Chapter 2

She arrived at the facility about ten minutes later, carrying a sports bag with the things she needed for her stay. Robyn was impressed, the building was very large and fully made, it seemed, of glass.

A parking lot full of expensive cars was located next to it and on the other side a peaceful pond caught her eye. A few oak trees behind the lot made it all look very pleasant. A single car was parked right in front of the entrance, even though there was some space left on the parking lot. "Some people are too lazy to walk even a couple of yards," Robyn thought a little annoyed while entering the building.

Inside, a woman introduced to her as Lizzy guided Robyn towards the professor's office. "I'm one of the professor's assistants," she said. "I shall run a couple of tests as well. By the way, we are all on first terms here, so you can call the professor Paul."

In the office, Robyn was greeted by this Paul, who was not only professor at Philadelphia's university, but also the main scientist of the facility. Robyn estimated his age around forty, 15 years older than she was. He limped, using a crutch for support and wore glasses, the latter making him look intelligent. They engaged in some small talk before he explained what they were going to do. Robyn knew already, her teammates told her about it, but listened anyway. The man wasn't bad looking.

"I'll receive the results of the tests immediately, and at the end of the day, we'll discuss them. My assistants will carry out the tests, because apart from giving lectures I have another project to look after," Paul concluded. Robyn was showed her room by Lizzy, who also gave her a schedule and a timetable of the tests, including a map of the facility.

In the room, Robyn unpacked her bag, put her volleyball suit on and went to the lab.

The laboratory was equipped with all kinds of training apparatuses and electronic devices. Robyn was measured (6'4, as she knew), weighted and connected to all kinds of machinery while doing exercises. She had to run on something that looked like an assembly line, while the computer registered her movements. Several strength and constitution tests followed. She had to jump, play a volleyball game against two lab assistants, blood and tissue samples were taken. Her body was put in a scanner, using ionized hydrogen to make every muscle and sinew visible. All to see what her strong and weak points were, and to adapt her training schedule accordingly.

The first day of tests ended, and after supper, Robyn went to Paul for the results. He was not in his office, she was told, but in another part of the building. Entering this room which she found using her map, she saw Paul doing an experiment with a strange machine. It looked like an enormous egg split open, hollow and its interior full of small dishes with needles protruding from their centre. It was humming, and a wire connected it to a small box, consisting of nothing more than a big red button. The "egg" itself was 7 feet long, and in its centre stood a small plant in a clay pot.

"Ah, Robyn. Please come in, I'll just run this last test," Paul said.

He pushed the button and the humming machine started to work. Lights flashed from the small dishes' needles. To Robyn's baffled eyes, the plant started to grow. Not getting older, like a sapling becoming a tree, but increasing in size. The clay pot shattered after a couple of seconds, the now huge plant collapsed and fell to the ground. Its size had tripled at least.

"Now, this is getting good!", Paul exclaimed. "This machine can increase the size of living tissue," he explained as he saw Robyn's puzzled expression. "It feeds the cells with energy, making them multiply. We developed this project for medical purposes, like mending hearts after a heart attack or growing back limbs. The possibilities are endless! Imagine, we don't need to wait for spare organs or donated blood! We can grow everything from a single cell! Isn't that amazing?"

"Err, yes, amazing...." Robyn looked at the plant, lying on the ground. If somebody had told her about this, she wouldn't have believed it.

"You can make every living being grow? Just by putting it in this machine and press the button?", she asked when an idea suddenly struck her mind. Robyn was of quick wit, and she never let an opportunity pass. This, apart from being tall, made her a good volleyball player. Never hesitating, always taking initiative, seeing at a glance where the opponents' defense was weak. Now, she saw another opportunity.

"Yes," Paul replied. "You put living tissue in it, and after pressing this button here, it'll grow. This machine is a prototype, and we are trying to reduce the size of it. We call it a "Bio-enhancer", by the way. The next test will be with tissue from my own body, so maybe in the future I won't have to use this anymore," Paul said and raised his crutch for a second. "Due to a childhood accident, my left knee is broken beyond healing. However, maybe, we are able to mend my knee soon. Isn't that fantastic?"

Robyn nodded, listening vaguely. She kept looking at the machine with interest. Lost in thought, she felt Paul poking her.

"Come, Robyn, we have some results to discuss. I'll tell you more about this project tomorrow if you wish, but now, let's see how well you did today."

The discussion of the results was boring. Robyn was absent-minded, she could only think of the Bio-enhancer. If it could make a plant grow, it could make her grow too. Robyn felt her dream of being a giantess was about to be fulfilled. But there was a problem. How could she get to it without being noticed? The lab door was locked, she had seen Paul lock it after they left, and it was located on the 14th floor, so climbing through the window was no option either. She was thinking hard of a way, but came up empty. Robyn didn't even take a shower that evening as she usually did, her mind was too focused on the Bio- Enhancer. Even while lying in bed two hours later, she still was thinking of how she could get to the Bio-enhancer, but no, her brain failed her. Sad, she fell asleep.

Next day, during breakfast, Paul approached her in the canteen. "Mind if I join you?", he asked. Robyn was startled a little when he spoke to her, as she had been lost in thought again about the Bio-enhancer. Dreamily, she had been looking at a fat man having loaded his plate with cheese.

"No, be my guest,' Robyn said. Paul sat down.

After some idle chitchat, Paul searched his lab coat’s pockets.

"O, damn, I forgot my glasses," he said. "I must have left them in the lab yesterday evening. I have to give a lecture in a quarter of an hour, and I can't walk there so fast...the lecture room is at the other side of the building, the students visiting the facility today." He looked at Robyn. "Eh, could you do me a favor, please?," he asked, holding up his keys. "Can you fetch my glasses in the lab? You are younger and you can run pretty fast...."

Robyn could hardly suppress a cheer. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for! Of course she would fetch his glasses! Not hearing the "thank you" of Paul, she was on her way to the lab immediately, her long legs taking her there within a minute.

Robyn couldn't believe her luck. She was alone in the lab now, having locked the door behind her so no one would bother her. Her heart pounding like mad, she walked towards the Bio-enhancer, which was still humming softly. Without hesitation, Robyn undressed, not wanting her clothes being torn apart, pressed the red button and quickly entered the egg-shaped device. She immediate felt a tingling sensation all over her now naked body, and then it happened. She started to grow.