“She didn't hurt you, did she?” asked Alice.

We were sitting on the bed where, moments earlier, Annie had me pinned beneath her flip-flop.

“No. She didn't hurt me. Though sometimes she can be a little rougher than she realizes.”

Alice brushed her hair behind her ear, and leaned in to kiss my cheek.

“You know I would never hurt you either, even though I play a little rough sometimes, too.”

She squeezed my hand, and rubbed a boot against my leg.

We decided to go out for dinner. Alice and Annie sat in the back of my car, chatting away. It was like they had known each other for years. Alice was usually a little timid when meeting new people, so I was surprised at how quickly she had warmed up to Annie. They told stories, often involving me, and often embarrassing. Annie told Alice about the anime series Intergalactic Princess Hero Team, which she insisted Alice watch. She said we were having a marathon when we got back to her dorm.

Liz sat in the front seat next to me. I asked her how her mother was doing. I had often thought about Mindy, since the day she accidentally found out about Annie's powers. Liz told me her mother was doing well, and that she had become fascinated with Annie. She had even let Annie shrink her. Liz recounted holding her mother gently in her palm, like a tiny grasshopper. I asked her what her mother thought about the experience. “She was a little frightened at first,” she told me. “but I think she liked it.”

I took the girls out to a nice family restaurant not far from campus, and we had a good time. It was refreshing to have a night of normal fun.

***

Princess Mua jumped.

“Oh! You startled me!” It was only her big sister, Princess Rita.

“My darling sister, what in the nine galaxies are you doing here? You know you're not allowed in the celestial gallery!”

The younger princess pouted. “It's not fair. I just wanted to look around is all...”

Rita gave her sister a stern look. “Mua, please tell me you didn't touch anything.”

Mua looked her sister in the eyes, then looked away, pouting once more. She knew her face had given her away.

“I just ate a candy I found.”

“What candy?”

“Over there.”

Rita looked where her sister was pointing. Everything in the gallery seemed to be in order, until her eyes fell on the crystal dish sitting on a marble plinth in the center of the room. The Nexi system. She walked over to the dish and counted the marble-sized orbs circling the bright light in the center. Seven. One missing. A pall fell over her face as she turned to Princess Mua.

“Oh dear sister, what have you done? That was no candy. That was a planet! That was the homeworld of the miniature Valandori people!”

“Oh God and Goddess! I am so sorry!” Princess Mua wailed, as she started to weep.

“Father rescued their system from a dimensional rift,” Rita explained. “Their home universe is still young, and hasn't yet expanded to the same proportions as ours... hmm...”

Rita thought for a moment, then pulled out a hand-held scanning device, and pointed it at her sister.

“Just as I had hoped. You see, the Valandori experience time differently from us. A second to us is several days to them. They had plenty of time to escape on their starships. It seems they've established a colony in your ear.”

“What? Get them out!”

Rita gave her sister a sour look. “They are people, not germs! You've destroyed their planet, where else are they to go?”

“But I don't want them there!”

“They are a protected civilization under Article 25 of the Second Galactic Treaty. We are not to interfere with them in any way. Since no lasting damage was done, I will not tell father, but you must not attempt to remove them. Do you hear me?”

The Valandori were a major subplot of season three. The microscopic race formed a symbiotic relationship with Princess Mua, giving her enhanced powers.

I enjoyed watching Hero Team. The four sisters, the princesses Rita, Lepta, Photina and Mua, each had a special power. Together they protected the Universe from the forces of evil. They were intelligent, caring, and they could kick ass. I thought they were good role models for girls.

“Will, start the next episode!” Annie said, grabbing another handful of popcorn.

From my seat on the couch between Annie and Alice, I reached over to the remote on the table in front of us. The table seemed to move further away from me. I was shrinking. I hopped off the couch, took a step towards the table and just managed to grab the table edge as the ground fell out from beneath my feet.

“Hurry up, Will,” said Annie, laughing.

I scrambled onto the tabletop, turned around, and glared at the girls accusingly. Both girls smiled innocently, and each pointed at the other. Liz sat by herself on a chair, watching me with sympathy. I walked over to the remote, and struggled with it for a while, mashing my hands on its over-sized rubber buttons. I eventually got it to work, and as I saw the title sequence of the next episode begin to play, I turned around and tried to get the attention of one of the girls. They seemed to be ignoring me. I waved my arms and called out.

“Alice, a little help please?”

She looked down at me, smirking. A booted foot rose from beyond the table's horizon. The leather mammoth was carried forward by Alice's titanic leg muscles, in a breathtaking defiance of gravity. She let her foot drop onto the table, sending a tremor through my body, which caused both my feet to leave the ground momentarily. My muscles jolted as I regained balance. I saw a second leather mass rise through the air and settle over the first, as Alice crossed her legs. Alice's eyes were on the television, but her smile was directed at me. Come on over, it said. I'm waiting.

I smiled to myself, and stepped forward with confidence. With a bit of a struggle, I was able to pull my weight up onto the leather strap that fed through a brass buckle on the side of the boot. I put my foot down, using the strap as a step to boost myself up. I stretched an arm and a leg up the black, flesh-like curve of the boot, and with a tenuous grip on the material, I made it to the top of Alice's foot. The feat had felt something like mounting an especially large elephant. I looked ahead and saw the monstrous felled logs that were Alice's legs, forming a jean-covered bridge that spanned the abyss between the table and the couch. I began to cross, keeping my eyes on Alice.

Alice was gentle, and always mindful of my safety, but over time we had grown to enjoy introducing a little danger into the games we played. I wanted her to shrink me down on our apartment floor and go about her day, waiting for me to climb her or otherwise get her attention. At first, she was reluctant. But eventually, she learned to walk about the apartment without watching her step. There were close calls where I found myself a few precious steps ahead of her falling foot or behind, but I found it thrilling. I would eventually find my way into her palm, onto the page of the book she was reading, or onto her pillow, to whisper in her ear as she lay waiting for me in bed. She always thought I was romantic and brave when I appeared suddenly, like a gift she had been waiting for the whole day.

On this occasion, by contrast, there was little danger. I was about two inches tall, and Alice knew where I was. There was little chance of me getting lost or injured. Alice kept her legs remarkably still as I made my way across. I walked on the taut surface of her thigh to where her leg met her body. The jean fabric ended where a sweater wall began. I looked up and saw my girlfriend's chest and the serene features of her face. Seeing her from this angle always comforted me somehow. I stepped forward, ready to grab onto the sweater fabric.

“Here I come, Alice."

Just as I was about to begin my ascent, something bounced off Alice's jeans and landed right in front of me. In the dim light it was hard to make out, but as my eyes adjusted, I saw it was a piece of popcorn. For a while I pondered the oddity before me, noting how strange-looking everyday objects became when you were shrunk. Then I saw a massive shadow looming above me. It was Alice's hand, its fingers searching for the stray piece of popcorn. I stumbled backwards, making way for the grasping digits. The hand hovered just over the popcorn, pausing for some reason. Then, without warning, a finger flicked me. My chest stung dully as I careened backwards, landing in the crevice between Alice's legs. I felt the ground below me spasm, and heard a soft grunt from overhead, followed by a giggle and the crunch of popcorn.

I tried to get up but slipped, falling back against the strip of jean fabric concealing the zipper. Alice giggled again, and I couldn't help but laugh myself at where I had become trapped. I knew she was going to tease me about it later, and probably make some joke about our relationship. I turned over on my stomach, and began to inch upwards towards her cross-knitted sweater, at last gathering some of the soft fabric in a firm grasp. Alice was an adventure full of surprises, and I was her little warrior, resilient and determined.