THE SPONGE
A Fat Positive Superheroine Serial
By The Hero
Chapter Six
ChicagoThe flight to Chicago went uneventfully. After they landed at the airport, a stairladder was rolled to the outside hatch and the door opened. As Mr. Zion and Susan stepped outside the hatch, Susan was suddenly struck by how muggy it was. She was only halfway down the steps when she started feeling constricted! Looking down, she was startled to see her blouse binding around her chest, straining the threads where the buttons met. She could also her belly pressing against the fabric of her skirt, while her hips and legs widened to fit snugly along the seams. Knowing she couldn't release the excess water in public without people noticing, she quickly - at least as quickly as she could the way her clothes fit - ran back into the plane and to the lavatory. There she released the pressure, just as the buttons popped at the chest level of her blouse, while one of the side seams of her skirt split up the side!
Collecting herself while concentrating on not retaining anymore weight, she looked at herself in the mirror before shedding the rest of her water weight. She saw a full face, cheeks just starting to dimple, with just a hint of a double chin. Below that was a pair of magnificently large breasts, showing ample cleavage at the point where her buttons popped off. That was all she could see - be real dear readers, we've all been in an airplane bathroom! (I guess I don't look TOO bad, kinda like a chubby Dolly Parton. Of course, I have red hair and am about 25 years younger...) Before she left, she pushed out all the water she could, while concentrating on keeping out any other water while her body adjusted to the humidity.
Soon after getting herself together and off the plane, she and Mr. Zion came upon a well dressed man with a devilish look about him. Mr. Zion went right up to him, saying he was glad he was met at the airport. They introduced themselves, including Susan. The man's name was Jack of Diamonds, he introduced himself to Susan, kissing her hand. (He seems nice enough, I wonder if he likes large women...) He and Mr. Zion talked a bit, Mr. Zion explaining that he wanted to recruit the now defunct Protectors to join his Superteam under his sponsorship. Upon being asked where the others might be, Jack led them to the hotel where they were currently staying.
As they walked into the lobby, Susan saw Ameriman, that all-American Superhero, signing autographs at a table and surrounded by fans. (I've always wanted to meet him.) Jack pulled him aside to talk to Mr. Zion, who suggested they meet in the dining room, along with the rest of the team. (I swear, any meetings we have are at the dinner table, maybe I should see about a clothing allowance!) Susan asked Ameriman if he could get another outfit, as she wanted to maintain a normal life, and Jack interrupted, saying one of the other members would screw up any anonymity. She asked what they looked like, and he said she was a muscular cat-woman, named Randi (Oh Lord, not another one! I hope this one is at least under control.) Jack found Randi and another youth named The Atomic Kid in the bar, trying to pass themselves off as adult to get drinks. He pulled them away and they went to dinner.
During dinner, Mr. Zion put forth his offer. They were undecided, and just before dessert he excused himself for a few moments. Susan was busy debating whether to have any dessert or not. Jack tried to be nice, suggesting the diet cheesecake, but Randi pushed her towards something called a Chocolate Slide. Susan tried to resist, but her weakness for chocolate won out. (Looks like I'm going to end up like that pudgy redhead I saw in the mirror, after all! I better start an exercise regimen when I get back, to I can at least stay in shape.)
After dessert, Mr. Zion came back, saying he had to fly back to New York. He told Susan that he got a room for her in the hotel, and told the others to meet her in the lobby in the morning should they wish to join the team. As soon as he left, they asked her what she thought of Mr. Zion and working for the team. Susan couldn't really say much at that point, but did explain that he paid on time and they did try to do good. Randi and Jack were getting an obvious buzz from the drinks and Susan asked them to please stop, opening up about her father a little bit. Jack kindly pushed his back in regards to her. She also told them about other members of the team, directing her opinions about Talis to Ameriman in hopes he could handle the situation better than she can.
Soon they all split up for the evening, Jack asking Susan out dancing. (It was a great time, he flirted with me a little, but was a gentleman about it. I think he likes me, at least I hope so.) Susan made sure to be home before midnight though, as they had to get together the next morning.
The next morning, as Susan was just about to get up, there came a knock at the door. It was room service, they had brought her breakfast! It was a platter of Chocolate Chip waffles, slathered in butter with her choice of syrup or hot fudge! That and a tall glass of extra thick chocolate milk. She thought to send it back until she read the card, thanking her for a good time last night. She thought Jack must've sent it. Not wanting to be rude, she tried to let it sit while she got dressed. The smell of the chocolate soon overpowered her, she ended up sitting down to eat the whole thing, drowning the waffles with all the hot fudge available. (Between this and the Chocolate Slide last night, I bet I put on another couple pounds alone! With the taste of the hot fudge running over those waffles, though, it was definitely worth it this time. I better watch myself with Jack on the team.)
Later, Susan met the others in the lobby, having to have Randi wakened then they set off for New York...
Chapter Seven
The Dark SabbathThe trip back from Chicago was much more eventful than the trip out. Jack of Diamonds hung out in the cockpit as he was fascinated with the plane, and talked the Azure Streak into during some stunt flying, without warning the others! Susan was about to lose her breakfast as this was only the third time she was in a plane, but Randi was terrified! Seems she had a fear of heights.
When the plane touched down, Randi went berserk, chasing after Jack down the hallways of the base. Susan called out to Jack which way to run, knowing the direction she gave him would lead him to the Danger Room. Once they got inside, Susan went to the control room and programmed in the Giant Robot program, announcing they'd have to put aside their differences and defeat it. (I figured the distraction would direct Randi's anger to a viable target.) Randi hissed for Susan to “Bite Me!” so Susan changed the program to that of Godzilla instead of the robot, and had it say “OK, where ya want bit?” They eventually settled their differences, though Mr. Zion made Susan turn off the program. He then told everyone to follow him to the meeting room.
When they arrived, Mr. Zion told them about reports he'd heard about museums broken into and religious artifacts being destroyed. The team was assigned to the task of stopping it, Mr. Zion having arranged for them to be in one of the museums to stake the place out for a few days.
The first thing they had to do was to get uniforms to fit Jack and Susan. They had a good enough uniform for Jack, but there weren't many female guards at the museum, so hers ended up fitting a little snug. (The fact that I've been putting on weight since I joined this team hasn't helped.) The first night they were on duty, the day guards presented her with a big box of various donuts, creamsticks and pastries. They explained that since they don't have many female guards there, that it was kind of a welcome present for her. Susan started to protest that there was too much for her to eat, but they said if she couldn't finish them to leave the leftovers for day shift. Susan stuck them in her employee locker to keep them out of sight, but ended up snacking enough to finish them off by the end of the night. Over the next few days, not much happened. Jack and Susan were roaming the halls in their guard uniforms, Susan continuing to nibble on the donuts the day shift kept bringing her until her uniform began to get tight. (Obviously I have NO willpower!) Susan could tell Jack was being kind to act like he wasn't noticing. She finally got him alone at one point to thank him for the room service he sent in Chicago, and he claimed not to know what she was talking about. (So he DIDN'T send those hotfudge waffles. I wonder who did?) The others hid around the exhibits.
One night, Jack was checking in as normal when he found there was no answer from the security room. He went to check it out. Once there, he came across another guard, only it wasn't one of the real guards, as Jack found out when he stabbed Jack in the back with his foot long claws! Randi discovered him and helped Jack out of it.
Meanwhile, Susan had her own trouble when several villains burst through the wall. Ameriman arrived to fight them off while Susan found the firehose, shoving it into the chest of her costume to power up. Unfortunately, Susan didn't have time to peel her disguise off. As she started to inflate, her guard's costume started bursting from her body. Slowly the buttons started popping off one by one, starting at her chest and working their way down her torso. As her belly began to ride over her guard's pants, her waistband started cutting into her, causing pain that was only relieved by the top button popping off. As she continue to inflate, the pants split apart, and the rest of her clothes shredded, leaving her in her costume, the ten foot tall mass of billowing fat known as The Sponge! [Notice the change to hero identity, folks?]
Susan waddled over to help Ameriman and felt her durability being sucked away by a Snake themed villain named Black Mambo. Ameriman smacked him away from her as she jumped to bellyflop onto the martial arts master, later known as Black Dragon. Unfortunately she didn't know he could teleport, because he appeared next to her and sidekicked her, her durability factor failing. He stunned her, causing all her water to flow out as once in a flood that knocked everyone over.
Overall, the fight was going poorly, as the heroes were outmatched and poorly coordinated, until Tango, Talis, and Powered Avenger arrived to clean up. Unfortunately, they didn't know who the new members were and the Avenger ended up clocking the Atomic Kid, allowing one of the group to get away.
Once the fight was over, with much property damage, including water damage ensuing, they police and the reporters got there, called by Powered Avenger. He tried to grab the glory (Such that there was, considering we were trying to AVOID property damage!) All the reporters were more interested in Ameriman, however. The others quietly snuck away and back to base, to face Mr. Zion . . .
Chapter Eight
Victory For Once!The next few days were rather chaotic. Tango was asked to come to Police Headquarters for questioning regarding someone finding one of his beltbuckles at the scene of an explosion that killed several mobsters. Thinking something was up, he went to his apartment, finding all his silver beltbuckles stolen. Tango had Ameriman act as his lawyer as he had suspicion of the cop who was on the case.
Tango also told Talis that he wasn't going to pay him anymore, and Talis went to Mr. Zion to ask him what he could be paid. He was told 36G per year, but he'd have to straighten out his act. Talis turned down the pay, saying he could make more money on the streets! (Then why does he stay HERE?! I can't wait til he gets caught.)
He then told Susan he was considering quitting the team, as this and the whole Grandmaster thing would eventually involve them. (That's stupid, I thought we were supposed to stick together on these things!) He also asked her to do some checking on the computer for a job of his, trying to track down Jack's girlfriend, who happened to be a werewolf. (Girlfriend?! And I thought he was attracted to me! As usual I read too much into a guy's actions. Bet his girlfriend's a real DOG, too.) Susan didn't find much information though, and ended up spending time between working on her ability to suck moisture from the air and visiting with Dee to discuss Jack, eventually drowning her sorrows in double rich chocolate chip cookies that Dee set out for them while they talked. (I swear, I think my eating is compulsive, I've already put on another five pounds between going to Chicago and now! I can barely even fit into my clothes now, so I've started wearing just my expandosuit til I get time and money to get to the mall.)
Meanwhile, Powered Avenger went out with Talis, only to later find Talis rushing him through the base to the bathroom. (They claim it was Chinese food but I know better, I could smell it. Add Corruption of a Minor to the list!) Powered Avenger also took out an ad to speak with Grandmaster at Central Park Lake, as he wanted to talk to him about what he might be doing to hurt Tango's reputation. (Not the smartest of ideas, he probably wants publicity for himself, as he's called reporters every other time he's fought.)
The day after the ad was placed, the team started patrolling Central Park Lake awaiting the arrival of Grandmaster. Instead, his two henchman (upon investigation we found their names to be Rage and Questor) showed up, the ones who beat heck out of the team when they first met Powered Avenger, along with a dozen men. Powered Avenger tried to question them, but they were being belligerent. Tango still couldn't stand Rage - the one who trashed him - so he threw a snowcone at him when he wouldn't answer Powered Avenger's questions. Rage started to go berserk, so Questor teleported them out, leaving the dozen men to deal with the Z-Force.
They turned out not to be agents, but robots! Tango, knowing Susan needed lots of water for her powers, picked her up and threw her into the middle of the lake. (Would have been nice if he had warned me first!) As Sponge burst out of her clothes upon hitting the water - good thing she had her unitard underneath - she started making her way towards land, absorbing as much water as she could on the way to shore.
The others were fighting off the other robots as best they could, though it was difficult because of the various energy grenades, entangling arms, and chest missiles they used. By the time Sponge waddled up to the shore, her expandosuit starting to rip up the side from her overexpansion, there were about half as many left. (Guess there's a limit to this fabric after all!) Two of them turned to her as she made her way to shore, firing chest missiles at the 18 feet tall, 18 feet wide jiggly form that she had become, only to have them cause very little harm to her. Surprisingly, before they exploded they wedged into her massive belly. Suddenly, Tango was hit by a blast that knocked him back over fifty feet, directly towards The Sponge! Instinctually, she made to catch him, only she couldn't get her nearly tubular arms out and across her bloated paunch to do it.
As he impacted into her belly, she felt her fat wrap around him, holding him tight! She tried to look down, but she couldn't see past her breasts to where he was held, though she could still feel him down there. (Feeling him down there in my blubber was starting to turn me on, but I just hope he didn't notice!) Sponge then came up with an idea, turning towards the robot who had shot at Tango. She concentrated on tightening her fat around him as much as she could, which was an unusual sensation in itself considering her fat had the texture of consistency of fat yet the gripping power of steel. She then flexed her blubber violently outward, propelling him towards the robot as she yelled for him to swing at it! Tango connected, splitting the robot in two! Sponge was so excited about doing something right in a fight, that and remembering the feeling of Tango being stuck inside her, that she started getting wet right there. (Actually, I'd been hit by so many missiles and flying superheroes I was having trouble holding the water I'd absorbed much longer. I swear, some chroniclers!!!) Sponge quickly - as quickly as she could anyway - shambled back to the lake barely in time to expel all the water she absorbed.
During all the commotion, the others disposed of the remaining robots. Upon clean up - dealing with the police, reporters, etc. - Susan made sure to collect pieces of the robots that were relatively whole, so she could examine them later. Then they all went back to base, Susan telling Tango that they should try to perfect that maneuver, with Tango saying no way in hell. (I guess I can add one MORE guy to the list of ones I've turned off, maybe I'll find someone who likes me despite my powers. . .) Deciding she had been finally good enough to warrant it, that and after that kind of expansion she was really hungry, Susan decided to call Dee to go out with her and splurge on a Chocolate Massacre over at their favorite ice cream parlor....
Chapter Nine
Hot PotatoDuring the couple days after they defeated Grandmaster's robots, Susan got her ability to absorb moisture from the air down pat, now being able to grow to her 12 foot tall form.
Tango soon got several of the team together to work on tactics. The only ones he could find were her, Jack, Talis, Atomic Kid and Ameriman. He had something programmed into the Danger Room called “Hot Potato”. Basically it consisted of a mechanical ball that clung to people and delivered an electric shock.
The group divided into teams, with Jack, Susan, and Ameriman on one team and Atomic Kid, Talis and Tango on the other. The program setting was set so at one end was 25 feet off the ground, around which was a large area 50 feet below ground, and the rest of the area at ground level. Sponge chose the top level to start off with, using her power to absorb water from the air and mist the room, thus exposing Talis in his invisible state. She then reinflated and waited.
Meanwhile, the Jack and Atomic Kid were telekinetically battling over the ball, with Tango as the victim it kept being attached to. Ameriman was helping by keeping Tango distracted. In the chaos they had forgotten all about Sponge. Atomic Kid was flying near the edge of her platform, Sponge then saw her chance to help.
Jumping off the edge of the platform, Sponge landed her bulk on the Kid's back, squashing him on the ground 75 feet below, pinning him! This broke the concentration he ad on the ball, thus letting Jack and Ameriman double-team Tango. Talis was on the other side and couldn't get to the action in time.
Just as they were wrapping things up, Mr. Zion got on the loudspeaker and called the team to the meeting room.
Upon arriving at the conference room, they found out about a mission Mr. Zion was sending them on. He's been sponsoring an archeological dig in the Appalachians of Kentucky, and they seemed to have uncovered an altar of some sort. Mr. Zion was sure it was a dimensional gate and wanted the dig guarded and the gate investigated, as perhaps the Elementals could use it to bring in their master. He also warned them that upon investigation of the Dark Sabbath, some of whose members they captured, they were found to have some sort of greenish sprout at the back of their heads, and they couldn't remember any of what happened! Someone had been mind controlling them, it seemed. Possibly something could be at work here. The team went to prepare for the flight to Kentucky.
Susan went to her apartments to pack, making sure to pack a couple of her stretchable costumes, and deciding to wear some rugged blue jeans and a flannel shirt. She had to pour herself into the jeans, she'd obviously put on a couple more pounds. (More than a couple, I'd say! I weighed myself after trying them on and found I'd gained another three pounds, and all of it went to my hips. At least there won't be any pastry at the dig! Maybe I even work off a couple of the ones I'd put on...) She then hurried to the launch site...
Chapter Ten
The AppalachiansWhen they finally landed in Kentucky, they were greeted at the hatch by four graduate students with shotguns! Ameriman explained to them that they were there to help and they had additional equipment that needed unloading.
When Susan stepped off the plane, this time she felt her jeans become even tighter BEFORE she felt the humidity! And as there were still plenty of people on the plane, and the plane had strangers in it now, she couldn't control the rate at which she expanded! As her jeans popped the first button, and they started to mold around her rear and thighs, she noticed Ameriman walking off to find the professor leading the dig. She ran after him as best she could, pushing the waistband of the jeans down so her growing belly could hang over the top, popping the bottom two buttons of her shirt as it grew.
By the time they got to the main tent, the seams of Susan's jeans were starting to pop as her breasts and upper arms were just now starting to strain the fabric of her shirt. As they entered the tent, they found the professor and his pretty lab assistant. Ameriman began to introduce himself and Susan to them, when Susan hurriedly interrupted him, exclaiming she couldn't hold out the humidity any longer and needed a place to change! Just as she said this, the seat of her jeans tore free with a loud RRRRRIIIIIIPPPP as well as a couple more buttons popping off her shirt. The professor quickly had his lab assistant escort Susan to someplace private.
The lab assistant seemed to take her time about leading Susan, by the time they got to her tent, the legs and hips of Susan's jeans were in tatters with Susan holding the shirt together by the remaining button. Susan had her stay outside while she changed, as soon as she stepped outside Susan's clothes gave the rest of the way, leaving her standing naked in the middle of the tent, about 300 pounds of bloating femininity!
Pulling her costume out of her carry-on, she put it on, stretching it over her newgrown bulk. The material expanded as it was designed to do, fitting to emphasize every bulging new roll of fat. During this time, Susan took the opportunity to examine her new form, finding that most of her new weight was deposited on her waist, hips, rear and thighs - her breasts appearing barely larger than when she examined them in the plane when she grew in Chicago. (I know I liked what I saw in Chicago, but I don't know if I'd want so much weight everywhere ELSE to get that way!)
Waddling into the main tent, all eyes turned towards her, including Jack who had just entered.
“You look very . . . uncomfortable,” he said.
“You mean I look FAT!” Susan replied defensively.
“No, just uncomfortable.” (I think he's just trying to be diplomatic.)
Upon checking out the gate, they found an arcane archway inscribed with some sort of ancient writing. Around the entrance to the gate were statues of the Elementals. Jack had everyone leave so he could get an emotional reading of the place, and came out white-faced with terror!
The professor also told them of how much of their equipment was being destroyed, Tango and Talis worked on that end of the investigation, finding whole vehicles crushed.
As she was walking around camp adjusting to her new size, Susan noticed the gradstudents gawking and snickering at her. All that is except one, who would meet her look and smile. Blushing, Susan turned away from them.
The evening meal was mostly staples - canned food and sandwiches. (At least I don't have to worry about overeating this crap!) Susan soon excused herself to go away from camp to relieve her excess water weight, as it was starting to cool down. She tried to keep it off, but found it was still too muggy to keep it off for long. She decided to stay the size she was, but laid out her blanket on the ground, as she felt the cots they brought along weren't designed for a now three-hundred pound woman.
That night, she dreamed she was watching a pig being cooked for a luau, and as she inhaled the fumes, she started getting fatter til she was as big as it was! She woke up to the smell of bacon frying at the cookfire outside the tent. Mouth salivating, she tried to sit up, finding she had to struggle to get up. She had not only NOT shed the extra hundred and (NOW!) fifteen pounds she had gained the day before but over the course of the night she appeared to have gotten half again as fat! Most of the fat deposited on the same areas it was before, only slightly more filling out of her breasts and arms, rounding out her figure, but still leaving her quite bottom heavy. Stepping outside the tent, she noticed the inside of the tent to be the only dry ground in camp. (Darn morning dew!) Waddling to breakfast, she graciously accepted a tin plate from the grad student who smiled at her the day before, where she found he gave her three biscuits drowning in bacon and pork fat gravy. Knowing it to be extra fattening, she looked up to the man and almost said something when he explained that hers were a little dry so he was trying to make it up to her by giving her an extra one with extra gravy on top of them all. Feeling guilty as he seemed to put an effort into the food, Susan didn't turn it down and sat down with them, cleaning her plate and her double chins jiggling with each swallow. (Well, I might not gain any more permanent weight on this trip, but I have my doubts I'm going to end up losing it.)
CHARACTER ASIDE:
(By the way, this day I decided to let my bulk stay at around 360 pounds, only half of which is ME. I figured Dee weighs about this much and I can use the weather as an excuse to get to feel how she does so I can try to understand her better. I think she moves better than I can with this amount of fat, since she's had it longer. It's still hard to understand how she likes being this large though, it's caused me problems so far. Still, I wonder if she's exerting her opinions on me, though, I always end up eating when I'm with her. I know she wanted me to get fat enough to be 50% overweight to stay in the Moo Crew, but that was High School, she can't still be wanting that even after three and a half years! BTW: Since joining this team I'm about 8 pounds from her original goal, but I can't blame her for that.)The day was uneventful til Atomic Kid, on a routine patrol, spotted a winged woman flying into a cave opening on the other side of the mountain. He brought the others to investigate, and they ended up capturing a minor villain team that had been the ones sabotaging the dig's equipment. (Not that I did much, we have so many people in on this one.) Jack of Diamonds and Tango loaded the villains into the plane and flew them to the authorities, not coming back for a couple days. . .
That evening, as Susan was being portioned her supper, the young gradstudent from that morning leaned over to her, saying he had a treat for her and to meet him by the pond.
Meeting him over there later, she found him alone, with his backpack beside him. He motioned her to sit down and said he thought she might like a taste of civilization after the fight she was in. He reached into his pack and pulled out a box of Devil Dogs! He unwrapped a twin pack of them and handed her one, saying he really had to fight to get the last box, as some guy had filled his shopping cart with them the day he was there. The guy said they were for his wife, who couldn't get enough of them. Susan accepted hers - though she normally disdained such things she DID have a craving for something sweet at the moment - and popped a bite into her mouth. (The guy at the supermarket was right, they are incredibly gooey and rich!) As she let the gooey pastry slide down her throat and she licked the icing from her mouth, she noticed the gradstudent - named Hank - focus his attention on her with his smiling eyes admiring her every bite. He actually seemed turned on by this! Susan wondered if he got aroused by watching her eat.
As if on cue, he asked her if she wanted another one! She took her time with this one, peeling the icing off first with her teeth and lapping up the creamy middle before eating the spongy (SPONGY?) cake. She watched to see if he was getting aroused, and he was! So absorbed was she that she didn't realize he handed her another one to replace the second one. They continued on like that til she finished the other nine cakes. Susan was surprised she ate all of them, but didn't mind as much, since Hank was there to encourage her. They hugged secretly and parted for the night. Susan went to bed, gently massaging her belly under the blanket and thinking of Hank . . . and eating pastry.
The next couple days went by quickly. The combination of the muggy days and the dew filled nights kept her growing at he rate of around 50 pounds a day, topping her out at about 500, slowing her pace down to a slow waddle. Hank had talked the other guys out of their boxes of pastry, so Susan would while away the days watching Hank sweat on the dig while nibbling on the other three boxes of Twinkies, King Dons, and Fruit Pies. She made sure that only Hank was watching when she did so. She discussed with him the fact that she wasn't normally that fat and she might put on several pounds, and he said that was all right, the fatter she got the better, and that he was also a cooking minor specializing in Italian pastas. (Well, I don't know if I want to get as fat as I feel right now, but if I'm dating Hank, I guess a few extra pounds won't hurt. . .) Susan also got used to manipulating her new bulk, finding it less uncomfortable as the days went on.
On the fourth day, the group woke up to the sound of the plane coming back, but upon looking around they found the dig team to be missing! Once they got Tango and Randi - who had come back from seeing her Grandmother in New Jersey - they left Jack to watch the plane while they explored the excavation to find the others. They found them, all stacked up in a corner unconscious, while the Elementals were waiting for the team to arrive, as well as an open portal behind them. There was another one there too, a formless mist with tentacles coming out. Susan figured out that one was the element of the MIND, as all the physical elements were already represented. No sooner had she shouted this and for the team to attack it than she was hit with a wind blast, blowing her down the tunnel!
By the time she got back up the tunnel, the battle was in full swing. She grew to her fat form as she ran out of the tunnel, shouting a soliloquy like Ameriman. “I am the Sponge, come to mop up this puddle of crime!” only to be hit by a mental command, making her shed all her excess water at once! It didn't say how, so she aimed her water blast at the Mind creature, knocking it back into the portal, which caused all the other forms to coalesce into a Demon as big as she was!
He started laughing at them, saying they were so pathetic he would even wait til they were rested before he destroyed them. Susan checked the innocents while he was talking. She noticed the control growth had risen behind their necks, she'd been used emotionally by this thing, fattened for its amusement! She only hoped Hank was OK when he woke up. Susan thought the innocent dig team might be hurt in such a fight with a demon, so she asked if she could take them outside first. No sooner had she started to say the word outside than he said sure he'd take them out, then he disintegrated them into ash!!! Susan was devastated. (I should be, I as much as killed them all!) Susan lost all thoughts of romantic longing and of fattening up.
When she turned around, she found the others talking to it, trying to get information. Seems he planned to consume the resources of this world, so he could gain enough power to defeat his brother and take over that world.
With that, the battle commenced in force, Tango ordering Talis through the gate and into the other dimension to find the Demon's brother. Eventually, Ameriman and Tango had it held, but it was so heavy they couldn't move it anywhere. Susan waddled over and drained water from its body and into her, making her grow even larger. It broke loose and flew to the other side of the cave. Susan tried to get the thing to rush forward to her so she could drain it again, shouting over the din of battle that she knew its weakness was the gate and she was going to destroy it. Instead of flying towards her, it shot a burst of hellfire at her, knocking her rotund form back through the gate! She landed, barely gripping the edge of a floating cliff to keep from falling into an ocean of molten lava! It was hellish! It was so hot, she started melting away the pounds quickly, leaving her emaciated as she pulled herself onto the rock, she made a desperate leap for the cliff ledge where the gate was. Barely making it, she called out to Talis, but he deliberately ignored her. She then made her way to the other side of the gate, dropping down to her knees to gulp in the air and moisture to become her old self. (I felt like hell, all wasted away like that, let's hope THAT never happens again.)
Meanwhile . . . As Talis was making his way in the Hellish dimension, jumping from rock to rock, he made out a castle in the distance. Making his way there, he found another being reclining on a throne there. He told him his brother was raising hell over in Talis's world in effort to overthrow him. Together they made their way to the portal, flying on the rock islands - the brother had full control over the dimension. The brother tried to get information out of Talis, but Talis started badmouthing him, so the brother detached Talis's rock and sent him hurling in the opposite direction!
The group fought the Demon to a standstill for minutes more, until suddenly another Demon came through the gate, tackling the first one and fighting him into the portal, starting the cave collapsing! As the gate began to close, Tango ran forward and jumped into the portal, calling for Talis so he could save him. Everyone else had to run, as they got outside the whole mountain collapsed! They found Talis and Tango, somehow transported to the outside after the gate closed. Susan was right in her assumptions about the Gate, not that it would bring the others back to life. (It was all MY fault!!!) They climbed into the plane and headed for home, a very sullenly despondent Susan sitting by herself in the very back, weeping softly. . .
(To Be Continued)