Cliff and Rita enjoyed nearly two weeks of bliss on Rita’s island, exploring the new possibilities they had discovered with their abilities.  Rita found she liked growing to giant size and having Cliff climb inside her private parts, even if they were artificial.  Cliff would electrify his “skin” at a low level when he did, and Rita would simulate the organs needed, and the result was a full-body sexual experience for both of them.  Since Rita’s “lubricants” were part of her own body, they simply withdrew from Cliff when the act was completed, if they even entered any of his orifices at all.  For Cliff, the sensation wasn’t as satisfying as when Rita shrank and stimulated his nerve endings, but he still loved it -- especially Rita’s reaction.

Meanwhile, Gar and the Rita with him were adjusting to their new relationship.  There were moments when Rita tried to be a mom to Gar, but they didn’t feel right to either one of them.  There were other moments when Rita felt like a the youngest person in the room.  And she definitely felt like a third wheel at times with Gar and Raven, but had the sense to get out of the way at key moments.

It was the morning of Day 13 of Rita’s stay at Gar’s apartment.  Gar was having a breakfast of cereal and soy milk when Rita came in the room, wearing a flannel nightie and terry bathrobe.

“Morning, Mom,” Gar said with his mouth full.

“Hey, Gar,” Rita said.  “Can  we talk for a minute?”

Gar gestured to a chair as he swallowed his bite of cereal.  “Sure, sit down,” he said.

Rita sat.  “Gar, this is too weird,” she said.

“What is?”

“You calling me ‘Mom,’” Rita said.  “I mean, I know I adopted you, and you know I’ll always love you as my son, but this whole situation, with me being younger than you now, just makes that weird.”

Gar smiled.  “It is kind of, isn’t it?” he said.

Rita nodded.  “You know, I haven’t even really been your mom all that long or all that much.  I died in that explosion not that long after adopting you, and most of your teen years were spent with Dayton and without me.  Even after I was brought back, our time together was limited, the way the Doom Patrol worked out this last time.  My memory of some of that is swiss-cheesed, but I remember enough to know that it’s been a limited thing.

“Now I’m younger than you, and not just physically.  This age is impacting my emotions.  I’m really functioning as a 13-year-old girl, not as a grown woman.  My biochemistry is impacting my feelings.  I still have many of my memories of womanhood, but I’m not there yet.  It all makes it hard for me to relate to you as a mom -- but I still love you, and you’re still family.  And, legally, you are my son.”

Gar thought for a moment.  “You’re right,” he said.  “I still love you, too, and you’ll always be my mom at some level, but our relationship really has changed.  You’re more like my kid sister in some ways now than my mom.”

“And, from what Dr. Thompson said, I’ll always be younger than you,” Rita said.  “So, um, maybe you should just call me Rita from now on?”

Gar patted her hand.  “Good enough, Rita,” he said.  “But, um, is it OK if I call you Mom once in a while, when you or I feel like it?”

Rita smiled a smile that reminded Gar of why she’d been a movie star.  “Sure,” she said.

*****

Cliff was on the beach when Rita landed her flier.  She was returning from a supply run and emerged as a giantess, carrying all the bundles and boxes of fuel and nutritional items at once.

Rita atarted to greet Cliff, then paused.  He was standing there, on the beach, with a dress suit, tie and wing-back shoes on his robot body.  Frankly, he looked ridiculous, but Rita suppressed a chuckle since she was sure he was trying to look serious.

Rita set the groceries down atop the flier roof.  “Hey, Cliff, what’s up?”

“Um, Rita, with where we are and everything, there’s something I need to do,” Cliff said.  “I didn’t think until two weeks ago I’d ever be able to do this, and with where our lives have gone, I can’t see waiting.  We’ve wasted too much time already.”

Rita couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She had an idea where Cliff was going, but was still surprised -- pleasantly so.

Cliff confirmed Rita’s suspicions as he dropped to one knee.  “Rita Farr, will you marry me?” he said.

Rita beamed and took Cliff’s hands.  “Get up, Cliff,” she said.  “I want to look you in the eye when I answer, and I don’t want to have to crouch or shrink to do it.”

Cliff stood up and looked into Rita’s smiling face.  “Yes,” she said.  “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

They embraced, Cliff sending the by-now-routine low-level current through his arms and torso so Rita would feel hugged.  After the lingering hug, he said, “I don’t want to wait too long.”

“Me, neither,” Rita said.  “Let’s start making some arrangements.  Oops, I almost forgot the supplies.”  She turned back and grew again to pick them up.

*****

Gar was walking through his living room when he heard a knock at the window.  He turned to see Bumblebee hovering beside it, waving and smiling.

Grinning, Gar went to the window and opened it.  “Hey, Karen!  Thanks for coming,” he said.

“Glad to do it,” Karen said.  “How’s Rita doing?”

“She’s great,” he said.  “Younger, but great.  Speaking of changes, you’re looking bigger.”

“Yeah, I’m up to nearly a foot tall now,” Karen said.  “I’m still hoping maybe to get up to at least midget-sized someday.”

“I think ‘little-person-sized’ would be more politically correct,” Gar said.

“Thanks for telling me about Rita,” Karen said.  “I can’t wait to see her.”

“Thanks for coming,” Gar said.  “Raven and I thought it would do her good to see her best friends, and you’re one of the two, along with Cliff.  Funny thing, we can’t reach him.  I’ve been trying for days.”

“Maybe he’s on a mission or something,” Karen said.  “You’re telling me they regrew your mom’s bones and internal organs at Cadmus?”

“Yeah,” said Gar.  “They found a bit of her DNA in her system -- from a tiny piece of her skull or something.  Without that, she’d have probably stayed protoplasmic goo.  But her memory’s got gaps, and Raven and I can’t figure out how she got that way.  Our best guess is Chemo, since she was fighting him when it happened, but we don’t really know.”

Karen, who knew Rita’s secret condition from when they were roommates in the Doom Patrol, realized that Gar didn’t.  She was trying to decide whether and what to tell him when Rita came into the room.

Rita’s eyes opened wide as she grinned at Bumblebee.  “Karen!” she cried out.

Karen smiled broadly.  “Rita!” she said.  “It’s so good to see you.”

Karen flew into a hug, which Rita carefully maneuvered around Bumblebee’s wings.  Karen looked up at her friend.  “So, I hear you’ve got bones again.”

Rita nodded, not fully understanding the significance of Karen’s statement.  “Yep,” she said.  “Bones, internal organs, a nervous system -- the works.”

In that instant, Karen decided that now wasn’t the time to discuss what the Chief had done in reviving Rita after the explosion.  Her friend was happier than Karen could ever remember seeing her, and she didn’t want the shadow of the Chief’s obsessions to come back over that joy.

Rita took Karen’s tiny hand.  “Come on,” Rita said.  “Let’s go to my room and talk.”

After a while of chatting, Rita and Karen emerged.  “Hey, Gar,” Rita said.  “The two weeks are up tomorrow.  That means I can move home to my island by the next day, right?”

Gar nodded.

“Would it be OK if Karen and I went out there tomorrow?  To get things ready, I mean, for my moving back.  I mean, it’s been two weeks.  There’s probably spoiled food in the fridge, and two weeks worth of dust, and all that kind of stuff.  Karen knows the way.  I … um, I don’t remember all of it, but she does.”

“I’m not sure why you need my permission, but I think it makes sense to go,” Gar said.  “I’ll be stateside with the beacon if we need it.  Go, get things ready.”

Rita stood, stunned as a realization hit her.  “Do you know what just happened?” she said.  “I treated you like my dad!”

Gar smiled sheepishly.  “I kinda noticed,” he said.  “But you are still legally an adult.  This is your call.”

Rita ran to Gar’s side and kissed his cheek.  “Thanks, ‘Dad,’” she said.  She pivoted back to Karen and raised her fist in the air, yelling , “Road trip!  Pack the bikinis!”

Rita ran out of the room to her room.  Karen looked at Gar, shrugged, and flew after Rita.  Gar shook his head, chuckling.