Zach briefly looked down and noticed the index card. Since that was the closest thing to him, he decided to pick it up and bring it to his room. He was done collecting stuff and now wanted to inspect them more closely to see which one he thought would interest the class the most.

Fortunately for the city, the bag Zach was using to carry stuff was full of large items, so he didn't shove the card (and all of them) inside. Instead, he just picked it up, which, while better, was still a chaotic experience for them. Your team, being able to see everything more clearly, watched as the young teen's hand lowered, grabbed the end of the card, and lifted it up at an impossibly fast speed. Then, the entire landscape tilted very slightly, which of course was another disaster. Luckily, this nightmare was a few seconds away from ending.

Zach walked into his room and placed his bag on the table next to the microscope his dad let him borrow. Since the card was the only thing that wasn't in the bag, he decided to look at it first. He placed it under the device and focused on it. He did think it was fascinating that the texture started to look completely different. And as he magnified it further, he noticed something that stood out.

The entire city was relieved as it was placed down and things started to seem more calm. You and the rest of your team could see what the kid was doing, and it gave you some form of hope.

"What the...?" the boy whispered in shock as he zoomed in a little on the tiny object. At first, the only things that made it stand out from the rest of the stuff on the card were its color and shape. Now, it looked like there were...very small buildings or structures. But that couldn't have been possible. They had to have just been strange particles or something. Still, as much as he doubted it, the shape of some of the smaller things did remind him of buildings he's seen before. "That's so weird..." he said to himself as he focused on the little object and adjusted the settings. Once it was magnified enough, he couldn't believe what he was looking at. It really was an incredibly tiny city. There was a variety of buildings and he could even see little specks moving around quickly, which he assumed to be vehicles. He backed away from the table and just stood there in stunned silence for a minute, trying to process this situation.

"Did...did he see us?!" Tom asked excitedly. "I...I think he did! Did you see how surprised he looked?!" It looked like he did, but you couldn't be completely sure. It was possible that he saw some other fascinating thing. But then again, what else would make him move back and freeze like that?

Zach walked back to the table and looked at the object again. This insignificantly small speck must have been populated by millions of people. He was full of questions as he continued to scan it. He thought it was so amazing, but then he looked at the state of the city. Even though some areas were fine, large sections of it were completely destroyed. He realized that he must have caused this. He didn't pick up the card they were on very gently, and not only that, but since it was next to him and on the floor, his footsteps as he walked over to it probably caused earthquakes that resulted in even more damage. He was really worried that he killed or seriously injured a lot of people. Even if everyone survived, he still destroyed many of their homes and put them through what was likely the most horrifying thing they've ever experienced. The whole thing made him feel awful, and now, he knew he had to do something to help them.

He wished had some way of communicating with them and letting them know that he didn't want to hurt anyone. Unfortunately, that would be very difficult. If he tried to talk to them, they likely wouldn't be able to understand a thing he said. His voice would probably just be some loud, incomprehensible noise to them. Even if they somehow could understand him perfectly, he still wouldn't be able to hear them. He also couldn't just contact any specific person or something. So, he really had no way of....wait. Actually, he did. Kind of. He didn't know if he would ever be able to actually contact them, but he could show them that he was trying to help. If he covered the city and kept it protected, they would hopefully realize that he wasn't going to do anything to them.

But then he considered something. He literally needed a microscope to even see the city itself, with the people being much smaller. So, because of how absolutely tiny they were, they might not be able to process what he was doing. Everything was just so big compared to them, that his actions must have seemed like forces of nature that drastically altered their world. They probably didn't even recognize him as a person, since he was the size of an entire planet to them. But, maybe they were able to understand what was happening. Even if just one of them was able to because of some technology or ability they had, they could inform other people and calm them down. Still, whether anyone realized what he was doing or not, he had to keep them safe, and this was the best option right now.

He left his room and ran downstairs to look for something useful. As he searched, he heard someone giggling behind him. He turned around to see Alan, his younger brother, watching him.

(Oh no. Not now....) Zach thought to himself. Alan wasn't mean to him or anything, but he often bothered him when he was trying to rest, when he was working on something, and at various other moments. Usually, when Alan wanted Zach's attention, he wouldn't leave him alone until Zach agreed to do whatever he wanted, or he just got tired of waiting and went to do something else.

"What are you doing?" Alan asked his brother as smiled widely at him. He saw Zach "acting weird" (in his opinion) by moving stuff around and looking in random cabinets, so he wanted to find out exactly what was going on. "Oh, um, I'm trying to find something for a project," Zach told him. "If you want me to do something, can it wait until later?"

"Okay," Alan said with the same silly grin. Then, he went back to the living room. Zach was really glad that ended quickly. A minute later, he found a small plastic container with a few tiny holes in it. As he started to leave, Nathan, his older brother came in, also looking for something. Fortunately, he didn't interact with his younger brother beyond briefly waving at him. Nathan was more focused on getting what he needed. So, Zach ran upstairs and entered his room before approaching the index card.

Covering the city meant he had to pick it up and move it again. Even though he was going to be way more careful than he was earlier, they probably still weren't going to like being moved around again. He really didn't want to terrify them again, but he couldn't leave them like this. He very gently grabbed the card and lifted it up. He could see how the edges bent slightly, which was probably another huge event to the tiny people. "Sorry about that, little guys. It'll be over in just a second," he said quietly as he slowly walked over to the other side of the table and lowered the card onto it. Then, he grabbed the container and turned it upside down as he carefully placed it right on top of the card. "There. That should keep you safe right now," he smiled, feeling happy that he was actually able to save them

He would only keep them in his room temporarily. Tomorrow, he would get others involved. People who had way more resources than him, and could use those to keep them happy and protected for the rest of their lives. His parents could probably help, and they knew other people that could as well. Also, he remembered that his friend's brother was part of a team of scientists and researchers, who also had many resources.

Back in the tiny city, you watched as the container was placed over the immense, blue plain. "I think he's trying to help us! It definitely looked like he saw us, then he picked us up very carefully, and now he just did this! We're actually going to be fine!" Tom yelled in excitement after seeing everything Zach just did. He's never felt this relieved in his life, since, well, he was never this close to dying before.

"Or, he wants to keep us as pets! I'm not so sure he has any intention of helping us. He'll probably keep us trapped in his room forever!" Rick said as he looked down with a both angry and worried expression, still not convinced that their problem got any better.

The older teen stared at his teammate in disbelief before saying, "....Can you not, Rick?! I'm trying to stay positive here! Don't make me more stressed than I already am!"

"I'm just giving you my honest opinion," Rick said. He was often distrustful of new people and would make negative assumptions about them.

"But..But I really think it'll be better if we still had hope that..."

Before Tom could finish, Rick said, "Weren't you the one who said we were all going to die a few minutes ago?"

"Yeah, but that was before all this happened!" Tom tried to explain.

"Guys, this fighting is completely pointless. I personally think Tom's right, but we should wait and see what happens," Sara said.

You said, "Alright, now that we're most likely safe, you all can rest as the teleporter finishes charging. I'll still work on the communicator, just in case something happens."

Meanwhile, Zach finally found something that he could bring to school tomorrow. The literal tiny city would be far more interesting, but he was definitely not going to bring it. With his homework now done and his new discovery kept in a safe place, he decided to follow his usual night routine before climbing into his bed.

The next day, Zach went to school, making sure to close the door to his room before he left. The teleporter was still charging, so you would still be here for a while.