The day was cold, and so was the crowd. All through the morning and afternoon I’d been strumming my flimsy little guitar and belting my heart out into that damn microphone, but all the money I’d managed to scrounge up just wasn’t enough for what I needed it for. I was already working the lowest amount of hours possible in my dead-end pharmacy job to have as much time for my music as I possibly could, so I didn’t just enjoy performing; I needed this money to be able to buy my food for the week. But the audience today was even more ignorant to me than usual. I’d get glances - I’d get a lot of glances - but glances didn’t put food on the table, yet glances were all I got. Gritting my teeth, I pulled my mouth away from the microphone as the song slowed to a stop and took a seat on the bench behind me, reaching for a bottle of water and uncapping it before taking a long gulp of its contents.

“... Fuck me…”

I put my head in my palms and let my frustration escape through my mouth as a long groan, muffled by my palms. It was one of those days where I felt totally drained after a long day of performing - and to make it worse, I had a night shift that same night. So only an hour or so of resting before I had to be off for my shitty job in this shitty neighbourhood in this shitty city. I wasn’t what you’d call ecstatic.

There were at least some rays of sunshine bursting through the thick rainclouds of my life, though - they took the form of my best friend, Lucy Garcia, who I caught out the corner of my eye happily striding toward me. She beamed warmly once she saw she’d caught my attention and gave me a quick wave. I took a deep breath and put a smile back on my face before meeting her half way, giving her a wave back: “Heeey, Lucy!”

“Heeey!” She called back with a naturally wide smile easily eclipsing my attempt at one. She hopped over and took both of my hands in hers - a quirk of hers, she was always a naturally touchy person like that.
“How did I know you’d be out here again, huh? At it again,” She teased: “How’s the stardom going?”
“Shut up, you,” I pulled my hands out of hers to give her a nudge - she meant well, but still, the joking caused my heart to twist a little more.
“Well I figured you’d be out here, rushing the last hour before work,” She said: “So I decided I’d come meet with you, and give you this!” She passed me a duffel bag, it being rather light in my hands. Curious, I unzipped it and took a peek inside.
“No way,” I blinked, pulling out a freshly ironed work uniform that still felt a little warm: “You… made my uniform for me?”
“Yeah!” Lucy nodded: “You can get dressed quickly in one of the public toilets, so we can hang out and get to work no problem!”
“Hold on, how’d you get my uniform in the first place?” I asked, furrowing my brow at her.
“Well… you know… you like to leave your window open,” Lucy returned, sticking her tongue out playfully. I scoffed at that: “Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. If that’s okay with you,” She smirked, giving the bag a pat. I smirked back - I couldn’t be angry with her, I needed something like this to save this terrible day.
“So, you got something in mind for hanging out?” I asked curiously, zipping the bag shut as the two of us began wandering down the dim street.
“‘Course!” She replied: “First, though, we need to get you something to wear.”
I blinked: “Uhh… that isn’t my uniform?”
“Yep! Look at you, getting lots of clothes today huh?” Lucy teased, before hurrying off down the road. With a huff and slinging my bag over my shoulder, I made my way after her with no idea where she was taking me. My feet still hurt from standing around all day, but I tried not to let that bother me.

I soon realised where we were going, and despite how apparently obvious it was I was surprised - the clothes shop that was just round the corner, but this one was smaller than the rest. This was due to it being filled with luxury clothing, definitely not the sort I ever managed myself buying - and from the sly look Lucy was giving me, I could tell that wasn’t about to change.

The plan was a simple one; I was the pretty one, so it’d be my job to keep the employees there occupied while Lucy would sneak around for whatever she could fit under her jacket. I was used to getting in people’s faces - I used to do it an awful lot when looking for jobs, to make sure people’s attention was always on me - so it only took a few loud shouting and exaggerated swinging of my body before the whole room was staring at me in surprise and confusion. Immediately my attention turned to the closest guy in the room. With a confident grin I puffed out my chest and got up in his face - it didn’t really matter whether I made a good or bad impression, what mattered was that they couldn’t look away while Lucy snuck around them and went searching for goodies. I swung my hips and strutted around the befuddled workers - despite my act my smile was very much real, seeing them watch me and struggle to speak up only for me to simply shout over them, it made my heart flutter and put a little skip in my step. Those wide eyes… That's what I lived for. I couldn’t help but giggle, circling round them and slowly leading them toward the corner of the shop, restricting their line of sight as we all ended up in the corner together. It made it easy for Lucy to sneak back around them while I pretended to check out other clothes.

“Oh, I like this…” I cooed, pulling a sparkly mini-skirt off of the rack.
“Ma’am, please--” One of the employees began, but I just continued over to them: “D’you think this’d look good on me, huh?” I asked, lowering it around my hips and sticking my butt out playfully. The men just shuffled uncomfortably, while one other employee, this one a woman with dark hair, grabbed my arm: “Miss. You’re causing a ruckus, we don’t want you--”
“What? ‘Don’t want me’ what? Buying your stuff?” I scoffed and tossed the skirt over my shoulder: “Man oh man, the service here is terrible! Here I am trying to be excited for what you have to offer and I’m being scolded for it! Pah!” I pouted and shook my head: “What a bunch of shit.”

My eyes flicked over in the direction of the exit - Lucy had slipped out, whistling to herself as she wandered about outside, waiting for me. Taking that as my time to leave, I forcefully pushed myself through the workers: “Fine! I’m leaving, ugh. I won’t be coming here again.”
I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot as I made my way out, leaving the employees very confused behind me. I don’t think they’d forget me in a hurry, hah.

Lucy chortled jovially at me as I stepped outside: “Wow, you’re certainly somethin’, huh?” She snorted. I couldn’t help but giggle back, giving her a playful shove: “Whatever. What did you get anyway?”

Lucy smirked and pulled out two pairs of… bikinis? One bright pink and one a less saturated teal colour, both of them not the sort a humble girl would wear to say the least. I couldn’t help but frown at that revelation, and crossed my arms: “... Eh… I’m sorry, but… really?”
“Come on!” Lucy exclaimed: “You don’t get it - these are premium comfort bikinis. The real deal!”
“What does that even mean?” I asked, a brow raised.
“Well, you’ll know when you try ‘em on,” Lucy shrugged before grabbing my hand, and before I knew it we were on the move again.

I bit my lip apprehensively as we arrived at a place I’d never been to before. A pamper place? Seriously, right before work?
“Come on, we have plenty of time! Just a quick in and out to try it, it’ll be fun!” Lucy assured me, giving my sleeve a tug and trying to lead me inside. I sighed, but her optimism for this was catching and with some hesitation I followed her inside: “Okay… just a little while.”

Lucy gave some money to the worker at the front desk and we were led to some changing rooms to get dressed. Lucy giggled and hopped off into one of them, while I split off and found my own one to dress privately. I slipped off my clothes and tossed them to the side before picking up the bikini. I just stared at it for a moment, before I sighed and put it on. First thing I noticed was that it was… well, a little tightly fitting. Seemed Lucy had found some of her size instead of mine. With that being said, though… it was more comfortable than I expected! I tugged on the bra straps a little to test it - it was made of some kind of fabric: I didn’t know the specifics, but it was more comfortable than anything I’d felt before.
“Huh!” I said in surprise, looking myself over in the mirror. I giggled and shook my hips - it fit surprisingly well, too! Showed off my curves just right. Content, I stepped back out of the changing room - Lucy was there waiting for me, in her own swimwear - hers seemed to fit her much better, at least.
“Whoa, look at you!” Lucy giggled, her cheeks a little pink: “Alright, c’mon! Let’s get going.”

Oh fuck, that thirty minutes… I don’t even really remember enough to describe it. But that plays spared no expenses - I was practically out the moment I sat down, they treat you like a queen. Or… they did. But, anyway– the both of us ended up losing track of the time, as one would when they’re half asleep, so going to work totally slipped our minds. The only reason we left at all was my eyes just so happened to wander over to the clock mounted up on the wall. Needless to say, when I saw I was an hour late for work, that pulled me out of my relaxed stupor real quick.

“What the fuck?!” I shrieked, suddenly shooting up and my forehead crashing against the jaw of the man tending to my fingernails. He crumpled and my head pounded like all hell, but I didn’t have time for that - I ran out the room while Lucy called my name and pushed myself into the changing rooms. I didn’t bother taking the bikini off, I just threw my work clothes on over them and bolted out the front door in under two minutes. Dashing down the dim street, the sun having set a while ago now, I pushed my hat onto my throbbing head and ran toward the shining entrance of the corner shop. I burst through the doors and shouted: “I’m here! I’m here!”

“No.”

I blinked, staring at my manager - he was giving me his usual scowl, though it looked lower than usual, and his finger was pointing right at me.
“This is the last straw, dammit!” He shouted, his cheeks growing red and puffy: “I’m sick of this - your rebel act is easily the worst thing I have to deal with in this store! I’m sick of your attitude, and you just show up late all the time! Enough!”
“Wait, hold on–” I began, but he was quick to shout over me.
“Where have you been for the last hour, Velasquez?” He asked.
“Oh, come on! It’s not like I’m late every day!” I shouted back, dodging the question - he’d already gotten me in a bad mood, he knew he didn’t like it when I was referred to by my real name: “What have I seriously missed? Everyone will be going to bed by now!”
“That’s not the point!” He shouted back, before sighing and shaking his head: “I’m supposed to be able to rely on my employees, yet all you and Lucy ever do is fuck off and do whatever you’d like! How am I supposed to rely on that, huh?”

“It’s not my fault! Lucy’s the one who told me to go slack off with her!” I returned.
“But you went along with it, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, but–”
“Enough!” He shouted, a growl in his gruff voice: “You don’t work here anymore.”
“What?”
“You’re fired!” He repeated: “Now, just get out of my store.”

I was dumbfounded by what I just heard. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Before I could figure out what to say, though, Lucy appeared behind me.
“Hey! What’re you doing?” She called me, and my manager’s attention instantly turned to her.
“You too– I’m sick of both of ya! You’re both fired!”
“Huh??” Lucy blinked: “What? Come on!”

I spun and glared at Lucy, jabbing a finger in her direction: “You– he– I–” Not knowing what to say or who to blame, I just let out a shout of anger and stormed down the street, not wanting to hear another word from either of them. My face was red with anger and frustration all the way back to my shitty little apartment in my shitty little neighbourhood in my shitty little life. And what did I find when I reached my home?
An eviction notice.

I woke up with a jolt, as if I’d just woken up from a nightmare. My sudden awakening caused all memory of my dream from the night before to fall right out my brain, but I was sure it wasn’t anything horrifying. Nevertheless my heart was pounding and after touching my forehead, I found it was coated with sweat. I rose up into a sitting position before promptly regretting it - I let out a grunt of pain as my whole body tensed, my muscles feeling like they were curling up into tight balls. I hauled my legs out from the duvet and planted my feet on the ground - these cramps were a bitch, but the best way to get rid of cramps was to start moving. I rose to my feet and the duvet fell away, and I remembered that I was still wearing that pink bikini Lucy had gotten me the other day.

The other day, huh? I sighed and shook my head as I hobbled toward the bathroom. I’d rather not have to think about everything that happened for now. Stepping into the bathroom, the cold tiled floor helped alleviate the pain around my feet for just a moment as I turned the cold water tap, letting fresh water run into the bowl. Flicking my hair out of the way, I bent down and splashed my aching face with water, looking in the mirror while I gave my face a quick wash. However, as I watched myself wipe the water from my eyes and cheeks, I saw something in the mirror. Yes, it was my reflection– but there was something different. I stared and, well, I’m not sure how to explain it, all I can do is say that I saw a… a spark in my eyes that had never been there before.

And then my alarm began blaring– 7am. I nearly jumped out of my skin and my muscles groaned. ‘Come on, I couldn’t be getting old already!’ I thought at the time. I picked my toothbrush out and started scrubbing, absent-mindedly watching myself as I did, trying to figure out what exactly I was seeing that I hadn’t seen before. My toothbrush felt like it was getting harder to hold, I noticed, but I paid little heed to it. My eyes wandered and my body followed - I only really took notice of something being up when I turned to leave the room, only for my hair to brush up against the doorframe. I paused, and looked up, seeing the frame mere centimetres away from my face. My eyes grew wide and my body spun round again, practically leaping back over to the mirror to see if my suspicions were correct. My hands slammed against the sink and it trembled, creaking in an attempt to hold me up as I leant in, my breath condensing against the smudged glass. I watched closely for a moment and then my eyes grew wide in shock.

Holy shit, I was growing! I could see my line of sight steadily rising higher and higher the longer I looked into the mirror - it was slow, but… I had to step back to take in exactly what I was witnessing. The aching of my muscles had all but vanished from my muscles by now, leaving in its place a pleasant sensation - almost as if my whole body was being massaged all at once. It reminded me of being pampered last night, but somehow better. Maybe it was the growing part. In my shock I couldn’t help but let out a shrill giggle and I turned round to step out into a more spacious room - my head promptly smacked against the door frame and I pulled away with a grunt of pain. Looking up at it, I had to blink to make sure I was seeing straight - there were cracks snaking along the wood now with thin clouds of sawdust spilling from them. Not taking my eyes off of the sight, I slowly ducked under this time. I was still taking in what was happening to me; should I be excited? I mean, I had no idea what was happening to me. I felt like the sensible thing to do would be to go get help, right? My face scrunched up a little - I didn’t really want to push down my excitement, but nevertheless I steadied myself and began the search for my clothes. The ones I had on yesterday were scattered about the floor but, picking them up, it was rather evident that they wouldn’t be fitting me anymore. I snorted at that - it was a good job I was wearing something, at least. Even if it was just a bikini.

Some muffled shouting from the hall pulled my attention away from my clothes, and I pretty much knew the culprit of the ruckus without a second thought. Knowing what she’d be shouting about, too, I just rose to the peak of my new height and waited, a cocky hand on my hip.

“... I swear, I’ll have her pay for the damages PLUS! I’m sick of her and her type always coming here and fucking everything up!” My landlady, Ms. Mills burst through my front door as loud as ever: “If she’s in here– MISS–!” The middle-aged woman suddenly stopped in her tracks as she got her first good luck at me. I grinned - getting that old crone to halt and zip it like that was quite the challenge… for anyone but me, at least. Ms. Mills sputtered, trying to get her voice going again as she stared at me in shock - at this point my head was inching toward the ceiling and the expression on her face… ohoho, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Sure, I’d see many more like it as the day went on, but she was the first. That makes it special.

“Wh-what on Earth–” Ms. Mills began, but then the soft sound of my head hitting the ceiling caused her to lose her voice again as she stared at me, her mouth agape as I felt I was reaching around the 8ft mark. I grinned and bent forward, just a little: “I’m sorry, did you want me for something, ma’am? Or are you just excited to see me back?”

Dumbfounded, Ms. Mills struggled to find her words again, giving enough time for someone else to enter the room: “Um, is everything okay in here…?”

My eyes flicked from the old woman to the newcomer - I quickly recognised him as Simon, a young man who lived directly opposite me. He looked well dressed, considering how early it was, with an ironed shirt and even a tie. My head tilted to the side a little: “Hey, Simon! Don’t worry, we were both just leaving.”

“Wh… what…?” Simon’s eyes were wide as he looked up at me, towering over the both of them even as I bent down. I raised a brow, amused by his reaction, and slowly stepped toward him. The old floorboards creaked beneath my feet and I pushed Ms. Mills aside like a child, her side thumping against the wall. My smirk grew wider when she didn’t speak up about the roughness. I loomed over Simon, having to keep my head and shoulders low to avoid scraping the ceiling. The little man stumbled backward toward the door, but didn’t leave– his need to be polite stopped him from just turning his back on me. Cute. I reached down, my hand larger than his face now, and gave his hair a playful ruffle: “Whatcha worrying for, Simon? We’re cool, aren’t we?”
“I, um… well, I’d certainly like to think so…!” Simon returned; he managed a small smile for just a moment but it disappeared as he pulled back in surprise when I, without warning, knelt down in front of him - even on my knees, I was damn near matching his height already.
“Well, there you go,” I giggled: “Can you do me a favour and take Ms. Mills back to her room? I think she’s a little stunned,” I gave him a wink, and my calm demeanour seemed to calm Simon down some. He managed a soft smile and gave me a nod: “Uh, sure! Of course…”

Ms. Mills was still staring at me with wide eyes as Simon managed to drag her out the room, the both of them keeping their distance as best they could as they squeezed around me and hurried down the hall. I rose up from my knees again, looking above me - it seemed I might need to get out soon, too.

Poking my head round the door frame, my smile only got wider as I got a good look at what was awaiting me - the commotion had woken up a lot of people and they’d all come to their front doors to see what was going on. Some were making their way down the landing while others stuck to their own doors, but all of them stopped and stared as my head came into view. Knowing I’d get more of a reaction if I entertained their curiosity, I fell onto all fours and crawled out of my old apartment, my hips bumping against the wooden door frame as I did. The dumbfounded faces of the onlookers only got more exaggerated as they would stumble backwards once I began crawling toward them. Approaching open apartments would result in the owners quickly retreating back inside and slamming their doors shut, peeking through the mail slot, through a window or just barely keeping the door open to watch me where they thought they were more safe. A small part of my brain urged me to just barge through the doors and shatter those thoughts, but I held back - that’d be fun, but it’d attract the wrong sort of attention.

My attention was pulled away from those peering eyes as I heard a commotion echoing up the stairwell, over on the opposite side of the long hallway. My head tilted slightly, curious, and I was surprised to see one of my neighbours - I recognised them but it’s not like we ever talked, shouting and ranting and practically dragging a rather confused looking policeman up the steps with them. My neighbour pointed to me.
“There she is!” They exclaimed: “Get them outta here before they bring the whole place down!”

“Um…” The policeman looked me up and down, a rather stupid look on his face. I smirked, realising he wasn’t gonna do anything to me, and rose onto my knees. My head brushed against the ceiling again: “Can I help you, officer?”
“Well, ah…” The somewhat overweight man glanced at the feisty smaller person behind him before looking back toward me: “Ma’am, are… are you alright?”
“Oh, I feel great!” I exclaimed. I blushed a little as those closest to me covered their ears: “Never better, in fact. You couldn’t believe it.”

“Yeah… yeah, I bet…” The officer’s eyes looked over at the scared and astonished individuals in the hall, “Well… could you come with me, ma’am? It seems you're blocking the hallway for the others here.”

“Oh, sure!” I nodded before falling back to all fours with a soft thump on the carpet, before I began crawling again, using my hips to slam some doors in the faces of some peering eyes. The policeman eyed me wearily, but as I approached he began to make his way down the stairs with the person that had been accompanying her shuffling into the corner to avoid me. I gave them a wink and a sly grin before looking down the staircase. After thinking it through for a moment, my brow furrowed.
“Ah… hold on,” I smirked softly, watching the policeman below me as he turned back round to face me: “Sir, it doesn’t seem like I’d fit!”
He quickly noticed what I was referring to - my shoulders were already wider than the staircase, I wouldn’t be able to crawl down so simply.
“Uh… can you not squeeze?” He asked.
“Squeeze? What if I fall and hurt myself?” I asked, my head tilting slightly.
“You won’t, I’m sure! C’mon, we just have to get you out of here!”
“Hmph!” I shook my head: “I’m not going to hurt myself for… well, you haven’t given me a reason to go outside!”
“Well… you’re big! You could hurt someone!” He replied: “Are you going to get bigger…?”
“I think I am right now,” I admitted: “But I can’t grow much bigger. Look at me! There’s no way,” I exclaimed with a soft giggle as I stretched my arms out either side of me.
“Well… we can’t know for certain, right?” The officer asked: “Please, let’s just be safe! Okay?”
I lowered back down and peered down the stairs to get a better look at the policeman. In the dim light I could see his nervous fidgeting and the slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. Aw, poor guy… must be a freaky situation for him.

Wait, for him? This was a freaky situation for me! I smiled and giggled, running my fingers through my long blonde hair: “Ah, alright… alright, fine! I’m coming, little guy, don’t worry.”
I saw him let out a sigh of relief before he stepped down to the landing below, motioning for me to follow. Glancing one more time at the onlookers staring at me and giving them all a wink, I turned onto my side and began sliding my body down the staircase.

I was awoken from my unfortunate accident after who knows how long afterward, my stirring being greeted by a not-so-welcome smack on the top of my head. Immediately I let out a deep grunt and my hand reached up to brush whatever had fallen out of my hair; Grey powder and small pebbles tumbled down onto my legs and the ground around me. My eyes followed it down - in my drowsy state of mind I hadn’t remembered where I was just yet so a sudden movement startled me, my eyes snapping in the direction of the sudden movement. I saw a door, with the silhouette of a person just behind its window but blurred behind the patterns on the glass. At first I was shocked, but I made it there in the end.
“Oh!” I gasped as it all flooded back to me: “Oh, shit! Oh, shit!”  My mouth curled into a wide smile and I laughed heartily, legs kicking from the sudden swell of energy inside me. I winced and the walls around me shook - I hadn’t been paying much attention, or I would have realised sooner that I was nearly curled up in a ball like a baby, my body only just fitting within the now empty and battered stairwell. My kicking had already knocked some cracks into the walls, with plaster tumbling down around my knees. My eyes widened - sure, this wasn’t exactly comfortable, but that wasn’t my focus - holy shit I was strong.

I leant forward to feel the cracks, see how deep they went, and the silhouette watching me from behind one of the doors quickly scurried away. I smirked, but didn’t comment. My focus shifted as my eyes drifted from the figure to the doorway itself - I wondered if my hand could even fit through the doorway. As I stared, however, I noticed my eyeline was continuing to rise.
“Am I still growing??” I asked aloud in awe, and I swore I heard faint voices coming from outside directly after. I tried to shuffle around, but it was hard, the small stairwell was giving me less and less room to move and the rubble and bent beams beneath my backside scratched my skin harshly if I made too sudden a movement. I tried to stand to alleviate this - the stairwell was thin but tall too, so I could rise up with only my knees knocking a few cracks in the wall as I staggered to my feet. I looked down at myself - bar the dust that had settled across my body, I still looked good, maybe even better than I had before! I was happy to see there were no other strange mutations to come with this extraordinary growth spurt, and I ran my hands down my front curiously. I could feel my nerves tingling delightfully with some strange sensation I struggled to explain, but nevertheless it was a welcome one.

I heard shouting again, which pulled my attention to the idea of getting out of this little cell I’d made for myself. I glanced down at the cracks, before looking at the outer wall. Could I…? I wasn’t sure at the time but I was more than happy to try out. I pulled my fist back before throwing it forward, making an impact with the wall that shook the building and sent cracks ripping through the plaster with a heavy CRUNCH.

“... Oowww…” My face scrunched up in pain and I gave my hand a harsh shake - my knuckles were flushed a bright red, brick dust sprinkling down off of my fingers as my whole hand throbbed in pain. I didn’t know why I thought it would have gone any differently. Looked like I’d have to put a little more force into it. I took a deep breath and stepped back, turning my torso until my shoulders faced the wall. I took a deep breath, biting my lip in anticipation before, while letting out a roar of effort, threw my body at and right through the brick wall, the thick rock-like material exploding outwards as my body tore through them. I heard a cluster of surprised screams among the crumbling brick but my vision was blurry and unfocused as pain shot right up my arm and my whole body stiffened. I stumbled forward and my feet thumped down hard against the cold asphalt - maybe I would have been able to regain my balance in any other circumstance, but at my much larger size I had no way to expect just how much heavier I’d become in conjunction; my attempts to recentre myself only resulted in me tripping over my own feet and, with a low grunt, I tumbled forward and fell to the ground, a loud BOOM reverberating through the street.

Of course I just had to fall onto my hurt arm - the bolt of pain went roaring through my body as it got sandwiched between my body and the ground below, though it at least instantly cleared my murky thoughts and vision. I let out a hiss from the aching and lifted my cheek off the ground, my eyes rolling in their sockets as I took a look around. I saw a crowd a few metres away from me, mostly split into pairs as they stared at me with wide eyes. I blinked and they became more clear - police, firemen, some emergency medical officers all in a crowd of civilians that had gathered to find out what was going on. The police were at the front of the crowd, maintaining a barricade that was keeping the civilians from wandering too close to the building, while the other emergency workers were on the other side of the barricade, many of them having fallen back on their butts from my very sudden emergence and subsequent tumble. I lifted my head just a little higher and even then, with my body sprawled across the ground, I was at eye level with those that were standing. Was this all a dream? No way, that fall hurt. But even then, as I rose up into a sitting position and towered over the doll-sized people surrounding me, it was a struggle to accept this as reality.
“... Fuck…” Was all I managed. Some of the civilians stepped backwards nervously, my voice noticeably deeper than what was natural. I couldn’t help but smirk at that and, recognising the amount of eyes all on me at that moment, my chest swelled with unfaltered pride.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” A voice called from behind me. I turned, my eyes scanning the ground and eventually finding the voice’s origin; it was one of the doctors, the only one brave enough to approach my looming form. His cute little body was bathed in my shadow.

“Am I okay?” I boomed in return, letting out a hearty laugh: “Why, do I look like there’s something up with me, little guy?”
The man shrugged, maintaining a casual disposition: “Well, you were groaning in pain just a moment ago, miss.”
“Hm. I guess,” I huffed and began to pull myself to my feet - the resounding gasp from the onlookers made me giggle as I rose over the little crowd, being able to get a feel for my new body as I took a few small steps backward. My steps thumped powerfully and I bit my lip as I felt my weight press down against the ground. Feeling playful,  I bent my torso while keeping my legs straight, my hands on my knees to support me, and I gave the crowd a wink: “Hey! If anyone wants to take a photo with the big giant, now’s the time!”

That caused the crowd to rouse up from their nervous stupor - some, mostly guys, pushed ahead to try and get to me, but the police barricade held them at bay. I snorted out of my nose and the police jumped back in fright as my foot swung over them, planting it right in the middle of the crowd.
“What are you doing?!” One of the officers shouted, his voice a mix of frustration and nervousness. At a glance, I assumed he was the Captain - his what would have been intimidating stature and the few medals on his uniform gave that sort of aura to him.
“What do you think? These people are here to see me!” I returned with a confident smirk as my other foot followed my first, stepping into a gap in the crowd that the mass of onlookers had so kindly made for me.
“Don’t– stay in the barricade!” The Captain shouted, but I just waved his shouting aside.

“C’mon, what do you think I’m gonna do?”
“It’s not that– you’re still growing!” He reminded me, to which I just shrugged.
“Yeah but, like, really slowly.”

“Leave her, she should be fine!” The doctor called to the police officers, “As long as she doesn’t stray too far.” He gave me a wink, and I just smirked back at him.
“What? We’re not here to take orders from you!” The officer, presumably the captain, reminded him with his finger violently stabbing in his direction. The doctor smiled nervously and raised his hands in surrender: “I mean, of course! But… well, I don’t think you’ll be getting her back in with force.”
The police Captain glanced up at me, only to jump back a little as he saw me grinning down at him. I wiggled my eyebrows and he seemed to get the picture
“Okay…” He grumbled: “But as long as she doesn’t leave the street!”

I giggled and shrugged: “Good enough for me!” I gave the doctor a wink - I’d have to properly acquaint myself with him later. But for now, I had more pressing matters at hand as the crowd pushed a little closer toward my feet, all their eyes totally focused on me towering over them. I felt like letting out a squeal of joy, but only just managed to swallow it down.
“What d’you think, little guys? Pretty impressive, huh?” I cooed as I bent my knees to get closer to the crowd. I reached out a hand and my fingers were grabbed individually, them being too thick for a fist to close around them. I giggled, feeling my cheeks go all pink.
“Miss Pink, miss Pink!” One of the girls in the crowd called, pushing through the crowd. Her phone was raised particularly high in the air as she came toward me: “Can I get a photo with you??”
“Of course!” I exclaimed cheerfully. The nickname was cute - I glanced down at my bikini - at least it was better looking than if I’d been in some worn pyjamas. The girl whooped in excitement and squeezed her way through the crowd to get to me. At first I tried to just kneel down to her level, but the tight crowd behind me was way too dense and I soon realised I’d have to lie down to get in shot. I smirked and shrugged - this was no problem!
The excited girl let out the most adorable squeal as my hand wrapped around her torso and I heaved her up into the air. She giggled, legs flailing wildly as I lifted her toward my face: “That better, huh?”
“Totally!” She exclaimed.
“Hey!! Stop that, you’re acting rashly!” That shouty captain yelled at me, but I just flicked that annoying fucker off before tilting my head so I was in frame for the girl’s photo. There was a flash as I pulled a silly face and then I put her back down, letting her hurry back into the crowd. Not a moment passed before others eagerly stepped forward for their turn to take a picture with me and I was happy to oblige, but I heard another yell from behind me and grumbled - I turned and watched with disdain as the police captain and his officers began pushing and prodding my adoring crowd away from me, forming a new barricade and blocking them off from getting too close to me.
“Hey! The doctor said this was fine!” I shouted - I saw some of the officers and civilians wince from my yell. The captain turned, glowering at me.
“Well, he’s not the boss here! I am!” He reminded me, to which I just crossed my arms and sat down. I yelped, as did some of the officers, as I felt the physical barricade behind me crunch beneath my backside and instinctively lifted my ass to get a look at what happened.
“Whoa-ho…” I murmured as I looked at the wooden fence, it having been crushed to splinters before I’d even realised.
“Miss Velasquez!!” The captain shouted, causing my head to whip in his direction, my eyebrows arching and a scowl growing on my face as he called me by my last name: “Move, now!!”

It took me a moment to actually comprehend what he just called me. Velasquez… I hadn’t been called that in so long. Not even my prick of a boss would call me that. And this guy… had the nerve…

“Do. Not. Call me that,” I snarled in return, causing the officers to stumble backwards nervously, my voice sounding almost like the growl of a t-rex or something. I would have chuckled at that hadn’t I already been mad - this captain was really starting to piss me off. However before either of us could shout anything else, I felt a tiny hand touch my hip. I glanced back down - it was the doctor, looking up at me and giving me a reassuring smile. I was still pissed, so I didn't exactly return it, but the sight was curious - I had to be at least thirty feet tall by now, so the little man looked like he could fit snugly under me if I were to just… let myself fall down on top of him, or something. Heh.
“You two, please, let’s calm down a bit. This, ah– isn’t exactly a normal situation for any of us, so no one’s sure what to do! You’re both worried I’m sure.”
Me, worried? Pah. As if. I did notice a change in the Captain’s mood - a little bit of emotion showing other than anger, huh? Unexpected, especially from a policeman. 

“Just… keep her in there!” He shouted, jabbing a finger at me before shaking his head and turning round.
“Ugh, you don’t have the right to boss me around…” I snarled, but the doctor gave me another pat on the side.
“Come on, I’d like to make sure you’re all healthy, anyway. We should make sure this… growth of yours doesn’t have any nasty side effects.”

I grumbled, but I had to admit that wasn’t an unreasonable request. And finding out that I’d be okay would allow me to enjoy this strange day to the fullest.

I lay my steadily expanding body down flat on the ground for the doctor’s, shuffling a little on my back to make myself comfortable before the medical officers approached me, some with a bit less nerves than others. They’d begin to prod me and slip their needles into my skin - I was never really scared of needles, but I was nevertheless glad that I was big enough to not have to worry about the sting.
“Miss V…” The kind doctor from earlier approached me, no doubt about to refer to me how the police captain did, but he seemed to remember my reaction to that and bit his lip before he could finish.
“... Miss… Pink?” He called, and my head turned in his direction. At this point I was definitely forty feet tall, at minimum, the world steadily looking smaller and smaller to me.

“Yeah? You alright?” I asked him.
“I just wanted to ask if, well…” He chuckled, seeming embarrassed. I chuckled a little back - seeing people get nervous around me never failed to make my heart flutter a little.

Before he could finish his sentence, I decided to chime in: “What, you want your doctor friends to climb onto me or something?”
“--Huh?” The doctor blinked, making me burst out into a fit of joyous giggling.
“I’m just joking!” I assured him, though I did find the visual of a bunch of nerdy doctors trying to respectfully traverse my body an amusing one: “What did you want to ask?”
The doctor chuckled in return and lifted a small torch in his right hand: “I just wanted to ask if I could check out your eyes and mouth? If that’s okay with you.”
“Sure thing, doc!” I nodded and turned my body onto its side, causing many of the other medical officers to jump in surprise from the sudden movement. I could see him getting nervous as all my attention turned solely onto him, as evident through my whole body pointing toward him now. His eyes darted about a little and I grinned, my lips puckering softly as I curled my legs closer to us both.
“Let me just…” He leant in close, his body filling up my vision. My eye had to be the size of a dinner plate at this point - no doubt this was a strange sight for the both of us. He shone the light into my pupil and I cringed back from the sudden flash.
“Ah–sorry!” He gasped.
“It’s alright…” I murmured, but then I felt a little pull on my eyelid. I couldn’t help but giggle: “Don’t open my eye for me!”
“I’m sorry!” He replied with a soft chuckle of his own, and once we both calmed I managed to hold my eye open long enough for him to get a good look. Once he was done he quickly pulled away, and I lifted my head and took a moment to blink the dancing lights out of my vision.
“Oh, I haven’t asked… What's your name, eh? What do I remember you by?” I asked as I lay my cheek back down against the ground.
“Oh,  Alba works just fine,” The doctor replied: “And… how should I refer to you, miss?”
I smiled and tapped my chin: “Um… Miss Pink works fine, I think. No– Pinky!” I grinned: “Yeah, Pinky! That has much more of a ring to it.”
Alba laughed: “Alright, then. Pinky it is! May I have a look in your mouth now, Pinky?”
I giggled and nodded: “Sure, though I may risk a nibble,” I teased before opening my mouth wide. He fell onto one knee to duck and have a good look inside, using his torch to look around. After a moment he pulled back out and nodded: “I’ll be right back with your results, Miss Pinky.”
I gave him a nod and he turned back toward his work mates. I took the change to sit back up, rubbing my arm and wincing as I pulled myself into a more comfortable position.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to rest, as I saw the captain approaching me. I frowned - he was much too close as is, I didn’t exactly want him any closer.
“Velasquez!” He shouted with his usual commanding. I snarled at him, but he didn’t seem as fazed as before - he was getting used to me, unfortunately.
“Someone named Lucy is here to see you. Do you know her?”
I blinked: “Lucy? Yeah, of course I know her!” I crawled toward the barricade before the Captain said anything else and scanned the crowd. It took a second to get used to, it being a bit hard to see faces at first. But I was on all fours, and I could see well enough to…

“Puella!” Lucy called from the crowd, pushing right to the front and waving both arms in the air - yeah, no way I could miss her. A smile grew on my face and I reached forward to grab the small girl: “Lucy!”
“Hey! No grabbing!!” The Captain shouted but I just ignored him and lifted Lucy right up into the air. She yelped in surprise, grabbing onto my hand with white knuckles as if she were on a fairground ride, and her feet kicked in the air as her eyes darted around before focusing on my now much larger face.
“Puella, what… what happened to you?” Lucy asked, her voice overflowing with astonishment.

“I dunno!” I replied with a shrug: “But how fucking cool is it?” I asked, before an excited laugh escaped my mouth. Lucy winced, but I just giggled again: “Aw, a bit loud for you, am I? Well now you know how I feel.”

“Bh… But, Puella…” Lucy managed, but I raised my finger and placed it right on her face - an oversized shush.
“Don’t call me that anymore,” I said, a hint of seriousness in my otherwise bouncy attitude: “Just call me Pinky, okay?” I pulled my finger tip away.

“Okay… Pinky… why Pinky?” She asked. I motioned down to my body and she followed my hand, before letting out a gasp: “Holy shit! Pue– Pinky! Was it the bikini that did this to you?”
I burst out laughing from the very idea of that, while Lucy had to cover her ears and turn away from my mouth.
“Hahaha! Fuck me, Lucy, don’t be daft. As if,” I smirked: “I have no idea what happened to me but holy shit, it feels good!” I exclaimed. I rose up to my feet suddenly, triggering some cries of alarm from both Lucy and the police down at my feet. I had to look around - this was the first time I’d stood up and really taken a good look at my new perspective. Holy shit, I was big - I was reaching the height of the apartment complexes of the suburban street, able to look into the windows all around me if I wanted, and I was noticeably heavier as well as bigger than before, though it didn’t cause me any discomfort. I wondered if I’d gotten any stronger. I took a step just to know what it felt like, and I could feel the impact of my sole against the asphalt - I was surprised it didn’t crack, though the thought made me giggle.
“Look at me, Lucy! Look at what it’s attracting!” I exclaimed before pointing to the crowd of people staring in awe at me, snapping pictures and videos of me as I loomed over them.
“Velasquez, for God’s sake, calm down!” The police Captain shouted, but I decided to ignore him again. It was surprisingly easy, as his voice seemed to keep getting quieter. Lucy followed my eyes, she too took in the view from so high, and couldn’t help but smile and whistle from the sight. She looked back at me, a newfound excitement of her own in her eyes.
“You’re finally getting an audience, huh?” She asked. I nodded, a smug grin on my face.
“Took them long enough to realise how cool you were!” Lucy exclaimed, before the both of us giggled in unison.

Our moment of joy was cut short though when the Captain shouted up to me again, this time with a megaphone to make sure I listened.
“Puella Velasquez!” He barked up to me - my head snapped down to look at him, making sure my disdain was evident on my face.
“Put the woman down and calm down! We’re moving you to a more secure location very soon.”

“Wh–!” I blinked, taking a step back from the Captain: “Excuse me?”
“I said calm down!”
“You can’t imprison me! I haven’t done anything wrong!” I retorted.
“Yeah, she’s done nothing wrong!” Lucy added, pulling tongues down at the Captain.
“It’s not–” The Captain growled and shook his head. I grinned: it totally was.
He lifted the megaphone back up: “For the safety of both you and everyone else, you’re coming with us! Need I remind you that you’re still growing?”
“So? I’m not gonna step on anyone!” I returned, though I was certainly considering the option of making him the exception. Lucy seemed to notice the frustration on my face and patted my thumb, hoping to make me feel better. It did– I smiled softly at her and brought her to my cheek, where she offered up an awkward, if well-meaning, hug.

“This is not up for debate,” The Captain growled sternly. My eyes wandered away from the Captain and down the road - it was a long stretch of empty asphalt: the police probably blocked cars from entering further down. Perfect. I looked back down at the Captain and grinned.
“... Don’t… don’t, Velasquez!” He shouted.
“I told you not to call me that!” I shouted in return, beginning to hop on my feet: “And you’re right: this isn’t up for debate.”

“So? Where to, Lucy?” I asked curiously, turning to face my friend as I skipped down the street.
She giggled, raising a brow: “Uh, how should I know? I don’t exactly know how to hide a giant.”

“Don’t be silly,” I chuckled: “I said nothing about hiding. We can go wherever we want! Where would be the best place?”
“Maybe somewhere with some more space?” Lucy suggested, looking down at my feet as I tip-toed around cars: “Seems a bit cramped for you.”
“So? I like the crowds,” I replied with a shrug, giving the tiny staring faces below me cheerful waves and winks as I passed: “You don’t get stage fright, do you?” I teased.
“‘Course not!” Lucy blinked: “So, what? You just gonna show off to the crowds for a while? That your big plan?”
“Well, why not?” Pinky shrugged: “At least for now, anyway… I’ll think of something bigger soon I’m sure.”
“What, like construction work? Helping cats down from trees? Taking old men to work?” Lucy giggled.
“Pff, as if! Much more than that, I’m gonna be a star!” I scoffed: “I’ll travel the world, letting people marvel at me and my strength…” My steps slowed, and I looked down beside me. Those that met my eyes would stumble backward nervously, but lucky for them I wasn’t interested in them so much as the street light standing over them. Curiously I wrapped my hand around it before giving a tug - there was resistance, but I nevertheless managed to rip the metal pole right out of the ground with some cement still clutching onto its base. The little people around it cried out in fright and turned tail, making me giggle: “Hey, come on! I know what I’m doing!”
That wasn’t exactly true: I hadn’t the slightest of what I was capable of, but ripping the lamppost out of the ground made me blush - if this was just a taste of what was to come as I continued to grow, I couldn’t wait to see what my peak would be.

Lucy seemed just as shocked as I whirled the pole around in my grip playfully: “Holy shit, Pinky… be careful!”
“Whaaat? I’m always careful!” I responded, before letting it drop back down to the ground haphazardly. I heard the sound of glass shatter as it fell on top of a car and I winced, before picking up my pace and hurrying right on. My ears perked up as I heard the sound of sirens in the distance.
“Uh oh…” Lucy murmured: “We should get moving, before they catch up with us!”
“Relax! I’m sure we have plenty of…” I glanced behind me to see if I could spot themm, and seeing my trail of abandoned cars and uh, ‘minor’ destruction made me realise I was making this stupidly easy to follow my tracks, not to mention all the people who’d no doubt have seen me.
“... Time. Hm. Maybe not.”
“We should sneak somewhere we won’t be seen as easily!” Lucy suggested and I raised a brow.
“Uhh… where would that be, exactly?”
“I dunno! An alleyway, or something!”
“Okay, okay!” I rolled my eyes and looked for the nearest alley. At this point, I was getting pretty big: I was unsure if I could even fit in one of them, but Lucy insisted I at least try. With the sirens steadily growing louder, I found myself in a thin alleyway and turned my body to the side. I let Lucy sit on my shoulder, the small girl clutching onto my blonde hair so as not to fall off, before I cautiously began to worm my way into the alley. Much to my dismay, the place was filthy - rubbish tossed everywhere, shallow puddles that splashed beneath my feet and packed with dumpsters that I had to take care not to kick over. My butt, chest and knees scraped against the brick walls either side of me and I felt a pipe bend and snap behind me as I pulled myself deeper into the back street. There was a ten foot tall fence raised right in the middle of the alley - it wasn’t anything I’d have to worry about, as I was more than tall enough to just step over it. But suddenly there was a tug on my hair - my head spun round and Lucy reeled back as hair smacked her in the face.
“Oh!” I whispered, raising a hand to keep her balance and stop her from tumbling off: “Sorry…!”
“Quiet…!” Lucy brought a finger to her mouth as the sirens grew in their boisterousness. My eyes fixed on the alleyway’s entrance, watching carefully for the cars (as if they’d be hard to miss). Unfortunately, something else came around the corner first - a person, no doubt someone I’d passed earlier, looked down the alley nervously. The moment he saw me squeezed uncomfortably between the two buildings, he called out to someone and pointed. I heard the sound of car engines rumbling as they slowed.

“Uh oh…” I murmured and began to move again, causing Lucy to gasp in surprise and tug on my hair to keep a good hold. Unfortunately by that time I’d totally forgotten about the fence to my left - my foot tried to push through it and managed to snap it, but the barbed wire lining the top caught onto my skin and I winced, causing me to flinch and step down abruptly, right on top of them. I let out a deep bellow of pain and my body twisted instinctively - Lucy cried out and was thrown against my neck as my hips and shoulders smashed into the bricks either side of me, dust cascading down my sides as the walls crunched.
“Ach– sorry!” I exclaimed, wincing as I pulled my foot off of the downed fence.
“Hey! Stop right there!” I heard a police officer order from behind me. I tried my best to turn round, my body grinding more against the walls and pulling down small chunks of brick with my twists against them. I smiled - an attempt to look confident, but it only made me look even more awkward.
“Catch me if you can!” I teased. I began pushing my way along with a lot more of a hurry in my step, pushing aside dumpsters and forcing my way through with little focus on the damage I was causing on everything around me.
“Hoooly… shit…” Lucy marvelled, staring down at my body rip its way through the tight space it found itself in until I finally burst out onto the other side, my feet stumbling and crashing against a parked car, slamming a deep indent into its roof and smashing the window.

I flinched and pulled my foot back instantly: “Shit– no one was in that, right?”
“I… don’t think so…” Lucy murmured: “... You should check.”
I gently gave the car a push with my foot.
“Pinky, that’s not checking.”
“Okay! Okay…” My muscles tensing as I prepared myself, I fell onto all fours and pushed my head against the ground and looked inside.
“Oh it’s empty thank God,” I sighed, rising back up.

“Hey, giant! Stop right there!” A voice shouted behind me, followed by the cocking of a gun. My head spun round and I stared down at the police man before me, noticing others rapidly making their way down the alleyway. I hoped the rubble would at least slow them down. But my focus was mostly on the one with the gun, who was pointing it right at my face. Lucy bit her lip.
“... You’re not gonna use that,” I scoffed, calling his bluff. The officer steadied himself: “You are under arrest for evading police custody and causing significant damage to property! I am more than willing to take you in through force.”

“Please,” I rolled my eyes and stomped intentionally close to the officer, making the small man flinch as it left small cracks in the pavement. I rose up off of my knees and to my full height, using one hand to make sure Lucy didn’t tumble off: “By force? Look at me! You can’t do anything.”
I glanced up - as I’d hoped, the other officers were having trouble navigating through the fallen bricks and mortar I’d left for them (even if unintentionally).
“You want to follow me? Go right ahead, I love the attention,” I teased, giving the officer a cheeky peace sign before turning and thundering off down the road, just as the other police began spilling from the tight alleyway. I heard some of them shouting for them to stop and just smirked - I let my foot fall on top of another empty car, giving a moment to let my weight crush the metal and glass like a tin can beneath me, just as an example of what I could do if they continued their chase. I glanced back at them - they weren’t running after me, just staring. I wondered what they were thinking for a moment, before turning away and continuing down the road towards where I hoped I’d find my crowd.

The city looked so different now at this height, but I was beginning to understand why they called it the urban jungle: I really felt like I was wading through foliage with how careful my footing had to be and how street lamps, power lines and such would brush against my hips and sides as I walked. As things got busier, I found myself moving slower and slower to give those before me time to scurry out the way before I took a step. I’d say it was annoying, but it totally wasn’t: the feeling was almost exhilarating with all their little eyes dead-set on me as I moved, it really made me feel like a superstar. I’d wave as I passed, not opposed to nudging cars out the way with my foot as I moved, whether they were empty or not. Lucy seemed just as enraptured as I, her eyes darting all about the place as we moved onwards. I heard some screams, but that was bound to happen with how I looked - I just decided to take them as screams of excitement. As I walked, I heard another sound but this time overhead - my head tipped back to see a helicopter - a news helicopter - fly right over me, a camera pointing out of its side and pointing down at me. I felt my heart swell with joy as I raised a hand and waved cheerfully at the camera.
“You see that, Lucy?” I asked: “I’m on TV!”
Lucy giggled: “So am I technically, though I don’t think they can see me from there.”
“Want me to lift you up?” I suggested, already raising a hand, but Lucy quickly tossed that idea aside: “No no, your shoulder is fine.”
“Suit yourself,” I shrugged. My eyes switched focus and I scanned my surrounding area, looking over the buildings around me in search of a more open place to sit. I soon found my target - there was a town square just a few blocks away. So I spun on my heels and began striding right toward it, my attention less on my surroundings. I flinched as I accidentally kicked over a truck, my head darting down to look at it sliding across the ground a little.
“Ah! Sorry!” I exclaimed. I waited for a moment to listen for any sound of someone who needed help but, hearing none, I just shrugged and stepped over it on my way.

The crowd quickly dispersed as I settled in a sitting position right in the middle of the square - I felt the rock tiles crack and separate beneath my butt and giggled softly, shifting about a little just to get a feel of it. I glanced around - some of the crowd had pushed themselves up against walls, but most had either ran into the surrounding shops or fled down the roads to their cars or wherever was out of sight for me. I shrugged: if they wanted to miss out, that was on them. I waved to the helicopter again, which was hovering overhead.
“Hey!” I called up to it: “It’s safe to come down, come on!”
Lucy grinned: “Okaaay… while you do that, I’m gonna have a look in some of these shops,” She then slid down my body, slipping off my chest and down into my lap with a soft thud. I playfully brushed her off my thigh and she giggled, giving my knee a shove before hurrying off into the nearest shop to explore.

I watched the helicopter hover for a few more minutes, fists balled in an eager hope that they’d take up my offer. I even scooted back toward the buildings to make room for it should they decide to land. And, thankfully, they did - slowly they’d come down to the ground among the now mostly empty town square and, before it had even properly set down, a news reporter had hopped out of the chopper and, calling for her cameraman to follow, hurried up toward me. My head tilted slightly - they were so small, them scurrying up to me like happy mice was just so adorable.

The reporter stopped at my feet, my shadow coating her as I leant forward curiously, and cleared her throat.

“Miss… Pinky, is it?” She asked: “That’s what I’ve heard you being called. online.”
“That’s me!” I exclaimed, and the reporter took a step back in surprise. I blinked - oh yeah, my voice must be really loud by now! I hadn’t even thought of that.
“Do you prefer any other name?”
I quickly shook my head: “Pinky is perfect.”
“Well, alright, Pinky! We’ve been following you around for a little while now, as you may have noticed,” She began: “My name is Minerva Montgomery, I work for Station 8 News. And I must say, you’ve caused quite a stir! Pictures of you are flooding Instagram and Facebook.”
“Oh, are they really…?” I asked, my cheeks glowing pink from the idea: “So I’m today’s star, am I?”
“You sure are!” Minerva exclaimed with a confident tone, though her taking another step back as I leant in closer suggested quite the opposite: “As you must imagine, Pinky, people are quite desperate for answers - what happened to you?”
“Honestly? I have no idea,” I replied casually: “I just woke up, and suddenly I was growing! Nothing was really all that different otherwise to my usual, it just kind of… happened.”
“Is that so?” Minerva asked: “And what does it feel like? Does it hurt?”
“Not at all! In fact, I feel better than ever! Like, look what I can do now!” I glanced to my side, at another empty car beside me. I threw my fist down, smashing the roof and causing the whole thing to bounce from the impact as the ground trembled around me. Minerva jumped back in surprise and I just giggled: “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Uh… well, of course!” Minerva replied: “But you really have no idea what happened to you? Not a clue? Do you plan to find out?”

I simply shrugged: “Eh, I don’t really care. It’s happened, and I’m not really interested in reversing it!”
Minerva glanced at my feet cautiously, before looking back up at me with an inquisitive expression: “... Even though you’re still growing?”
“I am?” I asked - honestly, I couldn’t really notice at this point, but I figured it’d be more noticeable to the little people than me anyway.
Heh, little people– I guess we were at that point now, huh?

“Yes, what if you never stop, Pinky? What will you do then?”

I bit my lip - honestly, given that sort of scenario, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. But that was something to worry about another time, so I simply waved that aside - I’d cross that bridge when I got to it.

“I guess we’ll have to find out!” With that I rose to my feet, giving a wave to those around me that still had the guts to stick around: “Come on out, guys, I won’t bite! I promise!”

Unfortunately, the sound of police sirens quickly cut off the idea of me sticking around. I grumbled before looking down at Minerva who was backing away from me as I towered over her.
“Haha,” I giggled, before gasping: “Oh! Hey, Minerva! If you get back in your chopper, I can totally carry you round with me! Then we can continue the interview!”
“Oh, that sure is tempting, but–” Minerva began, while I looked over the roofs around me and could see the flashing of police lights steadily approaching: “--I’ll have to pass. And sounds like you should get going!”
“Aw, fine,” I grumbled, stepping over her casually: “Well, suit yourself,” I fell onto my knees once I’d stepped toward the shop Lucy was in and pushed myself down to the floor to see inside. Lucy was happily looking about the shoes section, while those inside were just staring at me in awe and horror. I tried not to pay them too much mind.
“Lucy!” I shouted, making the glass around me shiver: “It’s time to go, come on!”
“Oh! Okay!” Lucy called, grabbing some shoes and running toward me - the others were too astounded by me to do much about that. I smirked and extended a hand which Lucy hopped up onto as quickly as she could, scrambling across my fingers and into my palm. Once I was sure she was safe, I lifted my body back up off the ground. Just in time, too - they police whirled round one of the corners, the cars skidding to a halt at each of the exits to the square in an attempt to block me in. I just smirked.

“Puella!” The Captain shouted, his head poking out from one of the cars. The other police stayed in their cars, too: it seemed they were all ready to chase me should I run: “This is your final warning. We’re going to take you somewhere where we can fix this, this is not negotiable!”
“I know!” I giggled - his voice sounded quieter than it was last time I heard it, I noticed. I glanced at the cars, then back at the Captain. I stepped forward, taking a moment to feel the ground softly quake as my foot touched the ground. I balled my free hand into a fists and tensed my muscles - I was always quite a slim, small girl, so I wasn’t used to being strong, but… wow, I felt so powerful. Like I could do anything!

“I’m going to step over you little guys, and leave,” I said before shrugging: “Feel free to stop me! If you can.”
“Puella, this isn’t a game…!” The Captain warned one last time. I decided not to pay him any heed.
“I told you not to call me that,” I growled in return. I stepped forward, just a few feet from the cars at this point. The Captain reached for something in his belt and I frowned, assuming the worst, and kicked the car aside in reaction. I couldn’t help but wince as the car flew backwards, rolling across the ground before knocking into the side of the building and smashing the windows, before the dented vehicle came to a stop on its side, steaming gently with a notable crater in its side where my foot had connected with it. I had not meant to hit it that hard, but the other officers didn’t see it that way. Neither did the onlookers with some of them screaming and bolting, while Minerva continued to record behind me. I gulped - that’s what I got for getting over my head.
“Ah, shit!” I exclaimed. I reached down toward the crashed car to check on the Captain inside, but as I bent down the officers around me suddenly pulled out all their guns, pointing them right up at my face. I gasped and pulled back: “Hey…! Come on, it was an accident!”

“Bullshit!” One of them shouted back up at me, and I bit my lip. Fuck, this wasn’t good. I could hear Minerva rambling on behind me in her reporter-voice, though I couldn’t hear the specifics of what she was saying.
“Wait, wait–” I pleaded, taking a step back from the cars, but I’d riled them up enough - they were at their limit.

Not wanting to wait around to be shot at, I spun on my heel and strode right over Minerva, bolting down the closest street to me. I jumped right over the police cars with ease, slamming down on the other side with enough force to knock many cars around me into the air, making their alarms blare in a panic. It only took a few seconds for the sound of sirens to begin following me down the road and, looking over my shoulder, I saw the squad of cars hot on my tail as I ran and held Lucy close to my chest for her safety. I found myself approaching the streets that were still running with cars and trucks, this one in particular a four-lane main road, but I didn’t slow down - I knew that traffic was my best chance at losing them.
“Woohoo! Our first proper police chase!” Lucy cheered, and my eyes flicked down toward her.
“You really think we should be so happy right now?” I asked. Lucy giggled, looking up at me with a beaming smile on her face: “Well, you can’t tell me this isn’t exhilarating!” She exclaimed.
“Well…” I bit my lip. As wrong as it felt, she was right. My heart was thumping hard in my chest, blood pumping, breath quick - it wasn’t something I’d felt in a long time! I couldn’t help but laugh, “You got a good way at looking at things, Lucy.”
“I know,” Lucy replied snarkily with a flick of her hair.

Cars swerved and bucked as I ran down the road, their drivers having to make violent turns to avoid my stomping feet. Not like I was trying to step on them - I was keeping track of my surroundings, at least, but I couldn’t spare much time planning my every step with the police coming after me. What I did want though was to cause a little chaos, and that was exactly what I was doing - the astonished and panicked drivers would smack and ram their cars into one another, too enraptured by my towering beauty, I thought to myself. Before I knew it, there was a well-enforced pile up in my wake, the crashed cars blocking up the whole road and forcing the police cars to halt. I let out a rumbling laugh and gave them a wave before picking up my pace, sprinting down the road and far away from my pursuers.

After a minute I let myself slow down, my chest heaving: it was a lot harder to run at this size, I had quickly realised. I stumbled to a halt and let myself lay my back against a building to give my legs a rest as I caught my breath. I lifted Lucy to my face and smiled as I saw her giggling maniacally.
“Hahaha, that was awesome!” She cheered, leaning forward to meet my gaze: “I still can’t believe this is happening! With you– and them– and– well, everything! Like, holy shit!”
I giggled back, just giving a modest shrug: “I mean… yeah, I guess it is pretty weird,” I said before sticking my tongue out at Lucy playfully. My attention turned to my surroundings, and the first thing I noticed were all the eyes on me: in the street, behind the glass of windows, in the shadows of alleys and other hiding spots… Everyone had their focus on me. My heart thumped in my chest, but not from exertion this time - from exhilaration. I felt my cheeks flushed and I couldn’t help but let out a giggle as I stepped forward. I spread out my arms and slowly spun round, letting everyone get a good look at me. I glanced at the ground and an idea swirled about in my mind - if I was going to show off, I might as well show off my best traits. So I rose my foot before slamming it down on a car, popping its carapace and digging its wrecked remains into the ground with my heel, leaving a ditch ground into the road.
“Lucy, am I still growing?” I asked, giving her a glance as I watched the little people around me back off in fright, some recording and taking photos.
“‘Course!” She returned: “Why?”
“Good,” I grinned, sauntering down the road and letting everyone else make room for me: “I think it fits me - I’d like to see the world ignore me then, ha!”

“Still on about that, huh…?” Lucy asked, her smile fading a little bit: “Hey, Pinky, I mean - it’s obvious you’re awesome! You don’t have to keep considering what everyone else thinks of you.”
I just rolled my eyes: “You don’t get it, Lucy. You’re content being a nobody, so you don’t really get what it means to leave a mark, you know? But I do – that’s what I want more than anything.”

“Yeah, I don’t get it,” Lucy replied, shaking her head. I frowned at her reaction, but just shrugged it off. I picked up my pace slightly, wanting to find a proper crowd to show myself off to.

I eventually found a town square, it was still bustling with people. I was primed to begin a little show of my own, but I quickly noticed their attention wasn’t on me. I blinked, expecting them to have turned to stare at me the moment I showed up, but they all had their backs to me. Curiosity had me glance at what had had their attention - they were all watching one of the large screens in the square, this one showing the news. To my glee, I saw myself on the screen! From the perspective of some rando at the side of the road, recording me thumping right past them as I ran from what I imagined was the police earlier. I leant forward and stared in shock - I hadn’t realised just how big I looked from that perspective! I let out a happy little giggle and that caught the attention of some of the crowd - their cries and gasps of shock as I loomed over them quickly caught the attention of others, and soon enough the whole square was back to staring at the real deal. But I didn’t return their gaze - my eyes were glued to the screen, my cheeks burning brightly and a big smile plastered on my face as I stared at all the footage that had been captured of me. I thought I heard them calling me ‘dangerous’ or ‘a threat’ or something, but I was too enraptured in the videos to care.
“Hah… I look good from all angles, huh?” I murmured to myself. I indulged for a while, trying to copy the poses I saw in the videos that I liked, all while the crowd dispersed around me, backing off and giving me space. But then I heard something that grabbed me by the collar and ripped me right out of my ecstasy.

“We have Puella’s father, Kristian Velasquez, to comment on these bizarre circumstances.”

Then he appeared on screen and every muscle in my body tensed. Lucy gasped and pushed at my fingers as I clenched her in my fist: “Ach– P-Pinky…!”

I didn’t really hear her back then, though - my focus was on the screen, and the man filling it up with his vile face.
“This is Puella? Are you serious?” He exclaimed, his grating tone echoing through my ears: “Six years, and this is what becomes of her?” I watched him stifle a snicker beneath his cold grimace: “I’d say I’d be disappointed but, really, I didn’t expect much better. Alright, she’s a freak now, but other than that… what, she’s some hoodlum that goes round causing a ruckus? Is that really newsworthy these days? Please.”

My lips curled back into a snarl and I stepped forward, glaring right into the eyes of my father: “Bastard…”

“Surely, the appearance of a giant woman is worth looking into, don’t you think, Mr. Velasquez?” The reporter enquired, sounding puzzled at his indifference toward the situation.

“Pinky! Pinky, listen!” Lucy called out to me as she pulled tirelessly against my ear lobe, trying to get me to pay attention to her. Unfortunately for her, I was feeling particularly stubborn and knew that all she’d want to do is pull me off my path.

“I know what you’re thinking, we can’t go confront your dad! We’ll be in big trouble if we do!”

I simply scoffed at the warning, to Lucy’s dismay, but honestly it wasn’t like we weren’t already in big trouble with the police trying to take us to God knows where.

“Besides, isn’t he somethin’ of a big deal too? Won’t he be protected, or somethin’?”

“No,” I replied simply as I stomped down the street, my eyes deadset on the horizon.

“Pinky, please! I don’t want you to get hurt!” Lucy replied. I finally gave her a glance, but I could tell it wasn’t the sort of look she was hoping for.I grinned at her and balled my fists.

“I think I’ll be just fine.”

I was quickly making my way away from the taller buildings, finally giving my growing body the chance to stretch its arms and legs with all the newly found free space around me. I hadn’t realised just how claustrophobic those ever-tightening streets were, and with buildings out the way I realised just how far I could see - the houses only reached my hips at best, so I could survey the whole of the suburban area from where I was standing. Even in my anger, I couldn’t help but admire the view. It only reaffirmed my thoughts - if I was nothing, I wouldn’t have such a magnificent look on the world.

The sound of blades chopping through the air caught my attention - my head jerked up towards the sky and I saw a news helicopter hovering high overhead, following me along on my stroll with no doubt a camera or two pointed right at me. So they were planning on following me, huh? Nothing that could be done about that. I grinned at the idea of disgracing my dad on live television, just as he did me. Another cry from Lucy went unnoticed as I picked up my pace, my feet slamming hard against the ground and kicking up asphalt and mud as I strode ahead.
I kept my eyes trained on them as I tried to figure out what they were saying about me, but it was difficult to say the least: they were so tiny, and so far away. I couldn’t catch what they were saying, especially with the ruckus I was making from simply walking, but the body language was clear enough for me to understand - they were no doubt sensationalising my supposed ‘rampage’, and I was happy to provide.

“Out of the way!” I’d bellow down to my viewers down on the street - I wouldn’t slow down for them, even as I kicked aside cars that were still holding their drivers. I did warn them, so it was up to them to move. Besides, with the cameras on me, it was time to put on a proper show.

“Puella!!” Lucy roared, causing my head to snap in her direction with a scowl on my face.

“That’s not my name anymore, Lucy,” I warned, but she didn’t seem all too fazed.

“Enough of this, you’re gonna hurt someone!” Her eyes kept darting from my face to the ground and back again: “Come on, it was fun before, but you’re going overboard!”

“Am not!” I huffed: “Lucy, you don’t get it. This is what they want to see!” I pointed up at the helicopter: “Everyone expects it, and they’re just waiting for it.”

“It? What is it?” Lucy asked.

“You know! Causing a bit of chaos,” I grinned.

“And this is somehow going to prove your dad wrong, huh?” Lucy challenged.

“I–” I grit my teeth: “I’m putting on a show, is all! When he sees the traction I’ve gotten, he’ll have to admit the truth!”

“And this will get you traction?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah!” I replied, as if that were obvious: “People love a bad girl, Lucy. A rebel! I’ll be that rebel.”
I glanced at Lucy’s worried expression and managed a gentle smile: “And, trust me - it looks worse than it actually is.”

Lucy looked down off my shoulder at the ground again as I kicked aside trucks, crushed street lamps and let print after print deep in the road’s surface. My eyes were on her though, and she bit her lip, but eventually did not and looked back up at me with a smile: “I mean…” She chuckled a little: “It is pretty cool.”

“There you go! Damn right it’s cool!” I laughed, raising a finger to give Lucy a gentle pat on the head. She complained and pushed my finger away, but it seemed I’d convinced her.

Giggling softly, my attention turned back down to the ground. My brow furrowed a little as I focused on each swing of my legs, the sensations of my shins cutting through the air as it fought back against my movements with every step. I caught a glimpse of a lot of panicked little people bolting out of my path as I moved, and it made me think - while I was just having a conversation, I was causing so much chaos down below without even a thought. That… quite nearly threw me for a loop. Like, just how strong was I? It had been a good while since I’d grown, and in that time I was pretty sure I was inching onto the 100ft mark. Like, I was huge, kicking trucks aside like toys as I walked and even leaving imprints in the ground from my own feet. Like I was walking on sand, or something. I looked behind me, and bit my lip - it really was looking like a giant monster stomping through a city at this point, huh? I couldn’t help but be in awe of myself - that’s so fucking cool and so fucking hot. I was glad I was getting into this whole giant thing because man, it was fun.

With a skip in my booming steps, I’d managed to shove aside those cruel words from my father just like I did anything else that got in my way. ‘When he sees me in the flesh… Well, he’ll eat his words, to say the least,’ I thought to myself with a cocky grin on my face. A few more minutes, and I’d found my destination - nestled down one of the more affluent streets, one of the houses was a little more run down than the rest. I grinned and stomped towards it, more than happy to ruin this street of pompous pricks as I pushed aside the thick foliage of the trees around me to get a better look at where I was stepping. I could see him waiting on his front porch - I would have been surprised he knew I was coming, but… well, you’d have to be both blind and deaf not to. He was sitting on a wooden chair, his eyes glowering at me as I lowered my body down so I wasn’t so engulfed by the healthy trees surrounding me. I looked down at him with a smug grin, making sure my shadow coated both him and his house. Gotta get that good imagery, after all.

A few seconds passed, and neither of us said a word. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I expected him to react. Be a little scared, maybe? Shocked? In awe? All good options.

Unfortunately my dad wasn’t so up to entertaining my fantasies.

“So, what, are you going to keep staring?” He asked, arms crossed: “I would assume you came to tell me something. Well? Spit it out already!”

My face scrunched up when I didn’t get the reaction I wanted, and Lucy yelped as she almost slipped when I leant down further to the ground, getting right in my dad’s face. As I did, though, I realised I hadn’t really thought about what to say. Only really about scaring him, but apparently that just wasn’t working. He waited impatiently as I thought. Fuck, why even when he’s so tiny, does he make my nerves go on high alert? I hated this feeling, and punched the ground angrily.

“Why did you say all that stuff? About me??” I shouted at him, his hair blowing back from the force of my voice.

“Because it’s true,” He replied matter-of-factly: “And I knew you’d be watching. I knew you’d be lost without my guidance.”

“Lost without–” I scoffed, again smashing my fist against the grass and making quite the crater, chunks of the garden tossed airborne: “Bullshit! I’ve been doing just fine without you!”

“Hm. Really? And what have you accomplished in the last three years then, huh?” He asked.

“Plenty!” I retorted: “I’m a singer, dad, I get gigs and stuff!”

“Gigs on the street? Please, that doesn’t exactly take peak talent, does it?”

“How do–” I blinked, recoiling back slightly: “Have you been keeping tabs on me??”

“Of course! I never would have expected you to get far, so I had to make sure you weren’t doing anything too stupid.”

“You bastard–” I snarled, my fingers tearing through the soil.

“I’m sorry, um…” Lucy shuffled toward my ear: “What’s going on here?”

I sighed and turned to her, “Ugh… it’s… a long story, Lucy. Trust me, you don’t want me to go into it.”

“No no, feel free to tell her!” My dad interjected to my frustration: “I doubt you haven’t even heard Puella mention me, have you, miss?” He asked Lucy, to which she shook her head and turned back to me for answers.

I groaned: “Fine! Fine… Well, where do I start…”

By now, it had been over three years since I’d last seen my father. I used to live with him, you see, but I hated every second. My mum hated it too, that’s why she left when I was young. But somehow, my dad won custody, the bastard, and I wasn’t allowed to see my mum again after that. I’ve long lost track of where she went. Point is, it was just me and him.

Not that I ever really understood why he kept me around - I could tell my dad despised me, for about as long as I could remember. All I ever got from him was shouting and barrating. ‘Be better!’ ‘Do better!’ ‘Is this seriously the best you can do?’ over and over and over and over and over again. I could never just enjoy myself or go at my own pace. If I ever decided I wanted to try something, he’d make damn sure I put 110% into it. Which may sound good from an outside perspective, but this applied to every hobby, every class in school, anything I thought of. I ended every day feeling like I’d just taken part in a military boot camp. I was exhausted, but even then I was still expected to put in my best. It was not a lifestyle I – no, not a lifestyle anyone could manage.

It all kinda just boiled over on my graduation day.

The fireplace was the only thing lighting up the living room as I sat in an armchair opposite my father, who was slowly sifting through my results papers. The ‘fire’ cast the both of us in a warm orange glow, but it only made the shadows in the corners of the golden-red room that much more striking. I could see it on my father’s face especially, his angular features painted with inky black markings on their left from how his face would so well block off the cosy light illuminating its right side. His eyes were focused on the paper in front of him as he slowly flicked through it, studying every word used. I sat nervous and fidgeting, dreading what would come next - I was fully aware they wouldn’t meet up to his expectations but still, a small part of me hoped he’d soften up just this once. My fingers were crossed.

“Hrm,” My dad suddenly huffed, causing me to straighten my back in surprise and watch him with wide eyes. He was quiet for a few seconds more, before suddenly he tore all the papers in two! I let out a shriek and jumped to my feet, but he’d already tossed them right into the open fire.
“What the fuck?!” I screamed, reaching for the papers but flinching as the flicking flames’ heat was too much.

“They’re utterly useless,” He replied with his usual condescending tone: “A line of C’s might as well be a line of fails.”

“What are you talking about?” I shouted in return as I tried to wave the fires down, but it was too late - my prized papers were nothing but cinders in mere moments.

“You think anyone will pick you out because you, what, got a passing grade? That’s the bare minimum, the baseline,” He replied: “In other words, it doesn’t count for shit.”

“It does!” I argued back, stepping away from the fire. My voice quivered and I wiped my eyes: “You bastard, it mattered to me! Doesn’t that matter?”

“You don’t study for personal satisfaction, you do it for results. And you have none!” He returned: “That’s the truth of it. You wouldn’t get anywhere with them. We’re going to try this again, this time with my tutoring. Clearly whatever you were doing didn’t cut it.”

My hair stood on end and I balled my fists, shaking: “You bastard, you think you can just snatch control of my life like that? No way am I going through that again!”

“Then what will you do? You can’t possibly–”

“I can!” I roared, stomping toward him and jabbing a finger at his face: “And I will. I don’t need your bullshit tutoring!”

“Will you, now?” He asked, peering back up at me with his small eyes: “How? You have nothing to show for yourself, you don’t even know what you want to do.”

“Well I guess I’ll find out!” I bit my lip and held back my tears: “You bastard, I’ll make it on my own!”

“That right?” He huffed: “Then go! Do it! Prove me wrong!”

“You know what? I will!” I shouted, stepping backward: “I’ll leave right now! And I’ll make something of myself! Then you’ll see what you’ve been missing, you– you–”

“And what have I been missing?” He asked.

“That I’m worth a damn!” I shouted back at his face, before storming upstairs to my room.

I packed my stuff pretty quickly, though I didn’t take everything. Just what I needed. And before the night had passed, I’d left my horrible home and began my journey to become somebody he would have to admire. Respect.

“But you look at this and say it isn’t enough?” I exclaimed, motioning down to my huge body: “Maybe you are just a mad man, like mum always said.”

“Please. A body makeover isn’t an accomplishment - besides, how did you even grow to begin with?” He asked.

“I…” I bit my lip: “That’s none of your business.”

“So you don’t know,” He sighed: “Well, that’s certainly nothing to be proud of.”

“Listen!” I shouted, causing Lucy to cover her ears and the tiles of the house’s roof to shake: “I’m respected now! I'm somebody! People have to look up at me and when they do, they are in awe - I’ve seen it!”

“Respected? That’s not what I’ve heard.”

“Huh?” I blinked, pulling back a little: “What are you talking about?”

My dad sighed and reached to one of the small porch tables behind him, picking up a portable radio. He switched it on, turning the volume up to the max before lifting it up toward me. I couldn’t help but want to listen in, and lowered my head down until I could catch what those on the other end were saying.

“--This situation has definitely been incredible to follow - a giant, of all things, walking through our streets!”

I beamed as I listened to them talking about me. Me! It was still an amazing thought.

“Quite right, Tom, and she’s been causing quite a ruckus in town, hasn’t she? The locals haven’t been taking it so lightly. We’ve interviewed a few of them to see their thoughts on this giant woman!”

It then cut to a much choppier-sounding recording - no doubt it was from a quickly put-together news team sent outside, which piqued my interest even more.

“Ah, I saw that chick. She was fuckin’ huge!” A rough-sounding voice exclaimed through the radio: “She just smashed through everythin’ like paper,” they marvelled.

Then it switched to another voice, this one more feminine but just as crude.

“I dunno who she is, but she had the nerve to smash my car! She’s a ruffian, why aren’t the police doing anythin’?”

The next was a more refined-sounding voice - upper class, no doubt.

“I don’t know what she thinks she’s doing, but the damage she’s causing is going to drain our pockets when the tax goes up to fix everything. Just you wait. People like that should just be locked in a cell for all I care.”

Then another.

“Seemed like just some spoiled brat to me, I think people are overreacting.”

My smile faded a little at that.

“Girl will get caught by the police soon, don’t worry. Then we can put this all behind us.”

“She’s kinda weird, have you seen her? Seems to love getting in people’s faces.”

“Seems like someone’s desperate for attention, with what she’s wearing! Haha! What a freak.”

I pulled my head back a little, eyes wide as the comments continued.

“Ruined my route to work, she did! Now I have to explain that some giant bitch smashed the road on my way, how is my boss supposed to take that?”

“You heard what her dad said, right? She’s just some kid looking for attention. She’ll get her kick then things’ll go back to normal, I’m sure!”

My eyes darted to stare at my father. Oh, he did this on purpose.

“Imagine all you could do with power like that! And what does she do? Prances around shaking her butt and smashing property. I can’t wait for her to be caught already.”

“I think that Kristian guy was onto something, she’s big and that’s neat but… honestly? She’s nothing worth remembering.”

“You see?” My dad asked as he switched off the radio: “Just because you suddenly have these powers doesn’t automatically mean success. You have to know how to use them. Like–”

“YOU,” I snarled, stepping closer to him and cutting off whatever he was saying: “YOU did this!”

My father was pulled out of his reprimanding and looked up at me with a slightly annoyed look on his face: “Young lady, let me finish–”

“No!” I shouted, throwing both my hands down to the ground either side of the house, causing a quake that knocked him right off of his feet: “You fucking asshole, you planned this, didn’t you? Why? Why can’t you just let me enjoy something??”

He opened his mouth to reply, but in reality I didn’t care what he had to say, so I interrupted him again.

“Every time I do something– anything– you always have to pull the rug from under me! Remind me how much better I can be! Well, you know what? I am better! And I am someone!”

“If you were someone, you’d have actually done something worth talking about!” He shouted back: “You stupid girl, this is the best chance you’ve ever had! The world is practically giving you the key, and you’re squandering it. Because you have a small mind, Puella! And no wider view of what could be!”

I snarled and my fingers tore through the garden as I balled them into fists: “You think I can’t make a name for myself… you think I’ll just be a fuck up for the rest of my life, don’t you?” I gritted my teeth, and felt my cheeks grow wet with tears: “Well I don’t need your fucking approval! I’m gonna be someone, starting right. Fucking. Now!!”

I raised my fist into the air, dirt and rock cascading down into the neighbouring property. My father– Kristian– he took a step backward, and for a moment I saw his face finally shift to not one of disdain or sneering superiority, but of fear. Of respect. That only fuelled the fires inside me even more, and with a roar I threw my fist down.

The wooden planks making up the porch didn’t stand a chance against my swinging hand and it shattered as my fist tore right through its foundations, the ground beneath erupting in a cloud of earth and rubble. My arm tingled with delight as I looked closely at all the details of my attack, relishing the idea that I could do such a thing now. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and, not even thinking about it in the thrill of the moment, I threw my other fist down, this time right through the roof of the house. The front wall crumbled as my wrist cleaved through the brick, my fist smashing through the attic and upper floor before impacting against the ground floor. I couldn’t even see the devastation as a thick cloud of dust billowed up from the newly ruined house, but that didn’t stop me - half a dozen more times I’d smash that house, not content until all that remained was an unrecognisable pile of rock. My chest heaved and my arms were aching, scratches all the way up to my elbows, but I felt amazing. I pulled myself back and shook my arms of the rubble stuck to them, before falling back onto my backside to rest. I could hear screams, and glanced around - people were running down the street, some scrambling into their cars while others taking the chance of running by foot. I stared at them for a few moments, not realising what had scared them so in my emotionally tired state. One of the screams was louder than the rest, though - I glanced around, trying to find the source, before realising that Lucy wasn’t on my shoulder anymore. My heart virtually leapt in my throat and my head whipped around as I tried to find where she’d fallen to, though I soon found her - she was hanging from my bikini strap, struggling to hold on.

“Lucy!” I exclaimed, instinctively reaching toward her to pick her up: “I’m so sorry, I– are you okay?”

As my hand came into view, though, I paused. My eyes grew wide as I turned it round to get a better look at what I was seeing. Lucy saw it too, and her skin drained of colour.

There was blood on the side of my hand, where I’d first thrown my fist down. Clothes too, stuck to my skin, and eerily similar to what my father had been wearing, too. I took in a deep breath, but couldn’t get myself to breathe back out while I struggled with the reality of what I’d just done. I looked back at Lucy, and her face… I hadn’t expected her to look so horrified, but maybe I would have if I’d realised I was smiling.

“Puella, Jesus Christ…” Lucy’s voice could barely make it above a whisper and that alone was enough to rattle me. I pulled away and, looking around frantically for somewhere to wipe my hand, I realised just how many people had seen me do that - there were people in the streets, letting out cries of fear and fleeing down the street.

I reached out: “No! No no no, wait! That was an accident! It– oh, God…”

I suddenly rose up to my feet, my nerves shot, and felt the leaves around me tickle my skin as my ascent stirred up the air around me. My eyes darted back down to Lucy; she hadn’t moved from her spot, still staring up at me with wide eyes.

‘What the fuck do I do??’ I remember mentally screaming at myself as I grabbed the closest tree in hopes I could wipe all the blood off onto the leaves and branches. They crunched and snapped in my grip, but they couldn’t get rid of all of it - my skin still had dried splotches of blood on it, faint to me but no doubt much clearer to someone Lucy’s size. My heart leapt into my throat and I felt like I was about to vomit it right out in my panic. I stepped backward, my heel slamming down against a car. I flinched and my foot jolted back into the air, causing the crushed car to tumble into someone else’s front yard and knock against the house’s wall. I winced when it caused only more panic for those around me.

And as if things couldn’t get any worse, I heard a faint chopping sound and remembered - I was being followed. By a news helicopter.

Oh my fucking God, was I a moron.

The sound of police sirens was steadily approaching and I realised I had to leave right then and there: I spun on my feet and my hand darted through the air to grab Lucy. She was knocked out of her stupor as my palm slammed against her body - she cried out in pain and I wanted to apologise but my thoughts were much too muddled to get any words out. I rose back to my feet with her little body in my hand before I turned and began running down the street. My heels stamped pot holes into the tarmac as I ran. My weight was always changing, so it wasn’t something I could get used to so easily; I stumbled and tripped regularly but at least managed to keep on my feet - with all the people fleeing from my steps below, I prayed that I didn’t lose my balance and make things even worse for myself.

“Puella Velasquez, you have one final warning to stand down!!” A voice shouted from the cars, boosted by a megaphone as they rumbled after me, swerving around the indents I left in my wake and steadily keeping pace.

“I didn’t– it was an accident!” I could only look over my shoulder for a moment or risk tripping over myself, so I couldn't look him in the eye even if I’d wanted to. I had to get them off my tail, though, that much I knew. Unfortunately, I was in the suburbs and at my size there was nowhere to hide. I grit my teeth, eyes darting round for an answer.

Lucy, despite no doubt having been thrown around quite a bit as I ran, managed the strength to shout up to me: “P-Pinky! Vault over the houses!”

I blinked in surprise at that idea, but it had merit - after all, I towered over the buildings around me, but in my panic it wasn’t even something I’d considered. I found it funny how Lucy had a better idea of how to be big than even I did.

“O-Okay!” I exclaimed in return, my voice making my little friend shake, and I acted on Lucy’s idea. I turned and tried to vault over the closest house. Alas, it didn’t go quite to plan - I didn’t have to let much of my weight rest on the house’s roof before the slates would crack and slide away, followed promptly by the crunching of wood as the support beams fell away under my palm. Unfortunately, I had already thrown my entire body up into the air by that point, my legs outstretched to reach the ground on the other side and Lucy tightly enclosed in my grip as my whole body tensed. My hand tore through the roof and stabbed right into the inner rooms of the house, my arm buckling - I let out a scream of panic as my centre of balance dramatically toppled backwards with my body following after it. My hand crashed into the ground and slipped sideways, flying out the side of the house before my back slammed into the outer wall, the impact causing the brick to fall away as I fell into the house and chunks of wood and mortar tumbled down onto my chest. Dust settled in my eyes and I winced as an aching pain washed through my body. Rubbing my eyes clean, I looked around in shock. My heart pounded in my ears as I took a good look at the ruined rooms around me, the remaining floors behind me groaning to support my weight. Once my brain cleared my eyes instantly darted to my right hand - My fist was still raised high in the air, so Lucy was far from the destruction, but her body was limp and she wasn’t moving. I wasn’t even sure if she was breathing.

“L-Lucy!” I cried out in horror, not sparing the house or any potential occupants a second thought as I shot up into a sitting position, bringing my friend to my face, clasping her with both hands as I gave her a harsh shake in an attempt to wake her up: “Lucy, stop it! Wake up!”

My attempts proved fruitless and I wasn’t allowed to try for long, as a nasty surprise started stabbing me in the back, my body stinging infuriatingly as I felt bullets pierce all down my spine. I cried out more in surprise than outright pain and threw myself up to my feet, spinning round to see their guns flashing, and more stings across my body. I staggered backward, instinctively raising my arms to protect my face as I was peppered with bullets. Did it hurt that much? Probably not, but I was in such a state at the time that that didn’t really matter; it was all just too much, all at once. That’s why I decided to keep running.

I stopped caring about what was caught underfoot by then - cars and trucks would crash against my toes and careen into houses, or be unfortunate enough for my soles to drop right on top of them, their innards splatting outwards. If there were people in them, I was in way too much of a panic to even notice, nevermind care. My heart pounded like a drill in my chest, my lungs heaved and I coughed and gagged as I ran, trying to hold in the litres worth of tears building up in my eyes. How could this have happened? How could this all have gone wrong so fast?
“It’s not fair!” I wheezed between gritted teeth, glancing over my shoulder. Despite the crashed cars and footprints acting as obstacles, the police were keeping pace, even gradually gaining. I had to do something - if they caught me, they’d take me to who-knows-where to open me up and experiment on me. That much, I knew for sure.

The houses became less and less frequent as I approached the outskirts of the city. There, I saw my chance - a water tower upon the top of a larger building, just up the road! My muscles tensed as I threw my heavy body just that bit further, before I staggered to a near halt so I could grab the water tower’s tank. I didn’t even know if I’d be strong enough to knock it down, it being made mostly of concrete, but it was worth a shot. Not giving any more time for me to reconsider my options, I grabbed the tank, digging my fingers into its shell, and began to pull, letting out a hoarse grunt of effort as I felt the concrete crunch beneath my fingers and the sound of bending metal scream out as the support beams buckled beneath the sudden force. The tank steadily began to tip and I let go, stumbling forward as the water tower tumbled behind me and smashed against the ground, gallons upon gallons of water exploding outwards and immediately swamping the surrounding neighbourhood as torrents of water surged through fences, pushed cars aside and quickly formed a deep pool right in the middle of the road. The police cars were forced to screech to a halt, though some bravely tried to drive right through the water, only for their cars to sputter and fail as they submerged themselves. I staggered backwards, using those precious seconds to catch my breath. I don’t really know why, but my tired brain decided to point at the officers while I cackled at them like an oversized witch. I didn’t spend too much time there, though, not giving them the chance to fire at me anymore before I turned tail and ran down the road, not stopping to rest until I was clear of any buildings and was in the lush, calm countryside.

I finally had time to recover. Time to think. I was lucky enough that the news helicopter hadn’t followed me outside the city, so I was left totally alone. But still. Lucy hadn’t woken up. God, I wouldn’t know what I’d do if she never woke up. The thought sent shivers down my spine. I didn’t really know where I was walking. Where could I go? Laying low obviously wasn’t an option and there was no way some randoms would just help me out of the blue. I killed someone on live TV.

Having to realise that made me stop in my tracks for a moment. I snarled and took deep breaths as the stress and anger built up in my chest. I spotted an old barn to my left and unfortunately for it, I needed to let off some steam. I charged toward it with an enraged roar and swung my foot up, smashing through the wooden planks as I kicked right through it, before swinging my foot back down and stomping over and over again, every footfall flattening more of the frail structure as it fell to my tantrum.

Even from beyond the grave my father still managed to ruin everything for me. I was gonna have it all, I was gonna be a pop star! A celebrity world renown! But he just had to take it from me. Goading me to hurt him. I knew that’s what he wanted, it had to be. I wish I could do it all over again, just so I could make his last moments that much worse.

“H-heey… Pinky…” A small voice sounded from my right hand. Instantly my stomping ceased and my head jerked in the voice’s direction.

“L-Lucy!” I sputtered as I saw the small girl stirring in my grip, a slightly confused but otherwise warm smile on her face. I pulled her up to my face, clutching her with both hands as my whole body shivered: “You’re awake! You’re okay! You’re–uuhh–” words just stopped coming out of my mouth, I was so overwhelmed by emotions. But Lucy took it in stride, smiling wider and giggling as she pat my thumb reassuringly: “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep or sumin’... uhuhu…” She suddenly winced and hissed, holding her torso: “Ugh, my body… what happened?”

“You– you don’t remember…?” I asked quietly.

“I dunno… can’t tell what was a dream and what wasn’t, it was all so…” Her rambling and sweet smile faded as she saw my eyes overflow with tears. My lips and my fingers trembled as I felt everything ready to explode inside me, and my legs gave way, slamming into the wooden rubble around my feet as I choked out: “I… I fucked up, Lucy…”

All my emotions flooded out at once as I burst into tears, pulling Lucy up against my cheek with her held firmly in my grip.

“Oh– oh, Pinky…” Lucy murmured. She pulled herself out from my fist so she could reach forward and wrap her arms as best she could around my teary cheek, which made me only want to hold her closer. I couldn’t stop myself from crying even if I wanted to and I slowly let myself fall into a sitting position as I wept and wailed for minutes on end, Lucy doing her best to comfort me the whole time. Eventually I managed to settle down, my sobbing reduced to sniffles as I pulled Lucy back into my line of sight and wiped my rosy cheeks free of any excess water.

Lucy gave me a sympathetic smile, holding onto my thumb again: “Hey, Pinky, I think we both need a break… why don’t we see if we can find somewhere to crash for the night?”

“But… it’s not that late…” I murmured, looking up at the mid-afternoon sun.

“Still!” Lucy replied: “I’m hungry. You hungry?”

“... Yeah…” I admitted, putting a free hand to my belly as I said that. I hadn’t even considered food since I started growing, but I could definitely go for something sweet.

“Well there you go. Put me down and I’ll go ask in that house over there!” She said, pointing to the farmhouse a short walk from the ruins of the barn I was sitting in. To be honest, I really enjoyed holding Lucy, having her so close like some cuddly toy that cuddled back, but nevertheless I let Lucy down onto the ground beside my leg. She only glanced at the destroyed barn all around me. She probably figured it to be a bad time to mention it - good on her. She hurried ahead and I watched her, but I quickly decided that I wouldn’t just wait around. I felt… calmer than before, at least, and the curiosity about my size was building as I eyed the little doll house. Letting myself fall onto all fours I began to crawl towards the building, watching Lucy approach the front door.

“Hey, it’s open! I don’t think anyone’s inside!” Lucy called as she pushed the door open and disappeared into the house. More curious now, I pulled myself closer until I could lean down and look in through the windows. My cheeks flushed a little pink - everything really did look like a toy with the size of the furniture being small enough that it could all fit in my hand with ease. I began moving from window to window, looking into each with one eye open to see if I could spot Lucy. Eventually I found her in the kitchen on the ground floor, raiding the fridge for treats. She looked tiny usually, but I hadn’t really taken the time to look. And wow… The feeling was amazing, just watching some toy-sized person adventuring through what was basically a doll house. Like the Sims, or something. Lucy rose up with a whole cake in her hand - I couldn’t tell what kind - and kicked the fridge shut before promptly letting out a squeal as she caught sight of my eye watching her from outside. She virtually leapt off of the ground and I couldn’t help but giggle at that cute sight. Lucy giggled too, her face all pink, and she gave me a wave before she placed the cake on a table and began exploring the fridge and its contents again. I pulled away and left Lucy in peace, leaning against the house as I made myself comfortable and let my arm rest on the roof, feeling the tiles crunch and slip away beneath the weight of my forearm. Focusing on the sound of the wind and chirping birds around me, I closed my eyes and tried to just… rest.

“Pinky!” Lucy’s voice sounded, pulling me back to the realm of consciousness. I glanced around myself - I was practically lying on top of the house, I realised, and as I rose up I felt bricks and tiles crumble off of my back, a noticeable dent left in the side of the house. I winced upon seeing it, but my attention quickly turned to Lucy, who was standing beside my hip, waving up to me all cute like. I waved back.

“Come round the other side, come see this cool thing!” She exclaimed before running round to the backyard of the house.

“Cool thing…?” I murmured, watching her scurry about. I quickly realised I didn’t even have to go round - I simply rested my arms on the roof and looked right over the top of the house to where Lucy had been trying to lead me.

“Hey!” Lucy shouted, her voice breaking slightly as she waved her arms up at me: “Don’t do that! You’ll ruin my setup!”

“Setup? What setup?” I asked, pulling myself away from the house; all I could see she’d done was move a few couches and tables around. Nevertheless, I relented, but decided to at least make something of a show from it. I rose to my feet, feeling the wind whoosh around my ears and hair. I towered over the building, Lucy looking more and more like a little speck at my feet. I could hear her voice faintly, but I couldn’t understand her - it was more like a squeak from a mouse than anything else. I giggled and raised my foot, swinging it effortlessly over the top of the building and letting it hover over Lucy. I heard her squeal and my head tilted to see her scurry out of my shadow. I giggled, but I pulled my foot to the side, away from Lucy and her ‘setup’ she was so proud of, and let it fall to the ground with a heavy thump just beside her. I pulled my other foot over with much less of a show, it planting down in the grass on the opposite side to Lucy. I grinned at her and dipped my torso down, keeping my legs straight while my butt poked out behind me. I could see Lucy on her sofa, staring up at me with wide eyes. I poked my tongue out playfully: “You alright down there, Lucy?”

The tiny girl’s face went bright pink and she looked away. Awh. I couldn’t help but giggle. I stepped forward again so I could turn and sit down behind Lucy, my subsequent impact with the ground causing my surroundings to rattle. I could see what she meant by her ‘setup’ now, at least - the house had a pair of sliding glass doors in the back, which Lucy had opened and managed to push a large TV on a chest of drawers, which now filled up the wide door frame. I chuckled - it really wasn’t anything special, but Lucy sure seemed proud of it all. She glanced back at me, a big smile on her face as she awaited my reaction.

“It… certainly looks comfy!” I said with a shrug, “For you, at least.”

Lucy pouted: “Hey, I made sure you could see it! Their TV is huge too, come on!” She softened and giggled: “Why don’t we watch a movie or something?” She asked as she turned to the TV and, with a click of the remote, the screen flashed to life. It was playing some shitty soap opera no one cares about - me and Lucy both groaned in unison.

“Something good, yeah?” I asked. Lucy nodded in agreement and began flicking through the channels for something to watch.

We spent a good while simply flicking through channels for anything that caught our eye but, man, TV had really gone down the drain. We didn’t see anything of note until–

I saw my face flash on the screen for just a moment.

“Stop!!” I bellowed, slamming my hands against the ground in surprise and launching Lucy up off her seat for a moment. She squirmed to regain her position, before peeking over the side of the couch up at me.

“Huh? What?” She asked.

“Go back! Go back, I saw me! Go back!”

Lucy frowned: “But we’re doing this to–”

“Lucy!” I insisted: “Just go back, I wanna see what they’re saying about me!”

Lucy squirmed a little but folded to my request and turned the channels back, until we returned to the news channel covering me.

“--was attacked and killed in his own home by the famed ‘giant’, and his own daughter, Puella Velasquez. Witnesses reported Kristian talking to Puella before she began brutally assaulting him and crushing his home in a rage. Viewers are advised - the following footage may be disturbing.”

The channel then began showing the footage of me destroying my dad’s home that the helicopter following me had caught. My voice echoed like distant thunder - I really did sound like some kind of monster.

“Puella Velasquez remains at large, with authorities continuing their search for her. If anyone has information about her current whereabouts, please call the number on screen now.”

“Fuck, Pinky… they’re really out for you…” Lucy murmured, glancing back at me with a worried expression.

“Yeah…” I murmured in return, though my eyes remained focused on the screen. This was bad news. So why did a part of me feel so… charged? Was I excited, or anxious? I honestly couldn’t tell you at the time.

“Our reporter, Minerva Montgomery, was quickly on the scene and received comments from the many witnesses of this horrifying event.”

The screen flicked to a POV from the ground, near the wreck that was once a house. I could see my footprints driven into the ground around them, some crushed and battered cars. My head tilted slightly - it’s like a monster movie. Huh.

“You should have seen her,'' a middle-aged man marvelled: “She had to be 200ft tall at least! Barreling down the road, I almost had a heart attack.”

“I’d never seen anything like her in my life,” A woman said: “Crushed my car like it was cardboard, sent the whole street into a panic. And she was gone as soon as she appeared.”

“I felt like I was in a monster movie - my whole house started shaking. I thought it was an earthquake, but then I just saw a leg slam down just outside my window. It was… wow. It was terrifying, and knowing what she did… just makes it that much worse,” Another man shivered as he spoke.

“I can’t imagine what it was like for that poor man… having that done to me, and my home, I don’t think I’d be able to forget even if I did survive.”

My eyes only seemed to widen as I watched, my ears perking up as each person spoke. What was this feeling? Was there something I’d been missing?

One last person came up on the screen, giving his thoughts on what happened.

“I’m not even sure how to process it,” He admitted, his face a little pale: “This sort of thing should be impossible, shouldn’t it? It makes you wonder what else could be out there… but, like, I almost died. Her foot fell inches from me. I felt the bits of the road she crushed smack against my cheek as I fell back. I…” He held his head, closing his eyes to take a deep breath: “... this is going to stick with me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake off what happened today. It’s something to remember forever, that’s for sure.”

At that moment, it all clicked in my head. I realised why my heart was pounding in my chest. This was it.

“Oh,” I mumbled, not even meaning to talk out loud. My eyes were wide and glued to the tiny screen. I think Lucy got nervous though; moments after, she switched off the TV screen and turned to face me.

“Wha– hey!” I exclaimed, looking down at her with a frown.

“I’m sorry, Pinky, I just… couldn’t watch any more,” She admitted: “I don’t like how they see you. You’re not like that,” She sighed, reaching up to my nose to give me the best hug she could: “I’m scared. What if they catch you? What if I don’t see you again? What if…”

I smiled softly and gently placed a finger tip against Lucy’s back to return the attempted embrace: “Don’t worry, Lucy… they won’t capture me. I promise.”

“You do?” Lucy asked, smiling softly.

“Of course,” I returned.

Lucy nodded, before glancing at the sun - it was beginning to set, night falling upon the farmland. She glanced back at me: “Well, I guess we’re on the run for real, now… how about you sleep? I can keep watch for any police, or anythin’.”

“Well…” I thought about things for a moment. I looked at Lucy, her head tilting slightly as I stared for just a bit too long.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

“What? Oh, yeah… just thinking,” I replied: “I did just have a nap. How about you sleep, and I’ll keep watch? I’m bigger, anyway - I can see way further.”

Lucy giggled: “Okay, you got a point there,” She nodded, before letting out a long yawn: “Alright, I’ll get some sleep… it’s been a real long day, aha…” She pulled away from my nose and lay down on the couch, getting comfortable: “We’ll figure out what to do next in the morning…”

“Yeah…” I replied, smiling as I watched the tiny girl curl up. Like a baby mouse, I thought. I was tempted to pet her. Instead I pulled away, sitting upright and tall beside the house as I thought to myself.

The evening was quiet, only the sound of gentle wind through leaves and branches kept me company. I’d glance out at the horizon, then back down to Lucy, then back out on the horizon again.

I’d thought my dad had ruined every chance I had to be someone, I thought my life had hit rock bottom all over again. But he’d failed, there was one last thing I could do. One last try to leave my mark on the world…

I bit my lip. Could I go through with it?

I looked back down at Lucy. She looked so sweet and innocent down there. I knew for a fact that if I wanted to do this, she couldn’t accompany me. I doubted she’d even want to.

But…

The world was offering me one last chance to prove myself. One last chance to take what I’d been wrongfully kept from all my life. It was now, or never. This… or nothing at all.

Slowly, carefully, I rose up to my feet, making sure not to knock anything or cause enough of a commotion to wake up my friend. She’d be okay on her own, I assured myself, they weren’t looking for her. It was me they had their eyes on. What was best for both of us. I took a soft step away from the house, taking one last look behind me, before I pulled my head up and puffed out my chest, taking a deep breath. Then I began to walk, following the country road into the night.