### **ZEKO SUPER**
**Chapter 2: Rendering Error**
The Fashion Heroes Gallery was less a hall of honor and more a futuristic luxury showroom. A labyrinth of glass and neon where the window did not display jewelry, but rather mannequins in state-of-the-art outfits. Implanted chips twinkled like living jewels in the synthetic fibers, promising to amplify each hero's power. The air buzzes with holograms of advertisements: "Your Power, Your Style. Designed by AIs that Think Outside the Box... Or Inside It."
Jarrette Pratt was an anomaly in this place of polished perfection.
He raced down the hallway like an uncoordinated hurricane, a buzz of panic preceding his arrival. Her costume, a genial mess of neon purple corduroy and chameleon silk that shifted from blue to purple, pulsed with an anxious light. Designed by an AI that was rumored to have an existential breakdown during training after being exposed to an avalanche of cat memes, the suit felt alive – and dangerously unstable.
Jarrette tripped over a holographic rug that dissolved beneath her feet, accidentally bumping into an elegant assistant's shoulder.
- There! Sorry, sorry! — he stammered, raising his hands in surrender. — I swear, it wasn't intentional. My outfit... it kind of decides the pace itself. Like, "Hey, Jarrette, run faster, but forget how to use your legs!" Are you okay? Do you want a coffee? Or an emotional reset?
The assistant just rolled her eyes and continued on her way. Jarrette sighed, continuing his clumsy run, now lightly bumping the arm of a man in a suit who was talking on the phone. The cell phone fell with a loud thud.
— Hey, be careful there! — growled the man.
Jarrette turned around, a forced smile plastered on his face.
— My God, I'm sorry! I'm just an idiot with weird superpowers. Blame the AI – it thought "casual" meant "controlled chaos." Hey, hey, let me get this for you. Look? Cell phone intact. Miracle!
He handed the cell phone back with a clumsy flourish, almost dropping it again. The man grunted and walked away. Jarrette wiped the sweat from his forehead. The suit responded, pulsing at a faster pace, the silk turning a deep purple with anxiety. A tiny chip on the collar blinked, the "heart" of the confusing AI, like a blinking cursor in an infinite loop.
***
The boardroom was a sanctuary from corporate coldness. A gleaming glass table occupied the center, with walls covered in screens displaying real-time metrics: costume sales, social media engagement, "Heroic Glamor Index."
Roy, the head of the gallery, a 45-year-old fashion-tech shark with a salesman's smile and a gold chip on his wrist, drummed his fingers on the table impatiently.
The door opened with an awkward *bang*. Jarrette came in panting, stumbling over the threshold and almost knocking over a high-tech plant that filtered the air with nanoparticles.
— Roy! Boss! Sorry for the delay. Transit of heroes, you know? Someone summoned a fashion portal in the elevator. Or was it just me messing up the costume again. What it was? Bad sales? I do better marketing — like, viral "epic fails" posts!
Roy laughed, a polite and calculated sound, and gestured to the chair across from him. Jarrette collapsed into it, and her suit began to gently pulse, lighting up the table like a faulty aquarium light.
— Calm down, Jarrette. No crisis. On the contrary," Roy said, his smile not reaching his eyes as sharp as fabric-cutting lasers. — Your "Chromatic Error Pulse"? Sales are exploding. Look at this.
He activated a holographic screen. Graphics shot upwards like rockets. "Bizarre Costumes: +150% in Orders. Chaotic Rendering Chip: Best Seller among Tech-Bros."
Jarrette's eyes widened. He leaned forward, and the suit quickened his pulse, bathing the table in a hypnotic blue.
- Serious? Like, do people want the "reality glitch"? I thought it was just... me being me. Remember the last mission? The ground turned to jelly in the middle of the fight against those data thieves. They went down laughing, and I... well, I swam out.
- Exactly. It's unique," Roy said, leaning back in his chair. The chip in his fist blinked in approval. — Our customized chips – one for each power, injected directly into the fiber – turn heroes like you into products. Belka Zatchet sold 500 units of "Ruptura Chic" last week. But you? Good sales, yes. But popularity... low. The networks call you "The Funny Glitch". Memes of you melting your own shoe in lives. People buy the costume, but not the hero. Not the icon.
Jarrette's face fell. The suit reacted instantly, the silk turning a dark purple, pulsing erratically. He swallowed hard, emotional stress rising like a tide. The memory of a failed mission haunted him: him panicking, the power turning against him, his arm turning into "stretch cotton" for terrifying seconds.
— Icon? I? — His voice was low, forcing a smile, but his hands were shaking. — Roy, I'm the guy who turns villains into 3-second jokes. But... what if I freak out? Emotional overload, remember? The suit goes blue screen, and boom – I see the glitch. It is not photogenic.
Roy leaned forward, his voice now conspiratorial. He activated a "rebranded" hologram of Jarrette – more polished, with slogans like "Error? No, Evolution!"
— That's why I called you. Let's hack this. A campaign: "Pulse of Error – Where Chaos Sells". Partner with the AI that designed you – let's fix the emotional bugs. Or pretend they are features. You go on a joint mission with Belka. She brings the glamour, you the bizarre twist. Popularity explodes. What do you think?
Jarrette hesitated. The suit was pulsing hard now – a blue light filling the room like a subtle rendering error. The table shook slightly, the glass becoming viscous for a microsecond. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
- It's OK. Joint mission? With the queen of apocalyptic chic? I don't melt her, right? Or worse... I melt myself in the middle of the heroic pose.
Roy laughed, knocking on the table – which instantly returned to normal. They toasted with high-tech mugs of nano-infused coffee. The humming of Jarrette's suit quieted, but a purple flicker betrayed the underlying stress.
***
Leaving the gallery, Jarrette stopped, looking at the skyline of Zeko's city—neon towers where heroes glowed...or failed spectacularly. A hologram of Belka flashed on a nearby billboard: "Protect in Style."
He muttered to himself, or perhaps to the suit.
— Hey, partner. Let's not freak out today? Low popularity is better than an eternal blue screen.
The suit pulsed in response – a soft blue, as if it were breathing. But a single purple flicker in the fabric betrayed the truth beneath the calm surface.
**In Zeko, sales shine. But the glitch is personal.**
### **Reader Comments (r/WebNovels)**
**Posted by u/LeitorDeFiccoes**
**Discussion [ZEKO SUPER] Chapter 2: Is Glitch the New Fashion?**
Wow, the author really turned the tables with this chapter! Jarrette is such an interesting and tragic character. The idea that superheroic "fashion" is a huge corporation is fantastic satire.
**u/FanDeBelka** | 42 points | 2 hours ago
> I loved Jarrette's introduction! He's the complete opposite of Belka, and I'm here for that contrast. The scene of him trying to take the guy's cell phone was hilarious.
>
> And the joint mission! I can already imagine the chaos. Belka will lose her temper in 5 minutes. 😂
**u/AnalistaDeQuadrinhos** | 58 points | 1 hour ago
> I think the genius of this chapter is in the corporate critique. Roy isn't a caped supervillain, but maybe he's worse. He's "monetizing Jarrette's insecurity." The line "People buy the costume, but not the hero" was devastating.
>
> And the costume! The idea that he reacts to Jarrette's emotions is brilliant. It is a physical manifestation of your anxiety. It's not just a power, it's a burden.
**u/MemeLord_Zeko** | 115 points | 45 minutes ago
> **NEW MEME JUST DROPPED:**
>
> *[Image of Jarrette floating above a jelly floor with the text "MY BRAIN MONDAY MORNING"]*
>
> "Chromatic Error Pulse" is my new favorite superpower. LOL
**u/Conspiracy Theory** | 23 points | 30 minutes ago
>Does anyone else think the AI that created Jarrette's costume isn't "confused"? I think she's too smart. Perhaps she is testing the limits of human emotion through him. And what happened to the kid in the alley in chapter 1? Will Jarrette discover Belka's secret?
**u/CriticoCetico** | -5 points | 15 minutes ago
> I don't know. The corporate satire seemed a little obvious to me. And Jarrette's character is a little too much on the "poor me" side. I hope it develops beyond just being a "funny glitch". The team up with Belka needs to happen soon to boost the plot.