TFOS: Freddy On The Loose, Part 12

by

Rodford Edmiston

Note: This story uses background and concepts from the Teenagers From Outer Space role-playing game, Copyright 2001 R. Talsorian Games, Inc. The characters and story are Copyright 2001 Rodford Edmiston Smith.

"Wow, Hub, thanks for inviting us over," said Karen, looking around admiringly as she and Freddy entered the back yard.

"No prob," the big, rhino/whale guy replied, grinning to reveal teeth like miniature - and well-polished - grave markers. "You two are my closest Earth friends. I figured, with weather being so unseasonably hot this weekend, it was a good time to try out our new pool."

Hub was unusual among the alien exchange students here on Earth in that he was staying with his family. Hub's father was a business entrepreneur, and saw his son's acceptance in the program as a chance to explore the opportunities Earth offered. Therefore, Hub's parents and little sister were also on the planet, the four of them currently living in a moderately fancy ranch-style house on the outskirts of a nearby city. Hub, old enough to have a license, needed only a few minutes to commute in his Sport Utility Saucer.

"Where's Ramet?" Hub asked, as he led the pair to the his 'n' her cabanas put there for guests to change in.

"He had trouble finding a place to park his sport saucer," said Freddy. "He let us out and will be here in a few minutes."

Freddy entered the guys' cabana and closed the door. Moments later, he exited, now wearing Speedos and a smug smile. He'd done some weight training just before leaving home, and was looking pumped and buff. The reactions were gratifying, with the Hub nodding in appreciation and Karen staring with obvious lust.

"If you get any more fit we'll have to preserve you for science," said Karen, admiringly.

"Oh, he's not that husky," said the much bulkier Hub, chuckling like an amused semi.

Hub's mother came out the back door, bringing snacks, and Hub introduced her to the group. Freddy decided she was rather attractive, for a female built like a safe. She was also notably bigger than her son. Karen grabbed a carrot, and munched that as she headed for the gals' cabana.

Ramet arrived just then. He greeted Hub and Hub's mother (he already knew Hub's folks) and Freddy. He briefly complimented the latter on his looks, then headed for the guys' cabana. Karen exited hers at about that time, and Ramet came to an abrupt stop to stare.

She was wearing a neat and attractive one-piece which accentuated without exaggerating. She smiled at the expressions on the guys' faces.

"Wow," Ramet gasped, admiringly. "Why don't you dress like that more often?"

"Because then Freddy would have to beat you up more often," she replied, smiling sweetly.

"Oh," said Ramet, glancing over at the husky younger boy. "Right."

He hurried in to change.

"I'm surprised you didn't wear that variable thingy you were displaying at the alien goods store, the other day," said Freddy, admiring Karen's form. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Well, I found out it was vulnerable to interference from certain radio frequencies," Karen replied, grimacing. "Makes it change at random."

"Oooohhh..." said Freddy, imagining.

Doctor Sumt'ang was next to arrive, carrying a small box which he handed to Hub. He then walked directly to the edge of the pool, fell in, and sank to the bottom.

"Is he all right?" asked Freddy, worried.

"Oh, yeah," said Hub, distracted as he opened the box. "Yow! He finished it!"

"That looks like a Boy/Girl Gun," was Freddy's wary comment.

"Well, we used the casing from one to house it," Hub replied. "Those haven't been made in millions of years; it's a lost art."

"House what?" Karen asked.

"When I studied the Boy/Girl/Whatever Gun I got an idea," said Hub. "I talked with Doctor Sumt'ang about it, and he helped me work out the math and then design it. We've applied for a joint patent!"

"But what is it?" Freddy demanded.

"A Buster Gun!"

Ramet finally emerged from the cabana, wearing a weird orange, green and purple plaid outfit which covered his whole torso so snugly it looked like it was painted on. Karen and Freddy spared him a brief glance, then turned back to Hub.

"But what does it do?" they demanded in unison.

"It adjusts the bust!"

Karen and Freddy looked at each other, then down at Karen's chest.

"Oh, no!" Karen stated, firmly, backing away. "You keep that thing pointed in some other direction!"

"Oh, don't worry," said Hub, putting the device back in its box, "we have to do some tests before we're ready to use it on people."

"Okay, that's why Doctor Sumt'ang stopped by," said Freddy, "but why is he staying?"

"We have to have a teacher present to verify that we're spending time on a class project for the hours to count," said Karen.

"He's also amphibious," Hub added.

"That must be handy," muttered Freddy, looking at the submerged teacher.

He did, indeed, look like the occupant of some alien reef, sitting there on the bottom, his tentacles floating about.

"We're working on another project, too," said Hub. "One of the reasons Doctor Sumt'ang came to Earth is that a lot of things aren't illegal, here. Well, not yet. So we're gonna actually do some things people have been just thinking about for centuries. Like the Ultimate Babysitter project."

"The which?" said Freddy.

"No!" gasped Ramet, turning a pale brown. "You wouldn't dare! Model 307L is banned on all civilized worlds for good reason!"

"Relax, we know what we're doing," Hub assured him.

"That's what the Allotians thought! They're still rebuilding!"

"What happened to them?" asked Karen, concerned.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," said Hub, shrugging the question off.

"My experience has been that when someone says 'Oh, it wasn't that bad' it was usually worse," said Freddy.

"Oh, look!" said Hub, not in any way attempting to change the subject. "There's Talli! And Flinkpoid!"

The party's host stepped quickly over to greet the new arrivals, with Karen and Ramet following. Freddy tried to accompany them, but was stopped by a large block of granite catching him by the shoulder. He turned, and looked up-and-up-and-up at what had to be Hub's father. Freddy faintly remembered someone saying something about Hub being small for his age. This wall of structural material he now faced confirmed this.

"Hi," said Freddy, his voice coming out as an embarrassing squeak.

"Are you youngsters having a good time?" the mobile mountain rumbled.

"Oh, yes, sir," Freddy gushed, nodding vigorously. "Wonderful time."

"Good. If you need anything, just yell. Oh, and don't let Nugget bother you, just because she's Hub's little sister. She can come out and play, but if she gets annoying, tell her so."

"Yes, sir," squeaked Freddy.

He watched as the giant walked off, wondering how he'd missed the shock of the approaching footsteps.

"Hey," said Ramet, startling Freddy.

"'Hey' yourself," Freddy replied, annoyed at being caught with such an uncool expression.

"Why do you shave your legs and armpits but not your chest?"

"Because when I'm a girl I don't have any hair on my chest," Freddy explained patiently.

Ramet took a moment to work that out, then nodded.

"Gotcha."

He walked away, muttering something about primitive, hirsute Earth humans.

The party got underway with enthusiasm about that time. The ostensible purpose was for the members of the newspaper staff to get together and work on their project, but Freddy figured - rightly - that little of that would happen.

Then Talli stepped out of the cabana, stretched briefly, limberly bent over to place her towel on a lounge, and undulated casually toward the pool. A dead silence fell as the others saw her idea of a swimsuit. It looked like two strung-together paisley eye patches and a paisley handkerchief.

"Hummahummahummahumma..." said Freddy, feeling the blood trickle from his nose as he stared.

Talli unexpectedly sprang into the air, did a double forward somersault, and straightened out for a perfect entry.

"Are you a pervert?" asked a new voice.

Freddy jumped, and looked around to see a miniature version of Hub. "Miniature" in this case meaning she was under two meters tall.

"You're Nugget, right?" asked Freddy.

She nodded.

"Are you a pervert?"

"Uh, no," said Freddy, wiping the blood from under his nose. "That's a normal reaction among human and near-human males."

"Yeah, right," the "little" girl said.

Freddy ignored her and went back to looking at Talli, who was now doing backstrokes. He barely noticed when Karen glared at him. He definitely noticed when she poured ice water over his head.

Freddy wasn't the only one staring at the shapely alien girl. Ramet had shifted form, buffing himself up even more than Freddy, which made him look a little ridiculous. Jim was also preening, though with little success. Even Flinkpoid seemed to keep staring at her, though the pair of cool neon shades he was wearing made that difficult to tell. That and the fact that he looked like a white rabbit.

Hub's father making an appearance early on was probably a good thing. There were some pranks, but they stayed pretty mild. Ramet occasionally did imitations (revealing why he'd worn something both covering and elastic, since some of those were female). Freddy did some fancy dives. Doctor Sumt'ang occasionally used his telekinesis to pull a snack underwater to eat, and twice even came up to greet people.

"Okay, I think we've got enough swimming in for a while," said Karen. "Let's talk business for a bit, then we can go back to partying."

There were some mild protests at this, but everyone except Doctor Sumt'ang moseyed over to her. The kids were just sitting down around an umbrella-equipped table with their notes when someone else came in through the gate.

"See? I told you this was it!" the teenage girl in a bikini called back over her shoulder to someone. "Hi, I'm Barb!"

She casually walked over to a lounge and put her towel down on it. Hub half-rose, opening his mouth, but before he could say anything three more kids - another girl and two boys - entered.

"Uh, this is a private..."

Five *more* kids entered, the combined chatter now drowning out the rhino/whale guy.

Hub rose and started over towards them, just as the first newcomer dove into the pool.

"This is a private party. How did..."

There was a scream and a yell from the pool.

"There's something in there!"

"That's our teacher, Doctor Sumt'ang," said Hub, starting to get irritated. "This is a class party."

"That's not what the sign said!"

"What sign?"

From the confused babble of voices they determined that someone had posted flyers all around the neighborhood announcing a pool party.

"Well, those aren't for here," said Hub. "Like I said, this is a private meeting of a school project group."

There was some pouting and some mild protesting at this, but the strangers gathered up their gear and left. Or tried to; more were attempting to enter, blocking the gate.

"We better go out and take those flyers down," said Karen.

The girls grabbed robes and shoes or sandals, but the guys just walked out in their suits, Freddy not even bothering with footwear. Hub stayed behind to make sure no-one else came in who wasn't supposed to.

Freddy padded around, shivering a bit since there was a breeze outside the fenced-in back yard. He quickly found several of the flyers mentioned by the intruders. They did, indeed, describe a pool party, on this day, starting at a time which had passed just a few minutes before. They did not mention an address. Freddy wondered if this was someone playing a prank on Hub and the group, or if it was an honest mistake. Shrugging, he started pulling down signs.

"Hey, there," said a breathy, female voice. "You're new around here."

Freddy looked around to see a pretty young housewife in a tube top and hot pants.

"Uh, hi," Freddy replied, smiling. "I'm just in the neighborhood visiting a friend, and we had some people think these meant his pool."

"Oh?" the woman asked, obviously paying more attention to Freddy's Speedos than his words. "Well, I guess that could be confusing."

Freddy nervously turned and headed for the next flyer, which he could see on a mailbox a block away. The woman came with him. In fact, she moved very close, almost rubbing against him.

"So, what's your name?"

"Freddy."

"Well, Freddy, I hope you'll be visiting your friend often."

"Uh, yeah," said Freddy, growing increasingly uncomfortable. "We're..."

"What the Hell are you doing?" a loud, male voice demanded.

Freddy looked around to see an overweight, balding guy hurrying towards him. Thinking this was the distributor of the pool party flyers, Freddy held out the one he'd just removed.

"You didn't put an address," he started to explain.

"You stay away from my wife!" the man roared, yanking the pretty young woman away from Freddy.

"Huh?" said Freddy.

The man snatched the flyer Freddy was offering.

"What is this? You tryin' to lure her to some poolside orgy?!"

"Those aren't mine..."

"Don't you lie to me!"

The guy threw a punch, which Freddy nimbly dodged. They guy - Freddy could smell the alcohol on him, now - lost his balance, staggered a few steps, and fell head-first into the mail box. He dropped to the ground and lay there unmoving. The woman started screaming.

Freddy decided flight was the best course of action. He took off, running down the sidewalk and around a corner. When he heard no signs of pursuit he slowed. Only now he realized he was in a section of the neighborhood he hadn't seen before. He turned down a street he thought would lead in the right direction. Ahead, he saw a muscular teenage guy standing at the end of a driveway, scowling as he looked around.

"Uh, hi," Freddy began.

The guy turned, saw Freddy and the handful of flyers, and his eyes went wide.

"You're the one!" the guy yelled, face going red. "I'll teach you to pull pranks, you little...!"

As he drew back his hand Freddy, by now both fed-up and on edge, threw the flyers in his face and punched him hard in the stomach. Then he turned and fled.

Behind him he could hear the guy yelling (a bit breathlessly) for help. Freddy glanced back in time to see half a dozen guys in their late teens come pouring down the driveway. Freddy turned the corner before he saw what they were going to do. He figured he didn't need that confirmation. He looked where he was going just in time to slide to a stop (bare feet stinging on the concrete) before running into the angry mob approaching from ahead of him.

"There he is!" the fat, balding guy yelled, pointing.

*       *       *

The other members of the school project pool party were rather startled when Freddy scrambled over the fence.

"You gotta hide me! I think I lost 'em, but they won't give up easy!"

A few confused questions and frantic replies later the rest of the group had a fair idea of what was happening.

"Freddy, only you could wind up getting chased by two angry mobs at the same time," snapped Karen.

"It's not my fault!" cried Freddy, suddenly looking Incredibly Cute.

"Awwww..." said everyone else.

"Oh, I'm sure it is," said Karen, recovering more quickly than the others, due to more exposure to the effect. "You didn't mean it, but it's your fault."

Angry voices could be heard approaching the gate. Karen looked up, then turned around and went into action. She grabbed Freddy's gym bag, her gym bag and Freddy, and hurried towards a cabana.

"I saw the holster for your Boy/Girl Gun in your bag. Don't know why you brought it, but... Well, change yourself and put on my other suit."

Freddy didn't even protest, just took the two gym bags, ducked inside the cabana and slammed the door.

Hub went over to the gate and calmly opened it.

"You got a short, muscular blond guy about twenty years old in here?" the chubby, bald guy demanded.

"Nope," said Hub, who figured Freddy was no longer a guy by now, and was definitely not "about twenty."

He started to close the gate, but the guy shoved it back open.

"Listen, we saw him running this way! You better not be hiding him!"

Hub shrugged and stepped back.

"Look for yourself."

The man entered, accompanied by several others. They were all male, and divided into buff guys in their late teens and overweight guys in their twenties or thirties. They stood for a moment, looking at the back yard and its contents, then started milling around. Several of them were distracted by Talli, but the rest were too angry for that just now. The angry ones checked under the snack table, then approached the cabanas. One was open, and after a quick glance inside they were satisfied. The other was being guarded by Karen.

"There's someone changing in there," Karen told the approaching men.

"Well, we want to look," snarled the fat, balding guy Freddy had punched earlier.

"It's a girl, you pervert!" yelled Karen, causing him to shy back.

"I don't meant look like that!" the guy quickly amended. "I mean when she's finished we have to look for the guy we're after. Just to make sure."

Karen frowned, then turned and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" asked a female voice.

"Some guys need to check in there for something."

"I'm having a bit of trouble with the suit."

"Well, you better hurry," said Karen, uneasily eyeing the angry men crowding around the cabana.

There was a slight pause, then a click, and the door opened slowly. f-Freddy timidly exited the cabana, towel draped over her shoulders, gym bag dangling from her right hand. Even with the towel, nosebleeds started almost immediately. On Karen the spare suit would have been far more daring than the one-piece she actually wore. On f-Freddy it made Talli look modest. It also left no doubt as to Freddy's current gender.

"Ooooohhhh..." the assembled males breathed, as Freddy blushed furiously.

"When you told me you had a suit for me I didn't realize it would be so... risqué," huffed Freddy.

She glanced around at the assembly and sighed in resignation, realizing she better play the role for all it was worth. She started forward, the men automatically yielding before her, and sauntered across the pool deck to the lounge beside Jim. The watching men turned as one to follow her progress. Jim had both hands firmly clamped over his nose. Freddy smiled and blew a kiss at him, draped the towel over the back of the lounge (in the process bending from the hips in an exaggerated manner) then lay down. Jim by now had actually passed out. Several of the invading males were in only slightly more conscious conditions.

"Didn't you come here to do something?" asked Karen, pointedly.

Some of the men shook themselves and looked quickly in the cabana. They muttered apologies, gathered their compatriots and left in embarrassed - and distracted - silence. Freddy smiled and waved as they exited through the gate. Hub quickly closed and fastened it, then leaned against it, sagging in relief.

There was a moment of silence. Then they all (except Jim, who was still unconscious, and Doctor Sumt'ang, who was still submerged) burst out in muffled laughter.

"Oh, my, that was cool!" snickered Hub. "Freddy, you deserve an Oscar!"

"I never thought learning to flirt with the crowd while doing cheers would ever be useful for something else," she laughed, flushed with embarrassment. "Karen, where did you get this suit?!"

"I wear it to sunbathe," said Karen, blushing delicately. "I just leave it in the bag so I'll know where it is."

Normally, such a comment would have elicited a lecherous reaction from the males, but since Freddy was in said skimpy outfit their libidos were too distracted.

"I can't believe how good she looks," whined Ramet. "I've had a lot of experience shifting into female forms, and I never can manage to look that sexy."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" muttered Freddy, sitting up and reaching for the towel. "Well, they're gone, so I guess I can change back."

"You better stay that way until you leave," said Hub, uneasily. "I can still hear them prowling around out there. You don't want them to see the regular you getting into Ramet's saucer."

"Argh," sighed Freddy, covering her head with the towel.

*       *       *

"That's it," sighed Karen, leaning back and closing her notebook. "Our first issue is completely planned! Now all we have to do is print and distribute it."

"Well done," said Doctor Sumt'ang. "Have well, youngsters, fun. Home heading I'm. Your the Hub thanks of pool, for use."

"You're welcome!" Hub called out, as the fireplug-like alien left.

Freddy sighed and stood to remove the towels Hub had found for her. The group had quickly realized the only way they were getting any work done was for all the girls to cover up. The others had brought robes, expecting this situation.

"Hoo!" yelled Jim. "More pool!"

He quickly jumped up, stuffed his notes in his gym bag and jumped into the water. He was first by only a small margin. Freddy was the last, since she wasn't sure just how stable that top would be in a run. She also eased herself down the ladder, rather than jumping in. She turned to see all the males staring at her rump.

"Hey! C'mon, guys!"

"'C'mon,' yourself," snickered Karen. "You're the one who keeps telling me it's instinct and that you can't help yourself."

Freddy sank into the water, grumbling. Then came right back up, buoyed by her built-in floatation. Growling in frustration, she leaned forward and tried to swim. Only her arms kept hitting her generous chest, threatening to dislodge her top. She tried to find a better position, and rolled onto her back.

"Oooohhh..." said the guys, watching her bob in the waves their activity had stirred up.

"This is ridiculous!" Freddy fumed. "First I had to wrap myself in 3 towels so the guys could concentrate on our paper, and now I can't even swim!"

"Oh, Freddy, deal with it!" snapped Karen.

She turned and neatly knifed through the water, swimming away strongly.

"Yeah," said Talli, smirking. "At least with you here, they aren't staring at me."

Freddy tried a few more types of strokes, but found them either too awkward or too stimulating to the guys, or both. She tried just floating, but that was too stimulating, as well, and not just to the guys. She tried just standing in the shallows, but that left her chest deep in the water, and she bobbed as it waved, which caused nosebleeds. Disgusted, Freddy climbed out, forgetting what had happened when she climbed in until she heard the reaction.

Gritting her teeth, Freddy strode as mannishly as possible to her lounge and wrapped herself in a beach towel, sitting there fuming while the others swam. For a while, she thought about using her Boy/Girl Gun to make all of them female, but the thought of a topless Hub made her wince. Then she remembered something else.

Carefully, waiting until the others were involved in some impromptu game, she snuck over to the box with the Buster Gun. She retrieved the device and hurriedly examined it. Freddy had expected the usual trigger plus a slider switch, going from small to large, but instead found the trigger and two three-position switches. Both of the latter were labeled with alien symbols. Most of those she didn't recognize, but one meant "support." Well, Freddy had plenty of that, for a girl of her build. So, the other must control size. Now, which way to turn it for reduction? Freddy guessed, pointed the gun at herself, braced for impact, and briefly squeezed the trigger.

Freddy yelped as her now-much-larger boobs threatened to rip her top off. She fumbled for the button, flipped it the other way, pointed, and squeezed. Not realizing she'd accidentally moved the "support" switch instead of the "size" switch. Freddy's breasts were now even larger, and sagging to her navel, actually sliding out of her top. Quickly, almost dropping the gun, she flipped both switches to the opposite settings and used the gun on herself.

"Much better!" gasped Freddy, hurriedly pulling her top back in place.

She had to retie the strings, since her boobs were now only a little over half the size they usually were, but that was quick and easy. She put the gun in its box and turned to sneak back to her lounge. Only to find all the others staring at her, open-mouthed.

"Freddy," said Hub, quietly, "you really shouldn't use untried gadgets on yourself."

"What, did I grow a tail or something?" she asked, twisting to hurriedly examine her body.

"Ah, no. But, well, you know this doesn't wear off. That's now your normal size."

"So? I didn't like being so zaftig, anyway," said Freddy, defiantly.

"What will that make you look like as a boy?" asked Karen.

"I don't have boobs as a boy, so there shouldn't be any difference," Freddy replied.

"Well, that's probably right," said Hub. "If she'd stayed bigger, though, m-Freddy would have had problems."

"What are you going to tell the girls on the cheerleading squad?" Karen demanded.

"Oh, c'mon. We can change me back before we leave." Freddy laughed, and bounced up and down a bit, feeling the weight loss. "Right now, I'm enjoying getting a load off my chest!"

Of course, the fact she was now a few cup sizes smaller didn't change the fact that Freddy made a striking girl. Blood was flowing from that bouncing display as she dove in.

*       *       *

"Okay, zap me," sighed Freddy.

After a bit of discussion, she had wrapped the towel around her and removed her top under it. Handing the top to Karen, she was irritated to see the guys reacting strongly to the concept that she was topless under the towel.

"Hub!"

"Oh! Sorry..."

He checked the settings and tripped the trigger.

"Yipe! Hey, I told you that thing worked fast!"

Karen turned Freddy around and opened the towel for a look.

"Wow," was all she'd say, but that and her wide-eyed expression spoke volumes.

"Go down for about half that long," said Freddy, looking over her shoulder. She frowned and felt herself. "But don't change the firmness!"

"You pervert," snickered Karen.

She quickly stepped out of the line of fire. Hub flipped the size switch to smaller and the firmness switch to off and tried again, shooting at Freddy's back.

"Too small," sighed Freddy, looking down.

Karen stepped in, took a quick look, and nodded.

Hub flipped the size switch to bigger and tried again.

"Too big!" exclaimed Freddy.

"Yeah," said Karen, after an evaluating look. "You're getting closer, though."

"I don't think I can trip it for any shorter time," said Hub, anxiously.

"Here, let me try," said Ramet. "I've got smaller fingers and quick reflexes."

He took the gun, pointed casually in Freddy's direction as Karen fled, and pulled the trigger.

"Wrong way!" yelled Freddy, suddenly leaning forward. "And too long! Boy, was that too long!"

"Oops," said Ramet, grinning.

After several more tries Freddy was finally as close to normal size (confirmed by Karen with a tape measure borrowed from Hub's mother) as she was likely to get. Now came the acid test. Karen stood in front of Freddy and used the Boy/Girl Gun.

"Well?" asked Hub, anxiously, as Karen stood silently staring.

"Oh, my," was all she'd say.

"Hey!" yelped Freddy, closing the towel as he realized where Karen was looking. "I knew I should'a put my swimsuit back on!"

"Oh, quit fussing," Karen snickered, blushing. "Those Speedos don't cover much more."

"Yeah, but that little difference means a lot," Freddy muttered.

"Is his chest okay, though?" Hub insisted.

Freddy opened the top of the towel. Karen looked, then felt.

"Well, he seems a little swollen and soft, but that could be from the water."

"Okay, for now, then, we'll settle," said Hub, nodding. "I'll work on reducing the speed of effect, and we can fine-tune Freddy's chest later, if we need to."

"Wait a minute," said Talli, as something occurred to her. "Does that thing change guys, too? I mean, could it give a normal guy boobs?"

"Well, of course," said Hub. "It affects all mammals."

"Interesting..." said Talli, grinning.

Karen zapped Freddy again, then handed the gun over.

"Hey!"

"Those guys are still out there, remember."

"Oh. Well, okay."

"Get changed into what you wore here. They were loose enough they should fit girl you. You can zap yourself back to a guy once we're in Ramet's saucer."

"Yes, ma'am," sighed f-Freddy.

She headed for the cabana.

End Part Twelve