Power Rankings
By: K. A. Maxwell

Mount Meat Restaurants were famous for its mouthwatering BBQ ribs from Planet Woo. They also had the thickest, juiciest rump roasts from Planet Gib. The restaurant chain targeted warriors with the largest appetites. Inside, its patrons talked about the latest sports news and business deals. Waiters and waitresses in elegant attire moved between tables. 

As Bridget walked towards the host stand, she massaged her shoulders. She paid little attention to the council who collectively ruled their planet.  But here she was, about to meet a powerful member. 

The hostess greeted Bridget with a warm smile. “Welcome, a solo table?”

“I’m looking for someone, dressed up in priestess clothes, um, someone who you’d meet in a temple or something?”

A voice rang out across the restaurant. “Ah, there you are!” 

Bridget turned to see a priestess sitting at a table with a view of the entrance. She wore traditional Nyxazon priestess warrior garb. It consisted of a body suit that covered her entire form except for her face and the lower half of her legs. She had short gray hair with braids around the top in a retro warrior style.  

“I’m over here, Bridget,” she beckoned.

Bridget shrugged and walked towards her table.. 

The priestess was fit and sculpted. She exuded an aura of confidence and authority. She wasn’t as thick as Bridget, but she seemed to have a similar taste in tight clothing. 

“Hello priestess, it’s an honor to meet you,” Bridget bowed.

“Please, call me Sera,” she corrected and gestured for her to sit. The table seemed a little small and Bridget’s knees almost touched hers. 

“Seems we’ll be very close, due to the space of this table.” said Priestess Sera as she shifted her seat. “My apologies, I thought I had booked a large space.” 

Bridget nodded. “Doesn’t matter to me.” 

Priestess Sera nodded. “I will get to the point. I already spoke with Elder Hilda and Ambassador April about the incident on Neerg. I know you already spoke with them. But, I needed to see you, personally, on behalf of the council, considering the circumstances.” 

“Circumstances?” asked Bridget. 

“There is no need to be humble or ashamed about what happened. I wanted to make it clear that we on the council do not see this incident as weakness or dishonor. In reality, it’s a weakness of other races.” 

Bridget frowned. “For me, Sera, it’s difficult to understand. I’ve always had good working relationships with people on Neerg and abroad. I even have a lot of fans who aren’t afraid to walk up to me and ask for an autograph. But...”  

Bridget paused for a moment as Sera kept a sharp gaze on her. 

“Go on,” encouraged Priestess Sera.  

“But lately, this experience has sharpened my awareness of the hate.” 

“How angry are you at them? At Rose?” 

“If I had finished my transformation, he’d be a toy to me. I’m not sure whether I should be angry or thankful that I’m alive.” 

Priestess Sera grinned. “Good. He sounds just like a serpent who strikes then slithers away. He’s a simple coward.”   

Bridget leaned forward. “Have you heard of him?” 

“We have warriors who scout and keep the council up to date on people of interest, yes. We’ve been working with our partners to keep tabs on him. I’m sorry that we didn’t catch wind of his involvement beforehand.” 

“I’m still alive, thank Goddess. No big deal.” 

Priestess Sera scowled. “It is a big deal. Another weapon has proven to be effective against our race. This proliferation effort has empowered others within the black market. Our bodies would fetch a lot of money to use as antimatter fuel.”

Bridget’s mouth almost dropped. “I heard rumors of that, but didn’t think that actually happened.” 

“It’s a growing trend that we aim to smash out of existence.” Priestess Sera closed her eyes and took a breath. “Pirates still plague the market after all these years.” 

Bridget hugged herself. “I want to see everyone succeed and achieve their dreams, Sera. It’s why I decided to become a trainer within a security company. I want to help tell people about the good things we do and encourage them to find their true strength.”

“It’s admirable. But it’s impossible for people to even approach our true strength,” said Priestess Sera, gesturing to herself. “Even if they managed to reach such a power rating, it would be fleeting. Many have tried and couldn’t sustain such power. That’s why they turned to weakening us instead. People who seek power this way, can’t be redeemed.”  

“But Sera, they captured me and could have killed me,” Bridget pointed out. “But they chose not to. Doesn’t that count for something?” 

“No!” snapped Priestess Sera. She stomped her foot and a shudder rumbled through the entire restaurant and silenced everyone. 

Bridget scanned the room glancing at everyone’s look of confusion and fear as their eyes landed on their table. She gulped and felt like she needed to zip out of there. 

But, Priestess Sera remained steadfast. She didn’t notice the attention her outburst got. After a while though, people started talking again. 

“Bridget, we preach our right to defend ourselves as they do,” said Priestess Sera. “There is no honor being some coward’s punching bag.” 

Bridget nodded in agreement. 

“The reason why I invited you here while you were on-planet, was to see where your mind, body and soul were at.”

“My mind is fit,” replied Bridget. “My body is strong and continues gaining strength day by day. And my soul, it’s a bit unsettled with mixed feelings about all of this.”

“For the honor of Goddess, Bridget, do not be so naïve. There are efforts by others to influence and craft policies to discriminate against Nyxazons.” 

“I know. But I don’t like thinking that. I want to show everyone that I am someone who can bring out the best of people. I wish everyone wouldn’t see Nyxazons as monsters. We are honorable warriors who fight the good fight along with them.” 

Priestess Sera rolled her eyes and shook her head. “It’s an ambitious wish, but the reality is, we fight cold wars every single day.”

“What do you mean?” 

“You know exactly what I mean. The people who glare at you as you walk, the men who stay away from you, the police who randomly ask you questions unprovoked. Don’t turn a blind eye to the reality of what it means to be a Nyxazon. When our Goddess saw the near-genocide of our people, She saved us with her blessing. It gave us the power to fight back and liberate ourselves. We never denied who we are and neither should you. No one should define who we are.”

Bridget shook her head.  “But we’re really strong. We are in control of our limits, aren’t we?” 

Priestess Sera shook her head, leaned back and looked away. Then she smiled. “Ah, our food has arrived.” 

A group of three waiters placed large glasses of wine and massive meaty ribs on the table.  

Priestess Sera points a finger at Bridget. “Heed my warning, Our existence challenges and subverts powers that rely on influence. There will always be someone out there who won’t hesitate to gain power at our expense.” 

Bridget’s glared at the priestess.. “That doesn't make sense. My powers are my own and I choose who I give it to.” 

Priestess Sera sighed and shook her head. “Let us pray.” 

Both her and Bridget closed their eyes and clasped their hands. 

“Dear Goddess,  thank you for bringing forth these delicious offerings to us. Please continue to watch over us, granting us strength and protection. May we all grow stronger and united together. Please continue guiding young Bridget on her journey. Help Bridget stay on the right paths on her quest. And lastly, bless and build her into a warrior worthy of your praise.” 

After finishing their prayer, they opened their eyes. 

“This dinner might be light for us. As I always say, let us feast while we can,” said Priestess Sera.

Bridget’s stomach rumbled. She raised her wine glass. “I don't think you'd need to worry. We’ll be feasting for a long time yet. The Goddess made us so awesome.”

Priestess Sera’s smile looked pained. “Yes.” 

Their glasses clinked.  

Back at the penthouse condo, Bridget landed on the balcony. She went into the living room where Lilith, Violet and Mildred were watching a movie. 

“How’d it go?” asked Violet. 

“It went well, I think,” said Bridget. “Priestess Sera wanted to make sure I was okay. We had a good talk.” 

“It must have been so enlightening,” said Mildred. “A priestess sharing her wisdom person-to-person doesn’t happen often.”

Bridget plopped herself in the middle of the Nyxazon pile on the couch. 

“Hey! Wide load,” joked Violet, pushing Bridget’s rump to the side.  

“I must have packed on more weight. I challenged the Priestess to a quick rib eating contest after the first round of food. I couldn’t keep up with her.” 

“Picturing that, I’m starting to get hungry again,” said Lilith. 

“So what movie did you guys finish?” asked Bridget.

“Chick flick,” chirped Violet. “It’s called  ‘Sweethearts.’”

“Was it any good?”

Mildred replied. “It was a romantic comedy that had some real laughs.”

Lilith chimed in. “And the heroine wasn’t bad either. She was tough, strong and funny. She demanded respect from her peers. I loved how she got in their faces. I only wish she wasn't so meek when it came to capturing her mate.”

“So what’s next after this?” asked Mildred. 

Lilith grinned. “I brought ‘Fist of The South Goddess’ with me. It’s a cool anime with a ton of action.”

Lilith zipped to the video player unit, inserted a movie card and hit play. 

On the screen, the Fist Of The South Goddess logo appeared followed by its opening scenes. 

“What’s the main story?” asked Bridget.

“It’s about a nice guy named Rask, who has to get the South Goddess’s Fist.” replied Lilith. “It’s an epic fantasy quest to travel dangerous lands to get it before an evil guy gets it first.”

“It sounds a bit weird that a Goddess’s Fist can fit a man’s hand.”

“That’s the part that drew me in, I wanted to see how that happened. Maybe the Goddess and the man fall in love,” fawned Lillith. 

“No thanks, I’m already around those who I love,” said Violet as she and Bridget fist bumped. 

“Awesome,” Bridget said. She zipped and came back with more densely packed foods for everyone. 

They watched the movie. They laughed, cried and gripped each other tightly during the emotional parts. After it was over, they fawned over the South Goddess who owned the fist and stole the show by getting the guy. 

"Now that's a strong female character," exclaimed Lilith

"I don't know," said Mildred. "She was powerful, yes, but I never really got what made her only confident and bad-ass. Doesn't she get sad or scared of things sometimes?"

Lilith shrugged. "Maybe there's a comic or book about her? Look it up on the internet like XenoTube."

"And I think she treated the man like a trophy, not as a real partner," said Mildred. "Sorry, Lilith, I guess I'm not into this Anime thing and it seems too extreme for a Goddess to fall in love with a normal Man, is it?"

Lilith pointed. "In fantasy, anything is possible. Bridget, do you think men would go for Nyxazons? I always thought they hated women stronger than them,” said Lilith. 

“It’s complicated,” said Bridget. 

“What does that mean?” 

“A caring man who dates women stronger than himself isn’t common.” 

“Or they’re very intimidated by what they cannot conquer,” quipped Mildred. 

Violet shook her head. “No, no, no. I think men fear what they can’t control: us.”

Bridget made a wry grin. “Then in that case, do any of you women want to try to conquer me at the gym?” 

Violet smirked. “Is that a challenge?” 

Bridget zipped away and back wearing her gym clothes. It consisted of  black leggings and a tight sports bra. “What do you think?” 

Violet zipped away and returned wearing black shorts and a dark green sports bra. “I think I’m ready to pump tons of iron with you, love.” 

Mildred zipped away. She returned wearing matching purple yoga pants and a purple sports bra. “Make it a threesome. Lilith, you already played today, so I think you should--”

But before Mildred could finish, Lilith had already changed her clothes. She now wore a tight revealing red gym bikini bottom that showed off her legs and glutes shaped like a full moon. Her top was a skintight bikini bra that was so tight, it seemed painted on. 

Lilith breathed heavily and her face looked flushed. 

Bridget, Violet and Mildred eyed each other a bit nervously, all of them blushed at the sight of the rookie. 

“Um, thirsty much, Lilith?” asked Violet. 

“I will get stronger. For our training we’re going to need a very big moon or two, I want to fight all of you.” Lilith said in a husky voice. 

Bridget stood and eyed Lilith closely. “Lilith, um, you’re sure? We’re not exactly going to hold back in our normal forms,” she asked. 

Lilith made a naughty grin. “I have no limits. Let’s do this.”