"That's weird," I said as Mom drove us to our next stop. "I usually get carsick if I eat before getting in the car, but my stomach is still fine."

  "A Kitchen Fairy’s cuisine won’t ever upset your stomach," Mom replied with a small laugh. "Even if you ran a marathon right after eating it."

  "I see we’re not the only ones coming," Hana said as Mom pulled into a parking lot that was surprisingly full for a Sunday.

  It wouldn’t have been odd if we were at a church, but this was a spa.

  "Big and fancy," Hana noted as we stepped out. The building was huge, with Sinclair Salon and Spa displayed in elegant letters above the entrance.

  "I remember when it opened," Mom said. "It was just one section of the building back then. Later, they bought out the whole place."

  "Oh, so the owner’s another one of your old friends?" I asked.

  "I’d say we know each other rather than being friends," Mom replied, sounding cautious.

  As we talked, Armstrong’s van rolled up and parked beside us.

  "So what, or who, are we fighting here?" Hana asked.

  "You’ll see soon enough," Mom said with a teasing wink, leading us inside.

  At the reception desk, someone was already waiting. I thought she was one of the guests as she stood there, wearing a pink bathrobe.

  "Welcome, everyone," the receptionist greeted. "Do you have a reservation?"

  "No need, Linda," the woman said sweetly with a noticeable American accent. "They’re our special guests."

  "Oh! Alright then, Miss Sinclair," the receptionist replied.

  The woman turned to Mom with a confident smile. "Long time no see, Creepy. As you can see, I’m still as youthful as ever." She struck a little pose, twirling dramatically.

  Mom smirked. "Nice trick, but you’re not Barbra. The resemblance is uncanny, though; you must be her daughter."

  "You got me," she admitted with a laugh. "I’m Bambi. Mom asked me to try tricking you."

  By then, Armstrong and the others had reached the desk.

  "Hi, girls!" Bambi squealed, rushing over to hug the conjoined twins.

  "Hi, Bam," they said in unison, hugging her back.

  "I’m so happy you guys could come," Bambi said, beaming. "It’s great having my new friends here!"

  So she invited them, I thought. I tried to remember her from Friday’s event, but I couldn't. There were a lot of people there, and maybe she’d been fighting while I was stuck in the medbay.

  Honestly, I couldn’t quite picture her fighting at all. She looked like a stereotypical bimbo: long, white-blonde hair that almost looked fake, perfectly tanned skin, pouty lips, and an overinflated chest above a wasp-thin waist. She looked too perfect. Too sculpted.

  "Follow me," Bambi said in a sugary purr. "Mom’s already waiting for us."

  She led us deeper into the spa. Strangely, even though the parking lot was packed, we didn’t see a single person anywhere except the receptionist.

  As we walked, Bambi and the twins chatted cheerfully ahead of us. Meanwhile, Hana was unusually quiet. Her eyes stayed locked on Bambi the whole time.

  "What’s wrong?" I asked.

  "This girl..." Hana whispered, still staring. "She’s strong."

  "Really?" I frowned. "She doesn’t look like it."

  "Don’t let her looks fool you." Hana shook her head slowly. "I saw her fight on Friday. She didn’t have a single scratch on her. Her opponent, though?" She paused. "Claude had to use his special bone-healer kit on that girl. Bambi broke her femur."

  "What? Isn’t that one of the hardest bones in the body?"

  "It’s tougher than concrete," Hana nodded. "And she snapped it like a twig, with one kick."

  "Okay, that's wild. Maybe I was luckier with Günter than I thought."

  "Yeah," Hana said. "Imagine what she could do to your skull."

  I tried not to imagine it, though part of me was curious about her.

  "Here we are," Bambi said, stopping in front of a massive, ornate door. The detailed carvings and gold inlays made it look completely out of place in a spa.

  "Before we go in," she added with a sugary smile, "keep in mind this is a sacred place. So, please, be respectful."

  I looked around. The others looked just as puzzled as I did, everyone except Mom.

  Bambi opened the door with a kind of reverence, like a priestess leading pilgrims into a temple.

  The sight beyond was… overwhelming. The place looked like a cross between a luxury beauty salon and a sacred sanctuary.

  The room was packed. Most of the guests (if not all) were women. Some were doing ordinary spa things: getting their hair done, receiving massages, or soaking their feet in mineral baths. Others, though, were kneeling in front of statues, hands clasped, whispering prayers.

  Many wore bathrobes. Others were half-naked. A few wandered completely naked, seemingly without care.

  And everywhere I looked, there were statues.

  Each one depicted the same figure, a goddess I couldn't recall from any mythology book. The largest stood in the center, towering almost to the ceiling, easily ten meters tall. I had no idea how they had even gotten it in here.

  But what caught my attention wasn’t the size; it was the shape. The goddess had a painfully narrow wasp waist, impossibly long limbs, and cartoonishly plump lips. She did not look like a divine being, but more like a mannequin sculpted by a plastic surgeon. Yet despite that, the statues were old, maybe ancient.

  “Welcome to my holy land,” a voice greeted us.

  I didn't have to wonder who this person might be. She looked like an older copy of Bambi. Same pink bathrobe. Same sculpted features. Even the same practiced smile.

  “Hi, Barbra,” Mom said.

  “I couldn’t fool her, sorry, Mom,” Bambi said with a small laugh.

  As they talked, I started to notice something deeply unsettling.

  Every woman in the room, every single one, looked like them.

  Some were perfect clones, others were still in progress. Huge, balloon-like breasts. Inflated lips. Sculpted hips. Spray tans and bleached-blonde hair everywhere. On the naked ones, I could see that their bodies were marked with the swelling of multiple fresh surgeries.

  It hit me then.

  They weren’t just guests, they were devotees. This place was indeed a temple.

  And all of them were trying to look exactly like the goddess in the statues.

  “No, I don’t care about that,” I heard Mom say flatly to Barbra.

  “Oh, come on, Carol,” Barbra teased, her glossy lips curling into a smirk. “You’d be unstoppable if you joined us. Just try one little enhancement at least. Maybe bump those shoulder boulders up a cup or two?”

  “Thanks, but I only want to be on an operating table if my life depends on it,” Mom replied.

  “Um… could somebody finally explain what this place actually is?” Grill asked, scratching his head.

  “Oh, sorry, I got carried away,” Barbra said with a laugh that sounded like it was rehearsed. “This place is a temple. A sanctuary dedicated to Plastica, the Goddess of Beauty and Power.”

  “I’ve never heard of her,” Tatiana blinked. “Which pantheon is she from?”

  “The Tabula Rasa,” Barbra answered.

  “That doesn’t sound familiar either.”

  “It’s a pretty obscure one,” Mom explained. “Mostly known in paranormal circles for the past few centuries. My family knew of it, but we never believed in any of their so-called gods.”

  “Such a shame,” Barbra said wistfully. “You could have been Plastica’s strongest avatar.”

  “Sorry,” Mom shrugged, “I prefer being known as myself, not somebody’s doll. Besides, I’m not exactly the god-worshipping type. I doubt your Goddess would bless a heathen like me.”

  “Wait, so Bambi got her powers through… religion?” Hana finally spoke up.

  “Yes,” Bambi nodded cheerfully. “Plastica loves me, and I love her.”

  “She loves all who are brave enough to perfect the body, to look like the Goddess herself,” Barbra continued, her tone taking on a preacher’s rhythm. “She blessed humanity with the divine knowledge of transformation. Modern-day plastic surgeons? They are her priests and priestesses, whether they realize it or not.”

  “So… you got superpowers through breast implants and stuff like that?” Hana asked in disbelief.

  “Oh, no no no,” Barbra corrected, shaking her manicured finger. “That alone brings you closer to her, but to truly channel her power, you must undergo sacred surgery.”

  She glided toward a nearby table laden with beauty products, glistening tools, and rows of silicone implants in every imaginable size.

  “Observe,” she said, picking one up. Inside the translucent gel was a tiny idol of Plastica herself. “A divine implant. Only through merging your flesh with the Goddess can her essence take root in you.”

  “And of course,” Bambi added sweetly, “you must truly believe. As Miss Carol said, infidels shouldn’t expect Plastica’s blessing.”

  “Yeah, I don’t believe in her,” Mom nodded. “I’m still convinced whatever you’ve got is just the Tulpa effect in action. But hey, believe in whatever you want.”

  “And what’s the plan here, fighting her?” I asked, glancing at Bambi. The sooner we finished whatever Mom had in mind, the better. The whole place gave me the creeps. It was like Barbie World meets Hellraiser. Some people there had so much plastic under their skin, they looked like they were wearing masks.

  “That’s the plan,” Mom nodded.

  “What about you kids?” Barbra asked, turning her glossy smile toward the rest of us.

  “We’re just here for a little Sunday spa,” Tünde replied casually.

  “Bambi said this place is the best,” Titanilla added.

  “Well… I wouldn’t mind a quick fight before the wellness,” Flint said.

  “Yeah, those food golems didn’t exactly satisfy my bloodlust,” Tatiana agreed.

  “I wouldn’t mind testing Bambi’s abilities either,” Grill said, stepping forward. Stagora and the twins were clearly in too.

  “Okay,” Bambi said, suddenly serious, “but promise you won’t get mad if you lose. Pinky promise.”

  “We won’t,” the twins said with matching shrugs.

  “That’s what my last friends said before I beat them,” Bambi pouted. “Then they didn’t want to talk to me anymore.”

  “Don’t worry, Bam,” Titanilla said with a grin. “We’re not sore losers.”

  “Sorry, but I’m not joining,” Armstrong said suddenly.

  “Huh! You afraid of being beaten by a girl?” Stagora teased.

  “No. It’s just… a personal preference,” Armstrong said calmly. “My abilities let me generate thousands of different hands if I want, but they all have one thing in common: I won’t raise them against a woman.”

  “Oh, that’s very noble of you,” Mom said, her tone even. “But you shouldn’t avoid a fight just because of gender.”

  “I know,” he replied. “I’m just not comfortable with it. Can we move on, please?”

  “Alright, big guy’s out,” Barbra said cheerfully, eyes lighting up like a show host about to start her favorite segment. “The rest of you still in?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I’d like to see what she’s got.”

  “Count me in,” Hana added, stepping beside me.

  “Good,” Mom said. “Max, you’ll go last. I want you to observe the others before your turn.”

  “Got it,” I said.

  “Alright then,” Bambi clapped. “Who wants to start?”

  “I will,” Grill said, stepping forward with a confident grin.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “I love your enthusiasm,” Barbra purred.

  “Oki doki, I’ll start with you,” Bambi said, bouncing with excitement. “But let’s move to the great statue. I want Plastica to witness our fight.”

  “We’d better stay here,” Barbra advised as Bambi and Grill walked toward the towering goddess statue.

  “Plastica, my beloved,” Bambi said reverently, bowing her head. “I dedicate this fight to you.”

  “Alright, shall we get rea...” Grill began, but his sentence died halfway through as Bambi suddenly opened her bathrobe and tossed it aside.

  She was completely naked underneath.

  Grill froze. Everyone froze.

  Bambi’s body was… unnatural. Her breasts were impossibly round and huge, her waist frighteningly narrow, her hips exaggerated into an impossible curve.

  Grill swallowed audibly, his cocky grin vanishing into stunned silence. “Uh…” he managed to say, eyes darting away for a split second before snapping back against his will.

  Tünde and Titanilla giggled behind their hands. Flint let out a low whistle. Tatiana’s skin bloomed with dozens of tiny heart tattoos. Stagora just blinked, utterly lost, while Armstrong grew several extra hands, all giving thumbs-up.

  “Show-off,” Hana murmured, rolling her eyes.

  “You’re gorgeous, Bam!” Tünde whistled.

  “You already stunned him,” Titanilla added. “Now finish him off!”

  “Oh, thanks,” Bambi giggled. “But you’ve seen nothing yet.”

  She raised her arms high, and something bright appeared above her, a swirl of golden dust that thickened into a radiant cloud. Then it descended upon her, coating her skin.

  “Behold,” she announced dramatically, striking a pose, “the Golden Avatar of Plastica!”

  Now, from the soles of her feet to the top of her scalp, her entire skin was covered in a thin layer of shiny golden dust, as if she were wearing a super expensive body paint. She was only 99% naked now.

  “Show them what you’ve got, darling!” Barbra encouraged.

  “That was a nice ti... I mean, technique,” Grill stammered, still red-faced. “But you’ll need more than fancy war paint to beat a Kitchen Fairy.”

  “Do you see, Creepy?” Barbra turned toward Mom with a smug grin. “My daughter is one of Plastica’s avatars. How can you still not believe?”

  “As I said,” Mom replied, “it’s just the Tulpa effect to me. Your daughter’s showing high-level aurokinesis, enhanced by belief. Nothing divine about it.”

  “I can summon things too,” Grill said, and with a puff of sugary smoke, a huge pile of cookies materialized beside him.

  He snapped his fingers. The cookies crumbled, their pieces flying through the air before snapping together around his small frame, forming armor, plated with chocolate chips and frosting trim.

  “Don’t be fooled by the looks,” Grill said, his voice muffled slightly by the cookie helm. “Through my power over food, this cookie armor's hardness is on par with steel.”

  “Okay, this is gonna be good,” Hana said, smirking. “I saw Grill fight on Friday. I'm pretty sure that armor could tank a punch even from Flint's rock fists without a single dent.”

  “Begin!” Barbra shouted.

  Grill braced himself, his cookie gauntlets thickening around his fists like dough swelling in an oven.

  Bambi moved first. A perfect roundhouse kick; smooth, like she was gliding on air.

  Grill met her strike head-on, raising his arm to block. For a single second, they held the clash, then with a crack, the cookie gauntlet exploded into crumbs.

  “What the...” Grill gawked as the fragments scattered across the floor.

  Bambi wasted no time. Another kick, straight to his torso. The golden blur smashed through his armor as if it were real pastry.

  Grill hit the ground hard, breath knocked out of him. The entire room went silent.

  Only Mom and Barbra looked unsurprised.

  “Wow… you were right, Hana,” I whispered. “She’s seriously strong.”

  “But… how? I saw Grill’s armor take way harder hits before.”

  “It’s her gold,” Mom said calmly. “As I mentioned, she’s a high-level aurokinetic. That layer of gold is more than decoration, it’s a full-body exoskeleton.”

  “Ah,” I nodded, pretending to keep up. “So she… charges the gold with kinetic energy or something?”

  “Exactly.” Mom gave me a small smirk. “While she’s covered in that thin golden shell, she’s faster, tougher, and stronger than any of you.”

  “So this training is about fighting elementals? Or divine-type enemies? Or just… tough ones?” I asked.

  “No. This training is about getting defeated.”

  “What?”

  “Yes. There are fights you simply can’t win, not the first time at least. Sometimes all you can do is survive, minimize the damage, and learn.”

  “Uh… thanks for believing in me, Mom.”

  “Don’t blame her,” Barbra joined. “She can’t believe in anything.”

  “No,” Mom said. “I just know none of you are skilled or strong enough to beat Bambi yet, not on the first attempt.”

  Then she turned to me again. “Your job now is to observe. Study her. Learn what defeat feels like, and how to get back up.”

  “Although I challenge your lack of faith in our abilities,” Hana said, “I have to admit, Bambi’s tough. But I’ll try to take her down.”

  “Oh, I love how confident the young ones are,” Barbra chuckled, her smile sharp as glass.

  “Hey, Grill. You aren't mad at me for beating you, right?” Bambi leaned over the fallen Kitchen Fairy, offering him a hand with a dazzling smile.

  “Yeah, no problem,” he said awkwardly, taking it. “My rib’s sore, but I’m not a sore loser.”

  “Good!” she beamed.

  “Hey, Bam,” Tatiana stepped forward. “Get ready. I’m next.”

  As she walked past me, I saw small, fluttering wing tattoos appearing on her ankles.

  In a flash, she leaped skyward and spun into a downward kick, her body turning vertically mid-air like a human drill.

  But Bambi didn’t even flinch. She raised one hand and caught Tatiana’s ankle mid-spin, as if the full-force attack had the power of a friendly tap on the shoulder.

  “I love flying too,” Bambi said sweetly.

  Then she began to lift off the ground, still holding Tatiana upside down by the ankle.

  Tatiana twisted and yanked, but Bambi’s gold fingers clamped tight like an ornate cuff. With a playful twirl, Bambi spun her opponent in reverse.

  “Look out!” she called cheerfully to a group relaxing in a nearby jacuzzi, just before Tatiana crashed down between them in a spectacular splash.

  The startled spa-goers shrieked as bubbles and water flew everywhere.

  “Wow… she flies now?” Hana said flatly.

  “Yeah. She flies now,” I replied.

  “By focusing a high concentration of kinetic energy into the gold covering her body, she can propel herself off the ground, essentially giving herself controlled flight.” Mom explained.

  I watched Bambi hover like a golden angel. “So aside from being an exoskeleton, it’s also an Iron Man armor.”

  “Feel free to stay in there, Tati,” Bambi said to Tatiana, who was still flailing in the jacuzzi. “The water will help relax your muscles after that fall!”

  Meanwhile, Stagora was already preparing her surprise attack. Her antlers began to fuse and stretch upward, spiraling together into a massive, drill-like tower. The tip spun faster and faster, whining like a turbine.

  “Let’s see if I can peel off that armor,” Stagora said, and with a roar, she charged, slamming the antler drill into Bambi’s back.

  “Huh?!” Bambi gasped, glancing over her shoulder.

  The spinning drill pressed against her golden skin, churning furiously, but the result was nothing. The drill splintered, chunks of the antlers flying off and clattering to the floor without leaving so much as a scratch.

  Bambi sighed, still hovering in midair. “That’s cute.”

  Then she mirrored Tatiana’s earlier move, a flawless vertical spin kick that tore straight through the antler drill like it was made of dry twigs. She stopped just short of kicking Stagora in the head.

  “Wanna give up now?” Bambi asked, holding the stumps of Stagora’s antlers between her gilded fingers.

  As her answer, the stumps suddenly sprouted new growth, curling upward and wrapping around Bambi’s wrists like thick vines.

  “Wow! Pretty tight,” Bambi giggled. “If I let you keep that up, it might actually start to sting.” Her tone turned playful but firm. “Sorry, though, this part might hurt a little.”

  With a quick move, her golden fingers gripped both antler bases like a pair of fancy pliers and ripped them free.

  “Aaaah!” Stagora yelped, clutching her bleeding scalp.

  “Oops,” Bambi said, almost sheepishly. “They grow back, right?”

  “Yeah,” Stagora hissed through gritted teeth. “But if they’re torn from the base, it’ll take a whole day to regrow them.”

  “Good to know!” Bambi chirped.

  “My turn,” Flint said grimly, stepping forward. His fists hardened into solid stone, cracking and reforming as he approached.

  Instead of charging, he started striking his fists together, sending a shower of sparks flying in all directions.

  I realized what he was doing; he was trying to blind her with the flashes before landing a surprise hit.

  But the moment the sparks touched Bambi’s golden skin, the light amplified. The entire hall flared up like a miniature sun had exploded in the middle of the room.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, but the light burned through my eyelids, forcing me to cover my face with both hands.

  Then I heard a loud thud.

  When I dared to look again, Flint was on the ground, semi-unconscious, with a fresh bruise across his temple.

  “This one was my favorite so far,” Bambi said, brushing a fleck of stone off her shoulder. “So shiny!”

  “Oh, if you like shiny fights, you just have to ask,” Tünde winked.

  A brilliant orb of light began to grow between her palms, while a sphere of shadow condensed in Titanilla’s hands.

  “Let’s see how you handle two elements at once,” Titanilla added.

  They fired at the same time, twin beams of pure light and absolute darkness toward Bambi.

  Bambi raised both hands like she was about to catch a beach ball and simply redirected the attacks.

  With her left hand, she angled the light beam straight into Titanilla’s face. With her right, she sent the dark ray into Tünde.

  The twins screamed in unison as their own opposing elements hit them dead-on, knocking them flat.

  “Put some sliced cucumbers on your eyes,” Bambi said cheerfully. “It helps with swelling.”

  She turned toward Armstrong, who was watching the chaos from the side. “Still don’t want to fight?”

  “Nope,” he said. “Ain’t scared of losin’, I just don’t hit women.”

  “Finally, it’s my turn,” Hana stepped out. She then began peeling off her human face. “I’m here to fight you next,” she said, her voice now rougher, deeper.

  Bambi recoiled, scrunching her nose. “Ew! That mask is so creepy. Can’t you use a cuter one?”

  “That’s not a mask,” Hana hissed. “That’s my face. I'm in my Oni mode right now.”

  “Oh,” Bambi gasped lightly. “Sorry.”

  Before she could finish, Hana charged in and kicked her in the ribs.

  “AH!” Hana yelped, hopping on one leg and clutching her foot.

  “Sorry again,” Bambi chuckled, standing still. “I’m in my statue mode right now.”

  Hana growled and tried to lift her instead, wrapping her arms around Bambi’s waist and straining so hard her veins bulged, but Bambi didn’t budge an inch. She stood there, serene and unmoving, like she’d fused with the floor.

  “Ah. A kinetic lock,” Mom nodded, studying the scene. “Bambi’s anchored herself to the ground. It’s a difficult technique, she’s channeling her energy downward, becoming technically part of the floor.”

  “Damn it!” Hana grunted, still trying to lift her. From here, it looked less like a grapple and more like a very awkward hug.

  “My turn,” Bambi giggled, then effortlessly picked Hana up and tossed her across the room.

  “Alright,” she said, dusting her hands. “Guess that just leaves you.” Her eyes turned toward me as she began to walk.

  But before she could take another step, Hana came flying back out of the crowd, dashing at full speed. With a sudden drop kick, she slammed into Bambi’s side, and this time, the hit connected since Bambi was no longer in immobile mode.

  Bambi went sailing across the room, crashing into the far wall.

  “Sorry, but I didn’t plan to lose today,” Hana grinned. Her Oni face was gone now, replaced by a human one that looked older and wrinkled. Only her face had aged; the rest of her body stayed youthful and strong.

  “It was great for an old hag like me, wasn’t it?” Hana grinned, flashing a toothless smile.

  “Ah, so, that’s the face you used when you ran next to our car?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “That’s my Turbo Granny face. I can run way faster with this one.”

  Bambi (also not planning to lose) jumped high into the air and landed beside Hana, her feet leaving two small dents in the floor.

  She swung a roundhouse kick, but Hana ducked, dodged, and jumped like a ninja. Her speed (and her reflexes) had skyrocketed.

  But Bambi adapted fast. Each move, each dodge, she mirrored with sharper precision.

  Hana took off running, circling the room at incredible speed before darting in for another strike. Her kick connected, sending some of the gold dust scattering off Bambi’s body. The particles floated for a moment before magnetizing back to her skin.

  “Hm. Interesting,” Mom remarked. “That kick had enough kinetic energy to dislodge part of the gold layer, even if only momentarily.”

  “Looks like I won’t lose after all,” Hana said, smugly smirking. She began running again, faster and faster, the air vibrating in her wake.

  Meanwhile, Bambi stood perfectly still. The gold on her backside rippled and shifted, baring patches of skin while several thin golden tendrils slithered down from her legs into the floor, anchoring her.

  Then Hana made her final charge. She dashed straight at Bambi and unleashed a full-force kick to the stomach.

  There was a boom like a cannon. The floor beneath them cracked open in a spiderweb pattern, yet Bambi hadn’t moved a millimeter.

  “Did you see that, Creepy?” Barbra said proudly. “My daughter made a miracle! That attack did nothing.”

  “No, that wasn’t a miracle,” Mom corrected. “She redirected the kinetic energy into the ground through those tentacles. Still… an impressive display of skill.”

  Hana dropped back, panting. That kick had been everything she had.

  Bambi looked down at her calmly. Then, with a single swift move, she kicked Hana in the face, the impact shattering the wrinkled skin clean off, like breaking porcelain. Beneath it, Hana’s real, smooth, featureless face remained, blank and shining with sweat.

  “Welp,” Bambi said cheerfully. “That’s everyone.”

  Mom elbowed me in the ribs. “Nobody left, Max. Get ready to face her.”

  Well, I have no issues with going into a fight thinking that I maybe will lose; it usually gives some additional thrill. But in this case, there was no maybe. I knew I wasn’t enough for her right now.

  I tried to focus on what Mom said and figure out how I should minimize injuries. Since Bambi handled all these fights by surrounding herself with a golden armor charged with kinetic energy, I thought I should try to do something similar. I couldn’t affect other materials, so I just tried to channel the energy into my skin.

  It was a strange feeling, like being injected with a full-body dose of anesthetic. My skin went numb.

  “Alright, I’m ready,” I said, bracing myself for the worst. I waited for her to attack since she could easily dodge if I went first.

  “Hmmm… what’s this?” Bambi sniffed the air like an animal sensing something unseen. “Oh, I can feel you using energy right now; it’s leaking through your pores.”

  Then she giggled. “You should focus on keeping it inside. You’re wasting it.”

  “That’s the first time I used it. It’s just a test run,” I said.

  “Well then…” she said, stepping closer, “let’s test this little kinetic shield of yours.”

  Before I could react, she jumped, but instead of striking, she wrapped herself around me, locking her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. Her body felt oddly weightless, almost magnetic.

  “Bambi,” Barbra said sharply, “don’t use that indoors again.”

  “Get ready for the launch!” Bambi laughed, her nose almost touching mine. “Three! Two! One!”

  And then... everything disappeared.

  For a second, I thought I’d gone blind. No sound. No floor. No sense of up or down. The pressure vanished around me, and the only thing that anchored me to reality was the crushing hug around my body.

  Then... wham! My stomach twisted, my ears exploded in pain, and a wave of freezing wind punched through me. The color blue filled my vision. Below us, clouds stretched like a white ocean.

  We were in the sky.

  I realized, in horror, that she almost launched us into space. The sensation was indescribable. The air thinned until each breath burned.

  I caught a glimpse of the horizon bending, a faint curve of Earth under us. My thoughts stuttered, struggling to catch up with what my body was feeling.

  Then, just as suddenly, she released it.

  Bambi smiled at me midair and pushed away. The moment she did that, we began to fall.

  The wind roared past my ears, violent and deafening. My eyes teared up instantly. I couldn’t breathe; my lungs refused to expand in the thin air. I tried to shout, but my voice vanished into the screaming wind.

  Beside me, Bambi was falling too; lazily, almost gracefully. She even struck a pose, one hand under her chin like she was lying on an invisible bed.

  She said something, but I couldn’t hear a word. My eardrums felt ready to burst.

  Then she reached out and pulled me close again. Her skin felt like touching a solid metal statue.

  For a moment, I feared she’d launch us again. But instead, her body began to glow faintly, the gold around her rippling. Our speed slowed. The roaring air softened. We were descending.

  She guided us, almost like swimming through the sky, straight back toward the hole in the ceiling we blasted through.

  When my feet touched the floor again, I could still feel my lungs fighting for air and my stomach trying to catch up.

  “We’re back!” Bambi announced cheerfully, landing lightly on her feet.

  Barbra pinched the bridge of her nose. “Bambi, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that inside the temple?!”

  “But Mom, you said we should make her proud. I think Plastica would love that one.”

  ***

  A little while later, we were all patched up. Hana and I both had massages while the others enjoyed the other wellness options. Barbra rubbed a cooling lotion into the spots of my skin that had been exposed to the air during the launch; they felt like they’d been sunburned.

  The others were being treated too, some with bandages, some with little poultices. The spa was oddly calm for having just hosted what could’ve passed for a fight with a goddess.

  “You okay?” Hana asked between neck-rolls. Her face was still off.

  “Not bad,” I said. “Charging my skin with kinetic energy probably saved me. If I hadn’t, that wind would’ve flayed me raw.” I flexed a hand; the numbness was fading. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if Bambi cushioned it a bit, too.”

  Mom came back from the sauna, toweling her hair. “Smart move,” she said. “Kinetic shielding works for short bursts like that. At those relative speeds, the air will rip and burn exposed skin. Your shield bought you time, and Bambi being on the front, her gold probably took the worst of the force.”

  “I just wish she were a giant, musclebound Amazon instead of a glittery bimbo,” Hana said.

  “Oh, so that’s your type?” I teased.

  “If I had eyes, I’d roll them,” she shot back. “I’m angry because a flashy bimbo beat me.”

  “It’s not shameful,” I said. “She’s either a prodigy with aurokinesis or literally a deity's avatar. We weren’t expected to win on the first try.”

  “That sounds like cope.”

  “Not at all,” Mom said. “You only have reason to feel bad if this makes you quit.”

  “I’m definitely fighting her again,” Hana answered.

  I couldn’t stop thinking about the launch. “How long do you think she trained to pull that off? Flying at such a high speed. Maybe I should try to learn it too.”

  Mom shook her head and smiled a little. “You didn’t fly, Max. Neither of you moved.”

  Both Hana and I stared. “What?”

  “You heard me.” Mom nodded. “She didn’t push you up through the air; she fixed herself and you to a point in space. The planet kept doing what planets do: spinning and orbiting. From your frame, Earth moved away beneath you at orbital velocity.”

  “Wait. So Earth...” I started.

  “Yes. You were stationary. The planet moved. At roughly thirty kilometers per second relative to the sun. You were literally standing still while the world tried to run away.”

  “Great,” Hana said, looking more defeated than ever. “She just ignored a planet’s gravity. I’ll need like a million new faces if I want to top that.”

  “Finding ways to handle overpowered opponents is what keeps a lot of fighters going,” Mom said. “It’s a huge part of growth.”

  “Still… I hope I don’t have to face her next Saturday,” Hana sighed.

  “Marge said losing with style is fine,” I offered. “Getting launched into space is… arguably a stylish loss.”

  “Thanks,” she groaned.