Sarah looked at the woman across from her with a mix of fury, contempt, awe, and respect.
Liz Anderson might not be an adept, but her focus was unparalleled. And that had made this a fair fight.
Too fair, indeed; Sarah realized about halfway through that she was losing.
The only thing that had kept things going this long was the fact that Liz didn't know how badly she had Sarah outclassed; it had kept her from cutting loose, as she hung back and tried to analyze Sarah's power. That, in turn, had given Sarah a chance to transport the few unlucky college students in their general vicinity out of danger; if not for an instinctive transport spell, at least twelve underclassmen would've been crushed by ass as she fell from a roundhouse punch.
But the fight was reaching its apex now. Liz had just about sussed the extent of Sarah's power, and she was just about to start the endgame, when suddenly, Sarah heard D.X. call out from below.
"Sarah! Shrink!" he said, and as any good soldier does when ordered by her commander, she reacted unblinkingly.
Liz's spell zipped over her head as she quickly resumed her more common dimensions. She stared up at the awesome figure above her, a woman resplendent in a short denim skirt and simple white top, and no shoes.
"Clear out, Sarah. Take Leah," said Jake, advancing to the front. "This one's mine."
* * *
The man watched the television, dumbfounded.
He had paid little attention to the breaking news alert; had to be the war, he reasoned. Nothing major.
When the image appeared on the screen, he blinked, hard. Then blinked again. He turned the television off, and back on again, just to be sure he wasn't dreaming it.
Then, he let out a whoop that filled his empty apartment, the sound of pure joy.
Within three minutes, he was online, fatfingering the login half a dozen times in his excitement. He started the thread in all caps. The creator of the board would be annoyed by that, but if ever something called for shouting, this was it.
"IT'S REAL!!!! IT'S REALLY REAL!!!!" he typed, joyously. He wasn't thinking about what was actually going on in Madison, what those events were like for the people on the ground.
For that moment, he was only aware that what he had always dreamed of could be. For that moment, he knew that his fantasy could be achieved in real life.
Within minutes, the thread had dozens of respondents. And nobody complained about the capitalization.
* * *
The foot smashed into the ground, just missing D.X.
"Nice try, Liz," he shouted. "But you've proven you can beat me by brute force. You're going to have to beat me with GTS."
"AND WHY WOULD I BOTHER CASTING A SPELL WHEN I CAN SIMPLY CRUSH YOU?" came the blasé response from above, as another foot crashed to Earth.
"You haven't crushed me yet, Liz. You're going to have to engage me. Transport!" he cried, as a foot came a bit to close.
Meanwhile, Leah was squaring off with Scott and Sarah.
"You won't beat me this time, kids," said the deposed President. "Not that easily."
"Oh, I don't know," said Scott. "Seems to me we beat you really, really easily last time."
"Yeah," said Sarah. "I mean, Scott barely had to try."
"And Sarah wasn't involved at all."
"Threatening me, eh?" chuckled Leah. "I wasn't expecting your attack. But I am now. I'm on my guard, adepts. Have at me."
* * *
Gen. Mitch Michaelson paced outside the Oval Office. It was natural that he'd be summoned. His failed Operation Beanstalk had been the closest anyone had come to achieving the kind of effects that were occurring in Madison.
Indeed, they'd succeeded—but unfortunately, the documentation on Finney was sketchy, and they'd never succeeded in replicating the effect. And Finney, damn him, had escaped, and was probably dead long ago.
Michaelson hadn't lost his rank—after all, Beanstalk was never supposed to work at all. Instead, he'd bounced around for a while before ending up at the Pentagon.
He didn't talk much about the events that had occurred in Ames. But that was about to change. Those bitches had the power, and he knew that the nation was in peril until and unless the military could harness the same power.
"General Michaelson, the President will see you now," announced the secretary, curtly.
"About goddamn time," he muttered, walking through the door.
* * *
Teri watched the events helplessly. She knew this wasn't going to end well. She didn't know how, or why, but she knew.
She watched as Sarah and Scott grappled with Leah Jackson, trading blow for blow with an opponent of superlative strength and tactical sense. They'd win this fight; Teri knew it wasn't close.
Anon was tending to the wounded on their side, trying to stem the tide. Ronnie was badly hurt—unconscious, and breathing shallow.
And then there was Jake, daring Liz to bring the pain.
Teri watched as her husband dove and weaved and shouted at the giantess, and she knew suddenly what he was trying to do.
"Jake, no!" she screamed.
And then she was running. Running full-speed toward the battle in front of her.
She was about ten feet from Jake when Liz struck.
* * *
Frustrate a giantess long enough and eventually she'll snap.
D.X. wasn't just expecting Liz to cut loose with everything she had; he was counting on it.
This was the only way. He knew it in his heart. This would end it all, all the pain, all the suffering, all the madness. This would bring this sad spectacle to an end.
It was the only way.
He knew it.
He didn't have to like it.
"ALL RIGHT, YOU FLEA," said Liz, coldly. "YOU WANTED ME TO ATTACK YOU? WELL HERE YOU GO."
And she cut loose with an attack that would undoubtedly destroy her erstwhile lover, an attack with homicidal intent.
The spell crossed between her and Jake, a red streak of anger and frustration.
And it kept streaking.
And it began to glow white hot.
* * *
They watched on the television, and on the streets of Madison. Lovers and friends and siblings, those who knew of this thing that was happening and those addled beyond comprehension. They saw the giantess hold out her hand and shoot the beam of light at the tiny man who had nearly been crushed a dozen times, and they saw that light grow and grow and grow.
The man stood at the center of it, calm and serene, his eyes closed, his soul at peace. And the light enveloped him and began to resonate into deep, clear blues.
And suddenly, the beam stopped.
The giantess looked down, quizzically, and stumbled backward, and fell.
And suddenly, from the man at the center of the light, there came an explosion of power, as Jacob Thiessen channeled the power he had taken from Liz outward, pushing it away from himself and the world, and her.
Reality bended and warped, and there was a great rumbling groan from the fabric of spacetime.
And then, suddenly, everything stopped.
And Jacob Thiessen fell.
* * *
"The most noble fate a man can endure," said the voice. "At least, that's what Heinlein said."
"Just a few more minutes, Katrin. Please."
"Ja. Just a few more."
* * *
Teri caught him before he hit the ground. He was already coughing up blood.
"Scott! Sarah! Get over here, quick!"
Sarah quit toying with Leah Jackson and transported her to the moon. "Let's see if you can live without oxygen, bitch," said Sarah, as she turned to see Teri cradling Jake's head in her arms.
"Oh, shit."
They reached Jake simultaneously, Sarah and Scott and Anon. Quickly, Sarah began to look Jake over, trying to think of what to do.
"Don't," croaked D.X., weakly. "The attack did more damage than you can fix. You'll only waste your strength."
"Jake, we're not letting you die."
"Only God could stop that now," said D.X., quietly. The attack had warped his insides, transposing organs and altering the size of his heart; even now, it was struggling to pump the blood it had to in order to keep him alive.
"Maybe we can transform him into an inanimate object, that might buy some time."
"No, Scott. No. There are limits to what this power can give us; I taught you both that long ago. I knew what I was giving. I did what I had to do."
Teri sobbed above him, from a long way away. "Liz's power is gone now. She's just a woman. Have pity on her. She wasn't the person she became."
As if on cue, a short, beautiful coed stumbled to her feet. "No…." she moaned, as she saw her only love cradled in his wife's arms. "No…no…I didn't…." she cried, as she collapsed in a heap.
"Scott…Sarah…especially you Sarah…."
D.X. coughed again. But he had to say these things. There wasn't enough time.
"You have to pass on what I've taught you. What Katrin taught me. It's on you now. You'll be great teachers of this. I swear it."
He looked over at Anon, who was very still and calm; he nodded at his friend. They'd both seen agents die before. It was part of the game. Words at this point were superfluous.
Besides, he had few words left, and he was saving them all for the last person.
"Teri," he said, looking up at her swimming visage, "you saved me. You brought back the best part of me. If not for you, I'd be lost.
"I don't want to leave you, my love," he said, as her face swam from view, "but I have to go. Besides, we've known each other six thousand years," he said, smiling at the thought. "This isn't goodbye."
Teri was sobbing, and the truth of what he said was irrelevant. "It's goodbye for now," she said. "Damn it, Jake, I don't want to lose you."
"I won't be lost," he said, creakily. It was hard to get the words out now, but he had to. "I'll be with you forever, Teri. You know how to find me. Always. I love you."
He paused for an eternity, and then said, finally, "I think Katia would be a nice name."
And with that, D.X. Machina died.
* * *
The world would roll itself back up now. It always did. The news coverage suddenly disappeared, and the skies cleared and the damage undid itself. Multiperson solipsism, they called it—the world wasn't ready for this. It would pretend it didn't exist. That had happened in New York. It would happen here.
The operatives arrayed around D.X. knew it, knew it certainly.
And yet—
Nothing was happening. There was still the crush at the periphery of ground zero, still the whir of helicopters above. There were still minicam crews trying to get good shots.
The shot was still live.
And it slowly dawned on them, through the grief of the moment, that this was not going to roll itself back up. Not now. Not ever.
A line had been crossed. Critical mass had been reached.
GTS was real now.
Scott looked at Sarah, and over to Anon. "Do we transport out?" he asked quietly.
"Bloody hell, I don't know. This is D.X.'s—I mean…."
They sat, paralyzed, for a few seconds, before Sarah sat up. She wiped a tear away, and touched Teri's hand. "Teri, I have to go for a minute. I have to…."
"I know," she said. "It's up to you. That's what Jake would've wanted."
"I can wait—" said Sarah, but Teri shook her head emphatically.
"Now," she said.
Sarah rose. She wiped off the dirt and blood, and noted that most of it didn't come off. Fuck it, she thought. We just fought a goddamn war.
She strode toward the cameras, which were already surging toward her. "All right," she called out, crisply, "I've got time for a brief statement."
"Ma'am, you're going to have to come with me," said a policeman, stepping forward.
Sarah didn't blink. She threw an offhanded shrink spell at him, and picked up the toy soldier.
"Officer, with all due respect, you are out of your league here. Control the crowds, keep the square clear. That's what you can do."
"y—yes ma'am," the tiny officer stammered, before Sarah returned him to the ground, and to his former stature.
"All right, men, you heard her, establish a perimeter…" he said, walking away very, very quickly.
Sarah turned to the cameras. She ran a hand through her hair, grimacing as her finger touched her already puffy right eye. She looked like she'd been ten rounds with Lennox Lewis.
She didn't care.
"My name is Sarah Chelgren," she said. "I'm an adept with a society that has controlled the secret of growth and shrinking. Until today."
She looked over the group, and she stood a bit straighter. "Today, one of the best officers, and best people, I have ever known sacrificed himself to prevent a disaster of unimaginable scale. Jake Thiessen died a hero today to keep the world safe from the misuse of this power.
"That is what our organization is sworn to do," she said, he voice rising firmly, her back now ramrod straight. "We are here to protect you from those among you who would harm you. We will never waver in that task.
"The next weeks and months will be difficult and confusing—for all of us. But today, I promise you that we will never abandon our posts. We are the Growth Triumphant Society, and we are at your service.
"I'm sorry, there will be no time for questions. We have to go bury our dead. Transport," she said, and with a wave, the square was cleared.
* * *
The news was filled with the events of the day. Scientists tried to reconcile how the laws of physics and biology appeared to have no meaning. Philosophers and theologians argued what this meant for mankind. A few ministers began proclaiming the end was nigh.
And on a few websites, there was a muted celebration. It was tempered by the death of someone; it's hard to feel truly joyous when a man has died.
But as the days moved into weeks, and more and more was revealed about the possibilities, these people celebrated more and more.
The world as it had been was gone. The age of reality was gone.
The age of giantesses had begun.