A tense Dr. Trevor Hilfmann watched in wavering despair as the news broadcast the developing situation in Suburban Minitropolis. Drones that had yet to be identified (but Trevor recognized them almost immediately as Enormo Enterprises) had gotten caught up in a shoot out with local police, but they also seemed to be zeroing in on one target and ignoring all others.
Trevor let out a sigh, trying to keep all of his priorities in a line even as things were getting even more hectic around him. His new network security analyst Aeris stood up and gave the Doctor a concerned look.
"Dr. Hilfmann, sir?" Aeris asked, her cell phone pressed against the side of her thigh, "Would you mind if I ...?"
Trevor nodded with understanding.
"Yes ... I understand this isn't a safe time right now ..." Trevor replied, "the drones are thankfully several miles from here but I understand why you'd want to head out ... just ... be safe"
"You too, sir" Aeris said, sliding out the back door discreetly while Trevor shook his head in dismay.
He knew the ceasefire from Dr. Mumford wouldn't last but even he was shocked to see how reckless the Doctor was being, even while he knew from experience how determined Max could get when he wanted something and it seemed like his obsession with capturing ShrinkGirl had consumed what little common sense the admittedly brilliant mind had.
Just outside the office, Aeris slid into her dark blue Saab, putting her cell phone to her cheek as she hastily called her boss, Scott Travis from Cybertek.
"Sir, have you had a chance to see the news?" Aeris asked
"Yeah ..." Scott sighed, "I have no idea what kind of lunatics they have working at Enormo but ... geez..."
"Do you think they're after...?"
"They're likely after Alexis ..." Scott said, "But keep an eye on the situation"
"Will do" Aeris replied.
Back inside meanwhile, Trevor was placing a call to the only other person he knew that dealt in drone technology that wasn't a licensed professional.
On the other end of that call would be a hard working Joshua James, watching with anticipation as his new and improved ShrinkDrone began its takeoff, creating a loud humming sound in the tight space.
"Alright ... here goes everything..." Josh said, with more than just a hint of determination in his voice.
Just as the drone cleared the open garage door, he'd receive a call from Trevor and realizing the situation, he decided to take it, while keeping a close eye on the path of his drone to make sure it was able to reach its destination.
"Uh ... Trevor? Sorry, Dr. Hilfmann..." Josh said, a clear sense of distraction evident in his quivering voice, "What's up?"
"Uh ... well ... what is UP..." Trevor said, his usual patience wearing thin, "Is a massive drone strike in Minitropolis right now ..."
"Oh shoot... uh ... really?" Josh asked, leaning his phone on a shoulder while watching his own drone navigate the grid-like streets of the city, trying to make a beeline for Lexi.
"Yeah ..." Trevor said, "Look, ... I think I already know the answer but ... is Lexi getting involved in this?"
"Lexi? Um... well ..." Josh stuttered, all but giving himself away.
"Yeah ... that's what I was afraid of ..." Trevor sighed, "...she had called me this morning, all anxious about getting her polarity recalibrated"
This news seemed to catch Josh by surprise as he briefly took his eyes off the drone feed.
"I'm sorry, what?" Josh asked, sounding concerned
"Yeah ... I thought she told you ... she's been having those disruptions again ... and it's been getting really bad ..." Trevor explained, "I told her to use her powers sparingly or not at all ... at least until we can figure out what's going on with her ... she called me all upset this morning and wanted me to start on a cure for her ...."
"Oh ... I ... didn't know ..." Josh sighed, sounding guilty now as he had been basically supporting her superheroism and was currently sending backup her way.
"Yeah well ... very few did, I guess" Trevor sighed, "I like Lexi's optimism but sometimes she can just ... rush in blind..."
"Yeah ..." Josh sighed, "H-Hey ... l-let me know how everything goes, okay? I... I gotta go"
"Of course" Trevor said, before pausing, "oh, and one more thing? If you're going to fly that drone to intercept Lexi, be smart about it ... don't fly into public airwaves or anything like that"
Josh smirked sheepishly as the Doctor had already been wise to him.
"That obvious, huh?" Josh sighed
"I've worked with engineers most of my life" Trevor quipped.
Josh paused for a bit, suddenly struck with an idea.
"Actually Doctor? Do you have another moment?" Josh asked, "I may have an idea about Lexi and how maybe we can help her ... it's kind of out there ... but hear me out..."
________________
Back in the scrum of the battle, other police cruisers were arriving rapidly to the scene to address the drone situation but curiously enough, the 3 remaining drones had scattered for the time being. Still, the Mini Troop remained in place as the road was swiftly blocked off and everybody inside the neighboring buildings were told to remain inside until the situation was resolved.
This included Carlos' Coffee, where an anxious blonde barista by the name of Krystal crouched below her counter in fear, occasionally peeking up to see if anything new had developed. Although anxious, she had a confidence that Lexi was on the case. Others didn't quite share her optimism as they watched with held breath at the scene outside.
While the drone stand off was at a stand still, more interesting action was brewing in an alley just off the main road where Lexi found herself cornered by two of her notorious foes, the reckless Roxie Wright and the soured Sugar Rush.
Roxie tapped her foot impatiently and smirked down at Lexi's tiny little purple Shrinkmobile.
"Really, Shrinks? A honking purple car that stands out like a sore thumbnail ... how tacky is that?" Roxie taunted as Lexi was more occupied with keeping the same sized Sugar away from her car as they both stared each other down.
"This coming from the girl who has a custom bike with her name graffiti'd on it..." Lexi sighed under her breath.
While distracted with her banter, Sugar launched a swift punch towards Lexi which she dodged, but Rush's momentum carried her forward and her blunt metallic arm cannon collided with the side of the Shrinkmobile.
"Hey, you wanna stop messing up my car?" Lexi squeaked, momentarily focused in on the ensuing fight.
"Oh I'm sorry ..." Sugar squeaked angrily, "I wouldn't wanna dent your precious fucking car ... all you did was RUIN MY LIFE!!"
Lexi frowned, looking down for a moment.
"Rush ... I've offered to grow you back ... I've ... I've tried everything..." Lexi sighed.
"I don't want your pity ...!" Sugar Rush sneered, activating her jet thrusters and lifting off the ground a few inches, "I want your head on a pike!"
"I am SO proud right now!" Roxie smirked, pretending to a wipe a tear from her callous face
Sugar ignored Roxie's "motherly" commentary and continued on her assult of Lexi, blasting off at full speed. Lexi gulped, but fell onto her back, anticipating the attack. She grabbed Rush and hoisted her up, throwing her over the Shrinkmobile and at Roxie's ankle. The quick thinking Roxie shifted her ankle out of the way and the tiny villainess was dispatched into a small puddle, sputtering and shaking her head, stunned.
Lexi sighed, getting into the Shrinkmobile and starting to drive away.
"Oh no you don't!" Roxie smirked, about to stomp her foot down on the car.
Lexi quickly slammed on the brakes and performed a hasty K-turn, glancing out the side window and checking behind her as she pulled back onto the main road, unshrinking her car in the process, only to reshrink it and drive under the police cars roadblock.
Rush shook off the dirty alley water and looked even more pissed off as she sprung to her feet, blasting off with her jet thrusters until she was nearly eye level with Roxie.
"Let's get her!" Rush sneered
Roxie simply nodded with a grin, not giving a fuck about the police presence just outside their current location as the duo sprung out, giving the police a new target.
Lexi regrew her car just after clearing the police blockade and Roxie, seeing her opportunity took a shot for the back window, striking it and splintering glass into Lexi's back seat.
"Shit!" Lexi yelled out, her car swerving as she began to panic, on a collision course with the doorway of Carlos Coffee shop.
Seeing no other option, Lexi threw the shrink shift into overdrive and shrank the car, driving through the doorway which was just ajar enough for her to drive through.
A curious Krystal peeked up again from her perch behind the counter, only to see what appeared to be a toy purple car drive itself into the coffee shop. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Lexi?" she asked, not sure if the tiny superheroine could hear her.
Unfortunately for Lexi, regrowing herself even briefly gave Max's drones another lock on her location and while she had shrunk again, the drones had triangulated her location to the Cafe, which only added to Lexi's troubles as Roxie shot the windows clean off ; Sugar Rush hovering over her shoulder and blasting off towards Lexi.
As the patrons went off screaming ; all but Krystal who remained in shock at the developing scene, watching as 3 drones also hovered into the crowded coffee shop, Lexi sighed, pulling her car under a table and stepping out of the vehicle just in time to see Sugar Rush divebombing her.
"Fuck!" Lexi squeaked, jumping out of the way as she lay there.
Roxie just watched the scene for a moment, all too cogniscent of the fact that Lexi wasn't growing herself back. Maybe ... she couldn't?
"Cmon cmon cmon..." Lexi sighed, her body sparking again as she briefly regained her full 5'4 size.
Roxie came charging at her, throwing a punch which Lexi countered by jumping onto a nearby table perching herself there.
"Ha!" Lexi smirked, about to throw a punch of her own before her powers betrayed her again and she shrunk to 3 inches tall again, now just punching the air in front of her.
Roxie smirked down at the shrunken heroine, holding her finger in a flicking formation.
"Ya wanna try that again?" Roxie winked
"Wait wait WAIT!!" Lexi squeaked, about to take off in the other direction but she was too late and soon found herself flung painfully through the air like a paper football.
Krystal yelped and held her hand out, catching the tiny superheroine like a flyball to deep right field as she lunged to her side. Lexi lay in Krystal's soft palm, breathing fast as she looked up at the giant barista, recognizing her instantly as the "groupie" from the college campus.
"Lexi?" Krystal asked, a concerned look on her face, "You okay?"
Instead of answering Lexi rolled over and shrugged.
"N-Nice catch ..." she squeaked, giving Krystal a thumbs up as she seemed exhausted, trying her best to pull herself up.
"I gotcha hon..." Krystal said, even while she was wary of Sugar Rush, Roxie and the drones. "...although you may wanna grow back soon ... n-no pressure of course.."
Lexi nodded, straining a bit as her body seemed to be momentarily paralyzed. Krystal looked down with concern, understanding the problem.
"You ... you can't grow back, can you?" Krystal frowned. Lexi simply nodded with what little fortitude she had.
"Awww pity..." Roxie smirked, noticing the sickeningly sweet display between Krystal and Lexi, "She's a ShrinkGirl fan ... it's a shame too ... I kinda liked you ... in a ... I don't wanna kill you kind of way ... and that's saying something for me"
Lexi sort of nodded as if to say "yeah ... that's a point"
Roxie shrugged and cocked her red .45, pointing it squarely at the stunned blonde haired barista.
"Fuck!" Lexi grunted, flipping herself back onto her feet. She looked at Krystal and focused with all her might, only having maybe a split second to get this right.
There was a quick static shock like sound emanating from behind the counter as Krystal seemingly disappeared, the duo now crumpled behind the counter as Lexi had toppled onto Krystal with the two of them currently at the same size.
"Holy shit!" Krystal squeaked, "You saved my life! and you shrank me!"
"Heh ... yeah ... s-sorry about that ..." Lexi sighed, "I didn't really have many other options ... I'm just glad it worked..."
"Of course it worked!" an over-enthused Krystal squeaked in response, throwing her arms around Lexi and giggling as she swung her side to side in a hug, "You're SHRINKGIRL! It always works ..."
"Heh ... I ... appreciate your support ..." Lexi said with a shy grin, "truly I do ... but we're not out of the woods yet ..."
While things were momentarily quiet, it was the kind of eerie silence that one knows won't last long. Sure enough, booming footsteps approached the location of the 2 ladies and Roxie grinned down from the other side of the counter.
"Heya girls" Roxie winked down, "Laying down on the job? I'd like 2 iced mocha-javas and ..."
"...and I'd like you to shut up for a change!" Lexi sneered, gently shoving Krystal back to allow her to grow.
In the heat of the moment, Lexi was able to get her powers to flicker back on and grew to throw a punch at her cocky rival. Roxie however, no stranger to a bar fight, put her own fist up to block, only to try striking the purple do-gooder with the barrel of her gun which she clutched in the other hand.
Lexi grabbed the gun as best she could, her grip wobbling as the two became entangled a bit, Lexis one fist balled up in Roxie's hand while the ladies other hands were fighting over control of the ruby tinted pistol.
Roxie won the tugging match for the time being and shoved Lexi back. Lexi had to peek down, just briefly to make sure she hadn't accidentally skidded onto her tiny fan, Krystal who was shrunken still behind the counter but seemed fairly invested in the action and not nearly as afraid as most would be in such a situation.
"Roxie ... look around you ..." Lexi said, gesturing to the trashed coffee shop as a few of Max's Maximites came hobbling in with their sharp metallic claws scratching the linoleum tiled floors with each step, "don't you think we both have a few more things to worry about than some petty feud?"
"Eh, I'll worry about THEM later" Roxie shrugged, cocking her gun for dramatic effect.
Lexi almost had to roll her eyes (and in fact, likely had time to do so during the display) at Roxie's carelessness in this moment, giving her time to grab for Roxie's wrist briefly and yank on it. Fuck. No effect. Lexi retracted her hand just as quickly as she had reached it forward.
Roxie looked at Lexi confused as all hell for a few moments ; the gesture seemed to be fairly arbitrary and not at all a combat tactic.
"Um... were you ...?" Roxie asked, "trying to hold my hand?"
"Huh?" Lexi smirked raising an eyebrow
"Yeah ... yeah, you like ... reached out and ... tried to grab me!" Roxie smirked, taking a good step back from the counter. "Personal space, Shrinks ... not my fault you want what you can't have!"
"Oh for fucks sake, Roxie, I was trying to shrink you!" Lexi sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Uh-huh ... sure..." Roxie giggled
"Roxie, why would I make that up?" Lexi sighed, "I'm fuckin' SHRINKGirl"
"Oh no ... no no no..." Roxie teased, "we definitely had a moment there"
"YOU had a moment..." Lexi sighed, rolling her eyes again.
"Well...." Roxie said, reholstering her gun and bearing both fists, "why don't we try this again? Try not to cop a feel this time"
"Roxie I literally cannot express how pissed off I am with you most of the time ..." Lexi muttered, half under her breath as the vixen approached to launch her attack.
Lexi stood still, finding Roxie's foolhardy approach quite predictable but rather than take her telegraphed punch in the chin, she shrank herself while performing a jump up and landed on the counter at about 4 inches tall, a hand on her hip.
"Missed me!" Lexi squeaked, her victory short lived as Sugar Rush came careening in, tackling her swiftly to the counter.
While Rush lay on top of Lexi, trying her best to impose her will on the fallen heroine, Lexi watched out of the corner of her eye as Roxie casually swept around to the other side of the counter, grinning down at the shrunken Krystal.
"Fuck..." Lexi thought to herself, too preoccupied with trying to lift Rush's weight off her -- a hefty task given that the tiny woman was thoroughly armored and also pretty strong in her own right.
"I've! Been! Waiting! For! This!" Rush screamed out with each successive blow she tried to lay on ShrinkGirl, some punches hitting her torso, while others were awkwardly blocked as Lexi tried to back herself out of the pinning manuever.
Lexi grunted, trying her best to grow back despite the pressure on her, watching helplessly as Roxie scooped up Krystal and dangled her in front of Rush and Lexi's view just over the counter. Krystal let out a shrill scream upon being hoisted up like a mouse and Lexi just let out some pained grunts while Rush continued to smack the poor woman with her metal plated arms.
"Roxie!!" Lexi squeaked, finally attaining the strength to pry Sugar Rush off her long enough to get half of her body off the counter as if she were a wrestler being pried up from the mat. "Leave her alone!!"
"Such a pretty little thing..." Roxie smirked, holding the frightened Krystal by the back of her green apron as the fabric slowly began to give way. "Would look nice on my rearview mirror, what do you think Rush?"
"All due respect..." Rush sighed, taking her focus off Lexi for the moment and begrudgingly letting her up as the fight seemed to have slowed to a stand still, "...I can't very well support you treating a tiny lady that way since ... well...?"
Rush simply needed to gesture towards herself for Roxie to sigh, bearing a look on her face akin to a child who had just been scolded.
While Lexi assessed the current dire situation, she was also alert to the fact that the Maximites had slowly been closing in but they weren't making a move just yet. Their eyes seemed to be scanning the proximity with some kind of red laser, as if drawing a cybernetic map of the location. Similarly the drones seemed to be doing the same thing, as if calculating a way to seize Lexi without hurting any of the other combatants involved.
"Roxie!" Lexi squeaked, throwing her hands up as she took a careful step forward, with Sugar Rush encroaching closely behind, "We can talk this out ... just ... please..."
"Can I stop you right there, Shrinks?" Roxie chuckled, taking a bit of care to set Krystal in her now flat palm to keep her a bit safer, "if you're going to say 'put her down' ... please don't ... it's a cliche ... and then I drop her and say "you said put her down" ... yknow, we all have a good laugh about it ... I mean except for your friend here who becomes a pancake but you get the point!"
It was in that moment, however brief that something inside the usually friendly Lexi snapped. She had had ENOUGH of Roxie's condescension at her expense and it was made even worse by the fact that she was literally holding a human life in her hand. Lexi would've never forgiven herself if something horrible had happened to Krystal after having been shrunk.
Keeping that in mind, Lexi lunged forward, Sugar noticing her hand sparking a bit. Rush tried to pull Lexi back but Lexi forcefully yanked her hand away and took a flying leap at Roxie with both hands out.
Roxie, not quite expecting this daring manuever flinched a bit, squeezing Krystal in her hand in the process, only to feel that grip growing looser and looser as Lexi now tumbled down onto her, regaining size faster than one of her motorbikes on Route 99.
Lexi stood up in triumph, carefully clutching Krystal in her hand, having snatched her out of Roxie's cold grasp. Surprisingly though, Roxie seemed nowhere to be seen ... and then it registered to Lexi who grew an enormous grin on her face as she peered down.
"Oh hiya Roxie..." Lexi taunted, seeing the once 5'6 criminal reduced to the size of one of her pistols, "How's the weather down there, squirt?"
Roxie looked up angrily but didn't seem devastated as she still pulled out one of her guns.
"This changes nothing, you bitch!" Roxie squeaked, taking aim up at Lexi with the now absolutely tiny gun.
Lexi sighed and shook her head.
"Bad move" Lexi said softly, gently nudging Roxie over with her steel boot, the force sending the shrunken blonde into the corner in a heap. "Heh ... I've waited a long time for this ..."
Trying to stay focused, Lexi glanced over at Krystal in her grip and frowned down at her.
"Now ... where do I keep you safe for now?" Lexi asked softly, but Krystal looked down worriedly and pointed. Lexi looked where Krystal was pointing to see the Maximites were on the prowl, making methodical strides towards Lexi who had now made herself clearly visible by having grown back.
After giving her tiny fangirl a nervous look, Lexi carefully outstretched her body and arm to place the blonde barista carefully down on top of the back counter of the coffee shop, seemingly miles above the tiny Roxie who remained down for the moment.
Lexi glared down at the obnoxious Maximites as three of them clopped her way.
"Bring it on, you beasts..." Lexi muttered, sparking again before shrinking herself down to their size, ducking and weaving as the beasts took turns trying to capture her in their metallic maws.
Watching from his office was the psychotic Dr. Maxmillian who cackled at glee with the 3 versus 1 advantage in the battle, seeing the point of view of his robots through various smaller LCD displays on his one big display.
"Ah-HA!" the evil Doctor laughed, "it is just like ShrinkGirl Simulator Scenario 1.35b!"
Meanwhile, in REAL life, Lexi grunted as the fearsome robots seemed to be just a tad stronger than they had been during her last encounter with them despite their smaller size.
Two of the ravenous robotic hounds had her arms wrapped up in slick metal lassos that protruded from their mouths like vicious tongues. Lexi would take a step towards her left, then one towards her right, as if caught in the middle of a game of Tug of War.
Despite the strength of the bots, Lexi felt as though she could keep pulling and eventually one or both of her attackers would run out of tenacity as the thick metal tongues were starting to give way due to the strain Lexi was putting on them.
Lexi let out a grunt, but to her surprise, she suddenly felt herself growing -- not only in strength but also in size, finding it much easier to repel the Maximites when she outgrew them by several feet, returning to her normal size in a flash. This was a preferable outcome for the size changing heroine, except she didn't intend the change.
Elsewhere in the chaos lay Roxie, gritting her teeth as she watched the mayhem unfold. Stumbling to her now tiny feet, she was greeting by her currently same sized partner in crime Sugar Rush who tilted her head in shock.
"Roxie?" Rush asked, "Are you alright?"
"Am I alright?" Roxie squeaked, "I've been better!! But never mind that ... give me a boost!"
"You sure about this...?" Sugar asked nervously
"Hon, do I hesitate on anything?! Let's do this shit!" Roxie squeaked, pounding her fist into her waiting palm, "Time to show Shrinks how it's REALLY done!"
Rush didn't love the plan but Lexi was distracted as she stared at the two drones that seemed to be just analyzing her movements while she pivoted on her toes like an NFL cornerback waiting for the pass.
Max meanwhile, watched on in his lab as he could only make out crackly footage of Lexi staring down his drones. Something about them being in a closed in location was making it near impossible for the Doctor to accurately communicate with them remotely which explained their sudden hesitance.
Lexi would not have long however to take advantage of her short window of opportunity, as she turned around in a hurry, seeing Rush holding Roxie's hand and clearly in discomfort as she tried to drag the similarly sized woman up like Tails "Miles" Prower carrying Sonic the hedgehog into battle.... except Sonic didn't wield a gun like Roxie did.
"Hah!" Roxie squeaked, as the tag-team made its way towards Lexi's torso. Roxie smirked as she looked down the barrel of her gun. Even at its tiny size, a shot to the chest was still likely to do some damage. She prepared the shot and let her finger rest on the trigger until the angle was just right, ready to proudly chirp out her usual "catchphrase".
"BANG BANG MUTHA -- ACK!!"
Lexi wasn't having it.
She hastily swiped the duo out of the sky like a pair of annoying gnats, with Sugar Rush losing control of her jet thrusters as a result and careening the two onto the same counter they started at, except it was now the size of a football field to them.
Lexi sighed, not happy with herself but she wasn't about to get shot by a pipsqueak.
With the drones seemingly in a holding pattern and sparking a bit themselves, Lexi walked over towards the counter to check on her two tiny foes and see how Krystal was. She decided to start with Krystal first, approaching her cute little body on the counter.
"Krystal? You alright?" Lexi asked, "I promise I'll grow you back as soon as ..."
"Don't worry about me!" Krystal squeaked, "Just go your thing! You got this Lexi!"
Lexi blushed a bit, not expecting the uproarious response. It was kind of nice having her own little cheerleader.
Unfortunately not everybody was such a fan as Roxie got to her feet, giving Lexi mock applause.
"Way to go, hero!" Roxie squeaked sarcastically, pedantically pacing around the counter as she reholstered her guns and got herself straightened up after the tumble. "You bested somebody who's like 1/25th your size! You feelin' big now?!"
"Actually ... yes..." the smug Lexi smirked, leaning over Roxie and seizing a small glass cup.
The following manuever would be so predictable but Roxie found herself desperate to avoid the obvious embarrassing predicament only to find herself too late as both Rush and Roxie would become victims of the ol' "overturned glass trap"
"Phew..." Lexi sighed, feeling as though she neutralized part of the threat at least. She glanced over to see Krystal, now full size and sitting on the counter to applaud her. "Oh hey Krystal ... wait ... Krystal? How did you ...?"
Krystal offered a shrug.
"I'm ... not sure ... I just kind of ... grew back..." Krystal said, incredulously as her hair seemed to be standing on end a bit, "I feel kind of ... staticy too..."
Lexi gave the glass on the table a concerned look, although she didn't notice any signs yet. Then again, her powers seemed to be getting even more erratic. She sighed uncomfortably as she just looked at the drones staying eerily still as she approached Krystal.
"You kicked ass out there, girl!" Krystal said, offering a hand for a high five. Lexi seemed hesitant at first, especially as she knew the job still wasn't done but she decided she could at least indulge the new friend in a celebratory high five, right?
Bad idea.
Lexi yelped as there was but a spark of static from the high five and she was instantly shrunk herself, now laying on the counter and shaking her woozy head.
"Shoot!!" Krystal sighed, looking down towards the tiny Lexi, "I am SO sorry..."
"It's okay..." Lexi squeaked dejectedly, now just a few feet from her encapsulated foes as they smirked at the turn of events.
It seemed they had both been busy since becoming prisoners of the Carlos Coffee glass, Sugar trying to fracture it with the solid blunt end of her cannon arm before finally opting to use her other not so secret weapon, the cannon itself, which was loaded with corrosive hot glaze which began to trickle onto the inner surface of the glass, eroding it away as Roxie gave Lexi a pretty determined stare.
"You ready for Round 2...?" Roxie smirked, cracking her knuckles for dramatic effect.
Lexi sighed, pretty much running on pure adrenaline at this point while her joints ached from both the physical activity and extra toll her powers short circuiting was putting on her.
Roxie came out charging, throwing a haymaker in the direction of her least favorite former cheerleader. Lexi dodged underneath it and performed a clumsy backflip, falling on her butt for a moment.
Krystal, trying to think fast, grabbed a spoon and slid it over to the tiny superheroine.
"Go kick her ass!" Krystal cheered, hoping for the best as the tiny Lexi picked up the spoon awkwardly, holding it up as if it were a battle staff.
"Heh ... come at me bro..." the suddenly cocky (yet still tiny) Lexi quipped, beckoning Roxie closer.
"The fuck?" the already irritated Roxie squeaked, "Did this just become American Gladiators or something?"
"Something like that" Lexi squeaked, using the spoon to trip up her similarly sized rival and knock her on her backside, "Now how's THAT for a scoop?"
Roxie groaned and got herself back up, only to notice Sugar Rush behind her, smirking as she handed Roxie a fork that was about as tall as the tiny women were.
Lexi gulped momentarily, seeing Roxie get a joyful grin on her face as she wielded the four pronged weapon and spun it around as if she were in colorguard.
"Only in my life could this happen..." the stumped but spunky superheroine thought to herself as she threw up the spoon in desperation in order to block Roxie's oncoming attack, a loud clang reverbating, although to most bystanders (such as Krystal) the sound would be minimal at best.
Krystal watched from a close distance, leaning down in curiosity but also frowning as she watched Roxie begin to pound on Lexi with a bit more fervor, fearing it was only a matter of time before the spoon gave way to Roxie's bitter onslaught of attacks.
"A-Are you okay, Lexi?" Krystal asked with a murmur in her voice, "do you need any more spoons?"
Lexi had to chuckle at the unusual question even as she battled Roxie with all the strength she had, finally breaking Roxie's attack pattern by swiping at her feet to try and trip her up. This time Roxie would be faster and leap back, setting the fork aside as it was becoming too heavy for her at her current size.
Lexi let out a tiny grunt and tried to swipe at Roxie as hard as she could with the weighty spoon ; swinging from the hips with her best baseball stance, but Roxie was prepared for the swing and grabbed the curved basin of the spoon, swinging both women around like a wobbly pendulum for a moment before Roxie gained a more steady grip on it and began spinning poor Lexi along the handle as she started to lose her grip.
Lexi would get flung awkwardly towards a napkin dispenser where she'd land dazed and confused, Roxie now holding the spoon, although she would release it soon after.
"Heh, now I've beaten you up there AND down here!" Roxie chuckled, again cracking her knuckles as she began skipping towards ShrinkGirl gleefully, all too ready to dole out more pain. "So tell me ... Lexi is it...?"
At this point, Roxie was merely taunting for no reason as Lexi seemed to be fading fast, her head drooping as she lay there with her back to the napkin dispenser, trying to focus on Roxie as she blurred in and out of focus.
"What's a girl got to do to get a few feet of height back, huh?" Roxie teased, pausing just short of stepping on Lexi's ankle and instead going for a swift punch to the face.
Krystal yelped, but then lurched forward, a look of anger on her face as she narrowed her silvery blue eyes.
"Hey!! You can't DO that to her!" Krystal huffed, stomping towards the tiny Roxie, and she may have made it there if not for the vicious gaze and approach of Sugar Rush, who flew up at her like one of the drones, if not on a much smaller scale.
"You want her, you gotta go through me!" Sugar Rush squeaked, holding out her arm cannon as it began to rev up.
Krystal bore a look on her face that showed she understood the seriousness of the situaiton, but also she couldn't help but feel confused to be held at gunpoint by a floating woman the size of Tinkerbell.
Meanwhile, Roxie stroked the underside of Lexi's bruised chin as if consoling her lover, forcing Lexi's eyes to meet hers.
"It's gonna be alright there, Lex..." Roxie chuckled, a sense of mock concern in her voice, "Just make me big again and we'll call you an ambulance ... you have my word ..."
Lexi's eyes drooped before finally opening again, taking a moment to survey her surroundings. For one reason or another, something crossed her mind, and it bounced around like a shiny marble.
Metal ...
She needed something metal to potentially spark her powers again...
Even as she lay there, a bit crumpled, she could feel her fingertips locking up with that helpless feeling as if being constricted by an invisible band of particles. She watched Roxie sway on her hips, noticing the most obvious thing. The twin guns on her belt.
Roxie shrugged, too busy teasing Lexi to notice that her own body was sparking a bit.
"Awww Lex..." Roxie smirked, leaning in close enough to practically be on top of Lexi as she fell on a knee, "It wasn't suppose to end like this ... and here I thought we'd spend year after bitter year fighting each other to the death ..."
Lexi couldn't tell if this was supposed to be a ploy or something more genuine but either way she had herself in a decent position to reach for one of the guns as it slumped out of its holster as a result of Roxie dipping down so low.
"Roxie ...?" Lexi whispered, trying to make her voice sound as beleaguered and weak as possible.
Roxie knew her foe was many things, but evil wasn't one of them and so she was pretty confident she could get the naive brunette to grow her back as some kind of act of kindness, especially while she was knocked out and confused.
"Yes, Lexi?" Roxie smirked, continuing to put on her fake loverly act even as she felt the dazed Lexi's hands reaching towards her waist.
"G-Get ... b-b-bent..." Lexi grunted, swiping at the gun and feeling a small shock that snapped at her hand and seemed to travel through her whole body.
Sugar Rush continued her stand off with Krystal meanwhile, but her arm was clearly wavering as she held her "ready to fire" pose while also being floating in the air to be at Krystal's face level.
"L-Look ... I'm sorry ... Miss... Sugar?" Krystal asked, confused but she remembered Roxie mentioning that name, "...I ... don't wanna hurt you but ..."
The next sequence of events would occur almost simultaneously as Lexi let out a squeak which grew into a yelp as her body literally grew now that she had a short burst of energy, her body's length now taking up most of the counter, which was bad news for Roxie as Lexi would try to leap up off the counter
"Fuck!!" Lexi yelped out, trying to get off the counter as quick as possible and tumbling back over the side with the register as Roxie took this moment to scurry away, still tiny on the counter but she felt a similar crackling energy going through her as well.
Sugar, who had swerved out of the way as a reflex to the sudden growth, now went to go help Roxie as Krystal went to get Lexi up as she rolled on the floor, back to her full size.
"Lex, you alright?" Krystal asked, only to get a weak thumbs up from the embattled Lexi. "We've gotta get you out of here ..."
"Even if ... that were possible ..." Lexi sighed, holding her back a bit as she was helped up by her blonde barista admirer, "we've still got them AND the drones ..."
Almost on cue, the 3 Enormo Enterprises drones began to spark to life.
"Ack!! Finally!!" the controller on the other end cackled, "Throw power to the tractor beam and ballistics!"
Lexi watched in shock as one of the drones poked a small weapon out from under its tin plated facade and she watched it coming right for her, as another one was flanking her from the right side.
"Krystal, get down!" Lexi yelped, picking up the nearest thing she could, a mop that happened to be in its rolling bucket just as the drone on her right swept by. She swung the mop as hard as she could, over a ducking Krystal to strike that drone and send it careening down to the ground behind the counter into a wreck.
"Really?! A mop?! I'm being beaten by a mop now?!" Dr. Max loudly exclaimed, watching the screen of Drone #3 go dark.
Lexi then looked back at the counter that once held Roxie and Sugar Rush only to see neither there.
"The hell did they go ...?" Lexi muttered, before seeing Roxie just laying on the ground in front of the counter at normal size now, pointing a barrel straight up at her.
"Oh heya Lex, you miss me?" Roxie smirked, firing a bullet which Lexi backed out of the way of just in time.
"Well ... I knew that wouldn't last ..." Lexi sighed, then looking at Krystal, "we've gotta get you out of here"
Krystal nodded but also looked worriedly at the remaining threat. Still 2 more drones and --
"BANG BANG, MOTHER FUCKER!!" Roxie yelped triumphantly as she sprang to her feet, shooting one of the drones clear in the center of its metal grates before it could unleash its weaponry, triggering a spark inside of it which caused it to let off a small burst and explosion.
...1 more drone then.
"God damn it!!" Dr. Max yelled, his anger rising as he watched another Drone go offline, "who the hell is SHE now?! Wait. Is she not the girl I hired to steal the cookie recipe? No matter ... anyone who gets in my way of ShrinkGirl must be DESTROYED!!"
Lexi peered around the counter from the side now, with Krystal closely behind. She spotted her ShrinkMobile which was still in shrunk form underneath one of the booths. To get there, she'd have to cross Roxie and the drones' path ... not to mention Sugar Rush. She let out a frustrated sigh as she thought it over.
"Krystal ..." Lexi whispered, tapping her on the shoulder and pointing to the purple car. "I need to shrink and sneak over there ..."
Krystal summed up the distance and found it to be fairly far, especially for a shrunken Lexi but then she had an idea.
"W-Wait Lex ..." Krystal whispered, while Roxie was occupied staring down at the last remaining drone. Krystal took an old razor phone out of her pocket and knelt down, setting it at Lexi's feet.
"Ohhh CUTE! You have an old school phone?" Lexi said, briefly breaking out of the moment.
"No ... well I mean yes, it's a loaner... but ... focus" Krystal chuckled, "Do you think you could ... y'know, shrink? and ... jump on it?"
Lexi raised an eyebrow, thinking she saw where Krystal was going with the plan. Lexi gulped and took a deep breath, hoping she COULD still shrink. She released the breath and found herself at just 3 inches tall, looking up at Krystal and offering another thumbs up.
"Ugh, I've gotta stop with the thumbs up ..." Lexi thought to herself as she awkwardly climbed aboard the phone as if it were a bobsled, "it's so lame..."
"Ready?" Krystal whispered. Lexi nodded
Krystal gently hit the phone with the side of her sneaker, sending Lexi on a trip across the freshly waxed floor, skating past Roxie without being detected by Sugar Rush was a bit more attentive and tried to divebomb Lexi on her path towards the ShrinkMobile.
Lexi ducked, successfully dodging but then saw her own problems approaching with the underside of the booth quickly racing towards her. Lexi abandoned ship and leapt off the phone, still at tiny size as she scrambled towards the ShrinkMobile, climbing inside.
"STAY ... OUT ... WAY!!" the sparking Enormo Drone said in a crackly robotic voice as its failing signal made its voice capabilities hard to hear, "YOU ARE ... BUSINESS!!"
"I'm sorry?" Roxie mocked, talking over the commanding robot voice, "I can't ... understand ... YOU!!"
"GET OUT ... WAY!! SUBJECT ... NEUTRALIZED...!!" the drone chirped as its voice continued to clip in and out.
"Get better Wifi, dude!" Roxie chuckled, pointing her gun back in response.
This time, instead of unleashing more ballistics, Max's drone would let out an odd hum and a green laser would emerge, providing a bit of vacuum suction on Roxie's hand that would cause her to lose grip of the gun momentarily.
"Damn it! Wrong button!" the befuddled mad scientist groaned, accidentally triggering the tractor beam instead of the ballistics.
As Roxie tried to make heads or tails of the erratic drone and Krystal remained crouched behind the counter, banking on Lexi's success, the superheroine herself dwelled within the cockpit of her trusty ShrinkMobile.
"Please start ..." she muttered nervously, flicking the key and sighing in relief as the car powered on, it's bright white flashlights flashing on like mini lighters as she began to pull out from under the dining table.
She just had to get the car outside, grow it back and try to drive the drones, Roxie and Sugar Rush out of the area. After that ... she'd have to figure something else out, but hopefully Josh's drone was also on the way. Yeah ... simple plan.
Roxie smirked, as Lexi tried to drive behind her giant leather boot without detection. At least, Lexi thought she wasn't being detected. Roxie lifted her foot and was just about to stomp the ShrinkMobile (and its driver) flat.
"NOOOO!!"
Roxie yelped, suddenly taken off her aim by the lunging Krystal who was able to wrap her arms around Roxie's torso and drag her down towards the ground, Lexi flooring it to get out of the way as their bodies crumpled down on the ground behind her.
"Shit..." Lexi gulped, safe for the time being and also too small to be detected by the drone even as it was in the same area. She couldn't leave Krystal alone to handle Roxie though, especially after owing her life to the kindly blonde. Lexi would peel back and drive back towards the scene of the 2 women as they both struggled to get up before the other.
Roxie grunted, elbowing Krystal in the torso to try and get her off before seeing Lexi's speeding purple cruiser coming her way in her peripheral vision. She blindly reached a hand out and smirked as her cold fingers wrapped around the toy sized vehicle.
"Got her!!" Roxie cackled, continuing to push Krystal off with her one hand while clinging onto the Shrinkmobile in a Statue of Libery type pose with the other as she tried to help herself up while simultaneously pondering why she had never considered a career in professional wrestling before.
"Put! That! Down!" a pained Krystal yelped, slapping at Roxie's hand and face until Roxie finally slumped over, setting the ShrinkMobile on the closest flat surface she could reach as she had been draggnig Krystal over there.
That surface would be one of the restaurants tables which Lexi now sighed in relief to be on, just to be free of Roxie's tight clutch. She looked up in concern as the Drone was now zeroing in on her, despite her tiny size. But maybe it wasn't her the drone was after now.
"The car!!" Dr. Max yelped, as if talking to someone but really he was just talking to his own machine as he guided it down on Lexi's location atop the dining table. "Get the car!!"
The now fully functioning tractor beam began to pull on Lexi's car, even as she shifted it into reverse and tried to drive the other way, not that it would matter because she only had so much terrain being up on the surface of the coffee shop table. Maybe she could risk it and try to grow the car?
Sugar Rush had other ideas as she violently threw herself towards the ShrinkMobile, clinging to its metal surface from the passenger side and holding on tightly as Lexi continued to drive.
"You're mine, bitch!!" Sugar Rush squeaked in pure dismay as she smashed the window in, sprinkling shards of shattered glass Lexi's way. Lexi yelped and looked back to see Rush now had her arm cannon pointed practically in her face. Worse yet, the car was beginning to lose contact with the ground as the pesky tractor beam continued pulsating and the Drone drew closer.
One threat at a time though ... Lexi thought to herself and fucked and rolled out of the car to avoid a blunt shot in the face. She sighed, watching her car continue to be pulled up by the powerful tractor beam, as Rush tumbled into the car, unlocking it from the inside with her free hand and hoisting herself into the passenger seat, not realizing herself what had happened. She had only been occupied with capturing and killing Lexi.
Unfortunately she would do neither but would be captured herself as she watched the maw of the drone approaching, a result of the tractor beam as it pulled her and the tiny car inside. Lexi could only watch helplessly, trying desperately to grow back but once again her powers weren't listening to her.
She'd peer over the table to see Krystal and Roxie locked up on the ground with one another, constantly stumbling.
"You guys!" Lexi squeaked, her tiny voice too faint to hear amidst the chaos, "Somebody stop that drone!! Somebody stop that --!!"
It was too late ...
Giantess World
