The rain fell in steady sheets, turning the playground into a swamp of mud. Momo hated the rain. It made the world feel too small, the sky oppressive, like an evil entity that was punishing her. Also, it made her wet and cold.

She huddled beneath the dim light of the streetlamp, her breath misting in the air. The evening was quiet, save for the patter of droplets on her jacket and a strange faint hum. She looked around for its source but couldn't see anything.

She shifted her backpack, the strap biting into her shoulder, and checked her phone. It was only half past five pm yet the street was strangely empty. Her friends hadn't texted back, not even Clara, who usually had a reply ready before Momo finished typing.

Momo frowned. Maybe they were tired of her constant complaining. Or maybe—

The air split. A crack like the sky itself had shattered into a million glittering shards. Momo stumbled back, her heart hammering as a wave of blue light washed over the park, illuminating every branch, every puddle, casting the abandoned swing set and seesaw into stark spooky relief. Thunder and lightning? That was a big nope. Time to run home as fast as she could.

But something stopped her, a weird impulse to turn around and narrow her eyes against the glow of where the lightning seemed to have struck. A figure emerged from the brightness—tall, fluid. Its shape flickered, shifting between humanoid and something... spidery?

It had no face, just a faintly glowing orb where a head might have been, and its "body" shimmered like the surface of a restless ocean.

"Mo..Mo," it intoned, the sound resonating inside her skull rather than in the air. Momo froze. Her name sounded warped in the alien voice, like unrelated sounds haphazardly thrown together.

"Uh... what?" she managed, her voice cracking as she tried to make herself smaller. She reached for her phone, her thumb hovering over the emergency dial screen.

The being moved closer, its outline shifting with liquid grace. "Do not fear. You have been chosen."

Momo thought she was hallucinating. She had to be. There was no way she was seeing what she was seeing: a vaguely humanoid shimmering creature approaching. The orb brightened, casting long shadows across the drenched ground.

"I am Plosort I am a sentinel of the Vroncillion Collective, and I come seeking champions."

"Champions," Momo repeated, as if saying the word aloud would make this moment any less insane. She backed away, rain dripping into her eyes.

The creature's form solidified, narrowing into a more human shape—tall, clad in an intricate armor of translucent energy, the glow from its core pulsing faintly.

"An ancient entity has escaped. It was imprisoned long ago for its hunger, its destruction. Now it threatens not just your world but countless others. You are among those chosen to stop it."

"Stop it?" Momo parroted as the surreal scene continued to play out. She pinched herself hard, twisting her skin of her forearm until the pain set her teeth on edge. "I'm just a high schooler," she squeaked. "Plus, my gym grades are abysmal. You've got the wrong person. M-maybe you should check out the Olympic games."

Why wasn't she waking up?

"You are correct," the thing, Plosort?, replied smoothly. "Your gym grades are terrible. You alone would be insufficient. There are others. They, too, will be chosen." It paused, almost as if considering. "The power you will wield is unlike anything you have ever witnessed. But with it comes great sacrifice."

Momo frowned. This was standard super hero origin story talk. How had she ended up on the receiving end of this? *Great sacrifice*. Everyone who'd ever read a comic book or seen one of those movies knew what that could mean: people getting hurt—or worse. This kind of thing didn't happen in real life!

"And if I say no?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Plosort's glow dimmed, its form flickering. "Refusal is not an option. Your destiny intertwines with the fate of countless lives. Accept, or they perish."

The streetlamp buzzed, then flickered out, leaving only the alien's glow and the endless dark of the stormy evening turned night.

Momo exhaled shakily and let her phone drop to her side. For a few seconds she imagined herself breaking the expectation, shrugging, saying, "Sucks to be them, I guess." and walking away, but... But what if people really did end up dead because of her? No, she couldn't be responsible for that. Plus, she'd be waking up soon, right? This would all be a strange dream and she'd be able to feel good about herself for agreeing to become a heroine.

"Okay," she said, more to herself than to Plosort. "Okay. What do I have to do?"

Plosort raised an arm, and a swirl of shimmering particles gathered between them, coalescing into a glowing sigil. "Take this. It will bind you to the power you require."

The sigil floated toward her, pulsing with energy. It had a lava-lampy kind of look.

Momo hesitated for half a second before reaching out. The instant her fingers brushed the light, a searing warmth flooded her veins. She gasped as her vision filled with stars, and the raindrops around her froze in place before exploding into glittering sparkles.

When she blinked, the park was gone. She was somewhere else—floating in an endless galaxy of light and sound, her body buzzing with newfound energy.

"You are the first," Plosort's voice echoed in her mind. "Prepare yourself, Momo. The battle begins soon." The galaxy dissolved, and Momo found herself back under the streetlamp, her soaked hoodie and jacket now replaced with sleek, radiant armor. Her reflection shimmered in the puddle beneath her—eyes glowing, hair lifted by an unseen wind, a blade of pure light in her hand.

"Oh, no," she muttered, staring at the weapon. "What the hell is this supposed to be?"

Then everything went black.

*

With a gasp, Momo shot bolt upright. She blinked into the darkness of her room for a few seconds, catching her breath.

Then she felt around her nightstand until she found her phone. The touch of her fingers made the screen light up. She took it into her hand, immediately calmed by the familiar object, which enabled her to confirm that she was indeed at home, in her bed.

Momo sighed deeply in relief, allowing herself to collapse into her pillow.

"What a weird dream," she muttered before putting her phone back onto the nightstand and closing her eyes.