Lacey huffed as she threw down her map. "Ugh, useless... darn map clearly isn't that serious...", she sighed. It was hard to make out since it was a San Fran map that had some of the smaller cities nearby attached; Modesto being one but aside from the major streets, it was hard to tell where any of the residential ones could be.
"Looks like I gotta ask somebody to point me in the right direction.", Lacey frowned, and looking around, she gulped nervously, still a bit wary of getting off guard...She still can't forget that damn night, and then those moments a few days ago when Derek nearly cornered her against a wall until she got the courage to knee him in the stomach and got away.
She then nodded to herself, getting up, intending to head across the street to the bar, figuring that maybe asking one of the bartenders, they would know something about finding the right street.
Suddenly just as she was waiting for the crosswalk light to turn green, somebody on a bike braked too fast, and knocked her into the street, and as she was starting to regain her bearings, she saw a car coming at her.
However, instead of her whole world going dark as she assumed she would be struck by the car, she found herself being shoved quick as a flash once more right out of the way of the car. The world seemed to move slow to her as she turned to see her rescuer flip off the front of the car's hood, land on the roof before taking another step and leaping off and landing right next to her.
He then picked her up and moved her off of the street. "Are you alright, miss?", he asked.
Doc was enjoying his coffee on the other side of the street, listening to the noise of the people talking, the cars going and coming, and observing things left and right when he saw the young lady pushed accidentally into the street, and in a flash from dropping his coffee in a second, he used his speed to shove her off from the way of an incoming car, stopping the car, and picking up the shellshocked lady.
He heard people talking and crowding, talking about him, and he can see the young lady having a panic attack, presumably flashing back to the moment she thought she was dead, and seeing that the crowd is stressing her out, he was furious, instinctively turning back to his monster form, "Back off! Don't you see you're stressing her out?!", and of course, almost at once, screams came, leaving Doc and the young lady.
He looked at the young lady who is staring at him in shock and terror, and he sighed heavily, "I'm sorry. I hope you're alright... I would never deny helping a person in danger, miss. I'll leave you now...Sorry for scaring you...", turning back to human, walking away, frowning in frustration...Even with the human form to help him blend in, he'd always be a monster...
Lacey took a few deep breaths before she looked over to Doc and finally spoke. "Don't go..." Doc stopped his tracks before he turned around and started walking back towards her.
"What did you say?", Doc asked. "I said... don't go...", Lacey said as she took another deep breath.
Doc nodded, "Okay...Are you alright? Nothing broken?", and Lacey gave him a small smile, "Just a few scrapes, but I'm alright. You're one of them...back with that alien robot...".
Doc smiled humbly, "Yes...I am... I'm given the name of Dr. Cockroach, but you can call me Richard...Dr. Richard Lebre.", with a slight formal bow. Lacey exhaled, "You saved me...You saved my life...Thank you.".
"Naturally. I may be labeled as a monster, but I would never be a literal monster toward life, miss...", Doc nodded firmly with a determined look, and Lacey smiled a bit bigger, "Lacey...Lacey Casciano. You can call me Lacey...", getting up slowly, cleaning herself up before holding out her hand to Doc.
"Are you alright now, Miss Lacey?", Doc asked her as she gave a small smile. "Yes, in more ways than one.", Lacey said. "Um, actually, I've sort of have been looking for you.".
Doc raised an eyebrow, "You have?", looking at her curiously. "Well, as I said, sort of. You know those giantess women, uh, the one with the long hair.", Lacey explained.
"Tara Murphy.", Doc answered as she nodded, "Yes, her! I need to talk to her... it's related to her fiancé.".
Doc narrowed his eyes in anger, "Derek Dietl. Is he still fooling people with that?! They broke up, end of story.", and Lacey nodded, "I know. I... I may have caught their conversation on the rooftop on record...", looking at him nervously.
Doc widened his eyes, "You..you did?", and Lacey sighed, "Yes, but I never showed it to anybody, I promise! I... was working on a plan to expose him...He was the one behind the reason of losing my job...and he didn't say anything about Tara Murphy in all the time he worked in the office before the alien robot came in...".
Doc frowned, "Well, since you came all this way, this must be very serious, and I can see that you aren't lying. You are very lucky, Miss Lacey. I believe I might be of help. I do know where Tara lives for the time being, but I must warn you, she's still a bit traumatized, and she's with child.".
"I know.", Lacey nodded. "And I know what he did to her.", with a sigh. "Oh.", Doc simply said as she held her head down.
"He... I think it's at least better for me to explain it to her than you.", Lacey said as he nodded, "I agree; she's the one to talk to about him. I can get you to her now, if you wish.".
"Better now, I suppose, not like I have much to do right now.", Lacey replied with a nod. Doc smiled, "Well, then, let's get going, Miss Lacey.", offering his arm as a gentleman, and Lacey looked at him in slight surprise, and Doc blinked, "Sorry, sorry, I'm rusty...Been a long time since I was out in public with a lovely lady.", embarrassed with a bit of blush.
Lacey shook her head, "No, no, it's okay...I just...I never expected to be treated like well, like someone equal...", taking his arm softly, "Lead the way, Richard.", with a shy smile. Doc was a bit surprised to gain a familiar warm feeling when she said his original name, but he nodded, shaking the thought out of his head, "Of course, Miss Lacey.".
Lacey chuckled softly, "No need to do that, Richard. Just Lacey, please.", and Doc smiled warmly, "Naturally, my dear. Er, Lacey.", with a blush of embarrassment, mentally groaning to himself...He barely got acquainted with her, not courting her!
Without any further incidents of that, Doc took Lacey to the Murphy house within 20 minutes, and Tara recognized Lacey with a bit of surprise while Lacey was a tad shocked to see her having a bigger baby bump but figured that it had to do with the entire giantess size-changing thing.
"Uh, hi...", Tara said. "You're that girl from the Fresno station, right?", and Lacey nodded with a small smile. "Lacey Casciano... and was at the Fresno station... I've been fired.", Lacey explained as Tara put her hand to her mouth.
"Oh, my gosh! I didn't get you fired, did I?", Tara gasped. Lacey shook her head and chuckled, "Well, sort of, but I don't hold you responsible in the slightest, in fact, I actually would thank you about it because of what you did to Derek.".
Tara smirked, "How bad?", and Lacey chuckled, "Sore ribs, reinjured that leg of his, sprained fingers, and aching hips.".
Tara nodded, "Good! So, what happened to get you fired?", and Lacey sighed, "He fooled everyone in the office, saying that I and you attacked him intentionally because I led him into a trap. Right after I kneed him in the stomach in the lunchroom a few days ago.".
"Of course, he'd do that!", Tara scoffed, and looked at her, "Wait, is that why you're here?". Lacey sighed heavily, "I...I caught everything on record.", reaching into her handbag, pulling out her recorder, putting it on the table toward Tara..."I promise I didn't do anything with it yet! I was intending to use that as part of a plan to expose him...You aren't the only one...I...The night when the alien probe came...I was stupid! He..he nearly raped me...", rubbing her arms in angst as tears filled her eyes again.
Tara took a deep breath as she tried to control herself. Now she wanted to hurt him all over again. Not even a few weeks after she was taken, he was trying the same stuff again. And now that Tara thought about it; was she the first he tried this with or were there others in between the times they were seeing each other?
"Well, you're certainly right to come talk to me about this... I'm sorry I didn't stay around that night, so we could've just exposed him then and there, but... I was in a dark place after the truth came out...", Tara replied steadily.
Lacey sniffed, rubbed away her tears, "I know...You are having his child, a boy, right?", and much to Lacey's surprise and confusion, Tara smiled widely, "Not exactly...James, I know you're listening in. Come in.".
Bucky came into the dining room and chuckled softly as he kissed Tara on the lips, "I'm sorry, my aurora, but I couldn't help it...", sitting next to her in one of the cushioned chairs, and Tara smiled, "I know, James. Always looking out for me, but don't worry, Lacey is clearly a victim of circumstance like me as you've clearly heard with that wolf hearing.".
"I'm obviously missing something, aren't I?", Lacey said as the two nodded. "It's hard to explain shortly, but... James and I are linked to each other in more ways than one, specifically thanks to the element that made us... well, us.", Tara chuckled.
"You mean the whole... height stuff?", Lacey asked curiously. "Right. And well, thanks to it... the child has no more of Derek's genes... mine replaced them and we're having a girl.", Bucky explained.
Lacey widened her eyes in shock and amazement, staring at Tara and Bucky, "That's logically impossible!".
Tara smiled, "You'd think so, but well, here.", gently pulling out a picture out of her pocket, and pushing it toward Lacey, "Here's proof. Went a few days ago.", and Lacey picked it up, seeing that it's a sonogram picture.
Lacey was stunned to see it. "I don't...", she was flabbergasted. "That's Quantonium... the element we mentioned... it's very unpredictable and really changes any perception you may have known about the body.", Bucky said.
Tara smiled, "Indeed. The picture right there shows that our daughter, Reva is 5 months old in age when technically it's 3 months in the pregnancy...It has happened to Susan, my adoptive sister, and Henry, my adoptive baby brother. Quantonium gives quick-aging, and it doesn't hurt the baby for she is infused with Quantonium, thanks to us.".
"It doesn't hurt?", Lacey asked curiously, and Tara nodded, "Not in the womb or to me, for she is also able to size-change in tune when I grow or shrink at well. It's only the labor that would be normal as it could be in pain, but the pregnancy is shorter...From what Doc says, I would be giving birth somewhere around October.".
"Wow...", Lacey whistled at the news. "Well, I guess I should be happy then that at least you're giving birth to a child that doesn't have the slightest trace of Derek. I think I wouldn't have been as lucky. He was trying to put on a condom as I was trying to fight him off.".
"He said the same thing with me, but now I'm not so sure he did. Certainly found out the hard way of the whole 'can't get pregnant the first-time myth'.", Tara said.
"You heard that one too?", Lacey chuckled as Tara smiled, "Sounds like an urban legend you can hear anywhere.".
Bucky exhaled, "It's all over with...So, you caught the entire conversation on the rooftop, huh?", picking up the recorder off the table, looking at it, and Lacey nodded, "Yeah...All of it...I didn't intend to record, but I must have pressed it against the wall, and turned it on when I was listening in...I'm sorry, Ms. Murphy... I realized it was supposed to be private, but when I heard that you were affianced with him, I was concerned for you even if I already knew that you could take care of yourself.".
"It's alright, Lacey.", Tara smiled. "Actually, I'm glad you had this... Derek... he got off lightly what I did to him.".
"Certainly he knows never to come within 3 towns of you again... but obviously, it clearly isn't going to really stop him from doing what he's doing.", Bucky said.
"I'm perfect proof; his luck will eventually change sooner or later, this will all come back to haunt him but how long will it be before he gets careless and slips up? How many more women will he ruin before that day comes?", Lacey asked.
"Which is why the sooner we do this, the better.", Tara said. "And that proof there certainly helps us. It's one thing for me to say he did what he did, and he denied it without any proof, just your whole 'he said, she said' stalemate...".
Bucky replied, "Miss Lacey, I know you got fired, but how do you feel about being a private investigator for us? We can pay you...Tara knows a lot about Derek...", grimacing, and Tara squeezed his hand reassuringly, "It's okay, James...With you and our families and friends, I'll be okay...I can give you a place to start with, Miss Lacey...Derek went to Santa Monica College.".
"Try to see if there were any other women that he may have been doing this too?", Lacey raised an eyebrow. "Some of the staff might know who exactly he was with at times; obviously anyone he was with probably already graduated.", Tara said.
"You can use my old car, Lacey. As you can see, I have no need for it...Perhaps you'd need someone else to help you...After all, there might be some people who wouldn't take you seriously...unfortunately, but they take a man more seriously, which is kind of stupid... I saw that you came in with Doc... Are you alright if he comes with you?", Tara asked politely and calmly.
Lacey gave a small chuckle, "Believe it or not, I'd probably be dead if not for him. He got me out of the way of a car just in time before I got struck.".
Tara and Bucky widened their eyes, realizing that they were beyond lucky...If Lacey wasn't saved in time, and Doc wasn't there...the record of the proof would be destroyed, hence the fact that Derek would have gone away with it for a long, long time.
Bucky smiled warmly, "You're a lucky woman, Miss Lacey...Doc may be a monster sometimes, but he preserves life as a good thing. He's a mad scientist in soul, but in his heart, he's a gentleman even if he has a hard time about it, considering everything he has went through.".
Lacey blinks in surprise to hear that, but smiles softly, realizing that Richard is truly human inside and outside, and nods, "I'd be happy to have Dr. Richard Lebre's assistance.".
Tara nods, "Good. Now, this cub of mine is hungry, and I believe we are inclined to eat some lunch, and we will inform Doc of the news, but I won't reveal your secret that has led you here, it's only up to you to tell him on your own time while you go do your investigation.", with a small, understanding smile as she reverently grabs the sonogram picture to put in her pocket close to her heart, getting up steadily with the help of Bucky who hands the recorder back to Lacey.
"Well, I am starving myself, so I guess it would be nice to at least not have to pay for lunch.", Lacey gave a small chuckle.
"If I had to guess, once Derek gets exposed, either you'll get your job back there or certainly get quite the settlement.", Bucky said as Lacey shook her head.
"I'm not sure about the job, not when management was so quick to believe Derek and not me... I'm not worried about that right now though.", Lacey said.
Tara nods, "Naturally.", as they walk out of the dining room, down the hall, to the kitchen where Doc is making lunch before going to cook. "Never took you for a cook, Doc.", Bucky replies.
Doc chuckles, "Well, I like to keep busy when I'm bored waiting for something...I hope my cooking skills are not rusty...After all, I'd need to feed myself somehow when I need brain food for my projects. I hope you all don't mind having omelets, it's the easiest recipe I can't mess up.".
Lacey smiles warmly, "I'd love an omelet, Richard. I usually take it with chives, olives, and cheese, and with sour cream on top.", and Doc feels a slight flutter when she smiled at him, and he smiled, "Of course, my dear.", mentally hitting himself for he had done it again!