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This is a chapter of a “What If” version of Growth Potential. If you read the original or its Redux, there isn’t a nice neat place where this chapter would fit into the canon, and the physics of growth are also different. In this version, much like in Redux, Heather and Jason become living weapons, sent by the US to end its longstanding war against the enemy nation of Koskau. Unlike in Redux, the two are assumed to only be able to grow to 50 feet each. We join them in media res, as they make their debut on the battlefield.
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A harsh desert sun cast its hateful rays on a bleak, three hundred-mile expanse known as the Jorashi Pass. Marked by untrodden mountain ranges to the North and to the South, for thousands of years the pass has been a strategically significant permeation against an otherwise insurmountable wall of rock and death. Over the ages, would-be conquering armies braved its vast sandscape. Those that survived struck triumphant blows to whatever unsuspecting kingdom lay at the other side of the perilous crossing. Those that failed were washed away by a sea of sand, buried, and forgotten.

The desert rattled to life once again, roused by the passing of a new army. The combined strength of two Koskau battalions ventured forth, ready to launch a decisive strike against the blind enemy forces on the far side of Jorashi. This would be the turning point in an exhausting war, knocking American allies out of commission, and granting Koskau full supremacy in Asia and beyond. Dozens of tanks rumbled alongside hundreds of troop transports carrying in total 20,000 men to certain victory.

“That’s a big army,” Heather said, peering through a pair of field binoculars.

“Not big enough,” Jason said, giving her a friendly nudge in the shoulder.

“It’s a lot bigger than we thought it would be.” There was a slight nervous quiver in Heather’s voice.

“Nothing’s too big for me,” Jason did his best to sound confident, but he too had never seen combat before. The duo had been in endless training sessions, simulating giant-sized combat against normal-sized combatants, but nothing could prepare them for the real thing.

“Too big for us, you mean.” Heather slouched back into the buggy’s driver’s seat, tossing the binoculars onto the dashboard, and crossing her arms with visible angst. She had a distinctive way of furrowing her brow whenever she was distressed. Jason picked up on it immediately, and offered her a friendly, comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “We got this, together. No problem. Look, if you’re worried, I’ll take the lead for a bit and you can stand back where it’s safe.”

“No!” Heather exclaimed. “It’s not that. I’m not worried about the mission. I just...”

“Just what?”

“Is it so bad that I’ve actually been looking forward to this? After all those months of training and now here we are, a loaded gun finally ready to go off. I feel like I’m not supposed to feel like this. Like it’s wrong to actually want to fight these bastards.”

“No, I’m looking forward to it too. Nothing wrong with that. I think I’m even going to enjoy it.”

“Oh come on,” Heather said, shaking her head dismissively. But her eyebrows told the whole story. Her interest was piqued.

“After everything they’ve done, they deserve it,” Jason continued. “They killed your brother, Heather. Of course you’re itching for some payback.” He took her hand in his, and squeezed. “Let’s show them just how small and pathetic they really are.”

She squeezed back, picturing in her mind an enemy soldier’s body compressing to the breaking point between two gigantic hands. She felt imaginary bones snap, and a rush of goo as organs and blood spewed from the pulped remains. Vengeance never felt so good.
Sometimes in training she felt this way, felt lascivious urges to indulge in her power, to actually allow herself to feel free, to enjoy being big, rather than surrender to the sober confines of duty. She knew Jason felt it too, on more than one occasion it was evident from his barely-hidden erection the height of a normal man. It took great effort for her not to notice, not to stare, not to lust after the only man in the world big enough to be with her.

But she had to bury those feelings, not least because they represented a betrayal of her boyfriend, Ben. Soon, he, along with the rest of the world, would know what she’d transformed into. She already knew he would judge her, like she was some sentient A-bomb just happily exploding over enemy cities. And others would fear her, she knew it. Her own family would be afraid of their daughter that transformed into a monster. She’d never be able to have normal relationships again, not with anyone - nearly anyone. Everyone in her life felt like tiny weights around her ankles, just dragging her along the ground. Everyone but Jason.

“Let’s do this,” she finally said.

“For Mark?” Jason asked.

“No,” Heather said, “for us.”

She stared at the sky, an uninterrupted bowl of blue, doubtless being traversed by US surveillance satellites. Somewhere, little men were watching their every movement. She felt a pang of desire, a long-suppressed wanting to embrace Jason, to let loose her growing affections. But that would be a breach of protocol, a violation of the little men’s all-encompassing rules. Ever since she enrolled in the Growth Potential program, these people controlled every aspect of her life. She could feel their unseen eyes watching her every move, judging her every intent, monitoring their precious secret weapon for any forbidden sign of free will or independent thought. She felt like a giant puppet, dancing to the delight of distant, tiny puppeteers. God help them if she ever cut those strings.

She grew.

It didn’t take long for Heather and Jason to become visible along the horizon, but the Koskau army continued its advance without the slightest hesitation. The desert plays tricks on the eyes, the enemy commander thought. As the two giants grew closer and more distinctly human in form, those tricks were harder to rationalize away. Perhaps perception itself becomes distorted as the sand meets the sky. Two distant giants could be two nearby normal-sized soldiers, after all. Moments passed, and the two soldiers, one male and the other female, had become inexplicably large. The commander refused to believe what he was seeing. His first officer shouted, “My God, they have to be 50 feet!” Other officers were noticing, and suppressing their urges to panic.

A tank exploded, seemingly without cause, propelling dust and rocks into the air, sending troops and trucks tumbling. As the dust settled, all that remained was a boulder, and flattened tank remains in the ground. In the distance, the male giant fished around on the ground, retrieving another rock. He launched his second salvo into the air, the stone crashing moments later onto a supply truck. The female giant clapped and cheered while the male laughed. She reached for her own stone, and finding a satisfactory one, said to her titanic partner, “Watch this.”

She hurled it, with considerable finesse and years of practice, the stone skipped on the ground, colliding with troop transports before launching itself again and smashing a tank, bouncing, then finally landing on a fuel truck. The ensuing explosion killed two dozen Koskau men.

“Whooo three skips!” Heather yelled. Jason pat her on the back and smiled with fond appraise.

“You have to get... Here,” Heather said, holding up a boulder with a flat surface. “Look for ones like these, they skip the best.”

“Having fun?” Jason asked.

She paused, and surprised herself. Yes, she was having fun. She was having a lot of fun, actually. “Hurry up! Get more stones!” Heather said with a wide, cheery smile.

This time the male giant tried to skip a stone. He wasn’t as skilled, but the boulder still careened into its target, turning soldiers’ bodies into red mist in its path. The volleys continued, smashing row after row of the enemy line. The giants’ laughter carried across the desert.

The battalion erupted into panic. Vehicles turned with all possible haste to make a retreat back to Koskau. The commander screamed into his comms for a full surrender, while his first officer pleaded for a retaliatory strike. His protests went unheard, and white flags flew from the command vehicles. 20,000 men surrendered without firing a single shot against an army of two.

Heather and Jason stood still, contemplating their next moves. They had done their job, achieving their sole objective: stop the Koskau advance. Job well done.

“Shit,” Jason said. “I don’t want to stop.”

“Then let’s keep fighting.”

“Rules of engagement, Heather. We can’t attack a surrendering army.”

“But I’m not... I’m not ready to go,” Heather protested.

“I’m not either, but there are rules, Heather.”

“You know what, Jason? I went through six months of hell,” Heather said, sounding badly in need of a vacation. “Scientists poking and prodding me, generals bossing me around, breaking me down... I haven’t been allowed to see my family or friends for six fucking months. All for what? A five minute fight? Then what? We go home, the government will probably be watching and controlling us forever, Jason. We gave up our whole lives, for what? For this? A five minute fight against these... These... Rodents.” The word hissed between Heather’s teeth. “And now we’re supposed to stop, just when... Just...”

“When you’re starting to enjoy yourself,” Jason said, finishing her sentence.

“Yes!”

Jason nodded. “Y’know... I don’t think any satellites could actually see those white flags.”

Heather stayed mute.

“No one’s going to miss a few more tanks,” he reasoned.

A smile cracked across Heather’s face. For once, she was going to get her way. Heather grabbed Jason by the hand and pulled him along as she walked toward the retreating enemy line. “Come on, I want to see you squeeze a tank in those great big hands of yours,” she said.

“Maybe I want to see you flatten a truck full of soldiers under your ass,” he said, admiring how the desert beige shorts curved over her backside.

“Better not let Ben hear you talk like that,” Heather said in a flirtatious tone.

“Worst he could do to me is get stuck between my teeth.”

Somehow, she liked the sound of that.

The titans bounded across leagues of desert, effortlessly closing in on their frightened enemy. Jason lunged into a group of tanks, grabbing one with both hands, raising it into the air, and ripping the turret off like he was merely opening a can of peanuts. He threw the turret aside, whereby it crashed into a troop transport, sending the truck’s contents scrambling for cover. Heather loomed large over the fleeing soldiers.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she said, lifting one boot into the air, and subsequently slamming it down on a crying soldier. She felt the resulting crunch of his body, there was something satisfying to it. She turned, eyeing three more soldiers, each begging for their lives. They would see no mercy. Three more stomps and they were each red smears in the sand.

Jason smiled, enjoying himself just as much as his partner. He dumped the tank’s contents into his palm, and looked upon his prizes. The little men looked so pathetic, so terrified, squishing them would be doing them a favor. His thick, powerful fingers curled inward, as the soldiers pushed helplessly against them. His palm closed into a fist and squeezed, popping the insignificant beings within. When he was done, he casually discarded them over one shoulder.

“Hey!” Heather shouted. “Check this out!”

Jason turned to see her, standing over another troop truck. She patted her butt and smiled, then dropped immediately to the ground, squashing a dozen men under her glutes. Heather giggled with liberated abandon. “Was it everything you wanted?”

“Do it slower next time!” Jason shouted.

BOOM. A tank shell hit Jason square in the forehead. He screamed in agony, but there was no injury. Other tanks had managed to turn their turrets to face their pursuers, and were beginning to open fire. BOOM. Another shot to Jason’s ribs. Enraged, he raised his fist and brought it crashing down on a nearby tank, disintegrating it under his flesh.

“Oh my God, Jason,” Heather said with panic in her voice.

He crumbled more tanks under his fists, crawling over the battlefield in a destructive frenzy. He’d grown. Every injury, every insult, everything that fueled his rage fueled his growth. He stood, catching his breath, realizing that he was now twice Heather’s size.

“Holy shit!” he exclaimed. “Maybe the pain?”

BOOM. Heather was bombarded by fire. She screamed, enduring the pain and reaping its rewards. She grew, matching Jason’s size. More fire rained upon them, but the pain was diminishing as they grew. There wasn’t much that could hurt them now.

“Damn,” Jason said. “I want to keep growing.”

“Me too,” Heather said, holding her bruised shoulder. “Maybe...”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe it’s just strong emotions unleash our growth potential.”

Jason nodded. It seemed to be true. “How do we find out?”

She grabbed him by the waist, pulling him tight against her body, and kissed his lips. He responded, planting two strong hands on her hips, pressing his body into hers. It was working. Months of repressed workplace sexual tension was finally being released, and it had results. Both of them shot in the air another 50 feet, now three times taller than when they started.

“I love you,” Heather said, relieved to finally let the words out.

“I love you too,” Jason said. They kissed again. Nothing happened. More stimulation was required.

Jason noticed a soldier on the ground trying to sneak by them. He chuckled, as he stooped down and picked the poor thing up between two fingers. “Kiss him goodbye,” Jason said, holding the specimen in front of his new lover.

Heather planted a kiss on the tiny man, her lips nearly encompassing his entire body. Jason joined, pressing the soldier between both their lips. His fingers let go, and the soldier was suspended entirely by the two giants’ mouths, as they continued kissing. Lips parted, and tongues exchanged pleasantries, the little man found himself sliding back and forth between mouths, unsure of whose he had finally landed in.

Heather pulled back, mouth closed, she smiled impishly. She had the prize. She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, wagging it victoriously as the little man jostled on its slippery surface. Jason pulled her back in, taking her tongue back into his mouth, and giving it a good suck. It came out clean, and empty. The soldier was Jason’s now. The giant swallowed, washing back the little man whole.

They both stammered for a moment, neither believing what they had just done. The act was so cruel, so indecent, so taboo, so delicious. Heather and Jason reveled in that moment, and each grew once again, to a new size of 200 feet. The continued tank fire below was barely even noticeable. More stimulation would be required.

Heather grabbed Jason’s shirt, nearly ripping it off. “Take your fucking clothes off.”

He stripped without hesitation. She did the same. In the middle of a barren desert, two beautiful, naked gods were being born. Heather pushed Jason to the ground, his bare back slamming onto retreating vehicles, reducing them to metal pancakes. Heather crawled on top of him, and smashed her hand into the ground, pulling up three vehicles. She broke them apart, and scattered their occupants onto Jason’s abdomen like she was seasoning a steak. Now she wanted a taste. She lapped at his skin, collecting soldiers into her gaping maw, where they would vanish, forever.

More growth, not as much this time. More stimulation was required.

Jason tore open a tank, and stole its driver. He reached between Heather’s legs, and she nodded resolutely. He jammed his finger into her pussy, taking with it the insignificant being that would soon meet his end in Heather’s dripping cavern. She moaned, growing again in the ecstasy, growing fast. She outpaced Jason, reaching a final height of 400 feet to his 300.

“Better keep up, loverboy,” she said, standing. “I’d hate for you to end up like them,” she teased. Then, with a slight running start, she leapt, and her naked body came crashing into the army below, utterly mincing the pathetic creatures under the expanse of her legs, buttocks, and backside.

Jason collected more specimens, and gripped them tightly against his erection. He stroked, their crushed bodies becoming a sickening red lubricant. In no time at all, he came, spreading his hot seed over a scattered regiment of vehicles. Now he was the big one, surpassing Heather by nearly double.

“That’s cheating,” she pouted.

He didn’t seem to mind. With the utmost nonchalance, he merely walked around what was left of the battlefield, idly squishing speck-sized soldiers under his prodigious feet. He knelt down and crawled over Heather’s reclining form. He grabbed her comparatively small knees with his immense hands, and pried them apart. His head disappeared behind her crotch, and Heather felt his massive tongue caress her clit. She screamed in ecstasy, growing once more, matching Jason’s height but craving so much more.

“Put it in me,” she demanded.

He eased his cock, the size of a city bus, gently between her gushing wet lips.

“Fuck me hard.”

He thrust, and the whole desert quaked. Again, and Heather’s screams bellowed through the pass, nearly deafening what few soldiers remained alive. Again. And again. And again. Each time louder, accompanied by increasing seismic forces. The ground itself was beginning to crack, the midday’s sun turned dark, vanishing behind the bodies of two impossibly huge lovers. None would escape their immensity.

By twilight of the next morning, the 20 million inhabitants Koskau City felt a steady beat of distant earthquakes, increasing in magnitude.