Bian High and Low 03

Growing Lonely

There were Heroes. There were Villains. There were Monsters. And there was Dating.

When Bian had signed up for “Love, Supe”, the dating service for people with superpowers, she had deliberately gone out of her way to create a profile that was unlikely to be matched. Under the section that said “Preferred height of match”, she had put “15 to 20 feet”. Now, it wasn’t impossible that such a match could be made – this was a site for lonely hearts with all manner of powers. But in Bian’s small home town there certainly wasn’t anyone that that applied to.

After an unsuccessful spell trying to live a normal life – or as normal a life as someone who could alter their height from anywhere between a few microns to sixty-odd feet could manage – Bian had moved backed to the City and rejoined her superhero colleagues in the Flying Squad, at least on a part-time basis. She’d never really taken to the hero lifestyle before, but now she was determined to at least get competent at it. To that end, she’d finally taken a hero name – ‘Hi-Lo’ – and was training regularly to get back up to ‘match fitness.’ And it was after just such a training session in the gym of the Squad’s HQ, that she received her first ‘ping’.

‘Is that what I think it is?’ asked Ban Mor, the powerhouse superheroine who was Bian’s best friend on the Squad. They’d just finished a light training session together. Ban Mor – Bridie to those who knew her well – was seven foot tall, packed with muscle from head to toe and had an extraordinary shock of faintly luminescent purple hair. She was quite capable of lifting up a full size person – several, in fact – with a minimum of effort. But for now she only had to support the six-inch form of Bian resting on her shoulder.

‘No, it’s something entirely different,’ replied Bian. ‘How should I know? I do shrinking and growing, not mind-reading.’

As if to underline this point, Bian launched herself from Bridie’s shoulder. In one graceful movement, she unclenched the muscles that had propelled her into the air. In response, her body expanded to full-size before she began to fall, the delicious tension of extending her miniature frame tested by just the right amount so her growth matched her trajectory. Her long dark hair which had been tied back in a ponytail suddenly whipped free and fell across her face, the elastic that had tied it back not being as well-attuned to her change of size as her specially designed workout clothes. It detracted somewhat from her graceful landing.

‘Don’t be coy. I recognise that chime from my own feeble efforts to find someone worthy of my affection.’ Bridie went over to Bian’s bag by her locker and picked up the phone that lay on top. ‘You’ve got a match on “Love, Supe”.

Bian strode over and attempted to retrieve her phone from her friend. Bridie, towering over regular-sized Bian, held the phone high above her.

‘You know I could just grow and grab that easily,’ said Bian.

‘I know. But it would be easier to just admit you’re on a dating app.’

Bian crossed her arms, making it clear she wasn’t going to play along. ‘I might be ‘on’ a dating app, but it’s not as if I’m looking for anybody. I’m surprised I haven’t uninstalled it – I haven’t looked at it in ages.’

The phone gave another ping. Bridie bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from laughing. Bian sighed and admitted defeat.

‘All right, give it here, let’s see what it says.’

Barely able to contain her glee, Bridie handed over the phone. Bian saw the message notification on the screen before unlocking it.

‘Verse-Wyrm?’ read Bian, confused. ‘Verse-Wyrm?’ She showed the screen to Bridie. ‘Verse-Wyrm. Have you ever heard of them?’

Bridie shook her head. ‘Are they a hero?’ she asked. Then her mouth gaped open, mock-scandalised. ‘A villain?’

‘I don’t know. Let’s see what they have to say.’ Bian pressed her thumb on the fingerprint sensor. ‘Hmm, “Verse-Wyrm…”’

Bian knew when she was nervous she could lose up to a foot in height. Her uncertainty would manifest itself in her powers unconsciously causing her to shrink. It was only when she stood up that she realised how loose her trousers had become. She closed the lid of her laptop and willed herself to grow, feeling her jeans and t-shirt tighten as she overcompensated by an inch or two in the opposite direction.

She’d been chatting more and more with this ‘Verse-Wyrm’ and, much to her surprise, she’d been enjoying it. And now she was going on a date. Was it a date, this first real life meeting between them? If it was, it was a blind one at that, as “Love, Supe” was designed to protect secret identities. There weren’t any photos attached to the users’ profiles. Bian had described what she would be wearing and “Verse-Wyrm” (‘Call me Ursula,’ she’d said. Bian hadn’t felt confident enough to give up her own real name so soon, though, and had decided that Hi-Lo would do for now) had claimed that it’d be obvious who she was when they met. ‘Like most nights, I’ll be alone in my lair,’ she had written.

“Lair?” Was she just trying to be funny? Or was Bridie right after all about her being a villain? At any rate, Bian had decided to go to their first meeting in costume, being cautious about her identity and any nefarious schemes that might unfold. The pin that Ursula had dropped was in a secluded location, outside of the City. She had assured Bian that this was simply where she lived. One of the ways that they had hit it off in the brief messages they’d exchanged was they’d both admitted to being unsocial. Ursula had warned Bian that her preference was to be away from the noise and bustle of town. She’d requested that their first meeting be at her place, but had told her that it might not be exactly what she was expecting.

It was a cave.

There was no other way to describe it. A huge hole in the hillside, clearly worked and artificial at its entrance, but soon giving way to more natural looking features – outcrops and ridges and so forth – before disappearing into darkness. Bian hesitated, wondering what she had let herself in for. But then a light came on and and a voice called out. A deep, resonant, echoing voice like a wicked genie’s or The Wizard of Oz.

‘Come on in. I’ve put the kettle on.’

Those words spoken in that way piqued Bian’s curiosity. Part of her retraining on returning to hero duty was threat assessment. Booming and ominous it might be, but Bian was pretty sure this was just an invitation to tea.

‘Ursula? Are you there?’ called out Bian.

‘In the Living Chamber,’ replied the huge voice. ‘Careful – the floor slopes away quite suddenly. Just follow the lights.’

Bian did just that, cautiously descending from the cave opening that she now realised formed a sort of entrance hallway. This new path, illuminated by strange glowing globes embedded in the rock walls, sloped away as promised before opening up into another cave. This, surmised Bian, was the

Living Chamber. And living in it…

Was a dragon.

To be continued...