Keith fiddled with the antenna as the picture buzzed and snowed. "There" Susan said as the picture cleared up.  It had been nearly 12 hours since Markus disabled every major satellite in orbit. The world was reeling from the attack. People scrambled for news pulling out old rabbit ears antenna (if they still had them) and hooking the up to get airwave local news like Keith had done. "This is BBC news at the 8 o’clock hour. The state of the world is in turmoil as mobile networks, cable, streaming, GPS, and most of the internet went silent last evening. All major powers are on high alert and are trying to trace the source of the worldwide broadcast by the man known simply as Markus. Since the blackout, sporadic reports are coming in that as many as 30,000 people worldwide are dead because of the attack. 17 plane crashes have been confirmed was well as casualties from hospitals. More reports are coming in of suspected deaths linked to the blackout but have yet to be confirmed. Right now, government and civilian sectors are relying on landlines, the Transatlantic line, and faxes to distribute information and commerce. However, financial losses have exceeded $200 billion already and is expected to keep climbing."

"The Ministry of Defense had no comment when asked how the satellite were taken out and when they can be restored. When asked what measures will be taken to apprehend the man responsible, their comment was...steps have been taken. In related news, riots have broken out at banks as panicked Londoners tried to withdraw savings..."

Keith muted the tv. "He did this to undercut any military from getting in his way. I get that but why announce it ahead of time?" Susan asked. "To prevent a war. If he hadn't, the US would've blamed China and North Korea, China the Russians, and Russians NATO. Each side could've armed their nukes worst case" he replied. "And by announcing it the way he did he gave them all a mutual target. Clever" Susan said.  "How'd he disable them anyway?" Alyssa asked standing behind them with Rose on her shoulder. "Control doesn't have a clue. Our microwave antenna can still detect their transmissions so they're not dead. It's just nothing is handshaking properly. It shouldn't be possible" Keith replied. "I can look" Alyssa said. Keith looked at her. "By all means" he muttered. Alyssa placed Rose beside him and left the living room.

Once in control, the ebony giantess sat down behind the small borrowers. "Keith asked me to help" she said. "We've looked into the sats with less security measures. You can see all the coding and data here" Tommy said. "Woof" he huffed. "Yeah. It's a lot" he groaned rubbing his eyes. "Then let's get looking again" she said.

Meanwhile in Indonesia...

"I want to play with more humans!" Tracy yelled. "It's late. You should be getting ready for bed" Hope said. "I don't have a bedtime" Tracy shot back. "That's right. Bedtimes are a human thing. We sleep when we feel like it" Mirror Susan said walking to them. The air was slightly cool in the night breeze as they stood before the human city. The lights lit up the small fabricated homes and streets. "She's young. She needs her rest. Susan who is not Susan" Hope said coldly. "I'll have you know I dropped that name. I prefer to be called Catherine" she said. "Whatever, do not interfere" Hope said taking Tracy by the arm. Susan...no Catherine threw Hope off her feet with a blast of magic fueled force. Hope found her body aching. "My name isn't the only change I went through" Catherine said indicating her increase in power. She saw her still holding Tracy. "Oh. Stand back little one. Queen bee needs to remember she’s not invincible" Catherine said pushing Tracy aside. "I'm going to break every bone in your body and leave you out here all night you sickening masochist" Hope growled as her eyes glowed. Little Tracy could smell the ozone in the air as forces gathered around her. Catherine took off her shirt and flexed her muscles. Hope immediately paused. "You're pregnant" Hope muttered. "Yeah. Cooking up a baby for our master. Don't let that stop you though" she chuckled. Hope astonishingly walked away from her. "If she's so strong why did she leave?" Tracy asked. "Because she's weak willed. Your father has too much faith in her. Enough about her. You want to play with humans, right?" she asked. The young girl nodded. "Then we shall play" Catherine grinned.

Catherine kicked off her flip flops and bid Tracy to do the same. The concrete streets felt cold under their giant feet. With a magical glance, Catherine could see no humans with inborn magical talents therefore they were fair game for anything the giantesses had planned. Catherine sat down and the young girl followed suit. With a loud clap, Catherine summoned hundreds of bug sized worshippers. Tracy wanted to move as dozens went to work on her feet, but Catherine just smiled. "It feels to weird. Uugh...I can feel them between my toes" the young girl said cringing. Using transmutation magic, Catherine created a small bottle of nail polish. "What's your favorite color?" she asked. "Green" Tracy replied. With a tap, the paint turned emerald green. "Magic is so awesome but where's the brush?" she asked. Catherine chose a random human, a teenage girl and grew her to two inches. She scooped her up and passed her to the girl. "You mean...?"

Catherine nodded. Tracy bit her lip mischievously and turned the black long-haired girl upside down. The ten-year-old giantess dabbed her hair and up to her neck in paint. The human dared not complain as she rubbed the stinging paint from her eyes. Catherine watched pleased as Tracy used her living paint brush to paint her toes. "Make sure to trap some as separators" Catherine said. Tracy brought her toes together slightly trapping three or four at a time between her sandy giant toes. Catherine ignored her own worshipers to admire the giantess in training. Catherine stroked her hair which made the girl almost jump. "I won't hurt you" she said. "Sorry" Tracy said. "Don't be. I can sense fear when someone touches you" Catherine said. "Usually when I'm touched it means a slap or a punch" the girl made clear. The girl Tracy had been using had now died as she finished her third toe. Catherine grew another, a middle-aged man this time and the girl went about it again after tossing the paint drowned corpse into the city.

"Are we really going to change the world?" Tracy asked. "Worried because there's so many humans?" Catherine asked grinning. "Yeah. My teacher said there's over 7 billion of them" Tracy replied. Catherine chuckled. "What makes you think they'll be that many come this time January?" Catherine asked. Tracy eyes went wide. "You think they'll just keel over and let us take control without using their nasty little weapons? Examples have to be made you know. 13 of the most powerful mages to walk the earth will obliterate their armies and navies. Their cities will be shrunk. Populations brought to kneel. This city is cute isn’t it?" she asked. Tracy shrugged. "Imagine New York or Los Angeles your plaything. Thousands...no millions cleaning your feet, dying at your whim, and when you get older...they will be used for better more fun things" she said. Tracy looked scared. "You been al ins Hope too much. Her timid attitudes have rubbed off. Look here" Catherine said lowering her bikini line slightly revealing a circular scar. "How...what is that?" Tracy asked.

"A memento from a human. Humans are a hypocrisy of life. They destroy nature in the guise to making life easier. Their lives. Pro-life but look away to the suffering of those already born. Religious...oh how they love to hide behind that. A Christian sold my family into slavery. Stole us right from our church. Sold us to a pet shop to a Christian family who had their "born again" daughter run the place. And one night she got too horny and being a good Christian girl decided it wasn't a sin to rape borrowers. Ate my mother for fun. Raped my father. And when I wouldn't lick her pussy, took a sewing needle and rammed it right here piercing my uterus. It robbed me from having kids. I was 12 years old Tracy. Just two years older than you and already had everything taken from me except my life" she said. "But you're pregnant now" Tracy said. "I used my magic to heal me, but I purposely left the scar. And look what humans did to you. Beat you so thoroughly you cringe and whimper like a puppy when touched. I dare say if you were left there it would've gotten worse and you're old enough to know what I mean by that" Catherine said. Tracy grew very quiet.

"Don't be afraid Tracy. This is what humans should be about" Catherine said plucking one up from between Tracy's toes. "They either grovel, serve, and obey or end up dying like the grime they are" she said coldly before grinding up the man into paste between her fingers. "Your brush died" Catherine said. Tracy looked at the dead human she held and smiled before tossing him away. Catherine gave her another. By the time Tracy had finished, four humans were dead from drowning with over a dozen more injured when she flexed her toes without thinking. "That’s really pretty. You have pretty feet" Catherine said grinning. The girl blushed. Tracy's stomach growled. "Guess I'll head back for a snack" Tracy muttered. "Pfft. Just eat some humans" Catherine said. "Uhh...I guess I can" she muttered. Catherine scooped up over a dozen of them. She had Tracy open her hands. Catherine dropped them into her waiting hands. "They're not even scared" Tracy said. "Of course not. These are properly trained humans. They know their role. And right now, they want to be food for a cute giant girl" Catherine grinned. Tracy was hesitant as the first few fell into her open mouth and then she shoved them all in.

Dozens of tiny lives rested on her palate individually little to no flavor but combined gave a salty yet sweet taste. Her mouth watered instinctively, and some began to drown in her saliva. Tracy began to swallow. A few, then more, and more as she gulped over and over sending the shrunken slaves to die in her belly. Being a ten-year-old girl, her stomach was primed to break down any protein to fuel her growing body. It only took about four minutes for them to be digested enough they were no longer anything resembling humans. Tracy wanted more. Catherine chuckled as the young giantess gathered more and more to be devoured. The more she ate, the slower their lives ended. And with enough, she could feel the masses squirming in her tummy. The girl giggled and sat down. With a hearty belch, she seemed satisfied. Catherine petted her belly making the girl giggle even more. "How...how many did you think I ate?" she asked. "Better part of 200 you little piggy" Catherine chuckled. Tracy gathered just a few more and snorted like a hog before dropping them in her mouth and swallowing.

Tracy sighed and closed her eyes. Catherine saw her doze off and dismissed the survivors (not even a quarter left) to go about their useless lives. As much as she liked sacrifices, she loved to hunt more. She left Tracy where she was and stalked through the city like a predator. Since getting the power to shrink humans, she had become picky about her prey. Older men and women didn't scratch her itch. Young men were desirable for raping and when it came to eating them, she preferred children. She would look into homes spying on what she could see. Males between 13 and 30 went up her giant snatch, a cute girl now and then and to make it enticing, commanded them to fuck as they were trapped inside her. Children in their beds were plucked out and dropped into her mouth. A boy of 8 freefell down her throat A girl Tracy's age sucked on until her body exploded from stress.

Catherine had underplayed how much she truly hated humans. Some could say her cruelty stemmed not from her trauma by them but the fact she recently learned she was one third human herself. Like this world's Susan, Catherine got all her old memories back when her power awakened. She went to see her world's Tim and learned the truth of her origins. But unlike this world, Catherine didn't forgive his act of playing god. She tortured him for two days nonstop, breaking his body and then healing it. His bones pulverized under her smelly feet and then made whole again. His ribs broken as she pushed her ass onto his worn-out body. His ankles shattered as her fingers gripped too tightly as she used him as a dildo. And at the end he didn't curse her, beg, cry, or plead. He just smiled. Catherine ate him and sat in his pastor’s chair feeling him slowly die within her. Some might also say this was the moment that she decided no humans deserved any mercy. Obey and maybe die or rebel and die for sure. She decided that should be their fate. And with Markus she saw her belief coming into fruition.     

Her desires were at their peak. Her belly full of the young of humans. Her pussy tingling with the older attractive ones. And as she passed one home she paused as their occupants stood outside. The family prided itself on being more devoted to their masters and mistresses than others. Always at the ready if one came by. With their home halfway inside the city perimeter, it wasn't as common to have a giant visitor. Now before them stood a blonde titaness and one of the highest at that. The mother, father, and two children, both around 14 or so came forward to clean the grit and blood from the giantess toes. Catherine bent down on her knees to get a closer look at them. The boy was cute, cute enough for her needs. His sister was slightly more homely but not dismissive. Their parents in their mid-30's and not in her strike zone so to speak. However, what she had planned made her pussy ooze her juices onto the street like watery syrup. Pointing to the twins, she grew them to three inches to suit her needs. "Each of you pick up your parents" she commanded. The mini giant and giantess did as told. The daughter held her father, the son his mother.

Catherine event down further showing off her natural flexibility, so her mouth was head level to them. "Feed them to me" she said coldly before opening her mouth wide. The siblings obeyed their goddess and placed their parents on her wet tongue. Her lips snapped shut and she moaned. She couldn't taste them. Not just two puny humans that size but that wasn't the point of it. She swallowed them with a loud gulp. "I can feel them faintly. I'm sensitive enough for that. Will they drown, smother, or be digested alive? I ate quite a few so my acids won't be so strong. So kids, what do you think will happen to mommy and daddy?" she asked with a sadistic grin. The boy looked at her exposed tummy. "Digested probably" he replied. The girl did not answer. Catherine could see in her mind that she was terrified. She was not so devoted as the others. All the better Catherine thought. "Strip and fuck. You my pretty are going to ride his cock" she said smiling.

The boy shed his clothing quickly and his sister not so quickly. He laid on the cold street as his sister straddled him. She made a yelp of pain as his little prick took her virginity. Catherine began to masturbate watching the little humans fuck one another. The squelching sounds of her wet cunt overshadowing the moans and groans of the incestual siblings. Catherine's juices pooled onto the street along with one or two shattered bodies of her victims from earlier. She bent down closer to The Teo and waited for the right moment. The boy's breathing changed his chest grew tight. And with no warning, the goddess bent down seizing the girl's upper body with her lips. Catherine slurped her right off his cock, her legs flailing wildly as primal fear took over. Slowly she was drawn in as her brother watched. Then only her tiny bare soles were exposed between those gigantic lips. Then, they were gone. Catherine could taste the girl easily being bigger than her other prey. The pheromone of fright, pussy, sweat, and the taste of only young teenage flesh can provide. Catherine took a moment to savor this one and then let the screaming lump slip down her throat.

"Your sister was delicious" Catherine moaned licking her lips. "Are you going to eat me too?" the boy asked. "Not with this mouth. Make sure to cum before you die" she said with an eerie tone. She gestured for him to stand. She spread her wet pussy and lowered herself. His head went right in and she positioned her finger beneath his bare ass to push him in without breaking him. Once his was halfway in, her cunt muscles did the rest. With a series of slurps, he was swallowed alive by goddess pussy. Catherine stood up focusing on drawing him in deeper and deeper.

Now it's no secret borrowers are considerably stronger than humans scale for scale. Not just arm or leg strength either. Borrower females have VERY strong vaginal muscles. A biological trait that helps milk a penis for maximum semen collection. In fact, so strong, it's been noted in lab experiments that the females can snap a toothpick with her tiny pussy. In rare cases, even a cotton swab. What that meant here was, the boy inside Catherine was doomed as fuck. She threw caution to the wind and leather pussy milk the very life out of him. A broken bone meant a painful jerk. A painful jerk meant wonderful tingles for the goddess. He was the last of his family as his bones were shattered one by one until he began running out of air. Her juices fell so much (due to gravity) past his vice gripped body, the he began to suffocate not actually drown. And then as his lungs felt like they would explode, he actually came. Asphyxiation made him spurt his puny semen load inside her just moments before succumbing. Catherine felt his death rattle and she came. She nearly fell demolishing houses around her.

It was cathartic that both siblings died almost the exact same time of one another. This sister slipping underneath the searing chemical pool of stomach acids and her brother as a sex toy. Catherine let them lay together in death by pulling out his mangled corpse and eating it. His body landing with a small splash raising up his badly acid burnt so risen of his twin sister. Both sank next to one another.

Catherine has scratched her itch quiet well and returned to the entrance of the city. Tracy still lay there sleeping. She picked up the girl and carried her in her arms back to the main house. "Did she have fun?" Markus asked sipping coffee. "Lots of fun" she replied smiling. "Good. Taurus said there was a little scuffle between you and Hope" he said. "A difference of opinion. Our dear Hope still clings to her daddy's values" she replied. "Even after indulging? Hmm" he muttered. "Don't worry yourself about that" she said looking in the distance. Her borrower eyes could see faint traces of green laser light towards the north beach. "Things have a way of showing you the truth of things" she finished. "Indeed, it does" he said walking off. Catherine carried Tracy to bed and waited outside her door for a few minutes.  

Catherine could hear the front door quietly forced open. The sound of scraping fabric, the squeaking of boots on hardwood floor, the smell of gun oil. They came through the main north entrance as silent as they could be. The laser sights putting green dots on walls and furniture. She waited at the far south wall about 100 ft. forward of them. A rapid double twip sound and then another followed by falling bodies. The two maids on duty no doubt. She could faintly smell blood and brains. One to the chest, another in the head. Catherine could tell they were pros. Markus was upstairs and Hope was still sulking in the upper room. That left just her and Tracy as the smells and sounds got closer. "Clear left. Clear right. Go center" one said very faintly. With a gesture, Catherine began her ploy to take advantage of the intrusion. She planted a suggestion in Tracy's mind to wake up to pee. The girl woke up and walked out of her room right past Catherine and into the hallway. *twip twip*.

"Check fire! Check...dammit" one hissed as they realized they just shot a child. Tracy was dead before she hit the floor.  Her blood pooling on the floor. "INTRUDERS!" Catherine screamed. "Weapons free! Spare target!" one shouted as they rushed to clear the hallway and downstairs. They immediately saw Catherine and opened fire. It was child's play to use a barrier to protect herself. Their 5.56 rounds bounced right off leaving spent rounds with casings. "...impossible. No ballistic" one muttered. Markus rushed downstairs finding the five special ops humans in his home. With a wave of his hand, he sent them flying into furniture and walls. "Markus...they shot her" Catherine said shedding tears. The man looked at her body. Her nightshirt soaked in blood. Her head opened up by a hollow point round. It was not a good sight at all. Then a whimper behind them. Hope had come down and saw the gruesome sight. "See what your precious humans did? They thought nothing of killing a child. NOTHING!" Catherine screamed.  Markus was a loss for words. He looked at the humans who were staggering to their feet. His eyes glowed but before he could do a thing, Hope stepped in.

She blasted them with a shrinking spell. A spell so powerful they shrank to the size of insects in an instant. Hope walked over to them. She couldn't hear them at that size. Normally she could being half borrower but such rage in her heart clouded her senses. Of the five, Three scattered. Hope flattened two of them under her sole with a stomp. And third she wiped him from life literally leaving a small streak of blood. She turned her attention to the other two who had now panicked enough to fire their M1911 pistols at the titanic teen. They were so small the bullets lacked the range to even hit her face. Hope lowered her big toe on the fourth and ground him into a fine paste. His friend could hear his scream and then a crunch. A teenage girl's toe had ended his buddy's life. Not a lucky terrorist, a bomb, or even a nutjob with a gun. A man who was married and had a cute toddler daughter at home waiting for Them to come home. Now nothing but a stain on a floor. Her eyes locked on the last one and she raised her foot. The man could see blotches of blood on her toe and sole. He could even smell it. And his breath got stuck in his Throat as he saw the giantess wearing no panties. He got an erection and began laughing as what he thought was reality had snapped. "Don't. I want answers" Markus growled. Hope used her fingernails to pluck the soldier up and held him firmly. She invaded his mind painfully not caring about the damage being done.     

"SBS. Special Boat Services. The Americans traced your broadcast here and they contacted the UK as they had a submarine not far away. That's where they came from. There's a sub of our coast" Hope said. "Where?" Markus asked. Hope focused again as the man tried with all his might to resist. "Found it" she muttered. "Finish him" Markus growled looking at Tracy. With barely a thought she incinerated the bug sized man until he was nothing but ash. It only took a few seconds. Hope walked to Tracy and bent down. Markus and Catherine stepped back as Hope crackled with magical energy. Her emotional focus now on the opposite side of the spectrum. Hate.

Hope began to repair her lifeless body. Blood vessels made whole, her heart intact again. Rib fixed. The meat and flesh mended and sealed. Hope turned her attention to her head. Markus and Catherine were aghast at how intricate Hope repaired her brain. He had not seen such skill in over a thousand years. Catherine herself realized that Hope dialed back most of her power around others. She thought she had closed some of the distance between their skills, but it was clear that the girl was leagues ahead still. Hope said nothing as flakes of skull came together and solidified. Now came the part that made Them look at her with awe. She raised her hand and a point of white light gathered brightly in her palm. It was Tracy's soul being called back from beyond. Hope slammed it into Tracy's body. Her young toes flexed, twitched. Then with a loud gasp, Tracy was revived. Markus bent down and held her close. It took a moment for Tracy to realize what had happened. Her blood still on the floor was clear proof she didn't survive. The girl let out a screeching sob clinging to her father.

He carried her to the bathroom and washed the blood off her. Catherine and Hope saw him take her to her room. He didn't come out for an hour. In the meantime, Hope had not revived the human maids. A clear line had formed in her mind now. Humans were not to be trusted. Markus walked to her. "Show me" he said. Hope showed the location of the sub to him. "Adet" he said coldly. His artifact, the Eye of the World appeared before him. Just by looking, the portal seemed to open to pure blackness, but she could hear moving water. Markus reached right in. His hand dipped lower and lower under the waves until he felt it.

"What the hell?!" the captain yelled. "No collision warning. Sonar...this can't be right" the operator muttered. The skipper looked at his screen. The silhouette of a giant hand surrounded them all. Then all the crewmen were slammed into their seats or the floor as g forces increased. Markus brought the sub right Through the portal and held it. At the angle it was, dozens of the crew slid backwards into bulkheads. Markus looked coldly at the shrunken vessel. The Vanguard class submarine was once 491 feet long but now it was just under five inches. "You should've stayed away" Markus whispered into the hull. The sonar operator easily heard the giant voice. New alarms went off as Markus forced open their launch bays. With magical force, he removed all 16 nuclear missiles from the ship. Each missile barely an inch long. "Like declawing a cat" he chuckled with wide eyes. "Catherine. A gift for you. I might be busy in the near future. Figure you could use a dildo" he said tossing the sub to her. Markus disappeared back into Tracy's room. Hope barely gave Catherine a glance as she went back upstairs to her own room and shut the door.  

"What was that noise downstairs?" Theo asked the giantess as she sat down. She glanced at him for a moment. "I'm taking you back. This...what this is, is over" she muttered picking him up. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked worried. "You're a human. It's clear now your species is too chaotic to ever be considered trustworthy" she replied walking down the stairs. Hope glanced to see Catherine tossing the now shrunken bodies of the maids into the trash bin. She was dead silent as she made her way to the human city. "I'd never lie to you Hope. Why are you so angry at me?" Theo asked visibly upset now. She entered the city and made her way to his home. "Please! Don't toss me away. Please don't" he begged. "I cannot be with humans Theo. Not in the way we had. You are...inferior" she said shaking slightly opening her hand a little. "So... I’m no use to you anymore?" he asked softly. "...no" she whispered. What came next Hope would not forget. Theo jumped headfirst off her hand and hit smack dab onto the roof of his house. His body landed with barely a sound on the street. Of course, his mother came outside wondering what the hell hit her house.

"Why...why would you..." Hope muttered crying. "Tsk...forgiveness goddess as he obviously offended you" his mother said. Passerby's saw to Theo's corpse with little or no emotion. He was carted away like garbage. She had seen the callousness of their people but this...this was too much for the girl.  Hope didn't even think of bring him back and stormed off back to the main house. "Broke up with your boyfriend?" Catherine asked washing the blood off her hands. With magical force, she gripped her throat and lifted her off her bare feet. "Forgot about the bun in the oven?" she choked out. Hope put her right hand on Catherine's chest. Immediately, she felt a painful tug deep within her. "Wha...are you doing?" Catherine gasped. "Yanking out your troublesome filthy soul. You baby doesn't need its mother to have a soul to be born" Hope replied grimly. "Please...please stop" Catherine begged. Hope paused but did let her go. "Antagonize me once more and you live out your days a soulless meat puppet" Hope said watching her collapse to the floor.  Hope went to her room moments later.

"A firecracker that one" Markus said standing in the hallway. "You saw that and did nothing?!" Catherine shouted. "You brought it upon yourself. You should know better. She's has her father's temper and she's a teenager with astounding power. You got off easy in my opinion" he replied. He helped her to her feet. Go to bed. I need you rested so you can cast barrier spells in the morning" he said. "In the morning? But the alignment isn't for another 24 hours" she said. "The barrier won't be for that. It's what's coming beforehand. A shitload of humans is going to die in the morning, and I don't want this island caught up in that" he replied. Catherine forgot her bruised ego hearing that many humans would meet their end soon. Hope laid in her bed in her natural shrunken state sobbing. She loved Theo and broke it off feeling it was best for both of them. She didn't take into account he lost his reason for living if she wouldn't have anything to do with him. In a fit of desperation, she tried to resurrect him as soon as she entered her room. Only to find that the humans had already cremated his corpse destroying the chance. He was gone forever, and she caused it. She sobbed into her pillow at the bitter truth that he only wanted to be loved by her. Her rejection was tantamount of being rejected by God. Without thinking, she had excommunicated him. As the horribleness sunk in, she found herself wishing her daddy was with her. She missed him petting her bare body, sucking on her tiny feet, kissing her cheeks and telling her it was going to be okay when she cried. "Daddy..." she muttered.

Back in Yorkshire...

Keith paused midstep as he felt a wave of anguish wash over his heart. Then it was gone as quickly as it came. "Keith?" Susan asked next to him. "Wha?" he asked. "I was asking you something and then you looked like you were in pain" she said worried. "Nothing. It's nothing. What were you asking?" he said. "I asked if you thought Alyssa found anything" she said. "Her call made it sound so" he said walking again. "The reports are getting worse. The RAF are flying CAP's with Tornado fighters all over the island. People are beginning to panic" she said. "We have enough rations to last for a month if need be. But...assign sentries to our perimeters" he said as they rounded the hallway. Susan and Keith entered Control. "You said you have something Alyssa?" he asked. "Yeah. I found out the problem. Take a look" she said pointing to Three monitors. "These are the BIOS for the military sat you "borrowed", a NASA weather sat, and one of the satellites for German Telekom. I confirmed that each one is broadcasting its signals as it should" she said. "Then what the hell isn’t anything working?" Susan asked. "The devil is in the details so to speak" Alyssa said enlarging a section of the screen on each monitor.

"That looks like a clock" Keith said. "It is. Every satellite has an onboard atomic clock it's vital for it to work properly" she said as she pulled up another screen. "This is the atomic clock in Colorado set to UTC" she said. "I don't see the problem. It's set the same" Susan said. "Exactly. That's the problem. You can't set the clock on a satellite for the same time on Earth. Bear with me for a moment. Satellites orbit the Earth so fast you have to set the clock on them a nanosecond or two ahead. If you don't, everything goes out of whack. *Computers on the surface screen out the erroneous data. It's like trying to have a conversation with someone before they enter the room" Alyssa said. "All of this over a fucking set of clocks?!" Keith yelled. "Crazy but yes. You got computers that can't make up their minds without synced and confirmed data" she replied. "Can you fix it?" Susan asked. "You're kidding right? Susan. This is way above my pay grade. I just know the basics of the basics. I couldn't hope to fix this on my own. Tommy here said this was months in the making. Could take months to fix it" she said.   

(Authors note: While this was taken to the extreme, it has merit to it. Due to the Theory of Relativity, satellites experience a form of time dilation as they zip through Earth orbit so fast. Fast enough that time slows down for them by about 1.7 nanoseconds. That's enough however that if not taken into account, GPS satellites would never be accurate and cellular connections would constantly fail. That's why onboard clocks are set 1.7 nanoseconds fast on them)

"Keith. The humans are working on it. We got bigger fish to fry" Susan said. Suddenly, the sound of thunder shook the house. "Thunder in December?" Susan asked. They went to the living room and looked out the window. "What the fuck?" Keith asked as they all saw blood red lighting in the blue sky. "That's weird and I've seen some shit" Joseph said looking. "Magic? Is it Markus?" Keith asked him. "I sense no magic, but I do feel a disturbance. I do...it's gone" he said before the sky cleared. "Red lighting can't be a coincidence" Susan said. Joseph looked towards the city. "What is it now?" Keith asked. "Someone just translocated here. The magic is familiar, but I can't put my finger on it" he said. He cocked his head. "Not far from Claire's parents’ home" he muttered. "I want a security team in sector 3 on C street now!" Keith yelled rushing to the sunroom with Susan right behind him. Keith dashed Through the street jumping over people and buildings like an athlete. A dozen borrowers were there to meet him surrounding one of their size. "Easy guys" a voice said. Keith was tense as he pivoted his foot to crush the intruder. "You gonna crush your little brother?" he asked looking at the giant. "Ritchie!" Keith yelled grabbing the boy. Keith hugged him to his cheek.

"You came at a bad time kid" Keith said. "Pelé told me everything. It's partly why I'm here" he said. Keith put him back down and shrank down to his size. He dismissed the security team before walking him to Ritchie's parents' home. Poor Rebecca dropped her dishes seeing her son enter the house. She sobbed and hugged him tightly sniffing him all over. She pushed him onto the sofa. "Uh hi mom" he said. She sat next to him trembling. "Your...your sister should know you're here" she mumbled. Claire had sensed something amiss as she picked up the extreme emotions of her mother. She had been sitting alone with Aspen in her room and suddenly flew out the door. "Uh...I think she knows already" Ritchie said looking at the roof. Claire had not shrunken down as she flew overhead and as she got near her parents’ home, she sensed a familiar magic. "Ritchie..." she muttered as she landed. She gripped the roof taking it off and plucked her little brother up.

Her eyes glowed with magic and tender emotion. He smelled so good. She missed his scent very badly and began kissing and licking his body. "Easy sis! Nice to see you too" he chuckled. Claire gently put him back down them placing the roof back and shrinking herself. She gave him a proper hug after entering. Claire seemed to be on cloud nine snuggling him. "Keith. Seeing you're the only one not drunk on me, can I speak to the man you call Joseph?" he asked. Keith was surprised he knew of him. "Joseph. I have someone who wants to speak to you" Keith thought. Moments later Joseph appeared before him. "Hmm...a Menehune. Did my sister send you?" he asked. "The goddess did. But she wishes to speak to you Through her avatar. By your grace" he said closing his eyes. Astoundingly, Ritchie’s body transformed into a young woman. There was a glow about her like light from a fire. Rebecca and Claire were very worried. "Be not concerned. This is only temporary, and he shall take his form again once my business is done" she said. "Hello Pelé. The eons have been kind to you" Joseph said.

"As they have for you older brother. Have you noticed anything strange in the sky?" she asked. "Actually, just before you arrived, we saw red lightning" he replied. Pelé was silent for a moment. "What you have seen is but a foreshadowing. What mortals know as reality is in flux. It has affected the lesser realms already" she said. "My son?" he asked. "My shitty little nephew doesn't have the power to do this. And what I have glimmered from the child known as Hope has not the skill either" she replied. "Glimmered? You can see my daughter?" Keith asked. "Yes" she replied. "Is she alright?! Did he hurt her?!" Keith yelled. "She has not been harmed but I sense her soul had passed the crossroads of light and dark" she replied. "...what does that mean?" Keith muttered. "Where her soul wavered in his cause, it no longer does. She is your enemy now" she replied. Keith stormed out. "Keith wait!" Claire yelled following him.

She found he had grown to human size already. She flew up to him. "Wait! We know Hope, she doesn't. She needs her family is all" she said. "go away" he said softly. "Listen! Susan is already working..."

Keith grabbed her in midair. "I said leave me alone" he growled tossing her away. The tiny girl stopped tumbling to see the giant storm off. Claire was terrified. Last time she saw that dark, enraged look in his eyes was when he found out a human had raped his wife. Keith literally blew him to bits. She worried what he would do now.

"What do you mean affected? This is not the time to be cryptic sis" Joseph said. "The barriers separating the realms, the reality marbles are breaking down. What they feared for the yaksha homeland is becoming reality worldwide. I'm doing all I can to keep the balance. But that is not the most troubling thing. Observe" she said making a magical visual of ancient tomes, paintings, and tablets. "Red Lightning has been recorded Throughout history. A cave painting from France dating 25,000 BCE, a papyrus scroll from 2600 BCE, a passage from the bible, a tome written by a Georgian monk from 1105 CE" she said. "But why haven't I heard of this phenomenon before?" he asked. "You haven't? Think again" she said. He did and he tensed up. "I... I have...how...why..." he muttered. "This is a side effect. Before two days ago, none of these accounts existed. What's happening is happening across time itself. Past, present, and future. I was spared as I exist in a different realm and once carried Etherion like you. Eventually, I will be...rewritten too" she said. "What can we do?" he asked. "My avatar has enough skill to use some of my power. Nowhere near as much as Claire but he will be powerful in his own right. He shall be my general" she replied.

"No. More like hell no. I'm not having another child enter this fucking fray" Rebecca spat. "I understand your feelings Rebecca. I myself have been a mother countless times over and I have suffered loss unfathomable to you. Nonetheless, the situation calls for him to be a warrior of the Pacific Rim. My champion as this threat is not abated, ALL will fall" she said. "Then you do think Markus is connected" Joseph said. "The timing can't be ignored. Now...now I must take my leave" she said straining. Ritchie returned to normal shortly after. Rebecca began sweeping up broken dishes. "Mom..." Ritchie said. Claire reentered the home. "Mom, it's what I have to do" he said. "Do what?" Claire asked. "Your brother got drafted" Rebecca said grinning sweeping. Ritchie tried to hold her, but she backed away. She threw her broom down and went to her bedroom. They could all hear the woman crying. "I'll leave you two alone" Joseph said before disappearing.

Ritchie explained what Pelé had said. "You pissed too?" he asked. Claire shook her head. Her hand felt his arm. "You got so strong, so cute" she said softly. "Work over there keeps me in shape" he chuckled. "They make you wear a loincloth all the time?" she snickered. "I'm a priest so it's standard. At home I wear normal stuff" he replied. She flipped his loincloth up. "Claire what are you..." he was saying before she sucked his exposed cock into her mouth. Ritchie groaned as she Throated him. His hands in her blonde hair and with a grunt he came. Claire pulled off tasting his seed. She sat beside him nuzzling him. "I'm leading the first line" she muttered. Ritchie petted her hair. "I know. I look in on you" he replied. She laid back and placed her feet in his lap. "You do?" she asked. He began rubbing her feet. "All the time. A perk of the job" he said. "What have you seen?" she asked.

"You getting shitfaced at a reception in Stuttgart. Playing games with Aspen on a rainy night in Milan. You crying on my birthday in Madrid" he replied softly. He played with her toes for a moment. "I thought missing you would get easier, it hasn't" she said sniffling. He gently sucked her big toe and then let go. "It's the magic. It amplifies emotions, connections, longing" he said. "I know. There's a part of me that wants to let loose sometimes. To just shower people I love with my...everything. And not having you around is like having a piece of the puzzle missing" she said. Ritchie smiled. "When I became a Menehune, I lost what I took for granted as a borrower. And I found that I missed..." he chuckled. "What?" she asked. "The smell of your feet" he blushed. With a wave of her hand, Claire shrank him. Her giant feet looked over him. "That didn’t mean to shrink me sis!" he said. "Oh hush. I was going to anyway" she said taking her clothes off. "Uh sis. Look, hosting Pelé is draining and..."

"Ritchie, you're going to end up in my pussy. Don't be a baby about it. Jeez, not like I'm going to eat you or anything" she huffed. Ritchie walked on the sofa cushions to her spread open cunt. He took off his loincloth and sandals before she pushed him inside. She didn't push him in deep, his little head poked out but it was enough. Her magical fueled emotions took over. "I love you little brother" she gasped as he moved his little legs and feet in her cunt. Ritchie could see energy in the giantess eyes. A burning passion and love. Claire fought the urge to just slurp him deep within. To have him trapped in her womb. Protected. But such a thing wouldn't be right for more reasons than one. Ritchie became worried as she was visibly crying. Claire was NOT okay with the news. And with a bated whimper she came. The shrunken boy popped out of her like a cork from a wine bottle landing on the cushion. Claire put her clothes back on and silently took shrunken Ritchie to the kitchen sink.

"Claire. You're scaring me" he said as she gently ran water over him. "I'm so sorry. I just wanted to feel you" she said sadly. "Not that. That I get. You're holding it all in. You look like you're gonna burst" he said. Claire turned off the water. "Last summer I saw you get eaten. I remember...I remember the sound of your fucking bones being crunched. The grief I felt. It was like someone tore out my heart. I don't wanna go through that again" she whined. She placed him on the sink table and gave him a paper towel to dry off. Her hand was over her mouth as she choked back her emotions. "I get it now" she muttered. "Get what?" he asked. "Over the last few months, I've been taking college classes online. In literature class we had to read a book by Thomas Wolfe called "You can never go home again". It's about how the idea of home isn't the same as reality. I didn't understand then, but I do now."

"Home isn't a place. It's a memory, a feeling, a nostalgia. Ritchie, none of this really felt like home until you showed up" she said fetching his loincloth. Ritchie put it on before his sister unshrank him. "I thought being a model and jet setting around the world with Aspen was my dream but it's nothing what I imagined" she said softly sitting on the sofa. Ritchie sat next to her and held her hand. "It's so...eerie. Photos of me in magazines around the world. Blogs about fantasies of me. Some about doing things to me. I even have my own page on Wikifeet" she chuckled. "Security following us everywhere. Our agent making me sign a 5-million-dollar life insurance policy. All the fucking glamor you could ask for, but I'd trade it for back when we lived in her home in Ipswich. Back when you were still my bratty perverted brother" she said wiping tears. "You said any of this to Aspen?" he asked. "I don't want to worry her" she replied. "You really should. You know you should" he said. She silently nodded.