**Giggles!**

Since I'm still not convinced that everyone reads the artist's notes or the stories connected with the images, I thought I would put this before the story. Originally, the story, written between my first and second illnesses this year, was started on just a whim of writing down a story based off of the ongoing RP that I was doing with some friends on the List (f-list.net) ... and a special thanks goes out to my friends there like Waka Miyafuji, another Deviant Art artist, who have helped shape these sessions and allowed me to put them together. But also a special thanks to  kurama-chan once more as well for doing the artwork and also listening to my endless chatter about the RPs, the passions, and even the family stories the I have been sharing through these works.

So, here's the story! Enjoy!

More! Blow Me Up More!
Story Idea – January 17th, 2019!

The excessively early hours of New Year’s Day was a good deal premature for Israfel Vincent, also known as Taffy by her friends, to be awake, but after the party thrown by Caitlynn Wildfire, her party-animal girlfriend, which was still going around four am downstairs in her townhouse, this allowed the copper top to quietly slip out around 3 am or so. A quick pause to lather up and rise off in the hot shower and a quick change into a crisp and clean batch of her usual bounce-about-town clothing, a long sleeved ZZ-Top shirt and a pair skin-tight jeans, allowed the copper top to go out to Tybee Island beach earlier than normal. For some people, this might be a usual thing to see, the copper top opening the garage belonging to the townhouse before five am after loading it down with the diving gear, a Playboy Bunny blanket, and a small cooler, but it was a routine of hers for over a year now. The main reason for the Bremlin, a 1975 purple and green AMC Gremlin, to be prepared and loaded down with all the stuff Taffy needed for her trip to the beach, though there were always plenty of convenience stores along the way, including her favorite 7-11, Crossroads’s Original Convenience Store.

So, what was it that started this interest in going to the beach before the crack of dawn? Wouldn’t it be better for the copper top to sleep in, dreaming of big things? Perhaps. Taffy was often a touch scatter-brained as is, but it all started about a year or so ago, this renewal of passion for the beach. During this time before mentioned, her mother had left the copper top her father’s bomber jacket that Vincent Verdeschi used to wear when flying for the Navy. Inside the jacket’s inner breast pocket was an envelope, which contained a deed to a hangar on a property out on Tybee Island, a place that Taffy hadn’t been to in years, and a set of keys, which revealed a lot of things within, but also leaving the copper top with many more questions too. Taffy hadn’t the desire to ask her mother, Hypatia Vincent, about what happened to her father, but the copper top thought that he had gone out on a mission for the Navy and wasn’t able to return for some reason or another. These sort of secret missions were a regular occurrence for both mother and father back during the later part of their careers for the Air Force and Navy respectfully, so Taffy had come to accept that over the years, especially as the copper top had gotten older. But it was not easy, that was the truth.

Before Taffy’s father had disappeared, Vincent had taken his daughter, the pride and joy of his life, to Tybee beach, like he used to when she was growing up, and spent the early morning with her. During this expedition, her father had explained to her about the mysterious Green Flash, a sudden burst of green light that sometimes is seen on the horizon, either during the sunrise or the sunset. Leaning against her father, the younger Taffy listened to him explain the significance of the occurrence being the returning of a soul to Earth from heaven. Mystified as a little girl, Taffy watched the night sky to change to the bright morning it would become to be, and yet, somehow, the little girl had missed the Green Flash. Seeing her upset, Vincent chuckled and explained to his daughter that it was not something that happened all the time. “It’s one of those rare moments you have in life,” Vincent added in that rich baritone voice of his as he hugged her. “It’s also one of God’s great mysteries.”

Taffy just nodded.

Years later, when the Admiral, the commanding officer to her father, had asked Taffy to help him with a project, there was no hesitation in the help offered for such a task, her father having instilled a strong sense of duty into his daughter. The project idea was to create a device that would allow a diver to go deeper into the ocean and stay there longer than normal, while not needing the decompression either. In that spirit, Taffy eagerly started work on what she called The Deep Breath System, a scuba tank that could convert the surrounding sea water into the two basic components, hydrogen and oxygen, while using the energy released from the process to keep the system running effortlessly. The hydrogen would be stored and the diver would use the oxygen. In this case, it would be Taffy … at least for the test runs.

Though, as Taffy had commented earlier, “It’s more fun this way!”

So, with her scuba gear and wetsuit laying next to the rest of the beach gear on the Playboy Bunny beach blanket, Taffy wiggled her ample backside, filling out those skin-tight jeans nicely, and then stretched out on the white sands between the rolling sand dunes and the lapping waves of the ocean, while the sunrise of the new day still an hour away. With her long arms propping herself up, the elastic tigress let her bare feet press and then dig somewhat into the before mentioned soothing wet sand, her long tail twitching eagerly off and to her left side. The rather infamous Super Mega Ultra Gulp, the massive mega mug that Taffy often carried with her to the Inflation Room, a nightclub downtown in the industrial park, rested easily with a normal arm’s reach to her left side, the condensation rolling off of the thick purple surface and onto the before mentioned blanket. Those expressive purple eyes, covered by a curiously damaged pair of glasses, scanned the night’s sky, idly dreaming of her father and his flights … those wondrous yesterdays.

Once upon a time, years ago, Taffy the little girl had struggled to bring out one of her father’s helium tanks from the downstairs guest apartment, where he used charts and weather balloons to map weather and tidal patterns around the coastline. With a lot of huffing and puffing, the young tigress had managed to drag the enormous tank out into the courtyard where the little copper top often played. Earlier, the mischievous little one had also gotten one of her mother’s baskets that Hypatia used to collect her roses from the Governor’s Garden and had tied some long lengths of rope together to make a curious harness. After taking the time to put her PlastiCat plushie in the basket, Little Taffy tied the harness around her lithe waist and then walked over to the tank to get the hose, her little feet squeaking cutely. As the cute little copper top got the hose, Taffy smiled to herself, ready for her big idea: Operation Super-Blimp!

Meanwhile, Vincent Verdeschi had a suspicion that something was amiss. Being a pilot for the Navy gave him a sixth sense, a sort of situational awareness about the way things happen might be what one would call it. For example, on this lovely spring day, the fellow had gotten up, kissed the sleeping wife, and headed downstairs after a good, hot shower, a quick shave, and sliding into a fresh set of clothing. Getting the first cup of coffee and one of those delicious strawberry bars his wife made earlier allowed him a good recharge to face anything that might come his way for the day.

Coming down the stairs from the bedroom floor, Vincent growled softly to himself, a rather thoughtful sound as the tiger-father glanced around the living area second floor, his wide ears perking atop his head. It was quiet … too, too quiet.

So, while standing out on the balcony after moving from the kitchen to overlook the open-air courtyard, Vincent managed to get a second pull off of the hot coffee before Pop got a good overview of the situation. He had just swallowed the mouthful of morning beverage before his expressive hazel eyes widened at the sight of his youngest daughter, his pride and joy, was about to start to inflate herself, hose in her mouth and left hand eagerly on the valve. Now, most fathers might go running down the stairs or even chance a jump off the balcony to stop the daughter, or even take a chance that she might listen by shouting down at her from this seemingly safe place on the balcony, but not Vincent Verdeschi, oh no.

Vincent just took another pull off of his coffee and watched …

A musical giggle bubbled off of Little Taffy’s lips as her smile, while tight, widened smartly and very cutely and her left hand slowly started to turn the valve, a few squeaks merged nicely with her melodious mirth. The soft telltale sound of hissing from the helium tank started to fill the air around the copper top as her chest started to swell slowly before her tummy starts to balloon as well, both areas rounding out marvelously. A delighted and bright smile started to stretch across Little Taffy’s face, those cute cheeks, gradually gaining a rosy coloring, which also clarifies the appearance of the healthy splattering of freckles found there, balloon slowly bigger from the excess helium flowing into her mouth. Delight and excitement bubbled across the little elastic tigress’s face as her malleable form started to round out and grow bigger and bigger!

Still standing on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, Vincent watched his daughter slowly expand bigger and rounder by the pull off of his coffee, his hazel eyes taking it all in as he quietly enjoyed the morning. This sort of thing was not out of the ordinary for his daughter, though this was one of the few times that not only was she doing this in the courtyard, but also so early in the morning. Vincent grunted as he took another pull off of the still hot coffee.

“Too early in the morning,” Vincent thought to himself with a crooked and charming smirk.

Within a wonderful series of sunny morning minutes, the formerly little copper top started to grow bigger, while also getting taller and rounder by the heartbeat, especially within the elastic tigress, the cute purple and green dress adorning her ballooning body stretching nicely, thanks to her mother’s foresight into her daughter’s antics. Her dainty hands lightly bounced against her sides merrily with the soft, thrumming sound, which started rather quickly and then slowly got deeper, just adding to the pleasure of the moment, while Taffy’s short arms, having ballooned a bit, slowly disappeared into the ballooning expanse. Her short legs, doing the same as her arms, slowly disappeared as well as those cute feet wiggled and tapped happily against the ground, adding a bit of a bounce that started out as an adorable little hop, causing her to slowly rise up into the air, only to fall back to the ground with another bounce. Her narrow chest and soft tummy started to swell before teaming up and rounding out more together as if both thought that was a better use of the lighter than air gas. The helium had not overcome the copper top’s weight yet. Even the long, tiger-striped tail starts to thicken and swell nicely as the twitching gets more energetic by the heartbeat. With those expressive purple eyes closed nice and tight, her cute, puffed up cheeks got to balloon more and more and glow with a gentle pink tint as the sheer delirious delight of the moment surged through the little copper top’s mind.

Taking another pull off of his coffee, Vincent shook his head with the smile still on his face. Like mother, like daughter, the Naval pilot thought, remembering their escape from an Arabian sultan years back when he was a bit younger. Vincent still remembered how big Hypatia got, breaking down walls of the cell and allowing them to escape.

“Thank God Taffy’s is not using hydrogen,” Vincent whispered aloud.

It didn’t take long for the copper top, now pretty rounded out and no longer a collection of rounded surfaces, to double her height to almost six feet with the steady expansion of ballooning starting to pull the little ropes tied to the rose basket tight. Riding within the before mentioned basket, the PlastiCat plushie seemed to be rather calm about the adventure, perhaps even looking forward to the journey as her partner heedlessly with such abandon filled herself with helium. Taffy almost squealed in delight! A soft smile touched Vincent’s face as the Naval officer turned to the side to put his coffee cup down onto the patio table, making sure that not a drop of the precious, live-giving hot beverage was wasted. His ears perk ever so slightly before he got that feeling that something was amiss … and that was his cue to turn back around to see his daughter, now expanded to ten feet in diameter and with so much bliss on her cute face, start to rise. With a twitch of his eyebrow, Vincent watched her get a few more feet bigger around before the nozzle popped almost comically out of her lips while Taffy smiled so merrily as the ballooned malleable little maid of mischief leaped into the air!

That was all the fatherly tiger needed to see as Vincent Verdeschi, moving with blinding speed, stepped to the rail in less than three steps, placed his left foot onto the railing, and leaped into the air, a good ten feet upward and over the side. While the leap was effortless, Vincent had to admit that he was a bit concerned about getting down. Not for himself since a fifteen to twenty foot fall to the courtyard would be nothing to the former superhero, but his beloved little girl. Taffy was still just learning how to use her metamorphic abilities, and, while a very smart kid, the little tigress was still a little kid …

Glancing upwards, Vincent got to see the bliss on his daughter’s cute face as the ballooned tigress slowly got bigger and bigger, expanding out from the former twelve feet to something closer to the fifteen feet that most of the weather balloons he used. It was at that moment, he also noticed the little basket with the PlastiCat doll riding with her. Shaking his head in that comical whimsy that he often had went dealing with Taffy, Vincent smiled for a moment. “It figures,” he chuckled briefly.

Higher and higher father and daughter floated, slowing getting to the point that they were five stories off of the ground and steadily moving upwards. And then that was when the wind from the river caught the pair and pushed them even higher still.

Glancing back up at his daughter, Vincent noticed that her head was expanding some too as Taffy got bigger and bigger at a slightly faster rate, pushing way past twenty feet in diameter and growing more and more quickly as well.

“Swell,” Vincent thought dryly.

All Taffy could think about as the formerly little tigress kept getting bigger and bigger was how much fun this was! Taffy felt that she was way bigger than she normally got and was still able to get bigger. That was when the little tigress discovered that her breathing was adding to the volume of the helium already present and just making her bigger and bigger.

Just like Mom can do! Taffy thought happily before taking in deeper and deeper breathes!

Noticing that the pair was getting uncomfortably higher into the air, clearing the tree tops of Forsyth Park next door, Vincent groaned as he realized about at the same moment what his little girl could do or had just discovered. Not that it mattered now.

Vincent frowned as the tiger unsheathed his rarely used claws these days.

And Taffy’s mind went “POP!” as she did too!

A rather familiar musical giggle bubbled off of the older Taffy as the nubile nerd had disturbed the burrow of a ghost crab, a rather curious sample of crab who’s natural luminescence allowed the small beastie to be seen at night … like a ghost. But they were fast too. As Taffy stretched her left leg out to chase the little crab off, the flexible feline could not help but to giggle more. The crab had instinctively pinched the elastic tigress’s left foot’s big toe, for all the good that it did … well, outside of snapping Taffy out of her daydreaming.

Though, even with the distraction of the ghostly creature, Taffy remembered the aftermath of the daydream … of waking up in her big bed, all tucked in with the PlastiCat plushie, with her Mother standing at the end of the bed, scowling at both father and daughter, and her Pop sitting on the edge of the bed, all close and protective of his little girl. Apparently, the parents had been arguing about something, but stopped the heated discussion at the fluttering of Taffy’s expressive purple eyes opening. From some quick thinking from her father, Vincent had done his best to put his little daughter’s mind at ease … especially with her father having changed out of his clothes earlier, hiding any bumps or bruises that even his invulnerable form might have. Her mother, still scowling, tried to soften her expression as Hypatia listened to the pair chat, her daughter apologizing to her as well as her father. Both parents were just happy that nothing bad happened …

The older and wiser Taffy giggled softly to herself as she tilted her head to the aside, still gazing absent-mindedly over the ocean. Years later, Taffy would stop by the neighbors’s townhouses and ask about what happened until she got a story from Mrs. Hannigan, one of the ladies who harassed the copper top at her antics with the Sunday Morning Sunrise Service off of the Tybee Island beach. Pop had crashed with daughter in tow through the atrium of the rose garden the slightly younger old lady had maintained for years and years. Pop had to go over there for many weekends and offer to repair as well as pay for the damages done, trying to make restitution to the older lady who’s family was one of the five or six of the oldest families in Crossroads, even though his wife’s family was older still than the Hannigans. Perhaps that was the reason for the bulk of the ire that the woman gave him, though Vincent didn’t care too much. While family was important, this sort of class warfare was pointless. Then again, that’s probably all the old lady had to keep herself feeling alive.

“It’s amazing how things have not changed,” Taffy giggled, remembering the first test day and how she got really, really big! The detonation of her morphic form shattered most of the windows of the beach houses along the mile or so of where Taffy exploded. Hannigan, who had a beach house out in the area, lead the charge to Taffy’s lawyer who just smiled and got out her pen to take notes. More laughter bubbled off of those lightly tinted and kissable lips as Taffy smiled mostly to herself while she leaned back a touch on the Playboy Bunny beach blanket. The soft breeze, slightly warmer, started to pick up and blow against the elastic tigress just a few heartbeats before her wide ears twitched and even her nose wrinkled slightly. Pausing to rub her nose with her dainty left hand, Taffy found herself glancing out over the ocean just a few precious heartbeats before her purple eyes noticed a soft green flash across the horizon. It only lasted a pair of heartbeats before disappearing, leaving the copper top dazzled for a few moments … before her heart expanded mightily within her bosom!

“The Green Flash!” Taffy cried out in sheer delight as the copper top sprang up into a upright, but still seated position. “Pop … Pop!” Her dainty hands came to her pert bosom within long-sleeved ZZTop t-shirt. Tears welled up and started to spill down her facial cheeks as Taffy kept her purple eyes, wide and hopeful, gazing to the horizon, a warm smile stretching across her face.

“Happy New Year, Pop!” Taffy whispered happily before the tiger-striped ginger glanced at the Deep Breath Device, an impish expression crossing her cute face as she felt child-like again. “Perhaps you’ll fly with me again …”