The Marvelous Adventures of Star Woman vs. Madame Q
Summer was winding down. Thank God. Quinn loved being a junior counselor for camp, but after eight weeks of whining, silliness, drama, non-stop physical activity, and next to zero alone time with Rachel, she was ready to go home. She walked into the final counselors' meeting on Monday, and sat down next to her girlfriend. "Morning," she said, taking Rachel's hand.
"Good morning, Quinn!" Rachel chirped. She was far too chipper for seven a.m.
"Right everyone," Abby, one of the senior counselors, called. "Last week together. It's been a fantastic summer this year. I know some of you, particularly those on the Red Team, won't believe this, but there's been a lot less drama than in years past." She smiled at the rest of the counselors as they laughed. "Anyway, not too many announcements as it's the last week. We're moving our hike to Tuesday, because the weather's supposed to be awful on Wednesday. And for the final theme days, we have Rachel and Quinn planning!"
There were cheers and whistles at this. Theme days were on the weekends, and the theme to beat this year was "Send in the Clowns". Mikey and Fiona had staged a pie fight on Sunday after dinner, and the kids were still talking about it.
"Make it good," Abby told them. "We want to send the kids off with a bang. Last thing, we're trying a new process for dismissal. We'll do a run through of it on Wednesday, and the steps are in your packets…."
Quinn felt Rachel nudge her with her phone. She looked down, expecting to see some kind of suggestion having to do with Broadway, Streisand, or Celine. But when she read the text, she smiled. Rachel was definitely putting her theatrics to good use this time.
Saturday rolled around, and for once Rachel was glad that she and Quinn had been assigned to different teams. She was also rather impressed with the way all the junior counselors had kept mum about the weekend's plans. The kids had figured out about the pie fight weekend three days before it happened. She put on the last bit of her outfit and glanced out to the obstacle course. A few kids had stopped to look at it, but the senior counselors were shooing them along. Grinning, she walked out of the back of the cabin and over to the auditorium.
The other five junior counselors from her team (Blue Squad) and the Green Team were already there eating breakfast.
"Holy crap, Berry!" Adam called when she walked in. "Crime fighting works for you."
"Thanks," she said, grabbing a bowl of chopped fruit. "And I'm not Berry today. I'm Star Woman." She spun, showing off her outfit: black leggings and shorts and a black t-shirt with a giant sparkly gold star in the middle. "My singing can break down walls. And I've been told my pout could end wars."
"Too bad that only works on Quinn," Adam said, grinning.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Ultra Man! I can knock people over with bursts of energy and I have super speed."
"I think everyone is going to pick super speed," a girl dressed all in purple said.
"What's your hero name, Ashley?"
"The Purple Mist. My sister picked it."
By the time the senior counselors brought their teams in, Star Girl, Ultra Man, The Purple Mist, Sonic Boom, SPYder, and The (other) Green Lantern were lined up on stage in full costume. Most of the kids guessed what was going on and promptly lost their shit. The heroes on stage each raised a hand and waited until the kids settled down. Finally, Rachel stepped forward and took the mic.
"Good morning campers. By now, I'm sure some of you know what's going on. You have been chosen to join an elite team of superheroes. This morning, you will create your superhero persona, choose your superhero name, and design your costume. This afternoon, you will begin your training on the obstacle course."
There was slight pandemonium as they divided the kids into groups and let them start designing their hero characters. Rachel rotated through the groups, making sure no inappropriate hero names got past them. By lunch time, she was confident that this was going to be the best theme weekend ever.
Quinn had never been so happy to feel air conditioning. She'd spent the morning running the obstacle course with her group of kids. She ran through the shower and put her own costume on. She was impressed with Rachel's kids' costumes, and she was excited to see what her kids would come up with.
"Ready, Madame Q?" her friend Kieran asked.
"Thing 1?" she asked, laughing.
"Well, we're supposed to be your minions, right?" he said, running a hand through his blue hair. "Things 1 through 5 at your service!"
They had lunch in the auditorium and waited for the kids to come in. Their costumes weren't as over the top as Rachel's group's, so it took the kids a while to catch on. It also didn't help that Quinn was in a huge office chair facing away from them. She turned (slowly and dramatically) and faced the kids once they'd gotten quiet. "I'm impressed with the work you did this morning. You have proven yourselves, and today you are Super Villains!"
There were some gasps, some cheers, and a couple of requests to switch teams (which Quinn had counted on). She smiled down at them. "Since we trained this morning, we'll be designing your costumes and inducting you into the Villain's League this afternoon."
"Heroes Unite!" Rachel and the other junior counselors yelled as they finished the night's announcements. The kids on her team cheered, and the rest of the kids looked around trying to find their leader. "Well done, today, heroes! I can honestly say—"
Suddenly, the lights flickered and the senior counselors provided some low budget sound effects and laser lights from the back. When the lights came back on, Quinn was standing at the back of the room, in her super villain outfit.
Rachel tried not to drool. "Madame Q!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"You thought you were rid of me, didn't you Star Woman?" Quinn asked, trying not to laugh. Evidently she still looked evil enough, because all eyes were on her. "Well, you thought wrong! I'm back for revenge. And this time, I'm not alone!"
This time, the kids on the Super Villain team cheered. At the same time, the sound and light effects started. Things 1 through 5 ran in began to "battle" the other heroes. They got them subdued (to much cheering and booing from various kids) and Quinn walked up the middle aisle toward Rachel.
"Freeze," she said. Rachel froze. She grabbed Rachel's Star Wand and held it up. "Finally! The key to Star Woman's power! Ta ta, Star Woman! Until next time." She ran back down the aisle, her minions running after her. They stayed in the back room so they could hear the rest of the skit.
"Oh no! Madame Q has stolen the Star Wand!" The Purple Mist stated.
"We must go after it!" Ultra Man said. "Newly inducted heroes! We'll need your help on this mission. Get a good night's rest!"
"Heroes Unite!" all of the "good guys" yelled over the heckling of the "bad guys".
With a bow, the heroes dismissed the campers for the night.
"We're keeping these costumes," Rachel said, kissing Quinn goodnight.
"Thank god it's only one more day," Quinn said, blatantly undressing Rachel with her eyes. "Goodnight, Star Woman."
"Night, Madame Q."
