Everyone had put their all into his plan; he'd stick it out with them, down to their last miniature man. He wouldn't leave anyone behind.

Mark focused on the falling brunet. He was out of reach, and falling to the floor fast, tie floating off his neck. Though his mouth remained shut, his eyes shrieked: "Gwaaaah!"

Kat's muscles tilted slightly. Mark soon detected: she was still twirling. Using the momentum from her dancing revolution, the Link cosplayer flung himself off her hair, diving towards the descending man. Thanks to the chain's weight, he fell faster - and quickly grabbed him.

...Now there were two guys falling! Just great. He really thought this one through. The brunet's glare really didn't help.

Wind soared through their hair. The thin whir of their descent buzzed in his ears. Glowing lights and pounding shoes came closer and closer.

Thea swung her partner's leg up, as her back fell. As the monolith of flesh ascended, a bit of green stuck out from the side. The first Char cosplayer was holding out a vine from the Great Fairy costume, somewhat sticky from body sweat.

Instantly, Mark latched the chain around a thorn, with a soft *clink*. The skin beneath wobbled beneath it, continuously bouncing to the slow background melody. The dark-haired man descended, swearing as he grabbed the artificial vine next to the shrunken woman. The surrounding colours whirred by them as the titan took her next step...

A rhythmic POUND below sent Mark flying higher, while the others latched on. Using the chain as a lasso, he gripped it to the closest hold - another part of the vines that stuck out, near her abdomen. The snaking decoration under his weight, pulling on her cloth bra...

And tearing a hole in it. He'd revealed her left nipple to the world, perky and peach-coloured. Kat stopped dancing at the sudden rip noise.

She glimpsed to her chest, and saw Mark's body dangling there.

Her cheeks turned red, before the rest of her face followed. "What-what the hell?" The bright-eyed fairy reached out to pull him off her bust...

Before the vines tugged her arms backwards. A set of tiny cosplayers were pulling on her, constraining her motion. More tugged at her legs, keeping her motionless from every part of her body. With a large swing of her arm, she threw her hands out, tearing the others off...

...And gave Mark the perfect opportunity to swing up to her ear.

This time, aware of the falling people, Thea swiftly swept them in her grip. They lay in her open palm, starting up.

Kat, jumping with her legs bound, fell on her butt. A few shrunken stowaways abandoned ship before the jiggling backside flattened them. "Et tu, Thea? How could you - thinking you know what's best for everyone, you --!" She reached for her ear, preparing to flick Mark off...

Until her friend tugged her by the wrist, stopping her. She shouted: "Quick! A portal!"

Mark blinked towards her, his face slightly above hers - it made her look far more worried. "I thought you were scared at the idea of me having the gun."

She tossed her ponytail over, smiling. "I'm /co/lette, the woman without fear!"

With the sparking device in hand, Mark fired off a portal on the wall. It felt warm in his hands. He then activated it again on another wall; only for it to spark, heating up. Was this a malfunction? He screamed. With a fierce recoil, it shot off into the sky, creating an orange aperture that grew.

And grew.

And grew more, consuming everything...

Both girls' eyes went wide; along with those of each shrunken attendee, and soon the whole dance floor.

As he felt his body pulled in, the rules of gravity twisting, a flow of faces large and small rushing by him, Mark heard the refrain from the nearby speakers fade out:

"It all returns to nothing
It all comes tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down..."

---

Mark's hand gripped on hard cement. His pulse rapid, his head twisted along several axes, like a Rubik's Cube. The sunny light provided a welcome change from the hotel's dimness.

Getting up on his feet - still clad in boots - a familiar neighborhood welcomed his eyes. The portal device malfunctioned, but seemed to have deposited him in his hometown... At normal size. Maybe even an inch taller than usual. The other cosplayers were around him, getting up at the same time; none of them looming giants or diminutive ants. He breathed in the air, stretching out happily.

Something was burning. He looked beside him; his prize creation was sparking, smoke coming from its circuits.

"No! No, nonono..." Kat, now a full head shorter than most of her old "companions", ran to the gun. She pulled the trigger furiously, trying to activate it. The components shorted out, puffing smoke into her face. "Piece of junk! You'll pay for..." Her voice shrank to a whisper. "...this?"

Slowly, the other attendees had surrounded her, seething; some cracking their knuckles. Everyone the hipster had shrunken now stood over her, glaring. She removed her wig, and ran a hand through her blue hair in stress, glaring at Mark.

From buildings nearby, the locals peered at the commotion on the streets. Among them, he saw his family exit their home; his mother holding her mouth, Emma grinning excitedly, and even Jessica offering him a glance before slipping into her bedroom again. Megan ran to him out of the blue, giving the boy a hug. "Mark! We were so worried! What happened?"

"It's a long story..." He bowed his head in respect, mourning the loss of his invention. Hours of work, lost. But at least, he'd made it home safely. And his companions were there with him.

Except... Thea? He hadn't seen her...

Next to him, Nikki prodded his shoulder. "Uhm, Mark? Up."

He separated himself from Megan. Everyone was staring upwards. When he looked to the sky, he instantly hugged her again, shaking in terror.

Thea, her face high in the air, trembled as well. "A-a-ah... S-so many... Tiny people..." She was titanic. Her cheeks were larger than moons, and every pore looked like a vast canyon. Rain began to build up simply from the sweat falling off her brow. Atmospheric distortion tinted it a light blue. Beyond the distant reaches of her face, nearly lightyears away, was a repeating pattern, almost resembling... a ceiling.

Taking an earthquake-causing footstep in the opposite direction, the monolith grabbed her cellphone, and took a picture.

Kat's phone buzzed. With a startled fidget, she picked it up - and turned white, dropping it on the ground. A crowd gathered to see what was on there.

Thea had texted her an image.

An aerial view of all the continents and islands.

Every landmass on Earth, neatly organized on a coffee table, slightly blocked by a dark hand.

A low murmur passed over the crowds as they realized: that was them. Every one of them. Through the portal's malfunction, it had sucked every soul, every structure, every piece of the blue planet... And left it in Thea's house, beneath her omnipotent shadow.

The giantess sent one more text: "help."

Mark held his forehead. "Guess I won't be getting another scholarship after this..."

---

Restoration efforts began immediately. Governments established communication links with this overwhelming planet of a woman, ready to make peace offers. To their surprise, she smiled and nodded at everything, just as eager as them to solve the mishap. Her home still had access to running water, thankfully; she provided for them with a water bottle. When she left her door later, with careful steps she discovered the world continued to exist outside, just without people. That must've been the device's cloning technology at work. What a strange thing Mark had concocted!

Though it wasn't under ideal circumstances, his invention became known on a global stage - even though that globe wasn't all that big. It turns out Gail also worked as security for the portal company, and put in a good word for him. Immediately, the company hired him as a full-time employee to find a reverse for the changes. Things weren't exactly the same with his friends and family; his mom, especially, felt vindicated about banning those infernal hole-making contraptions from the household. But with time, they rediscovered some normalcy.

Kat spent time on jail for kidnapping and theft. But thanks to good behavior, she had time to get out on parole, and reconnect with her friend... provided she remained attached to Thea's necklace. In some way or another, she made the populace think about fashion and objectification.

On talk shows, the brunet talked at length of how he helped save the day, and how to recognize dangers at conventions - sometimes accompanied by his blond friend.

The woman dressed as Char ended up as an actress, famous for designing her own costumes. As for the green-haired girl, police arrested her in a case involving Chris Hansen and a shitpost on 4chan.org/por/.

And Thea, through extensive therapy sessions, became far less jittery. Mark often stepped in - for her immense hands to gently pat or hug. She kept her distance near the continents, and never really got used to the spotlight; but bit by bit, her shoulders loosened around them, and she let her brown hair down more. Humanity saw her as an invincible protector... But slowly, they also saw a girl who liked comics and listening to orchestras.

With lots of toiling and teasing, scientists finally came up with a way to reverse the effects. After a great celebratory dinner, the landmasses went back in place. But one boy stayed behind. With an okay from Megan, he visited Thea's home now and again, getting a chance to speak with her as a friend.

Besides that, he had to model for her. She was starting a new webcomic - one about a size-changing superhero...