Wow, dude, she thought. Big mistake.

“First,” she said calmly, and for anyone who knew her, too calmly. “Stop making ugly remarks about my daughter. Second, do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Third, you’re boring me and embarrassing yourself. Also, you really don’t want to make me mad.”

Both of the creeps burst out laughing. “Ooooo, she’s so tough,” the overscented one said. He leaned in close, trying to intimidate her. It was adorably stupid. She smiled coldly. He looked confused.

She glanced at his friend, who by now was staring at her as recognition dawned and he began backing away. “I think you’ll remember me in just a second,” she said as she stood up. Her purse fell to the floor.

Then she let a bubble form and it floated above her hand. It wasn’t one that would explode, much as she wanted to let it. But it would hit him heavy and hard as a cannonball.

Before he could react, she hip-checked too-much-cologne dude into the center of the aisle. At six feet tall, she had about four inches on him and was heavier than she looked. She let the bubble go. It caught him in the gut and threw him off his feet. He hit the floor hard and slid backward five or six feet. The other passengers lifted their feet as he slid by, then went back to their tablets and phones.

She turned to his companion, her smile icy. “You remember me now?” she asked, another bubble forming in her hand. “Or do I need to remind you, too?”

The man held up his hands. “I’m very sorry, Miss Bubbles,” he said. “We were just trying to have some fun.”

The bubble was the size of a baseball and getting denser by the moment. She wanted to let it go. She fairly ached to do it. “It’s fun to be mean to children and say horrible things about them?” Michelle said, the anger making her voice more of a growl. “It’s fun to bully and threaten women on the subway? You have an interesting idea of fun.” She leaned toward him. “Do you know what I think is fun?” The bubble floated out of her hand, hovering there like a promise. And it itched and burned to be released. “Bubbling someone. Particularly punks. There’s nothing like it.” The second man paled, then staggered away from her. Michelle left the bubble floating between them. Until she decided what she wanted it to do, it was just a pretty ornament.

The car slowed and stopped at Michelle’s exit. Adesina tugged on Michelle’s jeans and held up her front legs. Michelle retrieved her purse from the floor, then picked up Adesina and walked to the open doors. The other passengers stood, but waited as she walked by, leaving her a clear exit. She turned and let the bubble pop. “You boys knock this crap off,” she said. “You never know who you might run into. Also, manners.”