Had she been in Kara’s shoes, Robynne would have been very annoyed. Making food for others twice in one day? What a pain. But Kara was maybe even sunnier than in the morning, which was rather ironic given Kara’s light-based power set. Or maybe that was poetic and not ironic? Whatever, Robynne wasn’t an English major. What Robynne wanted to know most, though, was how something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich tasted like triangular slices of heaven when made by Kara’s hands.

“What I want to know,” Kara mused as she flipped over another sandwich, “is why all these auras are popping up around Robynne.”

After swallowing down another bite, Robynne realized she probably should wonder more about that than grilled cheese.

“As much as I’d like to be conspiratorial about it,” Vivian giggled, “it could easily be explained away as observer bias. There could be all kinds of these ‘textured aura’ people out there, but only Robynne and Angela can really sense them, so we’re only finding the narrow band of people they contact. An especially narrow band with a shut-in like Robynne.”

“Hey!”

Angela nodded but grimaced. “But the only one I located was Cammy.”

Noriko sipped some of her… well Robynne still wasn’t sure what the pungent tea was that Noriko drank in the middle of the day, but she knew that she thought it smelled awful. “It also can’t be ignored who the three people are—other than Cammy—that Robynne has sensed these from: Eddie Hales, the leader of SFEERS; Dale Bridges, Robert’s would-be roommate; and Connor… what was his last name again?”

Robynne blinked, “Uhhh…. I don’t think he gave that to me.”

Vivian poked Robynne with her elbow, “You sure you didn’t just forget it because you’re kind of the worst with names?”

Kara snorted. “I think Eli might be worse.”

“How could Eli be worse than Robynne?”

“More to my point,” Noriko interrupted, “Connor is a key member in Robynne’s gaming circle. These things all point back to her in some way. My Clan has always been taught to not ignore these types of coincidences. They almost always mean… something.”

Mallory finished off another sandwich. Man, that girl could pack away food. Then again, given that Mallory was both a magical girl and a college athlete… well, Robynne supposed she probably burned calories like a furnace. “And what would this ever-so-vague something mean?” Mallory asked.

Noriko shrugged. “Normally coincidences mean someone is up to something. Coincidences do occur, but a proper ninja doesn’t ever just leave it at that. They must be investigated.”

Robynne liked that theory. It was similar in science; too many coincidences line up and you have the beginnings of a testable theory.

“But of even more import,” Noriko continued, “is that you all were chosen by Fate for this task of taking down Platicore. Coincidences in your lives could mean Fate is involved.”

Robynne suddenly found she liked Noriko’s argument a lot less. “Well I’m not going to worry two sugars over that last part.”

“I don’t think we can dismiss that last part so easily,” Angela admonished. “We know Fate is involved and it could be important.”

Robynne rolled her eyes. “Important how? Yes, we know Kunapipi works for Fate and that we’re its supposed Champions or whatever. But what does any of it matter? Does she decide what we do? What Platicore does? Does she have a specific end goal in mind that she’ll manipulate us until eternity to make sure it gets there or just a loose framework that we have tons of freedom in. Ang, I’m sorry, but accepting ‘Fate is involved’ means basically nothing because it could mean anything. Her involvement means something between Fate controls all of us like puppets on strings and free choice is an illusion or she’s a hamstrung semi-deity who can only do small nudges to push things towards a desired result.”

Angela straightened her back, and Robynne felt her aura stiffen. She realized she’d been too blunt. Sure, Robynne had some issues with Fate for upsetting her life, but why did she have to take it out on Angela? For her part, Angela cleared her throat and responded calmly, “You may be right, however, if she does tend towards, as you put it, a hamstrung semi-deity, this could be her way of trying to get our attention to get us to investigate this. The weaker she is in your estimation, the more important it is for us to follow up on leads like this.”

Robynne bit her bottom lip. That was true. Robynne spent so much time thinking of Fate as only a meddler and wrecker of Robert’s masculinity that she usually failed to remember that she might be actually trying to help. Help poorly, in Robynne’s estimation, but help all the same. Mistrustful or not, she had to remind herself to leave her assumptions at the door. Allowing biases to cloud your judgement was very unscientific.

“You’re right,” Robynne sighed. “Sorry. I just—”

Angela smiled and put a reassuring hand on Robynne’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Robynne. You’re allowed to feel how you feel.” Her aura and the auras of all the Spirit Guards seemed to relax some. When had their auras all stiffened? Did that always happen when Robynne ranted about Fate? She’d have to watch herself more. “Regardless, we need to figure out how to best monitor the situation.”

Mal sighed and stuffed another sandwich into her mouth. “Wishf I coul’ be of aneh helb.” She swallowed her piece down. “But my aura reading is next to nil. I couldn’t really feel too much coming off Cammy, let alone anyone else. If it’s not a monster I’m basically useless.”

Kara flipped another sandwich over. “It would really help if we could compare these boys together. Eddie will be at this tournament tonight, right?”

“Yeah,” Robynne agreed. “He never misses big events and usually is the one making sure everything is going smoothly.”

“Well,” Kara continued, “what are the odds that this Connor still shows up after what happened today?”

Robynne winced, remembering his aura trailing behind him like a metaphor for his wounded soul. Sure, he was a complete putz about it, but he was also just trying to help. “Not good, I’d think.”

Noriko finished the last of her pungent tea. “Perhaps we could improve the odds? Could you reach out to him and maybe offer an apology for freaking out a little and say you hope he shows up?”

“I didn’t freak out,” Robynne protested. “I had to fake that just to get him to stop answering questions.”

“We know that,” Noriko agreed. “But he doesn’t know it was an act. To him it looked like a very real freakout, and he would likely be worried that showing up tonight would exacerbate the situation.”

Vivian shook her head, sending a ripple down her long ebony hair. “She can’t apologize, Noriko. That makes it seem like she did something wrong, and if what she’s having is a bad mix of homesickness combined with—well, I suppose it wouldn’t be post-traumatic stress disorder since she didn’t actually run into a monster according to our story. Maybe anxiety or paranoia?—Regardless, we can’t undercut her emotional reaction or it’ll feel like he was manipulated by a lie. We have to keep threat of her ‘freakout’ real so that Connor doesn’t pursue this line of thought again.”

Noriko frowned. “I suppose that’s correct.”

Mal shrugged. “Ace doesn’t have to apologize for having the reaction. She could just say she’s sorry that he had to see it or that he had to be the one who felt the weight of it.”

Angela nodded. “Oh I like that. It doesn’t undercut the realness of the reaction, but gives her an out to say she wishes he didn’t have to see it.”

Kara slid another sandwich in front of Robynne. “And gives him an out that it wasn’t him or her that messed up. It was just a bad situation. He seems to lack confidence in himself socially, given what you told us earlier, Robynne.”

“Chyeah. That’s a bit of an understatement, I think.”

“So giving him a way to save face with himself is probably more important than saving face with Robynne.”

Robynne blew on the sandwich to help it cool. “Didn’t think of it in those terms but… yeah. I think you’re hitting the nail square on the head.”

“So,” Vivian said while stuffing her fifth sandwich into her mouth, “youf gonfa oxshuawy contact hom?”

Angela sighed, “I swear I don’t know what’s more bothersome: the fact that you’d talk with your mouth that full or the fact I could understand that sentence.”

Vivian grinned and swallowed down a bite far larger than anyone should have been comfortable with, especially given how small she was. “It’s one of your many super powers. Or I’m just having a wonderful effect on you all.”

Noriko rolled her eyes. “You take credit for far too much.”

“Bah! Humility is wasted on someone as magnificent as myself!”

Robynne chuckled, “Are we certain that Vivs isn’t the big bad?”

Vivian hopped up onto her chair and posed dramatically. “Yes! This has been my master plan all along! I am actually the evil reincarnation of the Empress! I have beset Cammy against you as a feint to distract you while I secretly corrupt you all from within! Soon you will all be my unwitting servants and—hey!”

Mal quietly grabbed Vivian around the waist and put her back on the floor and patted her on the head. “That’s enough out of you, ‘Cloverboom Number 5’.”

Vivian huffed and punched Mal in the shoulder to no effect. “OVER-DOOM Number THREE and YOU KNOW IT!”

Everyone laughed, and Robynne noticed even Noriko cracking a rare grin. Noriko did have a cute smile when she let herself be less guarded. The ninja did seem to be getting less protective of her emotions. Robynne hoped she could help more in that regard. It wasn’t like Robynne was emotionally effusive but she knew her friend needed to let herself be a little vulnerable to be healthy. Especially if she was serious about pursuing Nick.

Angela smiled and tried to steer the conversation back on track after Vivian’s latest derailment. “So, we don’t want to put too much on you, Robynne, but are you willing to reach out to this Connor?”

Robynne threw her hands up and let them flop to her sides. “I don’t really see any other path. Besides, dude deserves something from me. I didn’t mean to mess him up like that.”

Angela rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I mean, it wasn’t completely your fault. You—”

Robynne held her hands up. “I know, I know, it wasn’t intentional. But if you make a mess you better darn well clean it up.”

Angela grinned. “Another one of your uncle’s aphorisms?”

Robynne chewed on the inside of her cheek. Her uncle. She couldn’t avoid that. “I… uh, yeah.”

Angela laid a hand on Robynne’s shoulder. “Mallory and I have been working on our approach. We’ve got a lot of things set up for you. It’s going to be fine, Robynne. I promise.”

Robynne squeezed her left fist tightly around her thumb. It was easy to say it would be fine. But would it be? “I… thanks, Angela.”

Mal nodded in agreement with Angela. “Yeah. We’ve been working with Kunapipi to arrange for his arrival. We’re going to pose as representatives from the contest he won. We’ll lead him to his hotel room and you’ll already be there. We’ve also rented out the rooms adjacent to, above, and below your room, so you two will have privacy to work things out.”

“Additionally,” Noriko chimed in, “I will be monitoring the situation from the outside, so if something odd happens I can help.”

Robynne narrowed her eyes. “Something odd? Like what?”

Noriko shrugged. “I don’t have the faintest idea. However, it will be a stressful time for both of you, so anything could happen. In that case, someone with my skill who can act quickly would likely be to your advantage.”

It could sometimes be hard to read Noriko. It wasn’t as clear as Angela putting an arm on Robynne’s shoulder, but she got the sense that this was meant to be a reassuring gesture. “Thanks, Noriko.”

Noriko nodded and gave another light smile—not with her lips, but her eyes. She really did want to help Robynne. Quite a stark improvement from their first meeting, when Noriko had threatened to murder her two best friends.

“Yeah Rosy, we’ll be here for you. No matter what happens.” Robynne appreciated Vivian dropping her normal snark for what they could all easily see was something she wasn’t quite emotionally ready for.

“Thanks, guys.”

“Well, that’s a problem for later, sadly.” Kara gave Robynne a quick hug and returned to cooking. So much touching. “I don’t like how emergencies keep popping up but there is definitely something going on with all these guys showing up in front of Robynne with textured auras.”

Mal crossed her arms. “Yeah, I don’t like it either. I mean, it obviously means something, but… well… what?

Vivian started pacing, usually a sign she was taking things more seriously. “What it means could be anything from ‘nothing at all, it’s just a coincidence’ to ‘mission critical detail that could save the world,’ so I don’t know if that’s the right question for us to be asking.”

Angela nodded. “I agree. I think studying these textures is most important. Preferably in a way where we can contrast them.”

“Then tonight’s tournament can be a great opportunity,” Noriko added as she cleaned her cup. “Assuming you can get Connor to show up. That would make it two of the three.”

“I’d feel better if we could rely on more than just Robynne’s abilities,” Mal grumbled. “I mean, yeah, she’s the best of us, but she’s still just one person. No offense, Ace, but I’m just saying one person can miss something.”

“No offense taken. The scientific approach demands more data points.”

Mal rolled her eyes and exhaled from her nose. “Such a nerd.”

Vivian poked Mal in the ribs. “That’s just Robynne’s way of trying to make you feel at home.”

Robynne noticed Kara’s phone buzz and a smile overcome Kara’s face. A sure sign that Eli was texting her. Robynne grinned at that. They really were a good couple, as far as she was concerned.

“More to the point, though,” Vivian continued, “it’s a good thing that Kara and I are going to this tournament with Robynne. We can provide some level of scanning with her.”

Mal nodded but frowned. “Yeah… I’d still feel better if there was some way we could get Angela access to this place. I know this is the pot calling the kettle black but it seems your and Kara’s magic sense isn’t in the same ballpark as those two.”

“EKP,” Robynne corrected. “It’s not magic.”

Mal rolled her eyes hard at that and looked like she was about to complain but Kara spoke before she could open her mouth, “Uh, girls, we may have an issue.”

Angela stiffened and Robynne could somehow feel something bad was coming. “That being?”

“Eli just sent me a text. Apparently Dale is coming to this tournament too.”

Robynne winced. Gummi donut she hated dealing with Dale. Dude was persistent and annoying. He also caused the strongest… biological reactions in Robynne. Something about his entire look just kind of did it for her. Robynne hated that. “Of course he is.”

Angela cleared her throat. “This… I mean, I know why this is annoying for Robynne, but isn’t this kind of a sign? I mean, this is exactly what we need, right? A chance to survey all three of the textured auras in one place?”

Vivian shook her head, clearly ignoring Angela’s point and, for once, taking Robynne’s side instead of giggling at Robynne’s starcrossed luck. “Guy never takes a hint. Why is he showing up at all?”

Robynne slumped into her chair. “No doubt he’s noticed me practicing Mega Mash Family with Cory and Eli. He must have seen the announcement and put two and two together. Dude seriously will not give up.”

Kara cleared her throat. “Probably because someone won’t just tell him to back off.”

Robynne did not like that motherly tone in Kara’s voice.

“I feel I’ve made things pretty clear.”

“No, you haven’t. You’ve just avoided him while showing obvious signs of being attracted to him.” Stupid Kara being observant. How did she pick up on small details like that? “To him it looks like you’re just playing hard to get.”

Mal squinted. “Wait… attracted to him? Robynne? Seriously?”

Vivian gave a chuckle. Robynne appreciated the more subdued tone; normally conversations about Robynne figuring out her new preferences sent Vivian into a full on tittering fit. “Yeah, I’ve noticed it too.” Vivian said. “And hey, what’s not to like? Guy is straight-up yummy-looking. And Robynne’s body really does like muscles. That much I can tell.”

Robynne wanted to say something to contradict that statement, but could feel her cheeks warming up with embarrassment. It was stupid. She shouldn’t feel weird about this. It was only logical. She had a different body than before, with different biological wants and needs. There wasn’t anything to be ashamed of here. This was normal and to be expected. And yet… well… even though she was still wearing her cheer uniform, something in her brain struggled to protect her masculinity.

Angela stood up and glared at Vivian. “Okay, I’m sure Robynne doesn’t need to hear what you’ve noticed about her… preferences. Or describing anyone as ‘yummy’, for that matter.”

Vivian shrunk back. “Uh, yeah. I’m just saying she’s conflicted is all. And that’s perfectly natural given her, well, unnatural situation. Oh, uh, hey, since I know you’re not the best around him, have you brought up to Dale that Lilly is into him? Didn’t you offer to set them up or something? See, aren’t I being helpful.”

Mal shook her head. “Subtle deflection.”

Kara sighed. “It would be a good way to show him you’re not interested, but let him down politely.”

Noriko cleared her throat and threw a lifeline to Robynne. “Not to distract from what is a difficult topic, but Angela had a point earlier. This is exactly the situation you all wanted, correct? All three of these boys in one place?”

“Yes.” Business. Robynne could avoid thinking about annoying Dale’s awesome pecs if this was all about business. “Yes, this is what we wanted. A chance to compare and contrast.”

“Robyyyynne,” Kara chided, “you’re not going to avoid your way out of this.”

“I’m going to go with Vivian’s plan,” Robynne deflected. “It’ll work. It’ll be fine. The thing with these auras is more important anyway. We need to find out what they mean or how they work or whatever.”

Kara gave another skeptical look, but thankfully, as she often did, Mal came to Robynne’s defense. “She’s right. Though that leaves us with our original problem of Robynne being the only one there with a reliable magic sense.”

Vivian went back to pacing, clearly trying to avoid sounding too flippant again. “As much as I’d like to ride to my and Kara’s defense in this regard, I think you’re right. It’s clear that Angela is a standard deviation or two above us in terms of empathokinetics and Robynne is a standard deviation above that. We’ll get a sense of things, but it’d be better if Angela came with.”

Noriko cleared her throat. “Might I remind everyone we have to make sure Cammy has no idea about Robynne’s connection to Angela? We’ve been exclusively having her and Mallory travel through the Stones just to avoid that exact issue. Having her show up in front of an entire club won’t go unnoticed.”

Angela squinted and frowned. “Yes, that is an issue. But maybe that’s worth the risk? Or maybe I can find a way to just stay on the periphery, like I did when Robynne encountered Cammy for the first time.”

“Won’t work,” Vivian countered. “You were able to observe from the second story that time. We’re in a different part of the Bilot Building for this tournament. We’ll be on the second floor.”

Angela seemed to deflate at that point. “That is an issue.” Something about her tone and posture hinted at something to Robynne—something beyond just not being able to execute the mission. Did Angela… want to go to this event?

“Why not a disguise then?” Robynne offered. “Maybe someone in SFEERS might recognize Angela, but I would say that’s a long shot, given the size of the school. And maybe a cheerleader spying for Cammy from afar would notice Angela’s fairy-tail-princess-golden hair. But what if we hid that and changed her entire look?”

Angela pursed her lips, a hint of a hopeful smile at the corners. “What are you suggesting, Robynne?”

“We go with the opposite of your current prim-and-proper look. Something no one will recognize.” Robynne took a page out of Vivian’s playbook and paused for dramatic effect. “We goth you up.”

Vivian exploded in a fit of laughter, “Ang? Goth? Oh wow, Rosy! That’s brilliant! And hilarious!”

Mallory nodded, but her face expression tightened in a way that betrayed her skepticism. “Goth Angela? I don’t know. Do you think it could even work? No offense, Ang, but you don’t exactly have that dour look of a goth. Besides, some mystery goth girl with your name seems suspicious.”

Robynne shook her head. “Not to worry. Not all goths are sullen mood-killers. And she can definitely pull off the look, easy. Get her a big oversized hoodie to cover her face some and dark makeup. Maybe even dye her hair. Then, she shows up to SFEERS not as Angela but as Conviction, her Aspect Realms character. Some of the guildies who are in the club will know her from the few times she’s played with us, so they’ll be glad to put a face to the name.”

Angela’s face lit up with excitement. “Oh! I hadn’t even thought of using my gamer name!”

“‘Handle,'” Robynne reminded her. “But yeah, that’s all anyone uses in SFEERS. You’d blend right in.”

“That really could work,” Vivian agreed, “even if I think the perky goth is mostly a fantasy trope made up by Hollywood for dramatic purposes. Trope or not though, it’s a trope we can play off of. Nerds love tropes.”

Noriko’s entire face scrunched together in concentration. “An intriguing idea… but dying her hair would be a problem. Once someone sees Angela with a different hair color, they might be able to put the pieces together.”

Vivian bounced up and down excitedly. “No, that’s the brilliance of this. We don’t need a good dye job. We just invest in cheap ones that wouldn’t last more than a few washes in the shower anyway. After the party, transform into Spirit Guard Valor, detransform, and, boom, we got Angela back. No one would be the wiser!” Robynne could tell by her mischievous grin that, while helpful, Vivian really just wanted an excuse to get Angela transforming for non-monster-fighting purposes to forestall future lectures.

Angela pursed her lips. “I hate to use our powers so casually…”

Noriko nodded. “Yes, that is true, however it does solve the problem of being recognized. I think if we’re serious about going through with this idea that we need to consider it.”

“Does nobody else find it funny,” Kara giggled, “that we’ve got nerd Robynne going undercover as a cheerleader and we’re discussing cheerleader Angela going undercover as a nerd?”

Vivian laughed and slung her arms around Robynne’s and Angela’s waists. “Seems pretty on-brand for how insane things have gotten since ol’ Rosy arrived.”

Robynne grumbled as she freed herself from Vivian’s frustratingly familiar grip. “I suppose that’s truer than I’d like it to be.” There did seem to be a cruel symmetry to it. It wasn’t a perfect reflection of course. They were actually trying to spy on Cammy’s Cheer Mafia; Angela wouldn’t be spying on nerds as much as just being available for the trio of textured auras. Regardless, the irony was maddeningly convoluted. If only they could have found a way to just flip roles. Given the option, Robynne would totally be up for switching bodies with Angela.

Angela didn’t seem bothered, however; in fact, she looked positively giddy. “I mean, it sure isn’t my normal look, but it seems too good an opportunity to get some idea of what’s happening.”

Kara smiled with a glint in her eye. “Of course. That’s the only reason?”

Angela blushed, “Well, I do suppose it would be nice to meet some of the people I’ve been playing Aspect Realms with.”

Mal groaned. “It’s official. You’ve successfully nerded her out, Ace. I’ll never forgive you for this.”

Robynne smirked triumphantly. “I wasn’t asking for forgiveness.”

“This has more benefits than I originally considered,” Noriko mused. “Giving Angela an alter-ego she could use might allow us to sneak Angela into locations we wouldn’t have dared put her otherwise. We’ll need a background for her, of course, as people ask questions. Making her a student is too risky. If she claims to be in the same major as someone in the club questions will get asked. We can play into her being a ‘mysterious goth girl’ trope, though, and answer vaguely.”

Angela nervously ran her hands down her resplendent golden hair. “I… don’t know how good I am at lying.”

“I do,” Vivian interjected. “You’re terrible at it. It will be a problem.”

Noriko nodded. “We’ll have to keep your cover story simple and boring. Something people won’t be interested in so they don’t ask too many questions. Maybe Conviction is the type of girl who got a gap year. Maybe has a boring day job she’s doing… a gopher for something no one would find interesting.”

“A business none of them could visit. Maybe data entry for… a billing company.”

Angela nodded slowly. “Yes… that does sound remarkably banal.”

Vivian snapped her fingers. “So boring that when people ask you can just be like, ‘yeah, work is sooo boring I don’t like talking about it. What do you do?’ Then, boom, you got them talking about themselves and they like you without you really having to talk about yourself.”

“Yes,” Angela agreed, “this is a surprisingly robust solution.”

Mal threw her hands up. “Well, sounds like we have a plan when it comes to getting Angela there. What do we need?”

Angela stopped smiling her charmingly dopey smile and her gameface turned on. “Okay, we need to get me a few gothy outfits and some hair dye. Thankfully my natural hair color lends itself to a lot of different colors.”

“Lots of goth girls like to go dual-colors. A name like ‘Conviction’ positively screams dramatic colors. Maybe… maybe a metallic purple and snow white bangs?”

Angela smiled. “That is dramatic, I’ll give you that… Okay, Vivian, you’re with Mallory and me to help me get everything cobbled together and set up. Noriko?”

Robynne did a double-take; when had Noriko changed into her ninja garb? She could have sworn the girl hadn’t moved. “I will work with the Twins to get some rudimentary ID set up for you. Nothing major. What do you think of the name Alison Ward? Seems forgettable enough to me.”

Angela nodded. “Sure. Seems good enough.”

Robynne shrugged, “I doubt it even comes up. No one calls me Robynne. Everyone calls me Waveform at SFEERS events. I’ll be surprised if anyone asks her real name.”

“Good, that’s very encouraging. Well then, Robynne, you need to be sure NightKnight arrives tonight.”

A knot formed in Robynne’s stomach. This wasn’t going to be a comfortable conversation. But she was getting used to things not being comfortable. Nothing felt comfortable in girls clothes. Well, except long skirts. Those did breath better than pants, assuming they weren’t super tight like her cheer skirt. Which didn’t count, because that was short too. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be sure he gets there.”

Mal raised an eyebrow warily. “You sure, Ace? If you think it might be too much, it’s okay. I’m sure we could learn a lot from just two of them.”

“No, no, It’s not too much. And it’s my responsibility anyway. I used a dirty trick to get him to back off. I can’t let that stand.”

Mal smirked. “Dramatic as always. Good on you, though.”

“It’s not dramatic,” Robynne huffed. “You can’t go breakin’ something if you don’t intend to fix it.”

“You already said that.” Viv giggled, “And, point of fact, that’s also a very dramatic thing to say. But in a cool way. A cinematic way. If it makes you feel any better, we’ll say it’s because you’re like one of your comic book characters and you just brood in a way that makes everyone want to be cool like you.”

“Well, whenever you’re done brooding or not brooding or whatever we’re going to call it,” Kara interjected, “will you be able to help me take these treats to the tournament?”

Vivian’s head popped up like meerkat’s out of a hole. “You’re bringing treats to the tournament? As in in addition to all the other cooking you’ve done today?”

“Well,” Kara smiled as she opened up the fridge. “They did say we should all bring something to share, food-wise.” She pulled out a couple of tupperware containers. They were mostly opaque, but various colorful confections gave hints of the deliciousness within. “Yes. I’m going to be leaving a few business cards in front of them.”

“Business cards?” Angela asked. “You’re making this into a business?”

Kara shrugged. “My brothers suggested it as a way to make some side money. I love cooking, so this would be a great way to get some experience and see if it’s something I could eventually scale up.”

“That… Kara, I think that’s genius,” Angela exclaimed. “This is totally the kind of event you should advertise your food at!”

Robynne nodded. “Yeah. This is… you could totally have your own bakery line or something with how good your foods are.”

“Especially with how good your sweets are,” Vivian giggled. “I, of course, am your go-to taste tester. Quality control is important. Given you’re in the startup phase, I’ll accept being paid in exposure to more cookies.”

Kara menacingly pointed a spatula at Vivian. “I won’t have you literally eating into my profits. Besides, I plan to do more than just sweets. I think my homemade energy bars might be good too.”

Vivian scoffed, “Well who would you rather eat into your profits than me?”

“I think she’d prefer no one eats into her profits, Tiny,” Mal scoffed.

“Bah! Boring!”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Regardless, it sounds like we have a plan?”

Angela’s smile didn’t completely disappear but her game face officially turned on. “Right. I think it’s a good plan. Time to execute. Mallory, Vivian, let’s get moving. Noriko?”

Noriko was already at the Stone and knocking. “I’m on my way to the Twins and then will get to scouting to see if Cammy will have any spies there tonight.”

“Excellent. Robynne?”

Robynne groaned and put her plate into the dishwasher. She noted Kara eyeing her and making sure she didn’t just dump it into the sink again. That girl was going to be an incredible mother. “I’ll make sure NightKnight is there.” She was not looking forward to this conversation. “Then I’ll help Kara bring everything to the tournament. I probably need to check in with Stacy too. She made it sound like she’s actually planning to attend this tonight.”

Angela frowned. “An extra factor we need to consider.”

Kara waved off Angela’s concern with a flick of her spatula. “Stacy is super outgoing. I don’t think she’ll be too big an issue. She’ll have an entire room of people to catch up with after her last excursion to SFEERS.”

Vivian smiled and shrugged. “Probably. I’d be shocked if that girl forgets any of their names. Girl is crazy good how thoughtful she is.”

“Well then, ladies,” Angela said with a small clapping motion, “we have an amazing opportunity tonight. I don’t know what we’ll discover, but I have a feeling it’s going to be important somehow. Let’s get to it.”