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peepshow321 · 2 years

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Never Break the Chain: Part III - Pumping Iron

Click for Part 1 and Part 2

Kyle packed away his laptop and started to walk home from his local cafe. He had been writing out some additional code for the chain, something to try and stop or slow the strength of the personality changes he was experiencing, but hadn't been able to crack it yet. Because of this, he hadn't used the chain in a few weeks out of am abundance of caution, but Kyle couldn't deny the temptation - to become a flirty straight guy as Marcus, pound some guys as Alejandro, or trying someone new - was always still there.

It was starting to get dark as he walked home, so Kyle quickened his pace. He didn't live in the best neighborhood having spent most of his limited income on the equipment needed to design the chain. He started to panic a bit as he sensed someone on his tail, someone obscured by a hat and large coat. Maybe he was overthinking it, but he started to speed up and was convinced his tailer also quickened their pace. Increasingly uneasy, Kyle started at a near jog and frequently cast his eyes over his shoulder, with his stalker still keeping up. By the time he was at his apartment entrance, Kyle was in a panicked sweat and struggled to get his keys with his trembling hands. After some fumbling, he was inside with the door locked behind him as Kyle watched the man just casually walk past the building, apparently not noticing Kyle at all.

Kyle entered his apartment, his heart rate and adrenaline still up. He was embarrassed, hating that he felt so small and worthless, that he didn't even feel save walking home from the cafe! He needed to do something to feel safe, to feel secure in his own skin. And so without really thinking, he grabbed the chain. He had been good taking a few weeks off and he just needed a few hours Kyle told himself, he just needed to feel like someone else and get out of his own skin.

The chain in one hand, he pulled out and rifled through the bag of clothes. He could be Marcus or Alejandro if he wanted - both confident men no one would easily mess with - but he had his eyes on something else, an item he had eyed up and was sure would give him the large body he was after. A plain but clearly overused tanktop, stretched out in the chest and reeking of musk and sweat.

He should be doing more tests, run some more code, but rght now, Kyle just wanted to big and he thought this would be the ticket. So setting his alarm for 3 hours and without waiting any longer, he put on the oversized tanktop and donned the chain.

The feeling was instantaneous and overpowering, a surge through his body and mind. His chest ballooned and he grimaced as his shoulders broadened dramatically, the once loose tanktop now being stretched. His arms throbbed as they packed on muscle on top of muscle - Kyle laughed, this guy was going to put even Alejandro to shame. Kyle was momentarily off balance as the ceiling got closer and he shook his new huge legs, watching them get loaded down with thick corded muscle and feathery dark hair. An itch over took his numb face and when he grasped his face with his new chunky fingers he felt a thick beard, and blocky facial features.

Kyle ran to the bathroom to see his new self, watching as the final changes swept over his body, his eyes and skin darkening and hair becoming unruly and unkempt.

Not wanting to waste any of 3 hour window, Kyle whipped off the tank to examine his new bod. He was already glistened with sweat and Kyle felt himself up, grasping as his new muscles.

This body was a machine, a unit, and Kyle felt an overwhelming need to put it to work. A trip to the gym - only 10 minutes away - felt urgent, felt necessary. So checking his alarm timer, Kyle put the tank top back on - struggling much more this time to fit in - and a pair of flexible running shorts that barely held his ass in and showed off his new throbbing package. He finished off the look with an old baseball cap to hide his unruly hair and felt himself get hard as he admired himself in the mirror - he looked like a complete jock and gym bro. No one would surely mess with him now.

***

It was late by the time Kyle got to the gym, but there were still quite a few guys around - mostly big muscle beasts like him working out solo or in pairs, not chatting and not wasting around. Kyle eyed up the handsome guy at reception who was clearly eyeing him back, and felt a sense of superiority over him - the receptionist was buff but had nothing on Kyle. Conscious of the alarm timer, Kyle chucked his wallet and keys in a locker, and made his way onto the gym floor.

Kyle looked out at the gym in front of him and falters a bit - what should he actually be doing? Just pick up some weights and go? He wandered around, doing his best to blend in amongst the other gym bros while eyeing up their routines and watched as a guy his sort of size finished up on the leg press machine - it looks easy enough Kyle thought. Kyle jumped in, dropping the weight significantly and laughed when he was able to push the plate away with minimal effort. And so Kyle went heavier... and heavier..., feeling more and more of a burn each time. Kyle felt himself counting reps, counting sets in his head and he finally understood how people could spend hours at the gym. The routine, the structure, it felt addictive. It felt familiar.

Before long, Kyle found himself touring the whole gym, copying the other guys and trying his hand at machines, barbells, dumbbells, everything. Whether it was muscle memory or something else, every lift, every movement, every strain felt natural. And it felt good. The burn in his legs, the ache in his chest, seeing his veins pop and his tank top get drenched with sweat, he enjoyed the challenge and the mundanity. As someone prone to overthinking and who spent too much time in his head, it felt good to just let his body take over and do the work. And so he followed his body's instinct when he removed his tank top, and got back to work.

Kyle lost track of time. He only clocked the passage of time from the increasingly empty gym and his increasingly sweaty chest. He glanced at the clock and tried to work out how long he had been here for, somehow struggling to focus, when he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. "Travis, is that you?" Kyle instinctively turned around in response to hearing that name which felt oddly right. The man - who Kyle felt a shimmer of recognition towards - had a few inches over him, and rocked a bulging body under his gym clothes. His dark eyes looked at Kyle inquisitively and with a glimmer of mischief.

"Hey man, it's Brody - you remember me right? Bro, what are you training here for? I thought you were based the other side of town" the mystery man asked. Kyle hadn't anticipated bumping in to someone this body - named Travis apparently - knew, and wasn't sure how to answer. "Eh, I dunno" he responded in a deep voice. He knew he needed not to raise any suspicions, but he in the shock of meeting this guy he was struggling to think straight. "Change of scenery?"

Brody chuckled, "Not sure how John would feel about that. He still in charge of your training?" Kyle nodded uncertainly. He needed to get out of this conversation but couldn't think how; his head felt cramped and he was stuck to the spot. "And I'm assuming he's still hooking you up with the good stuff, I mean look at you, you're even more of a beast than the last time I saw you." Kyle felt a wave of pride wash over him. He was a beast, and he needed that recognition. He craved it.

"Look, I don't know what program you're on" Brody noted in a hushed tone, "but I've got something new you need to try, follow me." Brody started walking towards the changing room and Kyle, despite the alarm bells going off in his head, followed closely behind. Despite his new size and bulk, Kyle felt weirdly deferential to this unknown stranger and struggled to think of any ways out of this encounter. He didn't feel that his brain was firing on all cylinders, his thoughts feeling sluggish and broad. Had he worked out too hard at the gym?

Brody grabbed his bag and pulled out a small locked box, opening it up to reveal a few vials of clear liquid. "This stuff is incredible, it's going to take your training to the next level Travis. Just don't tell John - I know he likes to be in charge of his boys' programme" Brody said with a wink. Kyle tentatively picked up a vial and tried to read the small print. The writing was small and Kyle squinted as he tried to concentrate on the words and lettering. He had to follow the words along with his finger and struggled to sound them out in his head. He was a scientist, why the hell couldn't he make sense of what was in the vial.

Brody laughed. "Woah dude, you suddenly an expert in this stuff? I didn't even know you could read haha." Kyle panicked. Travis - whoever he was now - was clearly was lacking in the brains department. Maybe he had dyslexia or maybe he was a bit slow, but whatever it was, Travis wasn't the sharpest to in the shed. But right now he - Kyle - was Travis. He had Travis' brain, didn't he? So was he slow now? Kyle couldn't think straight and started sweating.

"Dude, are you okay? Don't stress man - just look at yourself." Brody gently grabbed Kyle's broad shoulders and pivoted him towards the changing room mirror. "Look at that bod man - that's a you. You're a tank, a machine." Brody's words sunk into Kyle, calming him down. He was a fucking tank, he was huge. He looked good, but he needed to get bigger. "That's it man" Brody continued, "now flex. Show me what you've got." Kyle followed his instruction without question.

He still felt the ache, the burn from his workout but this was the reward. Admiring himself, what he had built in the mirror, it was addictive. Not being stuck in his head, overthinking everything, just doing what others tell him, it was freeing.

It was too freeing. This isn't right Kyle thought. He was an independent genius, not some slow bull of a man. And yet, he couldn't stop flexing, the moves and positions coming naturally. And before he could do anything to stop or slow down, he felt a sharp pain in his thigh and yelped as he saw Brody had jabbed him with the vial. A second later, Brody injected whatever it was into his system and before Kyle had a chance to react - to scream, to yell - he felt an overwhelming flood of sensation across his body. It felt like his entire body was in the post workout burn and it made him lightheaded. "Dude", he grunted, "what the fuck..." This wasn't right, he needed to get out. The room began to swirl and morph and before he could get any further, he felt the ground come up to meet him and his vision fade, the sound of his phone alarm ringing in his ears.

*****

He woke up, disorientated and sluggish. His memories of where he was, who he was, took a while to catch up. In front of him, crounching over him and looking genuinely concerned was Brody, his... friend? "Bro, fuck, I'm sorry - I knew this stuff caused a reaction but didn't think it would be that bad. You've been out for like 10 minutes, snoring away like a big baby."

"Whhaa" Kyle responded, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth. He started to get up, his body feeling heavy. As he stood up, supported and helped by Brody, he felt vertigo and was confused by that man in the mirror. It was him - Travis - but also he knew that it wasn't right. He was skinnier than this right? Lighter skinned? And he wasn't this hairy or this sweaty. He looked at his eyes and they seemed unfocused and empty. The image of his old self felt more ephermal, and was fading away the more he saw the muscled down man reflected back at him.

"Bro, let's get you out of here. Where's the rest of your stuff?" Travis gawked at Brody, unable to respond. He brought other stuff right? But he couldn't remember which locker. Brody looked concerned, "ok man, we can pick it up later - you're looking even more out of it than usual!"

As Travis looked backed at the mirror he caught a glimpse of the shimmering chain. And he remembered. He started violently pulling at the chain, struggling to get it up and around his bearded jaw and thick head. "Dude", he grunted, "help me out with this fuckin' thing." Brody looked confused, but helped nonetheless. "Travis, how old is this thing? I mean how did you even get it on." Travis stopped janking suddenly. "I can't see a clasp or anything, and that chain is way too big to get over your big noggin."

Travis panicked, he needed to get it off so that he could.. Why did he need it off again? It was important but he couldn't remember. And also, looking at himself, the way that the chain sat above his shelf made him look big. And that's all that mattered, right?

Brody looked at him concerned. "Ok man, let me drive you home - that fall must have knocked around whatever you've got going on upstairs. Where are you staying?" Travis paused. He didn't know. His brain fog - which he increasing worried wasn't just a temporary thing - was thick. After a long wait Brody replied, "well, look man, maybe you can come back and crash at mine? I don't know what your situation is, but I can help you with your training? And keep you supplied on the good stuff. How does that sound?"

Travis nodded back slowly and Brody's eyes lit up. "And you don't have to worry about rent man, I've got a few ideas how you can pay me back."

The last vestiges of Kyle shouted out to get his keys, go home, and get out of there, but Travis barely recognised or understood the concern. His body was a built machine and he needed someone else to help guide it. He wasn't smart enough to do it himself, but Brody was. Brody was Travis' bro - it was even in his name! And so Travis, trusting and loyal as ever, once again followed Brody outside and to an uncertain future.

To be continued?

#mental change #mywork #thechain #body swap #dumber #musclegrowth #plan gone awry

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