Chapter Text
“Look, you don’t want to cramp my style, right?”
‘Jake--’
“And I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Jake breezed past Marc’s interruption. “So this will be the best way around it.”
‘And you’re sure Khonshu knows enough to keep us from getting screwed up in the process?’ Steven sounded doubtful.
“Hey, I trust El Jefe to keep me in top shape, which means keeping both of you good too.” Jake assured them.
‘I guess.’ Marc had finally spoken to the Alters about how uncomfortable it was to wake up, well, altered. Steven had apologized for not realizing the depths of Marc’s feelings on the issue. Jake had nodded, said he’d come up with something, and that had seemingly been the end of it.
Until today.
“Look, it’s simple. All we’re doing is speeding up the process a bit, and putting in some parameters.” Jake assured them. “The end result being if I have to change our size, we’ll go back to normal when one of you fronts and wants to be back to normal. Easy.”
‘And if Khonshu messed this up?’
“He didn’t. Quit worrying.”
‘It’s friggan’ magic, Jake. I’m gonna worry.’
‘Well, that’s why we’re doing a test run, right?’ Steven put in. ‘Just in case?’
“Yeah, exactly.”
Marc suppressed a groan. Jake was really trying hard to be accommodating. He needed to be open. ‘I know.’
‘We could wait for Layla if that would make you more comfortable.’ Steven offered.
‘God, no. It’s not like we can’t handle ourselves if we’re stuck small for a while.’ Marc replied. ‘Just…hurry up and do it.’
“Okay.” Jake summoned the suit and Marc forced himself not to fall into their inner world. Jake’s time had dramatically improved; they no longer had to wait around all day, at least when being downsized.
Getting back to normal took just as long as ever, because of course it did.
Well, this was supposed to finally get them around that. Marc wished Jake would at least shut his eyes while casting the spell; he hated watching everything zoom upwards.
“Hey, only a bit longer.” Jake tried to put him at ease. He’d taken them to the 1/24 scale, just under three inches tall (Convenient pocket size, Jake called it). He dismissed the suit. “Okay Marc, take the body.”
Marc did, not hoping for much. With their luck Khonshu had just found a way to get them back to normal slightly faster, not--
And he was back.
Marc blinked at his surroundings. His very normal sized surroundings.
“Oh my God.” He let out a small laugh. “That sonofabitch actually did it! Jake, you were right.”
He waited for the Alter to start gloating.
Nothing.
“Jake?”
Marc felt…off.
“Steven?” He reached for the other, but couldn’t find him.
His heart hammered in his chest. “Guys, what the hell are you doing?”
Still nothing.
Oh shit. Oh shit.
Marc put a hand on the tabletop next to him, bending over, trying not to fall to the floor. That fucking bird. That dumb fucking bird. What the hell did he do to them? Why couldn’t he feel--
His eyes landed on the ground. He squeezed them shut. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Uh.” Steven’s panicked voice reached him, just barely. “Uh, Marc, could you please not move, thanks?”
“Holy SHIT.” Jake sounded off next.
Marc forced his eyes open.
Both the Alters were in bodies of their own.
Steven, still just under three inches high, was pressing himself into the table leg. Jake, the same size and still in his Moon Knight Suit, was examining his staff as if IT was somehow to blame.
“See, this is why I hate magic.”