Just another Bechloe shipper

“Okay, so here’s the plan,” said Chloe, ignoring Amy. “We beat Das Sound Machine at their own game. Do what they do but do it better.”

Chloe continued. “And we’re about to do a full skills assessment to blow out our choreography to match.”

“I like it,” said Fat Amy. “So, you’re going to fly around the stage, right?”

“No!” Beca and Chloe shouted in unison.

“You know I need to keep my powers a secret,” said Chloe.

“But, just think of it! Nobody in that German group can fly!”

“Which is why having Chloe fly during our performance would reveal her identity,” said Beca. “And, we still don’t know who crashed the Hood Night party, or if that’s the same person who controlled my mind at the DSM performance.”

“You said they spoke to you in German, right?” Stacie asked Beca.

“Yes,” said Beca, pausing for a beat. “And, come to think of it, it all started after they learned I knew German.”

“Have you heard it since?” Chloe asked.

Beca shook her head.

“It has to be one of them,” said Stacie, and the other Bellas nodded and chimed in their agreement.

“And, you don’t know who?” Fat Amy asked.

“I couldn’t tell,” said Beca. “It’s so rare that anyone speaks to me in German, especially with my grandmother gone, that I really couldn’t process the voice.”

“And, the mystery villain was probably using a device to disguise her voice,” added Chloe.

“Hey, Beca?” Fat Amy asked.

“Yeah?”

“Does Chloe ever use her powers in—“

“None of your business,” said Beca, cutting her off.

“So, let’s get back on track,” said Chloe. “Show us what you got!”

The group began to attempt a lot of different tricks. One of the group members started to do moves imitating a cat. Jessica did the “worm.” Lilly found hula hoops and was swinging one around her neck. Emily took a ribbon on a stick and began swinging it around, trying to dance with it. Stacie did a headstand, and she and several others practiced cartwheels, only Stacie, Flo, and Jessica managing to perform them with straight legs and landing successfully on both feet. The group tried to do pyramids - once with Beca on top and once with Flo on top. Beca complained the entire time and was almost dropped. Flo, being a gymnast, handled the pyramid without a problem. A few group members tried climbing poles like pole dancers, and, while several actually did a good job, Beca and Chloe knew that such moves were definitely against the rules.

Fat Amy insisted she could eat fire, and Chloe had to use her super speed to stop Amy from burning herself.

Chloe wasn’t sure that they’d gotten any closer to a plan once practice ended, and, worst of all, Beca hadn’t even started on musical arrangements.

She heard Emily talking to Beca as she was about to bring up this problem.

“Hey, is it weird we never got around to singing today?” asked Emily.

“Well, it’s tough to sing when we don’t have the arrangements, and that’s on me, so thanks for reminding me.”

“Yeah, Bec, we’re going to need those ASAP so we can start nailing down our choreography.”

“I’m right on top of that, Chlo.”

“Awes.”

“Yeah. Awes.”

Beca zipped up her bag, threw it over her shoulder, and started to head out, Emily following her.

“So I just wanted you to know that I’ve been working really hard, calming my nerves and keeping my eyes open and stuff. I was hoping to show you, maybe get some pointers.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I just have somewhere I need to be.”

Beca quickly added, “Um, you did great today.”

“Thanks,” said Emily.

The Bellas entered a room containing a very modern-looking stage with two futuristic cars.

“What the? This all should have been ours!” Chloe exclaimed in disbelief. “I hate these Germans.”

Suddenly, both cars drove backwards off the stage.

“Holy aca-moly,” said Flo.

“Okay, the cars moved. Nothing else happened yet,” said Chloe, although she was wondering how that had happened.

“But they are moving backwards. With ghosts driving them,” said Fat Amy. Chloe didn’t think that was the case, though.

Six large LED panels lit up, revealing the face of a beautiful blonde woman. Chloe shuddered again, feeling a similar sensation to the one she’d felt the night before, just a brief moment before the mystery villain appeared.

“We are …we are Das Sound Machine. A German collective operating in concert to create sonic mastery. What better way to appreciate automotive perfection?” said the voice, with a thick German accent.

“Chlo, what is it?” Beca asked quietly.

“It’s that feeling of power nearby.”

“Is it just like last night?”

Chloe shrugged. “Maybe?”

Chloe struggled to focus on the performance, her senses on overload.

The group began to perform the chorus of Muse’s “Uprising” in perfect harmony.

They will not control us We will be victorious, so come on.

The first five members to come out were all male. They were dressed in all black, with fishnets for sleeves. All were wearing headsets or holding microphones.

The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
 Transmissions will resume, they'll try to


Push drugs, keep us all dumbed down  and hope that


We will never see the truth around

During that verse, four more men appeared on stage, followed quickly by two groups of women. By Chloe’s count, there were a total of eighteen members on stage. Their choreography was as precise as their musicality, in Chloe’s position. She feared the Bellas may have been outmatched.

Come on

At that line, the last member of DSM appeared on stage with a spotlight on her. She was the blonde whose face had appeared on the LED panels at the beginning.

Another promise, another seed Another, packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed And all the green belts wrapped around our minds And endless red tape to keep the truth confined

The group began to mix in another track - “Tsunami” by DVBBS & Borgeous.

Tsunami!

With that word, the group began a precise, choreographed fall and vocalized the instrumentals from the track.

Cynthia Rose broke the Bellas’ stunned silence.

“Man, they massive! How are we going to compete with a group that size?”

“They’re so freakin’ in-sync,” Stacie added.

They went back to “Uprising.”

They will not force us They will stop degrading us

Come on

They will not control us We will be victorious

Come on

They continued, mashing up “Tsunami” and “Uprising” that Chloe felt was almost as amazing as Beca’s mash-ups. The Bellas stood in stunned silence, looks of shock on their faces.

“Do we clap?” Flo asked as the performance ended.

“Politely clap,” said Chloe after a beat of deliberation.

“Danke schön,” said the blonde leader. She looked right at the Bellas.

Das Sound Machine walked directly to the Bellas after their performance. The tall blonde woman who had appeared on screen spoke first.

“Barden Bellas. You came here to see us. Is it because you are... what do the American kids say, jelly?”

Chloe replied, “We are so not jelly!”

“And nobody in this country has used that expression in years!” Beca added.

The blonde said, “We should probably thank you for making this tour a reality because of your bumbling ineptitude.”

She turned to the man next to her. “We should send them something. Fruit basket?”

“Yum, yum.”

She turned back to Beca with a smirk on her face.

“Or would you prefer mini muffins?”

Beca put her hands up in mock surrender.

“Okay, we didn’t come here to start something with you guys. We just wanted to check you out. You know, for when we go to the Worlds and kick your ass.”

The Bellas backed her up with “oo” and “that’s right.”

The woman stepped up to Beca. “You? You are the kicker of ass? But you are so tiny. Like an elf. Or is it a sprite? Fairy?”

She turned to the guy next to her and asked a question in German.

Beca interrupted as the guy began to answer her. “Ich weiß nicht, welches Wort du meinst, aber ich bin sicher, es wird mir nicht gefallen!”

“You speak German?” The woman looked at Beca in shock.

“Ja. Meine Großmutter hat es mir beigebracht.”

“Well, I didn’t expect that.”

“The word you mean is ‘troll,’” the guy added.

“That’s it. You are like a troll.”

Chloe was relieved they were speaking English again.

“Well, you... are... physically flawless. But that doesn’t mean I like you,” said Beca, her face wearing an odd expression Chloe didn’t recall seeing before.

Chloe added, “We are not scared about the Worlds because, when The Bellas hit the stage, we are going to blow minds.”

“Blow minds? With what? More of Flabby Abby’s baby chute?” asked the guy with an expression of disgust.

“That’s not my name,” said Fat Amy.

“I don’t know your name. It could be anything. Obese Denise. Inflexible Tina. Lazy Susan…”

Chloe knew he was in for it. Fat Amy could call herself “Fat Amy” all she wanted, and she didn’t mind the Bellas calling her that, either. However, she’d never known the woman to tolerate that kind of talk from anyone else.

“Mein Name ist Fat Amy, und I eat krauts like you for lunch.”

Had Chloe not still been dealing with the uneasy feeling of power similar to what she’d felt the night before when the mystery villain had crashed the Hood Night party, she’d have found this reply hilarious.

The man wasn’t fazed. “Your team is like, a, how do you say that? A heated mess. You know, a mess where heat is applied to it, so what once was a little messy is now even messier.”

Beca rolled her eyes. “It’s ‘hot mess,’ not ‘heated mess,” replied Beca, doing air quotes.

“Darlings, please take my advice. Don’t try to beat us. You can’t. We are the best,” said the woman.

She turned to Beca.

“I must go and rest my neck. It is sore from looking down on you.”

Beca stepped up to the woman and stood on her tiptoes.

“Okay! Just because you are making me very sexually confused does not mean that you are intimidating. We have nothing to lose. We have literally nothing!”

The group began to leave.

“Aca Wiedersehen, bitches,” Beca called after them. She then turned to the Bellas. “Aw, what’s happening to me? Why am I using my hands so much?”

Chloe took Beca’s hand as the Bellas headed out. “Sexually confused?”

Beca shook her head. “I’m not. Still gay, I swear. I wasn’t saying those things. Well, I wasn’t saying them on purpose.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I heard this voice in my head, telling me what to say.”

“Whose voice was it?”

“I don’t know, and I just had to do what it said.”

“Was it the woman?”

“Elisa? Maybe?”

“Wait, who is Elisa?” Chloe asked.

“The blonde, I think. The voice told me. The guy’s name is Pieter,” said Beca. “And, it told me all of this in German.”

“I don’t know why I keep forgetting you’re fluent in German.”

“I’ve rarely had to use it in college, save for the German class I took in my sophomore year to get my foreign language requirement out of the way.”

“You don’t still hear it, do you?”

Beca shook her head.

Fat Amy piped up. “Hey, Chloe, can you control minds?”

“Uhhh, no. I don’t think so.”

“Try controlling mine!”

“Amy, no,” said Beca.

“Jesse…”

“I wouldn’t ask, but there’s literally nobody else. I just found out she’s down with norovirus, and there’s no way she can come. Even if she stopped throwing up, she’d expose all of those kids.”

“I don’t even like Christmas,” said Beca.

“I didn’t grow up celebrating Christmas, and I feel like I missed out. Hanukkah was cool and all, but not really the same.”

“Well, my holiday memories generally involved a lot of family drama, especially after my parents’ divorce.”

“This is an event for kids. Can’t you just throw on a Mrs. Claus costume for a couple of hours and put smiles on the faces of underprivileged children?”

“Stacie and I had plans for tonight.”

“So, invite her to come along. She can be an elf.”

“Stacie is almost as tall as you are, Jesse.”

“Okay, then she can still help out. I’m sure we’ll find something, and we could use as many hands as we can.”

“Let me text her.”

Beca texted Stacie, who agreed to come along, especially after reading that Beca was going to dress as Mrs. Claus. Beca suggested Stacie wear the costume instead, and all Stacie sent back was a laughing emoji.

Beca sighed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Stacie’s on board, probably so she can take embarrassing pictures.”

“Excellent,” said Jesse. “I’ll text you the address.”

About an hour later, Beca found herself in the women’s bathroom at a nearby department store holding up a Mrs. Claus costume that was definitely going to be too big. She sighed as she held it up in front of her, hoping someone had safety pins or that she’d be sitting down the whole time. The dress was way too long and was going to drag on the floor.

Before Beca had managed to try to get the costume on, an adorable redhead entered the bathroom, holding up an elf costume.

“Hi!” She said upon seeing Beca. “I’m Chloe. Jesse said your name was Beca. Is that right?”

Beca froze for a moment. Chloe was so beautiful she’d forgotten her own name for a second or two.

Clearing her throat, she replied, “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Awes,” she said.

“Awes?” Beca asked.

“Awesome. I started shortening words back in college, and I guess I didn’t get out of the habit.”

Beca nodded.

To Beca’s surprise, Chloe immediately began stripping in the middle of the bathroom rather than going into a stall.

Beca glanced at the stalls and realized she was going to have to do the same thing; she didn’t want any part of her costume, or worse, her own clothes, landing in the toilet. The stalls were very small. She tried not to stare at the beautiful woman in front of her in her underwear and started stripping.

However, Chloe seemed to notice her staring.

“Yeah, I’m pretty confident about…all this,” she said.

“You should be,” Beca mumbled back, her cheeks flaming.

Once she got into her costume, she discovered it was worse than she thought. It felt like it was a foot too long, but it probably really was only half of that. Thankfully, it had an elastic waist, so at least the skirt wasn’t going to fall.

“I guess the original Mrs. Claus was taller,” Beca said sheepishly. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know how to sew. I don’t even own a sewing needle or thread, much less a sewing machine.”

“It will be fine,” Chloe reassured her. “I have some safety pins. My grandmother taught me how to sew, and she taught me how to hem. I don’t have my machine, but I think I can strategically place some pins so it looks like it was hemmed.”

“Okay, I guess. I don’t exactly have a choice. I mean, I do, but I promised Jesse. He kind of suckered me into it.”

“He said it was ‘for the children,’” Chloe said, doing air quotes.

“Exactly.”

“That’s him.”

“He got me with the puppy dog eyes.”

Chloe winked. “Good to know those work.”

Beca groaned internally. Chloe was adorable, and the wink already had her hooked.

She followed Chloe out of the bathroom and into the store’s stockroom. It was cramped, but it was better than doing all of this in the bathroom. Chloe pulled a pack of safety pins from her purse and asked Beca to stand still. She folded the bottom of the dress and asked Beca to look down and see if she was okay with the length. It was a couple of inches above the floor, so Beca agreed. In a few minutes, the dress was off the floor. She looked down at the dress and saw that Chloe had been true to her word. She could barely see where the dress had been pinned. She reasoned that everyone would likely be looking at Santa, rather than the bottom of Mrs. Claus’s skirt, anyway.

Stacie walked in at that moment and practically doubled over with laughter.

Beca folded her arms. “Stacie, that’s not helping. You know, this costume is probably the right length for you if we take the pins out of the bottom of the dress.”

“Yeah, but you can’t convince me to wear it.”

Beca opened her mouth to say something and then shut it. She’d been friends with Stacie long enough to know that she was right. Stacie had never been one to do anything she didn’t want to do, and it was nearly impossible to change her mind.

“Fine. So, what are you doing?”

“Jesse has me in charge of keeping the kids occupied after their turn to see Santa is over.”

Beca looked and saw Stacie had put on an ugly Christmas sweater and had a festive headband in her hand, figuring she’d put it on when things started.

“Okay, it’s picture time!” Stacie declared, holding up her phone and already beginning to snap pictures.

Chloe soon put her arm around Beca and posed.

“Shouldn’t you be taking pictures of Jesse as well?” Beca asked.

“Already did,” said Stacie. She showed Beca the photo gallery on her phone. Beca had to admit Jesse looked surprisingly at home in the Santa suit.

Beca sat next to Jesse in her Mrs. Claus costume. She tried her best to smile, but the costume was itchy and uncomfortable. She wasn’t comfortable in large crowds, and she wondered how and when to make Jesse pay for this. She figured she’d start with insisting he bring her some coffee first thing Monday morning.

Jesse did an excellent job playing Santa. He had the “Ho Ho Ho” laugh down, and he took the time to listen to the children as they told him what they wanted. Beca’s job was to walk the child to the elf, and she’d direct them to the correct toy bin. Chloe helped each child select a toy and gave them a candy cane if they wanted one. To keep the magic of Santa alive, Santa and Mrs. Claus made a point to tell the children that they could choose an early gift for being on the “Extra Nice List.” Parents were then allowed to choose an unwrapped toy or two to take home to give to their child on Christmas, while Stacie kept the children occupied with Christmas specials, snacks, and crafts in another area of the store.

One quiet, shy girl caught Beca’s attention. She’d spoken so quietly when Jesse asked her what she wanted that Beca had to strain to hear her. Jesse asked her to repeat herself, but even he didn’t seem to be able to understand her. When Beca caught the little girl’s eye, she thought she’d try to take over.

“Hi, sweetie. What’s your name? I need to help Santa make sure you’re on the ‘Extra Nice List.’”

“It’s Amelia,” she mumbled.

“Amelia, right?” Beca asked.

The little girl nodded.

“I see you’re on the list!” Jesse exclaimed. The girl gave a small smile, but she looked directly at Beca.

“That’s wonderful,” said Beca. “What would you like for Christmas?”

The girl shrugged. “I don’t know. Mommy said you might not make it to our house this year.”

“Why is that?” Beca asked.

“Because my daddy left us, and she said Santa might think we live with him.”

Beca’s heart broke in two. She remembered how sad she’d been when her father left, but she’d still received Christmas presents. The girl’s poor mother must have been dirt poor.

“Well, now we know that’s not true,” said Beca. She glanced at the crowd and caught the eye of a young woman who appeared to be signaling the girl to stop, looking embarrassed.

“I’ll help Santa make sure he knows where you are on Christmas Eve,” Chloe added.

Jesse said, “You get to choose a gift early because you’re on the list. What would you like?”

“A Labubu doll,” she said. “And, some Legos and a Barbie doll. But, Mommy said that’s too many gifts.”

Beca looked again at the young woman and tried to express with her eyes that things were okay.

“It’s not too many for someone like you on the ‘Extra Nice List.’”

“Let’s go look at the bin. I have some dolls over here,” said Chloe, leading the girl to the bin of dolls. It warmed Beca’s heart to see the girl’s face light up.

“Excuse me,” she said to Jesse.

She walked over to the young woman and pulled her aside. “You’re Amelia’s mom, aren't you?”

The woman nodded and looked at her feet. “I’m Stephanie. Just a few months ago, her father left me with nothing. He had an affair and left me so he could raise a baby with the other woman. I stayed home with Amelia before that, so I have no money. We had to move in with my parents because the house was in his name only.”

“My dad left when I was young, too,” said Beca. “My mom worked, so we got to stay in the house. But it really sucked. My dad moved across the country with his affair partner. We still talk, but it’s never been the same.”

“Amelia’s father doesn’t even talk to her anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Anyway, we are letting parents take a few brand new toys home to put under the tree for later. I’m sure Amelia will be okay with the other children for a few minutes. Why don’t I show you what we have?”

Stephanie followed Beca to the unwrapped toy area, and Beca encouraged her to take a few toys for Amelia. She smiled when she saw her choose a Lego set Beca would have loved as a child. She chose President Barbie, and she said she’d chosen a career Barbie with big dreams.

Beca headed back to the main event and took a seat with Jesse, explaining that she’d had to take a little break to use the “little girls’ room,” making a lot of the young children giggle, several of whom reminded Mrs. Claus that she was a grown-up.

Beca really hit her stride as Mrs. Claus after that. She listened and engaged more with the children after that, instead of mostly sitting back and letting Jesse and Chloe do it.

As the event wrapped up, she saw Stephanie and Amelia leaving the children’s area. They stopped her on the way to the back of the store.

“Mrs. Claus! Mrs. Claus!” Amelia called, taking Beca by surprise, as the child had barely spoken above a whisper earlier.

“Yes, Amelia?”

Amelia turned to her mom. “She remembered my name!”

“Of course I did.”

She thrust a craft made mostly from green construction paper at Beca. “I made this for you.”

Beca swallowed hard when she looked. The girl had made a Christmas tree, and she’d carefully written “Thank you Mrs. Claus” on it. She’d drawn a picture of herself holding Mrs. Claus’s hand on the back.

“Miss Stacie helped me with the spelling. I wanted to do my very best.”

Beca cleared her throat before responding, trying to avoid openly crying and possibly frightening the girl.

“You did an excellent job,” she said. “May I take this back to the North Pole?”

Amelia nodded vigorously. “Yes!”

“I’m going to put it in the workshop. I am going to be so busy with the elves when I get back that this will remind me to keep doing my best.”

Chloe appeared behind her. “Especially this elf!” She winked at Beca.

Chloe, again, stripped in front of Beca.

“Thanks for your help with my costume,” Beca said.

“It was no problem,” said Chloe. “You were so sweet with that little girl.”

“Amelia?”

“Yes.”

Beca sighed. “I saw myself in her. My dad left when I was a little girl. I never had to worry about getting presents, but I missed him terribly at first. He tried to keep in contact at first, but he was on the other side of the country, so it was tough. I was also really angry and shut him out. And I never did accept Sheila the Stepmonster.”

“Stepmonster?”

Beca shrugged. “She tried to replace my mom when I’d go to my dad’s. She even tried to convince me to move in with them. I wasn’t having it, and I’m pretty sure I remember hearing some rather heated exchanges when my mom was on the phone with my dad. I made amends with my dad when I begrudgingly started college. He taught at Barden, so my tuition was free. He’s still with Sheila, and I’m polite to her, but I’m much happier when she isn’t around when I spend time with my dad.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

The two looked at each other for a few beats.

“So…” Chloe trailed off.

“So….?”

“I…this is probably too forward.” Chloe took a breath before continuing. “I hope my gaydar is correct. I’m bi, so maybe it’s not great.”

Beca smirked as she realized what was happening. She let Chloe stammer for a moment before gesturing to her to continue.

“Would you like to go get drinks after this? Or, maybe a coffee tomorrow if you’re not busy? Wait, are you with Stacie?”

Beca chuckled. “I’m not with Stacie. We’ve been friends for years. We met at Barden, actually. I do have plans with her tonight, but I’d love to get that cup of coffee with you tomorrow.”

“Awes.”

“Yeah, awes.”

They exited the store bathroom and headed to the stockroom to return their costumes. They found Jesse looking at them and grinning. He held up something green and motioned for them to come over to him.

“Okay, you two. I have a mistletoe here that I’m not using, so…”

Chloe saw Jesse give Beca a look she couldn’t quite read. When Beca didn’t further explain herself, Chloe let it go. It must have been something between the two friends.

Stacie began to pull her onto the dance floor, and Beca assured Chloe she’d join her in a minute.

She overheard Emily greeting Beca excitedly. Chloe had sent Beca a quick text on the way over to the Trebles’ to let her know about the newest Bella. A few minutes later, Beca joined Chloe and the others in dancing around the pool.

Just as Chloe looked over to find Lilly in the pool, she felt a strange sensation that made her shudder.

“Chlo? What is it?” Beca asked.

“I don’t know. I felt something,” Chloe said. She waited a beat. “Power, but…not mine.”

Before she could try to find the words to explain herself, a figure appeared, flying over the group. The figure appeared to be female and was wearing a black skintight suit that covered everything except her eyes. Chloe had never seen another person fly before, and her head was instantly full of questions.

“This is Barden’s a cappella?” The voice sounded more robotic than human. “You will be eliminated!” The person raised their arm in what appeared to be a threatening posture toward the partygoers, and Chloe saw a flame beginning to form in their palm. Chloe zipped back to the Bella house and donned her Red Fire suit. She was flying over the pool, opposite the mystery figure, within about three seconds. Luckily, the figure hadn’t launched an attack yet.

“Don’t you dare!” Red Fire called, raising her hand, although she wasn’t sure what compelled her to do so. Her hand got very hot, as it had earlier that morning, and then she saw a fireball forming in her palm. She raised her hand towards the figure and tried to throw the fireball at her, but her aim was way off, and the fireball landed in the pool and extinguished. She was thankful that Lilly had already gotten out.

“Red Fire! You can’t stop me!”

“I won’t let you hurt them!” Red Fire formed another fireball and threw it, this time grazing the woman’s foot before it, too, landed in the pool.

The figure began to cackle. “Pathetic!”

Before Red Fire could hurl another fireball, the figure quickly flew away. Chloe returned to the Bella house and changed back into her normal clothing. She wasn’t surprised to see all of the Bellas, save for Fat Amy, entering the Bella house’s living room.

“Who the hell was that?” Stacie asked.

“What the hell was that?” Cynthia Rose asked.

Chloe sat down and put her head in her hands. “I have no idea. I’ve never met anyone else who could fly. Well, nobody who is human. Or, maybe they’re not human. Maybe I’m not human.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you naked enough to say you’re human,” said Beca, generating a few “ewwww”s from the others. “Maybe we should go and see your parents, though?”

“I guess,” said Chloe. “My dad has always been good at helping me figure things out, but I wonder if this is more than a little out of his league.”

“I don’t have any better ideas. It’s not like you can Google ‘people who can fly,’” said Beca.

“Sure, you can. It’s just that Red Fire is the only thing that comes up!”

The next day, Beca and Chloe flew to Chloe’s parents’ home.

Chloe’s parents had a spread of different foods laid out in the dining room for lunch. Chloe shared what had happened at the party the previous night, and that she seemed to be developing a new power.

“Dad, it was so weird. I’ve never seen someone like me. She appeared to be human, but I don’t know whether or not she was.”

“And, you said she was flying, correct?” Chloe’s dad asked.

“Yes. She hovered above the pool at the Treblemakers’ house. I couldn’t see much of her except for her eyes. She looked human, I guess, but her voice didn’t sound human at all.”

“And, she made a remark about Barden’s a cappella groups?”

“Yeah. I think she was about to throw a fireball at everyone. I think she would have had I not transformed when I did.”

“Well, I’m glad you were there.”

“Me too,” said Chloe. “It’s weird, though. I thought I was the only one with powers. Why is there someone else with them?”

“I have no idea,” said her dad. “I can say this isn’t covered in any of the parenting books.”

“I guess not.” Chloe paused for a moment. “Dad, am I…human? Why do I have these powers?”

“I’m certain you are,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you. When you started developing powers, I spoke with your pediatrician. I had them run some bloodwork, and almost everything came out normal.”

“Almost everything?”

“They found a mutation in some of your chromosomes - one that the lab hadn’t seen before. All of your DNA is definitely human, though.”

“So, the mutation is what gave me my powers?”

“That’s what the doctor thinks.”

“How did that happen?”

“We don’t know,” said her dad. “The hospital estimated you were about six days old when you were dropped off at the fire station. We have no idea who your biological parents are or what happened before you were dropped off. It could have been anything - a random mutation, chemical exposure, some sort of recessive gene, or something else we haven’t thought of. I asked your doctor to keep your lab results confidential. When the lab asked for a repeat test, the doctor submitted a blood sample from another patient. I know that’s not ethical, but I didn’t want you poked and prodded.”

“Thanks,” said Chloe. She decided to switch gears. “So, should I fly us to the lake so I can practice? I don’t know when or if she will be back, and if she will spare us the next time.”

“I suppose so,” said her dad. “Let’s go.”

The lake was several states away on land owned by Chloe’s great-uncle. He rarely used the property, and Chloe and her family felt that his finding out about her powers was worth the risk.

Beca, Chloe, and Calvin arrived there after about five minutes in the air. The first thing Chloe’s dad had her do was get used to aiming and throwing the fireballs into the lake from a standing position. Once she had some control, they worked on throwing from above the lake. Chloe had a harder time with that as she had to be careful not to throw anything beyond the edge of the lake. There were a few mishaps, but Chloe’s super speed made any damage to the area minimal.

A few hours later, Chloe’s dad thought she had done enough practice, and Chloe flew them back home. When they arrived, Chloe’s mother held up some new gloves she’d sewn. They looked like driving gloves and perfectly matched her costume.

“I made these with some fireproof fabric we just got in at the fire station. I made flaps with Velcro you can open when you are using the fireballs. That way it won’t scorch anything.”

Her mother had her put them on and showed her how to pull back the fabric.

“They look great, Mom!” Chloe said, putting the gloves away. “Thanks!”

“Be careful out there. We’re used to you saving those in trouble, but you’ve never had to engage in a battle before.”

Chloe held up her right hand. “My hand is red.”

Beca tapped Chloe’s palm and immediately pulled her hand back. “Your hand is really hot!”

Chloe looked at her left hand as well. “This one is just as red, and I know I didn’t touch the pan with it.”

“Do you think it’s a new power?” Beca asked.

“Maybe, but…I don’t know what it’s for.”

“For now, maybe get an ice pack or run it under cold water? I can take over the cooking.”

“You hate cooking.”

“Yeah, but I love you more than I hate cooking.”

Chloe gave Beca a quick peck before opening the freezer and grabbing an ice pack. Chloe’s hands quickly cooled down and returned to their normal coloring.

As the Bellas walked into the kitchen and sat down to breakfast, Chloe lamented.

“It sucks we can’t hold auditions. Even if we’re reinstated, what happens to us? I can’t be the only group member, and my parents aren’t going to pay for grad school forever.”

“I was planning to go to school for my PhD,” said Stacie. “But, honestly, I wasn’t looking into Barden. There’s a better program at Georgia Tech.”

“You know I’m planning to head to LA to pay my dues. There aren’t very many recording studios here,” said Beca.

Chloe sighed. The only thing she could do was try to win the Worlds. A world championship would surely attract new students, and the Bellas would be saved.

Later that evening, Chloe heard a knock at the door at the Bella house. Fat Amy answered.

“Sorry, my boobs are all crazy. I was just jumping.”

Chloe heard a voice she didn’t recognize.

“Hi, I just came from auditions. You guys weren’t there, and I was hoping for the chance to sing for you.”

“No. Can’t help you. We’re not allowed to take anyone new,” said Fat Amy.

“No, no, wait! I’m a Junk!” the girl called out as Chloe saw her slip through the door as Amy was shutting it. She was a tall, fresh-faced brunette who looked incredibly nervous.

“What’d you say about your junk?” asked Cynthia Rose.

“Hi. I’m Emily Junk. I know, it’s weird. It’s my mom’s last name. My dad’s last name is Hardon, so…” She trailed off for a moment.

She added, “I’m a legacy. Junk. My mom was a Bella.”

Chloe gasped in realization. “Your mother is Katherine Junk?

“Who?” Stacie asked.

“Only the top bitch of the 1981 Bellas,” said Chloe. “She pioneered the syncopated booty

shake. And word is she had a five-octave vocal range.”

“Still does. You do not want to hear that woman doing it with my dad,” said Emily, chuckling.

“What an odd thing to say,” replied Fat Amy.

“If a legacy wants to audition, we have to let her,” said Chloe. “Okay, show us what you got.”

“Here. Right here. Right now,” said Emily, looking nervous.

“Okay. I’d like to perform an original song I’m working on. I’m not finished with it so... let’s

not be dicks about it.” She waited a beat. “Sorry, that was crass, wasn’t it?”

Emily shut her eyes, took a quick breath, and began to sing.

When tomorrow comes, I'll be on my own Feeling frightened of the things that I don't know When tomorrow comes Tomorrow comes, tomorrow comes

Emily had a beautiful voice, but Chloe noticed she shut her eyes throughout most of the song.

And though the road is long I look up to the sky Darkness all around, no…

Emily stopped. “I’m still kind of tinkering with that verse.”

I got all I need when I got you and I I look around me and see a sweet life I'm stuck in the dark, but you're my flashlight You're gettin' me, gettin' me through the night

Kickstart my heart when you shine it in my eyes Can’t lie, it’s a sweet life I'm stuck in the dark, but you're my flashlight You're gettin' me, gettin' me through the night

She began to make a few percussion noises, something Chloe surmised she’d learned from her mother.

You are my flashlight

Emily looked at the group and smiled, clearly proud of herself.

Chloe looked at her and said, “Would you excuse us for just one second?”

She turned to the group and began to discuss in a hushed tone.

“She’s pretty good. Can we take her?”

“What do you expect us to say? She’s standing right there,” said Fat Amy, in a volume Emily had to have heard. She slightly lowered her voice to add, “Definitely not a soloist.”

Chloe thought for a beat. “Technically, she came to us. So, really, we’re not breaking any rules.”

“Yeah, it’s the perfect loophole,” Stacie agreed.

Flo added, “We could always use another body. You know, in case one of us gets kidnapped for ransom, thrown in a shipping container, and made to eat only leaves and gas receipts.”

That’s oddly specific, thought Chloe. She added, “I agree. We need new blood.”

“I don’t think we should decide anything without Beca,” said Cynthia Rose.

“Well, she’s not here, so…” Chloe trailed off, wondering where Beca was. She hadn’t mentioned an evening class or other plans.

“Did anyone else think it was creepy that she almost never opened her eyes?” whispered Stacie.

“Again. We’re still talking. And she’s standing right there,” said Fat Amy. She lowered her voice again. “But if we’re gonna talk negative, let’s start with the giraffe legs.”

Lilly spoke in a voice Chloe assumed only she could hear.

“I keep a penny under my tongue,” said Lilly, sticking her tongue out to show it, making several group members give her a side eye.

“Okay, let’s put it to a vote. If you think we should let her in, sing a G sharp. If you don’t, sing an E flat. One, two—“

The group sang a note, and, thanks to Chloe’s super hearing, she heard seven members sing a G sharp, and only one sang an E flat - Fat Amy.

Chloe turned to Emily and took a beat before smiling at her.

“Welcome to the Bellas.”

“O. M. ACA-G!” Emily did a goofy celebratory dance.

“Girl, stop. Stop. Girl, stop that,” said Cynthia Rose, putting a hand on Emily’s arm to stop her.

“Sorry,” said Emily. “So, when does initiation start?! I’ll go back to my dorm and pretend to be surprised when you throw a hood over my head and make me solve a Rubik’s Cube while sucking vodka from a maxi pad.”

The group looked at Emily as though she had two heads.

“That’s what my mom said happened,” she explained.

“No can do,” said Chloe.

Fat Amy said, “Look around, we don’t have a maxi pad to spare.” She continued. “So…Alright, grab your guts, ladies, it’s party time! We’ve got tickets to Copenhagen and a brand new Bella!”

She hugged Emily. “Let’s go!”

The others cheered and followed Amy out of the house. Emily wondered aloud if she should leave her bag at the Bella house.

“Come on, girl,” Chloe called.

The performance had been very flashy - sequined costumes, special props, and even new, fancy shoes. They’d gone all out, finally allowing the newest Bella, Flo Fuentes, to perform a short tumbling run. Fat Amy had even convinced the two captains to let her get on aerial silks to perform her solo song: “Wrecking Ball.”

Unfortunately, the performance ended in disaster. Just as Fat Amy was finishing the first chorus, she got her feet tangled while flipping over, and her skintight costume split right at the seat. Everyone found out the hard way that Amy was not wearing underwear. The silks then turned Amy as her costume continued to rip, exposing all of her nether regions to the audience before the stage crew was able to close a curtain in front of her. To Fat Amy’s credit, she took it all in stride, hollering, “Avert your eyes, or take it all in! Make your choice!”

The story was all over the news, and several different anchors found it hilarious and/or disturbing. The Bellas made an appearance and publicly apologized for the incident. Fat Amy had made her own statement, adding that she’d been punished by “silk burn.” She went to show the “silk burn” to the audience, but the others stopped her before they had another incident on their hands.

The ICCA officials, John and Gail, came down hard on the Bellas. They suspended the group from performing at any collegiate a cappella competitions and canceled their national tour. Barden University added to the punishment by forbidding them to recruit any new members, which meant the end of the group, as every member was a graduating senior. Luckily, Chloe read the details of their suspension and found a loophole.

“There’s nothing in here that strips us of our national title. And, if we’re still reigning champs... then we’re automatically invited to represent America at the World Championships this spring.”

John and Gail agreed that they couldn’t stop them from competing in the Worlds.

Beca asked, “What if we win it?”

John and Gail began to laugh hysterically.

“What if you win it? What if you win it? Like, you outperform the other groups. Ho ho! How do you fit such big dreams in such a small body? What if you win it?” replied John between fits of hysterical laughter.

The Bellas all looked around, none of them understanding the humor.

“Yeah, if we win, will you reinstate us?” Beca asked.

“Sure. But no American team has ever won,” said John.

“That’s because they hate us,” added Gail.

“The whole world hates us,” said both John and Gail, still laughing.

The Bellas regrouped once they left the dean’s office. Chloe was already panicking.

“If we don’t win, the Bellas are over!”

She went on to tell the group that they’d have to have “laser focus” if they wanted to win.

“I can’t let this be the end of the Bellas. I might have ‘accidentally on purpose’ failed Russian Lit a few years ago so that I could be a Bella.”

The others exchanged murmurs of “really?”

“Yeah,” said Chloe. “I almost failed it again, but I found out I could still participate if I were in grad school.”

“So, are you going to finish up this year?” Stacie asked.

Chloe shrugged. “I…don’t know.”

The Bellas had been given a sorority house the fall after their first win at Nationals. There had been rumors of some sort of scandal surrounding the sorority that had previously occupied the house, but nothing was ever confirmed.

The group was opening the mail and sitting down to lunch as Chloe opened up her laptop and registered them for the Worlds. Flo and Fat Amy lamented the fact that they were still getting hate mail a month after the incident. There had even been a letter containing a razor for Fat Amy’s “hairy situation.”

“Okay, we’re officially registered,” Chloe announced. “Update your passports, ladies. ‘Cause we’re headed to the very sunny, very beautiful…COPENHAGEN!”

The group cheered and gave each other high fives.

“Yeah! Where is that?” Fat Amy asked.

“It’s in Denmark,” said Chloe. She tapped a few keys on the laptop and pulled up a map.

“Got it.”

“Looks like the Worlds have been dominated by that stupid German team that took over our tour,” Chloe said.

“You mean stole our tour,” said Stacie.

“Word,” said Amy. “We need to scout those Deutsch-bags.”

“Yes,” said Flo.

Fat Amy scoffed. “But, how good can they be? Germany hasn’t produced a good singer since David Hasselhoff.”

“But I’m not worried,” Amy continued. “When we win, we can stick it to these chumps who

sent us all this hate mail, like — Sonia Sotomayor.”

Amy paused to hold up a letter. It had a bunch of big letters cut from a magazine, spelling “Die Bitches Die.”

“Judge-y bitch,” said Amy. “The Bellas are back!”

The group cheered again.

Chloe looked around and realized they were missing a Bella.

“Has anyone talked to Beca today?” she asked.

Several Bellas shook their heads.

“Why don’t you use your super hearing and find out where she is?” asked Stacie.

“No,” said Chloe. “When I got my super hearing, I vowed to never listen in on any loved ones. I’ve honed it to generally just listen for serious distress.”

Stacie rolled her eyes. “I’d never be able to do that.”

Chloe shrugged. “It’s the only way I can handle it. I’d go crazy listening to eight billion people all the time.”