“Ooh, you look like a proper magical girl now,” Maisie said, looking at Luc with no small amount of interest. “Give us a spin so we can see the whole look.”

  Luc gritted her teeth against the cold and obliged, feet crunching into the snow that had been steadily falling for the past day and a half. Doing this inside would have been better, but for whatever reason they’d decided the park was their meeting spot, so here they were.

  She couldn't complain too much considering meeting up had been her idea. Marie wanted to wait and plan a perfect debut for her, figure out just the right way to show off her new outfit. But after spending so much money on it, Luc was itching to get back out there and get working.

  In her mind, there wasn't a reason to make a whole debut. People already knew who she was and what she could do, all she’d gotten was a new outfit. No new powers or abilities, no new tool set, same old utility belt. It would be better to get back out and keep working then waste time planning a debut the way Marie's father had for her.

  “It looks good on you,” Tobias said. “A lot more serious than before, though.”

  He had a point, but Luc didn't think that was a bad thing. She wanted to be taken seriously, especially now that she was trying to get into Mage Academy. It was more practical than some magical girl outfits, especially one like Marie’s, though hers were more common. Luc didn’t think anyone would care about her not going with a classic look, especially considering she didn’t have a classic power.

  More importantly, the outfit change would show everyone that she was taking herself seriously.

  “It looks really good,” Maisey said, the words dripping with implication.

  Luc did her best to ignore her, even as her cheeks flushed. It was just easier that way, especially when she noticed the way Marie’s eyes tightened. For whatever reason, Marie really hated it when Maisey flirted with her. “Yeah,” Luc said, “I think Marie did a good job.”

  “I told you I would,” Marie said, letting her eyes slide away from Maisey to give Luc her full attention. “So why won't you listen to me now and let me plan your debut?

  “Because I debuted like three years ago,” Luc said. “There’s no point in doing it again.”

  “Aside from your image?

  Luc shrugged. “I'm sure by your standards I've fucked it up in every way possible, so what's the point? People seem to like what I have going on.”

  “She has a point,” Maisey said. “I'm pretty sure Luc is the most well-known magical girl in town, aside from Rainbow Blade.”

  It wasn’t fair to put her and Rainbow Blade in the same category. Rainbow Blade was much older, more experienced, and so far above them that hearing their names in the same sentence gave Luc vertigo. Rainbow Blade didn’t deal with pests or petty monsters the way Luc did; she managed huge crises, problems Luc couldn’t dream of being tasked with. They weren’t even on the same playing field.

  “Well… You’re right, but I’m thinking of widespread recognition.”

  “That really doesn’t matter to me,” Luc said, though she doubted Marie heard her. Her heart wasn’t in the protest. She made enough money off of social media that she could recognize its importance even if she’d rather not touch it. Maybe she’d be better off letting Marie plan something.

  Marie opened her mouth to respond when Luc, Marie, and Maisey’s phones went off in unison, the high pitched chirping splitting through the air. It was a sound Luc had never heard before and she winced, already reaching for her phone to find a way to turn it off.

  “What is that?” Maisey demanded, face screwed up as the piercing noise continued to go off.

  Marie’s eyes were wide as she stared at her phone, holding it out at arm’s length. “It’s a call for response from any magical girls nearby. There has to be some sort of crisis.”

  Luc got a good look at her phone as the noise finally stopped, reading the location. Right in the middle of downtown, the sort of location where a lot of people could get hurt if magic went wild. “We’re close. Let’s go.”

  Marie grabbed her arm as she spun around, her magic-filled grip tighter than intended. “If they’re calling for aid, there’s no way we’re graded for this. We’d just be in the way.”

  Luc slipped her arm away, the cold slowly seeping away as her heartbeat increased. “So you want to just sit back and do nothing when we could help?”

  “We’re going,” Maisey decided. “We have to at least see what’s going on.”

  “I wish I could go,” Tobias growled out.

  “Get some magic of your own, and you’ll be able to,” Maisey said. She dipped forward, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before taking off.

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  Though she’d protested, Marie led the way to her car and they all hopped in. As loath as Luc was to leave her car behind, Marie’s was simply faster, making the drive to downtown in record time.

  Luc popped open the passenger door as Marie pulled into an open parking spot, breaking into a jog as she hurried to find the problem.

  The sidewalks were clear, as were the streets, but they wouldn’t be for long. From the small park set in the center of downtown, snowmen marched. They must have rolled themselves out of the layer of snow, leaving deep ruts behind. They’d armed themselves with sticks, icicles, anything sharp or pointed. A larger one leading the charge even had a trash can lid, holding it up like a shield.

  There had to be a solid three dozen of them, at minimum.

  Maybe Marie had a point. This did seem a little outside their wheelhouse.

  “What’s the plan?” Maisey panted, air puffing before her as she spoke. Luc couldn’t be certain, but the air seemed to be rapidly cooling, the cold setting in even through the thick coat she had on over her outfit.

  “I should have brought my car,” Luc said, giving her head a shake. “I had another flamethrower there.”

  “Here,” Marie said, running up after them. The moment they turned, she tossed a bag in their direction. Luc caught hers as Maisey’s began to empty, paper streaming out and forming a cyclone around her. Some were full sheets, others tiny bits and pieces, some already beginning to form into the cranes Maisey loved to use.

  Luc reached into her own bag, distantly wondering when Marie had put it together. Not that she was complaining.

  An energy drink sat at the bottom, cold but somehow not frozen, the first thing she went for. Marie had probably bought it for her to drink, the thought making her all fuzzy inside, but she couldn’t use it for that now.

  Luc slid the drink into a slot on her utility belt and dumped out the rest of the bag into the snow. Zipties, bungee cords, tiny pieces of PVC pipe. Not her usual fare, but she’d have to make do.

  The drone shot from Marie’s shoulders as she took off, soaring above the scene and dropping down into the middle of the snowmen. Each punch or kick broke off a piece of a snowman, but that didn’t stop them. It somehow only made them grow faster, the pieces she split off rolling up into new snowmen.

  Just great.

  Luc ran forward toward a bike rack and dropped to her knees, uncaring as the cold soaked into her pants. She pulled out a bungee cord, securing one hook at either end of the bike rack, and pressed a pipe into the cord before pulling it back.

  Bows were simple weapons, but they’d been used for centuries for a reason.

  The first PVC pipe split through a snowman, scattering snow in all directions. Luc had no idea how long the snow would stay scattered, but she planned to destroy as many of them as possible before they got a chance to reform.

  As she fired off missiles, Marie pulled out her newly replaced wand and began shooting beams of magic at the things. That was far more effective than Maisey’s paper cranes, melting them into ice while all Maisey could do was distract.

  And not distract very well.

  Snowmen rolled in her direction, seemingly attracted by the miniscule combatants in the air, doing even less than mosquitoes.

  Luc turned her attention away from the main group as Marie continued to destroy them with blasts of magic from her wand. She could hold her own, or fly away at the very least. Maisey couldn’t.

  Luc fired as fast as she could reload her makeshift bow, until her hand came up empty.

  Her heart dropped as she glanced down at her side. There were no more pipes, no more items to fire.

  Marie let out a yelp of pain and darted up into the air.

  The larger snowman had turned, directing its army at Marie as she flew overhead.

  Luc had no idea whether these snowmen had just naturally came to be and the one in the middle was directing them, or if they were mage-made, but it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t let them hurt Marie, or Maisey.

  She pulled the energy drink free from her belt, slotting it into her bow with a grimace. She pushed magic into the can, though she had no idea what it would do. Her magic was built to make things, did this count?

  Drawing the bungee cord as far as she could, Luc let the drink fly, catapulting it directly at the largest snowman. The drink turned over and over again in the air, and slammed directly into the creature’s head.

  Snow exploded around it, followed by a spray of liquid as the can popped like a bomb, killing snowmen all around it.

  “Marie!” Luc shouted, voice carrying across the street. The girl spun toward her in the air, wand held at the ready. “I’m all out! We need to get out of here.”

  Maybe if they’d come prepared, or she had her car, she’d be able to do more, but as it was, she couldn’t do a thing. Marie’s wand could only do so much, and Maisey’s paper was useless, going soggy and turning to mush the moment it touched the snow.

  Maybe I can duck into one of these stores and find more supplies.

  She didn’t get a chance as a beam of light appeared overhead, shooting down in dozen colors as Marie dodged out of the way. The rainbow lights struck the remaining snowmen as one, flaring so bright Luc had to look away.

  Spots stuck to the insides of her eyelids as she opened her eyes back up, not sure whether to look for Marie or the snowmen first.

  The answer was easy, because there were no snowmen to be found.

  Where they’d been, a magical girl stood, rainbows drifting around her. As Luc watched, the rainbows ate up the snow on the ground, until nothing but wilted grass and damp concrete remained.

  Rainbow Blade looked around, taking the scene in with a placid expression. Her gaze finally landed on them as Marie settled down beside Luc, tucking her wings in close to her back.

  “Good work, you almost finished it,” Rainbow Blade said with a nod in their direction. “Thank you for holding it down until I could get here.”

  Luc nodded, not sure what to say as the magical girl turned and took off, leaving them all gaping after her.

  “I told you we couldn’t handle it,” Marie panted.

  Luc turned to her, the corners of her lips tilting upward as she motioned back at the empty park. This was the kind of impact Luc wanted to make with her magic. “And she just told you we almost did.”

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