Machamp’s Gym had a problem. Not a huge problem really, but certainly an annoying problem. And maybe it was huge, just huge in a different sort of way. Every gym had their share of gym hogs or overly macho weightlifters. That just came with the territory of running a public gym. But not every weightlifter had to deal with lifters that were March’s size.

The purple dragon had laid claim to Machamp’s Gym about a week ago. It wasn’t that he was mean per say, so much as he was… forceful. He wasn’t against pushing little folks out of the way to get to the equipment he wanted to use. Which was very easy to do at March’s size of eight feet tall. Add to that a dominant personality and a dragon’s penchant for claiming places and things as their own, and Machamp’s Gym was really in trouble. He was starting to drive away the smaller customers, the ones who came just to stay in shape. The owners of the gym had to do something, anything.

Meanwhile, KingDead and DracoMax were simply looking for a new gym to train at. Their last workout together ended in a bit of tragedy; turns out that accidentally outgrowing your gym wasn’t the best way to make friends. KingDead maintained that it wasn’t his fault, that some evildoer had spiked his hero-in-training’s drink, and that the only way to keep DracoMax from getting huge was to take all his size instead. But somehow the owners didn’t buy that story. Probably due to KD’s track record of city smashing heroics.

“Sorry about last time KD. Should’ve remembered to ask if the smoothie had Dragonberries in it or not,” DracoMax said, changing out of his full superhero spandex into the much comfier workout shorts he’d brought. DM’s powers were fueled by the food he ate, and the more food he took in the bigger he could grow. Except when it came to Dragonberries. Those sent his body’s growth haywire.

“It’s not your fault buddy. We’ll just make a good impression here and everything will be back to normal in no time. You’ll see,” the superwolf said. The green and red workout shorts snapped in place against his grey fur. “Besides, you’ve gotta admit… that was pretty cool. Must’ve made it to 20 feet tall before I could drain your size!” DM merely blushed. Together the superduo headed out to the main floor of the gym, ready to tackle their latest workout regimen.

But the room was empty, devoid of other people. King’s tail drooped just a bit when he saw that there was no one else around. It was always nice to have people who might recognize him for his heroics (or sometimes for his property damage, it wasn’t so nice when that happened). The only other person was a tall, beefy dragon grunting in the corner as he did deadlifts. He grunted with each lift, and dropped the barbell to the ground with a ground shaking thud. KD and DM gave each other a look. This wouldn’t do.

King approached March from behind and gave him a tap on the back. “Excuse me citizen,” he started using his best superhero voice. “But we’re looking to share this gym with you. Could you keep it down a bit?”

March stood up to his full height and turned to face King, smirking as he looked down. “Nah, it helps me lift. And I think being the biggest guy here gives me the right to be as loud as I want,” he said while jabbing King with a finger. Well that was rude. King wasn’t easily intimidated by those larger than him; they didn’t usually stay larger than him for long. But it wouldn’t be much of a lesson if he just shrunk the dragon down here and now.

DM chimed in, “Hey, he was just asking you to be a little quieter. What’s you being larger got to do with it?”

“I think it has everything to do with it, pipsqueak. What’re you two gonna do about it?” March answered. “And what’s with the masks? Are you supposed to be some sort of superhero? Heh, I bet you’re the sidekick then, lil dragon.”

King’s eyebrows rose instantly. That was not a good idea. Whoever this dragon was, he couldn’t have known that DracoMax didn’t like being called a sidekick. DM was a superhero-in-training, and readily let anyone know that. DM squinted at March as if sizing up the other dragon. He might’ve been taller but that didn’t matter for much. Not when facing a pair of supers with growth powers. The superhero-in-training looked at the barbell behind March. It was loaded up pretty heavily, but he knew it could still handle more weight.

King slowly began to sneak away, backing up to go and find something else to use for his workout. Better to let his friend try and handle this his own way for practice. King could easily step in to solve things if it got out of control. DM on the other hand was picking up more weights to add to the barbell. March watched as the superdragon wordlessly worked, arms crossed.

“Aww, that’s cute. Trying to one up me? Look, you wouldn’t have been able to handle what I was doing before, much less what you’re adding to it. Just let it go,” March smirked. He had no idea who these two jokers were but it would take much more than some little dragon to outlift him.

DracoMax sized up the barbell before nodding his head. He bent over and set two hands to the bar, starting to pull up with all his might. He could hear March chuckling from behind but paid it no mind. Instead he focused on the spreading warmth flooding his muscles. Time to teach this big purple jerk a lesson. A familiar sense of vertigo took over as he inched taller, going from six and a half feet to seven in seconds. DM had to readjust his stance to accommodate his lengthening legs, while his tail swayed behind to keep balance with the bulk that was piling onto his frame.

Slowly the barbell rose into the air, DM making a point to act out that he was struggling with picking it up. March wasn’t laughing anymore. The superdragon’s shoulders widened to form a more triangle shaped, bodybuilder’s frame. His usually athletic body bloated with muscle, arms rivaling March’s whole torso for thickness. Six-pack abs appeared against the superhero’s stomach, traces of fat disappearing to leave only draconic beef behind.

The spandex shorts covering his hips stretched along with the superhero. They held tight as his thighs took up ever more space inside, looking more tree trunk-esque by the second. DM huffed lightly as the weight in his hands lessened. Seven feet had passed into seven and a half, with eight shortly on the way. To play up the fact this was getting easier the dragon started to do curls with the barbell rather than continue his deadlift. Two hands… then eventually one hand… March could only stare in awe as the half-ton of weight was easily lifted by this newcomer. DM only stopped his terrific bulking once he reached the same height as March, eight feet tall and clearly ready for the nearest bodybuilder pose-off.

“Thank goodness for that buffet we hit for lunch…” DracoMax mumbled to himself. “Gave me all the energy I needed for that.” The superhero looked at his canine friend with a smirk, lifting the barbell far above his head with one hand. KD was visibly sweating, smiling, and tail wagging. Guess he approved.

“Woah, that was amazing! Didn’t know you had that in you lil dude!” March said with a slap to DM’s back. “You’ve gotta show me how to do that sometime. Could really use that sort of power.”

DM held onto the barbell despite the surprise of being hit in the back. “Oh, this? It’s uhh, something I was born with. Sorry.”

“Dang, too bad. I’m just glad to not be the only big dragon around here anymore,” March laughed. “Think you could show me a little more?” DM blinked, before turning back to KD. The superwolf just gave two thumbs up.

Letting the rein on his powers go again for a moment, DM bwoomped up another half foot. The barbell felt much lighter now, almost enough for him to do some tricks. Experimentally he tossed the barbell from his right hand to his left, catching it easily. There was still some heft to it. But it made DM feel pretty proud of himself. He smiled and did it again, back to his right hand. King inched closer again clearly interested in watching his superhero apprentice show off a bit.

The superdragon grinned as more muscle piled onto his frame, almost eagerly expanding now. With the encouragement of his teacher and handling a local bully that easily he was positively beaming. And it certainly showed with how quickly he was growing larger. Soon the weight in his hand felt more like an inflatable toy than a 1000 pound metal weight. He tossed the barbell backward and snagged it in midair with his tail. DM struck a flexing pose and curled the weight with his tail while his body expanded further.

March and King watched the display, clapping when it felt appropriate and continuing to back up to give the mountainous, growing dragon more room. The ceiling was plenty high enough in the gym for there to not be any fear of property damage, so KD wasn’t worried. He was impressed with how well DracoMax was handling his powers now. Just a few short months ago this would’ve never been possible; all the growth training was paying off. KD nudged at March’s side lightly. “Pipsqueak, eh? Sidekick, huh?” he said. March didn’t reply though. He was busy watching the stranger show off. March was more than just slightly envious of the size this other dragon was reaching.

DM decided it was for the best to stop his growth once even lifting the barbell with his tail felt like lifting nothing. He let go of the barbell and it landed with a loud THUD, embedding itself slightly into the cracked concrete. The superhero-in-training loomed easily over his teacher and the other purple dragon, properly hulked out to look like the strongest bodybuilder in the city. His traps and pecs made it hard for him to move his head from side to side, and the shelf of pecs even made it hard to see. But that was okay. He could feel just how large he’d gotten. It was a struggle for him to strike one more flexing pose with his body so top heavy and arms that thick, but he somehow managed.

“Hey hey, watch the barbell there DM! We don’t wanna damage this place after what happened last time,” King scolded. DM’s ears flattened slightly. KD would’ve had trouble seeing it from down on the ground at half his friend’s size, but DM’s face had gone red.

“Sorry. Just got caught up in it a bit I guess,” DM said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. Or trying to at least. His arms had some mobility issues reaching all the way up there. His body had filled every available corner with beef, bulked up to a top heavy titan. Instead the dragon took a seat, shaking the ground and several pieces of heavy equipment as he did.

KD’s tail was still wagging, though he had to stabilize himself on a weight rack to not fall over. “That’s okay, I’m just impressed. That was really good practice for you buddy. Handled the situation all on your own, and no one got hurt!”

“Yeah, that was really something huh? But uhh… where did that other guy go anyway?” Somehow during the commotion March had slipped away. King turned around to look but the gym was empty. Well, nothing to worry too much about now. He needed to find something around the gym that would still give his buddy a workout after all. Maybe he could start by lifting the equipment itself. Or the whole rack of weights… heck, maybe the entire gym at this size! While KD searched for something to help DM lift, patrons flocked to Machamp’s Gym. Most of them were surprised to see someone quite so beefy taking up all that space. Several of them even bought memberships on the spot. The owners profusely thanked the two superheroes for their work, even offering to sponsor them if they’d just come to their gym more often and keep being enormous. A pretty tempting offer, but one the two of them would have to think over more carefully. Being a superhero was already a lot of work on its own after all.

Meanwhile, behind the gym, a familiar purple dragon pulled a glowing green bottle labeled “DANGER: GROWTH POTION” out of his gym bag. “Well that sure was impressive… bet I could outdo him though…” March whispered.