Both boys sat on the couch, while Ty stretched his right arm out to grab the remote which was on top of the television set, and turned it on. They decided to watch a baseball game on TV while they waited for Cousin Peter to show up.

“Hey Ty, is your room ready for your guest? He could show up any minute, you know!” Dustin reminded his little brother.

“Oh yeah, let me take care of that!” Ty answered, as he got up, walked to the living room and stood right underneath the balcony. He jumped about 25 feet straight up in the air and landed on his feet on the second floor just like a cat.

Dustin watched his little brother leap to the second floor and was simply amazed at his little brother’s incredible powers. At least it seemed like he was using them on himself more than on other people, and he had changed himself into just about every single comic book and movie super hero imaginable. He was happy that Ty was changing himself more often and would leave him alone. Ty was able to run like the Flash, to fly like Superman, and to stretch his body like Plastic Man!

Ty walked into his bedroom, making several wishes. In an instant he wished for his bedroom to be clean, the carpet vacuumed, and to have two single beds in his room instead of one. All his papers and pens were neatly stored away in the desk drawer and the whole room looked spotless and neat, ready to welcome his important Canadian visitor.

After about two and a half hours of watching the baseball game on TV, Dustin got up.

“Hey Ty, I need to get ready to go to work.”

As he was about to walk to the stairs, the doorbell rang!

“Get it, Ty! That’s probably your cousin Peter!” Dustin said.

Ty walked up to the front door and opened it. In front of him was a teenager, about 5’6” tall, with an athletic look. He was slightly tanned and muscular, wearing a red and white tank top and a pair of red shorts and high tops as his shoes. It looked like he was wearing a basketball uniform! His bulging biceps were clearly showing, giving the impression that he worked out in the gym a lot. He had short, brown hair that was spiked towards the front of his head, and big, blue eyes. He had a real friendly and confident expression on his face, and he had a big, blue soft bag that was hanging by his right shoulder using a thick, blue strap.

“Hi, I’m Peter! Are you Cousin Tyler?” he said, just as Dustin walked up to the front door, standing next to Ty.

“Yes! I’m Tyler, but everybody calls me Ty for short. And this is my older brother Dustin!” Ty said, as he shook Peter’s hand. “Come on in, Peter!”

Dustin grabbed Peter’s soft bag as Ty walked him in and invited him to grab a seat on the couch in the living room.

Dustin shook Peter’s hand just as Peter sat down. “Hi, I’m Dustin! Make yourself right at home. Ty will show you your room, and the two of you can hang out together. I can’t stay to talk to you because I have to get dressed to go to work pretty soon.”

Ty and Peter hit things off right away, as Ty asked him about his family and Peter filled him in on who all their relatives were and how they were doing. Then Peter told Ty that he also liked to play basketball and that he was very good at using the computer. Finally, Ty offered him something to drink and made his way into the kitchen.

But Ty did not realize that Peter could sense his power. Peter wanted to confirm what he was feeling about his cousin and decided to change Dustin in order to expose it.

As Ty went into the kitchen to prepare some lemonade for the two of them to drink, Dustin had just gotten out of the shower and had dried himself off using his big, blue beach towel that was hanging from the shower curtain in the bathroom.

Dustin had a uniform he needed to wear and had worn the same uniform just the previous day, so he found it strange that his shirt did not fit him very well, it seemed much too tight. Then he tried to fit his jeans, and those were way too long and too wide! That seemed strange, for he had just worn both of them the previous evening at work!

He then walked up to his dresser and got another shirt to wear, but this shirt was also too big! He took the shirt off and compared it to the other one, and they were both exactly the same size. That was strange!

Dustin grabbed the same pair of jeans he tried to put on a few minutes ago and now realized that they had become too small! Or had they?

Then he realized that his clothes had not changed at all, but his body was constantly shrinking and growing a little bit. He tried putting on his tennis shoes and noticed that they were too big for him. But as he sat down on his bed, looking down at his feet, he realized that his feet were growing to the point where they started to hurt! He had to take the shoes off again, because his feet had grown too big for them. He couldn’t understand it, why his body was growing and shrinking so fast. “It’s Ty!” he said. Why was Ty messing with his body, when he had promised to leave him alone, just a few hours earlier? Dustin was going to be late for work now and he was in a hurry to get dressed.

“Hey, Ty! Get up here, please?” he shouted, after he opened his bedroom door.

Ty ran out of the kitchen up the stairs and walked into Dustin’s room, facing his brother.

“What’s the matter?” he asked him, wondering why his brother wasn’t dressed yet for work.

“What do you think you’re doing to me?” Dustin asked him, with an angry tone in his voice.

“What are you talking about?” Ty asked him, expressing his surprise.

“You keep on messing with me while I’m trying to get dressed, Ty! You keep on shrinking and growing my body!” Dustin complained out loud. “I’m going to be late for work now, so knock it off!”

In the meantime, Peter was able to hear the discussion and decided it was time to tell Ty his secret. He slowly got up from the couch and quietly made his way up the stairs towards Dustin’s bedroom.

Ty looked astonished, as he put his hands on his chest and shouted. “It wasn’t me! I’m not doing anything to you! I promised to leave you alone, remember?”

“You’re lying!” Dustin shouted in anger, as he pointed his finger at him.

“I’m telling the truth, Dustin! Honest, I didn’t do anything to your body at all!” Tyler answered in disbelief.

“Oh, really? Then who ELSE in this house has the power to change my body like that, huh?” Dustin shouted in anger at Ty.

“I do.” Peter said calmly.

Both Dustin and Tyler looked over and saw Peter standing in the bedroom doorway, leaning against the door frame with his shoulder as he hid both his hands inside the pockets of his shorts.

Tyler turned towards Peter, and both Ty and Dustin gasped as they heard Peter’s admission.

“You mean… You got the power to change others as well?” Ty asked his cousin.

“I just learned two things from your discussion. First of all, now I know for sure that you have the same powers as I do, Ty! Second, Dustin, you’re so easy to change! Piece of cake!” Peter said calmly, as he grinned at his two hosts.

For a few seconds, Ty and Dustin were speechless. They had no idea what to say. You could almost hear a pin drop in Dustin’s room.

“Oh, cool!” Ty then shouted, as he walked up to Peter and put his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “Wow, Peter! We can have so much fun, since we both have the same powers! That’s awesome!”

“Oh, no!” Dustin groaned as he rolled his eyes looking up, “Now I got two of them in the house! Two boys with the power to change my body! Oh, good grief!”

Peter walked up to Dustin and extended his right hand. Dustin cautiously extended his too. As both of them shook hands, Peter tried to put Dustin’s anxiety to rest.

“Don’t worry Dustin” Peter said, “You’re my cousin’s big brother. So I guess we’re still related. I’m not going to hurt you! Just trust me in this, okay?”

“Well you already hurt me in a way because I’m late for work! It is a ten minute walk from here and I need to be there five minutes from now!” Dustin answered, feeling a little irritated.

“Are you ready to go the way you are now?” Peter asked him.

“No, I need to get dressed and put my shoes on!” Dustin replied.

“Are those you clothes over there, on the bed?”

“Yes, and those are my white tennis shoes, on the floor” Dustin pointed out to Peter.

Peter looked at the clothes on the bed and in a split second Dustin was standing there, fully dressed in his proper work uniform and everything fit him perfectly, including his tennis shoes.

“Wow! That’s incredible!” Dustin said to Peter, as he checked his clothes.

“Are you ready to go now?” Peter asked him again.

“Yes, I’m ready to go to work!” Dustin replied.

“I’m going to make run as fast as the speed of a train. You’ll be able to run fast all day, so you can run back home after work. Now, get going, run to work!” Peter commanded Dustin, with a grin on his face.

Dustin started running and flew out of the house, faster than a car. It only took Dustin 30 seconds to get to work, and he did not even break out in a sweat. When he arrived at the grocery store, he looked back down the street where he came from.

“Thank you, Peter! You’re cool!” he whispered.

“Good Lord, Peter! You are so strong with your powers!” Ty said in amazement, “You got to teach me some cool tricks!”

“Well, how about we go somewhere and have some fun?” Peter asked Ty.

“Yeah, let’s get out of the house. Oh, by the way, Dustin got some money from an uncle of his. We might go on a trip to Disney World or something. So please don’t mess around with his body too much, okay? He really hates that, although he likes it when I change him into a big basketball player! He just got the money to pay for the trip. Would you like to come along with us?” Ty asked Peter.

“Of course I would! Thank you so much for having me over! I promise you: your brother Dustin is going to have fun with me around!”

Tyler and Peter walked out the front door. Ty locked the door and put his key in his pocket of his shorts.

“Now, where do you want to go?” Ty asked his Cousin Peter.

“I know a way we can go see a movie and only pay the admission fee for a children’s ticket!” Peter responded, with an evil grin on his face.

“Don’t we have to be little kids in order to get a discount on movie tickets?” Ty asked.

“Oh yes!” Peter answered confidently, “Then we’ll become two nine-year-old boys!”

Ty just laughed! He already loved having his Cousin Peter around. It was going to be a great summer after all!

Ty and Peter had just left the house and were walking through the neighborhood. They talked a lot, for this was Ty’s first opportunity to get to know Cousin Peter better.

“So, Ty, how often do you use your power?” Peter asked his cousin.

“I use it whenever I need it, I guess!” Ty answered, “And you? What about you?”

“I use it 24/7. Having this power is like working out in the gym. If you use it just a little, you grow stronger at it but it takes a long time. If you use it every day, like working out, you will master it in no time! That’s how I can tell that I’m much stronger than you, Ty!” Peter answered.

That remark stopped Ty cold in his tracks as he turned towards Peter and grinned. He started to concentrate on his cousin and wanted him to shrink back in age to a nine-year-old boy. He stared at Peter for a few seconds, but nothing happened! He continued looking at his athletic cousin, as he stood there, with both arms folded in front of his chest.

Then it dawned on Ty, that he couldn’t change Peter. No matter how hard he tried, his powers didn’t work on him at all!

Peter grinned for a few seconds, and then said “Are you done trying to turn me into a little boy? It doesn’t work on me because I’m stronger than you and I can block your power. Now it’s my turn!”

Only one second had passed, for Ty was instantly transformed into a nine-year-old boy! His clothes had also shrunk in proportion, and he gasped in horror, as his powerful cousin transformed his body while he couldn’t even change him! Peter did not shrink an inch!

“That is so weird! I can’t change you at all!” little Ty said in complete astonishment, as he looked up at his now older and taller cousin. His voice was much higher, he was a foot shorter, and his arms and legs were much shorter and skinnier than they were before.

“Wow, you changed me so fast, I hardly even noticed it!” he added, as he started to feel afraid of Peter. Ty realized that he has finally met someone else, who had the same powers as he did, but Peter was much more powerful then he imagined. He stood there in awe, as he looked up to his big cousin.

“Don’t worry Tyler; I’m here to help you and to teach you. I came to be your coach and your mentor. I’m just so happy that I found you. We’re related, and because we are family, there is no way I can hurt you. And Dustin and I are going to have a great time playing basketball later on, so he’ll have a good time as well.” Peter replied with a smile on his face, while looking down at his little cousin.

“Yeah but this is NO fun! I’m a little kid while you’re a big teenager!” Ty protested, since he was unable to turn his cousin into a 9 year-old boy.

“You’re right, Tyler. I won’t block your power this time. Remember that I can undo anything you change about me or anything or anybody else, so I can always undo what you did. So go right ahead!” Peter said, as he put his hands in the side pockets of his shorts.

“What do you mean?” little Ty asked him, with a confused look on his face.

“Go right ahead! Use your power on me. Try again.” the big teenager replied.

Ty looked up at Peter and concentrated. This time, he wanted Peter to become younger and smaller than him, so that he was the bigger person! He wished for Peter to regress into a six year-old boy, and suddenly Peter started to lose height. His body got smaller, his legs were shorter, his arms and chest lost the muscles, and his face became younger, even though he still had the short, brown, spiky hair in the front. Ty made sure his clothes shrunk in proportion with the rest of his body, for he didn’t want to leave his cousin on the street without any clothes on! After about five seconds, Ty looked down at Peter, who was transformed from a big, teenage basketball player into a little boy who looked like a first grader.

“I knew you were going to make me smaller than you!” the little boy said to Ty, who looked just like a fourth grader himself. The two boys laughed at each other, and then Ty decided to make Peter grow some more until he also looked like a 9 year-old at the same height as himself.

“Good job, Ty! You did it!” Peter said, as he gently rested his hand on Ty’s shoulder.

Peter and Ty walked in front of one of the tallest government buildings on that street, and the boys walked in and took the elevator to the top floor, where there was a pavilion that provided them with a bird’s eye view of the whole city.

“The shopping mall is just about three miles north of here, right over there!” Ty pointed out to Peter, as the boys sat down on a bench and enjoyed the view.

“Wow! I need to tell my parents about this! The view from this place is awesome!” Peter said.

But then he noticed that Ty had become very sad, to the point where he noticed tears rolling down his face.

“What’s the matter, Ty?” Peter asked Ty. He got closer to his cousin and put his arm around Ty’s shoulder, as Ty seemed to start crying.

“I didn’t even know I had a family. I don’t know my parents. Peter, you’re the first relative I’ve ever had who decided to look me up. Every year, every Christmas, every birthday, I celebrate alone. Or I don’t celebrate it at all! I feel so lonely sometimes, that’s why I’m so happy you came. You’re the only family I got, Peter!” Ty replied, as he tried to fight back the tears but couldn’t.

Ty was feeling a little emotional for a few minutes, as he pressed against his cousin Peter. He finally stopped crying and wiped the tears from his eyes and from his face.

“It’s alright, Ty, I’m not going to hurt you. I completely understand how you feel. See? You’re smiling again!” Peter said, as he comforted his cousin.

“I’m going to promise you something. I will do whatever it takes to never lose touch with you again. I’ll make every effort to see you every summer vacation, if you do the same, okay?” Peter asked, as he held his right hand in front of him, made a fist, and then just allowed his pinky to stick out.

“I promise to stay in touch and I will wish for you to come here when I really, really need you!” Tyler answered, as he held out his right hand, making a fist, and then just raising his pinky.

The two boys locked their pinkies together as if they arm wrestled, making a pact with each other. It was a handshake that indicated that they made promises to each other and that these promises were made to be kept indefinitely. Ty was relieved that Peter wanted to coach him. He was also relieved that Peter promised never to hurt him, even though he was much more powerful than him. And Ty was alleviated; he had somewhere to go, and someone to call, if he ever really had gotten into serious trouble. Besides just being Ty’s cousin, Peter would be his mentor and his couch. Peter had the same powers as he did and was probably the only person on earth who Ty could totally relate to or trust.

“Hey Ty, you got to promise me that you’re going to be nice to Dustin, okay? He really cares about you and he worries about you a lot. I have seen that in his heart. I know he used to be really mean to you, but it wasn’t because of him, but because of the bad influence he was getting from your foster parents. Remember that after I leave to go back to Canada, Dustin will be all you’ve got!” Peter instructed Ty.

“I know that, Peter! I’m well aware of that” Ty responded.

Peter finally stood up and walked to the edge of the pavilion, overlooking the city.

“Shall we go to the mall?” He asked as he turned towards Ty.

Ty got up, walked towards Peter and stood to his right.

“How will we get there?” he asked.

“We’ll fly, of course!” Peter said, with a big smile on his face.

“Say what?” Ty asked, completely surprised.

“Do you trust me, Tyler?” Peter asked Ty, as he extended his right hand.

“Yes Peter, I trust you” Ty answered, as he grabbed hold of Peter’s hand with his left hand.

Peter extended his left arm above his hand and started to rise up off the floor. He pulled Ty along, until he wished for both boys to be able to fly and for them not to be seen by anyone. Peter let go of Ty, who now extended his arms completely in front of him as he picked up speed. Both the 9 year-old boys flew the distance of three miles over an altitude of just a few hundred feet off the ground. As they approached the big shopping mall, the descended and lowered their legs as they came ten feet from the ground. They both landed right in front of the main entrance to the mall, as Peter allowed them now to be seen again by everyone. They opened the big glass door and found themselves inside the mall.

Ty led the way, since he was familiar with the mall, and led Peter to the movie theatre. There, the two boys bought a pair of movie tickets and only paid half price, since they looked like a pair of fourth graders spending their long summer days hanging out at the mall. Peter and Ty watched an action movie together, and treated themselves to soft drinks and pop corn.

After the movie was over, they walked around the mall, checking out the video game stores, sports stores, bookstores and video game arcades. After they had spent almost four hours walking around the mall, they had gotten hungry, thirsty and tired. Peter suggested they go to the food court, where all the little fast food restaurants were located, and to grab something to eat over there.

Both Ty and Peter ordered a hamburger with French fries from a popular fast food chain and they sat down at a table which was located in the far left corner of the entire restaurant area. Peter wanted to sit somewhere where they would not be easily noticed, so they could talk about their powers.

“We got so much food, I don’t I can eat it all Peter! My stomach isn’t big enough!” Ty whispered at his cousin.

“Well we have already seen the movie, so shall we change back into our old selves?” Peter asked his cousin.

“I’ll make sure nobody will notice us change!” Ty replied.

“Alright Ty, here you go.” Peter said, as he munched on some fries. Without even looking at him, Peter allowed Ty to progress into his 15 year-old self again, leaving himself as the younger of the two boys.

“Hey, you didn’t even look at me when you changed me back!” Ty replied with a complete look of surprise in his face.

“So, do I have to?” Peter answered as he took a bite out of his hamburger, “I know what you look like! I can change you anywhere, at any time, into anything, whenever I want!”

Ty gasped of astonishment as he thought about how powerful his cousin was. He was able to use his power on him without even looking.

“How do you do that?” Ty asked Peter.

“It’s all up here, Ty!” Peter answered, as he pointed his right finger at the right side of his head, just in front of his ear.

“I can walk into the restroom and change you into a baby while I’m gone, if I wanted to!” Peter answered, “Oh and by the way, please don’t forget to change me back, okay? I’m starting to get full from eating already!” Peter requested of his cousin.

“Hang on a second, I’m going to wash my hands in the restroom!” the older Ty said, as he got up and walked into the Men’s restroom. While he was washing his hands, he thought about Cousin Peter and what he looked like before he regressed into a 9 year-old kid, and concentrated. Then he dried his hands with a towel, threw the paper towel into the waste basket, and walked out to the food court. He saw Peter sitting there alone, but as his old self again, as a fifteen year-old teenage boy.

Ty cautiously walked towards the table, facing Peter, who had just eaten his last piece of his hamburger. He looked him over and made sure his cousin looked alright. His arms, legs, face, they all looked normal. He even had his big muscles back.

“Good work, Ty, you didn’t miss a thing!” Peter said, as he finished the last of his French fries after dunking them in a small puddle of ketchup, which was on his plastic tray in front of him. “Changing someone into a shape or form you have seen before is easy, because you just recall that form from memory. And if you regress someone to a certain age, that is easy too, because you just concentrate on what age he or she is supposed to be. Their body will regress or progress naturally until they reach that age. You couldn’t tell when I did it to you because I just do it much faster than you do!”

“Wow!” Ty whispered to himself, although Peter did hear him. Peter continued to talk as he wiped his hands with a paper napkin and put all the trash on the plastic tray in front of him.

“However, changing someone into a shape or form you haven’t seen before is more of a challenge, because you need to use your imagination a little” Peter continued. “When you change someone’s shape, or when you make his muscles grow, you focus on those parts of his body and you concentrate on making it grow. But you also need to envision at what point you need the growth or change to stop!”

Peter leaned back in his chair and made the plastic tray levitate in mid air! It floated towards the trash can, tipping over to one side that was exactly above the opening over the trash can, dumping all the napkins, plastic silverware, papers, and cups in it. When everything was cleared off the tray, it floated towards the stack of all the other plastic trays and gently landed on top of the stack. And this was all happening is Peter was talking to Ty.

“If you can use your mind well, then you’ll do great at using your powers!” Peter instructed his cousin. “Look at the people around you. Then look at their eyes. Their eyes will reveal to you what is going on inside. You’ll see and feel their emotions, problems, their wishes and desires, and their needs, dreams and their fantasies. Through their eyes you can see their heart! The deeper you look, the more you’ll see. Once you decide to change any part of something or someone, work like a sculptor or a painter. The power of transformation is an art! Your first change will be rough, and then you need to refine it and perfect it until you’re happy with it! It may only take a few seconds, as you watch a person change before your eyes, you must have a vision in your mind of how a person must look once the transformation is complete. Your vision will signal the end of the process, and your power will project that finalized vision unto the object or the person who you want to change!”

“Let’s stop talking about it now and go put your theory into practice!” Ty said feeling very excited about using his power to the fullest.

“Look around, do you see anybody you know?” Peter asked Ty.

Ty looked around and spotted Lucas, a short, blond kid who lived on his street. He was apparently walking around the mall by himself, waiting for the public bus to come to the bus stop so he could get a ride home.

“Yeah, I see one of my neighbors’ kids!” Ty responded with a smile on his face.

“Use your power” Peter instructed, while he grabbed his soda and got ready to drink from the straw, “Command him to walk over to our table and to stand right next to you.”

Ty did exactly what Peter told him to and willed for Lucas to come to him. Immediately Lucas looked around for Ty and walked straight towards the table in the food court where Peter and Ty were sitting, and he stood right next to Ty.

“Hey Lucas, how are you?” Ty asked the boy.

“I’m fine! What are you doing here?” Lucas asked him.

“We just had dinner! Hey Lucas, don’t be scared, okay? We are experimenting with you, alright?” Ty said, as he tried to make Lucas feel comfortable.

Lucas was wearing a button shirt with jeans, which covered his legs all the way down to his tennis shoes.

Then Ty started concentrating on him and the button shirt changed into a tank top and the jeans turned into a pair of shorts.

“Hey Peter, Lucas also likes to play basketball!” Ty said, as he examined the 9 year-old boy from head to toe.

Lucas’ tennis shoes turned into high tops, and his tank top and shorts became a matching set of a basketball uniform.

“Add some muscle to the skinny boy; give him some strength, Ty!” Peter instructed.

Lucas gulped when he heard that, not knowing what to expect. “What are you going to do to me?” he asked Ty, feeling greatly concerned.

“I’m going to make you into a basketball player! Don’t worry, you’ll love it!” Ty assured his little buddy. “Turn around for a second, Lucas.”

“Remember now,” Peter instructed, “You’re a sculptor. Go ahead and give him that athletic look by modifying his body. Just look at how he is now and decide how you want him to look once the transformation is complete. Once you have a picture of him in your mind, allow the transformation to begin.”

The 9 year-old boy’s legs began to swell a little, becoming as hard as tree trunks. His calves ballooned out of the back of his legs, below the knees, until they were neatly curved into raw muscle. His triceps and arms expanded, giving that swimmer’s look. And the boy’s back grew wider at the shoulders, until it had that v-shape that gymnasts and bodybuilders have.

“Turn around for me” Ty instructed Lucas.

As the boy turned and faced Ty, abdominal muscles formed just below the test, to the point where you could see them hidden beneath the tank top. His chest expanded forward and sideways, and biceps popped up on both forearms, giving Lucas that healthy, athletic look he always wanted.

All while this was happening, Lucas was looking at his legs and at his chest, allowing his eyes to follow every part of his body as it changes. Whenever he felt a muscle tingle and grow, he looked as he stood in awe of his new muscular body and couldn’t help but smile once the transformation was complete.

“Wow! You made me big!” he said to Ty, who was admiring his work.

“Perfect, that is exactly how I wanted him to look!” Ty said to Peter, who was enjoying the transformation as much as Lucas was.

“Now Ty, make sure everybody sees Lucas now as being normal, so that you don’t cause his parents to panic when they suddenly realize that their nine year-old son has turned into an athlete!” Peter instructed his cousin.

Ty grabbed Lucas by the shoulder as he looked up to his neighbor who just had gotten a new body.

“Do you like the way you look now?” he asked Lucas.

“Oh yeah, I feel really strong now!” the boy responded with a big smile.

“Go and wait for the bus and just act normal when you get home, okay? Everybody will think that you always looked this way!” Ty told him.

“Thank you, Ty! I got to go…” the boy said, as he started to walk towards the glass door.

“Look at that kid! He looks awesome. Good job, Ty!” Peter said, as he tapped his cousin on the shoulder.

“What shall we do now?” Ty asked him.

“Let’s go home and see what we can do for your big brother Dustin.” Peter answered.

The two teens then got up and walked outside. Once they reached the parking lot, Peter used his power to make them both invisible, preparing them to leap for the sky and make the three-mile flight back to Ty’s house, just around the time when Dustin was due back home from his job at the grocery store.

“Hey Peter, look over there! There’s the basketball court that Dustin likes to play on!” Ty pointed out to his cousin, as they were about to make a soft landing on the grass in front of the house.

“Cool, it seems like the court is just a minute’s walking distance from the house then!” Peter responded, as he touched down on the lawn in front of the house. As soon as Ty was on the ground, Peter willed for them to become visible again, and the boys walked up to the front door of the house.

Ty unlocked the door with his key, and just as the boys were about to walk in to the house, Dustin came running on the driveway.

“Hey Dustin” Ty said to his brother as he slowed down from his jog from work.

Dustin didn’t say much, as he showed a rather angry look on his face. He walked up to the front door, where Peter and Ty were standing.

“Hey guys, did you have fun at the mall?” he asked the two boys, as he walked right by them, heading towards the stairs.

“Yeah…” Ty answered, but he stopped short of saying anything else as Dustin walked into his bedroom and closed the door.

Both boys stood in the hallway leading up to the staircase, looking up at Dustin’s bedroom door.

“Is he always this cheerful when he gets home from work?” Peter asked his cousin.

“Normally he keeps his door open!” Ty answered, “But he seemed kind of upset, I guess.”

“What kind of work does he do?” Peter asked as he became a little more curious about his cousin’s older brother.

“Right now he’s just bagging groceries at the supermarket. It’s not a great job; I mean it’s just for the summer. He’ll be a senior in High School this coming year and he’ll hopefully go to college after that.” Ty responded.

“Don’t worry about Dustin. I’ll invite him to go shoot some baskets in a few minutes. I know that’ll cheer him up. Show me where everything is at in the kitchen and I’ll make you and Dustin a turkey sandwich or something, alright?” Peter suggested, as Ty showed him the kitchen cabinets.

Ty went upstairs to take a shower, while Peter prepared some sandwiches in the kitchen. Peter sensed that there was something wrong with Dustin and wanted to find out what it was so that he could find a way to help him out.

Peter got some sliced turkey and bologna out of the refrigerator and then he got an unopened loaf of wheat bread off the kitchen counter and prepared six sandwiches, two for each of them. Then he grabbed a clean, white plastic plate from another cupboard and put four sandwiches on it. He slowly walked up to Dustin’s bedroom door with the plate in his left hand and gently knocked on the door with the knuckles on his right hand.

“Hey Dustin, it’s me, Peter. I made you some sandwiches” he said out loud.

“Come on in” Dustin answered, although Peter could tell by his voice that he sounded a little irritated.

Dustin sat on his chair at his desk and was looking over the classifieds section of the newspaper when Peter walked in. Peter sat on the edge of Dustin’s bed, just a few feet away from the desk.

Just as Dustin had grabbed a sandwich and started to take a bite, Peter decided to invite him to play some basketball.

“I noticed that there’s an open basketball court down the street from our house. Would you like to shoot some baskets with me after we finish eating?” he asked.

“Why would I want to play basketball with you?” Dustin asked feeling even more annoyed than before.

“Isn’t that your favorite sport?” Peter asked him.

“Yes it is, but I honestly don’t think I want to play with you.” Dustin snapped back.

“Why not?” Peter wondered out loud, feeling a bit disappointed.

“What’s the point? I don’t stand a chance against you! You’ll just blow me away on the court, because of that power of yours. No thanks!” Dustin shot back at him, with a feeling of disgust.

“No, Dustin, you’re wrong. In all fairness, I promise you that I won’t use any of my powers while I’m playing basketball with you” Peter responded calmly, hoping that Dustin would say yes.

Dustin continued to eat his sandwich and grabbed his second one on the plate when he gobbled up the first. Then he turned towards the newspaper on his desk, completely ignoring Peter.

“Please, Dustin, I would love to spend some time with you so I could get to know you better! I mean what have you got to lose? Let’s just play for ten minutes, alright?” Peter asked him, with the hope that Dustin would change his mind.

“Alright Peter, I’ll take you to the basketball court, so that you can have your moment of glory.” he said, clearly indicating that he didn’t feel like going at all. To make matters worse, all the walking he had done at work had given him a blister under his left foot. The jog home had made it even worse! He wasn’t much in the mood for basketball, but he decided to go out to the court to shoot some baskets and get it over with just so that Peter would stop asking.

Once they were done eating, Dustin grabbed the basketball that was sitting in the corner of his room and walked down the stairs. Peter knocked on the bathroom door and told Ty that they were going to the basketball court. Ty told him to go ahead, and he would meet them there after a few minutes, giving Peter the opportunity to spend some time with Dustin alone. Peter then walked down the stairs and followed Dustin to the basketball court.

It took only two minutes to walk from the house to the court; however Dustin didn’t say a word, and quietly walked to the court at his own pace without even waiting for Peter to catch up. Peter was only a few feet behind him, but he sensed that there was something bothering Dustin and he wanted to find out what it was. He couldn’t stand the fact that Dustin seemed to be holding something against him and he felt that he had to get the truth out in the opening from the first night, so that they could be friends for the rest of the time that he would be visiting with Cousin Tyler.

When Peter walked on to the full size basketball court, Dustin was standing near the free throw line, dribbling the ball as he waited for Peter to get ready.

Once Peter was on the court, Dustin threw the basketball straight at Peter’s chest. Peter almost missed catching it, but still caught it on time. The unfriendly silent treatment he was getting from Dustin was really bothering him, and Peter felt he needed to say something in order to break the ice.

“How often do you play basketball, Dustin?” he said, as he threw the ball back to Dustin.

Dustin caught the ball, dribbled it twice, and then looked straight at Peter as he passed the ball back to him.

Peter caught the ball, turned towards the basketball hoop, and attempted his first shot. The ball bounced off the edge of the rim, and headed straight for Dustin, who caught it after it bounced. Dustin then threw the ball back to Peter, without saying a word.

“Did you have a good day at work?” Peter asked him, as he dribbled the ball four times before he turned to the basket and attempted his second shot. The ball bounced off the backboard and landed on the free throw line, where Dustin caught it after one bounce.

Dustin hurled the ball back towards Peter, without saying a word. Peter caught the ball, but this time he passed it back to Dustin. He could tell that Dustin’s mind was not on playing basketball at all, much less talk about how his day went. Peter hated receiving the “silent treatment” and started to feel frustrated. He wanted to know why Dustin was being so short to him, and started to feel like he had to use his own method to find out what was really going on with Dustin, if he wouldn’t start talking on his own.

Dustin dribbled the ball three times but for some reason didn’t want to attempt a shot on basket and threw the ball back at Peter.

Peter caught the ball, but pushed it against his right hip and held it there with his right elbow, as he stood there, looking at Dustin. He had run out of patience and wanted to know what was wrong with Dustin and he wanted to know it now.

“Alright Dustin, for the last time, would you please tell me what’s wrong?” Peter asked him politely, while he continued to hold the ball against his side with his arms hanging down.

Seconds ticked by, as Dustin looked down in front of him. He didn’t want to talk, and Peter felt like he had to pry it out of him.

“Come on Dustin, I’m here to help you. Please say something. Look, I’m sorry about what I did to you in your bedroom earlier today. We just got off to a bad start and it was my fault.” Peter said calmly, thinking this was Dustin’s last chance to loosen his tongue.

Seconds ticked by and getting a word out of Dustin seemed like trying to crack a bank safe with a toothpick.

“Do you realize that I’m capable of finding out what’s bothering you on my own, Dustin?” Peter warned calmly.

That’s it; he had given Dustin every opportunity to speak his mind and to bring his feelings out in the open. Peter didn’t like to use his power on Dustin unless he absolutely had to, but he felt like this was for his own good. He had to know how Dustin felt about him and Ty and talk it out with him on his first night there, so that they could focus on doing more enjoyable things afterwards. Peter just wanted to get all differences between him; Dustin and Ty out now and resolve them so that they could just be great friends for the rest of the time he would be there. Unfortunately, Dustin didn’t feel like talking, and Peter had to use his powers as a last resort in order find out what was going on with Dustin.

As the World’s strongest psychic teen, all it took for Peter to know the truth was to look straight into Dustin’s eyes with his own blue eyes. Immediately Dusting felt a warm tingling feeling go through his body, from head to toe, he felt like his entire body was being scanned by this 15 year-old boy who had these strange powers. This angered Dustin, who suddenly looked up, looking straight at Peter.

“What was that?” he said out loud.

“Dustin, I know how you feel. I’m here to help…” Peter began to say. He now knew and understood everything.

“What was that feeling? What did you just do to me?” Dustin asked, louder than before.

Just at that moment, Ty came walking towards the basketball court. He saw Peter and Dustin on the court, but when he heard Dustin’s shouting, he decided to hide behind a bush. He wanted to hear what the discussion was about before he showed himself on the court.

“You were ignoring me, Dustin. So I used my powers to…” Peter began to explain. But Dustin cut him off, with an increasing rage.

“Your powers? What powers? You think you can solve everything with magic, don’t you! You and Ty are both the same!” Dustin shouted.

“That’s not true, Dustin. I understand everything now. Listen to me…” Peter began again.

“No! You listen to me!” Dustin shouted at Peter, louder than ever, “You and Ty are living in a dream world! You think you can do everything through magical powers! This is the real world. There are no magical powers in life! You and Ty just use your so-called ‘magical powers’ to make my life miserable and you know it!”

“Why are you so filled with anger towards me and Ty? Don’t blame us…” Peter started to say, as he was struggling not to shout back at Dustin.

“Ever since Ty turned fifteen he has caused me nothing but trouble with his stupid powers! He hasn’t helped me around the house, he doesn’t have a job, and he doesn’t do anything else but mess with my mind or my body every day! I’m trying to work, go to school, study, and make ends meet while he just plays around with magic. And now, to make even matters worse, you’re here too and both of you have these worthless powers!” Dustin shouted at the top of his lungs in complete frustration.

“Dustin, I can help you, but please don’t blame Ty for all the things…” Peter started to say, as he started to grow angry himself.

“Everything that has gone wrong lately is all Ty’s fault!” Dustin growled at Peter.

Peter was mad now. Dustin was unhappy with his life, and he was blaming it all on Ty.

“You got FIRED today, didn’t you?” Peter shouted at Dustin.

Dustin gasped as Peter mentioned the truth about what really happened today at work.

“You were rude to a fat lady when you packed her groceries and she didn’t tip you, huh? She complained to the manager and you got fired. Is that Ty’s fault, too?” Peter added.

“How did you know that?” Dustin asked Peter.

“You broke up with Cindy, your girlfriend, because you didn’t want to spend a few dollars and take her out to dinner while you had the money, but wanted to spend it on yourself!”, Peter continued, listing one experience after the other that was true.

“Who told you these things? Was it Ty?” he shouted back at Peter.

“No!” Peter replied, even angrier than before.

“How do you know all this? Who told you? Tell me!” Dustin shouted, thinking he was about to go crazy! How could Peter know his feelings and frustrations?

“You only think about yourself, and when things go wrong, you blame them on Ty! That’s why you’re so filled with anger!” Peter responded, feeling clearly very upset over the whole conversation.

“Who told you all this?” Dustin shouted at Peter, as he made a step closer to him. He looked like he was about to punch Peter in the face.

“YOU did!” Peter responded, “I see it, I feel it, I read it in your mind!”

“I’m done talking to you!” Dustin said, as he slowly turned around.

“Dustin, if you hold any anger against Ty for the things he has done, then you need to talk it out with him and you need to forgive him!” Peter said, as Dustin started to walk away.

“Wait, where are you going? I’m not done yet! At least hear me out, Dustin!” Peter shouted, while Dustin continued to walk towards the edge of the baseline of the court. And if there was one thing Peter couldn’t stand, it was being ignored by someone while he still had something to say. This made him furious!

“I’m not finished!” Peter yelled at Dustin.

“I AM FINISHED! GOODBYE!” Dustin shouted back, as he was nearing the baseline.

“Don’t walk away from me like this!” Peter shouted in anger.

Dustin continued to ignore Peter, as he marched off the court.

“If you step over that line then you’re nothing but a WEASEL, Dustin!” Peter shouted out of anger.

And then on the second that Dustin’s left foot crossed over the baseline, his body shrunk dramatically. He went from over six feet tall to just about three inches, he got hair all over his body, his nose became longer, as he was now forced to crawl on all four legs. He grew a short tail and lost the ability to speak. His feet turned into paws. He became instantly transformed into a little brown, hairy weasel. It was briefly trapped in the pile of clothes that it wore as a human being, just two seconds earlier.

Peter stood on the basketball court, looking at the pile of clothes which cover the spot where Dustin stepped over the baseline. For a moment he was in shock, as he saw Dustin’s body disappear. Then the little weasel crawled away from the pile, and Peter blew a sigh of relief. He had almost forgotten that it was his own power that transformed Dustin, as it was something he wished out of anger. He hated to use his powers in situations like this, and couldn’t help but break down in tears as he noticed the little weasel run around the court.

“I’m sorry, Dustin. I’m so sorry!” Peter said, with tears rolling from his eyes down his face, as he continued to stare at the little, helpless weasel.

Ty saw everything from the bushes and was amazed at his cousin’s powers. He knew he could do the same thing, but not nearly as fast as his cousin! At the same time, he was relieved that Peter and Dustin were going through this, so that they could iron out their differences.

Peter dropped the ball on the court and used the side of his arm to wipe the tears from his eyes, while he slowly walked towards the little weasel, which seemed to be much disoriented. He walked towards him and stood in front of him. The weasel looked over and saw Peter’s giant basketball shoes. It then tilted its head up, and noticed the giant teenager standing just a few inches in front of him. Dustin trembled with fear, with the thought that the giant boy would step on him with his shoe and kill him instantly!

The giant teen instead squatted down while bending the knees, extended his right arm with his palm facing up and fingers together, allowing the weasel to crawl on to his hand. Even though Peter was probably the most powerful kid in the World, he was still just a kid, and his deep love for animals ensured the weasel’s survival.

He gently stroked the weasel with his left hand as he slowly stood back up and walked towards the small bench on the side of the court. He then sat down and held his hand in front of him, looking at the 16 year-old boy who now had the body of a weasel.

“I want you to be able to hear what I have to say” Peter said to the weasel. Peter then looked at Dustin and willed him it to be able to understand everything he was about to say, even while he had the body of a weasel.

“Dustin, I know that Ty loves you very much. You’re all he’s got, he has no other relatives. Ty has made some mistakes and he has said and done a lot of stupid things, but you are the oldest and you need to forgive him for the things he has said or done that hurt you.” Peter calmly spoke, looking at the weasel sitting in the palm of his hand.

“Please don’t blame Ty for every thing that has gone wrong. I know you’re feeling frustrated and angry. I would too, if I were to lose my job over something dumb. But you’re like a father to Ty, you need to stay with him through good times and bad times, and always show your love for him. And he’ll look for ways to help you, even if he can do it with or without his powers. But please don’t give up on Ty. He cares deeply about you, he really does! You need to take a break, to go out, to go do something fun with him. I know you’re under a lot of pressure at school. You’re going to college, and you’re going to become an engineer. But don’t give up on Ty. Stick with him, and you’ll do just fine.” Peter whispered at Dustin.

“It’s up to you if you want me to stay with you, Dustin. If you want me to leave, then I’ll leave. I’ll go back to Canada tonight, if you don’t want me here after this. Let me set you down so I can change you back. I’m so sorry, Dustin. Please… please forgive me…” Peter said, as he lowered his hand and allowed the weasel to crawl from his hand on to the basketball court.

Peter turned around, noticing Dustin’s clothes. Then he looked over and saw the basketball near the center of the court. He extended his right arm as he magically willed the ball to roll towards him by itself, bouncing once so that Peter could catch it with both his hands. As he slowly walked off the court and towards the street, the weasel’s legs began to grow longer while the hair disappeared, revealing human skin. The face changed back into that of a human, while the tail shrunk and disappeared inside Dustin’s back. In two seconds Dustin stood there, in his human form, on the basketball court. He was completely naked, but it was for only a second, as the pile of clothing disappeared, and Dustin instantly found himself fully dressed in his basketball clothes.

“Peter, WAIT!” Dustin shouted at the boy, who was slowly walking off the court.

Peter stopped and turned around. He had a sad look on his face, as he started to walk towards Dustin. Without saying a word, he stopped about three feet in front of Dustin, maintaining the same facial expression the whole time.

Dustin was eight inches taller than Peter and stood there, looking down at the muscular teenage boy with the short, spiked brown hair and big, blue eyes. The two stared at each other for ten seconds until Dustin wrapped both his arms around the boy and hugged him while trying to fight back the tears.

“I forgive you, Peter” Dustin whispered in his ear, “and I’m sorry for acting like such a jerk towards you and Ty. Please stay with us, don’t leave. I owe you guys an apology. I’ll make it up to you, I promise! We’re going on a trip, on a vacation, just three of us!”

Dustin moved back a little and placed his hands on Peter’s shoulders, as he looked him straight in the eyes.

“I’m here to help you, Dustin. I just want to get to know you and Ty better. I don’t have any brothers and sisters and you are the only relatives I’ve never met before. And please don’t see the fact that we have these powers as such a bad thing. I don’t want to hurt you. When I go back to Canada, you’ll all Ty’s got; you must take care of him. He’s my cousin and I love both of you very much!”

Peter then looked down at Dustin’s shoes.

“You got a blister under your left foot, huh? You got that from walking so much and from pushing grocery carts at the store?” Peter asked him.

“Yeah, but…” Dustin said, as he was completely caught by surprise.

“Wait, you can’t play basketball with a blister. I’ll get rid of it for you.” Peter answered.

In an instant, the pain in Dustin’s left foot was gone.

Dustin was astonished, as he looked down at Peter with his mouth wide open.

“My God, how did you do that?” Dustin whispered.

“I know what you’re feeling, what you’re thinking and what you’re hearing, Dustin. I know everything about you, from the last hair on your head to the soles of your feet. I know what you see and think, and I can change any part of you anytime and anywhere I want to. I can make you say, feel, do, or think whatever I want and I can even make you fall asleep and wake up. I can make you dream, I can make you feel scared, or I can make you feel brave. I have absolute control over every centimeter in your body and you will always obey me blindly. My power allows me to manipulate or change you any way I want to. I can’t raise anyone from the dead after he’s died nor can I shrink anyone to an age before he’s been born, but I can do just about anything in between.” Peter explained, leaving Dustin completely amazed, with his mouth wide open.

Then Dustin looked down towards his stomach, slightly below that. Peter sensed it right away.

“Yes Dustin, I have complete control over that part of you as well.” Peter added.

“What… Who… who ARE you?” Dustin wondered out loud in disbelief.

But Peter just looked him straight in the eye, without giving an answer. Then he looked around and saw Ty approaching them from behind him.

“Hey Dustin, do you still want to play basketball with me?” Peter asked. He could have easily willed Dustin to play if he had wanted, but he had enough of using his powers that night and wanted to give Dustin the freedom to decide that on his own. The most important thing to Peter was that Dustin had undergone another transformation. He had finally accepted Peter, and he was not transformed through Peter’s power, but because of Peter’s heart.

They played for awhile, not as friends, but as family. Dustin got along great with Peter, and the two would continually pass the ball to one another. Ty was relieved that they had worked out their differences, and he couldn’t wait to learn more about his awesome cousin.

The three boys walked home, laughing and planning out the rest of their vacation. Where would they go and what would they do? Only they will know, but we will need to leave that for another story. •