After waking up, eating breakfast, and checking the internet, my attention snapped back to the present.
"Here," a voice cut through the air.
I barely registered the motion before my hands shot up, instinctively catching a smooth, round object. It was cold to the touch, centered with a single, pulsing red stone. Mimi, my self-proclaimed guide and handler, floated before me, arms crossed.
"It's a Magical Girl Transformation Device, or just the MTD," she explained.
I turned the thing over in my palm. "So, do I just shout some cheesy catchphrase to make it work, or do I have to do a full-blown, sequin-sparkling transformation sequence?"
Mimi shrugged, a small, floating ball of nonchalance. "No, I mean, you don't need to. But most Magical Girls do. It's… traditional. It's on you if you want to."
"Alright, so how do I actually—"
"Click the button on the side," she said, clearly impatient.
I followed the instruction. The moment my finger depressed the small, almost invisible stud, a cloud of iridescent smoke erupted, swallowing me whole.
I felt a rush of energy, a strange, tingly sensation that molded my clothes. When the smoke finally cleared, I blinked, feeling taller, lighter. I looked… different. Like a ridiculously well-preserved twenty-year-old adult shoved into a bespoke high school uniform.
"Well, that was… interesting," I murmured, immediately heading for the bathroom mirror.
My eyes widened. My hair was now a striking blonde. I was wearing a dress that looked suspiciously like a black and white witch's uniform, complete with a wide-brimmed witch hat.
"Neat," I said, turning side to side. It was stylish, powerful, and utterly ridiculous.
"Enough admiring the new outfit," Mimi's voice was sharp, pulling me out of my self-appraisal. "We've lost contact with multiple Magical Girls in this city. Your first mission is to check it out."
Missing Magical Girls. The words were a giant, flapping red flag in my mind. This is how every horror movie starts. Still, I had a job to do, apparently. I can manage this. Probably.
"Remember, you're just to check the locations and return," Mimi stressed, pointing at the MTD, which had now shrunk and affixed itself to my neck as a pendant. "The Magical Girl Secret Service are in charge of finding the missing ones. Your job is to check the locations on your map.
"Understood. So, what's my weapon or power?" I asked.
"Your true powers require training, but your weapon can be summoned by pressing the device on your neck, or by just thinking about it," she said. "Basic magical abilities, like flying and enhanced strength, you already have."
"Cool."
I pressed the pendant once, focusing my will. The air in my hand condensed, crackled, and a moment later, I was holding a very real, very black Glock 17.
"Nice," I clicked my tongue, testing the weight.
"Oh, wow. That's rare," Mimi observed, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Rare?"
"Yeah. Most Magical Girls get magical wands, elegant bows, spirit swords, things like that. Modern firearms are… practically unheard of."
"Hmm. Let's imagine…"
I closed my eyes, picturing something different, something with character. The Glock dissolved, replaced instantly by a heavy, ornate chrome and brass revolver the King Slayer, a fictional monster I'd spent countless hours using in an old game.
"Well then… let's begin," I said, executing a practiced, showy flick of the wrist.
"Wait," I thought, feeling greedy. I imagined another. In my left hand, a second King Slayer revolver materialized.
Double the fun.
I copied a trick I remembered, tossing the left revolver high into the air, catching it with the flourish of a gunslinger.
"Hey! You have a job to do!" Mimi suddenly yelled, making me nearly fumble the trick and almost dropping the revolvers.
"Copy!" I quickly holstered the revolvers into new, surprisingly well-fitted leather holsters at my hips. "Nice to have holsters in this outfit," I muttered, walking out onto my small balcony.
"So, how do I fly?"
Mimi gave a concise explanation. "There are two types of Magical Girls: those who fly unaided, and those who need an external focus like a broom." She pointed to the necklace again. "Press it three times. If nothing appears, you're the first type. If something does, you're the second."
Click. Click. Click.
A moment later, a sleek, polished wooden broom materialized in my hand.
"Cool. I guess I can do a drive-by then," I quipped.
"It's like riding a horse," Mimi coached.
"Back straight, relax, and hold it tight."
"Like this?"
"Yep." She then delivered a sharp kick, sending me tumbling out over the balcony railing.
"Aahhhhh!!!" I screamed, wind rushing past my ears.
"Open your eyes!"
I snapped them open just as I expected to hit the ground, finding myself floating ten feet above the pavement, the broom steady beneath me.
"Okay, never, ever do that again!" I yelled back up, adrenaline still spiking.
Suddenly, a window clattered open from the apartment below. "Who's yelling! Be quiet!" an annoyed voice shouted, before the person slammed their window shut.
I quickly maneuvered the broom back onto the safety of my balcony.
"Enough of games! Do your job!" Mimi scolded, giving me a final, forceful nudge off the balcony. This time, I gripped the broom, steadied my nerves, and shot into the sky.
[Timeskip]
I hovered above a narrow, grime-coated alleyway, the first marker on my magically-augmented map. The air down there felt heavy, thick with the smell of damp refuse and something vaguely metallic.
"So this is the location, huh?" I muttered, gazing down into the shadows.
"…Yep. That's a red flag," I concluded. The area screamed 'ambush point.'
Do I have to go in? Mimi said the MGSS were on it. My job was just to check the location.
With a sudden, decisive turn, I yanked the broom's handle.
"Fuck this shit, I am out," I declared, banking sharply and accelerating away from the sinister-looking alleyway entrance.
In the depths of that same alleyway, hidden behind a dumpster reinforced with shadowy energy, two figures watched my receding silhouette.
"Hehehe. Such a cute Magical Girl," one figure purred, their voice like silk.
"Did she notice us?" the other asked, their tone cautious.
"No, she did not. But it's such a shame she didn't walk in. I wanted to corrupt such a cute little Magical Girl."
"She looks new. Not a face I recognize."
"New, huh? Well, do me a favor. Send in the distress signal from the you-know-where. Let's see what happens when the Secret Service meets our little surprise."
"Understood."
A/n: saw someone's review and decided to post this lol.