“Where is he?!” asked Lisa, bursting into the front room of MuGenTek, and almost through the glass door, followed by her little sister, Giada.

“Jesus, sis, calm down,” said Giada, but Lisa wasn’t listening.  Right after Joe had gotten off the phone with his mother, she had immediately called Joe’s sister, Lisa, and told her what had happened. Joe’s father tried to intervene as his frantic wife retold the story in a much more dramatic way then Joe had described to them, but Lisa never heard her father. Being just like her mother, she freaked out, grabbed Giada, and sped all the way to the MuGenTek lab where Joe was.

Giada had tried to get an idea of what was going on, but Lisa was too freaked out to tell her anything. Knowing her mother and her sister well, she eventually came to terms with the fact that Lisa was, as usual, making a big deal out of nothing. Now, Lisa stood wide-eyed and winded at the front desk, scaring the hell out of Rita.

“Lisa! What is it? What’s going on?” asked Rita, standing up and looking at the panting 27 year old. Lisa tried to speak, but only so much was heard.

“Where… Joe… is… he… ok?” she said, between breaths. Giada sighed and looked at Rita.

“Look, I don’t exactly know what’s going on, but she’s under the impression something bad happened to Joe,” said Giada, and Rita nodded in understanding, as well as biting her lip.

“Well… she may not be completely off. Joe came in a few hours ago, and he wasn’t looking all that great.” Giada’s eyes grew wide, now realizing that maybe her sister did have something to freak out about.

“Where is he?” she asked, and Lisa, finally composing herself, asked the same thing.

“He’s still with Dr. Cale and Dr. Fisher. But I’m sure they’ll be out soon,” said Rita, but Lisa, and now Giada, were still worried.

“Hey Lisa, hey Giada!” came a voice from across the room. The two sisters turned their heads to see Michelle, Joe’s girlfriend, and her friend Stacy round thing corner.

“Michelle! Where’s Joe? Is he ok? Does he have a concussion? How much blood did he lose?!” Lisa began frantically asking questions, and Michelle looked at her, stunned by the barrage of questions.

“Woah, Lisa, take it easy, everything is fine. Joe just had a little accident,” she said, putting her hands on Lisa’s shoulders. Giada, still a little worried, though not as worked up at Lisa, looked at Michelle.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, still trying to figure out what had happened to her brother. Michelle was easing Lisa into a chair, and answered Giada’s question.

“Joe hit his head earlier trying to get to his pills. It… may have been partly my fault,” said Michelle, looking down at the ground.

“But overall, he seemed ok. Stacy and I just finished signing some papers with Agent Freeman, so we don’t know what’s going on at the moment with Joe. But I’m pretty sure everything is ok,” said Michelle, and Giada slumped into the chair next to Lisa, who was finally beginning to calm down.

Suddenly, she heard a small beep, and looked down in the chair next to her to see a cell phone light up. She immediately recognized it as her brothers. Upon picking it up, she saw that a text had been received, and opened it. Rolling her eyes, she showed the picture to her sister, Michelle, and Stacy.

“Yeah, he looks perfectly fine to me,” she said, showing them the picture of Joe, smiling, with his middle finger extended up. Michelle giggled, and Lisa let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m gonna kill mom when she get’s back. I nearly had a heart attack!” she said, and Giada laughed.

“You really are something else,” she said. Suddenly, there were voices from around the corner, and Jake came into view, Joe sitting atop his shoulder, dawned in the suit he was wearing in the picture.

“Man, we got off easy,” said Jake, and Joe was nodding,

“Hell yeah. That could have gone in a whole other direction,” he said, then noticed the others.

“Lisa! Giada! What are you two doing here?’ asked Joe, and his sisters jumped out of their chairs.

“Joe! Oh thank god. Mom told us what happened, and we came over as quick as he could,” said Lisa, and Joe put his face into his hands. Of course.

“Jesus… Lisa, I’m sorry mom put you through that. Don’t worry, I’m fine. No concussion, nothing permanent,” he said, than smiled.

“But I DID get this awesome new suit,” he said, and gestured to it.

“Aw, he looks like a little action figure,” said Giada in a mocking tone, and Joe glared at her.

“Yeah well… Whatever, I think it looks cool,” he said, and Michelle walked over, smiling.

“Look at my wittle handsome man,” she said, and Joe’s face turned red.

“Michelle, come on, be with me on this one,” he said, and Stacy started laughing.

“What accessories he come with? Oh, does he have a little utility belt too?” she said, and the girls burst out laughing. Joe’s face was beet red. Apparently they just through he looked cute. He heard Jake snicker and glared at him.

“Thanks Jake, glad someone has my back,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh come on, lighten up Joe. They’re just messing with you,” said Jake, and Joe glanced at his sisters.

“He’s right Joe. I actually think you look nice in it. Like a scuba diver or a skier,” said Michelle, and Joe smiled a little. Maybe they WERE just messing with him.

“Thanks. It’s made so that I can retain my body heat better. And it grows and shrinks with me,” he said, puffing out his chest a little. Lisa smiled and wrapped her fingers around Joe, lifting him off Jake’s shoulder.

“Hey, what-,” he started, before he was pressed up against his enormous sisters right cheek.

“Oh Joe, thank god you’re ok. I was so worried,” she said, and Joe sighed, patting his sister on the cheek and trying to return the hug as best he could.

Lisa was almost as bad as his mom, but it was all out of love, and he knew it. She was his older sister, and she felt responsible for him. It was an older sibling thing, he felt the same way towards Giada… most of the time.

“Don’t worry sis, I’m fine… For the most part,” he said, and Lisa extended her arm, so that she and everyone could get a better look at him.

“What do you mean, ‘For the most part?’” asked Giada, his body now eye level with her. Joe rubbed his neck.

“Well, although I don’t have a concussion, I kind of needed stitches for the wound itself,” he said, and Lisa looked down at her brother knowingly. They had been through this before, a few times when Joe was younger, and she didn’t even need to ask Joe why the stitches were a bad thing.

“How long?” she asked, and Joe stopped smiling.

“Four days,” he said, and Lisa sighed. Four days wasn’t that bad. He’d been through worse.

“Wow, four days as a human doll. Bummer bro,” said Giada, and Lisa shot her a glare. Giada mouthed the word what, but Lisa held the stare. Giada shifted awkwardly and looked at her little older brother.

“I mean, um wow sorry Joe that sucks,” she said, and Lisa nodded her head, mouthing the word better.

“It’s fine, it’s only four days,” said Joe, and he looked over at Michelle and smiled.

“And besides, I’m just glad I don’t have to keep this a secret from you any longer,” he said, and Michelle smiled. Lisa, reading the situation clearly, deposited Joe into Michelle’s awaiting hands and brought him up to her cheek for a hug. Joe embraced and kissed her.

“Thanks Joe,” she said, and Joe hugged tighter.

“Hey, where’s my hug!” said Jake jokingly, and received a punch in the arm from Giada.

“Ow! Hey what kind of hug was that?” he said, and Giada shrugged.

“Hug, punch in the arm, what’s the difference,” she said smiling, and Jake glared at her.

“Nice to see you to, Giada,” he said, and the small girl smiled.

“Well, I guess it’s about time I give you the full explanation on my… mutation,” said Joe. He sat in the center of Michelle’s upturned right hand, her fingers arched around him, creating somewhat of a protective cage. They were back at his and Jake’s place, sitting in the living room. He and Jake had bought the house, which was a modest ranch with two bedrooms, two baths, a living room, kitchen, and basement. Their entire group, Giada and Lisa included, were sitting in various furniture, watching and listening to Joe.

“I don’t exactly know the proper name, but Dr. Cale and Dr. Fisher call it the Minonia mutation,” said Joe. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. It had been quite a while since he’d been this small for this long. Old fears came back to him, and he felt his hands beginning to shake. He distracted himself by continuing the explanation.

“It’s a rare genetic mutation that runs in our family,” said Joe, gesturing to his sisters. Stacy’s eyes grew wide.

“So, wait, does this happen to you guys too?” she asked, looking at Lisa and Giada.

“Oh, no, not to us. It only happens in the males of our family,” said Giada.

“We’re only carriers of the gene,” said Lisa, than looked over at Joe. She was used to holding him when he was that small. She was the only one allowed to do it, other than her parents and even Giada when she got older. She had been so used to taking care of him, that seeing Michelle holding her little brother in her hands made her a bit nervous. She knew she and nothing to worry about, and that Michelle wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt Joe on purpose, but she still felt uneasy.

“And even that doesn’t ensure that a male will have an active minonia gene,” continued Joe.

“It’s actually been quite some time since that last Zurek had an active minonia gener. Usually, it stays pretty dormant. I think it was my Great-great Uncle… something,” said Joe, thinking it over in his head, than shrugging.

“We don’t really know much about him, other than that he had the mutation, and was British,” said Joe. This time, Michelle spoke up, lifting her hand to get a better look at Joe.

“So you shrink when you get hurt? Is that how it works?” she asked, and Joe nodded. Michelle wasn’t done though.

“But still, I’ve seen you stub your toe and hit your head before, and you never shrank then,” she said, and Joe nodded again.

“That’s because of the pills. They’re a special form of pain killers I take that reduce the pain I feel. As long as I take them, I can experience pain, but it won’t cause me to shrink,” he said, and Michelle nodded. She still felt bad for keeping Joe away from his pills. She had thought at the time she was doing the right thing. If only she had listened to Joe…

“So how do you grow back?” asked Stacy, snapping Michelle out of her guilt induced thoughts. Joe smiled.

“Pleasure,” he said, then seeing Stacy’s arched eyebrow, he continued.

“Well, to be more specific, physical and emotional happiness. One or the other, and sometimes both. Usually, though, it’s more emotional. I go into what I call my ‘Happy Place,’ and once there, my body grows back,” said Joe.

“What’s your happy place like?” asked Michelle, but Joe shook his head.

“Sorry, I keep that private,” he said, tapping his head. Michele looked at Giada and Lisa, who shrugged.

“No one knows, not even us,” said Lisa, and Michelle looked down at Joe. She knew if she wanted to, she could get the information out of him. She was small enough to fit in her hand, meaning she could just squeeze him to get the information out. It would be so easy, like squeezing a small mouse.

She mentally chastised herself for thinking such a thought. What was she thinking? This was Joe she was talking about! Her boyfriend! She would never dare hurt him at such a vulnerable state. Why would she have such a heinous thought? And besides, the last time she tried to force a secret out of him was the reason they were all here and Joe was sitting in her hand, looking up at her with his small, sad eyes.

“Wait, what about Dr. Fisher? Why was he small, did he get hurt before we got there?” asked Stacy.

“No… Actually, Dr. Fisher is stuck small forever,” said Joe, and Michelle’s eyes grew wide.

“What? How?” she asked.

“Genetic experimentation. He was experimenting with the active minonia gene, when an accident occurred, reducing him to his current size. See, where as my gene was transferred through me ancestry, his was through experimentation. Something didn’t connect right, and even though he’s tried the ‘Happy thoughts’ method, as well as a few other ways to induce pleasure, he won’t grow,” said Joe. He looked up at the ceiling.

“At least I’m gonna be able to grow back in a few days. I can’t imagine what it must be like to know that he’s stuck that way forever,” said Joe.

“Wow, that’s so sad,” said Michelle. Joe shrugged.

“It happened years and years ago, and although it probably still bugs him, he seems to have come to accept it.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Stacy.

********************************************************************************

“Come on, Joe, it’ll be fun,” said Dr. Fisher, pushing Joe across the table, slowly, since Joe was not making it easy.

“Uh, Dr. Fisher, is this really… professional?” he asked, and Dr. Fisher laughed.

“Come on, Joe, when have I ever acted unprofessionally?” he said.

“Well, there was that time I caught you peaking a look up Dr. Cale’s-,”

“Ah bah bah bah! That was on accident!” he said, and Joe rolled his eyes.

“Sure it was,” he said. They had finally reached the end of the table. There, hanging off the edge, was a large orange platform that had a car large enough for them to sit in. The platform was flat for a little ways, than fell away into a deep incline, which then lead into a complicated mess of swirls and turns.

“I don’t know about this Doc,” said Joe, as Dr. Fisher jumped into the car.

“Oh, come on Joe, live a little! Dr. Cale is always on my ass about ‘being careful’, and we only have another few minutes before she comes back!” he said excitedly. Joe stared at the fifty year old man.

“How’d you even build this anyways?” he asked.

“Long story,” said Dr. Fisher, looking at his watch.

“Come on, Dr. Cale will be back any minute now!” he said, and Joe sighed.

“Fine,” he said, not wanting to chicken out.

“Is this some sort of mid-life-crisis thing?” asked Joe, hopping into the car next to Dr. Fisher.

“Eh, probably,” he said, and grabbed hold of a lever next to the car.

“One… two…,” he started, then pulled the lever before the word three could leave his lips.

********************************************************************************

“Trust me, I’m well acquainted with his acceptance of being small,” said Joe, remembering one of very many incidents.

“Well, this had been fun and all, but I never had breakfast, so I’m gonna grab something to eat,” said Jake, hopping up from his chair and making his way over to the kitchen. He turned back to the group.

“Anyone else hungry?”

Joe sat at the table, a small cheerio in his hand. Well, at least it was small to everyone else. To him, it was almost as big as his head. He glanced at the cup next to him, having to arch his neck back to see the top of it. What had once been small enough for him to pick up was now big enough to trap him. He shuddered, than continued eating.

“So… Now what?” asked Giada, munching on a bagel off to Joe’s right.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Michelle, picking up her cup and taking a drink of Orange juice. She sat in front of Joe, making it so her rather large breasts were about eye level with her tiny boyfriend. Joe had taken to glancing at the massive mounds of flesh as a way to get his mind off of other things. They were so big now!

“Well, I mean, what about Joe? We can’t very well just LEAVE him here with that,” said Giada, pointing over at Jake.

“Hey, whadaya mean by that?” he said, glaring at Giada.

“I mean, he needs someone responsible to look after him,” she said, and Jake huffed.

“I can be responsible! I look out for Joe all the time!” he said, and Giada snorted.

“Jake, no offense but she’s right. I mean, look where your “taking care” of him landed him,” said Lisa, gesturing to her tiny brother, what had started listening to the conversation once he heard his name.

“Um, hey, I’m right here,” said Joe, a bit annoyed. They hadn’t even asked him what he thought about the situation, a problem Joe had been in a multitude of times. No one seemed to hear him, though.

“What about me?” asked Michelle, and Lisa bit her lip.

“Um, Michelle, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not exactly… qualified,” she said, and Michelle was speechless..

“Uh, excuse me!” said Joe, a little more irritated now. Again, he was ignored, or not heard. Either way, it pissed him off.

“Oh, come on, he can stay here! I’m great at looking after him. One mistake doesn’t make me who I am!” said Jake, and this time, Lisa rolled her eyes.

“Oh, please, Jake, you’ve screwed up loads of times. Remember last year? The legendary ‘boys night out’,” she asked, using air quotes.

“That was his idea! And I still think it ended ok,” said Jake. Lisa held her head in her hands.

“Do you know how many people Agent Freeman had to memory wipe?” she asked, and Jake shrugged.

“Eh, it could have been worse,” he said.

“See, THAT’S why Joe can’t stay with you! You’re reckless!” said Giada, waving her hands around frantically.

“Hey, everyone?” said Joe again, his voice going from mild irritation to anger. Even Michelle, who was right above him, didn’t seem to be hearing him.

“I still think I can take care of him,” said Michelle, looking at Lisa a little angrily. Qualified? What did she mean by that?

“But why would you have to if I can?” asked Jake, his voice rising in anger. Joe was his best friend, and to be told that he couldn’t be trusted was a real hit on his ego.

“We’ve already established you’re an idiot,” said Giada.

“The only logical conclusion is that I should take him,” said Lisa, sending a challenging glare at everyone in the room. She met resistance by Stacy’s eyes.

“So just because you’re all ‘little miss responsible’ means Michelle can’t handle taking care of Joe?” she asked, starting down Lisa. Michelle was her best friend, and the way she saw it, she had to back Michelle up.

“EVERYONE FUCKING SHUDDUP!” screamed Joe at the top of his lungs. Everyone went silent and stared down at the now furious, red faced, and heavily panting Joe. He was standing in the middle of the table, having run there so that he could have a better time at grabbing everyone’s attention. His screaming did the trick.

“Joe, what-,” started Lisa, but Joe quickly interrupted.

“Stop!... Talking!...” he said, and Lisa closed her mouth.

“I’m right fucking here! Right here!” said Joe, gesturing to himself, and spinning around to look at everyone around him.

“I’m small, granted, but I’m a human being, which I feel you have all forgotten!” said Joe.

“Joe, we-,” started Jake, but Joe interrupted him, just like he had Lisa.

“Jake!.. Please…” he said, and Jake closed his mouth too.

“Has ANYONE even CONSIDERED what my opinion is on this matter?” he asked, and everyone looked away, not being able to meet his gaze. They were now all realizing the mistake they had all made. All their fighting had caused them to forget that Joe should have a say in all this. Joe just glared at everyone in the room, as they all stared at anything but him, an awkward silence filled the room. Finally, Michelle spoke.

“Joe, what is your take on this?” she asked and Joe looked up at her, his face softening. They were starting to get it.

“How about I just take care of myself?” he said, and everyone looked at him, nervous looks on there faces. Lisa was about to speak, but Joe spoke first.

“Kidding, I’m kidding,” said Joe, and everyone began to lighten up. Joe smiled a little, feeling the tension in the air lessen. He turned towards Lisa and looked up at his older sister.

“Lisa, words cannot describe how thankful I am to have such an amazing and thoughtful older sister. Over the years, you’ve done more for me then I thought an older sister could,” he said, and Lisa smiled, holding back her tears. Joe had often thanked her for her help, but never like this.

“However, I think that maybe I’ll let someone else help out this time,” he said, smiling. Lisa grew sad, and began to protest.

“But Joe,” she started, but Joe held up a hand.

“Sorry sis, but I’ve made up my mind. I’m 21 now, yet I still think you have trouble seeing that,” he said, and Lisa looked down at her hands, which were crossed in front of her. Joe was right, she still saw him as the same scared little kid all those years ago, which was only made worse when he was small. Joe smiled and walked towards his sister, putting a hand on hers.

“And besides, you have your hands full with her anyways,” he said, pointing a thumb over at Giada.

“Hey!” she said, and Joe smirked at her.

“Besides, I’m still getting over nightmares about you and your so called ‘pranks’,” said Joe, air quoting. Giada stuck her tongue out at him, and Joe laughed.

“Oh relaz, it’s not like I’m saying good bye. Just that I’m gonna let someone else take care of me,” said Joe, patting Lisa’s hand. She looked at him and smiled.

“Thank you,” she said, and Joe walked over towards Jake.

“So, we doing guys night or what?” said Jake, victory plastered over his face. Joe smiled.

“Well, maybe not tonight. Sorry, dude, but I;m not staying with you either,” he said, and Jake frowned.

“Bro, why not?” asked Jake, a little disheartened. He had been looking forward to get an excuse to hang out with Joe, who had become a lot harder to hang out with ever since Michelle.

“Because, Jake, Giada was right. You are reckless. But so am I! And that’s the problem. If one of us was level headed, then it’s be a good match. But you know neither of us make good deisions when it’s just the two of us,” said Joe, smiling, and Jake sighed.

“Dammit, I hate it when your right,” he said, also smiling. He was sad, but at least Joe had good reasons. Joe held up a fist towards Jake.

“Bro-fist?” he said, and Jake laughed, putting his fist in front of Joe.

“Bro-fist,” he said, and they pounded, though Joe’s was significantly less of a pound then Jake’s.

Joe turned his attention towards Michelle, who was smiling down at him.

“Look’s like you’re the winner, Michelle. I hope- gah!” he didn’t even finish before Joe was swept off his feet and pulled towards his girlfriends awaiting lips. She kissed him, smoothing his entire upper body as well as getting his hair wet, but Joe smiled anyways. He loved these when he was big, and that love only increased when he was small. Her lips were soft and warm, like large pink pillows that were wider then he was tall.

“Oh, Joe, I’d be happy to take care of you! I’m so glad you trust me so much!” she said, finally pulling him away to stare down at him. He was a little dazed by the barrage of kisses, but he quickly regained his composure. He looked up into the billboard face of his girlfriend and smiled.

“I’m sorry if today didn’t go as you thought. But the good news is, you got your wish,” he said with a smirk, and Michelle looked confused.

“Wish? What wish?” she asked.

“I’m off my pills for the rest of the day,” he said, and Michelle laughed.