Lunch first

“Let’s get some lunch.”

After an uneventful hour at the con snack bar, enjoying some light fare and talking about the things they always talked about, they went back onto the con floor.

“OK,” said Blair, “We need to find a really deserving victim. Someone like those first two, who really should have known better than to try and pull off those costumes. One more big score for our subscriber numbers, then, we’ll stop working and just enjoy the rest of the con.”

“If you’d call this work,” Addie laughed.

“If this is our last ‘interview’ of the day, I’m going to livecast it to our channel,” Addie said.

“Maybe we should quit while we’re ahead,” Mari suggested.

“Oh, is little Mari getting cold feet? That fancy college turning you into a pussy?” Blair responded.

“I just—“

“Red alert!” Addie interrupted. “The nerve! My powergirl. To think she…”

Mari frowned as she followed Addie’s gaze over to a heavy-set girl in a Power Girl cosplay, talking on a phone nearby. “I think maybe we should just--”

Addie stopped her. “Oh, COME ON! It’s like someone shows up at prom wearing the same dress, except she’s built like a dumptruck. You have to…for me.”

“I don’t know,” Mari said.

“I don’t know,” Blair mocked in a fake falsetto, “Look bitch, you’re CBS or you aren’t. Come with us, or perhaps we end our partnership here and now. You’ve already been pretty lame since you moved away.”

Mari nodded grudgingly as the trio made their way toward their next victim.

“Excuse me,” said Blair, “Can we have a moment of your time? We’re with CBS.”

“I have to go now, mom. I think I’m going to be interviewed for TV! Love you, too. Sorry about that, what can I do for you?”

“We’re interviewing cosplayers. We’d like to ask you about your costume,” Blair replied, holding the mic out.

“What about it?” “WHY POWER GIRL?” Addie said from behind the camera, a little too loud.

The cosplayer looked suspiciously at her. The cameraperson wasn’t supposed to be the one conducting interviews. Blair rolled her eyes and said, “Sure, we’ll go with that. Why this character?”

“I’ve always loved Power Girl. She’s so…well, powerful. I find it inspiring.”

“EmPOWERing?” Blair asked, winking cheesily to the camera.

The cosplayer nodded. Blair continued, “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“I’m Maddie.” “Well, Maddie, what would you say to those who, for example, would say that it’s great that you find Power Girl inspiring, but that perhaps you look so different from her, maybe you should try a more appropriate cosplay.”

Maddie’s eyes flashed anger for a millisecond, then she regained her composure. “More appropriate? Like who? Storm?” she asked, accusatorily.

“Like KINGPIN,” Addie called out from behind the camera. Blair glared at her. She was ruining their chances. She could see that Maddie was about to walk away. She had to act fast!

“Thanks for talking to the COSPLAY BEAUTY SOCIETY!” she said, with great emphasis so Marisa wouldn’t miss her cue. Mari almost ignored the cue and let Maddie go. But she remembered the pressure she felt from her friends. If she didn’t play along, she couldn’t be part of CBS anymore.

*SPLAT!* she got Maddie with a banana cream pie from behind.

“What the f-” Maddie responded, wiping her eyes. Then she found Blair was grabbing at her costume, tugging at the cleavage at the front. Blair managed to pull one of Maddie’s large breasts into view before Maddie stunned her with a knee to the groin.

“Get away from me, you perv!” This was not going according to plan, Blair thought, as her hands cupped her sore crotch. And she planned to take it up with Addie as soon as it was over. For now, Mari reluctantly held Maddie back.