The doorbell rang again, more insistent this time. Shren's heart lurched. He scrambled out of bed, his new muscles rippling with a speed he was still getting used to. He threw on a baggy hoodie to hide the most "extreme" parts of his transformation and shoved the shredded remains of his old clothes under the bed.
He yanked the door open. Arthur and Elena Blackwood stood there, suitcases in hand, looking ready to lecture their son about being a heavy sleeper.
The lecture never came. Their jaws dropped in unison.
"Can I... help you?" Arthur stammered, looking up at the tall, chiseled young man in front of him. "We're looking for our son, Shren."
"Dad, it's me," Shren said, his voice smooth and resonant. Seeing their utter confusion, he quickly improvised. "I had a... really bad reaction to those painkillers the doctor gave me. I was in pain for weeks, and I guess the 'side effects' just burned through all my fat and... restructured me? The doctor said it happens in one in a million cases!"
Incredibly, his parents—who always wanted to believe the best of their son—exchanged a glance and shrugged. "Well," his mother said, patting his rock-hard bicep, "it's a very effective medicine! You look wonderful, sweetheart."
"Master Shren? The bath is ready!"
The voice drifted from the hallway. Xiwu stepped into view, wearing one of Shren's oversized shirts that did little to hide her warrior's elegance. The silence in the living room was deafening.
Shren turned bright red. "I... I forgot to tell you. This is Xiwu. She's... a friend."
His father's eyes went wide, then a slow, proud grin spread across his face. He nudged Shren with his elbow. "A 'friend,' eh? And here we were worried you were lonely. No wonder you didn't want to come on the cruise!"We're cool, Shren. You're a teenager; it's only natural."
After a surreal breakfast where his parents treated Xiwu like a welcomed guest, Shren whispered the command to send her back into the bracelet's dimension. He needed to find Kaelen.
He found his best friend sitting on their usual bench in the park. When Shren approached, Kaelen didn't even look up at first. "Move along, pal, I'm waiting for someone."
"Kae, it's me."
It took twenty minutes of explaining, showing old childhood scars, and reciting private jokes before Kaelen finally believed it. "Dude... you look like you were grown in a lab to be a superstar," Kaelen laughed, punching Shren's arm and nearly breaking his own hand on the muscle.
As they walked through the park, Shren noticed something new: eyes. Dozens of girls were stopping in their tracks, whispering and staring at him with flushed faces. The "ugly" boy was gone; a magnet had taken his place. Feeling the heat of the attention, Shren hurried Kaelen toward the local gaming center, eager to lose himself in the familiar digital world before his new reality truly set in.