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Description
[A quick one using Bing's image generator. There isn't much control as it ignores things like size instructions, but not terrible for a few minutes of playing around.]

Hearing the explosion, Mad looked down the hall and saw pink smoke pouring from under the door of a lab down the hall lab. She grabbed a respirator and raced towards the scene, pulling the fire alarm on her way. Opening the door, the smoke was too thick to make much headway.

"Anyone here?"

There wasn't a response. There wasn't a fire, so she got on hands and knees checking to see if anyone had been knocked out or worse. A quick circuit of around the central bench didn't turn up anything, so she left the building. Once outside the respirator came off.

It took a few hours for an "all-clear" to be given. The door was taped over with "accident scene" and "do not enter" tape. She kept wondering what could have caused it? Maybe a notebook would give a clue. And wasn't it Jeremy Cantor's lab? He'd only been around for a month so she didn't know much about him other than he was a new postdoc from Brown. She was a year into her's now. Everything was so competitive trying to get a tenure track position, people really didn't take the time to socialize.

She really had to pee. Looking up at the clock she noticed everyone had left already given it was Friday. She'd probably go to ten, which was pretty much her style. Curiosity got the best of her as she passed the door on her way back from the restroom. Peeling back the tape on one side, she entered the room. The fume hood fans were set on high and the air sampler said the atmosphere was normal - at least for the dozen or so gases it tested for. There was a bit of broken glassware in one of the hooded benches - a small explosion, but well contained. Probably something left too long with a heater - or a million other things. Shaking her head she walked back towards the door.

"mad? help me!"

She thought she heard her name. Panic seized her. After hours and in a closed room...

"i'm on the floor. to your left about four tiles."

Strange. That voice again. Was something making her hallucinate? She took a step towards the door.

"on the floor mad!! it's me, jeremy cantor."

"What kind of a joke?" she said as she turned to her side and saw a tiny figure on the floor frantically jumping and waving.

"it's really me mad!"

Panic had been replaced by shock. The this-is-impossible kind of shock you have when you see a car window shatter and think it must be Winter and the falling glass is ice.

"you've gotta help me!"

Taking two steps towards him, she knelt down and started to pick him up when she realized she didn't know how.

"How?"

"a light grip?" was his tentative-sounding reply.

Folding her fingers around him left his head and shoulder exposed, but not much else. She stood back up and held him to her face.

'god! not so fast mad!"

She could tell he must be yelling, but his voice hardly registered over the din of the ventilation fans.

"You're going back to my lab."

He was talking about something, but she didn't listen on the way back.

"Here.." she said, setting his feet on her desk and opening a drawer.

"It's gotta be somewhere"

Turning, she started hunting through a series of drawers. For his part he stayed put watching the Brobdingnagian PhD's backside.

"Aha!"

She returned with a magnifying glass and placed her left palm next to him.

"Climb on.. I need a better look."

Nervously he tried to keep his balance.

"How in the fuck? You really are him .. I mean Jeremy."

She was as confused as he was.

"no fucking clue" he said looking back up at her through the huge circle of glass. "started running when it exploded and then everything's huge and i'm crawling under the overhang of a cabinet so i won't get stepped on."

Her magnifying glass distorted face was unnerving as was her breath. On top of that her hand wasn't as steady as she probably thought.

"almost lost my balance.."

She set the magnifying glass down on her desk.

"Shit! Now what?" she said looking over at the wall clock. "Gotta ton of work left tonight"

Without warning her hand made a fast descent to the desk.

"You can hang out here. I'm ordering something soon if you're hungry. Pizza ok?"

He stepped onto the desk and tired to bend his neck enough to make eye contact.

"We can talk at dinner. You can stay at my place if you want."

Watching the building sized postdoc move to the other side of the lab at the speed limit on a freeway, he had no idea what was going on. It turned out she didn't either, but she quickly forgot about him as she immersed herself in her work.

Description
[A quick one using Bing's image generator. There isn't much control as it ignores things like size instructions, but not terrible for a few minutes of playing around.]

Hearing the explosion, Mad looked down the hall and saw pink smoke pouring from under the door of a lab down the hall lab. She grabbed a respirator and raced towards the scene, pulling the fire alarm on her way. Opening the door, the smoke was too thick to make much headway.

"Anyone here?"

There wasn't a response. There wasn't a fire, so she got on hands and knees checking to see if anyone had been knocked out or worse. A quick circuit of around the central bench didn't turn up anything, so she left the building. Once outside the respirator came off.

It took a few hours for an "all-clear" to be given. The door was taped over with "accident scene" and "do not enter" tape. She kept wondering what could have caused it? Maybe a notebook would give a clue. And wasn't it Jeremy Cantor's lab? He'd only been around for a month so she didn't know much about him other than he was a new postdoc from Brown. She was a year into her's now. Everything was so competitive trying to get a tenure track position, people really didn't take the time to socialize.

She really had to pee. Looking up at the clock she noticed everyone had left already given it was Friday. She'd probably go to ten, which was pretty much her style. Curiosity got the best of her as she passed the door on her way back from the restroom. Peeling back the tape on one side, she entered the room. The fume hood fans were set on high and the air sampler said the atmosphere was normal - at least for the dozen or so gases it tested for. There was a bit of broken glassware in one of the hooded benches - a small explosion, but well contained. Probably something left too long with a heater - or a million other things. Shaking her head she walked back towards the door.

"mad? help me!"

She thought she heard her name. Panic seized her. After hours and in a closed room...

"i'm on the floor. to your left about four tiles."

Strange. That voice again. Was something making her hallucinate? She took a step towards the door.

"on the floor mad!! it's me, jeremy cantor."

"What kind of a joke?" she said as she turned to her side and saw a tiny figure on the floor frantically jumping and waving.

"it's really me mad!"

Panic had been replaced by shock. The this-is-impossible kind of shock you have when you see a car window shatter and think it must be Winter and the falling glass is ice.

"you've gotta help me!"

Taking two steps towards him, she knelt down and started to pick him up when she realized she didn't know how.

"How?"

"a light grip?" was his tentative-sounding reply.

Folding her fingers around him left his head and shoulder exposed, but not much else. She stood back up and held him to her face.

'god! not so fast mad!"

She could tell he must be yelling, but his voice hardly registered over the din of the ventilation fans.

"You're going back to my lab."

He was talking about something, but she didn't listen on the way back.

"Here.." she said, setting his feet on her desk and opening a drawer.

"It's gotta be somewhere"

Turning, she started hunting through a series of drawers. For his part he stayed put watching the Brobdingnagian PhD's backside.

"Aha!"

She returned with a magnifying glass and placed her left palm next to him.

"Climb on.. I need a better look."

Nervously he tried to keep his balance.

"How in the fuck? You really are him .. I mean Jeremy."

She was as confused as he was.

"no fucking clue" he said looking back up at her through the huge circle of glass. "started running when it exploded and then everything's huge and i'm crawling under the overhang of a cabinet so i won't get stepped on."

Her magnifying glass distorted face was unnerving as was her breath. On top of that her hand wasn't as steady as she probably thought.

"almost lost my balance.."

She set the magnifying glass down on her desk.

"Shit! Now what?" she said looking over at the wall clock. "Gotta ton of work left tonight"

Without warning her hand made a fast descent to the desk.

"You can hang out here. I'm ordering something soon if you're hungry. Pizza ok?"

He stepped onto the desk and tired to bend his neck enough to make eye contact.

"We can talk at dinner. You can stay at my place if you want."

Watching the building sized postdoc move to the other side of the lab at the speed limit on a freeway, he had no idea what was going on. It turned out she didn't either, but she quickly forgot about him as she immersed herself in her work.