A young woman stood at the center of an empty street, her pink skirt fluttering in the wind, revealing glimpses of bare skin above her white thigh highs. A pink wand sat in her hand, the crystal star attached to it pulsing with a soft white light. She was Magical Girl Bright Star, one of the many young women across the world who had bonded with a Magical Crystal, in return for the power to stand against the forces of destruction.
While other girls her age were attending college, or experiencing the 'joys' of starting a career, she was staring down a member of those very 'forces' she had sworn to fight. Its slime-based form resembled that of a woman's, from the waist up. A slender purple torso, with a slim waist and gentle curves, slender arms, delicate fingers, and a surprisingly well defined face. The protrusion of its chest could even be interpreted as a pair of tightly clothed breasts.
No matter how pleasing its aesthetics might be from a distance, though, it was still undeniably a monstrosity. Even ignoring its coloration - and the fact that it was easily five times its magical opponent's size - there was the "foot" of slime that trailed behind it, a goo-based muscle that pushed the creature down the street, towards her. A street it was
consuming
, dissolving the asphalt it passed over.
"Your reign of terror ends here, Violet Ooze!" Bright Star cried out, her will unwavering as she held her wand out toward the behemoth. The tip of the outstretched star began to glow, and a growl slipped from the purple behemoth's lips. The star's light grew brighter, one corner after another flaring to life. The ooze began to pick up speed, stretching its arm out toward the blonde. Bright Star held her wand in place, even as the initially vast distance between the two figures rapidly shrank. Sweat was beading across the magical girl's brow as she pushed more and more of her magic into her wand, brightening the last of her star's corners, before finally igniting the center.
"Bright Beam!"
The ooze roared in pain as a ray of white light instantaneously bridged the gap between wand and monster. The slime it struck directly was instantly eradicated, while the surrounding fluid began to boil from what must have been an incredible heat. Its viscous form trembled, as the light faded, leaving a gaping wound in its chest. Yet, even with a hole punched through it, the creature did not fall.
That was not to say the spell had been wasted, though - the ooze had gone stock still, even its outstretched arms frozen in place, as it fought to keep its body from collapsing. With its structural integrity so weakened, one good hit would easily end it.
But Bright Star's wand had gone dim.
"...I don't think I've got the magic for another shot, Chrys," she whispered, biting her lip. "Not at this range, anyway."
"Don't worry!" a high pitched voice replied, as a shining pink crystal popped into existence above the magical girl's head, twinkling and twirling about. "At times like this, you just need to get up close and personal! Remember that spell I taught you?"
"It takes too long to cast! The Ooze will have time to heal itself, if I wait for it to take effect." Bright Star's eyes were locked on the Ooze, concern written on her face as violet liquid began dripping from its fingertips. The drops of slime squirmed about as they struck the ground, each globule consuming small bits of the surrounding asphalt and concrete, before making their way back toward the main body, working their way up the form and towards the hole Bright Star had burned through its center. The Ooze was gathering sustenance from the city, and the wound she'd dealt it was slowly healing even as she watched.
Bright Star closed her eyes, and sighed. When she opened them a moment later, her gaze was filled with determination as she held her wand aloft. "But I guess that means I don't have any time to waste!
"Bright Flight, activate!" This time, her wand's star lit up all at once, motes of light spewing forth from its tip. The radiant specks grew in length and width alike, taking the form of pure white feathers before curving about to latch onto her back.
The magical girl was already in motion by the time the first quill connected. The spell was still streaming from her wand, even as her feet pounded against the asphalt, her arms pumping as she rushed towards her enemy with a trail of plumage chasing after her.
Bright Star wasn't the only one picking up the pace, though. The Violet Ooze's wound had recovered enough for it to move now, allowing it to consume even more materials as it shoved its way down the road, healing itself as it went. The upraised arm that had previously been frozen stiff now rose further, its hand collapsing into a shapeless blob, before twisting about to form a star, as its arm became more slender, rounding out and taking the shape of a rod. In an obvious mockery of Bright Star's earlier spell, violet droplets exploded out from the star's tip, flying high into the sky before arcing down, curving unnaturally through the air to strike down toward the approaching magical girl.
At Bright Star's current pace, she'd be lucky to make it halfway to the creature before the slimy 'spell' hit. But other than a brief glance upwards, the magical girl paid the looming threat no mind. She just kept running forward, two large white tufts growing from shoulder blades, the last of the conjured feathers closing in from behind.
The wound, meanwhile, continued closing. The creature's healing had slowed with the "casting" of its "spell," as resources were diverted to producing and firing the droplets, but its ability to consume the street as it moved made up most of the difference. Where once there had been a pit large enough for an adult to walk through, now there was a small hole, barely bigger than a basketball. In a few more seconds, the wound would disappear. To make things worse, the purple spray the monster had almost reached its target. The first droplets were already striking the ground behind Bright Star, while their still airborne brethren were adjusting the angle of their descent mid-flight, to better compensate for her speed. A single hit was all it would take - the slime would sap her energy, causing her to falter, making her an easy target for the rest of it to swarm her. She'd need to dodge hundreds of droplets if she wanted any chance to succeed.
The ooze smirked, its human-like features expressing recognizable emotion for the first time. A burbling laugh poured out from it, announcing to the world that it thought victory was within its grasp.
Bright Star smiled in turn. The closest droplet was maybe half an inch above her head when the last of the plumage found its place on her back. A quarter inch, when the feathered bundles expanded, forming a pair of white wings, all but touching her when those wings flared out - and nowhere near her, by the time her new appendages completed their first beat. Or maybe it would be better to say that
she
was nowhere near
them
, as her body flew forward in a blur of white light.
The ooze roared, first in confusion at Bright Star's disappearance, then in pain, when she came to a stop - her wand's star wedged into its wound, even as it sealed itself around the shaft.
"Star Light, Star Bright!"
Once again, the wand's star ignited, and once again the ooze's flesh began to boil in response. This time, however, there was no sound. Instead, there was an explosion of light. When it faded, the violet ooze had disappeared. What's more, the damage to her surroundings had been repaired and the cityscape was practically sparkling, as if someone had polished every surface in sight.
It was an utterly unrealistic sight. An incredibly inaccurate representation of reality. I knew that - but it didn't keep me from grinning at my computer screen as Bright Star announced that the threat had been dealt with, to the cheers of a population we'd seen no sign of prior. I honestly think there's something to be said for cartoons like that, though - ones where the hero beats the villain and everything is immediately put right.
Real life magical girl battles were
way
messier, though. Sure, the slime would disappear, but the damage
definitely
didn't
. And the fights weren't nearly as exciting - violet oozes were dumb as bricks! They didn't try to buy time for regeneration, or use any sort of special moves, and they
definitely
never laughed. In fact, they didn't make any noise at all! Mostly they just wandered through the city, eating their surroundings, before mindlessly attacking whatever magical girls showed up to put them down.
Of course, I loved watching the real thing, too, but that was more for the magical girls themselves. There was just something about strong, confident women with magically enforced bodies and enough power to bench press cars that really set my pulse racing. And I guess it didn't hurt that they were pretty much universally good looking.
Speaking of, I was pretty impressed with how well
Brilliant Magic
had captured Bright Star's aesthetic. I couldn't wait to see how the creators would handle the rest of her squad - especially Nova's flaming curls. Assuming they could get the rights to use her image, at least. Nova was notoriously picky about what she'd sign off on. I wondered if that ever caused friction between her and her squad mates? It was definitely impacting their marketability.
Well, it wasn't like speculating was going to do me much good. The episode was over, either way, and I had other things to focus on. Stuff like studying for my midterms, finishing the spreadsheets for my accounting assignment, or maybe even locking in my choices for a major and minor, so I could make sure to sign up for the right classes. Preferably within the next day or two, so that I could avoid another awkward Sunday night conversation with my parents about my 'unhealthy obsession' with magical girls.
...Though, on the other hand, it
was
Friday night. Wasn't that meant to be a relaxing time for college students? And what better way to relax than to catch up on the latest episode of Moonlit Battles? Not to mention the new Magical Promise movie, which had
finally
hit streaming, a few nights back. And wasn't there a new magical girl documentary? Hidden Heroes, or something like that? I was pretty sure the reboot of Magic Crystal Comics was slated for release, soon, too. How could I possibly focus on schoolwork, when I hadn't even checked to see if it was available for pre-order yet?
What's that? Maybe my parent's worries
weren't
entirely irrational? Well, I guess I
was
a little bit obsessed - but I didn't think it could be called unhealthy! I just really admired Earth's magical protectors. They were all so strong, and confident. Willing and able to fight for humanity's future. Completely committed to the paths they'd chosen. Utterly unlike me, who couldn't even figure out what I wanted to do with my life...
My parents always said college was the best place to figure that sort of thing out, but it wasn't exactly a secret that they wanted me to join Dad's accounting firm. They'd told me I could choose a different major, if I could find a career I was passionate about. I'd also need to convince them I could make a living at it, but that wasn't much of a stumbling block. I was pretty sure they'd be accepting of just about
anything,
if only I could clear the first hurdle - but two and a half years in, I still hadn't found a single subject I could really get into. Every class - every
lesson
