BVLJ #2: Cat in the Lab

***In Episode 2 of Big Villainy, Little Justice, Dr Jeniffer "Brainiffer" Howard schemes to revolutionise technology with a shrink ray. A cat-like intruder has other ideas...***

Dr Jeniffer Howard was working late, on the cusp of a breakthrough; this project was going to change everything. Darcy Reid had beaten her to the headlines with a terrifying growth device, having shaken up Orias City in a devastating confrontation with Sparrow Squad, but it gave Jeniffer just the impetus she needed to complete her own weapon. Except her device was more than a weapon – the Shrinkenator would revolutionise the way people travelled, managed resources, did business, everything.

But first, it was going to make Jeniffer famous. She had spent too long as the retiring, quiet scientist, letting others take credit for her strokes of genius, letting the university syphon the funding she earned. Even now, on the cusp of completing her finest work, a fully-functioning shrink ray, she was on consignment from Queen Pin, who had offered Jeniffer barely more than a waitress’s wage for the work done.

She would have her revenge soon enough. She’d start by shrinking Queen Pin herself and taking over her organisation, the Slickers, when they came to collect. Under Jeniffer’s leadership, they would be a thousand times more effective. Then, with their backing, the city would be hers, and everyone would either respect or fear her.

She already had an alias lined up. Brainiffer. Casual, unpretentious but clear in purpose. Dr Brainiffer, if she was being formal.

Jeniffer smiled at her imagined future as she tweaked the settings within the ray’s handle, moments away from what she hoped would be the final test. The lights were low and the lab empty, quiet, exactly how she liked it. She worked so much better without assistants around; they talked too much and made silly mistakes. It was bad enough having to work on a campus with the chatter of lively students outside her window, worse when she had to tolerate them in the lab itself. But in the late evening, with just her and her overactive mind here, this was a witching hour, where she could do the impossible.

The stillness made it all the more startling when a window squeaked, something moving nearby, and the fright jolted Jeniffer’s hand. She knocked the Shrinkenater and it beeped as it spun towards her.

“Oh shi –” Jeniffer watched the device light up with horror, aimed right at her chest. She barely had time to get her hands up before the blast threw her back, airborne for a weightless second before she hit cold metal and slid down to the floor. She coughed, trying to get her breath back, and blinked, vision blinded by the light. Moving to her hands and knees, she patted herself down, mentally checking her limbs, her chest, internal organs feeling okay. Stunned, not hurt. But as the light cleared from her eyes, she saw something was wrong.

The shadows before her were unfamiliar, with what looked like a big rock, almost as tall as her, sitting under a low roof. Jeniffer sat back and tracked her gaze upwards, to a vast wall of shining metal, the obstacle she’d struck. Her eyes widened as she realised what it was, and she snapped her gaze to the other direction, where her workbench should be. A hundred yards or more away, there was a massive platform held up by tree-wide poles. It was the workbench, and this object she’d hit was a cabinet on wheels. Both were bigger than buildings.

Jeniffer jumped to her feet squeaking denial, craning to look up to the work surface where the tip of the shrinking ray poked out. She needed to get back up, but the drawers were each a storey high and the lamp cable, though thick and ascending all the way, looked too high to climb. She had never been good with the ropes at school. She was never good at any sports;  Jeniffer had a dumpy body, built for thinking, not moving!

It was okay, she told herself, slowing her breath. She paced aside, trying to take in more of the dark lab that towered over her. She could figure this out if she stayed calm. The important thing was that the shrink ray worked. She had all her clothes – smart shoes, slacks, lab coat, even her phone in a pocket, everything in the project field shrunk with no signs of ill effects. If it could do this, the ray could reverse it, too. Jeniffer laughed as the success gripped her. It had worked and dammit she was going to –

A shadow swept over above and she felt a rumbling vibration in the tile beneath her feet. Jeniffer spun towards the sound of a footstep – incredibly light, for the size of its owner. A person stepped into the aisle, sneaking through the lab, so huge Jeniffer gasped before she clamped a hand over her mouth. She darted to the side, ducking under the cabinet, and watched in fear as the intruder took a step towards her workbench.

“Ah, there you are,” the woman purred, a silky voice that sent a tremor through Jeniffer’s tiny body. The giantess was the equivalent of a hundred feet tall, and her next step brought a laced leather boot down opposite Jeniffer, big enough to squish her flat. Yet the woman hardly made a sound as she moved. Her boots were jet black and heavily scuffed. They rose up to shin height, where black leggings continued up lithe legs and a curvy behind, the material tight but patchy like old socks. It was hard to see more above that, beyond a belt with pockets, but Jeniffer could guess who it was. One of Queen Pin’s many enemies, the master thief Ali Cat. She was a notorious rogue, at once brilliantly agile and unscrupulous; by all accounts a violent, desperate woman. Jeniffer swallowed terror. Ali was dangerous enough at a regular height – if she saw the scientist now, she’d be doomed.

Ali moved to the workbench and tapped the shrink ray, then made a thoughtful sound. She turned on a toe, in Jeniffer’s direction, and sniffed the air. She said, “You’re working late, Dr Howard.”

Jeniffer retreated further, trying to stop shaking.

“It’s rude to hide when you’ve got guests,” Ali murmured, scanning the room. Jeniffer watched the shrink ray again, thankfully left behind. She reconsidered the lamp cable as Ali stepped away. She had to run for it, there was no choice. If Ali got away with the device, there’d be no restoring her size.

Jeniffer leant out and found the giant woman had disappeared, moving silently through the room to check the cupboards and workbenches. The scientist took a deep breath, then darted across the tiles. Running as hard as she could, she whipped her head about searching for Ali; no sign of her. She reached the cable and grabbed it, finding the plastic uneven and easy to hold with her new height. Blood pumping in her ears, Jeniffer climbed up, as quick as her weak limbs would take her. Soon, she was high off the tiles and cringed against the drop to the floor. The cable swayed more the higher she got and she had to slow down, praying for time. Another few feet and she’d reach the desk.

“Me-ow,” Ali’s voice purred nearby, making Jeniffer shriek and slip. She threw her arms around the cable. Spinning about, she found Ali Cat’s massive face lowered right next to her, like a wildly smiling moon, eyes shimmering with delight. The giant-sized woman lifted a hand and poked an index finger the size of a tree trunk into Jeniffer’s shoulder. She shrieked as the push made her swing violently on the cable, and Ali said, “Dr Howard, you seem different.”

Jeniffer winced under the volume of her voice and the hot, slightly-fishy waft of her breath. The woman was slim-faced with round eyes, skin a bit dirty like her unkempt clothes, and she wore big goggles on her forehead, pushing back a spiky pixie cut of bleached hair. There was something feral about her, in the way she stared and smiled, big teeth on show.

Subtly, uselessly, Jeniffer slid a hand up, trying to keep climbing.

“You’re like a little . . .” Ali tilted her head, considering the scientist, and her voice took on an unsteady quality. “Mouse.”

“Oh crap,” Jeniffer whispered. As brilliant as Ali was at sneaking, when she acquired her powers she’d taken on other, less desirable feline traits. Usually, it made for foolish weaknesses – she was easily distracted by small animals and hated water. If she saw Jeniffer as a mouse, though, there’d be no reasoning with her.

“Tasty little mouse,” Ali said, sniffing deeply, pulling Jeniffer’s hair towards her huge nostrils. “Yum.”

Jeniffer pushed up quickly. Her burst of speed brought her almost to the edge of the desk as Ali watched, then a big shape came from the side. Jeniffer just managed to turn as the giant open hand swatted her. She tried to hold on but the force threw her off the cable and through the air. Jeniffer screamed, flailing her limbs as she fell a surely fatal distance, then just as she was about to hit the tiles something caught the waist of her pants and she was pulled back up. As the room spun, Jeniffer fell onto a warm, cushioned surface, and snapped her head back to see Ali’s nose above her – the woman had caught her pants in her teeth and she was lying across her lips. But Ali tossed her head to the side, releasing Jeniffer.

Jeniffer screamed again as she was flung up above the desks, and she turned to see Ali beneath her, down on all fours with a wild expression. Jeniffer started falling again, waving her hands in front of her. She shouted “No!” as Ali opened her mouth to catch her. The woman’s teeth shone white in the low light, tongue glistening wet from the black hole of her mouth. Jeniffer dropped, perfectly aligned, to slam her arms and face right into the big, sloppy tongue. As Jeniffer slid in, Ali’s teeth snapped on her waist, with just enough pressure to hold her. She kicked about and pushed as the giant villain licked up, enveloping Jeniffer’s whole torso.

 Ali stood, carrying Jeniffer higher, and spat forward, throwing the scientist free again. She spun through the air and landed on a hard surface, rolling over and over before coming to a stop. Gasping for air, Jeniffer tried to push herself up, slick with saliva. She was on another desk, by the open window, and Ali loomed over her, hands either side. The massive woman’s eyes were wider than ever, enjoying toying with her.

“Stop,” Jeniffer pleaded, holding up a weak hand.

“Come on,” Ali replied, and prodded her with a finger. Jeniffer tried to push it off, but Ali poked again, making her jump up and take a few steps back. “That’s it. Run, little mouse.”

Jeniffer shook her head, no breath or energy to run. If she did, it would only encourage the woman. “ Ali Cat, please.”

“If the mouse doesn’t want to play,” Ali said, “I’ll skip straight to dinner.”

Jeniffer looked over her shoulder, checking her options. The few objects on the desk would provide no cover to hide behind and it was a thirty-yard dash to the window. Open, but two stories high. The equivalent of a five hundred foot fall? Jeniffer frowned. She knew better than that. She had shrunk, so at this size the air resistance would soften the fall. She might survive a massive drop. And there was a bus shelter out there, which make the distance even more manageable. If she could reach the window.

Ali’s fingers suddenly swept around her and Jeniffer cried as the giant woman’s hand closed on her, squeezing. She pushed up off the top finger, wriggling her waist free as Ali only held her lightly. Ali made a pleased sound as Jeniffer rolled out of her fist, and the hand reopened above her. The scientist crawled back upright and surged forward to run, but the moment she took a step she was pushed from behind and fell down again, one of Ali’s fingers pinning her down.

“Delicious!” the giantess laughed.

Jeniffer lay on her front, breathing heavily, as Ali released her finger. It was no use, this woman wouldn’t let her get anywhere near the window.

“Hey!” a man’s voice called out. “What are you doing in here?”

Jeniffer sat up with sudden hope. Larry the Security Guard stood in the lab doorway, a bulbous, gray-haired man in a loose blue uniform. Jeniffer had never been more thankful to see him. But Ali sprang into the air and the scientist gasped as the woman’s massive boots landed on the desk, the tight curve of her bum falling down on her. Ali paused in a squat, her rear inches from having squished Jeniffer, then the giant woman leapt forward, kicking off the desk to glide over the work surfaces towards the shrink ray.

“Larry, stop her!” Jeniffer cried, but her voice was small and useless and Ali was too fast. Larry fumbled at his holster, clumsily trying to draw his gun, as Ali whipped the shrink ray off its bench and rolled over it in one fluid motion. When Larry looked up to spot her, she was aiming it at him. She fired, with an electric crackle and a burst of light. Larry managed to take one step back before the light hit him, then he disappeared into the dazzling brightness.

Ali placed the shrink ray aside, smiling wickedly as she sashayed her hips through the room. She looked down into the doorway, where Larry had been reduced to a couple of inches tall. Jeniffer cursed, looking again to the window.

“Ooh,” Ali said, “a fat one.”

Jeniffer could hear Larry shouting in fear. Ali laughed lightly, taking another step towards him, and the security guard started to run. Big mistake for him, but an opportunity for Jeniffer. As the feline villain pounced, Jeniffer sprinted for the window. Larry yelled as Ali caught him with both hands, but his protests were muffled by her immediately grabbing him in her mouth. Barely toying with this captive, Ali rose back up shaking her head side to side as Larry struggled between her teeth. Jeniffer skidded at the window’s edge, watching as Ali’s tongue slid around the guard and rolled him into her widening mouth. He reached out with a yelp as her lips closed behind him, then Ali started pushing him around in her mouth. Was the psycho actually going to eat him?

Ali’s eyes fell back to Jeniffer’s desk and the scientist decided she didn’t want to find out. She jumped and just heard Ali swallow with a big gulp.

Jeniffer shrieked as she fell, an insane, terrifying height – but there was the bus shelter beneath her and yes, she was gliding a little, not at a lethal speed. She spread her limbs and tried to angle herself, catching just enough wind to drift towards the roof of the bus stop. She hit it hard and rolled, over and over, before falling off the edge. Jeniffer grabbed for something to hold onto but missed, and dropped down. She got out a last cry as she hit the sidewalk, bounced, and was finally still.

A bit out of breath, but alive. Uninjured.

She looked up past the shelter to the window she’d jumped from, a truly mad distance above, and started smiling. There was no sign of movement there, Ali not following.

A large shadow crossed her vision, though, and Jeniffer pushed up onto her elbows as another woman blocked the sky. She was as massive as Ali and must have seen Jeniffer fall while waiting for her bus, and now stared with amazement. A young woman, dressed in a short black skirt and tight white buttoned blouse, blond hair tied back in a messy ponytail. Surely a student, with a youthful complexion and dangerously bright, excitable eyes.

The giant student crouched towards Jeniffer, brushing hair back from her face, and whispered, “What the hell?”

“Young lady!” Jeniffer shouted to her, trying to sound authoritative. She stood up. “I’ve had an unfortunate accident and there’s an intruder in the building. I need your help.” The student’s surprise turned to amusement as Jeniffer spoke, not a good sign. “Miss, this is serious.”

“Definitely,” the student said, sarcastically. “I’d better get you away from here before anyone sees. You don’t know who you might run into.”

“What?” Jeniffer exclaimed. “No, we need to stop Ali Cat –”

The girl’s hand swept down towards her and Jeniffer stumbled back to the ground with a cry. She was caught in the closing hand, smothered by the student’s warm skin. Jeniffer tried to push free as she was lifted, then she was released again, falling between sheets of soft black material. Big fingers pushed Jeniffer into the depths of a skirt pocket, and pinned her there as the student stood up. Then they were moving, Jeniffer bouncing against the girl’s thigh. She shouted for help and tried to move, but the girl’s fingers shifted, holding her in place.

“Shh,” the student said. “There’s no one to hear you. You’re mine now.”

Jeniffer punched at the girl’s fingers and the only response she got was a laugh up above. This wasn’t possible, a nightmare! She was Dr Jeniffer Howard, genius, creator of a masterful size ray. Was the great Brainiffer to be reduced to a young woman’s pet?

***NEXT TIME ON BIG VILLAINY, LITTLE JUSTICE: Militant, Amazonian thug Major Max Volatile is on the loose and looking to make a bank withdrawal. Will the heroes be able to stop her when they discover she's got some new tricks up her sleeve? Coming May 30th, 2022***