After we finished breakfast, Talia kindly gave me a complete tour of her home and a place I quickly dubbed 'The Hideout' in my head.

Midori had purchased a house down the block to serve as an office/hideout and a place for the active Magical Girls and Spencer to hang out with. As it turned out, she knew Dior and Ranjika from International School in Edo. The two rescued Dior while Midori was an active-duty Magical Girl. She didn't elaborate on what that meant, and given what I'd seen at breakfast, I probably didn't want to know.

Although they didn't live extravagantly, their wealth was more than adequate. They lived at the west end of Terra's equivalent of Long Island, about a mile from where I lived, and it was a bit of an 'upper-middle class' neighborhood with more-than-adequate space between the houses. Midori had been successful enough as a Magical Girl to be comfortable when she retired two years ago, provided humanity wasn't exterminated by a massive Aberration-leveled disaster or something else.

Babylon, an autonomous international group, had a unique reward system in place. Magical Girls were offered tasks and algorithmically compensated based on the combined risk and urgency of the mission. The pension match system also varied according to the priority and danger of the assignments.

We also visited the workshop at the hideout, and well, it was rad. The workshop was stocked with all the necessary parts to assist the girls, and the industrial tools felt like they were straight out of a mad scientist's lab. A big human-like skeleton frame was in the middle of the space, and I noticed pieces of a giant robotic frame scattered around, in various stages of being put together. Spencer ran his hands over it softly, kissing its head gently. That got more than a few raised eyebrows and laughs from the group.

They had a lot of fun projects in the works, including Spencer's 'Spinmaster 3000' (a machine he was apparently working on with another group) and some of the other projects that were almost built. The couple also had a cat named Kuromaru that traveled up and down the block and between the two houses as its king — a huge, chubby, black, fuzzy furball with bright blue eyes that was surprisingly friendly. Kuromaru apparently belonged to Midori but hopped between the houses at will. The cat had a severe soft spot for Dior and spent most of the time following her around once he realized she was there.

There was also a lot of artwork hanging on the walls and in the various nooks and crannies of the hideout. A lot of it was signed by one 'Morada Morales,' and a couple pieces were clearly an inspiration for the outfit that Morada wore.

"Damn, some of this work is phenomenal," I muttered as I examined one of her pieces. It was a painting of an orange Magical Girl standing in a field in a pink, floral sundress, with a bright, violet, and pink dusk sky and stormy clouds on the horizon. "What's this one?"

"That one is called 'A Day in the Life'. It's one of my older pieces and the woman in it is the one who named a certain magical girl called, erm, 'Violet Tempest'. It's supposed to be a metaphor about being friends with a magical girl and how sometimes, you get to fall back into the 'real world', for a moment," Morada explained, looking at the painting.

I also received personal training on basic combat skills with Ranjika and Midori. They taught me fundamental footwork, breathing, evasive movements, and mindsets which would help me if I get swarmed by zombies. Midori had me practice attacking her with a fire axe for a few minutes, which was surprisingly heavy and awkward to hold but was pretty effective in practice. I was pretty bad, but I was better than expected, according to her. We kept the workout light and easy since I was still injured from the museum incident.

Later in the afternoon, I helped Spencer move some stuff around the workshop and was given one of the copies of Babylon's code of conduct manuals. Spencer registered me into Babylon's system under the code name 'Sparky' and was considered a 'Rank 1' support operative. He informed me that they would send additional materials and secure documents later. As we went back down into the workshop, Morada and Ranjika decided to take their leave to take care of some errands.

I spent the rest of the day helping Spencer in the workshop, choosing to perform mundane tasks to get a chance to observe him in action. The workshop Spencer had built was, in fact, its own separate area. It was pretty sizable and had a large window in the corner to the outside, leading to the backyard if he had to get out in a pinch or send out drones.

We worked on building a machine for a few hours. I was unsure what its purpose was, as it was mostly just an incomprehensible web of circuits, magitech integrations, and plating to me. It had a frame that reminded me a lot of Project Raiju, so I assumed it was something related to that. I was more than happy to take up the grunt work, such as soldering and tightening screws, gemstone catalysts, and bolts, while he performed the more complicated tasks.

Eventually, I watched him apply the electrodes to the machine, connecting them to the power cords and the neural interface. I helped him wire it, and he used a screwdriver to tighten the final bolt into place. When we finished, Spencer ran a few tests, nodding and writing notes down on a nearby slate.

After finishing his work, Spencer suddenly broke out the stereo, and he flashed a grin that I shared as he blasted a few of his favorite songs. He had a taste for rock. Especially bluesy and funky rock. We wound up just jiving around like a bunch of dorks. Eventually, Dior came to check out the commotion and joined in, and Spencer spent a few minutes playing with Kuromaru and giving him some bits of cat treats out of a bag in the corner. He let the big black cat roll around in the workshop and chase his tail, which was pretty hilarious to watch.

He was only a year older than me but had a much more mature and decidedly adult 'edge' to him that I admired. Despite his youth and carefree appearance, his attitude to work was refreshingly 'no-bullshit' as well. That made me wonder why he was so damned knowledgeable and talented, though. Before I knew it, it was dark out, and the crew began to file out from 'The Hideout.'

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Hey, I think I'm going to hit the hay. It's been a long day," Spencer said. "Let's put our heads together again tomorrow?

"Oh– alright, if you insist. We'll see you at breakfast tomorrow again then?" Talia asked with a warm smile.

"Hell yeah!" Spencer said, raising his hand up in a fist. "Those pancakes are freaking dangerous, Talia. Alright, I'll catch you guys later, then."

I'd made a motion to leave with the others, but Talia and Midori insisted that I stay another night so they could keep an eye on me since I was still visibly woozy. I was embarrassed to burden them, but they wouldn't take no for an answer.

So, I walked back inside and picked up a bag of my clothes that she'd left next to a drooling Dior. She was cuddled up with Kuromaru on the couch and fast asleep.

I wasn't going to question when or how Midori did that again and just magicked up clothes for me. She had some time and/or space-related abilities. I knew that for sure.

After heating up some leftovers for dinner and cleaning up, I took a breather in Midori & Talia's guest room bed, reminiscing about a day spent with the scholarship students.

It was a happy day, with laughs and joy and a new friendship forged between us.

*Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz*

Suddenly, my phone began to ring. I glanced at the caller ID and sighed, smiling to myself. I had a good idea of what this was about, and I couldn't help but feel a hint of melancholy.

"Hey, Ikki..."

"Heya, Natasha."

"I... I saw what happened on the news. Are...are you doing alright now?"

"Still alive, so that's a plus," I answered. "I have one heck of a headache right now though, to say the least. I spent the day with friends, though. That's been good for healing."

"I'm sorry you got caught up in that mess. The footage of the hostage situation was terrifying to watch."

"Yeah," I agreed, shuddering once again. "I'm glad I got out of it in one piece. It's been a weird month, that's for sure, and I still haven't wrapped my head around it all."

"Well, I'm glad you're ok. I saw that you were carted off in an ambulance to get checked out, and I was hoping to talk to you afterwards. When, erm, when things had settled down a little bit. I was worried."

"About me? That doesn't sound like something I'd get from you, Natasha. I'm flattered," I said cheekily.

Truthfully, I was smiling softly in just a bit of surprise. I was being facetious, but I was happy she checked on me.

I winced. My cheeks still hurt from the bumps and bruises. Just a little. Cranking screws all day with Spencer probably didn't help any connected neck tension.

...

"I'm your friend, stupid. Friends worry."

I blushed a little at that. Natasha hadn't struck me as a blunt and forward person at first, and it'd only been shy of a week since we'd really hung out for the first time.

In that time, I'd gotten to know her better. Last Sunday, she'd even gotten me into trying out an online co-op chibi beat-em-up video game. I found the game really cute and enjoyable, to my own surprise.

I started laughing for no reason I could think of it, and she also shared in with a gentle giggle. Any awkwardness or uncertainty that still lingered in the air between us bled away in an instant. We were still on the phone, but it felt like Natasha was just in the next room.

"Well, I'm glad you care," I teased. "So, uhm, what's been up? With you? I hope Carrie hasn't been bothering you?"

I heard the rustle of paper for a moment before she responded.

"She's actually um, taken a break since last week, thankfully. Anyway, I'm going to work on a big project over the weekend, but I wanted to ask if you'd have time to hang out again soon? Maybe when we've had some time to let things settle out?"

I couldn't help but grin.

"I'd like that. I can't make any promises on a time, but I'll definitely let you know. Right now I'm kind of busy dealing with the fallout of this mess, but I'll definitely get back to you. What's the big project, though?"

She paused for a second, and for some reason, I could imagine her turning tomato red on the other end of the line.

"Well, this is a bit embarrassing. When. Er, when I went home last weekend, I started a PulseTube channel for my music. I'm going to do some popular covers to build a following and stuff, before putting original compositions up. I put one test piece up and I've already gotten a handful of subscribers! It's... it's a lot more fun than I thought. I'm not showing my face or anything yet, and there's zero production value, but it's something."

I blinked. Natasha was just full of surprises — she started a music channel?

"Wow, that's awesome! I'm happy for you! I'd like to hear your work sometime if you're up for it? If it's alright with you?"

"Yeah! It'd be nice to have... A sounding board on occasion to get some unbiased feedback on stuff."

I laughed, nodding to myself.

"Of course. Just let me know when you pick a good time to share your stuff, I'm always up for new music," I said, grinning.

"Alright, I'll let you know once I er, feel confident enough. Thanks, Ikki."

I couldn't help but smile at that.

"Hey. I know I haven't known you that long, but.."

I trailed off, feeling myself blush for a moment. I felt my stomach lurch momentarily when I heard her suck in a breath in anxiety.

"I'm glad we got to know each other a bit. That last game we played was really fun and, uhh, I really haven't had a lot of friends here in Terra. So, I'm glad you're around. I hope that's not weird to say."

"It's not weird at all! I feel the same way. So, we're good?"

"We're good," I answered, flipping to my side on my bed.

There was another pause before Natasha spoke up again.

"Hey, Ikki?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks again."

I grinned.

"Anytime, Natasha. Let's just turn in for the night, yeah?

"Sounds good. Gnight!"

With that, we closed our chat, and I put my phone aside, sighing with a happy smile.

I was still a bit of a mess, to be honest. I was tired from the emotional ups and downs. I was tired from the adrenaline crash and sore from getting my butt kicked yet again.

But I was also happy.

I was happy that I could help people, happy that I had friends who didn't think I was some sort of subhuman, and happy that I could be helpful.

I was happy to be a part of a team where I could just be myself and be accepted anyway.

I wasn't always going to be the best at everything, but when people supported me and cheered me on, I could do anything. And, on some level, I think that's a pretty universal human experience. I would do the same for the people showing me that respect.

I hoped tomorrow would bring more good news and less blood, but I was sure that if it did, I'd be ready for it. I felt like I could take on the world.

I rolled over in bed and closed my eyes, feeling my body sink into my sheets.

...

My eyes shot open as I jerked awake to a screeching, maddening noise. I hadn't even felt my head hit the pillow, but it was morning already?

I blinked away the sleep and looked at the clock, only to see the glowing 2:45 a.m. Next to it, my cell was lit up with a single notification.

Before I could even move to check my phone, I began to hear earsplitting air raid sirens from outside that chilled me to the bone.