Megawoman & Goddess-Girl

A cool breeze drifted over the city of Arroyo Vista, offering relief to the warm weather of this medium-sized community on the central coast of California. On the edge of town, near Matheson University, the Heidner Research Facility provided graduates with employment in the local area. Matheson University was quickly becoming on par with Cal Poly and Cal Tech since they recently began allowing post-graduate studies there.

Cornelius Heidner, the self-made billionaire and owner of the research facility, was obsessed with inspiring the scientists that worked at his laboratories to develop revolutionary new technologies. He hoped Heidner Research Laboratories could achieve recognition within the scientific community if one of his scientists won a Nobel Prize. Since his teenage daughter had enrolled at Matheson, Cornelius had generously donated millions of dollars in grants so the lower-income college students of Arroyo Vista who were interested in technical degrees would have the opportunity to enroll at Matheson University. Of course, Cornelius hoped that they would choose to remain in Arroyo Vista and work at his research laboratory when they graduated, which most of them did.

A black limousine pulled up in the semi-circular driveway at the front entrance of the research facility. A woman wearing a green-and-violet cheerleader uniform stepped out of the limo, followed by her fifteen-year-old sister Corky, who in her Arroyo Vista High School black, white and gold cheerleader uniform eagerly followed in her footsteps. Nineteen-year-old Kate Heidner was the captain of the cheerleader squad at Matheson University, and Corky was the captain of her high school cheer squad. Corky's real name was Courtney, but all of her friends had called her Corky for so long that the nick-name had stuck.

"But Kate," asked Corky as the two girls walked to the entrance, continuing a conversation they had been having in the limousine, "why do you have to come here? Dad's laboratories are so boring!"

"Because," replied Kate as she opened the front door of the building, "I'm a member of the honor society at the university, so I have to do twenty hours of community service every semester. I'm serving dinner at the homeless shelter tomorrow night, but that will only give me a few hours... I still have to find something else to do, too."

As the two teens walked down the main hallway, some of the workers recognized them as the daughters of their employer, and avoided them like the plague. Most of them avoided the two girls because they were fearful that if the girls were angered, their father would fire them on the spot. Others greeted them, hoping to score points with Cornelius Heidner by making polite conversation with his daughters.

"But that sucks--" replied Corky, "I thought all you had to do was be a good cheerleader and be popular... they make you work, too?" Corky wasn't quite old enough to remember the days when her father had been a middle-class entrepreneur, and she had become accustomed to an upper-class lifestyle.

"Yes, we do..." responded Kate, "and it wasn't so long ago that dad had to work just like everyone else. He didn't inherit anything, Corky, he worked hard to get where he's at. You could learn something from that."

Corky wrinkled her nose for a moment in response to Kate's comment, then looked at her older sister. "It's not that I'm afraid of work, Kate--I'm not a snob, if that's what you're implying! I just think it's stupid to do your community service work here... why can't you do something worthwhile, like protesting in front of that laboratory across town where they experiment on animals?"

"Because," replied Kate, "that wouldn't count as community service work. You have to actually do something, not just walk around carrying a protest sign. Besides, my boyfriend works here as part of an undergraduate vocational training program, and I want to check up on him."

"Oh," replied Corky. "I'm sure glad that dad's laboratories don't experiment on animals. That's about the only good thing I can say about this place!"

Kate and Corky turned down a hallway that led to the lab where Kate's boyfriend was working. "Kate," asked Corky, "do you think I'll ever be good enough at cheerleading to win a championship, like you did in high school?"

"Sure," Kate replied. "All it takes is practice and dedication."

Corky replied, "I'd like to learn that tri-fly pyramid maneuver I saw you doing at the college... then I'd definitely be good enough to win!"

"The tri-fly pyramid is a collegiate level move, Corky--if you try it at your high school, you'd get kicked off the cheer squad because it's too dangerous for kids your age."

Kate and Corky came to the door where Kate's boyfriend worked. The pane of glass in the doorway had writing painted in bold lettering on it that said:

Professor Douglas Beltran, PhD.

Professor of Quantum Chromodynamics

Sub-Atomic Particle Research

The two girls walked in, and two men were working on a mysterious apparatus. One of the men, obviously Professor Beltran, was in his late 50's, and the other was in his early 20's. Kate walked up and kissed the younger man on the cheek.

"Hi, Quentin!" said Kate.

"Hi, Kate." replied Quentin. "We're working on a new experiment."

Corky explored the lab, uninterested in the discussion at hand while Quentin explained.

"Remember the sub-atomic particle experiments we were doing last month?" Quentin asked.

"Sure," Kate replied, "it had something to do with quantum theory... didn't Professor Beltran figure out a way to control the vibrations of quark particles or neutrinos or something?"

"Yes," said Quentin, "and his theories are going to be published in a science journal next month. Isn't that great? People all over the world will be reading about an experiment that I worked on!"

"Yeah," replied Kate, "that's great, Quentin. But what are you and the professor working on right now?"

Quentin blushed and looked at the professor for a moment to make sure he wasn't listening, then leaned close and whispered conspiratorially in Kate's ear: "The professor thinks he's figured out a way to breach temporal space, but I'm not so sure about it..."

"Temporal space?" whispered Kate, "You mean the dimension of time?" The look on Kate's face indicated she was as skeptical as Quentin.

Professor Beltran looked up from a circuit board he was wiring together. He put his soldering gun down, and said, "You think I'm crazy, don't you? I've written the equations down, the mathematics prove my theories are correct! Why don't you read my equations and see for yourself, instead of talking behind my back, boy?"

Quentin responded,"Professor, I'm still in pre-calculus algebra at Matheson. Those differential equations are just too complicated for me to understand!"

"Bah!" replied the professor. "Then you'll see for yourself when we start up the temporal phase initiator! We'll have to conduct this experiment outside!"

A large pod similar to the Gemini space capsules of the 1960's dominated one side of the lab. The temporal phase initiator was hooked up to it, and the entire capsule was sitting on a large platform with wheels. The professor activated a control panel, and the platform began to move toward the twenty-foot-high doors, which were already open.

Just as the professor was about to activate the temporal phase initiator, the power in the building went out. The four of them looked at each other, puzzled. The two twenty-foot-high doors let in enough sunlight to see by.

"Must be a power failure," concluded Quentin, "somebody must have crashed into a utility pole."

"But that wouldn't have any effect on this building," replied the professor, "Heidner Research Facility has its own separate power grid. Someone must've shut it down from inside the building. But that's okay, because I have the time-probe hooked up to a D.C. power source--all I have to do is hook up a power inverter to change the direct current to alternating current and I can operate it even without power in the building!"

"I think I can offer an explanation." Everyone turned to see a man dressed as a security guard standing in the open doorway, armed with a Tommy-gun. He stepped inside, pointing the machine-gun at the four of them.

"Derringer!" shouted the professor. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Professor," asked Quentin, "do you know this guy?"

"His name is Bobby Derringer. He was my assistant for over a year. I fired him about three months ago, just before I hired you.”

"Now that the brief history lesson is over," said Derringer, "would you mind handing over a copy of your equations, professor? I know someone who can pay me a grip of money for your theories!"

"Never!" shouted the professor. "Do you think you can just come barging in here waving that thing around and get your way? It'll take more than that to convince me!"

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that," replied Derringer, "I'm actually convinced that you would be willing to die rather than hand over your years of research..."

Derringer turned, pointing the machine-gun at Kate and Corky. "But would you be willing to sacrifice the lives of your employer's beautiful daughters? I'm sure it would strike the hearts of this community with a sense of grief and nostalgia that a good old-fashioned all-American Tommy-gun was the instrument of their demise... but it could all be prevented, right now--if you hand over those equations!"

"Just do it professor..." said Quentin, "He'll never get away with this, anyway!"

As Derringer's attention was diverted to Quentin momentarily, Corky seized this opportunity and sprinted across the lab towards the open door of the time-probe. Sensing movement out of the corner of his eye, Derringer's trigger finger reflexively applied pressure, and a staccato of bullets trailed in Corky's wake, shattering a window behind the location where she had stood just a moment before. With a running leap, Corky jumped inside the time-probe and crouched down, safely out of the line of fire.

"Are you crazy?" shouted Quentin, "You almost shot Corky!"

Derringer turned, pointing the Tommy-gun directly at Quentin. Derringer kept a discreet distance from the other two men, but Quentin was waiting for him to make the mistake of closing the gap between them, so he could take action. Just as Quentin had hoped, Derringer began walking toward him in an effort to terrify him into submission.

When the barrel of the machine gun was only inches from Quentin's chest, he knocked it away from his body with a right horizontal sweeping motion, and with a left upper-cut smashed Derringer in the jaw. A salvo of gunfire erupted in the direction of the ceiling, but Derringer regained control of the situation by raising the weapon and smashing the butt of the Tommy-gun into the side of Quentin's head, knocking him to the ground.

Following her younger sister's lead, Kate darted toward the opening of the time capsule and jumped inside. Corky was curled up on the deck of the time-probe, sobbing silently. "It's going to be okay, Corky!" Kate said, trying to console her terrified sister.

"Well isn't this a coincidence?" said Derringer, chuckling to himself. "The buyer I have lined up is very interested in knowing if your time-probe is safe for human passengers, professor. I guess you'll just have to provide me with a little demonstration--now activate the control panel!"

"Never!" shouted Professor Beltran. "I will not jeopardize the lives of Cornelius Heidner's daughters! It could be dangerous... if you want my device tested on human passengers, use me instead!"

"No," replied Derringer, "you're the only one who knows how to operate the time-probe. The girls will do just fine as passengers, now activate the controls, old man!"

"If you won't let him, then let me be the passenger," said Quentin, "there's no reason to put Kate and Corky's lives in danger!"

"That won't be acceptable," replied Derringer. "It's easier to keep my eyes on two people that it would be to watch three of you... now do it, professor!"

He pointed the machine-gun at the floor at Professor Beltran's feet and fired. The ricocheting bullets missed the professor by a matter of inches, and he jumped back fearfully.

"If you don't," continued Derringer, "I'll just take the equations and shoot all four of you!"

The professor moved to the control console, and hit the switch that supplied power from a battery. "Quentin, hand me that power inverter. It looks like we have no choice." Quentin handed him the inverter, and the professor installed it. When it was activated, the little lights on the control console lit up in a multitude of colors. The professor keyed in the code on the keyboard that initiated the servos in the wheeled platform where the time-probe was perched. The electric servo-motors began to spin the wheels of the platform, and it began moving toward the huge open doorway.

"Good boy, professor!" said Derringer, his eyes on the professor's every move. "Now close the hatch door, and don't try any funny stuff, got it?"

Professor Beltran keyed the switch that controlled the automatic sliding door of the time-probe, and it slid shut. The wheeled platform moved through the outer doors of the lab, and in moments was outside.

"Now before you activate the time machine," said Derringer as he pulled out a microtape recorder, "I want you to explain exactly how this thing works. My buyer is curious about some of the technical details of your theories." He hit the record button with his thumb, and placed the microtape recorder on a countertop.

"I am about to have my theories published in the Physical Review Journal next month," began the professor, but Derringer interrupted.

"Cut to the chase, professor! I don't want your life story, just the information that directly pertains to the temporal experiment!" Derringer tightened his hands around his weapon.

"Okay," said the professor, "my theory involves the vibrations of sub-atomic particles that compose the quarks and gluons of protons, neutrons, and electrons."

"Okay," said Derringer, his machine-gun still pointed at the professor, "I'm with you so far. Now how does time travel come into play?"

"Temporal space," continued the professor, "and hyperspace exist on opposite ends of a vibrational spectrum. Our three-dimensional universe exists somewhere in between these two extremes... the atoms in our universe oscillate within a specified range; the atoms of temporal space occupy a lower vibrational range than that of normal space, and the continuum of hyperspace vibrates on a much higher frequency range..."

The professor continued, and Derringer failed to interrupt this time, out of fascination with the professor's theory. "If we could modify the oscillations of the atoms composing the time-probe, and coordinate their oscillation frequency to correspond with that of temporal space, the time probe would disappear from our world, and emerge in the time continuum."

"And that's how your time gizmo works?" asked Derringer, "By shooting over into temporal space?"

"Actually, no," replied the professor. "The temporal phase initiator causes the time-probe to fluctuate violently from one extreme to the other, between temporal space for a nanosecond and hyperspace for a nanosecond. I have been unable to secure a method that would confine my time machine to one single continuum.”

"And then?" asked Derringer.

"And then," replied the professor, "the time-probe would return to normal space, arriving a fraction of a second in the past or the future, at the same line of latitude and longitude where it was located when it was launched, more or less, depending on where the thrusters were pointed."

"Thrusters?" asked Derringer. "Why does it need thrusters?"

"Without the thrusters the time capsule could only travel into the future. The gravitational pull of the Earth extends into temporal space, Einstein proved that,"

Derringer interrupted, "I don't care what Einstein proved, just explain why this thing needs thrusters, professor!"

"As I was saying," continued the professor, "time and space merge, and the gravitational force of the earth exists as a trail spiralling through the endless depths of time. The time machine is pulled along this gravity trail, much like a boat is pulled down a stream by the force of the current. Because the time-probe is shifting back and forth between the dimension of time and hyperspace, the time-probe should emerge in the precise location on Earth where it first shifted into extra-dimensional space."

"Then how do you travel into the past?" asked Derringer. "And quickly, I don't have much time. I need you to demonstrate this experiment for me."

The professor continued, "By pointing the thrusters in the opposite direction the Earth is traveling through space, the time-probe would be propelled back along the gravity trail left by the Earth as it traveled through space."

"So..." Derringer asked, "The gravity trail is like a spiral pattern through temporal space? A gravitational anomaly the same diameter as the earth, extending simultaneously back and forth into the past and the future, right?"

"Exactly," replied Professor Beltran. "You always had a quick grasp of science, Derringer!"

"Okay," said Derringer, picking up the micro-tape recorder and shutting it off, "I've heard enough. Activate the time-probe, professor... let's rock and roll! Oh, and by the way, configure the thrusters for travel into the past!"

"Professor, no!" shouted Quentin. "You could blow up Kate and Corky!"

"I know what I'm doing," replied the professor.

"Now how will we know how far into the past the probe travels?" asked Derringer. "You got a clock in there?"

"There is a digital clock inside the time-probe that is synchronized with a digital clock on this control console," replied the professor. "The two clocks are accurate to within a picosecond." The professor's hands danced across the keyboard of the control panel, and in response, the thrusters on the time-probe swivelled into position to allow for time-travel into the past.

"Now activate it!" shouted Derringer.

Professor Beltran keyed in the password that started the launch sequence. The temporal phase initiator began to hum, and the thrusters on the time-probe began to fire. The three men stood in the sunlight, watching the event unfold.

The sequence of events that occurred over the next fraction of a second happened too quickly for the human eye to discern. First, the time probe disappeared, then a massive object from a fraction of a second in the future materialized where the time probe had stood a moment before. The shape of the giant object was identical to the time-probe, with the exception of scale.

Professor Beltran shouted, "It's just as I had hoped!" He picked up a two-way radio connected to a console in his lab. He told Quentin, "This two-way radio is connected to a transmitter on the roof of the lab, and the amperage has been magnified in proportion to the size increase of the time-probe. This will enable us to communicate with Kate and Corky."

"Girls!" the professor shouted into the radio, "Please exit the time-probe, it is safe to come out now!" The professor activated the hatch door of the time-probe by remote control, and it slid open.

Kate and Corky were still huddled on the floor of the time-probe when they heard the professor's voice come over the speakers. When the door hatch opened, Corky stood up, followed by Kate. The view astonished them. They could see the layout of the land in all directions from an altitude of several hundred feet up. It seemed as though they were up in a low-flying plane.

"Are we up in the sky?" asked Corky, but the view of the majority of the downtown area of Arroyo Vista indicated that they definitely weren't.

"I don't think so..." said Kate.

Corky stuck her left foot out of the door of the time-probe, and stepped on the ground, to check if it was safe. She applied her weight, and crushed a section of an unoccupied foothill out of existence. Seeing that it was okay, she stepped out completely, and Kate followed her.

The professor, Quentin, and Derringer stared up in amazement. Corky was now elevated to colossal size. Her left foot was perched atop a foothill near one side of the research facility, while her right foot was on the other side of the research facility.

Kate, nearly a foot taller than Corky under normal circumstances, now stood more than a couple of hundred feet taller than the highest structure in Arroyo Vista. The mountain to the west of town was now only sufficient to serve as a seat for either of the two titanic teens, and Corky thundered across the valley and used it for just this purpose.

"What happened to us?" Corky asked.

"I don't know," Kate replied.

Meanwhile, far below, Derringer was asking the same question to the professor. Before Professor Beltran could respond, the ground quaked beneath their feet as Kate knelt down to make visual contact with them. Her face was dozens of feet across. Her colossal hand opened as she reached for Derringer, blocking out the sun for a moment.

A massive finger and thumb plucked Derringer from the ground, and he screamed out in pain. Kate lifted him and dropped him into the palm of her other hand, then stood up. Two large sink-holes, each about twenty feet in diameter were all that remained of the asphalt parking lot where Kate's knees had distributed most of her weight when she knelt down. The indentations were about six feet deep, and two starburst patterns of fractures stretched out in all directions.

Derringer stood up in the palm of Kate's hand, still clutching his Tommy-gun in terror. He opened up on Kate, but her massive size protected her from the otherwise lethal barrage of bullets. "Hey, that hurt, you little twerp!" Kate shouted, and the decibels of her voice nearly shattered Derringer's eardrums. He dropped his machine-gun and covered his ears, screaming out in pain. Kate plucked the weapon with her other hand, effectively smashing it into uselessness.

Corky stood up and lumbered over to Kate, carefully avoiding populated areas of the town beneath her massive feet as she pulverized foothills and turned large unoccupied vacant lots into gigantic sinkholes in the shape of huge sneaker outlines.

"Tell us who hired you!" shouted Kate.

"Yeah!" shouted Corky as she arrived at her sister's side. "If you don't, we're big enough to eat you!" Corky licked her lips to get her point across.

Derringer was standing on Kate's palm, and shouted something at the top of his lungs, but the message was inaudible for Kate and Corky's massive eardrums.

"Just put him back, his weapon is smashed. Let Quentin and the professor deal with him!" said Corky.

"I guess you're right," replied Kate. "It's safe to put him back!"

Kate stepped back onto the parking lot of the research facility, and set Derringer down. When her hand was thirty feet above the ground, she dropped him, and he came crashing down next to Professor Beltran. He landed on a concrete sidewalk next to the lab.

"Owww!" shouted Derringer. "I think my arm's broken!" Quentin went to call an ambulance while the professor ran toward the enlarged time-probe.

When Professor Beltran arrived there, he broke off a chunk of the outer hull of the time-probe with his pocket knife, then ran back to the lab. He pulled a microscope out of a cabinet, and plugged it in.

"Amazing," said the professor, "every molecule, every atom has been enlarged!"

Quentin walked over and joined the professor. "Exactly what happened, professor? Why are Kate and Corky giants? It doesn't make any sense!"

"The universe is constantly expanding!" replied the professor, as he set the chunk of metal on a digital scale. "The time-probe, with Kate and Corky inside, has traveled to a point far enough in the past that the rest of the universe has yet to catch up with them!"

"Yeah," replied Quentin, "that does make sense..." Quentin thought this over in his mind, then he was more perplexed than he was before. "But what about the square-cube law? The big bang theory would explain why their size increased, but their mass would remain the same... Kate was strong enough to pick Derringer up in her hand like he was a toy! So how do you explain her increased strength? If their mass increased, they should weigh millions of tons right now!"

"I can explain that!" replied the professor. "When they traveled through hyperspace, they attracted a large quantity of anti-graviton particles!"

"What?" asked Quentin.

The professor answered, "In hyperspace, all the physical laws of our universe are reversed... matter only travels faster than light, time flows backwards, and anti-gravity exists instead of normal gravity!"

"Okay," replied Quentin, "so if they're lighter because of all the anti-graviton particles, then their weight decreased in proportion to the increased mass caused by the anti-graviton particles!”

“Exactly!” the professor replied. “They probably weigh less now than they did when they were normal-sized! You're as brilliant as Derringer!"

The two men tried to look at Derringer nursing his broken arm, but he was gone. The professor said: “Maybe that's not a compliment! Look!”

Quentin looked at the digital scale the professor was pointing at. The chunk of metal the professor had cut from the outer hull of the time-probe was on the scale, and the digital numbers on the scale were decreasing, like the seconds of a clock.

"Why are the numbers getting smaller, professor?" Quentin asked.

"As the anti-gravitons break off from the chunk of metal I pulled from the hull of the time-probe, the metal is shrinking, returning to it's normal size... but there's more! The anti-gravitons must shift back into hyperspace as they break off, and that causes the atoms of this metal to fluctuate back and forth between hyperspace and temporal space..."

"So what does that mean?" asked Quentin.

"It means that the same thing is happening to Kate and Corky... the atoms of their bodies are partially phased, so unless we find a way to stabilize their atoms, Kate and Corky will keep shrinking, even after they return to normal size!" The professor indicated a bin with electronics equipment stored in it, and urged Quentin to help him design a mechanism that could stabilize the reaction.

"Help me build a temporal flux dampener!" shouted the professor, and the two of them got right to work. "That time-probe was just a prototype, this equipment is far more sophisticated!"

Meanwhile, Corky had figured out that her increased size had its advantages. She thundered across town, to the rival research lab where animal experimentation was conducted. She was careful not to disturb any houses as she made her way around the unoccupied perimeter of town.

When Kate realized what Corky was about to do, she shouted: "Corky, no!" But it was too late. Corky had ripped the roof from the lab, and was breaking down the outer cinder-block walls.

CRUUUNCH!!!

When she saw the small cages containing the animals, Corky scooped them up in her hands, and carried them to the outskirts of town. When she was once again standing on the foothills, Corky set the cages down.

"You're safe now, little fellas!"

The workers at the lab ran out of every available exit. Corky laughed at them and said,"You'd better run, you little dweebs!"

When the workers were safely away, Corky stomped the research lab into the ground, then scraped her foot from left to right a few times, just to make sure that it was demolished.

"Corky," said Kate, "you shouldn't have done that! We could get in a lot of trouble!"

Corky just laughed and said, "We're like heroes now, Kate! And I don't ever want to return to normal size, I want to stay this way! What should we call ourselves? I know, I could be Goddess-Girl, but what could we call you?" Corky thought about it for a moment, then said, "I know! You could call yourself Megawoman! So from now on we can call ourselves Megawoman and Goddess-Girl!"

Just then, Kate saw Derringer trying to flee in a car. As he tore out of the parking lot, Kate stomped after him, leaving shoe-shaped depressions in the asphalt parking lot. Before Derringer could make it to the street, Kate blocked his vehicle with her right shoe, then stomped on the rear of the car with her left shoe, flattening the rear axle. The engine was still running, but the car was now incapable of motion.

"Corky, come back!" Kate yelled.

"No!" Corky shouted as she stomped away.

While the two titanic teenagers debated, the professor and Quentin were working at a feverish pace to build the temporal flux dampeners that would stabilize the atoms of Kate and Corky's bodies after they returned to normal size.

"I think this will work!" said the professor.

"What is it?" asked Quentin.

"I created two smaller versions of the temporal phase initiator, and I wired them up with the temporal flux dampeners we just built that should stabilize the enlarged atoms! They should act together, preventing the girls from shrinking, while giving them the ability to grow and return to normal size at will!"

The professor hooked it up to the chunk of metal on the digital scale, and turned it on. "Professor, it worked!" shouted Quentin. "The numbers on the scale stopped when you activated that gizmo!"

"Yes, it works," replied the professor, "but now we must convince the girls to get back in the time-probe and travel the same distance into the future that they traveled into the past, to restore them back to their proper size! Does Kate have a cell-phone?"

"Sure," Quentin replied.

"Then go and punch her number into that communication console... it is hooked up to a transmitter that can match the immense amperage that would be required for Kate's enlarged cell-phone to receive the signal!" Quentin looked and recognized the two-way transceiver that the professor had used to send a signal to the time-probe when Kate and Corky had first grown.

Quentin ran across the lab and punched in Kate's number, as the professor continued working on the two temporal phase initiators for Kate and Corky to wear. He heard the dial tone in the speaker, and Kate's phone was ringing...

Kate was just about to stop Corky from running toward the humane society to free the animals that were fated to be euthanized, when her cell-phone rang. She picked it up and turned it on.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Kate, it's me!" said Quentin. "The professor has figured out a way to restore you and Corky to your normal size, but both of you need to return to the time-probe and make a return trip!"

"I don't think I can convince my sister," replied Kate, "she thinks she's some kind of a hero, and she wants to stay giant-sized!"

Quentin replied, "Well just inform her that if the two of you don't get back to normal, you're going to start shrinking... forever! The professor is working on a way to stabilize the reaction of your atoms, but you've got to return to normal-size!"

"Gotcha," replied Kate, "I'll tell her!" Kate hooked the phone back onto the belt of her cheerleader uniform, and ran after Corky, who was already at the humane society.

"Why do they call it the humane society?" Corky asked. "What's so humane about killing defenseless animals? Don't worry, puppies and kitties, your liberator has arrived!"

RRRIIIIPPP!!

Corky ripped the roof of the building off, and broke the outer walls away, just as she had done at the research laboratory across town. Cats and dogs ran away in all directions, much to Corky's delight. "Next stop, the slaughter-house," said Corky, "I've got some cows to set free!"

Before she could set off in that direction, Kate grabbed her by the shoulder. "Corky! Quentin called me and said the professor wants us to return to the time-probe, so we can get back to normal!"

"I don't want to get back to normal!" Corky shouted. "I want to stay big, so I can save animals and fight crime! We're Megawoman and Goddess-Girl, remember?"

"If we don't return to normal, we'll keep shrinking, until we're down to the size of atoms, Corky!"

Just then, a convoy of military vehicles arrived to deal with the giant teens. This caught Corky's attention. She thought about it for a moment, then decided to go along with Kate. The two girls walked over to the time-probe, carefully avoiding the houses and businesses that were sprawled around at their feet, and climbed into the time-probe.

"Has the professor found a way to fix us so we won't shrink after we return to normal size?" Corky asked.

"I think so," replied Kate, as she activated the control panel. The door slid shut, and Kate radioed the professor's lab.

Quentin answered. "Kate, we're almost ready. The professor is reprogramming the temporal phase initiator right now!"

Kate and Corky, otherwise known as Megawoman and Goddess-Girl, were strapped into their seats within the cramped cockpit of the time-probe when Kate activated the controls, sending them a fraction of a second into the future. They traveled an equal distance in the opposite direction as they had traveled the first time. In a matter of time that could only be measured in billionths of a second, the time-probe shifted back and forth between hyperspace and temporal space, until it returned to the proper moment in time where it belonged in relation to the rest of the universe. The time-probe was now reduced back down to normal size, and when the door of the time-probe slid open, Corky came running out towards the professor, followed by Kate. They had both returned to normal size.

"Professor!" shouted Corky, "Can you help us? Have you figured out a way to stop us from shrinking?"

Professor Beltran produced two metal arm-bands, and handed one to Corky and one to Kate. He instructed them to put them on. The one Corky was wearing covered slightly more than half of her forearm, and there were little buttons on it and an L.E.D. digital display with little digital numbers on the sizing scope.

"These are temporal phase initiators! The built-in temporal flux dampeners will stabilize your atoms and keep you from shrinking," said the professor. "You must always wear these, to prevent yourselves from shrinking! In case an emergency happens, and I'm not around to help, if you punch in an access code into the sizing scope that is built into your arm-bands, you will grow again, to any size you punch into the control console, and you can return back to normal size whenever you need to."

The professor handed them each a slip of paper with the access codes. "You mean," asked Corky, "we can turn into Megawoman and Goddess-Girl again? Whenever we want to?"

"Precisely." replied the professor. "But I suggest you girls use your arm-bands to grow only in an actual emergency, and not just to play around and cause mischief!"

"Sure professor," replied Corky, "no problem!"

"You won't need to be in the time-probe to travel a fraction of a second into the past to grow," said professor Beltran. "These armbands are more advanced than the original time-probe you girls rode in. They project a force-field which reacts magnetically against the Earth's magnetic field while you are in hyperspace... that will send you in the opposite direction the Earth travels, allowing you to grow to colossal size again!"

An army general arrived, and introduced himself to Professor Beltran. "I'm General Barger! I've been ordered by the President to investigate this situation!"

"Kate and Corky Heidner now have the ability to grow to giant-size, courtesy of their temporal phase wristbands!" said the professor.

"That doesn't sound like a good idea!" said the general.

"There's no alternative! The atoms of their bodies are partially phased, and they will need these wristbands for the rest of their lives to prevent themselves from shrinking! The ability to grow to colossal size is a necessary side-effect!"

"I guess nothing can be done," said the general, "but here's my card! I want you to keep me informed of any new developments!"

An ambulance came to haul Bobby Derringer away, but nobody was able to get any information out of him. Cornelius Heidner was furious, but he knew it wasn't Professor Beltran's fault. The owner of the research labs that Corky had stomped, as well as the owners of the humane society building she had annihilated, had informed him that they were filing lawsuits for the damages.

The next day, Kate and Corky were serving dinner at the local homeless shelter, and Quentin was there to help, too.

"Daddy wanted me to help you as punishment," said Corky, "But I would've helped even if I wasn't forced to go."

Corky smiled to each person in line as she scooped out a huge helping of mashed potatoes and served it to each of the homeless people. Quentin cut and served the turkey, which Kate had cooked herself.

"Corky," Quentin asked, "do you want me to fix a plate of turkey and set it aside for you?"

"She's a vegan," replied Kate, "she doesn't eat turkey."

"Oh." said Quentin. "So did they ever find out who hired Derringer?"

"No," replied Kate.

Corky looked at her metal arm-band proudly, and said, "But that's okay, because if we ever do find out who was responsible, or if the forces of evil ever dare to make themselves known in the city of Arroyo Vista, they'll have to deal with Megawoman and Goddess-Girl!"

Quentin and Kate laughed at Corky's immature yet bold statement, but Quentin knew that it was no exaggeration. Any criminal who was foolish enough to take on Kate and Corky after they activated their arm-bands and grew to colossal size was definitely going to regret it!

The End