Chapter 2

"Steve wake up."

Stephen opened his eyes and saw his full sized wife standing over him.

"It’s time to get moving." She told him.

Since they had to get up early, breakfast was a quick affair. They ate before anyone else was up. Or so they thought. As Steve was getting out of the bathroom, Mistar approached him.

"Got a moment Steve?"

"I guess so. What's up Mistar?"

"I know we haven't always gotten along in the past. But I want you to know that it's nice to have a brother in the family again."

"I've been your brother in law for a while now, why the change of heart?"

"Over time I've warmed up to you. True I was hostile to you when we first meet. But I had my sister's best interests at heart."

"If you say so."

"It's the truth. I couldn't believe my sister's true love was a human. Part of me is jealous that she's found her true love and I'm still looking for mine."

"Steve we got to go." Deborah called out.

"So long my brother in law. And good luck."

Wonder what got into her?" Stephen wondered.

Went they got outside there was a cab waiting for them.

"Sizechangers have taxis?" Stephen asked.

"Why not?" Deborah replied.

"Is there anything I should know before we get on the plane to the Nusi meeting?" Stephen asked as they arrived at the airport.

"Well they do ask the passengers to shrink themselves." Deborah replied.

"What!"

"It's common procure that the passengers on long distance flights get shrunk to 1/12th scale. That way they can cram more people in and charge lower rates."

"I assume the flight crew would be normal size."

"Of course. They have operate the plane controls. Once the flight is over, the passengers leave the plane and grow back to whatever size they want."

"This planet takes some getting used to." Steve commented." I doubt humans would let themselves get shrunk so easily."

"You'll be surprised. Besides I'll be right by your side."

Even with his wife my side, Stephen was nervous about shrinking to six inches tall in public. Although the sight of hundreds of other passengers shrinking to (roughly) the same size made him feel him a bit better.

"You weren't kidding when you said they cram them in." Stephen commented. There were a couple thousand passengers on the plane. Finding their seats took a while.

"Here we are, I paid extra from some window seats."

"Welcome passengers to flight 123." An announcer said in Sizechanger. "Remember to read the "what to do in case of emergencies" manual. Our estimated flight time is 50 minutes. About 20 of those will be spent outside the atmosphere. Please unless you have to use the washroom, please stay in your seats. Have a nice flight."

"We're going to space?" Steve asked his wife.

"All long distance flights are sub orbital flights." Deborah explained.

"Guess that explains the "what to do if your trapped in the vacuum of space" part of the manual.

The flight went fairly quickly for Stephen. He enjoyed the view from the window. That way he didn't have to look at the towering airline staff. While they looked friendly enough (Most were young women) Stephen still felt nervous around them. It didn't help that one staff member; a brunette noticed his discomfort. She about 5'4", but when your six inches tall, she's a giantess.

"Nervous flyer?" She asked him.

"Not used to being shrunk." He replied.

"He's a nusi." Deborah explained, after seeing the brunette's puzzled look.

"Oh. Well let us know if you need anything." She then moved on.

"Thank God that's over." Stephen cried after they had left the plane and grown back to normal height.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad."

The city of Hillta was visible off in the distance. Stephen could see the mountains rising behind the city.

"How do we get there?" Stephen asked.

"By taxi." Deborah replied.

After a short taxi ride, the couple found themselves in downtown Hillta.

"Here's a map of the city. The building you need to go to is clearly marked."

"You're not going with me?" Stephen asked.

"You'll do fine. Besides the Masterchemi won't let anything bad happen to you."

"If something bad did happen to me. How would they know?" Stephen asked.

"We would know." Echoed through Stephen's brain.

"Is that you Masterchemi?" Stephen asked.

"Yes. We are tracking your whereabouts at all times."

"Haven't you heard of privacy?"

"When it comes to dealing with the Masterchemi. It doesn't exist." Deborah explained. 

"You mean the Masterchemi are in your mind all the time?"

"Not all the time. But they can enter your mind any time they want to."

"Wish I had known that before I became a Sizechanger."

"Well I'm going to see an old friend who lives in Hillta. I'll catch up with you later. Good luck at the meeting."

Deborah then ran off and Stephen got out the map. Building 10-A where the meeting was being held was clearly marked and only a few blocks away.

Paul Jones and Tracey Smith entered the classroom. There were several people already there. Some of them were surprised to see Paul return with a girl."

"You got a girlfriend now?" A teenage brunette asked Paul.

"She not my Girlfriend. She is a fellow new Sizechanger. Her name is Tracey Smith."

"Hello people. Care to introduce yourselves?"

"I'm Paige Jones." The brunette replied. "I'm Paul big sister."

"By a mere two years. I'm 16 years old and she's 18." Paul added.

"My name is Patrick Jones." A man with brown hair and white skin replied. He appeared to be in his late forties.

"And I'm Paula Jones. His wife." A Brunette replied. Tracey guessed she was in her forties as well.

"Nice to meet you Jones. But tell me who that is?" She pointed to a man standing on the side of the room.

"My name is Stephen Miller. Like you I'm a new Sizechanger."

Tracey's jaw dropped open in shock.

"The Stephen Miller? The one who is married to Deborah Law?"

"How did you know?"

"I was a great fan of Sizechangers years before I became one. Your wife is one of the most famous and the most powerful of them all. "

"NUSI! There will be time to get to know each later. Right now you have lessons to learn."

They turned to face the Masterchemi standing (if that the right word to use for a liquid mass) in front of the classroom. Then they sat in the seats provided and the lesson began.

The first hour or so was basic Size changing 101. Stuff that they had read in books like " The Ignorant person guide to Sizechangers and size changing." Then they moved beyond the theory of sizechanging to actual practice on inanimate objects. After a few hours the Masterchemi said.

"We will now pause for a brief meal break. We will resume in thirty earth minutes in the Size arena."

"Is the food here human or Sizechanger?" Steve asked Patrick Jones.

"The menu features both." Patrick replied.

"Not sure I'll ever get used to Sizechanger food." Paige Jones commented.

All but Tracey went with human food. Tracey had Blofat on her plate To his dismay Tracey sat next to him.

"You like Blofat?" He asked.

"Sure do." Tracey replied. "Later I love to talk to you in private."

"About what?"

"About what's its like being married to the seventh most powerful Sizechanger alive."

"You know that just the top ten list opinion."

They turned to see who had spoken. It was a tall woman with white hair.

"Kathor South what are you doing here?" Tracey asked.

"I’m just checking up on you. Also I wanted to meet Stephen." Kathor replied. She went to shake Stephen's hand.

"Deborah has told me much about you."

"So you’re the old friend she ran off to see."

"Correct. I was her trainer back in her Sitmobtia days." Stephen frowned at the mention of the Sitmobtia.

"Is Deborah here?" Tracey asked.

"She's right here." Kathor opened her purse and a five-inch tall Deborah popped out.

"Hi honey." She said.

"Deborah Law. My name is Tracey Smith. It's an honour to meet you." Tracey said.

 "Same to you."

"Mind if I have a quick girl to girl talk with Deborah in your purse?" Tracey asked.

"Why not?" Kathor replied.

Stacey then rapidly shrank to five inches in height and then climbed into the purse. Kathor then shut the purse living a small hole for air.

"Now that's weird." Paula Jones commented.

"It’s probably a normal thing for a sizechanger to do." Stephen replied. Then he turned to Kathor.

"What's this top ten list that Stacey mentioned?"

"Every year they produce a list of the top ten sizechangers." Kathor explained.

"Is Mistar Law on that list?"

"In the eight spot. Here's a copy of the list." She then fished a small data pad from her pocket. She enlarged it to book size and then brought up the following list.

1. Maxtor (Besides having the most raw size changing power, has teleportation ability and protected by a smart shield)

2. The Size Ranger (superhero with various powers)

3. Zintor (political leader of the Alpha continent)

4. Kathor South (a.k.a Kathy) most powerful female.

5. Bran Soap (political leader of the Beta continent)

6. Dator Ham (a.k.a. Dan Ham)

7. Deborah Law

8. Mistar Law (a.k.a. Misty Law)

9.Susan Big (Political leader of the Delta continent)

10. Bitor Bigla (Mayor of Rivbend)

Most of these Sizechangers I've never heard off. And you’re the most powerful female sizechanger?"

"So they say. But I hate to put that to the test." Kathor replied.

"Please report to the size arena within the next five minutes." Echoed through Steve's and the other new sizechangers heads.

"Thirty minutes go by fast."  Patrick complained.

"You said it. By the way what exactly is the size arena?" Stephen asked Kathor.

"It's where sizechangers practice their sizechanging skills. Most likely the Masterchemi want you to demonstrate how big you can grow and how small you can shrink." Kathor replied.

The first impression they had was how big the size arena was. At first glance it looked like a mountain. Then they found out it was hollow.

"How big is this place?" Tracey asked.

"It's a mile tall and almost two across." The masterchemi replied.

"Why hollow out a mountain?" Steve asked.

"A mountain looks better than a mile tall building."

"You sound like you have built mile tall buildings." Patrick commented.

"We have, but that's not talk about that right now. Now is time to find out your limits."

"Limits?" Tracey asked.

"How big you can grow and how small you can shrink."

"Which are we doing first?" Steve asked.

"We will start with shrinking. Who wants to go first?"

"This is safe right?" Paula Jones asked.

"It's not a survival test. This is merely a measurement test." The Masterchemi replied. "And before you ask we use sensors not a ruler."

"Guess I'll go first." Paula said.

"Good. Come and stand before me."

Paula did as she was told.

"Computer what is Paula Jones current height?"

"She is 5'8" or 172.7 centimetres tall if you prefer metric."

"Being an American, I prefer inches." Paula commented.

"Ex-American you mean. When ready Paula, begin shrinking."

Paula frowned but did as she was told. She began to shrink, getting smaller and smaller. Soon the others had to get on their hands and knees to see her. Finally she stopped shrinking.

"She's no big than an ant." Stacey commented.

"Computer what is Paula's current height?"

"She is 1/4th of an inch tall ."

"What's it like down there?" Patrick asked his wife.

"Everything is so big." Paula replied. But no one but the Masterchemi heard her reply.

"All right you can return to normal size." The Masterchemi told Paula. She grew a lot faster than she shrank.

"Guess I'll go next." Patrick said. He tried his best but could only shrink down to 1/2 of an inch tall.

"How come she can go smaller than me?" Patrick wondered.

"Just because your married doesn't mean your powers are exactly the same." The Masterchemi replied.

"Guess I'm next." Paul and Paige said at the same time.

"All right. We'll have a brother sister shrink."

They shrank in unison. Until the half inch mark was reached. Then Paul stopped shrinking. Paige kept on shrinking until she was only 1/16th of an inch tall.

"Think you over did it." Paul told his super tiny sister."

"Who knew I was the best shrinker in the family." Paige replied.

After the Jones kids had grown back to normal size, Steve was next. At first he had no trouble shrinking. But as the world around him got bigger and bigger he got more and more nervous. At the one-inch mark he found he couldn't go any further.

"You have the power to get even smaller." The Masterchemi told him.

"But not the will." Steve replied.

Next up was Tracey Smith. At first she shrank to only eight inches tall.

"Surely you can get smaller than that."

"I'm a giantess, not a shrunken woman." Tracey replied.

"A Sizechanger needs to know her shrinking limits."

Tracey frowned and then shrank to two inches in height."

"That's as small as I'm going." She said.

"All right. We'll take a short four-minute brake. Then we will put your growing skills to the test."

"We will doing to growing tests in the same order we did the Shrinking tests."

"Guess that's means I'm going first." Paula said.

"Correct."

"All right. Stand back. I'm going to need a lot of room."

A lot of room was right. Paula grew and grew. Soon the other sizechangers felt like they have been shrunk to bug size standing before her. Finally she stopped growing.

"Paula is 1200 feet tall." The computer said.

"THIS PLACE DOESN'T LOOK SO HUGE ANYMORE." Paula commented.

"All right. Time to shrink down."

"Paula did as she was told."

Patrick was next. His limit turned out to be 1300 feet.

"I'M THE GROWTH KING." He shouted.

"Don't be so sure on that." The Masterchemi commented.

Patrick was next. He managed to match his father's 1300 feet height.

Then it was Paula's turn. To her family's surprise she managed to grow to 1500 feet in height.

"How come you have a greater size range than me?" Paula asked his sister.

"Beats me." She replied.

Stephen was up next. Truth be told he was more comfortable with growing than shrinking. Bigger and bigger he became. Finally he stopped growing.

"Steve is 1500 feet tall." the computer said.

Steve looked down at his fellow sizechangers, to him they looked no bigger than ants. He shuttered at the power he had.

After Steve had shrunk by to normal height, it was Tracey's turn. She grew in a flash.

"She's a giantess at heart." Steve thought to himself. Tracey quickly reached 2000 feet in height.

"I'M THE GIANTESS CHAMP." She shouted. Causing her fellow sizechangers to cover their ears.

"While better than average, you’re not good enough to get on the top ten list." The Masterchemi replied.

"All right nusi. That's it for today. We will meet again tomorrow at the ninth hour."

"I got a question. How long will this training last?" Stephen asked.

"That demands on a bunch of factors. We are aware that you have to be at work on Monday." The masterchemi replied.

Tracey then shrunk down to her normal size.

"So where are you going tonight?" She asked him.

"That's a good question. I forgot to ask where my wife is staying."

"She's staying in Kathor's mansion." The Masterchemi said.

"Then I guess that's where I'm going."

"Great. That's where I'm going to." Tracey said.

"Mind if we tag along for a while?" Patrick Jones asked.

"We miss human company." Paula Jones added.

"Have to ask Kathor, but I don't see why not." Tracey replied.

"They weren't kidding when they called this place a mansion." Steve commented.

"It's bigger than the hotel we are staying in." Paige commented.

The mansion they were referring to was huge. It was bigger than the city block Steve lived in. It was several stories tall. Steve could tell it was built for normal sized people. Several acres of land surrounded the mansion, which was located on the outskirts of the city.

"How did you manage to get a place to stay here?" Steve asked Tracey.

"Kathor is my mentor." Tracey replied. "She's supposed to guide me."

Kathor was waiting for them at the front door. Tracey asked her about the Jones request.

"You’re welcome to stay for supper." Kathor told the Jones family. Then she turned to Steve.

"You’re welcome to spend the night here." She told him.

"Thank you."

Kathor then took Steve and the Jones family on a brief tour of the mansion. Some rooms would not have been out of place in a rich human's home. Others were more unusual.

"What's in here? A model city?" Paula Jones asked. The city Paula referred to filled most of the room.

"I recognize the CN tower. It must be a model of Toronto." Steve suggested.

"It's no model Stephen. What you're looking at is the Norm version of Toronto, plus some of the suburbs." Kathor explained.

"You shrunk a whole city?" Patrick asked.

"Actually we Sizechangers shrank their home world to street finder size." Kathor explained.

"What's Street finder size?" Patrick asked.

"It's 1:25000 scale. Anyway as I was saying, they attacked us first. Twelve million sizechangers died due to their H-bombs. The Norms got what was coming to them."

 "Seams cruel to me." Paula commented.

"And me. Is anyone still alive in that city?" Patrick asked. Kathor just shrugged and then asked. "Don't you hate your enemies?"

"My Christian faith says I have to LOVE my enemies." Paula replied.

Kathor frowned, but made no comment. The tour moved on.

Another unusual room had nothing but a table in it. On the table was a tiny house.

"This house is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Inch." Kathor explained. "They are trusted servants of mine."

"You mean people live in there?" Paula Jones asked. As he was speaking an inch tall woman stepped out of the house. She had long blond hair and was dressed like a maid.

"Are they stuck at that size?" Paige asked. The inch tall blond then laughed and then grew to six inches in height."

"Does this answer your question?" The blond asked Paige.

"I guess it does. But why send your time being so tiny?"

"We like being tiny." Mrs. Inch replied.

"Even when they were human they were into shrinking to tiny sizes." Kathor explained.

"What human in his or her right mind wants to be that small?" Patrick Jones asked.

"You would be surprised how many people are into micro." Mrs. Inch commented.

"It’s time to move on with the tour people." Kathor said.

The tour ended in one of the living room, where Deborah was waiting for them. The Jones kids then ran off somewhere and Kathor went to check on dinner.

Steve along with his wife Deborah sat on the couch with Mr. and Mrs. Jones.

"I meant to ask earlier but how come your whole family decided to become sizechangers?" Steve asked Patrick.

"We didn't have much choice." Patrick replied.

"Why not?" Deborah asked.

"Imagine going to bed in San Francisco, USA Earth, then waking up in Bigtil, Alpha continent Sizeloa." Paula replied. "Imagine that your entire house along with the yard and drive way comes along for the ride."

"That sounds like something out of the "Twilight zone"." Steve commented.

"Not only that. At the same time the Blow family of Bigtil disappears, house and all. One wonders if they took our place on earth."

"Why didn't you try to get back to your home earth?"

"No body in this universe, knows where it is."

Deborah's eyes rose up in shock. Then she said.

"I find that hard to believe."

"It's true. If the Masterchemi know where it is, they are not saying."

"There’s plenty of room here." Steve said as he looked at the bedroom assigned to him and Deborah. The bed was king size and there was a mirror attached to a desk along one wall. Also standing on the desk was Mrs. Inch.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call us." Mrs. Inch said using a megaphone.

"Think we will be fine Mrs. Inch." Deborah said.

"Mind if I ask you something Mrs. Inch."

"Go right ahead Mr. Miller."

"How do you manage to get around the mansion with your tiny size?"

"Well keep in mind. I am a sizechanger. I can grow if I have too." Mrs. Inch replied. "Besides that, there are tiny inch tall doors in the main doors, tiny ladders and special express tunnels in the walls."

"Sounds like the mansion was built for tiny people in mind." Steve commented.

"It is."

Steve wasn't sure what to expect when class started. He was a little surprised when he saw lines painted at different heights on the wall. Each line was about an inch apart. Then he recognized the pattern. So did Tracey.

"We're doing height line exercises today?" She asked.

"Correct. It's a great way to keep your size changing powers in shape and makes for a great warm up exercise." The Masterchemi replied.

"Excuse me but what is height line exercises?" Patrick asked.

"Care to explain Steve?"

"Height line exercises are when you stare at a line at eye level on the wall. Then you can either increase your eye level to lines higher up or decrease your eye level to lines further down."

"It's a grow and shrink exercise." Tracey added.

"Care to demonstrate Tracey?"

"All right."

 She got up and starred at the wall. Then she grew an inch, then another inch.

"Each line is an inch apart. So as go up a line, I grow an inch. Another way to do this is to focus on certain lines. Say that line up there."

Tracey started at it and grew until it was level with her eye.

"Of course you can go the other way as well, take that line by my knees."

She started at it and began to shrink. She shrank until it was level with her eyes.

"It's a bit boring. But easy to get the hang of."

"I want you to spend the next half hour doing height line exercises." The Masterchemi told the class.

"Now we will do something different. This is a simulator that uses advanced VR technology. We will test to see how you handle certain situations.  Remember the fail-safe's are on, so you can't die. Any questions?"

"What happens if we get stuck in VR?" Paula Jones asked.

"We will be monitoring you at all times. I assure you that you can't get stuck." The Masterchemi replied.

The class then put on their VR helmets.

The classroom then disappeared for Steve. To his surprise he found himself back home. He was standing in front of his house. There were cars and people going by. Then a huge shadow came over the land. People started to scream. Steve looked up and saw a huge blond woman standing over his house. She was 600 feet tall and the look in her blue eyes chilled Stephen to the bone.

"Who the heck are you?" Stephen asked.

"MY NAME IS ROSE CRUSHER."  The blond replied. Then she crushed his house with her right foot.

"Hey! That's my house." Steve cried.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?" Rose asked.

Steve looked up at Rose and then tried to shrink her. To his surprise she didn't shrink."

"YOU FOOL. I'M A GTS-GODDESS. THEREFOR CAN'T NOT BE SHRUNK."

Steve did remember reading that's goddesses could not have their size altered. He barely had time to move out of the way before Rose's foot came down.

"I got to get bigger." Steve thought to himself. He began to grow and grow, within moments Stephen was 600 feet tall, the same height as Rose. To his amazement Rose just stood there watching him grow.

"Now it's a fair fight." Steve told Rose.

"That's what you think." She replied before she disappeared from sight.

"Where did she go?" Steve wondered. Then he felt a strong push from behind he then felt flat on his face, crushing homes and neighbours too stupid to flee earlier.

"I was Mr. G's darling once. There was even talk of getting my autobiography written.

But now Sizechangers are the rage and GTS-goddesses are rarely heard from." Rose complained.

"I don't care." Steve said as he got up. He made a fist and lunged at Rose who easily got out of the way. He made swing after swing at Rose but couldn't make contact.

"Oh man, where's a gun when you need one?" Steve complained.

"THIS IS HOMELAND SECURITY" A voice boomed over a loud speaker. "Surrender or we will open fire."

"MAKE MY DAY HUMANS." Rose shouted back.

The military then opened fired with attack helicopters and tanks.

"Stop. I'm an American citizen." Steve told the armed forces. But they kept on firing. Then one of the helicopters fired a missile that severed a vein in Steve's neck. He then crashed to the ground. The next thing he knew he was back in the classroom.

"Are you all right?" The Masterchemi asked Steve.

"I guess. I was under the impression we would be going through the simulation together."

'That was the plan. But someone hacked your feed."

"Would that someone happen to be Rose Crusher? That's who I meet in the VR."

"I doubt that. Rose and her fellow GTS-Goddesses are too busy fighting mini goddesses and SW's to deal with sizechangers."

As the Masterchemi was talking, Paul came out of VR.

"Thought you said that we couldn't die?" Paul asked the Masterchemi.

"You couldn't die for real. But you can die in the simulation."

"Say where we you? We looked for you, but couldn't find you."

"I got hijacked by a GTS-Goddess named Rose Crusher." Steve explained. "Tell me what is this simulation everyone else is in?"

"Well in the simulation, we're working for Sizechanger for Hire and then several clients come in with various missions for us. One client is a demon representing an earth where demons have taken over. None of us wanted to work for demons. Other client is a bunch of mega's who hate normal sized people. Tracey went to work for them.  And finally there was the American government that was twisted and evil. They are the ones us Jones ended up with." Paul then turned the Masterchemi.

"Are there really armies of shrunken women out there who work for Dolly Hitler or did you make that up?"

"Dolly Hitler and her armies really exist." The Masterchemi replied. "So do the mega's. And there really is a company called "Sizechanger for hire".

"What about the demon world? Did you make that up to?"

The Masterchemi refused to answer him.

After about an hour, every one was out of the simulation.

"Man that felt real." Tracey commented.

"You could probably make a fortune selling VR experiences to tourists." Patrick commented.

"This is the plan for the rest of the training. The rest of the day will be classroom instruction. Tomorrow we will be heading out the size islands. Expect for Steve who will be returning to his native earth. You will receive further training from your wife Steve."

"Can I go to Steve's earth as well?" Tracey asked.

"No!" The Masterchemi replied.

"Why on earth would you want to know where Rose Crusher is?" Deborah asked Steve. She could tell by the look on Steve's face that something had happened during training. But never saw this coming.

"I think that she hacked into my VR. I think she's after me." Steve replied.

"I doubt that. Even if she was after you, which I doubt, she would attack you directly, not through some VR program."

"Still, could you keep an eye on her?"

"GTS-goddesses are not easy to track. And we could end up getting her attention. I don't know her personally, but I have heard that she's not one to have mad at you."

"I fear she may be already mad at me."

To be continued