Training for the girls…was not going so well. They kept getting spotted by their mentors and there were only two days left before the deadline. Belinda was looking over something on a computer. Wilma then wandered into the room. “Morning,” yawned Wilma. “…Don’t tell me you’ve been at that computer all night.”
“All right,” declared Belinda, “let’s go over this again.”
“Again?”
“Again.”
“How long have you reviewed our lesson plan?” asked Wilma.
“About…three Earth hours, it looks like,” replied Belinda.
“And how many times in those three hours?” quizzed Wilma.
“…Five hundred twenty-four times now,” revealed Belinda.
“So you woke up three hours ago and continually reviewed the lesson plan,” sighed Wilma. “You know what that means?”
“…Time for another cup of that Earth beverage? …Coffee, I think they called it. It’s quite good with-.”
“No! It means you should put that lesson plan away and catch up on those three hours of sleep you lost!”
“…So, Ruby freezes in high intensity situations, Bethany’s bluntness can be construed as rudeness, and Yazmyn is so impulsive,” muttered Belinda.
“We also know that these girls have known each other since they were little,” remarked Wilma.
“…Do we think that’s relevant for their training?”
“…We don’t know.”
“…No.” Belinda steepled her fingers.
“Except that a team is best when everyone is at least familiar with one another.”
“But what would help them shore up their weaknesses?!” asked Belinda, her frustration mounting.
“We don’t know,” replied Wilma simply.
“…No, no we don’t. …It’s there! The solution’s right there, staring me in the face, but I just can’t make it out!”
“Belinda, your mind’s exhausted!” protested Wilma. “Grace is still asleep! We’re like the humans in that regard in that we all need rest!”
“…How are the girls?” asked Belinda.
“Still frustrated that they haven’t won against us yet.”
“And that’s another mystery! Why haven’t their weapons-?!”
“Belinda!” Belinda stopped at Wilma’s interruption. “…Rest!”
“…Rest. Yes, I suppose that’s right. See you when I wake up.”
“I’ll look over the lesson plan then, shall I?” asked Wilma.
“…I suppose so,” conceded Belinda as she headed to bed. “Night.”
The mood at Ruby’s house wasn’t much better. Bethany was wracking her brains, trying to figure out why they keep failing to take their mentors down. “Morning,” called Ruby. “Mom’s made breakfast.”
“Hm? Oh, yeah, thanks.” Bethany stood up.
“…How long have you been up?” asked Ruby.
“About an hour. I couldn’t really get a restful night’s sleep.”
“Thinking?”
“Yeah. Specifically about how we’ve been failing so bad! We ARE working on our weaknesses! Why haven’t we improved?!”
“…I don’t know, Bethany,” admitted Ruby lamely. “I know, I know, you weren’t looking for an answer, but I genuinely don’t know. It’s…it’s disheartening.”
“…Useless!” grumbled Wilma. “And all when they’re clearly working on their weaknesses! …Weaknesses. …Hang on, how did their predecessors…? …We’re idiots! Time for a new plan!”
The training session arrived and Ruby, Bethany, and Yazmyn were dreading it. “You girls ready to eat dirt?” Yazmyn said sardonically.
“Don’t,” sighed Ruby. “I’m depressed enough as it is.”
“…Girls, why is Wilma smiling?” asked Bethany. Wilma, Grace, and Belinda were in their Cosmic Rose outfits when they arrived.
“…Looks like Grace and Belinda are just as confused,” remarked Ruby. She said it just as everyone was gathered.
“All shall become clear,” said Wilma.
“I certainly hope so,” remarked Belinda. “I’d rather define my terms.”
“Girls, we’ve been focusing too much on your weaknesses,” said Wilma. “This time, I want you three to play to your strengths.”
“Our strengths?” asked Yazmyn. “But we’re not that strong.”
“Not physical strengths, my dear Yazmyn,” corrected Wilma. “You three spend some time discussing your strengths and see how to use them against us. We’ll give you half an hour.” By then, Belinda was face-palming.
“If that didn’t sound like Rhonda,” she sighed, kicking herself for not thinking about it in the first place.
“We’ll see you later, girls,” said Grace as she and her friends headed off.
“…Our strengths?” asked Ruby. “…But you girls are more physically active than me. I mean, Yaz, you’re fast, Beth, you’re the brains of the group.”
“…Ruby, you’re forgetting how you can bring us together on a common goal,” said Bethany.
“Beth’s right,” agreed Yazmyn. “I know we’re friends, but you ARE the leader of our group. You’ve gotten me to slow down at times when it was serious. And Beth, you’ve picked out weaknesses before. Remember that prank we pulled on Rei the Rat?”
“Man, I remember!” cackled Ruby. “Hoo boy, she lost all her cred back then!” Her smile then faded to a look of concentration. “…If we can apply that to the exercise…”
“Your planning, my brains, and Yaz’s speed used correctly DID accomplish a well-executed prank back then,” reminded Bethany. “What say we try that?”
“…Yaz, keep hidden and scout out the terrain,” directed Ruby. “Report on any weaknesses.”
“Got it!” replied Yazmyn. She took off and kept low. The Cosmic Roses were patrolling the area and making bad guy talk.
“Yeah, those wimps won’t know what hit them!” cackled Grace in an attempt to be evil. “We’ll blind the whole planet!”
“Light or dark, it makes no difference!” agreed Wilma.
“Yeah, well I still say dark is better for blinding,” scoffed Belinda.
“No, LIGHT is!” snapped Wilma.
“Cut it out, you two!” snapped Grace. “It doesn’t matter! Belinda, go patrol the north! Make sure that brainy girl can’t get past us! Wilma, patrol the east! Look out for little miss impulsive! I’ll take care of the west and put the small fry in her place!” Yazmyn heard enough and dashed back to her friends.
“They’re planning on rendering everyone blind,” she reported. “Belinda’s patrolling the north, looking out for you, Bethany. Ruby, Grace is looking in the west for you. Wilma’s patrolling the east for me. Apparently, in Grace’s eyes, brainy means physically weak, being small DOESN’T have any advantages, and my speed leads to rash decisions. There’s plenty of cover, though.”
“…All right then,” remarked Ruby, “we’ll go for stealth. We’ll enter from the south, then split up with Bethany taking care of Belinda, Yazmyn taking care of Wilma, and I’ll show Grace to call me a small fry. Don’t celebrate until we’ve returned to the south with our captives. Ready?”
“Sounds good to me!” replied Yazmyn.
“Let’s do it and finally pass this exercise!” declared Bethany.
Over with Wilma, she patrolled like a thug, not really keeping up her defenses. Yazmyn kept low to the ground, using her speed when necessary. She waited until Wilma yawned, then she deliberately made some noise. Wilma rolled her eyes and went to Yazmyn’s position…only she wasn’t there. “Huh?” muttered Wilma. “What-?” Someone then grabbed her and yanked her low to the ground. She looked up and saw that Yazmyn was keeping her hand over the Cosmic Rose’s mouth.
“Little miss impulsive, huh?” taunted Yaz. Wilma stared for a bit…then held up a yellow flag, indicating that Yazmyn took her down according to the exercise. “…You serious?” Wilma nodded. “…Well, can’t celebrate until my friends are done and we made it so everyone that can will still see. You’re coming back to the south with me.”
Belinda was acting like a nervous thug. “…She’s just brains,” she muttered to herself. “No brawn whatsoever! No way can she take me-!” She then felt a hand over her mouth while she was restrained. She struggled a bit, then went limp. Bethany waited a few seconds before Belinda pulled out a blue flag.
“…We ain’t done yet,” said Bethany. “Back south you go before you make everyone blind.”
“Come on, pipsqueak!” taunted Grace as she waited. “Come out of the shadows! …Unless everything else is too tall for you!” All of a sudden, she tripped over something. As she sprawled, someone pulled her hands back and pushed her face into the ground!
“You talk too much about one thing,” said Ruby, revealing that SHE was the one that took Grace down. Grace said nothing, then waved a red flag. “Come on, to the south with you. The Blind won’t wish their affliction on anyone else.”
Ruby, Bethany, and Yazmyn dragged their respective Cosmic Roses to the south and met up. They saw that all three of their targets were holding a flag. “…You girls too?!”
“Them too!” confirmed Wilma.
“Strengths as well as weaknesses!” said Belinda. “I can’t believe I forgot that!”
“It’s been millennia since we were being trained,” reminded Grace.
“You girls saved your planet’s general ability to see,” praised Wilma, “and took us down quickly and quietly.”
“Now, see if you can hold onto that knowledge of strengths and weaknesses while reaching out for the elements within those Transformation Seeds we gave you,” directed Grace.
“I hate to have to add a wrinkle,” interjected Belinda, “but think about the feeling your Seed gave you when you first touched it.”
“…A bit heavy, but all right,” muttered Bethany. The girls shut their eyes and concentrated. Nothing happened for a bit.
“…Remember,” began Wilma uncertainly, “think about-.” Then…it happened! Fire erupted from Ruby’s hand, stretched out, then died to reveal a fire-themed sword! Water swirled around Bethany’s left forearm, then fell to the ground to reveal a water-themed shield! Last of all, lightning surrounded Yazmyn’s hands, then died to reveal a lightning-themed gun in each hand. The girls goggled in surprise as the Cosmic Roses beamed with pride! “Now there’s a happy miracle if I ever saw one!” praised Wilma.
