[hr]
[center][img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjY2LmJjYTgyZi5VR1Z1Ym5rZ1RHRjNjMjl1LjAA/fake-boss.regular.png[/img][/center]
[hr]

[color=goldenrod]“Howdy pardner,”[/color] said Penny, finger guns drawn,  phony accent dialed to Southern Fried, as Isla blinked the two of them into the store. Isla must’ve taken Penny literally when she said [i]right in front[/i], because she was now closer than she had ever wanted to in regards to someone wearing assless chaps. She couldn’t blame the Coven’s cowgirl from running. [color=goldenrod]“Now how ‘bout you let these fine ladi—”[/color]

One thing happened just as planned: the outlaw fired his revolver at her, her eyes were able to see it, and her abstraction reacted fast enough to repulse the bullet out of harm’s way. Perfect fucking execution. She blew air over the top of her finger gun as if there was a puff of smoke and dropped the whole gimmick. Everything else? Well, that was a complete surprise, and not entirely unpleasant. Penny didn’t even have to bother with the blast of wind as the Florida Man silently cried out in pain and dropped his revolvers. She carefully shifted the guns out of his reach while the cowboy cradled his wrist and slowly transformed more and more into a Saturday morning cartoon. She threw a victorious wink and a smile over her shoulder at Isla.

The smile soon shifted into a look of horror as she turned forward again, finally noticing how close the bullet had been to absolutely demolishing Emily. Penny felt her stomach drop and her skin turn to ice. Holy shit. She hadn’t seen her at all. Holy shit. Had the girl been hiding during the hold up? Holy shit! Penny had been so certain in her own ability to be bulletproof that she had hardly considered the possibility of collateral damage. She was such an idiot. She owed Emily a massive apology, one that she instantly forgot about as Emily opened her mouth, screamed, and dropped a massive amount of candy on the ground.

[i]Was that bitch looting?[/i]

Penny frowned as Emily’s scream got louder and louder. It wasn’t because the girl was increasing in hysteria, but rather Penny’s ears were no longer ringing from the deafening gunshot. The cowboy’s cry wasn’t silent, either, as he tossed out tarnations, conflabbits, and dagummits like he wasn’t in the presence of good company. Penny rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned to check on the other girls to make sure they were okay. They were.

And then they weren’t, as Claudette was (accidentally?) shocked by Grace like a fly buzzing a little too close to a bug zapper. Penny’s face fell flat, synchronizing perfectly with Claudette falling flat on her back as she was knocked out by the jolt. She made a mental note to never touch any of the girls in the Coven as she closed her eyes and released a heavy sigh. Penny was starting to feel like there would’ve been less damage done if she’d just smoked by the pumps and let a rogue ash spark a gas fire. Still, at least nobody was getting shot.

“I don’t know what y’all did, but hands up, lady,” she heard the attendant say in a shaky voice. It was coupled with the shit-inducing sound of a shotgun being racked.

It sucked how reality took all the fun out of playing the hero. The attendant had just witnessed two girls pop in out of nowhere, cause a gun to fire off backwards, snap the wrist of some dumbass, electrocute another, all while an accomplice was starting to loot the place. Penny slowly raised her hands as she caught the reflection off the mirrored dome of the shotgun-wielding attendant aiming at her and Isla. One bullet wasn’t a problem. A dozen or so bits of shot? Also probably not a problem, if she wasn’t worried about hitting anybody else. But that wasn’t even the biggest issue. Being caught on camera, at the scene of a crime, after paying with a card that had her name on it, while surrounded by a ridiculous amount of Extra-Normal activity? That shit could ripple out into some massive tidal waves. 

She lowered her head to hide her face, positive that it was already too late, and used her peripheries to glare at the attendant. One hand was holding the shotgun, while the other was fumbling for a phone. Hopefully Isla or one of the other girls had an idea, because the one Penny had fucking sucked. She bared her teeth. She had to buy some time. At the very least, she had to distract the attendant from calling the cops while the Coven was still hanging around. Her sigil glew as the zipper on her fanny pack opened itself ever so slightly. There was no telling what the wounded cowboy would do during all of this, either. Best be prepared for the worst.

[color=goldenrod]“Now hold up. Surely we can come to some kind of understanding, after all, I did just save your ass from getting robbed. So why don’t you just put that gun down and we can have a little chat or—”[/color]

"That was some weird shit, lady. That was some weird shit!" The attendant racked the shotgun again, wasting a perfectly good shell that pinged off of the counter, hit the floor, and rolled towards the door. Penny cursed under her breath. "I don't like weird shit. Never did, and don't you let nobody tell you otherwise. I'm calling the cops. Don't you move."