Magnolia (4)

THUMP.

Betty reached the top of the bar.

She whipped around to check behind her—how close her pursuers were.

Too close.

No chance of shaking them. They had to be Thrak.

Betty drew a pistol from her jacket and aimed it back at Syd and Jody as they landed on the bar after her. But before she could fire—

CRASH! CRASH! THUD! CRACK!

Glass, wood, and fruit decorations exploded all over the bar from Jody's air bullets. Shards flew in every direction. Some glass even burst outright from the impact.

Betty rolled behind a tall cocktail glass for cover.

Meanwhile, Syd and Jody landed on the same bar.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Betty opened fire. Jody dodged nimbly, but Syd wasn't as lucky—one bullet hit him square in the stomach.

"Urgh!"

A guttural sound escaped Syd's throat—it hurt.

"Syd!!!"

He dove behind another overturned glass.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"I'm fine… still good… remember, our bodies have the toughness of 'concrete'…"

Jody knew that was only technically true. The bullet didn't pierce his body, but the impact was probably like getting kicked in the gut by Buakaw.

She responded with a flurry of air bullets.

FWOOM FWOOM FWOOM FWOOM FWOOM FWOOM!

Syd pulled out his handgun and added to the barrage.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Glass exploded. Garnishes, liquor-soaked fruits, and broken bottles flew across the bar. Betty had no chance to return fire.

CRASH!

A bullet missed Betty's head by an inch.

"That crazy bitch!"

All she could do was keep ducking and weaving from the relentless storm of attacks.

"Jody! Keep her pinned! I'm going in!"

Syd leapt from cover and charged.

Betty peeked out and saw Syd charging her.

What the hell?! I shot him! How is he still up?!

She realized it then—bullets weren't enough to stop Syd Barrett.

"Tch! That girl's just distracting me so he can close in!"

She yanked a pen-like object from her jacket. A yellow aura pulsed from her body.

She flung it. Both Syd and Jody saw.

"Syd! Watch out!"

RRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

The tiny pen enlarged into a massive giant pen from their perspective.

"HOLY SHIT!"

Syd barely dodged in time.

To regular-sized people, it was just a pen returning to normal size.

To them—it was a monolith.

"You think that's gonna stop me?!"

Syd vaulted over it, diving straight at Betty.

But she grinned back at him.

"Nope. The pen was just the setup!"

She aimed her gun at one end of the pen.

BANG!

The bullet struck the pen—sending it spinning violently. The tip swept in—

SMACK!!!

"AAAAAAARGHHHH!!!"

Syd was hurled across the bar, crashing into a glass of fruit juice and ice.

SMASH!

"Syd!"

Jody aimed at Betty immediately, fingers locking in. Syd's body slid off the ice pile, stained in sticky juice, rolling limply near Betty's massive heel.

"...Hey. You stay right there. Move even an inch, and I shoot."

"Try me."

Betty ignored the threat.

She raised her gun and pointed it at Syd's head.

"I wanna see if his skin can take a point-blank shot."

"….."

Jody froze, still aiming—but her focus wavered.

She's bluffing, Jody thought. I have the upper hand!

"Put the gun down and back away from him…"

She tried to command Betty—but the older woman responded with calm defiance.

"You're Jody, right? I heard him call you that…"

"Shut up. Step away."

"Don't know if it's your real name, but I'll go with it… You're not one of them, are you?"

"..."

Jody stayed silent.

"I just see you taking orders like a good little lapdog. Are you his lackey or something?"

Betty glanced at her sideways.

"You're not cut out for this life. Let me tell you something, sweetheart—once you're in this world, there's no getting out. Ever. Are you really sure this is the path you wanna take? Working for a guy like him?"

How does she know?! Jody flinched inwardly.

"…I don't know what deal he roped you into, but I want you to understand—this life, this underworld, it'll eat you alive. Are you really willing to throw away your future over this guy?"

"..."

"You can still walk away, Jody. Right now. Just tell me—how many of you are there? Who are they? I'll spare you. I'll let you walk free."

Betty extended the offer.

"I'm giving you a chance, girl. This has nothing to do with you. No matter how he got you wrapped up in this—think again. Weigh what he's promised you… against the price you'll pay for the rest of your life. Is it worth it?"

"..."

Jody's eyes flickered.

"...So what do I have to do?"

"Tell me who they are. How many of them. I'll let you go. I'll restore your size. And you can walk away like this never happened. I won't chase you."

"..."

click… click… click…

"…If I tell you… you'll really let me go?"

"…I promise."

"..."

Jody chuckled softly.

"Heh… heh heh heh…"

She raised her gaze to meet Betty's—and said:

"…Nah. But thanks."

?!

Suddenly, Betty smelled burning.

She looked down—

Her leg was on fire.

"WHAT THE—?!"

Beside her stood Syd Barrett, grinning wickedly, holding Sera's lighter.

"Alcohol burns, lady."

SCREEEEEAAAAAMMMMMMM!!!

Betty howled as fire engulfed her leg.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"

"I swapped your skin's properties with alcohol back when I carried you out," Syd sneered. "To stop you from escaping. And guess what? It worked!"

The fire crawled up her leg to her waist. From waist to neck.

But it wasn't just her.

They had fought on a bar drenched in alcohol—sticky liquor, spilled cocktails, fruity syrups…

Now the entire area was turning into a blazing inferno as Syd tossed Sera's lighter into the puddle.

A ring of flames erupted.

The young man immediately grabbed Jody's hand and yanked her out of the blast zone.

"Jody! Get back! That old hag's about to revert to full size!"

And right on cue, Betty unleashed a glowing yellow aura, her double-circle symbol pulsing and fracturing—then BOOM! She returned to normal size.

CRASH!

A burning woman suddenly popped up on top of the bar. People nearby screamed in panic and scattered.

One concerned patron stepped forward to help Betty, who was still patting down the flames on her clothes.

"Ma'am?! Are you alright?!"

"Don't f**king touch me!"

She swatted him away coldly, eyes locked with fury on the two tiny figures still watching from atop the bar.

Betty wasn't wasting time.

She lunged at the long counter in rage, swiping her arms across the surface, trying to crush Syd and Jody like bugs.

But the two of them leapt off just in time—landing on the dance floor.

Perfect, Betty smirked.

She stomped after them furiously, her stiletto heels crashing down as she tried to crush them beneath her.

But as soon as her heel struck and slid along the floor…

SLIP!

Betty fell flat on her face.

"Wha—What the hell?!"

She scrambled, trying to stand.

THUD!

And fell again.

"Wh…what the hell is going on?! Why is the floor so damn slippery?!"

Then she noticed—it wasn't just her. The entire dance floor was in chaos. People were slipping, tumbling, crashing into each other. Even Jody was barely managing to stay on her feet.

"W-Woah!?"

Her legs flailed wildly, struggling for balance.

"Why's the damn wood floor suddenly so slippery?!"

"Ice," Syd's voice rang out.

They turned and saw him standing confidently on a chunk of ice.

"The ice bucket that pen of yours knocked me into, lady!"

"Ah… So that's it… Syd swapped the friction properties of the ice and the floor!"

The ice had the traction of wood, and the wood now had the slickness of ice.

"Jody!"

Syd extended a hand. She grabbed it and climbed onto the ice with him.

"You ever been ice skating?"

"..."

Jody grinned.

"Of course."

She aimed her fingers away from Betty and fired a blast of air.

WHOOSH!

The propulsion sent the ice chunk—and them—with momentum straight toward Betty Morest.

As they neared, Syd leapt off the chunk, soared through the air, and slugged Betty square in the face.

CRACK.

That sound?

Her nose. Broken.

Let's not forget—Syd's body was currently reinforced with the durability of concrete. That punch was no less than getting clocked by a solid cement block.

Betty's body lifted off the ground.

CRASH! SMASH!

She slammed into the bar with a thunderous crash.

"MY NOSE!! MY BEAUTIFUL NOSE!!!"

But it wasn't over.

Jody followed up with a flurry of air bullets.

Yet at the last second, Betty's yellow aura flared again—she shrank.

Jody's shots missed.

Betty was now kneeled in front of Syd again, holding her mangled face, same size as them.

Jody kept her fingers aimed, ready to fire.

"…Still want more, UNC?"

Betty's face was a wreck. Her nose clearly broken.

But instead of despair…

She smiled.

"What're you grinning at? Want another one?"

"You… you don't even know what you've done…"

Syd hesitated. Something felt… off.

"You've caused chaos now. Did you really think the others would just sit by?"

"Syd!! Watch out!!"

Jody screamed.

He turned—just in time to see a giant leg sweeping toward him.

"Shit!"

He dove out of the way.

But it wasn't just that.

All around them, the entire club had descended into chaos.

Screaming. Pushing. People slipping, colliding, falling into furniture and each other. The slick floor Syd created had turned the dance floor into a death trap.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Gunshots.

Betty was firing into the crowd—not at Syd or Jody, but at the people.

By the time they realized what was happening, Betty was climbing over toppled bodies—using people as stepping stones to escape.

"Syd! She's using the crowd to run! She's hopping over them like a damn obstacle course!"

Jody shot another air bullet—THUNK!

It hit Betty's leg.

"AAAGH! You little bitches!"

Bleeding from the nose and her leg, Betty still grit her teeth and pressed on.

"We gotta run! This is… this is our only shot! With everyone panicking… you'll never catch me!"

Syd and Jody could only watch as Betty leapt further and further away.

"Syd! She's getting away! I can't reach her with my shots anymore! We have to go after her!"

But dodging the chaos around them was a challenge in itself.

Then, Syd said something odd.

"It's fine."

"What?! She's heading for the exit!"

"She's not going anywhere."

"…What do you mean?"

He pointed.

Jody followed his finger.

EXIT.

Betty was crawling, limping her way toward the exit. She dropped down from a raised platform and finally returned to full size—out of Syd's aura range.

"Die, you little shits…"

But just before she could take a step through the door…

WHACK!

A hand chopped her across the neck.

THUD.

She dropped.

Unconscious.

"…Toshi!"

"Yup."

"How the hell did he know she'd go that way?!"

"I told him earlier. Back when we were fighting on the bar."

"Told him how?"

"Remember the display shelf with all the liquor bottles? Laid out horizontally?"

Jody's eyes widened.

She looked back toward the bar—the only place still lit—and saw it.

The opened bottles, their caps removed… forming black dots against the golden light.

Spelling one word:

EXIT.

"…When did you even do that?"

"While we were trading gunfire."

Character sheet : Bett

Betty's power does not manifest in a distinct physical form. Her ability is the power to "shrink" anything—including herself.