Big Trouble!

-by Lynceus

Dr. Damon Zeul was only trying to create something that would benefit mankind. Little did he realize his work was really going to benefit Lex Luthor! Shot and left for dead, he recovers, only to discover his life would never be the same again.

Part of the Comics Retcon Universe: http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/20577/comics-retcon-universe

Chapter One: The Good Doctor

I met Professor Amy Zhan at a scientific conference in Geneva. I'd heard of her, of course; her feminist ideas had made her more than a little controversial. I don't think it's fair to say Amy hates men, really. All her life, she had to work twice as hard to be recognized for her genius, all because she's a woman.

“Men,” she would say, “are used to getting their way because they are larger and stronger than women. The ideal woman is meek and supportive of a man, while a woman who stands up for herself is treated like some kind of social deviant.”

On some level, I could relate. You see, I was born with a curse. A congenital defect, if you will. Fully grown, I had the height and physique of an eleven year-old girl, despite being functionally male. All my life, I'd been bullied and underestimated because of my condition. I think that's how Amy and I were able to become friends.

Now granted, at 29 I no longer had that youthful glow to my features, so after their initial first impression, that I was a child, people assumed I was just a very petite woman. Maybe life would have been easier if I was a woman, but the thought of undergoing massive surgery just to become a facsimile of a female didn't appeal to me.

Certainly, my parents hadn't liked the idea very much, even though the doctors had often suggested it. Growth hormones and testosterone treatments hadn't done me very much good. Curiously enough, it was my desire to understand why I was different, that led me to become a scientist in the first place, earning a doctorate in both genetics and biochemistry.

Perhaps I couldn't undo my own genetic damage, but I could help others.

Amy had been asked to speak about her work on mitochondria and hormone therapy. She was convinced that any human could be granted superior strength, that the power was already inside us, we just needed the right key to unlock the door.

It sounded like something out of a comic book, but I remember a time in my life when I wished to be stronger. So, after her lecture, I went up to her and introduced myself. I remember her blinking at me with some confusion when I told her my name.

But then her eyes widened. “Of course, Dr. Zeul, my apologies, I was greatly impressed with your paper on endocrine therapy. I admit, you aren't how I imagined you.”

I smiled ruefully. “I get that a lot.”

“Well let me make it up to you, I'm tired of talking to these dried-up fossils and their inability to open their minds to anything new. Perhaps we could meet later and have our own conference?”

I jumped at the chance. I mean, this was someone I considered a genius in her field, and, even if she was a good eight years older than I was, Amy Zhan was a stunningly beautiful woman. For obvious reasons, women don't express much interest in me.

And it's not because I'm ugly. Quite the opposite. I'm cute. As a cruel joke during college, I remember how some other students passed around this edited photo of myself, wearing a pink dress. All the women on campus would go on about how adorable I was.

That was far from the worst moment of my life, however. I don't know how I consistently find the ability to move ahead, to survive what the world throws at me. Many times, I wished I could just give in, accept my fate. But no matter how many times I get knocked down, something inside me says 'get back up', and I do.

We ended up having dinner at Amy's hotel room. She seemed fascinated by my medical condition. It's often misdiagnosed, because it's very similar to other conditions. I was most likely the world's leading expert on it. The only other sufferer I knew of was a former child actress, Mary Louise Dahl. Previously, she'd been diagnosed with systemic hypoplasia, which occasionally had similar symptoms, but I digress.

“Damon, I think you're exactly the person I need to help me with my project. My previous assistant, Dr. Taylor, recently got married, the poor thing. I want you to replace her.”

Well, how could I turn down an offer like that? Dr. Zhan had her own lab not far from Phoenix, Arizona. It wasn't very large, about the size of a small warehouse, really, but she was well-funded. Of course, I was too foolish to ask how she was funded.

We got to be good friends, and we were making headway on the formula I called Herakles. You see, it wasn't enough to coax momentary strength out of the human body. What we intended to do was alter someone's biochemistry so that they would permanently gain enhanced strength. The benefits would be incredible. I imagined curing people with muscular dystrophy, or weak hearts.

And yes, I had fantasies about growing taller and stronger myself, but, back then, I was motivated more to help my fellow man. I was hopelessly naieve.

We'd done all the testing we could on animals, but let me tell you, getting approval for human testing is a bureaucratic nightmare. No wonder mad scientists always kidnap victims and experiment on them; it's cheaper and easier than doing things the legal way! It was around this time that Amy became very secretive. I'd find her working at odd hours, but she'd never tell me what she was up to. We had our final version of Herakles, so what could she be doing?

I prayed she wasn't using herself as a guinea pig.

-

Things came to a head late one night. There was something different about her. I couldn't put my finger on it at first. And then I noticed that she was wearing flats instead of heels. But she wasn't any shorter!

So I confronted her. “Amy, I'd like to think we're friends. You know I support this project 100%. But you've been testing it on yourself, haven't you?”

She tried to deny it, but I pointed out my evidence, and she broke down. “I'm sorry, Damon. I know it's wrong, and dangerous...but I've waited so long, to be able to feel powerful. And it's working! I've grown three inches in height!”

“Amy, you're 37. Think about this! You should have been done growing years ago!”

“I know! I haven't felt this good in years, it's like, hm, almost like going through puberty a second time!”

“Your body can't handle that kind of stress, we didn't design Herakles to do that!” I couldn't believe what I was hearing!

“It's not Herakles, Damon, but my own formula, based on the Herakles research. I call it Athena.”

I got angry, which I seldom do. I swore at her, I broke things, but she seemed more amused than anything. To her, I was a child throwing a tantrum. So I told her I was leaving.

But while I was packing my things, I heard the sound of voices coming from the lab. And equipment being broken! I slipped in, to find two armed individuals, a man and a woman, holding the Professor at gunpoint! I couldn't tell if they were government agents or not, but they were demanding she hand over Herakles.

And then it finally occurred to me what sort of deal with the Devil she must have made to afford all of this. They would use Herakles as a weapon, and I couldn't have that! I made my way to the vault. I'd rather destroy it than let it be misused.

I was almost done when they came in. Amy looked like Hell, they'd obviously beaten her. Bastards! I managed to start the fire that would destroy what they came to steal. Angry, they shot us both, and left us to die in the blaze.

“...damon...i'm sorry. Please...forgive...” Those were Amy Zhan's last words.

I lay there, in a pool of my own blood, a fire growing around me, and waited to die. The contents of a large beaker were spilling on my body. I wasn't sure what it was, but really, what was the worst thing it could do...

I passed out.

Chapter Two: Metamorphosis

I awoke in a hospital. That rather surprised me; I really should be dead. And, in fact, I was bandaged up like a small mummy, most of my body had been burned badly. Apparently, somehow, I'd managed to crawl out of the lab, and they'd found me outside. I didn't remember any of it.

Initially, the doctors thought I would need skin grafts, but as the days went on, they revised their opinions; I was recuperating at a miraculous rate. I had my suspicions, of course. I'd been exposed to God only knows what kind of chemicals, and there was a chance that even Herakles could stimulate the body's ability to heal. Let alone the mystery formula, Athena.

In the end, I forced them to release me, and I went home. Everything was a blur. Amy was dead, our research destroyed. And somewhere, there were people who considered me a loose end. I would have to leave, and soon.

But I was too weak to do more than rest. I spent the day on the couch, in front of the television, idly snacking on fruit and drinking a lot of juice. I'm not sure when I finally passed out, but I woke up later that night. There was a pressure in my bladder, and I felt very strange. I made my way to the bathroom, and relieved myself. And then I threw up.

Something was terribly wrong, I felt like my insides were being scrambled! I doubled over in pain, and lost my balance, cracking my head on the porcelain sink. And...blackness.

-

When I finally came to, light was streaming through the bathroom window. I had the Mother of all headaches, and I felt ravenously hungry. I staggered to the kitchen, and gorged myself on anything I could find. I'd always been a finicky eater, but I felt like I couldn't get enough food! I took a shower and crawled into bed after my feast, feeling suddenly very tired.

When next my eyes opened, I knew immediately that something wasn't right. I sat up in bed, and a lock of henna red hair fell down over my eyes. The kind of red you only find in a bottle. Since my hair is a sort of mousy brown, which I keep neatly trimmed, this struck me as very odd.

My pajamas were torn, the arms and legs split along the seams. I had grown, and considerably. I'm a scientist, I don't deny facts, especially when they're right in front of me. Looking down at my chest, I saw the fabric of my shirt was straining to contain two well-formed globes of soft flesh.

I removed my shirt, and found that I now had a pair of unusually perky C-cup breasts. I touched them, and found they were quite sensitive; the nipples hardened at a touch, and I felt an alien pressure in my groin.

I got out of bed and tried to remove my pajama bottoms, which were very tight, uncomfortably so. They wouldn't budge, and I felt very annoyed. And then, without meaning to, I ripped them off my shapely legs.

Yes, shapely legs. And wide hips. A narrow waist. And between my legs, my genitals were conspicuously absent, instead, I had a vaginal-looking slit. I slid a hand down there, and probed the opening with my fingertips. The sensation was...incredible. I'd never felt anything like it.

I was a woman. A fully functional female. I tried to remain rational. I was a lot taller, and I went to the bathroom to get a good look at myself. I gasped. Simply put, I was a Goddess. Medium-length dark red hair, and a stunning figure. My blue eyes had turned an exotic shade of green, and my formerly cute features had become quite attractive. For a female, at least.

And I looked so young! I mean, yes, I'd always looked far younger than my actual age, but my skin was so soft and smooth, with that youthful glow about it that I'd lost years ago. I looked like a sixteen year-old girl!

A healthy one, at that. I could feel the muscles under the skin, they were quite firm, as if I'd traded bodies with a young woman who was serious about keeping herself fit, and yet still feminine. “So this is Athena. Amazing.”

I gaped. That was my voice? It sounded so mature, even...sexy! I giggled, despite myself. I started to say anything that came to mind, just to hear my new voice!

And did I mention I was tall? After finding my tape measure, I was quite astounded to find I'd grown well over a foot in height! I couldn't get enough of my new body, I kept looking at myself in the mirror. I was strong and beautiful!

Yes, granted, it had cost me my manhood, which I found I did miss. But everything else was like my wildest dreams come true! Of course, my logical mind eventually took over. I had no clothing that would fit me, and no way of proving my identity. I, simply put, didn't exist, from a legal standpoint. And there were people who would take advantage of that fact.

I considered my options, and packed the things I'd need if I was going to run. I'd have to steal clothing from somewhere; until then, I'd wait until nightfall and try to stick to the shadows to hide my nakedness. I didn't feel self-conscious in the least, but I needed to avoid attention.

Plus, the last thing I needed was to attract the attention of a rapist. I couldn't live through that again.

When I was in college, I'd been assaulted by someone who hadn't realized my actual gender. Of course, when he found out, he simply beat me into unconsciousness. I'd seriously considered suicide after that. I felt so ashamed, it was as if I couldn't get clean. And the feeling of total helplessness...I'd give anything to make it go away.

Even now, it haunted me. I couldn't, wouldn't, allow it to happen.

-

Of course, you know what they say about the best-laid plans. Mine went up in smoke when they kicked my door off it's hinges. On instinct, I hid behind my couch as a man forced his way into my home; I recognized him as being one of the two people who had shot both Amy and myself. He quickly moved from room to room, drawing his firearm.

I should have tried to run. But something inside me snapped. Whoever he was, he was responsible for killing my friend. Destroying my life. I felt a heat building up within me. It felt so amazingly good, I don't know how to describe it. I felt strong. Powerful. Invincible.

The floor creaked underneath me, and I realized the couch was no longer able to hide me, even though I was crouching behind it. I was...growing! I gasped, and the man came into the room, his eyes widening in surprise.

I threw the couch at him. I mean, I literally rose, grabbed it, and hurled it in his direction! It hit him dead on, and he went down. I stood to my full height, my head only a few inches from the ceiling, which meant I had to be close to 8' tall! I felt giddy, and a smile formed on my face. This...was...incredible!

I moved towards the man, feeling like a predatory cat stalking her prey. He was struggling to get out from under the couch. I put a foot on the couch and pressed down. The floor creaked under my weight, which was no doubt quite considerable. The man screamed. I was able to keep him pinned effortlessly; my strength had increased exponentially along with my growth spurt.

“Who are you?” My voice sounded deeper, stronger.

“Ah...I'll...never...” He gasped.

Angry, I pushed the couch aside and grabbed him by the neck, holding him off the floor with one arm. “Tell me! Who are you, who do you work for?!”

“I...Luthor..” And he passed out.

Luthor? As in Lex Luthor? I searched his body, taking his wallet before I tossed him aside. He hit the wall and crumpled to the floor. For all I know, I'd killed him. And I didn't care.

According to his driver's license, his name was Richard McGuire. He had a LexCorp keycard and several credit cards. I decided to keep the wallet. It was stuffed with bills, and I was going to need all the money I could get.

As I calmed down, I started to shrink. It was a fascinating process. Where did the extra mass come from? Where did it go? How large could I become? Could I shrink? But now wasn't the time to ask those questions.

Richard wasn't dead, but he wasn't going anywhere. I stripped him of this clothes; he was taller than I was now, so they hung on me loosely, but it was better than being naked! I took his shoes as well, and punched him in the jaw for good measure.

The last thing I did before leaving was to call the police. Maybe they'd arrest him. Would serve him right.

Chapter Three: Survival

Without the pin numbers, I wasn't sure what to do with the credit cards, so I ditched them. I had considered stealing Mr. McGuire's car, but in my old life, I was several inches below 5' in height; there hadn't been much point in learning to drive.

So I was stuck walking. Luckily, there was a K-Mart not far away from where I lived, and I was able to find clothing that fit me better, so I was able to discard Richard's clothing. I was no petite flower, being just shy of 5' 11”, but for the first time in my life, when people stared at me, I didn't feel freakish. Having men stare at me with lust in their eyes was a new, if not surprising thing. I actually found I liked the attention, even though I was far from comfortable with the idea of having sex with a man. What was surprising, however, was the lustful stares I got from women! Not all women, of course, but more than I would have expected.

I giggled thinking about it. Even the girls want me!

I was tempted to go without a bra; my breasts didn't seem to require any support, but then again, I hadn't been a woman for very long. I didn't know much about brassieres, really. I knew that getting one that fit correctly was important, so I tried several until I found one that felt right. I was only guessing as to my cup size, but I wasn't overly large.

I'm going to admit to something now. I love my breasts. I love having them. I love the way they feel, and I love touching them. As a former male, I probably shouldn't have these feelings, but I don't care. What I'd love most is to have another woman touch them. I caught myself fantasizing about lesbian sex more than once.

Amy hadn't lied about the 'second puberty'! Not that I'd really had much of a first one. I felt like I was making up for lost time; I literally had sex on the brain! I had to force myself to stay calm. This wasn't the time, nor the place.

I walked out of the store with several new sets of clothing that didn't look half bad, considering where I'd gotten them. Wearing panties for the first time felt decidedly odd, but in a good way. I liked the feel of them, even though I felt very naughty for some reason.

Of course, I was going to have to learn how my body's ability to grow in size worked; this isn't like the comic books, where even damaged clothing manages to cover the naughty bits. If I grew again, I'd tear anything I was wearing apart, rendering me into a giant nude girl!

I hired a cab to take me to the other side of town, where I got a hotel room. I felt exhausted. I took a shower, and fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I had some very erotic dreams, and I woke up with a burning need in my groin. And my feet hanging over the edge of the bed. I'd grown in my sleep! I knew, in theory, how a woman's body worked, so it wasn't long before I was teasing my breast with one hand, and pushing the fingers of my other hand into my pussy.

I had a pussy. Even as I fumbled at trying to give myself an orgasm, I couldn't stop giggling. It was so ludicrous! I don't even know how the gender change was achieved, since I'd been unconscious when it had occurred. My vagina was hairless, like a young girl's, so I somehow doubted that my sex organs had somehow retracted into my body. So what had happened?

I hadn't woken up with any extra bits of me laying around, that was certain. Not that I really understood how I'd gained the mass to grow in the first place. Yes, Herakles could stimulate muscle growth, but this was impossible!

I finally gave up trying to find release, as it was starting to hurt. I felt so frustrated! I assumed the lotus position, and calmed myself, trying to find my center. I imagined the entirety of my being collapsing into a ball, and the ball shrinking.

Slowly, I calmed down, and when I opened my eyes, I had shrunk to what passed for my default height. I wasn't convinced that I couldn't become smaller, but until it happened, I had no real evidence to indicate that I could shrink. Logic would say it was impossible, but my condition had long since passed beyond improbable.

I cleaned myself up and checked out of the hotel, and took the first bus out of town. I had no destination in mind. I just wanted to get far, far away.

Which is how I eventually ended up in St. Louis. I'd never been here before, and I could tell there were areas of the city I would want to avoid. I was able to get a decent hotel room, but my money wasn't going to last forever. And I wasn't sure how to get more. I had no identification, so getting a job would be hard.

The idea of selling my body crossed my mind, but I immediately squashed it. I wasn't that desperate! Plus, what was the point of having a second chance at life, if you get pregnant or infected with a disease or something in the first week?

That really only left one possibility; I was going to have to steal what I needed. I felt strangely comfortable with the idea, the question was, how?

I hit upon the solution quite by accident, as I walked around town. I noticed I was being followed by several men. I grinned, thinking that if they were going to try and mug me...or worse, they were in for a very big surprise.

I turned into an alley, and slowed my pace, so that they could easily catch up with me. I couldn't stop smiling as they spoke, trying to threaten me. One of them even got out a knife and cut my blouse open!

It was then that the sense of righteous anger welled up within me. And I didn't hold back. It felt great to really let loose!

Afterwards, I stood naked over their unconscious bodies. I'd gotten even bigger this time, somewhere close to 11' tall! Everything looked so tiny to me, I felt like some all-powerful deity. And I loved it!

Good thing that I had some spare clothing in my bag! I had to wait to calm down before I could fit in it, of course. I took the wallets of my attackers, and left the alley. I stopped at a diner up the street, and spread out my haul on the table. Not bad, I'd doubled my money!

So that was one way to make some quick cash. Still, next time, I'd remember to take off my shoes first.

-

Clothing was going to be a problem for me; every time I grew, I destroyed whatever I was wearing. And my powers were basically the only thing keeping me from starving or having to live on the street. I needed to start wearing as little as possible, and invest in clothing I could take off quickly. In the comics, there's always some genius who can make clothing that magically expands or contracts, and is practically indestructible.

Unfortunately, up until now, there likely wasn't a need. I was the first of my kind. And likely the last, but you never know. I no longer lifed in a rational world.

I came across some drug dealers, and decided to shake them down for some money. I hadn't really thought the plan through; I'd convinced myself that I was indestructible. I just got shot at for my trouble! But I did learn a something new. When I grow, my skin becomes much tougher; though it hurt like hell to be shot, the bullet failed to penetrate my skin!

The implications were quite clear; as I got larger, I became exponentially denser as well as stronger. I just hoped both traits followed the same curve, or I could potentially become so big I couldn't move!

I learned something else from this experience, however. Criminals are criminals because they don't have enough money. Crime, quite literally, wasn't paying a high enough dividend for the risks I was taking. I needed to find another way.

There are, I realized, super powers that are awesome, but at the same time, impractical. Mine was quickly looking that way. So I got on another bus, and put St. Louis behind me, while I tried to think.

The real problem with my powers is that they make me highly visible. I mean, let's say I could become big enough to walk off with an armored car. How could I hope to escape? The last thing I wanted was to become publicly known, or worse, captured.

I started staring out the window, hoping that something would inspire me. I got my wish, but not in the way I had expected.

Chapter Four: Love Changes Everything

“Excuse me.” I turned, and found myself facing a girl of perhaps 15. She was on the petite side, I guessed her height to be 5', 5' 1” tops (I later found out I was off by about half an inch). She had short black hair with long bangs, pale skin, and wore black. All black. Her ears were pierced multiple times, and she wore a lot of silver jewelry; ankhs, pentagrams, that sort of thing.

Basically, she was a Goth. And a hauntingly beautiful one, at that. “Oh...uh, hi.”

She smiled at me. “Is this seat taken? There's nobody else interesting to talk to, and it's going to be a long ride.”

“No, um, not at all, please.” I moved my things off of the seat and onto the floor. She sat down, and I marveled at the difference in our heights. Once upon a time, even this girl would have been considerably taller than myself; now, I felt like a giant next to her!

“I'm Eva.” She held out her hand. She had a ring on each finger, and multiple bracelets. I shook her hand in greeting.

“I'm Doris.” I know, it was lame, but I hadn't really thought of a better name.

“Good to meet you. So where are you going?”
“I really don't know. Just...as far as I can get.”

She nodded. “I thought so. I could tell just by looking at you that you were running away from something. Parents?”

“Ah...no, not like that. It's complicated.”

“Yeah, same here.”

We got to talking, and I found that I really enjoyed Eva's company. She was bright, witty, and charming, in her own unique way. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind at all. I think Dr. Zhan would have liked her a great deal.

At some point, she dozed off; the poor thing looked exhausted. I was very tempted to reach over and stroke her hair. Asleep, she looked like an angel. Then I considered the fact that she was likely half my age, and I forced myself to look away.

And that's when she leaned against me in her sleep. It was nothing more than simple physical contact, but it made me realize how long I'd been alone. I felt strangely protective towards her, and I tried not to disturb her rest. I just...watched her sleep. I know that sounds creepy, and perhaps it is.

But there was an innocent sort of intimacy to the whole experience, and I didn't want it to end. Of course, that wasn't going to happen; we pulled into the bus station in Springfield, and she woke instantly, and sat up straight. “Sorry! Why didn't you wake me?”

“I..I didn't mind.” I looked away so she wouldn't see my blush.

“Well, time to find someplace I can rest for a few hours. It was good meeting you, Doris.”

I didn't want her to go! “Uh..I was thinking to get a hotel room...you could stay with me?”

She frowned. I could tell she was debating it. “I'll pay half.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “You may have some cash now, but it goes quick. I won't mooch off of you.”

“Oh. Ok.”

We walked together towards a hotel in silence for a few minutes. “Ah, look, I'm sorry if I came off as a bitch. I'm just not used to people being nice. I do feel a lot safer with you though. Must be because you're so darned tall!”

“Ah, yeah. I wasn't always this tall, you know. It wasn't that long ago, I was shorter than you are.”

“Bullshit, you're putting me on!”

I shook my head. “Honest. I just started to spring up like a weed one day.” I grinned. I wasn't lying to her, that's pretty much how it had happened!

“I wish I had those genes. I'm going to be a shrimp the rest of my life. I hate the way people treat you when you're shorter!”

Could I relate! I started to talk about my experiences, and she knew exactly what I was talking about. It was good to talk with someone, I'd been keeping things bottled up inside me for far too long.

I snuck her in the room after I purchased it.

“Say, this isn't half bad. Are you sure you only paid for half the room?”

I sat on the edge of the bed, blushing. “Uh...sort of?”

She shook her head. “Doris...I appreciate it, but you can't be so generous! People are always going to take advantage of you.”

“Even you?”

“Ah...no. I wouldn't do that to you. But not everyone is as nice as me, got it?”

It was a strange sight, being lectured by someone you had a good eight inches of height on. But I was touched by her concern.

“Anyways, you take the bed, I'll crash on the floor.”

“I know I'm big, but I'm sure we could share the bed.”

She looked at me. “Huh...well, if you don't mind the idea of waking up practically spooning with another girl.”

I so did not mind! “I could think of worse fates.”

She nodded. “True that. Like, I could wake up in the middle of the night, and find out you're a guy, trying to force yourself on me.”

I blinked, and looked down at my breasts. “A guy?”

She laughed. “Hey, they could be fake!” She walked up to me. “Gonna let me check?”

I bit my lower lip. I so wanted her to! Just the thought of her touching my breasts sent a chill down my spine. “Uh...”

“I'm just playing, hon. I can tell they're real. You're lucky, really. You could be stuck with my tiny ass boobs. Hey, I'm going to take a shower, be right back.”

Once she left the room, I lay back on the bed. Oh man, what was I going to do? I was getting more attracted to her by the minute. This had been a bad idea.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, there was a freshly showered girl laying next to me. “Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.”

“It's ok, I should probably undress, if that's ok.” I avoided looking at her.

“Uh. Hon, look at me.”

I did, and I should have regretted it. I didn't. Eva was completely naked! She was a small girl, but she had a very trim figure that I found captivating. I so wanted to run my fingers along her body, feel the muscles under her skin. Her breasts were small, but I wanted to hold them...she had a piercing in her belly button, and she had a tattoo of a black butterfly just above her pubic area, which immediately drew my attention to that region.

I gulped. Oh wow, she was so beautiful!

She raised one eyebrow. “Now either you've never seen a naked girl up close before, or I think you like what you see.”

I turned around, blushing furiously. “I'm sorry!”

“Hon...” She sighed. “Come on, it's just a body. You got one that's way better than mine, there's no reason to freak out.”

“I...it's just...”

“Hey, come on, look at me.”

I turned, and found her kneeling on the bed, facing me. “You're attracted to me, aren't you?”

I slowly nodded. This was it, the moment where she'd call me a freak, and leave, wanting nothing to do with me. I couldn't bear it!

“There's nothing wrong with that. Really, there isn't. I think you're the hottest girl I've ever seen. I mean, as tall as you are, and you're just fucking adorable! I just wanted to give you a hug the minute I saw you on the bus.”

I blinked. “Wait...you think I'm beautiful?”

“Duh! Girl, it blows my mind, how fine you are.” She grinned.

“Oh.” I didn't trust myself to say anything more.

“Let me guess...you've never been with a girl before.”

Well, that wasn't actually true, I wasn't a virgin. Technically, at least, since that was from before I'd become a girl myself! “I...well....”

“Do you want to be with one?”

My jaw dropped. “You...I mean...?”

She laughed. “Oh hon, you're too damn cute! Yes, ok? I want to fuck your damn brains out! We both need it, but you're really bad off. I promise, I'll be gentle.”

“Oh. Ok. Thank you.”

She smirked. “Don't thank me yet.”

-

I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be doing this! But I was. I was laying naked on the bed, with another girl. Who was currently doing things with her tongue to my nipple that made me cry out with need. I'd heard that some girls can be aroused to the point that they beg for sex, but I'd never believed it. Until now.

Because I was begging for it! “Please...I can't take it...”

She reached down and stroked my pubic area with her fingertips. “Aw baby, the foreplay is where it's at! But...this is your first time.”

I shivered, and when she pressed her fingers inside of me, I gasped.

“Jeez, I never figured you'd be so tight! Don't you do this to yourself?

“I..ah..I tried...but...”

“Oh baby...you're a total innocent, aren't you? You mean you don't even know how to jill off right?” She sighed. “I'm going to have to teach you everything.”

Then she grinned down at me. “Don't ask why I'm complaining, this is going to be fun!”

She straddled my waist, her arm behind her, as she thrust in and out, her fingertips curling, finding an area so sensitive that I whimpered when she touched it! How had I missed that?!

“You must have been sheltered. Poor thing. Hell, when I turned 12, my older sister did all of this for me.”

“You...you're sister?” Woah.

She chuckled. “I don't know why people get so uptight about things like that. I mean, the whole reason you want to avoid incest is in case there's kids, right? But come on, we were girls, that wasn't an issue at all. I guess it sounds weird, and I admit, I felt kind of strange about it. Not for long though, that first time you have an orgasm, it changes everything. You'll see.”

I didn't have much to say; I never met a woman who was so chatty during sex. Of course, she was doing all the work at the moment. “Sorry...if this is boring..”

“Boring? Oh hon, I'm far from bored. I have you completely under my control, you have no idea what that's like. To have power over someone bigger than you.”

She took her hands out of my pussy, and I groaned in protest.

“Have some faith, hon, I'm not going to leave you unsatisfied.” She slid down, and pushed my legs apart. Then, she opened me with her fingers and leaned in close. I could feel her hot breath on my skin, inside me.

“Still can't get over how you don't have any hair down here. You don't even have to shave! Lucky bitch...” Her breath as she spoke was doing things to me I couldn't describe. And then, I could feel the tip of her tongue, tracing circles around my opening.

-

I apologize if this is getting explicit. You have to understand, though. This was a whole new world to me! If I had any doubts about whether I was completely female now, they were dispelled in this moment. I guess it's a cliché that women get a lot more enjoyment out of sex. But if you have the right lover, it's all true!

And she was right. My first orgasm as a female did change everything. I lay there, waves of pleasure radiating throughout my body as she held me. But then she gasped. “What the hell...what's happening to you?”

I wanted to cry. I was helpless, my body wracked with pleasure. I was growing, and somehow, that brought about a second orgasm! I felt Eva move away, getting off the bed as I grew in size. I managed to sit up, grabbing the blanket and covering myself with it.

“Go on. Run! Scream...call me a freak, a monster, I don't care!” I shuddered, my emotions so raw I felt physically hurt, even as the pleasure began to fade.

“I...but how...”

I wrapped the blanket around me as best I could, curling up into a ball. As if, by force of will, I could shrink myself. But it didn't work like that. I needed to be calm, and I was anything but.

“Hey. Hey!” I felt her had touch my body. “Hon, you gotta talk to me, what's going on?”

“I'm a freak! I've always been one, I'm one now, I always will be one! Just..go away...”

Her fingers twined in my hair, and she pulled. Ow shit, that hurt!

“Stop being emo and get over yourself! I don't know what the hell is going on, but you are not a freak. You're a fucking Goddess!”

She relented, and I turned to face her. “You..aren't afraid?”

“Only that you're going to fucking cut yourself! I mean, ok, this is weird, I mean, you're huge! And I'm dying to know what the fuck is going on. But no, I'm not afraid.” She leaned in and kissed me. I felt her tongue forcing my lips apart, and I opened my mouth. She ran her tongue along mine, and it was amazing. I was far from calm, but I felt my body start to contract. Soon, I was back to normal, or, what passed for normal.

“Ok. Now. You're going to tell me everything. Or I won't finish what I started.”

Finish? There was more?!

I told her the whole story.

-

“If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. So you...you're really a guy?”

I couldn't look her in the eyes. “Yes...I mean...I was...”

“Hey...” She put her hand on my chin, turning me to face her. “It's ok. I don't think you're perverted. I'm the perverted one here, trust me. You didn't ask for this, it must be Hell for you.”

“I...sometimes. It's not always bad. Like now.”

She punched my chin lightly. “I bet! So how big can you get?”

“I don't know, I haven't had a chance to find out.”

“Fuck. You're like a superhero or something. Weird accident gives you powers and all.”

“I...I'm no hero. I just want to get by.”

She nodded. “You will. You so will baby. Eva's here for you now, and I'm not going anywhere.”

I started crying again, but I wasn't sad, not at all.

-

She made love to me again, and this time, it was even better. I woke up in her arms, her fingertips stroking my hair. Wait...she was bigger than I was? “Holy shit, I shrank?!”

“Yeah, you're totally adorable, too.”

“I didn't know I could!” I sat up. Eva was easily a head taller than I was now, even compared to my old self, I was tiny as Hell!

“Yeah, you passed out on me, during. I didn't stop though, your brain might have turned off, but your body still knew what it wanted. And then you started shrinking, it was amazing to watch. How does it work?”

“I...I don't know. I mean, it has to do with my emotional state. When I'm angry or upset, I grow. I don't know why I grew after...”

“Because your emotions were bouncing around like a damn yo-yo, that's why. Do not underestimate the power our hormones have over us. This is going to make sex interesting, that's for damn sure.”

She pulled me into her lap, and I was just the right height to put my arms around her neck. We kissed again.

“Eva...I don't understand...all my life I've been so lonely...and then...here you are, and it's all so...”

“Shh. Hey. I like you too. But it's a little early to call this love. I mean...” She ran her fingers through my hair. “I want it to be, but what you're feeling now, it's normal. You're thinking I'm the most beautiful, special person in the world for making you feel this way. I'm not. So don't say anything right now.”

I wanted to tell her she was wrong. That I wouldn't feel different later. But, I didn't feel like arguing with her. I lay my head on her chest and closed my eyes. For the first time since this happened to me, I felt like things were going to be better.

Chapter Five: A Heroine Emerges!

I woke up, still safe in Eva's arms. “Well look who's awake?”

I smiled, and she let me sit up. “I still can't believe this isn't a dream.”

“What, being a girl?”

“No..I mean...” I was about to say 'us'. But I didn't know anything about Eva. I felt some rising panic. What if she didn't want a relationship? What if I'd just creep her out?

She kissed me then, and my fears melted away. Pulling away, she shook her head. “You're an idiot, you know that?”

“I..um..yeah.”

She laughed and hugged me. “Poor baby, you're in way over your head, aren't you?”

“I am. You're totally out of my league.”

“Hon, you got that backwards. I'm just some wannabe Goth girl who couldn't handle shit at home. You're an honest-to-God metahuman superbabe on the run from LexCorp.”

“When you say it like...wait. Metahuman. I'm an idiot! That's it! It has to be!”

“Uh. Whenever you feel like translating, Dora.”

I made a face. “Doris. Not Dora. That little girl annoys the hell out of me.”

“Me too, I just wanted to yank your chain. Say, are you going to stay that small or what?”

“Oh!” I'd totally forgotten about my stature. Strange that I hadn't resumed my default height while I slept. Although...maybe it wasn't so strange. I found that I had liked being tiny, cuddling with Eva. In fact, I think I'd gotten a little smaller!

I slid out of bed. “Jeez, I'm really damned short.”

“Yep. I'm guessing 4' 5”. You kept shrinking, but really slowly.”

“I think it's because I liked how you were holding me. I mean, it's not just emotions, my power responds to my desires. It's empathic in nature. Which would be impossible, of course, except...some combination of Dr. Zhan's formula, and the stress I was under, activated the metagene inside me. It all makes sense now. I mean, all my life, I labored under a genetic curse, one so rare that no one could begin to comprehend it. Because I was a mutant, all along. I just needed a jump start.”

“Infodump, honey, please, I'm not as smart as you are.”

“I think you're a lot smarter than you think.” I grinned at her. “Amazing. To think I was one of the new medical marvels all along.”

“So I guess you can't give me super powers after all.” Her tone said she was joking, but I saw something in Eva's eyes.

“Eva. This isn't all fun and games you know.”

“I...fuck. Look, we don't have to talk about this.”

I willed myself taller. Four simple words, but it demonstrated the change in my thinking. I was no longer a victim, at the mercy of my gift. I was in control. I saw her eyes widen as I transformed. Apparently, it was an impressive sight!

I sat back down on the bed and put my arms around her. “Eva. Listen to me. I don't know who poisoned your mind, but you are special. You don't need powers to prove that.”

“That's easy for you to say.”

I gently stroked her hair. “Maybe. I don't know. Before you came into my life, I was lost. Confused. Afraid. But you've changed me. You made me believe in myself. That makes you my superhero.”

She blinked away tears. “Fuck. That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard.”

“A little cheesy though.”

“I like cheesecake! Why do you think you're my girlfriend?”

I kissed her lips softly. “Am I?”

“My girlfriend? You better believe it! You're mine, Dorie. All mine. Nobody else can have you.”

“I think I can live with that.”

“Good. Now, enough with the hugging. I need sex, badly.”

I laughed. “Ok, but just remember, I'm not as good as you are.”

“Don't worry, I'll tell you what to do.”

God did she ever! We were both exhausted afterwards, but sleep wasn't an option. I was famished, and I knew she had to be hungry as well. We took a shower together, which was interesting in of itself, as we really couldn't keep our hands off of each other.

What can I say, I was a teenager again, after all.

-

Now this is where my life took a sharp turn. Maybe for the better, although it's hard to be sure. We'd taken the bus to the local mall, and, despite the fact we really couldn't spare the money, I splurged on some shopping. I noticed Eva was lightening up on her Goth look; she even selected a few things I thought looked cute on her.

I resolved that when she finally told me who had hurt her, I was going to make them sorry. Very sorry.

We were eating in the food court when it happened. There was an explosion not far away, and cries of pain! We exchanged a glance, and then raced each other to find out what was going on.

I saw this teenaged boy, he was slender and wore glasses. I swear, it was like looking into a time portal; other than the fact he was taller, he could have been my past self! Except, I don't recall a time when I could surround my hands in raw kinetic energy.

Well, it looked like some kind of yellow flame at the time, I didn't know what his power was. The storefront next to him had been reduced to concrete rubble and shattered glass, and there were two jock-looking guys laying on the ground in pain.

And, cowering against the wall, a pretty teenaged girl, her eyes wide as saucers.

“You led me on! You made me think someone cared! And it was all a joke! A cruel game! Well now you'll see! You'll all see!”

And, I swear to God, he started levitating slowly off the ground!

“I'm not some geek you can push around any longer! I'm a God!” He glared at the girl. “And from up here, you look like a damn bug.” He aimed his fist at her, and the energy surrounding his hand flared up.

I heard a gasp behind me, and the sound of cloth ripping. Huh, I wonder what was going on? It wasn't until I grabbed the kid and threw him to the ground that I realized what I was doing. I'd reacted on instinct to protect the girl, and grew right out of my clothes, baring all to the world!

The high ceiling of the mall was easily 40' up, and I was about halfway there. Wow. I'd never gotten this big before! The guy snarled, getting up, and I stepped on him, pinning him under my foot. “Not so fast, hotshot!”

“You...let me go! I'm a God! A God, you hear me!?”

“Take a good look then, 'God'. Because this is what a Goddess looks like!”

He slammed his fist against the ground, and the explosion lifted my foot off the floor. He rolled to the side. “Think you can step on me! Take this!”

He fired a blast of...whatever, towards me. I raised an arm to protect myself. God, it hurt like you wouldn't believe! My forearm was badly bruised from the blast, which, given my theories about my density, meant that the boy was too dangerous to take lightly.

“You sure like attacking girls, don't you? Well this girl fights back!” Amy would have been proud, I think. I grew even taller, until my head was dangerously close to the metal supports of the ceiling, and slammed my foot down on the ground. The floor cracked, and the shockwave knocked the guy on his ass.

I scooped him up in one hand before he could recover. “Whose the bug now? Go on, tempt me. I'll crush you like a damn pop can!”

The fire in his hands died out. “Ok. You win.”

I realized that there was scattered clapping, wolf whistles, and the flash of cameras. I turned around to meet my adoring public. Something told me that boys would be masturbating to pictures of me for a long time to come.

And, given the looks on their faces, maybe a few girls, too. Eva was just shaking her head at me, but she gave me a thumbs up. I hadn't meant to become a hero, but there I was.

I smiled and posed for my fans, and they ate it up. When the police came, I shrank and handed them the kid, who'd been really quiet. Eva handed me a bathrobe she'd gotten from somewhere, and I put it on gratefully.

The head cop took in the scene. “Jeez. Uh, I don't suppose you'd feel like answering some questions, Miss?”

He actually looked nervous! “Relax officer, you don't have to be afraid of little ol' me.”

Eva giggled, taking my hand and squeezing it. Then she turned to the onlookers. “Back off, she's MINE, I saw her first!”

I planted a kiss on the top of her head. She was so cute when she acted jealous!
The cop scratched the back of his head. “Miss, I have eyes. If I tried to take you in by force, people would get hurt. And seeing as how you're the hero and all, I'd hate to cause a scene.”

I shook my head. “I understand. Just...there are some questions I can't answer. Can you accept that?”

“I think we'll manage.”

-

I told the police all about the encounter, but refused to tell them anything more about myself than my name, Doris. Even though I knew I'd just fucked up big time. MacGuire knew what I looked like. Pictures of me were already plastered all over the internet.

If Lex Luthor was my enemy, he knew where I was. Not many sexy redheads around who can become giant-sized, I bet.

Still, I had to give the officers credit, they smuggled Eva and I out of the station, and even got us a hotel room for free. The officer who I'd met at the mall, Nathan, escorted us there. They'd even found something more for me to wear than a bathrobe, which I was grateful for.

“You're doing a lot to help a couple of minors.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I know. I got a couple daughters just a little younger than you two. And if I knew they were out roaming around, getting into trouble...I'd go crazy. But I'm guessing you're on the run from something bad. The last thing I want to do is let whatever it is catch you.”

I smiled. “Thanks, but I think it's too late. I really screwed up.”

He shrugged. “You tried to help people. That's never screwing up, in my book.” He handed me a pair of bus tickets then. “First thing in the morning, you get out of town. And cover that damn hair, you might as well put a sign on your head saying 'Giant Girl here!'.”

I kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for everything.”

He blushed and stammered a bit before leaving.

-

“Huh, now you're kissing guys?” Eva was perched on the bed, her legs dangling off the side.

“Eva, don't tease me. Isn't that what girls do, to show affection?”

She grinned. “Yep. And you're becoming more of a girl all of the time.”

I sat down on the floor at her feet with a sigh. “That was a dumb thing of me to do.”

She ran her fingers through my hair, which felt really nice. “Yep. But I'm really proud of you.”

“I don't want to be a hero.”

“Then maybe you shouldn't look so good doing it, then.”

I gently stroked her leg with my fingertips. “I wouldn't be this person without you.”

“Yes you would. Hon, you're not a selfish person. I mean, that's how you got into this mess, you wanted to help people. It's your nature.”

“Can I afford to help people?”

“I don't now, but I do know I love the person you are.”

“And I know that I want to make love to you.”

She lay back on the bed. “Oh good, I was afraid you were gonna make me beg!”

I stood, looking down at her. “I don't have that much self-restraint.”

I joined her on the bed, and she gave me a few more lessons on what it means to be a woman.

-

Eva had covered my hair with a shawl, and gotten me a pair of cheap, dark glasses. She said I looked like an old-time movie star. I thought I looked ridiculous. She'd totally abandoned her Goth clothing, and washed the dye out of her hair; it turns out her natural color is a dark brown. The jewelry and the piercings were gone, and her face was freshly scrubbed, which I swear, took years off of her appearance.

“Eva...what's with the cute look?”

She laughed. “What, you don't like it?”

“You know I do, but it's not for my benefit, is it?”

“Well, a little bit. I mean, someone took pictures of me too, I'll bet. So it's all part of the disguise.”

“Wait, you're using your natural appearance as a disguise?”

She nodded. “I know, maybe you were right about me being smart. But there's more to it than that. I felt like a total hypocrite, asking you to be yourself, when I was hiding behind makeup and jewelry. Trying to look tough, when I'm really not.”

“But you are tough, Eva. Toughest girl I know.” I cupped her cheek with my hand, and she leaned into my touch.

“Yeah, but only because I had to be. But I'm not alone anymore! And I have someone who can protect me, and keep the bad stuff away.”

I held her close to me. “Honey. Who hurt you? What are you running from?”

She bit her lower lip. “I'm not ready. Not yet. I'm sorry.”

I kissed her hair gently. “Ok. But I'm here when you are. No matter what it is, you know I won't push you away.”

“What if you should? What if being with me makes things harder for you?” She looked up at me, and I was struck again by how young and vulnerable she looked. She'd taken off her armor, because of me.

“Eva...I'd do anything to protect you. Anything. If someone wants to hurt you, they'll wish they'd never been born.”

“...not Eva.”

“What?”

She looked like she was going to cry. “My name isn't Eva. I want you to call me by my real name.”

I waited, but she remained quiet. “Um...what is it?”

She did cry then. “Lena. Lena Thorul.”

“Lena. That's a pretty name.”

“...you don't get it. Thorul is an anagram. My Mom changed her name, to distance herself from my Dad.”

Thorul? An anagram of...

I looked at Lena in shock. “No...it can't be...”

“I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I just..I just thought you were this really beautiful girl! I didn't mean to choose you. I didn't mean to!”

I hugged her tight. “Lena. Shh. Don't cry, please, don't. Don't you see? This is fate, it has to be.”

She clung to me, then, and I held her for a long time. It had to be fate. There was no other explanation, the odds against my transformation, us finding each other...

God truly had a sense of the ironic.

My young lover was none other than Lex Luthor's daughter.

My enemy.

Oh yes, he was going to pay.

Interlude: All The King's Men

Lex Luthor watched the YouTube footage, his face as impassive as stone. His technicians had done all they could to clean up the quality, but it was still hard to follow. A young metahuman on a rampage, halted by a stunning red-haired girl, who had grown out of her clothes to become a superstrong giantess.

He turned to face McGuire. “So it's definitely the same girl?”

“Yeah, she's the one I found in Zeul's apartment.”

“Hm. I wonder...well, either way, she's a loose end that has to be dealt with.”

“I'm on it.”

“No failures, this time, Richard. Do we understand each other?”

Richard McGuire felt a cold sweat break out on his brow. He'd seen what happened to people who failed Lex Luthor one time too many. Hell, he'd killed a few of them himself! “Perfectly. Sir.”

“Good.”

As Richard left, Lex looked at the footage again. The young girl was certainly quite the looker, and he admired how unashamed she was to bare all, so to speak. Too bad she was going to have to die...

And then he noticed someone in the background. A small, dark-haired girl. The spitting image of Lori.

His daughter. After all these years. Lena.

“McGuire! Wait.”

Richard spun. “What's wrong?”

“Belay that order. Find the girl, but she isn't to be harmed. I'm going to deal with this matter personally.”

Richard gulped. Oh shit. He actually felt sort for this 'Doris'. Somehow, she'd gotten the attention of the most dangerous man in the world. “You got it.”

“Go! Now!” Luthor barked.

He watched the video to the end, right up to where Lena walked to the side of the tall redhead and took her hand. This couldn't be a coincidence. 'Doris' was his enemy. She knew his secrets. And she had his daughter.

He backed up the video until he could see Lena's face clearly, and froze the image. And he watched it for a long time.

Chapter Six: The Green Light of Dawn

I'd never been to Chicago before, and I was immediately struck by it's dichotomy; shining towers of glass that rise to the heavens within walking distance of low-rent neighborhoods. Lena seemed excited, however, she couldn't stop talking about all the wonderful things to see and do.

I wanted nothing more than to give her the whole experience, but we definitely needed a new source of income. And since I was apparently a hero now, that just made things harder. “Things were easier when I was a bad guy.”

Lena kissed me on the cheek. “You weren't very good at being a bad guy, though.”

“I guess you have a point. Sorry, I don't want to be a downer, but...”

She nodded. “We don't have enough money to do half of what I want to do. I know, baby, I know.”

I sighed. I couldn't even get a job because I lacked any form of identification. “This sucks.”

Lena giggled. “You've been hanging around with me too long.”

I kissed her forehead. “More like, not long enough, beautiful.”

She leaned against me. “I love it when you call me beautiful.”

“I don't know why, I mean, you know that. In fact, when we first met, you said you were fucking adorable.”

“Well duh, I am! But I just like hearing you say it. I'm a girl, do I have to make sense?”

I grinned. “I'm so going to use that line against you sometime.”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “You haven't been a girl long enough.”

“What, do I have to earn my official girl license or something?”

Lena giggled. “Yes, but don't worry. You're a fast learner.”

I put my hand on her thigh. “I have a good teacher.”

She put her hand on top of mine, and moved it a little higher up her leg. “Do you?”

“The best.”

“Oh man, I want you so bad. Like right now.”

I laughed. “Are all teenaged girls as horny as you?”

She seemed to consider that. “Well, probably. But I'm not horny. I'm in love.”

It still seems so amazing to me, that we could be so deeply in love. There was still so much we didn't know about each other, and Lena was still so young! But she was a very bright girl; her father was one of the smartest people on the planet, after all. And one of the most ruthless.

It wouldn't surprise me if she was smarter than I was, and I had an IQ of 150! Lex himself was said to be around 210, however, and that scared me a little. How on Earth could I hope to contend with someone with his intellect and resources?

When it came to enemies, I sure can pick 'em, let me tell you!

We weren't in our hotel room for more than five minutes when Lena came up behind me, her hands reaching up under my shirt, running her fingers along my back muscles. I made a soft purring sound in response to her touch.

“You're so tense, let's give you a massage, baby.”

A few minutes later, I was naked from the waist up, laying on my belly on the bed. Lena straddled my waist, and was kneading my muscles like an expert masseuse. It felt so good! I couldn't help myself; I started to moan as she massaged muscles I didn't even know I had!

It was so relaxing, in fact, that I closed my eyes and was soon fast asleep.

-

Someone was shaking me. “Baby? Honey, wake up, please.”

Ugh, I still felt tired. I rolled onto my side. “What time is it?”

A hollow-sounding female voice answered my question. The local time is currently 4:37 PM.

I sat up fast, and found that someone else was in the room with us. She was about my height, and looked to be just out of High School. She was wearing a black-and-green bodysuit, and had rich black hair. Her eyes were an odd shade of green, and that's when I realized they were glowing.

Of course, even I recognized her. She was, after all, the most popular young woman on the planet. “You're Jade, aren't you?”

The young woman nodded. “I am, and you, Dr. Zeul, are a very hard person to find.”

I blinked. “How do you know who I am?”

She held up her ring. “Alien technology, the AI of the ring can do all sorts of neat things. Complete with a very obnoxious personality.”

I noticed her gaze drifted downwards. Looking down as well, I realized I still wasn't wearing a top! Lena giggled nervously, and handed me my shirt, which I put on gratefully.

“Interesting, you didn't seem so ashamed of your body on the YouTube videos.” Jade winked.

“Well, when you turn into a naked 30' tall woman, you really can't do anything else but flaunt it.”

She chuckled and nodded. “I think I can help with that. It's part of why I'm here, in fact. I was chosen to protect not just the Earth, but an entire sector of space, and I'm just one person. Now that metahumans like yourself are popping out of the woodwork, I've been trying to contact the ones who seem to want to help people, and get them semi-organized.”

I frowned. “I don't think I can help you.”

“Doris?” Lena sounded confused.

I shook my head. “What happened at the mall...I won't lie, I probably would do it again. But it was risky, not just for myself, but for Lena. There is someone powerful who'd likely stop at nothing to capture us...or kill me.”

Jade frowned. “I'm not following your logic. Wouldn't it make more sense then, to be in contact with people who can help you?”

“I don't know that you can. Look, being a superhero is all fine and well if you're going after bank robbers or something. People who break the law. But what about people who can't be fought directly? Who are above the law?”

The ring (at least, I presumed the other voice was the ring's AI) decided to chime in at this point. A Green Lantern is expected to uphold certain principles of her duty. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

The protection of life and liberty within the assigned sector.

Acting within local laws and obeying the local authority within reason.

While it may be that the authorities of this world are unable to prosecute some individuals, no one is above the law.

“Yeah, what it said.” Jade smiled sheepishly.

“Dorie, this may be our best chance.”

I turned to look at Lena. “You really think so?”

She nodded. “I know you're trying to protect me. And I love you for it, so very much. But we both know we can't do this alone.”

I sighed. “Well, it won't pay the bills, but I guess you have a point.”

Jade closed her eyes, and a glowing green object appeared in the air; it looked very much like the ring she wore on her finger! “Here. Take this. It has limited powers compared to my own ring, but it can let you communicate with anyone else who wears one, and vice versa. It also has another feature you might be interested in.”

I took the ring and put it on. “Oh? And what's that?”

Jade grinned. “The rings can create light-based constructs. In your ring's case, it can create a sort of hologram around yourself that feels solid to the touch. In addition to offering you some limited protection from harm, it can create a disguise for you...or in this case..”

“Prevent me from violating decency statutes when I grow.” I marveled at the wonder of alien technology on my finger. Oh I was going to have fun with this!

“Now, even though it will protect you from the elements, it won't protect any real clothing you happen to be wearing at the time.” Her eyes twinkled. “So you may want to consider using the ring exclusively rather than go through outfit after outfit.”

I chuckled. “So basically, run around naked all the time.”

“I support this idea 100%!” Lena piped up.

“If it works as you say, that likely would be a good idea. I just have two questions. The first being, how does it work?”

“The Guardians' tech is based on willpower. The lesser rings don't take a lot to activate, however.”

I considered this and held the ring up, looking at it. Likely, it could handle any color, but green would probably be easier, followed by red and yellow. For now, I focused on a green sundress.

Sparks rose from the ring as the garment I'd imagined appeared over my clothing!

“Woah! Hey, don't overdo it now, I told you it didn't need that much to activate!”

Individual designated Doris Zeul appears to possess a high degree of innate willpower. She meets the requirements for becoming a Corps member. Updating reserve list.

I blinked. “Uh...what did it say, exactly?”

“Basically? If something happens to me, you're now on the short list of potential replacements.”

“Oh, um. I”m not sure what to say to that. Other than...you should try not to get hurt.”

Jade laughed. “Definitely a high priority! Mm, this is normally where I'd invite you to visit my starship for the guided tour. Both of you, of course, I doubt you'd want to leave Miss Luthor alone.”

Lena gasped, and I admit, my jaw dropped as well. “You...you knew?”

Jade nodded. “And you're right to be wary of him. In my short time as a Green Lantern, I've come into conflict with him, indirectly, of course. Luthor rarely gets his hands dirty.”

“Jeez, you could have told us.” Lena groused.

I took her hand and squeezed it. “I would like to see your ship sometime. I imagine it would have the facilities I need to figure out exactly how my powers work.”

There is a high probability that Dr. Zeul would be an invaluable asset in solving the riddle of the metagene; not only how her abilities function, but others as well.

I raised an eyebrow. “Awfully handy, that gadget.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. So, either of you afraid of heights?”

-

I was astonished that Jade had no problems flying the three of us into space. I felt a little light-headed, but then again, that might have been due to the rather frightening experience of leaving Earth's atmosphere protected by a tiny bubble of light!

Lena, of course, enjoyed the ride immensely, while I couldn't wait for it to be over. I know, it seems strange for a woman who can become a giant to be afraid of heights, but a few stories is one thing; LEO is a completely different story!

It was incredible to see the stars in their natural glory, undimmed by Earth's atmosphere, or to be close enough to the moon that it looked like I could reach out and touch it. Still, I was quite happy when we entered the ship, and my feet touched the ship's deck.

The illusion provided by my ring simulated clothing rather well, but shoes were a little odd. They felt too thick, and didn't provide enough traction. So I decided to dispense with them, and simply go barefoot. The ship's deck felt cool under my bare feet, and I felt a rythmic vibration coming from deeper in the bowels of the ship.

And then Jade gave us the guided tour. She seemed genuinely happy to have someone to show off to, and pretty soon her and Lena were chatting like old friends. I had other things on my mind. Like I said, I may not be a genius, but I am highly intelligent.

The technology of the starship was so advanced, so far beyond anything I could even use as a frame of reference. It was, quite simply, the most valuable object known to man. Even worse, Jade had told the world about it's existence. The governments of Earth no doubt recognized it's threat.

And people like Lex Luthor certainly recognized it's value. I looked at the ring. I was associated with the world's new heroes. Which meant I was associate with Green Lantern. Who had technology Luthor wanted. It was only a matter of time before he found out I was with Lena. Who, I suspected, Luthor also wanted.

I was going to have to talk to Jade when Lena wasn't present.

-

It wasn't long before I had that chance. Lena had been up longer than I had, and eventually it was necessary for me to tuck her in; the starship had rather nice living quarters. Which left Jade and I alone. She handed me a glass of what proved to be Old Coke, which I hadn't had in years.

“Good stuff.”

“Huh. It's kind of an acquired taste for me.”

I shrugged. “I got ten years on you, so...yeah. Look, Jade, I was thinking. You made a big mistake letting the world know this ship exists.”

Jade nodded. “I know. The U.S. Government has already complicated things; have you heard of American Dream?”

I nodded. “Yes, I recall an article talking about her.”

“She used to be a man as well, they activated his metagene, and it changed his gender.”

I frowned. “In the small handful of metahuman activations to date, two of us changing gender is suspicious...”

“Three. Terra was a boy before as well.”

“Three. So the government has already figured out how to jump start the metagene?”

Jade nodded. “But they don't know how it works. Anyways, they tried to make Courtney into a mole, to gather intelligence, and possibly even to acquire Guardian tech.”

“Of course, it's the way of things. It didn't occur to me at the time, but what I was working on with Dr. Zhan, it was the first step towards a metagene activator. I was only working on half of it, of course. Herakles, which can grant increased strength. It itself doesn't interact with the gene, since we tested it on animals. But it was the basis for what Dr. Zhan called Athena, which does interact with the gene; I'm living proof.”

“Huh. But wait a second, you said the project was funded by Luthor?”

“Yes. Which means Luthor knew about the metagene before you told the world.”

Jade's eyes widened. “That's...how could he?”

“I don't know, but it shows the kind of threat he is. He wants this ship, that's a given. I'm certain he wants Lena, and he likely wants me. Originally, he wanted Dr. Zeul eliminated. But capturing me would be quite the coup, especially if I can lead him to you.”

“Fuck. This is getting out of hand.”

I nodded. “Can the ring be self-destructed?”

Jade blinked. “Uh...let's find out. Ring?”

Affirmative. The ring only exists because of your will, it has a much more temporary existence than a true Power Ring. If you are killed, or will the ring to self-destruct, it will cease to be.

I nodded. “That helps a little. I assume, then, if the ring is misused, it will do this on it's own?”

Correct. In the past, Power Rings were used against the Guardians. As a result, they have subsequently been upgraded with security protocols. Even a lesser ring, will not allow itself to be used in a manner that violates the protocols of the Corps.

Jade grumbled. “All this stuff I find out now. Wish I'd met you awhile ago, Doris.”

“Don't beat yourself up. You've been busy saving the world, after all.”

“I guess so...”

“Luthor will eventually see me as a way to get everything he wants, you, the Ring, this ship, and his daughter. It's not a matter of if, but of when. And I'd rather die than let him have any of these things.” I paused for a moment to let that sink in. “I don't think we should come here often, Lena or myself. It's simply too big of a risk.”

“I wonder if you shouldn't be the Green Lantern, you're actually planning ahead.”

Dr. Zeul, as stated, is a potential candidate. However, although she possesses willpower in abundance, it is not focused, as evident in the power surges you experienced while travelling here. Given the alternatives, you, Jade, are still the best possible choice. Even considering your negative traits.

I laughed. “Which I'm sure it will be happy to share with us, if we asked.”

“Too right, there.” Jade sighed. “Still, it's nice to know it thinks I'm doing a good job.”

“I really wish I had whatever data the government has on how to activate the gene. It, and the powers it grants, seem to be somewhat empathic in nature. These transformations are not random.”

“You wanted to be a girl?”

“Well, no, not really. However I did suffer from a genetic condition that left me looking mostly like an underage female. And I have no doubt that Dr. Zhan intended Athena to be used by women. She was something of a feminist.”

“Huh. Terra is pretty much a carbon copy of a comic book character; she was actually dressed as the comic book Terra.”

“I wonder how DC feels about one of their characters coming to life. Do you think they could give Terra a cease-and-desist order for infringing on their copyright?”

Jade blinked at me. “You're not serious. Oh my God, you are serious. Uh...now that you bring it up...yes?”

“Let's hope that the next metahuman hero you find is a lawyer.”

Jade's eye twitched. “I don't know whether to hurt you for that comment or not.”

“I have a possible solution, although you might want to smack yourself in the head for not thinking of it first.”

“Huh?”

“Well, the ring mentioned you are supposed to follow the local laws, right?”

“Yeah, it's kind of annoying....” Jade trailed off as she followed my line of logic. “Wait a second! It has to know what those laws are!”

I grinned. “And, presumably, since it is a very advanced AI, how they work in interaction with one another. Well that solves that problem.”

“You heard her, ring, figure out how we can prevent Terra from being slapped with a copyright suit.”

Working...

Jade then looked at me. “I think I just thought of something you haven't, however.”

“What's that?”

“Well, if Luthor knew about the metagene, and had you working on it, why would he want to kill you?”

“Huh, well I suppose if he already had the activator he wouldn't....” It was my turn to trail off. “Oh no.”

“Congratulations Doc, looks like our lives are about to get a lot more complicated.”

-

I did have a chance to study the metagene in the ship's medical lab, Jade was able to provide me with some of Terra's blood to examine. It's not really a gene, per se. I'm not sure what it is, exactly. It's a recessive factor that can not only re-write someone's DNA, but it then causes the body to 'reboot', rebuilding itself from the ground up according to the new blueprint. The renewed youth some of the older metas (such as myself) acquire seems to be a side effect of this, as our bodies are set to factory conditions, so to speak.

And I was convinced it was somehow empathic. When it triggers, it reacts to it's environment, and presumably the mental state of the the person. If I could figure this out, of course, so could Luthor. Which meant he could be creating metas with specific powers as we speak...or trying to.

Finding the metagene before it manifests seemed almost impossible, but since apparently the U.S. Government had already done it, that meant there had to be a way. Even the Power Ring couldn't identify someone before they manifested, however. So...how?

The only solution I could come up with was, they cheated. They must have used their activation process on tissue samples, to see if there was a reaction. Which would be a slow and laborious process. Which meant that they too, had known about the metagene long before Jade revealed it's existence to the world.

The implications were frightening. Jade was right. Things were about to get very complicated.

Big Trouble!-2

-by Lynceus

Doris and Lena have managed to make a life for themselves in the big city, with a little help from the Green Lantern! But Doris is still having problems dealing with her new life; will the horrors of customer service lead her to a life of crime? The girls grow closer to one another, and then, Giganta is called in to handle a super brawl in the streets!

Interlude: Ruling the World

Lex Luthor sat in a darkened room, watching a row of monitors displaying events from around the world. His scientists had isolated the metagene before this outbreak of mutations swept the globe, but even with that knowledge, he hadn't been able to truly take advantage of the event.

Granted, the Green Lantern had been an unexpected wrinkle, but he would deal with her aliens masters in due time. It rankled him to think that a race of beings beyond the stars possessed the utter gall to police the world. His world!

Even now, the Green Lantern had deputized several of the planet's new superbeings into a crude but effective force. It was an arms race; a metahuman arms race. Whoever controlled the most metas would become master of this world; and perhaps other worlds as well.

After all, if Jade was any indication of how powerful an individual Green Lantern was; already there existed several metahumans who rivaled her power. With an army of superhumans, Luthor could challenge even these 'Guardians'. But first, he needed to know more about them, which meant acquiring their technology.

The door to the room opened, and Mercy entered. The lights came on, and he turned to appreciate her beauty. Mercy Graves had once been a rather mousey-looking member of his companies' secretarial pool. But mandatory blood testing had revealed she possessed the metagene.

Dr. Zhan's 'Athena' formula had activated her latent genetic abilities, and transformed the once-petite woman into a nineteen year-old goddess. Standing at 6' 3”, Mercy now possessed an athletic frame endowed with great strength and agility, all without compromising her feminine qualities. Very attractive feminine qualities.

She had cut her blonde hair short, which emphasized her strong features; combined with her icy blue eyes, she had an almost Nordic look about her. It was like having his own personal valkyrie, really. She had taken to dressing like a chauffer, and he admired her sense of the professional.

“Mercy, always a pleasure.”

Coolly, the blonde stopped and held up a clipboard. “You may disagree when you hear my report.”

Luthor sighed. “More setbacks? This is starting to become a trend. Well, get it over with.”

“Top item on the agenda, your daughter's trust fund was completely cleaned out.”

Luthor's eye twitched dangerously. “By whom?”

“Unknown. The hacker left no trace. They went in, transferred the money out, and closed the account without anyone noticing for three business days. The money got bounced around from account to account during that time, and each time it was transferred, the sum got smaller. And then it simply fell off the face of the Earth.”

Luthor frowned. “That may be an apt analogy. Interesting, however. I had thought perhaps my enemies were going to ransom Lena, but instead, they simply stole the money I had set aside for her. That implies some level of collusion.”

“On that note, Hope found the girl's mother.”

“Lori?” Luthor's feigned disinterest vanished at once. “Hope didn't...”

“No Sir, as per your instructions, your wife was not harmed. She wants nothing to do with you, I'm afraid. Her story is that Lena ran away from home some time ago.”

“Hmm. Did she seem worried?”

“Not really. Her statement to Hope was, and I quote 'My daughter is more than intelligent enough to take care of herself. Her mind is the only useful thing her father ever gave her. When she needs me, she'll call me.'”

Despite himself, Lex chuckled. By all accounts, Lena was her father's daughter. “I was the same way when I was her age. Independent, and convinced adults were useless. Fine, if Lori wants nothing to do with me, so be it. I was tired of that harpy anyways. But my daughter is to be found.”

Mercy nodded. “Of course, Sir. Do you want Hope to stay in the field?”

Hope was another success of the Athena activator. Of course, unlike Mercy, she had once been a man, a mechanic working down in the company motor pool. Luthor's experiment to activate Hope's metagene had granted her powers (and a figure) very similar to Mercy's. At first, Hope hadn't been too thrilled at losing her manhood, but she had gotten over it.

Oddly enough, Hope was the more girly of the two young women, no doubt some repressed aspect of her psyche coming to the fore. Luthor normally kept her at a distance however. He found her attractive, even cute, but he had serious reservations about ogling a former man.

His scientists were still working on Athena; while an army of superwomen had it's merits, not all of his candidates were willing to risk losing their gender. The military hadn't had much better luck, if American Dream was any indication. There was a disturbingly high percentage of male metahumans becoming female, high enough that Luthor had yet to grant himself powers yet.

Other than his great intellect, Luthor's metagene sequence remained dormant. He had to get Lena back before the young girl developed her own abilities. Or he'd never be able to control her.

“Yes, have her keep an eye on MacGuire. I'm no longer convinced he is an asset. I mean, how hard is it to find a jumbo-sized naked woman anyways?”

Mercy grinned. “Especially with that red hair; it's so bright should be able to see it from orbit.”

Luthor shook his head. Mercy had a weakness for attractive redheads, another reason to keep Hope away from home! “What else do you have for me?”

“Thornton's condition is improving. He's started to develop some chlorokinetic abilities.”

Luthor smiled. “To think that fool turned out to be useful in the end. I take it he remains attached to his manhood?”

“For the moment. Our scientists speculate his abilities will be worth deploying in another week or so.”

“Well, this news hasn't been all bad.”

“I'm not done yet. We have confirmation, the second Green Lantern is real.”

Lex frowned. “Not...what I wanted to hear. Is it true they were fighting?”

“At first, but then they joined forces to save some civilians after an accident occurred.”

“Hm. Score another one for the good guys. Jade has a real advantage when it comes to recruiting. So both of them were involved in that phony hostage situation?”

Mercy nodded. “I have to admit, Sir, that was pure genius, setting up your own business to be robbed like that.”

“I try not to brag, but it's hard to be humble when your plans work out. Keep up operations in that area, let's see if this new Lantern keeps operating in that city. If she's less experienced, then we have a greater chance of acquiring her technology.”

“Understood. Will there be anything else, Sir?”

Luthor grinned like a shark. “Why don't you slip into something more comfortable and join me?”

Mercy smiled. “I thought you would never ask, Sir.”

-

Chapter Seven: Heroes and Villains

I sighed while I waited for Tom to finish the customer's order. The good news about having a new identity was being able to work again. The bad news was, given my apparent age, the quality of jobs available. In this case, working as a waitress in a diner.

A job I had only gotten because of my looks. If you ever needed a reason to become a supervillain and wipe out modern society, work a shift at a restaurant. Trust me on this. You will encounter humanity at it's utter worst. Not that all the customers were monsters, but the ones that were...they were selfish, rude, and demanding. On a good day!

What always got to her was the fact that a customer could walk into an obviously busy restaurant, and then be angry when they A) didn't get immediate service, and B) didn't get their food within seconds. I mean, especially in a diner.

Despite the fact you could clearly see the cooks at work! I mean, what did these people think, that all you had to do was press a button, and zap, your food would appear? The U.S.S. Enterprise, this place wasn't. The shoes didn't help either; my feet hurt. As a waitress, you needed a good pair of shoes with decent traction, something my knock-off power ring had a problem with. But wearing any footwear standing up for eight hours on end was an exercise in slow, methodical torture.

Which is why I normally went barefoot; my density powers made the soles of my feet tougher than any shoe on the market (it was likely those same powers that interfered with the ring's costuming features). But working here, I didn't have that option, and right now, I felt all 190 pounds of my weight.

Yeah, even by default, I'm no lightweight. It wasn't fat either; save for the appropriate amount of padding, I was just under five-feet, eleven inches of trim, athletic girl. Lucky me; while it got me good tips, it also meant that I had to put up with the occasional slap on the rear, and other insults to my newly-acquired gender.

Normally, male attention was kind of flattering, but I could live without wandering hands, thank you very much. And the owner had made it quite clear that I was not supposed to break the customers. I mean, one time a girl snaps and dislocates a pervert's jaw, and you never get to live it down!

Lena thought I was crazy to work this job. Somehow, she had managed to con Jade's power ring into stealing a good-sized sum of money from Lex Luthor. Well, technically it was located in a trust fund for Lena, which meant she was, in theory, the owner of said money. Which had been a large part of her argument.

In the end, the ring had agreed it did not violate the rules it's makers had set down, and now Lena had a large sum of cash to work with. Enough that neither of us needed to work. But it didn't feel right, just leeching off of her.

I didn't understand it myself, really. I'd had no problems spending my own money on Lena when she didn't have much. But now that she did, I stubbornly insisted on working. Was it the last vestige of my male ego, that I didn't need a woman to support me? Or if it wasn't chauvinism, was it some kind of foolish pride?

As horrible as this day was going, I decided to talk with Lena about it after work. My order finally came up...wrong. I sighed. There goes my tip!

-

Nate sighed. I'd really done it this time. This snooty bitch of a customer came in, with the whole 'the last two times I was in here' routine that defied all logic. Even when I repeated her order back to her (and wrote it down on my notepad to show to her), she insisted her freshly cooked meal was both cold and wrong. Twice!

When she started in on me, using some very colorful language, I might add, I finally lost it and slapped the woman. Not hard, I knew my own strength, but enough that everyone in the restaurant heard it. Things had gotten very quiet, and I let it all out.

I've been under a lot of stress lately, and I guess something like this was inevitable. I just wish it had been some hired thug of LexCorp instead of a stuck-up bitch. Granted, as I walked off, I heard applause from the other customers (and my fellow employees), but now I was in Nate's office. Nate was my boss, and he was a really nice guy. He also had a business to run.

“Doris,” he finally began, “you're a really good kid. You're smart, way too smart for this line of work, pretty, and kind. Sweet, even. But this temper of yours...what am I going to do with you?”

I felt terrible. He'd been nice enough to get me this job, and I'd disappointed him. I felt like I was twelve again. I stared at my shoes. “I...I'm sorry.”

“Christ, don't cry, Doris! I don't get it, you're taller than I am, but I swear, you make me feel like a big bully.” He reached out and patted my arm. Nate was kind of uncomfortable around pretty young women, especially emotional ones, but he did try.

I looked up at him. “I'm not crying, Nate.”

“No, but you look like you're going to. Ok, tell you what, just take the rest of afternoon off. Go on home, unwind a bit, and we'll talk again tomorrow.”

“You're not going to fire me?”

He grinned. “For what? Telling that fat bitch off?”

“No, for slapping her.”

He waved it off. “She ain't going to cause any trouble, or she would have called the cops. Hell, the other customers enjoyed the show, everyone except you got big tips.” He ran a hand through his thinning hair. “I mean, don't get me wrong, you can't go abusing the customers, but...I can't blame you for snapping. I would have, after all.”

The funny thing about teenaged girl hormones is that they make you kind of impulsive. Before I realized what I was doing, I was hugging my boss! “Thank you so much!”

“Hey, hey, I need to breathe, jeez you're srong, girl!”

“Oh, sorry.” I let him go, but he had an odd grin on his face.

“Go on, get your butt home, tomorrow is another day.”

-

It was strange, really. In my mind, I still thought of myself as male. Despite the fact that I'd never really been all that manly, even when I was a man! And yet, I kept doing things men just didn't do, like break down and cry, or impulsively hug people. Like, male people.

What was next? Was I going to start flirting with guys? I sure hoped not! The whole idea of having sex with a man, let alone being attracted to one, made my stomach do flip flops. Plus, I had a girlfriend...although that was another problem in of itself.

I cared for Lena a great deal, but she was so much younger than I was! I didn't have any issues when we were together, I mean, she was beautiful, at least to my eyes, and it was hard to keep my eyes (and hands) off of her.

But when we were apart, I felt like a total pedophile. This wasn't right, I was taking advantage of her or something. And how could I be in love with her? Granted, the sex was amazing, I'd had no idea how wonderful it was to be a woman...but was my attraction just physical?

Was I just imprinting on her or something? Mistaking the pleasure she gave me for something deeper? I was so confused anymore...and I didn't have anyone I could talk to about it. I mean, I'm sure Jade has more important things to do, saving the universe and all, than listen to a grown man whine about having a sexy young body, and a cute young girlfriend!

I mean, she'd seemed fairly understanding of my relationship with Lena, but I didn't really know Jade. She probably didn't approve; she seemed to be a good girl, likely had a religious upbringing and a loving family.

I didn't want to think about my family. We were dead to each other long before I changed into this person they would neither recognize, nor accept. Oh shit, now I was crying. What was wrong with me!

That was my state of mind when I got to the warehouse. Rather than get an apartment, Lena had decided we needed more floorspace so that I could practice using my powers. We still didn't know quite how big I could get; anything more than 40' or so, and even the warehouse got kind of cramped. Curled up into a ball, I could grow to what Lena estimated was likely 60' feet or so, and I knew...or rather, felt, that I could get even taller.

Rather than focus on reaching my maximum size, however, I'd been working on speed. It occurred to me that being able to reach a good 'combat height' quickly was more important than seeing if I could get bigger than Godzilla!

Plus, if I became too big, who knows what kind of damage I could do without meaning to! I had visions of stepping on people, tripping over cars, that sort of thing. In the comics, giant heroes were usually clumsy, easily tripped up.

With my ability to increase my density, plus my lower center of gravity as a girl, I actually had very good balance. Of course, there were other problems, like concrete and asphalt surfaces cracking under my weight, for example.

But one advantage to the warehouse; it did feel good to stretch a little, if you know what I mean. We still had no idea how I gained mass, or where it went when I shrank. I can even shrink smaller than my default height, although I was much more limited in this regard; with effort, I'd managed to dwindle down to about 4' 3”, my current limit. So becoming doll-sized was likely out of the question.

Part of the warehouse had been converted into a sort of loft apartment for us, and I could see Lena was sitting in front of the tv playing Bayonetta again. Probably still trying for 100% completion. Lena didn't just play games, she conquered them.

I kicked off my shoes and climbed up the stairs to the loft, and sat down on the couch next to her. “Doris? You're home early, what's wrong?” She paused her game and set aside her controller.

“Lost my temper again.”

“Come here, baby.”

I lay down, using her lap as a pillow as she gently stroked my hair. It felt so relaxing and my eyes half-closed. “Mm...this feels nice.”

“Doris, why do you put up with that stupid job? You don't need it!”

“I know. I don't know why I do it. Maybe I'm just being stupid.”

“You're not stupid. Very far from it.” I could hear the love in her voice, and I wondered why I'd ever had doubts.

“I just have all these stupid hang-ups I don't understand, my emotions are out of control...I'm screwed up.”

“No baby, you're not screwed up. You're a teenaged girl! Your problem is you're not used to being one, that's all.”

I shrank a little, cuddling up closer to her. It's a facet of my powers that I really enjoy when I'm with Lena. “If you want to get back to your game, I could use a nap.”

“I don't mind being your pillow, beautiful, go right ahead.”

I closed my eyes, and let my problems drift away.

-

When I woke up later, we took a shower together (always a good time!) and I started dinner. Lena can't cook worth a darn, where I have years of experience at being a bachelor. Although I do have to make more these days; I eat like a horse, and Lena isn't exactly finicky either.

Lena came up behind me, putting her arms around my waist, and I could feel her breasts against the small of my back. “There's something sexy about you when you're being domestic.” She practically purred.

“Don't you think I'm sexy all the time?” I smiled.

“You're confusing the issue with facts.” I could imagine her mock pout.

“I am a scientist, you know. Although lately...I haven't been feeling all that logical.”

“My poor Doris. Everything is so new to you.”

I sighed. “Yeah. I don't know if I'm coming or going most times.”

She ran a fingertip along my spine, which made me shiver. God, how could she make me want her so much? “Oh I think you know when you're coming, just fine.”

“I feel like Humbert Humbert.”

She chuckled. “You're nothing like him, honey. Look, turn around.”

I did and she looked up at me with those big brown eyes of hers, and something inside me melted. I couldn't deny this girl anything, and she knew it. It was scary, how much power she had over me.

“Doris, you have to get over feeling guilty about everything. I don't know where it comes from, but it has to stop. I know you're a tough girl, when the going gets tough, you never quit. Never. Even Jade's ring says you have a lot of willpower. But when I least expect it, you get all meek and vulnerable.”

She paused before continuing on. “And I don't mind that side of you, I really don't. I like holding you, telling you that everything is going to be alright. You're the first person who ever really relied on me for anything. I want to be the person you rely on, that you can depend on. That night, when we first met, I warned you that this wasn't love. But I was lying to myself. I couldn't let you go if my life depended on it. I want to be here, with you, always. But you can't let yourself be happy! You keep thinking of reasons why you shouldn't be, why we can't be together.”

I sighed and made sure dinner wasn't burning. “I..you're right. That is what I do. And no, I guess I don't believe I can be happy. I don't want to push you away, Lena.”

“You won't. You can't. I know how you really feel, Doris. When we lay together at night, I lay my head on your chest and listen. Listen to your heart. You're so kind and loving, and I know you love me.”

I reached out and touched her cheek. “I do love you. I'm sorry that I can't let go.”

“Who did this to you, Doris? Who broke you?”

I sighed. “It wasn't any one person. My father hated how weak and girly I was. He was a strong man, and I shamed him. My mother lived in his shadow; I think she always regretted not standing up to Father. It was really his decision to raise me as a boy. I think it broke Mom's heart knowing that I really wasn't one. That I was being forced to live a lie.” I felt the tears stinging my eyes. “Damn it...”

“Hey, just turn off the stove and let's sit down for a bit, baby.”

I nodded and let her lead me to the couch.

-

“Look, I guess it's time we shared everything. So I'm going to start. Really, this story doesn't start with me, but with a man named Abernathy. Abernathy was working on using an extremely rare isotope to develop a new energy source. He also had a pretty young wife and a daughter. Abernathy worked for a guy named Lex Luthor, I bet you've heard of him.” She shook her head.

“Anyways, there was an accident, and Abernathy died. And Lex Luthor was there to personally console his widow, Lori. The usual sort of thing happened, they got married, and then they had a daughter. I don't really remember Dad very well, to be honest. Just vague impressions of a tall man who never talked down to me, and spoiled the hell out of me.”

I put an arm around Lena and held her close to me while she talked.

“I actually cried when he left. I was too young to understand. Mom had found out that Lex was possibly involved in what happened to Abernathy, and that was that. But Lex, he wouldn't let it go. So one night, Mom packed me and Marlene up, and we lit out. Mom changed our last name to Thorul, don't ask me why she bothered.”

“Marlene is your older sister, then?”

Lena nodded. “Yeah, she never held it against me, being Luthor's brat. We were pretty close. When she was around; she ran away a lot. And when I got older, I did the same thing. Mom...she's not a bad person, but she got married too young. Losing her first husband, being betrayed by the second..it made her colder. More distant. She'd get angry a lot too.”

“She hit you?”

Lena shrugged. “Yeah, but not often. It was the verbal abuse mostly. She never let me forget whose kid I was. Like I wasn't really hers, but some lab experiment Lex put inside her body.”

“That's horrible, Lena...!”

“She wasn't always like that. But when she started drinking, that was when I knew it was time to get out. I swore this would be the last time.”

I kissed her hair. “It will be. If anyone tries to hurt you, I'll destroy them.”

She leaned against me. “I know, Doris, I know.”

I sighed. “Listen to me, acting like I'm the strong one.”

“You are, Doris, you so are! You have to forget how you were mistreated as a kid. I mean, look at you now! You're strong, tall, and beautiful!”

“I am, aren't I?” I kissed her. “I'm glad I have you to remind me of these things.”

“Mmm. I told you, I'm happy to support you in any way I can.”

“Give me time, my angel. I'm learning to accept that.”

We stopped talking about there, and moved on to more interesting things, while dinner remained forgotten.

-

I lay back on the couch, Lena in my arms, curled up next to me, dozing lightly. I buried my face in her hair, which smelled very nice. I gently ran my fingertips along her body; she twitched as her body reacted, but the poor thing was too exhausted from our lovemaking to stir just yet. I couldn't really figure out exactly what she'd done, but at some point, it was like she'd flipped a switch; normally, she was the aggressive one in our relationship. Not this time, though. I smiled, thinking about it.

I've never loved anyone as fiercely as Lena. But if I was going to love her, that meant without boundaries or limits. I was going to have to push aside my self-doubts. I'd feel bad for quitting on Nate, but if it made Lena happy to support me, then I'd let her.

My ring started to glow, and I heard Jade's voice. “Oh jeez, Doris, please say this isn't a bad time!”

“Ten minutes ago, and it would have been. What's up?”

“You sly fox, you! Sorry, ok, there's something going on not far from your location, downtown. Two metahumans are brawling with each other, and there's a real risk of someone getting hurt. Think Giganta can handle it?”

I grinned. My code-name was kind of goofy, but Lena had chosen it. “I'm on my way, Jade.”

Lena pouted when I woke her up, but I tucked her in bed with a kiss and promised to make it up to her when I got home.

-

Not for the first time, I wish I had superspeed. Or a driver's license. I was definitely going to have to enroll in Driver's Ed. Maybe Lena would buy me a car. If not, well, there was always my job at the diner.

Still, we weren't too far from downtown, and a jog sure would kill me! I heard the fight long before I saw it; the ground literally shook, and I wondered if we were somehow on a fault line! I caught a glimpse of a glowing light flashing downward. Great, one of them could fly.

I had no idea how I'd deal with a flier just yet.

I managed to slip into the area cordoned off by the police, and I got my first good look at a super brawl. The first contestant was a woman who looked to be about seven feet tall, and made out of metal! I could tell she was obviously a woman because she wasn't wearing anything save a pair of high-topped running shoes and a pair of boxer shorts. White with red hearts on them, I kid you not.

She was yelling something at the flier, a tiny girl with red skin and large bat wings. She bore a striking resemblance to a comic-book succubus, and she was also pretty much naked. She threw a ball of flame at the steely girl, who shielded her face with her arms.

I used my ring to change my outfit, letting the full red of my hair show, altering it's appearance to where it hung over one eye. It was a neat effect I'd discovered on accident; I could see perfectly fine through the 'hair'. I thought a mask was too cheesy, but obscuring my features this way was kind of neat. Although I did use the ring to subtly alter my facial features as well. For a uniform, I had a short skirt, and a sort of vest-like garment with long sleeves. I didn't know what to call it (remember, I still have the life experience of a man!), but it looked very hot. No shoes of course.

The metal girl ran to a parked truck and grabbed it's frame so violently the metal twisted. Damn, she was strong! But I knew I was stronger. I started running towards her. As I ran, I started to grow, and by the time I caught up to her, I was well over two stories in height.

It was a little trick I'd worked out, by increasing my mass and density while in motion, I could use the momentum to add force to my opening attack. In this case, a low kick that sent Metal Girl (and the truck) flying backwards. She hit a light pole, which bent in half. The truck hit the ground, flipped end-over-end, and landed on top of the girl.

“You big bitch, leave her alone!” A gout of flame came dangerously close to me. I might be very hard to hurt with kinetic attacks, but chemical ones were a whole different story!

“Me leave her alone?! You were trying to fry her!”

“Shut up, it's none of your business!” Darting like a humming bird (way more maneuverable than she had any right to be, I might add), she zipped around me, and I just barely managed to avoid getting a fireball in the face!

I thought about trying Metal Girl's trick and throwing a car at Succubus, but if the impact didn't kill her, the fall would do it for sure! I grew even taller, until I was over 60' high, the concrete below my feet cracking ominously.

“Dayum, how big can you get?” Succubus flew higher, just out of my reach.

Or so she thought. I swatted at her a few times, letting her get the idea that I couldn't possibly hurt her. She paused, hovering in mid-air, and taunted me by slapping her ass. And that's when I got a chance to try out another new trick.

I crouched down and jumped, dropping my density as fast as I could, rocketing me up into the air. I gave Succubus a playful smack; she went hurtling into a building, and then started to fall.

I was there to catch her; she landed in my hands, breathing, but not moving.

“I'll kill you!” There was a sharp pain in my foot, as if I'd been hit by a ball peen hammer! Holy fuck that hurt!

Looking down, I saw Metal Girl was back, and pissed! I increased my density, ensuring that the second hit would hurt a lot less, but still...fucking ow! “Enough! I don't know what you two are fighting about, but it's over!”

“Fuck you, I'll tell you when it's over!” She moved to hit me again. And so, I used the move that launched a million fetish sites across the globe. I stepped on her.

“Hey, you ok down there?”

“Get the hell off of me, you giant slut!”

I chuckled. Then there was a sharp pain in my thumb. Looking down, I saw that Succubus had bit me and was sucking blood out of my thumb! Her teeth must be incredibly sharp to penetrate my skin!

I closed my fist. “Let go, or I'll crush you like a pop can!”

She stopped, and I grinned.

“Ok, boys in blue, you can come out now, it's over!” I shrank down to about 20', and sat on Metal Girl, cranking up my density so that she would remain helpless.

-

Luckily, Jade showed up about then, and she vouched for me. Creating restraints out of her ring's energy, she was able to help the police transport the two girls. I later found out that they had been dating before they transformed; the former guy in the relationship was still pretty upset about it, having once been on his school's football team.

His girlfriend, fed up with his emo attitude, had snapped on him, and it wasn't long before the fight ended up out on the streets. The funny part, oddly enough, was that Succubus had been the football star, and Metal Girl was his/her cheerleader girlfriend!

I'll get back to them later.

“Nice work, Doris. I know you were worried about using your powers effectively, but I think this proves you'll do just fine.”

I smiled. “Thanks Jade. I think I got lucky, taking them off-guard.”

“I like the outfit, by the way.”

I posed, turning around slowly. “Do you?”

“Oh...yeah. Well, as much as I'd like to chat, I got to meet Alena.”

I blinked. “Alena?”

Jade sighed. “You heard about that new Green Lantern? That's her.”

“Huh, what, she found a ring laying around?”

“It's complicated, don't worry, I'll bring her around soon, and give you the whole story. She's a good kid, but she has a lot to learn.”

I nodded. “Ok then, if you need anything, just call.”

She gave me a thumbs up. “You got it.” And then she flew off.

I wish I could fly!

-

When I got home, I woke up Lena in that special way that I knew she would appreciate. I'd been a little rough with her before, so I made sure to be extra gentle. Afterwards, when she clung to me, her naked body shuddering against mine, I knew she'd appreciated it.

After we got cleaned up, I told her about my night. We watched it on the news, and when she saw me step on Metal Girl, she groaned. “Oh jeez, Doris! That's going to be all over the internet!”

I rolled my eyes. “What's new about that? Let's face it, I stand out.”

She giggled. “Yes, but you're mine! I don't care how much of you there is to go around, I don't want to share!”

“It's ok. You're more than enough woman for me.”

She preened at that comment, and let me know how pleased that made her.

It was a little later when I explained the story of Succubus and Metal Girl.

“Wow, that has to suck. Big football star, turning into a petite sexy demon-girl.”

“I imagine Miss Cheerleader wasn't too happy either...although, isn't that weird? Two young kids who are dating just happen to be metas, change about the same time...”

Lena finished my sentence. “...and end up with some pretty ironic mutations. Well you said the metagene, or whatever it is, is somehow empathic.”

“Yes, but I really doubt Mr. Jock wanted to turn into a 4' 11” Succubus.”

“Hmm. So what do you think happened?”

I shook my head. “I'm not sure. But it definitely sounds like some outside force is at work.”

“Maybe there's a way to influence how powers manifest.”

I considered that. That had probably been what Amy had been working on, when she created her 'Athena'. And then another thought occurred to me. “Wait, let's assume my hypothesis is correct. That the metagene manifests as a result of stress, and it reacts to your mental and emotional state. What if you were in a highly suggestible state, due to hypnosis or drugs?”

Lena frowned. “I guess, in that case, you might be able to influence the mutation. But this is more complicated than getting some Jock wasted and whispering 'you want to become a demon-girl' in his ear. Plus, how would you know the guy is a meta?”

“I don't know, but I'm going to call Jade later. This could be the start of something...uh...big.”

Lena laughed. “A little late for that. So, I'm starving, you want to just go out and eat?”

“As long as you're buying.”

“I can think of a few ways to let you earn your dinner, Hero-girl.”

Now this was the kind of work I didn't mind at all!

Big Trouble!-3 by Lynceus What makes someone a hero? A villain? Is there some line that divides the two extremes? Is it random chance, or is there some event that could drive someone from one extreme to the other? I'd often wondered, but I thought I'd never know. And then they took my Lena from me.

Disclaimer: I make no claims to any character or image owned or under copyright by another party, nor do I intend on profiting in any way from their use. The Comics Retcon Universe concept is the creative property of Lilith Langtree.

---

My name is Lena Thorul. Well, actually it's Luthor, but Mom thought it would be cute to use an anagram when she changed my name. It's a toss-up as to who I despise more, her, or my father.

Actually, to be honest, Dad, in the short time I knew him, treated me like I was royalty. No real surprise, given the way his mind works. To Lex Luthor, some people are just inherently better than others. Given that he's one of the smartest humans on the planet, I can understand his line of thinking, even if I don't agree with it.

Dad thinks since he's smarter than everyone else, he should naturally rule over us 'lesser mortals'. While I can't argue that there would be some merit to this, Dad is too much of an egomaniac; if he were to, say, run for President, I can tell you exactly what would happen.

He'd run on a reform platform, using his big brain and business savvy to demonstrate how he'd get the country back on track. Solve the national debt, halt the current economic downturn, and probably toss the tax code out the window. Luthor needs no puny legal shenanigans to turn a profit!

He'd get into office by a landslide, and a lot of people would shake their heads. And at first, he'd do a lot of good. But it's in his nature. Eventually he'd start flexing his muscles. Getting overconfident. Using the vast powers of his office, he'd find new and interesting ways to get what he wants. Eventually he'll get caught and there'll be a huge scandal.

Or maybe he'll get into an argument with another head of state, and start World War III. It's hard to say.

Despite the fact I understand his nature very well, I'm going to let you in on a secret. I love my father.

And believe me when I say loving Lex Luthor is not an easy thing to do.

-

I'd realized quickly that, for all her power, even with the assistance she could wrangle out of Jade and the others, Doris can't keep me safe. It was a sobering thought, and one I kept to myself. It would break her heart. And hurting Doris would be like cutting off my own arm. Except it would hurt more.

I don't know exactly when our relationship changed from simple infatuation to the kind of love that you only read about in Sherrilyn Kenyon novels. I'd tried to keep people at a distance; it's a bad habit I share with my old man. Sometimes, even with very bright people like Doris, everyone around seems like they're thinking at a snail's pace, plodding from point A to point B like they're trapped in a time warp.

Meanwhile, I'm already at point D, contemplating points E, F, and beyond. Now I'm not going to say I'm as smart as Dad, but I am a genius, by just about any yardstick you'd care to use. A lot of times, I feel like I know what other people are going to say before they do.

Hell, actually I feel like I know what other people are going to think before they do!

But it's different with Doris. Somehow knowing what she's going to do makes me feel more secure. I know when she's going to hug me. When she's going to say she loves me. And I know that when she says it, she means it. She'd die for me, and that's a problem.

Because I understand this is a once in a lifetime sort of thing. If I lose Doris, that's it. I'll never know a love like this again. And worse, I'll use her as a yardstick, no, a damn slide rule, to judge everyone else by for the rest of my life. She fills something empty inside of me. She inspires me. I'm a better person in every way because of her.

I'd rather die than lose that.

So I decided to take the initiative and contact my old man.

-

Despite the fact he's smarter and more cunning (not to mention with a lot more resources on hand), I'd done a pretty good job of covering my tracks. Sure, he knew that I wasn't far from Doris, and Dori, well, she's pretty much the definition of 'high profile'. Even without her powers, she's a tall red-haired goddess of a young woman.

I could dress her in a burlap sack and put a bag over her head, and she'd still stand out in a crowd!

So I knew the only real reason Daddy hadn't found me was he couldn't spare the resources. You don't get to be where he is without having to watch a lot of pies in a lot of ovens, all at the same time. So, predictably, I figured he'd set his goons to collect me.

For some reason, the vast majority of Dad's minions are sneaky, ambitious, and not very bright. They tended to botch things up more often than not; I swear his Director of Human Resources puts Catbert to shame!

Which is why I decided to break my silence and sent him an email. To his private account. On his own company server.

Ok, I'll admit it, while cute, that's a bit beyond my abilities. Luckily, I had the assistance of my new roommate, Ariel the Little Cyberspace Mermaid. Typically, even she doesn't realize how scary her knowledge of computer security is. It used to be a job for her, day in and out, and, of course, she was focused on stopping the kinds of shenanigans that I live for. Oh and she used to be a clueless guy.

But I can't hold that against her. Pretty much all of my female friends these days, including the love of my life, were clueless guys. But they're pretty quick learners, all things considered. Just proof that everything is better with a second X-chromosome!

I won't go into the contents of my email. But he responded pretty quickly, and we got to talking about things. He tried to apologize for being a bad parent, and I told him to drop it. The past is the past; he made mistakes, Mom made mistakes, it's time to be adults and move on.

He of course wanted to help me with money. I told him how much I was currently worth, and he was suitably impressed. Of course he thinks I should move to New York, and get away from Doris, but I told him that wasn't an option. If he wanted a daughter again, I could handle that, but it was going to be on my terms.

Oddly enough, he agreed that it might make more sense for me to stay out of sight; and after he told me about old man Queen, I had to agree. No matter how powerful you become, if you have someone you care about, you have a weakness.

Odd to hear him sympathize with Queen though. I know for a fact Dad hates the old bastard with a passion. They're just too much alike, I think. It's the mark of a successful CEO; you can't resist taking charge of any situation you come across. Trying to make order out of chaos is simply your nature.

So you start moving people around like chess pieces. The problem is, some pieces won't, or can't, be moved. And both men were a couple of very stubborn Kings.

I was about to make a joke about one of them being a Queen, but seeing the old man in a dress would scar me for life.

So Dad and I came up with an agreement. He felt I was wasting my potential, which, granted, is true to a point. But I'm not even sixteen, I can afford to blow a few years of my life. Anyways, he promised to give me space, if I promised to visit him in a few months.

Of course, Doris is a real touchy subject. He doesn't know for sure that she's Damon Zeul, but he suspects. And I know Doris; she won't want to make nice with the man who tried to kill her.

And I won't even get into Stefani and Alyssa; it's hard to love an evil man.

So with all that in mind, you can imagine my surprise when some guy grabbed me on the street, pulled me into an alley, and stuck a needle into my arm. I was out faster than you can say 'betrayal'!

-

Richard McGuire was a patient man. He prided himself on that fact. In the past, he'd let Luthor intimidate him into rushing in before he was ready. That's how he'd lost to that red-haired bimbo last time. No, now he was going to do things his way.

The hell with going after 'Giganta' directly. He was hunting juicier prey. Something Luthor would kill to possess. It wasn't some scientist, or some super-serum. No, just a fifteen year-old girl. He'd watched her for days, getting a feel for her routine. She was intelligent, but it was obvious she'd inherited the famous Luthor ego. Walking alone, out in the open, by herself. Knowing full well how powerful her father was. And what kind of enemies he had.

She was a pretty thing, obviously she hadn't gotten her looks from the old man. A shade over 5' tall, with short black hair, the bangs worn long. She'd gotten some sun since her last photo was taken. Ditched the piercings and the Goth look in favor of a powder blue sun dress. A very pretty girl.

He stepped into her path and grabbed her so quickly, she didn't have time to yelp. She bit at his hand, tried to kick him, but her tiny frame lacked strength. “Sorry little girl, but you're about to make me very rich.”

He injected her with the sedative, and she went limp. Three minutes later, she was secure in the trunk of his Charger, and he got behind the wheel, putting the car into gear. Reaching for his cellular, he made the most important call of his life...

-

Mercy was no longer the meek office girl she had once been. But her employer scared her when he was angry. And he was about to become very angry. She did not want to be the one to give him this news. Her only consolation was that she would not be the target of Luthor's anger.

“Sir.”

Luthor looked up from a pile of reports, and noted that Mercy was holding the phone. “This had better be important.”

“It is, Sir.” She walked up and held out the phone. “McGuire.”

“Hm.” He took the phone. “Richard, you had better not be calling to tell me you...” Luthor trailed off. His eyes got very wide, and then narrowed.

“Listen to me you arrogant bastard, you harm one hair, one hair on her head and I'll...!” The most powerful mortal man in the world set his shoulders. “Very well. Of course. Oh you'll get it. You'll get everything that's coming to you. I want to speak to her...!”

He slammed the phone onto his desk, cracking the plastic. “That bastard! That son of a whore! He's a dead man! You hear me? Dead!” Without even slowing down, Lex went to his mini bar, and, his hands shaking slightly, poured himself a cognac.

He turned to Mercy. “He wants ten million dollars. We should be receiving a fax with the account information. Take it out of petty cash. Hire whoever you need to. Jack Marshall can handle tracking him down. But the actual extraction...I want a specialist. Someone good. Someone better than good.”

He finished his drink. “Get me the Catwoman. Money is no object.”

-

I came to in a dark room. I live in an old warehouse, so I know what they smell like. This one had been abandoned for some time, given the dust. I was sitting on an old wooden chair, and rather expertly restrained. Unfortunately, unlike most of my friends, I don't have super powers, so they needn't have bothered. I'd be lucky to punch my way through a paper bag, let alone escape!

I was still near the river, so, ironically, I probably wasn't very far from home. The door opened, and a man I didn't know stepped into the room. But he matched a description Doris had given me, so I decided to guess.

“McGuire. You really screwed this up.”

His eyes widened, but then his face twisted into a sneer. “Oh, is that a fact?”

“Dad promised to lay off, so if you're bringing me to him, he's going to be pissed.”

He laughed. “Stupid little bitch, I'm not on his payroll anymore.”

Oh shit. “You're holding me for ransom?” Please, God, please let this guy not be a waste of DNA!

“You got that right. You're my meal ticket, so as long as you play nice, you might just live a little longer.”

I just stared at him. “Mister, you are so dead.”

-

Rena looked up as Doris began to pace in the kitchen. Idly brushing a stray lock of dark hair out of her eyes, she wondered what was up. It wasn't like Doris to be nervous, but she sure looked upset.

“Hey, what's up?”

Doris stopped and turned to face her roommate. “It's Lena. She's late.”

Rena considered that, glancing at the clock on her laptop. “Woah, wait a minute, she's like, two hours late!”

Doris nodded. “I know! And...I don't know what to do about it!”

“Ok, where is she likely to be? I can start making calls.” Better to take charge; Doris was a bright girl, but she had a huge weak spot where Lena was concerned.

“Um..she had to go to the library, then the comic store, she had to pick up some computer parts, and then she said she'd pick up ice cream on the way home.”

Rena pulled up a map of the city on her laptop, and considered the distance involved. “Ok, so she takes the bus, that's a lot of walking.”

Doris nodded. “I should have gone with her!”

“Hey, you lost the toss, I remember, your turn to make dinner.” A dinner which was now quite cold.

“Why do I feel so helpless!” Doris slammed her fist against the wall, which left a rather sizeable dent in it. “Oh God, now look what I did!”

Rena gulped. If Doris couldn't control her powers when she was upset, that was a big problem! She made a few calls, while Doris became more and more agitated.

“Ok, that's it, I'm calling in the big guns, and we're going to go out and look for her.” Rena held up her hand and addressed the ring on her finger.

-

“Hey guys, I hate to bother you, but I think we have a serious problem here.”

Jade paused in mid-flight over Boston. She'd been hearing rumors about some new heroes in the area, and had been hoping to catch sight of them, without any luck. “Jade here, what's going on?”

Rena sighed. “It's Lena, she's missing, and Doris is pretty upset.”

Doris and upset were two words Jade didn't really care to hear in the same sentence. Not unlike herself, Giganta had too much power, and she had to work really hard to control herself. If something had actually happened to Lena, well, some people talk about moving Heaven and Earth to save the ones they love.

Doris could actually do it. In fact, some of the projections her ring had made about Giganta's true potential had been enough to give Jade more than a few restless nights!

“Ok, on my way, can anyone else help out?”

“Barbara here, already en route!” Good, Babs could cover a lot of ground, quickly.

“Alena here. On my way.” Jade frowned. Something had been wrong with Alena lately. She hadn't seemed to be her usual self. It might have something to do with Alison being in England, but she couldn't be sure. She'd have to have a talk with the younger girl later.

“If anything happens to Lena, I'll murder the bastards!” Stefani broke in.

“You'd have to get in line, Stef. Don't worry, we'll keep everyone updated.” Which brought up a very good point. If someone had hurt Lena, how was Jade going to prevent her little army from tearing the city apart?

-

Jack Marshall sighed as he ran the trace. McGuire hadn't stayed on long enough for a standard phone trace to work, but then again, Jack had never done anything by the book. It wasn't hard to follow the guy; he'd made a lot of transactions lately, on a LexCorp business card, no less!

He idly scanned some of McGuire's field reports. They were hopelessly out of date; why Lex kept this jackass on the payroll to begin with...but that was irrelevant now. Richard McGuire was dead, he just didn't realize it yet.

He wasn't sure when his boss had walked into the room, but when he turned his chair, there he was. Lex was a pretty big guy, and Jack was, well, a glorified computer nerd. Luthor wouldn't need super strength to rip Jack in half!

“Ok, I can't guarantee anything, and I know that's not acceptable, but here's what I got.” He hit a button and a wireframe image of an old warehouse appeared on his monitor. “The place was originally built in the 20's, it's been abandoned, but it's still in pretty good shape. The owner has been trying to sell it for months now. It was originally a two-story structure, but the upper story was removed. There's a security fence around the property, designed to be unscalable, and only two serviceable entrances on the ground floor.”

He pointed. “Here, a metal security door with a passkey code. The previous tenants were moving some very illegal stuff through here, so they upgraded the security. Then they got busted, leaving the actual owner of the property with a heavily secured warehouse nobody wanted.”

“Get to the point, Marshall.” Luthor nearly growled.

“Right, ok. The main doors were replaced with reinforced steel ones that can be kept shut by a series of locks; you'd need a tank or an RPG to get them open. Now even though the second story is gone, there's still a ladder leading to the roof, and this structure here makes for a perfect sniper's nest. One guy with a decent rifle, and say, five others, and this place is a damned fortress. There might be a sewer access, but Chicago's a mess of old tunnels, I couldn't even begin to find out how to get you in that way.”

“Alright. Get me all the information you have on a disc, then delete everything. I'm hiring an expert to handle this. There's no time to do it in-house; within the hour Chicago is going to be crawling with metahumans trying to tear the place apart to find my daughter.” Lex sighed. “Normally that would be a good thing, but if Richard gets spooked, he may simply kill Lena and run for it.”

Jack handed his boss the disc.

“Good work, Jack.” Lex nodded and left.

Jesus. You know Luthor is upset when he actually compliments you! Jack sat down and started cleaning up. “Richard McGuire, I would sure hate to be you!”

---

To be continued...

Big Trouble!-4 by Lynceus A world, much like our own, but one in which magic, miracles, and even alien life exists. Where heroes and villains alike seem to leap off the pages of our favorite comic books! But for all their power, these superbeings are no gods, but mere mortals, with problems that even the Strength of Hercules cannot easily solve. You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of the imagination. That's the signpost up ahead; your next stop, the Retcon Universe!

---

Respectfully submitted for your approval; Damon Zeul, once a geneticist suffering from a bizarre medical condition, now reborn as a powerful teenaged goddess. But for all her newfound power, she is unable to protect the thing she loves the most. Her story could be our story, but for a simple twist of fate...

I've never felt more helpless as I walked briskly along Lena's normal route, looking for some sign, some clue of what could have happened to her. My imagination was running wild, and I feared for the worst.

Every so often I'd catch sign of a red blur, or a green light in the sky; how I envied my friends for their powers! Some hero I was. I couldn't even protect Lena...

I choked back a sob and leaned against the wall of a building. I felt like my head was spinning! Even in my past life, I'd never felt so weak...but no, that was a lie. I'd endured worse than this. I took a deep breath and forced myself to be calm. Losing control wasn't going to help anyone, least of all Lena.

“Hey baby-doll, you shouldn't be walking by yourself in this neighborhood.”

I turned to find a band of young, tough-looking men facing me. Their leader had a cocky grin on his face, and the lewd way he was looking at me was almost repulsive. But I actually welcomed the distraction.

I grinned at them. “I'm just passing through, boys. Leave me alone and nobody gets hurt.”

-

Barbara Allen, The Flash, ran quickly down the street. She'd doubled back this way twice already, but she'd had no luck. Her heart went out to Doris; if something were to happen to Iris...

No, best not to dwell on that. As she dashed along, she saw something that made her come to a sudden stop, the soles of her custom-made running shoes actually striking sparks as she skidded to a halt. “What in the Hell...?”

A parked car had been neatly flipped over, and there were several tough-looking men laying around, quite unconscious. The sidewalk was heavily cracked as well, as if something very heavy had crossed the cement surface. Hearing a groan, Barbara looked up to find a bruised and battered young man laying on the roof of the building next to her, one arm draped over the edge!

Holding her ring to her face, Barbara made contact with the others.

“Flash here, uh, I got a bunch of people down here..it looks like a bomb went off!”

“Oh. Um, that was me. Sorry. I guess I got carried away.” Doris replied in a meek voice.

Barbara shuddered. “Oh man, remind me never to make you angry!”

Jade sighed as she joined the conversation. “Doris, maybe you should take a break.”

“Take a break?! No fucking way! Lena's out here, and...oh God...”

“Doris, you have to calm down, with your powers...”

“Damn it, Jade! I know! I know it! It's bad enough I'm completely useless, but I'm dangerous too! This is all my fault!

“Uh, hey guys? Rena here, I think I got something, police just got a report of unusual activity on the West side.”

“On my way!” Barbara turned and headed west.

“I'll meet you there, Flash. Doris...”

“Don't worry about me. Worry about the bastards that took Lena.”

Oh man, there was going to be trouble. Big trouble!

Meanwhile...

Crawley sighed and closed the lid of the laptop. The swedish porn video was top-notch, the two blonde lesbians were sexy as hell, but...it just wasn't the same. Four months ago, Lee Crawley had been a completely different person.

He'd played football in high school, before enlisting in the Marines. Which he had to say, was arguably the best time of his life; once he got back to civilian life, he just sort of drifted for awhile. He'd worked as a bouncer, then muscle-for-hire, and, most recently, he'd become a moderately-successful loan shark.

Right up until he got really sick. For the better part of a week he'd been too weak to even leave his apartment, barely able to force himself to eat or drink anything. Maybe he should have called 911, but stupidly, he'd been convinced he'd just picked up some food poisoning or something. And then, just like that, he woke up feeling a lot better. He looked younger, he'd lost a lot of weight, even his hair started growing back. It didn't even bother him when said hair turned brown with reddish streaks.

He was stronger than ever too, which made him cocky. Too cocky. He tried to muscle in on Mike Rosetti's operation, only to be betrayed by his then-girlfriend, Maddie, who shot him with a .357 and left him for dead.

He'd liked Maddie too. The thing was, the bullets hurt a bit, when they hit him, but they didn't actually penetrate his body. In a few hours, even the nasty-looking bruise was gone! When he confronted Maddie, she shot him again, but this time, it didn't even hurt, the bullets bounced off his skin, like in the damn comics!

He didn't hurt her; in his way, he'd loved her, but he did suggest she move back to Jersey, and keep her damn mouth shut. Everyone knew about the metas, hell, Chi-town even had a few lurking around, like that Giant-Girl, who was one disturbingly hot piece of jailbait!

Lee couldn't believe his luck at getting powers. There had to be a way to use this to make his life easier, right? He dug out his old box of comics to do some 'research'.

What he'd eventually realized was, most comic book villains are idiots. They dress up in a flashy costume, make a big splash, and then end up getting flattened by the good guys. Screw that! And while the big money was in drugs, Lee wasn't big on selling to kids.

And then he got the idea of a lifetime. He'd bought an old warehouse on the West side, and offered it as a storage facility for criminals. You pay the fee, you get to stash your stuff for a few months until the heat was off, and you could unload it. And after what he'd done to 'Iron Mike' Rosetti, nobody wanted to mess with him.

And then the changes started. His hair kept growing long and shaggy, and his face started to look noticeably on the young side, almost girlish, really. He'd started growing taller, but not wider (save for around the hips, actually), giving him a stretched-out, slender appearance.

His now-invulnerable skin caused him to shed almost all of his hair; hell, he couldn't even grow stubble! He'd started telling people that he'd hired his kid nephew to work for him, and tried to do as much as he could by phone or email.

Then he got sick again, this time with some severe cramps. He started burning up with a fever, and passed out. He woke up two days later, and, well, to be brief...he wasn't a man anymore.

His own mother wouldn't have recognized the tall young woman; she had extremely long reddish-brown hair that went below her (rather shapely) behind. She was tall, too, 6' 5”, with a sleek, well-toned body with muscles that rippled under the skin like a tiger's.

Her breasts weren't too large, which was something Lee was grateful for; even now, she was still getting used to them. She didn't need a bra to support them, thanks to her invincible skin, but they...jiggled. And got in the way all the time!

The loss of her manhood was the strangest part. Mentally, she was still a 30-something male; she found women very attractive, and had to stop herself from staring at her own reflection. But she wasn't wired right; even watching lesbian porn downloaded from Europe didn't seem to do anything for her.

Thankfully, she wasn't any more attracted to men; the idea of being turned on by a guy scared Lee to death! She'd started calling herself Lily, passing herself off as Lee's estranged daughter. It hadn't been easy; her men weren't big on taking orders from a girl, especially a hot one.

Of course, a few broken bones solved that problem, at least, at first (and earned her the nickname, 'Diamond Lil'). Unfortunately, her body wasn't done screwing with her; when she'd first changed, she looked to be in her mid-20's. Which had been fine, but every time 'Lily' looked in the mirror, she could swear she looked younger than before!

Right now, she could pass for a college girl, but for how long? And how young was she going to get? She was going to have to find someone who could help her. Maybe that Jade chick? But first, she had to liquidate her business, one way or another. And fast!

But as her father used to tell her (back when she'd been a young man), you never know when the Devil is going to show up at your door and tell you that your time is up. In Lil's case, the Devil was a 20' tall redhead.

-

Jade hovered over the warehouse, her presence concealed by her ring, an ability that never failed to amuse her. Considering that everything else the Power Ring did was simultaneously 'flashy' and 'green', the fact that it could do anything subtle was nothing short of amazing!

Scanning complete. Warehouse contains illegal contraband and banned weapons, as well as armed guards.

“And Lena?” Jade frowned.

Inconclusive. Lifesigns consistent with a young human female are present, but they are abnormal. Possibly metahuman in origin.

“Metahuman? Lena's not a meta, is she?” Rena's voice broke in just then.

“She...could be.” Doris didn't sound good at all. Normally, Doris could be counted on to be a rock, but right now, she sounded anything but stable. “I mean, I ran some tests, and there were a few funny results, but...”

“Well, if she is inside, and she has manifested powers, she's not using them to break free. I think we should investigate more...” Jade stopped short when she realized a very tall and upset-looking redhead was stomping towards the main gate. Oh hell...

“I can't wait! She could be hurt! I'm going in!” Doris crashed through the chain-link gate like it was nothing, and then started to dash for the warehouse door, growing the whole time.

The guards didn't even try to shoot at her, they just jumped out of her way. Already two stories tall, Doris threw her shoulder into the door, causing it to cave in.

“Christ! Everyone, move in and back her up!” Jade wasn't the kind of girl to swear, but she was sorely tempted just then. She dropped down, using her ring to phase through the roof of the building.

Already a red blur was dashing through the building, looking for guards. Babs didn't see the need to hurt anyone, she simply relieved the men of their weapons, and removed a few pieces to make them worthless before tossing them aside. Of course, the warehouse had a lot of weapons in it...

Rena was the last to enter the building; while she was strong and tough, her main abilities were more useful underwater. That having been said, it was satisfying to send a grown man flying with a flick of her wrist!

But the real damage was being inflicted by Giganta, who was literally ripping the place apart. “Where is she?! Give Lena back, or I'll tear this whole place down!”

Jade bit her lower lip. Was she going to have to take Doris down to stop her? Already, Giganta had grown taller, and she was dangerously close to the roof.

-

Lily ran out of her office only to find a scene from her worst nightmare before her. Giganta and Jade?! “No, God, I stayed out of there way, I didn't put on a costume...why me? Why now?”

A red blur zipped past her, then came back, skidding to a halt. Lil found herself looking down at a girl in a red costume with a big lightning bolt over her chest. “Uh, hi there, I'm The Flash. You're not with these other guys, are you?”

Lily blinked. If she'd had a moment to think, she'd have probably claimed to be an innocent bystander, and slipped away in the confusion. But she didn't really have a moment to think, as a support beam gave way above her.

Amazingly, 'Flash' didn't even notice, forcing Lil to shove the girl out of the way. Unfortunately, Lil kept getting stronger all the time, so the girl ended up flying a considerable distance, before slamming into a small shipping container, and falling to the floor in a heap.

The support beam struck Lil, knocking her to the side, but even it didn't hurt. Just made her a little dizzy. “Heh...it's good to be the king!”

And then a 30+ foot-tall girl grabbed her with both hands! “You hurt Flash! Where's Lena?!”

Lil struggled, but even her strength couldn't match Giganta's. “Ah, damn it, it was an accident! Let me go!” In her mind, a little voice was taunting Lily. Worst. Villain. Ever.

“Don't push me, bitch!” Giganta glared at the woman in her hands. She'd never felt this angry before in her life! She just wanted to squeeze the life out of someone! “Give me back my Lena!”

Lil discovered an interesting fact about her powers just then. While she couldn't be physically harmed, she could have the air squeezed out of her!

-

“Giganta! Enough, you'll kill her!” A green beam of light shot out, surrounding the long-haired girl.

Doris was out of control, and she knew it. But even so, she felt horribly betrayed. Jade? Protecting a criminal? I'll kill her!

No, wait...that wasn't right...why did she feel suddenly so heavy? “Oh God...Jade! Get everyone out!”

-

Rena had just picked up Babs when she heard Doris scream. There was no time to think, she simply ran for the nearest wall, and hoped she was stronger than a cinder block and corrugated sheet metal wall! Just before she hit it, however, a green light struck the wall, and Rena fell through it, stumbling forward several feet before tripping and falling on the gravel outside.

Luckily for Babs (but not so lucky for her), Rena ended up cushioning Miss Allen's fall. Rolling over, she got to see the warehouse literally explode, sending bits and pieces of metal in every direction, none of which, thankfully, struck her or Barbara.

She was expecting to see a gigantic redhead, but as the dust settled, all she could make out (even with her enhanced vision) was the green glow of Jade's force field as the Green Lantern slowly descended, setting a very tall, long-haired woman to the ground.

Jade looked towards Rena. “Are you two ok?”

“I think so...where's Doris?!”

“I'm going to find out.” Jade flew off, leaving Rena to wonder who the new girl was.

-

Inside the ruins of the warehouse, Jade found a large, smoking crater in the floor. Deep cracks ran through the surrounding concrete. But rather than a giantess, as Jade descended, she found a much smaller girl, unconscious and naked, laying in the crater.

Gently picking Doris up, Jade was amazed to find that the other girl was much smaller than normal; about the height of a nine year-old, in fact! “Is she ok?” Jade practically snarled at her ring.

There are contusions as well as a minor concussion, but no lasting injuries. It would appear that she was forced to compress a great deal of mass in a short time. This seems inconsistent with earlier projections on her abilities...

“Shut up. I need to get her to the ship's sickbay.”

Shutting up, Ma'am.

Jade winced. Wonderful, her ring was becoming more of a smart-ass all the time...

-

Lil woke up in a strange room. The walls and floors were metal, and she could feel a faint vibration through the metal. “I'm on a ship?” She sat up slowly from the couch she was laying on.

“Yes, but not the kind you're thinking of.”

Looking over, Lil found herself facing the girl from before. “Uh...hey, sorry about pushing you so hard..”

The girl grinned. She was wearing some kind of yellow transparent visor. It didn't disguise her features all that well, but Lil supposed if you can run super-fast, you'd want to keep dust out of your eyes. “Relax, you saved me from becoming the World's Flattest Girl.”

Lil looked to the girl's chest, and bit her tongue. Not that it hurt, but...

The girl looked down and blushed. “Jeez, you don't have to rub it in.”

“Sorry. Uh, so where am I?”

“Right now? You're a guest on board Jade's starship. Hella cool, I know.”

Starship?! “No way!”

“Ha, I know how you feel. So don't think about trying to escape, unless you can fly in outer space.”

Lil licked her lips. “Uh, no, I give up. I don't know what tipped you guys off about my place, but you got me fair and square.”

The girl sat down in a chair and sighed. “Actually, it was bad luck all around. A friend of ours got kidnapped, we found you by accident.”

“Crap. So now what?”

The Flash shrugged. “Up to Jade. Most likely, CSI will be picking through the rubble for weeks to find out exactly what you had stashed there. A lot of it went up in smoke, but you'd still be looking at prison time.”

“Uh...maybe we could make a deal?”

Barbara Allen leaned forward with a smile.

-

Rena felt an odd sense of deja vu watching Jade pace. They were in the medical bay, where the autodoc was going over Doris with a fine-toothed comb. Glancing at the readings, she relaxed. “It says she'll be fine. Although...why is she so small?”

Jade shrugged. “I don't know. I mean, we know she can get smaller, but it usually takes effort. The best model I had on how her powers work is that she doesn't actually grow. She shrinks.”

Rena nodded. “Yeah, Lena was saying something like that. Doris is actually some immense, super-dense giant girl or something. A big hunk of girl-shaped dark matter, that's normally compressed into, uh, Minkowski space or something?”

“Right. So I have no idea what's going on. In fact...”

Just then, Rena's cell phone rang. Reaching for it, she nearly dropped the phone when she saw who it was. “Holy shit, it's Lena!”

-

Catwoman idly watched through half-lidded eyes as the dark-haired girl fiddle with the cell phone the pretty stewardess had given her. Although she wanted to do nothing more than curl up and have a catnap, having successfully saved Luthor's kid, some part of her mind was intrigued.

Lena Luthor was no ordinary girl! Before Catwoman's eyes, the girl had pried open the cell with a tiny screwdriver and made a few adjustments. Reacting to her interest, the nanites of her suit amplified her vision several times over, allowing her to see what Lena was doing.

Impressive, she was turning the cellular into a 'clone' of another cell phone; despite the fact she didn't have the other phone handy! Not that Catwoman couldn't do the same thing herself, of course, but seeing someone else do it, with nothing more than the tools one would use to fix their glasses, was pretty slick!

She closed her eyes as Lena made a call, but the 'ears' of her suit twitched as it recorded the conversation. It could be interesting to listen to later...

-

Lena closed the phone and clenched her hands so tightly, her nails cut into her palms and broke the flesh. She had to remain calm, even though she wanted to do nothing more than to bawl like a baby. Doris was hurt, and it was all her fault! She should have been more careful! The only reason she was safe now was due to the Catwoman..and her father.

She'd been excited watching Catwoman in action. Whoever she was, she was unbelievably good, and the tech she had was simply unreal! The reactive camo technology alone was enough to make her drool...she'd have to make sure not to mention it to her old man!

And she was also touched by her father's devotion. Evil or not, he'd spared no expense to rescue her. The downside, of course, was that Daddy would want to spend some quality time with her. And with Doris injured, that was going to be difficult.

I should be with her now! But she wasn't going to cry. No hospital on Earth could take care of Doris better, and she knew she could trust the others to keep her lover safe. But it wasn't the same!

Lover. Was that really the word? The way she felt about Doris was deeper than anything she'd ever known. Even calling her 'girlfriend' didn't seem to do it justice. What was Doris to her, really?

It was something she would have a long time to think about.

-

Lena and Catwoman were met at the airport by Mercy Graves, her father's right-hand woman. Mercy was a tall, imposing young woman, and Lena didn't think she'd last two seconds against her in a fight.

True to form, however, Catwoman was less than impressed by Mercy's thuggish aura, and simply walked up to the woman, hips (and tail) swaying sensually. Lena found herself licking her own lips at the sight, hoping Doris would forgive her for being sexually attracted to the thief, who seemed to combine the best traits of Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry, and Julie Newmar in a downright sexy package!

Catwoman sized up Mercy, purring, and ran a finger slowly down the front of the taller woman's livery uniform. Lena couldn't make out what was said, but Mercy's cheeks flushed a bit. And then, just like that, Catwoman slid into the backseat of the limo with the casual grace of a queen!

Lena looked up at Mercy. “Dayum.”

Mercy nodded. “Agreed.”

-

After taking a long, and much-needed shower, Lena got dressed; her sundress was a bit worse for wear, but someone had taken the time to buy her a new outfit. No tags or labels on anything, custom-made, and all in her size. “I guess I shouldn't be surprised.”

She paused to scratch her scalp. Ever since she'd woken up in the warehouse, it had been itching something fierce. Oddly, her hair felt thicker, and a quick glance at the mirror told her that she was overdue for a haircut. In fact, it looked longer than before... “Ok, that's just weird.” Shaking her head, she went to see her father.

Mercy ushered her into her father's office, which was typically self-indulgent. Marble floors, priceless works of art, samurai armor and weapons...it somehow stopped just short of being ostentatious. Her father got up from his desk and walked towards her. She'd forgotten how tall he was!

And then, to her shock, he kneeled down and hugged her fiercely. “Lena, thank God you're alright.”

Real emotion from Lex Luthor? It was simply too much; she couldn't keep up the facade any more. She burst into tears and barely noticed as he picked her up and carried her to a couch.

No words were said. There wasn't any need; Lex Luthor was ambitious and rotten to the core. But he loved his daughter. And despite her better judgment, Lena loved him back.

-

Lena just barely caught Catwoman before she left. “Uh, hey.”

The Catwoman turned, placing a hand on one hip. Was everything she did sexy? “Yes?”

“I just wanted to thank you. I know it's your job, but you really impressed me.”

Catwoman smiled. “You're welcome, my dear. It was my pleasure.”

Well, actually, the way she said it was more like 'Yurrr welcome, my dearr. It was my pleasurrre'; she rolled her R's in a way that should have been cheesy...but was actually just short of criminal, sending tiny shivers up and down Lena's spine!

“I don't suppose you'd be interested in selling any of your toys?”

Catwoman smiled, but shook her head. “I don't like to share.”

“Fairrr...uh, fair enough. I haven't mentioned anything to Dad. Professional courtesy. And I'm not going to mention you to Jade, either. Although...” Lena handed Catwoman a slip of paper. “Here's how I can be contacted. Just in case you find yourself needing my services...or my contacts.”

The Catwoman seemed to appraise Lena for a long minute before nodding. “You can contact me?” It wasn't a question.

“Mmayybee...” Lena drawled with a wink.

The older woman nodded. “Good. I think we could be friends.” She stepped forward and ran her fingers through Lena's hair. Lena was very aware of the sharp talons that were part of the Catwoman's gloves, but she remained still.

“Your hair is growing quickly. Such nice hair....soft. Try to stay out of trouble, hm?” She purred, and Lena couldn't help but shiver.

“I plan on it. People got hurt because of me, I don't like that.”

Catwoman seemed to understand. “It's a hard lesson you learned. That's why I don't let anyone get too close.”

I understood what she meant, but...I'd lived that way before. I didn't want to be that lonely ever again!

-

Doris woke up slowy. She felt very light, and sitting up, she was astonished to find herself in the Starcruiser Jordan's medical bay! Her surroundings looked larger than normal...in fact, the cot she was laying on was huge! She blinked as her mind reassessed the situation. Things weren't larger, she was smaller!

She was wearing a simple gown, likely conjured for her by the ship's replicator. Sliding out of bed, she marvelled at how her feet didn't touch the floor. This wasn't the smallest she'd ever been, but it was still noteworthy. Her bare feet touched the floor, and she reached up to wave her ring in front of the intercom.

“Jade? I'm really sorry.”

“Oh jeez, Doris! You're awake! I'll be right there!” Jade wasn't kidding, either, a few seconds later, she simply came through the bulkhead, thanks to her ring's 'quantum tunneling' stunt. She grabbed Doris up and held her tightly. “I was so worried!”

Doris squeaked a little. “Uh, hi?”

With a blush, Jade put her friend down on the floor. “It's been two days, oh God, Lena's been worried sick!”

“Lena?! She's ok?!”

Jade nodded. “She's in New York. Some asshole kidnapped her and tried to ransom her off to Daddy Luthor. Lex didn't care for the idea and hired some pro to extract her.”

Her vision quickly blurred from tears, but Doris couldn't help but smile. “I'm glad she's safe. Oh God...I'm so sorry Jade! I just...the idea of losing her...I couldn't...”

Jade crouched down to hug her friend. “It's ok, Doris. It really is. We all know how much she means to you.” She brushed a lock out of the other girl's eyes, and conjured a green-glowing handkerchief with her ring to wipe the girl's eyes. “It's weird you being so small, I keep wanting to treat you like a kid.”

“It's okay. I've been acting like one.”

“Doris...”

“It's because you have a big heart that you forgive me, Jade. But the truth is, I could have gotten everyone hurt. I...I think maybe I should give you back your ring.”

“You know, you're the perfect height right now for me to put over my knee and spank. Doris, don't even say that you want to quit! I...we...really need you.”

Doris sighed. “I just feel terrible about this.”

Jade couldn't resist ruffling her friend's hair. “I know. But it'll be ok. We'll go get Lena back from her Dad, and you two can take a little vacation.”

Doris smiled. “I'd like that.” She paused, a look of concentration on her face. A few moments later, it was replaced by a look of shock instead. “Jade! I...I can't grow!”

Jade's eyes widened. “You're sure?!”

Doris nodded. “Nothing's happening! I...I'm stuck this way!”

-

Jade's reply was somewhat unladylike. While that's understandable, I won't repeat it here.

---

To be continued...with apologies to Rod Serling.

Big Trouble!-5 by Lynceus I missed Lena terribly; I hadn't realized how much I'd come to rely on her support! Going home to an empty bed didn't sound very promising either, so I decided to stay in space and try to figure out what was wrong with my powers. Try as I might, however, I couldn't seem to make any headway. And then I got some help from an unexpected source..

---

I wanted to throw something. Unfortunately, the Starcruiser Jordan isn't the best place to throw a tantrum. Frustrated, I turned away from the monitor. I really needed to talk to Lena, but she would be asleep by now.

It's hard to keep track of time in space; day and night don't really exist as we know them. Not long after Jade left, I curled up on a cot and went to sleep. I woke up taller than I was before, but still a lot shorter than my normal height. I measured myself in the medical bay.

5' 1”. I tried to make myself grow, but all I got for my trouble was a sudden wave of vertigo. I lost my balance and fell to the floor. It didn't really hurt, but for some reason, I started crying anyways. The mature adult I had once been was gone, replaced by a little girl who burst into tears at the drop of a hat!

Was this really all I was without Lena? God, I'm so pathetic! Jade's Power Ring claimed I had the willpower to be a Green Lantern myself, but right now, I sure didn't believe it.

A long, hot shower sounded pretty good about now, but home was pretty far away, and while it was neat, the sonic shower onboard wasn't the same. With a heavy sigh, I picked myself up, wiped away my tears, and tried to get back to work.

-

I'd come to a conclusion about the so-called 'metagene'. Ever since I'd started studying metahumans in earnest, I'd run into several stumbling blocks. Whatever it was that made myself different from a normal human, was no mere mutation!

There was a genetic marker that all the metahumans I'd studied so far seemed to share, but whether or not it was really the 'metagene' itself was debatable. Of course, while the medical bay had some fairly advanced equipment, I lacked the resources to do any kind of full-scale testing.

Heck, I didn't even have blood samples from all the girls yet!

That was understandable, of course, we all had pretty hectic lives; to date, Jade hadn't yet managed to get us all in the same room! But some, I suspected, had their own reasons for not wanting to help me out. Jade herself, for example, hadn't given me any DNA to test. Granted, she claimed to be a normal human, but at this stage in testing, a negative was just as good as a positive, perhaps even more so.

Even Lena had the marker in question, although there were no signs that she had any kind of superhuman abilities, unless you count her staggering I.Q...and that was likely the product of normal genetics in action, given who her father is.

I slam my fist on the counter. Damn it! It's not fair! Lena should be with me, not him! Lex Luthor is a monster; he tried to kill me, and he's experimented on people against their will! How can Lena love him?

“Ow, shit, that smarts!” I suddenly realize I'd done more damage to my hand than any part of the Starcruiser. What the hell is wrong with me?

Luckily, my hand is just bruised, so I sit down and try to get back to work. I need to get my mind off of things, that's all. The equipment in the medical bay can't really detect any changes in myself, so whatever the problem with my powers is, it's not physical. I can't discount the idea of a mental or emotional block; I'd scared myself with how reckless I'd been with my powers!

But I don't think that's it, really. Somehow, my emotional state had interfered with the process that let me juggle my mass and size around. I'd quite literally 'dropped the ball', and shunted my extra mass..somewhere else.

The process had created an explosion, or more accurately, a concussive blast with enough force to level the warehouse. I wasn't sure why, and for the life of me, I didn't know why the explosion hadn't done more damage! I mean, if I converted my mass to energy or something silly like that, well, you get the idea.

So I was left with the theory that I was somehow drawing mass from some other dimension or 'pocket universe'. And that I'd disrupted my connection with the sub-dimension, which was why I couldn't draw extra mass out of it now. At least, not reliably.

But that still left so many questions. Like how I was able to function as a giant woman without collapsing under my own weight! I put my hands to my head. “Argh! I can't think!”

“Wow, uh, is this a bad time?”

I looked up to find an unfamiliar woman standing at the door to the medical lab. She was really tall, close to 6' 6”, and about college-aged. She also had the longest hair I'd ever seen, which fell down past her (rather shapely) buttocks. And she was seriously toned!

I mean, I have a very trim, athletic build, and Lena often calls me an Amazon. But I have nothing on this woman! Despite that, she was far from unattractive, although a lot of people would be intimidated by her.

“Uh...sorry, do I know you?”

She chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah, but the last time we met, you were a lot taller and trying to crush the life out of me.”

“Oh my God...I'm so sorry about that!”

The woman shook her head. “Relax, Flash told me the whole story. You thought I'd kidnapped your friend or something. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about what happened, but..” She shrugged. “I don't see the need to be sore about it.”

“I appreciate that. So why are you still here?”

She smirked. “You mean, as opposed to being in a jail cell? Seems your boss, that Jade chick, thinks I could be useful. So if I help out, she can let bygones be bygones.”

I frowned. “I don't like the sound of that. It's almost like blackmail, isn't it?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. It depends on what I have to do, and what I can get out of it. Look, I don't know about the rest of you kids, but getting superpowers hasn't been all fun-and-games for me. Dressing up and playing hero isn't exactly the first thing that came to mind, either.”

I held up a hand. “Hold up, let's start over. I'm Doris, what's your name?”

She walked over to a chair and turned it backwards, sitting in it like a guy would. “Lee. Well, actually, I've been going by Lily ever since...”

“You stopped being a guy?”

She literally growled at me! “What, is it printed on my forehead or something?”

I shook my head. “No, but it's really common. Almost all known metahumans are girls, and only a few of them started that way. We're not really sure why.”

She frowned. “So that means...you're a guy?”

I smiled. “Well, my situation is a little more complicated, but yes. I didn't look like this before I got my powers.”

Something of her aggressiveness seemed to drain out of her. “Oh.”

“Doesn't help, I know. You look at me, and you see a pretty girl. Even worse, I don't seem to be all that upset about not being a guy anymore. And that pisses you off, doesn't it?”

Her brow furrowed slightly. “Yeah, it does. Fuck, are you some kind of psychiatrist?”

“No, just I've dealt with a lot of people like us. You have a lot of mixed feelings about what you've become, I can tell. Because I've seen it. And been there, to an extent”. I slid out of the chair and walked over to her.

“I used to be Damon Zeul. I suffered from a rare medical condition..I was really short and girlish even as a grown man. Maybe if I'd tried to live as a woman, or had an operation, I'd have been happier, but I'd been raised as a boy, so I never really considered it.”

“So..this wasn't really that bad for you.” She spoke slowly, choosing her words with care.

“No, actually, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. But not at first. I mean, my whole identity had been wiped clean; I wasn't me anymore, but this pretty teenager! I was 27! I had a doctorate! And now?” I shook my head. “I didn't know who I was anymore. Or what to do.”

“Yeah, I can relate to that. I'm an ex-Marine, for fuck's sake. Now I'm some girl. Even looking at girls isn't the same...” She trailed off, her cheeks coloring.

“Lee. It's ok. You can't help how you feel. Your body is pumping all kinds of weird chemicals into your bloodstream, everything about you is changing.”

“I know! I know it! But...fuck. I'm a man! I swear to God, if I start liking guys, I'll blow my brains out!”

I slapped her. “Don't talk like that!”

She blinked at me, even as I sucked in a breath as my hand throbbed in pain. “Fuck...ow...!”

“I hurt you, I'm sorry.” She did look pretty upset, to be honest.

“I tried to slap you silly, and you're apologizing to me?” I winced. Hitting her was like hitting a wall!

“I...I guess it's stupid, but I don't like hurting girls.”

I shook my head. “You were raised to think it was wrong?”

“Hey, if a girl can handle herself, and she starts something, I'll lay her out like a man. But...I don't know. I can bully a guy all day long, but I hate bullying girls. Especially pretty ones.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Was that a compliment?”

She ran her fingers through her hair. “Sorry. Yeah.”

“Don't apologize, I appreciate it. Even though I see this face in the mirror every day, it's still kind of new to me. Being..you know...pretty.”

She nodded. “Yeah. And sorry about saying I'd kill myself. That's the kind of emo bullshit we don't tolerate in the Corps.”

“I can understand why you'd feel that way. I mean, the first time I realized I was flirting with a guy, I was scared half to death!”

Lee licked her lips. “So you...you've been with..?”

“Oh, no. I don't think I'll ever be ready for that. I'm actually with another girl.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh shit, so the girl that was kidnapped, she was your girlfriend?! No wonder you were pissed off!”

I smiled. “You took that better than I thought you would. I guess lesbians don't scare you as much?”

“No, why would...hey! That's not fair!” She attempted to give me an angry glare, but it looked more like a sexy pout than anything.

I giggled. “Sorry. But I had to make the point.”

“Ok fine. I'm a hypocrite. Happy now?”

I shook my head. “You misunderstand. I'm not mocking you. I'm trying to point out that a lot of your problems are in your head. You need to stop thinking of everything as gay or straight, male or female. Let's cut to the chase; you think women are weak. Not all women, but most women. You also think gay men are weak, because a lot of them act like women. The problem you're having is, you're not a weak person. You've never let yourself be weak.”

I paused to let my words sink in. “You feel that you have to be strong, tough, and aggressive. Weak people get pushed around, and you don't let anyone push you around.”

“No. I don't.” She glowered at me.

I tried another tack. “Your Dad was a Marine, huh?”

She blinked. “Yeah, how did you guess?”

“So was mine. Mine didn't stop bullying me until I left for college.”

She looked at her hands. “When I was fifteen, he hit Mom. I broke his arm and his jaw with a baseball bat, and told him to get out. That was the last time I ever saw him.” She looked up at me, and I thought she was going to cry. “I turned into him, didn't I? I'm the same!”

“Of course you're not! You'd never hit a woman like that!”

“...I guess I wouldn't. Still..what you're saying is, he pushed people around because he didn't want to be pushed...which made me the same way.”

I shivered slightly as I felt my body grow a few inches taller. I tried to stay relaxed, forcing it didn't seem to work. But I couldn't help but feel a little giddy. I understood Lee's mindset; being small made me feel weak, and being taller empowered me. Except when I was with Lena.

Somehow, being smaller than her felt right in a way I can't quite explain. With her, I don't need to be strong. She makes me feel safe. Loved.

Lee looked up at me as she realized what was going on. Thankfully, adjusting the disguise my ring generates as I change height is second nature for me. I didn't think flashing her would be very conducive to our conversation!

I stopped growing at what I guessed was the 6' mark (my 'default' size has grown a little over the past few weeks) and placed my hand on her shoulder. “You're not alone, Lee.”

She grinned. “Is there anyplace on this tub to get a beer?”

-

Getting the replicator to synthesize alcohol isn't easy; I gather an intoxicated Green Lantern is not a pretty sight! Still, I have enough chemical knowledge that I was able to con it into producing something that tasted like light beer, and could loosen you up a little. I offered a glass to Lee, and she took a sip.

“Say, that's not bad. A little watered-down, but it tastes alright.”

“Glad you approve, the thing isn't really supposed to dispense Miller Genuine Draft. Then again, I've never been a big beer drinker anyways.”

Lee liked her lips. “You don't have to drink the stuff if you don't like it.”

I shrugged. “It's okay. I'll see if I can't get the damn thing to make a Long Island next.”

Lee whistled. “That's a serious drink.”

“Yep. But it tastes better. I never said I couldn't hold my alcohol, I just don't like beer.”

She saluted me with her glass. “Point taken. I appreciate this, by the way. You don't have any reason to be nice to me. I'm a thug and a criminal.”

“Maybe, but that doesn't mean you're a bad person. Believe me, I wasn't planning on using my powers to help people at first either. I had people trying to kill me, and I didn't want to put Lena in any danger.”

“So what changed your mind?”

I sighed. “Lena, of course. She knows me better than I know myself. I always wanted to help people, it's why I went into genetics in the first place. I mean, sure, I wanted to understand why I was different, but it was more about helping other kids not to have to go through the same hell I did.”

Lee shook her head. “I wish I could have done things differently. Maybe I wouldn't have lost Maddie...”

“Maddie?”

She let out a breath. “Short for Madison, which she hated. She thought it sounded like a boy's name.” Lee chuckled ruefully. “She wasn't the most beautiful girl around, but she was tough, and smart. I liked her a lot. I think I loved her...I tried so hard with her. I tried to be the guy I thought she deserved.”

“So what happened?”

“...she betrayed me. Set me up to get shot. I should have died, but...lucky me, I'm bulletproof!” She looked like she was about to say something else, but she quickly took a drink of her not-quite-beer.

“I won't try to slap you again, I promise.”

She frowned. “I feel like you can read my mind, Doris. Ok, fine. When I realized I was still alive...I didn't want to be. Bad enough to die with a broken heart...living with one...it's bad, Doris.”

I stood up and walked behind her, putting my arms around her gently. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. “Lee, it's not your fault. You may be a bad boy at heart, but you're not a monster. If she could do that, it means she couldn't have loved you.”

“...I know. But it still hurts!”

“I think that's why looking at girls doesn't do anything for you. It's not your hormones, although they're not helping. You feel like you're cheating on her.”

She froze again. “...fuck me.”

“Tempting, but I'm a one-woman kind of girl.”

“...ha ha. Very funny. Not.” Still, she giggled, then put a hand to her mouth. “Ugh!”

I laughed. “I felt the same way! Guys don't giggle, right?”

“I guess this guy does. It's not going to be easy, but...you've made your point. I'm a girl now. So I have to change some things. But that doesn't mean I have to change everything, either.”

“Only what will make you happy, Lee.”

She half-turned to face me. “Call me Lil.”

“Lil it is. Say, have you thought about cutting this hair at all? I mean, it's lovely, but it has to be hard to manage!”

“You ain't kidding! I mean, it's heavy, but that's kind of ok; I'm pretty strong. But I keep sitting on it, which hurts, and I've even gotten it caught in a door...which sucks.”

“Ouch. Glad my hair isn't that long.”

“But yeah, uh, I tried to cut it. I can't.”

I blinked. “What, it grows back?”

She shook her head. “No, I mean, I literally can't! Nothing seems to cut it, it's as tough as the rest of me!”

“...really. Hm...” I bugged the computer to replicate a few cutting instruments, and sure enough, nothing seemed to work!

“Well that's damned weird. I wonder if Dream has the same problem?”

“You mean American Dream?”

“Yeah, I'm guessing your powers are similar. She's pretty much impossible to hurt as well.”

“Huh. I guess that means you couldn't, like, take any blood samples or anything either.”

I moved to face her. “Why, is something wrong?”

“Well, it's just...I didn't change overnight. I mean, first I got invulnerable, and then I started getting younger...taller...stronger. Turning into a chick was slow at first.”

I nodded. “Go on, hon.”

“Well, when I first became, you know, 100% girl, I looked maybe 25. Since then, I've gotten even younger looking. And it hasn't stopped. I keep looking younger all the time...and I'm a little worried about it. Is it going to stop? How young will I get?”

“Honestly, I don't know. I mean, American Dream is really 35...”

Lil made a face. “Oh God, she was a guy too? I think I'm going to throw up!”

“I thought the girls didn't do anything for you anymore? And isn't she a bit young-looking for you? Should I be worried?” I grinned.

“Don't joke, please! So...I can get as young as you, then?”

“Well, the youngest I've seen so far is Stefani, she's 18, but looks like, 12 to 13.”

“Jesus. I don't want to be that young!”

“I think you'd be cute at that age, myself. But...I'm inclined to think that won't happen.”

“Why not?”

“Well, the fact that your body bothered growing. I mean, why bother getting taller if you're eventually going to get smaller?”

“Uh...this from the Incredible Shrinking/Growing Woman.”

I laughed. “Yes, but that's actually my power!”

“Well, here's hoping you're right. I could still get kind of young tho', couldn't I? I mean, when do girls stop growing? Eighteen?”

“Sixteen, usually.”

“Oh God.”

I patted her arm. “It'll be alright, Lil, I promise. When Jade gets back, I can ask her to scan you with her ring, plus there's a medical scanner here. Blood sample or no, I'll do my best to help you.”

“...I really don't deserve it, but thank you.”

I flashed her my biggest smile. “That's what friends are for.”

-

Somehow, befriending Lil made me feel a lot better about myself. Maybe my confidence had been messing with my powers, I really couldn't be certain, not without more tests. And once you got her out of her shell, Lil was a blast to hang out with. It's weird; in our former lives, we'd have never gotten along, even if we had met.

But here we are, quickly becoming very good friends. Life sure is strange sometimes.

Hell, she even asked me about clothes, which surprised me. I warned her not to move too fast, but she claimed she was getting bored of the tomboy look. Although, at her size, I think she's kind of stuck for it, poor thing.

Oddly, even though we can't cut her hair (Jade even tried to use her ring like a laser, and she couldn't cut a single strand!), it can be dyed. After a few attempts, she finally settled on this nice henna shade, a little darker than my own hair, and it looks great on her.

Of course, Jade isn't quite ready to hand out another magic ring, but I'm hopeful that Lily will prove to be more than a diamond in the rough.

I'd really love to see her shine.

---

To be continued...

Author's Note: I know I promised to explain Giganta's powers more in this chapter...blame my Muse! Still, I think it turned out better this way. -Lynceus