[ Wp ] At a cosplay convention , everybody gets the powers of whoever they 're cosplaying .

Sandrea thought she was ready for all the snide remarks that were sure to come but she reached the breaking point when she heard a particularly vicious voice hiss out from the crowd: `` Hey, Scarlet *Bitch*! Where's the rest of the Avengers? Oh, *ri-iiighhhttt*, you ATE them!'' Then followed the muffled guffaws and cruel jeers from the visitors within earshot. Sandrea felt the tears well up in her eyes. She took a deep breath, steeled herself, and forced a smile. 
 
 `` Do n't pay them no mind, Drea,'' Margaux said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Margaux made for a perfect Black Cat. The leather catsuit accentuated her hips and the corset pushed out her cleavage. 
 
 `` I'm alright, Margaux,'' Sandrea sniffed. `` Promise.'' 
 
 For a moment, she thought she would hold, but then, it all proved too much, after all. Sandrea turned and waddled a brisk pace, wading through the crowds of cosplayers and onlookers. `` Excuse me, excuse me,'' she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the floor. She made a beeline for the ladies' room. God knows she'd seen enough of it since the morning, until she finally got the courage to step out of the stalls with encouragement from Margaux. 
 
 `` It'll be all right, Drea dear,'' Margaux had promised. `` This is cosplay! We can be whoever we want. Do n't let them tell you any different!'' 
 
 Easy for Margaux to say, with her perfectly shaped body. 
 
 A Black Canary, a Zatanna, and a Phantom Lady were leaving the bathroom just as she entered. She caught a glimpse of fishnets, heels, and capes as they sashayed out the door. And she also heard the F-word, too: `` Fat.'' The giggles were clear even through the closed door. 
 
 The main event was starting, and so she had the bathroom to herself. The long row of washstand mirrors reflected her image back to her. The scarlet headdress was too small for her round face and the sides bit into her full cheeks. Her ample breasts threatened to spill out of the red one-piece bathing suit that stood for the Scarlet Witch's bodice -- if only they did n't look like big lumps of dough. Layers of fat rolled up her elbows where the opera gloves ended. The flesh-colored unitard barely kept her pot belly from jiggling as she breathed. 
 
 `` I should n't have come,'' she said, unfastening the chin strap of the head dress. 
 
 For a brief moment, there was a bright light and Sandrea felt faint momentarily. Outside there was a roar like a wave. She heard screams and whoops, so clear even through the muffled door. She felt the convention hall shake as a growing rumble came from the main floor. What was all the commotion? Ah, the main event, of course. Ashley and Alodia, their perfect elfin bodies. 
 
 Sandrea sighed. She should n't have come but... why should n't she? Was n't this the whole promise of cosplay? That you could dress up as anyone you wanted, and they would n't laugh at you? That they'd accept you? 
 
 Sandrea felt the rising bitterness. Instead of pushing it down, as she always did, she let it out. Just a little. 
 
 `` I wish they were all dead,'' she whispered.
