“H-How-?!” spluttered Ruby.
“Those feelings we told you to focus on,” explained Wilma, “gave the magic of your Transformation Seeds a focus.”
“The magic then read your minds as to what weapons you preferred,” continued Grace. “Ruby, you imagine yourself as someone with a sword, the symbol of a leader.”
“Yazmyn, you and your grandfather use firearms as a precaution to defend your farm, yes?” asked Wilma. Yazmyn nodded in confirmation as she looked over her guns.
“And Bethany,” finished Belinda, “you tend to use physics and are a great admirer of that Captain America person in your comics.”
“Now, we’ll need to somehow teach you all how to-.” Wilma’s remark on their further education was interrupted as the gold compacts on each Cosmic Rose’s waist flashed.
“What’s that?” asked Yazmyn.
“Our Comms Compacts,” replied Grace. “They’ve detected trouble.” The Cosmic Roses opened their compacts. “…The local fire station’s caught fire!”
“And all their fire suppression systems are offline!” yelped Grace.
“There isn’t enough time for another fire crew to get them out!” said Bethany. “The nearest one’s on the other side of town! It’ll take an hour for them to get here!”
“…We have to save them!” declared Ruby. “Wilma, I can control fire, yes?”
“Not at a masterful degree!” replied Wilma. “None of you are at the beginning rank of Lady yet!”
“We can’t just let them die!” protested Yazmyn.
“Yaz is right,” agreed Ruby. “We need to save those people!”
“…We’ll guide you as best we can,” sighed Belinda.
“But-!” argued Wilma.
“Belinda’s right!” interjected Grace. “This is their only chance to demonstrate their skill in magic! Girls, which way is the fire station?!”
The girls and the Cosmic Roses arrived on the scene before anyone else did. “Right then, Ruby,” said Grace, “That warmth you felt when you first bonded with your Transformation Seed, you’ll need to tap into it and try and mentally reach out with the fire. It won’t put it out, but it CAN bring it under control.”
“Got it!” replied Ruby. She concentrated on that feeling as she gripped her sword, the feeling of a fire in a chimney on a winter’s day. She could imagine the warmth…then she thought about the fire raging and imagined it lessening to a fireplace fire. The fire DID shrink some.
“Right, Bethany,” directed Belinda, “while Ruby’s shrinking the fire, I need you to make your shield spin over the station like a flying saucer and make it spread water. Like Ruby, you need to think about that feeling you felt when you bonded with your Transformation Seed.
“Right,” said Bethany. She flung the shield and thought to that feeling of swimming in water and not needing air, then stretched her arm out to try and mentally hold the shield in place above the fire station. The shield stopped, then Bethany thought about a rotary sprinkler watering the lawn. The shield spun, but then sprayed water everywhere. The fire shrunk some more, but there was still the inside to contend with.
“Hey, the generator’s over there!” called Yazmyn as she pointed out the generator for the fire station. “…Dang! Someone’s cut the power!”
“Yazmyn, this is your chance,” directed Wilma. “As you tap into the feeling you felt when you bonded with your Seed, I want you to restore power to the generator.”
“…I think I can do it through one of my guns,” decided Yazmyn. She thought back to the slight tingle she felt when she bonded with her Seed, then channeled that feeling into the gun in her right hand. She aimed at the power cable at the generator’s base and imagined the shot going straight into the generator and restoring power to the firehouse’s fire suppression systems. She pulled the trigger and fired a continuous stream of electricity. The sprinklers and fire retardant foam sprayers then detected the smoke and fire and unleashed their contents, finally dousing the fire. The firefighters trapped inside thought the smoke they had inhaled made them delirious.
“That’s it, girls!” called Wilma. “We’ll take it from here!”
“Here!” called Belinda as her scarf split into three. The Cosmic Roses wrapped their scarves around their noses and mouths, then Grace used her spear to break the door down. Wilma then lit her lantern and the three of them rushed inside. It took a few minutes, but the Cosmic Roses got the firefighters outside. By then, the police and paramedics arrived. The Cosmic Roses backed off and let the paramedics tend to the firefighters. They and the girls stood by in case they needed to give information. The police took statements and looked in the directions of the Cosmic Roses and the girls. One of the police officers arrived.
“Are you the ones that put out that fire?” he asked.
“These three are,” replied Wilma as she indicated the girls. “We just got the people out of there.”
“…You saved everyone, believe it or not,” remarked the officer. “They’re claiming that the smoke made it look like you girls performed magic.”
“…Erm…well…” replied Ruby.
“You can demonstrate, if you wish,” said Grace.
“Grace-!”
“Our powers were still in effect when we made our identities public,” assured Belinda.
“…Well, all right,” sighed Ruby. She then held out her hand…and a tiny fireball appeared. “I was trying to calm the flames down.”
“I was using my shield as a sprinkler,” explained Bethany.
“And I gave the generator enough power to activate the fire suppression stuff inside,” finished Yazmyn. “Officer, did the firefighters mention that they suspect an arsonist?”
“…N-No, they said it was an electrical fault,” replied the officer.
“The main power cable to the generator was cut,” explained Yazmyn. “We think someone wanted those firefighters dead. And I didn’t see any animal corpse near where the cut was.”
“…I see,” remarked the officer. “Well, thank you for informing me of this wrinkle. I’ll need to check with the detectives.”
“But-!”
“We understand,” interrupted Bethany. Yazmyn gave her a look of disbelief. Bethany pulled her aside. “I’d rather not do their job for them and, I hate to say it, we’re too young to be fully believed by anyone outside of our parents and current teachers. Trust me. My grandfather, rest his soul, was a police officer. Let them do that work, we just need to give our statements.” Just as Yazmyn was about to protest, a police officer went flying over their heads! They then heard gunfire…and laser fire!
“Entroopers!” gasped Wilma. And she was right. The firearms that the police were using were ineffective against the Entroopers. The Entrooper commander stepped forward.
“All right, who’s the wise guy?!” it demanded. “It was supposed to be Lord Typhoon saving the firefighters, not anyone else!”
“…Wilma, do you and your friends think-?” asked Ruby.
“You’re strong enough to take down the Entroopers, yes,” replied Wilma. “Just stick close to us.”
“Right,” declared Ruby. “Girls, we’re going in!”
“All right!” Yazmyn summoned her weapons as did her friends and the Cosmic Roses. Bethany drummed on her shield, Yazmyn twirled her guns, Belinda pulled her scarf taut, Grace twirled her spear, Wilma swung her lantern, and Ruby swung her sword. The Entroopers saw who was coming.
“Oh look!” taunted one. “Little girls on their way to a tea party!”
“Which one of you idiots cut the power to the fire station’s generator?” demanded Ruby.
“Hey now! That wasn’t a dumb thing to do!” replied another. “Besides, it wasn’t one of us, I can tell you!”
“Nor was it our master or his commanders,” said the Entrooper Commander. “It was one of you humans!”
“Which human?” asked Bethany.
“Your mom!” laughed the Entrooper Commander.
“Classy,” muttered Ruby. “You’ve got one more chance! Which human endangered those firefighters?!”
“A human called Nunya Bus Iness!” retorted the Entrooper Commander.
“…Looks like we’re beating the answers out of you!” declared Ruby. “Grace, with me! Belinda, Bethany, take the left! Yaz, Wilma, the right! Grace-!”
“The center!” confirmed Grace. The six then charged! Wilma used her lantern to blind the Entroopers as Yazmyn lined up the perfect shots, knocking them down and frying them! Bethany frisbee’d her shield like a certain superhero and doused the Entroopers while Belinda used her shadow travel to slam their heads against the ground. Ruby and Grace were a whirlwind of spear and sword swings, knocking their opponents down. The Entrooper Commander backed up in fear as its soldiers fell all around it! The girls met up in the middle and surrounded the Entrooper Commander.
“Now, are you gonna talk?” asked Ruby.
“Or are we pounding the answers out of you?” continued Yazmyn.
“Oh, and in case you were wondering,” Belinda revealed that she swiped the Commander’s gun and stock of pills. “No suicide for you.”
“…I refuse to say!” declared the Entrooper Commander! “I WILL see you humans tear each other apart! That’s all you’re good at!”
“You really don’t know humans that well, do you?” scoffed Wilma.
“I know those monsters better than you realize!” retorted the Commander.
“…Officers, the Entrooper is yours to interrogate,” Grace called to the police that were unharmed. A pair of officers snapped the cuffs on the Commander’s wrists and led it to the squad car.