Within his base, Lord Typhoon had gathered Connor, Wreker, and Spangly. “I petitioned Emperor Entropy to grant you three a special status within my personal organization,” he growled, “an organization that his Imperial Majesty has deemed worthy of being part of his eternal empire. I gave you special privileges, special powers, I asked for only one thing in return; the removal of the last three Cosmic Roses so that Emperor Entropy can continue his plans unmolested. …WHY ARE THEY STILL ALIVE?! WHY ARE THEY LETTING THEIR STUDENTS PERFORM HEROICS?! WHY HAS THE ENTROOPER COMMANDER BEEN TAKEN INTO HUMAN CUSTODY?!”
“My Lord, it’s all part of the plan,” soothed Connor. “The fire served its part and now the girls know there’s a human that would rather kill member of their emergency services than die in a flood.”
“…An interesting tale,” muttered Lord Typhoon. He then used his wicked magic to summon three balls of water and slammed them over the heads of his minions. They fell to their knees as they tried to get air into their lungs. “Now, here are some meaningful words.” Lord Typhoon dismissed the water balls and let his minions cough the water out of their lungs and replace it with air. “I am your sponsor. Your benefactor. The one who said that you have a place in Emperor Entropy’s glorious future. Follow my commands without fail and you please not only myself, but Emperor Entropy. Disappoint me…and you shall suffer! A difficult choice?”
As Lord Typhoon made his displeasure known to his minions, Ruby, Bethany, and Yazmyn worked on training with their weapons. Now that they understood the strengths and weaknesses bit, training was going a lot smoother. Ruby and Bethany’s respective parents as well as Yazmyn’s grandparents were watching one of their training sessions. “…How long do you think it will be before our girls get their uniforms?” Hannah Jacobson asked no one in particular.
“Any day now,” replied Hannah Kobayashi. “Ruby’s been really excited to be a magical girl ever since she found out they were real.”
“Bethany’s a motivated young lady,” said Bob, “but I’ve never seen joy behind her motivation until recently.”
“And Yazmyn, while already being a help on the farm,” chuckled Bill, “has REALLY been going at it! I think it was a blessing in disguise that Wilma, Belinda, and Grace landed here.”
“Call me an over-protective father,” remarked Daichi, “but I really wish Ruby didn’t join up in a war. I know we left the decision up to her, but-!”
“Now Daichi,” interjected Hannah Kobayashi, “Ruby’s capable. She’s level-headed enough to at least minimize risks. Bethany’s a very smart lady, and Yazmyn’s adaptable. We need to have a little more faith in them.”
“I’m more concerned about who was trying to kill those firefighters,” remarked Heather.
“That IS a worry,” muttered Bob. Just then, a policewoman approached the group. Bob saw the officer first. “Hey, hold up!” he called to the Cosmic Roses and the girls. By now, everyone saw the officer.
“I need to speak to the property owner,” directed the policewoman as she pulled out a piece of paper.
“That would be me and my wife here,” replied Bill. “May we help you, Officer?”
“I am Officer Tanya Hansen,” introduced the policewoman as she handed the paper to Bill. “I’m here with other members of the police to conduct a search of this property for any evidence that the arsonist is here.” Bill and Heather both examined the paper.
“…That’s a legit warrant,” said Heather. “My daddy drilled that into my skull since I was a baby.”
“Knock yourself out, Officer,” Bill said as he handed the warrant back to Tanya. Tanya headed back and gave her people the OK to search. While they were certain of their innocence, everyone was still nervous. Tanya’s second-in-command then spoke with all the officers once they finished. He then spoke to Tanya directly. Tanya approached Bill.
“We have completed our search and have found no evidence of any crime,” she said. “Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Our pleasure,” replied Bill.
“Officer, just a sec,” called Yazmyn.
“Yes?” asked Tanya.
“What prompted the search here?” asked Yazmyn.
“A glove was found at the scene of the crime,” explained Tanya. “Forensics turned up manure that seemed to be consistent with that used by farmers, especially ones that keep their own livestock.”
“…Yeah, that would do it,” remarked Yazmyn.
“Why would the arsonist want to go anywhere near animal poop?!” shuddered Ruby as she, Bethany, and Yazmyn discussed the case.
“Even if we ignore how gross that is,” agreed Bethany, “you wouldn’t even NEED a dog to follow the trail.”
“I checked the cameras on our property,” said Yazmyn, “no one’s come during the night.”
“Something’s not adding up here,” muttered Ruby. “…Why leave a glove behind? Won’t there be some DNA test?”
“…Let me see,” mused Bethany as she pulled out her phone.
“What are you doing?” asked Yazmyn.
“When you’re the granddaughter of a cop,” replied Bethany, “you tend to forge connections. Let’s see…forensics…aha! Here we are!” She dialed the number and waited for the call. “…Hello, it’s Bethany Williams, John. …Yeah, it’s been a while. Hey, that glove that was at the scene of the fire, did you get any DNA match? …Haven’t gotten the results yet? Okay, so we’re…huh? …Why would someone ask you to drop the case? Those firefighters were targeted for the worst kind of murder. …I see. …Hasn’t given in, huh? Didn’t think so. …All right. Mind keeping me posted? Still interested in Granddaddy’s work, rest his soul. …All right. …Bye bye.” Bethany hung up.
“So they’re still working on the DNA test thing?” asked Yazmyn.
“Yep,” replied Bethany. “Although a member of the city council wants this buried.”
“What? Who?!” asked Ruby.
“I dunno, but there must be some damning evidence they don’t want to come to light,” remarked Bethany.
“…Lord Typhoon said he was gonna strike if we don’t surrender, yeah?” recalled Yazmyn.
“…You’re right. We’re past that deadline,” said Ruby. “…Unless this was a scare tactic? I don’t know as I understand.”
“Well, what are we gonna do? Play Batman?” asked Yazmyn. “I already lost my parents to cancer and I don’t wanna see my grandparents gunned down and I doubt you or Bethany do!” Ruby stroked her chin.
“…Oh no!” groaned Bethany. “You can’t be serious!”
“We’re doing the investigative part of Batman, not the trauma,” replied Ruby. “We can find the culprit ourselves!”
“There are anti-vigilante laws here!” protested Bethany. “The police would arrest us if we took the law into our own hands and we are NOT that buddy-buddy with the Mayor!”
“Come on, Bethany!” complained Yazmyn. “This guy is working on Lord Typhoon’s orders! We NEED to get involved!”
“Yaz’s right,” agreed Ruby. “This is bigger than the police can handle. We have to see this through.
“…When this blows up in our face and our parents are fined for this,” grumbled Bethany, “I’m gonna spend the rest of our friendships laughing at you two.”
The girls and the Cosmic Roses headed to the mayor’s office. “Do you have an appointment?” asked the receptionist.
“Strangely, yes,” replied Ruby. “Ruby Kobayashi?”
“Yeah, and I’m Marilyn Monroe,” muttered the receptionist as she looked through the appointments calendar. Her eyes shot open when she saw an entry. “Son of a gun, you weren’t kidding!” She stood up and headed to the office door. She poked her head in and informed the mayor about his visitors. A few seconds later, she turned back to the visitors. “Come right in,” she said as she opened the office door for them. The mayor was sitting at his desk. He had the same skin tone as Bethany.
“A pleasure to meet you girls,” he said as he shook hands with everyone.
“The pleasure’s all ours, your Honor,” replied Wilma.
“You there,” the Mayor pointed at Bethany, “you’re Andrew’s granddaughter, yes?”
“That’s me, your Honor,” replied Bethany.
“A good man,” the mayor recalled. “I’m sorry he had to leave this mortal coil like that.”
“He died surrounded by his friends and family and he’s remembered fondly,” said Bethany.
“That’s the best anyone can ask for. …But you six aren’t here for pleasant chats. Miss Kobayashi, I heard that you have a proposal for me.”
“It’s a long shot, I’ll admit,” said Ruby, “but my friends, our teachers, and I believe we have a plan to catch the arsonist.”
“It DOES involve bait,” said Belinda.
“None of you or any innocent people, I hope?” asked the mayor.
“Thankfully, no,” replied Yazmyn.
“My grandfather’s former students,” explained Bethany, “are conducting DNA tests on a piece of evidence left behind and a city councilor’s wanting this case to be buried for some reason.”
“Suggesting damning evidence on either themselves or their family,” remarked the Mayor.
“We think the arsonist is a stooge for our teacher’s enemies,” explained Ruby. “We set a trap with bait appropriate with those parameters, then figure out why their…OUR enemies want to panic us.”
“After which, we’ll be able to take our enemies on and hopefully defeat them,” supplied Wilma.
“…Girls,” said the mayor, “if this works out…I may just be persuaded to have you deputized in our fair city’s emergency services.”
“We’re just looking out for everyone, your Honor,” assured Ruby.