Some months after that, Dick was taking a swim on his own between circus performances in a lakeside area, when he saw a beautiful woman his own size floating downstream, apparently unconscious, and slowly sinking below the surface.
"She'll drown!" he thought, and swam furiously after her, took her in one arm and swam to the shore with her.
She regained consciousness while he was dragging her onto the land.
"You must have saved my life," she said.
"I suppose so. I'm Dick Digit. Who are you?"
"I don't know," said the woman, "I don't remember. But I do know I'm very grateful."
"You're the first woman my size I've met since I came to your planet."
"Maybe it's my planet too," said the woman, "Tell me about it."
Dick told his whole story, but nothing jarred the woman's memory.
"I'm glad you're safe though," he said.
"Thanks to you."
He leaned in and kissed her. She threw her arms around him and reciprocated. They lay down between blades of grass and snuggled together for hours, until the woman suddenly grew to the size of a regular earth woman.
"What's happened to me?" she asked.
"I can't explain it. If you are from my planet, maybe the shrinking effect is finally wearing off. Maybe I'll grow back too."
Half an hour later he was still tiny.
"I guess that's the last kiss you'll want to give me," he said.
"Not at all. You're my hero at any size," said the woman, and gently picked him up and gave him a giant kiss.
He felt her huge lips pressed against him for several minutes, and then felt a sudden movement as she drew back an inch and opened her mouth wide in surprise.
"I remember now," she said, "I'm a member of CMDF, Combined Miniature Defence Force. Our team along with its ship the Voyager can be miniaturized for 12 hours at a time. After 12 hours is up, we revert to normal size if we haven't already been restored by a return to the machine at its reverse setting. Today we were on a mission. There was an attempt to destroy us high above the stream. I was still returning to the Voyager with my jet pack, when a small projectile exploded. It missed both me and the Voyager, but it hit my jet pack and damaged it. I fell to the stream, removed the pack to try to keep from sinking, and then fell unconscious. When you awoke me, I must have had amnesia. I'm Erica Lane."
"Then you can at least keep shrinking and kissing me normally for 12 hours at a time and then give me giant kisses at your normal size," said Dick.
"No Dick, I can't. I adore you, but I've been in love with our team Commander since we first met. He's coming around as he gets to know me. But don't despair. You can meet any girl once the deminiaturization process does restore your size. I'll take you back with me and explain your situation to the others."
Professor Carter and the Chief agreed that the machine should be used to restore Dick Digit to the size he had once been on his own planet. Erica placed him gently on the Voyager's launch pad, right in the target of the machine, and Professor Carter activated its reverse setting. Dick grew to full size and thanked them.
"You'll have to stay here for observation until we're sure there are no side effects," said Carter, "We've never used it on an alien life form before."
"You'll have to meet my cousin Lois and tell your story to the Daily Planet," said Erica, "She knows Superman too."
"I've already met Superman, and all the other Justice Leaguers," said Dick, "They once thought I was the Atom. Besides that, I think I'll fit in more easily, if people don't know I'm from an alien planet."
"I see what you mean. We understand the need for secrecy too," said Erica, "Hey! You're shrinking again, without the machine's help!"
She took him back to CMDF headquarters, where Buzby Birdwell and Professor Carter discussed the problem.
"There's no doubt about it," said Buzby, "Just as the machine can only miniaturize us for 12 hours, it can only enlarge Dick Digit for 12 hours."
"Then we'll give you clearance to enter this headquarters and take regular enlarging treatments from the machine," said Professor Carter, "I'll have the Chief organize your key, pass card and everything else you'll need. You'd be welcome to join the team too. We'd value having a member who won't automatically revert to full size 12 hours into a longer assignment."
"I … I don't think I could work with Erica, under the circumstances of how we met, knowing about her and Jonathan. No offence," said Dick.
"I understand," said Erica.
"But our offer to regularly enlarge you for 12 hour periods is yours for the taking," said Carter.
Dick Digit accepted it, but would often stay at his now regular miniature size when he wanted to be away from CMDF for long periods of time.
In the meantime, Krypto made one of his journeys back to the 20th Century, and was flying around Thunder Mountain on a stormy day, when a bolt of lightning struck the Rescue One. The orange helicopter was disabled, and began to fall to earth. Krypto flew down and grabbed the copter tail in his mouth and landed the craft gently.
"Thank you!" said Laura Turner, the mother member of Lassie's Rescue Rangers, "Now if you can understand me, flying dog, I need you to fly me to where Jackie and I were headed with Rescue One. Lassie and my children are still stranded up on Thunder Mountain."
Krypto let Mrs Turner climb onto his back, and flew up to Thunder Mountain, and located Lassie and the others. He took turns to fly them all down, and from then on abandoned his role in the Legion of Super Pets in the 30th Century. He courted Lassie, sometimes assisting Lassie's Rescue Rangers, and made Thunder Mountain his new home.
Eventually the circus owner that Superboy had once assisted grew too old to run the show, and sold the business to a new owner, a man named Whip. Jester and Dick Digit, known to be crime fighters, were sacked from the show for no good reason, and hung around in the background to investigate. Yet from a distance, they saw Superstretch and Microwoman infiltrate the circus to uncover Whip's team of robbers and crooks. Jester was then invited to take over the leadership of the circus, and Dick Digit got talking to Superstretch and Microwoman.
"You're the second woman I've met who has the ability to become my size," said Dick, "I also met the Atom, but he could do a lot more at my size. I didn't think I'd be much use to the Justice League of America as the poor man's Atom."
"Well we recently met and helped some other super heroes called Web Woman, Spinner, Manta and Moray," said Microwoman, "Manta suggested that we form a team, but the best name we could think of was Super Six. Some other group sent their lawyers Depatie & Freleng Slcrs & Attorneys over and threatened to sue us for copyright infringement of the name. We were going to call ourselves the Super 7 instead, but there were only six of us. I don't have any powers other than my tiny size either, but it's often helped Stretch and me. If you joined us, we could form the Super 7 group after all."
Dick Digit agreed, and thus was formed the Super 7. One day, after all seven members had finished an adventure together, Manta and Moray swam off below the sea's surface again, deciding to visit Atlantis after learning of its existence from Dick Digit, who had been told about Aquaman's kingdom by Flash and Atom years earlier. Web Woman offered Dick Digit a lift back to the circus caravan, where Jester now lived as host of the show, rather than continuing his stringless puppet act with Dick.
"You know, Dick, when as Kelly Webster I switch costumes, I like to say 'Insects of the World, Small creatures of the cosmos, lend me your powers'," said Web Woman, "I don't actually acquire their powers, but it does feel good to say it. You too are a small creature of the cosmos."
"But I don't have any powers to lend you."
"I was just thinking that Kelly Webster could use a boyfriend," said Web Woman.
After learning that Erica Lane, Lois Lane and Microwoman were all effectively spoken for, not to mention the fact that Web Woman was more gorgeous than all of them combined, Dick Digit was over the moon.