The Science Fair The Remote of Transformation chapter 18 by ThePanswapticon

By the time the judges approached, Ethan’s nerves were raw. Three of them—two women in their forties and a balding guy with a gut that strained his khakis—strolled over with clipboards, looking tired and unimpressed. Marcus straightened like he was about to sell them a used car.

“Welcome! Uh, this is our project, the Morphisizer,” Marcus started, flashing his biggest grin. “It’s a transformation device. Like, body reconfiguration. Real cutting-edge stuff.”

The pudgy judge squinted at the contraption’s wires and blinking lights. “Transformation device? So, like a hologram or something?”

“No, it’s real,” Marcus said, elbowing Ethan. “Right, L—uh, right?”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. “It doesn’t just project an image. It changes you. Physically. Skin, bone, the whole thing.”

One of the women gave him a polite smile—the kind adults use when humoring a toddler’s made-up story. “That’s… ambitious. What’s your proof?”

Ethan hesitated. He felt his pulse spike. He’d been hiding all morning, dodging questions, pretending to be some random girl. And now? He’d had enough. “Me. I’m the proof.”

The judges blinked. “You?” the pudgy man said.

“Yes. I’m Ethan Blackwell. The guy who’s been winning first place at this fair since freshman year. Yesterday, I was me. Today, I’m this.” He spread his arms, hoodie slipping enough to show the hint of cleavage. “Because my machine works.”

The second woman’s eyebrows rose. “Sweetheart, that’s… quite a claim.”

Marcus jumped in. “He’s telling the truth! I was there! It zapped him, and bam—Ethan’s now the spitting image of Lila Hart.”

The pudgy judge crossed his arms. “Kid, I’ve been judging this fair for fifteen years. I’ve seen snake-oil projects and fake volcanoes. I’m not falling for some wild sci-fi story.”

The dismissiveness sparked something sharp in Ethan’s chest. “Oh, screw this.” He grabbed the Morphisizer’s remote, which he’d been tinkering with all lunch. The cracked screen flickered to life:

NEURAL LOCK DISENGAGED. READY.

“Wait—Ethan, dude, think before—” Marcus started.

“Nope. I’m done.” Ethan aimed the device at the pudgy judge.

A blast of blue-white light filled the corner of the gym. The judge yelped as the energy rippled through him like a heat wave. His body began to shrink. His gut melted into a flat stomach, his chest ballooned outward, his thinning hair flushed into glossy brown waves. The whole transformation took seconds, and when the light died, standing there was no middle-aged man—just a wide-eyed twenty-something woman with a curvy frame and a high-pitched scream.

“WHAT THE—WHAT DID YOU—?!” She stumbled backward, hands flying to her chest. Her new voice cracked in panic. “Oh my god, these are—?!” One hand dropped to her groin, patted frantically, and then stretched out the waistband to look down at her newly dickless region. "WHERE ARE MY BALLS?!"

The other two judges just gawked, jaws unhinged.

Marcus, grinning ear to ear, whispered, “Dude. You killed it.”

Ethan folded his arms, glaring. “Still think it’s a toy?”

The newly transformed judge patted her hips, face pale. “This is… I… I need a mirror. I need pants that fit. I need… what the hell just happened?!”

The other judges looked between Ethan, the screaming new girl, and the machine like it was a live nuke. “So this actually… works,” the older woman muttered. Her voice held a mix of fear and awe. “You’re… you’re saying you were…?”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Yup. I was a guy yesterday. Guess I’m not the only one having a weird morning now.”

The commotion drew a crowd. Students started gathering, phones out, whispering. Ethan caught a few familiar faces—kids from chemistry class—staring at him with dawning realization.

“Wait…” someone said. “That’s Ethan’s table. But who’s the—”

“Holy crap,” another blurted, pointing. “That’s Ethan! The hot chick’s Ethan!”

The murmurs spread like wildfire. In seconds, the whole back row of tables buzzed with shock, laughter, and disbelief. Kendra Walker, standing a few feet away, was frozen mid-gum pop, eyes wide. “No. Freaking. Way.”

Ethan just smirked, holding up the remote like a trophy. “Told you. Science fair just got interesting.”