It was a slow day for the Vandenreich, so some of the more restless Sternritter in the group had taken to training, preparing themselves for the upcoming war.

Candice Catnipp and Giselle Gewelle sat together on a piece of ruined wall, Liltotto Lamperd leaning against it with her arms crossed. All their eyes were focused squarely on their friend Meninas McAllon, who stood alone in the center of the field, beside her what appeared to be a ruined bell-tower literally towering over her. It had been torn straight off one of the castles earlier in the day, due to an accidental misfire of Buzzbee's Burner Finger. The fifth member of their little crew, Bambietta Basterbine, was off doing whatever she enjoyed doing. 'Stupid bitch stuff' as Candice liked to call it.

"Are you ready, Minny?" Liltotto called over to their friend.

Meninas nodded. "Yep!"

"Let's see what you got, then. Show it off."

Meninas nodded again. She stepped back and raised her arms. In an instant, her upper limbs were already bulging with an incredible amount of muscle, larger than even the self-proclaimed super hero's, and every time she flexed those muscles, the air itself crackled from the pressure. Meninas bent down and slipped her hands underneath the bell-tower, her legs swelling and her tendons expanding as more muscle was piled onto her otherwise feminine figure. The three onlookers could practically feel the raw, unadulterated strength emitting off of Meninas' body. It radiated like an aura from her very being, so thick in the air that it seemed to be tangible.

It was not often that they'd get to witness Meninas bring out the full experience of her title 'The Power'. She'd admitted to them before that she disliked bulking up, because it made her look 'like a muscled monster', in her own words. No one ever claimed she did look like one, but no one ever claimed she didn't either. Her physical strength was unrivaled by most in the Vandenreich either way, so she rarely needed to bring out the big guns when hunting Hollows or hunting Shinigami; this was one of only a handful of times they'd seen it. Candice only discovered after she started coughing that she'd been holding her breath without realizing it.

Meninas displayed no semblance of effort or even difficulty as she stood and raised the entire structure over her head. With a huff, the pink-haired Quincy leaped into the air, leaving deep cracks in the pavement beneath her feet, and hurled the bell-tower as hard as she could muster, putting every single ounce of her monstrous strength into it. The girls watched, completely speechless, as the building spun off into the distance before finally disappearing from view altogether a few seconds later. They waited and listened, but they never heard it crash to the ground.

Liltotto whistled. "Well, shit. That was impressive."

"It really was! How far do you think that went?" Giselle asked.

"How the fuck would I know? I wasn't keeping score! Maybe a few hundred miles or something?"

Giselle shrugged. "Hey, Candy, what do you think about it? 100 miles? 200?"

Candice's cheeks were flushed with a faint, reddish tint, and she had one leg crossed roughly over the other. She seemed uncomfortable, almost awkward, as she nervously shifted back and forth in her spot. "It...it probably was really far...but who cares, anyway? I-It's not even surprising at all, 'cuz she's The Power and all, ya know!"

Giselle and Liltotto stared at the blonde.

"What? Stop staring at me like that! You looking for trouble?" Candice growled.

Sneaky little grins started spreading across the two Quincies' faces.

"Stop smiling, both of you!" Candice was starting to get mad, little sparks of electricity flickering around her head. Her blush turned even darker in color.

"So that's what you're into, eh, Candy?" Giselle asked with a sneer.

"What?"

"You like it when Minny shows off those big, sexy muscles of hers, don't you?"

Candice's hair started to flare up from the static she was producing. "What did you just say?"

"You always like to talk about things you hate, but you're really shy about admitting to things you like, right? Did it make you moist, watching Minny use her strength to throw that tower so easily like that?"

"You...you...! Giselle!"

"I wondered why you liked her so much, considering she's kind of ditzy, but if that's your kink, then I guess it makes-"

"SHUT UP!"

Candice grabbed Giselle's face and blasted her with several thousand volts. Liltotto took a few steps back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Burnt to a charred and crispy brown, Giselle collapsed onto the ground. Wisps of smoke were rolling off of her body in droves. A few moments later, however, she gave a victory sign with two trembling fingers.

"Blut...Vene..."

"Too bad, you didn't kill her." Liltotto remarked.

"I wasn't trying to kill her!"

"It sure looked like it from where I'm standing."

"I want her to shut up from talking about me and Minny!" Candice screeched, "I never said I liked her muscles or anything! You guys are just implying this and that and trying to make up a bunch of shit about me that isn't remotely true! There's nothing going on here! You got that? Nothing!"

Liltotto started sucking on a lollipop she pulled out from seemingly nowhere. "You sure are making a big deal out of supposedly nothing, though."

"Just...just cut it out, okay?" Candice blushed, lowering her head.

"You really are in denial. No one who actually isn't attracted to her muscles would throw such a hissy fit over proving they aren't."

"I'll freaking kill you!"

Meninas, having shrunk back down to normal size, approached her two friends. "Candice, is it true? Do you really like my muscles?"

"Eh?" Candice grew hot once more, her hair and clothes rippling as tiny little sparks flew from her skin, and she stuttered, "N-No...I...I said I didn't...I mean, you know, Minny, they're not really, um, bad or anything...I-I don't...I don't...! What I meant to say was-!"

There was a tear in Meninas' eye as she beamed. "You're the first person to ever say they thought my muscles were cute."

"I...I...oh geez, Minny..." It would have taken more than Candice had to go and ruin that perfect little smile; why did Meninas have to be so adorable?

Liltotto snorted into her lollipop.

Meninas enlarged her arms again, expanding to such a size that even the veins were visible. "How about I give you my biggest hug, my lovely loser?"

"Wha-? Wait, Minny! Hold on! Don't go...doing anything rash!"

"C'mere, you sweetie, you! I wanna squeeze you so hard!"

"Minny! Stop! Please! B-Back up! I can't take this, Minny!"

"You know you want me! Now come and get it!"

"Gaaah!"

Liltotto rolled her eyes. 'Why do I even hang around these people...?'