As Alexander drove out of sight, Ridley walked to the side of the building, pulling out Victrius.

  “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” Ridley questioned.

  “That, dear child, was a wondrous battle, the like of which no mortal on the planet has likely seen in centuries.”

  “No, that was me blacking out every few seconds and a terrifying realization that I almost killed my boss!”

  “The Magician is fine. You chosen are all more resilient than you think.”

  “So I am just supposed to ignore the fact that half of my memory of that fight is just gone? I can’t help but think I did something very wrong back there.”

  Victrius sighed. “You will be… helped by me in the berserking state. Your rune awakening so early in battle strengthened our connection beyond what you were expecting. That is all.” She waved Ridley’s concerns away, unconcerned.

  Ridley’s anger lessened at the explanation.

  “Did you feel the power of your swift movement? You were very impressive!” Victrius flattered.

  “I was fast. Not The Flash fast, but in little bursts, I could really move.”

  “Yes, you are strong. You are fast. You are doing well, my disciple.”

  “Well, I guess that’s okay then, but we won’t hurt our allies, will we? If I hit Louis like that, he would snap in half.”

  Victrius actually belly-laughed at the statement. “Yes! Oh, the little twig boy would crack in two. It’s just a matter of keeping distance. You charge in, and they support. It’s no matter.”

  Ridley wasn’t feeling as casual about it as Victrius.

  “So, can you tell me now? Who are you?”

  “You will hear my name when you are ready. On that day, you will be stronger than any man you have known. This I promise you.”

  Ridley felt excited at the prospect and a little better about the events of the last few hours. Putting Victrius away, she walked into Tomodachi Comics and Games to find some new manga.

  As she walked in, she waved at Sam, whom she was pleased to see was working today. Sam stood up straighter as Ridley approached.

  “What’s up, Sam?”

  “Hey! Congratulations on the video!” Sam said with a grin. “It’s nice having a celebrity as our regular.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “The powflick? The one where you fly through the air and punch a hole through the punching bag arcade?”

  “Oh yeah!” Ridley exclaimed.

  “So spill! That must have taken a team, and a group with practical FX experience. No way that was CGI. We’ve been debating it. My theory is you worked with the Mekland U film department, as the first poster was a student there, plus all of the guys around you were students. Genius to get multiple angles, and the idea to use someone of your… amazing looks was perfect for contrasting a video. Am I right?”

  “A girl’s got to have her secrets,” Ridley said, flipping her hair back with her hand, pleased Sam had moved from commenting on her height to complimenting her looks.

  “So what’s the view count at right now?” Ridley asked, curious.

  “Well, I’m not sure. Spread between YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok, it looks like at least four million.”

  “FOUR MILLION?” Ridley reeled from the implication.

  “Oh yeah. Have you not been keeping track?”

  “No, I try not to pay too much attention to those things,” Ridley attempted to play it off.

  “Well, don’t be surprised if I’m not the only one to recognize you.”

  Ridley shook her head, simultaneously nervous and excited at the prospect of everything becoming public.

  "Hey! Can I get photo with one of the most viral heroines on the net right now?"

  "Huh? What... uh sure!" Ridley had spaced out a bit as he spoke.

  Sam was already pulling out his phone and got next to Ridley. She felt slightly nervous as their shoulders touched.

  "Say cheese!"

  Ridley flexed a skinny arm and gave a rat face grin at the camera.

  "Thanks!" Sam said happily, saving it to his favorites to post later.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “So, looking for anything in particular today?”

  “I wanted to pick up a new manga series, so I was gonna browse.”

  “You like the classics, so I’d recommend Yu Yu Hakusho as a solid pick for action-supernatural. Also, in that realm, I’m personally a big fan of Hunter x Hunter. It’s gotten popular again since the rerelease, and kids don’t realize it’s been around since the late ’90s. The reboot has been good for merchandise options. If you want something super dark, try Berserk, but be warned. It might mess with your head.”

  Beerrrsseeerrking Wiiiitcchhh.

  Ridley grabbed her head, feeling lightheaded.

  “Are you okay?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah, just a little dizzy. Maybe I’m coming down with something,” she said, steadying herself.

  “You know, I’m not feeling it right now, so I think I’ll run home for a bit and come back tomorrow.”

  “Well, okay then. If you’re sure,” Sam said, concerned. “Text me when you get your phone!”

  “Will do.”

  Ridley jogged home and was panting as she opened her apartment door. She was feeling sore in a number of places around her body. The afternoon’s activities had finally caught up with her.

  “Ridley! Where on earth have you been?” Ridley’s mom stood from the couch, concerned.

  “At work, Mom. I’m on the afternoon shift now, remember?”

  “Oh. Well, I made us some dinner. It’s in the refrigerator.”

  “Thanks.” Ridley checked the fridge and saw the pasta with generic meat sauce special. She took it to the microwave and zapped it for a few minutes while she washed her hands. A twinge of pain on her back reminded her that she had gotten a pretty good cut on her back. She grabbed a jacket and threw it on before her mother saw it.

  As she flipped her hair out of her collar, she looked down and saw a letter for her from the bank. She swiped it up and felt the rigid outline of a plastic card inside.

  “Cha-ching!”

  Her pasta beeped from the microwave when it finished, and she sat at the table, opening her debit card.

  “Cary Malone called to update us on Jared,” Ridley’s mom, Sherry, said with a somber voice.

  “Oh?” Ridley’s interest piqued, and she turned to look at her mother sitting back down on the couch.

  “It’s not good news.”

  “Ohhh noooo. What happened?” Ridley asked with faux sincerity.

  “He likely won’t be able to play sports for the rest of the year.”

  “That is a shame,” Ridley said, shaking her head dramatically while taking a bite of the pasta.

  “He was planning on playing in college.”

  “’Tis a real shame.”

  “RIDLEY SHAY LANCASTER! ARE YOU MOCKING ME?” Sherry yelled at her daughter.

  “Yes! You have made it very clear that my problems with Jared and the hell he’s made for me at school don’t matter in the slightest."

  "You-broke-his-arm!"

  "He-de-served-it!"

  "So you were just putting on a show for Ms. Malone and I. You must think we are just oblivious ditzy bimbos!"

  "You said it, not me." Ridley quipped crossing her arms.

  "You will be apologizing to Jared, Ms. Malone, and me or you will not be eating in my house!"

  "That is fine by me!" Ridley said tossing her fork back at the table.

  Ridley marched upstairs and packed some clothes and toiletries. She made sure to make plenty of noise so that her mom wouldn’t think she was sulking and planning on apologizing. She marched downstairs a few moments later and saw her mom staring, not at her phone as usual, but at a picture of them when Ridley was seven, smiling happily at an Easter egg hunt.

  She didn’t miss a beat and slammed the door on the way out.

  Ridley walked several blocks before she cooled down and thought about her situation. No cell phone, no car, no home.

  Ridley looked at the card in her hand, “Well, we can fix one of those at least.”

  She got into the cell phone store just before closing—much to the annoyance of the store’s salesman—but he changed his demeanor when she asked for the latest phone, fastest unlimited plan, most indestructible phone case, and a cute cat charm wrist strap.

  As he was finishing her paperwork, her stomach grumbled. She remembered she had only gotten in a few bites of food before she stormed out of the apartment.

  “Amazing! I don’t even need to pay now?”

  “Just wait for your first monthly bill, and you are all set!”

  “What a steal.”

  The salesman chuckled evilly as he locked the door behind her.

  The first thing Ridley did was text Sam that she got her phone.

  Ridley: New phone, who dis?

  Sam: Ridley?

  Ridley: Word.

  Sam: You know that is normally a response when someone you don’t know texts you, right?

  Ridley: I don’t play by your rules, son.

  Sam: Are you okay? You said you weren’t feeling well earlier.

  Ridley: I’m okay, thanks for asking. Going to grab dinner now. I’ll swing by tomorrow.

  Sam: Thumbs up

  Next, she added Alexander’s number. She pulled up the text box to send her contact but decided not to just yet. Looking up at the empty parking lot, she checked the time as it hit about nine o’clock. A lot of places would be closing, but fast food and restaurants should be open. She pulled up her phone and thought about what she was hungry for as she scrolled through local options. She saw a sandwich shop nearby and remembered Alexander’s plain old sandwich. Plain old magic sandwich.

  A thought struck her. She had learned several things about her hand sonar. It was called the Vegvísir; she could remember that type of stuff because she was all smarty-pants now, but that didn’t make her want to miss an opportunity to annoy Victrius.

  “Super hand sonar, engage!” she said, striking a pose. “Lock on! Magic, fooooooood!”

  She closed her eyes and meditated on food with the power of recovery, as Alexander had. Concentrating, it went quite a bit smoother now that she just relaxed into the state of mind required. She felt warmth in her hand, and she slowly opened her hand as she rotated in a circle. When it brightened, she began to walk. Her hand was glowing more brightly than normal, indicating she was close.

  “You better not be leading me to a box of Lucky Charms or some dumb cop-out like that,” she threatened at her hand.

  She had gone less than half a mile when her hand led her straight to the entrance of a Wingstop.

  “Really?” she said to her hand. “Are you shorting out because I punched the tree too hard?”

  Placing her hand on the door handle, she figured wings would be as good as anything for now.

  ^

  You are invited to Arcane Junction.

  Would you like to proceed?

  “Who’s a good hand? Yes, you are,” she said, kissing her rune. She looked back up at the notification and said, “Yes.”

  The notification disappeared, but nothing happened. She looked around, and no magic portal appeared. She grabbed the door with the Wingstop logo on it and pulled it open. What she saw upon opening the door was definitely not a Wingstop. It was a giant, empty dining room and bar with glowing gold trim and oddly beautiful decor. Hundreds of seats sat open, save for one customer and a bartender.

  As she stepped into the doorframe, the customer stood up and waved. It waddled on its flippers over to Ridley and spoke.

  “Hello, Earth denizen!” it said enthusiastically.

  “Hello, Mr. Platypus,” she replied.