Tommy felt a small hand pressing into his shoulder, shaking him. He groaned, and tried to roll over. The hand dug into his delt, holding him. He flexed a bit, trying to break the grip, but the hand pressed harder.

"Wake up sleepy head!" the child's gleeful voice said. "We get to go to the camp today!"

Tommy opened his eyes. Above him were too mounds of flesh, solid and flawless -- pillows of muscle that billowed in an out with each breath. Tommy, turned, his eyes now focused on a rock hard eight-pack. He couldn't see the face, but he didn't need to. "Ben... what time is it?"

"6AM!" Ben ripped the covers off of Tommy, revealling the older boys massive physique. Tommy slept in his underwear. In the fetal position, his thick lats pressed into the matress, his own eight pack hugging huge quads that would make a Mr. Olympia jealous.

Tommy moved slowly and looked at the more muscular boy. "I'm still sore from yesterday," he said, stretching and flexing his thighs. 'That leg workout you put me through was a killer!"

Ben smiled. "Only way you can get muscles like these!" Ben bent over, pushing his massive arms in front of him, he pressed his massive pecs together. He sucked in his stomach, then flexed his abs hard. Moving one thick thigh in front of the other, he contracted the muscles, causing ripples of power to coarse through his iron-hard body.

Tommy looked at him, then struck his own most muscular pose. His own mighty chest ripped into shredded muscles. His eight pack creating a wall of power over his stomach. His wide lats spread like wings of a bird of prey, and his thighs pulsed into pillars of ripped power. He looked in the mirror, comparing his ten year old physique to Ben's eight year old. There was no competition. Ben's lats were wider, his pecs thicker, his arms larger and his thighs huskier.

For the past three month's, Ben had been staying with Tommy. Tommy's mom said he "needed a big brother like Tommy" to teach him how to play and be a kid. It was awkward at first, with Ben idolizing Tommy. But soon, Ben began to relax and now the two were just like brothers -- playing, fighting, competing and just being kids.

In the gym, Tom and Ben became workout partners. Josh and Chuck were still around, but Tommy was already stronger than both of them, and Ben needed someone closer to his own level to work with. Tommy could barely keep up.

In the gym, Ben was a machine. Weights were a challenge to him -- something to be attacked and destroyed. Tommy had always followed his father's guide, which was more disciplined and controlled. "If you want muscles like these," Ben would say, flexing his bigger biceps or more powerful leg, "you gotta push. Hard. When Tommy resisted, Ben would taunt him, "Bet Wally would do it. He'd do anything to get as big as you. Bigger." Neither Ben nor Tommy wanted that.

Tommy's body routinely hurt, but he was growing fast. Within a month, he was benching 585, squatting 750 and curling 225. With all his gains, though, Ben was growing even faster. The day Tommy got his 585 bench, Ben got 655. Tommy had taught Ben some posing routines, and the pair routinely flexed. Tommy was amazing, but Ben's muscles were thicker, denser, more ripped and stronger.

Wally would come to visit each weekend. Tommy looked forward to the visits, but Ben remained distant. Wally was getting stronger too. He was pushing himself hard, determined to be as big, or bigger than Tommy. When Ben would antagonize him, Wally would warn, "I'll get bigger than you too. Just wait!" Still, without someone like Ben to push him, Wally began to fall further and further behind. When Wally came and announced he had just gotten 495lbs on his bench press, Tommy had 585. When Tommy got 600, Wally was only doing 505. When they played super hero or catch or just goofed around, Wally was having more and more difficulting keeping up with Tommy and Ben. They were stronger than he was, and seemed to find it easy to overpower him in super heros. They were faster than he was, and managed to avoid being tagged by him and hunted him down with ease.

A couple weeks earlier, while walking down the street, a woman was having difficulty getting her car out of a parking spot. She had parked to close to the car in front of her, and the car behind her had done the same thing.

"Let's help!" said Ben, eager for a chance to show off his strength. Before Tommy or Wally could object, Ben had run over. "We'll get you out!" he said.

The woman looked at Ben with a confused look. The voice was a child's, but the huge body was bigger than any man's. "Uhmmm..."

"Hi," said Tommy.

The woman looked over. "Oh my... There are three of you."

"Ya," said Ben. "This is my brother Tommy and his friend Wally."

"He's not really my brother," said Tommy. "Just a close friend. He's living with me and my parents now, over on Elm street."

"How..." she looked at Ben again... "How old are you?"

"Me and Wally are 10. Ben's eight," Tommy said while Ben looked at the cars, figuring out how to get them unblocked. "We're big for our age," Tommy added.

"Ya," the woman said, a bit of fear in her voice.

Ben smiled. "Wally, come here."

Wally walked over while Tommy tried to reassure the woman.

"I'll push this car back," he said, "and you lift that car and pull it out OK?"

Wally looked at the car, while Ben knelt and placed his hands below the bumper. He took a deep breath, and with a determined look on his face, begins to stand.

The car made a thump as Ben's kid muscle lifted it.

"OH MY!" the woman said, turning, and seeing Ben's wide back flex. Her eyes widened as she took in his definition -- huge bulging upper traps clearly defined from the contours of the middle traps -- Ben's lats rolling out side -- his biceps forming rounded muscular peaks and his tris shredded horseshoes -- his hams and glutes striated rocks determined to overcome gravity's pull on the car.

Wally watched Ben, then turned to his car, determined to show his own strength. He grabbed his tshirt, and pulled it over his head, revealing his own champion physique. He tossed the shirt on the sidewalk, then knelt by the car. Placing his hands on the bumper, he took three deep breaths then started to lift. Wally's face turned red as his lats exploded from his back. Like Ben, his traps divided into thick mountains above his shoulder and a rippling plain down the center of his back. His arms shook and bulged, straining to move the car. His hams and quads ripped at his shorts, and his calves turned into rocky diamonds. Although impressive, next to Ben, Wally looked small. Each muscle group was thinner, not as dense, not as ripped.

Wally's car groaned, fighting his will, determined to stay to the pavement. The rear of the car raised up on the shocks, but the tires remained grounded. Wally's teeth gritted, the strain clearly evident on his face.

Ben was standing upright, holding his car and took one, then two steps forward before putting it down. He turned, and saw Wally struggling to lift the other car.

"Boy you're weak," he said. "Need some help!"

"I'll do it!" cried Wally, redoubling his effort with no effect.

Tommy walked over to Ben. "That wasn't nice," he said. "Wally's trying."

"You could do it," Ben said.

Wally stopped his effort. "No he couldn't. It's too heavy!"

"It's OK Wally," Tommy said.

"Sorry Tom, but I'm getting sick of this super kid's attitude!" Wally said, grabbing his shirt. "You're not that much stronger than me!"

"Yes he is!" said Ben. "Show him Tommy."

"Ya, show us Tommy!" said Wally.

Tommy was going to say something, but thought better of it. He lifted off his shirt, and the three boys stood there for a second. All three were massive, and Ben was clearly in a league of his own, but Tommy's physique clearly overshadowed Wally.

Tommy walked to the car, knelt and place his hands on the bumper. As he lifted, his body burst with muscle, ripped and powerful. Tectonic plates shifted on his back as his lats and traps became clearly defined. His shoulders divided into three heads, and his arms swelled larger. The car groaned, it too straining to stay on the pavement, but Tommy's powerful body would not be denied. With a grunt, he forced the tires up from the ground.

"Ya Tommy!" screamed Ben. "You can do it! Pull it a little back then twist it so she can get out!"

Tommy was breathing hard, and trickles of sweat appeared on his hulking body. His face showed the incredible strain his young body was under. He took one tentative step, then another, then a third. Finally, the car looked like it could make its way free. He dropped it and jumped back as the rear of the car sprung up and down.

"Yay Tommy!" cried Ben as Tommy walked over to them. Wally just stood there, his mouth open, not saying a word. "I told you Tommy was stronger than you. And working out with me, he's gonna get way stronger too!"

"That's enough Ben," said Tommy. He looked at Wally, and shucked his head in a 'sorry, but that's the way it is' kinda way.

"Dude," said Wally with a tinge of impressed sadness in his voice, "you're a monster. Only last year I could take you. Ya, you beat me a couple weeks ago, but I should be able to catch up."

"It's Ben that's the monster," said Tommy, putting his arm around his friend to console him. "I can barely keep up with him."

"Doubt you will," said Ben, flexing his bicep by his side and watching the muscle move up and down.

"Thank you," said the woman. "You... boys... certainly are strong."

"You're welcome mame," said Tommy leading Wally away. Ben followed, a self-confident grin on his face.

"You'll get there," said Tommy. "And we'll help you, won't we Ben?" he added with force.

Ben didn't say anything, but the workouts always seemed a bit easier when Wally was around.

Today Ben was eager to get going. He and Tommy would be going to muscle camp. Their dads had finally finished the preparations, and they were ready to move in. Ben's Dad had designed a special gym just for the kids at the camp, and Ben was eager to try it out.

"Push it to its limits is more like it," Wally had said when he saw Ben's excitement at the pictures they had seen.

Tommy got ready, and Ben was waiting in the car for Tommy's mother to drive them up. She had even gotten Ben to put on a shirt, though it was made very loose and baggy just for him.

When they got there, Ben's dad was talking to a man in an army uniform. Tom and Wally's dads were also there, and Wally came running over.

"Hey Tommy," he said. "Boy am I glad you're here."

"What's up?" Tommy responded.

"That guy, General Smith, he's been talking to our dads all day. Something about National Resources and Security and stuff like that. It's real boring. They've been showing him around. You gotta see the gym, man. It's awesome!"

"Cool!" said Ben. "Let's go!"

Wally looked at him. "Oh, so now you want to work out with me? Help me get as big as Tommy."

"No way. Tommy's th..."

"Stop it!" said Tommy. "I'm not going to have you two fighting all the time. Ben, we'll all work out together. Tomorrow the other kids arrive. My dad said they're real strong like us. Maybe there's even someone stronger than you Ben."

"Ya," said Wally. "Bet lots of them are even bigger than Ben. Maybe I'll start training with them and make my muscles huge," he added with a devlish grin. Both he and Tommy laughed.

"That would be something to see," joked Tommy, "a kid out-hulking Ben!"

Ben pouted. "No way they'll be stronger than me," he said with determination, anger darting from his eyes at both and them. Then, for the first time with some pride, "I'm the strongest kid around. I'll show you!" and he stormed off in the direction of the gym.

Wally and Tommy looked at each other, then started to follow. Ben began to run, his massive legs rippling as he ran faster and faster. Tommy and Wally tried to catch up, but Ben was putting some of his power into his run, and began to out distance the two older boys.

When they got outside the gym, they saw Ben's shirt. He had ripped it from his body and left it outside. They opened the door. Inside, they found Ben's shorts. The pant legs had been frayed by the explosive power of his huge thighs.

They looked around.

"Whoa!" said Tommy. The gym was huge. There were free weights, with rows of forty-five pound plates stacked next to rows of 100 pound plates. The smallest weight increment in the gym was 10 pounds. There were at least two dozen power lifting cages with benches and a dozen leg presses and cable stations. All looked specially reinforced for heavy weights. As they looked around the room, they saw equipment they had never seen before. They looked like weight lifting machines, but were attached to pumps and springs.

"Awesome," said Wally, with excitement thinking about lifting here. "We're going to become beasts!" he exclaimed, slapping Tommy on the back.

"Ya!" replied Tommy, his excitement growing.

"First name..." "Ben..." The boys heard voices coming from a room on the other side of the gym. They ran toward it. They pushed open the door as a mechanical voice said, "Relax."

It was a locker room and changing area. They saw a couple of scales, and in the corner, Ben. He was only in his undershorts. Red laserbeams formed a grid over his body. He was on some type of merry-go-round that was spinning him around.

"Double bicep," said the mechanical voice as the turntable stopped. On a screen in front of Ben, a picture of a young man striking a double bicep appeared. Ben snickered and raised his arms, out-massing the picture with ease. He flexed hard, forcing veins to press through his young skin and making his guns bulge huge. The turntable spun him around and the grid appeared on his back, stayed there for a few seconds, then spun him around again. "Chest and back," the voice said, and showed the muscular teen expanding his chest, flexing his pecs and spreading his lats wide. Ben copied the pose, again dominating the picture with his thicker, more ripped muscles.

"What's it doing?" whispered Tommy.

"I think it's measuring him," said Wally as they watched the machine rotate Ben.

"Relax... Inhale deeply, then flex your abs," the machine said, showing a picture of the pose. Ben struck inhaled, then flexed an awesome vaccuum pose, his waist almost vanishing as he inhaled, then to be replaced by a brick wall framed by striated steel obliques. The turnstyle spun him around.

"Relax... thighs." Ben grinned and looked at Wally with a 'try and beat this' expression. He bent his leg, then flexed his hamstring so that it pressed into his skin with ripping pressure. His briefs road up, showing ripped rounded glutes too developed for a boy Ben's age. He flexed his quads, causing veins press into his skin as muscle forced itself larger and larger. The turntable spun him around, giving Wally and Tom a real view of Ben's kid muscle.

"Relax... calves," the machine said clinically. The picture showed the teen flexing his calf. "Skinny legs," Ben said, flexing his cow, demonstraing his command and power over the picture. The turntable spun him around again.

"Measurements done," the machine announced. On the screen spashed Ben's readout. His weight was 210lbs at 8 years old. He had a 65 inch chest and 24 inch biceps (pre workout). His quads were 35 inches, and his waist was only 24. His calves were 23. The machine rated his muscle density at 69%, with a normal weight of about 70 pounds, and 140 pounds of muscle.

Ben looked at the numbers, then looked at Tommy. "What's it mean Tommy?"

Tommy shrugged. "Donno," he replied. "Why don't I try it?" He shucked his clothes, got on the turnstyle and followed the instructions.

"Measurements done," the machine announced. On the screen, his weight was 235bs 10years old. He had a 62 inch chest and 22 inch biceps (pre workout). His quads were 32 inches, and his waist was only 25. His calves were 22. The machine rated his muscle density at 60%, with a normal weight of about 95 pounds, and 140 pounds of muscle.

"My turn," said Wally, who followed Tommy.

When the machine announced, "Measurements done," on the screen, his weight was 215bs 10years old. He had a 59 inch chest and 21 inch biceps (pre workout). His quads were 31 inches, and his waist was only 26. His calves were 20. The machine rated his muscle density at 55%, with a normal weight of about 96 pounds, and 120 pounds of muscle.

"You guys got 20 pounds of muscle on me!" Wally said in disbelief.

"But Ben is shorter than we are, so even though I'm 20 pounds heavier, we still have the same muscle weight," Tommy said, trying to make sense of the numbers.

"And I'm stronger than both of you," added Ben. "Ain't no new kid gonna be stronger than me!" he said, flexing his massive arms. "I'm gonna go lift. If you two wanna try and keep up with my muscle, come on. Or maybe you wanna wait and see if any of the new kids can beat me!"

Ben started to leave.

"Ben," Tommy called. "What's up with you?"

Ben looked at Tommy, anger still in his eyes. "I'm not small. You said the new kids were going to be stronger than me. I thought you liked me," Ben said, frowning.

"I do like you Ben," Tommy said. "You mean back there, when we were teasing you?"

"Ya. I've been helping you get bigger than Wally. I want you to be a winner, so I didn't enter that stupid competition, cause if I did, I'd've won. And then you and him," pointing at Wally, "laughed at me and said the other kids will be bigger. NO THEY WON'T! I won't let them."

"Gee Ben..." said Wally. "Why's it so important that Tommy be bigger than me?"

"And you are the biggest Ben," Tommy added. "I don't care that you're stronger than me, and I doubt any of the new kids will be stronger than you. They might, but I doubt it. I like you Ben. I don't understand why this matters."

Ben thought about it. "It just does," he said, thinking about his father's pride in him.

After a moment, Tommy said, "OK. It does. Are we still friends?"

Ben ran over and hugged Tommy.

"And you'll be friends with Wally too?"

Ben looked a Wally distrustfully, then nodded. "OK."

"And we'll all work out together and keep getting stronger, right?"

"Right!" and they went into the gym. •