AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a bit of a "sequel" to my story, "That Shrinking Feeling." Like TSF was inspired by the movie "Honey I Shrunk the Kids," this one is inspired by the sequel to that movie, "Honey I Blew Up the Kid." As always, the Impossibles and Big D belong to Hanna-Barbera. Everyone else you encounter is mine.

It had been a couple of months since Ken Mills had developed a shrinking machine. He had licensed it to the Secret Security Headquarters' science department, where they had built their own version of it, and Ken's prototype was in the SSHQ storage facility. That machine had resulted in one adventure the Impossibles would not soon forget, especially Multi Man, considering Ken was his father. The machine shrunk not only him, but Coil Man and Fluid Man as well. Multi's older sister, Windy, had also been micro-sized.

But that mess ended happily, and Multi hoped he'd never have to go through something like that again!

It was a typical summer morning where our story opens. Multi had just gotten up and went into the kitchen to get some breakfast, and to feed his pet puppy, Skittles. His father, stepmother, and sister were already in the kitchen. Ken was reading the newspaper. Barbara (Multi's stepmother) was at the stove, cooking. Windy was brushing her long, dark hair and putting on make-up.

"Morning," Multi said. He opened a cabinet door and took out a box of puppy chow for Skittles. Once he poured the contents into Skittles's dog dish and set it down, he noticed a member of the family was missing. His three-year-old half-brother.

"Where's Adam?" he asked.

"Oh, he's in his play pen," Ken said, not looking up from the paper.

"Doesn't he get out of the play pen?" Multi asked, as he sat down in his usual place at the table.

"Yeah well, I fixed it," Ken shrugged.

"Ken, don't you remember?" Barbara asked, setting a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her stepson. "The last time you fixed it, he still got out."

"Well, he won't this time," Ken said.

"That's what you said the last time," Multi commented. Ken said nothing, and went back to the newspaper.

After a few minutes, there was a knock at the front door. Skittles barked, and raced for it, causing a bit of a breeze. Windy groaned and began straightening out her hair.

"Can't you get her to slow down, Mark?!" she shouted at her brother.

"Sorry," Multi said, shrugging. Then he left the kitchen in order to get the door. He figured it was Coiley and Fluey, and he was right.

"Hi, fellas," Multi said.

"Hey, Multi," Fluey said, then he bent down to pet Skittles. "Hiya, Skits."

"Come on in," Multi said. "Let me just go grab my guitar, and we'll head for HQ."

The boys went up the stairs and down the hallway to Multi's room, where they were met by the sound of an electric guitar, being played, badly. Multi looked in, only to find his three-year-old half brother, Adam, standing in the middle of the room, playing with Multi's guitar, and a couple of strings had snapped off. Adam saw his big brother, and he could tell he was in big trouble.

"Uh oh," he said. "I fix it."

"I'm gonna fix you in a minute!" Multi shouted, grabbing his guitar away. "How many times have I told you not to touch my guitar?! Wait'll I get my hands on you, you little . . . . ."

"Mark, what in the world is going on up here?" Barbara asked, coming up the stairs.

"He got out of the play pen again," Multi said. "And he got his hands on my guitar. I've told him at least ten times not to touch it!"

"I'll take care of it, Mark," Barbara said, picking up the three-year-old. "Adam, you know better than to touch your brother's guitar. Now you tell Mark you're sorry."

"I sowwy, Mawk," Adam said.

"Come on, Multi," Coiley said. "We've got to get moving."

"Right," Multi said, grabbing a package of extra guitar strings from his bureau drawer. He always had extras on hand for just such an emergency. "See you later, Barbara."

"Bye-bye, Mawk," Adam said, waving.

"Yeah, sure, bye," Multi replied, and he, Coiley, Fluey, and Skittles went out to the Impossi-Mobile.

"I have to tell you guys, my baby brother is the biggest pain in the neck ever invented," Multi said. "I'd take your kid sister over Adam any day, Coiley."

"Only because your brother's three, and my kid sister's ten, and my sister knows better," Coiley said, shrugging. "But she still bugs me about coming with us on assignments."

Multi just sighed, and began re-stringing his guitar.

Meanwhile, at the Secret Security Headquarters, one of the top scientists, Dr. Hendricks, was setting up an experiment with their version of Ken's shrinking machine. The head of the department, Dr. Reggie Johnson, was watching him.

"Don't you think you should wait until the boys get here?" Reggie asked.

"Reggie, I know you're the head of the department, but I have seniority here," Dr. Hendricks said. "Besides, why would I let a bunch of teenagers work with this machine?"

"Because Multi's dad invented it," Reggie pointed out.

"Okay, you do have a point. However, Big D put me in charge of the project, he has given me instructions that the boys are not to work on the project without authorization from the chief himself."

Reggie merely clicked his tongue against his teeth. He knew Dr. Hendricks had him there. After all, Reggie (and the Impossibles) had been in the chief's office when he gave that order.

In any case, Dr. Hendricks put a large crystalline object on a platform in front of the laser. Then he went over to the computers, punched in a few buttons, and activated the laser. The beam hit the crystal, and it started to grow a little larger, but then it suddenly began shaking until it exploded into a gelatinous substance, and splattered Dr. Hendricks in the face. It was then the boys and Skittles arrived.

"Hi," Multi said, picking up Skittles. He knew Dr. Hendricks was pretty anal about the pup running loose in the machine's testing areas. "How's it going with my dad's machine?"

"Well, we've had some success replicating the shrinking process," Dr. Hendricks said. "But we're having some difficulties making it go in reverse."

"Well, what's the intensity level on the machine?" Multi asked. "Because if it's too high, it's likely to . . . ."

"I'm sorry, Multi, but you're not authorized to know that," Dr. Hendricks said.

"But it's my dad's machine," Multi said. "I know how it works. I can help with it."

"You know as well as I do that Big D must provide you with the authorization," Dr. Hendricks said.

"Then we'll just have to get authorization from the chief," Fluey said.

"I wouldn't recommend it, Fluey," Dr. Hendricks said. "After all, you three are part of the Law Enforcement division, and not the Science and Technology division. Big D specifically stated that only members of the Science and Technology division are authorized to work on the project."

"But that's not fair!" Fluey shouted. "Reggie, you're the head of the S and T department. Can't you do anything about this?"

"Sorry, guys," Reggie said, shrugging. "It's Big D's rule, not mine."

The Impossibles groaned and then left the lab.

"This isn't fair," Multi said. "I know how that thing works. And I can get it to work! I know I can!"

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to get in there and fire it up?" Fluey asked. "Remember, we don't have the authorization."

"You may just have to let it go, Multi," Coiley said.

Multi sighed, scratched Skittles behind her ears, and thought over the situation for a minute.

"I don't think I'll have to let it go," Multi said. "Let me talk to my dad about the level of intensity on that thing, and then we'll talk to Reggie, since Reggie is authorized to work on the project."

Coiley and Fluey agreed to that. It was about the only thing they could do for now.