by Viola Grace
Jianik was walking slowly through the halls, heading back out to the proving ground. Max was at her smallest, her suit baggy and tied around her to keep it out of her way. There were a lot of people looking at her, and a few even pointed and laughed, but that was fine. She could remember them for later. There were more trials scheduled, and even if she was on the team, she still wanted to be seen to participate. No one liked someone who was simply given a position. You had to earn it.
Max watched the other teams and what she now realized were other investigators. “They all want the position. They want their own team.”
“Yes. The other teams were all formed before they had an investigator. This... this will be my team, and I choose the assignments that you will take. You are not going to be those who come running when some idiot builds on the wrong side of a dam. You will help people, the people who matter. The ones who didn’t have a say in getting into a position where the strong are preying on them, where disasters loom, and where they scream and think no one can hear them.”
“That is an impressive speech. You should save it until the entire team is assembled.”
Jianik chuckled. “Perhaps, I should. Ever since this was offered to me, I wanted it. I didn’t even know it existed before, but then, it was all I could think about. They knew just what buttons to push, what bait to dangle.”
“What was the bait?”
“The chance to select an all-female team. I looked at all the candidates with an eye toward them being socially compatible, and while the men clashed frequently, women could usually manage to work together in all the simulations. Then, I got specific and narrowed it down from ninety-seven. You are one of the six that were left.”
“Why?”
Jianik winked and murmured, “Be right back.”
She just turned and greeted a woman that was the most alien looking creature Max had ever seen. The golden boy with the pointed ears and wings looked at her curiously.
Max stayed and watched the trials, sitting on a bench until Jianik came back for her. “Come on. She is just about ready now.”
“For what?”
“To design a suit for you that will shrink and grow as you do.”
Mini Max was running to keep up, her suit flapping. “She’s a designer?”
“She is the tactician for your team.”
That was surprising. She stumbled once or twice but kept pace with Investigator Jianik.
The woman was in a boardroom, surrounded by fabric swatches.
Jianik spoke up immediately. “Forecast, this is Mini Max. Max, this is Forecast. She will be coming in for her trials on Monday, but we are rather confident that she will be fine.”
The eyes with the fiery cores stared at her, and Max knew when she was being sized up. It happened a lot.
Forecast knelt and extended her hand. “Hello, Max, what seems to be the problem?”
Max took her hand, shook it, and frowned. “What is your gift?”
Forecast smiled. “My gift and my reason for being here are different. I am a seamstress who specializes in making suits for the better dressed of the teams.”
The golden boy came forward, and he bowed. “Good day, mistress. My mother is excellent at finding the right fabric for the right gift. You are in good hands.”
Max was surprised. They didn’t look much alike unless you focused on the shape of the mouth and jaw. “You brought your son?”
“I am here as a seamstress, and he is home for the weekend. We don’t get much time together, and he has clearance. Now, what is your issue?”
Max looked down at her body. “Look at me.”
“You are eighteen inches tall. What else do I need to know?” Forecast cocked her head and leaned forward.
Max crossed her arms over her chest. “I am normally six and a half feet tall.”
Understanding dawned, and she nodded. “Ah. I see the problem. What have you done before?”
Max gestured to her current mode of dress. “This.”
Forecast nodded, and she looked at Investigator Jianik. “What is the budget on the suit?”
“Whatever you need.”
Forecast looked at Max. “How much can you lift in that state? The suit would only be a few pounds, but if your current structure can’t manage it, it wouldn’t be feasible.”
Max blinked. She was shocked that it seemed like she would be able to wear the same thing after she exerted herself. “You can find something?”
“Certainly. It isn’t fabric, precisely, but I have met an engineer who is skilled at shaping nanites into anything you can imagine.”
Jianik winced. “Tabba?”
Forecast grinned. “Exactly.”
“I can handle the order if you write the specs.”
Max blinked. “Just like that?”
Forecast chuckled. “Well, she will have to do the programming, and you will need to choose a design, but whatever the team colours are can be adjusted on the day.”
Jianik sighed. “What are the colours going to be?”
Forecast looked at Max with a wink. “Armoured black. All of the team will wear black.”
“You will look like standard admin teams!” Jianik blinked, and it dawned on her. “Oh, very clever.”
Forecast ticked the points off on her fingers. “Team Eight isn’t for a first strike, it isn’t for defense, it isn’t to stop a hurricane or move a meteor. We are there when no other team will do.”
Max blinked and smiled. “I like the sound of that. Can I see the designs? The ones on the board are a little... meh.”
The golden boy picked up the sketchbook and flipped to the first page. “Here you are, mistress. Please choose your favourite.”
Jianik looked at the designs. “You had them ready?”
He shook his head. “She made a face at the board, and then, she started drawing.”
Max smiled as she turned the page with both hands. “I walk slowly in this shape. She had some time.”
She flipped from page to page and finally pointed. “This one. I like this one.”
Forecast nodded. “Jianik, can I use the digital scanner and the design suite?”
“Of course. I will contact Tabba and give her Max’s physical specs.”
“Good. Bright Flight, do you want to come with me or go exploring, politely and carefully?”
He smiled. “I would like to explore, please.”
Max nodded. “I will go with him. We can grab a snack in the commissary. That will give me a few inches back.”
The boy gave his mother the is that okay look.
“Go ahead, Bright Flight. Your new identification can bring you back to me if you tap it.”
Max promised, “We will come with you to the design lab, and that way, he will know where to find you.”
With a nod to Jianik, Forecast led them a few halls away, and she entered the design lab where armour and bodysuits suitable for the Team Project were on dummies and waiting for completion. To Max’s amusement, Bright Flight had taken her hand and helped support her during the walk. He was a charming gentleman.
Bright Flight murmured, “Mom hates unfinished work. If they need it, make it.”
Forecast gave her son an admonition. “Don’t get into trouble, and if you end up in trouble, take to the skies.”
“Yes, Mom.” He left Max for a moment and kissed his mom on the cheek. “Don’t forget to take a break.”
Forecast grinned. “You know I will. Have fun.”
They left, and Bright Flight held her hand the whole way to the commissary, and then, he helped boost her into a seat.
“Why are you so small?” His words were direct. He stared at her as if analyzing her height.
“I shrink after I use my strength. The more power I use, the smaller I get. This is about my limit, though. I never get lower than this height.”
He carefully ate the frozen dessert she had bought for them. “That is in
teresting. You can’t stop it?”
“No. It is the price of my gift. Everyone has one, even if they don’t realize it.”
He frowned. “My wings get tired if I fly too much.”
She nodded. “That would definitely be a side effect.”
“But I can just make them stronger.”
“True. I know how to deal with my strength, but my height is out of my control. That is why Jianik called me Mini Max.”
“That is funny.” He went through his dessert with the speed of someone growing inches every few months.
Max chuckled.
“You seem at ease with me. Do you have kids?” His question was direct.
“No. I have nieces and nephews. Lots of them.”
He nodded. “You look me in the eye and don’t patronize me. It is refreshing. Usually, I have to watch how I speak so that adults treat me that way.”
Max nodded. “I understand. I can’t get any respect in this particular shape, even though I can still lift a tank.”
His eyes went wide. “You can?”
“I can. My strength doesn’t change when my height does. It takes some getting used to, but if I can get a grip on it, I can lift just about anything.”
She looked at her hands and flexed them at him. “These make it difficult to grab things with a solid grip.”
“Is that important?”
“When you go to school and they teach you about physics, you will learn that if you can find the right spot with the right support and an unlimited power supply, you can lift anything. I am that power supply, but my hands are tiny. I work much better while I am tall.”
He nodded. “I can hardly wait to be a grownup. I can see that I do so many fun things.”
She cackled. “Don’t rush through childhood. You will miss a lot that will make you feel sad when you are older. I had to take on things that I wasn’t ready for and grow up fast. I wish I could have stayed up late and braided hair with my sisters or made friends at school. That wasn’t in my destiny, so I worked with the opportunities I was given, but I still missed being a kid. Take every chance you can to just be in the moment. The future is going to be here before you know it.”
He blinked and smiled slowly. “Do you know what my mom’s gift is?”
“No, but I am guessing she is some kind of seer.”
“Yeah. Some kind.” He smiled. “She keeps telling me the same thing. I think I will listen to you. You don’t have anything to gain, and there is a lot of pain in your eyes.”
Max exhaled and shoved her dessert toward him. “Here, finish this. You are a growing hero, Bright Flight.”
He grinned and did as she ordered.
Now that he was full of sugar, it was time to go watch some more of the trials.
He held her hand, and they walked out of the commissary and to the hall that led to the bright afternoon. Time to watch some would-be heroes and their investigators work toward a goal that had already been moved. It was a little unfair, but Max knew better than anyone, life wasn’t fair.
Chapter Eight
After returning Bright Flight to his mother and getting her business card for actual casual clothing that would fit, Max went back to her quarters in the city.
She waited until the following day and then contacted Jianik before she staked out the dress shop. The moment that Jianik gave her the go-ahead, she was out of her assigned vehicle and knocking on the door.
Max was nervous. She hesitated about going inside, but the opportunity was one that she had waited for, for most of her adult life.
The welcome inside was warm and friendly. Forecast was looking at her with a professional eye, and Bright Flight was flying around and finding the clothing that his mother told him to look for.
Hours blew by, and Max was dazed. She had underwear that would shrink and grow with her for at least six months, her dress collection was larger than any she had ever had before, and now, she only needed some shoes that could change size with her, and she would be grand.
She took her shopping back with her to her small apartment at the training centre. After the team selection, she would be heading home again, but this time, she was coming back as someone with a dual identity.
She folded the dresses carefully, and then, she lifted her favourite and put it on. She would only have a few more days on Soltear, so she might as well enjoy the local sights and sounds. It was time to go out for dinner.
She headed back down to the main level, and she walked cheerfully into the parking area. As she drove away in the assigned vehicle, she glanced back once to see the other vehicle following her.
If her trackers wanted to tell her what their problem was, she would accept their conversation, but their body language in the parking area, in the shadows, had been hostile.
She smiled as she headed into the city proper to her favourite noodle place. If they wanted a fight, she wasn’t one to back down.
At the noodle place, she sat on the high stool, her head even with everyone else’s, even if her feet were flat on the floor.
She went through three different flavours and smiled at the server, clapping her hands happily as each was set down. Eating with the prongs had taken a few days of practice, but she managed it now.
Despite being in a crowded restaurant, she was eating in silence. It was an interesting feeling. Normally, at home, if there were people around, they were all talking to her.
She finished her food, tipped the server, and got to her feet. A few folk who hadn’t been in when she was seated, stared.
Chuckling, she walked out of the restaurant and walked to the vehicle that the Team Project had provided for her.
“So, what the hell is so special about you?”
Max turned to look at the men, and one of them was a brilliant yellow and the other a dark crimson. “I honestly have no idea.”
The red one stepped forward and tried to menace her. It would have worked if she was a foot shorter. Apparently, no one ever told him that it was hard to glower with your head facing upward. She could see his nose hair.
“You appear to have an issue.” She kept her voice calm while she judged the local area. There weren’t any bystanders in the immediate vicinity, but there was a small clump that was forming at the edge of the sidewalk, fifty feet away. She was clear.
The men stepped toward her, and she looked down at them both. They were within snagging range, but Jianik had warned her to let anyone on Soltear make the first move. There were enough cameras in the vicinity that any attack on her part would look aggressive.
She watched as both men’s fists lit up. One smouldered and one was on fire. She briefly mourned the dress she had had for less than a day, and she let the strikes come.
They hit hard. Well, their body language said it was hard. She stood and ignored the impacts. When the first barrage didn’t work, they attacked with both fists and some kicking.
Her dress was holding up well, but after a few minutes, she was keen to get home, so she grabbed each of the men by the throat and hung them there for a while.
She spoke quietly and precisely to the men. “I was chosen because I have strength and patience. I could throw you hundreds of feet into the sky and be back at the training centre before you hit the ground. I won’t because that would involve paperwork, and I have no idea where you would land. You might strike an innocent bystander, and that would never do.”
They choked and their legs kicked.
“Before I picked you up, I made sure that there was no one here that would be injured if I continued to get irritated. I know that you did not do the same. That is why the team my investigator put together is special. We think. We know that we are not the only ones in the world. Now, if you want to challenge me again. I am heading back to the training centre, and you can make your challenge there. We can work it out in a workout yard. Fair enough?”
She dropped them.
They lay back and gasped. Po
lite applause broke out from the crowd.
Max got into her vehicle and drove back to the training centre, hoping that they would try and fight her again but knowing that they wouldn’t.
Tomorrow was the finals for the time trials, and she needed to get some sleep. She also needed to see if she could scrub the dress clean. They got smudge and footprints on it, but the fabric seemed to be intact. Forecast did amazing work.
Max went through the time trials without losing any height until it came time to launching projectiles at Forecast during the challenge that Made had laid out.
Max didn’t really consider herself an offensive gift, but as she chucked the rocks and debris at Forecast, disrupting her path and making her dodge, she guessed that Made was right.
When the passive team hit the buzzers to indicate the end of the challenge, Max slid down from her attack vantage point and approached the others, gathering near the dais where the others were standing. Forecast was bleeding.
Made gathered her up and carried her into the med centre. She and the others trailed behind.
The team facility had medical bots and equipment that was far beyond what Max could do. It was best to leave them to do it.
Port Hole murmured, “Do you think that Forecast will be fine?”
Max nodded. “She will be. She would have seen if she was going to take permanent damage and moved to avoid it.”
“So, why did she take the damage that she did?”
“I am guessing that she was doing it so that her team would be proven. Made was a little down on the passive-teammates idea. Forecast just proved their worth.”
The team waited outside of medical while Forecast was put into a unit that cleaned and regenerated her skin from deep dermis outward.
Port Hole whispered, “Was she that badly damaged?”
Max was reading the lips of the people in the med centre. “She has a lot of scar tissue. She takes a hit when it will save a life, but since she was doing it outside of a team or an acknowledged status as a hero, she couldn’t seek proper medical attention.”
There was a hero in the room from Team One. He was made of feathers and shadow, but he had a strangely attentive manner toward Forecast. Max knew that look. He had the posture of a teen terrified of beginning a courtship. So, he wasn’t Bright Flight’s father.