Little Big Problems

"You okay, General?" Preston Garvey asked ducking behind a scrap wall next to Walt, cranking the recharger on his laser musket.

"Fine," Walt said rapidly reloading his own revolver. "This is some party! Status?"

(("Haruna is keeping the noncombatants together in the townhall and Linda and Shocket are completing the final array. Estimated time to operational functionality is three minutes and counting, Boss."))

"Understood," he said smiling tightly. "Let's finish this and push them back! Haruhime?"

The fox featured Renard nodded. "Now?"

"Now," Walt said nodding to her and then Pirotess and Baroness who nodded back.

Haruhime began chanting. "Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory-"

"Here they come again!" Baroness shouted peeking around the barricade.

Walt nodded. "As soon as the casting is complete we rush them and drive them back! Ready... set..."

"-may it bestow good fortune upon you. -Grow!" Haruhime concluded releasing the spell.

"Now!" Walt said bursting from cover firing as he charged yelling towards the bellowing behemoths ahead of them.

The comparatively large creatures stood with deceptively strong, gangly limbs tipped with claws and their snarling mouths full of wicked sharp teeth. They were charging towards the colorful settlement of various picturesque doll like houses, vibrant full-size "play sets" and cobbled together other buildings made out of various bits of scrap, plastic interlocking blocks and salvaged materials. Their pebbled tough hides made them resistant to most conventional attacks and their insatiable appetites for food and mayhem made them a danger normally... at their present size they were a definite threat.

"For Littleton!" Cried the settlements defenders, miniaturized Primes who'd been shrunk down for the both the huge cost of living benefits and to spend their lives with their tiny Characters. But that same benefit made facing threats much more dangerous.

Army men toys fired fullsize bottle rocket batteries. A Gadget Hackwrench flying a heavily modified drone supplied covering fire while a Smurfette and a Nurse Barbie evacuated the wounded.

"I'm on the leader!" Walt shouted charging lightning quick towards the large gremlin with the Mohawk. while firing. "Stripe!" He shouted to get its attention.

Stripe the Gremlin hissed as it covered his face to ward off the shots with one arm while roaring it raised a revolver of it's own, firing. The massive hand canon roared thunderously.

Walt dodged, rolling to the side as a huge bullet whistled past showering him sharp debris and came up in a spring. The power of Haruhime's enchantment had increased his and the others effective abilities effectively making them "super". His fist collided with Spikes massive (at their current size) jaw in a tremendous jumping uppercut. "Shoryuken!" He shouted and landing grabbed the oversize weapon, wrestling ot from his stunned opponents grasp gave it a toss.

Stripes huge jaws clacked shut with a crunch as his head realed back and his reddish-yellow eyes winced with pain and anger. He went to stomp Walt underfoot.

But Walt pulled his knife out. The blade sunk deeply into the monstrous foot causing the Gremlin to howl. He yelled too looking around and seeing the others inflicting dusabling wounds to slow down the creatures. "Now! Do it now! Fallback!"

Baroness grinned pressing a button on aremote and running as Pirotess struck their current foe with a blinding flurry of sword swings. The remote set off the detonator they'd planted. Small detonators burst open large, oversized water containers splashing down in a flood upon the battleground as most of the defenders fell back again.

The gremlins laughed. Water wasn't something for them to fear. It would just make them multiply instead! Their bodies began bubbling as they began to multiply laughing...

... until Pirotess seeing her allies fall back soared upwards. "Lighting storm!" She cried as blasts of lightning struck downward raking the area electrocuting and shocking the gremlins.

"Now!" Walt shouted. "Phase two!"

(("Beginning phase two."))

Linda smiled throwing a switch and giving a thumbs up. "Phase two!"

Shocket donned a pair of sunglasses as she stood by next to a large mirror as sunlight from outside hit several mirrored relays before striking the one next to her. "Prepare to be blinded by the light, suckers," she said directing the light down onto the immobilized monsters.

The Gremlins howled as they started smoking and melting, blasted by immobilizing electric shock and their hated weakness- sunlight. They howled in agony as Shocket laughed burning and melting them to liquefied lumps.

"Well, what do you know. It actually worked. So that's the power of the Archimedes," Preston stated. "I'd heard wild stories about it but never figured I'd see it."

Walt shook his head rising up and dusting off his hat as he looked at the comparatively huge vanity mirror. "Probably not exactly the same as the one you'd heard about but yeah, close enough. All good?"

Preston Garvey nodded smiling seeing that the threat had been eliminated. "All good, General... for now. But you know the good fight never really ends."

Walt smiled and nodded. "Well we'll definitely be back to Costco someday so if you hear of any more settlements in need come find us or any other Minutemen. Alright?" He said sticking out his hand. Preston really was a good guy no matter what world he was in.

"Will do!" Preston Garvey said shaking his hand with a warm smile before walking away. "Best of luck, General."

"What a strange way to live," Haruhime said looking around the not-so-small settlement of repurposed toy and material buildings full of shrunken people and small characters. "But it's not without it's own charm."

Walt nodded as Lego characters were building things and some anthropomorphic mice were cooking and fairies were handing out meals. He shook his head realizing he was wrong. Not a mouse. It was a Remy the Rat from Ratatouille, cooking up a feast. "People have always had a fascination with small and tiny Characters too. But living with them does come with challenges too. One way of addressing some of those is to make them bigger but it's not very popular."

"So the Primes shrank themselves?" Anastasia said looking around and then pointing at some of the defenses that had GI Joe and Cobra markings. "And why do they have Joe and Cobra equipment?"

Walt chuckled and nodded. "Well yeah. There's actually a lot of financial benefits to "Downsizing". It's just a cheaper way to live at this size. Buy a tiny mansion, a tiny character or two and live the good life at a fraction of the cost. There are whole communities like that. Granted most of them aren't renting out a space at Costco but that's even cheaper too and lots of folks live in the store for the convenience... and It's a good deal for the store because it pretty much guarantees they'll get the majority of a person's income if they just live here. They've got schools and everything... though they're not the greatest. You get what you pay for. As for the Joe stuff, you are aware that your existence was to sell children's toys, right?"

Baroness froze. "Wait... what? Those are toys?!"

Walt shrugged. "Yes, among others but at our current sizes they're much bigger. Practically life-sized," he said indicating a castle playset and a "dream house" from a popular doll line. "A few modifications and they're good enough to live in. And there's other benefits to "living small" too," he said as they watched people moving giant boxes and bags of snacks, vegetables and fruit and a bottled alcocholic beverage the size of a tanker truck compared to their current size.

Shocket laughed. "Whoa! That's a Lotta of booze! Guess it's gonna be a party!" She said as people and Characters workedhand in hand to set-up for what looked like a victory party/rave.

Pirotess smiled watching the produce go by. "That makes sense. It's easy to provide plenty and abundance at this size."

Walt nodded. "It is. "Downsizing" isn't without it's drawbacks, as yall just seen, and it's not for everyone but for some it's become a viable way of living very large on a tiny budget."

A Mrs Brisby approached holding a parcel. "Thank you all so very much for your help." She unwrapped and held out a large diamond. "I'm afraid it isn't very much but please take it with all of our thanks."

The girls swallowed looking at the big gem and Shocket was practically rubbing her paws together with glee but Walt shook his head and rewrapped it, putting his hands around Mrs Brisby's patting. "That's very generous but you all keep it."

"You're certain?" She asked noting the looks of dismay on some of their faces and approval on others.

He nodded letting go and smiling as the others covered Shockets mouth as she started sputtering and protesting. "Very. It'll do you all much more good than us. How about tea instead the next time we come visit, alright?"

Mrs Brisby nodded, smiling. "Come back anytime! You're all very welcome here!"

They waved walking away and Shocket grumbling. "Idiot! How could you just give that away?!"

The others laughed having figured it out as Linda sighed. "You know when we get big again that thing would only be this big right?" She asked holding her finger and thumb barely parted.

"Oh," Shocket said somewhat dejectedly. "Only that big, huh? Well... it's the principle of the matter! You shouldn't turn down a reward, even a small one!"

Walt chuckled as she was clearly trying to save face and was smiling... still she had a point. "Tell you what," he said pulling and handing out the "Eat Me" Cakes they'd be using to grow big again. "How about I reward y'all for being good by buying you diamonds?"

"You really mean it?" She asked excitedly. "Hell yeah!"

Haruna shook her head. "You're far too generous, Master."

Walt shrugged. "Not really... and it'll be a nice memento of our time together."

Haruna blinked but Pirotess nudged her. "He means a gem only this big," she said holding her fingers same width apart as Lindas earlier. "It is a nice gesture though. We could get earrings," she suggested before blushing embaressed at her excitement.

Anastasia laughed but put her hand on her shoulder. "I think that's a good idea. Let's get matching earrings or other piercings as a memento!"

"Hold up," Shocket said as they exited Littleton. "Are you saying "the real reward was the friends we made along the way" and junk?"

"What? Too lame for you, Sis?" Linda asked thinking about what she would like to get pierced.

Shocket grinned, shaking her head. "Not if it comes with real treasures, it ain't!"

They all laughed.

[Walter Stark - Penny Polendina - F.R.I.D.A.Y - Neopolitan - Pyrrha Nikos - Nora Valkyrie - Yang Xiao Long - Blake Belladonna - Kali Belladonna - Sienna Khan - Willow Schnee - Glynda Goodwitch - Zwei - Ahnassi - Lifts-Her-Tail - Senko - Sayoko Shinozaki - Roberta Cisneros - Haruna - Sasha Blouse - Ilulu - Rachel "Raven" Roth - Manami "La Brava" Aiba - Tsuyu "Froppy" Asui - Haruhime Sanjouno - Anastasia "Baroness" Cisarovna/DeCobray - Demona - Raven "Mystique" Darkhölme - Pirotess - Lydia - Aela the Huntress - Serana - Mission Vao - Curie - Ada - PAM - KL-E-O - Merida - Gwen "Gwenom" Stacy - Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee - Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters - Linda T. Duck - Shocket Raccoon - Lady Loki - Elizabeth "Betty" Brant - Gloria "Glory" Grant - Mary Jane "MJ" Watson - Emma Frost and Virginia "Pepper" Potts

Will Return In

Big Little Problem

Coming Soon]