Giantess World
Chapter Two
"Nell? Nell, pay attention!" Lenette rapped quicky on the table, her usually warm brown eyes gone stern. "Who did Jefferzon complete ze Louisiana Purchase weeth?"
"Umm..."
"Napoleon Bonaparte." Lenette pronounced the name with her usual flair. Of course, it was easy for her to use the right accent - she'd been born in France. In fact, she'd originally been Nell's French tutor. In the years since, she'd spread out to cover a few more subjects in which she had expertise. Ever since she'd begun lessons with Lenette, Nell had been fascinated by just how foreign the French woman had seemed - her odd accent softening certain words and bringing others to a harsh stop before what seemed like their natural conclusion. This strangeness combined with an almost effortless European glamour allowed Lenette to capture the eight-year-old Nell's attention with ease. In no time at all she'd become her overall tutor - Nell just seemed to learn more from her.
Well, she had until now. Instead of paying attention to the sing-song French-accented history lesson, Nell had been daydreaming about returning to the lab. Maybe today would be the day the simulator finally spit out the statistics she'd been waiting for. They'd been getting within inches of the targeted growth zone Daniel had set out for their first test subjects: Around 110% of the subject's original height. Of course, that would only get Nell up to five feet even if they injected her with that formula. But she figured baby steps were better than nothing - they still hadn't achieved full uniform growth, and Nell didn't want to think about what would happen if she didn't grow evenly. The idea of having the world's biggest nose on a normal-sized face did not appeal to her.
"Nell!" Lenette was looking almost hurt. "Two reasons why did Bonaparte complete ze purchase?"
"Um, didn't he hate the English?"
"Yes, he wished to spite zem. And?"
Nell couldn't help it. She stole a glance at her watch. 1 PM. Still two whole hours until she went back to work with Daniel.
Lenette sighed, and ran a hand through her curly brown hair. "You may study your textbook until ze end of ze period. But pleaze, for next time, you will have studied more, yes?"
***
Daniel scanned over the recent results from the simulator. So close. Usually just minor variations in the growth pattern, particularly at lower levels of exposure. Of course, with weaker isotopes and more sustained growth, those minor variations could turn into fatal flaws in bone and organ structure. It had to be one hundred percent uniform, or nothing.
He'd been getting close with his last test batch at the lab; that's why he'd tested it on Snuffles. The isotope he'd used had probably been too weak as well. But the result hadn't been uniform - poor Snuffles, though undoubtedly much larger than he'd been when first dosed, was also probably dead. Daniel knew he should never have injected him in the first place, but he'd been feeling frustrated with the project, and had hoped that a little hard evidence of its potential would convince investors. Not that he was going to tell Winthrop Sr. about this screw-up; it would only needlessly worry him. He was going to make damn sure everything was perfect before doing anything to Winthrop's little girl, and he didn't need Winston to scare him straight on that.
Speaking of the girl, Nell had actually taken to the science like a duck to water. Even though Daniel swore she was nodding off whenever he got into detailed discussions of specific hormonal volumes, the next day she'd come back with a dozen new ideas for proportional mixtures of compounds. And not all of them were bad.
Daniel had to admit, he was coming to admire the girl's dedication. Finishing the project meant as much to her as it did to him. He'd grown very used to being the only one interested in his studies, and had to admit that he liked having someone who was sometimes more enthusiastic than he was around. And though Daniel did his best to ignore this in the interest of keeping his job, she had a pretty face as well.
There was a loud knock, and Daniel started, looking up to see both that face and another gorgeous one behind the glass laboratory door. Daniel felt no shame whatsoever in crushing on Nell's tutor, Lenette. The French woman had a sort of natural glow about her. Olive skin, a pleasantly round face, big lovely brown eyes, definite curves on her otherwise slight figure. What's more, she stood two inches taller than him in flats, and had a tendency towards wearing two-inch pumps on top of that. Daniel had always had crushes on taller girls - and who could blame him, seeing as that made up around three-quarters of the women in his life.
Daniel hurried over to the door and pushed the button to unseal its lock. The door whizzed open with an appropriately space-age sound, and the two ladies stepped into the laboratory.
"She iz all yours," Lenette said somewhat coldly. Daniel was about to ask her if she'd like to stay for a moment, or maybe meet up later for quick coffee or something, but before he could get a word in she'd turned on her slightly elevated heels and left.
"Ahem," Nell cleared her throat behind him. Daniel quickly resubmerged his libido. Nell was of age, but it would not be appropriate at all to think about his boss's daughter, even if she was wearing a fairly revealing low-cut top...
"Yeah, so!" Daniel said quickly. "We've got some more minor variations on the formula to check over today. I think we're getting close to our first round of testing!" After two months in this spiffy laboratory, it was about time.
'Really?" Nell bounced slightly on her heels at the news. Daniel kept his eyes locked on her face, which broke into a huge smile. "I'll make sure to get as many sims done as possible today."
"Don't rush too much," Daniel cautioned. "If you mess up the formula, it doesn't matter how good the simulation looks - it'll be too dangerous to test."
Just then, Daniel's pocket began buzzing loudly. He fumbled for his cell phone, and was only mildly surprised to see Bill Winthrop's name lighting up the caller ID. The house was large enough that phone use would be more convenient than coming down to the lab. Daniel flipped open the phone.
"Can you meet me in my office, Daniel?" Winthrop had a note of concern in his voice.
"Uh, right now? I'm kind of in the middle of a lab session with Nell -"
"Nell can take care of herself for a little while, Daniel. I'd like to see you here in a few minutes."
"I understand, sir." Daniel shut the phone. Winthrop didn't usually call him on a private line, and never while he was in the lab with Nell. This had to be important. Daniel suddenly found himself feeling nervous.
"I think I can run the next few batches by myself," Nell said, cocking her head slightly, so her blond hair fell in a straight curtain. Daniel once again struggled to keep his eyes to himself. Her shirt was an eye-catching bright yellow. Yes, blame it on the shirt, Daniel, he thought bitterly. For all the good that will do you.
"Okay. I'll be right back," he said, then strode quickly out of the lab.
***
Nell grabbed the plastic binder with the list of combinations for the day's test batches. There was something special about today, she could feel it in her bones. Today would be the day they'd hit upon the formula. And she was going to burn through the tests quickly and efficiently until she found it.
But first, she allowed herself a brief moment of giddiness. Soon they'd be testing it on animals, and as soon as Daniel cleared it for human use - she'd be the very first person to try the formula! Lenette wouldn't be half as imposing when she stood below shoulder height. Just let her try and scold Nell about not doing her homework. When she gave her father a hug, it'd be a proper bear hug - he wouldn't hold back like he did now, as if she was too fragile to be embraced. And Daniel would be awestruck. He'd stare up at her in wonder, as she transformed from tiny teenager to statuesque beauty. He'd look at her the same way he looked at Lenette now, only moreso, given how impressive she'd be. She could just picture it in her mind's eye; the look on his face was adorable.
And if the formula worked, maybe she could use it again. Like a distant memory, she found herself recalling the dream again. Standing outside the mansion, her bare toes sinking into the grass of the lawn (each blade so tiny it felt more like moss than grass), gazing down at the little figures rushing out of the house. Winston looking like a doll with his stiffly pressed uniform. Her father's minute features filled with concern as she smiled down on him. Lenette peeking out of the 2nd floor study's window, then hiding behind the sill, as if worried that Nell would reach in and pluck her out. And just now she realized that Daniel was there too, arms folded over his t-shirt. She could just make out that he was biting his lip.
They all looked so worried, but she just laughed, and heard the echo of her laughter come back at her. What was there to be worried about? Nothing could ever harm her now. The mansion was a dollhouse to her, the whole world laid out like a child's playset. She was the bigger one now, and she could take care of them, the same way they used to pamper and coddle and protect her. Now she had the power, and it felt marvelous.
Nell realized suddenly that she had slipped into another daydream. She'd been spacey enough with Lenette earlier today, and she definitely didn't want Daniel to think she wasn't doing her job. She set about preparing the injectors.
***
Daniel stared at the picture on the tabloid page. A man holding the corpse of a white rat the size of a raccoon. There was no mistaking it; the rat was Snuffles.
"Give me a little credit, Daniel," Winthrop admonished him. "Winston comes to me with a mangled rat cage, I see this story racing around the papers... I may not be a scientist, but I can add two and two."
Daniel knew better than to try and worm his way out of this. He'd always been a terrible liar. "Sir, I suspected that Snuffles might have gotten loose, but I didn't want to worry you... I didn't think he'd survived the trial dose."
"Well, on the upside, we know it works," Bill muttered, leaning back in his chair. "On the downside, so does anyone who picks up a Weekly Inquisitor. Not to mention anyone living near Farragut North. Your little lab rat managed to terrify every other vermin nested in the Metro."
"I honestly had no idea that version of the formula was so effective." Daniel murmured. "And it should have worn off by then. Perhaps I wasn't using a large enough isotope..."
***
Nell filled the injectors with their special compounds, making sure to measure out exactly the proper amounts. She then pressed the large red button, and watched them swirl in the centrifuge. Their different colors merged in the whirling vortex, gradually settling on a purplish-blue that an artistic type would probably call a variety of indigo. The solution filtered out of the centrifuge chamber and into the analyzer, which hummed as it shot beams of light through the mixture at different wavelenghts. Nell slipped on her shaded goggles and sat back.
Ten minutes later, the results displayed on the screen. A chart displayed with several different colored lines that were supposed to represent areas of a subject's body over time, each rising to represent the growth that area would experience. Each line rose and synched up with the previous one's path.
The simulator said growth would happen across all areas in unison. Uniform growth. This was it. This was a working growth serum.
***
"Now, I'm no scientist, Daniel, but wasn't the whole point of the isotope to degrade the P-282 complex and end the growth process?"
"That's precisely it, Mr. Winthrop. So if the current isotope isn't powerful enough, I'd have to take another step up."
Winthrop's brow furrowed. "Wouldn't that make the entire solution more radioactive?"
Daniel coughed. "Well, yes. But the entire solution should flush out in a matter of days, and the radioactivity is less than that of an X-ray. Chances of permanent harm are minimal."
"This has really been what's holding you back all along, hasn't it?" Bill leaned forward again, clearly appraising Daniel in a new light. "You can make the growth work, you just don't know how to stop it."
"Not without losing uniformity," Daniel admitted. "The isotope has a tendency to work unevenly. As a result, growth continues to occur in some locations longer than others. Everything goes great until it starts wearing off. I was hoping a weaker isotope in greater concentrations might solve that problem." He still remembered his first trial with an overly strong isotope - the rat had turned into a horrible, misshapen monster. That hadn't happened since, but neither had growth.
"Hmph," Winthrop grunted. "And I suppose there's no way to make it work without the isotope."
***
Nell wasn't stupid. She knew she'd have to double-check what she'd put in the injectors, make completely sure she'd gotten the proportions of ingredients right. After all, if this worked on a test subject they'd need to replicate it for her.
She ran the analyzer to get the levels of the individual components. A blinking error screen came up: COMPONENT RADON-222 ISOTOPE NOT FOUND.
Nell could have kicked herself. Everything had seemed perfect, but it was only because she'd screwed up! She'd just completely forgotten to insert the isotope into the centrifuge. Now she'd have to wait even longer before finally growing.
She hovered over the "PURGE CHAMBER" button, but then thought for another moment. The simulator said the formula worked perfectly, even though the isotope wasn't present. Daniel had been trying to get a working growth serum together for years now. And she'd been waiting for one almost all her life. Wouldn't it be a shame to just waste all of that, because one ingredient was missing?
She knew Daniel wouldn't let her take chances with the formula. He'd worry that it was unsafe, and purge it right away. So there was no time to test this on a subject, or try another formula.
Nell knew what she had to do.
***
"Well, not if you ever want controlled growth," Daniel said meekly. "I suppose P-282 is an organic molecule, so it would filter out of the system eventually. But without any radioactivity, the molecule probably wouldn't degrade."
Winthrop nodded. "Makes sense. I'm glad you've thought this through carefully, Farmer. While I wish you'd have told me that this was the part of the puzzle you were missing, I'm glad we can focus in on it now. I'll try and get a hold of a wide variety of isotopes you can test, as well as some proper anti-radiation equipment. Unfortunately, we'll probably have Nell working on it a little less. I can't put her at risk for cancer, even if she wants to keep working on it."
"Oh, I'm sure she'll be okay with taking a hands-off approach. I'm probably boring her to tears with all this centrifuge stuff anyway."
Daniel thought he could see a faint glint in Winthrop's eye. "You'd be surprised how much she likes working with you."
***
Nell had just finished packing up the syringe when Daniel came back into the lab. She quickly turned to face him, making sure she was blocking the injection kit, which was still hanging slightly open.
"Get much done while I was gone?" Daniel asked. Nell thought there was something off about his manner. He looked uncomfortable.
"Oh, you know, just completed the first trial," Nell said quickly. No need for him to find out what she'd done just yet. If there were any actual results, then he'd be so happy he'd completely forget that she'd tested it without his permission.
"No results, again, huh?" Daniel didn't seem at all surprised. Nell just stayed quiet. "Well, it makes sense. I think that's about as far as we're going to get with a radon isotope. Luckily, your father said he's going to try and find some alternatives for us."
"That's nice," Nell said cautiously. "I mean, more isotopes are good."
"Yeah," Daniel ran a hand through his hair. "Your father's really on the dot when it comes to figuring this sort of thing out. For someone who says he's better with concepts than specifics..." Daniel looked up at the clock, then back at Nell with a shy smile. "Guess I wound up wasting most of our time today. Well, you're free to go. We'll get back to work on this tomorrow."
Daniel took a seat behind his desk. Nell turned and closed up the dosing kit, then picked up her schoolwork. She was glad Daniel hadn't found her out; whatever Daddy had called him in for, he'd obviously been shaken by it. She'd have to tell her Daddy to be nicer with him; she knew he could be strict with his workers when they did something wrong. And she didn't like seeing Daniel upset. He'd been nothing but nice to her since the day they'd met.
***
Daniel took the two hours after Nell left to mentally kick himself a few times. Why hadn't he just come clean and told Winthrop everything about his experiments so far? If he was only concerned with the isotope, he should have just said so!
He guessed that somewhere in his mind, he'd thought that the news that the treatment worked would be the only thing Winthrop would care about, that he wouldn't bother to ensure its safety. Stupid. Of course he cared about its safety, he planned to test it on his own daughter! But Daniel knew finding the right isotope and its proper ratio to the serum would take time. He'd worried that Winthrop would rush him to completion before he got everything right.
Instead, Winthrop had reacted perfectly, allotting him more time to work on the serum and providing him with alternative materials. But he also would think of Daniel as a liar, someone who couldn't be trusted. That was the last thing Daniel wanted for a business relationship with an all-powerful benefactor. And what had Bill said about Nell? Was there some kind of hint there? The entire meeting had left Daniel completely confused.
His phone started buzzing. Daniel fumbled it out of his pocket and saw that Bill was the caller again. He flipped the phone open. "Hello?"
"Daniel, you need to get down here, right now." Winthrop sounded furious.
"The office again?"
"No, the living room. This instant. Run."
Daniel barely had time to run through the various possibilities of what had happened as he bolted down the corridor. Nell had somehow been exposed to the isotope. Another one of his former test subjects had been discovered. He'd abruptly decided to fire Daniel and cancel his project.
When he got to the living room, Bill was kneeling beside the couch, where Nell lay, shaking slightly. Winthrop hovered over her, dabbing at her forehead with a soaked hand towel. Bill looked up at him. "What the hell happened, Farmer?"
"I don't know -"
"She said she felt faint, and dropped out of nowhere. Fever of a hundred and two degrees." Winthrop snarled.
"Perhaps it's some kind of virus..." Daniel had no idea how this could have anything to do with their work. "She only had safe jobs around the lab, running the injectors... Everything was shielded, there was no chance of it contaminating her..."
"This does bear similar symptoms to a head cold, sir," Winston said. "Perhaps you are overreacting..."
Nell let out a soft moan, and shivered.
"In your records, you wrote that subjects had an extremely short period of flu-like symptoms before the serum was assimilated," Winthrop said softly. "You're sure there's no way that Nell was exposed?"
"I don't know how she could have been." Daniel said shakily. Winthrop nodded at him gravely, then turned back to his daughter.
Nell's eyes suddenly fluttered open. "Dad? Winston? What's going on?"
"You fainted, honey." Bill put a protective hand on Nell's shoulder. Nell tried to stand up, and Bill eased her back onto the bed. "You should rest for a minute. You have a serious fever."
Winston produced an ear thermometer, and checked Nell's temperature once more. "That's quite odd. 98.5 degrees - perfectly normal."
"See, Daddy? I'm fine." Nell cleared his hand away, stood up and stretched. "I actually feel really rested!"
Nell froze mid-stretch. It took Daniel a moment to see it. Nell's outstretched hands were slowly reaching higher and higher. When he glanced at the tips of her fingers, they seemed to be moving like stop-motion animation - rising up a fraction of an inch at a time.
Her outfit seemed to tighten around her - the fabric of her top crinkling and conforming to her shape where once it had been loose and flowing. Her jeans receded around her ankles, as if they suddenly decided to become capris. Nell bit her lip as her top stretched and strained against her expanding form - clearly it was getting painfully tight. With a crescendoing ripping sound, one of the straps tore. Nell quickly pulled it back over her shoulder only to have the seams of the other side split open as she turned.
Everyone stood frozen. Nell blushed a vivid pink, and looked over at Daniel. Before Daniel turned his head to spare her the embarrassment, he realized she was looking him straight in the eye.