Day 25

Lily's research had revealed that the block she was attempting to traverse was notorious for attracting unsavory characters. Despite her nerves, she knew she had to take action and fulfill her responsibility as a holder of great power. The symbiote had assured her that she would be safe, and explained the mechanics of how the heroics would work. When it came to 'theft,' she would have to be selective in what she took from the criminals, as there were limits to how much of themselves a person could lose without becoming a lifeless shell. Lily was determined not to kill anyone, but rendering them unconscious and erasing their memories of the encounter would be a satisfactory outcome. She justified this as a form of mercy, even for the villains.

Lily checked her watch as she approached the infamous block. 22:35 PM. The internet had said that it was mainly a dangerous place at night, so she hoped that she was arriving at a good time. As she walked into the dark alley, she was trembling with fear. Flashbacks to her previous encounter with a predator came flooding back. When she reached the middle of the alley, she still hadn't seen anyone. She leaned against one of the brick walls and pretended to use her phone, hoping that someone would pass by. She had changed out of her usual ill-fitting pants and into equally ill-fitting gym shorts, hoping that showing some skin might attract the right kind of attention. After standing there for about ten minutes, she began to doubt the sanity of her plan.

Oh my God, this is crazy, Lily thought to herself, and started to walk away. But before she could get very far, an arm reached out from the shadows and grabbed her, its fingers digging into her flesh. She screamed and struggled, but the arm was too strong. It pulled her into the darkness, and she was consumed by fear.

Lily struggled, but he was too strong. "Are you lost, sweetheart?" a voice said. "A little girl like you should know better than to walk through here at night. You know, I've heard it can be quite dangerous. Why don't you just give me whatever's in your wallet and I'll follow you home."

Lily was frozen in fear, unable to even think about her symbiote backup. She turned to see a muscular man, who did not look like he wanted to follow her out of the kindness of his heart.

"I-I'm really sorry, but I don't have any cash on me," she stammered. The man didn't believe her and offered to check her himself. He ran his hands down her shapeless body, lingering on her nonexistent breasts before moving on when he didn't find anything. Lily fearfully tried to wriggle out of his grip, but he was too strong.

"H-HEEEELP!" Lily screamed, and symbiotic tentacles shot out of her and grabbed the man. She could feel the tentacles wrapping around him as if they were her own hands. He was pushed against the brick wall, his eyes wide with disbelief at what he was seeing.

"What the.." the man managed to get out before another tentacle wrapped around his face, muffling his cries. Lily could feel him struggling in her grip, no match for the symbiote's strength. She smiled, feeling powerful and in control. She placed her hand on the man's cheek, almost caressing him. Although it was only seconds ago, it felt like a different lifetime ago when she had been afraid of him.

"Shhh, it's alright. Everything's going to be alright, I'm a hero," she assured him. But the look on his face was far from assured.

"I'm going to take some of your intelligence, because you don't use it well enough," Lily said, her eyes glassy and impossible to read. She felt a force running through the tentacles entangling the man's head, flowing from him and into her. Her eyes widened as her intelligence rose again. She suddenly felt capable of calculating the probabilities of different scenarios with greater precision, and her ability to reason deductively and inductively was much improved. She looked at him thoughtfully and smiled.

"You poor man," she said, walking closer to him. She ran her hands over her own muscular abs, feeling their strength. "I don't want to take away your hard work, but according to my calculations, your expected attempted robberies will be much lower if I take your muscles. You need to be weak. Weaker than the people you try to harm."

She had a look of pity on her face, but it slowly turned into a smile. It would be a nice side effect to improve her own body as well. As long as she did it to help others, it was okay, right? She had to think of the future victims, to help them.

Lily leaned in closer, her tentacles snaking around his body. She could feel the heat emanating from his muscles, and she smiled seductively. She felt his fear and desperation, but it only made her want to take more. She ran her tentacles over his chest, relishing the feel of his strength flowing into her. She could feel his muscles growing weaker and hers growing stronger, and the sensation was intoxicating. She moaned softly, enjoying the power and control she had over him. He struggled and tried to scream, but she held him firmly in place, continuing to take his strength until she was satisfied.

Lily felt a rush of power as she took the man's strength into herself. She watched as her belly shrank and her muscles became more defined. "Don't worry," she said, lifting her t-shirt to reveal her almost toned abs. "I'll take good care of your strength."

But as she looked at the man, now looking weak and bony, she realized that her own muscles had not grown as much as she had hoped. The symbiote explained that the transfer was not a perfectly efficient process, and that a considerable amount of the resources were lost in the process. She sighed, but felt satisfied with the improvement she had made.

She let go of the man, and he fell to the ground unconscious. She flexed her biceps, feeling stronger than she had in a long time. While to most people the difference may not have been noticeable, to her it was amazing. She smiled, feeling powerful and in control. She had found a new way to help others, and she was determined to use her newfound strength for good. She couldn't help but feel aroused by her new body and the possibilities it would surely offer. She reached down and felt the wetness between her legs, her vaginal muscles stronger and tighter than before.

"Mmm," she moaned, lustfully. She decided it was time to go home and take care of herself. But as she turned to leave the dark alley, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Brian? Brian, what happened to you?" a woman's voice called out. Lily turned to see a woman on her knees, trying to wake up the man. The woman looked up, her eyes full of anger as she saw Lily. "You bitch! What have you done to my boyfriend?"

Lily felt a pang of guilt and regret, but she knew she had done what she thought was right. She tried to explain, but the woman was too furious to listen.

The raging woman pulled out a knife and ran towards Lily, intent on stabbing her. But before she could reach her, the symbiote shot out tentacles that caught her arm, holding it in place just inches from Lily's chest. The woman's eyes widened in shock and fear as she struggled to free herself, but the tentacles were too strong.

"You... were going to kill me?" Lily asked coldly, looking down at the woman with a mixture of disgust and pity. "You haven't even heard my version of what happened to that man."

The woman's face was a mix of fear and anger. "I don't care, you fucked up my boyfriend!”

Lily stood in stunned silence, shocked by the woman's callous decision to take a life without even considering the possibility of innocence. "You're a terrible person," Lily said. "No, you're evil. You're willing to kill someone without even bothering to find out if they're guilty. But from now on, evil won't win."

Lily hadn't planned on stopping two criminals today, but she was more than happy to do so. Her original plan had been to steal intelligence from all the villains she encountered, but the enhanced abilities she had given herself by altering her own body and the lingering effects of her recent self-pleasure had left her judgment somewhat clouded. In that moment, there were other things on Lily's mind than becoming even smarter.

"Do you love him?" Lily asked the woman, who nodded in a resigned manner.

"I can tell that you do. As your punishment, you will no longer be loved by him. My calculations show that the chances of him continuing to love you are slim once you no longer have the desire to make love to him. So, as a punishment, I will take away your ability to feel sexual pleasure."

Lily grinned as she spoke, still feeling the effects of her own arousal. She enjoyed pleasuring herself, and the thought of receiving even more pleasure in exchange for stopping a criminal seemed like a good deal to her. She reached out and grabbed the woman's crotch, immediately feeling a surge of pure arousal flow into her.

"Mmmph, yesss," she purred, lustily. "Give it all to me! Evil scum like you don't deserve this fantastic feeling."

The woman felt her very being wither away, becoming weaker and weaker. Lily, on the other hand, had never felt better, with previously unknown pleasures coursing through her veins.

The once fiery woman she held captive with her tentacles was left standing there, her eyes empty and glassy. Lily looked at her, breathing heavily from the rush of new sensations. The combined desires of two people was intoxicating, and Lily was not used to this feeling. Still fueled by her own arousal, she had an idea.

"Hmm, let's take a look at these," she said, as two tentacles reached out and tore the woman's top and bra from her body. Lily's grin turned almost wicked as she stared at the woman's orange-sized breasts, which the woman desperately tried to cover with her arms. But Lily's tentacles held her arms in place.

"Oh, these are nice," Lily said, as she began to fondle the woman's breasts. This was not like her at all, and not very hero-like, but in the throes of her arousal and newfound sexual urges, her modesty took a backseat. For a moment, Lily realized this and tried to justify her selfish actions.

“Tell me, what do you think of your breasts?”, Lily asked, knowing what she herself would’ve answered before her sexuality was awakened.

"I don't know. I don't... care. I don't care about them," the woman said, realizing the truth of her words.

"As I suspected. You don't really need those anymore. They're just in the way for you. I'll take them off your hands." Lily released the woman's breasts with her hands and instead grabbed them with symbiote tendrils that emerged from her body. The tendrils writhed on the woman's breasts, pinching her nipples.

"Yesss, I can feel it! Make me grow," Lily screamed in ecstasy. She reached down and grabbed her own nonexistent breasts under her t-shirt, feeling them grow in her hands. "Oh, how I have longed to have a proper woman's body."

It was amazing to feel them filling out, expanding right before her eyes. She kept one hand on her growing breast, fondling it, while the other hand delved into her gym shorts, which were now slightly tighter due to her recent muscle gains. She was already wet, on the verge of orgasm even before touching herself. The woman grew weaker still, while Lily began to rub her own clit furiously. It didn't take long before she erupted in pleasure.

“Mmmm yeahh, that’s it!!”, she screamed as she came. She let go of the woman who fell to the ground unconscious. Lily didn’t get to enjoy the sensation for long before achieving her post-orgasmic clarity.

Lily's sultry gaze quickly turned to one of shock and disbelief. "Oh my God, what have I done?!" she thought, worriedly, as if she had been a completely different person just moments ago. She brought her fingers to the woman's neck to feel for a pulse.

"She will be alright, you let her go just in time," the symbiote communicated, knowing exactly what was on Lily's mind. Lily didn't even answer. She ran home as fast as she could, her mind racing with thoughts of what she had just done. By the time she reached her home, the feeling of panic had begun to dissipate, making room for thoughts of self-satisfaction at having both stopped two criminals and improved herself.

Back in her bedroom, Lily had some time to reflect on what she had done and what lay ahead. She stood in front of her full-length mirror and surveyed her reflection. She saw an almost average girl in her underwear. 'Average' was a big step up from where she used to be. With her B-cup breasts and a waist that didn't curve outward, she could probably get laid by some of the nerdy guys at the bottom of the social hierarchy, even though her face was still a mess. Just the thought of having a chance with someone was enough to get her aroused again. Not long ago, she didn't even want to think about kissing, let alone doing more with someone. Now, the thought consumed her more than anything else. She really had changed since she started using the symbiote.

Lily laid down on her bed, feeling the soft sheets against her skin. She thought about what she had done. I really felt good stopping those criminals... but did it feel too good? The feeling of taking from them gets better every time. I had trouble controlling myself last time.

"Do not worry, master," the symbiote said in a reassuring tone. "Your control will only improve as you use your abilities more often. As they say, practice makes perfect."

"I guess you're right... thanks for always knowing what to say. I probably wouldn't make the right decisions without you," Lily replied, her doubts about the symbiote's words fading away. She had come to realize that the symbiote's advice always coincided with her own gradually changing desires. There was no point in disagreeing with it.

"You know, symbiote... Imagine how great a hero I could be if I stopped more criminals. "Mmph, yeah," Lily said absentmindedly, her hand wandering down to her panties as she daydreamed about the future. She started slowly massaging her clitoris, but quickly picked up the pace as her monologue continued.

"I can be a role model for everyone... and I will be so smart, so beautiful, so powerful. Olivia won't even compare. Oh fuck. I will be the most beautiful girl in class, and boys will finally see me. Oh, they will desire me, lust after me. Everyone will finally give me the respect I deserve. And if they don't... oh yessss."

Suddenly, Lily snapped out of her daydream. What was going on? What was she saying? That wasn't like her at all. It was just a silly dream, she concluded. She was still in something of a state of shock after what she'd been through. That had to be it.

The problem was that the last couple of days, when she had gone back to the dark alley, there hadn't been any crimes committed. How did the heroes in TV shows and movies always manage to find crimes in progress? Apparently, stumbling upon crimes wasn't as easy in real life. After looking around on some shady websites, Lily found that people were talking about a vigilante and that it was dangerous to deal drugs at their regular spot. They didn't write this explicitly, of course, instead using cryptic language. But thanks to her newly heightened intelligence, Lily was able to understand their meaning easily. Unfortunately, they didn't write where they would be meeting instead.

Lily was going crazy. "It's been five days without gaining... I mean, it's been five days without helping people," she daydreamed. She could barely think about it without touching herself at this point. "If only I could find someone to help..." was the last thing she thought before a lightbulb went off in her head. Of course, that could actually work! She ran out to the garage and started rummaging through boxes of trash, desperate to find what she was looking for. She made a real mess of the place, turning it inside out in her search. And at last... there it was! "Please work," she muttered to herself.

Lily plugged the device in, her anticipation growing. A LED light started blinking, which she took as a good sign. At first, all she heard was static, so she slowly turned the knob. Suddenly, she heard something else. "This is Delta, over," a voice said through the radio. Her dad's old police radio still worked!

Lily sat by the police radio, straining to hear any hints or clues. She knew that by the time a crime had been committed, it would be too late for her to do anything. She didn't want to involve the police in her affairs; even though she was training to be a hero, they probably wouldn't understand. They might even put her in jail. No, she only wanted to overhear them talking about places where shady things were happening so that she could be proactive and go there in anticipation. It was much like her previous two encounters with her victims, except now she needed to find a new location since none of them dared to cause trouble in the last dark alley anymore. After all, she had made it safe.

Hmm. She wondered what she'd change about herself this time. She still wanted more of everything, but it sucked that she had to steal more intelligence for school, as that limited the rest of her absorption potential. Such a pain, she thought to herself while staring out the window.

"This is Foxtrot. On our way back from Kelson Park. There's been an increase in activity there ever since those silly vigilante rumors started going around. Anyway, we'll be back in 10 minutes, over."

Lily's face lit up with a broad grin as she realized that tonight was the perfect opportunity to go on a little covert mission. After saying goodnight to her mother and sister, she quickly changed into a form-fitting white tank top, showing off her newly toned stomach and B-cup breasts. While her butt was still a little flat, she felt confident and ready to take on the night. Slipping out the window, she set out on her adventure, eager to see what secrets the darkness held.

As Lily arrived at the park, she noticed that it was eerily empty. Using her symbiotic tendrils, she easily pulled herself up onto a tree branch and sat in the shadows, keeping watch. After an hour of waiting, she saw a few shady-looking individuals pass by, but unfortunately no crimes to stop.

As another 30 minutes passed, she saw a man and a woman walking together, arm in arm and laughing. The man was tall and muscular, with a thick beard that made him appear manly. The woman was much shorter, but still incredibly attractive. Despite not being attracted to women, Lily couldn't help but admire her beauty. She was dressed provocatively in a dress with a deep cleavage that displayed her ample breasts, and it was so short that it barely covered her thighs. Her long, golden hair was stunning, and her piercing blue eyes were mesmerizing. Her face was symmetrical and her skin was a perfect tan. As Lily listened in on their conversation, she learned that the woman was a stripper on her way home from work and the man was a lucky customer who had caught her eye. Too bad they're not criminals, Lily thought to herself, immediately feeling guilty for the thought.

But as if on cue, the man suddenly pushed the woman against a tree, causing her to scream for help. Lily was reminded of the first time she had been in danger herself, and if it hadn't been for her symbiote, she might not have escaped. She couldn't let that happen to anyone else; she had to stop this man.

"Give it back!" the man demanded, snarling at the sobbing woman.

"I told you, I don't have your cash. Our boss takes it and then gives us our cut the day after," she managed to say between her tears.

"Damn you, you greedy money-grabbers," he screamed, slapping her across the face and reddening her skin with the mark of his hand. "I paid you good money, and I'll get my money's worth no matter what," he said, leering at her as he undid his belt and pulled down his pants with one hand, keeping the stripper in a chokehold with the other. His earlier friendliness towards her had simply been an act to get her alone.

"What the hell are you looking at?" the man demanded, spinning around to see why the stripper had been staring past him. That's when he saw her - an ugly girl, clearly not minding her own business.

"Hi!" Lily chirped, offering a cartoonish wave. Her behavior was a stark contrast to the situation at hand. "What are you guys doing?" The rush of adrenaline made Lily feel more confident than she really was, and she found herself wishing she could be that brave at school, too.

"Why don't you go home to your parents?" he shouted at Lily, anger in his voice. "Can't you see we're busy here?" The stripper remained silent, too afraid to speak out of fear of what he might do.

"It's just that... you're so handsome," Lily said, twiddling her fingers in a shy manner. "I saw you with that woman and I was so jealous. Women like her always get all the men to themselves." Lily wasn't sure what she was doing at this point - she hadn't really planned it out.

The bearded man grinned as he looked at the stripper, his tone threatening as he asked, "The more the merrier. That's okay with you, right?" The stripper knew she didn't have a choice in the matter and nodded silently, struggling to catch her breath under his chokehold. The man released her and turned to Lily, sneering, "You're kind of ugly to be honest, but I certainly don't say no to a free meal!

Lily stood on her toes, playing the role of a dumb bimbo with genuine shyness as she asked, "Can I kiss you?" The man's smile turned wicked as he welcomed the opportunity. This would be Lily's first kiss, a moment that should have been special, but she knew it couldn't last. As their lips met, she willed her tongue to transform into a symbiotic material, lengthening it like a writhing and wriggling around in the man's mouth as they kissed. He felt a surge of pleasure mixed with pain, as if Lily was frying his brain in the best possible way. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, his pants still around his knees. Lily, who had been leaning against his body, gracefully followed him down, straddling him with one knee on each side of his hips.

The man lifted his head to look at Lily, confusion etched on his face. "What did you do?" he asked.

"I paralyzed you," Lily replied, her tone cheery and at odds with the situation. "It’s pretty easy once you have a precise control of your tongue muscle and a thorough understanding of the human nervous system.”

The man simply stared at her in disbelief. “Increasing the production of the toxin that’s only produced in small quantities in the salivary glands of the tongue wasn’t really that hard. Who knew? Anyway, I’m rambling… I need to punish you for being a bad man. But..." She trailed off, feeling his arousal through his underwear. "I've never tried one of these before."

Lily was looking hungrily at the prominent bulge in his pants. Surely she couldn’t. Surely this wouldn’t be her first. But then again, nothing wrong with having some fun before she punished him, right? She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Stay focused on the mission. "Why did you try to steal from that poor woman? She works hard for her money! Be honest with me!"

"That's easy," the man replied, still lying on the ground. "I wanted her services for free. And when she didn't have the money, I had to find other ways to get a good deal."

Lily's face contorted in revulsion as she gazed at the scumbag in front of her. "That's so greedy and… evil!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with anger as she grabbed his shirt in frustration. The desire for sex that had briefly flickered through her mind was gone, replaced by a single-minded determination to complete her mission. The stripper was right beside them, still struggling to catch her breath after being choked by him. Lily had actually considered sleeping with this lowlife, despite his repulsive behavior and the presence of the wronged stripper beside them. She shook her head, trying to regain control of her thoughts. However, the symbiote lurking within saw a chance to assert itself.

"He is consumed by greed, and it will cause harm to anyone in his path. You must rid him of it," the symbiote whispered in her mind.

"But... wouldn't that greed transfer to me? I can't do that!" Lily protested.

"I will guide you in mastering it, tucking it away so deeply in your subconscious that you won't even be aware of its presence," the symbiote lied smoothly. In truth, it would bury the greed deep within her mind, where it would fester and ultimately contaminate her, all while remaining undetected. For the symbiote, greed was the perfect instrument in its scheme to manipulate and enhance its host.

"I suppose...if you can do that, then I should do it...to help this woman and many others!" Lily actually felt good about herself. The last person she stole from was that woman for whom she had only taken things to benefit herself. This was a more selfless act, fitting the hero she aspired to be. She placed her palms on his chest, as the symbiote had bonded more deeply with her as each day passed, and she felt that she could steal from him through her hands without resorting to symbiote tendrils.

"Give me your greed, and never feel the need to take something that is not yours again. Be a good person," she said and gave him a warm smile. And then his greed started flowing into her.

"Aaaah!" she cried out, looking up at the sky. This was a completely new sensation, unlike any of the other transfers she had experienced. She felt herself transformed, no longer content with settling for anything. She wanted more, needed more. She would be the greatest hero anyone had ever seen, and get anything she desired.

The man was bewildered by what was happening, but he knew that he no longer felt the desire to take anything from anyone. Lily stopped screaming and looked down at him again, focusing on his crotch where she was sitting. As she gazed down at the man before her, she felt her hunger for him growing. She breathed heavily as her hungry tongue flicked out.

"I want it so badly," she said, practically licking her lips. "I can't resist... and why should I? I deserve it!" She ran her hands over his cock through his underwear, causing it to grow harder. As she watched the bulge grow, it became even harder for her to resist giving in to her desires. She couldn't believe the effect she was having on him.

Her hands kept roaming over his body, feeling the bulge in his pants grow harder and more insistent beneath her touch, causing her arousal to grow even more intense. "You want as much as I do you, don't you?" she purred, a sly smile spreading across her lips. "You can't resist me either."

"Ahh, yes!" she cried out as she pulled down his underwear. The first penis she had ever seen in person. And it was magnificent. With her already heightened sexual desires and newfound greed, there was no way she could resist. Two tentacles extended from Lily's body and tore her gym shorts apart, leaving her in just her underwear and tank top. Unconsciously, she accessed the memories of the two men she had stolen her intelligence from, making her more knowledgeable about sex than she would have been otherwise.

"I...I want this. Do you want this?" she asked the man, who nodded absentmindedly in response. She removed her underwear and positioned herself on top of his massive penis. As it entered her, it initially seemed like she wouldn't be able to take his entire length, but her greedy vagina pulled him further inside, providing her with intense pleasure, eliciting a moan of approval from her lips.

With each rhythmic thrust, she could feel the pleasure building within her, driven by the sight of his cock sliding in and out of her. Despite being largely passive, the man beneath her was still a force to be reckoned with, his size alone enough to make her feel deliciously stretched and satisfied.

"Ohhh," she moaned, her hands roaming over his chest as she rode him. "You're so big, but also so naughty. You deserve to be punished more."

Lily's greed was talking now, overtaking her senses as she lost herself in the pleasure of the moment. "Give me more," she panted, leaning down to lick his cheek as she continued to grind against him.

"Your body... it's so fit," she breathed between kisses, her hands running over his chiseled abs. She could feel a wave of energy flowing from him to her, filling her veins with pleasure and enhancing her physical form as their tongues tangled together. Her arms, thighs, and abs all hardened, reshaping themselves as she reached new heights of pleasure. Even her ass seemed to lift and firm, no longer giving the impression that Lily skipped her squats. Despite the strength that flowed through her, she maintained a feminine elegance, her muscles never growing too large in size. Her waist even narrowed, giving her the beginning of an hourglass shape. . Despite the strength and power that coursed through her muscles, she retained a feminine elegance, her body appearing delicate despite its formidable strength.

"MORE!" she cried out, riding him with increasing ferocity.

"Oohhh, sooo goooodddd!" she moaned, her voice echoing with both pleasure and the strength she was stealing from him.

“You won’t have anything left, it’s all mine! Hahaha yesss!” she laughed as an orgasm pulsed within reach.

"Yes, yes, YES! It's all MINE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she experienced the most intense orgasm of her life. Fuck, that was the best she'd ever felt.

As she rose from the man, still lying there, she saw something that filled her with dread. In the throes of her orgasmic cry, she'd taken too much of his lifeforce. She stood over a skinny and pale, almost unrecognizable shell of the once-muscular man. Was he...dead?

“No.. no no no”, Lily said while shaking her head, standing up and slowly walking backwards, not really believing what was happening.

"No, no, no," Lily shook her head, taking a step back in shock and denial. "I didn't do that. I just punished him for his crimes," she tried to convince herself. But as the edges of her vision started to turn black with fear and denial, she heard a cough. It was him. He was alive. Lily had never been so relieved in her life.

Heroes don't kill, she thought. At that, she felt two arms wrap around her. It was a feeling Lily had only ever experienced from her parents - the feeling of a hug. The stripper embraced Lily tightly.

"I have no idea what you just did, but thank you," she said. "You saved me, you're a hero!"

These words further calmed Lily down. Had she actually done a good thing? Did the good at least outweigh the bad? It certainly seemed that way. Of course, she shouldn't have hurt that man as severely as she did, but it was still better than him robbing that woman, raping her, or worse. Lily wasn't perfect, but she had seen a situation and made it better than it would have been if she didn't interfere. Lily put a relieved smile on her face and hugged the stripper back.

"You know, I really don't think a hero should have to work for free, do you? You spend all your time making people's lives better. You deserve payment, something in return," the symbiote cooed seductively within her mind.

Lily felt momentarily paralyzed as the symbiote slyly implanted another suggestion within her brain. Despite the nagging sense that something was off, she found herself wanting to believe the symbiote's words. But Lily's inherent goodness made it difficult for the symbiote to fully corrupt her. However, the heightened intelligence that the symbiote had gifted Lily with also provided her with the means to more easily rationalize her desires. In her mind, Lily imagined a scenario where she had just rescued a stripper from danger. In this simulation, Lily posed the question to the stripper: what would she be willing to offer in exchange for being saved? Would she be willing to part with her flawless skin, her slender legs, her tiny waist, her full breasts, her piercing blue eyes? Everything?

No matter how Lily phrased the question in this mental exercise, she always arrived at the same conclusion: the stripper would be willing to do anything, to give anything, to be saved.

If that were true, did that not mean that taking payment for the heroic deed wasn't really stealing, but rather an agreed upon transaction? Of course, Lily hadn't actually asked the stripper beforehand, but if she had, the stripper would have agreed. That didn't mean Lily should have accepted the offer, but it was enough in that moment for Lily to convince herself that she was still a good person even if she did. The fact that the stripper would have agreed meant that this was similar to the case of the man lying weak on the ground beside them - even if Lily took something, the truth was that she spotted a situation and made it better than if she hadn't intervened.

Lily realized that her mind had temporarily drifted from the reality in front of her while she went through scenarios in her head, and the duration of the hug had passed what constitutes an acceptable length and become uncomfortably long.

The stripper tried to wriggle free, but found that Lily's grip was too strong. "Uhm, if it's alright, can you let me go now?" she asked, trying to break free.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about this, but I want to save as many people as I can, and in order to do that full-time, I need to be paid," Lily said, clearly feeling awkward about asking for payment.

"Oh, of course!" the stripper responded, not even considering that the request was strange. "But like I told that man earlier, I don't have any money on me right now."

"Oh," Lily said, pretending to be surprised. "That's okay." She actually felt sad about accepting payment from this kind woman, but she just wanted it so much.

"This might sound weird, but how about you pay me back with a kiss? You're so beautiful. If you don't want to, that's okay, of course," Lily added, feeling guilty about making such an inappropriate request to a woman who had just been through a traumatic experience. But the transfer of energy through the kiss with the man had felt so good, and she desperately wanted to feel that way again.

"Uhm, well, I suppose that's fair," the stripper responded skeptically, taken aback by the suggestion. Lily knew that the gentlest approach would be to keep the woman in the dark about her true intentions. She would simply erase the memory once it was all over and there was no need to frighten her. The stunning woman leaned in, shaping her lips in preparation for the kiss. Lily closed her eyes and met her halfway, their lips meeting in a tender and sensitive embrace. As their lips barely touched, Lily was able to sense everything about this woman – her abilities, her knowledge, and all that she was capable of. It was like being in a candy store where everything was free for the taking, and Lily couldn't resist the temptation. She had always been told she was ugly, even by the men she slept with, and the insecurity weighed heavily on her. She was tired of feeling inferior.

As Lily breathed in, her eyes grew and took on a mesmerizing, almost hypnotic blue color. Her skin cleared of pimples and blackheads, though it was too damaged to be completely perfect in one go. She wouldn't take any more, the woman had done nothing wrong. When Lily opened her eyes, she saw that while the woman still had a fit body, her eyes were now dull and almost gray. Her skin was as bad as Lily's had been just seconds before. Lily realized that this woman probably wouldn't be able to continue as a stripper, but that was a good thing – stripping wasn't a respectable profession. Lily had probably just helped her move on to something better. At least that's what she needed to believe. As their lips were about to part, Lily decided that since the woman probably wouldn't be stripping for much longer, she didn't need her stripping moves anymore. But they might come in handy for Lily, so she absorbed the knowledge of dances and the motor skills to perform them.

"Again, thanks so much for your help," the stripper said with tears in her eyes, unaware of what Lily had just done. "I have to get home to my kids. The babysitter will probably get mad if I don't get back soon."

Lily watched as the stripper picked up her purse and sauntered out of the park, leaving Lily alone with a new and improved version of herself. She ran her hand over her face, marveling at the smoothness of her skin. When she looked down to admire the rest of her body, she was surprised to find that her vision was blurry. Removing her glasses, she saw that everything was suddenly crystal clear - she had apparently absorbed the stripper's keen eyesight as well.

Lily's body was now undeniably attractive, and she even entertained the thought that she might one day be one of the most beautiful girls in her class. But as she basked in her newfound allure, she was reminded that she had torn her shorts earlier in a fit of excitement, and was now standing in just a tank top and her underwear. Embarrassed by her lack of modesty, she was surprised when the black symbiote enveloped her hips, forming a pair of shorts on her body.

"What's going on?" she asked nervously.

"I cannot change you without taking something, as you well know," the symbiote replied. "But I can change into any outfit you desire. Simply imagine it, and it will be so."

"Oh, that's really convenient! You should have mentioned that sooner."

Lily ran her hands over the smooth fabric of the shorts, marveling at the fact that she could even choose the color despite the symbiote being black. They felt like normal clothes to the touch.

As she focused on her new shorts, they shortened in length and tightened, accentuating her newly enhanced posterior. Lily stood there in amazement as she grappled with the conflicting emotions of guilt and pleasure, the latter winning out. She had done something she probably shouldn’t, but at the same time, she couldn't deny the thrill it gave her. She was even looking forward to going to school tomorrow.

Having rationalized to herself that she was doing well, Lily called an ambulance for the man and left the scene of the crime.