Yes, but Ezza doesn't have clothes for her

Vinri rarely visited the Laboratory of Continuism. She considered herself a more-than-capable engineer, but the formulas needed to understand chronodynamics gave her a headache. She only ever came here to drag Ezza out of her lab when she was late for a hangout. It always seemed ironic to Vinri that someone who studied time could somehow fail to notice when she was late for something.

So it was by pure luck that she recognised the corridor she was running through. Ezza's lab was just around the corner. Even luckier, the building seemed to be empty. All she could hear was the dry hiss of magnetic fluxdust falling or rising through the glass tubes that haphazardly ran through the building. Ezza had once tried to explain over a drink why fluxdust was important to the study of time, but Vinri had been too tipsy to understand.

Vinri peeked around the corner, and when she saw it was empty, she ran for Ezza's lab. She hesitated before opening the door. If Ezza was inside, she would make fun of Vinri for the rest of their lives. But when she heard footsteps behind her, she practically jumped inside. There, a wide-eyed Ezza stood, staring at Vinri.

"Vinri? What? Why are you... What?"

Vinri belatedly realised that she was showing Ezza her naked body. She tried to cover her breasts and pussy, but in the process, she dropped the conductor rod. The rod bounced on the floor, and sparks erupted from its end. Ezza's delicate-looking instruments hummed in tune with each bounce of the rod.

Vinri knew what was going to happen next. The sparks would resonate with Ezza's instruments, causing them to break. For the third time that night, Vinri would be the cause of an explosion.

What happened instead was that Ezza grabbed the rod and pressed a button on the weird-looking glove she was wearing. The rod sparked again, but Ezza's glove also released sparks. The sparks met and dissipated, leaving the rod inert and the lab unexploded.

"How did you do that?" Vinri asked.

"I sent a counterflux through it. Why are you naked?"

Vinri blushed. She knew the question was coming, but it was still embarrassing having to answer it.

"That is a long story. Do you have..."

Ezza interrupted her.

"Wait, did you cause that large explosion I heard just now?"

"Yes, that was me. Today has not been my day. Now, do you have any spare clothes I can borrow?"

Ezza shook her head.

"Or can you at least go and get some?"

"I'm sorry, Vinri, I can't. I'm supposed to show my supervisor a new prototype. He could be here any minute now."

Vinri's face went pale. Not only did Ezza not have any clothes for her, but someone else was also on their way here?

"Ezza, please, you have to help me. Can you hide me somewhere?"

They both looked around the lab, but Vinri couldn't see anywhere she could hide.

"I don't think you'd fit in my supply closet," Ezza said. "But I think I know how to help you."

Ezza walked over to her desk and grabbed what Vinri had thought was a jumble of straps and wires. Now that Ezza was holding it up, Vinri could see that it was meant to be worn. The harness wouldn't actually cover anything, but it could be strapped around her shoulders, waist, and legs. Attached to the harness was a small canister.

"Put this on."

When Vinri didn't immediately move, Ezza did it for her. She heaved the harness over Vinri's head and tightened it across her shoulders.

"You're lucky I always make a backup prototype, because I'm not failing my demonstration for you."

She got down on her knees and fastened the last straps around Vinri's legs. Vinri blushed when she realised Ezza's face was only an inch from her naked crotch, but Ezza acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"After you press the button on the fluxdust immobiliser, you can make a run for it. I hope I've managed to compress an hour into a second, so that should give you plenty of time."

"You've done what?"

Ezza got back to her feet and took another good look at Vinri. Vinri hoped she was just checking whether all the straps were tightened.

"What I said. I've compressed an hour into a second. Or I've stretched a second into an hour. Fifty-fifty, really."

"What does that mean, Ezza?"

"Well, it's all got to do with fluxdust, actually. It should be an ever-moving..." Ezza's explanation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"No time to explain. Just press the button."

To Vinri's horror, the door opened, and an old man stepped into the room. He hadn't seen her yet, but he was about to turn his head and spot a naked Vinri.

)

"Off you pop," Ezza said before slapping Vinri on the butt.

Vinri pressed the button.

Nothing exploded this time. Instead, the world froze.

Both Ezza and the old man had stopped moving. Ezza, at least, stood with both feet on the ground, but the old man was in the middle of a step, one foot hanging in the air. There was no way someone could remain standing, balanced like that.

Vinri took a hesitant step away from Ezza's hand. Neither Ezza nor the old man reacted. They didn't even blink. This was what Ezza had meant by compressing an hour. She had frozen time. Or she had quickened Vinri's movement through time. That sounded slightly less impossible.

Vinri waved her hand in front of the old man's face, just to make sure he couldn't see her. He didn't react. Then, just for the fun of it, she shook her breasts in front of Ezza's face. She slapped Ezza on the butt in revenge for earlier and stepped outside.