Even without any evidence to think so, for Eva it felt as though the world were watching. She walked as she always had. Her head was held high and pride permeated from her every step; even if, in all actuality, she felt anything but. Just ahead of her was Tina, carrying herself rather casually as she walked. To the hyper alert Eva it seemed off. Did Tina know? Word couldn’t have spread through the office yet right? It seemed probable that her assistant - Her former assistant - wouldn’t be aware and yet...Eva was almost certain she knew.
The timing was simply a bit too perfect. For over three years they had worked together and not once had Tina ever so much as invited her to lunch; much less pull Eva aside to talk. It couldn’t have just been a coincidence, therefore, Tina must have known. Especially since it was by her own hand that her boss had been effectively canned. Oh, the twerp may not have pulled the trigger herself, but she was absolutely the one who held the gun.
Although, in a way Eva was grateful. With Tina’s surprise offer came clarity. Instead of ruminating on her loss, it served as a reminder of who was to blame for her predicament. Something to help ground the woman’s thoughts with a flame she was quite intimate with these days: vindictive rage. If this little bitch wanted to talk then oh, baby. They were gonna talk.
Eva noted that her rather diminutive assistant appeared to be leading them away from any prying eyes. In stiffening silence they walked, descended the elevator, and journeyed outside. A warm breeze blew across Eva’s face as they continued towards the parking lot. Towards the back, at a walkway in the shadow of the company building. It was about as discreet a location that they would ever have short of driving somewhere else entirely.
Tina soon stopped at the side of the building and took a deep breath, demonstrating a marked hesitance to turn and face Eva. Her former boss held no such reservations, crossing her arms and doing nothing to hide the contempt from her visage. In an official capacity she had no power over Tina anymore. Though that didn’t seem to stop the shorter brunette from wavering. Tina bit into her lip with her eyes focused on the pavement under their feet. Her round-rimmed glasses slipped to the edge of her dainty nose, and for several moments she made no attempt to adjust them. Much less speak. When she did finally muster the courage to open her mouth, the words came out slowly and timidly.
“Miss Rhodes, I heard what happened and…-”
“Are you happy?”
The interjection startled her. Tina’s head jerked right into the intense gaze of her former boss, words forming a lump in her throat. “I-I…” Gulp. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.” Eva snarled. “This is what you wanted isn’t it? The Board voted to terminate my employment; because someone whined right into Dana’s ear. Now I wonder who that could’ve been?” Her hand came to rest on her hip as she took a step forward. The height difference between the pair remained as stark as ever. Behind her glasses, Tina’s gaze wavered as she craned her neck to meet Eva’s eyes. Disgusting. This was the woman who got her fired? What an absolute disgrace.
“So I hope you’re fucking happy Tina. After everything I’ve done for you and this incompetent company they went and showed just how much they appreciated me. Congratulations. You got everything you ever wanted.” Eva’s eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. “I have to give it to you. I never thought you had it in you to stab someone in the back.”
“I didn’t…”
“DON’T LIE TO ME!”
The sudden outburst made Tina jump, an inconsequential squeak eeking out. A small comfort as Eva leaned further in, absolutely towering above the shorter woman. It wasn’t just the building’s shadow that Tina was caught in anymore. “I really should’ve figured it out as soon as I saw you at that gaudy gym of yours. There hasn’t been a single day you weren’t lying to me about something. I bet you were always laughing with those meathead friends of yours. Every time I wasn’t looking, all you needed to do is play up that little defenseless girl act and get everyone feeling sorry for now. Well, listen here you litt-”
“Will you please shut up?!”
It was the highest she’d ever heard Tina’s voice. A shrill sound that had a way of piercing everything Eva said and forcing the woman to take pause. She looked again and saw Tina standing in place, trembling with emotion brimming in her eyes. Eyes that now stared unflinchingly at Eva. “Don’t try to blame me for this! You didn’t get fired because of me - You got fired because you’re a self-centered bitch!”
That may have been the first time she’d ever heard Tina swear. The words rang out in the empty air around them, slow to sink in. The shorter woman was breathing unevenly and staring at Eva, who in turn didn’t appear particularly bothered. If anything it was the opposite. Eva let out a gentle breath and regarded Tina with a cold, pleasant smile.
"There it is. The truth comes out at last. It’s nice to finally meet you Tina.” She chuckled. “Well, while we’re being honest go ahead. Let it all out. I’m waiting.”
With or without permission, the dam had finally burst and the tidal wave was surging. When Tina spoke it was a contrast to Eva’s outburst. Rather than loud and impassioned it was quiet, restrained, and perhaps even a bit hesitant. Even so, thoughts never before voiced were coming out. “Do you have any idea what it’s like? When you first hired me I was so...so happy. You were like everything I ever wanted to be, and you chose me. Out of all those other people who applied. Me. It was like a dream come true. I thought I could learn so much from you. I didn’t care what mean things people said about you, they were just jealous right?” She glowered at Eva meaningfully. Her glasses fell to the tip of her nose once again, but for once she didn’t stop to fix them.
“Then I started working for you; and you weren’t as bad as they said - You were worse.”
If she expected that to hurt Eva, it didn’t. The woman crossed her arms and watched Tina let it all out with a perfectly distant expression.
“Three years. Three. Years. I worked for you. Doing everything you said. Nodding my head every time you got mad at me. No complaints. No nothing! I even did most of your work for you! And for what?” She grit her teeth. “More work. More insults. Mo…More...being your damn slave! I did nothing but what you wanted for years and what’s my reward? The second karma hits, all you do is scream about how it’s my fault. How I betrayed you! I...I…”
She fell silent and was quivering with emotion. Words escaped Tina as she stuttered in place and stared Eva down. She could’ve gone on for ages; that much was apparent. Rather than indulge, however, she took a deep, steadying breath. For her part, Eva remained still and impassive. Once Tina had calmed herself, the woman straightened her posture and pressed her glasses to the bridge of her nose.
“I...didn’t want to start screaming at you. That won’t change anything at this point.” She admitted wearily.
“Wish I could say the same.” Eva said dryly. “I’ll bite though. What did you want to talk about if not to scream at me?”
At that, Tina hesitated for...some reason. It rang odd considering she’d all but called Eva a soulless bitch at this point, but the habits of lessers always was a perplexing thing to her anyway. She allowed Tina the time to gather herself.
“I...wanted to say goodbye...And thank you.” Two words Eva hadn’t expected to hear. She paused as Tina put on a very forced smile. “You’re an awful boss, but you did hire me; and I did learn a lot from you. It...wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t at least acknowledge that. We can’t change the past at this point, but whatever happens I wanted to try and end this on good terms.” She moved and Eva’s eyes glanced further down.
An outstretched hand greeted her. Despite everything that had been said and done on both fronts, a gesture of peace. A chance to do the adult thing and bury the hatchet so they could both move on with their lives. Eva observed the hand with no small degree of curiosity, then she regarded Tina’s expression. A warm, albeit forced smile with no apparent malice behind it. Even after screaming her heart out. Even after working weeks of unpaid overtime and getting Eva fired. She still stood here, offering an olive branch to the woman responsible for it all.
How fucking disgusting.
Eva lifted her hand without fully realizing it. She was normally such a controlled woman. Everything from her appearance to every word she uttered was a meticulously crafted artifice for the world around her; but at this very moment all of that control abandoned her. It was an instant of pure, unfiltered resentment at being offered pity by fucking Tina. This woman dared to look down on her?! No. Eva’s open palm had something to say about that, and it was about to deliver the message right to the side of Tina’s face.
Or at least, it tried to.
“Ngh?!”
The very same hand Tina used as a peace offering turned to catch Eva’s wrist in the air. Effortlessly.
On instinct Eva tried to yank her hand free to no avail; Tina’s grip was ironclad. Her lithe fingers coiled around Eva’s forearm and clamped tightly, Tina’s smile gone and replaced by a disappointed frown. No anger at the attempted assault. Not even surprise. Only the weary, resigned expression of a woman who knew what to expect and yet still hoped things would go differently. Pain surged in Eva’s arm and she gasped, looking to Tina where she was met with a distant and cold stare.
“I had a feeling you would do that Miss Rhodes. You’re very predictable sometimes.” Tina idly curled her boss’s arm, eliciting another pained cry from Eva. Her arm was turned at an awkward angle on the verge of snapping and her knees buckled to compensate. For all Eva’s supposed height and reach advantage, Tina barely had to try to get her on the ground. With her free hand, Tina leisurely adjusted her glasses and released her grip, Eva stumbling flat onto her ass. Shock left her stunned for a moment; the very same moment Tina reached into her pants pocket.
“I don’t like being mean to people Miss Rhodes. I really don’t.” She began, earning a perplexed look from Eva as she nursed her wrist. “Even after everything that’s happened, I wanted to give you a chance; but you...You really do deserve it. Don’t you?”
Deserve what exactly? What the hell was this brat talking about now?
As if to answer, Tina pulled out a familiar device. The one featured on so many adverts that Eva couldn’t possibly mistake it. A white remote, almost like one for a TV, but with a little metallic nozzle at the end. It was the last thing she’d expected to see here, but more than enough to earn a ridiculing laugh.
“A Reducer? That’s your big plan? Gonna shrink my clothes away and embarrass me?” She laughed again and climbed to her feet. Here she thought Tina was going to beat her up or something. That at least would’ve been painful, but this? “Call a cop on me for public indecency?” Eva cackled. Tina was not laughing.
“Not quite.”
CLICK-!
A familiar beam of light shot out and hit Eva’s chest directly. She saw it and snorted, both unalarmed and unconcerned.
“If you actually bothered to read the R&D progress reports, Miss Rhodes, you’d know something.”
“Know what?” Eva asked as she lifted her gaze from the beam and...was staring eye-level with Tina.
“That Research and Development just made a big breakthrough with their latest prototype.”
She’d heard it, but she couldn’t process it. She saw it, but couldn’t understand it. She felt it, but she couldn’t believe it. It was an impossibility, and yet it was also an undeniable truth. It wasn’t her clothes that were being shrunken right now - It was Eva. Tina, someone over a head shorter than her, now stood at the same height and appeared to slowly and visibly swell even higher. Stunned silent, Eva took a step back and stumbled in her now oversized heels. Her outfit, perfectly-tailored to fit her flawless figure, now hung loose across her body at three sizes too large. Her hands couldn’t reach past the edges of her own sleeves and her skirt was swiftly approaching her ankles.
“I don’t like being mean to people Miss Rhodes, but you’re not a person. Not anymore.”
No…
NOOOO!!!!!!
Rationale long-since abandoning her, Eva moved on pure instinct. She dashed forward in a feeble attempt to seize the device from Tina. An attempt made futile when she reached and proved too short to even reach it. In trying to jump towards the Reducer, Eva’s shrunken feet slipped right out of her shoes and, upon landing, tripped on those very same shoes. She fell to the ground and was buried in her ever-expanding wardrobe. Two very oversized earrings slipped off and clinked against the ground below as she gasped for air. She was now akin to a child in adult’s clothing; and, as she scrambled and stumbled to poke her head out, Eva was met with Tina towering higher than ever. Only a few feet taller than her, but a veritable amazon now. Her expression remained a mixture of quiet resolve and thinly-veiled awe. After all, from her perspective it must’ve appeared Eva was vanishing into her own clothes.
The shrinking woman let out an inhuman and panicked cry as she rolled over in her outfit, the weight of her business attire stifling. It took genuine effort to lift her legs from beneath the heaps of cloth, and when she crawled ahead her oversized skirt slipped right from her body. She had been so reduced that she now fit comfortably in the depths of her blouse, the outside world only visible through the tunnel of light at its collar. The cloth walls only pressed in on her more and more, the light seeming to stretch further and further away by the moment. Eva was crawling in a frenzy even as the cavern expanded all around her, driven by a primal desire to escape. Her own blouse threatened to suffocate her and collapse all around her body, but she pushed through. Despite how impossible it seemed, she reached the light of the tunnel and crawled out, her now naked form stumbling into the open air. Alas, even freedom offered no rest for the wicked. Not when Eva dared look back.
What she saw made her scream.
Behind her was a field comprised of her own abandoned clothes, ending in a pair of discarded and towering heels that stood as high as R.E.I’s building. Behind even that, however, was a true colossus. Tina was both two sidewalk tiles away and also hundreds of feet in the distance. She was unchanged; the same petite figure wearing the same bulky work attire. Only now all Eva could see were the looming shins and immense feet of the woman. To see more, she needed to muster the will to crane her neck, just to see the face of the woman who did this. Her massive, stunned face.
The Reducer remained in Tina’s hands. No longer firing, thankfully. The two women stared at one another, their expressions perfect mirrors of the shock written on the other’s face. One a female goliath, and the other a naked doll.
This…
This had to be a dream.
There was no way this was real.
It couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be real! It couldn’t be real! People couldn’t shrink! They couldn’t fucking shrink! She was Eva Rhodes. Vice-President of Reduction Enterprises Incorporated and the boss of that oversized pipsqueak! This wasn’t reality. This was just some horrific nightmare that would end at any moment. Any second now and Eva would close her eyes and wake up in her office where the world still made sense.
“Oh god it actually worked…”
A fresh wave of existential horror washed over Eva: Tina’s voice. It had evolved into something seismic and otherworldly. A mere murmur now rumbled in the heavens like thunder. The soft, meek sound Eva was used to now warped into something deeper and vastly more powerful, reverberating in the air with a presence mere mortals could only ever imagine. Eva remained there. Unable to think. Unable to move. Unable to do...anything. All she could manage was to remain awestruck by the awesome presence of her former assistant.
“I…”
The noise seemed to break the spell over the two of them. Tina blinked as if realizing where they were and looked around. Quite lucky for her and exceptionally unlucky for Eva, they remained alone. That wouldn’t last forever, and both women seemed to come to that realization at the same time. The deadlock they’d found themselves in came to an abrupt end as Tina extended dainty fingers the length of city buses towards Eva. In response, the woman let out a panicked scream and recoiled into the ground, foot kicking out against the pad of Tina’s pointer finger. All that accomplished was a sore foot, Tina’s digits quite easily overpowering any pathetic attempts at resistance. Eva was swept into the embrace of soft, doughy skin, the world growing dark as Tina’s fist closed around her.
Eva was squished from all sides by the unseen, but unyielding grip Tina had on her. She could both hear and feel the rapid thumps of Tina’s heart reverberating throughout her body. It seemed adrenaline was running as rampant through the giant as it was in Eva, and in a haste she tossed Eva into the fuzzy abyss of her pocket. Before she could even realize where she was placed, Eva had already begun to tumble to the bottom of the pit. After rolling for over a dozen feet she landed on her back and winced, blinking away the dots from her vision.
Freedom taunted Eva from above. A heavenly light that led to the outside world, firmly out of reach. The pocket was tight and narrow, but also tall. It afforded Eva little more than a foot of space before stopping at the side of what must’ve been Tina’s leg. A sobering realization when Eva made that connection. She had to get out of here. Quickly, before-!
Tina evidently had other plans. Whatever Eva wanted didn’t matter in the slightest once the giant began to move. The realm of her pocket shifted and the pittance of space Eva had now collapsed into the unyielding side of Tina’s thigh. The cloth walls held her firmly in place, freedom both tantalizingly close and impossibly far away. Try as she might and as desperately as she wanted, in the end all it ever took to undo Eva’s efforts was for Tina to move her leg for the next step she took.
“I...I really did it.” Tina moaned from a world beyond. “She’s…”
“Mine.”