Rory was pacing his room. That was possible, now, with Carina having insisted that he keep it clean. It was a little hard to breathe. Keaton was sitting on the bed and Carina on the bookshelf, both watching him.

“This was a mistake, wasn’t it?” he asked.

“No, man, I don’t think it was,” Keaton insisted. “This is exciting! I can’t believe you get to be a magical boy. Imagine that: a boy with magical powers fighting planar threats. But for real!” His eyes were sparkling. “What does your magical form look like?”

Running his fingers through his hair, Rory groaned.

“This is a big responsibility,” Carina said. “You knew that, going in.”

“I know,” Rory moaned.

Carina continued, “It’s not too late to change your mind.” Then she muttered, “Though, it is a lot of paperwork.” She sighed. “Probably not any more than we already have to deal with, though.”

“You can’t give this up,” Keaton insisted, leaning forward. “You’ll never have another chance like this.”

“I know,” Rory said, halting. “It’s just… It’s only now sinking in.”

“You’ll do fine. What kind of power do you have? What’s your outfit look like?”

Rory sighed and started rubbing his arm.

“Promise you won’t laugh,” he said.

“Why would I—?”

“Promise!”

Keaton reeled back and raised his hands, replying, “Alright, I promise.”

Rory nodded, then asked Carina, “How do I do it?”

Carina slipped off the shelf and floated over, hovering above Rory’s shoulder.

“Thrust your hand out in front of you and say ‘magical girl power, activate,’ and it should materialize.”

“I’m not a girl,” he mumbled.

“Doesn’t matter. Once you have a name for your power, you can substitute that in.”

Rory took a deep breath and reached out his arm, declaring, “Magical girl power, activate!”

Like before, there was a bright flash of light and all his clothes unraveled before the light wrapped around Rory. A staff appeared in front of him and he wrapped his hand around it. The light dissipated and Rory was in his bubble dress and heels again.

Keaton’s eyes widened, but he did not laugh.

“That’s definitely not what I expected,” he admitted.

Rory whined and turned to Carina, demanding, “Why does my outfit look like this?”

“I don’t know,” Carina admitted. “Magical girl costumes and powers are drawn from the subconscious. So, on some level, you must have wanted this. Maybe the reason you were on the list is because you’re actually a really feminine boy and just don’t realize it yet.” She scratched her chin. “It’s an explanation, at least, if a strange one.”

“How am I supposed to face anyone looking like this?” Rory asked them.

“Can outfits be changed?” Keaton asked.

Carina shrugged, repeating, “It’s subconscious, so maybe?”

“This was a mistake,” Rory mumbled.

Keaton shook his head and got off the bed.

“No, it wasn’t,” he insisted. “This isn’t the end of the world. It’s the twenty-first century. Boys should be allowed to wear dresses by now. You’re going to go out there and do a good job, and nobody is even going to care what you’re wearing because they’ll be too busy loving you. You got that?”

Rory bit his lip as heat rushed to his cheeks. Keaton really cared for him a lot, didn’t he? It made Rory feel all light and giddy. The only way things could be better is if Keaton stepped over and wrapped his arms around Rory and—

He shook his head, banishing the thought.

“Thank you,” he said, looking away. Hearing you say that makes me want to believe it.”

“That’s good,” Carina said, “because we have to start patrolling.”

Rory blinked, then asked, “Excuse me?”

“We’re brand new, so our territory isn’t carved out yet, but now that you’ve accepted the job there are responsibilities to live up to.”

“I can’t go out like this!” Rory cried.

“Relax. Just close your eyes and say, ‘power dismissed,’ and you’ll revert to your mundane form.”

Rory took a deep breath and closed his eyes, saying, “Power dismissed.”

He felt a lot of energy rush out of him all at once, and when he opened his eyes Rory was back in his normal clothes.

“Alright,” he said. “I guess we have to do this.”

“Good luck, man,” Keaton said, giving him a pat on the arm.

Rory replied with a soft smile.

They left the apartment together and got on the elevator. Keaton got off on his floor and waved as the doors closed again. Whey opened on the ground floor, Rory took a deep breath and stepped out.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said as he and Carina emerged outside.

It was getting late in the evening, but there were still people milling about. More than a few of them turned to look at Carina hovering next to him. He should have been loving the attention.

“You’ll do fine, I promise,” Carina said. “You wouldn’t have been on the list if you weren’t capable of living up to the challenge.”

“I hope you’re right.”

They wandered in no particular direction. Rory knew the city well enough that he wasn’t in any real danger of getting lost, at least not if they were back before nightfall. They had plenty of time to talk while Carina kept an eye out for any magical threats.

“How often do planar invasions happen?” Rory asked.

“It’s more common around more people, for some reason,” Carina explained. “In a city like this, maybe two or three times a week? Perhaps more? That’s partially why we have so many magical girls assigned to large cities.” Then she stopped and buzzed her wings for a moment before pointing across the street. “That way. I can sense something.”

“Can you tell what it is?” Rory asked, hitting the pedestrian crossing button.

“Not specifically, no.” They crossed the street and Carina took the lead, stopping and turning to face down a dark alley. “It’s in there.”

Rory gulped and stepped into the darkness, the hair standing up on the back of his neck.

He held out his hand and whispered, “Magical girl power, activate!”

Rory had to close his eyes at the flash of light, but in a moment he was holding his staff and power was running through his veins. He took a few confident steps forward; these were stiletto heels but they were no harder to walk in than sneakers. His staff glowed softly, casting changing colors across the walls.

They emerged into a shadowy back lot where a large pile of scrap metal was sitting out in the open. Rory had just enough time to open his mouth before the pile sprang to life, unfurling into a long, segmented form with dozens long metal legs. There was a hiss as steam erupted from the seams of the shape, and when one end turned toward Rory it was to reveal a smattering of glowing bulbs of different colors, large rusty sheers for mandibles, and long strips of metal hanging from the mouth between them that flailed like tentacles.

“Oh my,” Carina whispered, floating slightly behind Rory.

“Um… Carina? How do I use my powers?” Rory asked, taking a few steps back.

“They’re your powers, not mine! And the best way to learn is to do! Trust your instincts!”

Rory gulped and held up his staff. The creature reared up and a piercing screech ripped through the air. Arms shaking, Rory pushed all the energy he could through his staff. A long shaft of red light shot from the end of the staff and rammed into the side of the creature’s face.

The centipede jerked in response, but looked undamaged. It launched forward at Rory, who crossed his arms in front of his face. The mandibles slammed against a violet barrier, which cracked under the pressure.

“Rory, move!”

He obeyed, taking off. The barrier shattered and the creature turned to follow him. All Rory could hear was the clank of metal and the hiss of steam. Glancing behind him for a second, Rory swung his staff. A wave of yellow light crashed into the monster, leaving a small slash in the metal and scuffing up some of of the lamplights.

“Why isn’t it working!?” Rory cried.

“I don’t know!”

Carina’s voice was far away and she sounded panicked.

With a flash, the centipede was upon Rory. A mandible hit him right in the shoulder, sinking in and causing blood to spurt everywhere. Rory cried and dropped his staff, collapsing to the ground. Metal ribbons lashed around him, tearing at his outfit and covering Rory in lacerations.

Something rammed into the creature’s head and it jerked away, ripping its mandible from Rory’s arm and causing him to scream in pain. He could hear the sound of battle, but only barely over the sound of his heartbeat. Everything was going dark.

“Rory! Rory, you’re going to be okay! It’s already healing!”

There was a little pink glow in front of him, and after a moment Rory’s vision focused on Carina. Then he looked behind her. The creature was thrashing about, several long sticks topped with giant tulips sticking out of its head. A large dahlia landed on its face, sticking for a moment before exploding in a burst of fire. The centipede let out one last choked cry before collapsing to the ground and falling still.

Rory managed to pick himself up just as the girl in the flower dress approached him. Amira was scowling and her arms were crossed. Her white pixie, Nellie, sat on her shoulder. When Amira got close, though, she stopped and frowned.

“You’re a boy,” she said. “Why are you a boy?”

“Can’t help it,” Rory said, placing a hand gingerly on his shoulder. The wound was gone but he was still covered in blood. “Thank you. That thing was so much stronger than I—”

The slap came out of nowhere, and afterward Rory was too stunned to say anything.

“What are you doing in a magical girl outfit?” Amira snarled. “This is a girls-only profession. You’re invading. Badly, by the way. That creature wasn’t any stronger than anything else I’ve fought. You’re just that weak. It’s obvious you’re not cut out to be a magical girl… boy… defender.” She turned away. “Go back to your regular life. Marisol should have warned you not to get involved in our world.”

Crouching for a moment, Amira jumped landed on the roof of the building, running off. Rory stared after her for a moment, then leaned up against the wall and sank back to the ground. He started to sob.

“Hey,” Carina said softly, “don’t let her get to you—”

“You don’t get it,” Rory croaked. “I looked up to her so much. And she hates me and my powers don’t do anything and my outfit is ruined.”

“Your outfit isn’t ruined,” Carina promised. “Just dismiss your powers and you’ll be all cleaned up, then your outfit will be good as new when you call it again.”

“Wonderful,” Rory muttered bitterly. “Can we just go home?”

“Of course.”

He stood up and dismissed his power. Indeed, like Carina had promised, he was clean and uninjured. Still sore, though. His shoulder ached something fierce.

They were silent on the walk back. Rory felt like he was in a haze. His hero had scolded him for thinking that he could ever live up to her example. How was he supposed to respond to that?

“This night was a mess,” he muttered.

“I think I messed up,” Carina said. Rory glanced at her to see that Carina was wringing her hands. “What if the reason you’re so weak is because we broke the rules? There was never supposed to be a magical boy. This is bad.”

Rory sighed.

“It’s not that,” he said. “It can’t be that.”

They were about halfway home, night having well and truly fallen by then, when Carina paused and glanced toward a strip mall.

“What is it?” Rory asked.

“Nothing.”

“There’s something magical in there, right?”

“I…” Carina squirmed. “It’s not a good idea. Not after what just happened—”

“How common is this?” Rory asked. “You said two or three times a week.”

“It’s not unheard of for there to be multiple invasions per day,” Carina admitted. “Look, someone else will take care of it.”

Rory took off running toward the parking lot.

“Rory!” Carina chased after him. “Stop!”

“Which store is it?” he demanded.

“We shouldn’t—”

“Which one!?”

Carina sighed and replied, “The dollar store!”

Rory picked up the pace, skidding to a halt outside the front doors. They were locked, but he pressed against the glass and managed to spot some movement above the shelves. Carina landed on Rory’s shoulder and started to glow.

“Alright. You should be able to phase through the door, but if things go wrong I want you out of there.”

“Sure, yeah.”

Rory placed a hand on the glass door and it parted like water. He stepped through into the darkness. It was kind of eerie how far the shadows stretched. Rory would be tense even if he didn’t know there was something dangerous in there.

He summoned his powers and his outfit returned completely unsullied. Rory pointed the staff up at the lights and a small luminescent ball shot from the end. It sank into the fixture above and caused it to glow with a soft blue light. After a second, every other fixture in the store followed suit.

The whole place was covered in some kind of a sticky web. Floating above the shelves, stretching web over everything with thin tentacles, was a massive purple jellyfish with a cluster of lobes. It must have been at least the size of an adult man. The creature seemed to slow as the lights came on, then started floating toward Rory.

“This should be easy,” Rory said, raising his staff.

“Don’t underestimate planar threats.”

Rory thrust his staff forward and a burst of orange light soared toward the creature. It hit the jellyfish and dissipated, knocking it back a few feet. Undeterred, Rory slashed with his staff and sent out a yellow wave. This attack managed to pierce the skin, but after a second the jelly started to regenerate. The creature continued to float toward Rory, tentacles stretching out.

Another slash and several tentacles were severed. The monster didn’t seem fazed, and Rory furled his brow in concern. It was coming at a slow pace, but it wasn’t stopping.

Rory growled and ran forward, swinging the staff again. Several more tentacles were cut off, but the rest lashed out at Rory. He ducked, faster than he’d ever moved in his life, but several wrapped around his arm. He screamed as searing pain ran up his arm. The skin around the bindings grew red and started to foam. Aiming his staff, Rory let out a blast of red energy. It pierced the creature’s skin, causing a bit of liquid to fall out.

The lights went out. Rory had just enough time to cry out in surprise before there was a rush of sound, almost like a low howl of wind, and the tentacles slipped off of him. A ripping noise filled the air, followed by liquid hitting the ground.

Pointing the staff upward, Rory reignited the lights of the store. The creature was dead, it’s limp body torn open and suspended in midair by a shadowy hand. Water, or some other clear liquid, was splattered all over the floor. Standing in front of the creature was a girl in a black bouffant dress and boots, her long blond hair tied up in twintails.

She was reaching into the body of the creature pulling out a small purple substance with a gloved hand. Rory watched as she dropped it in a small glass jar and screwed a lid on tight. The girl placed the jar in a small black bag tied around her waist.

“Rory!” Carina said, rushing over to him. “Are you alright?”

The other girl started walking away without even looking at him.

“Hey!” he cried, rubbing his healed arm. “Who are you? You’re not one of the magical girls who live here. Where did you come from?”

Without looking back, she replied, “I’m new in town.”

She turned a corner and disappeared. Rory followed, but when he rounded the corner she was gone. He glanced down several aisles, but couldn’t find her.

“That’s… really odd,” he mumbled.

Carina came to land on his shoulder, asking, “Can we go home, now?”