On the hills of Fredsburg sat the Femme Flat, home of the popular all-girl superhero team 'Femme Fivesome'. a group between the ages of 8 and 12 as Harumi reached for the doorbell. Harumi Fumizuki was a ten-year-old red panda wearing reddish ninja robes also known as Scarlet Shinobi. and she had just been accepted to join the Femme Fivesome.
This would be big for her, as the Femme Fivesome was a B rank team, meaning they were known, a great place to start. she rang the doorbell hearing the metallic dong as she waited there, gripping the handles of her suitcases, a third bag on her back as eventually the door opened.
standing before her was a 12-year-old brown bear wearing a leather tunic, a metal breastplate, a furry skirt, metal shoulder and kneepads, bracers, a metal helmet covering the top half of her face and sporting a wooden circular shield on her back. The bear looked at the figure, though by the panda's full-face mask The Bear could not make heads or tails as she looked at her.
Harumi was standing before Shieldmaiden, the leader of the Femme Fivesome, who was basically a role model for young girls. she was bold, brave, had impeccable strength, and carried herself with pride. the bear simply extended her arms, giving Harumi a firm hug.
"Glad you could make it, please come in" the bear gestured, patting her on the back playfully, welcoming Harumi into the flat as she proceeded giving her the tour. The panda looked around, admiring the view from the flat, the city below from the windows.
"So Shieldmaiden, you four live here alone?" Harumi questioned as the bear pushed a button on a vending machine in the hall, withdrawing a glass bottle of soda, uncapping it with her bare paw.
"No, WE live here; you are part of the team now. technically our backers pay for everything but yeah, this is our base and home, welcome to Fredsburg. and in here it's Nicole...or Nikki for short, not Shieldmaiden; Zoey is Zoey, not The Zipper and the twins are Danni and Sammy, not Pixiedust and Pixiestyx" the bear explained as they were on first name basis as Harumi blushed.
"Really, I mean I just got here" Harumi questioned as Nicole wrapped her arm around the red panda, assuring that they were teammates and friends now and as such they were on first name terms, admitting that they read Harumi's application file when she auditioned to be the new member.
"Well, if there is no need for secret identities" Harumi replied, lifting her hood and mask over her head, it hanging on her back as Nicole smiled. they continued the tour. Nicole saying they could use someone who is stealthy and can turn invisible. the two walked down a hallway as Nicole led Harumi to a door.
"This is your room, it used to belong to Lasso Lass, before she left to join The Junior Virtue Guild" Nicole informed, opening the door revealing a bedroom that had recently been refurbished. Nicole suggested Harumi get settled than meet the others in the rec room. Once Nicole had left the hallway, Harumi began unpacking her belongs, getting her room in order.
Nicole made her way to the rec room where the 8-year-old twin sugar gliders Danni and Sammy, were wearing sparkly spandex suits with matching capes and were playing a videogame, laying belly down Infront of the TV. Zoey, a 9-year-old black cat wearing a shiny black catsuit with a huge zipper on the front was laying on the couch reading a magazine.
"Okay Girls, Harumi just showed up, she's getting settled in right now and I expect everyone to be on their best behavior for her, she's new and needs to be properly adjusted. It's important we make her feel comfortable.
"I Still can't believe Laurie quit like that" Zoey added, licking her thumb and turning a page in her magazine, referring to Lasso Lass as Nicole sighed, saying that she wanted to join JVG it was her choice.
"Don't worry Nikki, we'll be nice" Danni responded, reaching into a bowl of candy between her and her sister, putting a piece into her mouth. Nicole looked at the twins, warning them not to spoil their appetite. the bear picked up the bowl, carrying it to the dining area, setting it on the table.
Eventually Harumi entered the room, having unpacked, looking around, complimented how her old place never had a walk-in half-bathroom, and each girl had their own, expect the twins who shared a room. the bed was also super comfy, and she had her own TV. "The Full Bathroom is at the end of the hall" Nicole explained, gesturing to the door down the hall.
"Nice to meet you Harumi" Sammy said getting up and stretching her arms, Danni doing the same as the red panda smiled, still a bit nervous about meeting them as the sister reached to the coffee table, each picking up a sparkly helmet with a plastic visor, holding them underarm. Zoey cracked a smile, welcoming her to the team.
Danni put her hand up, suggesting they get pizza to welcome Harumi to the Femme Fivesome. Zoey set down her magazine, Harumi admitting she could eat. Danni jumping up and down, wanting to go to someplace called Rallio's as Harumi looked at them.
Nicole explained it was a local pizza restaurant, the team usually goes there after a successful mission or a special event, deciding that getting a new member was certainly special. "You are going to love it Harumi, best pizza in town".
"First things first, you two need to clean up this mess" Nicole said, gesturing to the twins as the two sugar gliders put their helmets on, flying around the room to clean up the mess. Zoey also reached for the hood of her catsuit, pulling it over her head, putting on a superhero eye-mask made of the same material which was held with some sort of adhesive.
"When we leave the flat, it's masks and helmets on, always; and stick to hero names" Shieldmaiden explained as Scarlet Shinobi, pulled her hood over, covering her whole face, just the shine of her pupils showing. After the twins finished cleaning the group left the Flat, Shieldmaiden locked up and looking at The Zipper.
The Black cat nodded, making an unzipping motion with her hand as a purple oval shaped portal appeared on the porch, The Zipper walked through it as Shieldmaiden followed and finally the twins. Scarlet Shinobi looked at the portal, poking it with her finger as the panda was sucked it, being spit out as she looked at the decor of an Italian restaurant.
Scarlet Shinobi seemed to get her bearings together from being teleported as The Zipper looked at her smiling, closing the portal, assuring her it was okay as Shieldmaiden spoke up to Rallio, a Coyote behind the counter, asking if they could have the back room for a private event. Rallio simply nodded, noticing with the exception of the heroes before him the place was empty. He escorted the girls to the back room, sliding open a set of doors, gesturing them in.
"You must be the replacement for Lasso Lass" the coyote said to the panda who simply nodded. Shieldmaiden spoke up saying that tomorrow they would be officially introducing Scarlet Shinobi as the new member of Femme Fivesome as the coyote nodded, giving Scarlet Shinobi a welcome to his restaurant as the Panda nodded again.
"The usual Shieldmaiden?" Rallio asked as the bear looked at Scarlet Shinobi, asking what toppings she'd like, the red panda simply shrugged as Shieldmaiden ordered their usual, one large pepperoni with Italian sausage on half, breadsticks and 5 soft drinks. which Rallio usually gave them on the house as he wrote it down in his pad leaving, closing the doors behind him.
Once he was gone the girls started talking amongst themselves as Shieldmaiden looked at Scarlet Shinobi, sipping on the straw of her plastic cup filled with soda, asking if she had ever done any hero work prior to joining "I mean you nailed the audition so you must have experience".
Scarlet Shinobi rubbed her shoulder, explaining she stopped a few muggings and a carjacking but nothing big. On top of that she mostly stayed in the shadows so unlike most heroes she did not have a presence prior to auditioning. The Zipper looked at her, breaking a breadstick from the basket.
"Scarlet Shinobi, you know that being a part of a team, especially The Femme Fivesome, you will have a presence, we're one of the top 10 cub superhero team, you're going to have public appearances, fight a few villains, have merchandise and fans" The Zipper explained, listing the perks of being a B rank superhero.
Scarlet Shinobi simply chuckled nervously. eventually Rallio came back with the pizza setting it down, leaving as the door closed again behind them. after double checking Shieldmaiden removed her metal helmet, setting it on the table, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Man, it gets sweaty in there" Nicole replied wiping her forehead as Scarlet Shinobi finally got a look at Nicole's face. the twins removed their helmets setting them aside to eat as the panda again pulled her hood back and picking up a slice.
"I Said it before, I'll say it again, best pizza in town" Nicole praised, picking up one of the slices, folding it down the middle and taking a bite, grease dripping on her plate as the other girls followed suit, Zoey letting out a delicious murr, eating the slice.
Harumi brought the slice to her mouth, biting the tip to see what the girls were talking about. the taste of tomato, cheese and seasonings lingering on her tongue as she took another bite. The pizza certainly lived up to hype. between the five girls the whole thing was quickly devoured as Nicole was finishing her breadstick, reaching into her armor, pulling out a wallet to tip.
Nicole set a few bills on the table, as she picked up her helmet gesturing Zoey to portal them back to the flat. the cat simply took a long drag on her soda, sucking up the remainder of the soft drink, letting out a small belch, she then created another portal, taking the group back to the Femme Flat.
Once back at the base Nicole set her helmet on the coffee table, the twins setting theirs down too. Nicole admitted part of her hated wearing the helmet for prolonged periods of time as how hot it gets as the girls agreed to watch TV.
"Harumi looked at the group, explaining she was going to take a bath, maybe let her food digest than head to bed early. Nicole nodded wishing the Panda a good night, seeing her walk to the shared full bathroom. once the panda was gone Nicole looked at the rest of them team, asking thoughts.
"She seemed nice" Danni responded, Sammy nodding her head. Zoey stretched out on the sofa, adding that she certainly seemed nice but asked Nicole if she really thought Harumi was Femme Fivesome material. The bear nodded, saying the panda was a capable crime fighter. they just needed to ease her into the other stuff.
