Amy stood, looking at herself in the mirror. Did she look good? She really couldn't tell. She sighed and sat down on the small bench inside the changing room.

'Franchise changes are hard...' She thought, placing her head in her hands, trying to calm her spinning mind. It was a lot to take in, and her outfit needed to be perfect, or it might ruin the entire feeling of what the producers were calling, "Boom."

Don't get her wrong, she adored the new synopsis the writers had given her; strong, smart, able to keep up, a leader, a historian, mature. She found that a whole lot more attractive than her last synopsis, which was mainly just kind of loud and obsessed. She was ready for more depth and more drive, more purpose as a person outside just being, "the Sonic girl."

The outfit, however, she wasn't so sure about. She had picked it herself, and it was cute enough, but it just seemed to be missing something. Granted, it was already way more functional than her last attire. The dress she now wore was shapeless and short, a deep pink color with gold snaps up the side and a light little collar. She wore purple arm guards and matching long purple socks, complete with new wonderfully efficient and capable tennis shoes. She did, however, keep her headband and her wrist bangles, those were too sentimental to give up. She looked up at her old boots, which sat on the ground across from her, and gave paid them one last tribute. She picked them up.

"Thanks for doing your job, old friends" She smiled, "It was fun while it lasted, but out with the old and in with the new!" She dropped the shoes in the trash can, and confidently stepped outside the dressing room. She took a deep breath, filling herself with who she was now and the wonderful freedom that came with it. She started off resolutely down the hall, ready and excited to see who else had been chosen for the new "Boom Team."

They had told her there would be five, and she was pretty honored and excited to be one of them. It certainly made her feel better about herself to know that she was vital enough to stick into this new series. Of course, she knew two of the members would be Sonic and Tails, they were iconic. But the other two were up in the air. Her guess was on Knuckles and Rouge, as they were both pretty well liked, but at this point who knew? She clomped down the hall that lead her to the room where they would meet, and her heart began to flutter as Sonic filled her mind. She tried to calm herself, she was much more mature now, and she wanted him to see it. She was no puppy dog, not anymore, and she loved that. No longer would her identity be found in him, though she still wished that perhaps some kind of romance would spark between them. 'Hopefully, they'll all like the "new" me as much as I do!' She smiled to herself, 'I hope he does… And I hope I get my hammer back! If those producers change it I swear...'

She swung open the door she had reached, and faced her new team members.

Earlier, at the meeting, there had been much discussion over Sonic, who mainly sat and waited for a decision to come. He eventually found himself only in a new brown bandana, which he rather liked, he thought it made him look suave, cool, debonaire. He had spent a good two minutes just winking at himself in the mirror, admiring his new height and rugged quills, positively thinking he good not get any more handsome than this. Well, maybe. He couldn't help but think that there was something missing from his get up, and Tails' too. The boys traveled as a pair, as they were a team, and Tails seemed happy as a clam with his smart new goggles and tool belt. They were the first into the meeting room, left to themselves, waiting to meet the three other members of their team.
"Probably Knuckles," Tails pointed out, "You guys have good chemistry!"

Sonic laughed at Tails, "what are we? In love or something? But I think you're right, he's always been a great bro."
"Amy?" Tails said cautiously.
Sonic chuckled uneasily, "possibility, but I'd say Rouge is a bit more likely if Knuckles is in here."
"But Sonic," Tails approached the subject with care, "You kinda have to have...well a..." The little fox blushed a bit, he was a genius, but he didn't know much about this kind of thing. "Well a-"
"A girl?" Sonic finished.
Tails scratched the back of his head, "well, yeah."

Just then the door swung open, and an assistant entered, hauling a large familiar pink weapon, and Sonic internally groaned. The assistant set down the hammer carefully, before abruptly turning and leaving, calling behind her "give it to her when she gets here!"
Sonic and Tails looked at each other. "Well that settles it."
Tails shrugged and got down on his knees to examine the instrument. Sonic began to panic a bit in his mind.
"Woah!" Tails yelled out. "This is amazing! This hammer is so much more functional!"

Sonic peered quizzically at it before averting his gaze. He was not interested...he thought.

"It's so much more aerodynamic and capable! The dip in the middle makes it perfect for climbing, with each side balanced for stability!" Tails did his best to pick it up, but only fell with it. "Heavy!" He breathed. "And the grip is much more stiff! Pretty lethal if you ask me!"
Tails stood next to Sonic, both pairs of eyes on the weapon.
"Why would she need such a useful weapon?" Tails wondered aloud.
"Yeah," Sonic finally spoke. "She normally only uses it for beating us up?"
Then the door slammed open again, and the boys were face-to-face with a huge towering red figure that shocked the both of them. Knuckles picked both of them up together, and hugged them tight.
"You guys! This is awesome! I can't believe you got picked for this new team too!" The incredibly tall, incredibly large Echidna set them down, and both only gaped at him.
"What? Is there something in my teeth?" Knuckles asked, looking a bit doubtful.
"Y-you're huge!" Sonic gasped.
"Rude." Knuckles crossed his massive arms defensively.
Tails elbowed Sonic, "what he meant to say was...well...you're huge!"
Knuckles looked down at himself and smiled proudly. "Yeah, I guess I am, huh? Sweet!" And they all sat and began talking, glad to see one another.
"So who are the other team members?" Knuckles inquired hopefully.
"Well, Amy" Tails pointed at the hammer not far from them.
"Woah! That's so cool!" Knuckles got up and tried to lug the hammer over his shoulder, but even with his new strength, could not seem to.
"Wow! It's pretty heavy! I don't know how Amy will be able to lift this cool thing with her puny muscles!" Knuckles gave up and dropped to his seat again.

"Y'know, I'm feeling pretty cool, but I just don't feel awesome yet." The Echidna tried to explain. Both Sonic and Tails nodded in agreement.

"Maybe there's something around here we could use?" Sonic tried.

They all searched to no avail for a while, until Tails hit the jackpot. "I've got it!" Tails yelled, triumphantly holding up: a roll of sports tape? Both boys turned to look at him, then began to laugh.
"Tape?" Sonic gasped, "that's not exactly what I'd call 'cool' Tails!" Tails flew over to them and grabbed Sonic's hand. "Just give it a chance!" And he proceeded to finish their designs.
All three looked proudly at themselves in the mirror. Standing side by side, they all had to admit that they looked truly awesome. The tape helped, and all felt complete.
"Now hopefully Amy will go with it!"
"Go with what?" A sweet clear voice called out. They whirled around, facing the voice. Sonic's mouth dropped open. She was tall, slim, more athletic looking, proud, elegant, and just...he hated to think it, beautiful. Her face hadn't changed, but her whole outside just exuded confidence and poise, even some power.
"Amy you look awesome!" Knuckles yelled, running straight over to her and picking her up in the same way he had done Sonic and Tails.
"Wow! You too Knuckles!" She grunted out before being set back on her feet, "you're huge!" Her face fell, "oh, I'm sorry, that was rude! What I meant was-"
"It's fine!" Knuckles laughed, "I like being huge!"
Amy grabbed Tails, who was next in line, for a hug, she ruffled his hair a bit and gasped, "you've gotten taller! And probably smarter too!" Tails shuffled his feet shyly and waved a hand in dismissal, "nah, just a little bit cooler!" Amy laughed, "oh no, you're starting to sound like Sonic!" She looked over at him, and their eyes met for the first time. Both hearts skipped a beat. "Speak of the Devil-" she pretended to scold, before swooping Sonic into a hug. Sonic was shocked, this hug was not constricting or obsessive. This was...nice! He wrapped his arms around her too, cleared his throat, and said as calmly as he could, "you look great." Unfortunately, his voice betrayed him, and he heard his words crack. Tails and Knuckles snickered at his juvenile reaction, while Amy pulled away and looked at him.
"Nervous?" She questioned slyly.
Sonic pulled at his scarf, 'get it together Sonic!' "N-no. Not at all, why?" She winked at him. 'She stole my move!' "Well, it seemed like you were." She promptly turned to the other two boys who immediately stopped laughing.

"Hammer?" She raised an eyebrow and held out her hand.
"There." The two pointed in unison towards the ground where it lay.
"Wow." Amy surveyed it, "it's... Different." She daintily and easily picked it up, weighing it in her hands. Now Knuckles' and Tails' mouths dropped at how effortlessly she had been able to handle it. What happened to this girl? All three boys exchanged astounded glances as Amy gave her weapon the tiniest swing. "Oh yes," she smiled, "this will do nicely!" She turned back to the three, who immediately stopped silently communicating, and vanished her hammer. "So, what were you saying when I walked in?"
"Oh!" Tails piped, "we had just made a decision!" Sonic stepped forward and held the sports tape in mock solemnity, as if it were a crown of sorts. "That you must be taped if you are to be a member of this team!" Tails leaned forward, "mostly because it just looks super cool."
Sonic stepped forward again, "where shall it be m'lady?" Amy thought hard, "well, I've already got arm and shin guards?" Amy shrugged, "I don't know!"
"Well that won't do!" Sonic spun her around by her shoulders. "Arms up!"
Unsure of what was happening, Amy obeyed, her heart jumping at Sonic's close proximity. She felt arms reach around her back and trail her waistline. She didn't shiver or blush, she wouldn't give him that satisfaction, but she did wish that he would stay that close a bit longer.. Sonic wrapped the tape a few times before breaking it off and admiring his work. Amy turned and posed playfully, "so?"
All three gave two thumbs up. "Perfect!"
Now her dress fit her properly, and now she felt just like part of the team. She was an equal, a threat almost. Amy looked at Sonic, who was looking right back at her. She smiled and thought, 'I can't wait to get this started, we've already all changed so much!' She stepped forward slightly, eyes still locked on his.
Slam!
The door burst open and all four heads turned to see a small bug-eyed badger staring wildly at them.
"Are you the four agents that have been assigned to spy on me?!" She yelled at them, not necessarily unfriendly. "Cuz my names Sticks, and I've been told to tell you that you're stuck with me!"
Sonic smiled and stuck out a hand, which she took and examined confusedly.

"Oh yeah," Sonic laughed and glanced at his teammates, "this is going to be a good team!"