Ridley went to an actual sit down restaurant located in the old city square and ordered a giant BBQ Bacon Burger, cajun seasoned fries, a large Dr Pepper, and then a chocolate shake for dessert. This was one of the best meals Ridley had eaten in years. The satisfaction of paying cash for it was just as sweet. Well, cash being a whole bunch of quarters. She even left a tip for the waitress because she was nice.

  Looking at the potential earnings listed on her quest, she was kind of at a loss as to how much she was going to make at this point. Sure she could have divided, then multiplied, and maybe other math stuffs… but she didn’t want to bother right now. Her time would be better spent trying to destroy property. So she once again decided to take a stroll.

  As she wandered she saw public benches, street signs, clothing displays trying to lure women into a boutique…nothing really promising. Her pocket full of quarters jingled as she walked, which was interesting because Ridley's ear caught the sounds of arcade machines. The Starship Arcade and Bar was lighting up like a beacon of destiny in the late evening. Ridley heard the sound of profits clinking in her ears just like the quarters.

  Ridley saw the sign that said 18+ after 8pm. That meant she wouldn’t be hassled until she broke something. Trying to look unsuspicious, Ridley strolled in and looked around before picking a game that called to her. The Simpsons arcade machine that had up to four players was a classic. She dropped a quarter in and selected Lisa who likely didn’t get much love as the control board was far less worn down than Barts controls.

  A simple video made up of stills showed a jewelry store robbery. The villains ran out of the building before running into the Simpsons causing them to throw a massive diamond in the air. Maggie Simpson just so happened to catch it in her mouth to use as a pacifier. The robbers, deciding one felony wasn’t enough for the day, just grabbed the baby and ran. This started a weird collection of levels fighting gangsters, clowns, wrestlers, pink gorillas, bears, weird people dressed as rabbits, zombies, ghosts, firefighters, janitors, bartenders, culturally insensitive depictions of Japanese Kabuki warriors, and of course Mr Burns…

  There is no way I can break this timeless masterpiece of a game.

  Ridley thought as she got bored after finishing the first level boss. Over sounds of pinball machines and shooters came an occasional thud, followed by either manly cheers or laughter. Ridley moved to that side of the room and witnessed someone take a swing at a drop-down punching bag. As the guy hit the bag, beer bottle still in hand, the bag swung back up into the top of the machine and the numbers calculated a score. The red numbers came up to 530 and showed a record underneath it of 780. The small group of guys laughed again as their friend stumbled and was forced to catch himself on the machine before standing upright again.

  It didn’t pass Ridley’s notice that the punching game was the closest arcade machine to the bar. Every guy would be tempted to flex his muscles after a few drinks. Thus the current state of these five college bros. Ridley wondered where the shy girl from less than a week ago got the confidence to mess with and embarrass these poor young men.

  They use alcohol and I use super strength.

  She strolled up to the guys, cutting in front of one of them, and put her quarters in the machine.

  “Uh, excuse me. We were using that.” A tall guy in a Wildcats college shirt said.

  “Yes, I saw your pitiful punches and thought you might need to catch your breath… or hold your breath. Gosh, do they have mints at these bars?” Ridley said waving her hand before her face.

  The other bros laughed at that. The guy just had a confused looking face at what he assumed was a junior high girl. He shrugged off the insult and backed up allowing Ridley to hit the start button and the bag dropped down. However, it didn’t drop down to Ridley’s height. She realized she was going to have to punch above her head awkwardly.

  Now Ridley still had $40 cash and a pocket full of quarters. So she saw this as an opportunity rather than a set back.

  “Excuse me!” She called back to the bartender. “Can I borrow a step stool?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The guys drinking erupted in laughter. Ridley simply smiled in response. The bartender apparently had several collapsable stools they used so kids could reach some of the games. So Ridley took the proffered stool and set it up a little way back and to the left of the bag. She had all of the people around her attention now. She looked at her target and smirked, then twisted her body and hit the bag. It thudded back into the machine and the red numbers came up 510. Just 20 points shy of Mr. Wildcat. The guys all chuckled and wowed a little bit ribbing the tall guy who was apparently named Ted.

  He strolled up, “Very nice, that was pretty good. My turn.” Ted said. Obviously wanting to redeem his earlier score. Notably missing was the beer in his left hand.

  “Hold up! That was just my warm-up.” Ridley said innocently. “If you want the next turn I’ll let ya… if you put some money on it.”

  The guys around them started hooting at the challenge. Ted smiled trying not to show his embarrassment and being the center of his friends mockery.

  “Ok, you got five dollars?” He said pulling out his wallet.

  “I have forty.” Ridley proclaimed slamming it on the table next to her.

  Ted was sharper than he looked, despite being tipsy. His eyes narrowed a bit and he reassessed Ridley. She caught a hint of recognition in his face. Likely at the fact that she was older than she looked at first glance. After a second he said, “Alright, but we will each take two swings.”

  The guys all erupted in cheers as Ted slapped forty dollars onto her cash. As Ridley moved her stool and pointed her open hand to the machine gesturing for Ted to take his turn, “Ladies first.”

  More laughs erupted from the small crowd that was gathering. Ted stepped up and took his best wannabe boxing stance. This time he wound up and twisted his hips into the punch and the impact of the bag was notably louder. He pumped a hand in the air and attempted to regain some self esteem through self depreciating humor.

  “Just call me Anakin Skywalker! Slayer of younglings!” He shouted as the numbers rolled up to 660.

  Ridley clapped mockingly as the others gave him a few high fives. She put the stool up on the bar and put her quarters in the machine and slapped the start button

  “You don’t need your stool young lady?” Ted asked.

  Ridley turned and said, “I think I’ll try the Hulk smash method.”

  She gauged the distance to start about eight feet behind the bag. She squatted down in a runners stance, then ran forward two steps and jumped with her arm cocked back. At the last second she shot her fist forward and the bag rocked back into the machine causing it to shake a bit.

  The numbers rolled up resolving into a square 700 points. The crowd went wild and Ted just shook his head as Ridley pumped her fists in the air.

  Ted walked up to the machine and said, “Running start eh? Smart, smart.” He put in his quarters—and similar to Ridley’s strategy—he took a hop-step before slamming his fist into the bag and nailed it. The numbers rolled upwards just passing Ridley at 720. Ted glanced back at her bemused as he barely took the lead. It was obvious to both of them that he had done the best he could muster and still was barely ahed of the 5’ 2” teenager.

  Ridley knew that for her next part of the plan she would need to get angry, and she figured out exactly how she was going to accomplish it. The crowd had already cleared a path for her to punch the bag. She walked back to that part of the crowd, but instead of relying on herself for a punch, she walked up to the most handsome blonde haired boy in the crowd.

  “Hey you, I want you to call me a midget.”

  The young man looked at her oddly before fulfilling her request, “You’re a midget?”

  “No, no, say it with contempt in your voice and really sneer at me. Slap me if you have to!”

  “Um, ok. You’re a tiny little midget!”

  “Close Jared! So close! Insult my outfit, call me poor, talk about my mother!”

  “You’re a tiny little she-hulk freak, with a second hand plastic bag for a wardrobe, and your mother smells of elderberries!”

  Ridley envisioned Jared and the rest of the schools poking and prodding over the years and channeled it into some anger. She felt her eyes go a slight tint of red and a hot energy in her muscles. Savoring the moment, she ran at the punching bag and leapt. This time she jumped from quite a bit farther away from the bag than last punch, but her leg muscles launched her forward.

  She envisioned it looking like a slow motion Michael Jordan dunk as she flew through the air. As her fist hit the bag, it flew off its hinge with an exploding cloud of dust and bounced off the back of the machine—but her punch didn’t stop there. She continued flying through the air until her arm buried itself through the machine. As she regained her balance she realized, she couldn’t even see her elbow it was so far in there. Not wanting to waste any potential profits—she grabbed what circuit boards and wires she could—and ripped them up as she pulled her arm out of the machine.

  “That, went, perfectly!” She thought.

  She turned and looked at the crowd. The burst of cheers had quickly calmed to a sheer awe. She realized several already had their phones out recording and others were starting to pull theirs out of their pockets.

  She jogged over to the table with the eighty dollars cash and swiped it up.

  “I think everyone would agree that this is mine?”

  Not waiting for a response she jogged out of the arcade. She wasn’t ready for interviews or any publicity, she hadn’t decided on a super hero name yet. It was far cooler for rumors to start circulating beforehand anyway.