Jenna brushed her strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear as she knelt to look at the two girls sleeping in the tanks at her feet. The little redhead on the left seemed to be having a pleasant dream, as a large smile was plastered across her face. The Asian girl had an expression of...contentment, despite apparently going through a session earlier.

Jenna's lips curled into a snarl as she brought her fingers to the control panel for the tanks. She didn't particularly care for that.

A press of a button brought down the containment field that sealed off the middle tank, and Jenna began to reach for it's sleeping occupant.

"I thought Claire told you to leave that one alone?" a voice questioned from behind her. Jenna paused, hand hovering slightly above the sleeping girl, as she turned her head to see Melody kneeling down to her left. Her friend's amber eyes were focused on her outstretched hand, and Jenna promptly began to retract it.

"I just want to have a little talk with her before Claire gets back," Jenna answered, her voice lowered. Melody's eyes rose to meet her own, the taller girl seemingly studying her for just a moment. Movement in Jenna's peripheral vision suddenly caught her attention, and she quickly broke eye contact as she watched Melody's hand approach the base of the tanks.

"I just hope you haven't forgotten what happened the last time you had a "talk" with someone after Claire told you to keep your distance," Melody stated as she deactivated the field over the redhead's enclosure.

"Yet I was right, in the end, wasn't I?" Jenna asked, her voice low and somber as she met Melody's gaze once again. Her friend was scowling at her now, and for a moment she wondered if Melody might strike her.

Jenna wouldn't hold it against her if she did. She hadn't held it against Claire, either. Jenna desperately wanted to be able to share their beliefs, but if this incident had proven anything, it was that Omegas like her were still needed. Needed to guide and protect Betas through a life in a world that hated them through its very nature...even if it meant some choices needed to be made for them every now and then. Until the world was better. Safer.

Until, at the very least, a Beta could jog wherever the hell he or she wanted to without being brutalized.

Jenna's eyes caught the hand Melody had used to switch off the field moving once again, and she couldn't help but brace herself for a blow. Claire had a hell out of a punch, but her arms weren't nearly as well developed as her legs. Melody had played goalkeeper, though, and had supplemented with volleyball. Her arm strength was nothing to scoff at, and Jenna was certain Melody could break her jaw if she ever were so inclined.

She relaxed, though, as the hand and Melody's attention shifted to the sleeping redhead. Her friend gingerly pulled the sheets off the sleeping girl and casually tossed them to the side with a flick of the wrist before suddenly and forcefully wrapping her fingers around the redhead's frame. The girl's eyes shot open in response to this rude awakening, and she attempted to scream as Melody's fingers wrapped around her. All that earned the girl was Melody's thumb in in her face, muffling any sound she was making.

"Just don't go overboard," Melody stated coldly, eyes affixed on her little prize as she stood to her full height. "I'm going to go...how did you say Claire put it? Introduce myself."

Melody punctuated her statement with a light squeeze, and Jenna couldn't help but smirk in amusement as her friend left. It was a display that was uncharacteristic of Melody. She didn't doubt that her friend was upset, but there was no way that squeeze was anything worse than slightly uncomfortable. Even Jenna's momentary fear of a physical reprisal for her comment was based on what Claire's reaction would have been, though she couldn't help but be somewhat disappointed that Melody refused to bring her strength to bear, whether it be against her or that little asshole of a girl.

While she was the strongest and most imposing girl she knew, standing a head taller than even Claire, Melody was also the gentlest person she knew. She had been the first person in their class to earn the right to handle a Beta, and the Beta classes that regularly visited the Institute had endearingly made it no secret that they viewed Melody's hands as the safest place in the world as the years went by and the the two classes steadily grew up with each other.

Jenna's smirk turned into a genuinely warm smile as she remembered the first time one of her classmates had been allowed to hold their guests. Melody had had the entire little class to herself that day, cupped protectively in her hands as she spent all day talking to her new friends as her classmates jealously looked on. Even now, Jenna was still impressed with how quickly Melody had perfected precise control of her breathing and muscles.

God, but that had pissed off Claire at the time. It had taken months afterward for Claire to receive permission to handle Betas, and the girl practically fumed whenever Corey had asked Melody for a lift around the house when the girls had visited. Things had gotten even worse when Jenna was approved before her as well, and the three had relentlessly teased Claire with that fact. Jenna and Melody would transport her older brother and his friends over the most trivial amounts of space, the three of them staring dead at the annoyed girl just to rub in the fact that she couldn't help him herself.

When Claire was finally approved, the last person in their class to earn it, she had immediately stormed home that day with Jenna and Melody in tow. Mrs. Abby had just gotten home with Corey when they arrived at their house, and Claire had immediately run up to her mother and tenderly plucked her brother from her palm before placing him in her own. She had promptly walked inside, sat down at the coffee table, and deposited him atop it before simply staring at him as he, Jenna, and Melody had done to her in their teasing. Corey had practically died of laughter.

Jenna adored these memories of growing up with her friends, of getting to meet and mingle with so many Betas, but her smile began to fade as she recalled the first time she had been able to hold the visitors. She had been so excited to finally be able to hold them herself, to talk to them, to protect them for the first time. Every fiber of her being had wanted to just shell them off in the confines of her hands and hold them close, safe from anything that could cause them harm. Her eyes had eagerly scanned the group of children as she got to know them. Then something had caught her eye: A little boy, no older than she was, his right arm just...gone. Lost, she had found out, in a senseless act of cruelty from an Alpha. The boy had called the assailant "a big person," adding "but not big like you!" a few seconds after.

Jenna had wanted to cry so badly after that conversation, and it had taken every ounce of self control she was capable of at that age to keep herself from doing so while her hands were full. More than any other memory, that was the one that stuck with her over the years. She had remained close friends with that boy for years, but eventually...eventually, the experience had caught up with him.

This was what occupied her thoughts as she turned her attention back to the sleeping girl below her, that disgustingly content look still on her face. Jenna was curious about what, precisely, the girl apparently found so peaceful about her situation as she brought her hand to bear against her once more. She pulled the sheet off and discarded it as Melody had done, and gently poked at the girl's chest.

She woke up pretty easily, and smiled upon seeing the finger in front of her. The little prisoner even reached out a hand to touch it.

Jenna arched an eyebrow. That was interesting.

The girl's smile faded, though, as she continued to look at the finger in front of her. Jenna's smirk returned. She had noticed something was off, and Jenna watched her eyes trace up her fair-skinned arm before finally their eyes finally met.

The reaction was instantaneous, as the girl immediately began to backpedal away from her. Jenna's smirk intensified as the girl quickly ran out of space, her back slamming into the glass at the head of the bed. Jenna's hand had engulfed her then, imprisoning the girl within her fist with just her tiny head popping out.

"What happened to that little smiling face, hm?" Jenna asked, her tone one of mock disappointment. "Expecting someone else?"

The Alpha was glaring at her now, and a small laugh escaped Jenna's lips. Was this little thing seriously trying to establish some air of composure even as she shook like a leaf in her fists?

"For the record," Jenna continued with enthusiasm, "you actually do have to answer me. Your warden let me in, and that means you're my charge until she returns. " Jenna gave the little thing her widest smile as she watched her eyes widen. "It's a matter of responsibility, you see. Can't just ignore you, that would be neglectful. Of course, this means that I'm free to...discipline any insubordination. Do you understand that?"

An audible gulp made its way to Jenna's ears, and she watched with pleasure as what little fire the girl had in her eyes disappeared as she nodded.

"Good." Jenna rose to her feet, and took a seat on the edge of Claire's bed. "Now let's try again, but with a much simpler question: What's your name, little one?"

"N-N-Naomi," the little wretch replied. Jenna couldn't help but sneer at the stuttering little thing.

"Well, Naomi, I'm Jenna, and I believe you still owe me an answer. So..." Jenna said, tilting her head as she brought Naomi within a few inches of her eyes, "were you expecting someone else?"

"Yes..." the girl replied, her shivering intensifying a bit in clear discomfort at this closer proximity.

"And did that someone's name happen to be Claire?" Jenna asked.

A slow nod was Naomi's reply.

"Now why in the world would you be that happy to see your warden, hm?" Jenna asked, crossing her legs and stroking her chin with her free hand, her elbow resting on her thigh. Naomi's immediate response was to look away, prompting Jenna to bring her thumb down onto the smaller girl's head and roughly rub at her scalp. Just a small reminder to the girl of her current position. "Well? I'm not going to play around with you. I do expect answers, and I expect them to be delivered quickly."

"She...she wants to help me," Naomi squeaked out.

Jenna's caressing thumb froze in place, and the constant smile she had kept on her face quickly disappeared as the gears in her head started to turn.

Claire wanted to help this criminal? Help a girl that had attacked a Beta so...so viciously? What was wrong with her? Why the hell would she ever want to help an Alpha that had committed that crime? Especially when the victim was her fucking brother of all people?

Claire's brother...

Jenna began to calm down as things began to make sense to her, and she once again put some space between her face and the girl. If there was one thing that could soften Claire up...

"You apologized to him, didn't you?" she asked, her voice going monotone.

"I...I asked Ms. Lindon to tell him for me," Naomi replied, looking away from Jenna as she did so. "She said he was thankful...that it made him feel better."

Jenna simply stared at the girl in her hand, her eyes narrowed as she processed that little statement. There was silence between them for a moment, and the little girl eventually turned to face her once again.

"I really...I want to tell him sorry myself, though," Naomi said, "I have to tell him that myself."

"And do you think that will make everything better?" Jenna snapped, her composure shaking for just a moment before returning to normal. "Do you think an apology absolves you of what you did? That it's going to get him out of that tank any faster? Give him months of his life back? Help in his rehab?"

Naomi's mouth began to open, likely in some attempt at a defense, but Jenna was going to have none of it.

"So out of all the goals you could set for yourself to try to make this right," Jenna said, switching gears as her grip loosening a bit, "you just want to deliver a personal apology?"

"It won't mean anything if I don't tell him myself," Naomi replied sheepishly.

"And I'm sure that little thought will help assuage your conscience going forward," Jenna replied, allowing a trickle of venom to flow off her tongue, "and it certainly put Claire off of actually doing her job, so good work on that one."

"What do you mean?" Naomi asked, clearly confused. Jenna couldn't help but snicker.

"What I mean, little girl, is that "helping you" is nowhere in our job description," Jenna said, the cheer returning to her voice. "Claire is not there to help you. She is not there to be your friend. She is not there to better you in any way."

Jenna couldn't help but lick her lips as she watched that tiny face go dead, those eyes widen.

"She is there, Naomi, to deliver justice for what you did.," Jenna taunted. "To repay your actions in all their power, their malice, and their cruelty. She is there to insure that by the time she's done with you, you're just as terrified of us as the poor man you mutilated was of you. So terrified that you never, ever think of doing what you did again."

"And yet," Jenna continued, her eyes narrowing and her lips curling in disgust as she looked at Naomi's shell shocked face, "one meaningless little word and you escape it. I don't understand where the justice is in that, Naomi. "Sorry" is an easy word to say, especially when it behooves you to utter it. It's a word free of responsibility. Of obligation."

"I meant it!" Naomi yelled at her, the girl's face flashing in anger. "I hate what I did! I'm going to be ashamed of it for the rest of my life!"

"And for what little it's worth, I believe you on that," Jenna replied, "but saying you're sorry is just the first step on the road before you, Naomi. A road that should have you sharing in the pain and misery people like you inflict on others for no other reason than the fact that they can't stop you."

"You should never have been transferred out of my custody," Jenna spat, and she began slowly tightening her fist, her heart skipping a beat at the expression of horror on Naomi's face. "Because I don't think you understand just how far-reaching the effects of what you did to that man are going to be. What he...what every Beta inevitably goes through, after someone like you gets their hands on one of them. And you need to understand that."

"So this is what you're going to do, Naomi, because it's the fucking least you can do. It's the least you owe to your victim, for being a better person than you are and accepting that little apology you relayed, because I assure you that he knew what it would do for you in the eyes of his sister. You are going to think long and hard about how you can best repent for what you did. How you can make things right. And by the time your little vacation is over, I want to hear a better fucking idea than saying you're fucking sorry, is that understood?"

Jenna's fingers gave a sharp squeeze, eliciting a high-pitched yelp from the object of her scorn, followed by a frenzied nodding of her little head.

"It really is disgusting to me, Naomi," Jenna said, delivering another squeeze and smirking at the resulting scream, "it's disgusting that she's cheating her brother out of the justice that he deserves, because of one little word. Because she's soft. Especially..."

Another squeeze. Another scream.

"Especially since she's just as culpable for his current condition as you are," Jenna continued as she began to seethe with a quiet anger. " Because I told her years ago to put her foot down and stop his little jogs into that area of town. Because I knew what was going to happen, because Alphas can't help themselves." Another squeeze. "But she refused to follow my advice. She even decked me when I took my concerns directly to her brother. And then this happened."

"And that's a decision I have to live with."

Jenna's stomach tightened at the familiar voice behind her. That wasn't supposed to be heard. She had just wanted to vent to someone, to get a little bit of that frustration out of her system.

Jenna slowly turned around to face Claire, who was standing in the doorway of her room. She couldn't help but bite her lower lip. Claire was always a sight to take in after she finished a workout, her toned body practically glowing. Jenna, while in decent shape, wasn't the sporty girl that her friends were. She couldn't help but admire their physiques when they showed them off. Only Claire could get this reaction from her, though. Melody was far too passive, too reluctant with her strength. Claire, though, was always eager to flaunt the fruits of her hard work. To drive in her athletic superiority.

Jenna couldn't help but feel a bit of a tingle as she wondered if Claire was going to hit her.

"I get the feeling that's more than enough of that," Claire deadpanned, breaking Jenna out of her thoughts. Claire was approaching her now, and Jenna couldn't help but notice that her friend had her left hand cupped against her abdomen. Soon enough, Claire was standing directly in front of her, peering down at Jenna with a face that dripped with disappointment. The upturned palm of Claire's free hand suddenly appeared next to Jenna's elevated fist.

"Give her here," Claire commanded, and there was no hesitation to comply from Jenna. She quickly, and gently, placed the frozen stiff girl into Claire's palm and watched as her fingers firmly closed in around her.

"I told you to leave her alone, Jenna," Claire remarked. "Why did you not do that?" Her face continued to exude nothing but disappointment in Jenna's actions.

"Because I felt she needed to understand," Jenna replied.

"Understand what?"

"Several things." Jenna left it at that. She didn't regret what she had done, the seeds she had sown. Naomi seemed like an introspective girl, and maybe she would take advantage of what Jenna had told her.

The pain, though, was nothing the girl didn't deserve.

"Does this have to do with Vincent?" Claire asked, her voice tinged with concern. Jenna averted her eyes, and she knew Claire would deduce the correct answer just from that.

Claire looked at her for a moment before backing up a step, her face never changing.

"Go sit with Melody," she said, "I'll be in there shortly to start with Marion. We're not done with this talk, though, not by a longshot. Do you get me?"

Jenna gave a curt nod before rising to her feet, and Claire promptly turned away from her to kneel down in front of the enclosures. She was still there as Jenna left the room.

********

Stephanie had spent the last several minutes huddled against Claire's abdomen, the damp fabric of her tank-top providing a barrier between Stephanie and the woman's chiseled abs. The walk back to Claire's home had been mostly silent, and Stephanie had ridden comfortably in her warden's immense palm for most of the trip. It was upon reaching the home that she found herself in her current position, still a fraction of her height and sandwiched between Claire's hand and her abs.

There had been some talking, but Stephanie frankly didn't care about it or pay attention to it. She was still drained from her experience at the mercy of this titanic woman's toes, and she simply wanted to get back to her enclosure and collapse.

The feeling of her stomach rising seemed to signal that Claire had lowered her body, and Stephanie perked up in slight anticipation as Claire's hand began to part somewhat from her abdomen, washing Stephanie in light.

"Naomi," she heard Claire ask from above, "I know you're feeling down right now, but...would you want to do me a favor?"

Stephanie couldn't quite hear the response, but she could only assume an affirmative as Claire began speaking once again.

"I need you to look after something...or, well, someone while I go tend to Marion. I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone right now. Can you do that for me?"

Stephanie's eyes widened. Claire...she wasn't going to do what Stephanie thought she was going to do, was she?

Stephanie got her answer as Claire's palm flattened below her, spilling her into its center. Claire's fingers soon joined her, holding her gently against the sweaty palm.

"Please, don't," Stephanie attempted to yell, but her vocal chords were still exhausted. The words come out as little more than a whisper. Stephanie didn't want this. She didn't want her friend to see her so weak, so fragile.

So small.

Her transport reached its destination soon enough, and Stephanie watched with some dread as Claire's fingers began to unfurl until eventually she found herself deposited gently on the floor of an enclosure, struggling to remain standing.

Then Stephanie saw her. Naomi. Dressed in shorts and a top similar to her own.

Looking down at her. A look of wonder and excitement upon her face as she began to slowly saunter closer toward Stephanie.

A drop of moisture splashed down next to her, and Stephanie glanced up to see Claire's billboard-sized face looking down at her, apparently somewhat curious as to how this was going to go. Her face was still glistening with sweat from her run, so that explained that drop of liquid.

Turning her attention back down, Stephanie stumbled back in shock as she found herself suddenly looking at a pair of light-brown knees. Her legs finally gave out, and as she lost her balance and began to fall backwards, her vision panned up Naomi's amazonian body as it began to move in closer to her at startling speed.

Stephanie found her fall suddenly halted as Naomi's massive hands grasped her under her armpits. As she took in Naomi's arms, each one now nearly as long as she used to be tall, Stephanie noticed that she was slowly getting closer and closer to her friend's body.

"It's okay, Stephanie," Naomi said softly, bringing her child-sized friend closer and closer as she knelt down to Stephanie's level. "I've got you."

Stephanie suddenly found her face being buried in Naomi's prominent chest, her cheeks blushing slightly as she felt Naomi's arms wrap around her and pull her into a tight, comfortable hug. Stephanie briefly wanted to fight her way out of this somewhat embarrassing position, but she just didn't have the energy. Even if she did, Naomi was just far too strong for her to have a chance at getting away. Besides, this was...comfortable. Naomi's chest had always been large, but now it was something else. To Stephanie's chagrin, she found herself nuzzling lightly into the two breasts, her eyes beginning to close.

If anyone had to see her like this, Stephanie was ultimately glad it was Naomi. She was so sweet, so caring. So...soft. This kind of strength suited her in situations like this.

"Do you want to go take a nap?" Naomi sweetly asked, still holding her friend tightly."You kinda look like hell."

"Mmhmm," was all Stephanie could manage as a response. Soon, she found herself being lifted and cradled into Naomi's arms, held firmly against her friend's chest as she began to walk toward her bed.

"She's going to be this size for another hour or so," a voice called from above. Probably Claire. Stephanie didn't really care.

Soon after, she found herself lying down on Naomi's bed, the larger girl right behind her and holding onto her tightly. Stephanie could feel those two soft orbs pressing into the back of her head, but that was fine. As Stephanie began to drift off, Naomi suddenly called up to Claire.

"Did something happen with her?" she asked. "She seems really...out of it."

Stephanie found herself suddenly awake again as she heard a sigh escape Claire's lips.

"She had an...episode, of sorts," the massive woman replied, and Stephanie noted how sad she looked as she peered down at the two girls. "I think she remembered something. During our session."

"What were you doing?" Naomi asked.

Stephanie began to wiggle, she didn't like where this was going. She didn't want to listen to this, or talk about this. She didn't want them to talk about this.

A quick squeeze from Naomi's powerful arms put a stop to that.

"I was running with her," Claire said, "in my shoe."

Stephanie couldn't help but feel Naomi's body shudder, and her grip around her smaller body tighten.

"Well, if anything was going to get a reaction from her, that would probably be it," Naomi replied, her tone...pitying?

"Please, stop," Stephanie whimpered. The only response from Naomi was that she suddenly felt his current caretaker's nose begin to nuzzle gently into her scalp.

"I just don't....has she been in that little shell since the incident?"

"Oh, no," Naomi answered, and Stephanie once again began to struggle.

"Don't!" she rasped, "You...you don't have any right to tal-" Stephanie's pleading was cut off, though, as Naomi sealed her mouth shut with just a couple of digits from her right hand, and a gentle shush emanated from the larger girl.

"She was actually really devastated for a while after it happened," Naomi said. "She didn't become like this until a little while after."

Stephanie bit at the soft flesh of the finger resting on her lips. It was all she could think to do, to try to end this conversation. There was a slight flinch from her larger friend as she pulled her finger away, but it soon returned and Naomi used the rest of her hand to firmly shut Stephanie's mouth.

"What happened?" Claire asked, her voice confused. "What changed her like this?"

"Oh, that's easy to pinpoint," Naomi said, ignoring Stephanie as she continued to struggle.

"Marion happened."