"Kellie.  Kellie," came a voice from above her.  Even though it was whispering, it was loud and sounded both feminine and deep at the same time.  "Kellie.  Wake up.  I got you some breakfast."

Jenna was crouched over the drawer in which her shrunken friend slept.  She saw 15-year-old Kellie Ross, still wearing the clothes she wore yesterday, only about 8 inches tall and curled up in the fetal position atop a stack of T-shirts.  For Jenna, she saw her friend, who she had learned the day before was Elevator Girl, curled up and sleeping like a baby, but smaller than a baby.  In that instant, she wished she could scoop Kellie up and hug her, cradle her like the infant she resembled -- especially since Jenna knew what awaited Kellie that day.

"Kellie," said Jenna.  "Come on.  I can't get much louder; Mom and Dad don't know you're here, remember?  Wake up!  I got you some breakfast."

Kellie groggily pulled herself up.  "Oh.  Hi, Jenna," she said.  Jenna almost laughed.  Her friend's voice sounded like a cartoon chipmunk at this size.

"I made you some scrambled eggs," Jenna said, placing the plate and fork beside Kellie.  "I remember you prefer over-easy eggs from our sleepovers, but this was what I could get away with making."

Kellie smiled up at her friend.  "This is fine.  Thanks, Jenna," she said.  To Jenna's amazement, Kellie crawled over to thje plate, put her hands on it, and shrank.  Now only about an inch tall, she walked over to the mountain of eggs.  She looked up at Jenna.  "I've always wanted to do this," she shouted, her voice so small Jenna could barely hear it.  "I better do it today, while I've got the chance."

Kellie ran over to what, to her, was a mound of eggs larger than her body and dove in.  Jenna laughed.  She was still getting used to the idea of her friend changing sizes, and now she was playing with it.  For just a moment, the pair of teens allowed themselves to forget what lay ahead today for Kellie.

After eating some of the eggs,. Kellie grew closer to a foot tall and ate more.  She took off the egg-encrusted clothes.  "Where did you put the uniforms I brought yesterday?" she asked.

Jenna pulled them from under her bed.  "Here they are," she said.  "The leather one I know, of course, but I don't think I've ever seen the other one."

"I've never worn it in public," Kellie said.  "Can you bring me in a glass of water so I can rinse off this egg?"

"Sure," said Jenna.  She returned with a paper cup.  Kellie shrank to 4 inches tall and had Jenna place her in the cup.  Once done, she dried off on a handkerchief and grew to her normal Kellie height and started dressing.

"I'll need to leave for school," Jenna said.  "I'll relay that you're out of town with a family member -- an aunt or something."

"Make it a cousin," Kellie said.  "I've got more of those."

"Cousin, right," Jenna said.  "Dad's the last to leave for work.  Once that happens, you'll have no trouble getting out of the house for your … appointment."

"OK," said Kellie grimly.  "Jenna … Thanks.  For the loan, of course, and for everything.  All of everything, not just yesterday and today."

Jenna hugged her friend.  "You, too," she said.  "Just save your mom and Dakota." she pulled back and looked Kellie in the eye.  "And you stay safe, too, OK?  We have a lot to talk through once this is over.  I'd really like the chance to do that."

Kellie smiled.  "I'll do my best," she said.

"You always do," Jenna said.  "See ya."  She hugged Kellie again and left the room on her way out of the house.

Once she was dressed, the leather uniform under the bed and the dirty plate with the doll-sized, egg-covered clothes on them shut in the drawer, Kellie shrank down to bug size and rested on the side of Jenna's pillow that was away from the bedroom door.  She heard the sounds of Jenna's father making his way out the door, including the door shutting, and knew she was alone.

Kellie regrew to her normal Kellie height and sat on the edge of the bed.  She stared at nothing in the general direction of the floor.  So much was riding on this today.  Dr. Dekker seemed to hold all the cards.  Kellie was hoping that she was right, that Dekker hadn't seen this uniform before and didn't know its capabilities, but she couldn't be sure.  If she was right, the uniform gave her an edge.  If she was wrong, she and her loved ones might not survive.

Kellie glanced at the clock every few minutes.  Soon it was time to get to the harbor and face Dr. Dekker for the sake of those she loved.  She slipped out the house's back door, grew to giant size and started the walk to the harbor.

From a distance, Kellie saw one of the three ice ships from the day before hovering over the harbor.  She dropped to just below the heights of the buildings and sprinted toward the harbor.  When she cleared the buildings, she reduced to the height of a normal human woman, then  ran to the harbor and dove in.

Kellie was wearing the uniform she'd used to defeat Dakota's cancer in December.  That was the uniform that incorporated her specially-made SCUBA gear. Growing slowly, she swam under the water's surface until she was directly under the ship.  Then she rocketed up in size, snatching the ship from the air.

Muffled by Kellie's colossal hand came the icy cold voice heard at the kidnapping the day before.  "Impressive," the voice said, "But someone you love is in this ship.  Let it go now, or she dies."

Mom, Kellie thought, even as she let the ship go.  But where was Dakota?

"Now, get in the ship," the chilling voice said.

"Why?" said Kellie.  "You say you have a hostage there, but I don't know that.  Show yourself, and show her, or I'm not getting in the ship."

A hologram appeared in the sky in front of the ship, showing some sort of cryonics tube holding Gemma Ross, Kellie's mother.  Sitting at some controls was Dr. Christine Dekker, wearing a white jumpsuit.  "There," she said.  "Happy?"

"No," said Kellie.  "You could be anywhere.  Show yourself in person."

The ship's side hatch swung open almost immediately, and Dekker stood in it.  "I'm done playing," she said.  "Get in now, or say bye-bye to Mommy Dearest."

Kellie made her leap-and-shrink maneuver to enter the ship.  She stayed 7 feet tall, making her taller than Dekker.

"What do you want, Dekker?" Kellie asked.

"You should know that from my message," Dekker said.  "The bracelet; give it.  Now."

Her expression grim, Kellie slipped the bracelet off her wrist and handed it carefully to Dekker.  "Here you go, 'doctor,'" she said.

Dekker sat at the control console and smiled, holding the bracelet loosely as she watched Elevator Girl for any sudden moves.  "You know, I tried finding a cool codename for my villain identity, but I couldn't find one I liked that didn't have problems," she said.  "'Cold Queen' was an old brand of refrigerator;  'Ice Queen' sounds like a movie bitch;  'Snow Queen' --"

"Nobody cares about your damned codename!" shouted Kellie.  "You've got your bracelet!  Free my mother!"

Dekker looked peeved.  "Don't you care why I did this?" she asked.

"You've got some kind of obsession with cold, and now one with me," Kellie said.  "For all I know, you're a super-stalker.  But you've got my mom, and I've met your terms.  Let her go.  Now!"

Dekker frowned, looking peeved.  She pressed a button on the console, and the tube holding Gemma made a hissing sound.  "It'll take her a minute to stabilize, after this exposure," she said.  "Now, you will listen."

"Where's Dakota?" Kellie asked.

"That's why you'll listen, if you want him back," Dekker said.  "You see, I realized as a child that cold is where the universe is moving.  Eventually, all moves toward the ultimate zero of cold -- the cold of entropy -- the cold of death.  Cold always wins.  I thought of cold as the ultimate power, so I learned all I could about it, and how to manipulate it and anything associated with it."

"You became a doctor, and specialized in cryonics, but there's not much work in that field, yada-yada-yada," Kellie said.

Dekker glared up at Kellie.  "Don't interrupt me again," Dekker said.  She sauntered in front of the teen heroine.  "But, when I saw you in action, I realized you were manipulating a building block of the universe even more fundamental than cold -- space-time itself.  I thought I was becoming the ultimate power, and was on the verge of claiming it, when you turned up.  So, I had to put my plans on hold while I sorted out how your powers worked.  I could wait for that as long as needed.  After all, cold is patient, and cold always wins.

"It was a lucky break when you came into my dermatology office," Dekker said.  "I knew what that burn on your wrist was right away;  I was watching when you got it.  I got another break when I found out Elevator Girl was in the hospital saving Dakota Greene from his cancer.  Then I knew he wasn't just a Wish-Granters Foundation date for you; he was more.  It took months to get this trap ready, but now I have the bracelet, and with it the keys to controlling space and time themselves."

"It can't do much that way, you know," Kellie said.

"I'll figure out what needs to happen," Dekker said.  "Al I need is time."

"And cold is patient," Kellie said.

Dekker nodded.

"But where's Dakota?" Kellie asked.

"You didn't think I'd bring all my leverage here, did you?" Dekker asked.  "He's … elsewhere.  I'll release him when I'm safely away with the bracelet, and not until."

Kellie felt a deep hole open in her stomach.  She hadn't planned for this.  Now there was a real possibility she might not get Dakota back.

Behind them both, Gemma gasped for air as the tube she was in opened with a hiss.

Dekker turned toward the tube.  "Ah, Mommy's awake," she said.

Kellie knew she didn't dare wait any longer.  If Dekker realized what she'd done, she might not get her mother back, and there was still a chance that she could save Dakota.

Kellie raised her hands and fired the micro-blaster unit that was built into this, and only this, costume.  She caught Dekker just behind and above the ear.  Dekker let out a yell, pivoting toward Kellie.

Looking at Kellie, Dekker realized what had happened.  Kellie was using the blaster unit that had destroyed Dakota's cancer cells.  It had shrunk just enough cells in the doctor's skull to sting her with pain.

Dekker tried to move toward the console, but Kellie kept firing, keeping her away.  "Mom!  Take cover!" Kellie yelled.  Gemma was still slightly groggy, but followed the instruction, hiding behind the tube she'd been in.

Kellie grew toward Dekker, grabbing her by the front of her jumpsuit and hauling her upward.  She pointed the blaster right at Dekker's head.  "Where is Dakota?  Tell me now!"

Dekker leered evilly and hit the down button on the bracelet.

Nothing happened.

Dekker hit the button again, then several more times.  "This …  isn't real," she said.  "It's one of those knockoffs that were popular six months ago."

"You didn't think I'd bring my only leverage here," Kellie said.  "Now, where is he?"

Dekker said nothing.

Kellie fired, and Dekker winced with pain.  "At this range and on this setting, I'm shrinking brain cells," Kellie said.  "Where is Dakota?"

After a second, as Kellie prepared to fire again, Dekker curled forward and kicked the arm the blaster was on aside.  It fired off to the side, and hit something in the ship's equipment.

The wall exploded.  All Kellie could see was a fireball, surrounded by ice crystals.  She heard screaming, and realized it was coming from both her mother and Dekker.

Kellie slammed her height upward as hard and fast as she could, moving her hand under her mother.  Gemma was merely terrified.  To Kellie's horror, she realized that Dekker was covered in flames.  Kellie spat on the fireball that contained her nemesis, putting the fire out.

Kellie's feet hit the water at almost the same instant they hit the ground underwater.  She stopped growing and clutched her mother to her chest as she crouched to catch Dekker.

Kellie stepped to shore and shrank to 7 feet tall.  Police were keeping people, including the media, well back;  Elevator Girl's presence in the harbor, the day after the well-publicized kidnapping, was drawing a lot of attention.

As soon as Gemma was safely down, Kellie grabbed Dekker.  The woman was almost unrecognizable.  Much of her skin was burned off, and there were nasty wounds to her abdomen and left thigh from shrapnel of the exploding ship.

Kellie could feel Dekker's skin tearing off as she grabbed her, but she knew the doctor was dying.  "Where is he?"  she screamed, sounding panic-stricken.  "Where's Dakota?  Where is Dakota Greene?"

"After the fire, … cold welcomes me," Dekker said faintly.  "It knows its servant, … and it embraces me now."

Kellie shook Dekker.  "WHERE'S DAKOTA?" the teen shrieked.

Dekker looked her in the eye and smiled.  "So this … is how … I win," she said, her voice fading, "with your love … growing cold.  Cold … always … wins…."   She barely breathed the last word, and she did it with her last breath.

Kellie's eyes widened in a mix of shock, horror and mortal fear as she realized what had just happened.  The only woman who knew where Dakota was had just died, and had left no clue as to how to find the boy Kellie loved.

Kellie screamed, "NOOOOO!"  She shook the body she held, and more skin peeled off, causing it to fall from her hands.  Then Kellie began to sob uncontrollably.  Instinctively, she turned to her mom and collapsed into her arms.

"What am I gonna do?" Kellie sobbed.  "What am I gonna do?  She's got Dakota somewhere, and he's all alone, alone in the cold, and I can't find him!  I don't even know where to look!"

Gemma -- at this point, far more aware of the media presence than Kellie was --nevertheless stroked her daughter's hair.  "I don't know, Elevator Girl," Gemma said.  "I don't know."

"But he could be anywhere!" Kellie said, still sobbing.  "He could be in orbit, or on his way into deep space, or at the bottom of the ocean, or on a mountain, or deep in a jungle!"  I don't know how to find him!  How do I find him?  How do I save him?  I can't just leave him there in the cold -- all alone …"   Too faintly for the anyone but her mother to hear, she added, "I never even told him I love him …"

Kellie fell into a heap.  Gemma, realizing the situation, patted her daughter.  She, too, was now a public figure, especially after this incident.

Gemma stood up, helping her 7-foot daughter do likewise.  "The media's here," she said.  "What do you want to do?"

Kellie looked morosely up.  She was astounded when she saw the faces of the reporters there.  Every one of them looked at her, their eyes wide, most moist with tears.  They had seen her grief, and even they were moved.

Kellie stepped forward.  "I have a statement, and I will not take any questions," she said.  "Mrs. Gemma Ross has been successfully rescued.  While I was working to free her, the woman who kidnapped Mrs. Ross and Dakota Greene, Dr. Christine Dekker, took actions that caused her ship to explode.  Injuries from the explosion claimed Dr. Dekker's life.  All efforts are still being made to locate and rescue Dakota Greene.  I ask that --"  Kellie's voice cracked with emotion " -- that you respect the privacy of the Greene and Ross families at this time.  That is all."

While one reporter barked, "What about Kellie Ross?  Has she been found?"  Kellie grew to skyscraper height, picked up her mother and left.

"Well, she knows how to make an exit," another reporter said.

Kellie and Gemma traveled in silence.  They both knew Gemma would need to be checked out by a doctor, and that Elevator Girl would need to make a report to police.  In that moment, neither cared.

Gemma looked up at Kellie, knowing no way to ease her daughter's obvious pain.  But what could be done now?  How would they find Dakota?  Where was he?  And was he even still alive?