The small office Chaos had conjured up next to the hallway was quiet and cozy. Chaos didn’t look like she belonged there at all. More like a rebellious teenager trespassing, which Locke supposed might have been the point.

She smiled up at him as he entered.

"So hey, I know you've got this...rule about us not using our powers on you," she said. "How hard and fast do you wanna stick to that? Cause I got this sort of idea on how to make Alice like you, but it kind of involves changing you instead of her."

She stood up then, slowly walking around Locke and giving him a good, thorough examination, leaning down for a closer look.

"You're not bad looking. We've had way worse to start with in other worlds," she said before turning him to the wall where there was a full-length mirror mounted, their reflections staring back. "But I'm sure there's some improvements you'd like to make if you could, right?"

Locke wondered just what she meant by that. But then, he didn't really think he was that much of a catch. 5 '7, thin arms, a soft belly, a pie face... he wasn't surprised at all he'd made it to his senior year a virgin. Hell, without a girlfriend altogether.

So this? He was fine with it.

"Yeah, I mean... I guess I could think of a few things."

"Rock on. Then let's start with height. Your world really seems to value it," she said.

The world around Locke began to shrink, as his height rose from 5'7 to 5’10  and then just over that six foot threshold.

"I think we could up your physique, too."

The softness began to dissipate. His belly shrank in, tightening into a toned four pack. Lean, but extremely visible muscle ripples along his arms, his legs and his ass. By the time that finished, he was pushing 6 '4, and towered over the Goddess who'd been eye level with him when he'd walked in.

"Woah." His voice had deepened with the new body to match. "Woah..." Locke flexed his arm, saw the bicep bulge, going taut against his shirt sleeve. "Hey, wait a minute though. How am I supposed to explain this to everyone? I doubt anyone would even recognize me like this!"

"We're gods, silly," she said with a lighthearted giggle, running a hand along his toned new chest. "We can change reality itself. Everyone's going to see you in a new light, but they won't think too much about it. Like, 'ohmygod, how'd I never notice he was so cute before'. That kinda thing."

 Locke pulled up his shirt to admire his new abs. Even when he wasn’t sucking in his gut, the six-pack was clearly visible. It was like going from a station wagon to a mercedes, and he just wanted to push the pedal to the floor.

"You don't mind if I..." Without even thinking about it, he grabbed Chaos by the waist and lifted her up into the air like she weighed nothing. "Wow. That's cool. Maybe I should have been working out before this." he said as he put her back down.

"Oh shit!" she said, surprised by how easily she was lifted and then dropped. She seemed a little breathless when he put her back down. "Wow...you really don't get handled like that in the god business. I kind of like it."

Chaos took a step back, tapped her chin.

"This is a good start, but we can do a little more I think. Does your kind of mortal do pheromones?"

"Uhhh... maybe? I don't think so, much. You know what? I'm just going to say that no, pheromones are a pseudoscience at best."

"Pseudoscience, huh? Perfect. You emit pheromones now. They're colorless and odorless, but they'll make women around you slightly aroused and less inhibited now," she said. "They'll also have a slight effect on you, as well. A healthy boost in your sex drive, enough to give you the urge for sex at least every other day."

Locke wondered just how aware Chaos was of his dimension’s humanity, because Locke had that urge every single day. Multiple times.

“Is that safe?”

“Oh, perfectly safe. Don’t worry, don’t worry.” As she said it, a flush crept into her own cheeks, and she subtly shifted her hips. It looked like the pheromones even worked on a Goddess like her.

"Last thing...you said you liked control, right?" she said. "Once per day, to one woman, you can issue a powerful suggestion that a woman's brain will subtly conform to accept. There are limits to how much you can do, but repeatedly doing it to the same person could really push them in some weird directions."

"What!?"

As he processed that, he could feel his cock tenting in his pants. And he could see it too, the loose khakis were pulled taut around the crotch; Chaos hadn’t mentioned it, but it was obvious her makeover had gifted him a few extra inches below the belt. He was tempted to undo his pants just to scope out his new manhood, but that last part she said had him worried.

"Hey, uh... that's... I thought you were all about free will? So why give me something like that?"

"And I totally am!" she said. "I believe in giving mortals power, giving them a choice, and seeing what they do with it. What you do with what I've given you? That's up to you, babes."

That seemed more than a little hypocritical to him. What about the free will of whoever he used this power on? But then... gift horses, mouths, etc.

She took a step back, making a frame of her hands.

"I’ve a few other ideas, but if I added any more, the other two would probably start to complain since you restricted us to just ‘one’ thing. But I think that should do it. Here, take a look for yourself."

She snapped her fingers, and just like that Locke was naked. The short, chubby nerd he was used to seeing reflected back at him had become hot.

Locked lifted up his arms and flexed like a bodybuilder, sucking in his chest and tensing up. And it looked... good. Powerful. And when he relaxed, he still looked good and powerful and hot. Handsome.

And the Goddesses were going to be doing things like this for him all the time now?

"Thanks. This is... yeah. Man, I can't wait to talk to Alice." Though he said that with much less enthusiasm than he maybe should have. Looks like this, he was thinking maybe he ought to have set his sights a little higher. He looked like the kind of guy who ought to be dating the head cheerleader, didn’t he? And besides. She was probably dating Sun already. Maybe it would be best to let them just do their own thing. Well, he could talk to them about it later.

She gave his ass a smack then, his clothing rematerializing a split-second afterwards.

"Alright, go get her," Chaos said. "Oh, and if you see me around school today? Call me… Crystal, yeah, let’s go with that."

She turned to leave.

"Hope you like my entry to the contest," she said with a grin. "Can't wait to see what you get up to with it."

Feeling emboldened, Locke gave her ass a slap right back, that loud SMACK sound music to his ears, “Sure thing!”

The Goddess actually jumped in surprise, the motion causing her skirt to fly up just long enough to reveal that it was naked beneath the skirt. She rubbed it for a moment, a slight flush creeping up her perfect, pale skin.

Soft.

Did all women have an ass that soft, or was that a Goddess thing? He'd need to slap more asses to test this. Chuckling, Locke followed her out. "Thanks, Crystal. Gonna be hard for the other two to top this."

“Glad you like it,” she said. “Please text me when you use your gift for the first time. I’d be curious to hear how you did it.”

"Sure, let me just get your number." Locke took out his smartphone and brought up the contacts... only to see that she was already there. Chaos, aka Crystal, with a selfie and everything. "Nevermind then."

He gave her a wave, then headed towards the next class. He'd be tardy, but then, he was kind of looking forward to everyone's reactions to seeing the new him.

His next class was advanced literature, a class he had with Ms. Wilson. She was a young, energetic, attractive woman with short red hair and a cheerful demeanor unique to teaching new enough to the profession not be frustrated by it yet. She was known for assigning interesting curriculum, letting her students write personal missives, and generally running one of the few fun classes the school had to offer.

“Good morning, Mr. Caulfield,” she said as he entered mid-lecture on the Long Way Down, a graphic novel she’d assigned the class “I was afraid we’d lost you to the gangs.”

Snickers from the class. But when she looked up at him, there was something a bit uncertain in her smile.

He was so much taller than her. Than all of them. And he was drawing stares from the girls. One, a cute blonde on the cheer team, bit her pen as she stared directly at his ass. He’d never had the feeling of being admired before.

"Hah, yeah. Sor—" Locke caught himself. Did he really need to apologize for disrupting her lesson by entering late?

"Sorry I'm late." Old habits died hard, and even if he was hot now, that didn't mean he needed to be entitled. He'd cut back on the constant apologizing, but not when it was merited. Probably. "Had to take care of some business."

He went to take his seat, trying to not make it obvious that he was scoping out the whole class. Not easy when it felt like the eye of every girl was one him.

"Well, on the subject of business, let's talk about the money the young gang members are making in this story and how it changes the characters over time," Ms. Wilson continued.

As Ms. Wilson continued, he got a text message. It was from Sun, sitting a few rows up where Locke himself normally would be. Sun liked to be in the middle of Ms. Wilson's class, where he could easily participate. He was one of those students who was fairly apathetic, and got good grades with smarts alone, but hers was one the one class he seemed to genuinely love.

SUN: Where you been? You had "business"?

LOCKE: Needed to talk with a girl. Nothing major.

Locke smirked. Oh, if only he knew. Come to think of it, he wondered if he could let anyone know about his situation. Keeping it a secret might be tough, and having someone to confide in could be nice. He was feeling more extroverted now, so didn't feel the usual clenching in his stomach when he texted:

LOCKE: I'm thinking of asking Alice to the prom. What do you think?

Sun actually looked back at him now, surprised.

SUN: Let's talk after class.

The rest of the class came and went without incident, though his new physique and the attention he got from girls made it a little harder to focus than usual. On his way out, Ms. Wilson assured him that one tardiness wasn't a big deal, and that she wouldn't report it, so long as he didn't make it a habit.

He found Sun waiting for him outside, leaning on a locker. Sun was a short, slim Korean American teen, and as he’d always moan, “the girls think I’m cute, not hot”. Even after he embraced a more emo fashion sense, letting his hair grow out, one side a good deal longer than the other, along with dark eyeliner, it’d backfired and only made him seem that much more feminine.

"Alice, huh?" he asked as he came out. "I'd never have guessed. Haven't you known her since you were in like, Kindergarten or whatever?"

They walked down the hall together, toward the large study hall Seniors used for their homeroom period.

"Yeah. Just never really had the guts to say anything. But with prom coming up, this seemed like a good chance to shoot my shot."

Locke said the words, realizing how strange it would sound. Alice was a 7-8, depending on your taste, and he'd become a national heart throb. The idea that he was shy about women must be silly to others. Then again, maybe that was only in his head. He was hot, sure, but he wasn't that hot, surely.

But really... he didn't like Alice. No, he did like Alice. She and Sun were his closest friends. Just he didn’t like her, like her. Not in that way, at least. He was like a dog that had finally caught the car, and now that he had it, he didn't want it. So Locke reframed the conversation. "What about you?  Got your eye on anyone?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Mom's setting me up with this girl. I kind of hate it," he said. "I mean she's like, cute and all, but she's only doing it because we're both Korean, y'know? I can't wait to go to college and meet who I want."

Huh. So apparently his worries about Sun and Alice dating had been all in his head.

"But hey, I'm really happy for you and Alice, man. That's great!" he said. "I always—"

He was cut off then, as the hall speakers crackled to life.

"Mr. Caulfield and Mr. Park. Please report to the teachers' offices. Mr. Caulfield and Mr. Park to the teachers' offices."

Sun exchanged a glance with Locke. Usually a summons like this meant that the named parties were in trouble.

"...think they found the body?" Locke joked on their way.

"Yeah, right. Seriously, any idea what's going on? Why would they call both of us?" Sun asked, looking much more worried.

"I've got an idea of why they might be calling for me, but honestly, no clue what you did," Locke answered honestly. "Have you met Ms. Hym yet? This has her name written all over it."

"I haven't," Sun said, "She's the new civics and history teacher, right? I hear she's a smoke show."

“You have no idea.”

The old secretary greeted them. She stood sentry over the host of tiny little offices and lounge that the teachers had to themselves when the classrooms weren't in use.

"Ms. Hym wants to see you two," she confirmed. "She's in the lounge."

They entered to find Jehovah in her teacher's form, light blonde hair pinned atop her head as she examined a massive, and apparently ancient book.

"Hello boys," she said. "Locke, it's good to see you again. Mr. Park… I don't believe we've met."

Sun’s mouth had fallen open and his eyes were as wide as saucers. Locke couldn’t blame him; he was sure he hadn’t hidden his shock any better.

"I...uh....yeah," Sun said after a pregnant silence. "Hello. Can I ask as to what this is about?"

"Oh, I just had a matter of some importance to speak to you two about. A matter about the proper hierarchy of things," she said. "Would you two be so kind as to move toward the wall there?"

"Hierarchy?" Locke wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.

Even so, Locke and Sun moved as they were told, Sun fidgeting and avoiding Ella's gaze while Locke folded his arms and looked straight at her. Testosterone was flooding his system like never before, and after his talk with Chaos, he realized that he wasn't some victim, nor was he the player in some grand cosmic game. He was the Judge, the one who would decide the fate of these deities.

And so far, Jehovah had him curious but concerned. "What do you mean? And why did you need both of us for this?"

"I can answer all of your questions," she said. "But first..."

She waved a hand, and Sun's gaze went hazy, his body slack. It looked like she'd just turned his mind off.

"Who remade you? Was it Lucifer? I imagine it was. It looks like her work," she said, examining Locke.

She walked up to him. She'd fashioned herself into a very tall woman, but even in heels, they were looking at one another eye to eye.

"Whichever of them did it, it was good work. After your insistence that we not use our abilities on you, I was certain something like this would run contrary to your wishes. Elsewise I'd have considered doing it myself."

"Chaos, actually." Locke didn't see any reason to keep it a secret. "And there's a difference between helping me out and violating my free will, you know."

This close, he could pick up the slight mix of floral and vanilla scents coming from Jehovah. Perfume? Or did she just naturally smell amazing? He remembered the flush on Chaos... did "pheromones" work on her too?

"And you still didn't answer my questions."

She straightened herself. If she was bothered by his pheromones, she showed no signs of it.

"Yes. Hierarchies," she repeated. "If you're going to determine earth's fate, you should be predominant on Earth. Or at least in your part of it."

She gestured to Sun.

"This young man threatens that. He's taken the subject of your desires," she said. "So for my entry into this contest, I seek to counterbalance that. And to shape things such that you remain at the top of your hierarchy."

Sun began to change then. A short boy, he began to shrink into a downright petite one, going from 5 '5 down to 5'1. His hair began to fill out on its faded side, growing longer and longer into long, wavy, perfectly black hair that didn't stop growing until it reached his waist. His face softened as well, lips growing fuller, cheekbones higher, the eyeliner expanding into a full suite of makeup adorning the face of a very pretty girl.

The transformation continued down his body. His hoodie vanished, replaced by a black vest over a white tank top. Locke could see the waist beneath it taper, and breasts grow out and out until they were large and perky on his small frame. His skinny jeans shrank and drew themselves up his waist, cinching it over the navel tightly as they transformed into high-waisted shorts over torn stockings that clung to long, feminine legs. Finally, as Sun's hips flared out, ass forming into a perky heart shape, and the bulge in the front of the shorts vanished, Locke realized that his best friend had been replaced by a very, very cute Asian girl.

"There we go," Ms. Hym said. "Unless Alice is bisexual, I suspect Sun will no longer pose any sort of problem to you."

Locke took in a deep breath, then let out a long, slow, very disappointed sigh.

"Where do I even start with this..." Locke looked back and forth between Sun and Jehovah. "First off, how does Sun being a girl make her lower on the hierarchy? That's kind of misogynist coming from a female Goddess, right? How does that make any sense?"

"Second... Sun isn't interested in Alice. He already had another date lined up for the prom. Third, even if he was, that's fine! There's nothing wrong with it, and you definitely didn't need to do... this!"

"And uh... fourth, I'm kind of considering changing my mind about taking Alice to the prom. I've been doing some thinking and turns out, I see her as a friend more than anything else." Locke finished. "So change Sun back."

Ms. Hym frowned.

"I told the others we should raise the age to 30," she said with a sigh. "It doesn't matter the world. Teens are too inconsistent. This morning, not two hours ago, Alice and Sun's interference with her were the very first complaints you had about your life. Now? You're not even interested."

She placed her hands on her hips.

"I suppose my submission is wasted then. Well, perhaps you could get to know....oh, what is her name now?"

Her eyes glowed white fire as they had earlier beneath her glasses, then stopped.

"Yuna. Perhaps Yuna Park would suit you better than Alice did."

As she said the name, new, hazy memories invaded Locke's mind of a reality in which Sun had always been a girl. He'd met her as a skinny pre-teen, and she'd blossomed into a gorgeous young woman throughout their friendship. In terms of interests and personality, she shared most of Sun's, and her rebellion against her strict, traditionalist mother kept Yuna hanging out with boys, nerds and diving into a punk/alternative style that drove her mother crazy.

These memories were hazy, though. He had an understanding of who Yuna was, simply because the retroactive nature of the transformation gave him the ghosts of memories. It was still Sun he remembered most, not his distaff counterpart.

"And don't lecture me about misogyny," Ms. Hym continued. "My point was not that making Sun a woman lowered her position on the hierarchy, but that as the arbiter of our fate, you currently occupy the most important mortal position in the history of the world, and as such, others below you in importance must not interfere with your happiness or duties. I could have dealt with Yuna in any number of ways, but changing her gender was the least disruptive. All the relationships are the same, save that she is no longer a romantic rival for this Alice’s affections.”

"But you're the one who brought up hierarchies in the first place!" Locke shouted back. "And rewriting reality just to make Sun into a girl so she wouldn't ask out Alice is... insane! You could have just changed his mind, right? Or, you know... look into it and see if he even liked her in the first place!"

"And what the hell? You think that just because she's a girl now I'd want to date her?" Though Locke had to admit, if privately, that the new Sun... Yuna... was super cute and he did want to date her. "I told you, change her back already."

For the first time, Ms. Hym looked unsure of herself.

"I....well, I can't," she said. "You said we could only do one thing for this contest. I'm completely prohibited from using my powers until it's concluded. So reversing her transformation is impossible, by the rules you imposed on me."

Beside him, Yuna's lips parted. Her face still bore a happy, mindless expression. But her body was functioning even with her mind turned off, and the lack of conscious thought meant that Locke's pheromones were going straight to her head. She let out a low, feminine moan, squirming as she stood in place.

Locke slapped his forehead. This woman...! His friend was gone, replaced by this new girl and it was all her fault. And his. His meddling with forces he couldn't understand. Locke promised to himself that from now on, he’d be more careful.

"Well... after the contest is over and I pick who the new Goddess in charge is, they can fix this, right?"

"Effortlessly. And if that’s what you wish at the end of this, I certainly will," she promised. "It seems I misread this situation, somewhat."

Yuna ran a hand down her leg now, and drew another across her belly. For half a moment, the sight of such a beautiful woman moaning, cooing and feeling herself up simply because she was close to Locke almost made him forget that she'd been his best friend until a few moments ago.

"Very well. I suppose I should release the poor thing," Ms. Hym said with a sigh.

She snapped her fingers, and consciousness flowed back into Yuna's pretty brown eyes. The freshly minted girl looked down at herself, seemed to realize she was in a compromising position, and straightened herself with a blush that was endearingly cute on her pretty new features.

"So gee, Ms. Hym, I guess it was all one big misunderstanding, huh?" Locke said quickly when he saw that Yuna was snapping out of her trance. "Well, uh, I sure do hope you find whoever it was that was smoking in the bathrooms."

“Indeed, Mr. Caulfield,” Ms. Hym agreed.

Before the situation could get any worse, Locke grabbed Yuna by the hand (soft.. almost as soft as Chaos's ass) and led her back out into the halls.

"You okay? Anything feeling... off, to you?" Locke asked when they were alone.

Yuna bit her lip, a very cute expression, then shook her head.

"No," she said. "I'm uh...fine. Why?"

She seemed to regain some confidence, then, placing hands on her hips.

"You sound like Mother. So worried about me getting in trouble," she said, sticking her tongue out. "No, I'm perfectly fine. What's up with you though, dragging me out like that? You're acting pretty weird, too."

Yuna was still flushed, and Locke noticed the way her gaze kept drifting lower, undressing him with her eyes.

"Yeah. It's been a weird day for both of us. Can explain things later but..." Both of us, Locke thought. The Goddesses clearly weren’t waiting for school to be over. Jehovah and Chaos had already taken their shot, but what about the third one? The evil one!?

What the hell was Lucy doing all this time?