The sun was setting. It had been for as long as she could remember.

So far she had been content to be led, docile and domesticated like a beast, by the platoon that surrounded her. She had been too busy admiring her shadow, for it was unnaturally elongated by the evening light, and crept slowly up the side of the building they were approaching.

Her lover, by contrast, had not taken kindly to their escort. He had huffed and grumbled at every checkpoint, glowering every time someone laid a hand upon her flesh. It was his stubborn insistence on remaining close to her that had finally persuaded her to accommodate his reckless, possibly lethal request. Well, that and how intoxicating she found the idea.

She squeezed her eyes closed as the syringe found its way inside of her, for she had always hated needles, and this one was unavoidably immense. One last stab of pain to endure after months of agonising treatments, she told herself firmly, and endured it. The process was underway, now. Irreversible.

The instant her arm was released she shrugged off the grip of the orderly who’d been steadying her and eased her lithe, naked body into a standing position, now the centre of a circle made up of friends and strangers alike. The wound on her arm, which should have receded to a dull ache by now, was tingling. She felt as if warm honey were flowing through her body, warming her. Fuelling her. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to climb to the highest branches of her favourite apple tree, dive deep to the ocean floor or outrun a thunderstorm. Nothing except…

She lunged forward, grasping the thick straps that stretched across the broad back of her lover, and her mouth found his with a hunger that startled them both. Yet no matter how ferociously she pawed at him, how enthusiastically she assailed his lips and tongue with her own, none of it was enough to quell the rush of power building up within her body.

As those around her had predicted, it exploded, and she began to grow.

The first wave tore her lover’s lips from hers, but she was greedy and snatched him up once again, leaving his feet to dangle above the floor as she sought another kiss. This time her tongue filled his mouth, and she felt his head tilting back to accommodate the oversized muscle even as his hands raked across her neck and chest.

There was a loud cough, and she knew she was out of time. If she lingered any longer, she’d be too large to leave the building safely – at least, to ensure the safety of those around her. Teams of engineers had worked to ensure that if something went wrong, she could tear apart the structure that surrounded them with no more than a few cuts and bruises.

Her lover fell into step beside her, his head now level with her bellybutton, and she brought her hand down to ruffle his hair as they made for the cool air beyond the chamber. By the time they reached the door, she could no longer stroke him without stooping, and she cast a glance over her shoulder at the little soldiers. One or two were ogling her openly, and she knew her the man by her leg must be fuming with jealousy, but no matter. Soon he would all have more of her than he could handle in a dozen lifetimes.

She dropped to her hands and knees as she approached the doorway, playfully and provocatively sticking her backside into the air and wriggling it before crawling outside. She probably could have made it through by crouching, but where would have been the fun in that? Besides, she wanted to get a good look at her admirers.

While the soldiers had wisely established a cordon around the building, the streets and rooftops were thronged with people of all shapes and sizes. There were gasps and even a few shouts of alarm as she pushed away from the ground and stood to her full height, noting with satisfaction that her hands had lift twin impressions in the tarmac. Her arm twitched, habitually reaching to tuck her ponytail back in place before she remembered she’d surrendered long hair as part of the process, acknowledging that it introduced too many variables. Instead, she turned the motion into a thumbs-up, flashing the crowd a smile that drew a loud cheer from around her ankles.

The motion coincided with another expansive burst, and she acknowledged - with no small measure of delight - the rush that came from allowing this new energy to build, releasing it as another surge in size only when she could contain herself no longer. She felt hot and light-headed, and her hand traced lazily across her belly as she assessed the city, a finger looping absent-mindedly into curling hairs as she assessed the city. Before she could take a step, she felt a tickling sensation against her foot and squirmed reflexively, immediately cursing aloud and glancing down in alarm.

Her lover was sprawled across the floor, swatted by her lightest motion when he’d tried to kiss her, and she frowned at him with a mixture of irritation and amusement. He knew all too well that she’d be back for him when the time was right, but he’d agreed not to endanger himself before then by getting underfoot, no matter how hard he yearned to touch.

Thinking about how desperately he wanted her softened her scowl, and she allowed her hand to continue its descent through her hairs, tracing across her crotch before she knelt, pressing one freshly-moistened fingertip against his body. Her promise that she’d return. The caress had felt good, and she permitted herself another stroke as she stood, allowing twin digits to slide along her flesh.

Some in the crowd turned away as she explored herself, but she didn’t care. This was her idea, after all. She’d play it her way, and they could deal with the consequences. Her newfound boldness came hand-in-hand with her expansion, she knew, for her toes were starting to broach the limits of the cordon. They were bigger than many of the onlookers.

She wanted to address the crowd, to explain how each new burst of size felt better than the last, and how glad she was that they were here to witness her ascent. That she would like nothing better than to experience them all, and let them experience her, at a multitude of scales. To drink in their vulnerability and bask in their adulation… but she knew she’d never hear their responses. Besides, none of them had ever understood a word she said.

Well. She’d have to make her feelings known in other ways.

She moved.

The descent of her bare foot created a blast of pressure and wind that skittered debris and made trees sway, but that was nothing compared to the impact of her enormous, dust-caked sole. Buildings compressed by the arch of her foot buckled and collapsed, while those beneath her huge heel and her gleefully-curling toes had no time to surrender to gravity, and were pulverised instead.

Several more steps carried her far away from the crowd, her feet descending, pounding, booming. Each time she impacted the ground, she was more massive, churning up yet more soil, taking more of little structures beneath her weight. She followed the little lights that had been left to guide her through the evacuated areas quite contentedly, for her prize lay in their midst, though none below knew of her intent to claim it.

The capitol building had been, until today, easily the largest thing on the horizon. It had dominated the landscape and now she dominated it in turn, wrapping her long arms around its upper levels and comparing herself against its majesty. Her tongue lapped across lines of spotless windows with a cacophonous squeal as she caressed her concrete consort, running her hands down its sides and grinding her chest and crotch against its glittering surfaces. Those walls soon crumpled inward under her ministrations, returning stimulating tickles that only served to draw her tighter against her plaything.

Another growth spurt dragged the building from her arms, its spindly form now no higher than her waist. Grumbling, she turned back to the city, placing first one palm and then the other down upon its fragile sprawl and noting with satisfaction how swiftly all the little lights now evaded her mammoth fingers. Once again on all fours, knowing that her body was eclipsing the evening sun for thousands, she eagerly sought out her real lover, who had had more than enough time reach his destination.

As promised, the capsule was in place atop a brightly-coloured gantry. Squatting on her haunches, she pinched its ship-sized form up between her fingertips, trusting that her lover waited within. That knowledge alone gave her all sorts of mischievous ideas, but since so much could go wrong she merely brought the little lifeboat to her lips – very much her second choice – and wiped it tenderly across them, shivering in such pleasure that her size practically quadrupled at the touch.

Unable to savour the moment, for her saliva was already at work, she cupped one pendulous breast and pressed her dissolving morsel against the puckered pinkness of her stiffened left nipple. As she had agreed, her lover would accompany her by wandering atop her mountainous nub, as intimate as he would be imperceptible. The larger she grew, the slower her movements would seem; to him, the time spent crawling through the canyons of her flesh would stretch into days, if not weeks. No matter. The supplies in his backpack would allow him to reach more provisions, scattered across one tiny fraction of her tit by the disintegrating capsule. He’d survive. Even better, he’d promised her pictures.

All at once a shadow fell upon her, far sooner than she’d expected. She had played for too long.

The descending foot, incomprehensibly massive, had filled the western sky for months, but now she could track its progress towards her city with the naked eye. She moved beneath its bulk with long loping strides, every step accompanied by another swell of size, but knew she needed more. Much more. Once she was hunkered down in place, she closed her eyes. Imagined that little city covering her body, filling every crevice, smearing and breaking and flooding just for her. Tried to let those feelings build…

Too slow. Her arching back met the immense sole as it bore inexorably down upon her, and she couldn’t help but let out a gasp, for the pressure was far worse than she’d expected, Pain threatened to consume her, and she felt her arms shake as she braced against the dirt. One more breath before she was flattened like an insect. Barely a second to…

Grow.

Sophie, halfway to the bottom of her garden, screamed as the ground erupted. An unexpected warmth underfoot had exploded like she’d trodden on a landmine, flinging her roughly backwards. Now, gazing down the length of her own bruised body, she could see that a naked woman lay sprawled right in her path, rumpled and filthy. Sophie gawped at her, lost for words.

She smiled, a little dazed, getting to her feet and extending a hand for Sophie to take. “Sorry about that,” she explained. “I found a city down there, you see. Microscopic. You were about to step on it. I could show you, if you like…” she added beguilingly, eager to bring home another who could speak her language.

For those below, weeks would already have passed. More than enough time to repair the damage she’d caused to the city and prepare for her triumphant homecoming. By the time the sun finally set, she’d be a legend: the beautiful, almighty goddess who’d returned to her place in the heavens and saved them.

Their hero.