The skies were a crisp burnt vermillion as streaks of lightning filled the air. Of course, this was usually the case in the realm of Quartzaria, a beautiful idyllic crystallic kingdom that had once seen better days. For now, their people were still at war with opposing forces, but despite it all, it seemed arrangements were on for a wedding.
Outside of the massive green emerald palace stood a trio of guards, who gave each other concerned looks.
"This seems ..." one of them stuttered
"...like a very rash idea?" the other added, as if to finish the firsts' sentence
"The Lord has made up his mind..." the third guard shrugged, resigned to the current course of events despite voicing disagreement.
The awkward stillness was broken up momentarily by the sound of a young woman crying from up in the palace.
"Is that...?"
As the guards scrambled to see what was the matter, the young woman, who shook her head upon seeing her reflection looked beyond confused and frightened, looking out the window to see the sprawling landscapes and crystallic structures in the distance. She could also see swirling gray clouds signaling an impending storm.
More importantly though, she had no idea why she was there or furthermore what she was doing there. There came a knock on the door to further startle the woman who briefly glanced at her own reflection as she swiveled her head to focus on the door. In those brief moments, the image of Leah Henderson appeared in the mirror.
"Miss, Miss, are you okay?" the guard on the other side of the door asked
"I ... I ..." the woman stammered
"Something's not right ... open the door!"
With that, the guard threw open the door and one of them looked annoyed at the others
"Oh great, it's happened again..." he sighed.
-----
A few weeks earlier, Lexi and her parents were walking through a used car dealership in East Minitropolis as a fast talking salesman showed them the inventory, Lexi looking all kinds of worried, yet slightly excited as she considered what her ride could be. After all, she couldn't rely on others for transportation forever, even as she did plan to spend her next semester at Miniborough University living on campus.
With summer just dawning, it was an exciting time indeed for the fledgling superheroine who desperately yearned for an average life again. Of course, due to some tumultuous recent events, things were anything but normal. As if needing a further reminder, one of the employees at the Mini Motor Mart came bolting out from their office upon seeing Lexi and her family browsing for cars.
"Oh my gosh, it IS you!" the guy said, trying to hide his noticeable shell shock upon seeing the brunette clad in a yellow tank top and jeans. She'd give her parents an awkward look as if she expected them to save her from this situation but they seemed less than thrilled with the situation as a whole.
It had been this way for a good couple weeks now, following her life saving mission on campus to thwart Roxie and her bombing attempt.
"H-Hi..." Lexi stuttered a bit, addressing the young man dressed in a navy blue suit jacket and slicked back hair. His name tag read "Zack"
"S-Sorry, you probably get this all the time..." Zack said, a bit out of breath as if the mere sprint out of the office had worn down his endurance to get to Lexi, "You're the ShrinkGirl"
Lexi let out an exhale and gave an awkward wave as if offering a meet and greet at a convention. Her parents rolled her eyes, while Lexi's mom in particular seemed deeply bothered, opting to walk away for a moment.
Of course, this wasn't the first time Lexi's second life had come to light.
The first time took place the night of the bombing. Lexi had just gotten home and was cuddling with her cat Tiny for the night. It seemed she had maybe secured a much needed moment of peace. That peace was short lived however when her concerned parents crowded the threshold to her room.
Tiny the cat, sensing something was amiss sprang up suddenly from Lexi's lap and scampered hurriedly down the hallway. Lexi watched as her parents walked slowly and methodically into the room, her mom taking a seat in the corner while her dad remained standing to her right.
"Is ... everything okay?" Lexi asked, already feeling the sinking in her heart
"Lexi ... we need to talk..."
Lexi took a deep breath and just waited for the subject of conversation to steer towards what she feared most.
"Lex, you know we love you..." Lexi's dad said sympathetically, taking a seat on Lexi's bed, "And ... you can tell us anything"
Lexi simply nodded, not sure where this was going but many possibilities raced in her mind.
"I ... I know..." Lexi stammered, noticing her mom in the corner, her gaze aimed downward at her daughters purse which laid on the ground by her feet. Unbeknownst to the young Alexis Cole who was focusing on her dad though, her mom was focusing on something else -- a shiny purple and gold medallion that peeked through the slight crevice where Lexi's purse remained unzipped.
Lexi's mom let out a long pensive sigh, before reaching into Lexi's purse and exposing the purple and gold medallion
"Then perhaps you'd like to explain this..." Lexi's mom sighed, wanting to cut to the chase rather than draw out the increasingly tense confrontation. Lexi simply let out a gulp.
"We saw the news, Lexi..." Lexi's dad mentioned, "You were all over it ... and ... I mean, it's cool that you saved those people but ..."
"Cool?" Lexi's mom interjected, suddenly sounding very huffy as her voice escalated and she carelessly dropped the medallion back into her daughter's purse, "there is nothing COOL about this ... Lexi, you could've been seriously hurt ... and what is this SHRINKGIRL thing...??"
Lexi's heart was racing, her face turning red as she felt an uncomfortable heat overcome her body. She simply shook her head, sweat beginning to bead up on her forehead as she wished to be anywhere but there. She finally could bear no more, as a single tear streamed down her cheek.
"I .. I'm sorry..." Lexi whimpered, "I'm in over my head and ... I don't know what I was thinking..."
Upon seeing her daughter cry, even Lexi's mother had to soften her tone, coming over towards the bed and joining her husband in embracing their daughter in a family hug. This had been a difficult time for sure, and while it seemed like things may be coming to a conclusion, the real trouble was just beginning.
While Dr. Maxmillian, aka Mad Max was likely still at large, Lexi at least took solace in the fact that she had her other biggest rival, Roxie, locked up during their last encounter. It was a hard fought battle but if she could take the psychotic criminal off the streets, it was at least somewhat of a victory.
Unfortunately, that too, wasn't meant to be.
The same night that Lexi stopped the bombing (save for the Krazy Kookie getting blown to smithereens) was also the night Roxie pulled off yet another daring and reckless escape, killing a police officer in the process as a malicious grin crossed her face, watching as the police cruiser caught fire while smashed against a tree trunk.
"Poor bastard..." Roxie smirked, watching the police cruiser finally detonate as she walked away victorious, a single handcuff around her wrist while the other dangled like some kind of charm bracelet. "All in all, not my best work ... but that's okay ... time to call the boss man"
Roxie would shrug non-chalantly after having committed yet another homicide to escape, propping her cell phone up around her shoulder and after a long delay hearing a click. The line was fairly silent until a deep voice came over it. She had decided to go above Byron Biggs in this case. She wanted the head honcho himself. As usual, she wasn't quite sure who he was or what it was he did. Normally this wouldn't bother her so much but she felt inquisitive on this night.
"...Roxie? I told you not to call this number..." the gentleman on the other end said, a strange sound of interference clouding the phone call as static obscured his voice further.
"Yeah ... look boss man, I'll keep this quick ... I'm gonna need double my usual rate and maybe some super strong painkillers to get me by for a few days... I'd say all in all it's the least you could do" Roxie shrugged, pacing about the wreckage and kicking some stones in the process.
Again, the line remained silent, although Roxie could hear strange noises in the background. Then again this guy was always a bit strange and that was putting it mildly.
"N-Now ... is not a good time..." the mysterious gentleman responded as Roxie could hear sounds of struggle and some kind of electrical interference, "...I told you to run any kind of financial requests through Biggs anyway"
"Whatevs" Roxie sighed, "good luck with your science project or whatever"
If only it were that simple
----
As Lexi peeked in the window of one of the cars, her eyes lit up to see the well decorated dashboard and a steering wheel cover with patterns resembling melted smiley faces. She'd grin in a goofy manner, temporarily allowing her inner child to come out as she looked at the car as if spotting a beloved stuffed animal or piece of candy.
The feeling didn't last long however as she was hit with the harsh reality that she was very much strapped for cash, a problem only excacerbated by the long term layoff from the Krazy Kookie while reconstruction efforts were made ... if the place was even to open up at all. Something about all of that never sat well with Alexis Cole either. Roxie clearly had the hit on the Krazy Kookie as a result of her alliance with the mysterio0us new cookie place, Kekse opening up just around the same time as the bombing. That wasn't a coincidence and Lexi vowed to someday get to the bottom of it.
For now though, her main priority was trying to get wheels.
"So uh ..." Lexi said sheepishly to the over enthused car dealership employee named Zack, "is there any kind of uh ... superhero discount?"
Lexi's parents gave her a bit of an indifferent and annoyed look, to which the hapless Lexi simply shrugged with a nervous giggle, "...it was worth a shot"
----
"So, still no wheels?" Leah asked, shuffling through her closet while talking to her best friend on the phone
"Sadly no ..." Lexi sighed, sitting on her bed as she peered around the room, occasionally distracted by the sight of her adorable cat, Tiny walking by and doing his thing. She'd tsk a few times to try to get his attention but he seemed more enthralled with a balled up piece of paper on the ground. "I was really hoping this summer I'd be able to go on some road trips or something"
"Well, I'm not doing much" Leah suggested, "and my ride is always available for some action ... maybe not getaway hero action but ... vacation action anyway"
"Heh yeah ..." Lexi nodded, "Probably going to have to take a break from the hero thing anyway ... between almost getting busted by the cops and my parents now knowing..."
"Yeah I still don't get that..." Leah sighed, raising an eyebrow as she gazed at a sundress of hers, "...why are the police after you at all? You saved like hundreds of people and besides that, you've done more for crime in this city than they ever have"
"Heh, well I appreciate the vote of confidence but they don't seem to see it that way" Lexi chuckled "...I guess I can understand it ... don't want someone else encroaching on your territory and all ... still, it's a good thing Sonia is on my side, for the most part"
Leah was quiet for a bit, still attentive to Lexi but laying out some clothes for the week. Finally, she'd speak again
"And how about that therapist you're seeing?" Leah asked, "is that helping?"
"K-Kinda..." Lexi sighed, "this has been ... very weird to say the least ... I never meant to worry anyone or hurt anybody, yknow?"
"I know Lex..." Leah sighed, checking herself out in the mirror while laying one of her dresses over herself, she'd let out a tsk.
"What? What'd I say?" Lexi asked, concerned about her friend's sudden disdain
"Oh, it's not you ... I just need a wardrobe refresh ..." Leah sighed, "Hey, you have some time? Maybe we could hit the mall"
Lexi sighed, just leaning forward on her bed, the phone awkwardly perched on her shoulder as she thought it over, "yeah ... yeah you know what? that does sound like a good idea ... let's do it"
"Think we should invite Josh?" Leah asked, laying the latest dress on her bed with a growing pile that she intended to either donate or throw away
"Hmmm, we could try, but I think he said he was busy with something ... knowing him, it could be any number of things" Lexi replied.
----
Meanwhile, in a garage not so far away sparks were flying as a cell phone rattled futilely on a table far away from the aforementioned Joshua James who was hard at work on something resembling a small drone. He tilted his head as he admired his work, completely missing the phone call from Lexi. He'd look just under one of the propeller blades of his drone as he readjusted his face mask, having finished welding the machine back together.
"Not bad, but could use some work..." Josh said to himself, in deep thought as he worked on his latest technological masterpiece. He was attempting to build a drone that could rival that of Enormo Enterprises. He figured it could maybe give Lexi an eye in the sky and heads up to any trouble on the horizon. The problem is most of the test flights had been less than successful. Perhaps that was about to change.
"Alright..." the eager young aspiring scientist Josh exclaimed, standing up again and stepping back from the drone as it sat on the table. "Here goes everything"
With that, Josh pressed a button on a remote he had built himself and watched in confidence as the drone started to rise from the makeshift pedestal he had built for it. It rose up and up, wobbling just a bit before starting to hover around the garage, gently steering as per his commands. He was just about to land it and start working on the next components when he noticed a small spark emitting from the undercarriage.
"Oh shoot, not again..." Josh sighed, having a hand on a nearby fire extinguisher just in case. Luckily, that wasn't necessary as he'd land the drone slowly and awkwardly back in its original spot. He was about to come closer to inspect any potential damage when a loud popping sound startled him.
"Shit..." he sighed, "I'm going to need more parts ... wonder where I could go for some parts ... or maybe more..."
Giantess World
