The streets of Neo-Lumina had settled into an uneasy calm after yesterday's noodle-and-monster fiasco. Hovercars glided smoothly, holographic ads flickered rhythmically, and Kael… well, Kael was still tripping over his own feet.
Lira hovered above him on her board, smirking. "Seriously, Kael, how do you even wake up in the morning without knocking over a lamp or two?"
Kael pointed at his quantum glove. "Blame this! It's… um… developing a personality. Yesterday, it literally ignored me for like ten minutes. I think it's plotting."
Juno sneezed. A small whirlwind appeared, scattering papers from a nearby news drone. "Uh… sorry! Allergies!"
Just then, the air shimmered. Another portal had opened, bigger and more unstable than the last one. Sparks of energy crackled, and something… enormous… started to emerge.
"Uh… that doesn't look small," Kael muttered.
Lira tapped a finger on her tablet. "Yup. That's… bigger. Definitely bigger. And also, it smells like pancakes?"
Out of the portal waddled a giant, pancake-shaped creature, syrupy tendrils flopping like noodles. It let out a loud "squelch" sound that made pedestrians scream and hovercars swerve.
"Pancakes… attacking the city?" Juno said, sneezing mid-sentence and summoning a tiny gust of wind that sent a stray syrup tentacle flying.
Kael clenched his quantum glove. "Alright team, plan B… because plan A involved noodles and somehow worked, but I don't think pancakes are impressed by holographic dojos."
Lira smirked. "Step one: don't let it touch anything edible. Step two: confuse it digitally. Step three… just wing it."
Kael charged, swinging his glove. A rainbow-colored dojo appeared, bouncing pancake tentacles harmlessly in all directions.
Juno sneezed again, and a small lightning bolt zapped the creature, making it spin like a syrupy top. "I swear this works more than it should!"
Lira laughed, weaving her digital code into a holographic trap. The pancake creature got tangled in a glowing net, flailing and squelching.
Finally, the city sighed in relief as the portal collapsed, sucking the creature back into its dimension. Hovercars settled, noodles remained mostly intact, and Kael… well, Kael tripped over his own feet again.
"Okay," Lira said, brushing off her hoverboard. "Next time… maybe fewer portals. And definitely fewer pancake monsters."
Kael nodded. "Agreed. But somehow… I think it's only getting started."
From a distant rooftop, the shadowy figure from before whispered, "Ah… the fun has only begun."