Comm: Becoming Clay: A Popgum Story (Part 2)

Summary: When Popgum can't stop a mutation beam from changing an innocent woman into a being of clay, mud and sand, she takes it upon herself to show her the ropes of being a malleable girl. Commissioned by jack2112

[Story Listing]

[First Part]

---

Update (2022-12-30): adjusted ending

Part 2

As the two shapeshifters stepped out of the bathroom and into the open area of the hotel room, Sonja froze, gawking at the condition she had left the otherwise chic room in; it looked as though an animal had raged about the place, splattering mud, sand, and hardened clay all over every surface. She fidgeted, glancing at Popgum as a look of shame rose to her expression.

"M-my apologies, I... my room is unpresentable." Sonja explained, gripping her upper arm, pacing to the mirror, which had seen the worst of it.

"Oh no, it's fine!" Popgum laughed, waving it off. "You should've seen the state my apartment when I turned into gum for the first time, woof, I had to wheel a machine from Home Depot to-"

Shlurp...

"...to scrub the... the carpet... whoa." Popgum trailed off as Sonja pressed her palms against the mirror, the mud and clay moving on its own to climb up her forearms. In a matter of moments, the mirror was clean to a polished sheen once again, the living mud coating her arms. She turned to Popgum, turning her arms in front of her, admiring how the mud clung to her. They resembled shiny, glossy opera gloves.

"Please let me clean up, I believe I can... th-that it is no trouble." Sonja tripped over her words. Popgum felt sand brushing against her ankles as the room shifted, all the earthly matter splattered across the room peeling off, shifting towards Sonja, clambering up her legs... sinking into her pores and disappearing under the hem of her dress.

"...Wow, you really are a natural." Popgum looked around. The place was spotless now. Sonja chuckled bashfully, tenting her fingers.

"Well, this stuff is, as you say, an extension of me, so..." Sonja shrugged. "I wanted to get more familiar, ahm, applying my new body."

"Alright, alright, I see where you're coming from..." Popgum nodded sagely. Sonja watched with confusion as the superheroine reached to the window with a stretched out arm, unlatching and opening a small door, only wide enough to stick a hand through.

"Mm? Are you sweltering?" Sonja tilted her head. "It may invite a draft if you- OH!"

Sonja squeaked as Popgum pulled her into an embrace, her arms snaking along her lithe form like living rope. Pulling along, Sonja's body was being stretched along in tune with Popgum as she lifted; she could feel her torso and waist and legs streeeetching as the two girls twisted around each other, forms adhering to each other in swirls of pink and chocolate brown.

"I got a great idea! Follow meeee!~" Popgum cheered, twisting like licorice as the pink-and-brown mass twirled, writhing towards the window and slipping through!

Sonja's vision was twisted, but between the spinning she made out the sensation of cool air on her skin, flying over the skylines from several dozen stories up, and the tactile feeling of her body sticking not only to Popgum, but plastering to the walls as it clambered along, like a slinky toy moving along the walls. She wanted to scream but she couldn't figure out where her mouth was!

With an emphatic SPROING, the girls bounded towards a roof top, uncoiling just in time to separate; Popgum landed first, her gummy legs cushioning her fall. She spun around to catch Sonja, reduced to a formless pile of clay once more.

"Woo! That was fun!" Popgum whooped, her translucent pink gummy body shining in the sun. She jostled Sonja in her arms. "How was that? Didn't think you could do that, huh?"

Sonja was at a loss for words, her entire body was trembling out of terror. Popgum blinked as Sonja's muddy mass oozed through her fingertips, spilling onto the ground in a quivering puddle.

"Wh-wh-what was that!?" Sonja stammered, her amorphous body shaking like gelatin. "We jumped out of that building! You are insane, yes!?"

"Aw, we stuck the landing~" Popgum chuckled, poking at the edge of Sonja's puddly form with her foot. "C'mon, pull yourself together, I wanna show you something."

Sonja hesitated. There was no warning about being thrown from a high rise like that! But as her nerves settled down, her face remerged from the muck to look at Popgum's reassuring expression. Her body reformed in turn as if rising from the muck, trickles of mud streaking down her sides.

"C'mon, get up~" Popgum took Sonja's hand, bringing the mud girl to her feet. Standing on a roof, Sonja reflexively covered her chest and crotch, feeling the wind brush over her nude body, unaware how her pliable form smoothed over her private parts. At least there wasn't anyone around to gawk at her...

Popgum pulled Sonja along closer to the edge, overlooking a busy road and across from another, similarly leveled building.

"Wh... where are we going?" Sonja looked down from the intimidating height with trepidation. She felt herself sweating nervously, the trickles of wed mud intensifying.

"Wherever we want!" Popgum beamed. "When you're a Squish Sister, you don't need roads to get where you're going!"

"...Squish... SIster?" Sonja blinked.

"The city's one big playground!" Popgum spread her arms. "C'mon, let's work on your moves! I think you can clear this gap!"

"Gap? But I..." Sonja took another look over to the building Popgum gestured too. It must've been a twenty-five foot jump! But Popgum was already drawing her legs into a coiled spring and, with a huge SPROING!, launched herself over the gap and splattered over the other side.

Sonja grimaced, raising her neck to get a better look. But Popgum's pink hand flailed excitedly in her direction, urging her to come over. Sonja grimaced, peering down again. How would she make a jump like that?

She thought about it. She remembered the shows in the old country with horses that would perform, leaping over fences. She always liked horses and their stoic power, and elegant presence...

She had an idea. She focused inwards. She had done some shapeshifting before, but this was something different. Sonja had to focus on all the matter inside of her, swirling within her body. Her skin began to pop, bubble, and gurgle as mud and clay flowed from her, collecting around her waist. She could feel it squish between her toes, wrapping around them, reforming her legs; the clay hardened around her newly formed hooves as her rear stretched behind her, warbling and shifting into the shape of a horse's hindquarters, as if moulded from clay.

A tail grew out towards the end, lashing excitedly. Sonja's eyebrows furrowed, now standing at least seven feet tall, her body that of a centaur. She backed up, her hooves clopping and, with three stomps to count herself off, she broke into a sprint! And as she approached the ledge...

"HYEAAA!!" She screamed, hurtling over the cliff as she sprang forward, her powerful horse-like legs having some extra spring in them. She struck a graceful arc, before touching down on the other side, kicking up gravel and dust with a hard landing! Sonja huffed, bucking her back legs excitedly as she trotted around victorious, arms raised above her head.

"I DID IT!" Sonja exclaimed. "I have strongest legs of all time!!"

"WHOOAA! You're a centaur!" Popgum admired her, oblivious to the bits of gravel that stuck to her gummy form. "How'd you think of that??"

"My grandma raised horsies in old country!" Sonja explained excitedly. "I would ride all the time, but now I can be riding myself! Is very exciting, yes!" She nodded excitedly; Popgum suppressed a goofy smirk at Sonja's innocent choice of words.

"Sheesh, maybe I don't have that much to teach you after all..." Popgum rubbed her neck. "You wanna get something to eat? All this stretching has worked up an appetite!"

"Yes, yes, good plan! I am so hungry, I could be eating an entire horse!" Sonja agreed, working herself up into a trot. She effortlessly bounded over to another building, laughing giddily as she did, her hooves leaving tracks of mud all the while.

"H-hey, wait up!" Popgum hurried after her, stretching her arms out to clear the gaps. Sonja really had a lot of energy... she couldn't contain her excitement at all. It was... a refreshing change of pace.

---

Though Popgum made a big deal about being free to avoid the streets, they eventually descended into an alley, taking a moment to firm up their mild-mannered alter egos.

...Well, Popgum did. Sonja seemed content to adjust her current centaur form. The soft, muddy form she took smoothed out into gorgeous white fur. The enchanting dress from before had returned, draped over her torso. And she didn't seem to be trailing mud anymore as her hooves clopped against the sidewalk.

Popgum—well, now she was Penelope again—settled for her pink tracksuit look, pacing next to Sonja. She had to look up to even get a look at Sonja; the centauress from overseas was certainly drawing attention, and she seemed to lean into it, waving to people she passed.

"You're taking to this shapeshifting thing better than I expected!" Penelope beamed, cheering as if she were a proud mother.

"I have good feelings of this." Sonja nodded. "I feel... strong. And most attractive. To have eyes on me is nothing to be shy of."

"And there aren't many centaurs that pass through downtown either!" Penelope nodded. "People can't help but be curious."

"This city is most curious." Sonja looked around. "There are many people with strange bodies. And women partners as well. They are rare sights in my country, but here..."

"Oh, Jederville is pretty cosmopolitan. You get all sorts here! Kind of a crossroads sort of deal." Penelope smiled... though it wavered slightly. "'Course, you get bad guys, real supervillains running amok too, so... gotta take the good with the bad sometimes, eh? Y'want to be my sidekick one'a these days??"

Penelope playfully nudged Sonja above one of her horsey forelegs. Sonja looked down, unable to hide her blush. She turned away.

"I-I dunno, I would have to... I have many model shoots, you see." Sonja prodded her fingers together. "And fighting is... I do not know if it is my calling."

"Mm... well, invite's open! You wouldn't slow me down at all, believe me." Penelope beamed. "No pressure... but if you can already shapeshift like this on your first day of being a Squish Sister, the sky's the limit, I think!"

"...Squish Sister..." There were those words again. Why did Penelope insist on calling her that?

"Ah, here's the spot. Vera!!" Penelope ran ahead, and Sonja, a little rattled, hurried along. Sonja didn't know her own strength quite yet, and sped up in a hurry. She yelped, forced to skid to a stop as Penelope approached.

They approached a young black woman overlooking a grill lined with hot dogs, sausages, and burger patties. The woman seemed focused on her grill, but as Penelope approached, she raised her eyes. They were a pretty shade of sapphire blue that peeked out through her long, black hair. Despite her meek posture, it was clear to tell she had some muscle to her; the t-shirt she was wearing didn't leave that much to the imagination.

The t-shirt read, "Super Snacks". Huh.

"P-P-Penelope...!" The woman chuckled. "Wh, what a surprise it is to see you here, and not... where we usually meet."

"Awww, we were just in the area, and I wanted to treat my new friend!" Penelope smiled, gesturing to Sonja. The woman glanced up, gawking at how Sonja the centauress towered over here.

"Is nice to meet you, miss... Vera, you said?" Sonja bowed slightly, before turning to Penelope.

"Mmhm! She's one of our Squish Sisters!" Penelope beamed. "Though she's more widely know as the crime-stopper Omni-Vera, with all the powers of-"

"P-Penelope, we really don't need to get into it right now..." Vera chuckled. "Not right out in the open like this... I-I don't want people figuring out who I am."

"Mm? It's not like you wear a mask or anything..." Penelope scratched her head.

"I would if I didn't keep burning it off..." Vera groaned. Sonja's mouth flattened at this exchange, but pressed on.

"My name is Sonja Petrovich. I am fashion modeller by trade, but, um..." She looked down at her horse-like appearance. Penelope stepped in, patting her foreleg.

"I'm getting ready to introduce Sonja to the Squish Sisters! Been ages since we had a newbie!~" Popgum cheered.

"...Squish Sister?" Vera looked up again. "Then you're a... one of us?"

Sonja saw Vera analysing her quietly. She determined that, well, if she already paraded herself around as a centaur, there wouldn't be a problem in performing in public. Sonja's body gurgled and wobbled, her body lowering to the ground. As her front legs darkened to a muddy-sleek texture, they reformed rapidly from hooked hooves to human legs, heels planted to the ground. Her back body collapsed in a wet mess, before sliding up her legs and under her billowing dress.

This all happened so quickly, it was enough to give Vera quite a shock! When it had resolved, Sonja performed a playful curtsy; this got some applause from Vera.

"Bravo! Very nice! Where did you find her?" Vera turned to Penelope.

"Just, um, doing my rounds, I... I owe her a little, for what..." Penelope tried to explain, but trailed off, determining it would bring down the mood. "N-nevermind that, she's really good at shapeshifting, huh?"

"Yes! So fluid!" Vera nodded. Her eyes lowered. "I wish I had that much control..."

Sonja blushed, prodding her fingers together. "Your praise is considerable. But I am sure you are much more experienced than me."

"Nn... that's the thing, I..." Vera swallowed. "I'm still... working on it. This food cart's just me, um, practicing my powers."

"...oh?" Sonja blinked. "What powers?"

"L-let me show you! My treat!" Vera nodded. "I just need to focus..."

She lowered her eyes to the grill. Sonja's eyes followed... she noted with curiosity that the grill wasn't heated at all. It was more like a flat wok. Considering her body's increased sensitivity to heat, she should've noticed it sooner.

Vrrrm... Vera's eyes began to glow red, and Sonja gasped as laser beams shot from her eyes to the grill! Vera squinted, moving her head slightly to move the laser in small circles around the patties. Sonja admired her technique with great intrigue and awe...

Even more incredibly, Vera's forearm shifted into a chrome steel spatula, casually flipping the burger as she went. Sonja marvelled at her abilities. She was really quite gifted, wasn't she?

Penelope, however, was more focused on Vera. She spotted trickles of sweat trickling down her cheeks... at least, it initially appeared to be sweat, but Penelope knew better. "Um, Vera..."

"T-trying to focus..." She muttered, moving to a hot dog. Going crosseyed slightly to make sure the lasers lined up required hyperfocused control, and reining in her abilities. "One misstep and I could slice this whole grill in half... and I don't wanna blow a hole in my savings for auhgnoowhaua..."

"Oh no..." Penelope grimaced. The laser beams ceased as streaks of ooze melted over Vera's eyes, her mouth and tongue filling with goo too. Like an easter egg left out in the sun, Vera's melting head slid off from her shoulders, and splattered onto the grill, sizzling.

"UWAH!? HER HEAD!!" Sonja wailed in terror.

"Yeah I was afraid of this..." Penelope clicked her tongue, glancing to a spare spatula that Vera had set aside, the headless woman's metal arm shifted back to a fleshy arm, feeling around the empty space where her head sat previously. Penelope took the spatula and began scraping at Vera's ooze.

"WHAT!? What did you expect!?" Sonja blurted, her chest heaving.

"Vera comes from a pretty special family. Her mom was one of the greatest superheroes of all time, with every superpower under the sun. And her dad was a scientist who turned his body to be ultra-stretchy and malleable. So when they had Vera, she got all of those powers, but... it's a lot." Penelope stepped over, using the spatula to slop Vera's melted goo where her head used to be.

"...She... she melted... from her own laser beams?" Sonja blinked.

"Yeaaaah, still figuring out how to firm herself up. It's been a thing." Penelope shrugged, her fingers pressing at Vera's soft, pliable skin, urging it to reform itself. Before long, Vera's body began to shift on its own; as Penelope brought her hands back, the goopy visage of Vera shifted, facial features emerging from the goop. She groaned.

"Thanks for the save, Penelope..." She groaned. "Can't believe I grilled my own face again..."

"...Does... does this happen a lot?" Sonja tilted her head.

"All the time. My body's really soft. It comes from my dad's side." Vera rubbed her shoulder. "Pretty ridiculous huh? I have all the superpowers in the world, but I'm still messing up all the time..."

"...Um... maybe you should... consider using some of the powers together." Sonja suggested. "I was seeing how your arm turned to metal. Perhaps if you turned your head to metal too?"

"...Two powers at once?" Vera blinked. "...Gosh, that'll require even more coordination, I dunno if I can-"

"C'mon give it a shot!" Penelope cheered her on. "You can do anything if you put your mind to it! Literally!"

"...Hah..." Vera rubbed the back of her neck. "I... I guess I can try..."

SHING! As Vera furrowed her brows, her face hardened into chrome steel. Her eyes began to glow again, darting around the patties and sausages on the grill. The other two admired the speed, and the pleasing grill marks she was leaving behind. They were cooking in a hurry, and the pleasant aroma of cooked meat got the two of them drooling.

Vera's eye lasers shut off, revealing an array of well-done burgers and hot dogs, ready to be assembled into sandwiches! Sonja clapped her hands, while Penelope whooped with a great big cheer.

"YOU DID IT!" Penelope shouted. "Your control is incredible!"

"It really does look delicious." Sonja nodded in turn.

"Hanwkfghyewo." Vera gurgled, opening her mouth to speak, but dribbles of piping-hot goo trickled from her metal-lined mouth in wet, paint-like streaks and plopping onto the grill. The other two gawked, and chuckled to themselves.

"I... I think that metal skin was trapping all that heat..." Sonja grimaced.

"Well hey, it's a start!" Penelope laughed.

This must've been the strangest lunch ever for Sonja. Vera silently prepared one hot dog, presenting it to the claygirl; she blinked, glancing at Penelope.

"Are you going to eat as well?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, I'm good! Got my usual right here!" Penelope dug into her pocket, pulling out a chocolate bar with all the caramel-y, nougat-y fixings. "My body doesn't take to anything that isn't sugary. I get terrible indigestion going off the usual food groups now..."

"...Ah... I-I see." Sonja couldn't force a smile, it sounded so dreadful to her. "But isn't it... doesn't it get terribly boring, eating the same foodstuffs all the time?"

"Nope! Tastes change too! Chocolate never tasted this good when I was a normy!~" Penelope beamed, her jaw distending to consume the whole, king-sized bar. Sonja grimaced, turning to her hot dog. Oh well... this hot dog looked sumptuous indeed. And topped with so many fixings...

Sonja took a bite. Confusion rose to her face. She chewed carefully...

...And spat it into a nearby trash receptacle, much to Vera's surprise.

"Oh no! Did you not like it?" Vera frowned. "Was the meat bad? I-I can make another-"

"No-no, it's just... it was wonderfully assembled, and so many ingredients, for it to taste like... nothing at all." Sonja frowned, examining the hot dog. "But it looks so delicious..."

"...Hoo boy..." Penelope folded her arms. "I think you might've developed some more dietary restrictions like me."

"...Restrictions?" Sonja turned, worry flashing in her eyes. "L... like what?"

"C'mon, we'll make up a lil something for you back at our base!~" Penelope beamed, easily lifting the hot dog from Sonja's hands and, taking her hand, pulled her along; Sonja tripped over her legs as her arm stretched slightly.

"N-no, what restrictions??" Sonja asked again, slight panic rising in her voice.

"You'll see!~" Penelope deflected the issue with a grin. "Don't worry, you'll love it!"

"...ah..." Sonja had a bad feeling about this. If Penelope, a person made of living gum, took to sugar, then Sonja, a being of clay, mud and sand would eat...

Oh no. Oh dear.

[Next part]