Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Part of the Media Circus

There was a lot of movement backstage. Rory stood against the wall, shifting uncomfortably. Carina stood on his shoulder with her arms folded, still pouting. With a sigh, Rory sank down a little bit.

“You really didn’t have to come, Carina,” he mumbled.

“You’re here in official magical defender capacity,” Carina replied. “I’m obligated to be here, even if this was the dumbest idea that you’ve ever had.”

“It’s not dumb.”

“Rory…”

He hissed, “It’s not! An interview is the best way to take control of the narrative surrounding me. I can’t let other people make up whatever they want.”

“Interviews on television isn’t something that magical girls do,” Carina told him.

“I’m not a magical girl,” Rory retorted. “Remember?”

Carina shook her head and said, “You still represent the bureau, Rory. This is going to make all of us look bad. We could get in trouble, especially if this leads to other magical girls being hounded for interviews as well.”

Rory pouted, but looked up when a woman in a suit approached him.

“Rory Harrell?” she asked. When he nodded, she instructed him, “Get into your uniform.”

“What? No,” Rory replied, waving his hands in front of him. “No, no, no, no, no. I can’t do that. It would be so embarrassing.”

“People are expecting you to wear your uniform,” the woman replied, folding her arms. “You’re a magical defender, right? Look the part.”

“Miss producer…” Rory whined, but she was already walking away.

Rory sighed and whispered, “Magical girl power, activate.”

There was a bright flash of light and suddenly everyone was staring at Rory in his bubble dress. He gulped and was suddenly being ushered toward the stage, his rainbow tassels bouncing with every step. The producer gave him a push and Rory stumbled into the bright warm lights. He caught himself just in time to avoid sprawling across the ground.

It was hard to see anything at all. Looking in the direction of the lights, Rory could just barely make out a sea of faceless shadows. He felt Carina grab a little more tightly to his hair. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and sat down in the big upholstered chair that had been set out for her.

“Hello there, Mister Harrell.”

The interviewer was a man in a green pinstripe suit and slicked back black hair. Daniel Marsh always sat with his legs crossed and fingers interlaced. There was just something about his posture and the smile that always reached his eyes that sent a shiver down Rory’s spine.

“Hello, Mister Marsh—”

“Oh, Rory, please, call me Daniel.” Marsh’s grin stretched even further. “We’re all friends here, right?” Rory tried to nod, but Marsh was already adding, “Why don’t you tell our audience a little bit about what it’s like being the first magical boy in the world?”

“Um… It’s been quite a journey,” Rory said. “Fighting extra-planar threats is intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, um, it’s… not so bad?”

It was so hot on this stage. He couldn’t ignore the feeling of hundreds of eyes on him. On his outfit. Rory shifted his legs uncomfortably.

“Relax, Rory,” Carina whispered. “Take deep breaths.”

“So, Rory,” Marsh continued, unfolding his legs and leaning in, “tell us about your powers. How do they work?”

“Oh, well… You see, my staff here—” He clutched the staff tightly in his hands. “—lets me generate magical light that I can use to attack and defend myself—”

“And why, do you think, are your powers so much weaker than other magical girls?”

Rory felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“First off, I’m not a girl,” he said, looking away. “The thing is, I just need more training. With practice, I’ll become a lot stronger—”

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” Marsh agreed, nodding along, “but I do have to ask: is it really responsible for someone who’s not all that strong to be taking on magical threats? Are you not putting people at risk if something is too strong for you to handle?”

“That’s… Hold on…” Rory shuffled in his seat. “I’m not the only person who’s ever had trouble with that. Just the other day, I was helping Liv with a big plant monster.”

“Indeed you were. I wanted to ask about that, actually.” Rory gulped. “She seemed really unhappy to see you. Is there some bad history there? Or perhaps you got in her way by accident?”

“I didn’t,” Rory protested weakly.

“Tell me about your outfit,” Marsh said, still grinning amicably. “It seems a little strange that the bureau would give a magical boy the same outfit as a magical girl. Perhaps there’s something that you’d like to tell us?”

Rory heard Carina take a sharp breath.

“This is off-limits,” she hissed into his ear. “Change the subject!”

Connor cleared his throat and said, “You know… it has been pretty amazing getting to meet the other magical defenders. It’s always something, I suppose, when you meet someone who’s, you know, really famous, but then you talk to them and it’s like… Hey, they’re actually a lot like you.”

Marsh nodded along slowly, but opened his mouth to interject. Rory cleared his throat again and Marsh seemed to hesitate. Desperate, Rory found a new topic.

“There is actually something I’d really like to talk about while I have everyone’s attention,” he said. His back was sweating. Rory gulped. “That is, I’m sure everyone knows about me, Liv, Coraline, Jada, and Amira, of course—”

“Of course, of course. Nobody could forget our flagship magical girl: Miss Zaman. How would you say that you and her—?”

“There is someone else, though!” Rory squeaked.

Marsh closed his mouth, his smile fading a little as his eyes bulged.

“Someone else?” he asked.

“Rory,” Carina whispered, “is this a good idea?”

He barreled on, “When I was just starting out, I was saved by a magical girl I’d never seen before, wearing a black outfit. I saw her again, working on some machinery in the basement of an unfinished building. We fought and… er, she’s really strong. But I think that she’s dangerous, and I think that she’s probably planning to hurt people.”

“…Interesting,” Marsh said, suddenly all smiles again. “So this other magical girl: you’re the only person who’s seen her.”

“That’s right,” Rory replied. “Actually, no. Carina has seen her, too.”

Carina squirmed a little bit, but Marsh barely glanced in her direction.

“Fascinating. A magical girl we know nothing of who has ill intent. Why would the Magical Defender Bureau allow that?”

“Um, I don’t think the bureau knows about her,” Rory admitted, mouth a little dry. “She doesn’t have a pixie. I think she gets her powers from somewhere else.”

“Oh, we’re so fired,” Carina whispered from his shoulder.

Marsh had leaned forward in his seat.

“That is interesting, Mister Harrell. Quite a story. It would sure be something if it turned out to be true.”

“If?” Rory asked.

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, Rory. Do you have anything to verify your story?”

“I… I don’t,” Rory said softly. “But she’s real, I promise.”

“Mhm. Well, anyway, thank you for your time. You’ve been a wonderful guest. Best of luck on your adventures as a magical boy. The whole world will be watching you, Mister Harrell.”

As soon as Rory was off the set, his eyes started to water. He made his way to the wall and propped himself up against it. Rory pressed his hand into his eyes in an attempt to quell the sting.

“I think I should look into getting a publicist or something,” he said, forcing himself to smile.

“You… dolt,” Carina snarled, floating right in front of him. “What was the point of this, Rory? The whole reason we give these powers out to girls in the first place is so that you can focus on growing as a person. And instead you’re throwing all your energy into getting on TV.”

“I’m not living a normal life anymore, Carina,” Rory bit back. “Famous people have to do these things. So I enjoy being seen. Sue me!”

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“How much do you think we could have gotten done if we’d been training instead?” Carina demanded. “Or what about your schoolwork?”

“I’ve been training nonstop for weeks, and it’s not like the schoolwork is going anywhere!”

Carina wasn’t looking at him. Rory followed her gaze. Some of the staff members had pulled out their phones and were pointing it at the two of them. Turning, Rory stormed off and Carina followed him.

“Don’t you realize how bad this makes me look as a pixie companion?” Carina asked as they stepped out the front doors. “People are going to think I endorsed this.”

“I’m so sorry that I ruined your career,” he snapped, pushing through the crowds on the sidewalk.

Carina followed behind him, asking, “Where are you even going? Home is the other way.”

“But that building is this way.”

“What? Rory, no. We can’t go back there. What if the other magical girl is still there?”

She continued to pester Rory as he made his way to the work site. There were construction workers around, but not many. Nobody stopped Rory as he hopped the fence and went inside. The basement was empty, lit up by a few hanging lanterns, but the air was still saturated by magical energy.

“She hasn’t been here in a while,” Carina said, her wings fidgeting as she sat on Rory’s shoulder. “But whatever she did left a lot of residue. I can’t imagine what she was up to.”

“Or what’s going to happen if she isn’t stopped,” Rory added quietly.

“We should leave, though,” Carina continued while Rory darted from room to room. “We’ll just get in the way of the workers if we stay here.”

“If there’s any evidence we can take back to the bureau, we’re obligated to find it, aren’t we?”

“Preferably extraordinary evidence?” Rory scowled and glanced down at Carina. She continued, “Don’t let him get in your head. Part of being famous is also learning how to drown out the noise that’s meant to drag you down.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rory replied, continuing his search.

It was a fruitless task. There was no trace of the girl or the machinery she had been working on. Eventually, Rory just had to throw up his hands and wander out of there. Several of the workmen were recording Rory as he hopped the fence. At least magical defenders had some level of immunity, so even though everyone knew who he was he wasn’t going be litigated for breaking and entering.

Returning to the apartments, Rory dismissed his dress and started hammering the button for the elevator. He didn’t got to his own floor. Rory really wanted to see Keaton right now.

When the door opened, Keaton took one glance at Rory and winced.

“You don’t look so good,” he said. “Come on in.”

Carina took a seat on the edge of the pool table. Rory sat down on the bed while Keaton made some popcorn. Then Rory started ranting, about the interview, about Marsh, about whatever came to mind. Keaton just nodded along while preparing the popcorn, agreeing with whatever Rory said.

“Thank you,” Rory said, taking the bowl of popcorn. “It just really sucks that I was trying to do damage control for this whole thing and he just… torpedoes me like that!”

“Maybe it’s better just to avoid the media for a while,” Keaton suggested.

Rory sighed, admitting, “Maybe. I’m just frustrated with it all. This was supposed to be a big day for me.” He pinched his nose. “I wish that people would have at least taken me seriously about the other magical girl.”

“You haven’t told me much about her.”

“She’s strong, whoever she is. Much stronger than me. Maybe stronger than the other magical girls. I don’t know where she gets her powers from but the bureau needs to be warned about her. She mentioned something about shadow powers?” Rory sighed. “My powers are light based. I should have the advantage in that case.”

“What does she look like?” Keaton asked, taking some popcorn.

“Black dress. Long blond hair in twintails. Sharp facial features, deep blue eyes.”

“And you said that she just came out of nowhere?”

Rory nodded, adding, “Even said that she’s new in town.”

“Not new,” Keaton said quietly, pulling out his phone and typing something in. “That building: was it this building?”

Rory glanced at the image. Architecture in this town was some abstract nightmare, but even though this was an old picture the frame was still recognizable. He nodded.

“How did you know it would be that building?” Rory asked.

Keaton was already typing something else into his phone.

“Because that’s the new Peterson Building. Is it her? Is this the girl?”

He held up his phone again and Rory’s breath caught in his throat.

“It is!” he cried, and Carina darted over to see. “How did you—?”

“That’s Cynthia Peterson, Rory!” Keaton cried. “She’s the daughter of Jonas and Diana Peterson, the wealthiest family in the city. The ones I told you about who gave all that money to my synagogue. That’s their building. How did you not recognize her?”

“What? No,” Rory said. “She said she was new in town.”

“Not new,” Keaton repeated. “She was living abroad for six months. That must be when she got her powers.”

Rory sprang to his feet.

“Well, I have to stop her!” he cried. “Now that I know who she is, I can—”

“Hold on!” Carina grabbed Rory by the sleeve. “We are not doing that. We need to know more about her power and get you ready for a tough as nails fight before we even think about confronting her again.”

“We have to do something!”

“We’ll tell the bureau! But that’s all we can do, Rory. Until you’re stronger, until you know yourself better, we have to play it safe.”

“That’s not good enough!” he snapped, pulling out of her grasp. “I have a duty as a magical body! Why are you trying to hold me back!?”

“Why are you trying to get yourself killed!? We know next to nothing about her powers, and you still haven’t come to terms with what you are! You aren’t strong enough for this yet!”

“I can heal!”

“You can’t shrug off a blow if it kills you instantly, Rory!”

“Enough!” Keaton cried, pushing Carina away from Rory. “Listen to yourselves. You’re supposed to be friends. Stop eating each other alive.”

Rory curled his hands into fists, but sighed.

“You’re right,” he said, turning away. “I’m sorry. I’m just… really stressed out after today and I haven’t been sleeping well at all and I just want to feel… not so helpless.”

Carina nodded, folding her arms loosely.

“I… Forget about what I said,” she told him. “I’m just angry. It’s been a rough day for me too. You’ll figure things out at your own pace.”

“What am I supposed to be figuring out?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Anger flared up again, but he pushed it down.

Keaton asked, “Are we good?”

“Yeah,” Rory replied. “We’re good. But… God, I’d really appreciate it if I didn’t have to go back home tonight.”

Keaton nodded, announcing, “I’ll get the sleeping bags.”