High above Almasi City, stood a noble protector. A sentinel of justice. An indefatigable force for good!

Her name was Ballistic Gal and after years in the sidekick game, she was on her first day as a full-fledged solo superheroine!

And as she stood at the ready on the edge of a roof, wind whipping her cape dramatically behind her, all she was lacking was any situation to respond to.

"The city is at peace," the goat narrated to herself. "Perhaps the forces of crime and evil have heard that I was striking out on my own. Perhaps they've decided to go straight and become good citizens. Perhaps, indeed, my first day as a solo superhero is my last day!"

There was a loud crash from street level.

"I spoke too soon!" Ballistic Gal jumped off the roof. Before hitting the ground, she gathered energy around her body and launched herself with a BOOM in an upward arc that transformed her plummet into a running landing.

Ballistic Gal - secretly Sammy Stella, shhh! - could survive a jump off a roof. She was nigh invulnerable. But a responsible superhero tried not to leave craters in the road.

She skidded to a stop in front of a china shop that now had a big hole in its storefront.

A shark in a leotard stepped out of the store, a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Not so fast, evildoer!" Ballistic Gal shouted.

"What? My pace is very leisurely," said the shark, annoyed. She recognized Sammy and scoffed. "I know you, shortie. Aren't you that archer fox's kid sidekick?"

"I was a teen sidekick to Arrow Ace," Ballistic Gal agreed. "But now I'm an adult hero. So drop the loot and I'll go easy on you."

The shark dropped the sack and there was a crashing sound as a lot of expensive china smashed.
Ballistic Gal winced.

The shark smiled. "You said to drop it, right?"

The goat made a note to herself for the future to add "unless its fragile, in which case, set it down very gently."

To the shark, she said, "Are you ready to go quietly?"

The shark sighed. She started walking forward, wrists together in a 'cuff me' gesture. "This was supposed to be a quick smash and grab. Smash into the store and grab some fancy china for a fancy mob wedding. Get a fat paycheck and the second slice of cake. And now you've gone and broken the loot!"

"But you-"

Ballistic Gal didn't get the rest out. The shark was quicker than she looked. She grabbed Ballistic Gal's cape and hoisted her off the floor. "5-Kay Newt don't SURRENDER to anyone. Definitely not to a kid sidekick!"

Oh, this was baaaaaaad. Sammy had heard of 5-Kay Newt. She was new to the Almasi City crime scene and had quickly made a name for herself as being brutal and efficient. Oddly, Sammy had thought she was a newt. What did the name mean if not that?

"I'm not a kid! Unhand me!" Ballistic Gal protested.

"Tch. You're short enough to be one. I bet I could punt you into another zip code."

Sammy swung her arms and legs but with 5-Kay Newt holding her at arms length... Dangit, she was just flailing here.

"Put me down or I'll use my cool superpowers!"

The shark scoffed again. "Your cool superpower of something something bows and arrows? Not scared. But I am tired of your yapping. Nap time, kid sidekick."

5-Kay Newt smashed her other hand into the top of Ballistic Gal's head.

"Ow!" complained the goat. Nigh invulnerable didn't mean she didn't feel. Although it did mean that pain was dialed back from what it would be if she hadn't been nigh invulnerable. So overall, she was grateful for the superpowers that space meteor had given her.

"Euuugh," grunted the shark, shaking her hand. "Hardheaded goat."

While the shark was distracted, Ballistic Gal gathered energy and BOOM! She shot herself backwards towards 5-Kay Newt.

The shark instinctively tightened her grip... Which meant that both Sammy's hard skull and the shark's own fist hit her in the mouth.

"SHIT!" The shark spit out a tooth. "It's going to take me two weeks to grow that bastard back!"

She changed her grip so she was holding Ballistic Gal by both shoulders and bit down hard on her head. Then she frowned and chewed a bit. She dropped the spit coated goat.

"I'm biting you but you're not getting bit," she said curiously. "That's new. I don't know if I like that."

Ballistic Gal sputtered and wiped shark spit off her face. She stood up to her full, short height and tried a brave pose, with her hands on her hips. "I'm nigh invulnerable, Newt. You can't win, so best surrender now!"

"Eh, nah. I still don't surrender to kid sidekicks."

Ballistic Gal sighed. "Fully adult solo superheroine."

"Good to know!"

Again, 5-Kay Newt moved more quickly than Ballistic Gal would have thought. This time, she grabbed the front of Ballistic Gal's costume and ripped it in half.

"Hey! That was new!"

She launched herself at the shark again but Newt sidestepped it.

5-Kay Newt licked her finger and held it up to the air. "That's odd. Usually you prissy cape types are more shy about this kind of thing."

"I'm used to embarrassing mishaps! That's just one of the travails of being a hero! Why, the things Professor Mindtwister used to-"

"I don't actually care," the shark said. "But thanks for holding still."

For a third time, Newt's speed surprised Sammy. And this time, she kicked the goat like a football.

Ballistic Gal was able to use her power to land with some amount of dignity but it was the only dignity she found.

She became aware that she'd landed right in front of a press conference and everyone - the reporters, the audience, and Mayor Robin were all staring at her nude body.

There was a flash as someone took a picture.

Ballistic Gal waved. She could feel herself blushing but she bravely soldiered on.

"Not to fear citizens, I'm not a random pervert. I am a superheroine! Up, up, and after that shark!"

Ballistic Gal launched herself back the way she'd come.

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Ballistic Gal and 5-Kay Newt have past history, referenced when Sammy rescued Dr Careful from the shark's sexy clutches.

Their tumultuous rivalry started here! With a less than dignified, short fight!

5-Kay Newt is not the type to humor Ballistic Gal when she leans heavily into the idealistic hero thing. But she also can't easily stop her because violence isn't very effective against the goat and that's how Kay likes to handle things.

Thus begins a long rivalry where 5-Kay Newt is first bemused, than amused, and later frustrated that her rival is a tiny goat that keeps acting like this is some goofy comic book.

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5-Kay Newt and Sammy Stella, the Ballistic Gal owned by me
Art by @X_Manino over on Twitter