THE MOMENT
"WHO DARES TO OPPOSE ASH REGENCY!???" Gia screamed at the five uniformed soldiers. They arrived just as she began causing chaos downtown. It was mid-afternoon and most of the people had fled as soon as she announced her presence. But, the five women stood defiantly as black smoke swirled around them.
"We're the Magical Platoon," one of them answered with a smirk. She had sharp, piercing blue eyes, and short-cropped silver hair. "Alpha Squad! Sound off!"
"DUTY'S CALL, AWAKEN ALL!" The five women announced in unison; and released an explosion of colorful smoke. After the smoke cleared, they all stood in different uniforms.
"PRIVATE GALE SWIFTWIND!" She had spiky blonde hair and wore forest green slacks. Crisp gold vertical lines ran down each side of her legs and complimented the golden epaulettes on her white top.
"CORPORAL AQUA RIVERS!" Her blue hair was tied back in a neat bun. Her slacks were aqua blue, but otherwise matched the rest of the team.
"SERGEANT TERRA FIRMA!" She had short brown hair with purple slacks. Her uniform fit her a little tighter than the others thanks to her muscular physique.
"LIEUTENANT EMBER BLAZE!" Her red ponytail burst into flames as she introduced herself; her slacks matched the red color in her hair.
"I'm Captain Marina Stormhold. And, in the name of the United States Government; we're gonna slaughter you." Gale Swiftwind launched forward as soon as Marina finished. She moved fast and caught Gia by surprise with a knee to the stomach.
"Ow..," Gia doubled over; but, she recovered quickly. Gale moved behind her, then hooked her arm around Gia to put her in a chokehold.
"You're new, aren't you?" Gia managed to eek out the question; then, she ignited into a roaring bonfire.
"AAHGGH1" Gale let go and fell back stumbling. Her eyes got too much heat and light and she had trouble seeing. Then, the ground started shaking beneath Gia. Terra was kneeling with her hands touching the ground as a crack in the street spidered toward Gia.
"Well now you're just destroying things for no reason," Gia giggled as a pair of flaming wings took shape behind her and she hovered up into the air. She glanced over to Aqua, her main concern, and the Magical Soldier was in a prone position aiming an enchanted blue rifle.
"Quit pointing, it's rude," Gia giggled and made a dismissive gesture with her hand and a storm of fireballs rained down on Aqua; but, none of them struck. As the fireballs fell, they changed direction and flew toward Ember. She collected the flames in her hand, and dispersed them.
"Fine, I guess I need to - ow," Gia flinched as a rock grazed her cheek.
"Hey, you already had a turn," Gia made a beckoning gesture, and a blaze erupted under Terra as the woman screamed.
"But... you haven't...,' Gia turned and focused on Marina. The soldier stood next to Aqua as she charged electricity between her hands.
"No one's taking turns," Marina grinned. "We're a team."
"STORMSHOT!" Aqua and Marina announced simultaneously as magical water gathered in front of the rifle. Marina charged the water with electricity and it shot forward at Gia.
"Nice try!" Gia giggled and she burned red hot to dispell it. But, her flames disappeared.
"She did say we were a team," Ember smiled as she stole the Gia's fire.
"NONONONONO! AGGGGUUHGGHH!" The electric ball struck Gia and disintegrated her completely.
"Excellent work, Alpha Squad. Let's get Gale and Terra patched up."
"I'm okay...," Terra said. Had some minor burns; but most of her body was covered with earthen stone.
"I'm so not!" Gale said. She was feeling around the empty air until Ember grabbed her hands and led her into a black portal.
"You good for repairs?" Marina asked Terra, and the muscular woman nodded.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I'll leave you to it," she walked into the portal followed by Aqua, and it closed behind them. Terra surveyed the area to pick a starting point, and something caught her eye. She walked over to the sparkle as she shed the defensive layer. She found a bright blue node in the rubble. It was glassy like the node she already had; but, this one was translucent blue instead of clear. She picked it up and a black crescent moon flashed on the display for a moment. After it faded, a message came in.
[Hello. Would you like to go on a quest? - Io]
"Yeah," Terra chuckled and slid the node into her pocket. "Maybe later."