The energy in the room was tense as a crimson clad woman paced around the black marble floors of what would be known as the Quartzarian War Room. This woman, having grown up in the conflict ravaged region of Quartzaria was all too famliar with horrific events, strange occurences and more. In the past few years alone, she'd had to come to terms with the fact that one of her mentors, and one of Quartzaria's most beloved rulers and warriors was actually a deceitful warmonger with a strange obsession with a Primerian Girl.
She also had spent the past couple of years or so training her sibling Sapphire in the ways of combat since Sapphire had been deemed worthy and able to wielding the radiant sword, a legendary weapon long considered to be unusable in most hands.
The young woman, known as Ruby -- had taken up a position as one of the main generals of the Quartzarian army but now the entire kingdom was once again plunged into dystopia, even as their toxic former ruler was locked up tight in a vortex prison under the main castle.
"We need a solution to these portal rifts..." Ruby said, leaning herself on the edge of the long boardroom style table while looking over at her other sister Emerald, in her jade armor and blonde hair, as well as Sapphire herself, the blue haired warrior who wasn't as armorclad but she was coming along, sporting a set of white shoulder pads and a protective chest plate over her body.
"The Necrarians are getting closer and closer to breaching the castle everyday..." General Cloak spoke up, a lanky gentleman in overpoweringly heavy black and silver armor.
"And we're sure those ARE Necrarians?" Ruby asked cautiously.
"We're about 90%" the concerned fellow General replied, "and if somebody's found a way to open the gate to Necraria..."
"That's not all..." Emerald sighed, heaping on the bad news, "The gate to Fensteria is opened as well..."
"Well that's not TOO bad..." Ruby said, trying to downplay it
"Fensteria ... PRIME" Emerald said, correcting herself.
"Oh for fuck's sake..." Ruby sighed
"The only time we've ever even DABBLED in portal manipulation was when the newcomer showed up ... Alexis Cole" Emerald reminded, "and we had that portal machine dismantled right after to mitigate just this kind of thing..."
"Then it appears someone else on the other side has perfected another portal machine ..." Ruby said, "except this one is much more dangerous ... do we have any leads? Could it be the Doctor that Vektor encountered??"
"Well... that's the thing ..." General Cloak sighed, "Detest the fact as much as I do ... we may need Lord ... er ... Former Lord Vetor for his intel and experience in this kind of thing"
"No" Ruby said, with resolute tone in her stoic voice, "Absolutely not"
"Like it or not, he's dealt with the Necrarians before..." Cloak said
"And so have we ..." Ruby said, "Luckily these portals aren't too stable ... they stay open for maybe a few seconds at a time ... the best way to defeat a Necrarian is simply to drive it back where it came from ... we just can't have them getting loose in our kingdom and causing more havoc ... if that happens ..."
"We could have another interdimensional war..." Cloak said, regrettably.
"Yes... exactly..." Ruby sighed, looking fed up but also out of options.
"Maybe the Fensterians could help us?" Emerald suggested
"Our people don't exactly have the best history with theirs..." Ruby reminded
"...Well maybe in the wake of total obliteration..." Emerald replied
"...So.... this is bad, right?" Sapphire chimed in, meekly.
"It's ... bad ... but nothing we haven't dealt with before" Ruby said, trying to reassure her younger sister. "We'll get through this, you'll see ... hell, if I had any way to reach out to Lexi from the other world I would try to ... she might know what to do..."
"We still have the intel of Vektor..." Cloak said, floating it out there again.
"No. No way. Absolutely not. End of discussion" Ruby huffed.
Meanwhile, down a dark and dingy spiral staircase, somewhere far below the main castle dwelled the dishonored black knight himself, known as Vektor. He used a laser blade which protruded from his upper wrist to scrape on the walls as best he could, denoting tallymarks to represent the number of days ... er ... weeks ... months ... he had been in seclusion. Forced into the paltry prison by his very own subjects, the once mighty Lord Vektor now found himself nearly powerless in the Quartzarian containment chamber. As he continued to generate noise with his futile scraping, he garnered the attention of the lone guard -- named Smoke.
"Sir ... please ..." Smoke said, sounding exhausted, "This is undignified for both of us"
"Oh Smoke..." Vektor sneered, "You were once one of my loyalest subjects ... what happened to you?"
Smoke remained in silence, his icy cold glare saying enough as Vektor turned his back.
"We use to stand for so much more ..." Vektor said, getting a bit of agitation in his voice, "You were one of my right hand men... we secured this kingdom and maintained peace for years..."
"Peace against YOU" Smoke retorted, "You invented the paradox crystal crisis to try and unite the kingdom against an enemy that never really existed"
"You don't believe that ..." Vektor said, "and besides, there are always enemies of our realm ... even now, I know about the goings on ... the return of the Necrarians ... we knew that would only be a matter of time..."
"The situation is .... being dealt with..." Smoke said, a hesitance evident in his voice as he began to turn from Vektor.
"Is it though?" Vektor shouted, pleading his case, "You don't know what you're up against ... and if the rumors of interdimensional portal fluxes are true ..."
"How do you even know about that?" Smoke asked
"I still have my finger on the pulse of my kingdom, fair sir..." Vektor said in a rather contentious manner.
"...it's not your kingdom anymore..." Smoke said "...no matter, this just tells me we'll need to double reinforce the shielding on your prison if youre somehow still able to attain intelligence from the outside..."
At this Vektor shook his head, seemingly filled with rage.
"Mark my words... foul traitor..." Vektor muttered, although he could still be heard well enough even in his glass encased prison. "I will find a way out of here and you will all know my ..."
**BZZRT!**
Smoke turned back, having heard Vektor rant before but this time something was different. Smoke gulped in incredulous panic to see the containment chamber was abandoned ... but how??
_______________
"So shiny...." Lexi thought to herself as she watched it spin in front of her ... a sterling silver heart pendant with lovely french curves that connected at the apex, connected together with a sensible matching silver chain. Something about it just spoke to her as she watched the cashier dangle it in front of her eyes. She knew it would be the perfect present for someone as awesome as her best friend, Leah Henderson.
"Yes, this is one of our best sellers" the pleasant blonde haired cashier said as she politely took Lexi's credit card, "Oh shoot, I thought it was you ... Alexis Cole? You're ... you're ShrinkGirl!"
These days, Lexi never knew if that realization was a good thing or not. After all, she had had a tumultuous year of involuntary crime fighting that may or may not have included her growing to massive size at one point. As if she wasn't already known all over town, her reputation had positively exploded in recent weeks. It didn't help that her poster was even plastered in places within the Minitropolis Mini Mall, including the main entrance, advertising various appearances, including a book reading and meet and greet for the youngsters at the Disney Store coming soon.
"Heh, that is me..." Lexi responded shyly as the cashier slipped the beautiful necklace into a slim paper bag.
"I think what you do is AWESOME!" the girl said, maintaining that beaming smile. Lexi couldn't help but smile back.
"W-Well thank you ... thank you so much" Lexi said, taking her receipt and feeling a bit of an extra bounce in her step.
"Thank YOU!" the girl said, "...and Happy Holidays!"
"You too!" Lexi said cheerfully, peeking into the bag briefly at her newest shimmering prize.
November had arrived and with it, Lexi was overflowing with early Christmas fever as she stepped out into the glitz and lights that were starting to be hung in the Mini Mall, turning it into a festive wonderland for sure. Lexi would also be meeting Leah at the food court shortly so this was a perfect way to kill some time.
"Hmmmm .. maybe one more peek..." Lexi thought to herself, dipping her head into the bag to view the sterling necklace.
She suddenly heard a voice from behind, causing her to panic and stuff the bag into her purse.
"Oh, hey Lex" the voice said, thankfully a male voice so she knew it wasn't Leah. It was instead one of her good friends, Joshua James. "Doing some early Christmas shopping?"
"Heh, yeah ..." Lexi said, finding it impossible to wipe the smile off her face.
Even though things in her "superhero" life were far from perfect -- she had Mad Max at large hiding out somewhere, her new apartment was basically a breeding ground for crime and she was both loved and loathed by the public in general. Still, she wanted to do the best she could to enjoy her last month or so with Leah before she took off for Colorado and followed her dreams to attend a fashion focused University.
"Glad I ran into you, actually..." Josh said, seemingly a bit more nervous than usual. "It's been a while..."
Lexi nodded.
Ever since the unfortunate death of Trevor Hoffnung -- Lexi's good friend and also aide in the superheroing department, Josh had quickly swooped in to take over. Of course his finances wouldn't allow him to be able to afford the rent for the facility formerly known as Aztek Parts and More -- a computer shop located in suburban Minitropolis -- but with some help from the Mini Troop, Josh was using his knack for technology for good. The place also served as a bit of a "hideout" for Lexi now that it was no longer a store but rather a place to run operations. Josh had been very preoccupied, helping the Mini Troop track down Max and also detect interdimensional anomalies before they happened. It hadn't been easy and between that and school, he hadn't been able to see his good friend Lexi much aside from a hero mission here and there.
"Did you have a good Thanksgiving?" Lexi asked, breaking the silence as the two had been seemingly walking along aimlessly for a bit now with very few words to say.
"Huh? Oh. Oh yeah..." Josh said with a sheepish nod, "How about you?"
"Yeah, it was nice" Lexi said, before giving Josh a curious smile, "You look like you uh ... have something on your mind? Everything okay?"
"Huh? Yeah ... just uh ..." Josh said, with a bit of a stammer
"Any new leads in the Mad Max case?" Lexi asked, wondering if that was what had her friend so preoccupied.
"Uh ... not really..." Josh sighed, "we know he's using interdimensional manipulation to avoid detection but geographical scans show he HAS to be somewhere within proximity of the Enormo Enterprises HQ... using thermo tracking we've been able to ..."
Josh looked over and could practically see Lexi's eyes glazing over.
"Anyway ..." Josh said with a nervous chuckle, trying to change the subject now, "I was actually uh ... gonna ask you something..."
"Oh yeah?" Lexi said cheerfully, "Ask away"
"Well I ... I ... uh..." Josh said with a stammer, "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go ... on a ... uh ..."
"A mission?" Lexi asked naively
"A date" Josh gulped out.
Lexi blushed bright red.
Neither of them had talked about the instance where Josh kissed her. It wasn't a quick kiss either, it had been a fairly significant makeout session. Originally Lexi thought maybe it was just something that Josh did in the heat of a tense moment but it seemed to be more than that as proven by his nervous asking.
"I understand if that seemed kind of sudden ...."Josh stammered, "You know what? Just forget I ..."
"I'd love to" Lexi said with a smile
"Huh?"
"Yeah, that would be really nice" Lexi said with a sincere smile, "How about this Friday?"
"That ... that sounds great..." Josh said, genuinely not expecting the response.
"Heh, okay great, it's a date" Lexi said with a smile, "literally"
"Yeah." Josh said, seemingly stunned
"Well....?" Lexi asked a bit teasingly, "You gonna just stand there or did you wanna hang out some more? I'm meeting Leah shortly if you wanted to join us"
"Oh, I'd love to but I actually just stopped here to get some extra parts from Transitor Town" Josh said with a shrug
"Pretty cool that the Mini Troop reimburses you for all that stuff" Lexi said with a smirk
"Kind of, yeah" Josh said, "although I guess technically it comes out of our tax dollars"
"Well then as a tax paying citizen, I guess I'm counting on you, Joshman!" Lexi said, with a salute. Josh gave a chuckle and the two drifted their seperate ways after a brief goodbye.
Lexi was a bit deep in thought and also enamored with the colorful Christmas decorations going up around her. Strangely though, something else caught her eye, however brief. It couldn't be ... it almost looked like a small glowing fairy... Lexi shook it off and just continued walking towards the food court and her impending rendezvous with Leah.
I'll be damned ..." Lexi thought to herself, as she thought about Josh finally gathering up the nerve to ask her out. "Everyone was right about him..."
Speaking of people who had often preached Josh's feelings for Lexi, none other than Leah Henderson herself sat alone at a food court table as Lexi slid up, careful to place her purse at her feet, not that she suspected Leah would ever peek inside. Lexi was still absolutely giddy about the lovely necklace she had procured for Leah though.
"Is this seat taken, Miss?" Lexi said jokingly.
"You know it isn't" Leah smirked, texting for a moment before putting the phone down. "How was your Thanksgiving, hon?"
"Oh yknow, same ol same ol ..." Lexi shrugged, "My dad got way too angry about the football games and my mom cooked too much food and then apologized profusely... how about you, Lee?"
"It was ...interesting..." Leah said with a frown, "Just went to Denny's with my brother"
Lexi frowned along with Leah.
"I'm so sorry your dad wasn't around to celebrate with you guys..." Lexi sighed, "I told you that you were more than welcome to join US ... God knows my mom would've loved that ..."
"I know ..." Leah said, "Just didn't wanna ... yknow, butt in"
"Butt in?" Lexi scoffed, "Leah, you're pretty much family ..."
"Oh ... I know... and I thank you ..." Leah said humbly, "but yknow ... Derek ... would've like ... started throwing peas at people or something"
"Peas? What is he, 5 years old?" Lexi joked
"You've met him ..." Leah said with a slight eye roll, "but hey, it's no biggie... I talked to my dad on the phone for a while ... he's got a really nice job at his new office ... and he's several hundred miles away from you know who..."
Lexi frowned, only able to make eye contact with the table.
"Lexi" Leah said in a caring voice, "...it's not your fault... what happened... okay?"
"I just feel like if I had ... seen the warning signs..." Lexi stammered
"Lexi please..." Leah said, a bit of an exhausted sigh escaping her lips, "It was for the best ... he'll be safe ... I'll be able to live near him when I start up at Finestein..."
"You must be really excited about that" Lexi said with a smile, trying to keep things positive.
It had always been Leah's dream to be a fashion designer and this would be an incredible first step for her. She was already knocking it out of the park at her job with Sally's Fashion Boutique and Lexi had no doubt Leah would take off and hit even higher heights in the future.
"I am ..." Leah said, "It's a bit of ... a mixed bag though ... I feel like I'm going to miss so much in your life ... and you in mine..."
"We'll text everyday" Lexi said, "and I'll call you so often you'll be sick of me within a week, I promise"
"Heh, maybe I can shrink you and pack you with me" Leah chuckled a bit
"I mean ... things DO happen..." Lexi smirked
"Heh speaking of things happening ..." Leah said, "what's the latest? How is it uh ... you know? At your ... new place?"
"You mean Chaos Central?" Lexi sighed, rolling her eyes, "Having Roxie as a neighbor is uh ... interesting to say the least..."
Just then, Lexi shuddered, remembering a time she was in a hurry to shower. Unfortunately there were but two showers on the main floor for residents to use ... a men's and women's. Lexi was quick to scamper towards the open door for the ladies shower but just a bit faster was none other than Roxie Wright, already wrapped up in a white towel.
"Hey c'mon!" Lexi sighed, "I'm going to be late for work"
"Sorry Shrinks" Roxie smirked, making very little effort to cling the towel to herself as she held the door with one hand, about to close it, "I should also mention ... I take pretty long showers ... I AM a dirty girl after all..."
"Ugh c'mon Roxie ..." Lexi sighed, as if arguing with a sibling, "Just lemme have the shower first ... I'll be quick"
"How about this?" Roxie smirked, "We save water and shower together??"
Lexi just rolled her eyes and pushed the door shut on Roxie before storming off.
Leah gave a chuckle, having heard the story.
"Couldn't slip into the men's shower?" she asked
"Nah, Pyro Pete was in there ..." Lexi winced, "...singing Selena Gomez..."
"Really?" Leah giggled, "always pegged him as a Katy Perry fan..."
"Funny..." Lexi said with an eyeroll.
"So it's not .. awkward at all? Living with a bunch of villains?" Leah asked
"It IS" Lexi shrugged, "Guess I know why the rent was so cheap..."
"Heh ... by the way, you ever talk to Josh about putting pockets in your costume?" Leah quipped, "Not that you dont have storage areas for things..."
"Are we REALLY going to talk about this again?" Lexi said, blushing bright red at Leah's joke
"Just saying ..." Leah said
"Josh said the pockets would hinder the ... and I think I'm saying this word right ... the aerodynamicality of the costume..." Lexi said with an eyeroll
"Sounds like a cheap excuse to me" Leah giggled
"Yeah well ..." Lexi said, trailing off for just a moment, "Speaking of Josh ... he uh ... asked me out"
"No!" Leah said, seemingly genuinely excited but shocked
"Yeah... just now, actually" Lexi said, seeming a bit too chilled about it
"Josh asked you out?" Leah stammered, "and you didn't tell me?"
"I just did!" Lexi smirked
"But this is like huge news!!" Leah scoffed, looking as though she were about to burst into a wide smile, but then the smile strangely faded
"You okay, Lee?" Lexi asked
"Yeah .. it's just ... this is huge news and I ..." Leah sighed, "... I'm not going to be around for it..."
"What do you mean?" Lexi asked
"I mean ... all this cool stuff is going to happen to you ... and to our group of friends and I'm ... I'm going to miss it ..." Leah bemoaned, "I'm going to miss all of it"
"Hey ... hey..." Lexi said, sounding a bit sad herself. Despite her positivity and sincerity, Lexi felt the same way as it came to Leah and the new adventures she'd be having without her. "...it'll be okay ... I'll tell you about all the dorky things Josh does on our date and whatever else happens, I promise ... and you do the same, okay? I want constant updates"
Leah nodded, starting to cheer up.
Suddenly, the two ladies were startled by the sound of an elderly lady crying out.
"Hey!! Stop!! Help!!" the lady shrieked, attracting the attention of many food court goers, most notably Lexi herself.
The lady was becoming the victim of two younger thugs in black hoodies trying to rip her purse away from her.
"Oh geez..." Leah sighed, "that's horrible ... but hey, I'm sure we can let the mall cops handle it, right Lex? ... Lex?"
Leah looked across from herself to notice Lexi had already sprung into action. Despite the rashness, Leah simply had to grin.
"...why am I not surprised?" Leah thought to herself.
Giantess World
