5 Years Ago

Carmen walked along the freshly shoveled sidewalk behind Melinda, the trail of smoke from the older woman’s cigarette wafting casually back to her in the winter air. Carmen’s nose rankled at the foul smell of the tobacco, Melinda always bought the cheapest smelliest cigarettes. It was understandable though, from what she understood the smoke masked some of the pheromones that also wafted behind the head Valkyrie. Carmen hadn’t received her own gene therapy yet, and so even with the smoke she couldn’t help but feel a slight heat towards her mentor. She scowled and blinked, clearing her head.

“Where are we going?” Carmen asked angrily. Christmas lights lit the yards, shining through the first heavy coat of snow of December as she hugged her puffy coat to herself, shivering. “It’s got to be negative five out here Melinda, come on!”

Melinda paused, looking back with some amusement, she was wearing a lighter coat, completely unsuited to the weather.

“Apologies, I forget that you normals do not burn quite as hot as we do,” She said with a small smile, “in any case, we are here.” She pointed to the door of a small one-story house with a lit Christmas tree in the front window.

“What is this?” Carmen asked hesitantly as Melinda led her up to the door.

The head nurse knocked once, then turned to leave, “you’re having dinner with some people,” Melinda said idly, walking back down the freshly shoveled sidewalk.

“And you’re not coming?” she shouted.

“I’m taking a walk dear!” Melinda called, “a cigarette on a winter’s night is one of life’s little pleasures!”

Carmen was about to call back for her, but the door opened, “Hi! You must be Carmen!” a kind and frumpy looking middle-aged woman said softly, “I’m Mrs. Seacourt, but you can call me Cindy. Please come in, it’s so cold outside!”

“Uh, sure,” Carmen said hesitantly, walking into the warm entryway which spilled into the living room. A pair of young children, a boy and a girl, chased each other laughing, clattering the shining glass bulbs of the Christmas tree as they ducked behind it from one another. There were a few presents under that tree too, the ribbons shining in the soft glow of the strands of Christmas lights.

“And this is my husband Mark,” Cindy said quietly, leading her to a sickly and pale man in his forties, his hair already almost all grey as he huffed painful gasps from an oxygen mask.

“Pleased to meet you,” Mark rasped, reaching out shakily.

Carmen awkwardly shook his hand, not sure what else to do, “So...” Cindy said quietly, leading her away, “you can probably see why we are interested in the Valkyrie Project,” she said softly, gazing back at her husband. “I know your people told us that they didn’t have the staff to treat him, but… it does mean a lot that they’d send someone here to talk to us anyway.” She bit her lip, looking at Carmen hopefully, “I don’t suppose there are any updates?”

Melinda what the hell is this? Carmen thought angrily, “Uhh…” she cleared her throat, “I’ll make sure you know as soon as I hear something.”

…

Carmen sat through the most awkward dinner of her life, chewing forever on mouthfuls of sliced ham and a mix of potatoes and greens as the family discussed their business.

“I wish we could have gone down to see Grandma this year,” one of the children, their son, said.

“Maybe daddy can take us next Christmas when he’s feeling better!” the girl said excitedly. Their mother visibly flinched, and Carmen felt a pit form in her stomach.

…

“Thanks for coming,” Cindy said, handing Carmen a foil covered plate of leftovers, “It really does mean a lot to know we weren’t… forgotten.” She sighed, “Merry Christmas.” With that she shut the door, inside Carmen could hear the opening credits of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer beginning to roll as the family gathered in the living room.

“Merry Christmas,” Carmen muttered, shivering as she stepped down the walkway again.

“Did you enjoy meeting the Seacourts?” Melinda asked, walking down the sidewalk towards her, a cigarette still billowing lazily in her hand.

“What the hell kind of Christmas Carol bullshit was that?” Carmen asked angrily.

“Oh, not a fan of Dickens, are we?” Melinda smirked.

“I failed out of high school thanks to a paper on Great Expectations,” Carmen replied, “seriously, what are you playing at?”

“I just thought you’d get some perspective from a dinner like this,” Melinda said with a sigh, white smoke billowing off her nostrils and into the night air, “Mister Seacourt’s health took a turn after his old employer did not provide protection from certain hazardous chemicals that he worked with, his lungs are barely functioning and he will not see New Year’s.”

“So go in there and fix him!” Carmen said angrily.

“I’ve done eight reductions today dear, if I do another I might pass out,” Melinda said calmly, “for that matter I am booked solid for the next several months, and I simply do not have enough Valkyries to meet the demand for shrinking therapy. Who would follow up with him? If you wish, go look at my patient roster and make the decision on who should meet the reaper instead of Mr. Seacourt in there.”

“What about that scumbag he worked for?” Carmen hissed, “can’t someone do something? Make them pay up?”

“I believe the Attorney General is on it, but it will be some months, if not years,” Melinda said with a shrug, “not that money or prison sentences will give a husband and father back to his family.” She glanced at the Christmas lights a moment, the joyful pattern reflecting in her eyes, “even in Arcadia…”

“This isn’t fair!” Carmen said, blinking a tear from her eye angrily.

“Fair?” Melinda laughed, “fairness doesn’t exist, why is it that I stand here a genetically modified superhuman while another would die if they underwent the same treatment? Why is it that someone bigger and stronger than Mister Seacourt in there decided to throw away the man’s life for some marginal profit?” She was quiet a moment, “why is it, that the same car accident which took my husband from me, left me without so much as a scratch?” She sighed, taking another long drag of her cigarette and letting the sound of a faraway siren and the winter wind pass between them.

“So that’s what you wanted me to learn, the world sucks, deal with it?” Carmen asked angrily.

“No Carmen,” she said quietly, “I wanted you to understand exactly what the Valkyrie Project means to me, a chance at to shine a light and make a little of the world’s suffering vanish. Maybe we never get “fair,” or “justice” or whatever you would call it, but we can come across the pieces and put them back together and make something worth living for.” She sighed, reaching into her pocket and fishing around a moment. She withdrew a small shining pin, a winged sword, the symbol of the Valkyries.

Carmen’s eyes went wide as Melinda laid it on top of the foil covered plate, “Y-You’re approving me for the gene enhancement?” Carmen asked excitedly.

“I feel that your education in the field of anatomy has come as far as it will,” she said in a tired voice, “report to the project laboratory tomorrow at eight o clock sharp, and prepare for a lifetime of shopping at the big and tall stores.” She smiled and looked back at the Seacourt residence, “don’t look so excited girl, it’s two weeks floating in a vat while they feed you through a tube, after that you will meet the Seacourt family again and bring a little more joy to their holiday season.”

“You won’t regret it!” Carmen said, looking at her badge in awe.

“Let’s hope not,” Melinda said under her breath, staring up at the night sky.

…

Present

Carmen fingered the small Valkyrie badge idly, gently poking the tip of the little sword into her fingertip as she watched Kyle and Samantha set up their video conference. The two were using their few hours at four feet today to chat with some other employees from their company, the whole idea bored Carmen, but being stuck in the mansion under FBI protection didn’t leave her with a lot to do, so she’d decided she’d watch her favorite nerds from out of frame.

Richard appeared on the screen wearing an expensive looking suit and tie. A few moments later a few other corporate employees appeared, though apart from the legal department most were wearing more casual clothing. Samantha and Kyle were of course wearing the plain white shirts Carmen had provided for them.

“So you’ll be happy to hear that I think you guys are right,” Richard began, that used car salesman smile flashing across his face, “now is not the time to sell!”

Kyle and Samantha blinked, looking at each other in surprise, “That’s good to hear,” Samantha said hesitantly, “I heard you got some threat letters in the mail too?”

“Yeah, real nasty stuff,” Richard said dismissively, “probably those Jormungand women that went after you, I’m standing firm with you guys though! We can’t let these people intimidate us.”

“It’s good to be on the same side for once,” Kyle said, nodding, “if there’s nothing else let’s talk about holiday promotions-“

“Well I had some other ideas,” Richard said, cutting back in, “I don’t want to sell, but I think it’s time to expand!”

“Expand?” Samantha asked curiously, “like branch out into Europe? We didn’t do great in the UK…”

“I say we give it another shot,” Richard said, “I’ve already started talking to some new investors-“

“Richard I don’t want to do anything with the company ownership right now,” Kyle protested, not while Samantha and I are still…”

“Small, tiny, yeah,” Richard said, waving dismissively, “just let me handle it, you two just focus on getting well-“

“Richard-“ Samantha began hesitantly.

“Guys, I said I’m handling it,” Richard said dismissively, “a lot of the meetings are already set up so-“

Carmen rolled her eyes and walked forward, ducking into the camera frame between Kyle and Samantha, “Hey, buddy, they said no,” she said.

Richard blinked, “I’m sorry, who is this?”

“Carmen, I’m the Valkyrie taking care of them, and they don’t want to expand or whatever.”

“Now I understand that you might have a certain attachment to your patients,” Richard said nervously straightening his tie, “but this is business and-“

“She’s right,” Kyle said, oddly feeling more confident with Carmen’s massive form behind him, “we did say no Richard.”

Richard was silent a moment, then gave a hollow smile, “hey, it can wait until you guys get back to full speed.”

The meeting went on a few more minutes, mostly discussing the upcoming holiday promotions on Goblin, and then one by one the various attendees dropped off. Richard was the last to go, giving them that same smile he always gave them when he didn’t get what he wanted before flicking his webcam off.

“I don’t like that guy,” Carmen said, leaning against a wall.

“Richard’s an asshole but he’s all right when you get to know him,” Kyle said, “he’s handled a lot of the business side of things for years.”

“Whatever,” Carmen said with a shrug, “you two have another two hours before we’ve got to make you little again, so enjoy them.” With that she left, leaving Kyle and Samantha to discuss the company.

…

Carmen listened to the treadmill whine below her, she had it on the fastest setting it would go, which still felt more like a brisk jog at most to her, and with every one of her heavy footfalls against the machine there was a *thud* anywhere else she’d have worried about the wear and tear she was putting on it, but she figured that she couldn’t exactly go jogging outside and she was pretty sure that Kyle and Samantha could afford a new treadmill after she sent this one to an early retirement.

Not like those two pipsqueaks ever use their workout room anyway, she thought, looking around at the untouched weights and machines. It was fairly well equipped, almost like a hotel fitness center, but judging from how tidy everything was apart from a thin layer of dust on the weights, it was rarely used. Guess when you have a house this big you might as well put in one of everything.

She stepped off the treadmill with a sigh, giving the protesting machine a break as she dripped sweat. Suddenly the door opened, and she raised an eyebrow as she saw Kyle poked his head in. She pulled her earbuds out, the hard rock music she listened to during her workout fading as she put her hands on her hips and gave him her attention.

“Well?” she asked with a smirk, “come on in, it’s your house.”

Kyle hesitantly walked in, glancing at the mirrored wall and gulping as he saw his reflection compared to Carmen’s. She seemed to notice his discomfort and rolled her eyes.

“Something I can help you with squirt?” She asked, crossing her arms. The smell of her sweat filled the room, and from his flushed face the pheromones were starting to kick in on him. He blinked as sexual thoughts filled his head and forced himself to look up and meet Carmen’s eyes.

“Hey,” he began, his throat dry, “Uh… thanks for telling off Richard earlier, but Samantha and I think we need to be the ones making business decisions so in the future-“

“Don’t listen in on your video calls?” Carmen guessed.

“Yeah,” Kyle said with a relieved sigh.

“We’ll see,” Carmen said with a grin that made Kyle slightly uncomfortable, “I can’t let anyone else be pushing my dorks around, can I?”

Kyle’s face burned red, “Carmen this is serious, this is our business, we’ve worked really hard and-“

“And you’re still a pair of dweebs getting pushed around,” Carmen laughed, “look, you’re my patients, I’m in charge. Remember, while we’re here I wake up every day and get to decide whether you’re a four-foot midget,” she jokingly ran a hand through his hair, “a three-inch-tall toy, or…” she grinned, “an ant.”

Kyle’s eyes bulged as she giggled at his reaction, “y-you can’t really make people that small,” it was a mix of a plea, and a question, while the a bit of time playing board games on the safety of the dining table hadn’t been so bad, he wasn’t quite used to the world at tiny sizes yet, and the prospect of going from toy size to bug sized sent a chill up his spine.

“It’s hard,” Carmen admitted with a toothy grin, “but you two have just put me on my A-Game lately, I’m pretty sure I can do it.” Her smile widened, “No, I know I can! What do you say Kyle? Want to help me push some limits?”

“NO!” Kyle cried, surprising himself as he backpedaled. He turned to head for the door, but the world raced away from him as he shot downward, his own falling clothes becoming a barrier that kept him from escaping as Carmen approached him.

“Damn, and not even any physical contact!” Carmen said happily, looking down at the squirming bump in the pooled clothing, “I am on fire Kyle!” she nudged his shirt aside with her shoe, revealing a naked and squinting Kyle looking up at her in fear.

“Y-You didn’t-“

“Nope, you’re just at the good ol’ three-inch size,” Carmen said happily as she squatted down to pick him up. “Oh don’t look relieved yet, I’m still making you a speck today, I just thought you could relive your first kiss before we get there.”

He struggled in her grip, nudging his arms up over her coiled fingers, “M-My first kiss?” he asked with confusion, “it was with Samantha!”

Carmen laughed, throwing her head back as she stood up, “No, your first kiss on the lips was with Sammy, don’t tell me you already forgot our special moment?”

Kyle’s face dropped, “Oh no,” he whispered.

“Yep,” Carmen laughed, pulling her own shirt over her head as she kept a grip on him. Soon he was looking at Carmen’s colossal torso, a black sports bra stretched across her enormous breasts. Her light brown skin glistened with sweat, and she held him in one hand as she grinned at him and raised her arm.

“Carmen don’t!” Kyle begged.

“Kyle’s first kiss,” Carmen said in a faux wistful tone, “was with my sweaty pits after PE!”

Kyle struggled futilely as the landscape of Carmen’s armpit hovered in front of him, the wave of heat coming off it filling his senses with the thick earthy smell of her sweat. He panted as the air became hot and muggy while she slowly brought him towards it, she was doing it slow, she wanted to make it last he realized.

Her armpit was shaved, but there were a few bristled short hairs that were visible at his tiny size. He made contact with the soft skin and cried out in disgust as Carmen pressed him into the sweaty flesh.

“Brings you back, doesn’t it?” Carmen laughed, swirling him around and dragging his face up and down her pit like he was a stick of deodorant. Her sweat soaked his hair, his body, and he coughed as his mouth became filed with her post-workout grime. The worst part of it was how turned on it was making him, Carmen’s pheromones made it so that even with how strong the smell of her sweat was, he almost wanted more of it, even as it coated him and soaked his hair, filled his mouth…

“How was it? Was it as good as you remember?” Carmen taunted.

Kyle just groaned, going limp as he accepted defeat, all of his senses being overwhelmed by Carmen’s post workout funk. Her sweaty pit had thoroughly soaked him, he smelled her, he felt the cool air as it dried on him, he tasted her, a salty earthy flavor that she’d forced on him years before in a demented “first kiss” after a PE class they’d shared.

“Don’t feel too bad Kyle,” Carmen laughed, “Samantha’s first kiss was my butt! Though I did have my shorts on, so I don’t know if that one counts.” She chuckled at his reaction, then pulled her sports bra away from her skin, casually dumping Kyle down into the sweaty abyss between her breasts.

Kyle’s light disappeared as she released the elastic sports bra, slamming him against her soft chest. If her armpit was bad, the slick walls of her skin and breasts were worse, causing him to slide down into her cleavage as she walked through the house. He felt the warm masses trapping him bounce up and down, causing him to slide up and down slightly due to the sweat, smearing him with more of the potent grime with every movement of hers.

Carmen felt him struggling feebly inside the bra, and she had a smug grin on her face as she walked through the hallway, taking nice wide steps which caused her breasts to jiggle up and down more. She almost burst out laughing imagining what it would be like for him when she reached the staircase.

…

Samantha sighed as she soaked in the warm waters of the bath tub. The small dormitory that Carmen kept them in when they were three inches tall had a shower, but she’d always found baths more relaxing. She’d opted to spend her remaining time at four feet today in the tub, enjoying the floral soap she’d chosen. A bath at four feet tall was, if anything, even better, the tub was more spacious, she was able to submerge herself more easily…

“Hey Sammy!” Carmen said, opening the door to the bathroom.

“C-Carmen!” Samantha shouted in shock, splashing slightly in the tub, “you can’t just barge in here without knocking-“

“Too bad, time to go small again,” Carmen said, enjoying the smaller woman’s discomfort. She frowned at the sight of Samantha in the bath.

“What?” Samantha asked angrily, covering her breasts with one arm, “never seen a tub before?”

The truth was that Valkyries had an instinctive aversion to being submerged that tended to kick in a few weeks after their gene therapy. Showers were fine, but Carmen had found that even something as simple as a bath made her unusually nervous, unable to relax… she didn’t need Samantha and Kyle knowing she was scared of baths though.

She shook her head, “come on Sammy, get out and dry off.”

“Where’s Kyle?” she asked, stepping out of the bath.

“I already got him,” Carmen laughed, reaching up and jiggling her sweat soaked sports bra with a grin.

Samantha’s eyes went wide, “you didn’t put him in-“

“I’ll let him out whenever you’re ready to go down, just come on already!” Carmen said, waving for Samantha to follow her as she walked back into the bedroom.

Samantha finished toweling off with a scowl and followed Carmen into the master bedroom with a sigh. She glanced at the small terrarium style dormitory where Carmen kept the two of them. With Carmen living in their master bedroom, and them living in a glass box on the dresser, it almost felt like she’d taken over, made them her pets.

Carmen reached into her sports bra, slipping a sweat soaked Kyle out while Samantha looked on with a frown. She watched as her husband was set on the ground. Carmen snapped her fingers, and Samantha felt the same tingling feeling mix with vertigo as the world seemed to shoot away. She stumbled, struggling to keep on her feet as the world seemed to shift around her.

“Okay Sammy, head over there to Kyle,” Carmen said, standing over them with an evil grin.

“Carmen please don’t,” Kyle pleaded in a defeated tone as he looked up at her.

“What?” Samantha asked, going to Kyle’s side, “what’s she going to do?”

Carmen took a deep breathe, focus her mind and guiding the harnessed energy down towards Kyle’s spot on the floor. Samantha watched, mouth wide, as Kyle dwindled in front of her.

Kyle felt his heart hammer in his chest as he looked up at the towering trees that were his carpet fibers. His sky was blocked out suddenly by the massive concerned face of his wife, her blue eyes racing over the carpet fibers that came up to her ankles and were now a jungle for him.

“CARMEN WHAT DID YOU DO!?” Samantha yelled, falling to her knees and peering down at where Kyle had shrunk.

“I just made him a little smaller,” Carmen said, biting her lip, “I um… didn’t mean to do it that much, can you find him Sammy?”

Kyle waved his hands, screaming for Samantha’s attention. He felt a wave of relief wash over him as Samantha spotted him, reaching down a finger that was larger than his body to fish him out of the curled carpet fibers.

“I found him,” Samantha shouted, “Kyle, are you okay?”

Kyle blinked, looking up at Samantha’s gargantuan face, then up further at the mountainous form of Carmen, a faraway behemoth that he couldn’t comprehend was a living, breathing, person. He felt weak, and he collapsed into his wife’s cupped palms, hugging her soft skin as he tried to hide from the massive chasm that the world had become.

“P-Please ask her to fix me,” Kyle squeaked, closing his eyes.

“He’s terrified!” Samantha said angrily, looking up at Carmen, “make him my size at least!”

Carmen gulped, guilt welling in the back of her throat, “I uh…” she cleared her throat, willing the shrinking energies to manifest, but… they didn’t come. She looked down at Samantha’s furious expression, “I think I’ve burned myself out for today,” she said quietly, suddenly feeling very small herself.

Samantha looked down at Kyle with a sigh, “hey… I think you’re stuck like this for a little while, until her mojo comes back or whatever…”

Kyle moaned in despair, curling up into a ball and burying his face in Samantha’s palm, “J-Just keep me safe,” he begged.

“I’ll put you in the dorm,” Carmen said hurriedly, “it’s completely safe in there-“ she reached down to pick up Samantha, who glowered at her as she carried the tiny pair to their housing. The small plastic entrance hissed open, and she gently placed Samantha and her even tinier husband inside.

“Thanks,” Samantha said coldly.

“I was just fooling around!” Carmen protested, “I just wanted to see if I could… do it…”

“Just come get us tomorrow when you can grow Kyle back,” Samantha growled, using her free hand to hit a button and sealing the door behind her. A second later the glass in the tiny dormitory went opaque as Samantha blocked her out from seeing them.

Carmen scowled, a part of her wanted to simply override it, open the dormitory, and drag Samantha back out to keep talking… but that would just be digging the hole deeper, wouldn’t it?

She sighed, mentally trying to will the energy to return to her, a few mental sparks went down her spine, nowhere near enough to grow Kyle back from the size she’d sent him to…

Tomorrow, she promised herself, I’ll fix him first thing tomorrow morning, then everything will be okay. She glanced at the opaqued terrarium; I hope…