Short Story (TL;DR): Lunella helps her best friend Casey plan her bat mitzvah. Lunella decides to show up as Moon Girl, but Casey’s behavior draws a rift between her and Lunella. During the bat mitzvah, Lunella’s Moon Girl tech is stolen by influencer & thief Odessa Drake. Lunella and Casey confront Odessa and defeat her together. The bat mitzvah is a success, and Odessa is picked by the new Captain America, Sam Wilson (formerly known as the Falcon).
Bat Mitzvah Blues
One night, Lunella and Devil try yet again to capture the rockabilly villain Rockin’ Rudy. But the crook escapes by hitting Devil in the groin as he drives his car under the red dinosaur. “We’ll nab him next time,” Lunella says. For now, she heads to her best friend Casey’s apartment for dinner with the Goldberg-Calderon family.
While enjoying a fusion of Puerto Rican and Jewish cuisine, Lunella asks Casey about her upcoming bat mitzvah — a coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish girls. Casey admits she’s stressed trying to compete with her rich, snobbish triplet cousins Lara, Laura, and Laurel. The triplets had an extravagant bat mitzvah with prototype VR games, made-to-order gelato, a kangaroo petting zoo, and a shout-out from Casey’s idol, top social media influencer Odessa Drake. Casey’s dads Isaac and Antonio reminisce about their small, intimate wedding surrounded by their chosen family. The only thing that mattered was celebrating an important milestone with the people that mattered most. Casey is touched by their story, but her anxiety returns when she learns the triplets will attend her ceremony.
At school the next day, Lunella works on the chocolate fountain she’s building for the bat mitzvah until it blows up. Wanting to cheer Casey up, Lunella announces to everyone in the cafeteria that Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur will attend Casey’s bat mitzvah as guests. Word spreads fast, and soon Odessa Drake even DMs Casey asking for an invitation.
A Bat Mitzvah to Remember
On the big day, a red carpet is rolled out in front of the temple. Moon Girl announces Casey’s arrival as she makes a dramatic entrance on Devil’s tail. Then, Casey makes several pirouettes through the air before Moon Girl places her down on the red carpet. As she walks the carpet, Casey feels on top of the world — until the triplets arrive with icy glares. But even the triplets stand agape as Odessa herself pulls up in her limo moments later.
Odessa soon shows interest in Moon Girl’s tech, and asks for a demonstration of her bubble blaster. Eager to impress, Lunella performs an elaborate show, but Casey pays more attention to people’s reactions on social media. As her follower count rapidly multiplies, Casey gets caught up in all the hype surrounding her bat mitzvah.
After a while, a weary Lunella wants to change out of costume to attend the ceremony as herself. But Odessa pressures Casey to make Moon Girl stay outside to entertain guests. At her breaking point, Lunella drags Casey into a photobooth to call her out. At first, Casey is confused by Lunella’s anger, which reinforces Lunella’s fears. “I guess you care more about throwing the party of the century, than being my best friend,” Lunella vents before storming off. Only after she sees pictures of their argument does Casey realize how deeply she hurt her best friend.
The Clash at the Temple
Outside the temple, a dejected Lunella decides to leave early until she notices her backpack containing her Moon Girl gear is missing! She’s shocked to discover influencer Odessa is the thief. The Beyonder pops up to explain that Odessa is the daughter of the head of New York’s Thieves Guild. She specializes in stealing superhero tech to fund her lavish lifestyle.
After a brief tussle, Odessa ducks into the temple wielding the stolen tech, with Lunella and Devil right behind her. Moon Girl struggles to overpower Odessa without her gadgets. Devil tries to help but gets sidetracked by the delicious food in the buffet. Meanwhile, an oblivious Casey is miserable during her Torah reading, consumed with regret over her behavior. Instead of giving a prepared speech, Casey apologizes and expresses gratitude for her father’s and Lunella — just as Moon Girl and Odessa come crashing through the doors!
Moon Girl finally gets the upper hand in her fight with Odessa while Casey ties her up with a scarf. A furious Odessa threatens to post a scathing review of Casey’s bat mitzvah, but what does, Casey boldly tells her to “go for it”. At that moment, the triplets smash Odessa’s phone, and declare this is the best bat mitzvah ever. Moon Girl decides to lock Odessa in the coatroom until she figures out what to do with her. Before she leaves, Casey apologizes for hurting Lunella’s feelings. Casey redoes her Torah reading with Lunella in attendance as herself.
The rest of the ceremony goes off without a hitch — until everyone goes to the buffet to see that Devil ate all the food. Lunella suggests moving the party to her family’s rolling skating rink, Roll With It, where everyone has a great time.
A Surprise Cameo
As for Odessa? She’s still trapped in the coatroom when Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, pays her a visit. Unfortunately, we only see him from the back, but it’s clear he’s not happy about his stolen shield.
