Episode 3: Scatter in the halls—Or, the Failure of Facial Recognition
This was going to be more difficult to hide than Rory thought.
Celene lounged on her mattress behind her, answering her questions as she listed them out. It was evening; already, the local news had caught on to the chaos that had erupted at the aquarium, although they were preemptively labeling it a terrorist attack. She and Narma were unmentioned.
In the mirror before her, she twisted her hips, letting the skirt flare out. Now that she was looking, the leotard and skirt seemed to be a dark grey, the layers beneath orange and marigold. "What's the skirt for?"
Rory had to believe this ridiculous uniform had to serve some kind of practical function. Otherwise, why even transform? It seemed like a waste of time.
"The skirt provides an invisible layer of shielding. It's not impenetrable, obviously, but it should lessen the brunt of any direct attacks to the lower body."
"The tiara?" She adjusted the black metal band over her forehead, the yellow gem gleaming from its center.
"It's a concealment device. It's enchanted. No matter how familiar one is with the wearer, the device makes it impossible to recognize them."
She peered back at the cat, remembering a news clip she had seen the previous year. "And Sailor Moon can use it as a weapon, right?"
Celene looked bothered. "I'm…not sure. I recall a great deal of general information. The specifics are where things get fuzzy,"
Rory peered down at the uniform's hips, where there were segments cut away. She frowned. "Why is the fabric keyholed here?"
"I believe that is purely aesthetic."
In the gap of exposed skin the uniform uncovered, she could see a massive, bruised scrape where the construction worker's claw had caught her across the torso. A scratch or two was easy to cover up, but massive wounds like this were much more visible. She was lucky he'd gotten her somewhere she usually wore clothes over. She poked a finger at the gash, then winced—still tender.
She felt bad for Narma, whose wound was going to be a bitch to hide. She was already dealing with the adjustment of finding out she had superpowers, she didn't need drama.
Narma stared at her from the other side of the aquarium. "GIRL. What the fuck?"
"Language!"
"We should get out of here." Rory eyed the outside world, where the growing sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance. "I don't know how we would explain this to anybody."
From the floor, the punk rocker groaned, beginning to sit up.
Narma stiffened. "Right. Okay. But once we move, you are explaining everything." She coughed, bringing a hand up to her throat.
Rory winced—she could already see the hand-shaped bruises forming. She nodded. "Right."
Moving quickly through the streets, she founded the closest alleyway that looked abandoned. She hurriedly showed Narma how to un-transform ("Just suck all the power back up in your chest. Does that make sense?") until the fading light left them leaning against opposite walls of the alley.
"It was weird," said Narma, holding her head. She adjusted her shirt, but there was no hiding the handprints. Rory passed her her belt, a fabric material that Narma immediately wrapped around her neck. "When I saw you come in, you didn't look like yourself. For some reason, I just couldn't recognize you."
Celene nodded from the ground. "There are enchantments in place to make sure Sailor Soldiers can only be recognized by other Soldiers."
Rory would need to ask her about that later. She took a breath. "So basically, you're a guardian of the universe or something? And you were born with this power, but it is just now activating because the pithos are showing up."
"What are the pithos?"
Rory shrugged her shoulders. "Girl, I have no idea."
Celene had stepped in, explaining the best she could. At this point, Narma knew as much as Rory did. It felt good to have someone else in this with her, but it seemed really strange that another of the "star souls" ended up belonging to her best friend. Was that the reason they'd gotten along so well in the first place? Could they sense it in each other or something? It just seemed too convenient.
She pointed another item of interest. "What about the bow?"
"It's for identification. Think of it as a crest. No two soldiers' are alike. For instance, one's symbol can be seen in the center gem. By that means, it has been used for tracking in the past."
Rory sat down on the bed, eyes passing over her backpack. It was going to be time to head out soon—school started in an hour, and it was a long walk. She glanced to Celene. "It seems crazy that some kind of magical military would have cats as their trainers. Basically."
Celene didn't respond, tucking further into the ball she had curled up into. "Hm."
Desidia peered down over the city, taking a seat on the building's ledge. It was too much work to stand up all the time. Nervous, she fiddled with the frequency stone on her wrist, but she knew she was just delaying the inevitable. Taking a breath, she spoke the coordinates for the Moving Palace and waited.
Pandorana smiled when she saw her. She was clearly expecting good news. Yikes. "Desidia. It's been a week in your current time since your last communication. I trust you have made progress?"
She shrunk in on herself. "Well. Um. Actually."
Lady Pandorana's eyes widened. "Hmm?"
"The pithos I had sanctioned at our last communication have been destroyed." She avoided eye contact. "I was right about the location area, but it seems an additional star soul has awakened since my mission first began. I have pin-pointed the area of the city they originated from—I'm sending it over right now." Desidia punched in the coordinates, transmitting them to the Palace. "I apologize for the delay, but…"
"Silence."
Desidia froze.
Her Lady's voice was as cheery as ever. "That's a shame. I was hoping I could trust you to purify that city, but it seems my trust was misplaced. Don't you think so, Elpis?
The Guard nodded, though his eyes were apologetic in the feed. "Yes, my Lady."
Desidia shook. "My Lady! I believe I have found a location to corner them—I just need a little more time. "
Pandorana's lilac eyes glittered. "And how many more of my pithos will I have to sacrifice for this strategy?"
A bead of sweat dripped down Desidia's neck. "A group of three, I believe, will do the job." She swallowed. "I will…go myself."
"Alright then." Pandorana smiled. In her throne, she leaned forward. "The Great Beast is very hungry, Desidia. Take care of this for me. We wouldn't want its next snack to be you."
The line died.
Desidia collapsed back against the rooftop, her full-body tense breaking. Man. It was time to get serious.And she'd been hoping not to get involved here.
The previous day, she'd watched the movement from that neighborhood, and this seemed to be a place of congregation.
Down below, in the courtyard across from her, students flooded into school, rushing to make it by the bell.
It was time to make one last move.
Rory moved through the hallway, clutching her backpack to her side. At least she'd made it on time. Her homeroom bell would be ringing any second, so she didn't have a lot of time to hang around.
But it was weird. How was she supposed to just go class when she knew that she was some kind of intergalactic soldier? That knowledge, the idea that there were things going on outside of this planet made everything here seem small. And she had so many questions! Even the Q and A sessions she'd been having with Celene at every opportunity weren't enough to satisfy. Each time she learned something, she just came up with more questions.
Like, what were their planet's names? Why couldn't Celene remember? If she was meant to be their guide, it seemed especially troubling that she couldn't remember so many things about who they were supposed to be. It was almost like someone was trying to sabotage them.
Rory sighed, closing her locker. Well, now wasn't the time for those questions—she had to get to class. As she moved down the hall, the intercom buzzed. "Don't forget the pep rally this afternoon, at 2:00 am, everyone. Show up to support your school. Candygrams will also be sold in celebration of Easter and other spring days of observance. Don't forget."
Oh—she had forgotten. She wasn't super into the pep rally, though it was fun to see everyone that hyped up. Still, any excuse to get out of class was a good one.
She tried to slip into homeroom without drawing a ton of attention. It always felt awkward when you were the last one in. Narma, who thankfully shared the same homeroom, patted the desk beside her and gestured her over.
As Mr. Gomez got started with history at the front, Rory felt a nudge at her fingertips from the space beside her. Glancing down, she saw Narma trying to press a note into her hand. She took it.
Well, it was better than texting her. Only an idiot would try to send messages inconspicuously with something that projected a light.
Subtly unfolding the note, she read what Narma had written. do you train with your powers or anything?
Writing back, Rory waited until Gomez's back was turned and slipped it onto Narma's desk. no, at least not yet. it's a good idea tho. I can run it by celene.
Narma wrote back. Luckily, Mr. Gomez was an old-fashioned guy who loved writing notes up on the board. you free tonight?
I gotta work this evening. how about tomorrow? you got aquarium shifts?
girl I aint going back to the aquarium
Rory frowned. Tearing another piece of paper from her notebook, she responded. why not? I thought you loved the aquarium, except your boss?
everytime I think about the aquarium I think about that thing's hands around my neck
Yikes. Rory hadn't had any sort of nightmares or anything yet, but Narma had gotten it worse than her. She couldn't help but shiver at the idea of getting strangled.
:( how are the bruises?
still bad. my mum was super nosey about the scarf when I got back. I had to tell her it was from a nice hindi boy so she would back off
:( but also lol. you going to the pep rally?
Free get-out-of-class-pass? You know it.
The bell rang.
For just a second, as everyone was standing up from their desks, Rory thought she saw something shoot by the classroom's window, but on second glance there was nothing there. She brushed it off. Must have been wind.
The gym was already screaming with pop music by the time Rory left class for the pep rally that afternoon. She stood outside the double doors, waiting in line with the rest of the crowd. She knew lots of people would be going, but she hadn't expected it to get this crowded.
"Hey, are you going to the pep rally?"
Within the mass of commuting students, Rory turned to see a guy standing a few feet away from her. He had sandy brown hair, and was honestly a little dorky looking; large, wire-rim glasses and a colored button-up. Still, something about him made her immediately tense. "Uh, yeah. You know. Better than class."
The guy smiled. "Yeah! Hey, just so you know, there's a new edition of the school paper coming out this Friday. You should check it out!"
He pulled off his glasses, cleaning them on the edge of his shirt.
Rory inhaled sharply, realizing why she felt uneasy. Last time she'd seen him, he'd had a giant bear-claw.
It was the first guy—the first person she fought on the rooftop who'd been possessed by the pithos. She hadn't realized he was that young. Then again, maybe anyone would look different with a bear-claw.
Of course, now he was just a guy. She wondered if he'd been aware during that time.
Her heart leapt—what if he recognized her? She clenched her hand.
Wait, no. Celene had said they couldn't recognize her in uniform. "Sure," she laughed nervously. "I'll do that."
Satisfied, he turned back to the entrance, where they all shuffled in like sardines.
The bass in their sound system was pounding, the school's cheer squad chanting from the floor. Rory greeted some of her classmates on the way in, scanning the crowd for Narma. Narma had texted her at lunch that she might be a little late, so she shrugged it off when she could find her.
Maybe something had been wrong with lunch today, though. There was something making her feel slightly queasy; she just hoped it didn't get any worse.
She took a seat in the upper bleachers, watching the doorways in case Narma couldn't find her. There was supposed to be some cheer routines, then a guest speaker, and then some games set up along the sides of the basketball court they could play until it was time for school let out. She didn't get her hopes up for the guest to be anyone special, though; they were just one carbon-copy school in a city full of them.
Several moments passed. Rory watching the clock above the bleachers, enthusiasm slowly fading as time for Narma to get out of class had well passed by with no Narma. Should I go check on her? That girl's pretty quick getting around in between classes. She hammered her toe against the plastic base of the stairway.
She considered going down into the crowd, but if she did, Narma might miss her. They would just end up circling around each other. So she stayed seated.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Rory jumped.
Peering over, she found the same dorky guy she had spoken to earlier scooting down the bleachers towards her. "You look kind of freaked out."
Rory crossed her legs, trying to get the discomfort in her stomach to settle. "Yeah, I just thought my friend would be here right now. I hope she's okay."
The guy looked thoughtful. "The teacher probably just held them over. Happens to me all the time."
That…kind of made sense, actually. "Yeah, maybe."
He held a hand out. Wow, who did that anymore? "My name is Edward, by the way."
She grinned, taking it. "'Edward?' You go by Eddie or somethin'?"
"Nope! Edward R. Murrow was one of the greatest journalists of our time. He's my hero. I want to become a journalist once I get out of here, so I go by the full name as a nod to him."
What a weird guy. "I can respect that." She paused "Would you be mad if I called you Eddie though?"
He sighed. "Everyone does."
The bleachers began to fill out. After several minutes, the cheer squad threw themselves into their main act routine, and the swell of teenagers amassed into a chorus of chatter and pubescent stank.
Yeah, Rory thought, she was still a high schooler. The world hadn't changed that much overnight.
"Everybody's getting really hyped," said Eddie from beside her. "Any idea who the guest speaker is?"
She shrugged. "No clue." Glancing over, she eyed him. He looked like a writer. There were ink stains on the sleeves of his button-up. Man, she didn't even know they had a school newspaper. "So, some juicy stories coming out on Friday, right?"
He turned back to her. "Oh, yeah! I actually got my stuff on the front page this time." Leaning forward, voice hushed (which made it hard to hear amidst the conversation,) he said, "You'll never believe what I saw."
"Welcome everybody!"
Their attention drew back to the center of the room.
Principal Garrish stood in the middle of the basketball court, microphone in hand, the gym lights focused down her. "Thank you all for gathering here today. I know you're all devastated you had to miss your afternoon class."
The students laughed. Rory clutched her stomach—the butterfly sensation was only getting worse. She needed to grab a ginger ale after this.
She watched the door—no sign of Narma.
"This event is about showing your support for your school. It's about taking a moment away from the books to appreciate the gift of all the people you have around you—your teachers, your staff, your fellow classmates. Today, show off your school spirit and have fun, so that when you go back to class tomorrow, you can work even harder."
In the sudden dimness of the gymnasium, Rory was then able to make out the shape of a woman standing close behind Principal Garrish. She couldn't see much of her; just the edge of her heals. She seemed to wait patiently while the Principal was getting them warmed up.
"We're going to have some free games available for everyone here, so enjoy that and, if you would like donate the school's improvement fund, But before that, we have a very special guest here to speak to you today."
The woman in the darkness stepped forward. She was wearing sun glasses, dark boots with striking heels, a white, Greek-looking cocktail dress and a black jacket. Curly honey hair hung down in her face.
Rory had no idea who that was.
Narma had been feeling sick all day. She couldn't think of a singular thing that might have caused it. She packed her lunch today, so the half-cooked cafeteria food hadn't done it. She hadn't done any vigorous exercise. Maybe she was still recovering from the fight a week ago? But she felt much better. Who knew.
So now she was lying in the Nurse's office like a grade schooler. The woman kept trying to give her saltine crackers, but if she stuffed one more cracker in her face she was going to explode.
The nurse had stepped out, probably to oversee the upcoming pep rally. It made sense—there were more opportunities for students to make idiots of themselves in an enclosed space. Plus, it wasn't like she was going to do anything else for her.
The nurse's station window shown light down into the quiet room. Narma tried to tune out the discomfort in her belly, listening to the quiet shuffling out in the office. Arm over her eyes, she heard a pair of footsteps pass close.
"We really appreciate you coming down here on such short notice. I know the kids will appreciate hearing from a figure of such high public regard in their age group. You know, for many of them, it's their dream job? My. the world certainly has changed."
Narma opened one eye, unmoving as she silently listened to the conversation. That sounded like the principal. Who was she talking to? There was supposed to be some kind of special guest at the rally, wasn't there? Who did their school manage to nab?
"Well, you know…" This woman sounded nervous. She didn't immediately recognize her voice, but she would have thought some big shot would speak with a little more oomph. "I'm just wanting to make sure the children are staying pure in these…difficult times."
Pure? Narma narrowed her eyes. Had Garrish brought in a priest or something? Narma has had quite enough of that this week. Stomach clenching uncomfortably, Narma sat up, scooting closer to the door from her cot.
"…I see," Garrish replied. "I…thought your contribution would be more…business oriented. I know you got started right out of high school; I was hoping you could talk to the kids about your experiences building that sort of business."
"Oh, yes," the woman startled. "I mean, the best business practices are those of purity. That is, that they are conducting their business in a genuine way. Does that make sense?"
"Oh," said Garrish, sighing. "Oh, yes, of course. I understand what you mean now."
Narma squinted into the darkness. What the hell are these mad women talking about?
"Well," Garrish recovered, "we really appreciate you coming, Ms. Klavsta."
Narma's jaw dropped. Klavsta?
As in, Sophie Klavsta? She was a prominent fashion vlogger from Sweden whose clothing line had garnered a stupid amount of success over the past few years. She was famous for never showing her face, preferring to keep the focus on the clothing. Narma knew, because she'd been following her for years. She was low-key one of her idols. But…hm.
Weird thing was, that didn't sound like Sophie. Narma had seen probably hundreds of her videos; she would recognize her voice. Did their principal get jipped?
The Principal and "Sophie" carried on their conversation, continuing out of the office. Curiosity peaked enough to overpower her unsettled stomach, Narma rose, quietly exiting the nurse's office and following them down the hall.
She kept a distance, not wanting to be caught stalking them. After a few moments, the Principal headed on to the gymnasium and the woman who was supposed to be Sophie turned down a hallway.
Just as she was about to turn down it herself, a tapping above her caught her attention.
Peering up, she saw the tiny hallway window taken up by orange cat.
With a quick glance to make sure no one was looking, she got up on her tip-toes and flicked the latch. Celene pushed open the window with her head, letting herself in. "Something's not right," she said immediately, hopping down on top of some lockers.
"Hold on." She snapped her mouth shut as the woman walked back out, passing her. Narma turned her attention back to the hallway, moving down it with the lightest tread possible. What was that woman doing down there?
"'Hold on?'" Celene hissed indignantly.
Narma, undeterred, slinked past rows of unused lockers. Where had she gone?
She was about half-way down the hall when she came upon a supply closet. There wasn't really anything else around—all the classrooms seemed to be locked. Had she gotten something out of there?
Decided, she opened the door.
A woman stared back with wide eyes. Most of her clothes were missing, and she was bound. She gave a muffled scream around her gag when Narma came into view.
What the hell? With finality, she understood she was looking at the real Sophie Klavsta. If that was true…
Who the hell was in the gym?
"I want you all to give it up for Sophie Klavsta!"
Rory heard a wave of skepticism from the crowd: "What, no way!" and "Did they really get her to make an appearance in-person?"
She vaguely recognized the name, but…
Wait. Wasn't she that Youtuber Narma was obsessed with? The one with the clothing line? Narma was going to be crushed if she missed her.
But, as Rory peered out over the figure in the center of the gymnasium, something seemed off. It coincided with the twist in her gut as the woman began to speak.
"Hello, children," Sophie said, shifting from toe to toe. "I'm here to talk to you about something very important."
'Hello children?' Who spoke like that that? And wasn't she supposed to be Swedish or something? Rory couldn't hear any accent at all.
Seemed she wasn't the only one thought this was fishy. Around her, she heard whispers of "That's not her," and "Does this lady think we're stupid?"
Sophie cleared her throat. "Your purity is the most important thing, children. If you don't have that, you're worthless."
What the frick? Principal Garrish looked startled too, shuffling towards the mic as the boos started. She cleared her throat. "I thought you were speaking about something else today, miss." She said it like, "take the hint," or maybe, "Shut up. Now."
After a moment, the woman who was almost definitely not Sophie Klavsta yelled, "Ugh, this is too hard! Forget it!" She flung her arms out.
Rory tensed as the woman's hands began to leak smoke.
"I have to know who here has the pure soul I need!"
Rory's eyes widened. Pure soul?
Screams rang out from the corners of the room, where figures were standing, familiar bear claws forming over their hands.
The woman yelled, "Just give it up!"
Chaos.
Students and teachers clambered off the bleachers, scrambling towards the door as the pithos examined their captives individually. If they didn't yield results, they were tossed carelessly down the steps.
That's why she was feeling so sick. How did they make into the school? She stood with the rest of her classmates, trying not to draw attention in all the cacophony.
Eddie peered to her as he began moving down the steps. "We have to get out of here!"
She drew back. "You go on. I've got to make sure Narma got out okay." Before he could say anything else, she wove through the crowd, heading for the railings.
One of the pithos had moved to block the exit, probably realizing everyone was escaping. Down at the bottom, Narma—or, rather, Sailor Epsilon—burst through the gym doors behind him. Celene stood beside her, tail whipping aggressively.
Rory had to get somewhere she could transform.
Making a decision, she jumped the rail and darted behind the bleachers.
"Hey now." Narma held her arms out as the pithos before her tilted it's (her?) head, currently jacking the body of a blond classmate. "That's just not right. You have to take a girl out to dinner first."
The girl smiled. "Star soul detected!"
Beside her, Celene hissed. "Sailor Epsilon! That's the woman I heard talking about the pithos!"
Narma glanced around her adversary—indeed, there was a snazzy dressed woman with two bear hands launching herself around the room, yanking unsuspecting teens up to check their souls. She was almost 100% the woman who had attacked Sophie. "Got it. Shank the bitch, and avoid a bear hug."
Celene sputtered.
The blond pithos lunged at her, Narma turning sideways to avoid it. "Celene, I have literally only done this once. I might need a little guidance." She really regretted not taking those dance classes like her grandma wanted.
"Just use what you know!"
Narma ducked to avoid another swing. Okay, so, she knew her attack could hit multiple targets at once. It seemed to work better if they were closer together?
Narma narrowed her eyes, spying another smoky-handed freak in the right corner. Well, guess I'm herding these guys. Turning abruptly, she ran in that direction.
She ran immediately into Rory.
Sailor Beta was coming from around the bleachers, and the pithos in that area immediately turned its attention in her direction. And then it saw Narma and looked torn.
"Epsilon," Rory called to her over the screaming. "That woman—I think she's controlling them."
"I know. Help me get them together," she called back, swerving through the crowd as the pithos followed quickly behind. "We should take out her lackies first. It will make it easier to take her out if we're not juggling—" she dropped, dodging a claw as if came hurling through the place her head had just been, "—three other guys."
Rory echoed "Three," eyes scanning the room around them. Her eyes widened as she peered over Narma's shoulder.
"Whoo, that was easier than I thought!"
Turning, Narma backed away rapidly, watching as the Sophie imposter strode towards them with the third pithos. Narma cursed; out of time. Raising her scepter, having no choice, she called on Typhoon Strikedown, raining down on the two pithos closest to them. The one closest to her went down, but the one by Rory only faltered. Stubborn.
Acting quickly, Narma darted away from the collective, passing between Rory and the pithos, drawing its attention. Two sets of feet pounded behind her. I'll keep these guys distracted. Take her out, Rory.
The woman was across the court one minute, but then she thrust her arms back, sweeping through the air. Rory watched in alarm as the space between her and the imposter disappeared in an instant. "I'll tell you," the woman said, "You two are slippery. Luckily, I still have the chance to collect your souls, so it's not that big of a deal."
"Who are you?" Rory gritted her teeth, scrambling back up the bleachers, trying to gain some distance.
The woman smiled. "Doesn't matter! Now stay still." The woman whipped her arms forward, and, almost as if the claws were pulling her, was shot through the air like a comet.
Directly above her.
Jerking back, Rory whipped out her scepter and fired a Dire Gust into the woman's stomach.
"Sophie" was thrown back the way she had come, landing on her back. "Argh! Brat!" Immediately, she began to get back up.
Rory's gaze whipped to Narma—she was going to need her help, if this woman recovered so quickly from one of her Gusts. She just hoped she was handling the pithos okay.
Apparently, her attack had a turn time.
Narma had called out for a second Typhoon Strikedown several times now, but the scepter in her pocket had only flickered dimly. Damn, she needed an actual weapon. All she could do right now was dodge, and she wasn't great at it.
She gritted her teeth as the railing she vaulted over slammed into her shoulder, the pithos quick behind. It was a good thing these creatures didn't seem very good at strategy; they could have cornered her if they were coordinating. Instead, they greedily charged after her, tearing up the gym floor as they scraped across it.
Across the way, the woman who'd been controlling them was working way more efficiently. Despite the numbers, Rory had really gotten the short end of the stick here. That woman could fling herself across the room, her claw coming down like a guillotine.
Epsilon panted, turning back to the creatures as they tried to follow her under the bleachers—really too small for their massive 'paws.' "Alright, you fellows, you need to chill."
They roared.
An enormous crash rang from above them on the front side of the bleachers—a scream tore through the air. Narma looked up. She could see the shadow of Rory (Beta?) and the woman come to arms. Oh no.
Darting out from the enclosed space, she froze to see Beta, pinned with the women's immense claw by the shoulder—she could see the place where the claws were piercing the skin. "Beta!"
Rory's eyes winced, peering over to where Narma had come out of her hiding place. "Look out!"
Narma jumped, one of the pithos growling venomously as it's smoky claw embedded in the wall where she had been.
The woman wouldn't be distracted it seemed. She could see the woman reaching for Rory's chest. Narma had seen that same glow from her own. She gasped. No time.
The second pithos was still trying to get out from under the bleachers. This was her only chance.
Narma/Epsilon held out both hands. One to the pithos behind her, whose claws were seconds away from unstuck and ready to rip her soul out, and one at Sophie's copycat. "Eat shit!" She cursed. "Typhoon Strikedown!"
WHAM.
A downpour was unleashed on the bleachers. The woman was blasted off of Rory, who winced at the after-shock. The pithos behind Narma cried out as it got a power washing.
Then the second came out, no time to avoid it.
Narma braced herself as it flung her back against the bleachers. The air was knocked from her—a pain in her chest might have been a cracked rib.
The thing was still coming.
Beta/Rory gasped, brushing water from her eyes. Her deep gray suit clung to her.
Below, the woman sputtered, spitting out the remains of the deluge. "How dare you treat an Agent of Purity this way? We're trying to make a better world here. Just give up already!"
Narma—that thing was going to be on her any second. And she looked hurt, Beta had to act quickly.
Beta narrowed her eyes, observing the almost perfect trajectory from the woman to the pithos behind her. "News flash, lady. We're the good guys. Catch up."
The woman's eyes widened as she held out her scepter.
"Dire Stellar Gust!"
The attacked rocketed through her. Rory gaped as the woman seemed to disappear completely, reduced to nothing more than particles and a pile of stylish clothes. The mass hit the pithos full force, the host collapsing within a circle of stellar dust.
Holy crap. That thing got stronger.
The pithos out of commission, Rory rushed to where Narma had fallen against the bleachers. "Damn, girl, you took a hit!" She kneeled beside her, examining the area Narma was clutching over.
After a moment, Celene emerged from behind the bleachers. "Great work, Sailor Scouts—oh my!"
"I'm okay," she hissed as Rory helped her to stand. "I think I should go back to the nurse's office though. Wait."
As Rory moved to steer her towards the door, Narma pointed to the pile of clothes.
"I need those."
The police showed up. Rory could hear the sirens squalling from the street outside as Narma handed the damp ensemble to the shivering woman in the choir room. They would need to make themselves scarce soon.
"Thank you," said the women Rory presumed to be the real Sophie Klavsta. She shook out the excess water, slowly pulling them back on. "But…how did you know I was here?"
Narma grinned. She gave the vlogger finger guns (Rory gave her a look like she was crazy. GIRL. You have a broken rib). "You know, it was a super cool student who told us where to find you. Indian girl. You're really lucky that she came to the rescue. She said she was a big fan, maybe you should shout her out. Or give your number of something, you know."
Rory gave her a flat look. This seems like an abuse of power.
"Y-yeah, maybe," Sophie brushed her hair back. "Well, thank you anyways."
Rory straightened. She'd never gotten to interact with anyone as Sailor Beta before; it was a little exciting. "Just doing our duty, ma'am. It sounds like the police are here—you may want to file a report about what happened."
"Thank you." The woman hesitated. "Just…what was that woman? She looked like a monster."
Rory smiled stiffly. Girl, I know it. Her shoulder throbbed, bleeding under the dark fabric. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."