Prologue:

Being a teen hasn't been easy for Violet.  Not only is she dealing with the social awkwardness and confusion that comes with being a teenager, she is doing so while being a part of a superhero family and saving the world.  While it's not uncommon for very young children with superpowers to develop new powers it is almost unheard of for someone Violet's age...

While studying in her room Violet quite unexpectedly discovered she had done what everyone said was impossible, she had a new power...growth.  She better get this new power under control or else her teenage years have just gotten a lot harder...

Chapter 1: A simple Demonstration 

"Are you kidding me? She's just a kid, not a monster! What you are suggesting...What you are suggesting makes you the only monsters I see here!" -Helen Parr

---With the supers out in the open again it was only a matter of time before Violet's new power came under the notice of the authorities.  Violet's was a special case; not only because of her age when this happened, but also because her power to grow was the first recorded example of this specific ability and her control and limits using this power had yet to be measured.

The Parr family was contacted and asked if Violet would perform a "demonstration" at an abandoned industrial park adjoining the military base outside the city. The location was secluded and access to the surrounding area would be restricted.  One of her parents would, of course, supervise and a representative from both the civil government and military would be in attendance.  The reason given for this unusual request was to assess any potential risk this new power may have to the public.

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A member of the mayor's staff and the base garrison commander stood motionless in the shadow of the colossal teen. Violet stood well over 100ft and may have continued to grow if not stopped by a shout from Violet's mother, Helen.  

"That'll do Vi." 

Helen, who had insisted on attending this meeting over her husband's objections, had been closely watching the representatives; trying to read the smallest change in their expressions as the demonstration proceeded. Her fear was that if Violet grew too large these two representatives may become terrified and make their final decision based out of immediate fear and not the facts. Bias for your child comes with being a mother but Helen knew that Vi was a sweet kid...even if she was as big as a ten story building. 

The general and the staff member stood silent. Helen's mind raced; if they decided she is a danger what would they do? The silence was finally broken much to Helen's relief.

"Extraordinary!" A barely audible whisper was heard.

The questions quickly followed on at a rapid pace and were both thoughtful and reasonable.  Considering these men's responsibility was the public's safety Helen took these questions as seriously as possible.  

"Is that her full height?"

"Is her strength commiserate with her size?"

"How long can she stay that way?"

Helen answered the questions as far as her knowledge allowed. She didn't know how big Violet could get and Violet didn't know either.  Pertaining to the question of strength, the numerous pieces of their home's furniture that had been accidentally crushed along with her husband's ridiculous game of 'catch' with a railroad boxcar was proof enough that Violet's strength grew along with her size. 

Soon the two representatives began quietly speaking between themselves.  Helen shifted her attention back to Violet. Painfully shy even under ideal circumstances, Helen could see how uncomfortable Violet had become.  Although Violet was at the moment a giant it was obvious to Helen that it was Violet who actually felt helpless and small; on a stage and under a magnifying glass with no control.  The sooner they could finish this demonstration and get Vi out of the spotlight the better!  

Helen turned back to the representatives, she strained to hear what they were saying and what she heard shocked her to the core. They were discussing "numerous applications" using terms such as: "civil and military defense,"  "aggressive foreign intervention," and "domestic suppression." The realization that this was more than a simple demonstration for the sake of safety was a deafening scream in Helen's mind.  

Try as she might, Helen's furious objections and accusations were ignored.  The demeanor of the men changed so abruptly she had to question even if they were who they claimed to be.  What was their real objective?  Helen was left with no answers as the two men left, still speaking of the unimaginable possibilities...

"No no NO not now! Only six blocks from home NOT NOW!" -Violet Parr

Violet's world had been turned upside down ever since this new power destroyed what little life she felt she had. She had started walking to and from school using a new route; not only was it shorter but as a bonus it allowed her to avoid all of her classmates. True, the area of town she now traveled through had seen better days and police sirens were a constant background noise but she was willing to take any risk to keep her new found 'problem' secret from her friends. 

Only six blocks from home. That's when she felt it: that sickening all too familiar feeling in her gut that would soon spread to her limbs. She was growing.  Her control over this power was far from total. She had found that she could change size through willpower when she wanted but there were times where it seemed she had no control at all. This was one such time.  She quickened her pace paying no heed to passers by. Colliding with one of them she lost her grip on her backpack but did not stop.

"forget it" she thought, "it doesn't matter! All that matters is getting home!"

She was ten feet from the corner.  At the corner she would turn left and continue straight until she reached her house and safety. 

"Hey Vi! Did you drop this?"

Her heart stopped, she knew that voice. Kimberly Taumbach, 4th period biology, Kimberly sat two desks behind her. Violet did not turn around, if she could just make it around the corner everything would be alright. Four more steps, Violet glanced to her left and saw her reflection in a window. She was maybe six feet tall, maybe more. At this distance hopefully Kimberly wouldn't notice. Two steps, one, and safe; Violet threw her back against the brick wall of the building and closed her eyes taking a deep breath. Violet opened her eyes.  How long had they been closed? It felt like only an instant but now she wasn't sure. Dizzy, she looked around trying to focus her eyes. 

"No, this isn't right." Her mind refused to accept what her eyes were seeing. The buildings were too small. Memories of her doll house she played with as a little girl immediately came to mind. "No this isn't right" Violet blinked again and stark reality came crashing in. How long had her eyes been closed? She now towered over the two and three story buildings around her.  The parked cars on the road looked like Dash's toys she constantly trips over in the hallway back home. Luckily the brick façade she had put her back against was the tallest on the block and she remained hidden from the street she had just passed down.  Most importantly, she remained hidden from Kimberly. She stood absolutely still and listened. She was amazed how good her hearing was...with ears this big Violet supposed it made sense...one more thing that makes her a freak.  She could hear that Kimberly was talking to someone. Oh no she isn't alone! Violet turned, keeping herself pressed against the building while being careful not to apply any of her weight to the wall. The limited amount of experience she had gained with this power had taught her that everything is incredibly fragile after she grows; more so the larger she is. The last thing she wanted was to knock a building down onto her classmates. 

Ever so carefully she peered around the corner of the building looking back the way she came. She could see Kimberly standing holding the backpack Violet had just dropped. She was talking to Tiffany Laurence; the biggest gossip in Violet's class! Could it get any worse! Luckily for Violet she was spying down at her classmates from five stories above where they were standing. Being blessedly normal, neither of Violet's peers thought to look up, instead keeping their gaze at street level seeing nothing.  Kimberly was asking Tiffany what she should do with the backpack. 

"She must think I'm long gone!" Violet reasoned and let out a sigh of relief.  A low frequency airy groan reverberated off the brickwork echoing in Violet's ears.  "Oh God! Was that me?" Her mind scrambled. Any sound she made at her size involves hundreds of cubic feet of air rushing through what amounts to the mouth of a cave! "Why can't I be normal!" Her mind screamed this at her over and over again. Violet brought her attention back to her classmates. They must not have heard her, sirens were wailing on some side street. Violet was never so happy to be in the bad part of town! Violet could hear Tiffany saying they should just bring the backpack with them and they'll give it to Violet tomorrow. She was safe! Violet again felt relief wash over her.

At that moment Violet heard a scream. Her attention had been so focused on Kimberly and Tiffany she forgot that she was currently a 50ft teenager standing against an apartment block on the corner of Oak St. And 7th Ave.  To her left, Violet looked down at a terrified woman looking straight up at her.

General, you are asking me to sedate something weighing as much as a WWII destroyer." -Dr. Fitzhugh

The doorbell rang. Violet didn't look up, she kept her head buried in her arms as she slumped sitting at the kitchen table. Her father sat opposite her, wearing the same pained expression ever since she got home. Both Violet and her father assumed it would be the police.

Violet had run home after that woman saw her on the way home from school. The broken sections of asphalt and concrete shaped like size 300 sneakers leading back to the Parr residence were hard to miss. City power & water trucks were parked along the whole length of Oak St. while repairmen attended to the torn power lines and crushed subterranean water lines. All this was visible from the bay window in the Parr's living room until Helen thankfully shut the curtains. Dash was no help, sitting at the table excitedly describing, to no one in particular, the 'earthquake' that shook the neighborhood earlier. As he went into detail about how the shaking broke out all the windows of every house on the street he gave Violet a sidelong look, a sly knowing grin plastered on his face. This of course caused Violet to break down crying all over again much to her mother's and father's chagrin.

"Go to your room Dash." Helen said. Her eyes followed her husband as he walked to the front door.

"Awww I wanna see them put her in handcuffs!" whined Dash causing another burst of sobs.

"Now!" The firmness of his mother's command told Dash his fun was over for now. Standing with his hand on the doorknob, Violet's father turned back towards Helen and Violet. A half-hearted smile was all he could muster

"You know, I've created my own fair share of broken concrete and property damage, I can handle this." He turned and opened the door.

"Good afternoon Bob, quite a mess down the street" Agent Dicker nodded his head toward the small army of city repairmen. Without another word he let himself in.

"Rick thank God! We thought the police would..." Agent Dicker waved his hand cutting Helen off.

"They will be here Helen'' he said dryly. "The question is will Violet be here when they arrive?" Helen looked from Agent Dicker to her husband in confusion. "Helen," Dicker continued, "A 50ft fifteen year old smashing up a half-mile of city street, she was seen by God knows how many people...this won't be a courtesy visit by the police." Helen fell back into her chair, staring blankly at some far off point lost in thought. Her husband spoke next.

"You can relocate us? We will go anywhere just tell us what we need to do."

"In time Bob" Agent Dicker said, still looking at Helen. "But right now we need to get Violet out of here, just her."

Helen became animated, once again voicing objections while her husband sat quietly staring at Violet. Through the whole conversation she had not lifted her head but he was sure she was listening.

"You're gonna have to go with Rick, Vi." Her father said in a monotone distant voice. Helen began to cry.

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Violet sat in the back of the car as Agent Dicker drove. Nothing was said. She was able to pack a small bag, her father insisted she take her super-suit. At the time it seemed she was packing it more for his sake than her but she didn't argue. Mr. Dicker said no phones. "If you call each other the game is up, I will arrange communication." She wondered where Mr. Dicker was taking her and when she would see her family again.

"Don't worry you'll see them soon" agent Dicker said almost as if he was a part of her inner conversation.

At that moment the car was violently slung sideways by a collision. Dicker fought to maintain control but suddenly the Violet found herself thrown to the roof of the vehicle as the car flipped upside down. Blackness enveloped Violet as she slipped into unconsciousness.

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Opening her eyes Violet immediately felt claustrophobic. A bright light was only an inch from her face. Blinded, she turned her head to the right and tried looking through one bleary eye. A man in a white coat, a doctor? She wasn't sure. She could hear panicked voices but understood nothing. She couldn't move her limbs, they felt like they were tied down. The best she could do was wiggle her fingers. There! The fingers of her right hand had touched something! Her fingers searched further but with no luck. As all these disparate moments began to coalesce into full consciousness the world began to slow once again. She felt lightheaded, unable to focus on her thoughts before they drifted away to nothing. She didn't care. In fact, nothing sounded wonderful. Violet didn't even complete that thought as she closed her eyes, forgetting all and slipping back into a dreamless void.

"What the hell are you doing doctor!" General Veer barked over the intercom. "She is waking up!" Beyond the operator's station where Dr. Fitzhugh stood, the cavernous hangar was filled with the shifting form of a giant girl. The metal straps that held her in place groaned and screeched; protesting against the giant's immense size and strength. For a brief moment the giant's head turned and her right eye, unfocused as it was, fixed on Dr. Fitzhugh. Up until that moment this had all been an academic exercise for the anesthesiologist, but when that terrifying eye drilled into him, the reality of what was at stake was clear. His actions in the next few seconds would determine the fate of everyone in the hangar and possibly the entire base. Regaining his composure, he quickly did the calculations in his head and typed the required key command. He heard the industrial pumps immediately begin spinning up. He watched Violet's telemetry on the computer screen; a bead of sweat fell onto his keyboard.

"Flow rate increased," the technician manning the pumps screamed over the pandemonium. As if on cue Violet's movements slowed and then stopped, her form fully relaxed. The rise and fall of her breathing the only outward sign of life. To his right, Dr. Fitzhugh could see his assistant Andrews being helped to his feet. He was as white as a sheet and shaking.

"She touched me!" He stammered, "God in Heaven she almost had me!" Andrews began to shake violently as if in shock, he was now useless to this project that much was obvious.

To his left Dr. Fitzhugh could see that General Veers had entered the hangar and was walking directly towards him. The general's eyes told the doctor that an explanation would be demanded. The Doctor preemptively began:

"General, determining the medication rate when giving anesthesia is a tricky business, patient weight is the best metric to use." The doctor swallowed dryly and continued. "Right now our patient weighs a little over 1600 tons, we are in uncharted territory...general, you are asking me to sedate something weighing as much as a WWII destroyer. The margin between our patient being conscious and our patient dying from an overdose is razor thin. In time we will have that margin exactly...in time."

General Veer did not like being talked to this way but Dr. Fitzhugh was the only man keeping "our patient" from just getting up and leaving. Leaving and taking out this entire facility in the process. A fact made all too clear as he watched the gibbering Andrews taken outside. This would be a lot less dangerous if only they could keep her at her normal size but the preeminent Dr. Korlov was insistent. General Veers was not interested in the chemistry of the brain or behaviorism, that is why he had Dr. Korlov. What interested him was what lay in this hangar.

The general turned back toward the now unconscious girl, watching the slow rise and fall of her breathing. "Extraordinary" he whispered, echoing his first thoughts when he saw her a week ago. "Oh what extraordinary things you will do..."

"When we are finished you will not need to control her, she is going to volunteer!" -Dr. Korlov

She had slept for two days after the car crash, that's what the nurses told her anyway. Of the crash she remembered almost nothing; the car flipping, a bright light, and a doctor. Memories of when she first arrived at the ER.  Violet had been taken to the closest hospital; a small regional facility serving a nearby farming community. Mr. Dicker had not survived the crash.  Violet wondered if he had a family of his own and if they would ever find out what happened to him.  The stay at the hospital was so far uneventful; television, nurses checking vitals, etc. Whenever she would ask what was wrong with her both the doctors and nurses would respond with the need for more tests.  

She received a visitor the day after she awoke. He was someone important in the army, fancy uniform and stars on his shoulders.  His name was General Veers and he had worked with and was friends with both Mr. Dicker and her father. He was sad to hear that Mr. Dicker had died but Violet was not to worry! He would pick up where Mr. Dicker had left off and would protect her.  He confided in her that in reality nothing was wrong with her health. They were using the hospital as a sort of 'safe house' until a new plan was formulated. He leaned in, "The car wreck was no accident, we do not know who they are or what they want...stay here, keep to yourself, and you'll be safe."

Staying in her room wasn't an option, the boredom was mind numbing.  The nurses had no problem with her exploring the hospital as long as she kept to the public areas and stayed out of people's way.  Her explorations were far from exciting, even large hospitals have little in the way of interest for a teenager and this place offered none. Her greatest find was a courtyard garden next to the hospital chapel. A couple trees, a single park bench, and it was always deserted.  The garden helped her to forget that she was in a hospital, away from her family, and in danger.

On the fourth evening at the hospital Violet had taken her dinner down to the courtyard.  Sitting on the park bench with the tray in her lap she had just taken the first bite.  "Hey there, do you mind if I sit down?" Taken by surprise, Violet started to choke. "Oh my God!" She heard the voice say and suddenly there was a slap across her back.  "Are you OK?" Violet's eyes were watering, not from choking but from being hit incredibly hard by some stranger.  She looked up, trying make out the outline of the person addressing her.  Not some stranger, some kid! A boy!  He looked her age but, at the moment, his look of concern made him look much older.  

This is how she met James. He was not a patient. His father ran the maintenance department at the hospital so after school he would come and help out with odd jobs.  That evening he was taking his evening break for a quick bite to eat and had seen this girl in the courtyard on HIS bench.  His misplaced act of heroism was the start to an argument between the two, then it settled into a conversation, after two hours it finally became a friendship.  They agreed to meet the next night for dinner in the courtyard.  It was nice to have a friend in a world of strangers.  

Violet was both happy and relieved that she hadn't had a single uncontrolled episode of growth since coming to the hospital.  She had hoped the accident had taken it away altogether.  Late one night while the nurses were down the hall at their station Violet tested her theory. Her heart sank as she felt herself filling out the bed getting larger. She immediately stopped herself and returned to normal size. She cried herself to sleep that night.

During the next week she would meet James in the courtyard for their evening meals. She had warmed up to him and now they talked as if they had known each other their whole lives.  He was easy to talk to and his disarming personality helped her forget how her life was now upside down.  He told her it was just he and his dad; his mother had been killed in a car accident four years ago.  Working unofficially at the hospital with his father kept James from being alone at home where his thoughts inevitably drifted back to his mom.  Telling her all this, James opened himself up to Violet like no one else ever had.  This made her feel all the worse that she kept her powers secret from James. She liked him and for the first time in years she felt normal...she wanted to keep it that way.

Friday evening, over the worst meatloaf dinner the hospital cafeteria had ever made, James leaned in and gave Violet a kiss. It was perfect! She threw her arms around him hugging him tightly, it felt wonderful.  She felt she could start opening up more. The next day in the courtyard, after making sure no one could see, she sat next to James on their bench.  Holding out her hand she produced an iridescent purple orb of light.  James eye's were transfixed, his face awash in its glow. 

"You're a superhero!" He said finally.  

"I don't know about a hero," she said quietly to herself. The orb disappearing instantly.  His eyes were both filled with wonder and Violet thought she saw something else...was it love?  Creating it again, she demonstrated how this orb could form a protective shield and how she could project it at will. The next evening she demonstrated her ability to become invisible. James walked into the seemingly empty courtyard.  A splash of water from the fountain hit him on the cheek. Swinging around he found he was still alone.  From his left something touched his shoulder.  Then, from behind he heard a ghost-like moaning like something from a kid's cartoon.  

"Ok, it's not funny!" He said with a slight tremble in his voice.

"Yeeees it iiiiis!" The voice answered.  Her laughter gave the trick away and James joined in.  Violet couldn't remember the last time she had laughed like that.  

Friday she made up her mind for her final and most personal reveal. The hospital was at a very low census so hopefully only James would see her demonstrate her last and newest power.

After a disappointing chicken fried steak on the bench she turned to James.  "Ok, now please don't be scared I won't hurt you." Violet was more nervous than James had ever seen her.  After that comment he was understandably getting nervous as well.  She asked him to stand next to the fountain while she took ten exaggerated paces away from him.  He was wondering about the theatrics but that thought was immediately cut short as he looked back at her. He knew he was at least four inches taller than Violet, but now he was cocking his head slightly up as he looked at her.  Both confused and searching for a tactful way of inquiry he looked momentarily at his shoes.  Looking back up, he began "Vi how ta..." it was at that moment James realized he was addressing Violet's ankles.  It was also at that moment he fell backwards into the grass completely gob smacked!

"Oh my God," he said at last.  The last syllables were lost as his jaw remained slack.   Violet looked away.

"This was a mistake" her mind told her, "Now he knows what kind of freak you truly are!"  She put her hands over her face to hide the tears and came down onto her left knee crying. Luckily for James he wasn't on his feet yet otherwise the impact would have thrown him down once again.  Finally standing, he faced Violet. 

"No!" James yelled defiantly at the giant before him. Violet peered over her hands, meeting his gaze. "No" he continued, "this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! Your other powers are great, but this!"  For the first time while using her new power Violet smiled. She was feeling acceptance. This was different from the acceptance she got from her mom and dad. Such acceptance came with blood. This was different. The first real acceptance she had felt from another person...a person she cared deeply about, and it came while she was a giant freak! Violet stopped and thought about that last part. 

"Maybe this power doesn't make me a freak at all," she pondered to herself. This made her smile even more.  Looking down she could see her smile mirrored in James's face. 

"You are beautiful," he said, his eyes full of sincerity. At that, Violet reached down holding out both hands, palms up. It took James a moment to realize what Violet wanted him to do but when he did there was no hesitation.  He walked forward between her hands.  She was fast, James didn't think something so big could move so fast.  The moment he walked between her hands she immediately but gently cupped them around his small frame. He felt himself lifted skyward toward her face.  He was in a surprisingly comfortable reclined position. Her palms and fingers gingerly supported him and yielded in deference to his own movements .  He was within arms length of her face.  Her face filled his vision.  Her eyes were focused on him entirely, his whole world were those eyes.  He could see her eyes were wet from crying, a tear trickled down her cheek in front of him.  He was a mere doll in her hands but as that tear ran down before him he simply acted.  Without hesitation he reached up and wiped the tear away.  Violet felt his miniscule hand brush the tear away, this singular act of kindness told her that James still saw her the same way he did minutes before.  To him she wasn't a monster, she was a girl he cared about and that needed him at that moment.  She had never felt so happy and loved.  She never wanted this moment to end.

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"All brain telemetry is nominal." Andrew's replacement called out.  Dr. Fitzhugh stood over the screen, his face bathed in it's green glow watching Violet's vital signs. Her immense form lay in front of him as before.  Now large cables ran from a bank of computers to nodes placed on her temples and just behind her ears.  Dr. Fitzhugh had kept Violet under sedation for three days. He knew that the human body, no matter the size, couldn't remain in this state indefinitely.  Luckily, Dr. Korlov's task was progressing with no rejection from the patient. 

"Progress?" General Veers entered the operator's station.

"Yes general, the program is running flawlessly."  Dr. Korlov spoke as he stepped out from behind the bank of computers. "She has just ended week two of the simulation."

"And?" The general pressed.

"And she is accepting the program as reality, general."  Dr. Korlov continued.  "This simulation was designed to elicit specific emotions that are rewarded. You are familiar with Pavlov's dog?"

"So I will ring a bell and she will crush a column of tanks?" The general quipped sardonically.

"No general, but serotonin and dopamine are powerful tools, the brain craves reward...especially a brain her age. In the simulation she is normal in every way but her unconscious autonomic system is aware of her true size here in this hangar.  As her mind rewards her simulated actions with very real hormones, an autonomic association is being made and the brain will find her larger scale preferable, even normal.  Her conscious mind has already accepted that her power is not inherently bad and this is a big step. Next the simulation will place her in a situation where she may choose to use her power aggressively.  When the simulation is complete she will still be Violet Parr, not some robot.  She will be more..." Dr. Korlov paused, looking for the right words.  "More agreeable to your needs."

"May choose? What if she doesn't?" 

"All of her decisions are ultimately hers, general" Dr. Korlov smiled at this. "And that is the beauty of this process...she has not been coerced nor will she be in any way.  When we are finished you will not need to control her, she will volunteer!"  At that Dr. Korlov beckoned the general to his side.

"Especially if we bring a bit of the simulation out into the real world." At that Dr. Korlov gestured towards the door leading to the hangar annex. The general watched as a young man who couldn't have been more than 16 years old step through the threshold and saluted.  

"General, I'd like you to meet James."

"I can do almost anything in this world of toys made of tissue paper" -Violet Parr

"What did I tell you! Best in the county and definitely better than your 'big city' ice-cream, am I right?"  James wasn't right, Violet had of course had better but this moment was perfect and trivial things like the truth shouldn't get in the way.  They had sat outside at a picnic table next to a diner two blocks from the hospital.  The night air was warm and sweet. Cleaning up they began their slow walk back to the hospital.  She was of course breaking the rules being off hospital grounds.  James had insisted on ice-cream this evening. Violet had learned that James had a bit of a bad-boy streak and she liked it.  

Walking together and holding hands Violet watched as a truck roared by.  In the bed of the truck rode three men. They were older than both Violet and James, perhaps in their mid 20s. "Oh shit!" Violet glanced at James, she had never heard him swear. She was about to ask who they were when, as if on cue, the truck made a screeching turn and was now heading back towards the diner.  "We need to go now," James's voice was calm but Violet knew that he was worried, even scared.  The pickup pulled into the parking lot blocking both the street and sidewalk exit.  The three men climbed from the truck as the driver exited the cab.  All four men began walking towards the teens. 

"Now listen guys," James began. "We are not looking for any problems...we were just walking back to County Memorial," James spoke with an even, deliberate tone, attempting to hide his obvious fear.  The driver spoke next. 

"Nice night for a date?" The other three laughed at what must have passed for their leader's humor. Every small town has its bad apples, in this town the worst of the lot had collected these three and formed a gang.  Mark and his posse would terrorize any and everyone they thought they could muscle.  They were regulars at the county lock-up and it was just a matter of time before they graduated to the state prison three counties over. 

When Mark saw the two kids at the diner he knew he and his crew would have their entertainment for the evening.

"You need to get to the hospital? We can help!"  Mark looked at the others and winked.  One of the men behind James rushed forward shoving him to the ground.  

"Stop!" Violet cried.  Mark turned toward her, locking his eyes onto hers.  He began to walk towards her.  

"Why hang with this loser?" Mark motioned toward James on the ground.  "Come party with us tonight, we all know how to treat a lady!"   The other three men began making catcalls and whistling.  As Mark drew closer, he was suddenly tackled from behind.  James, hearing the comment and knowing exactly what Mark had in mind, had thrown himself at the gang's leader.  Mark recovered first.  As James stood up Mark gave him a quick jab to the abdomen causing him to fall once more. The others moved forward. They began to beat James, he was no longer moving.

"This isn't happening!" Violet whispered to herself. Her mind was being pulled in a thousand directions at once.  She became hysterical, once again pleading for them to stop.  She saw their leader hold up his hand and the beating stopped.  He turned and looked at her again.

"Don't worry sweetie, when we have finished with your boyfriend we will get to you." Shaking her head and sobbing Violet slowly backed away, stopping only when her back met the streetlight in the center of the parking lot.

 Watching this unfold felt like a nightmare.  The leader, his eyes still locked onto hers, smiled. He lifted his foot and brought it down slowly onto James's neck and began to add pressure. James began to squirm as he was being slowly suffocated by the pressing boot.

The gang looked on laughing as Mark slowly stepped down on the boy's neck.  Out of nowhere an impossibly large hand swatted Mark away, throwing him against his truck. The other three men looked at each other in confusion as they watched Mark slowly get to his feet.  Then, as one, Mark and his gang followed the enormous shadow now being cast onto them back to its source.  

Violet still stood against the street light but now its top touched the small of her back. She didn't remember it happening but here she stood, looking down at the toy-sized figures.  She was scared, she was angry, she felt every emotion amplified a thousand-fold. She didn't even think when she hit their leader, she had to stop him from killing James. She could see James's crumpled, tiny form, he wasn't moving.  What should she do? She needs to get him to the hospital! Her mind raced. At that very moment she was snapped back to the world as the truck with those terribly cruel men tore out of the parking lot.  "No!" she screamed, and the storm in her mind went silent.

"Fucking drive! Fuck!" Colton screamed from the bed of the truck. Mark didn't know what was happening. Did they really see that? God it was dark but it was that girl! She was huge! His body felt as if it had been hit by a car. He knew he had broken ribs, maybe he hit his head and he was seeing things.  "Fucking drive" Colton screamed again.  After exiting town Mark had made a series of wild, hairpin turns down unmarked roads.  They were speeding down County Road 17, farmland and woods for miles but all Mark could see was total blackness beyond the pool of his headlights.  The road was dead straight and Mark was pushing his old truck as fast as it would go.  The truck suddenly hit a bump almost tossing everyone out of the truck bed.  Then another bump, worse than the first! Mark knew this road, it was as smooth as a mill pond in June.  Another bump and Mark almost lost control. "God fucking no!" It was Colton in the back again. Mark looked in the rearview mirror and froze.

Violet had no trouble catching up with the truck. In fact she never had to move any faster than an unhurried walk. It was all so surreal.  She was chasing after one of Dash's tiny matchbox cars. No, she knew that this was different. The small figure still unconscious cradled in her blouse's pocket was proof enough. What was she doing? What would she do when she caught them? There was no doubt how this chase would end...a voice in her head told her she was drawing this out, those men had to be punished for what they did to James.  As each step brought her closer to the truck she watched how her footsteps cause the truck to bounce. She remembered the screaming woman on Oak St. back home. That woman was terrified of a giant...terrified of what that giant might do!  She allowed herself a smile thinking of how terrified those men in the truck must be right now.  Her next step was directly behind the truck sending it almost off the road with the impact.  The truck screeched to a halt.  Violet looked down on the scene trying to decide what to do next.  She had been steadily growing during the pursuit and she had allowed it to continue.  She was now truly enormous, bigger than she had ever been.  She imagined how easily the truck and its bug-sized occupants could have fit in the palm of her hand with room to spare. She thought how the truck would crumple like foil if she were to make a fist.  She was beyond powerful.  "I can do almost anything in this world of toys made of tissue paper." She considered the weight of that thought.  She was no villain.  She thought of her parents and what they would think about what she was doing.  But that terrible memory of that cruel man slowly stepping down on James' neck suppressed all other thoughts.  She knew what she would do.

The truck had come to a stop. Mark was shaking. He didn't want to believe what he saw. This was a nightmare he reasoned. Through his rearview mirror he had seen a gargantuan foot crash down on the road right behind them.  It was a canvas tennis shoe, and out of it a leg that stretched up impossibly high beyond his mirror's view.  It was that girl!  Mark felt himself urinating, his fear now total.  His window was down and the air was almost electric.  He could hear the sound of her slow measured breathing, the sound of the fabric of her clothing as it moved, and of course his own heartbeat.  He could also hear his crew in the back, some of them, maybe all of them, were crying or whimpering with fear.  The truck jumped once more as her other shoe came crashing down in the field next to the road.  All he wanted was this all to be over one way or another.  Mark watched as an immense shadow moved over the hood and continued onto the road ahead.  At that moment the air above him cracked with thunder.  It was a voice.

Violet brought her left foot over the truck. "Get out," she ordered.  Her voice rolled out in all directions.  She watched as the men scattered like ants from under her hovering shoe.  "Watch!"  Her command petrified them in place, they turned and obeyed.  She lowered her foot, placing the heel of her shoe on the road while keeping the ball of her foot above the truck.  Seeing she had their attention, she began to lower her foot.  She was amazed but also disappointed at what little effort it took. She simply stepped down.  The truck provided no resistance as if it wasn't even there. The sound of the crunching metal and glass was surprisingly brief and by the time her foot came to rest there was silence. "Leave us alone or else" her god-like voice boomed once more. There was no reply.  The men stood, rooted to the spot, staring up at her in terrified silence.  She turned and started walking back toward town.

"Or else" she pondered. What else would she do? She thought about what she had done already. Wrecked a truck, scared some bullies.  A voice, her voice, began a dialogue in her mind. "They did so much worse to James.  They would have done so much worse to you!"  The voice was right.  She had crushed someone's truck under her shoe as if it were a cockroach.  Crushing a roach was still snuffing out a life; what if she crushed the truck with the men still inside? The voice spoke again, "They were vermin." 

"They were still human beings like me," she answered.  

"Like you?...Is there really anyone like you?" That question hung in Violet's head without an answer.

She felt movement in her blouse pocket, that voice in her head immediately fell silent. Stopping she carefully peeked inside. James was awake! He was sitting up cradled against her body and the blouse's fabric like a hammock, he looked up into violet's face and smiled. The warmth of that smile washed all those questions away. She smiled back.  With that James laid back against the warmth of Violet's chest, rocked to sleep as she walked them back towards town.  She would keep him safe, no one would ever hurt either of them again.  That voice spoke once more, correcting her.

"No one could hurt either of them again."

Violet, still a colossus striding across a miniature landscape, took in the night air. It was warm and sweet.

"You're not just doing it for him...you like being big, powerful, and in control." -Violet Parr

James dropped the newspaper onto Violet's lap

It was the morning after the incident with the truck and James went straight to see Violet afterschool.

"Check out page 3, the Sheriff's Report."  Violet found what James wanted her to see.

"...Mark Nettle: 26, Colton Jefferies: 23, Donovan Rogers: 23, Michael Mcgough: 24, DUI and reckless endangerment. County Rd. 17 3:50am..."

"My dad knows the sheriff's deputy who found them." James leaned in, his voice almost a conspiratorial whisper.  "He told my dad that those guys were picked up walking on the side of the road, their pants soaked with piss.  They practically ran towards the deputy's cruiser begging for help.  Four miles further down the road the deputy found what was left Mark's truck; upside-down, mangled, about 30 feet off the road hanging in a tree."  Violet, sitting cross-legged on her bed, looked down at her left foot.  She remembered the flattened remains of the truck falling off the sole of her shoe as they walked home.  James continued "The deputy had no idea how they had survived such a crash, he told my dad that miracles happen to horrible people all the time.  Mark and his crew were hysterical, convinced a giant monster was after them.  The report claims Mark was drunk and crashed his truck.  The deputy took the gang to the county jail but even after they had time to sober up those guys were still half-crazed screaming about how the monster was going to crush the jail and would kill everyone inside.   The Sheriff will be sending them to the state hospital in Marionville."  "That's where they send the crazy people" James added.

Violet looked up at that last statement, her eyes meeting his.  "They were going to kill you...I just wanted to scare them so they'd leave us alone."  She looked back down at her foot and frowned.  "I'm not a monster..."  The room was silent, James didn't know what to say.  Violet broke the silence.  "Let's go have some fun, away from the hospital.  I don't want to think about last night or those men anymore."  She waited for James's response but he was still quiet.

"Can you swim?"  He spoke and his question caught Violet off guard.  James continued, "there is a quarry a couple miles outside of town."  "It's a great swimming hole, there is even a cliff you can dive from!"  

"I don't have a bathing suit." 

"The boutique on the corner should have something." "Come on! You wanted to have fun, you can't back out now!"  James's enthusiasm was infectious.  

Sneaking out of the hospital was not an issue.  Using her invisibility was more for her own piece of mind; the hospital staff long ago stopped pretending to do tests or even to check up on her.   She was seen but unseen in their eyes, being unnoticed had been her whole life.  15 minutes later they were leaving the boutique, new swimwear in hand.

She enjoyed their walk to the quarry, the afternoon was pleasant and they talked like they did before things became complicated.  It was on this walk that they made their relationship offical: they would now be boyfriend and girlfriend.  She was happy, she thought of walks other love-struck teens may be having in other small towns that very day.  It all felt so normal and she cherished every moment.

Arriving at the quarry they found it deserted.  Violet found a secluded spot and changed.  Coming back out in the open in her new swimwear she saw James, stripped down to his boxers, standing knee deep in the water a few feet from shore.  She stood on the stony beach feeling awkward and self conscious, she could feel her back and shoulders clinch almost involuntarily as he looked at her.

"You look great!"  She smiled at his compliment and felt her shoulders drop as she relaxed.  That voice, her voice, spoke in her mind.  

"You're nothing special to him right now, just another ordinary girl...you know what makes you better than all the others, you know what he likes."  

"I'll be right back, I forgot something." Violet hurriedly excused herself, disappearing into the tree line and leaving James puzzled.  He fell backwards into the water allowing himself to float on his back and closed his eyes in relaxation.  He lay motionless in the water allowing himself to drift, eyes still closed.  He was suddenly swamped by a huge wave completely out of place at this normally placid manmade lake.  He quickly righted himself and shook the water from his face.  The wave that had hit him was now crashing all along the shoreline of the flooded quarry.  Violet had entered in the water.

James was treading water looking up at her. She was standing over him, the 30ft deep water only coming up halfway to her knees.  Once again on his back, James began swimming series of lazy circles around her legs.  He had not been conscious during the truck incident the previous night but the description Violet gave afterward had actually turned him on.  It excited him that his new girlfriend could wield such power.  He was at her mercy being so small in comparison but he knew he had nothing to fear.  Above him her hands were now resting on her hips and her legs apart as if posing as one of the seven wonders of the world.  He watched as her eyes followed him as his circuit took him around her left leg.  A colossus for a girlfriend, he allowed his mind to wonder and fantasize about the possibilities...

Violet's feelings were mixed as she watched James slowly circle her legs.  She could see that he looked at her differently when she was a giantess; his attention was totally on her, he was enthralled.  The voice was right, as a normal sized girl, James was attentive and affectionate but not completely hers as he was now.  She needed him to want her more than anyone else and this; she looked past James to her own enormous reflection on the water's surface, he wants this.

"You're not just doing it for him...you like being big, powerful, and in control."  The voice again spoke truthfully.  Before, her power of invisibility seemed tailored for her because she was a nobody. She went unnoticed at school and at home, nothing she did seemed to matter.  Now everything had changed.  She had watched as her, small, normally inconsequential movements in the water had created crashing waves on the shore.  The metaphor wasn't lost on Violet.  Watching the waves she made a decision.  She wasn't going to be that voiceless, passive, girl who reacted to events anymore.  She was now the verb, she would make things happen and everyone else would have to react to her!

Violet brought her attention back to James, that tiny toy-like figure swimming at her feet.  She thought to herself: "If he wants a giant girlfriend I can be that for him, but he needs to know that he is now my 'little boyfriend' and I came here to have some fun."  Without warning she bent over James, reaching down and scooping both James and the water around him into her cupped hands.  She lifted her tiny boyfriend to her face.  Violet could see her actions had scared him, that made her excited.

"Jacuzzi for one?" She asked with a mischievous smile.  James, recovered from the initial shock, nodded excitedly and reclined against her fingers as if at a spa.  His relaxation was short-lived.  He watched with growing anxiety as Violet brought her mouth down into her cupped hands.  Her mouth was now almost fully submerged and directly on top of him!  He flattened himself against her palm as he felt Violet's soft lips press against his legs.  Violet paused, her eyes, close enough for James to touch, locked onto him.  He searched desperately but the eyes refused to betray her intentions.  A voice in James's head told him what was about to happen but he refused to believe it.  He felt suction beginning to pull at him as Violet began to suck water into her mouth. She was going to drink the water cupped in her hands and him along with it!  A scream was building and about to escape James's throat when suddenly the suction reversed.  Violet started blowing bubbles into the water with her mouth!  The bubbling water quickly overflowed from her hands as she could no longer hold back her laughter.  

"I told you a Jacuzzi for one, you cant have a Jacuzzi without bubbles!  She continued laughing at her little trick.  James wasn't laughing.  She didn't notice.

"I have not invested so much only to discover our new weapon is unable to handle battlefield conditions!" -General Veers

James tore off the VR helmet, his forehead beaded with droplets of cold sweat.  

In the simulation, he had just walked Violet back to the hospital from the quarry and promised to see her tomorrow. He had kissed her goodnight.  His day's work finished, he stood in the Hangar's annex.  VR helmet in hand and surrounded by computers and cabling,  he walked to where Dr. Korlov was sitting, typing on a computer.

"She is changing!" James said trying to hold back his panic.  "This isn't her!  She is kind and gentle, what have you done?"

Dr. Korlov looked over his computer screen at James.

"My dear boy, what did you expect?  The whole purpose of this project is to change her so she could be used as a weapon!"  

James shook his head, "I thought she was going to swallow me!  She doesn't want to be a monster but that's exactly what you are turning her into!"  He slammed the VR helmet onto the doctor's desk.

"James," Dr. Korlov began, smiling warmly.  He had been patient with the boy since the beginning and now was not the time to stop.  "I haven't done anything to Violet.  All we have done is put her in situations and she is making choices.  She is trying to come to terms with what she has become...she is...experimenting."  Dr. Korlov stood up and took James by the shoulder.  "You are the linchpin James!  She could very easily spiral out of control, losing all touch with her humanity.  The general only cares about function; make the tank run, make the gun fire.  We know differently.  If she were to loose her moral center..."  Dr. Korlov glanced at the floor seeing a crawling bug. "If she did that, we might as well get used to being nothing but this." He stepped on the bug to illustrate his point.  "James, she loves you and I know you feel the same way about her."  James blushed at this. "We need you to help Violet to hold on to who she is...who you know she is."  Dr. Korlov smiled and gave James a pat on the back before going back to his computer.

James walked back to his barracks.  One of the perks to his assignment was having a lot of privacy.  He had lied about his age and enlisted being only 16 years old.  Adjusting to army life had not been easy and he jumped at the opportunity presented by this 'special assignment.' 

It had only been a week but his whole world had changed.  In the hangar at the far end of the runway, they were keeping a giant girl unconscious.  He had barely wrapped his head around this fact when he was told she needed a friend!  She was conscious in a simulation and he would interact with her through virtual reality.  Frightened at first, he actually found Violet to be a wonderful and sweet girl.  Under other circumstances he would have liked to have her as his girlfriend.  He looked forward to his VR sessions and spending time with Violet.  Acting was not required, he was simply himself.  Dr. Korlov was right, he did have feelings for her, maybe even loved her.  Being around a giantess had been surprisingly exciting and he did find himself fantasizing about her.  Today was different, he could see that Violet was becoming more self assured but at whose expense?

Today was the last time he would see her through his VR helmet.  He could see from his barrack's window that the base engineering battalion was busily working around Violet's hangar.  She was being readied for transport.  Dr. Korlov had told him that drugs would be administered to trick her body into returning to normal size.  From there, she would be transported by ambulance to the town and hospital the simulation was modeled on not far away.  Tomorrow morning she would wake up for real.  Everything would now be very real.  

He thought back to his terrifying experience in her hands at the quarry and also what Dr. Korlov had said.  They may not see it, but James knew something wasn't right.  It wasn't fair to put so much on his shoulders, he thought.  But he also cared deeply about Violet, she will need him and he would be there for her.

----------------------

Violet awoke and stretched.  She felt like she had been sleeping for days.  One of the nurses had entered her room and, seeing her awake, she began a conversation.

"Congratulations, you're being discharged!"

"What?" It took a moment for her to fully understand what this meant.

"All the paperwork is finished, we are just waiting for your ride."

Violet had so many questions, first on her mind though was James.  How can she leave without saying goodbye!

An hour later and she sat on the edge of the bed silently with her bag next to her.  A knock at the door! It was not James. Instead the general she first met weeks ago entered the room.  

"Hello Violet," General Veers smiled down at her.  "I am here to take you to a safe location.  I want you to know I have spoken to your parents and they miss you and cannot wait to see you."

"My parents." Violet wondered what she would say when she finally saw them again.  "What about James? He's my boyfr..." her voice trailed off to nothing as she looked down to the floor.

"Yes the nurses told me there was a young man," Violet's head shot up, her life hanging on the general's next words.  "Here," he tossed her an old flip phone.  "I am sorry but your family's numbers have been blocked for your safety, there is only one number that phone can call." The general gave her a wink. "The car is waiting downstairs." He left her again by herself.  She opened the phone and looked at the saved contents.  A feeling of relief and joy washed over her. The General was right, just one contact: James.

She rode in the back of the limousine with the general.  "Staff car," he had corrected her.  

"Thank you for the phone Sir." It had not left her hands since it had been given to her.  

"My daughter would have been your age now..." Violet looked up at his words, the general was looking out the window lost in his own thought. He turned and smiled again at her.  "This must be so very hard being away from your loved ones, I want you to know I will do all I can to make it easier.  The men under my command would not believe you if you told them I have a softer side."  He gave her a sly wink.

They arrived at a military base.  It actually wasn't far at all from James's home or the town she had called home for the last few weeks.  "No place safer." General Veers spoke as he passed his credentials to the guard at the entrance.  The guard saluted and the staff car moved forward.  

They came to a stop in front of a complex of low buildings.  A runway stretched away to her left, she could see a series of hangars in the distance.  She moved to exit but General Veers stayed seated. He leaned forward and spoke to her quietly.  "I am aware of your condition.  I am also aware of your extra-curricular activities two nights ago on county road 17."  Violet's eyes widened.  "My dear, it is my job to know these things, a 700ft teen flattening trucks only seven miles from my command..." His smile made Violet feel better. "Violet," he leaned in further. "I am a realist, how can I stop you if you wanted to continue such 'activities.'  I only ask that you stay on base.  The bomb range is 40 square miles and there is nothing you can hurt any more than does the ordinance that is normally expended there." He pointed down the road that ran parallel to the runway.

"Bomb range? Ordinance? Isn't it dangerous?"  She asked as she followed his finger down the road.  

"Very," he said in all seriousness. "No one in their right mind would go there for a holiday.  Unexploded aerial bombs, artillery shells, air-dropped anti-personnel and anti-tank mines to name a few.  But considering what you did to that truck the other night I doubt such firecrackers will bother you much if you happened across one."  He saw the hint of a smile cross her lips.  "Come now, my aide-de-camp will show you to your room...I think you have a phone call to make."

----------------------

The general entered the administration building as Violet was led to her quarters.  Colonel Peters was waiting for him.  "Is the range ready?" General Veers asked the colonel without stopping.  "Yes sir, the monitoring station has been manned and the ordinance is being readied."  Colonel Peters was now walking next to the general. "Sir, I have safety concerns..."  At that, General Veers stopped and turned to the colonel.

"We need to know what she is capable of dealing with...Hannibal brought elephants over the Alps only to discover they were useless; frightened and easily stampeded by Roman trumpets.  I have not invested so much only to discover our new weapon is unable to handle battlefield conditions!"  General Veers turned and continued down the hallway.

----------------------

Violet couldn't wait to call James.  He told her that a General named Veers had called him that night after their swim in the quarry.  He told James that Violet would be discharged and kept safe.  He also told James about the phone.  

They talked for what seemed like hours.  She told him what the general said about 'extra curricular activities' and how she needed to stay on base but she wanted to see James.  "Let's not break the rules or his trust the first night Vi." James was right.  "You should take him up on his offer exploring that bomb range.  We can usually hear them bombing from our house so if I hear any explosions I'll know its you."  

"Ok baby, I love you."  Violet waited for James's response.

"...I love you too."  She heard the click that ended the phone call.

----------------------

Her super suit was supposed to be fireproof, she was glad she brought it if the general's warnings proved correct.  She was walking down the road as the general had directed.  As she passed the far end of the runway she looked to her right at the row of hangars.  They looked abandoned.  Abandoned except for the last one. She could see lights on inside and a number of trucks were parked to its side.  Men were loading crates into the trucks.  It may be something to investigate later but for now she continued toward the bomb range.

The boundary to the bomb range was impossible to miss.  A tall fence with warning signs that stretched off to her left and right with a locked gate crossing the road.  "Locked," she wondered what she would do next.  She suddenly laughed at herself realizing how simple the solution was.  She closed her eyes feeling her body expand.  Opening them, she looked down and saw the fence and barrier at her feet.  She simply stepped over the tiny obstacle and continued into the bomb range.

It was not quite the moonscape she had envisioned.  It was a combination of fields and woods, she actually found it to be beautiful.  She felt free to explore, she uprooted a large Oak like picking a flower.  She held it in her hand and examined it.  A 100ft tall tree and she was holding it like a bouquet of flowers, it was still all very surreal.  Dropping the tree with a crash, she continued her walk.  At her height she could see the lights of James's home town in the distance.  She thought of James.  

An explosion rocked her heel.  The sound caused her heart to skip a beat, her balance momentarily shaken.  Catching her breath and looking down she could see a fresh crater next to her foot.  A mine, large enough to disable a tank, it had startled Violet more than anything.  "Just a firecracker," she told herself and she continued walking.  Being able to use her power here was a relief. Lately, she was feeling more comfortable at her giant size than when she was like everyone else.  When at her normal size, she found herself anticipating when she could grow once more.  Another explosion under the ball of her right foot brought her out of her thoughts and back to the here and now.  That one stung.  "Perhaps I can..." Violet tried forming her force field but nothing appeared.  She hadn't tried it before now and it would seem she couldn't use her other powers as a giant.  Her super-suit seemed proof enough against what she had encountered so far.

----------------------

Lt. Walters watched the giantess through the coincidence rangefinder in a camouflaged observation bunker.  Violet had actually walked right past it on her way to the bomb range without noticing.  "Estimated target height: 800ft.  Range to target: 4km." He reported his observations to Colonel Peters still back in the administration building's operations center..  Colonel Peters gave the order.

"Begin phase 1."

----------------------

Cruising at 48,000 ft, unseen and unheard from the ground, an orbiting fighter-bomber received the go-code.  The pilot rolled the plane over into an attack run. The weaponeer in the rear seat could see his unusual target in his radar scope and pickled off two 500lbs bombs as the plane passed 40,000 ft.  Moments later, Violet's lower legs and feet were suddenly engulfed in flame.  The concussion almost knocked her to the ground.  Straightening back up, she could see two craters straddling her, much larger than the craters the mines had created earlier.  Looking down she marveled at the destruction: trees laid flat and burning, debris still falling around her feet.  She also marveled at her lack of injury in the face of all this destruction.  Lifting her leg she brushed away the soot and continued.

----------------------

"Impact, target at ground zero.  No effect" Lt. Walters reported.  

1000lbs of explosives and no effect, Colonel Peters radioed the range officer again. "Go with phase two."

18 miles from Violet, a battery of 175mm self-propelled guns swung their barrels in her direction.

----------------------

Violet looked around, everyone on the base must have heard those explosions. She waited but heard nor saw any sign of a response.  She turned to continue her walk.  At that moment the area from her left shoulder blade down to the small of her back erupted in detonations.  She winced, two sharp pains shot through her.  The feeling was not unlike that time she was hit by a baseball during gym class.  More explosions around her feet.  She gritted her teeth, "bigger."  She felt herself expanding.  A second volley stuck her, she barely noticed.

----------------------

Lt. Walters knew the range remained the same but the settings on his instrument had been maxed out.  He grabbed a pencil and paper, wetting the pencil tip on his tongue he quickly worked out his calculations.  He radioed Colonel Walters. 

"Range to target: 4km. Estimated target height:..." he tried to swallow but his mouth went dry. He began again: "Estimated target height 2,800ft.  Two salvos: direct hits. No effect."

Colonel Walters felt the General's test had gone far enough. He had the range officer on the radio and was about to tell him to stand down when General Veers walked into the operations room. Seeing what the Colonel was doing, the general tore the radio from the colonel's hand and gave a direct order to the range officer.

"This is General Veers, phase 3."

Less than 400 yards from where Violet stood, a nuclear 'physics package', its yield set to 0.1 kilotons, clicked from safe to arm.

----------------------

James, sitting in his private barracks, had heard the first set of explosions and knew what was happening.  He had not been briefed on the specifics but he was worried about Violet.  The sound of artillery came next.  

"What are they thinking?!" He said out loud to no one.  "If she gets wise to what they are doing she is going to come back here and snuff out this base like an anthill!"  It was quiet for a long moment.  Looking out the window, James saw a distant flash that momentarily lit the sky like midday.  This was followed by a thunderous boom that rattled the barrack's windows and shook the dust from the rafters.  James watched and waited.

----------------------

Lt. Walters had closed the bunker's steel shutters only just in time.  For less than a microsecond, a miniature sun, only a few feet across, briefly sat on the earth's surface. The lieutenant both heard and felt the shockwave a moment later.  He paused, took a deep breath, and opened the shutters.  Looking through his binoculars he could only see a column of dust and smoke rising where the target had stood.  

He had been thoroughly trained in this particular low yield nuclear demolition device: everything within 75 yards of ground zero should be glass, 400 yards beyond that, buildings would be rubble, and everything within a mile should be burning.  He watched incredulously as a shadow within the dust cloud sat up and then got to its feet.  Through his binoculars he could see the girl, half a mile tall, standing and unharmed.  She was brushing herself off and looking around as if she had done nothing more than fallen and was searching the ground for whatever had tripped her.

----------------------

"Lt. Walters reporting."  The connection was full of static due to the bomb's electromagnetic discharge.  "Seismic measurements show 0.1kt nominal yield. No effect on target."  

The general turned to leave the room. 

"Operations this is Lt. Walters." His voice was cracking.  General Veers stopped, looking back at the radio.

"Target is returning to base! Repeat target is returning to base!"  Through the residual static, the whole operations room could hear on Lt. Walters end a rhythmic thumping like the impact of distant artillery.

"Footsteps." Colonel Peters clarified.

"Lt. Walters here," there was no longer any military discipline in his voice. "I can see her."  His voice was being drowned out by the footfalls, now almost deafening on his end of the connection.  "She looks angry, Jesus! She is heading straight for the base! She is..."  the connection with the lieutenant had been lost.

General Veers left the operations room without a word.  He would meet her outside.

"Such a brave little bug," -Violet Parr 

Violet lifted her head. She was on her back. Whatever that last blast was, it was powerful enough to knock her flat on her back.  Her ears were still ringing and she was blinking the spots from her eyes.  She sat up, glancing around.  It was at this moment she realized how truly enormous she had allowed herself to become.  She had thought she was laying on a bed of moss but under closer examination she realized it was a few acres of forest, now flattened.  She stood, wiping dirt and trees from her body.  Smoke and dust still hung in the air.  To her left she could see the crater of that last explosion. Dwarfing all others, it's center was glossy and reflected the starlight like a mirror.  The earth around was blackened and still burning.  As she swallowed she could taste metal.  Violet knew that whatever had knocked her down was not an unexploded bomb.  It was also no accident.

"They are trying to kill you!" That voice, her voice, told her.  "They are afraid of you, they think you are too dangerous to live."  Violet's blood was now up, she was feeling multiple emotions all at once.  

"I did nothing to them," she told the voice in her head.  "They think you're a monster," the voice replied.  "Everything they tried didn't even scratch you...it's time to show them why they should be frightened!"  At that, the voice fell silent.  Violet did not argue, from her vantage point she could see the base. 20 or so miles away. She would be there in a matter of minutes.

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She was still eight miles away.  General Veers stood at the end of the runway, the base was a hive of activity behind him.  Searchlights were warming up and men awoken from their barracks.  General Veers knew all of their preparations were pointless but it kept them busy,  busy enough not to think about what was coming.  To his front was a tree line and beyond that he could see her, a dark silhouette moving closer.  This would be his moment, it was all up to him.

The general was a student of military history, all the best generals were in his opinion.  At this moment he thought of Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox of WWII.  He thought, not of the man when he was a general like himself, instead of Rommel as a lowly captain in WWI.  

Fighting on the Romanian front, Captain Rommel and only two subordinates had been conducting reconnaissance in thick fog.  He found himself surrounded by the enemy and hopelessly outnumbered.  It was at that moment Rommel showed his quality.  He simply demanded the enemy's surrender.  The Romanians, blinded by his bravado and authority, obeyed.  Rommel and two men took the surrender of an entire enemy garrison on simple bluff and bluster!

General Veers knew such a trick would be his only hope.  She may be half a mile tall but she was still only a fifteen year old girl.  Besides, the general had foreseen this eventuality and had planned accordingly.  The possibility that she would not give him a chance to speak was very real.  In such an eventuality he would be the first to die.

He had searchlights positioned to illuminate Violet when she approached. One light he had positioned behind himself so she would be able to see him.  Everyone else was evacuated back toward the other end of the runway.

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Violet stopped, she stood at the edge of the base.  Looking down she saw the shadow of a man stretching towards her.  Following it back to its source, she could see General Veers standing at the end of the runway illuminated by a large spotlight.  Suddenly four other lights were directed at her, lighting up her face and body.  

From her perspective he was no more than an ant.  An ant that sent her into a trap.  She lifted her foot and brought it hovering over General Veers.  Her action caused the men manning the spotlights to momentarily waver.  She thought how her little action must be striking fear in them all.  "In them all," she thought, until she looked around her foot at the general.  

Her foot, easily 100ft from toe to heel, hovered a few hundred feet above his head.  General Veers had steeled himself and had not moved a muscle.  He stood as he was before; hands behind his back at an easy parade rest.  He could see this action had the desired effect.  She paused, her face still filled with wrath.  He could see something else as well: she was waiting, he now held the initiative!

Violet was surprised.  She had expected the little general to flee at the thought of being squashed like the bug he was.  He had remained motionless looking up at her. "Such a brave little bug," she thought.  She kept her foot hovering. She would still crush him, she would crush them all.  Looking closer, she couldn't believe what she saw.  He was gesturing for her to come closer!

The movement was slow and deliberate. He had raised his arm and, with only his index finger, he beckoned Violet to come closer.  His gesture was nonchalant, as if he was attempting to get the attention of a waiter at a restaurant to refill his glass of water.  General Veers was also smiling, he had no idea if she could see this or not but it was all part of his bluff.  For the time being it seemed to be working.  Her foot still raised, Violet's face now showed distinct confusion, replacing the earlier fury.

"Come closer, I'd like to talk to you," the general said in a normal tone, he was not going to shout or use any form of amplification.  Violet would do this completely on his terms for it to work.

Violet couldn't quite be certain from her vantage point, the general's mouth looked like it was moving.  "Was he talking to me?"  The odd nature of the last few moments had caused most of her rage to dissipate, now replaced with curiosity.  She put her foot down,  Violet then knelt and leaned forward as low as she could, her enormous hands now on either side of the ant-sized general.

"What are you saying?" Her voice thundered down onto him.  To the General, it was barely a voice at all and only by its cadence and inflection did he guess its meaning.  He continued his gambit.  He spoke normally and again beckoned with that single finger for her to come closer.

She was still angry, but now other voices in her mind could be heard.  Was she really going to destroy this base? How many people?...a thousand?...ten thousand?  And what about James only a few miles away?  Thinking it out she realized there would be no coming back from that decision.  "What are you saying?" she asked the general.  The moment she spoke, she felt foolish.  It was her that couldn't hear him and it was her that had the power to change that.  She began reducing herself.

General Veers smiled.  The danger was far from over, but he now saw his chance.  Violet sat up, still kneeling.  She was still an awe inspiring 200 feet, "More than enough if this was a trick," she had thought.  She could see him much more clearly and she could hear him as well.

"Violet.  I am so glad you are alright!  You will need medical attention immediately!" General Veers' words were not at all what Violet had expected.  

"You tricked me, you tried to kill me!"  the general could see her getting slightly bigger as her anger rose.

"Things are happening much faster than expected.  This required me to move quickly Violet,  We are all in grave danger and you are the key."  He could see her confusion.  "You alone may be our only hope,  What you experienced out there..."  General Veers gestured back towards the bomb range.  "What you experienced was a test of sorts."  He could see her anger once again dissipating.  "Please Violet, you need to see our base doctors immediately!"

Violet remained guarded.  "Why? I am fine.  Like you told me in your car, 'not much more than firecrackers.'"  Her face broke into a smile.  The general could see that she was proud their weapons had been ineffective.

"Good," he thought to himself, "very good."

"Violet..."  General Veers leaned forward and lowered his voice as he had done earlier with her in his car that day.  She likewise leaned forward to listen.  "After that last explosion, was there a metallic taste in your mouth?"  Violet froze.  All thoughts of vengeance, of being tricked, even of being attacked vanished from her mind.  She held her breath and the general continued to speak.  "You have been exposed to radiation from a nuclear bomb and require immediate medical attention.  I will explain everything I promise.  But as I told you, your safety is paramount.  Please!"  General Veers allowed himself some emotion at the end for added effect.  

Nothing he had told her was false.  The device used during phase 3 was very 'clean' in terms of fallout but Violet's proximity still meant exposure.  Her size at the time of the detonation had saved her from a worse fate, the thickness of her skin and tissues had protected her from the deadly ionizing radiation.  Nevertheless, she had been inside the radioactive dust cloud, she was covered in this dust some of which she had taken into her lungs.

General Veers could see fear in her eyes.  This was good, fear meant she was thinking.  "If she is thinking," the general reasoned, "then she is past simply reacting out of anger."  He still held the initiative.  "Violet, the doctors cannot treat you like this.  I will explain everything, please come with me."  He watched as she reduced down to a frightened 15 year old girl, still kneeling and staring at the ground in shock.  The general walked to her and, looking down with sympathy, held out his hand for her to take.  She looked up at him, fear and shock still on her face. She took his hand.

General Veers had proven his quality.

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Violet sat on the edge of the examination table.  Before entering the building, she had been thoroughly scrubbed to remove any residual fallout.  The crackle of the dosimeter as it touched her suit had provided her with the final proof that General Veers spoke truthfully.  An hour before she had been an invincible god, ready to pour her wrath onto the mortal world.  Now she was simply scared.  She had been given iodine tablets to remove any remaining radioactive particles in her system.  The door opened and the general entered the room.  

"Violet, the doctors tell me you will be fine.  Anyone else would already be dead.  Your 'condition' saved you."  He sat down in the chair across from the examination table.  "I had to test you Violet, heaven knows I didn't want to...but we had to know..."

"Know what?" she asked hesitantly.  

"Know if you could handle being attacked by firepower that would normally devastate an army." General Veers smiled weakly and continued. "The world is not a safe place, your parents know this.  They have spent their lives protecting men and women from those who wish to harm them, to control them.  On a larger scale, countries are not that dissimilar to those citizens your parents protect.  There are those who wish not to harm or control hundreds or even thousands, but millions.  These villains, if we can call them such, create problems too big for heroes like your parents to deal with...but not too big for a hero like you..."

Violet was silent.  She never thought of herself as a hero.  She was a nobody, unseen and unnoticed.  That voice, her voice, spoke to her. "You were a nobody, not anymore."

Violet looked at General Veers.  "What do you need me to do?"

"I was going to kill thousands of men and women, I was going to stamp them out like ants!" -Violet Parr

Violet had already been awake for an hour as she watched the sunrise from her window.  The quarters she was given were a vast improvement over the hospital room that had been her home during the previous weeks.  Her window looked out over the main quad of the base.  To her right, the administration building where General Veers worked stood along with the base hospital.  Straight ahead was a grassy field and then, beyond that, the runway with its hangars stretching into the distance.  

She had been standing at the window looking but seeing nothing.  Violet was deep in thought, going over in her head what General Veers had said last night about her potential.  She still didn't feel like any sort of hero.  If anything, she reasoned, a villain would be more appropriate considering her behavior last night. "Or a fool," she said out loud.

As she stood at the window, her attention turned to a vehicle driving parallel to the runway.  It was traveling the road that led to the bomb range.  "It must be coming back," Violet thought.  This was strange.  General Veers had told her no one in their right mind would go to bomb range considering the danger.  As the vehicle approached she could see it was an ambulance.

Leaving her quarters, she went downstairs to the building's entrance.  Outside she could see that the ambulance had pulled up to the base hospital.  She recognized a few of the orderlies from last night as they stood waiting.  Opening the rear doors of the ambulance, they pulled out a gurney.  On this gurney lay a large black bag.  Violet swallowed nervously, she knew a body bag when she saw one and this one was occupied.  The orderlies were wheeling it into the building.

Violet, her eyes still following the gurney, turned to the military policeman who was on guard duty outside the building housing her quarters.  He was an intimidating man, stocky, and well over six feet tall.  He was aware Violet was standing to his left but he seemed to be ignoring her.  "Sir, who is that? What happened?"

"That would be Lt. Walters ma'am."  The MP kept his eyes forward, remaining at attention as he spoke.  The gurney had now disappeared.

"Was there some sort of accident?" Violet knew answering her questions could not be high on this MP's list of duties but she persisted.  He stood as before but at her second inquiry he turned his head in her direction.  He looked at her with a combination of revulsion and pity.  If Violet had still thought of herself a child, the next words the MP spoke slammed the door on that stage of her life permanently.

-----------------------

"Hello?"  James answered his phone with a yawn.  

"I killed him!" It was Violet on the phone. She was sobbing almost uncontrollably and it took a moment for James to both understand and process what she was saying.

"Vi? What? You killed him? What are you talking about?" James was now fully awake.  

"Last night," her crying was lessening and her voice becoming stronger.  "Last night, it's a long story but I was attacked."

James knew the basics of last night's events.  After the bomb went off the base had gone on full alert.  From his barrack's he had watched Violet approach and then stop just short of the runway.  She had been mind-bogglingly huge. He had no idea just how big but he had to crane his neck out of his window to see her full stature and his barracks was two miles from the runway!  Her face had been filled with fury.  In that face he had seen his worst fears, he had seen imminent death.  He had watched, spellbound, as she lifted her foot with the obvious intention of crushing whatever lay at her feet.  She had then backed off from her aggressive stance and crouched down on her hands and knees, lowering her head to the ground as if to get a closer look at the object she, moments before, was going to obliterate.  Finally, she shrunk away out of James' view.  All this occurring over the span of a few minutes.  He hoped Violet would explain but he knew this was not the time.  Of course as far as Violet knew, James was at home getting ready for school.  "Vi, you said you killed someone?  Was he trying to hurt you?"

"No!" Fresh sobs from Violet erupted.  She began: "He was a lieutenant in the army, he was watching what I was doing on that bomb range and reporting it back to the general."

"I heard explosions last night." James interjected but Violet ignored him.

"There were a lot of bombs, I thought they were attacking me.  I grew bigger to protect myself.  After the last bomb I was so angry!"  She paused.  James stayed silent allowing Violet to collect her thoughts.  "I walked back to the base...I was going to destroy it James!  I was going to wipe it off the face of the earth!"  James tried to interrupt but Violet continued. "I was going to kill thousands of men and women, I was going to stamp them out like ants!"  James swallowed hard at this.

"Vi!" James was able to get her attention.  "You are not a killer! You would never do anything like that! You know this!  You were angry and hurt but you are not a monster!"

"But I killed him James!  As I walked back to base I stepped on the bunker he was in.  I crushed him and I didn't know!"  More crying.  

James wished he could simply run across the base and hold Violet at this moment she needed him most.  He also knew it was out of the question.  He was actually relieved at her breakdown.  She was ripping herself apart over this man's death, if it impacted her to this degree then she is still Violet.  She hasn't lost her humanity yet as Dr. Korlov feared.  

James spoke next. "Vi, it was an accident.  Your power is both awesome and terrible, you can snuff out a life so easily.  You must remain in control Vi!  What was the lieutenant's name?"

"Walters, Joseph Walters...he had a wife and a daughter and..."  Violet broke down again.  

"Vi listen to me!"  James said it as a command. "Remember that name Vi, this can't happen again!  You are Violet Parr, you are not a killer, you are not a monster!"

"I need to see you!" Her voice was pleading.  James knew he walked a fine line; if the general felt he was hindering the project in any way, James would never see Violet again.  He thought quickly.

"Ask the general if I can have a pass to see you.  He gave you your phone so maybe he will let you see me."

"O-ok," Violet's crying had subsided once more.  "I love you James."

"I love you too."  At that moment he knew he meant every word.

Hanging up, James immediately went to see Dr. Korlov.

-----------------------

"I would like to speak to the General please."  Violet sat quietly outside General Veers office.  After waiting ten minutes, the secretary told Violet that General Veers would now see her.

His office was dark.  The walls were made of rich mahogany paneling, almost every inch was covered in weapons of historical significance.  To Violet, the office looked more like a museum than anything else.  At the far end stood the generals desk but he was not there.  Looking to her right, Violet saw the general standing at the only window in the room.  He was watching something outside, his hands behind his back.  The window's blinds created a pattern of light and shadow across his face and body.  It seemed that he had not noticed her, or if he had he was ignoring her.  She walked to the chair positioned in front of his desk and sat down.  The general still kept his attention outside, the silence in the room was deafening.  Violet turned her attention to the General's desk.  Aside from the paperwork there was only one item of note.  A photograph in a frame.  A picture of a young girl, jet black hair and pale skin.  She looked ten or eleven years old.  The girl smiled at Violet from her frame.  General Veers' hand took the frame, startling Violet.  He turned it, looked at it, and smiled.  Violet could see both love and sorrow in his eyes.  General Veers put the frame back on his desk but had it turned so the girl was no longer visible to Violet.

"Good morning Violet, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" 

"I wanted to talk to you about Lt. Walters."  Violet looked down, unable to meet the General's eyes.  General Veers stood back up and walked back to the window.  He gestured for Violet to join him.  Standing at his side, she looked down at the base's quad.  She could see a woman walking to her car, she was carrying a toddler.

"Mrs. Walters," General Veers answered Violets question before she voiced it.  She leaned forward trying to get a better look but the woman's back was to her.  "She has just met with Colonel Peters, her husband's commanding officer.  He has just informed her that her husband has died.  I was watching her enter the building when you came in."

"I want to see her!" Violet pleaded, "I want to tell her I'm sorry!"

"And tell her what? That her husband was unceremoniously squashed under your boot last night?  No Violet, Lt. Walters was one of the best officers I have had the pleasure of leading.  Let's not make his death any more meaningless than it already is."  The general went back to his desk and Violet joined him.

"I killed him!" Violet began "I am not a killer!"  Her words echoed what James had told her not more than an hour ago.

"Violet, you're telling me things I already know.  Have you asked yourself why I stood my ground last night on the runway?  Why I even was out there in mortal danger in the first place?"  Violet shook her head.  "Even as you held your foot above me, ready to end me like that!" He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "I knew you were not a killer."  General Veers leaned back in his chair and picked up the photograph on his desk.  "Yes, you killed him Violet....People die." He touched the face in the photograph as he spoke, momentary lost in his own thoughts.

"Who is she?"  General Veers ignored Violet's question, putting the photograph back on his desk.

"You didn't come here to tell me things I already know my dear.  Please tell me what you really want."  His directness was only tempered by his smile; a father's smile.  She recognized it for what it was.

"I want to see James."  She held her breath.

"Done."  Violet was grinning from ear to ear.  "My secretary will fill out the necessary pass.  After last night I think you need someone to talk to."  He let out a small laugh, "someone to talk to that's not old enough to be your father."  She began to stand when General Veers leaned forward, his voice once again low.  "Before you go Violet, there is one more thing we need to discuss..."

  -----------------------  

"James!" Violet threw her arms around his neck.  He held her tightly by the waist.  "The general practically insisted that you visit me!"

"I have no doubt," James thought to himself.

"I've never been on a real army base before!  It's like I'm a special agent!"  He pantomimed a salute for comedic effect.  Violet laughed, the first laugh since last night.  This is why she needed him.  He could make her laugh even in situations like this.

"I need to see something James, I've been waiting for you...I need you to be with me."  James nodded.  Holding his hand, she led him on the road toward the bomb range.

It took two hours to get to their destination.  Violet thought how she covered the same distance last night in less than eight minutes.  As they walked they both marveled at the enormous footprints pressed deep into the soil.  Boot prints Violet had made last night.  Many were deep enough for them to begin filling with groundwater.  Standing on a hill of churned earth at the toe or one such print, James announced: "I hear by declare this, 'Lake Violet!'"  He acted as if he was about to dive in.  He looked down at Violet, this time she did not laugh.  She was looking for one footprint in particular.

Cresting a hill she found it.  One of her footprints, seemingly no different than the others except for one small detail.  This print had also begun to fill with water but she could still see the crushed remains of a concrete structure at the bottom.  James, seeing the pulverized bunker, stopped making jokes.  Silently Violet climbed down into the print, carefully picking her way through the tumbled dirt and rock.  She stood at the edge of the small pool that had formed at the footprint's lowest level.  The reinforced roof of the bunker was still more or less intact, but under it was nothing but smashed concrete and twisted metal.  She could also see where someone had dug into the rubble.  "That's where they must have found him."  She was speaking more to herself than to James.  He stood beside her, both looking at the depressing pile.  "I didn't even feel it!  I didn't even know!  God I was just walking and I crushed him like he was nothing!"  James stepped in front of her and held her.  She looked over his shoulder, she could not take her eyes off that concrete roof.  

They had seen the first of her colossal footprints an hour ago.  Since then she had been repeating the same thing over and over in her mind:  "Joseph Walters: A soldier, a husband, a father...not an..."

"NOT AN ANT!"  She screamed this at her enormous boot print as if it her culpable in her crime.  James continued to hold her, remaining silent.  He knew this was something she needed to work out herself.  A war was happening inside Violet.  The victor, James knew, held in their hands the fate of everyone, quite literally.  She pulled her head back to look at James.

"I want Lt. Walters' death to mean something, to have a purpose beyond this."  Her eyes went back to the concrete tomb.  "Back at the hospital when I first showed you that I had powers you said I was a 'superhero.'  I still don't think I am a hero but I have the chance to maybe make a difference."  James' eyes widened, his heart sank at what she said next.  

"I'm going on a mission, James."  Her eyes still locked on the crushed bunker.  "Maybe I can make a difference."

 -----------------------  

Author's Note:

This story doesn't have any scenes where Violet is a giantess.  This is more about how she is dealing with death and how that will shape her, for better or worse, in the overall story.  Death is both exciting and terrible...it is not easily dismissed, as anyone who as experienced the loss of someone close knows.  Throughout this story I've wanted Violet to behave as any of us would.  Thanks for reading, Violet is about to get to be the hero...stay tuned

"A hero who can change fate, change the world!" -Violet Parr

Violet sat in the room surround by men she had never seen before.  They were all soldiers and their taciturn faces told her not to enquire further.  If it were not for her rough company, she would think she was back in school.  The room was every bit a classroom with desks in rows facing a low dais on which stood a whiteboard.  Violet found the sight of these stern men crammed into the student desks the stuff of which comedies are made, she dared not allow herself to laugh.  She would remember to tell James when she returned.  

An officer walked into the room.  The men sitting stood, as one, and went to attention.  Violet, slowly stood up as well, looking around completely out of her element.  The soldiers sat as did she, awkwardly, a moment later.

"I am Colonel Peters, this morning I will brief you on your objective.  Secrecy and lightning speed are imperative!"  The Colonel activated a projector and the whiteboard now became a screen of information and images.  

He began: "The Republic of Sabonia is under extreme pressure from it's neighbors to the north.  These nations have formed what is being called the 'Northern Alliance.'  The Northern Alliance has overwhelmed the Sabonian defenses.  For weeks, a genocidal pogrom has been conducted against the Sabonian citizenry.  Intelligence reports more 1.5 million civilian casualties.  Another 6 million have become refugees and have fled to the Sabonian capital."  The Colonel pointed to a map projected on the board.  The map was filled with unit counters, movement arrows, and lines of different colors.  Violet could make no sense of what she saw and only just followed the Colonel's briefing.  Being a fifteen year old kid in a room of professionals kept her silent and any questions to herself.  Colonel Peters continued:

"Intelligence shows the Northern Alliance is massing its armored forces here."  He pointed at a point on the map that meant nothing to Violet.  "They plan on moving on the Sabonian capital with overwhelming force.  If their behavior in the rest of the country is anything to go by, we can assume the slaughter of all the refugees and the razing of the capital to ashes.  It is Northern Alliance's hope that this act of terror will break the Sabonian will to fight further.  The democratically elected government of Slabonia has asked our nation for aid...and we are sending you."  The Colonel was not looking at the soldiers sitting in the room, he was looking straight at Violet.  The rest of the men followed the Colonel's gaze to the awkward teenage girl sitting in the back of the room.

-----------------------

General Veers office was dark, only the desk lamp allowed Violet to find her way inside.  She would be leaving in a matter of hours on her mission and the General had asked to see her first.  She sat down in the chair facing his desk.  The General was waiting, a warm smile greeting Violet.  

"Violet, I am told you attended the briefing with Colonel Peters."  She nodded her head.  "Its not important that you understood the details.  Timetables and logistics are what men like Colonel Peters and myself live for, not exciting but necessary."  General Veers leaned back.  "What is important is that you understand how vital you are in all of this.  These people, half a world away, are being massacred just because of who they are.  I'm sure you can understand how it feels to be seen as different."  The General let that thought sit with Violet for a moment.  

"Time is of the essence, for a conventional response to effectively stop the Northern Alliance, we would need weeks of preparation, the gathering of millions of tons of supplies and the mobilization of at least three divisions, 80,000 men.  In that time the Northern Coalition would capture the Sabonian capital, kill millions, and effectively wipe Sabonia off the map.  We would read about it in the newspaper the next day, we would feel sad for those people we never have and never will meet, and continue on with our day.   Evil will once again win."  General Veers again paused to allow Violet to process what he said.  

"That's what would happen, Violet.  But now we can change that story! Evil will not win this day! Or any any day!  General Veers stood as he said this and slammed his fist on his desk.  He was looking straight into Violet face.  She could tell he wasn't looking at her but instead at something intangible inside Violet that only he could see.  She had never seen him so excited or emotional.  The General, suddenly conscious of his loss of control, composed himself and sat.  He looked over and picked up the picture that sat on his desk, staring at it, loosing himself in thought.  Violet had noticed before how the girl in the picture seemed to cast a spell over the general.

"Who is she General?"  The concern in Violet's voice snapped him back to the moment.  He looked again into Violet's face at something only he could see.

"My daughter, Violet.  Five years ago, a decision I made resulted in the death of many good people, including Josephine."  He stroked the girl's cheek in the picture.  "Being in my position means sending people to their death.  Sometimes I have to choose."  He looked up at Violet and posed a question:  "If you could only save one of them; your mother or father, who would you choose?"  Violet said nothing, pondering the horrible question's implications.  "You don't need to answer Violet, it's just an illustration.  With Josephine, my choice was between doing the right thing or saving her."  Violet had no idea what to say.  The general once again became lost in his daughters photograph.  "I ask myself often if I would make the same choice again or save her."  

Violet watched speechless as tears welled up in General Veers eyes.  He continued. "I know she would want me to make the right choice again, not to be selfish."  At this he locked eyes with Violet.  "I'm having to make that choice right now with you."  Violet was transfixed, held captive by General Veers' tearful eyes. "I can do the right thing, or I can save you, Violet.  I am sending you to Sabonia and people will die...you will kill them, Violet."  Violet began to shake her head, her mind echoing with the name: 'Joseph Walters,' the man she killed.  General Veers could see Violet shaking her head.  "I know, you are not a killer, Violet.  Just listen to what I have to say."  She stopped and smiled at the general weakly.  He continued.

"Destiny has decided that the Sabonian capital will fall, millions will die, and evil will win...I cannot stop destiny, Violet, no more than I can bring my daughter back.  But you!"  Again, General Veers leaned forward. "You have the power to change destiny! To stop the wheel of fate!  You have an unenviable choice to make Violet: to destroy an army, to kill, or allow that army to kill millions more."  General Veers stood and walked around the desk to stand in front of Violet.  "I see her in you, Violet.  She was strong like you.  Her strength has allowed me to live with my choices.  Be strong, Violet, and make the right choice."  His tears were flowing again.  Violet stood up and hugged the General. She cried with him.

-----------------------

Violet was beyond terrified.  Hours before, the strike force, consisting of a dozen soldiers and herself, had been dropped 10 miles from the amassing Northern Alliance army.  The soldiers' mission was to deliver her, 'The Package,' safely to this army.  They were the lance and Violet was the white-hot spear tip that would make the blow.  She now found herself alone and surrounded by Northern Alliance soldiers.  She was invisible, and had moved as stealthily as possible to the heart of the enemy army.  She had seen tanks, hundreds of them, lining the roads and in marshalling yards, their crews busily attending to maintenance.  Soldiers as well, camped in their thousands.  She had seen weapons, ammunition, all the items necessary to make war.  She had reminded herself of what both Colonel Peters and General Veers had said: this army will take the Sabonian capital, this army will kill millions of innocent refugees, this army will erase a country from the world map.  

Violet ducked into between two large crates.  Hidden from view she became visible.  She looked down at herself.  Data collected from the test on the bomb range along with an examination of her old super-suit had allowed army scientists to create a new suit.  It would protect her more comprehensively than her old one, or so she had been told.  Leaving her old suit behind felt like she was leaving part of herself as well.  "In a way, I am," she thought as she hid between the crates. "This is the new Violet!  Someone, no...a hero," she corrected herself. "A hero who can change fate, change the world!"  Violet closed her eyes.  She thought of her parents, her family.  She thought of James back home.  Finally she thought of that smiling picture on the General's desk, the face of a girl who would never grow old.  Violet opened her eyes.  She was no longer terrified, she was ready.

-----------------------

The men of the Northern Alliance were preparing for the last big push.  Every soldier was looking forward to the end of the war.  Dimitri and Victor each had one end of an ammunition crate and were walking it to the storage dump near the camp's center.  As they approached, dump exploded, crates and debris flying in all directions.  Recovering from the initial shock, both men realized that no explosion had actually occurred, no smoke or flame, as if the supply dump had simply been thrown apart.  Its was only a fraction of a second between this realization and a second, much more terrifying revelation.

Violet had grown, almost explosively fast.  The force of her expansion had thrown the pile of crates in which she was hiding in all directions.  She would take no chances, in an instant she stood towering at a height of 2500ft over the Northern Alliance army.  "This is a necessary evil," she had told herself.  "If killing a thousand or even ten thousand routes this army and prevents six million deaths..."  Violets train of thought was immediately interrupted by gunfire.  The time for thinking was over. She got to work.

Pandemonium would best describe the scene unfolding within the army of the Northern Alliance.  Out of nowhere a monster, a giant girl, had appeared and began crushing everything and everyone.  After the initial shock, officers attempted to rally their men to fight back.  Units that did organize and attempted any form of counterattack stood no chance, a single step from the giantess turning entire platoons of men into stains on her boot's sole.  Many soldiers felt it was some sort of divine intervention and refused to fight, instead, fleeing for their lives.  At first, the giantess spared these souls but as the attack continued, no one would find leniency from her.  Men, mentally destroyed by their complete terror, reported that she was laughing...a thunderous sound none who survived would forget.  The Northern Alliance high command had only one hope, their engines already turning over and belching black smoke.

Violet was, if anything, fastidious in her methodical destruction of the Northern Alliance.  At first, she had focused exclusively on the destruction of materiel and supplies.  Only when she saw how organized and determined the soldiers around her feet had become in their attacks did she turn her attention on them.  The act that had caused so much anxiety and mental anguish happened so fast it barely registered to the giantess.  20 or 30 men were in a loose formation firing their rifles at her.  She swung her foot over then and stepped down.  They were gone in that instant.  She felt nothing, her size and the thickness of the boot's sole making the soldier's bodies less that insignificant.  A boot print, measuring 400ft from toe to heel, would be their grave.  After the first two or three squads of soldiers Violet had watched disappear under her boots, all of her reservations were gone.  If the soldiers dropped their weapons and ran she at first spared them, but as she continued methodically stamping out the army of the Northern Alliance she spared no one, everyone would fall under her crushing feet.  

A lifetime ago and at a different scale, this same scene had played out.  Violet had been lounging poolside when she was startled by ants crawling on her feet.  Dash had split a soda next to her, attracting thousands of the insects to her chair.  She had stood up and and began to march in place, stamping out the pests by their hundreds with each footfall.  

From their vantage point eight miles away, the soldiers sent to escort Violet watched the same scene unfold.  Humans, this time were the pests and Violet an angry titan wiping them out as if they were nothing.  The adage that all soldiers are brothers seemed apt.  Soldiers share in the same hardships no matter the side on which they fight.  To see thousands snuffed out like that was horrific and many of Violet's escort could not watch.

There was moments where she found herself playing with this insect army.  Watching as vehicles drove away from her at top speed only for her colossal foot to crash down, blocking their exit.  Turning around, the terrified driver would drive in another direction on to find the giantess's roadblock boot once again in their way.  The game always ended the same, the vehicle becoming scrap metal under her boot's sole. She did laugh, at the time she told herself it would strike even more fear in this Lilliputian army but that voice, her voice forced her to admit the truth.

"You're laughing because you're having fun!"  Violet did not disagree.

Explosions rippled down Violet's thigh and calf.  Turning, she could see dozens of tanks, moving forward and firing their main guns.  A hundred more behind were starting their engines.  "Perhaps these would provide more of a challenge," she thought.  Violet looked down at the miniature vehicles and smiled.

The Northern Alliance armored forces had been the spearhead throughout their offensive.  Although antiques by modern standards, these surplus vehicles had been unstoppable for the Sabonian defense forces.  The Heavy KV tanks, weighing 45 tons each, had punched holes in the the Sabonian Army's front that the Northern Alliance infantry exploited, causing havoc behind the lines.

As formidable as the armor formation was, Violet saw them only as slow moving beetles with a sting.  Bending down, Violet picked up one of the KV tanks between her thumb and forefinger.  Its 45 tons unnoticed by the giantess.  Bringing the tiny armored vehicle to her face, Violet watched as the top hatch opened and the minuscule crew tried to abandon their vehicle in an attempt to escape.  Only when the tank's commander saw the ground 2500 ft below did he realize his error.  Violet's attention was now solely focused on the drama unfolding in her fingers, further shell hits, explosions, and small arms fire against her lower legs she ignored for now.  Violet rolled the tank between her fingers, the steel chassis groaned as it bent under the force of her fingertips.  The tank was now upside down.  A crew member fell out.  He screamed as he fell, Violet lost sight of him as he passed her knees.  Violet wondered how many this particular tank had killed.  How many innocents had been crushed under its tracks.  Three men remained inside as she began applying pressure.  With barely any effort the heavy tank popped between her fingers, fuel and ammunition exploding causing a brief flash in her hand.  Violet looked at her fingertips, now smudged with soot and scrap metal.  She rubbed them together causing a rain of debris on the army, still attacking her, below.  "This had gone on long enough," she thought.  She looked down at the tanks and men amassing around her feet.  Once again she lifted her boot high above these suicidal insects.  Violet got back to the task at hand.

-----------------------

James had little to do while Violet was on her mission.  He had been spending his time with Dr. Korlov, also on 'standby' while Violet was away.  As James entered the now empty hangar annex that now acted as Dr. Korlov's makeshift office, the doctor handed him today's newspaper.  Dr. Korlov face was severe.  "Page two, James...World News."

James opened the paper and found what the doctor wanted him to see.

---"AP reports the complete route of Northern Alliance forces in the ongoing Sabonian conflict.  

The last three weeks of conflict had seen the Northern Alliance's attempt to remove the authoritarian Sabonian regime appear to be inevitable.  The Northern Alliance, a military expeditionary force made up of units from the surrounding democratically elected governments, had received UN approval to conduct an intervention to remove the Sabonian government and oversee democratic elections.  In response, the Sabonian regime began a program of ethnic cleansing to eliminate foreign influence and possible alternatives to their power base.  The refugee crisis created also slowed the Northern Alliance as they provided aid and requested UN assistance.  The Northern Alliance was poised to take the Sabonian capital.  Reports are coming in that the Northern Alliance army is now in total route, remnants fleeing back across the Sabonian frontier.  Casualty estimates by the Northern Alliance claim 7,000 dead and a further 12,000 missing.

UN observers are requesting access to determine the validity of claims that chemical/biological weapons were used or possibly another, as yet unknown, weapon of mass destruction.

Direct UN intervention in the conflict had been vetoed by the security council.  Accusations of corruption have been made.  The Sabonian regime had arranged the sale of mineral rights to a group of international corporate interests shortly before the beginning of the conflict.  Accusations that this deal is the reason for the veto have yet to be answered.

Representatives of the Northern Alliance were unavailable for comment but anonymous sources say the Northern Alliance will contact the UN security council to mediate a ceasefire."---

James closed the newspaper looking back at the doctor.  "It couldn't be...it wasn't!..."

Dr. Korlov put his hand on James' shoulder.  The doctor's eyes told James it was true.

"Apply the appropriate incentive and the desire for truth loses its luster." -General Veers

Violet couldn't sleep.   She tried to convince herself that her sleeplessness was the result of the rough turbulence the plane was experiencing as it flew both her and the soldiers who accompanied her back to base after her first mission.  This was a lie.  She was exhausted but whenever she closed her eyes she found herself back in Sabonia looking down on a landscape of carnage at her feet...carnage she had caused.  Violet sat against the plane's fuselage staring off at some unseen distant point.  She held a teletype message she had received from General Veers upon completing the mission and boarding the plane.  The now crumpled sheet of paper was held, all but forgotten, loosely in her hand.  She had read it over and over, looking for something within the short message that would bring relief from the horror she was experiencing every time her eyes closed.

--- CCom message precedence :PRIORITY: Satcom images show primary mission target has been eliminated.  Primary mission accomplished. Outstanding results.  Congratulations on a job well done. Return to base for debriefing and the next mission assignment. -General Veers. ---

Violet looked to her left towards the plane's rear. The squad of soldiers lay sleeping soundly among their gear.  Before the mission this group of men had been dismissive and gave Violet little attention or notice, they were on a glorified babysitting mission after all.  When she stepped into the clearing of the extraction point at her normal size after she had completed her mission, Violet could see the stark change in the soldier's attitude and demeanor towards her.  Consciously or not, the soldiers now kept their distance from Violet and would look away from her if she glanced in their direction.  The few times she had caught their eyes they seemed filled with a mixture of fear and disbelief.

"Like I'm a monster," Violet muttered to herself.  She wondered if everyone would now treat her like the soldiers were treating her now.  The general had promised her a chance to be a hero...but at what cost.  Violet's thoughts turned to James. "Oh god," her mind raced, "what will he think!"  Up until now, Violet felt she could share everything with James.  How could she share this?  The notion of hiding both her actions on this mission and all the feelings that were rampaging through her mind at this moment threw Violet into an even deeper despair.  It was then she heard that voice, her voice, speak once again.

"You are more than any of them could ever hope to be.  Why hate what you are?"

"I killed thousands," Violet's mind replied.

"You saved millions," the voice fired back. "You did what no one else could do."

"But James..." Violet's mind insisted, "he will never understand."

"James doesn't matter."  That voice, her voice, persisted.  "Compared to you, he is just a speck...he is insignificant...he is nothing but a tiny bu..."  Violet gritted her teeth and shut her eyes hard to quiet the voice.  For now that voice, her voice, fell silent.  Violet was shaken from her thoughts when she felt the transport plane bank hard to the left and straighten out onto a new course.  Standing and steadying herself against the fuselage, Violet went forward to the cockpit.

"New orders ma'am," the pilot responded to Violet's query.  "We are being diverted to a forward airstrip in Narinbi to receive further instructions."  A part of Violet was relieved.  For now, she would not have to face James, his questions, or his judgement.  The other part of her was filled with apprehension as she looked out the cockpit windows towards an uncertain horizon.

----------

Two figures stood on the dirt strip in Narinbi that passed for a runway.  Both watched as a glint of silver high above them slowly descended.  One of the men was dressed in a fine suit and looked completely out of place in the parched desert landscape surrounding both men. The other figure wore the uniform of a general and was very familiar to the descending transport's most important cargo. 

"Veers, how can you be so certain this will work?...The results in Sabonia were beyond our expectation but how long can you keep her in the dark?"

"Motivation, ‘Special Agent' Bernard.  Apply the appropriate incentive and the desire for truth loses its luster."  General Veers' annoyingly enigmatic words were spoken in that fatherly tone that Bernard found to be so arrogantly patronizing.  Bernard was uncomfortable playing a role in General Veers' game but the thought of what would happen to all of them if Violet discovered the truth was enough to convince him to play along.

"And you have this incentive? What could you possibly offer her that would cause 'your weapon' to forgive the intricate web of lies you've woven around her?"  Bernard stood looking at General Veers awaiting a response but the General's attention was now solely on the transport plane as it approached for landing.

----------

The transport sat idling on a dusty tarmac in what was for all intents and purposes the middle of nowhere.  As Violet exited down the ramp at the plane's rear, she was immediately blinded by the glare of the sun as it reflected off the hardpan desert surface that stretched for miles in every direction.  Shielding her eyes, she could make out two figures standing not far away. Violet could also see the small jet these two men must have arrived in sitting at the Runway's far end.  She stood awkwardly, unsure if she was to walk to them or if they would come to her.  Her question was answered as she saw the two men approaching her through the shimmer of the heat haze rising from the ground.  As they got closer, she recognized first the uniform and then the face of General Veers.  Violet had expected his face to be smiling at her or at least in some way congratulatory.  Instead, the general's countenance was one of weariness or even pain.

"Good afternoon, Violet. I hope you are well."  To Violet's ears these pleasantries from General Veers seemed forced and contrived.

"I've...been better."  Violet's voice ended almost in a whisper.  She watched the General's face, still filled with pain, become one of concern towards Violet.  The General looked as if he was going to speak, perhaps try and comfort Violet, but he stopped himself. Instead, the general gestured towards the other man who stood next to him.

"Violet, this is Special Agent Bernard.  He is from Central Intelligence.  He has brought news to me of the gravest sort.  So grave, in fact, that I felt it necessary to divert your plane here and give it to you in person." Veers gave a half hearted gesture pointing out the desolate surroundings.  Special Agent Bernard stared at the General and then back at Violet.  Violet could see from his nervous face that this was very serious.  The General spoke again. "Violet, around 0200 base time an unidentified group or persons entered your family's home. There was no sign of a struggle but your family, Violet...your family is missing."

It was as if time stopped for Violet. She was aware that she was breathing but it seemed the world around her was now a distant and unfocused thing.  As if through water, Violet could hear the General continue to speak. She focused on him, his voice acted as a life line in the stormy sea of her mind. 

"We believe they were taken, if they wished to do your family harm they would have done that at your home.  We are confident that the forces behind this are the same forces that attempted to kill you and Mr. Dicker earlier...the same forces that would have benefited greatly from a Northern Alliance victory in Sabonia...a victory you single handedly prevented."  The General's words were bringing the world back into focus for Violet. She felt like she was starting to piece together what was happening.

"So they took my family as revenge?" Violet asked hesitantly.

"Revenge is too hot a word for these people, Violet.  This is a chess game and they have now put your family on the board." The general watched Violet's face to see if she understood. "They have seen that against a conventional army you are unstoppable.  Faced with such an opponent, this force is hoping your family will be a chink in your armor...a way they can get to you or even control you!"  General Veers paused, he could see the wheels turning in Violet's mind.  Outwardly, the general still displayed a face full of sorrow and grief, but inwardly he was smiling.  Seeing that Violet was deep in thought, Veers glanced at Bernard and nodded.  

Bernard's eyes were wide with disbelief.  He knew the general was ruthless...but to kidnap this girl's family? General Veer's eyes continued to drill into Bernard insistently. Understanding what part the general wished him to play, 'Special Agent' Bernard began the performance of his life.

"Our agency is currently searching for any clues as to your family's whereabouts.  We do have leads, but I cannot give you any firm information as to where they are being held."  Bernard swallowed hard, glanced at the general, and continued, "We are, however, sure who is responsible...they could best be described as a cabal of industrialists, politicians, and even military personnel whose goal is to enrich themselves at the expense of anyone and anything they can exploit.  My agency has only recently discovered that this cabal controls the vast oil reserves of this area."

General Veers interjected, "Violet, their control of oil in Narinbi allows this cabal to practically print their own money.  Crippling this facility would cripple the cabal's primary source of revenue."

Violet furrowed her brow, "how does this help find my family?"

This time, to his own surprise, it was Bernard who spoke. "Removing their sources of money will make the cabal both more easily compromised by our agency along with making the cabal's decision-making more desperate.  Desperation will cause them to make mistakes...mistakes we can and will exploit."  Understanding was now dawning on Violet, understanding of what these two men were about to ask her to do.

"And you want me to 'cripple' this refinery?"  Violet frowned.  "General, could I speak with you privately please?"  General Veers nodded and both he and Violet began walking along the edge of the airstrip.  "General, I can't!  I can't stop thinking about what I did in Sabonia.  I can't sleep, everytime I close my eyes I see them by the thousand as I..."  General Veers held up his hand to stop Violet's stream of consciousness.

"Violet," Veers mustered a slight smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder.  "What you are feeling is universal in my line of work and you are not the first to come to me with these thoughts.  Soldiers are not robots; they are feeling and breathing human beings...just like you.  Pulling a trigger, pushing a button, or signing an order, we all have to deal with our actions and their consequences.  As commander, the actions of my subordinates are ultimately mine.  How many thousands are on my conscience: the enemy, my own men, my daughter."  Veers grip on Violet's shoulder tightened.  "Focus on the good, Violet,  focus on who you have saved.  Otherwise, you will be lost, your family will be lost, we will all be lost."  

Violet looked up at the General's face. He wasn't looking at her but instead staring off at some unseen distant point.  She saw all of her pain being mirrored in his face.  Violet felt a new connection between herself and the general. She also found the strength she would need to do what must be done.

----------

Chem-logistics had built the refinery in order to further exploit the vast oil wealth it was pumping from beneath the sands of the underdeveloped nation of Narinbi.  The corporation had an ‘understanding' with the government of Narinbi; Chem-logistics could extract as much oil as they wanted so long monetary ‘donations' were made to the then leader of the country.  After the first democratic elections in the country, supervised by the UN, the new government was not so friendly to Chem-logistics and did not find the corporation's lavish monetary ‘donations' to the new president to be appropriate.  Within two years, the facility and its surrounding oil fields had been nationalized by the Narinbi central government to act as a source of funds for the modernization of the country.  The vast revenue Chem-logistics' shareholders had expected was, instead, filling the coffers of the progressive and steadfastly democratic government of Narinbi.  Chem-logistics had not taken this loss quietly.  The government was forced to deploy detachments from the army to protect the refinery after numerous attempts of industrial sabotage had occurred.  It was suspected Chem-logistics was behind the attempted sabotage but there was no proof that could hold up in any court.

----------

As the senior operator looked at his pressure readout on the bank of monitors in the central control room, he saw all the needles jump in unison only to immediately fall back to nominal.  He stood up, focusing on the monitor, perplexed by this odd excursion. The excursion happened again, only this time accompanied by a slight ground tremor.  Assuming a failure and possible explosions occurring somewhere in the refinery, the operator's mind raced as he began the complex shutdown procedures.  The next tremor was much more intense and now the operator's radio was screeching and squealing as dozens of the refinery's employees began screaming into their walkie-talkies simultaneously.  Still perplexed, the senior operator looked out the control room window for signs of an explosion.  What he saw, striding above the refinery, caused him to have a heart attack.  Collapsing, the senior operator was dead before his body hit the floor.  

----------

Pandemonium: the capital of hell.  This word best described the scene at the former Chem-logistics refinery.  Violet's long shadow stretched out before her, casting the facility in a false twilight as she approached.  Real explosions began to rock the refinery as her legs began tearing through hundreds of pipes as if they were nothing more than cobwebs.  Fire began to spread and flow like water as fuel poured from damaged storage tanks and immediately caught fire.  Everyone was running for their lives, most only partially aware of the true nature of the disaster unfolding around them.  The men of the refinery finally came to the horrific truth of what was happening when, out of the smoke, a gigantic boot emerged and a dozen of their fellow workmen disappeared under its sole in an instant.  

Violet stood at a height of just over 450ft and weighed just over 29,000 tons, a veritable walking battleship.  She simply strolled up to the lilliputian refining facility as if she happened upon it while out for an afternoon walk.  Her feelings were mixed; it was exhilarating to look down at, from her point of view, a perfectly detailed miniature world of toys.  Seeing the shadows of the scurrying refinery workers reminded her of the lethal reality of the situation.  This gave her a thrill she hadn't expected.  In parallel to these feelings, the horrific memory of how she massacred the soldiers in Sabonia and its aftermath was elbowing its way to her mind's forefront.  Violet pushed that thought away.  

"This is different!" She told herself.  "These people have taken my family and I will do whatever it takes to free them."  Her conscience, in moral desperation, brought forward the thought of James.  This thought caused Violet to pause, for a moment becoming a colossal statue in the midst of the explosions and flames.  It was strange, but at that moment she could not picture James' face no matter how hard she tried.  Unperturbed, Violet took another step.

She found the steel structures of the refinery as delicate as tissue.  Almost any movement on her part caused pipes or tanks to rupture, creating a sea of fire at her feet.  Stepping onto the main road that cut through the center of the refinery, Violet looked down and saw dozens of tiny shadows fleeing before her towards one of the facility's gates.  The distance between her and the gate was several hundred yards, a distance Violet could and would cover in only a few steps.  Another explosion caused her to glance down at her heel. It was then that she noticed a dozen or so red splotches dotting the rubble-filled boot print she had just made with her right foot.  Once again, any revulsion or shame Violet might have felt was overshadowed by her desire to punish these insects for having a hand in her family's abduction.  Violet smirked at the sight of the tiny panicking workmen, scattering like ants as if they had any hope to escape her punishment.  She began to slowly and nonchalantly walk forward, savoring the mayhem each of her effortless steps created.  Each thundering footfall spelled the doom for any unfortunate men who found themselves under her massive boot's shadows.  Violet watched, captivated, as human beings became nothing more than red smears with each step she took.  

Her attention was soon drawn back to the gate in front of her as she watched a military vehicle, a humvee, skid to a halt just outside the fence.  Two toy-like soldiers climbed out, the third manned a machine gun on the humvee's roof.  Twinkling flashes told Violet that she was being fired upon by these insignificant soldiers.  In three steps she was standing directly over these foolhardy combatants.  With her hands on her hips, Violet allowed these soldiers to continue with their impotent attacks as she silently looked down at them.  

"My turn." Violet's voice rumbled out like thunder across the desert.  The three soldiers stopped firing as the shadow of Violet's massive boot hovered above them.  She paused and watched amused as the troopers scrambled back into their humvee and began reversing at speed in an attempt to escape.  Bringing her foot down next to the speeding vehicle, Violet couldn't help but laugh as the impact of her foot caused the driver to lose control and flip the humvee upside down.  Whether these soldiers survived was irrelevant.  A moment later the toe of her boot came crashing down onto the stricken wreck.  Violet twisted her foot back and forth, grinding the attackers and their vehicle into nothing.  Over the next few minutes, Violet hunted down and finished off all the refinery survivors who had fled into the surrounding desert.  The barren terrain made them easy for her to find.  Turning back to the burning refinery, Violet then systematically trampled and crushed every structure so that all that remained in the end was unrecognizable burning rubble.  

----------

As Violet walked back to the airstrip, still a titan striding across the desert, she found the remorse and pain she had felt after her first mission completely absent.  Instead she felt in total control.  In less than an hour Violet had covered the 200 miles back to the dirt airstrip.  She had bypassed the extraction point, stepping directly over her escorting squad of soldiers as if they weren't even there.  Violet no longer cared what they thought of her.  

"Let them think of you as a monster if they wish, they don't matter...none of them matter anymore."  That voice, her voice, spoke as Violet glanced back and saw her escort standing awestruck and still trembling at her passing.  Violet felt no need to silence that voice...after all, it was her voice and it spoke the truth.

"I believe young James has reached the end of his usefulness in our venture..."  -General Veers

"But it's been two days!" James was pacing back and forth in the hangar annex that had become Dr. Korlov's makeshift office.  Dr. Korlov leaned back in his chair and quietly listened as James vented his frustration.  The young man had become a regular sight in the annex since Violet left on her first mission over a week ago.  Both he and Dr. Korlov found they had little to do in her absence.  Two days ago, a transport plane brought Violet back to the base.  James had expected Violet to call him immediately but for two days his cell phone stayed frustratingly silent.  As he paced back and forth, James held the phone in his hand.  Dr. Korlov doubted James had put it down since Violet had returned.  James continued, "I haven't even seen her! Doctor, have you?"

"As a matter of fact I have." Dr. Korlov smiled and leaned further back in his chair, putting his feet up on his desk. "Passed her in the hallway in the hospital wing an hour after she got back."  James stopped his incessant pacing and looked at the doctor impatiently.  "I didn't speak with her James, what would I say: 'Hello my dear, I'm the doctor who conducted your psychological conditioning after you were kidnapped.'...I think not."  Dr. Korlov chuckled to himself and continued, "I will say she seemed different."

"How so?" James was now standing directly across from Dr. Korlov, leaning in with his hands pressed on the doctor's desk.

"It's hard to describe."  Dr. Korlov could see James was getting agitated by his lack of detail.  "She seemed more self-assured.  Do you remember how she used to walk?  Sort of hunched with her arms crossed over her chest as if she was trying to hide herself from view?"  James nodded impatiently at the doctor's description.  "Well James, she walked by me with her shoulders back and head held high with a sort of imperious look on her face...she didn't even glance at me as I passed."  When Dr. Korlov finished, James stayed silent for a moment.

"What do you think it means?"  James finally asked.  If what the newspaper said was true about what happened in Sabonia then he would expect a change, but this?  Since that day Dr. Korlov dropped that newspaper in James' lap, the base had gone into a communications blackout.  No television or newspapers with the internet being shut off as well.  Because of this, James had no idea what else had happened this past week outside the gates of the base including any news of Violet.

"If one of my ordinary patients displayed this behavior, I would be pleased...but Violet is anything but ordinary.  Considering the goal of the conditioning that was performed, I would say she is coming to terms with her...potential."  Dr. Korlov smiled.  He placed his hands behind his head and looked past James to the window that looked into the hangar.  This cavernous space was now dark but it once held a tranquilized titan, a titan Dr. Korlov now considered both his greatest achievement and his most despicable crime.

"Doctor!"  James's shout brought the doctor out of his mental reverie.  "How can you look so proud of yourself?  It's your goddamn fault!"

"Our goddamn fault, James."  Dr. Korlov was no longer smiling.  "Don't forget your role in this...I know you want to 'spill the beans' to her so remember to mention how you spent a week in her head weaving this terrible lie."  James glared at the doctor but said nothing.  Before Dr. Korlov could continue, James stormed out of the hangar annex and walked straight towards Violet's quarters.

----------

Violet stood at her window that overlooked the base's quad.  The cell phone the general had given her, the cell phone that only called James, was in her hand.  She had picked it up more times than she could remember intending to call James but each time she put it away.  Violet had no idea what she would say to him.  She wasn't experiencing the emotional rending pain she had on the flight back from Sabonia.  Instead she actually felt great, but she knew that would frighten and worry James more than if she was still in the throes of despair.  From her second story vantage point she could see a figure walking with obvious purpose along the runway, walking directly in her direction.  As the figure approached closer, Violet let the cellphone drop from her hand.

"What are you doing here?"  Violet had ran outside and practically collided with James. She turned him around, trying to shield him from view and began leading him back towards the runway.  "You aren't supposed to be here! You'll get in trouble I'd they see you!"  Violet glanced back over her shoulder towards the MPs standing guard outside her dormitory.

"I had to talk to you, I had to see you!"  James said hurriedly.  Only now did he realize how exposed they both were to the eyes of the entire base.

"I need to get you out of here, hold on."  James's confusion about the last part of Violet's statement was brief.  James felt her hand grip him under his arm and then suddenly he felt his feet lift from the ground.  By the time he recovered his senses, James found himself clutched in an enormous hand.  He was tucked neatly in Violet's palm with her fingers closed loosely around him.  James felt his stomach lurch as he was swung forward and back in cadence with Violet's stride.

----------  

From his office window, General Veers had watched as James and Violet met outside her dormitory.  He gave no outward reaction as Violet grew to a height of at least 200ft and continued walking down the runway towards the base's bomb range.  As the tremors created by Violet's footsteps faded, he turned to his desk and picked up his phone. 

"Major Auburn please."  A moment later General Veers heard the click as his call was connected.  "Charles, do you recall the conversation we had about the need to tie up the loose ends?...Yes, well I believe young James has reached the end of his usefulness in our venture...Yes I saw her as well, wait until he comes back and is away from her...Inform me when it's finished."  General Veers hung up the phone and turned back to his office window.  He could still see Violet's huge silhouette as she crossed past the tree line into the bomb range.  As she disappeared from sight, the general's attention was drawn to the hangar at the end of the runway.  "It's time to tie up all the loose ends," he said quietly to himself in a low voice.

----------

James recalled when Violet first revealed her new power to him, he remembered how gentle she was picking him up carefully in her massive hands.  That memory stood in stark contrast to his current situation.  Violet was now carrying him more as if he was an inanimate object rather than a living person.  The incessant pendulum swing of her arm that kept time with the earthshaking thumps of her footsteps was intense enough to bring James to the edge of blacking out. At long last, both stopped as he felt Violet pause and then sit down in one last tremendous earth shattering crash.  Daylight spilled over James's body as Violet's fingers lifted from around him.  He stood up and instinctively threw his arms out for balance.  He found himself standing high above the surrounding countryside on the top of Violet's bent knee.  Violet's back reclined against a hillside that formed a steep ravine.  Her right leg was bent so the knee James stood upon was almost level with her face.  The other leg was stretched out with its heel propped up against the ravine's opposing hillside.  James could see how Violet's left foot had effortlessly bulldozed dozens of trees from its path as she had gotten comfortable in her makeshift seat.  Turning back to face Violet, he saw that she had folded her hands across her stomach and was smiling at him and seemingly very pleased with herself. 

"What were you thinking sneaking into the base like that?  Do you know how much trouble you could be in if they had found you?"  James crouched, trying to balance himself further as Violet's scolding voice boomed around him.  

"I had to speak with you, we need to talk about what is really going on around here...and what the general is using you for."  James saw Violet's smile fade as he spoke, as he finished Violet rolled her eyes.  Glaring back down at him, Violet's face was now one of impatience.  

"You don't know anything James!  A lot has changed since the last time you saw me." James could see that much was true.  "Everything I have done was necessary, I was the only one who could do it.  I stopped an invasion, saved an entire country..."  Violet paused, seeing how her forceful words had caused James to crouch further onto his hands and knees.  Regaining his footing, James responded.

"You did what?  Stopped an invasion?  Violet you..."  Violet cut James off mid sentence.

"Yes I did!  Do you not believe me?  I can go into detail if you want about how I faced thousands of soldiers, tanks, everything they could throw at me...and with all that they were still no match for me!"  The color drained from James's face as Violet seemed to be proudly boasting to him about killing countless people.

"No Violet, do you understand what you've done!"  James was having trouble getting a word in.

"I do understand James.  I knew you would be angry, but I won't be ashamed of what I am!  General Veers said..."

"General Veers is lying to you!"  James's outburst silenced Violet.  Her eyes narrowed at James.

"Lying?  What do you mean?  How do you know?"

"I know because I've been lying to you as well.  All of this is one great big lie...a lie whose sole purpose is to control you."  James waited to see what Violet would say.  She remained silent, staring at James coolly.  James looked around nervously at his precarious perch on Violet's knee.  Seeing how uncomfortable he was, Violet sighed and held her hand out, palm up, next to her knee for James to climb onto.  With her diminutive boyfriend standing in the center of her hand, she brought James up to her face.

"What lie?"  Violet asked impatiently.  James then proceeded to tell Violet everything that happened, beginning from the point of the car crash and the death of Mr. Dicker.  For her part, Violet listened silently, showing no visible emotion.  When James described how she had been kept sedated in the hangar at the end of the base's airstrip, Violet's brow furrowed but she said nothing.  James swallowed hard and continued.

"The hospital, my hometown, everything you experienced for that month was a part of a computer simulation designed to condition you to..."  James trailed off to a whisper.

"Condition me to what?"  Violet's tone was icy.

"To use your new power as a weapon...to be willing to kill and destroy without remorse..."  James's voice broke as he was overwhelmed with emotion.  James continued to describe how he had just finished basic training in the army when he was approached for this special assignment.  He told Violet how, as she lay sedated in the hangar at the end of the runway, he had interacted with her conscious mind through a specially scripted simulation via virtual reality.  His assignment was simply to be a companion to which she would grow close.  "Dr. Korlov can explain better than me all the complex brain chemistry that I was the catalyst for.  I've never understood it well myself."  James looked into Violet's face.  She was no longer staring at him but instead looking down into her lap.  He could see she was deeply hurt by everything he was telling her.  James walked to the edge of Violet's hand, almost close enough to touch her face.  James added, "I wasn't supposed to care about you...I wasn't supposed to fall in love."  With those words, Violet blinked and looked back up into James's face.  Her eyes drilled into James, her face now filled with anger.

"But you lied to me!"  The power of her voice caused James to tumble and fall on his back in the center of Violet's hand.  Still on his back, James looked up at Violet's fingers as they arched menacingly over him.  "How can I trust that you aren't still lying right now?   After all, according to you that's all you've ever done!"  Violet's fingers began to close around James as he lay helpless in her hand. 

"Violet! Please!" James screamed in desperation.  Her fingers stopped, but her face was still full of wrath.  James got to his feet and resolutely faced Violet once again.  "You are right, but I'm not the one asking you to hurt people!  General Veers is using you!"

"The general is my friend." Violet said defiantly.  "I'm helping him fight people who are evil...they kidnapped my family!"  Violet now looked down at James with a haughty expression.  "And they will pay for that mistake, I will kill them all like the vermin they are!"

"Wait what? Your family?  Oh God, Violet! Don't you see?  It's all General Veers!  If your family has been taken it is General Veers who is responsible!"  James was now pacing in Violet's palm as if he were once again in Dr. Korlov's office.  

"More lies."  Violet continued in an increasingly arrogant tone.  "Is it that you can't handle the fact that I am no longer the meek and timid girl you once knew?"  Violet smiled again but this time James could see behind that smile she was regarding him as more of a curious insect in her hand rather than her boyfriend.

"I love you Violet!" James shouted defiantly up at the face hovering over him.  "Come with me to the hangar at the end of the runway!  When you see what is inside you'll know I'm telling you the truth!  Dr. Korlov will explain exactly what they have done to you!"  James was breathing heavily, still staring up at Violet.  She had never seen James so angry and frustrated.

"I need some time to think, I need to be alone..."  Violet's voice was now emotionless and flat.  Without looking at James she lowered her hand to the ground next to where she sat.  James stepped off her palm and began walking back in the direction of the base.  Still fuming, he did not look back.

----------

As James walked along the runway, he looked to his left in the direction of that notorious 'unused' hangar.  Sighing, he turned in that direction to vent his frustration to Dr. Korlov.  

"Well I did it, and she wouldn't listen!"  James burst through the hangar annex's door still agitated.

"James..."  Dr. Korlov said in an even and measured tone.  He didn't turn as James entered but instead remained frozen as if he were a statue.

"I told her the truth, all of it!  But she said I was lying!  She told me she wanted to be left alone!"  James persisted, not looking at the doctor.

"James...we have guests..."

At Dr. Korlov's words James stopped and turned, looking in the same direction the doctor had been staring since James had barged in.  Standing across from Dr. Korlov against the opposite wall were three men.  All three were obviously military, but they wore no insignia that would tell James their names or rank.  It was then that James realized all three men were holding their sidearms at their sides.  

"Good afternoon James, so good of you to join us."  The man in the center spoke.  He was older and obviously in charge.  "My name is Major Auburn, an associate of General Veers."  James felt uneasy in Major Auburn's presence.  Glancing at Dr. Korlov, James could see he was not alone in his unease.

"I've never heard of you."  James said wearily, eyeing the pistol Major Auburn held relaxed at his side.  

"General Veers only calls me when he needs...certain problems solved."  Major Auburn smiled as he finished speaking but the ominous atmosphere was now palatable to both James and the doctor.  This time, it was Dr. Korlov who spoke next.

"I understand why you're here, gentlemen...but leave the boy out of this...he is just a lovesick kid...he is harmless."  Dr. Korlov glanced at James.

"Your selflessness is commendable, but the boy is not leaving."  Major Auburn raised his pistol to his waist, pointing it at both James and Dr. Korlov.  The two men flanking Major Auburn followed suit with their pistols.  "Alright gentlemen, move."  Major Auburn gestured with the muzzle of his gun towards the door that led to the main hangar.  Understanding the meaning, both James and Dr. Korlov walked into the hangar with their hands raised.

----------

The hangar was dark, the only light came from the windows set high in the walls.  The computers used during Violet's conditioning remained on standby, their lights flashing on and off endlessly.  There hadn't been any reason to turn the lights on inside the main hangar since the conditioning had finished.  Besides, Dr. Korlov knew the hangar's layout to such a degree he could navigate it blindfolded.

As the two entered the hangar with the three gunmen close behind, Dr. Korlov grabbed James without warning and threw him behind a group of crates stacked to the left.  The doctor then pivoted, and ran to his right bent over almost doubled as he did so.  The hangar erupted in gunfire as Major Auburn and his two henchmen opened fire on the fleeing doctor.  Each of their muzzle flashes lit the gunmen's surroundings for only an instant, each momentary flash created a frozen snapshot separated by a black void of nothingness.  Bullets splashed around Dr. Korlov as he disappeared into the darkness.  James sat huddled amongst the crates, listening.  He could hear footsteps clamoring up the metal ramp and gantry.  

"Gentlemen?"  It was the Major.  He was standing on the platform, his voice echoing through the dark hangar.  "We can do this the easy or the hard way...your choice but you will not be leaving this hangar alive."

James was scared and unsure of what to do next.  He heard a noise to his left and was startled by a figure suddenly crouching next to him.  It was Dr. Korlov.

"Quiet James!  Stay down!"  Dr. Korlov's voice was nothing but a harsh whisper.  "They are up on Violet's bed, from there they can cover all the exits."  In the darkness James could see the doctor smiled mischievously as he continued to whisper.  "But that bed was fitted with electrodes to give a fatal jolt of electric current in case Violet fully awoke during the conditioning and we lost control."  Dr. Korlov could see the shock and anger on James's face in the dim light.  "You can be angry with me if we get out of this alive James.  For now, if we can get to the computer station on the platform we can activate the emergency protocol and give those three a good zap!"  Dr. Korlov chuckled to himself.  If James wasn't on the verge of complete panic he would swear the doctor was actually enjoying himself!  Dr. Korlov leaned in close to James and whispered, "I need you to divert their attention."

"How?"  James whispered back nervously.

"Run!"  Dr. Korlov practically shouted the command as he threw James out into the open.  James looked up to see three silhouettes turn in his direction, James ran as fast as he could to the opposite end of the hangar.  He could hear bullets whizzing past his head.  Through his fear and panic, James was surprised that the bullets sounded just like angry hornets as they whizzed by his ears.  Seeing that the silhouettes of the gunmen were running along the enormous bed and paralleling him.  James doubled back.  He could hear the gunmen's footsteps fading behind him.  He ran up the ramp to the platform.  Reaching the top, James saw Dr. Korlov at the computer station furiously typing in key commands.  

"Is it ready?" James asked breathlessly.

"A moment James, don't distract me." Dr. Korlov replied irritably.

"That will be enough of that Doctor.  Back away from the computer, if you please."  Both James and Dr. Korlov turned simultaneously to their right to see Major Auburn standing no more than 15 feet away with his pistol raised.  The other two gunmen were running up behind the Major and had soon taken up their flanking positions on each side of him.  Raising their hands, both James and the doctor backed away from the computer slowly.  "Nice try doctor, I really didn't think you had it in you.  But now the game is over."  Major Auburn raised his pistol and took steady aim.

At that moment a terrific crash shook the entire hangar!  Everyone inside was temporarily blinded as daylight flooded in from the now collapsing roof overhead.  The sound of tearing and rending metal was deafening.  James looked up and as his eyes adjusted he could just make out an enormous blurry shadow that was slowly coming into focus.  It was Violet!  She was crouched over the hangar, tearing and smashing her way through it's metal roof!  With one hand she was peeling back the last remnants of the roof's metal sheeting as if it were wrapping paper!  Her face was full of fury and truly terrifying to behold.  With her other hand, Violet reached down into the hangar.  In a single frighteningly quick motion she seized one of Major Auburn's henchmen in her left hand.  The man she clutched stood no chance; without pause Violet squeezed her fist tightly, the unfortunate gunmen burst in her grip with a sickeningly loud squelch!  The tightly coiled fist, still dripping with gore from the first gunmen, then rose and fell like a hammer onto the second of Auburn's men.  The tremendous impact knocked everyone in the hangar from their feet, the wall closest to the fist's impact was sprayed with pulverized human remains.  The terrifying fist rose once more, this time over Major Auburn as he lay frozen in terror.

"VIOLET STOP!!"  The command came from James.  He had regained his footing and was running towards the petrified and cowering Major.  James kicked Major Auburn's gun away from reach and looked up at Violet.  Violet stopped, her clenched fist, still dripping with blood, hovered 20 feet above the scene.  

"Why?"  Violet's already thunderous voice was amplified all the more by the hangar's cavernous interior.  She peered over her fist at the Major.  The fury in Violet's face had faded but what had replaced it and was staring down at Major Auburn was no less terrifying.  Violet's expression was a mixture of superiority, disdain, and disgust.  Dr. Korlov recognized that face, it was the face that had imperiously passed him by in the hospital wing without so much as a second glance in his direction.

"He was sent here to kill us, myself and Dr. Korlov."  James shouted up at Violet and gestured towards the doctor who was also stepping into the light.  Dr. Korlov looked up as he adjusted his glasses and nodded.  "The man who sent these killers wanted to silence us because we were going to tell you the truth.  I want this man to tell you who sent him to kill us."  As James finished, Dr. Korlov walked over to Major Auburn and knelt down beside him.  The doctor spoke to Major Auburn in the same businesslike tone that the Major had been addressing James and the doctor in only moments before.

"Major Auburn...it is only my opinion, but I think this nice young lady would love nothing more than to squash you like a worm..."  Dr. Korlov turned away from the major for a moment and looked up over his right shoulder at Violet.  Violet's eyes had narrowed to nothing more than thin slits as she continued to stare at the Major.  Her lips were tightly pursed in a slight frown and she remained silent.  Dr. Korlov turned back to the Major and smiled weakly at him as he continued.  "Tell the young lady who sent you here to kill us and perhaps your fate will be otherwise...Isn't that right Violet?"  Violet's fist, still poised above the scene, was casting both Major Auburn and Dr. Korlov in an ominous shadow.  The doctor once again turned and looked up at Violet.  Violet remained stone faced, her stare still piercing through Major Auburn like a lance.  

Finally she spoke in an emotionless and flat tone, "I will let him go if he tells me who sent him."  The Major was now shaking almost uncontrollably with fear but was able to blurt out his answer.

"It was General Veers!  He called me! Told me to kill James...he called me back and added the doctor to my list!  Veers is behind all of this!  Please!"  

Dr. Korlov, satisfied with the Major's response, stood up and began walking back to where James now stood.  He was about to speak when a blood-curdling scream from behind caused the doctor to spin around.  Violet's hand had opened and descended onto the now screaming Major Auburn.  Dr. Korlov and James watched helplessly as the Major was lifted skyward.  Violet stood to her full height, holding the helpless major up to her face in her open palm.

"You...you said you would let me go!"  Major Auburn's voice cracked into almost a whimper.  Looking down at the pathetic assassin in her palm, Violet continued to regard the Major with emotionless and detached eyes.

"And I will..."  Violet's voice was monotone yet the look in Violet's eyes filled Major Auburn with dread.  That dread became true terror as he felt the hand he was standing on begin to tip over!  Violet was slowly and deliberately twisting her wrist, watching with amusement as the Major began to scramble up her ever steepening palm.  As Violet twisted her hand to almost vertical, Major Auburn could no longer hold on and began sliding uncontrollably down her palm.  Sliding off the edge, there was now nothing between Major Charles Auburn and the concrete tarmac 200ft below.

Both Dr. Korlov and James witnessed what Violet had done, watching her through the open Hangar roof.  Was it murder?  Both men asked themselves that question but neither was willing to voice out loud their answer.  Violet crouched back down, examining the contents of the hangar.  She saw what could only be described as an enormous table or bed.  Next to it, a platform filled with banks of computers.  The bed still held the impression where a giant body once lay, her body.  She looked at James.  Violet's face changed once again, this time back to the kind and gentle one James both recognized and loved.

"You were right James, I am sorry."  

James nodded to her but said nothing.  Dr. Korlov then stepped forward next to James.

"I suggest we leave."  James broke his gaze away from Violet and looked at the doctor, nodding his agreement.

"Violet!" James shouted, "we need to get out of here."  Violet looked over her shoulder in the direction of the main base.  As she turned back and looked down at the two tiny figures in the hangar her expression had changed and was once again that of imperious superiority.  She offered her unbloodied right hand, palm up, to them both but remained silent.

"Doctor, I don't know what's real anymore." -Violet Parr

"No!  Stop!"  Dr. Korlov threw his arm out in front of James, halting him mid step.  Violet had lowered her hand into the hangar.  Her offering appeared to be a silent invitation for the two men to climb on so she could help them escape.  James was about to climb up onto the enormous open palm when Dr. Korlov had stopped him.  

Violet's eyes flicked over to the doctor but she remained motionless and silent.  Dr. Korlov craned his neck to speak with her.  

"Forgive me, my dear.  It's not that I don't think you are up to the task...but when you're a hammer, all problems start looking like nails."  The doctor chuckled nervously.  Violet didn't move or respond, her eyes continuing to drill into Dr. Korlov.  "What I mean to say is: there may be an easier way for us all to get out of here that doesn't involve you rampaging through this base destroying everything and everyone in your path.  Excuse me a moment."  Having excused himself, the doctor walked over to one of the horrific piles of unrecognizable human remains that had once been one Major Auburn's henchmen.  Unperturbed by the gruesomeness of his task, Dr. Korlov began searching through what was left of the man's clothing.  "Aha!"  He stood up triumphantly, holding what appeared to be keys in his hand.  "Those men didn't walk here,  I'm going to hazard a guess that the vehicle they came in is still parked somewhere close by.  We will drive out of here!"

While the doctor searched for the keys, James had kept his eyes focused on Violet.  She remained motionless, only her eyes had moved.  They followed the doctor's movements as if they were a part of some monstrous ambush predator, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike.  

In a frightening quick movement that startled both men, the massive hand that had been resting next to the platform withdrew and disappeared out the open roof.  Violet straightened up and once more looked over her shoulder towards the rest of the base.  

"Fine, but I need to go see General Veers..."  Violet stood up.

"NO!!!"  This time it was James who practically screamed at the looming giant.  "Violet, listen please!"  Violet paused and looked impatiently down at James as he spoke.  "If General Veers has your family, killing him would mean you would never know where he is keeping them.  For all we know, he may have ordered their deaths if he comes to any harm!  We have to think this out carefully Violet!"  Violet remained motionless, staring at the figures of James and the doctor far below.  Without warning, Violet's size began to reduce.  She quickly disappeared from view through the open hagar roof.  A moment later, a normal sized Violet stepped through the hangar door.

Violet walked slowly up onto the platform on which both Dr. Korlov and James stood but her attention was focused solely on the gaping emptiness where the hangar's metal roof once hung.  As she passed the two men, Violet spoke in a distracted and quiet voice.

"There is one of those military jeeps parked outside, It doesn't look like I damaged it."  Violet didn't wait for a response.  She continued walking past them, her eyes still fixed on the damaged roof and the empty sky beyond.  James turned to ask Dr. Korlov about Violet's odd behavior but the doctor had disappeared into his office.  James, instead, followed Violet and stood next to her as she silently stared upwards.  

"Thank you, by the way, for saving our lives."  James said earnestly.  Violet turned her attention away from the gaping hole above and stared at James.  She looked genuinely confused by his comment, finally nodding after a moment but saying nothing.  James was about to ask Violet what was wrong but his attention was drawn back to Dr. Korlov as he emerged from his office.  The doctor was carrying two duffle bags packed to bursting, one hanging from each shoulder.  He was heading for the door where the Humvee was parked outside.

"So, are we just going to drive out of here?  Simple as that?"  James asked incredulously from the platform.

"Simple as that."  Dr. Korlov parroted back.  Seeing the confusion on James's face, the doctor dropped the bags and faced him.

 "James, I seriously doubt anyone heard those gunshots out here at the edge of the base.  It is also highly doubtful that General Veers involved anyone else besides the late Major Auburn in the attempt on our lives.  That means no one will be looking for us."  Dr. Korlov took off his glasses and used the corner of his lab coat to clean them as he continued.  "And Violet, if I'm not mistaken, can still become invisible when at normal size so no one will know she is with us."  Dr. Korlov put his glasses back on and smiled cheerfully at James.  "So, yes, we are going to simply drive out of here."

As the doctor picked up the bags and began moving towards the door, James could see Violet was still quietly engrossed in the wreckage strewn throughout the hangar.  He wasn't sure if she had heard any of what Dr. Korlov had just said.  James watched her strange behavior, finding it both captivating and deeply concerning.  At the moment, she was silently examining one of the fallen pieces of the metal roof.  Her hand sliding over its twisted and mangled surface as she circled the wreckage.

 "James?  Do you mind helping me with these bags?"  The doctor's question snapped James back to reality and he followed Dr. Korlov outside.  James had just finished throwing the duffle bags through the rear hatch of the humvee when Dr. Korlov got his attention, motioning for James to follow him to the other side of the vehicle.  

"James, you must listen to me...You must be very careful around Violet."  James began to object but the doctor cut him off.  "I know you care deeply for her but at the moment she is..."  The doctor searched momentarily for the right words, "Violet is not stable; she lives in two worlds.  One world, the real world, is where she has lived her entire life up until now.  The real world is where she has meaningful relationships yet she feels inadequate and at the mercy of everyone around her.  The other world she inhabits is a world where everything and everyone around her is reduced to the size of toys or insects.  In that world she is practically a god, but she is completely alone." James swallowed dryly as Dr. Korlov spoke, he had not considered what might be going on inside Violet's head until now.  

The doctor continued, "Moving back and forth between these 'worlds' is creating a great amount of psychological dissonance and confusion within her.  Add to this the fact that she has just learned that EVERYONE around her has been lying to her.  One lie is easy to forgive but we have been using hundreds of small lies like brick and mortar to construct one massive wall of untruth and unreality around Violet." Dr. Korlov put his hand on James's arm for emphasis.  "Right now, Violet is dangerous...I have no proof, but every instinct I have told me not to climb onto her hand back there in the hangar.  If we had James...I believe our fates, while possibly not exactly like that of Major Auburn's, would have still been terminal."

 "I wouldn't have killed you."  Violet's soft voice startled both James and Dr. Korlov.  They both spun around, seeing that Violet was standing behind them.  

 "Ah, Violet, is there something we can help you with?"  Dr. Korlov asked in a nervous attempt to deflect the conversation in another direction. 

 "No, I'm fine, thank you.  And you don't have to try and hide it...I know you were talking about me, I listened to a great deal of what was said."  As Violet continued to speak in a quiet, almost sing-song tone, both James and the doctor glanced nervously at each other.  "I didn't take offense to anything you said, doctor.  If I had, you wouldn't be alive right now."  Violet's frighteningly matter-of-fact statement caused James's jaw to drop.  

"When we have time, doctor, I would like to speak with you more about what you think is happening to me."  After the brief conversation, Violet once more disengaged back into her odd behavior.  Both men watched her walk further out onto the tarmac, pausing and examining an enormous footprint pressed into the pulverized concrete, her footprint.

-----------

The sun was setting and Sergeant Styer had just come on duty at the main gate.  It wasn't glamorous duty but it gave him a lot of time to himself which he valued more than anything.  He had just leaned back in his chair, the only piece of furniture in the cramped guard's booth, and found his place in the book he was reading when he saw headlights speeding from the base in his direction.  Moments later, a humvee screeched to a halt by Sergeant Styer's booth.

"Hey now!"  Styer stepped around to the driver's side of the humvee.  He used his "policeman" voice to emphasize his authority, "Where are you going?  And what's your hurry?"  Peering into the Vehicle, Styer saw an older man wearing a lab coat behind the steering wheel.  In the back of the humvee, the he could just make out a figure laying on his back and writhing in pain.  "What's going on here?" Styer had other questions but the driver of the humvee cut him off.

"Jesus man!  What are you doing?  You must let me through!  The soldier I'm transporting has the worst case of acute abdominal dyspepsia I've ever seen!  The base hospital isn't equipped for anything as serious as this!  The med-flight chopper is grounded and this man is in critical condition!  I'm personally taking him to the hospital in town...For god's sake! Time is of the essence!"  

Sergeant Styer almost tripped over his own feet as he hurried back to his booth.  He reached through the booth's door and hit the release switch, allowing the gate to raise.  The vehicle immediately pulled away and sped down the road, leaving a cloud of dust and a thoroughly confused Sergeant Styer.

----------

Violet had been sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle, invisible, during the doctor's encounter with the Sergeant at the gate.  After they were out of sight, James stopped his charade in the back and Violet became visible once more.

 "What did you say I had, doctor?  It sounded serious." James asked curiously he sat up and positioned himself in one of the rear seats.

 "A stomachache."  Dr. Korlov looked at James through the rearview mirror and winked as he chuckled to himself, " excellent job, by the way...very believable!"  Both the doctor and James then glanced over at Violet.  She was quietly staring out the window, once again seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

----------

After two hours of driving, the party finally stopped for the night.  Dr. Korlov turned the humvee down what looked like an old logging road and followed it for some time until they felt far enough from the main road to be safe.  The duffle bags the doctor had insisted on bringing contained, among other things, blankets and rations.  The doctor had been pilfering items from the base's quartermaster since he had arrived.

The three sat eating these stolen rations around a small campfire.  An awkward silence hung over them as thick as fog.  Both the doctor and James were startled when Violet finally broke the silence.

 "Doctor, James told me you were some sort of psychiatrist?"

 "Behavioral psychologist," Dr. Korlov gently corrected, "specializing in the neurochemistry of the brain."

"Oh, I see."  Violet paused for a moment, her gaze fixed into the fire.  "Doctor, I don't know what's real anymore."  James stopped eating and stared at Dr. Korlov.  Dr. Korlov continued to eat, listening to Violet patiently.  His eyes glanced over and met James's for a brief moment before returning their attention to Violet.  That brief look told James not to interrupt.  Violet continued, "one moment, I'm kneeling next to a hangar the size of a doll's house and looking down inside it at tiny versions of you, James, those men who wanted to kill you.  Then, I find myself inside the dollhouse hangar.  The metal I tore as easy as paper...I couldn't even shift it let alone bend it."  Violet's voice was soft and almost childlike as she spoke.  

"You know, people are surprisingly fragile.  It doesn't take much to kill them."  Violet's emotionless observation caused Dr. Korlov to stop eating.  As Violet continued to speak, the doctor listened but his eyes were grave and now firmly fixed on James.  "I keep telling myself I am a hero fighting against evil, but none of it has been a fight.  I've just been killing people."  Violet's eyes were still fixed onto the flames of the campfire, her face glowing a dull red in its light.  "In the hangar I found the remains of one of the men I had killed.  I had effortlessly crushed him in my hand and dropped what was left when I picked up that Major.  When I killed that man, he was small and inconsequential...but when I am small, standing inside that dollhouse hangar and looking at what fell from my hand, I was frightened."  Violet stopped and looked up at Dr. Korlov.  His eyes immediately left James's and met hers.  "What is wrong with me, doctor?"  

Dr. Korlov put the mess plate down on the ground and turned to fully face Violet.

 "Violet, you are an amazingly resilient young woman!  You have been placed in an impossible situation by those who only see you as a means to an end.  You have been manipulated and lied to every step of the way by people you thought you could both trust and love.  Anyone else would have gone mad in your situation."  James was uncomfortable with the doctor's choice of words, but remained silent.  "I, for my part, am the reason you feel so torn and divided.  I engineered what is tormenting you."  Dr. Korlov took off his glasses and cleaned them on his pant leg as he continued.  

"General Veers and the men he works for desired to use you as a weapon but even they knew that you wouldn't simply agree to use your new power to kill and destroy countless lives.  Even if you had agreed, the psychological toll would have broken you before they could have used you to your fullest potential.  That's where I come into the picture."  Dr. Korlov put his glasses back on and once again locked eyes with Violet.  

"My field of expertise is how the different chemicals that course through our brains both effect and shape our behavior."  The doctor turned to James.  "James, an old woman needs help crossing a busy street and you choose to help her...why?"  James was surprised at the question but recovered quickly and answered. 

 "Because it's the right thing to do, the good thing." 

 "Wrong!"  Dr. Korlov's sharp reply startled James.  Violet said nothing, silently listening.  "You did it because your brain has been trained that it will receive a reward!  As a child, you received praise and affection for doing the right thing, the good thing.  That praise and affection caused the release of dopamine and other neurotransmitters in your brain which gave you a rush!...you felt great!...on top of the world!"  Dr. Korlov kept eye contact with Violet as he spoke.  "Our brains crave this rush, this high, and will do anything for it.  Brains are worse than any heroin user you may find on the street.  And like a drug addict, your brain doesn't care about the 'wheres' or the 'hows' of where that high comes from...The high is all that matters."  The doctor paused and smiled sorrowfully at Violet.  

"In the example I asked James; doing the right thing, the good thing, coincided with his brain receiving its drug.  In your case Violet...I conditioned your brain to get its drug, it's high, when you both grew and used that power aggressively."  Dr. Korlov frowned.  "I have created in you an individual who can do the most horrendous acts of extermination and destruction yet can sleep soundly each night, unhindered by the remorse and the need for penance or mental self-punishment mere mortals like James and myself would require."  It was now Dr. Korlov who was staring into the campfire's dancing flames.  "I can make saints into sinners and sinners into saints...come one, come all, come and see the amazing Dr. Korlov..."  

"Doctor?" James broke the following silence with a question.  "Can it be reversed? Can you fix it?"  Violet turned and looked at James for the first time since the conversation began.

 "This sort of conditioning is self-reinforcing; as you continued to help old ladies cross busy streets you soon no longer needed the praise and affection of your parents to stimulate the release of dopamine, your brain had made the connection.  The more you did it, the more it became simply a part of who you are."  Dr. Korlov retrieved his plate from the ground but ate no more, his appetite gone.  "With Violet, the more she grows, the longer she stays enlarged, and the more people she kills will only further reinforce what I set into motion...like the spark that became this campfire."  Turning to Violet, Dr. Korlov took her hand gently and held it in his.  "I am truly sorry for what I have done to you my dear.  I was blinded by my need to demonstrate my mastery over the human brain.  Only later did I realize that I have possibly destroyed you in the process."  

Violet looked at the old man holding her hand.  He was crying.  Once again she found herself perplexed by the emotions those around her were displaying.  Once again she simply nodded, not knowing what else to do.

 "Possibly?"  Violet spoke for the first time in what felt like hours.  The question caught both James and Dr. Korlov off guard.  "You said you may have possibly destroyed me."  

 Dr. Korlov took off his glasses and wiped his face before answering.  "In the end, Violet, it is really all up to you.  You can choose not to act on what is becoming more and more natural.  I told General Veers the same thing as you lay tranquilized in that hangar...In the end we cannot coerce you to do anything...In the end, it's only your choices that truly matter."  Dr. Korlov placed his glasses back onto his face.  "I brought with me some neuroinhibitors, drugs that can dull the high you feel when you are using your power.  If you choose to take them, these drugs may make it easier for you to resist the violent urges you feel in your enlarged form."  The doctor took Violet's hand again.  This time he reached across to James and put her hand in his.  "That and this!"  He held their two hands together.  "Human contact, Violet.  Right now, you feel small; out of place in a miniscule world of doll houses, but this IS the real world Violet!  Here you can find joy, love, and acceptance.  In that other world, that world where you are looking down on doll houses and tiny versions of people, you may feel like a god...but you are utterly alone."  Dr. Korlov finally released his grip.  James held Violet's hand tightly and, to his surprise, Violet did not pull away but instead held his hand just as hard.

 ----------

General Veers sat comfortably at a small desk in his private jet.  After sending Major Auburn on his mission, the General had left the base.  He assumed James had already told Violet the truth and did not want to be present if she decided to turn her now blossoming potential on him.  He also needed time to think.  Not all was lost, he had foreseen this potentiality and his mind was already planning steps that could both salvage the situation and put this program back on track.

News had reached him that the project's hangar had been all but destroyed by Violet.  Three bodies were discovered, two unidentifiable but the third was that of Major Auburn.  General Veers was disappointed that he had lost such a useful tool in Major Auburn but his greatest concern was that Dr. Korlov was assumed to be with both Violet and James.  The boy was inconsequential, but the doctor had made Violet and General Veers had no idea if the preeminent doctor could 'unmake' her as well.

The General had ordered the deployment of helicopters to fan out and search the area for the fugitives.  He knew better than to think these flimsy machines could take on Violet but if they could make James and Dr. Korlov casualties, he knew he could get Violet back and set things right.  

Aside from the few documents scattered on his small desk, the General had only one item of note.  General Veers picked it up and leaned back in his chair.  Forgetting the dire situation currently unfolding for a moment, the he once again lost himself in his daughter's photograph.

----------

The next morning was cold.  The three had slept close to the campfire and, as the sun rose, James was the first to get up.  Not much was said after the conversation last night, but Violet had continued to hold James's hand throughout the rest of that evening until they finally laid down to sleep.  Standing, James could hear the doctor snoring loudly.  Walking over to where Violet slept, James's heart sank.  The blankets were empty.  James immediately began looking around for any sign of where Violet could have gone.  He was relieved when he caught a glimpse of her jet black hair through the trees.  This relief was tempered as he realized the hair stretched from the treetops to the forest floor!

 "Vi?"  James had approached Violet cautiously.  Even after last night, he had not forgotten what the doctor had told him.  She was sitting on the edge of a cliff.  The forest's treetops almost touched the small of her back while her dangling feet hung over the cliff's edge, just about touching the ground 100ft below.  Violet didn't respond to James's voice.  She was looking out at what was a breathtaking view of the valley.  This valley was covered in forest and surrounded by rolling hills.  Nestled within the valley was a small lake, it's placid surface was like a mirror in the morning stillness.  Violet was simply sitting quietly, staring out to the horizon, her hands folded neatly in her lap.

"Helicopters."  Violet finally spoke.  Her observation was neither positive nor negative.  Following Violet's gaze, James saw not just helicopters, he saw military attack helicopters.  They were headed in their direction.

"Violet! They are coming for us!  We have to get out of here!"  James was trying not to panic.  Violet kept her eyes on the approaching aircraft.

"I don't need to go anywhere."  Violet said matter-of-factly, finally looking down at James.  "They can't hurt me."

"But they can hurt me and the doctor! I've got to get back to the camp, warn him, and find cover!"  Violet was expressionless as she continued looking at James.  When she finally spoke, Violet's voice was both commanding and strong.

"Get the doctor and go over that hill."  Violet pointed to the hill behind her that overlooked their camp.  "Only that way!  Don't go anywhere else!  Do you understand?"  It was the first time James had heard Violet give such a direct order.  Her imperious tone told him not to object.  It was James's turn to simply nod his head in agreement.  Violet's attention turned back to the approaching helicopters, the staccato beat of their blades was getting louder.  

James began running back to camp.  He was perhaps 100 feet away from the smoldering campfire when a shadow, cast from behind, enveloped him and the surrounding forest.  Glancing over his shoulder, James was overwhelmed.

----------

Lieutenant-Colonel Albert 'Al' Phillips was the commander of the squadron of Helicopter gunships tasked with finding the fugitives who had escaped from the base the previous day.  A qualified pilot, he had flown his helicopter ahead of the rest of the group to act as a scout.  He wasn't just responsible for his crew of three, but also the other 36 men aboard the squadron's nine other gunships.  

He considered the briefing he received for this mission to be the strangest in his career.  Three fugitives in a stolen Humvee.  The dossier containing information on the female fugitive was both sobering and unsettling.  The file contained the results of General Veers' weapons test against the female along with a detailed description of her 'special ability.'  While briefing his own men, Phillips told them that under no circumstances should they attempt to engage the female except at extreme range, and then only as a feint while the other gunships searched for the real target: the renegade scientist and his assistant.

The giant girl was sitting on the edge of a cliff, about 14 miles away.  Lieutenant-colonel Phillips radioed in his position, hanging back until his entire squadron had assembled.  They would fly low, using the hilly terrain to hide their approach.  Upon contact, Phillips and five other gunships would harass the female target and attempt to draw her away while the remaining four of the squadron's helicopters would swing wide and search for the humvee and the two primary targets.  Each gunship was armed with two forward firing 70mm rocket pods and two door-mounted miniguns.  This, Lieutenant-colonel knew, was more than enough firepower for the primary targets but barely a nuisance to the most dangerous foe his squadron would face this day.

"Tally, Tally, target at two niner zero.  Flight one, break and proceed with the objective, the rest of you follow me."  Lieutenant-Colonel Phillips cut off his mic and turned to his copilot.  "Let's get her attention."

----------

"Doctor! Get up we have to move, NOW!" James rushed into the campsite ripping the blanket off the still sleeping Dr. Korlov.  The doctor sat up looking both groggy and confused.  "Veers has sent helicopters, gunships.  You don't send that sort of firepower to take us back alive!"  The doctor was nodding his understanding as he slowly stood up.  "Violet is going to take care of them."  At those words, Dr. Korlov stopped and stared at James.  James said nothing.  Instead he simply pointed back in the direction he had come.  The doctor finally turned around and almost fell backwards over his crumpled blankets, still at his feet.  Violet was now towering over the forested valley and surrounding hills.  The ground shook violently as they both watched Violet begin to walk in the direction of the helicopters.

"God in heaven!"  Dr. Korlov whispered, standing frozen in place.

"Doctor! We have to go!"  James grabbed Dr. Korlov's arm and began pulling him.  "Violet said for us to go over this hill and to the other side but nowhere else."  James indicated the hill in front of them both.  "I think she was thinking of our safety; I guess she can't watch out for us underfoot while dealing with those helicopters!"

"Very considerate of her," Dr. Korlov said sardonically as he breathlessly followed James up the steep incline.

----------

"Holy Shit!"  Lieutenant-colonel Phillips immediately pulled on the gunship's cyclic control, his gunship breaking right.  The five other choppers accompanying him followed suit.  The female was 8000 meters distant and just within maximum weapons range.  In less than a second, she had increased in size drastically.  Phillips had estimated her height at over 200ft when he had first spotted her and when the squadron commenced it's attack.  He now had to duck his head low to see the girl's upper body through the gunship's forward windscreen.  The indicated altitude on the helicopter's altimeter read 500ft, Phillips estimated she now stood 1500ft above the tree covered valley.

----------

 The climb wasn't easy, even for James.  Their journey was made all the more difficult by the shifting ground as the hillside trembled with each of Violet's movements.  

"Best if you don't look back James."  The doctor said as he passed him.  The young man had paused to watch the titanic battle taking place in the valley below.  From his elevation on the wooded hillside, James could see the entire valley yet he still had to look up in order to see just Violet's knees.  Her upper body was obscured by the dense foliage of the violently swaying forest canopy.  "Don't forget God's warning to Lot, James."

"His what?"  James's attention was torn between the doctor and Violet.  Dr. Korlov stopped and steadied himself against a tree as the ground rose and fell again.

"God was going to destroy the wicked city of Sodom but a good man, named Lot, lived there so God allowed him to leave."  Another violent jolt caused a tree further down the hill to topple over and roll down the hillside.  The doctor continued; "God had warned Lot not to look back at the city, no matter what he heard, as it was destroyed."  James looked at Dr. Korlov, not understanding why he was receiving a bible lesson as the world came down around them both.  "I'm no theologian, James, but I think God had the right idea when he gave Lot that warning."

"The right idea?  What do you mean?"  James asked, struggling with his footing as the ground continued to shift under his feet.

"I think God knew that Lot would see him only as an evil monster if Lot witnessed what the divine was truly capable of...how can you love a god that you witnessed exterminate helpless people without mercy?"  As the world seemed to be coming down around him, the parable's relevance to the current situation was not lost on James, nor was the true meaning behind why Dr. Korlov shared this story with him.  As they continued their climb, James no longer wanted to look back in the direction of Violet and her wrath.

----------

"Break off! Break off!" Lieutenant-colonel Phillips was screaming into his mic to the other gunships in his formation.  His heavily laden helicopters could reach perhaps 200mph, but the titan that stood in the valley was much faster than that.  He watched in horror as two of his helicopters turned away from the female target at a range of more than 2000 meters only for her to simply cut them off at no more than a walk!  

The UH60 was by no means a nimble aircraft, a glaringly obvious fact as the two helicopters attempted to flee.  The giant girl simply swatted them out of the air like mosquitoes.  Phillips saw one of his choppers spiraling to the ground and burning, leaving a thick trail of black smoke as it went.  The other, she had simply reached out and seized it in her left hand.   She was still clutching its shattered wreckage, black smoke billowing from her clenched fist.  One of his birds had made a rocket attack, explosions blossomed across her arm without effect.  To make matters worse, she was now staring directly at his helicopter as if daring him to attack.  Phillips looked to his left and could see one of his gunships had joined him in a loose formation.  Below them, the normally calm lake was now tumultuous, its waters being sloshed about violently by even the smallest of Violet's movements.  Phillips could see waves, at least 30ft in height, crashing into the treeline along the entire length of the lake's shore.  

Lieutenant-Colonel Phillip's goal was no longer to keep the female target occupied.  Now, his only thoughts were how he could save his men.  His squadron was no longer the hunters, they were the prey.

As he and the other helicopter closed on the awaiting giantess, he toggled the selector switch.  Within moments, his 38 rockets, along with those of his wingman, were away.  Lieutenant-Colonel Phillips hoped his group's continued distraction would help the other flight complete the primary mission.

----------

Her eyes fixed on the incoming helicopters, Violet slipped down off the 100ft cliff as if she was getting down from a bar stool.  She closed her eyes and concentrated.  When she opened them, she looked down onto a miniature world.  Taking a step, she almost lost her balance!  She looked down and saw her foot had sunk into the earth as if she were walking on a sand covered beach.  At 1500ft, Violet weighed almost exactly one million tons.  She, of course was unaware of this figure but she did realize she would need to keep her footing in mind as she dealt with the tiny fly-like machines that hovered now only at knee height.  

The forest canopy in the valley appeared to Violet no taller that closely cut grass.  Below that, she could see nothing of the forest floor.  Violet knew she was actually more dangerous to James and the doctor than the helicopters, that's why she sent them away.  Hopefully, Violet thought, she would not lose her bearings as she dealt with these flies.  Finding herself accidentally on the wrong side of that hill could lead to her trampling them both without even realizing it.  

The thought of accidentally killing her two companions who were trying to help her did not evoke any emotions at all within Violet.  She thought of what the doctor had told her the previous night: the bigger she grows, the more she kills, the farther she will slip away.  

"It can't be helped," Violet told herself.  Deep inside, she wasn't sure if she believed that.

Violet strode forward, each step causing vast swaths of forest to be subsumed and pulverized, leaving massive and deep footprints more than 200ft long and 80ft wide.  She watched as the helicopters began climbing to her chest level.  Violet was surprised how slow they were.  She thought about how flies were much quicker.  These helicopters, on the other hand, seemed to inch through the air almost in slow motion.

"This will be no challenge!"  That voice, her voice, spurred her on.  Violet thought about what she had told the doctor last night.  

"It's never been a challenge, it's the opposite of heroic, it's just extermination."  Even admitting this to herself she still felt nothing.  With that, Violet was done thinking as she, with almost no effort, stepped in front of two helicopters as they attempted to flee from her.  Finding her standing in their flight path, one helicopter broke right, the other left.  The one to her right, Violet swatted from the air with her hand. It was only a glancing blow but it's fragile airframe was now burning and spiraling to the ground.  As the other 'fly' to her left lazily veered away, she reached out and wrapped her hand around it.  Violet felt the chopper explode as her grip tightened.  Stinging pain erupted along her bicep as another helicopter fired at her.  It hurt but she did not show it, she would show no weakness.

Seeing two other helicopters flying straight towards her, Violet readied herself.  Stepping back, her right foot caught the edge of a steep ravine.  It caused an enormous landslide, thousands of tons of rock and earth cascaded 200ft down the ravine's steep slope to the water below.  As the landslide displaced the water, a huge wave over 250ft tall was thrown up and crashed on the ravine's opposite side.  This vast cataclysm unfolding at her feet went completely unnoticed by Violet.  

Dozens of rockets from the two helicopters were now streaking directly towards Violet.  She could have simply sidestepped out of their path but the hill James and the doctor were climbing was directly behind her; avoiding the helicopter's volley would put her companions in danger.  Violet stood her ground, receiving the full brunt of the attack.  Dozens of detonations rippled across her front.

"Enough!"  It was the first time Violet had said anything out loud since the attack began.  One of the helicopters was only a 100 hundred yards in front of her face when she spoke.  It tumbled out of control, it's crew knocked unconscious by the concussive force of her voice.  

Violet began walking towards her attackers.  A gunship, flying low, was unable to escape from her path.  It collided with Violet's leg, exploding against her skin.  Three steps and the last two helicopters were within reach.  The trailing gunship disintegrated as Violet brought her clenched fist down onto it in a hammer blow.  The last helicopter, the group's leader, she carefully plucked from the air between her thumb and forefinger.  She brought the tiny machine to her eye.  For the first time, Violet could see the minuscule men piloting these helicopters.  The pilot's visor hid his eyes but his panic and fear were almost palatable.  Violet felt the buildup to that familiar rush.  The helicopter burst, consumed in a fireball, as the fingers holding it pinched together.

Explosions behind Violet drew her attention.  Looking down, Violet saw a line of explosions cross over the area they had camped in the previous night.  Pillars of black smoke that had already risen high above the campsite told Violet it had been under attack for sometime.  Two helicopters were already exiting the area as the third, having just finished it's rocket attack on the camp joined them.  A fourth was flying at treetop level, following the terrain towards the hillside James and Dr. Korlov was still ascending.

----------

The desperate radio chatter from Lieutenant-Colonel Phillips group told the pilots attacking the campsite that he and his gunships were being massacred.  The helicopter's infrared sensor had picked up the heat from both the campfire and humvee.  Three helicopters made passes, the campsite becoming a moonscape of craters.  As the fourth gunship turned to make it's attack run, its infrared sensor saw two human-sized heat sources three-quarters of the way up the side of a hill.  The pilot turned to intercept these two new targets.

---------

Violet was perhaps half a dozen paces from the attacking helicopter.  She now ran, each step bulldozing 600ft long furrows into the landscape.  As she closed with the gunship, Violet used her momentum to turn her final step into a stomp directly over the gunship.  The helicopter disappeared instantly.  As her foot crashed down onto the bottom of the hill, the ground literally heaved as the impact's shockwave spread out in all directions.  Violet saw the ground rippled outward from her foot, acting more like a liquid than solid earth.  Breathing heavily, Violet looked down at the collapsing hill whose peak didn't even reach her knees.

----------

The impact was cataclysmic, both James and Dr. Korlov were thrown to the ground.  The hillside under their feet began to break away.  They were now being swept along with the earth and trees around them down the hillside!  As both James and the doctor felt themselves begin to sink within the churning landslide, the earth around them slid to a stop and they both felt themselves accelerate upwards.  

Everything was still and quiet.  James looked around.  Both he and Dr. Korlov were buried up to their chests in dirt and debris.  They were surrounded by a quarter acre of churned earth, fallen trees, and boulders.  That quarter acre was, in turn, encircled by the top edges of Violet's cupped hands.  As the two pulled themselves out of the debris, they became aware of the sound of breathing.  It sounded like it was coming from a vast and monstrous creature hovering above them, its deep rumble filling their ears.  They were then both cast into shadow as Violet's face loomed in overhead.  

Violet, once again, was regarding the two men held within her hands with no emotion.  Her expression gave no hint to what she would do next.  

"She was going to kill us, wasn't she?" -James

----------

"James, listen to me."  Dr. Korlov spoke slowly as he gritted his teeth.  He and James had just survived a landslide caused by Violet.  Violet had also been their rescuer.  If she had not lifted them up from the collapsing hillside, they would be dead.  The two men now found themselves amongst the debris in Violet's hands with her face looming high above.  

"Whatever you do, don't show how afraid you are, it may be one of her triggers.  She may not even realize what she is doing until it's too late."  The doctor was slowly getting to his feet.  He had obviously been injured during the landslide and his movements were now stiff.  "Try to smile James."

James was also injured, he had been battered and bruised by the churning debris.  The sound of Violet breathing was a steady roar overhead.  As he stood up, his right hand involuntarily clutched his left side.  Sharp pain shot through him.  One or more of his ribs were most likely broken.  Through the piercing pain, James looked up at Violet as he attempted his most pleasant and nonchalant smile.  

To his surprise, he did not see the monster that the doctor feared.  Violet was actually smiling down at him.  Her face was practically beaming, its smile appearing both warm and genuine.  Confused, James was about to ask Dr. Korlov why he would be afraid but the answer to that question rapidly revealed itself.  Violet's smile was changing, almost imperceptibly.  While she remained smiling at him, what lay behind that grin had become clearly malevolent.  

"What are we supposed to do now?"  James asked nervously through his forced smile.  Dr. Korlov was walking painfully over to him, trying his best to hide a limp.

"We act completely contrary to the hundreds of other people Violet has killed under these circumstances.  Your life depends on it."  The doctor was also speaking through a forced smile.  James could see that the doctor had never been more serious in his life.

"Violet, thank you so much for saving us!  We would be dead if it wasn't for your quick thinking!"  Dr. Korlov was looking up at Violet and speaking with a warm and fatherly voice.  James couldn't help but wince when the doctor used the word 'dead'.  "Would you mind putting us down?  We need to look over the camp and see if there is anything salvageable."

Violet didn't respond.  Both James and Dr. Korlov wondered whether Violet could even hear them at her immense size.  Their answer came as earth under their feet trembled.  Violet's left hand began to pull away.

"Doc! Run!"  As her hand moved, the earth it held began to fall away.  James ran towards the thumb of Violet's still stationary right hand.  Dr. Korlov was hobbling just ahead of the cascading soil as it fell 1200ft to the forest floor below.  The ground under the doctor's feet gave way.  James reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him to safety.  

The two now stood on a much diminished mound of earth still being held in Violet's right hand.  The pain in James's side was stabbing at him each time he tried to breathe.  James looked up.  Her left hand, now free from its burden, was rising and moving over them.  Its thumb and forefinger were extended, reaching down to seize them where they stood!  Behind those monstrous grasping fingertips, he could see Violet's malevolent grinning face.

"Violet!"

It was James who spoke.  His voice was sharp and authoritative.  He was frightened, exhausted, and in a great deal of pain.  Above all, he was frustrated.  He was frustrated with feeling helpless and ill-equipped: helpless as the Violet he knew and loved slipped further away and ill-equipped to understand it or prevent it from happening.  He was also frustrated with Violet.  She seemed oblivious to the only two people in her life that were trying to help her while at the same time she seemed unwilling to help herself.  James could hide his fear, his exhaustion, and even some of his pain but not his frustration.

Violet froze.  Her eyes immediately became unfocused, as if she was looking past the two figures in her hand at something far off and unseen.  The ominous grin had also disappeared, her lips were now held tight against her teeth in a pursed frown.  The ground under their feet lurched.  James felt his stomach turn as the hand they stood on accelerated downwards towards the ground.  

Violet knelt, the hand holding James and the doctor she placed gently on the ground.  Both men slid down the mound of earth in her hand to what had once been the forest floor.  The hill's collapse had swept most of the trees away, leaving a shattered landscape of rock and debris.  Violet's face was still hovering over them as she rested on one knee.  Her face was full of sorrow and her eyes were downcast.  Violet seemed unable to look at the two men she had regarded so fiendishly only moments before.  James and the doctor stared at one another as they stood under Violet's shadow.  Each searched for an explanation of what had just happened in the other's face but neither found an answer.

----------

Violet had never felt better!  The helicopters were gone, the last one destroyed was now nothing but flattened scrap stuck to the sole of her shoe.  The force she had used stomping down on the tiny machine was so powerful it had caused the hill in front of her to collapse as if it were made of sand!  Watching the collapse, she could see two minuscule figures caught in its destruction.  

Violet didn't even think, she just acted.  Reaching down and placing her hands in front of the oncoming avalanche.  As the landslide filled her cupped hands, she scooped her two companions up and brought them close to her face.  Violet felt relief wash over her when she saw they were still alive.  She finally felt heroic!  She knew that she had saved both James and the doctor from certain death.  This filled Violet with a feeling of accomplishment that was both unfamiliar and intoxicating.

Violet was smiling, feeling pleased with herself as she cradled James and Dr. Korlov in her cupped hands. They were struggling to free themselves from the handful of earth she held so effortlessly.  From Violet's perspective, James and the doctor appeared to be less than a quarter of an inch tall, no bigger than an ant.  Compared to her hands, they looked so small, helpless, and insignificant.  Violet thought about how fragile they were and how easy it would be to kill them.  She could crush them within the earth she held in her hands or simply drop them from the enormous height at which she now stood.  

Then her mind began to contemplate even darker ways of ending their lives, methods both cruel and ingenious.  As these thoughts took form, Violet began to anticipate the exhilarating rush that would come when James and the doctor started to scream, begging her for mercy...mercy Violet had no intention of giving.

The doctor was talking to her, but Violet wasn't listening.  Her anticipation was mounting.  She withdrew her left hand, allowing most of the dirt she held to fall away.  It was thrilling to watch the two men scramble for their lives as it fell; a drama of life and death unfolding literally in the palm of her hand!  She decided that the doctor would die first.  Violet needed the immediate satisfaction crushing him to a pulp between her fingertips would bring.  James's death, on the other hand,  would be drawn out so she could savor the experience.

Violet reached down to crush the insect in the lab coat between her fingertips.

Violet blinked when she heard her name.  Hearing James's voice, the will driving her murderous intent evaporated. It was as if his voice opened a window in the darkened room that was her mind, exposing the cruel intentions within for her to clearly see.  It was in this way Violet realized, to her horror, that she was only a moment away from killing the companions she had just heroically saved.  Violet's excitement as she anticipated exterminating the two ants was replaced in an instant with feelings of self loathing, embarrassment, and shame.

Seeing the anger in James's eyes, Violet felt even worse!  She wanted to apologize to them both, but what would she say?  If she admitted to what she was about to do she truly would be a monster in their eyes.  Violet just wanted to disappear.

----------

"Doc are you ok?"  Dr. Korlov had slowly lowered himself to the ground and sat, his eyes shut tight with pain.

"I'll be fine."  The doctor spoke again through his gritted teeth, "bruised and battered is all."  The sharp pain in James's left side flared, reminding him of his own injury.  He looked up at Violet.

"Vi?  Are you alright?"  Violet covered her face with her hands at the sound of James's voice.  James took a step back as she stood up, towering over him like a skyscraper.  Without responding, Violet stepped over them both, her face still covered.  She ran back into the valley.  The ground undulated violently with each of her footfalls.  James wanted to go after her but the doctor stopped him.

"No James," the doctor's voice was quiet and sympathetic.  "Let her go for now.  We need to get back to camp and see what's left."

----------

The place they had camped the night before was unrecognizable.  Craters from the rocket attacks pot-marked the area, the humvee was destroyed and still smoldering.  Dr. Korlov began searching through the rubble.  

"What are you looking for?" Inquired James.  The ground rumbled as, in the distance, Violet laid down onto the ground.  She was on her side with her back to them.  James's question was answered when Dr. Korlov pulled a charred metal case from the rubble.  The doctor knelt and opened the case.  His shoulders slumped.  There were four large glass containers lining one side of the case's interior, the other side was taken up by an enormous pneumatic injector.  James had never seen one so big.  More like a rifle than a medical device, it looked large enough to inoculate an elephant!  It also appeared undamaged.  Seeing James staring at it, the doctor answered James's question before it was asked.  

"The anesthesiologist, Dr. Fitzhugh, it was built to his specifications.  He wanted it as a fallback to tranquilize Violet in the hangar if all else failed."  The doctor touched its slick metal surface.  "Of course that was when she was a fraction of the size she is now..."

Looking at the glass containers, James could see all but one was smashed, their contents gone.  

"The neuro-inhibitors..."  Dr. Korlov said in a despondent voice.  James knelt beside him.

"She was going to kill us, wasn't she?"  The doctor looked up at hearing James's question.  He didn't respond but the doctor's face gave the answer.  

"Will it be enough?"  James was looking at the remaining container of the neuro-inhibitor inside the case.  

"I really don't know," Dr. Korlov said grimly, "but I also have these..."  he reached inside his lab coat and pulled out a plastic medicine bottle and shook it.  James could hear pills rattling inside.  "These will suffice when she is back to her normal size."  The doctor nodded to the enormous pneumatic injector.  "Until then, we will have to use that.  At her current size, we would have to inject it into a vein as close to her skin's surface as possible...and even then I don't know if it would be enough."  James stood and looked in Violet's direction.  She was still laying down with her back facing them.  

"James, I know what you are thinking...please don't, it's too dangerous."  The doctor spoke quietly and sympathetically to the young man.  James didn't respond,  continuing to look at the giantess in the valley.  He turned back to the case and closed it.  

As James was picking up the case by its handle, Dr. Korlov grabbed his wrist.  He used it to pull himself up slowly and stood in front of James.  While the doctor was still holding James's arm, he pulled it close to him.

"The antecubital vein, here."  The doctor pressed on the inside of James's arm at the elbow joint.  "The dorsal venous network and inferior cephalic vein, here and here."  The doctor turned James's hand over, slapping the back of the hand and then flipped it over and pressed on the veins visible on James's wrist.  "And the saphenous vein here."  The doctor turned his own leg and indicated the back of the knee.  "Those will be the best locations to use the injector.  The hand or arm would be the best option, being closer to the heart and brain.  It will take longer for the neuro-inhibitor to reach the brain from the saphenous vein but use it if it's your only option."  

James listened attentively as Dr. Korlov showed him the different injection sites.  He knew the doctor didn't approve of this course of action but he obviously wanted James to be prepared.  Looking at the doctor's face, James could see how pale it had become.  The doctor's hand was also cold.

"Inject it directly into the vein, they'll be the ones that appear bluish in color.  Press the nozzle as hard as you can against her skin before pulling the trigger.  The gas canister will discharge, compressing the neural-inhibitor into a high pressure stream powerful enough to punch through her skin and into the vein beneath.  The injection will not be painless...she will feel it."  James nodded his understanding and Dr. Korlov released his grip.  James turned in the direction of Violet.

"James..."  As James turned around, the doctor tossed him the bottle of pills.  James caught it in his free hand.  

"Remember what I said last night: medication may help, but your relationship with her is more potent than anything in that container...help her find her humanity before it's too late."

----------

The walk down into the valley took James over an hour.  He was slowed by the chaotic landscape created by Violet's battle with the helicopter gunships.  Before leaving, the doctor had used a strip of a blanket he had salvaged from the camp and wrapped it tightly around James's chest and over his injured rib.  The dressing was helping, the pain now dull and distant.  

The walk also gave James plenty of time to think about what he was going to do when he finally reached Violet.  The pill bottle rattling in his pocket was a reminder of what the doctor thought James should do.  Dr. Korlov suggested talking with her first.  James considered the usefulness of the rattling pill bottle to be the lowest in his current arsenal.  As noble as using words to solve this problem would be, he had come within only a hair's breadth to being killed by her only an hour before.  This made the doctor's idea very unattractive.  For better or for worse, James's plan was to sneak up to her, choose an injection sight that will offer him the best chances for escape and evasion, and wait out the subsequent fury that he expected from Violet until the medication began taking effect.

Violet was still laying on her left side, facing away from James as he approached.  He wasn't sure if she was sleeping but she had hardly moved at all during his hike.  When he finally reached her, he paused at the wood line that stood only 150ft from her back.  Seeing her up close gave James a true sense of just how massive Violet had grown.  Laying on her side, her shoulders still towered 400ft over his head.  

From what James could see from the tree line, Violet appeared to have her arms tucked close to her chest.  The back of her knees seemed to be the safest option but with her legs also bent and folded close to her chest, James was unsure if injecting her there would be possible.  James made his decision.  He would move around Violet counterclockwise.  He would first check to see if he could get to the saphenous vein.  If he couldn't, he would continue around her feet and approach Violet's hands and arms from below.  He figured that this route would keep himself as far from Violet's eyes and ears for the longest period possible.  

James knelt and opened the case.  He pulled out the pneumatic injector and the single remaining glass container of neuro-inhibitor.  He placed the liter-sized container into the injector and heard a click and hiss as it locked into place.  James stood up and began walking towards the slumbering giantess.

----------

Violet did not know what else to do so she ran.  She was going to kill them both.  The only reason they were still alive was because of James's voice.  Up until hearing his voice, Violet had been concerned only with herself and achieving that rush.  Up until hearing his voice, everything she was doing felt completely normal.  

So she had decided to run, hoping that being away from her two companions would also silence the other voice: that voice, her voice.  Even now, that voice was whispering to her.  That voice quietly spoke to Violet of her overwhelming strength and power in a world that could do nothing to stop her.  That voice described in detail the many exquisite ways she could torment a world of tiny people that was helpless against her.  That voice also promised Violet that wonderful exhilaration, that rush, when those tiny people died effortlessly by her hand. 

Violet was laying on her side, her hands covering her face and her legs pulled up into her chest in almost a fetal position.  It was as if she was trying to be as small as possible while her 1500ft frame dominated the landscape.  Even with her head resting on the ground, her view was still above the treetops.  

Violet wanted to talk to James, to tell him everything and ask for his forgiveness.  She hoped he would come for her as she lay crying and help her.  Then everything would be back the way it was.  But if he did come, Violet also knew that she would kill him.

----------

Injecting her through the back of the knee wasn't an option.  Just as James had feared, Violet's legs were bent and pulled up tightly to her chest, giving him no access.  He slowly stalked his way around the soles of Violet's shoes.  Resting on top of one another, her shoes rose over him as high as a 12 story building.  He moved under them as silent as a hunter.  Peering around the left shoe's massive toe, James finally got a look at Violet's face.  The heels of her hands were pressed hard against her eyes, her mouth was frozen in a grimace as if she was in pain.

James cursed under his breath. It was hopeless.  The bottle of pills rattled again in his pocket.  He realized they would be his only option.  He was about to set the injector aside when his luck changed.  Violet dropped her right hand away from her face.  She stretched out that arm, working out it's stiffness, and then rested it on her side.  Her right hand was now resting flat on the ground, palm down.  With the hand removed, James could see that Violet had been crying.  Her exposed eye was still tightly shut as if in pain.  James was frightened, but he also knew this might be his only chance.  Still clutching the injector, he moved forward.

Resting on the ground, Violet's smallest finger was easily ten feet high.  Between it and her ring finger, the skin was low enough to climb up onto.  Between the knuckles of those two fingers, James could see a vein raised close to the surface.

"This is insane!" He didn't speak out loud, but these words were roaring in his head.  If he did this, there would be no escape.  He was terrified beyond all rational thought.  Perhaps it was because of this that James decided to press on.  

He made his way onto the fold of skin between her pinkie and ring finger and up between the two knuckles.  He could see the dark blue-violet line just under the skin.  It was easily two feet across.  This was it!  James knelt and placed the pneumatic injector over the vein and leaned on it with all his weight, pressing the nozzle as hard into Violet's skin as he was capable.  His finger was poised over the trigger.

A shadow, that's all James saw before he was seized between two monstrous fingers!  The grip of those fingertips was unyielding.  They lifted him away from the vein and the back of Violet's hand.  The pain in James's chest redoubled.  When he was released, he found himself in the center of Violet's palm.  The injector fell next to him.  Violet was still laying on her side but her head was now cocked up and she was looking at him in bewilderment.  He steadied himself as the hand on which he stood rose and she sat up into a sitting position.  Violet lifted the hand to her face.  James prepared himself for the worst but when he looked up at Violet he was greeted once again by an enormous smile.

"James!"  Violet's excited voice almost knocked James off his feet.  She drew in her mouth tightly, seeing what her voice had done but soon the smile was back.  The next time she spoke it was only slightly above a whisper.  "I'm so glad you came!  I am so sorry!  I didn't want any of this!  Please forgive me!"  James was speechless, his mouth hung slightly agape as he tried to take in this strange turn of events.  Violet's brow furrowed, "what's that?"  The index finger of her other hand was now looming over James.  He moved to the side as her fingertip came down onto the injector.  As it lifted away, the device was no longer there.  Violet brought the fingertip close to her eyes and squinted.  She turned and looked at James and asked again more forcefully, "What is this?"  She held her fingertip out towards James.  He could see what was left of the injector, flattened and useless, on the fingertip's surface.  Violet was no longer smiling.

"A pneumatic injector," James shouted, he saw no advantage to lying at this point.  "It contained the medicine the doctor told you about."  James swallowed dryly, "I was going to administer it to you."  He watched as Violet brought the fingertip once more to her face for a second look.  After a moment's examination she used her thumbnail to flick its remnants off her finger.  When she looked back at James, her face was cold and severe.  "Violet, I was trying to help.  You aren't..."

"It's ok James!  You forgave me so I am forgiving you."  Violet had cut James off mid-sentence.  Her expression had flipped, the smile was back.  James was quiet.  He didn't remember forgiving Violet.  Behind her buoyant facade, he could see the pain in her eyes was still present.  An awkward silence now hung in the air between them.  Still wearing her strained smile, Violet broke the silence.  "I want to show you something!"

Violet stood up, holding her palm and its passenger carefully.  She stretched her arm out in front of her, the massive open hand James stood upon now hovered above what remained of the forest, more than 1200ft below.

"Go ahead, look!  Isn't it an amazing view!"  Wearily, following Violet's instructions.  James walked closer to the edge of her hand and looked.  The view was truly breathtaking.  What stood out most to him was the eerie silence.  The only sound he could hear was the wind, a gentle whistling that surrounded him.  

"You see?  When would you ever see a view like this?  I can do things that no one else can do and I can show you things that others can only dream about!  I want to share it all with you!...James, I just want things to go back to the way they were."

James turned away from the magnificent panorama surrounding him and looked up at Violet gravely.

"Violet, you can't just ignore what is happening to you.  This isn't the real world."  At James's words, Violet's strained smile finally broke, what replaced it was an expression of arrogant superiority.  She sighed impatiently.

"No, it is you who doesn't understand."  Violet's tone had become both dismissive and haughty.  "This IS the real world James,...Watch"  Violet looked down at her feet, James followed her gaze.  She put her foot out in front of her and dug its heel into the earth.  She pulled it back towards herself, plowing a 70ft deep furrow over 400ft in length.  Trees, boulders, everything in her heel's path was bulldozed.  "Did you see that?  I did that and it was REAL James!  Let me tell you the truth about the real world: the real world...your world...is MY WORLD and you, along with everyone else, are now living in it!"

"The doctor says..."  As James spoke, Violet cut him off for the second time.

"The doctor says," she repeated down at him mockingly.  "Let me show you something else."  Violet turned in the direction of their devastated former campsite.

----------

Dr. Korlov was thoughtful, sitting with his back leaning against a boulder.  His legs were stretched out in front of him, hands folded in his lap.  When James departed, the doctor could feel that his toes were tingling.  Now, as he sat slumped against the rock, he couldn't feel anything below his knees.  The tingling had moved up his legs and now he could feel it in his hands as well.  His color had also changed from pale to ashen.  Looking down into his lap at the backs of his hands, he could see that the skin was mottled and dark.  His injuries were much more severe than he had led James to believe.  His breathing was shallow and labored.  

He thought about how he had never paid for any of the many sins he had committed during his life, always staying one step ahead of their consequences.  As he sat amongst the rubble Violet's devastation, he knew his tab had finally come due.  

A shadow stretched over him.  Tilting his head slightly to look up, Dr. Leonid Alexander Korlov smiled.  His voice was now only a harsh whisper.

"I've been waiting for you."

----------

The distance that took James more than an hour to cross was covered by Violet in four paces. She now stood over the campsite.  She bent over, keeping the hand that held James level and out in front of her.  With her other hand, she picked something up off the ground between her thumb and forefinger.  It was the doctor!  Violet tilted her head back and raised the doctor above it.  Without hesitation, she let the doctor go!  James watched in horror as Dr. Korlov fell into Violet's open mouth!  As she dropped the doctor, Violet's eyes remained locked on James.  He stood frozen and in shock in the center of her palm.  She closed her eyes and swallowed.

James couldn't believe it.  He felt numb as he fell to his knees.  Violet turned her face back down at the despondent figure in her hand.  She looked at him triumphantly.

"You know, I remember reading in school about the cannibal tribes that lived in Borneo."  Violet's voice was a playful whisper, as if she was sharing a secret or a piece of gossip with a best friend.  "They believed they gained their enemies strength and power when they consumed them...their enemies would always be a part of them, always with them."  James's face remained downcast as Violet spoke.  "So in a way, the doctor is now a part of me!..and as long as you are with me, the doctor will be with you too."  Violet let out a little chuckle.  "You see? I sound smarter already!"

James finally looked up at Violet.  Even though he was sitting in Violet's monstrous palm, he had never felt more alone.  

"Back at the hospital," Violet continued cheerfully, "you told me how much you loved sci-fi movies.  At my house, my little brother always got to choose what was on the television.  He loves monster movies, the ones with the giant monster that always destroyed Tokyo in the end."  Violet let out a little laugh as she recalled the memory from a lifetime ago.  "Let's go back to your hometown and that hospital, it'll be just like one of my little brother's movies!"

"That place wasn't my hometown, that place isn't real."  James said quietly, his eyes downcast once more.  She frowned but recovered her disturbing cheerfulness quickly.

"Well, you did say it was based on a real place...we can go there instead!"  

From her lofty view, Violet could see the main road they had taken the day before.  On the horizon, she could see the low silhouette of a small town shimmering in the haze.  Holding James in her open palm, Violet took a step into a new world...her world.

 "So the real question is: how best can you, along with everyone else in the world, worship me?" -Violet Parr

----------

The ride would have been almost pleasant under just about any other circumstance. James was being rocked by the gentle rising and falling of Violet's hand as it kept time with the tempo of her stride.  Towering 1500ft above the surrounding countryside, Violet's height had remained unchanged since earlier that morning.  James was sitting in the vast open palm of her right hand.  From his position, James had a spectacular panoramic view of hundreds of square miles.  Farmland and forests stretched out before him to the horizon.  The view made him think about how the world must look to Violet: a breathtaking yet disconnected and lonely view, completely alien to the world as experienced by everyone else.  Each of Violet's earthshaking footfalls was only a distant rumble in James's ears.  The deep and rhythmic sound were as steady and hypnotic as a metronome.  As the reverberations from each of her steps reached James, the pills in his pocket would rattle.  The sound was a constant reminder of Dr. Korlov and his absence.

Violet's pace was unhurried, as if she was out for an afternoon stroll.  Despite this, she had covered over 50 miles in less than 10 minutes.  James found himself going over in his mind the events of only a half hour ago.  He pondered what he could have done differently and how he could now fix what had happened.  Violet suddenly halted, interrupting James's train of thought.

"Look down here James!"  Violet's voice was deceptively warm and cheerful.  This tone was just another aspect of the monster James could see that Violet was becoming .  He didn't respond, remaining silent.  Violet continued her one sided conversation, "A farmhouse, a barn, I can't tell what else but I got it all with a single step!"  An awkward silence hung in the air after Violet finished speaking.  James remained motionless in the center of her palm.  He could feel Violet's eyes impatiently drilling into him from above.  Violet sighed and finally gave her hand a slight shake, causing James to tumble backwards.  Now laying on his back, he looked up.  James could see in Violet's eyes that what she was asking was not a request.  With tired and reluctant obedience, he got up and slowly walked over to the edge of Violet's massive hand, peering down to the ground 800ft below.  James could now see what Violet was so insistent on showing him.

A massive footprint, sunken deep into the rich alluvial farmfield.  Within it, James could make out what was left of three or four wooden structures.  They all had been crushed utterly flat, each resembling a tiny pile of broken matchwood and splinters.  Looking closer, he could start to make out other things within the rubble that defined this place as a home: crushed appliances, furniture, and the scattered personal effects of the farm's residents.  James turned his face away from the scene, unwilling to see what he knew must also be amongst the smashed debris.  Seeing his reaction, Violet laughed.  The disturbing sound echoed across the landscape like thunder. Violet resumed walking towards the small town in the distance.

----------

James had realized shortly after Violet began walking towards that doomed city on the horizon that she wasn't going to kill him immediately.  At least for the moment, she seemed to be satisfied with just tormenting him.  The flattened farmstead was not the first time during their journey that James had been forced to endure Violet's cruel new laugh.  Violet had made it a point that James saw the aftermath of each and every one of her murderous actions.  He had heard her laugh as she stamped out countless cars along the road she was following.  The laugh had also accompanied the final moments of every rural home that fell under her shadow.  James understood that Violet was doing all of this for his benefit.  

The previous night as they sat around their campfire, Dr. Korlov had illustrated the situation to Violet by describing two worlds.  The first world, the 'real world' as described by the doctor, was where Violet had existed before her new ability had developed.  The second world was the world as Violet now experienced it.  As tempting as this second world was with it's promise of practically omnipotent power, Dr. Korlov asserted that it was both false and a fantasy that would provide no future for Violet.  She must forsake this new world and return to the 'real world' in order to truly be a part of humanity.

The doctor's argument, in James's opinion, had backfired spectacularly.  Instead of accepting Dr. Korlov's assertions and making an effort to rediscover her humanity, Violet had simply flipped the doctor's illustration around.  According to her, it was James and the rest of humanity that labored under a false reality where there was no future.  Both he and all of mankind would have to accept and adapt to Violet's new world.  The cold logic of Dr. Korlov's now twisted illustration still rang true.  Each life that was so easily snuffed out by Violet was an abject lesson that only reinforced her point of view.

Between these horribly cruel displays of power, James noticed something else.  During most of the journey thus far, James had his face cast downward, being deep in thought.  Once or twice, he had looked up at Violet's face as it hung 600ft over his head only to catch Violet quickly glancing away from him.  It was obvious to James that she had been watching him, staring at him.  To his shock, her face had not been malevolent or haughty.  If anything, Violet had looked scared.  James was unsure if this was simply a symptom of her mental instability or if it was something more.  He kept all of this to himself, remaining silent.

----------

Violet was both euphoric and frightened.  Such conflicting feelings were becoming the norm but the emotional dissonance was no less troubling for her mind.  Violet was finally feeling in control of her life.  In the past, others had always made decisions for her.  The last few weeks had been no different. From following General Veer's orders to defending James; Violet had simply acquiesced to what others demanded of her.  Letting others make choices for her had made life less stressful and scary for Violet.  This had worked for Violet but, deep down, she knew she wasn't actually living her life; she was only a spectator.  She never could muster the strength or courage to change this .  Now things were different.  Everything she was doing and would do was now going to be her choice.  The freedom she felt, combined with the feeling almost omnipotent power, was overwhelming and Violet's head swam in a blissful daze.

This euphoria was tempered by another emotion: terror.  Fear was Violet's constant companion in life and had been so for as long as she could remember.  She was frightened of saying the wrong things, making the wrong choices, and not being who everyone around her thought she should be.  Most of all, she was afraid of people.  She wished to hide from the eyes and judgement of others, to shield herself from the possibility that anyone might think less of her if she opened up to them.  

Violet had opened up to James, making herself vulnerable to what she feared most.  In response, he had lied to her.  He had taken advantage of her vulnerability in order to control her like everyone else.  James had hurt her more than anyone ever had, all because she had risked opening up to him.  

Even now, sitting no bigger than a speck and at her mercy in the palm of her hand, Violet felt that James was still trying to control her.  He was refusing to accept her unless it was on his terms.  The idealized version of Violet that existed in his mind was the one who he both loved and wished to save.  Violet knew that James saw himself as a knight in shining armor riding to her rescue, but it never occurred to him that she did not need rescuing.  The real Violet, with all of her human fears and faults, was the enemy that James wished to vanquish.  Despite all of this, Violet still loved him.

As she walked across the lilliputian landscape like a rampaging goddess, Violet was still afraid of James and his potential to hurt her again.  Violet wished to prove to James that she was more real than the version of her he held in such high regard.  She also wanted to punish him for hurting her.  Violet would show him that she was in complete control of her life and that her choices mattered.  

Violet had forced James to bear witness as she destroyed dozens of homes and vehicles along her path.  Looking at his face, Violet could see how horrified James was by what she was doing and the enjoyment she was taking in it.  Violet knew what she was doing was wrong but she pushed the shame she felt from his reaction from her mind.  She would not let James dictate how she felt or make her feel bad for who she was.  In fact, Violet was beginning to anticipate his horrified reactions and she found that they also gave her a rush.  A part of her held out hope that he would, in the end, finally accept her for who she is and stop trying to force her into his mold.  Another part of Violet was well aware that everything she was doing was only pushing James further away.

----------

When Violet first arrived, standing over the sleepy farming community of Rutledge, James had shouted himself hoarse.  He begged and pleaded with her not to go through with her murderous plan.  He found himself in the role of Lot from the Old Testament, negotiating with God to spare a city from his divine wrath.  The eerie fact that Dr. Korlov had referenced the story of Lot, only hours before, was not lost on James.  In response, Violet had simply toyed with him.  Pausing on the edge of the city, she had listened attentively to James as he made his impassioned case to spare the town and it's people that lay helpless at Violet's feet.  Once he had finished, Violet's thoughtful and serious expression broke as she was no longer able to hold back her laughter.

After that, James gave up trying to reason with Violet.  He was forced to look on as Violet, standing over quarter mile tall, began to act out her promised dark and sadistic pantomime.  Playing the role of a monster from one of her brother's favorite movies, she let out an ear splitting roar and began stomping through the town's center.

Rutledge was already a scene of chaos even before Violet arrived.  Her approach was both seen and felt for some minutes, giving time for the city's streets to fill and become jammed with hundreds of vehicles and pedestrians.  The sound rising up from the city was a cacophony of honking car horns, sirens, and screaming.  Violet dropped her foot down onto the main street that cut through the town's center.  The entirety of the Street's width disappeared under the sole of Violet's shoe, crushing dozens of cars and fleeing refugees.  The buildings to each side of the road, succumbing to the force of Violet's stomp, also collapsed.  Those not crushed under her massive sneaker were buried under tons of broken brick and concrete.  Lifting her foot, Violet grinned at the aftermath of what she had done.  Breaking character, Violet looked down into her palm and gave a sly sidelong wink to James.  He didn't see her aside, his face buried in his hands as he sat unmoving.  

Violet frowned, this is not what she wanted.  She wasn't a monster, yet here she was.  As doubt began to creep into her psyche, that voice, her voice, reassured her.

"Are you really going to let him tell you what to do?  You are the most powerful being on this planet, why put any of these inconsequential insects before yourself?"  Violet wanted to interject, to say the voice was wrong about James.  Instead she said nothing.  The voice was right, giving in to James would once again make Violet simply a spectator in her own life.  This was her time and no one would stand in her way.

Looking away from James and back down at the mayhem unfolding at her feet, Violet slipped off her shoes.  She tossed them aside thoughtlessly, the shoes devastated dozens of houses as they tumbled across the city streets before finally coming to rest.  They now lay in the middle of a tree lined neighborhood, dwarfing the surrounding homes.  Taking a step, Violet gasped.  She was able to feel in detail everything as it was crushed under her barefoot.  The feeling was exhilarating!  Forgetting her doubts, Violet continued down the city's main street, leaving only death and ruin in her wake.  

The playful fun Violet was having stood in stark contrast to the utter desperation and terror that was being felt by the thousands of people who were now unwilling participants in her all too real and deadly game.  Buildings not directly in Violet's path succumbed and collapsed to the constant earthshaking created by her movements.  Fires broke out all over the city as gas lines ruptured and power lines fell.  Violet moved between the towering pillars of thick black smoke that were rising into the sky as the town of Rutledge burned.

----------

The wail of the sirens echoing through the town was dying away.  James supposed there weren't many people left in the town to hear the sirens anyway.  Everyone had either fled or they were...James closed his eyes, not wanting to think about their fate.

The novelty of the monster game had worn off almost immediately for Violet when those doubts first surfaced.  Now, resolute and no longer concerned about James's opinion, she was destroying the city in an all to human methodical and remorseless manner.  Violet had become cruel.  The pleasure she was taking, not just from killing, but from terrorizing her victims and making them suffer was turning James's stomach.  He wanted to say something but he knew he could say nothing that would make her stop.

"There's one!"  Violet called out excitedly.  Tires squealed as an old truck, its driver attempting to flee this living nightmare, mistakenly turned down the street Violet was standing above.  She bent over and seized the truck with her outstretched fingers.  "Got it!"  Violet's tone was still lighthearted and playful, as if she were catching fireflies on a summer evening instead of devastating a rural town with a population that once numbered 8,000.  

Bringing the truck up to her eye, Violet peered through the windshield at the driver.  An elderly man, his arms were raised and covering his face.  Violet could see that he was shaking uncontrollably.  The driver's fear was total.  That fear was all that Violet had wanted from the pathetic little man.  Seeing that fear triggered the flow of those all too familiar chemicals within her brain.  She knew this small release was only a foretaste of the true rush she would be feeling in just a matter of seconds.  Grinning at the driver, Violet slowly brought her fingers holding the truck together.  The truck and the elderly man inside disappeared between them, becoming nothing but flattened unrecognizable metal scrap.  The hairs stood up on the back of Violet's neck.  

Violet brought the wreckage of the truck, still held crushed between her fingers, down to the level of her other hand that was cupping her erstwhile boyfriend.  Making sure they were in full view of James, Violet rubbed her two fingers together.  What remained of the truck was shredded and fell from her fingertips, as inconsequential to her as a piece of dirt.  This gave Violet that second rush, different from the first but no less intoxicating.  Forcing James to witness her fun and then soaking in his horror made for twice the thrill.  Violet had told herself she was no longer concerned about what James thought of her.  For now, he was nothing more than another source of fear to be used as she saw fit.  That voice, her voice, again whispered within Violet's mind.

"James deserves to be punished for what he did to you, killing him would only release him from what he deserves.  You should make him your pet, your toy.  He needs to understand who is now in control!"  

"I have an idea James!"  Violet smiled as she spoke in a playfully conspiratorial whisper, holding James up to her face.  "I can get a little cage for you and I'll hang it on a chain around my neck!  That way, you'll always be close to my heart."  Violet let out a small laugh, its force rolling James backwards like a tumbleweed across her palm.  She held her breath as she watched him recover and slowly stand up.  Violet was full of anticipation, hungrily awaiting James's defiant response.  He said nothing.  Holding his sore ribs, James moved back and sat back down in her palm's center.  

James was ignoring her!  His defiant silence was frustrating but it also meant something that Violet feared; that she might not be strong enough and, in the end, James would win.

----------

Twenty three minutes: the amount of time that passed between Violet arriving at the town of Rutledge to the present moment.  In those 23 minutes, almost 5000 of the city's population were killed or seriously injured while 90% of the city's structures were destroyed.  Standing over the devastated town, Violet turned her full attention to James who still sat dejectedly in the center of her palm.

"You know..."  Violet mused, still seeking to cause an emotional rise in her stoic little captive.  "Sooner or later a tornado or a flood would have destroyed this little town and the rest of the world wouldn't have really cared.  I don't see what I just did as being any different...I'm an act of God..."  That statement caused James to look up briefly, disgust etched across his tired face.  Delighting in his reaction, Violet pressed on.

"Speaking of God, I've been thinking about my own divinity.  I don't think you or anyone else can deny that I am a goddess..."  Violet's lips curled into a smirk as she saw how her words were riling her tiny companion.  "So the real question is: how best can you, along with everyone else in the world, worship me?"  At that, James practically jumped up and spun around to confront the colossal smirking face that loomed over him. 

"You are not a goddess and you know it!  I have had enough of your childish and cruel games Violet.  This madness must end!"  

James was breathing heavily, ignoring the throbbing pain in his ribs as his eyes remained locked with Violet's.  Violet was silent, looking at James thoughtfully.  Then her mouth curled into a grin and she began to laugh at him once more.  Intentionally ignoring James for the moment, Violet looked down at her feet.  She could see dozens of surviving townspeople slowly picking their way through the rubble and wreckage that had once been their peaceful community.

"Look! More bugs!"  Violet's voice echoed off shattered buildings and streets, freezing many of the fleeing survivors in place with abject fear.  Laughing cruelly, Violet lifted her foot and stamped down onto the minuscule and helpless men and women as they scurried for cover.

James fell to his knees.  His latest plea had, once again, fallen on deaf ears.  Violet's response to James's call for sanity was to needlessly massacre yet more innocent people.  He understood it as yet another brutal display of just how little she cared about what he had to say.  Hopelessness began to overtake him.  

James once again heard that persistent rattle of Dr. Korlov's pills.  Reaching into his pocket and removing the plastic container, he was ready to throw the bottle away when a new and unexpected sound stopped him.  Putting the bottle back into his pocket, James turned and looked up.  He could see a large helicopter in the distance.  It was descending from the cloud layer and approaching their position.  Violet, also hearing the staccato beat of the spinning blades, paused and watched silently as the helicopter drew nearer.

----------

General Veers was aware of what was happening in Rutledge almost immediately.  The base's communications center was currently a chaotic hive of activity.  The garrison's computer warfare team had immediately severed all datalinks the small town had, cutting it off from the outside world.  Reconnaissance aircraft were also currently orbiting high above the farming community, relaying up to the minute video and telemetry of Violet's actions.  

The general was pleased.  Her destructive and erratic behavior signalled to him that she was not under the control of Dr. Korlov or James.  The helicopter gunship squadron General Veers had sent to intercept Violet and her companions had been almost completely wiped out but it had apparently accomplished its goal.  Violet was ripe for the picking, General Veers only had to reach out and bring her back under his wing.  The fate of the town was unfortunate.  General Veers had already ordered a special sortie, consisting of a single aircraft.  It's mission was to loiter over Rutledge.  The plane's payload would neatly tie up that particular loose end.

In the meantime, General Veers had sent out a large transport helicopter that had been fitted with both cameras and a large loudspeaker to intercept Violet.  He would be able to see Violet and speak with her from his command and control center here on the base, using the helicopter as his mouthpiece.  

General Veers would explain everything, all the lies that the doctor and James had clouded Violet's mind with would be set right.  He already had plans for her next assignment where she would be able to continue to explore her potential.  The general could see in the monitor that Violet had stopped and was watching the helicopter as it approached.  The helicopter was now hovering only a few hundred yards away from Violet, level with her face.  Leaning forward, General Veers keyed the microphone in front of him and spoke in a gentle, fatherly tone.

"Violet?"

"...in the end, death will find you Violet...and when it does, you will be alone." -General Veers

----------

"Violet?"

Violet's eyes narrowed as she heard General Veer's voice.  Still holding James in her right hand, she turned, squaring herself up towards the hovering helicopter facing her.  Heedless of what was beneath her, Violet's movement devastated yet more of the town which lay at her feet.

General Veer's finger hovered over the microphone key.  He was watching the large monitor that dominated the far wall of his command center.  Violet's impatient face filled the entire screen.  She was waiting for the general to make the next move and he was going to make her keep waiting.  When General Veers felt he had kept her waiting long enough, he pressed the transmit key.

"Violet, I am so glad we have found you and that you are safe."  General Veers released the button when he finished speaking and looked back at the monitor.  The image on the screen was in constant motion, the helicopter carrying the cameras was being buffeted by rising plumes of hot air from the countless fires consuming the town.  After a few seconds, Violet responded.

"Safe?"  Violet laughed, "Why wouldn't I be?  I took care of your little squadron of gnats that you sent to find me earlier this morning.  Did you really believe that you and your army of fleas could be anything other than a minor nuisance for me?"  Driving her point home, Violet stretched out her hand slowly and playfully swatted at the helicopter.  The pilot, seeing the enormous hand reaching for his aircraft, panicked and maneuvered desperately out of the way.  As he did so, the camera aboard swung up and down wildly.

"There!"  General Veers pointed at the monitor.  "Go back and freeze the frame on her hand!"  He leaned forward and squinted at the frozen blurry image.  He could see a figure, no more than a few pixels on the screen but the general was certain of who it was.  

James's presence might complicate matters.  It was obvious to General Veers that James was not in control of Violet.  Rewinding the tape further, the general noticed that Violet had moved the hand holding James back closer to her side as the helicopter approached.  This almost unconscious protective movement on Violet's part told General Veers all that he needed to know.  The helicopter resumed its station, this time a further 500yrds away.

"Violet, I am here to help you.  I know you must be feeling very angry and betrayed right now, as well you should!  I can tell you that..."  

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"  Violet's shout cut General Veers off.  Even with the receiver set to its lowest volume setting, the force of her voice caused many in the command center to rip their headphones off in pain.  The view of the monitor once again tipped violently up and down.  The pilot of the helicopter recovered quickly and steadied his craft, reestablishing the video link.  

General Veers furrowed his brow and frowned.  This would be a challenge, but he had no doubt that in the end he would get what he wanted.

----------

40,000 feet above the devastated town, a lone aircraft was circling, completing another lazy figure-eight in the sky.  Major T.J. King had flown the B1 Lancer since their initial inception into the Airforce.  His crew of three were highly trained and had rehearsed this type of mission countless times.  Today was different.  Today was not a training exercise, the weapon they carried in the forward bomb bay was real.  The bomber's crew busied themselves with checklists and adjusting their equipment in order to do the unthinkable.  

When Major King left his briefing with General Veers, he had headed straight for the airfield.  Walking out to his awaiting aircraft, he reviewed the mission details in his head.

A small town, less than 100 miles away, was under attack.  The enemy attacking the town was beyond both belief and comprehension.  It took the images captured by reconnaissance aircraft to convince Major King of the reality of the situation.  

"She isn't the target?  I don't understand?"  Major King had asked General Veers this obvious question at the end of the briefing.

"I believe I can solve this situation without such heavy handed tactics, Major."  General Veers had told the major dismissively.  "You will be my trump card, if the need arises.  Otherwise, the town itself will be your target when you are authorized to release your weapon."

Major King's thoughts were interrupted when he saw the small convoy of vehicles leaving the high security ordinance bunker.  The front and rear of this convoy consisted of humvees manned by heavily armed military police.  At the center of this line of vehicles was a small utility truck towing a weapons loader.  The major could see the sleek silhouette of the bomb sitting in the loader's cradle.  The weapon's physics package, the major knew, was already strike-enabled.  

The B61 was a variable yield nuclear free fall bomb.  The particular variant being loaded onto the Major's bomber had a maximum yield of 100 kilotons.  General Veers, however, had specified the lowest yield of 5 kilotons for the upcoming mission.  The idea of detonating a nuclear weapon on home soil and the inevitable civilian casualties that would result did not sit well at all with Major King.  

The chain of command for the mission was also worrisome.  Due to the seriousness and immediacy of the situation, General Veers had activated Strategic Plan Yellow.  This plan gave authority to lower level theater commanders for the release of nuclear weapons if the normal chain of command had been interrupted or compromised.  While most certainly a dire situation, Major King did not see why the President wasn't in the loop.  

Now, circling at an altitude of 8 miles, Major King looked out his side windscreen as he banked his bomber to the left.  Far below, he could see pillars of black smoke rising over a thousand feet above the burning city.  On the town's edge, the major could see the cause of all the destruction.  

There were only two reasons why Major King accepted the mission and boarded his aircraft that afternoon.  First, if nuclear weapons were to be dropped on his countrymen, he and he alone would bear the burden of that action.  The second reason was much more simple: he was going to stop that monster no matter what the cost.

----------

"Where is my family?"  It was more of a demand than a question.  Violet was smirking with confidence as she faced down the miniscule helicopter hovering now almost 1000yrds away.  

Violet had wanted to speak to the general since yesterday's incident in the hangar.  What she wanted was answers: she wanted to hear the truth.  As Violet was asking about her family, she wondered to herself if she truly wanted to find them at all.  What would she say to them?  What would they think when they learned what she had done, what she had become?  If James's reaction was any indication, Violet realized that it would be impossible to go back to her mother and father.  This didn't change the fact that Violet felt she needed her parents now more than any other time in her life.

"I understand your anger and frustration Violet.  If it is your wish to be reunited with your family, you can be rest assured that, together, we will find them and bring those responsible to justice."

"James told me you took them!  He told me you've been lying to me!"

"I swear to you, on Josephine's grave, that I did not take your family!"  General Veers normally calm and fatherly voice broke, the pain and hurt he was feeling at Violet's accusation was obvious to all within earshot.  Violet heard it as well.  She recalled how guarded and private General Veers was concerning his daughter and how her death continued to haunted him. Violet knew that the general would not invoke his daughter's name lightly.  Doubt now entered Violet's mind.

"I am in the business of lies, Violet...Lies and death.  To avoid the later I must, at times, rely on the former.  It is true that I have lied to you, the details of which I would be happy to discuss in my office.  My lies set you on a path but you chose to walk down it, Violet.  I once told you that you were the only one in the world who had the power to stop the wheel of fate, that you had the power to save millions and become the hero you were destined to be...I have never spoken truer words in my life."  

As General Veers spoke, Violet's brow furrowed.  "A hero...," she thought to herself.  Violet turned her head and glanced behind herself.  She saw a broken moonscape of rubble, fire, and death where a peaceful town had once stood.  The town and it's people had been innocent and deserved none of what Violet had just cruelly inflicted upon them.  General Veers could see the evil Violet had wrought as well as she could yet he still believed in her.  He believed that she could be saved and was worth saving.  Violet finally spoke.

"A Hero?  How can that be true?  Look at what I've done!"  Violet gestured at the smoldering ruins of Rutledge beneath her.  

"Violet, it is not in my power to forgive you.  What you have done here is monstrous, but it is also human.  Mankind has been razing cities to the ground and slaughtering the innocent since the moment we became more than just animals...We may be civilized but we are all still beasts."  General Veers paused, seeing the effect his words were having on Violet.  The corner of his mouth curled into the smallest hint of a smile.  

"You can continue down the path you are currently on, Violet; conducting your hedonistic orgy of death and destruction that will only intensify.  You will find that, try as you might,  this path will never fill that emptiness you have inside you."  General Veers chose his next words very carefully.

On this path, you will be a pariah; a monster.  As an existential threat to all of mankind, you will have to be stopped...we will have to kill you."  That final statement caused Violet to narrow her eyes once again. She regarded the hovering helicopter dismissively.  

"Kill me?  I would like to see you pathetic bugs try!"  Violet stomped down onto what remained of the neighborhood at her feet, flattening three more houses.  As she did so, her eyes remained locked on the helicopter that was powerless to stop her.  "You know, I've been meaning to pay your little army base a visit.  When I'm finished here, I think I'll take a walk over there and see if I can find any pests that need exterminating!"

"I might fail as may many others and millions of innocents would perish.  You may win 99 out of 100 times but in the end, death will find you Violet...and when it does, you will be alone."  The absolute surety in General Veer's voice shook Violet's feeling of invulnerability.  Signs of uncertainty and fear could be seen in her otherwise steely glare.

"You don't understand!  This is now MY world and all of you are nothing more than insects to me.  You can either accept that or be crushed like the vermin you are!"  General Veers could hear the desperation in Violet's voice: She was on the defensive.  The general ignored her threat and pressed his advantage.

"This crime is beyond anyone's ability to forgive, save one...you, Violet.  You can make this right by taking the other path.  You can use your gift, not for yourself, but for the greater good!  Heroes are not born, they are created by the events where their choices made a difference.  What happened here today can have meaning if, in the end, you choose the path that makes you the hero we both know is inside you!"  

General Veers released the transmit key on the microphone.  The Command Center, up until then frenetic with activity, was completely silent.  Most of the men and women manning the various computer consoles had turned away from their screens and were staring at the general, wide eyed.  General Veers ignored them, placing his hands behind his back and turning his attention back to the main monitor.  His careworn face was filled with resolve as he watched the giantess on the screen and waited for her response. 

----------

A flash of sunlight reflecting off one of the reconnaissance aircraft startled Major King as it streaked in front of his bomber.

"God Damn it!"  The major pulled hard on the control yoke, banking the aircraft away from the impending collision.  "Where the hell is ground control?"

Major King's bomber had observed radio silence up until this point, but the busy airspace above Rutledge was becoming too dangerous.  The major keyed the radio receiver to broadcast.

"Unicorn, this is Lion, requesting an updated flight plan, over."  Major King waited, he heard only static on his receiver.  "I repeat, Unicorn this is Lion, do you copy?"  

"I will not fly this plane blind!"  Major King muttered to himself, frustrated.  He began cycling through the other radio channels, hoping to at least find the other aircraft in the area that might be in his flight path.  Finally, through the static, he heard a voice.

"..."Violet, it is not in my power to forgive you.  What you have done is monstrous, but it is also human..."

"That sounds like Base Commander Veers!"  Major King immediately recognized the voice.  The crew listened until the transmission cut off.  Major King was shocked by what he had heard.  The general wasn't going to stop that monster, he was going to recover her as an asset!  Looking out his windscreen, the major could still see the smoke rising from the devastation that the monster had already caused.  

This was all wrong.  Major King's sense of duty and loyalty had never been questioned, he would have never been given the responsibility of carrying out nuclear strike missions otherwise.  At this moment, the major was both angry and filled with doubt.  He had no idea what General Veers was planning but this monster had just killed thousands of innocent civilians.  He realized that he was the only one who could stop this madness.

"Major King to crew, I am amending our orders.  We will proceed to Waypoint Bravo and begin our attack run."  He turned to his co-pilot, "Sam I need the authentication codes so we can arm the bomb."  

Major King turned his attention back to his cockpit display and began sending the new waypoint coordinates to the navigator.  Looking back up, Major King saw the muzzle of a gun pointed at his head.  His co-pilot had removed the service pistol from the plane's emergency survival kit.  He now had it aimed directly at the major.

"Major, I-I can't let you do this, we cannot arm the weapon without authorization from command."  Major King looked at the gun and then at his co-pilot with a pained smile.  Captain Samuel O'Dodd was an outstanding officer and Major King knew the captain was only following his training.  The major was essentially going rogue with a nuclear weapon over home soil.

"Sam, you can see what is going on down there as well as I can and you heard what Veers said on the radio.  That monster must be stopped or else what is going on down there on the ground will happen again.  You are going to have to shoot me if you want to stop me Sam."

The co-pilot's hand trembled slightly before he regained a steady grip on the pistol.  The two men stared at each other for what felt an eternity.  Finally, Captain O'Dodd lowered the weapon and uncocked the pistol's hammer.

"I'm from a small town in Iowa, looks just like that one."  Captain O'Dodd nodded out the window at the burning town below.  "I don't want to see it looking like that one down there.  What you are doing is wrong but it's also the right thing to do."  The captain handed Major King the pistol and then the authentication codebook. 

----------

James could do nothing but listen as Violet and General Veers conversed.  Violet had pulled the hand he sat upon close to her body when the helicopter arrived.  James saw it for what it was: Violet was protecting him.  It was a pinpoint of light in Jame's otherwise bleak outlook.  Perhaps there was something of the Violet he knew and loved still there.

When General Veers spoke, James became insensed.  His anger then turned to disbelief as he witnessed the effect the general's honeyed words were having on Violet. 

"How can she be so naive?" James asked himself, remaining only a passive eavesdropper in the ongoing conversation.  "Come on Violet, you're smarter than this!"  But as James listened further, he slowly came to a disturbing revelation.  

What General Veers was offering Violet was, in James's opinion, Violet's best and only option.  The rampaging terror she was now engaged in had to stop.  James had failed to convince Violet and he could see no way in his current situation of changing that.  General Veers, on the other hand, seemed to be making an impact.  If the General Veers succeeds, Violet would be the General's weapon once again.  If that happens, everything James and Dr. Korlov did trying to save Violet will have meant nothing.  Every death that has happened in the last 24 hours, including the doctor's, will ultimately have been James's fault.  

General Veers was offering Violet a purpose beyond simply satisfying her immediate and cruelly hedonistic impulses, he was offering her a future.  James realized that was something he could not offer her.  Violet's actions here today had made it impossible for her to ever return to the life she once knew.  James had imagined a future where Violet used her powers to help humanity as a true hero, but that was now just a fantasy.  How could the world just forgive and forget this mass murder and accept Violet as a force for good?

"No," James thought, "better that Violet fall under the General's control where he may be able to put a check on her murderous impulses or at least minimize them."

James now considered his place in the future General Veers was offering Violet.  He knew he was seen as a liability to General Veers.  James had already experienced, first hand, how the general deals with liabilities.  Whether Violet would allow General Veers to remove James from the picture was another question entirely.  James wondered if he would even want to live in a world where this future became a reality.

As General Veers finished his speech, James stood and looked up at Violet's face hanging hundreds of feet above.  With bated breath James waited.  As much as he hated it, he hoped Violet would make the right choice.

----------

Violet was struck dumb by what General Veers had said to her.  She wanted to respond by simply laughing at the general or threatening him again but Violet did not.  Instead, she found herself actually considering General Veer's offer.

She did not want to be a monster.  Black smoke wafted up into Violet's face.  Looking down, it was as if she was finally noticing what she had done for the first time.

"How did I let it go this far?" Violet asked herself, "all I wanted to do was to prove to James...to show him..."  Violet didn't bother finishing that thought, why she did all of this really did not matter.  What Violet did here today had cut the last lifeline that linked her back to her former life and any hope of returning to it.  She would never be forgiven by James, her family, or the rest of the world.

"And their forgiveness matters?"  That voice, her voice, quietly asked Violet.  "Do you apologize to the millions of microbes that you kill when you wash your hands without a second thought?  Do you ask for their forgiveness?"  Violet considered the question.  The voice was right!  Their forgiveness was as insignificant as they themselves were in Violet's world.  What did it matter what the world thought of Violet or her actions.  She would do as she pleased and humanity would just have to adapt to this new paradigm.  Violet's satisfaction with this answer faded as an unexpected feeling of shame began overtaking her.

"But can I forgive myself?"  Violet's question was as simple as its answer was complex.  That voice, her voice, fell silent.  Now alone within her mind, Violet was left with this looming question.  She knew that, in time, she could rationalize her actions; she would have 100 irrefutable arguments for why she did what she did here today.  

But, in the end, Violet knew what she was doing was wrong.  Not accepting that would mean that in every moment after this one, Violet would be lying to herself.  The fear in her life that she was trying to escape would simply be replaced with the shame she was feeling right now.  

Violet was still looking down at the ground, asking herself what she should do next, when her eyes caught movement in her right hand.  James had stood up and was looking up at her.  Without thinking, Violet brought her palm holding James to her face.  Truly looking at James for the first time since this all began, Violet could see that he had been crying.  James's weary face made him look much older than he actually was.  He was holding his side, obviously in a great deal of pain.  Violet wanted to ask James what had happened...Was he ok?  She wanted to apologize for everything.  But Violet said none of those things.

"What should I do James?"  Violet couldn't believe her own ears.  She was falling back into her old habits: If a decision was too big for Violet, then she deferred it to someone else.  Violet quickly suppressed the rising anger she was feeling towards herself, this was not the time for self-righteous platitudes.  She needed to make a decision right now and she didnt want to make it alone.

----------

"Bomb fusing master safety on: electronics, barometrics, time and impact.  Fuse for barometric detonation: detonator altitude set to 1000ft."  The bombardier repeated the Major King's order as he toggled the various switches on his weapons console, just as he had done countless times before during training missions.

"Bomb fusing circuits one through four, test."

Within the bomb bay, the B61's circuits came to life.  Capacitors within the bomb began charging.  On the bombardier's console, four red lights flickered to life.

"Set bomb yield to 1-0-0 kilotons: maximum yield."  Captain O'Dodd looked up at the Major's order.  100 kilotons was almost 10 times the destructive power of the bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima.  The copilot swallowed dryly but said nothing, returning to his own checklist.  

The bombardier repeated the Major's order as he dialed in the bomb's yield into the weapons computer.  Major King banked the aircraft to the left as it descended, leveling off at 5000ft to begin their bomb run.  The target was dead ahead: range: 18 miles.  Increasing the throttle to maximum, he watched the indicator lights switch to green as the bomber's wings swung back into their fully swept position.  On the ground, a thunderous boom echoed across the fields as the plane went supersonic.  Major King keyed his intercom with the bombardier.

"Bomb arming checklist: Engage primary trigger switch override and release first safety."  

"First safety released."  The bombardier parroted the major's orders back to him.  Major King moved down the checklist, transforming the inert object within the bomb bay into a devastating weapon of vengeance.  

"Target in sight!"  It was the co-pilot who spoke.  He was looking straight ahead through the windscreen.  They were still 10 miles away but were closing at Mach 1.25.  The bombardier's face was awash in green light as he sat hunched over his radar screen.  The radar return from the unusual target was impossible to miss.  He watched the bombing computer's telemetry as the numbers clicked steadily downwards to zero and bomb release.

"Bomb bay doors, open."  The dark interior of the bomber's weapons bay was flooded with daylight as the doors beneath the bomb swung open.  Major King keyed his intercom again.

"Boys, I know what we are about to do doesn't sit well with any of us.  But what is standing out there is a monster that only we have the power to stop.  Whatever happens in the next two minutes, I wanted to tell you that it has been a pleasure serving with each of and every one of you."  Major King's crew remained silent, each considering the ramifications of what they were about to do.  The bomber's ventilation system and the distant hum of the engines were the only audible noise within the cockpit.  The bombardier finally broke the heavy silence.

"Range to target, 3 miles. Bomb circuits: nominal...Ready to drop...on my mark..." 

As the sleek outline of the bomber raced overhead, a rather small and insignificant object fell from its bomb bay.  It's pure white surface shown brightly in the late afternoon sunlight.  A moment later, the bomb's kevlar parachute deployed.  It would slow the bomb's descent and give the bomber the precious time it needed to escape the impending blast.  The bomber pulled up hard and banked over to the right, rocketing skyward.  Slowed by its parachute, the bomb arced relentlessly downwards towards Violet.

----------

Before James could respond, Violet looked up, startled by the crack of the sonic boom from a low flying aircraft streaking overhead.  It was banking off to her left and climbing into the cloud layer high above.  Her attention was immediately drawn to a small falling object.  It had a parachute attached and was descending rapidly towards her.  

"What in the world?"  Violet said out loud, puzzled.  Her first thought was that the curious object must be a person who had just bailed out of the plane she had just seen.  James, also seeing the mysterious object and recognizing it for what it was, began jumping up and down while screaming in an attempt to get Violet's attention.  Violet finally looked down at James, her face filled with both worry and confusion as she strained to hear what he was saying.

"It's a bomb!  An A-Bomb!  You have to get out of here!"  James screamed up at Violet desperately.

Violet looked back up at the bomb as it fell ever closer.  Fear drowned out all of her other thoughts, freezing her in place.  Violet didn't know what to do,  She could run, but run to where and how far?  Time was running out.  Clutching James in her hand, Violet pulled her arm as close to her chest as she could as a desperate last ditch effort to protect him.  The bomb descended to her eye level.

"NO!"  Violet's earthshaking scream was cut short as a brilliant white flash, brighter than a thousand suns, enveloped her.

----------

"Impact!"  The bombardier shouted into his intercom.  Major King had ordered the anti-flash curtains lowered immediately after bomb release, casting the cockpit into total darkness.  A white light filled the cockpit as the initial flash from the bomb leaked in from the curtain's edges.  A second later, the bomber was hit by the blast's tremendous shockwave.  The plane jolted upwards and then down, buffeted like a leaf in the wind by the intense effects of the bomb's blast.  As the aircraft settled back on course, Major King ordered his co-pilot to pull back the curtains to his right.  They both peered out the window to see the results of their bomb run.  Both men were rendered speechless by what they saw.  After some moments, it was Major King who finally spoke.

"God in heaven...What have I done..."

----------

"What happened?  Reestablish the uplink now!"  General Veer's forceful demand sent the entire room into a frenzy, dozens of computer specialists and technicians hurriedly trying to diagnose the problem.  The Command Center, along with the entire base, had just been rocked by a tremendous earthquake.  Ceiling panels had fallen and lights continued to sway wildly in its aftermath.

A 2nd Lieutenant, manning the console to the General's left, called out:

"The communications helicopter isn't responding on any frequency and its transponder is no longer active!" 

Another voice from across the room added:

"All communications in the operational area have been disrupted due to extreme atmospheric electromagnetic interference!"

"Electromagnetic interference...Major King..."  General Veers whispered to himself.  The general placed his hands on the desk in front of him and allowed his head to drop down below his shoulders in weariness.  Without warning, the General Veers roared in frustration and violently swept all the binders and papers that sat on the desk onto the floor.  The uncharacteristic outburst froze all the personnel in the room in place.  

Even if the weapon was set to its highest yield, General Veers knew, it would not have created the ground tremor they had just experienced at this distance.  The actual cause of the earthquake gave the general a small sliver of hope.  General Veers looked up at the men and women in the room, a hot fire now burning behind his eyes.

"I want eyes in the air NOW!  I need to know the extent of what has happened.  Assemble the radiological team and get air samples to confirm a nuclear event.  Try to use the seismic data to estimate the yield.  And I don't care how you do it but want to speak with Major King immediately!"  No one moved within the command center, everyone was still watching the general in shock.  

"NOW!"  General Veers bellowed.  At that, the spell was broken and the command center once more came to life.

----------

The high pitched whine filling Violet's ears began to fade away but her vision was still nothing but a kaleidoscope of swimming iridescent colors.  Blinking, the world slowly came back into focus.  In front of her, Violet saw the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion.  She could feel the intense heat on her skin as the cloud expanded and rose higher.  Below the cloud's fireball, Violet could see nothing but a boiling sea of fire.  

She was alive!  As all of her senses returned, Violet found herself sitting on the ground, thrown backwards by the force of the tremendous blast.  Looking back at the mushroom cloud rising in front of her, Violet realized she was looking down at it!  Violet's heart stopped.

In that final moment, Violet had released her power, raw and unchecked by her force of will.  She was now sitting on the surface of a truly alien world.  The landscape beneath her couldn't be real.  Violet could see roads, fields, and forests stretching out all around her as if she was sitting upon an enormous map.  The cloud layer, formerly soaring high above her head, now brushed against her body no higher than her elbow.  The familiar blue of the sky was now only a band on the horizon that slowly darkened to a deep indigo as it arched over her head.  

Glancing about herself frantically, Violet felt panic rising inside her.  Her otherworldly perspective was filling Violet with complete terror!  Her panic caused her to breathe rapidly, bordering on hyperventilation.  The air around Violet was frigid.  Exhaling, enormous clouds of vapor lingered in the air around Violet's face.  The only sounds that Violet could hear, apart from the low rumble of the expanding mushroom cloud, were her own rapid breathing and her heart pounding within her chest.  

"James!"  Knowing he was still with her helped calm Violet down and keep the tenuous grip she had on reality.  Violet remembered how she tried to protect him at the last moment.  Her arm was still held tightly clutched against her chest.  Looking down to her right hand, she opened it hesitantly.  

Empty!  Overwhelming panic began washing over Violet all over again.  It was in that moment that she realized that, at her current size, James must be too small for her to see.  Violet had no idea if he was alive or dead; James was lost on the vast landscape of her gargantuan hand. 

In that moment, towering miles above a terrifyingly microscopic world which lay all around her, Violet never felt more alone, lost, and afraid.    

----------

"I have found that being bigger actually gives me the right to do whatever I like." -Violet Parr

----------

Getting away was the only thought racing through Violet's mind.  The grotesquely huge mushroom cloud continued to rise before her, now looming well over her head.  Bolts of lightning crackled and spread like malevolent fingers across the it's boiling surface; the tremendous amount of dust within the turbulent superheated cloud was creating hundreds of millions of volts of static charge.  The ground below the cloud was still an expanding ocean of flame.  Violet began to scramble backwards fearfully as the ring of fire approached her leg.  She pushed herself away desperately from the hellish scene.  Her feet, digging into the earth for purchase, plowed canyon sized furrows deep into the otherwise flat landscape.  

No longer feeling in imminent danger, Violet was able to catch her breath.  The metallic taste of fission was still palatable within her mouth.  She had been attacked!  General Veers had not waited for Violet to make her choice, making good on his promise to try and kill her.  

Violet looked back into her right hand, still clutched tightly against her chest.  She hoped James was still there and alive but at her current size she had no way of knowing.  Violet carefully closed her fingers back over her palm.  Standing up, she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her momentarily as she experienced her new disorienting and towering perspective.

The cloud layer at her knees made it almost impossible to see what lay beneath.  Violet was lost, the featureless cloudscape at her knees stretched out around her in all directions.  

"What now?"  Violet asked herself out loud.  It was comforting and reassuring to hear a human voice, even if it was just her own.  She still needed to get away, she needed time to think.  Where she would go didn't matter, as long as it was away from here.  Putting her back to the colossal dissipating mushroom cloud, Violet started walking.

----------

As the bomb hurtled towards them, James fell to his knees in the center of Violet's hand.  The world around him then went dark.

He was dead.  That, at least, was James's first thought.  He could see nothing, the blackness surrounding him was total; darker than anything he had ever experienced.  He was having trouble catching his breath and felt dizzy.  James was still on his knees and, reaching out, he was reassured when he felt the warm skin of Violet's hand still underneath him.

James had to shut his eyes tightly as light suddenly flooded in all around him.  Opening them, James quickly glanced around, squinting.  He didn't understand what he was seeing at first.  He was still kneeling on Violet's hand, but it's proportions were almost beyond his comprehension!  

Looking up, James let out a scream of terror!  The fingers of her hand were looming over him taller than skyscrapers, each rising almost half a mile into the sky.  His perspective made him feel as if he was at the bottom of an immense canyon on some unexplored alien world.  

What he saw beyond those towering fingers was the source of James's scream.  Violet's face filled the entire sky beyond them.  She looked frightened, her eyes were darting back and forth, desperately scanning the vast landscape that James found himself kneeling upon.  The terrifying sight was too much for James's mind to handle.  Before his mind broke, he mercifully passed out from shock.  He slumped over as the titanic fingers curled back over him, casting his unconscious body back into total darkness.

----------

"We have a visual!"  General Veers heard the call over the chaos of his command center.  Ignoring all else, he turned all his attention to the large monitor that hung on the wall.  

A high speed interceptor had been vectored to the scene.  The broadcast from its onboard camera was distorted by intense electromagnetic interference from the bomb's detonation.  Through the static, the general could just make out the telltale mushroom cloud of the nuclear blast rising high into the stratosphere.  Beyond the cloud there was another form, looming even larger.  The form was moving.  The entire command center fell silent as everyone looked at the grainy image on the screen.

"Extraordinary!"  General Veers' voice was a barely audible whisper.  Violet had survived and was now at a scale he never dreamed was possible!  "Do we have an estimate on her size?" The general asked calmly, placing his hand gently on the shoulder of the young man sitting at the console to his left.  The General's calm and business-like demeanor put the man at ease from his initial shock and he quickly began working out the arithmetic on a loose sheet of paper. 

"It's hard to say, sir, but my numbers would suggest between 40,000 to 45,000 feet."  General Veers could feel that the man at the console was trembling.

"It's ok son, excellent work." The general squeezed the man's shoulder reassuringly.  The screen's picture was becoming clearer as the interference slowly dissipated.  General Veers could now clearly see Violet.  She was standing and moving away from the scene of the blast, walking south.  "Radio all ground personnel; I want them to clear a corridor 10 miles wide in the direction she is moving.  We will continue to track her from the air."

"Sir?"  The young man at the console spoke up hesitantly.  "What about all the civilians in her path?"  General Veers put his hand back onto the young man's shoulder but spoke so that everyone within the command center could hear him.

"Unfortunately, at her size and at the speed at which she is moving there will be no time to conduct any form of evacuation of the people in her path."  The general smiled weakly at the young man, "I wish there was something we can do for them, but for now all we can do is watch and wait."  

General Veers knew that, for the time being, he could do nothing to influence the situation.  He turned and walked to the door.  Before leaving, he spoke to the command center's CO.  

"Colonel Peters, have the video feed connected to my office, that is where I will be."  

----------

The feeling of ground beneath her feet was as alien as everything else to Violet at her current size.  Having lost her shoes when the town was destroyed by the bomb, she now walked barefoot.  Violet found the texture of the earth under her feet unsettlingly hard to describe; it was like stepping onto a layer of the finest sifted flour or powder that, in turn, covered another layer of coarser wet sand.

None of what she was experiencing felt real.  Her perspective reminded Violet of the view that she had seen many times when traveling by plane.  When she had seen this same sort of view from the air, it has always been accompanied by a feeling that the landscape under the aircraft was vast and almost immeasurable in scope and scale.  That feeling was disturbingly absent from Violet now.  What her eyes saw and what her body felt was creating a disorienting dissonance within her mind that Violet could not shake.  Through the breaks in the clouds, Violet could see vast stretches of forest bisected by dozens of thread-like lines.

"Roads..." Violet said to herself.  She decided to follow one of the relatively larger roads but she found it difficult due to her sporadic view through the clouds.  

Taking another step, Violet paused.  She noticed that the texture under her foot was subtly different.  She waited for the clouds around her knees to drift by so she could see what it was exactly that she had stepped in.  As the clouds cleared, Violet looked down.  Her foot was planted in the midst of a grayish colored area surrounded by yet more minuscule farm fields and forests.  There were also more of the thread-like ribbons of road, this time radiating out from this gray area in all directions.  Bending down and peering closer, Violet was astounded to see that the strange gray splotch under her foot was in fact a town!  

Violet crouched down onto her knee to get a better look.  It was indeed a town or city.  Her foot covered more than half of it's area.  She could see smoke rising up from around her foot: fires were breaking out all over this unknown town.  With this single step she had caused more damage to this place than she had done in a half hour of concerted effort in Rutledge, yet she felt none of the excitement or thrill that had come with that previous self-indulgent rampage.  

She was still surrounded by overwhelming silence; the only sounds were her breathing and heartbeat.  Violet felt completely disconnected from this microscopic world at her feet.  Looking at the anonymous city under her foot, she felt absolutely nothing.  Standing up, Violet gave the decimated town a last brief glance before continuing onward.

----------

James woke up.  He was laying on his back.  Looking up, he could see Violet's face once again looming over him.  She was looking into his eyes and smiling, tears freely rolling down her cheeks.  Immediately, James started screaming in terror!  He began to scoot backwards desperately trying to escape.

"No, it's ok.  You are alright, please calm down James."  Violet put her hands on James's shoulders, stopping him.  Feeling her touch, he froze.  It took a moment for his mind to process what was happening.  Looking back at Violet, James realized she was not a looming giantess but instead back to her normal size.  She was kneeling over him as he lay on the ground.  Violet's hands were still resting gently on his shoulders, it was a feeling James thought he would never experience again.

Sitting up, James looked around.  They were in the woods.  Beyond that, he did not know where they were and, for the moment, he did not care.  Looking down and placing his hand on his ribs, James could feel that his injury had been carefully rewrapped. 

"I hope you don't mind, you have some very nasty looking bruises under there and you were unconscious."  James looked back at Violet with puzzlement as she spoke, his mind still unwilling to believe what his eyes were seeing.  As if to test whether or not he was dreaming, James reached up and touched Violet's cheek.  It was still wet with tears.  Her face, filled with concern for him, wore a pained yet genuine smile.  James finally spoke.

"W-what happened?" As his disorientation finally subsided, he looked Violet in the eyes and added, "why?"  

The first question would be easy for Violet to answer.  The second, was not.  She wasn't quite sure why she saved him.  Ignoring his second question for now, Violet explained to James the events up to the present.  

She purposely omitted describing the destruction she caused along the way.  The fact that it was unintentional, she knew, wouldn't matter to James.  That small detail would not undo the untold destruction she caused or bring back the countless dead.  If James asked her, she would tell him but otherwise, Violet decided, that information would only make things worse.

As James listened, he could hear the fear and terror in Violet's voice as she described what it was like being so monumentally huge.  The mocking cruelty of the self-proclaimed goddess who saw humanity as only insignificant playthings or pests was completely absent from her descriptions.  Violet instead focused almost entirely on describing her feelings of isolation in that cold and silent world.

"But the radiation...I should be dead!" James began looking himself over hurriedly, searching for any sign of radiation burns or sickness.

"I think my hand shielded you from it.  I heard the doctors on the base talking about how the radiation was stopped by the thickness of my skin and tissues when they examined me after that test a few weeks ago." Violet's voice trailed off, "I don't know, I didn't understand most of what they were saying.  What's important is that you're alive and safe."

"But the fallout!  You're covered in it!"  James started to back away again in fear.

"No! No! It's ok James," Violet moved closer and put her hand on his knee.  "While you were unconscious I washed myself in a pond about a quarter mile away.  I didn't have any soap but I figured it was better than nothing..."  As Violet spoke, James noticed that her clothes were still slightly damp.

"We need to get you back to the base!" He said hurriedly, "They can check you over and make sure you're alright!"  

"NO!"  Violet said, her voice adamant.  "It was General Veers who did this," Violet's mood turned dark.  "He tried to kill me."  

"But that doesn't make any sense," James said after he composed himself.  "General Veers had you...you were about to go back to him.  Why would he try to kill you when recovering you was his goal?"  Violet shot James an angry look.

"Had me?  As if my choice was a foregone conclusion!"  As her anger grew, so did Violet. Still kneeling over James, she was now close to 175ft in stature as she towered over James.  

"As a matter of fact," she continued, "I was asking you what you thought I should do before all of this happened!"  James could see that Violet was now practically seething with rage.  He looked up at her but was unimpressed.

"Do you really think that you can scare me like that anymore?  I've had enough of your 'power' and your games!  When you are ready to talk to me face to face let me know..."  James stood up and turned his back to Violet as she, still kneeling, loomed ominously over him.

"Don't walk away from me." Violet muttered icily.

"Or you'll what?" James asked sarcastically as he began walking away from Violet without looking back.  "Just because you're bigger than me doesn't give you the right to..."  James's statement was cut short as he was roughly shoved from behind and he fell forward onto the ground.  Laying with his face in the dirt, he angrily looked over his shoulder to see what had pushed him.  Violet was still kneeling but she had extended her right leg and had pushed him down with her toe.  She was now regarding him coolly.

"Doesn't it?" Violet asked James, mirroring his earlier sarcasm. "I have found that being bigger actually gives me the right to do whatever I like."  James didn't respond.  As he moved to stand up, Violet placed her toe on his legs, pinning him in place. 

"Really? The right to do whatever you like?" James asked as he twisted around painfully and glared hatefully up into Violet's face.  "Does it give you the right to treat people like vermin?...To make them suffer and murder them?"  Violet looked away, scowling, as James continued.  "Does it give you the right to be a monster!?"

James's words cut into Violet deeply.  Today, she had become a monster and she hated herself for it.  Her childish anger and frustration, combined with her power, had led to the deaths of countless people whom she had never met or had any animosity towards.  She had used them to prove a point that she now felt was trivial.

"You have no idea what it's like, James."  Violet's voice was now quiet, almost a whisper.  "You have no idea what it's like to be me...No one does." 

"Then tell me! Talk to me! Stop hiding behind this power of yours!  Are you really so frightened of the world, and of me, that the only way you can cope is by being bigger than everything that scares you?  You're stronger than that Vi!"  James fell silent and stared at Violet.  After a moment, she finally looked back down at him.

"I never wanted this, any of it!  If I'm a monster, then it is General Veers' and the doctor's fault...and your fault as well."  Now it was James's turn and looked away.

"I am sorry for my part in all of this," James said at last.  "I've told you that.  But we didn't make you do all those terrible things back there!"

"Are you forgetting that I saved your life?  In fact, I saved your life twice today!  Would a monster do that?"  Violet's eyes met James's as he looked back up at her.

"I have not forgotten," James said in a tired voice well beyond his years.  "But saving my life doesn't make up for the countless lives you've pointlessly taken."  James shook his head, "If I thought you were beyond saving then I wouldn't be wasting my breath with you right now."

"Stop trying to save me!" Violet pressed down slightly with her toe to drive her point home, causing James to scream out in intense pain.  "You are so wrapped up in trying to save me, but do you even know who you are trying to save?  Did it ever occur to you to ask me what I wanted?"  Suddenly realizing the pain she was inflicting on James, Violet stopped pressing down on him with her toe.  She wanted desperately to apologize for hurting him but that voice, her voice,  spoke for the first time in hours.

"Don't show that worthless insect any weakness, if he thinks you aren't in control he will take advantage of you!"  Heeding the voice's advice, Violet remained silent as James slowly recovered.  

As he lay on the ground, breathing heavily as his pain receded, James realized that Violet was right.  He had been so sure that he was doing what was best for Violet that it had never occurred to him to actually ask her what she wanted.

"You are right, Vi," James said at last.  "This is your life we are talking about but I've been making decisions about it  without even thinking of including you in them.  I love you, but I've treated you like you weren't even here...for that I am sorry."

That simple statement of understanding is all she had wanted from James since earlier that morning.  Tears were now welling up around her eyes and flowing freely down her cheeks.  She finally lifted her foot away from James.  He stood up and, brushing himself off, turned to face Violet.

"You asked me what I thought you should do...I will give you my answer, if you still want to hear it."  Violet wiped away her tears.  Looking down at James, she simply nodded.  James swallowed hard.  "The general is right."

Violet blinked.  Without a word, she slowly reduced her size back to normal.  

"It's your only option Vi, it's your only future.  You saw how close they came to killing you back there."

"But they didn't!"  Violet countered.  She smiled smugly as she continued, "no matter how big the threat is, I can always be bigger!"  James looked at Violet sorrowfully.

"Is that really how you want to live?  20 miles tall and completely removed from everything and everyone you have or shall ever know?  Do you really want to be completely alone?"

James's words were like a wrecking ball, smashing Violet's argument to pieces.  That microscopic alien world she had just experienced could never truly be her home.  

"And the general is right about the other thing too," James continued. "You can still be a hero."  He was now smiling at her.  "You saved my life, twice.  That was never a part of the doctor's conditioning or the General's plans...that was a choice you made yourself, Vi, and it's a choice you can make again."  Violet threw her arms around James and hugged him tightly.

----------

"What do you mean you lost her?" General Veers was irate as he spoke to Colonel Peters on the telephone.  "She is eight miles tall god damn it!"  The colonel repeated to the general that one moment she was there and the next moment she was gone.  General Veers sighed with frustration.  "Think, colonel!  Did it not occur to you that she simply shrank herself down smaller?"  

The general listened patiently to the colonel and he searched for an excuse before cutting him off.  "You know where she was last; if you can't see her from the air anymore then she can't have moved far from that location.  Cordon off a five mile circle around that spot and send in your recon teams and find her!"  General Veers slammed the receiver down onto his desk, ending the conversation.

The general was actually more angry with himself than the hapless colonel in the command center.  He had been watching the video feed of Violet but the photograph on his desk had drawn his attention away.  Once more, he had sought escape in his daughter's face that stared out at him, forever young and innocent.  He thought it had only been a moment but in truth he wasn't sure how long he had been staring at Josephine's picture.  

When Violet first arrived on base, General Veers had used his daughter's photograph as yet another prop in the great lie he was weaving.  Even the comparisons he had first made between her and Violet were simply a part of his grand scheme.  At the time, he had rationalized it as a necessary evil.  Now, he wasn't so sure.

The fact of the matter was, despite his intentions otherwise, he had begun to see Violet as a surrogate for the daughter he had lost so long ago.  He knew such an emotional connection was dangerous, it could jeopardize everything he had been striving so hard to achieve and make the deaths of Lieutenant Walter's and all the others truly meaningless.  But he had been a father and that is something that never goes away, even after the death of a child.  He saw, through the eyes of a father, how lost Violet was and, for better or worse, he wanted to be the father he realized she so desperately needed.

He had received word that Violet's real father, along with the rest of her family, had been taken into protective custody by the government.  General Veers knew it was the smart move; sooner or later he would have had to deal with them one way or another.  Now, it was all irrelevant.  The general knew Violet could never go back to them, not after everything she had done.  He also knew that Violet was aware of this fact as well.  It broke his heart to know that he had essentially made Violet an orphan...She was now as alone as he was.

"Josephine...what should I do?" The General's question to the picture on his desk was almost pleading.  The photograph remained as silent as always, the eyes of his daughter seeing through all the lies to the heart of General Veers...her father.

----------

James awoke with a start!  Glancing around quickly, he realized he had fallen asleep.  He was laying in the same clearing in the woods Violet had brought him to earlier.  He had no idea how long he had been sleeping but the setting sun told him it had not been long at all.  

"Awake?" He whirled around at the sound of Violet's voice.  She was sitting with her back up against a tree no more than a few feet from him.  James was relieved to see she was still at her normal size.  

Standing up, James stretched.  The sharp pain from his injured ribs caused him to wince and double over slightly.  Moving his hand down from his side, it brushed against his pocket.  James panicked!  The bottle of pills that Dr. Korlov had given him was missing!  James began to scramble around in the dirt, searching for it.

"Are you looking for this?"  Violet held up the pill bottle and gave it a shake.  James heard that familiar rattle of the pills within the bottle.  He crawled over to Violet, reaching out for it.  "Wait a second!"  Violet held the bottle up and away from his reach.  "What are they?"

"Neuroinhibitors," James said without taking his eyes off the bottle.  "Dr. Korlov gave them to me.  He said they would only be effective when you were at your normal size."  James reached again for the bottle but Violet held it again just out of his reach.  

"So if I take these, it will help me not be so..."

"Violent," James finished Violet's sentence, his eyes still focused on the bottle.  Realizing that she wasn't going to give him the bottle just yet, he put his arm down and sat in front of Violet.  Seeing he no longer wished to grab it out of her hand, Violet lowered the bottle and examined it.  

"It's worth a try I suppose."  Violet opened the bottle.  Reaching inside, she pulled out a single pill between her thumb and forefinger and looked at it.  "To think such a little thing might be the solution to all my problems."  Violet tilted her head back and opened her mouth.  Still holding the pill between her thumb and forefinger, her eyes glanced at James as she dropped it onto her tongue and swallowed it. 

Watching her, James began to shake uncontrollably.  He did not see Violet taking the pill.  Instead, he found himself once again standing small and helpless in Violet's palm.  He was watching Violet drop Dr. Korlov into her mouth and swallowing him as if the doctor was nothing!  

"What's wrong?"  James didn't hear Violet's question or see the concern on her face.  As she spoke, James fainted.

----------

"We found them!"  Colonel Peters was relieved that he could give General Veers some good news after the fiasco of losing Violet earlier that afternoon.

"Them?"  The general queried.

"The boy, James, is with her. They are in a forest south of route 26, about 85 miles away."  The general was at first surprised at the colonel's report but after some thought he found it actually made perfect sense and could in fact be beneficial.

"Order the recon team to stay back: keep an eye on them but don't let them know they are being watched.  I will take a chopper and speak with Violet personally."

"But general, do you think it is wise to go by yourself?  You should not be taking such an unnecessary risk." Colonel Peters protested.

"Unnecessary?  Colonel, do you remember your Clausewitz from the academy?"  

"Sir?"  Colonel Peters was taken aback by General Veers' odd question.  "General you know history is your strong suit, not mine."

"Schwerpunkt, Colonel Peters.  Carl von Clausewitz described it as the focal point: both the location and the moment where an entire battle is decided.  A commander who understands both when and where this moment is and commits all of their effort to it can use it as a fulcrum to turn the tide of battle, even against a vastly superior foe."  General Veers paused, letting the colonel process what he had said.  

"I have never made a more necessary decision in my life, colonel!  This moment, in that forest, is that schwerpunkt that will decide our fate and I will not let it slip away!  I will not ask others to go if I am not willing to take this risk myself!"  The colonel was silent on the other end of the telephone as General Veers finished speaking.  The general chuckled, "and if I do not succeed...well, the world will simply be less one long-winded old man."

----------

"Are you alright?" 

When James opened his eyes, he found himself laying once more on the ground.  Violet was cradling his head in her lap looking down at him with a worried expression.  As he regained his senses, he sat up but turned away from Violet.

"What happened James?  You started trembling then you passed out!"  Violet put her hand on his shoulder only for James to shrug it away. 

"There is nothing you can do about it, you..." James trailed off and fell silent. 

"You asked me to talk, now it's your turn.  Tell me what's going on please."  James turned around and looked Violet in the eye.

"Dr. Korlov," he said flatly.  "When you swallowed that pill...I saw the doctor when you..."  James looked off at some distant, unseen point on the horizon and said no more.

Violet was speechless.  She had no idea what to say or if there was even anything she could say to James.  Without speaking, she moved over and sat down next to him in silence.  

After what seemed like an eternity, James turned his head and looked at Violet.  He was searching for some sign of remorse, anything that would tell him she understood what he was feeling.  She refused to meet his gaze, staring instead at the ground.

"Nothing?" James broke the silence with a tone that was both hurt and angry. "He wanted to help you, atone for what he had done to you...and you killed him!"

"I...I" James cut Violet off before she could say another word.

"No!" James's anger was like a raw and open wound.  "He was my friend!  You were angry with me but he paid the price for it with his life!  And you didn't just kill him...you...you."

Violet desperately wanted to feel something, anything, but she could not.  Her complete lack of emotion in the face of James's pain made Violet hate herself all the more.  She hesitantly put her arm around his shoulder.  This time, he did not push her away.  She pulled herself close to James and held him tightly.

"James, let's just forget about General Veers and all of this!"  Violet said, taking James's hand tenderly and putting it in hers.  "We can go somewhere far away with no people; somewhere where I can't hurt anyone else."  James looked at Violet with a look of curious bewilderment.

"Go away? What, and live in the woods like this?" James softly chuckled as he gestured to the surrounding forest.  Violet smiled, at least James was entertaining the idea and it was taking his mind off the doctor.

"Of course not!" Violet laughed.  "We could build a house or whatever that will meet our needs.   If we needed logs for a cabin, I could pick trees for you like daisies!"

"What about a nice tropical island?" James asked, excitement for her idea was seeping into his otherwise dour tone. "If we can't find an island then you could make us one by piling up sand in the ocean, just like a sandcastle on the beach!"  James said, laughing.  

"I'm serious," Violet wasn't laughing anymore.  "Think about it, will you James?"  James stared thoughtfully at Violet.  The picture she painted of a future together was intriguing...and if it meant an end to all this death...

James gathered some wood and lit a small campfire as night closed in around them.  They sat together in silence, simply staring into the flames.  James felt Violet's head slump onto his shoulder as she finally fell asleep.  Although exhausted, he could not sleep.  He couldn't stop thinking about the day's events.  

He looked down at Violet as she slept:  How could this sweet girl laying next to him be the same girl who, only hours before, cruelly stamped out an entire town and its people?  This girl, sleeping so peacefully, had killed thousands...maybe tens of thousands.  James wondered if he could ever truly see Violet as anything but a monster who had revelled in the suffering she had cruelly inflicted on those helpless to resist her.  Forgiveness for her actions was something he couldn't even consider at the moment.  

James thought about Violet's idea of just going away, of just starting over.  Using her power to scratch out a life far from civilization was something that he could actually support.  But as James stared into the fire he wondered how long it would be before her emotions, or lack thereof, would result in Violet becoming abusive or violent again.  He sat in silence as the flames of the campfire slowly died to embers.

----------

"Violet?"

Hearing her name, Violet stirred from sleep and sat up.  It was morning.  She looked over and saw that James was still sleeping soundly next to her.  She looked around anxiously, searching for the source of the voice she was certain she had heard.  General Veers stepped out into the clearing.

"You!" Violet's tone was vengeful as her eyes locked onto the general.  Now James was awake as well and he quickly stood up as General Veers approached them both, his hands held up to show he carried no weapon or ill intent.

"What do you want?" James asked wearily, stepping forward and placing himself between the general and Violet.  Before General Veers could answer, James felt himself pushed back forcefully.  He fell backwards and landed hard on his backside.  Looking up, he saw that it was Violet who had pushed him down.  She had stepped forward to confront General Veers, growing larger as she did so.  

Violet now stood 18ft tall.  Without pausing, she reached down and took the General's neck between her thumb and forefinger and lifted him into the air so that he was level with her face.  General Veers took hold of her fingers, fighting desperately for air as he dangled from Violet's fingertips.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't snap your neck like a twig!"  Violet demanded angrily.  General Veers was unable to answer, choking and gasping for breath as his legs kicked wildly back and forth.  

"Violet!"  James was up on his feet in an instant and had run over next to Violet, standing by her leg.  "Put him down!  Can't you see you're killing him!"  James waved desperately to get Violet's attention but her focus was solely on the general held in her iron-like grip.  Not knowing what else to do, James cocked his arm back and punched Violet's calf as hard as he could.  He screamed out in pain, her leg might as well have been the trunk of an enormous oak tree.  His hand was now throbbing in pain.

Feeling the punch on her leg, Violet turned her attention away from General Veers for a moment and looked down at James.  Without a word she swiftly kicked her leg out sideways, knocking James back and throwing him to the ground some distance away.  He was lying crumpled on his side and was not moving.

"Oh my God!" Seeing what she had done snapped Violet out of her murderous tunnel-vision.  Putting the General down roughly on the forest floor, she moved swiftly over to where James lay.  She picked him up gently.  He was still breathing.  After a few seconds James sat up.  He was holding his ribs and his face was a grimace of pain.  "Oh God I am so sorry James!"  James looked up into Violet's face.

"Why?" James gasped at last.  Violet just shook her head, the edges of her eyes welling up with tears.  "Vi, the general came to speak...at least listen to what he has come here to say!"  Violet nodded and, still cradling James, turned back to Where General Veers was sitting on the ground.

"The boy is right." General Veers said breathlessly as he stood up stiffly.  He bent over and recovered his cap, brushing the dirt and leaves from its surface.  He did not place it back on his head but instead held it in his left hand idly.  Without his general's cap, General Veers looked like any other man in his elder years: balding and tired after a long life of hardships. 

"I've known you two were here since last night.  If I wanted you both dead, neither of you would have woken up this morning."  Rubbing his neck, General Veers limped over to a fallen log at the clearing's edge and sat on it.  Without looking up, he beckoned Violet to come and sit with him.

Not knowing what else to do, Violet obliged.  She took a step closer and sat down on the ground in front of the general, crossing her legs underneath herself.  When she sat, the log and the ground under General Veers shook as if subjected to a small earth tremor.  He purposefully ignored the earthshaking jolt and, once Violet had settled, he looked up into her face.  

Seeing that James was alright, Violet gingerly put him back down onto the ground.  James stiffly walked over to her left and slowly lowered himself into a sitting position on the ground.  The three now formed a triangle in the wooded clearing.  It was Violet who spoke first.

"Why did you try to kill me?" Her tone was serious but no longer angry.

"I didn't," General Veers said flatly, still twisting his neck back and forth, stretching it.  "A bomber pilot went rogue, he didn't return to base and I have no idea where he or his plane is but my guess is that he saw the destruction you were wreaking and decided to take matters into his own hands."  Violet stayed silent.  The General's explanation made sense.  She looked to James and he nodded his acceptance of General Veers' statement.  Violet thought about that pilot.  Seeing an unstoppable giantess destroying a city and killing helpless civilians made that pilot's actions, in Violet's opinion, actually rather heroic.  She cast her eyes down to the ground sheepishly, feeling ashamed of herself.

"The area is still too dangerous to enter but aerial photographs show the bomb completely wiped Rutledge and its population off the map.  We do not expect to find many if any survivors."  The General said matter of factly.

"Rutledge?  That was the name of the town?"  Violet asked quietly, her eyes still downcast.  General Veers nodded but remained quiet.  "Rutledge..." Violet said to herself in a quiet whisper.  She continued to look down at the ground in front of her.  She could feel James staring at her but she refused to meet his gaze.

"And," General Veers added hesitantly, "Timber Springs: the other town you destroyed on your way here."

"What! You did what?" James questioned Violet forcefully, his voice raising an octave as he was taken aback by the news that Violet had wiped out yet more innocent lives.

"It was an accident!" Violet blurted out quickly, "I didn't even see it because of the clouds I couldn't see where I was walking!  It happened so fast I didn't mean to!  I am so sorry!  Please believe me!"  She said all of this at a rapid pace, as if her words were flooding out of her mind like water and she could not stem the flow.  Violet finally looked up at James but his eyes were now staring at the ground in front of him, his face expressionless and fixed as if made of stone.

"2,433 is the current death toll, but they are still pulling bodies from the rubble.  Another thousand were injured."  Violet shut her eyes tightly and shook her head, wishing to shut out General Veers emotionless statistical analysis.  Seeing her reaction, the general looked over at James.  No words were spoken between the two but James could read in General Veers' eyes that he needed to do something.  His eyes locked with James, the general nodded almost imperceptibly towards Violet.

Violet knew she should have told James what had happened but she had been too weak and frightened of what his reaction might be to do so.  Now, not only did he know but he also knows she kept it from him.  Violet's self-loathing redoubled.  She just wanted to get away!  

Before she could act on that compulsion, she felt a tiny hand touch her skin.  Opening her eyes and looking over, she saw James.  He had stood up and walked over to her, gently placing his hand on her knee.  He was looking up at her.  He said nothing but his eyes were enough.  She could see in them that James, while not condoning what happened, accepted Violet's explanation and apology.  She smiled down at him warmly and nodded her head in thanks.  General Veers caught James's eye as he returned to where he had been sitting.  Another, almost imperceptible nod told James he had done the right thing.

"Violet, you saved James's life I see.  Quite heroic in my opinion."  General Veers changed the subject, seeing that Violet needed to be buoyed up from her self-inflicted despair.

"Actually it was the second time that day she saved my life," James added.  He could see what the general was doing and agreed with its necessity.  "She saved me from a landslide, scooped me right up and out of it!"  James could barely hide his enthusiasm as he recounted the event.  He looked at Violet and grinned.  Violet's demeanor was slowly shifting away from one of self-loathing as she nodded, verifying James's account.

"I didn't even think about it, I saw he was in trouble and I just acted."  Violet said.  General Veers was pleased to hear a hint of pride in her statement.

"Forgive me if I don't act surprised, Violet.  But I would expect nothing less from you under such circumstances."  General Veers' tone had switched to his familiar warm and fatherly tone.  This put Violet further at ease.  

"I am afraid I did not come here for idle chit chat, no matter how pleasant it might be."  The general smiled up at Violet for the first time since his arrival.  "We need to discuss your future Violet.  I have already told you my opinion on the matter so I won't waste your time rehashing it.  The fact of the matter is, Violet, the only thing that really matters in this decision is what you think.  It's your life after all."  

James looked at General Veers stunned!  He realized that the general clearly understood what it had taken him up until only yesterday to realize.  For all his intrigue and manipulation, James had to give General Veers his grudging respect.  James looked at the general but General Veers did not look back at him.  His attention was solely on Violet.  Following his gaze up to Violet's face, James could see she was deep in thought.  

Violet could feel both men's eyes upon her.  What would she do?  The general was offering her a future and James was right: just because she had been conditioned for violence didn't mean she still couldn't make heroic choices...to be the hero she had always thought was beyond her.  But that future still included death and destruction: both of which she would cause.  

She could refuse General Veers and follow her heart with James.  It's true that her idea of going and living far from civilization with him was really only a dream but from such dreams reality can be made.  She understood that such a future was far less certain than that of the General's and that uncertainty frightened Violet.

She had never liked making such important decisions; what if she chose the wrong one?  First she looked at General Veers.  She said nothing but with her eyes she was asking him what she should do.  The general sat poker faced, she could read nothing from his expression giving any hint at what choice she should make.  

She then looked at James.  He too was watching her, waiting for her decision.  Unlike the general, James's face was warm but no less inscrutable in terms of giving her a clue about what she should do.  

Violet's eyes were now darting back and forth between the two men, frantically searching for the slightest hint from either that would tell her what they wished her to do.  It was then that she heard it; that voice, her voice, answering her desperate plea.

 "It doesn't matter which path you choose."  The voice spoke in a soothing and comforting whisper that made it impossible for Violet to ignore.  "In the end, they are all just insignificant bugs that you can dispose of when you know the time is right."

 "I don't want to be alone!"  Violet protested.

"We don't need anyone," that voice, her voice, persisted.  "You know in your heart that none of these insects understand you anyway."

"No!  You're wrong, I don't believe you."  Violet furrowed her brow in concentration.  She wanted the voice to stop but it's sweet whisper promised her an end to all her fears if she simply did as it suggested.

It was then that James spoke.  His voice banished that voice, her voice, back into the dark shadows of her mind.

"Vi...I see what you are doing.  This is a choice you have to make, neither I or anyone else should make it for you.  No matter what your decision is, I will support you 100 percent."  Violet nodded at James but said nothing.

Violet made her choice.

"What you are actually planning, general, is to rule the world!" -James

----------

"The general will see you now."  

General Veers had wished to speak alone with Violet first, so James found himself awkwardly waiting by the door.  The office personnel eyed him suspiciously as they went about their daily routines.  Relieved, James nodded his understanding to the secretary and opened the door.

The office's interior was dark.  The only light, apart from the late afternoon sunlight leaking through the slats that covered a large window, was a single lamp that sat on the edge of the general's desk.  As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, James saw General Veers sitting behind his desk.  He also could see that Violet was sitting in one of the two chairs that faced the general.  

Since their encounter with General Veers in the forest, Violet had been regularly taking the neuroinhibitor pills, now supplied generously to her by the base's medical staff.  James was pleased to see that the medication was having an effect: Violet's disturbingly disconnected behavior towards others and her psychological instability was now noticeably absent.  To James, she seemed once more to be that girl he had fallen in love with.  

Both General Veers and Violet turned and looked at James as he entered the room.  

"James, thank you for waiting."  General Veers greeted him warmly.  "Please sit down."  James hesitantly walked to the empty chair next to Violet and sat.  Glancing over at Violet, she was smiling at him and gave him a wink, trying to put James more at ease.  

"James, I've been discussing with Violet the next series of missions I have planned for her."  James twisted in his seat uncomfortably at the General's mention of 'missions.'  Seeing this, General Veers addressed the young man sitting across from his desk.

"I can see you have something to say, James.  Go ahead, we won't worry about formalities for now.  Please speak your mind."  James looked at Violet and then back at the general nervously before speaking.

"Your missions, Sir, so far they have used Violet for..."  James didn't quite know how to say what he was thinking without accusing General Veers of treason or worse.

"Yes, I know what you are implying James.  I receive requests from interested parties to...rectify...certain situations that those parties find to be undesirable...for a fee.  They learned of Violet's new superpower and directed me to forge her into a weapon for their own use."

"You're a mercenary."  James said matter-of-factly.  General Veers nodded thoughtfully at this simplified description.  James glanced once again at Violet but this time her attention was solely focused on the general.

"Was a mercenary," General Veers said at last, correcting James.  "Recent events have given me insight into a plan that is far more reaching."  Out of the corner of his eye, James could see that Violet was smiling with anticipation at what the general was building up to.  "Violet is extraordinarily special, we both can agree.  She has been given a gift that can turn the paradigm on which the world turns on its head."  General Veers paused and smiled at Violet.  

"Fighting in backwater banana republics only to enrich some distant oligarch is a waste of her gift and potential.  What I envision is much grander in scale."  The General's words made James squirm in his chair yet again.

"Won't those 'interested parties' you work for be upset that you are changing their plans?"

"Irrelevant," General Veers answered flatly.  "The power and influence they have is inconsequential compared to Violet's capabilities."  He nodded towards Violet and Smiled.

"What exactly are you planning?" James asked the general directly.

"I wish to put myself out of a job, James."  General Veers said with a slight chuckle in his voice.  "Human history is a seemingly never ending story of conflict.  I'd wager the first thing our early ancestors did when they picked up a rock for the first time was to bash their neighbor's brains out with it."  General Veers laughed at his little illustration.  "The idea of ending conflict once and for all has been, up until now, as achievable as simply flapping your arms and taking flight like a bird!"  This time, it was Violet who quietly laughed at the General's metaphor.  James was becoming more and more uncomfortable with where this conversation was going.  Violet, no longer able to hold back her excitement, spoke next.

"I can stop all of it, James!  I can end all the wars and fighting around the world!  Think of it!...a world where nations no longer squabble over their small differences!"  Violet was practically beaming.  As she finished, James was staring at General Veers silently.  At last, he spoke:

"What you are actually planning, general, is to rule the world!"  James was becoming agitated, seeing the sinister truth behind the general's 'grand vision.'

"Oh no, James!  I'm just a simple soldier.  I have no desire to rule over nations!"  General Veers sounded hurt by his accusation but James wasn't fooled.  "Of course, an interim leadership will be required and it would be my duty to accept that role if necessary...until a more suitable administrative system could be established."

James turned to Violet; she must see what was actually happening here as well as he could.

"James, you don't understand," Violet said with a decidedly dismissive tone.  "The General's plan will bring peace on Earth!  Ruling the world is not what this is about...General Veers is doing this for Josephine!"

James was speechless!  He was looking back and forth frantically between General Veers and Violet, unwilling to believe the madness he was hearing.  

"James, is everything ok?" General Veers looked at him with concern.  "Violet is the key to making this dream a reality and she is 100 percent on board with this plan...isn't that right Violet?" 

"Oh yes General.  In fact, I can't wait!" Violet said buoyantly.  James's head was spinning.  

"This can't be happening!"  James's mind screamed this thought over and over inside his head.  General Veers leaned forward on his desk.

"This is Violet's opportunity to atone for her past: to be the hero we both know she is destined to be."  The general continued to smile at James.  "Isn't that what you wanted James?  Violet told me that you wanted her to be a hero...to save the world.  She will bring peace."

"No!" James stood up and started backing slowly towards the door.  "Don't you see Vi?  He's insane!  He wants to take over the world and he will use you to make that happen!"

"James!" Violet turned in her chair, looking at James as he backed away.  "What are you babbling about?  You're being silly!"

"No, no, NO!" James was shaking his head.  Violet stood up and walked over to James.

"Part of my agreement with General Veers is that you will be safe.  I know you might find it hard to trust the general after what happened in the hangar but he has assured me that no harm will come to you.  All of that is in the past!  Just listen to what he has to say please!"  Violet reached out to put her hand on James's shoulder but he pushed it away.  General Veers stood up and made his way to stand next to Violet.  

"Violet," the general addressed her quietly with his eyes fixed on James.  "Would you please let me talk to James privately for a moment?  Why don't you go down to the commissary and get a bite to eat, eh?"  He smiled and gave her a fatherly pat on the back as she nodded and left the room.  As she closed the door, Violet gave James another reassuring wink.

Now alone, General Veers gestured for James to take his seat once again.  The general returned to his chair behind his desk and regarded James thoughtfully for a moment before speaking.

"You are a very intelligent young man, James.  I say that not to patronize you, but because I know you will understand what I am about to tell you."  General Veer's face changed:  His warm smile disappearing and being replaced with a look of dire seriousness.  "You don't need to be told by anyone just how dangerous Violet can be.  Your experience with her would easily fit the definition of a living nightmare."  James began to calm down, nodding silently in agreement with the General's accurate description of his ordeal.

"James, Violet is the most powerful and dangerous individual on the planet.  She could, if she so wished, kill us all in a heartbeat and there would be nothing we could do to stop her."  General Veers leaned in close towards James, resting his elbows on his desk with his fingers peaked in front of his mouth.  He glanced at his fingers for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before locking his eyes on James.  "And when I say "us", it's not just our lives that I speak of.  I am referring to every man, woman, and child on the planet earth; we are all at her mercy."  James had contemplated how Violet could effortlessly destroy the entire world just as easily as she had destroyed the town of Rutledge.   Hearing his worst fear spoken out loud by the general was sobering.  General Veers continued:

"This power over life and death on a global scale is, unfortunately, held within and controlled by an immature and emotionally fragile teenage girl."  General Veers paused, allowing that fact to sink in.  "Can you think of anyone from your highschool that you would have trusted with an atomic bomb?  How about 10,000 atomic bombs?"  The meaning behind the general's rhetorical question was not lost on James, the fire within him that was feeding his anger was dying away.  "When you and Violet were out on your own, it took less than 24 hours for her confused feelings to turn her into a monster.  Her fear, frustration, and her inexperience with the complex feelings that come with being in a relationship manifested themselves into the slaughter of thousands of innocent people and the annihilation of an entire town.  How far would she have gone if I hadn't stopped her?"  

James looked down at the desk's surface in front of him, unwilling to meet the general's gaze.  He knew General Veer's was correct.  Violet had experienced what was essentially an adolescent temper-tantrum.  Coupled with her power, the consequences of what should have normally been an insignificant emotional outburst were, instead, magnified into a disaster that affected thousands if not more.  He also knew that he did not stop Violet, James had only been a helpless prisoner in her palm.  It was General Veers' who had distracted her from and ultimately ended her rampage, not he.

"What will happen the next time Violet gets angry?  What can we do if we can't talk her down?  Mankind is essentially living on borrowed time.  Thankfully, you and I have kept that particular ‘genie' safely inside its bottle...for now"  General Veers added darkly.  

"But, James countered, "aren't we responsible for creating this monster within Violet?  If we hadn't conducted that conditioning she would still be just a normal girl."

"With that power, James, she could never be just a normal girl.  How long before she lost control of it?  A rebuffed highschool infatuation, a petty argument between friends, even a failing grade on a math test...at some point something would have set Violet off and neither of us would have been there or would have had the influence to stop her.  Dr. Korlov said himself that all our conditioning did was prestage events that would awaken within Violet the will to embrace her power.  This awakening would have happened eventually, we just sped up that process."  The general smiled to himself and laughed softly, as if he was about to let James in on some inside joke.

"What we have actually done with this conditioning, James, is simply put ourselves into a position where we have control over Violet...tenuous as that control may be.  Without that control, we are lost."  James was stunned. General Veers leaned back in his chair as he got to the point of his discussion with James.

"What I am doing, James, is giving Violet purpose.  With a purpose, she can focus both herself and her gift into something besides pointless death and destruction.  My goal, as Violet described it, is not a lie and I am not deceiving her.  I do wish to see the end of war...an end to pointless and meaningless death."  The general's voice trailed off, his eyes moved to the picture of his daughter that sat on his desk.  "She died a meaningless death because I am a soldier, without war and the need for generals like me she would still be alive."  General Veers nodded at his daughter's photograph.  

"We have in our possession a weapon of incalculable destruction.  But in my hands, James, this weapon can create a future beyond our wildest dreams!  By uniting our species under a single authority, we can remove the impetus for all of the internecine strife that has plagued mankind from the beginning and truly live in peace."

"With you as that authority." James added scornfully.

"This plan can only work with Violet and she needs someone who can both guide her and check her impulses.  Can you think of anyone else you would trust with such power as well as the responsibility of administering a global government?  Some politician or another military leader?  Yourself perhaps?  It is true that I will wield a great amount of power in this new role, but with that power I can do so much good!"  General Veers stared at James grimly.  

"Believe me when I tell you I care deeply for Violet, but I care for humanity just as deeply.  As she was, back in Rutledge, we both know Violet could not coexist with humanity and, unstoppable as she is, it would be just a matter of time before she annihilated us all."

"So back in Rutledge, when you said humanity would fight her and in the end we would win...that was a lie?"  James asked, he was no longer angry..

"A bluff, James.  Violet may have been a quarter mile tall at the time but that fact didn't make her any wiser."  General Veers chuckled to himself, "An example of just how easily Violet can be manipulated...and I am by no means the cleverest or the most ambitious man on this planet.  Imagine what would happen if someone else had influence over her; someone who didn't have Violet's or humanity's best interests at heart."

"The world won't just accept your vision. You need Violet to literally crush all resistance to your plan.  Thousands will die."  James pointed out.

"Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, will die.  But it will be only a drop in the bucket compared to the deaths we will prevent in the future by removing each individual nation's ability to wage war."  General Veers was resolute in his statement.  "James, this is the only path where both Violet and humanity have a future.  There are only two people Violet trusts in this world: you and I.  If we are not on the same page, the conflict between us will only create more confusion, fear, and frustration within Violet...and we both know where that path leads.  While I can be like a father to Violet, she loves you.  You can help ensure she remains in control of herself in ways I cannot.  I could use your help, James."

"But you tried to kill me!  How can I trust you?"  James countered.  General Veers smiled weakly at James.

"Everything I have done, I have done with a purpose.  At the time, James, I saw you as a dangerous influence that would cause me to lose control and lead to chaos...and James, I wasn't wrong.  Your little adventure in the woods with Dr. Korlov resulted in the destruction of two towns and almost 10,000 deaths.  If you had not tried to ‘save' Violet, those towns and those people would still exist."  

General Veers' statement was like a punch to the gut for James.  James could feel tears of shame and regret welling up around his eyes.  His actions were, in light of what he has just learned from General Veers, misguided and irresponsible at best.  Seeing James's sorrow and self-pity, General Veers stood, walked around his desk, and knelt next to where James sat.  He put his hand on James's arm gently as he spoke softly.

"It's ok James, you did it out of love for Violet that is something that I can respect.  Help me James; help me guide Violet on her path.  She will do terrible things in the coming months and she will need you more than ever!  Together, James, we can bring peace to the world and, more importantly, bring peace and purpose to Violet....Please help me make Violet a hero."

James looked at General Veers and wiped the tears from his face.  James returned the general's weak smile and nodded.  

"For Violet..."

----------

EPILOGUE:

--AP World Report-- October 16

BREAKING NEWS

The scheduled meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations was thrown into chaos today with the appearance of a young woman with superpowers who claimed responsibility for the recent events in both Sabonia and Narinbi .

The young woman is believed to be Violet Parr; daughter of Robert Parr ( a.k.a. Mr. Incredible) and Helen Parr (a.k.a. Elastigirl).  Neither of these individuals were available for comment, their locations at this time are unknown.

Appearing seemingly out of thin air before the lectern of the General Assembly's vast hall, Ms. Parr instantly grew to an immense size, the top of her head just brushing under the hall's 75ft ceiling.  The terrified delegates looked on and listened as she presented an ultimatum: All governments must cease any and all ongoing military activities being conducted by both within and outside their respective borders.  V. Parr also demanded the halt of the production of weapons and materiel as well as the dismantlement of the international military-industrial complex.  

Any nation who fails to carry out these actions, Ms. Parr warned, would be: "Trampled underfoot like worms."

----------

UN Security Council: Closed Door Meeting.-- October 17

Minutes--

-A motion to discuss the incident involving Ms.Violet Parr (V. Parr) within the General Assembly chambers 24 hours ago was brought forward.  -Motion carried.

-Resolution 3715:  The ultimatum made by V. Parr will be considered an existential threat to the sovereignty of all member nations of the United Nations.  V. Parr will be considered a terrorist and will be subject to extra-judicial action.  NATO high command has been given clearance to conduct military actions against V. Parr, both offensively and defensively, for the protection of Westen Europe.  UN member states have also been given clearance to take independent military action against V. Parr without the need for prior Security Council consultation. -Resolution 3715 passed 15-0.

----------

UN Security Council Report-- October 21

At 1500 hours GMT a United States aircraft carrier task force operating in littoral waters within the Bay of Biscay was intercepted and destroyed by V. Parr.  Casualties are reported to be severe.  The aircraft carrier, along with the task force's cruisers, destroyers, and support vessels are reported to be all sunk with the loss of all hands.  Remote satellite observation revealed that naval personnel who were able to successfully abandon their ships were subsequently executed by V. Parr as they awaited rescue,no survivors from the carrier group's annihilation have been recovered.  Reported casualties: 7,800.

----------

--AP World Report-- October 22

With the loss of the United States Navy carrier task force, the Pentagon has announced that it can no longer guarantee the safety of convoys to resupply NATO and its European allies.  This announcement is a devastating blow to NATO; without the backing of US material and logistical support the European continent is now essentially on it's own.  

Calls have already been made by members of many European states for their respective governments to immediately capitulate.  Sources confirm that the national leadership within Germany, France, and Great Britain are standing by the UN security resolution and will remain firm in their resolve to resist Violet Parr.

----------

--AP World Report-- October 24

BREAKING NEWS

The German industrial city of Essen has been utterly destroyed by Violet Parr.  Responding Bundeswehr forces stood little chance and were quickly brushed aside with extreme casualties.  Reports from the ground describe destruction on a scale not seen in the city since the height of the Allied bombing campaign of WWII.  Casualties are estimated at well in excess of 200,000.

Violet Parr, standing triumphantly over the ruined city, announced that she would proceed to lay waste to the entire Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region unless she received total capitulation from German Federal Republic Authorities.  The Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region is home to more than 10 million inhabitants and it's economy accounts for more than 15% of Germany's GDP.

--AP World Report-- October 25

The Federal Republic of Germany has unconditionally surrendered to Violet Parr less than 18 hours after her attack on the city of Essen.  The Bundestag voted unanimously to end hostilities and the current coalition government has stepped down.  

The surrender of Germany has led to a domino effect of capitulation across the European Continent.  Currently in Europe, only Great Britain remains defiant as well as the Russian Federation and it's client states.

Elsewhere in the world, the United States and China have vowed to cooperate with Great Britain, Russia, and all the free peoples of the Earth to continue fighting.

Demilitarization and disbandment of combat forces has already begun across the European continent as a stipulation to the agreed upon terms with Violet Parr.

--Private Encoded Communique-- November 3

Items within this communique have been redacted as per security regulations

James, 

This is so exciting!  Everything is happening so fast!  You wouldn't believe what I've already accomplished!  

[REDACTED] told me that a USN carrier task force is the most powerful military unit on the planet...I sank them all as if they were nothing more than bathtub toys!  [REDACTED] then directed me to destroy only a single specific city he chose as both a "demonstration and example" as he put it.  I know you will think I am horrible for doing such a thing but think of all the lives it actually saved!  Over 20 countries surrendered to me the very next day!  I'll admit it felt amazing literally standing over entire armies as they lay down their weapons at my feet!!

I don't know how much longer this will take and I can't tell you where I am going next.  I am finally feeling like the hero you said you knew I'd always be...thank you for always believing in me!  Please know that I miss you terribly and love you with all my heart!

Violet

--People Magazine-- December 1st

In the face of the chaos and heartbreak the world has experienced over this past month, it is good to have reminders that there is still kindness in this world.  One such source of hope can be found in the person of Major General Anthony Montgomery Veers (ret).  

Retiring from the US Army after nearly 45 years of service shortly before this worldwide crisis began.  The former general is now using his logistical/manpower experience as well as his substantial family fortune to help relieve the suffering of the victims in both Essen and the rest of the world.  Desperately needed food and water, delivered by organizations paid for by General Veers, have saved the lives of countless survivors from the devastating attacks made by Violet Parr.   

General Veers is no stranger to tragedy.  When his wife died giving birth to their only child, Josephine, the busy general was forced to become a single parent.  

Years later, while commanding peacekeeping forces in East Africa, the US consulate was attacked by a local terrorist faction.  Those inside, including Josephine, were taken hostage.  Following the precedent that the United States does not negotiate with terrorists, The US president ordered General Veers to retake the consulate by force.  The resulting firefight led to the deaths of 11 hostages including General Veers' own daughter.

There are some who have questioned the source of General Veers' fortune.  Accusations of past war profiteering and illegal ties to corporate interests have been vehemently denied by the retired general.

"I spent my whole career managing the machine of war.  Now, in my retirement, I wish to manage something that brings people peace, security, and safety.  In this dark hour, we must stay strong and be united because, through unity, we can bring forward the light that drives away the darkness."

--AP World Report-- January 4th

BREAKING NEWS

In what may go down in history as the '2nd Battle of Nations,'  The combined forces of the United States, Great Britain, Russia, and China were annihilated by Violet Parr yesterday afternoon on the arid highlands of the Iranian Plateau.  

This coalition had seen an unprecedented level of cooperation between nations who have, up until now, been the bitterest rivals.  Despite numerous setbacks and defeats that have cost tens of thousands of lives, this coalition had remained defiantly resolute.  The coalition had concentrated its remaining forces, well over two million men, in the forlorn hope that their combined firepower could finally defeat Violet Parr.

With a battlefield covering over a thousand square miles, Coalition combatants engaged Violet Parr over the course of 3 days of fighting.  Both the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China attacked Violet Parr with numerous tactical nuclear weapons without effect.  Conventional attacks made by all Coalition nations also proved to be futile, resulting in yet more massive numbers of casualties with no gain.  

The coalition forces are now in a full rout, retreating into the Zagros Mountain Range.  It is reported that survivors of the battle who have refused Violet's demand for immediate surrender are, even now, being systematically hunted down and exterminated by Violet Parr.

--AP World Report-- February 3rd

With the final capitulation of the remaining Coalition holdouts, the world stands at the threshold of a new era!  With the elimination of individual nations' capability to wage war, security and international concerns will now be handled by a reorganized United Nations with a new mandate.  

Rechristened as the "Confederation of Nations," this international governing body will mediate international disagreements and crises.  Unlike the previous United Nations, the Confederation of Nations will have a direct say in its member nation's internal policies and decision making.  

Due to the complexity of this restructuring, an interim executive leadership has been deemed essential in order to oversee this transition.  Retired General Anthony Veers has been nominated to fill this vital role.  General Veers is seen by many around the world as one of the greatest heroes to come forward during this crisis.  Shunning his militaristic background, General Veers worked tirelessly throughout this crisis to, instead, alleviate the suffering and deprivations created by the conflict.

"It is with a humble heart that I accept the interim position of Supreme Chancellor of the Confederation of Nations.  It will be my mission as Supreme Chancellor to continue to alleviate the suffering of those impacted by the recent conflict.  I will also work to expedite the transition to a representative congress of nations that will then take the reins of leadership and lead all of us into a bright future free of the conflict that has tormented mankind since the beginning of time.  Like Cincinnatus of ancient Rome, I look forward to relinquishing this power when I have finished my work and return to a quiet and well deserved retirement."

Violet Parr has agreed upon the general's selection for this executive role and will act as 'Guardian' of the Confederation of Nations: she will both carry out the wishes of this new international governing body and police the world's nations to make sure they are abiding by the terms of the Confederation's mandate.  When asked about Ms. Parr's role in this new world regime, Supreme Chancellor Veers stated optimistically:

"I do not see her as an enemy and I hope the rest of the world will, in time, see her in this way as well.  The 'Pax Romana' or 'Roman Peace' had guaranteed the safety of the known world for almost 200 years.  During that time, the peoples under its protection flourished as no other had up until that point in history.  In the end, this peace failed: torn apart by warfare that the Romans had no power at the time to fully eliminate."

"Today is the start of a new era: the Pax Giganta, if you allow me to paraphrase.  I see this peace as a new beginning where, as a world truly united now for the first time in history, we stand ready on the cusp of achieving things our forefathers only dreamt about...extraordinary things..."

-----THE END-----

While this is the end of this particular story I will also be posting an alternate ending soon so stay tuned!

"What sense does it make for you to be beholden to those that become nothing more than harmless insects under your shadow at your whim?" -That Voice, Her Voice

----------

"Are you sure this is your final decision Violet?"  

General Veers frowned only slightly but otherwise showed no other sign of disappointment.  Violet had decided she wanted to stay with James as opposed to returning with the general.

"Yes, I am sure."  Violet's face was beaming as she looked lovingly at James.  "I've had enough and if I remain here I fear I will only cause more pain."  James smiled weakly back at her.  

"Violet, I will stand by my word and support your decision.  I have no idea how we will make it work but, together, I know we can figure it out."  James's words caused Violet to break out into tears of joy.  She reduced her size back to normal and ran to James and embraced him.

Holding Violet tightly, James caught a glimpse of General Veers over Violet's shoulder and froze.  The general was holding a pistol he must have had concealed on his person.  He was pointing it at both Violet and James.

"No!" James screamed.  General Veers fired and three shots rang out in rapid succession.  The casing of the last round failed to eject properly, jamming the general's gun.  As General Veers fired, James whirled Violet around as they remained locked in their embrace.  One of the general's shots struck James in the lower back.

"James!" Violet screamed.  As she looked up into his face, Violet saw a small trickle of blood begin to form at the corner of James's mouth.  The color was draining from his face as he slowly looked down at her with an oddly serene smile.  James slumped over and collapsed onto the ground but was still breathing.  Violet followed him down, trying to support his weight.  

All of this took place over the course of only a couple of seconds.  Violet's head shot up in the direction of General Veers.  He was desperately trying to clear the jam from his pistol.  Violet gave him no time to finish this task.  General Veers was suddenly seized by an enormous hand and lifted skyward.  

"You bastard!" Violet roared.  She brought the helpless general up to her face.  Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the treeline to Violet's right.  The recon team that had first discovered James and Violet's location and who had been stealthily keeping an eye on the unfolding situation had opened fire.  Their bullets had no effect on Violet's 135 foot massive frame.  Ignoring the general in her grip for the moment, Violet turned her head slowly in the direction of the incoming fire.  

Although rage was erupting inside of her, Violet wore the same disturbingly expressionless face that she had shown in the hangar only two days ago.  She looked down at the three man recon team with pitiless eyes.  Without hesitation she strode over to the treeline, General Veers still held tightly in her hand.  Violet raised her foot and stomped down hard onto the first man.  He was instantly turned to paste under her bare foot. 

The remaining two members of the recon team were frozen in terror as they looked up and Violet.  She slowly looked down at these two terrified men.  The slightest hint of a smile curled on the edges of Violet's mouth.  She turned and took two more quick steps, each one crushing one of the soldiers brutally underfoot.

Violet was breathing heavily but was otherwise silent as she stared down at her feet.  Remembering that she still held General Veers, she turned her attention to him.  Raising him once more to her eye level, Violet glared at him hatefully.  General Veers coughed.  A small amount of blood splattered across the edge of her index finger.  Realizing how tightly she was holding him, she relaxed her grip slightly and walked back into the wooded clearing.  

General Veers caught his breath.  Intense pain was cutting through his chest.  He knew many of his ribs were broken. Looking at the blood on Violet's finger that wrapped around in front of him, he saw the blood and knew one of his shattered ribs had most likely punctured his lungs.  Raising his head up to the angrily glaring face looming before him, his countenance was a mixture of defiance and sorrow.

"Violet," General Veers said at last, coughing blood again as he did so.  "Please, let me kill you."  Violet was taken aback momentarily by the general's request.  Her rage subsided enough for her to speak.

"You killed James!" Violet said through gritted teeth.

"No Violet," the general said, now looking down at where James lay.  "I shot him but I was aiming for you...But you killed him."  General Veers nodded his head down towards the ground, gesturing towards where Violet had left James.  She followed his gaze down and her breath caught in her throat.  

When she had laid him on the ground, James was still breathing and alive.  Violet saw with horror a bloody smear where James should have been.  The body, or what was left of it, was a few yards away.  She closed her eyes tightly, as if refusing to see the gory scene would somehow undo it.  Violet didn't want to believe it.  She had been so filled with rage and focused on General Veers that she had trampled James inadvertently when she walked back into the clearing without noticing.  Whether James was already dead or not when it happened didn't matter to Violet.  General Veers was right: she had killed James!

Violet threw her head back and roared straight up into the sky!  Her scream was a mixture of both rage and despair.  The sound echoed through the trees, roosting birds in all directions took flight at the terrifying bellow.  That release of raw emotion was accompanied by her release of her power.  Violet's height shot up into the sky.  As she lowered her head back down towards the General in her hand, Violet's stature was now close to 800ft.

General Veers slipped down into Violet's palm as her hand expanded rapidly, actually giving him a respite from her iron-like grip.  The darkness that surrounded him was broken as Violet unclenched her fist and looked down at the general in the center of her palm.  To her, General Veers appeared to be only half an inch tall.  He used this pause as an opportunity.

"Violet!"  The general's tone was both stern and severe, the tone that a father uses to scold a child.  "Don't you see?  You can't control it!  If you are not stopped, the whole world will end up like James down there!  This must end...you must die Violet."  

Despite his tone, tears were cascading down General Veers' face.  This is not what he wanted: he cared for Violet as deeply as any father cares for their child, but he cared for humanity's future even more.  Violet eyed him suspiciously, she could see that he was crying as he demanded her death.  She allowed General Veers to continue.

"Your power is a terrible curse, Violet.  It will destroy all of us and in the end, it will destroy you as well!"  General Veers attempted to stand up but the stabbing pain ran through his body like electricity and he fell back onto Violet's palm.

"It is all your fault!"  Violet shouted down at the general.  "You have manipulated me just like James had...just like everyone has my entire life!"  The force of her voice was like a hurricane.  "I am not the monster!  It is you, general, that is the real monster...you and everyone else.  Why couldn't you have just left me alone?  You made me do that!"  Violet tilted her head, gesturing to the ground far below and what remained of James.  General Veers didn't need to look at what she was referring to, he looked up into Violet's face with his own filled with sorrow.

"I love you like I loved Josephine," he said at last.  "When I tried to kill you it was like pulling the trigger on my own daughter."  Violet's hard expression softened slightly at General Veers' words.  "Violet, Josephine's death was meaningless...but your death will save the world."

----------

Violet shut her eyes tightly once again, retreating into her own thoughts.  General Veers was right: the only value her life had left was in it's end.  It was then, in Violet's moment of deepest despair, that she heard that voice, her voice, come to her rescue.

"It is the world and everyone in it that is the problem, not you."  That voice, her voice, was as maternal as General Veers' had been father-like.  "It is not your fault that the world is filled with evil.  The world hates you, the world wants to use you, and the world wants to blame you for its crimes."  Violet listened, but retorted:

"But I've killed so many, so much death and destruction and their blood is on my hands."

"You only did what evil and small men like the general tricked you into doing.  You are right, Violet, they are the monsters...not you."  That voice, her voice, was like a soothing salve on the burn that was Violet's tortured conscience.  "You have, for too long, done the bidding of others.  You've danced for them like a puppet on a string with no say in the direction of your own life...and now they want you to die for them.  Are you so frightened of disappointing these monsters that you are willing to forfeit your own life just to please them one last time?"

Within her mind, Violet was silent.  That voice, her voice, pressed on.

"No matter how much of yourself you sacrifice for them they will always want more...They will never be satisfied.  Are you going to end your life before you ever truly have the opportunity to live it?"

"What should I do?"  Violet asked the voice earnestly.

"Live!"  That voice, her voice, shouted emphatically.  "The general is right: you and the rest of the world cannot coexist, they will never stop hunting you and persecuting you.  Humanity is evil yet it demands that you sacrifice yourself so it and all of the cruelty and pain that it continues to cause can persist."  

Violet considered what that voice, her voice, was telling her.  She had never wanted this power; she wished only to be normal like everyone else.  She had been taken away from her family, who she will probably never see again.  These kidnappers then brainwashed her and lied to her at every turn.  When Violet finally did as they asked, she was labeled a monster. When she tried to escape, they ruthlessly attacked her. While their weapons were inconsequential, the intent behind them was lethal.  And after all of this, in the end, it was Violet who always ended up apologizing and begging for forgiveness.

That voice, her voice, then whispered something Violet already knew but was too afraid to put into words:

"What sense does it make for you to be beholden to those that become nothing more than harmless insects under your shadow at your whim?  With a thought, their cities become as insignificant to you as ant hills and their most powerful weapons are barely noticeable.  As long as the world thinks it can treat you like a disposable and vile tool, without consequences, it will.  It is time to show all of them just how terrible those consequences can be.  Only then will you get the respect you justly deserve."

"Who are you?"  Violet's question echoed through her mind.  She could feel the amusement of that voice, her voice, as it answered:

"It is me," both Violet and that voice, her voice, answered as one in unison.  This realization came with little shock for Violet.  It had always been her, giving her the answers to questions Violet was too fearful to even consider.  Everytime she had been faced with a choice since this ordeal began, the voice had been there.  When Violet had ignored the voice, it was because she had instead opted to accept someone else's decision-making over her own.

"I will never let anyone tell me what to do again."  Violet told herself with unshakable conviction.  "I will live."

----------

Opening her eyes, Violet glared down at the pitiful and broken figure of General Veers in the palm of her hand.  His words and influence would now break upon her as ineffectively as water against steel.

"I choose to live, General.  Humanity, as you call it, will have only two options: follow me or get out of my way!"

"Violet, you will be alone if you choose this path; utterly and completely alone.  You will never experience the love you felt with James..."

"James is dead," Violet interrupted General Veers mid sentence.  "If I require adoration, I will simply demand it and the world will give it to me."  The conviction and finality of Violet's statement shocked the general.  He realized, in that instant, that Violet was no longer the timid and malleable creature he was confident he could always control.  The general also realized that he would not be able to talk his way out of what he now knew was his impending death.

"Merciful heaven, what have I done?" He said at last.

"You give yourself too much credit, little man," Violet said with a laugh.  "The only thing you have done is awaken within me the will to, how did you put it: reach my full potential."  She grinned derisively down at General Veers. "You do deserve some respect...afterall, you're a tiny ant who dreamed it could give orders to a human...but, my little ant, it was only a dream."

Violet brought up her hand holding the general level with her face.  She regarded the miniscule general with an air of unquestionable superiority.

"I've decided you are no longer a human being, you are now just a tiny morsel of food, nothing more.  Now I'm going to eat you..."  Violet did not wait for the general to respond or object.  She opened her mouth and extended her tongue.  Violet began to lick up the length of her palm slowly, moving steadily towards General Veers.  He tried to get up but immediately fell, his injuries had drained away all of his strength.  He was helpless as he became stuck to the gargantuan tongue's surface that lifted him into Violet's awaiting mouth.  

Violet could feel the general struggling as she swirled him around on her palette.  She was glad he was still conscious.  Using her tongue once more, she slid him on his back onto the surface of one of her molars as if it were some monolithic sacrificial altar stone.  Violet felt General Veers' brief scream as only a barely noticeable vibration against the inside of her cheek as she brutally began grinding her teeth together.

Looking out over a Lilliputian landscape, Violet smiled to herself.  It was time to punish the world for its trespasses and teach humanity the consequences of crossing her.  The world will learn fear, the world will learn pain, and the world will learn the name: Violet.

----------

It had been 133 days since the world came to an end.  Trisha had been keeping a tally of the days: making a mark on the sling of her backpack each night after the sunset.  Derek was about 100 yards ahead of her and was scouting to see if the coast was clear.  Behind her, the five others of their small party hung back and watched anxiously. 

The group had both heard and felt the monster in the area the previous night.  The monster, they also knew, could move with such speed that she could be hundreds of miles away by now as well.

Trisha saw the light around her suddenly dim as if a cloud was passing over the sun.  She froze.  Still looking ahead, she could see Derek had stopped and was also crouching motionless.  That's when she heard that dreaded voice thunder over her head.

"Ah! What do we have here?" 

Trisha was terrified!  She slowly turned her head, glancing hesitantly over her shoulder.  Violet was right on top of them!  Her massive feet were planted on each side of the large rubble-strewn square Trisha's group were traversing, her legs arching high overhead.  Beyond that, Trisha could see Violet's face leering down at them.  She wore an excited smile but her eyes were filled with a devilish malice.  

Not so tough now...eh?  Looks like just another nest of nasty bugs to me..."

As Violet's cruel commentary roared in her ears, Trisha darted to her left.  She wheeled around a large block of fallen concrete and started to sprint back towards the rest of the group behind her.  Her five friends were already sprinting to their left, snaking through the rubble while using it for cover.  

Trisha was only 50ft from her friends when a giant foot, easily 100ft from toe to heel, swiftly stomped down on top of the group.  Trisha was thrown from her feet by the impact and landed hard on her back.  Quickly rolling over, she got to her feet and took off running.  

"Where do you think you're running off to, little bug?" The voice from above asked tauntingly. "Were these your friends?  Maybe your family?" 

Trisha ducked behind a pile of fallen bricks.  Peering over the edge of the rubble, she saw that Violet had twisted her foot up while lifting it slightly.  She was presenting the sole of her foot towards where she knew Trisha was hiding, displaying the grisly surface for all to see.  Five horrific smears of blood marked where Trisha's friends met their horrific end.  

Violet was playing with her; tormenting her.  Trisha knew this monster could end her life at any moment at a whim.  Instead, she was drawing out this extermination for her own enjoyment.  

"Actually, you're not really even like bugs...you are more like tiny helpless slugs.  I mean, look at them!  So fragile and weak!"  Violet waved her upturned foot closer to Trisha's hiding place, laughing all the while.  Trisha found the cruel sadism she heard behind that laugh to be far more terrifying than the actual sight of her crushed friends stuck to the massive sole looming in front of her.  

Trisha was grim. She broke from her cover and ran to her right.  A massive foot slammed down in front of her.  Thrown to the ground only briefly, Trisha switched directions.  The giant foot came down again with explosive force, cutting off that particular avenue of escape.  Her hysterical laughing increased as Violet began stamping all around Trisha; each thunderous footfall missed intentionally but created a terrifying earthquake that was impossible for Trisha to withstand..  

When she woke up, Trisha was laying on her back looking skywards.  Violet stood directly over her and had her foot raised high directly above..  

"You're awake, good.  I wanted to make sure you would be conscious during what you should know are the last moments of your worthless life.  Oh, I found your other friend while you were sleeping."  Moving her hand into Trisha's view, Violet was holding something between her fingertips.  It was Derek and he was both alive and still moving.  Without hesitation, Violet simply squashed the man she held between her fingers as easily as an overripe grape.  She rubbed her fingertips together and examined them with detached ambivalence.  

"They're all dead, little slug.  No one can help you...You're all alone."  As Violet spoke the word ‘family', Trisha saw her monstrous expression subtly shift.  Behind the cruelty and malice, Trisha saw pain, fear, and desperation.  Violet must have noticed how Trisha's own expression changed from pure terror to one of baffled confusion.  She lowered her foot away from Trisha and stood staring at Trisha with a thoughtfully amused look.  Trisha's terror suddenly returned,  watching as Violet leaned over and reached out towards her.  The enormous hand enveloped Trisha, trapping her in total darkness.

----------

One Year Later...

Violet sat, leaning against the ruins of a building, lost in thought.  All around her was the wreckage of the fury she had unleashed upon the world almost a year and a half before.  Scattered amongst the rubble were countless disarticulated bones and skeletons: Violet's victims of that day so long ago.  

Violet didn't remember this place or the day she brought destruction to it.  Those first two months had been a blind genocidal orgy of destruction and cruelty.  Violet found it was best not to dwell on those memories for very long.

After those first two months her anger receded.  Violet now found herself trying to survive in a world forever changed and scarred by her unbridled rage.  Civilization as it had been was gone.  The tiny fraction of the population that survived now lived a scattered and nomadic existence, scavenging for subsistence within the ruins of their previous lives.  

Violet was not responsible for all of the devastation across the planet.  Within the first 4 days of her unstoppable rampage,  the major world powers decided to employ their nuclear arsenals against this existential threat with total commitment.  Over the next six days, Violet was under constant nuclear bombardment.  She was forced to grow to the staggering size of over 20 miles and remained that size for almost a week in order to survive the hellish onslaught.  In the end, over 3,000 warheads had been detonated across the globe, many in the multi-megaton range.  Both cities and vast stretches of land were obliterated or turned into poisonous wastelands by the radioactive fallout.  Even now, 18 months later, there were numerous 'hot' areas that Violet feared to enter.

The survivors of this apocalypse adapted to their new way of life as well as to Violet.  They kept to the shadows and remote places of the Earth and, most importantly, out of sight from Violet.  She would routinely find evidence of their existence: recently abandoned campsites, old campfires that were still smoldering, and movements from the shadows that she would only catch out of the corner of her eye.

Violet was also forced to adapt to this new world.  Although she tried to remain as a terror-inducing and unstoppable titan as much as she could, the scarcity of food required her to reduce her size back to normal when she needed to eat so she could get the most from the meager amounts she was able to either find or hunt.  These were dangerous and frightening moments for Violet and they filled her with ever mounting paranoia.  During those times she was normal, she was small and vulnerable.  She feared, more than anything, retributive attacks from the survivors when she was no different than them.  Violet found that she was now always dirty and hungry, finding little shelter or sustenance in this new world she had shaped.  Through all these hardships, she was alone.

"Not always alone," Violet corrected herself mournfully.  There had been a handful that had become her companions of sorts at different times.  They had all started out being captured with an eye for later torture or, at best, being a pet.  Trisha stood out most in Violet's mind.  She came the closest to be what Violet would call a friend.

Trisha had been Violet's age, from some town called Norhaven in Wisconsin.  The first week that Trisha was in Violet's company she was a prisoner who, in Violet's eyes, had no value past being a plaything.  Violet used a short length of rope and securely fastened it around her captive's waist.  She tied the other end around the largest toe of her right foot.  Feeling unthreatened, Violet began talking to this inconsequential and powerless toy.  She shared her story along with her guilt and fears with Trisha.  She also spoke of James and all the conflicting feelings she still felt when she thought of him.  For Violet it was more about giving her thoughts a voice rather than looking for some sort of understanding from another person.

"I don't feel sorry for you."  Violet remembered Trisha stating plainly, breaking her week-long silence.  "So your life sucked...but guess what: that doesn't make you special.  Do you really think your pain is unique?  Holy shit, I had always assumed you were a god-like monster that was beyond anyone's comprehension...instead, you're just like the rest of us."  Violet found Trisha's unapologetic critique and her apparent lack of fear to be intriguing.  

She smiled, remembering when she first told Trisha that she was willing to remove the tether that chained her to Violet's foot:

"Are you asking me or just telling me?  You really are insane if you think I won't try and escape!"

Trisha didn't run away.  Although each continued to regard the other with guarded suspicion, what Violet could only describe as a begrudging friendship developed between the two.  While Violet benefited from Trisha's companionship, Trisha benefited from being in the company of a giantess.  

Violet's size made hunting as easy as reaching down and scooping up that day's meal.  Being in her company also provided Trisha with safety.  Violet had been unaware that there were groups of survivors violently preying on those too weak to resist.  Trisha described how the region was a patchwork of territories controlled by rival groups who constantly raided one another.  These roving gangs would steal whatever they could and kill anyone that got in their way.    

It was three weeks before Violet felt safe enough to be at her normal size around Trisha.  Upon seeing Violet at her most vulnerable, Trisha only laughed, remarking how she would never have guessed that she would actually be the taller of the two in real life.  Recalling that memory from so long ago made Violet laugh.  But there were also memories that reminded her about the reality of their relationship...

----------

Trisha told Violet about a place that had enough supplies to last them months or even years!  A nearby town, almost completely untouched by either Violet or the nuclear firestorm.  Unfortunately, the area was controlled by a heavily armed gang who protected the town fiercely, the main road entering the town was both fortified and well guarded.  

"I've never been, it would take an army to get inside..."  Trisha paused mid sentence, looking at Violet.  Violet could see the gears in Trisha's mind turning as she stared at her.  "Violet?  When was the last time you went shopping?"

Trisha nonchalantly rolled a salvaged shopping cart down the middle of the street and right up to the guarded checkpoint, humming to herself.  Two large and violent looking armed men who were lounging by the roadblock saw her coming.  They grinned maliciously at Trisha as they stood up and slowly began walking towards her.  They both carried rifles but kept them slung on their shoulders, unthreatened by this teenage girl and her odd behavior. 

"Lost little miss?  I'm sure we can help you...it's been awhile since we've seen such a pretty thing as you."  The two men gave each other knowing looks and continued to approach Trisha.

 The men froze and their grins vanished when they saw Violet.  Standing nearly 200ft tall, she purposefully stood up slowly and dramatically from behind a group of partially collapsed grain silos that were along the road about 400 yards behind where Trisha was standing.  Turning in their direction, Violet stared directly at the two men and smiled.

"Did you see how fast the fat one ran?  I don't think his feet ever touched the ground!"  Trisha was laughing hysterically, recounting the events from earlier that day for the third time.   She was sitting across from Violet around their campfire.  "You were perfect!  The way you slowly rose up from behind those silos and just looked at them...There is no way they didn't shit their pants!"  Both Trisha and Violet were enjoying a couple cans of condensed soup; just a couple small items from the treasure they brought back from that day's expedition.  "I bet the whole gang was running for the hills before we even took one step into town!" 

"Yeah, but aren't you scared they'll come back, try and find you?...I mean us?"  Violet asked as she laughed along with Trisha.  Trisha just shrugged her shoulders at Violet's remark as she took another gulp of soup.  "You know," Violet drained her can of soup and looked at Trisha seriously.  "I didn't have to let them go.  I could have made sure that they wouldn't be able to hurt us ever again."

Trisha's mood darkened.  She stared at the half full can she held in her hands for a moment before casting it into the fire.  Standing up, Trisha walked away a short distance only to whirl around and address Violet angrily.

"I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!  Is it really that easy for you?  Does human life really mean so little?  Perhaps I was just fooling myself when I thought you might change..."  Trisha shook her head in disgust, not waiting for Violet's reply.  None came, Violet just lowered her head and said nothing.  They both went to bed that night in silence.

---------- 

Violet furrowed her brow as she remembered that night.  As if her mind wished to continue to inflict pain upon itself, the memory of that conversation led to another memory of a different night about a month later...a night Violet would do anything to forget.

----------

"I remember everything about my family, but now, I have trouble recalling their faces..."  Violet confided in Trisha over their small campfire as they spoke late into the night.  "They must be dead now...and I know I was probably the one who killed them..."  Violet buried her face in between her knees and began to quietly sob.  

"My family is also dead," Trisha responded without emotion.  My parents died in the bombing...incinerated along with my hometown."  Trisha swallowed hard and continued, staring into the fire.  "My two sisters and my brother, Derek...you killed them the day you captured me."

Violet stopped crying and looked up at Trisha.  Trisha was glaring at Violet, her eyes were without pity and filled with loathing.  Violet opened her mouth but no words came forth.

"Little slugs; that's how you described them...you probably don't even remember crushing them but it's something I can never forget!"  Trisha's voice was icy, her eyes locked with Violet's.  "Your family is dead and that sucks, but don't you ever fucking think I'll feel sorry for you...you fucking monster..."

"If I'm such a fucking monster, why haven't you killed me?"  Violet's question was direct and surprised Trisha.  "You've had so many chances...I'm sure you and everyone else who is still alive would agree that the world would be better off without me!"  Trisha breathed a sigh of exasperation and sat down next to Violet.

"I have not killed you because I refuse to become a monster like you.  Look around Violet!...The world is shit!  If I can bring a little humanity back to this place then maybe I can leave this world a little better off than it was before."  Trisha turned and looked into the fire.  "Besides, how can I kill my friend?"

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The next morning, Violet recalled, Trisha was gone.  Violet awoke and the place where Trisha had been sleeping was empty.  Her backpack, along with all of her belongings were also missing.  Trisha's absence tore a jagged hole straight through Violet.  What made it worse was the fact it was Violet's fault...everything was Violet's fault.  Enraged, Violet recalled vividly how she allowed herself to grow until the clouds themselves barely reached as high as her ankles.  What followed was another memory Violet wished she could forget.  Ultimately, her rage resulted in a new geologic feature: over 1,800 square miles of the earth that has been scoured down to lifeless bedrock.

After Trisha, Violet occupied her increasingly restless mind hunting down and exterminating the survivors that she viewed more than ever as a constant and ever-present threat.  Her apocalyptic rage was now replaced by an even more frightening and calculating malice and cruelty.  When Violet was able to corner or surprise these groups, she would always torment them first, lording her size and dominance over them for some time as they cowered helplessly under her shadow.  Violet was also in no hurry once she had these unfortunate men and women cornered and trapped.  Her mind busied itself inventing ever more cruel and sadistic acts that would increase the terror and hopelessness her victims would experience.  But, once she had finished her fun, Violet did not give any of these people the reprieve she had given Trisha.  She would coldly crush her victims underfoot as if these terrified and suffering men and women were nothing more than worthless and insignificant bugs scurrying from under a stone Violet had just overturned.  

Resourcefulness and ingenuity are two qualities that are only strengthened during hopeless situations.  As the months continued to tick by, these small groups of humanity became more and more adept at avoidance.  Although she knew these people were still around, possibly everywhere, Violet saw these groups less and less.  As the reality of her isolation truly began to close in all around her, Violet decided to end her pointless and increasingly futile genocide in favor of a new strategy. 

Violet had played with the idea of being a god earlier and gods require worshippers.  She decided that she would demand that these illusive and treacherous men and women worship her: they would have a goddess who would watch over them and she would be both safe and no longer alone.  Violet had assumed this process would both be easy and that it would satisfy her.  She now recalled how wrong she was.  

Violet had announced her divinity standing like a mile high colossus over the first desolate ruined city she happened upon.  She held her breath and waited.  She had stumbled over a few words and the speech she delivered was, in retrospect, rather awkward and clumsy.  Violet didn't let those foibles concern her.  Afterall, she was a goddess so massive that a single one of her steps could easily erase a quarter of what remained of this large metropolis in an instant.  She had assumed that those who dwelt in these ruins would have immediately crawled from their holes and fallen to their knees before her overwhelming might and power.  Instead, nothing happened: no one came forward and the toy-like city between her feet remained as quiet as a tomb.  

Violet tried this tactic countless times over the following days, always with the same results.  These resilient men and women had wisely learned from their hard-won experience that their survival and any interaction with Violet was completely incompatible.

Violet then chose to simply capture people and make them worship her.  Terror, fear, and the ever-present threat that she could kill them at any moment were the tools she used to force her captives to become devoted followers.  Afterall, Violet reasoned, these insects still needed to understand who was ultimately superior.  For a time, Violet revelled in the flood of attention she received from dozens, and later hundreds, of the tiny bug-sized people as they scurried around Violet's feet as she reclined, godlike, upon the flattened ruins of some unremembered city.  She found these pathetically desperate and sycophantic worshippers were always looking for ways to please their new goddess and avoid becoming just another red stain on the bottom of her foot.  

Their devotion, Violet discovered, was only reliable up until they found the first opportunity to escape.  Violet also found the adoration she received from her more loyal followers to be both cravenly hollow and unfulfilling.  Dispirited and restless, she chose in the end to unceremoniously crush her followers under her heel as they huddled frightened inside the ruin they used as their temple.   Violet flattened the pitiful structure along with all of those desperately praying inside before moving on.  

Now, as Violet sat staring up into the moonlit sky, she knew she just wanted simple companionship.   She had already dropped all of her divine pretenses and thoughts of superiority, only wishing to find someone she could connect with like she had with James and Trisha.  But no matter how kind and gentle she would be, the reactions of those she found remained unchanged.  Violet would always be seen as the monster that was responsible for destroying their world.  

The clatter of metal from within the interior of a partially collapsed storefront across the street caught Violet's attention,  bringing her out of her dreamlike recollections.

"Wait!"  She rocked forward onto her knees and quickly crawled over to the tiny storefront's shattered windows.  Still on her hands and knees, she bent as low as she could and peered inside as if she was playing with a child's doll house.  The interior was black and silence radiated from it.

"Please!" Violet cried, "Don't go!  I won't hurt you, please!  I swear!"  She heard nothing more from the ruin.  Desperate, Violet tore the wall of the storefront that faced the street down followed by what was left of the roof.  She saw nothing within the ruin.  "NO!"  Frustrated, Violet swung her arm out in a wide arc.  The back of her hand smashed into the buildings to her right, sweeping them away like a house of cards.  She paused and listened: the world was silent.  Whether it really was someone or perhaps just a figment of her imagination, Violet would never know.  

Violet sat back down in the middle of the broken street in silence.  She was the uncontested master of a desolate world, ruling alone over the unburied dead.