Life's Cruel Verity? Jill's Reunion: Part 1
My name is Jill Tiny
chapter 36
by
copier
· original author:
dr.manhattan
"That's exactly right, boss", Mac confirmed, "Though I'd like to know how you figured it out".
Jill continued to stare at the poorly groomed man from the elevator floor. His ratty sweatsuit was littered with tears and stains, directly contradicting his professional demeanor. A thin layer of black fibers coated the underside of his chin, gradually diminishing as it rounded up toward his lower facial features. His face itself carried no expression as it tilted at a downward angle to view the mid shin-high girl beside his feet. It was his eyes that most caught Jill's attention, however. While those pale blue orbs showed no sign of hostility, they held a specific intent beneath that curious gaze. An intent Jill could not place.
"Just a lucky guess, I guess", Jill replied, "But how do YOU know I'm right? I mean, I'm pretty sure there isn't a scientist in this place that could even begin to explain how this thing works".
A tiny smirk worked it's way across Mac's lips as he spoke, "Those scientists. They'll spend years wasting money on research and testing, when half the time all they need to do ask us 'common folk' a few questions".
"That doesn't answer my question", Jill pointed out, "Just how do you know about something as complex as an anti-matter drive".
"Anti-matter drive?", Mac chuckled, "It looks like your luck has run out. You see boss, this tele-"
The sudden pause garnered Jill's full attention, so when the elevator doors swiftly appeared they gave her a slight start.
"Another time, boss", Mac stated, "We're here".
Mac's strides from the elevator were slow and short, giving Jill ample opportunity to keep pace. As she began to follow, however, she couldn't help but reflect on the seemingly uneventful happening earlier and how it may relate to what Mac wished for her to see.
-------------------------------------------------
Jill's head was buried in the latest update from Mainframe as she wandered through Analysis. By now, she had become quite accustomed to reading on the move, and even in the shadows of the towering desks which lined in rows of five on either side of her usual commute. Her curiosity about the uneven power distribution to the lowest sections of the facility were interrupted by a cheerful voice.
"Good afternoon, Miss Keeper!".
"Afternoon!", Jill responded to a ten-inch tall boy crossing her path.
Halting her steps, Jill glanced back at the black haired boy, who continued unabated toward his destination. He was roughly her age, and something of a looker in Jill's opinion. While his inviting smile and warm autumn eyes had been the first thing to catch her attention, Jill's view of him going was certainly more pleasing than the one of him coming. His shoulder's were broad, and his backside firm against tight black denim. In the chaos of the last few weeks, Jill hadn't devoted much time to thinking about boys. Perhaps it was time to put an end to that non-trend.
Jill was about to resume her journey back to her office when she noticed the toe portion of a red high-heeled shoe round a desk corner and slam into the boy's side with unforgiving force. The boy skidded a few feet across the floor on his side before coming to rest flat on his back, dirtying his argent button down shirt. The guilty foot paused for but a second before its adjoining leg raised in another step. The light beige sole of the enormous shoe came to rest on the fallen boy's upper body, enveloping his entire chest and face, while it's spike landed uncomfortably close to his groin. The way his arms and legs flailed, Jill could tell some pressure was being lowered on him, though not enough to squish him.
"Oops!", an overzealous voice came from the heavens, "I didn't see you there, twerp. You really need to be more careful. I could have really hurt you". A sudden increase in the boy's squirming gave Jill the impression that more weight was being placed on the foot pinning him down.
Jill's eyes followed the path laid out by this cruel woman's mammoth exposed legs. The tanned flesh eventually disappeared at mid thigh into a shimmering tent of sanguine. The contours of her curvy body were not lost on Jill as she continued her visual investigation upward. A playful visage, outlined by bouncy flaxen strands of shoulder length awaited her gaze. Illuminating verdigris oculars locked onto Jill as the woman's full red lips curled into an unkind smirk.
"Oh, why good afternoon, Miss Keeper", the woman kept her foot on the boy as she addressed Jill, "And how are you doing today? Is there anything I can do for you?".
Jill's mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. She was simply too stunned by such a blatant act of disrespect. It was therefore a great relief to Jill when that coy smile wiped itself from that horrid beauty's face and her giant foot lifted from the black haired boy. Jill's confusion was short lived as a shadow fell over her from behind.
"Um, excuse me", the woman muttered as she hastily fled the scene. The boy scattered away as well. His movements reminded Jill of a frightened rat, rather than a human.
"Is everything all right, boss?", a familiar voice asked.
"Yeah, Mac", Jill answered sadly, "Everything is fine. What brings you to analysis, by the way?".
"I came to get the days Mainframe readouts, but you beat me to it", Mac explained, "Hey boss, when you get a minute, would you mind stopping by my office?".
Jill finally turned around to face her conversation partner, "Of course, but may I ask why?".
"I just want to show you something, that's all", Mac announced.
--------------------------------------------------
As she followed closely behind Mac, Jill debated asking him to carry her. Her legs were getting a little tired, and her thighs showed early signs of chaffing against her jeans. Mac seemed to go quite far out of his way to avoid picking her up, though. Whether it was a sign of respect or fear of sexual harassment charges, Jill had no clue, but Mac really appeared to have no desire to reach out for her. Jill therefore decided to respect his silent refusal and endure.
The two came to a section of wall guarded by two soldiers dressed in charcoal uniforms, the infinity symbol embroidered over their hearts. It was hard to tell from her buzzed haircut, but Jill discerned that one of the soldiers was female, probably in her early twenties. It was this soldier that reached down and clutched her tightly within the confines of her leather glove.
"Ah, another one for the Bastille, eh?", the woman said as she lifted Jill to her face, "Don't worry yourself anymore, sir. We'll take it from here".
Jill struggled helplessly in the female guard's grasp, pounding at her fingers with clenched fists. A look into the woman's face revealed that she took no pleasure in Jill's resistance. Nor did she show any signs of sympathy behind those sage eyes. Duty and indifference were what chiseled her countenance.
"Put her down", Mac said in a professional tone.
Twisting her torso, Jill looked back at Mac. She quickly made two discoveries. First, from her high perspective she actually had to look down a little to see Mac's face. Second, while his voice had given no indication of anger, his eyes told a very different story. His normally lifeless blue irises were now ablaze, while his pupils narrowed as they met the soldier's set. Jill felt a tremor rush through her, though she was unsure if it originated in her body or the guard's. Suffice to say, it didn't take long for the woman to comply with the order.
"Sorry, sir", Jill heard the woman apologize as her feet touched the ground, "Will the two of you be going inside then?".
Mac nodded in the affirmative. The female guard reached into a pocket and pulled out an ID card. She went to insert into a slit directly behind her, but the other soldier, this one male, gripped her wrist in mid-action.
"Hold on a minute, Riggs", the man, appearing to be a similar age as his cohort, directed, "You're not just going to let this jerk in without checking his clearance, are you?".
"You're new here, Holt, but that doesn't give you an excuse to run your mouth off so much", the woman identified as Riggs retorted, "Besides, if you weren't new, you'd know who 'this jerk' was in the first place". Riggs then turned her attention to Mac, "Sorry about that, sir. As I said, he's new here. Please excuse him".
"It's fine", Mac obliged.
With that, the doorway appeared, and Mac and Jill entered the room. It took Jill's eyes a few minutes to adjust to the dimly lit room, but her ears began taking information from the get go. Wailing, moaning, and begging filled the air as the door closed behind them. As Jill's vision came to, she was mortified by what she was seeing. The rectangular room's longer walls were lined with cages, not Plexiglas ones, but real cages of about one foot by one foot dimensions. About half of the cages were filled with tinies, their height's ranging from two inches to two feet. The walls of the cages were solid, leaving only the thoroughly meshed doors to link their contents to the outside. The taller prisoners were very tightly cramped into their surroundings, barely having any room to breath, let alone move. Some tinies were banging against the sound absorbing mesh in a vain attempt to gain help. Others resorted to screaming for mercy. The one's that really bothered Jill, though, were the silent ones. The ones that just stared at her, making no motions or sounds. The ones that had become content in such brutal holdings.
"Why?", Jill could hardly utter, "Why would you show me this?".
"This wasn't what I wanted to show you, boss", Mac's voice seemed distant.
Jill returned her attention to Mac, who was standing at the opposite end of the room, his back turned to her. He was pressing buttons onto a council of some sort. Suddenly, the wall opposite the entryway opened up.
"In here, boss", Mac motioned with his hand as he spoke.
Jill braved the trek across the room, turning a blind eye to the suffering all around her...for now, anyway. Mac waited patiently until Jill completed her travel and entered the new room before him.
"What?"
Jill's initial reaction was pure shock. While this room was similar to the last, it held two key differences. The cells were larger, as were the prisoners.
"These two rooms are known as the Bastille, boss", Mac finally decided to explain, "This is where the more unruly sort are kept".
The cells in this room were made of Plexiglas, and they were large enough to accommodate three-to-four average sized humans, which a quarter of them did. As with the last room, there were those that begged for release, and those who failed to react to the new presence in the room.
"The average-sized ones are mostly disgruntled employees who made the mistake of violating the facility's policies", Mac continued, "But they do tend to abduct some from the outside, as they do with the smaller ones".
"Why do this?", Jill was too dumbfounded to formulate too complex a question.
Mac was quick to reply, "Every prisoner here is subject to some of the complex's more...experimental testing".
"And they do this to the biggies as well?".
"Yes, boss", Mac confirmed, "While some of the lower level employees may make distinctions between the size classes based on minor genetic differences, the higher ups don't. That is what I wanted to show you".
"So this is supposed to make me feel better about how tinies are treated here?!".
"No, boss", Mac calmly fielded the question, "This is supposed to put things in perspective for you".
"But, how-".
"Jill!", A shrill cry cut Jill off.
Jill turned to face who called her, and was quite surprised at who she found.
"Chloe?!".
Before her was a Plexiglas cell containing three people. Jill quickly identified them as Chloe, her sister Marcy, and their mother. Beside them, Jill noted another cell holding Chloe's brothers Tom and Peter. as well as her father. Jill really didn't know what to think.
"That's right, Jill", Chloe's voice shook a bit, "Please Jill, you gotta talk that guy into letting us out of here. It's horrible!".
"Please Jill", Marcy joined in, "We won't punish you for running away. We promise".
As six pairs of eyes watched her hopefully, Jill looked back to Mac, who kept to his indifferent facial formation.
"How did they get here?", Jill interrogated.
"Jill, it was horrible", Chloe broke into the conversation, "The day after Marcy lost you, these people barged into our house. They pointed guns at us and rounded us all up. Then they threw us in here. They only feed us twice a day. And that's not the worst of it. Sometimes, they take some people out of here, and when they bring them back...they're not right anymore. Please help us, Jill. Marcy's right, you don't have to worry about us punishing you for running away. Just get us out of here, please!".
"This is interesting, boss", Mac cut in, "As I'm guessing you already knew, these guys were abducted from their home a few weeks back. The director ordered it herself".
Jill craned her neck to see Mac reading from a panel attached to Chloe's cell.
"The director? Mom ordered this?".
"Yes, boss", Mac responded, "But here's the interesting part. While searching the house, they found an entire miniature village full of tinies, sizes ranging from G385 to G423. That puts them all in your class, boss".
"What did they do with them?".
"They are contained in Research currently, boss", Mac continued reading, "It seems they don't know what to do with them".
"What do you mean?", Jill asked hesitantly.
"Well, boss, it seems as though the Alex family used a highly sophisticated version of the drug Gammahydroxybutyrate to keep the tinies in a submissive, sensual state. Long term exposure to this particular version of the drug seems to have had a more permanent effect on all of the tinies found in the Alex's possession".
"Emily", Jill whimpered as she lowered her head.
"Come on, Jill", Chloe's frustration started to get the better of her, "You have to help us".
Jill looked back at her desperate former classmate, and then back at Mac. Once again, Mac was giving her that look. The one she had become accustomed to these past couple weeks. The one that stared right into her soul. Jill couldn't help but wonder if he already knew what she was going to do.
Jill continued to stare at the poorly groomed man from the elevator floor. His ratty sweatsuit was littered with tears and stains, directly contradicting his professional demeanor. A thin layer of black fibers coated the underside of his chin, gradually diminishing as it rounded up toward his lower facial features. His face itself carried no expression as it tilted at a downward angle to view the mid shin-high girl beside his feet. It was his eyes that most caught Jill's attention, however. While those pale blue orbs showed no sign of hostility, they held a specific intent beneath that curious gaze. An intent Jill could not place.
"Just a lucky guess, I guess", Jill replied, "But how do YOU know I'm right? I mean, I'm pretty sure there isn't a scientist in this place that could even begin to explain how this thing works".
A tiny smirk worked it's way across Mac's lips as he spoke, "Those scientists. They'll spend years wasting money on research and testing, when half the time all they need to do ask us 'common folk' a few questions".
"That doesn't answer my question", Jill pointed out, "Just how do you know about something as complex as an anti-matter drive".
"Anti-matter drive?", Mac chuckled, "It looks like your luck has run out. You see boss, this tele-"
The sudden pause garnered Jill's full attention, so when the elevator doors swiftly appeared they gave her a slight start.
"Another time, boss", Mac stated, "We're here".
Mac's strides from the elevator were slow and short, giving Jill ample opportunity to keep pace. As she began to follow, however, she couldn't help but reflect on the seemingly uneventful happening earlier and how it may relate to what Mac wished for her to see.
-------------------------------------------------
Jill's head was buried in the latest update from Mainframe as she wandered through Analysis. By now, she had become quite accustomed to reading on the move, and even in the shadows of the towering desks which lined in rows of five on either side of her usual commute. Her curiosity about the uneven power distribution to the lowest sections of the facility were interrupted by a cheerful voice.
"Good afternoon, Miss Keeper!".
"Afternoon!", Jill responded to a ten-inch tall boy crossing her path.
Halting her steps, Jill glanced back at the black haired boy, who continued unabated toward his destination. He was roughly her age, and something of a looker in Jill's opinion. While his inviting smile and warm autumn eyes had been the first thing to catch her attention, Jill's view of him going was certainly more pleasing than the one of him coming. His shoulder's were broad, and his backside firm against tight black denim. In the chaos of the last few weeks, Jill hadn't devoted much time to thinking about boys. Perhaps it was time to put an end to that non-trend.
Jill was about to resume her journey back to her office when she noticed the toe portion of a red high-heeled shoe round a desk corner and slam into the boy's side with unforgiving force. The boy skidded a few feet across the floor on his side before coming to rest flat on his back, dirtying his argent button down shirt. The guilty foot paused for but a second before its adjoining leg raised in another step. The light beige sole of the enormous shoe came to rest on the fallen boy's upper body, enveloping his entire chest and face, while it's spike landed uncomfortably close to his groin. The way his arms and legs flailed, Jill could tell some pressure was being lowered on him, though not enough to squish him.
"Oops!", an overzealous voice came from the heavens, "I didn't see you there, twerp. You really need to be more careful. I could have really hurt you". A sudden increase in the boy's squirming gave Jill the impression that more weight was being placed on the foot pinning him down.
Jill's eyes followed the path laid out by this cruel woman's mammoth exposed legs. The tanned flesh eventually disappeared at mid thigh into a shimmering tent of sanguine. The contours of her curvy body were not lost on Jill as she continued her visual investigation upward. A playful visage, outlined by bouncy flaxen strands of shoulder length awaited her gaze. Illuminating verdigris oculars locked onto Jill as the woman's full red lips curled into an unkind smirk.
"Oh, why good afternoon, Miss Keeper", the woman kept her foot on the boy as she addressed Jill, "And how are you doing today? Is there anything I can do for you?".
Jill's mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. She was simply too stunned by such a blatant act of disrespect. It was therefore a great relief to Jill when that coy smile wiped itself from that horrid beauty's face and her giant foot lifted from the black haired boy. Jill's confusion was short lived as a shadow fell over her from behind.
"Um, excuse me", the woman muttered as she hastily fled the scene. The boy scattered away as well. His movements reminded Jill of a frightened rat, rather than a human.
"Is everything all right, boss?", a familiar voice asked.
"Yeah, Mac", Jill answered sadly, "Everything is fine. What brings you to analysis, by the way?".
"I came to get the days Mainframe readouts, but you beat me to it", Mac explained, "Hey boss, when you get a minute, would you mind stopping by my office?".
Jill finally turned around to face her conversation partner, "Of course, but may I ask why?".
"I just want to show you something, that's all", Mac announced.
--------------------------------------------------
As she followed closely behind Mac, Jill debated asking him to carry her. Her legs were getting a little tired, and her thighs showed early signs of chaffing against her jeans. Mac seemed to go quite far out of his way to avoid picking her up, though. Whether it was a sign of respect or fear of sexual harassment charges, Jill had no clue, but Mac really appeared to have no desire to reach out for her. Jill therefore decided to respect his silent refusal and endure.
The two came to a section of wall guarded by two soldiers dressed in charcoal uniforms, the infinity symbol embroidered over their hearts. It was hard to tell from her buzzed haircut, but Jill discerned that one of the soldiers was female, probably in her early twenties. It was this soldier that reached down and clutched her tightly within the confines of her leather glove.
"Ah, another one for the Bastille, eh?", the woman said as she lifted Jill to her face, "Don't worry yourself anymore, sir. We'll take it from here".
Jill struggled helplessly in the female guard's grasp, pounding at her fingers with clenched fists. A look into the woman's face revealed that she took no pleasure in Jill's resistance. Nor did she show any signs of sympathy behind those sage eyes. Duty and indifference were what chiseled her countenance.
"Put her down", Mac said in a professional tone.
Twisting her torso, Jill looked back at Mac. She quickly made two discoveries. First, from her high perspective she actually had to look down a little to see Mac's face. Second, while his voice had given no indication of anger, his eyes told a very different story. His normally lifeless blue irises were now ablaze, while his pupils narrowed as they met the soldier's set. Jill felt a tremor rush through her, though she was unsure if it originated in her body or the guard's. Suffice to say, it didn't take long for the woman to comply with the order.
"Sorry, sir", Jill heard the woman apologize as her feet touched the ground, "Will the two of you be going inside then?".
Mac nodded in the affirmative. The female guard reached into a pocket and pulled out an ID card. She went to insert into a slit directly behind her, but the other soldier, this one male, gripped her wrist in mid-action.
"Hold on a minute, Riggs", the man, appearing to be a similar age as his cohort, directed, "You're not just going to let this jerk in without checking his clearance, are you?".
"You're new here, Holt, but that doesn't give you an excuse to run your mouth off so much", the woman identified as Riggs retorted, "Besides, if you weren't new, you'd know who 'this jerk' was in the first place". Riggs then turned her attention to Mac, "Sorry about that, sir. As I said, he's new here. Please excuse him".
"It's fine", Mac obliged.
With that, the doorway appeared, and Mac and Jill entered the room. It took Jill's eyes a few minutes to adjust to the dimly lit room, but her ears began taking information from the get go. Wailing, moaning, and begging filled the air as the door closed behind them. As Jill's vision came to, she was mortified by what she was seeing. The rectangular room's longer walls were lined with cages, not Plexiglas ones, but real cages of about one foot by one foot dimensions. About half of the cages were filled with tinies, their height's ranging from two inches to two feet. The walls of the cages were solid, leaving only the thoroughly meshed doors to link their contents to the outside. The taller prisoners were very tightly cramped into their surroundings, barely having any room to breath, let alone move. Some tinies were banging against the sound absorbing mesh in a vain attempt to gain help. Others resorted to screaming for mercy. The one's that really bothered Jill, though, were the silent ones. The ones that just stared at her, making no motions or sounds. The ones that had become content in such brutal holdings.
"Why?", Jill could hardly utter, "Why would you show me this?".
"This wasn't what I wanted to show you, boss", Mac's voice seemed distant.
Jill returned her attention to Mac, who was standing at the opposite end of the room, his back turned to her. He was pressing buttons onto a council of some sort. Suddenly, the wall opposite the entryway opened up.
"In here, boss", Mac motioned with his hand as he spoke.
Jill braved the trek across the room, turning a blind eye to the suffering all around her...for now, anyway. Mac waited patiently until Jill completed her travel and entered the new room before him.
"What?"
Jill's initial reaction was pure shock. While this room was similar to the last, it held two key differences. The cells were larger, as were the prisoners.
"These two rooms are known as the Bastille, boss", Mac finally decided to explain, "This is where the more unruly sort are kept".
The cells in this room were made of Plexiglas, and they were large enough to accommodate three-to-four average sized humans, which a quarter of them did. As with the last room, there were those that begged for release, and those who failed to react to the new presence in the room.
"The average-sized ones are mostly disgruntled employees who made the mistake of violating the facility's policies", Mac continued, "But they do tend to abduct some from the outside, as they do with the smaller ones".
"Why do this?", Jill was too dumbfounded to formulate too complex a question.
Mac was quick to reply, "Every prisoner here is subject to some of the complex's more...experimental testing".
"And they do this to the biggies as well?".
"Yes, boss", Mac confirmed, "While some of the lower level employees may make distinctions between the size classes based on minor genetic differences, the higher ups don't. That is what I wanted to show you".
"So this is supposed to make me feel better about how tinies are treated here?!".
"No, boss", Mac calmly fielded the question, "This is supposed to put things in perspective for you".
"But, how-".
"Jill!", A shrill cry cut Jill off.
Jill turned to face who called her, and was quite surprised at who she found.
"Chloe?!".
Before her was a Plexiglas cell containing three people. Jill quickly identified them as Chloe, her sister Marcy, and their mother. Beside them, Jill noted another cell holding Chloe's brothers Tom and Peter. as well as her father. Jill really didn't know what to think.
"That's right, Jill", Chloe's voice shook a bit, "Please Jill, you gotta talk that guy into letting us out of here. It's horrible!".
"Please Jill", Marcy joined in, "We won't punish you for running away. We promise".
As six pairs of eyes watched her hopefully, Jill looked back to Mac, who kept to his indifferent facial formation.
"How did they get here?", Jill interrogated.
"Jill, it was horrible", Chloe broke into the conversation, "The day after Marcy lost you, these people barged into our house. They pointed guns at us and rounded us all up. Then they threw us in here. They only feed us twice a day. And that's not the worst of it. Sometimes, they take some people out of here, and when they bring them back...they're not right anymore. Please help us, Jill. Marcy's right, you don't have to worry about us punishing you for running away. Just get us out of here, please!".
"This is interesting, boss", Mac cut in, "As I'm guessing you already knew, these guys were abducted from their home a few weeks back. The director ordered it herself".
Jill craned her neck to see Mac reading from a panel attached to Chloe's cell.
"The director? Mom ordered this?".
"Yes, boss", Mac responded, "But here's the interesting part. While searching the house, they found an entire miniature village full of tinies, sizes ranging from G385 to G423. That puts them all in your class, boss".
"What did they do with them?".
"They are contained in Research currently, boss", Mac continued reading, "It seems they don't know what to do with them".
"What do you mean?", Jill asked hesitantly.
"Well, boss, it seems as though the Alex family used a highly sophisticated version of the drug Gammahydroxybutyrate to keep the tinies in a submissive, sensual state. Long term exposure to this particular version of the drug seems to have had a more permanent effect on all of the tinies found in the Alex's possession".
"Emily", Jill whimpered as she lowered her head.
"Come on, Jill", Chloe's frustration started to get the better of her, "You have to help us".
Jill looked back at her desperate former classmate, and then back at Mac. Once again, Mac was giving her that look. The one she had become accustomed to these past couple weeks. The one that stared right into her soul. Jill couldn't help but wonder if he already knew what she was going to do.
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August 15
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