Eric could not believe his turn of bad luck.
First, his experiment had gone awry, and now the first person to find him was his utterly untrustworthy younger brother.
Eric and Zac were about as unalike as two brothers could be. Zac was irresponsible. He ran through jobs, rarely managing to remain employed for more than a couple of weeks at a time.
Zac had a scruffy beard and long, dark hair. His confidence in his own ability to charm got most people to see things his way. Well, almost everyone except his older, serious brother. Eric never let himself be fooled by Zac.
He sighed. He was resigned to getting this humiliating situation finished. He stepped out into the open. "Zac! Hey, help!"
Zac heard something. "Eric?"
"Yeah. Over here! Down on the floor."
Zac froze. He stared down in disbelief at his older brother. He scratched his beard. "Eric?"
"Yeah. Hi, Zac."
"What the fuck happened to you, bro! You look like an action figure."
"It was my experiment," Eric said. "There was an accident."
Zac took out a cigarette and lit up. "Did it hurt?"
"No, it didn't hurt," Eric said impatiently. "But I need some help with the machine."
Zac lowered his cigarette. He smiled. "Good. I need a favor, too."
Eric tried to remain calm. "What do you need now, Zac?"
"A loan. Maybe you could spare fifty bucks."
"No! You can't keep turning to me for money. What happened to that new job?"
"Oh, that! I quit. The manager was a real asshole."
"Zac, I'm not giving you any money."
"I guess I am wasting my time here," Zac said. He pretended to turn and walk away.
"Wait! What about me?" Eric raced after his brother, but was unable to match Zac's giant strides.
Zac turned and looked down. "What about you?"
"You can't leave me like this?" Eric said. "We're still brothers."
"You don't act like it."
Eric relented. "All right. I'll give you the money." He reached into his pants pocket and removed his wallet. He hurriedly counted out some bills and said, "Here. Take it."
Only Zac's laughter caused Eric to make an important realization. His wallet, like his clothes, had also shrunk.
"Sorry, bro. I don't think those bills are quite big enough." Zac laughed again at his own joke.
Eric didn't appreciate being laughed at, but he swallowed his anger. "Zac, I need to replace the focusing lens. There's a storage room down the hall..."
"No problem." Before Eric could react, Zac scooped him up like a toy and then started walking from the lab.
"Where's this storage room?" Zac asked.
Eric, struggling in Zac's grasp, managed to point Zac in the right direction.
'''''''
A short while later, having obtained the new lens, Eric felt certain he was ready to reverse the procedure.
"I have to be on that platform when the ray activates," he explained.
Zac effortlessly transported Eric to the platform.
"Now, I need you to activate the panel," Eric said. "It's very simple. Just follow my directions."
"Sure."
Zac walked back to the console. He stared down at the panel of dials, gauges and buttons.
"Push the red button."
Zac punched a red button. The device began to hum.
"Now, turn the large black dial clockwise as far as it will go."
"Ok," Zac said, and he promptly turned the dial counter-clockwise.
"No!" Eric screamed. "The other way you idiot!"
But it was too late. A flash of light engulfed the foot-tall scientist and...
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