The night air was cold and damp. Loren's shoulders heaved with a sigh as she locked the door to the office building behind her. You would be surprised by the amount of stress she carried with her each day but when you're the single dedicated editor to the city's entertainment magazine, stress just comes naturally. She was proud of her position though. The Holmes was the only magazine she could think of that still reported cold hard truth. No fluff. No gimmicks.

Her bright green eyes scanned the empty city street, only a light fog and the street lamps kept her company. With a final check of the door knob, she hoisted her bag over her shoulder and began her usual nocturnal walk home. All was silent apart from the rhythmic clack of her shoes against the dull gray concrete. Loren wasn't a fan of passing dark alleys at night. She had heard too many stories of people getting into trouble in the alleys once the sun had set, and while she counted her blessings, she was not looking to join their ranks.

Her pace quickened as the one alley she had to walk past drew closer and closer. "Hey, hey you there, he- get off me woman! Look I know what I said but I don't want you hanging around me anymore. Here, here's some cab money, get yourself home. No- no don't you Mr. Mini me!" Loren froze as a blonde woman stumbled out from the darkness, clearly uninjured except for what little pride she had left.

The blonde turned and spat at the ground, "Some hero you turned out to be!" she snipped before storming off. Our red headed editor gave out a low groan. She knew what was coming next.

"Well! Look at who we have here," Mr. Miniature stepped out from the alley. Loren would have preferred to have been jumped and mugged over running into HIM again. "Bantam Bantam Bantam, how have you been my dear?" He reached out to take her hand but she quickly whipped it away. "Oh, I see. Still haven't forgiven me about last time have you? Listen, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for having cheated on you all those years ago, but the past is the past. After you stormed off, I went looking for you everywhere! I searched for at least four hours! Why don't you let me take you to dinner? Perhaps we can go back to the Mini Mansion and, relive some of our better memories?" He smiled. God how she hated that smug smile of his. 

"Look Mini," she began pinching the upper area of her nose between her eyes, "You were great when we were together. And yes, we had some good nights. You definitely knew how to treat a girl, but what you did was unforgivable! To be honest, one shrinking powered individual to another, these past couple years apart have been good for me! I go byJUST Loren now, Bantam, sure she's still around and I'll slip into my suit every now and then but I have a great career and am happily doing things on my own. I like being the one behind the stories in the magazines, not on the front cover."

"But the front cover is the best place anyone can be!" Mr. Mini took a step forward, "Especially for someone as beautiful as yourself. So come on, why not join me for a drink or two."

Loren stepped back, smacking away the gloved hand that was so close to running against her cheek. "I said NO Mini! Jesus, you really haven't changed have you? And by the way, I don't know who that blonde chick was, and why you two were in a dark alley together but all that does is confirm what I already knew to be true. You're an egotistical nightmare who only works towards his own selfish needs. That girl was right, some hero you turned out to be." She put air quotes around hero before shutting her eyes.

"Bantam, come on don't be that way, I'll make it up to you." What Mr. Mini couldn't see was the swirling lead tattoo on the back of Loren's neck begin to glow.

"Good bye Mini, I hope this is the last time we run into eachother." With that, she opened her eyes, now glowing the same maginficent green as her tattoo, and disappeared leaving only a single leaf where she once stood. Mr. Mini looked around at the ground, knowing she had to be down there somewhere but it was too dark to see.

"Your loss." He said with a casual shrug before turning and walking away. Loren stood, an inch tall, with her back to the brick wall of the alley. Who would have guessed that the dark passage she had dreaded for so long who offer her protection in its shadows from a real monster. Sadly, this would not be the last time Bantam and Mr. Mini would come face to face.