger,
sagging breasts and a noticeable tummy bulge, both producing small gaps between the
buttons.

"You should take it easy," Karen offered, thinking frantically while looking around in
fear of being noticed. "Stay in your office and off your feet." She offered her arm in
support, and Kelly accepted it gratefully, her feet and ankles rebelling more painfully
against the high heels. Karen walked with her, trying to shield her appearance from the
cubicle group, though it was hard to entirely disguise the form of the heavier,
middle-aged woman, looking fairly ridiculous in her too tight skirt and bulging blouse,
limping along in stiletto heels.

The formerly ogling guys, however, seemed distracted as they passed. She saw Brad,
John and Maury confusedly tucking in shirts and trying to fix disarrayed ties, a litter of
office debris, and some discarded shoes, at their feet. Grant's gaze was fixed stonily
ahead as he sat, still red-faced at finding himself briefly without pants.

"I'll be OK," Kelly breathed a sigh of relief at reaching her office and fell into her chair,
unfortunately producing a muffled tearing sound as she sat in her overstressed skirt. She
pulled her feet from the offending shoes. "I think I may toss these heels," she decided,
stretching her legs and wriggling her deformed toes. Karen noticed spider veins and skin
dimpling on her thicker legs, barely hidden by the formerly flattering nude pantyhose.

"Good idea," Karen agreed. "Those tall heels can be rough over time." Especially 30
years time, she added silently as an afterthought. "You keep off those feet. I'll ... um ...
check on you later and see if you're ... yourself."

"Don't worry," Kelly waved her off. "Just gonna rest awhile. Suddenly, I do feel tired."
By now, she looked like she might be nearing 60, with a sagging, lined face and half gray
hair, though the changes were slowing. She closed her eyes.

Karen forced a smile, but it disappeared the moment she closed Kelly's door.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod!" she thought, almost running back past some still bewildered
coworkers. "How can this be happening?" Reaching her own office, she closed her eyes
for a minute, thinking “Younger, younger,” and visualizing Kelly in her chair. She then
punched in Lisa's number and half consciously searched herself to make sure she didn't
mistakenly have the medallion on. After four rings, she heard a familiar click.

"Hello ..."

"Lisa? It's Karen. I ..."

"...you have reached 555-5472 ..."

"Damn it, Lisa! If you're there pick up!"

"... you can leave a message ..." the machine continued serenely.

Karen deflated. At the beep she left another message.

"Lisa. Karen. 911. 'Nuf said."

She hung up in defeat. Now what?

As if in answer, a stunningly rejuvenated Kelly poked her head into the office. Karen
noticed she now wore her sensible walking shoes though.

"Hey, Karen," she called. "Thanks for the hand earlier. I'm feeling fine again. Strange,
wasn't it? I can't imagine what happened." She fixed Karen with a peculiar, searching
gaze which made Karen very uncomfortable.

"Um ... that's great." Now, please leave before something else happens, Karen thought,
feeling suddenly weak and sitting wearily in her own chair.

Instead, Kelly stepped into the office, noting Karen's ashen face.

"You OK, Karen?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah ... um ... no, wait." Karen saw an out. "To be honest, I think I may be
coming down with the flu." She tried desperately NOT to think about age changes, so of
course, that was precisely what moved through her mind.

"You look a little rocky," Kelly agreed, shivering as she felt a slight tingle. "You should
think of heading home." Her voice shifted slightly higher as she spoke, and Karen
watched in fascinated horror as Kelly's features began to soften and her breasts shrank,
leading the race back through teendom. Now her silky blouse hung almost flat, and her
short (but not quite as short) skirt showed thin, girlish legs. As her skirt started to slip,
Karen closed her eyes.

"Not younger, not younger," she thought frantically, trying to visualize a completely
normal Kelly. A hand on her shoulder made her open her eyes again.

A restored Kelly looked at her sternly.

"You. Go," she ordered. "You look absolutely miserable. I'll let everyone know here."

"Th ... thanks," Karen stammered, with real relief. "I, uh, may be out a couple of days."

"Don't worry, you just take care of yourself," Kelly reassured her. “When you’re better,
let me know. I’d like to have a long talk about ... things.” Kelly smiled and left.

Karen stood immediately, tugging at her loose skirt absently, eager to get away. She tried
not to look at anyone as she hurried through the office, fearful of triggering another age
metamorphosis, and stopped only long enough at Gina's desk to announce her departure.

"Hope you're feeling better soon," Gina offered, then watched Karen hurry out. She also
shook her head in wonder. It was funny how illness could affect people, she thought
while looking at Karen. She actually looked thinner already, and had a sort of scared,
little girl expression that really made her look ... well, younger. If she hadn't known her,
she would have assumed Karen was barely out of high school.

"What is it with me? First, I imagine she's getting shorter. Now I think she looks like a
teenager. What's next - a 6 foot amazon?"

(Hmmm.)


END PART 2

Copyright 1998 by Nomdreserv

All rights reserved by author


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