Kyle ran through the hallway, knowing if he could just make it to the doors at the end then he could-

“Too slow squirt!” Carmen laughed, casually pinning him against the wall. He grunted as she laughed, pressing his face into her breasts, the low cut prom dress making it easy.

He blinked, we’re at prom? He looked down, he was wearing a rented tux, a flower pinned to his jacket that matched Carmen’s, matched Carmen’s and… He looked to Carmen’s side, seeing Samantha standing there in her own glittering red dress, far more revealing than anything she’d ever worn back in school, perhaps, her wrist mounted corsage matched theirs, and she gave a sheepish smile as he noticed the collar around her neck, a leash attached to it and leading to Carmen’s hand.

“Hey Kyle,” she said nervously, “y-you ready?”

This doesn’t make any sense, he told himself as Carmen giggled, fixing the collar around his neck and tugging the pair towards the dance.

“Come on Kyle!” she called, “or should I make you tiny and put you somewhere fun while I dance by myself?”

He scowled, “you didn’t have shrinking powers in high school…”

Carmen just smirked, and a moment later he was dwindling away in front of her, Samantha was too, and the two huddled on the ground before the enormous form of their elegantly dressed bully. She bent down, scooping the pair up with a wide smirk, giving the pair a wink before she tilted her hand, sending them tumbling down in the massive valley of her cleavage.

“Have a fun prom guys!” Carmen said, exaggerating her steps and causing her breasts to jiggle, the movement causing her squirming passengers to slip deeper and deeper until they couldn’t be seen.

…

Kyle woke up with an almost painful erection straining against the blanket of their bed. Only it wasn’t their blanket, he looked down at the fabric, a red satin pair of panties that stretched over their bed like a comforter. Carmen had jokingly dropped her panties into their enclosure the night before, telling them to replace the bedspread with them, and he turned to see Samantha with a dumb smile on her face, cuddled up in the satiny fabric.

“Morning,” she said quietly, “you have weird sex dreams too?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “I think whatever pheromones of hers clung to the panties might have uh… impacted my sleep.”

“What was it?” Samantha giggled.

“She took us to prom on leashes,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Mine was getting put in her old cleats after soccer practice,” Samantha said with a shrug.

“So…” Kyle began, “do we… still want her to leave?”

Samantha frowned, “I don’t know, I mean… maybe not? I don’t know if it’s really our choice though, she seemed pretty determined to, but that was before we all…”

“Fucked each other senseless?” Kyle laughed. He flopped back onto the pillow, “I still can’t believe we did that…”

There was a tap on the glass, and the two hauled themselves out of bed, grabbing the tiny sized robes and throwing them on before walking together to the small switch that would make the glass transparent again. Kyle slapped the oversized, to them at least, button, revealing Carmen’s billboard sized face grinning it at them.

“Hey guys, do you want to regrow for breakfast? I think we can budget around three or four hours a day for you guys at four feet without interrupting your healing process, so if you want you could eat, then go back down and save your bigger time for more fun stuff later on!”

Samantha and Kyle looked at each other a moment, “What kind of breakfast are we talking about?” Kyle asked finally.

“I made sausages, eggs, and my signature breakfast potatoes with green onions!” Carmen said excitedly.

“Sounds great,” Samantha said, a little stunned, “Just uh, give us a minute and we’ll meet you at the little door over there.” She tapped the button to opaque the glass and shut the intercom again. “Carmen made us breakfast,” she said, a dumb grin on her face.

“Truly hell has frozen over,” Kyle replied, still digesting things, “well, so far she’s been a surprisingly good cook, that pudding last night could not have come out of a box, let’s try these signature potatoes of hers.”

The two of them got dressed and headed to the side entrance of their small container. It opened, and Carmen’s hand scooped them up as always. She was wearing a pair of running shorts and a loose-fitting T-shirt, and she had an amorous grin on her face…

“So… how about a little fun before breakfast?” Carmen asked, licking her lips.

Samantha and Kyle looked at each other, then grinned, “Yeah!” Samantha shouted.

“Lovely,” Carmen purred, “Kyle, pick your favorite body part, is it my tits? My ass maybe?”

Kyle’s mouth went dry, he had a specific request but… he wasn’t sure how Carmen was going to take it. He licked his own lips, searching for the words.

“Feet?” he said, almost too quietly to be heard.

Carmen raised an eyebrow, and an evil grin spread across her face, “Did you just say feet Kyle?”

“Yeah,” he admitted, his face red.

Carmen stared at him a moment, then looked to Samantha, resting in her other hand, then back to Kyle. She started chuckling, then it turned into a full laugh, leaving Kyle wanting to burrow himself into her clenched fist.

“Sammy, are you a foot-girl too now?” Carmen wheezed, looking down at her.

“Uh… a little,” Samantha admitted, “I don’t think I ever was before…”

“Oh man, I think I accidentally brainwashed you guys with the pheromones,” Carmen said, chuckling and shaking her head, “well, if I gave you guys a foot fetish, it only seems fair to let you indulge it.” She used the tips of her toes to begin peeling her socks off, balling them up and kicking them away, wiggling her toes as they felt the air.

Kyle stared down at them, feeling himself growing hard in Carmen’s grip as she lowered the pair to the floor. She sat on the bed, leaving the tiny pair staring at her bare feet.

“Well,” Carmen said smugly, crossing her arms, “give them a little kiss!”

Kyle and Samantha hesitantly stepped forward, Carmen’s feet were clean, she’d showered that morning apparently, but even a short amount of time in her socks had given them enough of an odor that he felt himself drawn to them. Before he knew it he was on his knees, kissing Carmen’s feet while she smirked at the sight. Across from him Samantha worshipped Carmen’s other toe, lustful moans reaching his ears as she embraced the oversized digit.

“Wow,” Carmen laughed, throwing her head back, “I should have come for you two after my workout! How’s it taste Sammy?” Samantha didn’t answer, sighing as the aphrodisiac effect melted her brain into a lustful puddle. Carmen gently lifted her foot, then slowly knocked Samantha onto her back. The tiny woman squealed as Carmen placed her big toe between her legs, slowly rocking it back and forth.

“Aww poor little bug,” Carmen teased, watching as Samantha squirmed, her back arcing as pleasure raced up her spine and a thin layer of grime from Carmen’s feet coated her. Samantha gave a pathetic mewl, Cumming herself as Carmen’s toe rocked back and forth.

Kyle gulped, realizing Carmen was turning to face him, a smug grin on her face. He almost wanted to run, but he was knocked over by the tiniest flick of her big toe. Her soft sole pinned him to the carpet, and he gasped as she began to slowly scrunch her foot over him, back and forth, gently just like she had with Samantha. He grunted as she brought him off, and he heard a rumbling giggle from somewhere overhead as Carmen felt the tiny droplets of his cum spray across the bottom of her foot. She lifted it up, admiring the stunned and flattened Kyle, blinking from the light as he felt the weariness of post orgasm bliss.

“You two really are a couple of little foot freaks now,” Carmen chuckled, “this is going to be fun to play with.” She stood up, snapping her fingers as the pair shot up to four feet, “Okay, time for breakfast!”

…

“Oh my god, what is in these?” Samantha moaned, scooping another forkful of potatoes into her mouth.

“Family secret,” Carmen said with a wink, “but it wasn’t anything that you two didn’t already have.”

“I don’t even know what all we have in this kitchen,” Kyle muttered, looking over the spice rack and shuttered pantry. “Samantha and I usually just eat frozen stuff or takeout.”

Carmen stared at the pair a moment, “you’re joking,” she said finally, “you two are rich enough that you could hire a full-time chef, and you’re eating Chef Boyardee for most meals?”

“It’s the high-end frozen stuff,” Kyle said defensively, “the boxes say healthy and everything!”

“Okay, well I’m a genetically engineered freak who can scarf three cheeseburgers for every meal and only gain like five pounds,” Carmen laughed, “but you two should be eating better.”

“You should join the Goblin cooking group,” Kyle said, “they’re always sending us recipes and stuff, but Samantha and I aren’t really into it.”

“I’m not on your stupid nerd app,” Carmen replied, staring into her plate of eggs and sausage.

Kyle and Samantha looked at each other a moment, then smiled, “Want to be?” Samantha asked with a grin.

…

“So this is a list of pickup soccer groups in the area?” Carmen asked, studying the dancing green goblin on her phone, pointing to various local sports clubs.

“You can adjust your interest,” Kyle explained, “anything from a full league to a casual show up on the spot pickup game.”

“I don’t know guys, I haven’t really touched soccer since high school,” Carmen muttered.

“It’s a shame, you were a real monster,” Samantha said with a smile, “a phoenix, that’s what they called you right?”

“Did you two ever see me play?” Carmen asked skeptically.

“Marching band, I played the trumpet during that fight song when you scored the final goal,” Samantha replied.

“Journalism club,” Kyle said with a smile, “I only saw the back half of that game, but I wrote that article with the title “Phoenix Rises at State,” a little corny, but I think it worked.”

“I fucking framed that,” Carmen muttered, how did I never notice Kyle wrote it? How did I never notice Sammy on that trumpet solo?

Kyle lit up, “do you have a copy of it anywhere?” he asked excitedly, “I don’t have any of my old journalism club stuff, I lost that old PC to a soda spill!”

“Nah,” Carmen said with a sad shrug, “I kept it framed, but I have no idea what I did with it.”

Kyle was visibly disappointed, but he gave her a smile, “ah, what’s high school anyway, just a bunch of bullshit, right?”

“Right,” Carmen said, looking away a moment and smiling, “just a bunch of bullshit…”

The three were quiet a moment, then Carmen sighed.

“Okay!” she said, turning to them with a smile, “Melinda hasn’t gotten back to me on a replacement Valkyrie for you guys, so-“

“What if we didn’t want a replacement?” Samantha asked uncertainly.

Carmen started, “Uh… well too bad,” she said firmly.

“What if we only trust you to keep shrinking us,” Kyle said, a defiant smirk on his face, “what if we use our army of lawyers and rabid fans to make you stay?”

“You wouldn’t,” Carmen muttered angrily, “you guys, it’s not a good idea, our history is-“

“Carmen!” Samantha shouted, cutting her off, “come on! You want this as much as we do!”

Carmen was quiet a moment, a silly smile on her face, “I… I’ll think about it.”

…

Melinda sighed, staring at her reflection in the lady’s bathroom mirror of the Chicago offices of the FBI. She was tired, and it had nothing to do with a lack of sleep. If the clinic nurse, Judy, was telling the truth…

My god, I left those two in the jaws of that monster. She sighed, she didn’t want to believe it, but all of the evidence added up, the missing serum, the complicit nurse… what had hurt most was when she’d called Carmen’s old high school principal in desperation, eager for any clues as to her history with the Westwoods.

Oh, those three hated each other, he’d said with a small laugh, rumor has it the two of them spiked her grade somehow, ended up in her getting washed out for an athletic scholarship, the whole thing is a damn shame…

A damn shame… she thought, looking at her phone and the missed calls from Carmen. She sniffed, not allowing herself a tear as she dismissed the alerts. She’s gone to a cold place, she even sacrificed one of her own to cover her tracks, to let her get this sick revenge… She wiped her face quickly and put on a stern face, the agents wouldn’t want Melinda, they’d want the Head Nurse, the Valkyrie.

And here I go, to put down a feral student once again, she thought bitterly, pushing her way out of the bathroom with a forceful push that caused the men waiting outside to jump in surprise.

“We’ll need large caliber bullets,” Melinda said coldly, “someone bring me a vest, I’m following behind… she won’t be making any of you small this time.”

She’ll get one chance to surrender, she thought bitterly, after that… She listened as the men debated what weapons the team would be equipped with.

…

Captain Summers had been a dirty cop for most of his career, starting with taking money to simply not be in certain places, and then finally ending up with direct involvement in moving goods across the city. This though… this was an escalation, an outright murder… well it had all be building to this, hadn’t it? He’d probably be disciplined on some level officially, but the money he would make from this would make the rest of his career an afterthought.

The swat van came to a stop in front of the mansion, the beat cops that had been assigned to watch it peered up curiously as Summers stepped out, leading his men in a tight line as they exited the vehicle.

“Shit,” one of the beat cops called, “we’re really doing this then? The Mendez girl’s the one we’re after?”

“Just keep the perimeter secure,” Summers said, checking his weapon as he gestured to his men to follow him.

“We’ve got the feds coming with their own team in about fifteen,” the cop said, “you guys should probably just help us keep things contained, it’s pretty quiet in there I don’t think she knows we’re on to her.”

Summers’ blood ran cold, if the federal team entered first the Valkyrie and the two rich snots would be taken into custody…

“No time, she’s been in there with the hostages for a good week now, those people need to be rescued,” Summers said.

The other cop looked at him, confused, “look, Captain, I respect your experience but-“

“The Valkyrie has no doubt seen the van by now,” Summers said impatiently, “she’s going to kill those people.” He turned back to his men, “We’re going in in five!” he shouted, the look on his face telling the men following him that he wouldn’t tolerate any more discussion on the matter.

…

Carmen squinted, looking out the window at the mass of police cars that had gathered on the front driveway, Samantha and Kyle were coming up behind her, watching the lights with confusion too. Carmen’s phone rang, and she looked down, feeling a mix of emotions as she saw Melinda’s name.

“Hello?” she said curiously, “Melinda I’ve been trying to-“

“We know Carmen,” Melinda said coldly.

“Know what? What’s going on?”

There was an angry sigh on the other end, “your nurse told us everything,” Melinda growled, “we know you lead Jormungand in Chicago, give yourself up or you will be shot.”

Carmen’s blood ran cold, “Melinda, I’m not in Jormungand! I don’t know what’s going on with Judy, but-“

“Then give yourself up,” Melinda snapped, “and we can sort this out, but I am in no mood for games Carmen!” she hung up the phone, leaving a stunned Carmen to stare at the screen.

“They’re setting you up,” Kyle said in shock, looking to Samantha, who nodded, “this is ridiculous, we’re going to tell them it’s all bullshit!”

“We’ll get the best lawyers in the country!” Samantha said angrily, “if they think they’re going to lock you up on some trumped up charge-“

“Thanks guys,” Carmen muttered, “but we’ve got company.” She nodded to a group of officers approaching the front door, and another group spreading out to go around the side, all wore body armor and carried assault rifles. Carmen sighed, and got on her knees, putting her hands on her head.

“This is unbelievable,” Kyle muttered, crossing his arms angrily as the police reached the door.

…

Summers hefted his gun, motioning for his men to take cover. With a grunt he kicked the door in, barging into the living room and seeing the Valkyrie waiting to be taken into custody, the four foot shrunken pair waiting behind her with indignant looks.

“I’m giving myself up,” Carmen called, “so just-“

“You two,” Summers shouted, gesturing with his gun at Samantha and Kyle, “move next to her!”

Kyle started, and he and Samantha looked at each other, hesitantly walking towards Carmen. Summers licked his lips, flicking the safety on his gun off. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself.

“SHE’S TRYING TO SHRINK ME, OPEN FIRE!” He screamed into his helmet headset.

Carmen’s eyes went wide, “WHAT!?”

Time seemed to slow, and Carmen’s heart skipped a beat as she realized the officer wasn’t leveling his gun at her, but at Kyle and Samantha. With a snarl she threw herself in front of them, and as the flash and the bang rang out, she felt a cold sensation the bullet hit her just below her left breast, then searing hot pain.

Missed the heart and lungs, she thought, almost clinically, won’t slow me down much, hurts like hell… Didn’t Melinda get shot once? She blinked away the absurd thought as pain spread through her toros, with a snarl she held out a hand and willed the captain to shrink. A moment later his body armor and assault rifle clattered to the ground, the man himself now a tiny squirming mass in his own puddled clothes.

“She shrank the captain!” another officer shouted, “shots fired! Officer down!”

“H-He tried to shoot us!” Samantha said, her eyes wide, “he wasn’t aiming at you he was-“

“They’re trying to hit us again!” Kyle realized, looking around in panic as officers swarmed the other entrances of the house, “Carmen, that cop was dirty, what if-“ he was cut off by a burst of gunfire, his world spun and he was suddenly thrown to the floor, shrinking out of harm’s way as Carmen’s massive hand scooped him up.

“Carmen, you’re hurt!” Samantha squeaked from her other palm as she sprinted through the house.

Kyle’s mouth went dry as he saw the bullet wound, gushing blood uncomfortably close to the center of Carmen’s chest. She had a pained look on her face, but it wasn’t slowing her down one bit. He felt numb, like he should say something, tell her to get help but…

“Carmen, my car keys are on the coat hook by the north garage!” he shouted.

Her head snapped down to him, pale and full of adrenaline, like she’d forgotten about her tiny charges as the officers pursued them, but she blinked and nodded. His world swayed as Carmen sprinted through the hallway, and his ears rang as gunfire rang out. Carmen ducked, and in front of them the drywall was shredded by bullets.

“This can’t be happening!” Samantha moaned, “K-Kyle, we have to-“

She was interrupted as Carmen kicked the garage door open, “Hold tight!” she shouted to her tiny passengers as she quickly stuffed them down the top of her shirt and into her sports bra, it was skintight, they’d be safe she reasoned.

Kyle and Samantha’s world went dark as they were plunged into Carmen’s clothing, the familiar soft expanses of her breasts muffling the chaos going on outside. Kyle tried to shout, he wasn’t sure what, but he felt so powerless…

Carmen grabbed the keys off the hook just as a flashbang grenade rattled into the hallway. Her eyes went wide, and with a shout she leapt into the garage, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as an explosion caused her ears to ring. She stumbled to Kyle’s car, despite his nerdy background the one in this garage was an expensive looking red sports car, and in spite of the situation she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

Compensating for something Kyle?

She pulled the door open, starting the engine with a roar. There was shouting from behind her as the first officer stormed into the garage, leveling his gun. She snarled and hit the gas, bursting through the garage door as the rattle of gunfire rang out behind her. She gritted her teeth as she rounded the front of the house, and the officers at the perimeter leapt out of the way as she roared down the driveway and onto the rural roads surrounding the estate.

…

Melinda quietly sat next to the FBI swat team members in the van, she was dressed as they were, a bright yellow “FBI” stenciled across the vest she wore as they approached. She frowned as she saw the team captain listening to his radio intently.

“We’ve got a situation,” he said finally, “local PD team got there first, they jumped the gun.”

Melinda’s eyes went wide, “they what!?” she hissed.

“We’ve got shots fired, an officer tiny, and…” the team captain paused, Melinda had been nothing but kind and professional with him and his men but… she was still a towering Amazon with the power to shrink him, he carefully chose his next words. “Carmen has taken the Westwoods and is fleeing by car.”

Melinda felt a rage she’d only felt once before in her life, and it took all of her willpower not to lash out at the captain. She sighed, and the entire van, full of armed FBI veterans, was tense for a moment.

Melinda saw the trepidation, these agents had worked on the Jormungand cases, they knew exactly what horrors a Valkyrie was capable of, and it broke her heart and cut through her rage to see such hardened men so afraid of her.

“Just… get us there,” she said finally as the men relaxed.

…

Arisu sat in the parking lot of a long closed and abandoned gas station, leaning on her motorcycle idly as she listened to the police radio bands. She smiled as she heard the report of shots fired, then frowned as she heard that an officer was down. Was that their pawn? Her curiosity was piqued further when she heard that Carmen had taken the Westwoods and was fleeing in a red Lamborghini.

She’s going on the run? Arisu couldn’t help but smile, Juliet’s plan had failed, Carmen and the Westwoods could easily turn themselves in to any police force now, even some small county sheriff would do, and they’d be safe. The plot to snuff them out would be foiled and Goblin would forever be beyond their reach… unless she intervened.

She started the motorcycle, grinning as she lowered the visor on her helmet. The truth was that she’d secretly hoped for something like this from the start, Jormungand had been her grand gesture of spite towards Melinda, but the day-to-day management of the organization brought her no pleasure, even with the wealth and power attached. In a perfect world someone else would have taken up the cause of tainting Melinda’s dream, of corrupting her precious Valkyries, and Arisu could have been the sword in the hand of such a person… but alas it fell to her… still she would enjoy these brief moments when she could act directly.

She savored the skidding of the tires on the rural gravel road and the smell of the dust in the air as her bike rocketed through the countryside.

…

Carmen drove through the countryside, the gravel roads crunching beneath the expensive sports car. Her heart was pounding, and her lower body was slick with blood from a bullet wound that had already stopped bleeding. She tried to gather her thoughts, but found them erratic. She blinked and scowled, she needed… brainpower.

She brought the car to a stop, raising a cloud of dust and throwing rocks around the rear tires. She reached into her shirt, drawing the Westwoods out. With a sigh she lowered them to the passenger seat, and with a thought brought them back up to four feet, big enough for seatbelts she figured.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?” Samantha squealed.

Kyle was calmer, a grim determination on his face, “Jormungand made another attempt on us,” he muttered. He gave Carmen a worried look, “are you… okay? That wound looks nasty.”

Carmen laughed, only a little pain shooting through her as she chuckled, “I’m a Valkyrie, a flesh wound like this is nothing, look it’s already sealing up!” she pulled her torn shirt away and wiped at the dried blood a moment, revealing a scabbed up wound already twisting in on itself.

“That cop tried to kill us,” Kyle said angrily, “who the hell did we piss off to get dirty cops on our back?”

Carmen shrugged, “Someone big, listen, I have no idea where to go from here, what do you guys think?”

Kyle and Samantha looked at each other a moment, “We find a rural police department,” Samantha began, “they’re less likely to be on the take from whoever is after us… and you, then we wait for the feds to come.”

“None of this makes sense,” Kyle muttered, “Samantha and I… we’re rich, and Goblin is a big social media thing, but Jormungand wants to strike at all of us now, there’s something going on here that isn’t just about us, it’s about you too Carmen.”

They were interrupted by the roar of a motorcycle engine, and all three of them stared as a black clad woman on a bike skidded into view a few hundred yards from them. The figure was a Valkyrie, that much was clear from the skintight outfit in spite of the late season cold, showing off the curves of her Amazonian physique.

“I don’t think that’s a cop,” Kyle muttered.

…

Arisu grinned as the Lamborghini stuttered to life. She steadied her bike across from them, a few hundred years down the graveled road, and drew her katana from the scabbard across her back. She flourished it in the sun, making sure the driver and her passengers would see it.

…

“Is that a sword!?” Kyle shouted.

“Who the hell is that,” Samantha breathed fearfully.

“Relax,” Carmen said, louder than she intended as she revved the engine, “she’s roadkill!”

…

Arisu giggled as the sports car sped towards her. She dismounted her bike, and began running towards it. Most Valkyries took their enhanced physiques for granted, the real prize of the gene therapy was the shrinking and the healing powers that came with it after all. Arisu was one of the few women who was eager to push herself, and as the car barreled down on her she deftly leapt to her side, lashing out with the sword and slicing through the front driver’s side tire.

No fucking way she just did that, Carmen thought, stunned as she tried to regain control of the spiraling vehicle. She shouted in surprise as they spun off the road, slamming the side of the car into a thick tree. The airbags went off, and Kyle and Samantha screamed.

Arisu grinned as she approached the wreck, swaying her hips slightly as she watched the Westwoods force the door up, tumbling out as they scrambled to their feet on the dirt road. She waved her hand, and the pair were six inches tall, looking up at her like the goddess of death she was. She normally liked her victims smaller of course, but she needed the pair big enough to be identified… a pair of crushed tinies on the side of the road? Nobody would believe Carmen hadn’t done it…

“No,” Kyle whispered in despair, looking up in horror as the black leather boot rose over them. He grabbed Samantha and squeezed his eyes shut.

Arisu’s triumph was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass, her eyes widened as she saw Carmen burst through the car’s windshield, snarling with rage as she leapt at the sword wielding woman. With a smirk she raised her blade, preparing to end the charge with a killing stroke, but instead of flesh her blade sparked against steel. Her eyes widened as she realized Carmen had parried her strike with a large tire iron, and she barely had time to leap back before being brained by it as Carmen swung it fast enough to make the air hiss.

“Nice sword,” Carmen growled, “is it a thousand years old or some shit?”

“Just a replica,” Arisu said, smiling sweetly as she circled the other Valkyrie, “forged on Honshu though.”

“The tire iron’s from Detroit,” Carmen snarled.

Arisu couldn’t help but grin, she felt her heart pounding as she charged Carmen again, and although her sword had reach, Carmen was careful, deftly blocking the blade with her own weapon. Arisu laughed madly, letting herself get reckless as she enjoyed the fight.

An edgy bitch, Carmen thought angrily, she’d met plenty of girls like that on the soccer field, all full of wicked witch energy until you give them a little taste of pain! She broke her defensive stance, leaping forward and surprising Arisu. With a flourish she brought the tire iron around, flipping both it and the sword away from them. Her fist rocketed into the other woman’s stomach, causing her to grunt and stagger back. Let’s see how you like that you-

Carmen frowned as Arisu looked up at her, a mad grin on her face like she’d just been told she won the lottery.

Shit, she’s the real deal.

Kyle and Samantha watched as the titans fought, cowering in the shadow of the dueling women. Fear and astonishment flew across their faces as Carmen blocked a flurry of blows, gritting her teeth and looking for an opening to strike back.

“Magnificent!” Arisu shouted, dancing around Carmen and raining punches, “I haven’t had a fight like this in years Carmen!”

“You’ve got my name, what’s yours?” Carmen panted, separating and shooting a glance to her tiny friends as she tried to think of a plan. Arisu was better than her, and if they kept fighting, she’d slowly wear Carmen down… and then… she gulped, wanting to yell for Sammy and Kyle to run, but she worried it would draw this madwoman’s attention back to them.

“Arisu Moriyama, the world serpent of Jormungand!” She beamed, throwing her arms wide as if taunting the trio.

“The head snake herself,” Carmen muttered, “a lot of shit’s starting to make sense. I can’t wait to tell Melinda how I knocked your teeth out.”

Arisu’s grin faltered at the mention of Melinda, and a dark look came over her, “I wonder how your precious nurse is taking your fall from grace Carmen?”

Carmen smirked, she’d found a sore spot, and like any bully she zeroed in on it, “So that’s why you’re here? Still trying to get Mommy’s attention?”

“Shut your mouth,” Arisu growled.

“Holy shit!” Carmen beamed, giving her best smug grin, “that’s it isn’t it! This whole thing is just one big tantrum!”

Arisu’s calm was gone, her face was red and she bared her teeth as she ran at Carmen. This time the blows came with such speed that Carmen barely had time to keep them from cracking her ribs, and she hissed in pain as her teeth were clacked together by a vicious uppercut. She stumbled back, hearing a scream of terror from beneath her as she almost crushed Kyle and Samantha by accident.

Arisu chuckled, readying for another assault, when the sound of sirens rang out through the countryside. She paused, her fists shaking with rage as she screamed in frustration.

“Time’s up,” Carmen panted, steadying herself with a grin. Suddenly she felt exhausted, the bullet wound throbbed, and she wondered how much blood she’d lost. Still, for how she felt it was almost like she’d just had a tough soccer game…

“No it isn’t,” Arisu hissed, “you listen to me Carmen, you care for those insects?” she nodded at Kyle and Samantha, still looking up at the giants in wonder. “If you go to the police now, I’ll kill them. No more plots, no more scheming and using proxies, I will find them and I will put them through a death that will make you weep to think about.”

“Get fucked,” Carmen spat, hearing the sirens get closer.

“Melinda, the police, you, all just delaying the inevitable, Et in Arcadia Ego Carmen, I am everywhere! I will get them eventually,” Arisu grinned, seeing the fear on the tiny couple’s face and the realization on Carmen’s that she spoke the truth.

“What the hell do you want then?” Carmen asked.

“Flee girl,” Arisu chuckled, “we will settle this later… in the field. I will come to you.”

With that she turned and sprinted back to her motorcycle, looking almost like a cheetah as she leapt on it in one fluid motion. The engine roared to life, and as soon as she’d come, Arisu was gone, disappearing into the countryside.

Carmen shakily bent down to pick up Samantha and Kyle, “you guys okay?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah… that was…” he blinked, “you were amazing!”

Carmen blushed, “so what do you guys think? Do we do what she says?”

“Kill her,” Samantha said suddenly, surprising the other two with the sudden venom in her voice, “we should kill her… the three of us,” she gulped, “together…”

Carmen scowled, the sirens were close enough that if not for the trees she was sure she’d be able to see the squadcars, “Sammy this isn’t a DnD game, that woman is-“

“She’s right,” Kyle said in a tired voice, “Carmen, I don’t want to be dealing with this for the rest of my life… don’t go to the cops, we’ll just… play along, then we can turn the tables on her somehow.” He tried to give the giant holding him a reassuring grin, “we can do this, we’ll lure her in and end this whole thing.”

Carmen sighed, then smiled, “Fuck it… I guess I’d better get running.” She stuffed the pair back down into her sports bra, enjoying the little surprised squeak they gave as she released the elastic, snapping them against her chest.

Carmen felt the pair squirm, but they were secure. She put her hands on her hips and looked down the road.

You’re shot, beaten half to death, and stranded in the countryside with no car, no wallet, no phone, and the cops and a psycho bitch are after you… She smirked, well, time to earn that Phoenix nickname…