I pulled the moped into the alley behind Za Bay Pizza, the motor letting out a final dying whine as it disconnected from my skin, from my mysterious power source. I was still humming - literally. My hair was a violet cloud of static around me and the indigo circuit lines on my skin were only just starting to fade.

  I stumbled off the bike, my legs feeling like jelly. I hiked up the skirt, trying to restore some dignity and adjusted the shredded Lilith shirt as I leaned against the wall to catch my breath. My skin felt raw, over-sensitized from the mysterious energy and subsequent discharges.

  "You're late." Sora's voice came from the back door. She was leaning against the frame, cigarette dangling from her lips, a tablet in her hand. She looked at me, then at the smoking tires of the moped, then at her screen. "But considering that you're currently the number-two trending video in the Western District, I suppose I know why."

  "I ... had an encounter," I panted, my face heating up as I remembered the Kasumi kick I'd mimicked. And the teenagers who'd witnessed it.

  "I saw. Nearly frame-perfect, by the way." Sora said, turning the tablet to show me the video. "If you'd just tucked your chin a little more and done the flourish at the end, you'd have nailed the Petal-Storm Kick from Eternal Vengeance perfectly. Still, for an F-Rank, your form is terrifying."

  I stared at the screen. The comments were flooded with similar statements.

  * @ArcadeRat95: She almost got the Hana kick perfectly! Eternal Vengeance is the best fighting game ever!!

  * @UndisputedComboKing: It's like she was doing a beta version of Hana's moveset. More efficient, but weird. I kind of like it.

  I felt a dizzying wave of vertigo. Eternal Vengeance? Hana? Then I remembered Yuna's exposition about the world I found myself in. There was no Japan here. No Team Ninja. Just a massive Korean media conglomerate that apparently filled the void with a game that was almost Dead or Alive - but not quite. I'd apparently used a move from a game that didn't exist here and the Internet just thought I was a talented amatuer, copying someone else's moveset. What a headache, I groaned. It's so much trouble to keep track of the differences.

  "She's reliable, Sora!" Yuna chirped, pushing past the boss and out into the alley. She looked at me with a mix of awe and business-like calculation. "Kurumi! Your Voltana profile just gained two hundred followers! That's so exciting! Journalists might be coming here to interview you!"

  "I don't want an interview, Yuna! I want pants!" I was shouting, my voice cracking with stress.

  Yuna sighed, grabbing my arm. "Okay, fine. We'll go to the bargain bins at Neo-Thrift, then the Surplus District. I've got two credit cards I haven't maxed out yet, and I'll take the hit for Voltana."

  I winced, not entirely comfortable with her spending all of her money on me, but unable to think of a better solution. Our first stop was a basement-level warehouse called Discount Heroics. It smelled like industrial detergent and desperation. I practically dove into a rack of black tactical leggings. They weren't flashy, but they were thick, opaque, and most importantly, they went all of the way to my ankles. I also grabbed a pack of plain grey sports bras and a five-pack of high-waisted briefs, vowing to never again be caught without panties.

  "Functional," Yuna approved, nodding as she dumped the items onto the counter and tapped her phone to pay for them. "Now, for the identity protection - and building Voltana's brand."

  We headed three blocks over to The Cape's Closet - a surplus store that sold used gear from retired and deceased Supers - both heroes and villains.

  "Look at this," Yuna said as she pulled a tray of masks from under a glass counter. Most were cheesy - bright spandex hoods or plastic domino masks that looked like party favors. But in the back, I saw a sleek, matte-black visor made of flexible, reactive polymers.

  I put it on. The moment the polymer touched my skin, it shivered - almost as if sensing the low-level hum of electricity in my bones. It tightened slightly, molding to the bridge of my nose and shielding my glowing eyes behind a dark violet tint.

  "That's perfect," Yuna whispered as she stared at me in awe. "It makes you look ... dangerous. And somehow even more sexy."

  We continued browsing, trying to find a top that worked with the theme I was starting to envision as my own - as Voltana's. Purple and electric were the two main touch-points so far. I found a very cute purple bolero top with poofy sleeves, but it wasn't practical in the slightest. Leaving it on the rack, I continued browsing.

  "Oooh, Gravity Gal - now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time," Yuna said as she held up a piece of fabric for me to see. It appeared to be synthetic silk, covered in silver circuit patterns that glowed faintly. I immediately loved the aesthetic, but as I tried on it, I instantly blushed.

  "She was a B-Tier hero about a decade ago," Yuna explained, struggling to tear her gaze away from my chest. "She got caught up in a lot of low-orbit space battles, so her outfits had to be able to withstand extreme environments. But ... she wasn't as gifted as you. Wow. Uhm. My only concern is that we might get age-restricted flags on your broadcasts."

  "Uh huh," I said in a flat voice as I stared down at myself. The top had been a compression top - but that didn't do it justice. Instead, it had almost vacuum molded itself to my frame. My breasts, which had been barely concealed under the t-shirt, instead protruded straight forward as the ludicrous top shaped them into twin torpodoes.

  "Let's ... uhm ... get that one just in case," Yuna said, panting slightly. I rolled my eyes, stepping back into the changing room and struggling to pull the top off, returning a minute later in my t-shirt and handing the silk fabric to my friend.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  We dug through several other options - a street samurai themed Haori, with a stiff ronin-themed collar and indigo-dyed denim; violet-and-black mesh top with molded polycarbonate plates that had been a prototype for a Female Engagement Unit of Bay City Police Department; and a cropped "Electrician's Hoodie" made of a rubberized, non-conductive fabric.

  Out of them all, I loved the hoodie most - it concealed this body's curves. And naturally, it was the outfit that Yuna hated most. Instead, we compromised - buying the compression top, the hoodie, and the prototype female police top, agreeing that we'd patch together something out of all three.

  Once the purchases were ours, we trekked back to Yuna's apartment where we began cobbling together my outfit. First, I tossed on the panties, bra, and leggings - letting out an enormous sigh of relief as I started to feel clothed. Then I sat down next to Yuna, smiling as my friend scooted close enough that our shoulders touched, and we got to work.

  We kicked around a few different ideas, finally setting on a compromise that was a bit more sexy than I felt comfortable with, but a lot more clothed than Yuna seemed to be pushing me toward. At its core was the compression top from the long-retired Gravity Gal - but this time we layered some of the black mesh over my bust to conceal just a little of the shape. Yuna pouted, but finally admitted it might keep us off the Adults-Only streaming sites.

  "Okay, stop squirming," Yuna mumbled, a sewing needle held between her teeth as she hunched over my chest. I was sitting on her couch, clad in the leggings and the Gravity Gal top, feeling like a high-performance vacuum-sealed piece of meat.

  "Yuna, I feel like I'm going to launch a pair of missiles," I complained, looking down. The silver circuits on the silk were glowing, reacting to my proximity, and then turned an indigo color. The compression was so intense that my breasts didn't feel pushed up - they felt weaponized. Then I started - the top gave me a distinct Taimanin vibe. I just hoped the Geomul didn't have tentacles. Actually, given my history with that VR game and how I ended up here, I really, really hoped they didn't have tentacles.

  "It's for the lore, Kurumi! The threads are conductive. They'll help your visor track your bio-rhythms. We might even be able to get a better sense of your 'charge' state." She ignored my embarassment, grabbing the Electrician's Hoodie that we'd essentially gutted. We'd removed the front panel, leaving only the hood and the sleeves, joined by a thick rubberized strap over the back. I slid it on, fastening a strap across my chest - under my bust - that only exaggerated my breasts and I sighed in defeat.

  Yuna then grabbed one of the polycarbonate pieces, starting to fasten it to the shoulder section of the hoodie, creating an almost pauldron-like armor plate. "These plates will give you some actual defense. Plus, they look cool - and that's even better." She continued working on the armor, making tweaks and adjusting me as I sat there, trying to stay patient with my friend as she let her inner mad scientist run loose.

  Finally, she declared me done. I stood, placing the black visor on my face and feeling it cinch itself tight, molding to the shape of my face. Then I turned, looking at myself in Yuna's full-length mirror and gasped.

  "Voltana," I whispered, staring at the woman in the mirror. She's a fucking superhero, I thought to myself in wonder. An honest to god superhero.

  The woman in the mirror was truly someone who looked like a superhero - someone from watching anime in my past life. A sleek black visor covered most of my face, except where my purple eyes blazed through - a sleek film covering them for protection and making them glow. My bust protruded forward in the compression top, but the mesh covered just enough of the silhouette that I wasn't too self-conscious. An armor plate covered a little of my abs, then armor plates on my shoulders and forearms rounded out the look. The top tucked into the black tactical-looking leggings, slim cargo pockets on my thighs, which trailed down to ... my bare feet.

  I frowned at my feet, glancing over at Yuna. "Please tell me I don't have to put those heels back on. I forgot about shoes."

  She winked, pulling out a pair of black footwear. "No need to worry, your Unnie has it all taken care of."

  These weren't the chunky black combat boots I'd been expecting. They were matte-black leather, reaching mid-calf with aggressive silver buckles, but the sole tapered into a thick, four-inch block heel reinforced with steel.

  "Combat heels, Yuna? Really?" I stared at them in disbelief. This is going to screw up my center of gravity. I'm going to look like a sex object while I wobble around on these things trying to fight. I mean, yeah, I fucking loved watching the waifu in Nikke fight in similar outfits, but now it was me.

  "They aren't just heels, Kurumi. They're platforms," Yuna corrected, pointing to the rugged, deep-tread rubber. "They're weighted, so when you kick someone, you're kicking them with a steel-core hammer. And most importantly, heels change the way you move. It makes your hips sway in the most delic- ahem. It makes people watch you."

  I sat down, frowning as I pulled the boots on, lacing the violet paracord tight. As I stood up, the world shifted around me a little. I towered over Yuna, a figure of violet-and-black intimidation. The boots felt surprisingly stable, the rubber grip biting into the carpet of Yuna's apartment.

  I took an experimental step. *Clack*.

  The sound was authoritative. It wasn't the soft scuff of a ghost - of a man too cowardly to stand up for others. It was the strike of a predator. Of a hero. Someone who didn't shirk away from responsibility. And I found myself grinning, liking the thought of that.

  As I turned, I saw Yuna standing there, gazing up at me with a ... complicated expression on her face. Awe, a little bit of intimidation, and something else. Idly, I wondered if the air conditioning in her apartment was broken, as she seemed to be sweating quite badly. Biting her lip, she raised her phone and began snapping pictures of me. Instictively, I turned, posing for her as she snapped away.

  "You look ... incredible." Yuna had finally found words, although it wasn't the most eloquent. "These pictures will be great on your hero profile."

  As if by magic, my phone buzzed - the sound of an incoming priority notification. Pulling it out of my new legging's thigh pocket, I glanced at it.

  > NOTIFICATION: HEROHUB CENTRAL REGISTRY

  > SUBJECT: Kurumi Unknown (Alias: Voltana)

  > Status: URGENT ADVISORY

  > There has been a detected anomaly in your initial power-metric scan. In light of recent social media attention, our analysts have reviewed city-wide scanners and found discrepancies. Please report to the Bay City office at 0900 tomorrow for re-testing.

  Showing the notification to Yuna, I shrugged in confusion. "I guess I'm getting re-tested?"

  She grinned at me. "Higher rank means better pay. More eyes on you. Looks like tomorrow should be fun!"

  I swallowed hard. I wasn't sure what scared me more - succeeding ... or failing.