Carmen pressed her ear against the bathroom door, wiping her stinging eyes with a face towel, listening intently. Her heart ached and she shuddered with every breath, but newfound hope swelled in her chest. The customer eating downstairs was a Fighter teacher?

How lucky could she be?

She tossed the face towel in the hamper, glancing in the mirror and brushing her curly black hair out of her face. This was her chance. Knowing that she’d be kept safe by a teacher might be the final straw to convincing her parents.

Chip hopped from her shoulder onto the counter and beamed up at her.

Carmen returned the smile. “This is our time, Chip.” It was a fitting name. The best cookies for the best — and only — ghost bird she’d ever known.

Taking a deep breath, she left the bathroom, heading for the stairs where the others gathered. Her father’s broad frame blocked most of her view, but she caught sight of the man as he examined Daniel’s menu. He was an older, dark-skinned man, and his unyielding posture, his lined gray beard, and his clean dreads gave the air around him a distinguished scent.

The man nodded at Daniel’s moveset. “Interesting. I have never seen a shorter move list,” he said. When he noticed Carmen standing at the absolute top of the stairs, he smiled. “Ah, young lady. I believe you’re the center of today’s discussion?”

Her parents looked up at her, and Carmen kept her head down as they parted for her to descend the stairs. Hopefully, they couldn’t hear her pounding heart. Approaching a stranger was hard enough without the shame of her outburst weighing her down.

At the bottom of the stairs, Daniel raised a slight thumb as she stood next to him. She nodded. Yes, I’m okay. He nodded back, understanding the unspoken conversation.

“What’s your name?” the man said.

“Carmen. Carmen Garcia.” Carmen clenched her fist. She meant to speak louder, to sound sure of herself, but it only came out as a squeaky mutter.

“I’m Jonathan Stone,” he said, extending a hand for a friendly, firm handshake. “You want to become a Fighter, don’t you?”

“More than anything.”

Mr. Stone chuckled. “I admire that dogged determination of yours, Carmen, but I also understand your parents’s concern. Fighting is a dangerous career. There’s potential for money and fame, but you put your life at risk with every round. I say this from experience — I was one of the Fifty.”

Carmen gasped. “You were?”

“Wait, what’s the Fifty?” Daniel asked.

Carmen hated stupid questions more than anything. Every time Daniel spoke, it took great effort to respond to his obvious questions with an answer, instead of thick sarcasm. Every time, she had to remind herself of his…strange circumstances.

“The Fifty’s the name for the top fifty ranked fighters who all live in the Ultimate Tower, and fight in the Ultimate Versus,” Carmen answered.

“Yes, yes. For five years, back in my days as Flow, I had all of Floor 43 to myself.”

At that moment, the distinguished air around the kind gentlemen became one of pure royalty. She wasn’t just lucky; she was speaking to one of the fifty! A band of legends, otherworldly beings, and masters of their craft, and one stood before her.

The shame on her shoulders evaporated. “What was it like?” she asked, the words dashing from her mouth in a quick sentence.

“Well, I had all the money and fame a man could want, but I always had to stay either inside of my floor or at my dojo. Anywhere else, anyone who recognized me would try to challenge me.”

Daniel chuckled. “Anywhere else?”

“Oh, yes.” Mr. Stone shook his head. “You aren’t popular until you can’t go grocery shopping without having to defend your title with your bare hands. Despite it all, though, I wouldn’t change a thing. Those were the best times of my life, twenty years ago.”

“Twenty years? What happened?” Carmen asked.

Mr. Stone’s lips drew to a line. “Life.”

Her father cleared his throat, a deep rumble that commanded attention. “Can we go back to the subject at hand? You said you can solve both of our problems. How?”

“Apologies,” Mr. Stone said, bowing slightly. “Because I know firsthand how dangerous the Fighting world can be, I can give Carmen here the knowledge she needs to fight properly.” He looked down at Carmen. “Your friend was showing me his interesting moveset. Can I see yours?”

Carmen swiped at her wrist, opening her menu and navigating to her movelist. Mr. Stone pinched it at the corner, pulling outwards to enlarge it to the size of a flat-screen TV.

He nodded, examining her moves. “A rushdown that controls a ghost bird? Fascinating. Can I see him?”

On cue, Chip fluttered in from over her shoulder. Carmen stuck out her finger, and he landed in a perch with a cheery chirp. Her parents stepped down the stairs, watching in awe.

“Oh, hello, little guy!” Mr. Stone tried to pet Chip, but his finger fell through.

Carmen caught Daniel’s smirk — he made the same mistake earlier.

“He looks slightly different from his appearance inside of your moveslist. Does he change forms?”

“Yep! Watch.” Carmen stepped away from Mr. Stone and Daniel, standing in the middle of the bar’s main room. She took a deep breath. “Show them what you’re made of, Chip!”

Chip sprang from her fingers as a blur of yellow. In a flash of light and electricity, he transformed into the fearsome half-man half-bird that always had her back. Although she could see the tables on the other side of the room through his translucent body, the neon yellow outline made it easy to spot his jagged feathers and robust frame.

Her mother gasped, covering her hands with her mouth. “Oh my goodness!”

Her father jumped, and simply crossed his arms. He didn’t emote, but Carmen still knew that stoic glare. Did he finally understand the power she held? Would he understand why she couldn’t dare let it go to waste?

“Amazing!” Mr. Stone said, his positive reaction on the opposite end of the spectrum. “How well can you control him?”

“Perfectly. He mimics my moves and follows my thoughts, too. Watch.”

Carmen put up her fists, glancing over her shoulder. Chip entered a similar fighting pose behind her, and when she punched at the air, he followed her motion. His arm extended several inches farther than hers.

Mr. Stone applauded. “I see! You can desummon him, now.”

Carmen nodded at Chip. In a flash, he transformed and perched back on her shoulder as the same cute little bird from before.

Mr. Stone folded his hands behind his back. “Mr. and Mrs. Garcia, I think you can understand now that your daughter has been blessed with amazing powers. I believe we must all make the most use of what we have, and I would hate for them to go to waste.”

Her parents didn’t look any more convinced than they were before. How could they look at everything she just did and still think it wasn’t a good idea for her to hone her abilities? For her to get stronger and use them how they were meant to?

Carmen clenched her fist, hidden behind her leg. Her throat tightened. Please. Please don’t say no.

“I don’t know…” her mother said.

“We don’t have a problem with you training Daniel, here. He’s not our son. He’s just here.” Her father gave Daniel a sturdy pat on the back. “But, I can’t say the same for my daughter.”

No.

“I understand.” Mr. Stone said, nodding into a slight bow. “I may have overstepped my boundaries as the customer, anyhow.”

No! Don’t give in that easily. Don’t accept a no. Fight back! Carmen plead in her mind.

“Before I go, though, I’d like to spar with your daughter, if that’s alright with you.”

This was her chance. Realization rolled over her like a train, and Carmen shouted the magic words before her parents could decline, before they could argue against it, before she even thought about it.

“I challenge you to a ranked match, Flow!”

Mr. Stone jumped in surprise at her outburst. Daniel gasped, and her mother’s jaw gaped.

“Carmen!” she exclaimed.

A white menu appeared in front of Mr. Stone with two options — to either accept the fight or decline it and lose his rank. Carmen didn’t know how high his rank still was after twenty years, but no self-respecting Fighter would willingly decline a challenge. As he and Daniel realized her strategy, grins spread across their faces.

“I guess I have no choice, then,” Mr. Stone said. “Now that she’s formally challenged me, I have to spar with her.”

Her father’s mouth opened as if he had something to say, but he paused to reconsider his next words. “Take it outside.”

Her mother crossed her arms. “Mi cariño, you’re going along with this? I thought—”

“I don’t want to either, mi Lagarto, but he said he doesn’t have a choice. Besides…” Her father gestured at Carmen. “If this is what she wants to do with her life, I want to see it with my own eyes before I truly make a decision. You two can fight on the sidewalk, across the street.”

“Thank you. Are you ready, Carmen?” Mr. Stone said.

“Whenever you are, sir. Let’s go.”

Everyone made their way towards the door, with Carmen and Mr. Stone in the lead. It was a brilliant idea, one she didn’t dare doubt or stop to reconsider. If showing her moveset wouldn’t work, this was her last chance to show her parents what she was capable of, what she really wanted to do with her life. Winning might be enough to make them reconsider their position on her training.

But, what if she lost?

Once a car passed by, she and Mr. Stone crossed the street. Carmen’s legs hit the sidewalk like jelly as a newfound worry hit her mind. How in the world could she win? This wasn’t just a fight against her future teacher; this was a brawl with one of the former Fifty. Would her parents even allow her to fight if she lost? Her wounds wouldn’t be healed if she won. How badly would it break her mom’s heart if she scraped by and won?

Mr. Stone placed a hand on her shoulder as they stopped. “Stay calm, Carmen,” he said. “I can only fight with my legs.”

“What do you mean?”

“Twenty years ago, the ligaments in my arm were severely wounded. I can’t move them enough to fight with, so you have a slight advantage. However…” he smiled. “Only a slight advantage. We’ll fight to two rounds. Are you ready?”

Carmen nodded.

Mr. Stone pressed the button on his menu, accepting the fight. Another window appeared in front of Carmen, confirming the match.

“Flow has accepted your match,” it read, displaying his stats.

His high Speed, high Close-Range, and low Damage stuck out like a sore thumb. Mr. Stone was a textbook rushdown, just like her. Carmen glanced at Daniel. Unlike her last opponent, Mr. Stone would know how to fight back.

My greatest challenge yet.

Across the street, Daniel cheered. “Go Carmen! Do him like you did me in that training room!” he cheered, laughing.

The familiar gleaming blue referee appeared in the middle of the street, ready to watch over the fight. A car rolled by, passing straight through him. “Flow VS. Electrica. Ranked match,” the referee said. He raised a hand. “Round one! Ready?”

“Let’s do this, Chip,” Carmen muttered, raising her fists. Chip jolted behind her in his fighting form, ready to brawl. She tensed every muscle in her body, hiding the doubts and fears, hiding the insecurities. Right now, nothing mattered but her, her opponent, and her future.

Of course she was ready.