The cramped ride home could not end soon enough. Unlike the buildings, the cars in the town had not changed to accommodate her size. It made some sense, there probably wasn't much incentive for any vehicle manufacturers to make larger models just for one town. Jack's poor little sedan could barely contain Alex, leaving her taking up the entire back seat just to have some minor level of comfort, and she still had her head touching the ceiling. When they pulled up into the driveway, pulling herself out of the car felt like emerging from a metal cocoon.
Home remained at least mostly familiar when Alex and Jack returned. The same stretched ceilings and doorways the town was now known for had reached her house as well, but the interior still remained more or less the same - just a few sizes bigger. If it weren't for Jack standing eye-to-torso with her, Alex might not have even noticed the changes at all. The room to breath was a welcome change of pace from the cramped car ride home, in any case. What was less comfortable was just how much had changed without Alex's direct intervention. It was interesting to watch in the moment, but the extent of how different thing really were now was just hitting her. The whole town, and presumably every woman in it, was changed, and they didn't even know it. What started as a fun little personal power trip was now a worldwide known borderline supernatural anomaly. Alex was one of the tallest women to ever live, and she could go walk down the street and see dozens of women taller still, suffering none of the health issues that would normally effect someone of that stature. Is this what she wanted? Alex wasn't sure. She didn't feel so big anymore, despite the number on the measuring tape saying otherwise. Alex wasn't sure what to do now. Jack, blissfully unaware of his girlfriend's existential crisis, had settled back into his routine and turned on the TV. Alex sat next to him on the couch, trying her best to relax as Jack flipped through channels. As the TV landed on a news segment, though, Alex perked back up. It was a recent segment, covering a viral story about their town.
"The record for tallest woman is once again broken, and it happened exactly where you'd expect it: right hereat home. 19 year old Megan Cain measures in at a staggering 8'11" tall, not just breaking the tallest woman record by 2 inches, but tying the record for tallest person overall set over a century ago." The feed cut to footage of Megan Cain herself, towering over reporters and spectators alike, even the women who dwarfed Alex were nothing compared to her. The reporter continued. "This continues the trend of steadily increasing heights in this town, continuing a decades long record streak that has captured the world's attention."
Alex watched in awe. Megan was absolutely massive. And if the reporter was right, it was only a matter of time before someone surpassed even her. Alex felt tiny. This isn't what she had planned to happen. The remote was practically calling to her from her pocket, begging Alex to grow even taller. What if it changed the whole world? Did she even care if it did? A small test would surely be fine. Even if the town changed again, a few inches wouldn't change much, right? The feeling of growing, the thought of potentially being the tallest woman on Earth... Alex couldn't resist. Hiding the remote behind her back, Alex closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting for the familiar surge to flow through her. She pressed down on the button again. But the feeling never came.
Alex opened her eyes, pressing the button again. Still, nothing. Were the batteries dead? It was incredible that such a device could run on battery power regardless, so it would make sense if it drained them quickly. Sneaking a quick glance at the remote, though, revealed the same pulsing blue light behind the buttons that had been there all day. Alex tried again, pressing the down arrow instead, and still nothing. Alex's heart dropped. Was the remote broken?
Alex slipped the remote back in her pocket and got up from the couch. "I'll be right back babe, I have to check something." Alex called to Jack, already halfway to her room. Jack simply nodded and waved, focusing on the TV. Alex shut the door and frantically pulled the remote back out, inspecting it closer. Everything seemed fine, there wasn't a single scratch or dent on the thing. She tried pressing the buttons a few more times, just in case. Alex sighed. Was it all over? In frustration, she smacked the side of the thing with her hand, maybe something inside had just gotten knocked out of place. Nothing. She hit it again. A flash filled the room.
The flash was far brighter than any of the previous ones, and was paired with a loud bang, almost like a gunshot. Alex had jumped backwards, temporarily blinded and deafened from whatever had just happened. When her sight returned, the remote was there on the floor. In two pieces. If it wasn't broken before, it certainly was now, and Alex certainly had no hope of fixing it. She cursed to herself, picking up the pieces and setting them on her dresser. She collapsed on the bed, lost at what to do now. Something was different, though. Alex didn't notice it at first, but the flash hadn't just blinded her. Alex felt strange. It was similar to how she felt when she was growing, but different somehow, less intense. Her limbs felt tingly, like they were falling asleep. Alex stood up, stumbling as she felt like the ground was getting farther away from her. Alex looked down at herself, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It wasn't until she looked at herself closely in the mirror that she realized what was happening. It was barely noticeable, but Alex was getting taller.
The change was dramatically slower than any growth Alex had experienced before, but she was unmistakably growing. If she had to guess, Alex would estimate that she was growing at about an inch every five minutes. The remote sat broken on the dresser. Alex had no control over this growth. She could only sit and wait. She had no idea when it would stop, or if it ever would at all.
Jack would probably be worried if she stayed in here too long. There wasn't much point in hiding from him, he wouldn't notice what was happening anyway. Alex left her room and rejoined Jack on the couch, doing her best to act normal despite the sensation of growth filling her every thought. Jack didn't say anything, focused on whatever show was currently playing.
Every millimeter Alex grew felt like an hour passing. Every glance at the ceiling or doorway frame was a reminder of just how tall she would be soon. She felt her legs stretch out under her, reaching further and further down the couch as her height climbed. Inch by inch, the house shrank around her. After what felt like hours, Jack stood up from the couch himself, yawning as he did.
"It's getting late, I think I'm gonna head to bed." Jack said, stretching his arms. "You coming?"
There was no point in staying up any longer, Alex supposed. At least in sleep, she could avoid thinking of every inch she was adding to her new height. Alex yawned herself, realizing just how tired she was. She stood up. And up. And up. Alex towered over Jack, he barely even reached her waist now. Alex gasped. Jack didn't seem to notice anything strange, simply looking up at Alex confused.
"You alright?" Jack asked, oblivious. He strained his neck to look up at her, but smiled at her as if nothing was wrong. Alex didn't know how to respond. He looked so tiny now. Alex could scoop Jack up in her hands, hold him like a doll. She had to be almost 9 feet tall, if not past it. She stared down at Jack, frozen. Her mind raced with thoughts. She went to place her hand on Jack's shoulder out of habit, almost having to lean down to reach him. Jack didn't flinch away from Alex's giant hand, taking her fingers in his hands and squeezing gently. Alex blushed, smiling nervously. She wasn't nervous because she was huge, or that she had lost control, Alex realized. She was nervous because she realized that even now, she liked it.
She felt a surge inside her. In an instant, Alex grew several more inches, her navel passing Jack's head. There was no more denying it, Alex loved this feeling. No matter how strange it was, no matter the consequences, Alex wanted more, and she felt a power in her chest that made her confidant that she could take it. She felt another surge, this time willed by her own desire. Her head bumped the ceiling as she grew yet again, each of her legs now taller than Jack. A third, massive surge hit her, leaving her bent at the knees just to avoid breaking through the ceiling.
"Yeah." Alex said, staring down at the eyes of her tiny companion, so far away. She reached down and lifted Jack off the ground, holding him up to her face and kissing him. "I'm fine."
She looked around at the ceiling and walls that had enclosed around her. With a thought, the walls retreated backwards, expanding away from Alex as the ceiling raised itself until it was high enough for Alex to stand tall again, with plenty of room to spare. With one final spurt, Alex shot up to over 11 feet tall as she walked her way to the bedroom, Jack following close behind.