There were many reasons why it was unusual for Miko to be like this. First of all, the half-Asian girl with long purple hair typically had energy to spare. If she wasn’t gaming, she frequently bounced around in excitement at the latest thing that caught her interest. She was especially hyped following a battle with the forces of technological tyranny, often known for elaborate victory dances. However, she felt down because her friends told her she couldn’t dance this time.
“But that’s not fair,” Miko whined as she slumped to the ground, her butt impacting with a thunderous boom that set off many nearby car alarms. She stared down at the other people wearing futuristic suits like hers and asked, “Why can’t I show my moves?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Mitch sarcastically retorted as he ran a comb through his fabulous hair. “Maybe it’s because your footprint looks like it belongs in a kaiju movie!” he shouted while petulantly stomping his own foot and pointing at the massive imprint in the ground.
Miko pursed her lips and tried to lower her head below the trees, which required some uncomfortable leaning. “Hey, that’s not my fault. The glitch—”
“Caught you in a moment of carelessness,” Mitch scolded. “Now, you’re stuck like this, even after we’ve contained it, and no one knows how to fix it!”
A Hispanic boy set his hand on Mitch’s shoulder. “Lay off, Mitch. She’s right. Accidents happen. Are you going to tell me you’ve never taken a stray shot from a glitch?”
Mitch glowered at Five. “No, but I’ve never screwed up so badly that I grew thirty feet.”
“Five is right. Yelling won’t solve anything,” advised Haneesh as he typed on his gauntlet. “I’m calling HQ for advice. Miko, uh, try and think small thoughts.”
Miko heaved a sigh like a mighty gust as she slumped. “This sucks.”
“Hey, it’s alright,” Five assured as he tapped on Miko’s white boot. “Glitches are just code, remember? And Hinobi has some of the best coders in the world. I’m sure someone knows how to make an undo button or something. Just be patient, and before ya know it, you’ll be bustin’ a move with the best of ‘em.”
Miko’s mood lifted. “Thanks, Five. You’re the best.”
“Well, I have my moments.”
“So, what’s it like being big, anyway?” Zahra asked as she looked over the girl who used to be shorter than her. “Do you, I don’t know, feel heavy?”
Miko hummed as she repeatedly flexed her arm. “Kinda. I feel there’s more weight, but it’s not weighing me down if that makes sense.”
“It doesn’t, but keep going.” The girl in the hijab chuckled as she hit record on her gauntlet. “This is so awesome.”
“It’d be more awesome if you guys would let me move. Say, we’re not too far from the mountains. What if I just hid out there until we get this whole giant-me thing resolved. I could be like one of those mountain trolls from the stories who devour lost travelers. Mwahaha!”
Zahra snickered and faced Five. “How long until she realizes she can’t play any video games with those giant sausage fingers?”
Miko paled as she stared at her now trembling hands. “I can’t… n-no video games?”
“Hey, we’re gonna fix this, remember,” Five asserted as he crawled up to Miko’s knee. He’d be lying if he said her enormous face didn’t make his heart race. However, he couldn’t let on that he was nervous. They were best friends, and he had a duty to be brave during her hardship. “I know you’re a gamer, but that doesn’t mean you need to game twenty-four-seven. We can just talk, ya know.”
Miko hesitantly nodded. “R-right, talk. We can talk. Talking is good. I love to talk.”
“So we’ve noticed,” Mitch grumbled.
That’s when they got a call from ‘Your Boss,’ and everyone picked up. Phil was middle-aged, scruffy, and seemed to be in a perpetually bad mood. “Haneesh just sent me the data, but BITT’s still trying to make sense of it. Just what the hell happened out there?”
The teams gave a quick summation of events. It all started pretty normally. Then, they got an alert for a glitch on the town’s outskirts that required two teams. They identified the source game, figured out the pattern, and eventually overcame it with teamwork and sick moves, just like always. However, with its dying breath, the glitch shot something at Miko, growing her over thirty feet high.
Phil tiredly sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is this was an illegal glitch. Probably a bootleg from a modder or something. We’ll have to investigate further. However, without the source code, there’s no way to undo this.”
Miko unleashed a mighty groan that sent birds and small animals fleeing. “Great, what’s the good news?”
“Well, the code appears relatively stable, so you probably won’t get any bigger… probably,” Phil deadpanned and bit into his doughnut.
“Wait, so Miko’s stuck like this?” Five questioned. “Phil, Miko’s got school on Monday. She can’t show up to class like this.”
“Forget school. I can’t go home like this,” Miko asserted. “What would my parents say? Also, more importantly, I can’t play any games like this!”
“Relax. There’s a bandage solution to the size issue,” Phil dully assured. “I’m uploading the code now. It’s a modified version of the reset. Only, instead of wiping people’s memory of any glitch-related incidents, it tricks the brain into thinking that everything is normal.”
“Uh, say what, now?” Miko asked.
Phil rolled his eyes. “There’s a lot of techno-babble, but essentially, we’re coding the program to your gigantism issue so people won’t perceive you as abnormal. Of course, they’ll be aware that you’re bigger, but they won’t freak out or call the military. Luckily, the program is an adaptive algorithm that also comes with a filter for all electronics, so if anyone records you, they’ll see how you ought to be, rather than how you are.”
Miko nodded along. “Uh-huh. Mmh-hmm. Okay, and what about my games?”
“Huh?”
“It’s been, like, half an hour since my last game, and momma needs her fix,” Miko dramatically begged.
Phil sighed again. “Fine. I can unlock your gauntlet to allow gaming while off-duty, but that’s it.”
Miko exhaled in relief. “Thanks, Phil. You’re the best.”
“Whatever. Now, uploading normalcy pulse.” Phil then pressed a button, and a wave of white energy rippled out from Miko’s gear.
“Whoa, did it work?” Miko asked as she examined herself. “I felt all tingly. Is that normal?”
“No idea. I inoculated myself before the upload, so I’m unaffected.”
“Inoculated?” Five questioned. “Uh, shouldn’t we have all gotten that?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Phil disinterestedly assured. “But find a civilian and test their reaction. This program doesn’t have the best track record, so we need to identify bugs early.”
“Bugs?” Mitch questioned. “You messed with our heads with a buggy program? What the hell, Phil?”
Conveniently, that was the moment Bergy woke up. The accident-prone ginger took a good hit from the glitch and now climbed to his feet. “H-hey, guys. What’s going on?”
“Hey, Bergyyy,” Miko anxiously greeted. “You, uh, notice anything different about me?”
Bergy squinted as he stared up at the giant girl. “Uh, did you do something with your hair?”
“Is that it?” Zahra asked. “You don’t want to ask about something else? Her size, for example?”
“Hmm, I guess she has put on a few pounds, but I didn’t want to say anything,” Bergy allowed. “Although, what kind of diet are you on? I’d like to buff up like that, too.”
“Well, consider that test passed,” Phil assessed.
“Hold on, how come the rest of us don’t seem affected?” Mitch asked. “You’re still the same oversized weirdo I thought you were a few minutes ago.”
Phil took another bite of his doughnut. “Like I said, the program isn’t perfect. It’s a little like propaganda, where being aware of the influence diminishes its impact.” The program had other potential issues, but the store supervisor felt it best if Miko didn’t find out and feel tempted to exploit her new status. Although, that might be inevitable. “I’ll have BITT continue hunting for a solution. In the meantime, just try to act like you normally would, don’t draw excessive attention to yourself, and we’ll address problems as they turn up. Bye.” And he hung up before anyone could ask any follow-up questions.
Needing support, Miko reached for Five. She wasn’t sure how he’d react to a giant hand. However, to her relief, he didn’t pull away. He touched his gauntlet to hers, and she could have sworn she felt the warmth through his fingers. “Alright, keep positive,” she declared. “I’ve kicked hundreds of glitches’ asses, and I’m not gonna let this one kick me.”
“It’d have to be a pretty big glitch to kick that ass,” Zahra pointed out with a smirk.
“Yeah, laugh it up, little girl,” Miko teased back as she stood to her full height, unintentionally sending Five flying, but he safely descended with his rocket boots. “However, this is just the start. Look out, world. You’re about to witness a brand new Me. K.”—As she spoke, she pushed the button on her gauntlet to deactivate her armor. However, she failed to realize that while the glitch’s blast affected her body and plixel armor, the same could not be said for her clothes. Thusly, the common fabric instantly shredded, leaving Miko bare for the world to see—“… O?”
1 Everyone treats her nudity as normal and barely reacts
2 Everyone treats her gigantism as normal, but nudity is still taboo
3 Miko’s friends react in unexpected and abnormal ways
4 More bugs start manifesting in the program
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