Size Does Matter: A Little Problem

[x-traction.livejournal.com]

The girls wake up only to discover that Jan isn't where they thought she was.

Jan sat miserably in her tent, not quite sure what was going on. One moment she'd been joining her friends in screaming at the bear, the next she'd been... like this. Her friends hadn't seen her when they peeked into her tent, which wasn't much of a surprise, Jan reasoned, figuring she now stood at a whopping one-inch height. She'd spent the better part of the night attempting to regain her lost height, but why should that come any easier than the rest of her powers? Her incredibly stupid mutant powers which she had to hide and now had her huddling in a tent, unable to be seen or heard by anyone.

The other three girls were just starting to stir, Emily yawning as she covered the remains from the previous night's fire with dirt. "Come on out Jan, the boys are gonna be here to drive to the lake in like twenty minutes." She frowned, banging a spoon against the metal pan that was still laying out from where the bear had knocked it. "Yo Jan, wake up! You're not getting out of helping us clean by pretending to be asleep." When that earned no response, Emily cast a worried look at the other two girls.

"Come on Jan, stop messing around!" Ava said as she walked over to the tent and unzipped the door, poking her head in.

Jan stared up at the giant head peering into her tent. "Ava!" she shouted as loud as she could. "I'm here! I'm right here!" She climbed up on top of her sleeping bag and began to jump up and down.

"Guys, she's not here," Ava called over her shoulder, Emily and Kaylee quickly coming over. Ava squinted as she glanced back inside the tent. Something was off...though she couldn't quite place her finger on it yet. Taking a step in, she glanced down at what her toe had landed on. It felt lumpy. Kneeling, she fell silent as she looked at Janet's pjs crumpled on the ground.

"Don't step on me!" Jan shrieked as Ava's gigantic shoe made its appearance. She jumped back and nearly tripped over a wrinkle in her sleeping bag. She knew Ava had big feet, but this was ridiculous!

The other two girls peered in, worried looks on their faces. "What if something happened last night when the bear was here?" Kaylee asked, her voice growing soft. Emily's cast an incredulous look at her, shaking her head. "What the hell would happen with a bear that would leave her pjs here? She's either running around naked out there or she got dressed and ran off. Maybe Brandon came and picked her up for a little midnight rendezvous." Pulling out her cell phone she quickly dialed a number and waited as the phone rang.

"I'm not running around naked; I'm standing here naked! All of my clothes are still here!" At the moment, Jan was one very unhappy camper. How on earth could she get their attention if they didn't see her? How could she avoid getting stepped on if her now very large friends decided to actually enter her tent?

Emily's voice was low as she walked off towards the campfire and when she came back, the worried look had returned. "She's not with him. The boys are gonna come and look around. I think...I think maybe we should call Jan's dad." Ava and Kaylee exchanged a glance and simultaneously called out "Not it." Emily glared at them both, stalking off to make the call.

Still inside her tent, Jan pouted. This was not going well at all. She scurried to the door of the tent and peered out, staring up at her friends. She had to get their attention somehow, but how? They had to see her, how to get them to see her.. aha! Jan flicked her gossamer-looking wings a few times and then launched herself into the air, surprised at how natural it felt to be airborne, supported only by her wings.

"Here! I'm right here!" she shouted, hovering as best she could in front of Ava's face.

"Damn bugs," Ava muttered, swatting her the air in front of her. "Hey, you got any of that bug spray?" she called over to Kaylee, the other girl just shaking her head mutely. Emily was still off to the side talking and Ava ignored the small object flitting around her face. That is until she felt a sharp sting on her hand. "Ouch!" she cried out. "I knew camping was a bad idea." She tried not to think about Jan out there lost in the woods, but failed and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You stupid bitch! How dare you swat me?!"

Flying was still a new one for Jan. She'd had the wings for more than three years now but had hidden them most of the time, only daring to let herself fly on a few occasions. Her father didn't want anyone knowing she was a mutant, and knowing what her ex-boyfriend Tommy's friends had done to him when they discovered he was a mutant, Jan was inclined to agree. When Ava swatted at her, Jan moved instinctively but barely missed being hit.

Emily had returned from her phonecall with a grim look on her face. "He's coming right over. He said we weren't to go anywhere and he's calling the police."