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She waved to the audience with a great big smile on her face as the game show host called out her name.

Again more cheers and applause.

And then finally, there was Mallet Girl. She had straight black hair, cropped short that it barely reached down to the level of her chin. Her build was small but athletic. She was rather on the short side but no one talked about her lack of height or, for that matter, about her not-so-well-endowed chest. Ever. Not unless they fancied meeting the business end of a mallet.

It being a work day, she had on her usual work clothes. A white, round-necked T-shirt, raggedly cut short at the midriff. A small, unbuttoned denim vest worn over the T-shirt. Black cycling shorts. Light-brown leather gloves. And over-sized, hi-cut rubber shoes, perfect for running, jumping, and stomping the crap out of nosy do-gooders and criminals alike.

And she had mallets. Mallets for just about every occasion. And boy, did she have mallets! Small ones. Big ones. Wooden ones. Metal ones. Even plastic ones. The bigger and longer mallets hung from her back in a custom-made leather holster while the smaller, lighter ones hung from her slender waist courtesy of a heavy-duty utility belt.

She let out a battle cry as her name was called out, much to the delight of the studio audience.

“Oh, wow!” Alicia exclaimed, clapping her hands. “I simply adore your costume. You look exactly like her! Oh, you must introduce me to your seamstress and designer. You simply must. Although, I must say, I thought the real Mallet Girl was taller. You should've worn shoe sole inserts.”

She was lucky. She would have gotten a fractured forehead for her trouble, a concussion at the very least, had Mallet Girl been listening. As it was, she wasn't even aware that someone was talking to her. She was just too excited.

“Yeah! You can do this, Mallet Girl!” she encouraged herself. “You can do this! You weren't afraid of the Bagel Don or the Sushi Brothers or even the Striped Cereal Killer. And if you can face down the Muffin Mafia and the Curry Thugees and the Chuckwagon Bandits, you can definitely take on these Nerds.”

She pointed at the Nerds standing on the dais. “Oh, yeah!” she cried out. “You guys are going down!”

And the crowd exploded, rocking the studio to its very foundation with their cheers and applause. Mallet Girl was just that popular.

Her friends were worried though. They had come to root for their friend although they already knew that all this was just one big publicity stunt. Still, each one hoped that Mallet Girl will win a cool prize, something they could “borrow” for extended periods of time. Mallet Girl was such a ditz that she most likely won't even notice at all or even forget about it altogether.

There's Jenna and then Mark standing beside her. There were also George, Danielle and Roseanne. Jenna was dressed all in black. As usual. Her long overcoat. Her red-trimmed corset. Her patchwork skirt. Even her heavy-duty combat boots. All black. Even her lipstick was black. And she was wearing too much mascara and eyeliner. Now one could say this raven-haired, pasty-skinned girl was goth or even emo. Indeed one could very well call her that but only if one wanted a fist in the nose, that is. She had never been, not even for a moment of her life, goth or emo or anything like that. She just liked wearing black, is all. That's what she claimed at least.

It was this penchant for violence, in fact, that had made her so close to Mallet Girl back when they were still little kids. Like peas in a pod they were, feisty little fireballs taking on and beating the crap out of the older, bigger delinquents in the neighborhood. She had grown more matured since then, more subdued and less prone to lashing out with her fists. Case in point, it had been weeks now since she last sent someone to the hospital. Yeah, it wasn't much but it was something at least. Better than nothing.

The others were pretty much normal and nondescript. And they were still wearing their work clothes, having gone to the studio straight from their respective offices. They cared not for cosplaying besides. Nope. Not one bit. They came only to support their friend and wish her well and that was it. Well, there was the prospect of Mallet Girl winning something but that was really it and nothing more.

They had been enthusiastic at first. But now they were concerned somewhat for they had all noticed the look on Mallet Girl's face, that glint in her eyes as she slammed her fists together. They had seen that look before and that look never boded well.

“Uh-oh,” George remarked, “I don't know about you guys but I don't like the looks of the that.”

Mark and Danielle echoed his sentiments.

“Oh, no,” went Roseanne, looking at the others, “you don't suppose...she couldn't possibly take all this seriously...she wouldn't, right? Oh, she just wouldn't!”

But the others could not answer. They could only stare back at her with grave looks on their faces.

She let out a nervous giggle. “No, she wouldn't! It's just a game after all. Not even Mally is that stupid.”

Jenna looked most dubious indeed but she didn't say anything to the others. She trained her eyes back to her childhood friend. “Huh, I wonder...” she murmured to herself.

“And now,” the game show host finally declared, “the moment we've all been waiting for! It's time to BEAT! THE! NERDS!”

Suddenly Alicia let out a surprised, terrified screech, stopping everyone in their tracks even as Mallet Girl spurred into action. She had whipped out one of her mallets and in one fell swipe, smashed all three wooden podiums, shattering them like so much clay pottery and sending splinters and dust into the air. She then leapt forward and upon landing, pointed her mallet at one of the Nerds.

“Star Trek Nerd,” she cried out in all seriousness, “I challenge you!”

“Whelp, there she goes,” Jenna said. “Really, I'm surprised she lasted this long.”