Chris Huisjen

B2 9-10 - Combat Style Practicum and Long Patrol

Added 2023-10-19 12:22:22 +0000 UTC

9 - Combat Style Practicum

Friday, January 9

- - - - -

“This is…the TU Practice Room.” Doctor Mindstorm pointed through the plexiglass at a small arena—perhaps seventy feet to a side, with a roof thirty feet up—below us. We were once again somewhere below the ruins of the Mister Felsic Statue. This time, the professors and Underdelver had led us down three flights of stairs and into the hidden arena. We stood around near a few seats overlooking the soon-to-be battlefield.

“Before we start, you should all receive a Style System message…now.” Doctor Mindstorm said.

[Attention: You have been selected for the Junior Minor Leaguers' Child Stars Program. Members of the Child Stars Program gain access to a new power. They also accept the risks associated with minor-league Episodes. Accept Risk? Yes/No]

I pressed ‘Yes’, obviously.

[New Skill! Power-Weaving: Use powers from different Styles, then finish on your starting Style for extra damage and Style Points]

“Doctor Mindstorm? This doesn’t say it’s for a specific Style,” I said.

Mindstorm stood by the window. “Nope. None of the three different powers each of you may get has…a Style. It’s similar to your [Archetype Skill]. This is a [Combo Skill].”

Doctor Tennyson had been quiet up until now. He cleared his throat and clapped his hands. “Right. This is the Practice Room. It’s a little different from a full-on practice arena, like some super teams have. Ours doesn’t have infinite customization, and it’s nowhere near the size of an augmented reality facility. However, it does have a couple of unique features. First, please put these wristbands on.”

The bright green bands clashed brutally against my costume. I could almost feel myself losing Flamboyance Points. Or gaining them; it was hard to tell which.

“These give you damage reduction while in the arena. It’s not total, but about half of the damage coming your way will be negated. We’ll practice as if you’re each taking full damage, so please…inform us of your total superhero damage before you enter the arena.” Doctor Mindstorm said.

Doctor Tennyson said, "Now, rules. Thanks to the wristbands, we can use almost any power for sparring. If your attack can damage the building through reinforced walls and the observation room’s windows, please use discretion in how you aim. Your goal is to defeat your opponent, who may be a hero 8 villain. Later, we may practice escort simulations, point defenses, or even multi-hero capture-the-flag fights, but today, we’re keeping things simple. You’ll have one minute to spar today to get used to the arena, so we expect a lot of draws.”

“Our first…pairing…is Fursona and Magical Girl Candi Crush.”

“My superhero damage is at nine,” Candi said.

“I’m at seven.” Fursona looked worried, but I gave her a thumbs-up.

“Head down the two flights of stairs and stand inside the starting circles. We’ll stop the…fight when one of you drops below five and four hit points, respectively.” Doctor Mindstorm said. “The rest of you may…watch…from up here.”

I took a seat, almost wishing I had some popcorn. Was that a nice thing to think about watching my girlfriend fight someone? Probably not. Did I think it anyway? Yes. A screen flickered to life on the window, displaying each combatant’s superhero damage as hearts.

The two combatants stepped out into the arena and stood in matching circles. Candi stood sideways, almost leaning on her hammer-shaped wand. Fursona bounced on the balls of her feet, kicked the air once, and nodded up at me.

“Begin,” Doctor Mindstorm’s voice echoed on an intercom.

“[Quick-Time Change]!” Candi yelled, swinging her wand through the air in a complex, four-beat pattern as Fursona catapulted toward her. The magical girl’s blue dress suddenly shimmered and whirled, and she grew almost a foot taller as her outfit took on a riotous mix of colors. Her wand extended, forming into a gigantic lollipop shaped like a hammer.

The [Quick-Time Change] ended. Fursona leaped into Candi Crush feet-first a moment later, and both heroes slammed into the arena’s wall. As I watched, they kicked and punched, unable to get the distance they needed to be effective. “Come on, Fursona!” I said.

“They…can’t hear you,” Doctor Mindstorm rolled her eyes.

“Oh, right.” I lowered my voice and whispered, “Come on, Fursona.”

Both combatants separated enough to get some breathing room. “[Hard-Candy Hound]!” Candi called. A German Shepard, but one seemingly made from various peppermints, candy corns, and butterscotches started forming.

“Why do Magical Girls call their moves?” Gourmet asked, poking me in the side.

“It’s just what we do. There’s no reason for it—except for a good show,” I replied.

Before the dog could form fully, Fursona threw a vicious[Double-Kick] at Candi Crush. The blow landed, knocking her across the room. Another Hit Point flew off the scoreboard.

Fursona leaped again, springboarding forward. This time, Candi was ready for it. She set her feet and swung her hammer wand.

Crunch!

It smashed into Fursona’s side, knocking her off-balance. A second blow followed, then a third, and for a moment, I thought Fursona would lose.

Then she ducked inside the hammer’s arc and started kicking and punching.

“Time.” Tennyson held up his hand as he spoke into the intercom. “Draw. Next is Magical Girl Understudy and Gourmet.”

For a moment, I didn’t comprehend the announcement. Fursona had been winning, and I knew precisely what Candi Crush’s problem was. She took too long to set up. I imagined that if she could get the hammer and the hound, she’d be pretty formidable as a pseudo-bruiser, but she used two powers before she was even at full strength. I’d have to change that pattern around.

“Looks like it’s you and me, Snack,” Gourmet said, standing and stalking over to the professors. “Thirteen supervillain damage.”

“Thirteen? What the hell?” A student muttered behind me as others fidgeted and stared at her. “How’s she so powerful?”

It began to sink in. I’d spar with Gourmet, and the last time we’d fought, she’d been able to handle both Fursona andme. I shook my head. There was no way I’d win this fight, but I could change my goals for it. I didn’t need to win. I just needed to try out [Power-Weaving] before tomorrow’s Patrol.

“Eight superhero damage,” I said. As I jogged down the stairs, I made a plan. I’d run a safe, low-damage strategy and try to delay the inevitable steamrolling long enough to get through one of my combos.

I stepped into the circle and waited. Gourmet took almost a full minute to stroll down the stairs. When she finally arrived, chewing on a stick of beef jerky, Mindstorm’s voice echoed again. “Begin.”

I activated [Power-Weaving] and used [Quick-Time Change], just like Candi Crush had. Time stopped. The power forced me to complete the dance for ‘The Itsy Bitsy Spider,’ but thankfully, a much-shortened version. As I dropped in height and time started again, I felt a turquoise glow cover me for a moment. [I-Frame Transform] had activated as I switched Costumes.

[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point Pending]

[Floating Points: 1 Flamboyance]

Huh. I got points for this. It counted as training.

I barely noticed Gourmet, now sporting two massive horns, barrel into me, chewing on something. She bounced off my momentary immunity to damage, looking shocked, and bit off another chunk of her beef jerky. The horns grew, and she sprouted…a nose ring?

The invincibility faded, and I felt suddenly vulnerable. And small. Now it was just her and Magical Girl Rainy Day.

I used [Thunderhead]. A small cloud started forming above me, and tiny arcs of lightning crackled across my body. The cloud grew and grew. Soon, it’d—

Wham!

Gourmet’s two horns caught me square in the chest. The breath whooshed out of my lungs, and I gasped, then felt the air I’d just breathed in leave again as we slammed into the arena’s wall. She stepped back, then stomped. Her first stomp caught me in the stomach, but I rolled clear of her second.

[HP 6/8]

The [Thunderhead] finished building. A few raindrops splattered into my face as Gourmet finished the jerky stick. “You planning on fighting back?” She asked, grinning and panting. Her face was flushed red—the lunatic was enjoying herself way too much.

[Pause for Effect! +1 Drama Point Pending]

[Floating Points: 3 Flamboyance, 1 Grit]

The [Power-Weaving] combo kept building. I just had one more power to go: the finisher.

She rushed me again. I was stuck in a corner. I had nowhere to dodge. There was only one option.

I [Rode the Lightning].

The storm that’d been building broke; electricity filled the room, all surging toward me. It danced across my Rainy Day Costume, building as I spun in the air. The star on my chest glowed and flickered. I stared at Gourmet. Her hair stood on end, and she had a wide-eyed look on her face. She charged, narrowing her eyes in determination. I couldn’t contain this much lightning even if I wanted it.

I had to let it go.

[Electric Lightshow! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

[Thunderstruck! +1 Drama Point Pending]

[Power-Weaving! +6 Flamboyance, 3 Grit, and 1 Drama Point Pending]

Blue-white tendrils of electricity reached out and danced across Gourmet’s body, and her determination turned into a wince of pain. For a moment, I thought maybe it’d stop her charge. Maybe I could turn the fight into an Understudy win.

Wham!

[HP 5/8]

The massive form of Gourmet slammed me into the wall. Her hair stood upright, and she had scorch marks on her face, but she still grinned as I hit the ground. Before I could get up or even roll, she threw herself on top of me, pinning me to the ground. “Goodnight, little girl,” she said.

Then she headbutted me with her horns.

[HP 4/8]

“Enough,” Tennyson’s voice echoed around the otherwise-empty room. “Gourmet wins. Next is Waterspout and Crusade.”

Gourmet grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. I stood, wobbly, as she grabbed another jerky stick from her pocket. “[Aspect of Links]is ridiculously strong. I’d have had my chain if you hadn’t stopped my first charge. Next time, you’re dead.”

I decided she was joking. “Next time, there won’t be walls to bounce me off of. I almost had you.”

“In your dreams.” Gourmet headed for the stairs. So did I. This wasn’t a win—not in the strictest sense—but I still considered it a victory. The power spike from [Power-Weaving]was massive; with a few more skills, I’d definitely be able to leverage this into minor league-level damage! And I’d pulled off the combo before anyone else had. That had to count for something with the professors, right?”

[Training Complete! New Stat Totals!]

►Drama (44)

► Stellar Ray 1

► Bit-Part Barrage 1

►Flamboyance (22)

►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire

►Stored Costumes: (Rainy Day, Copy Cat)

►Quick-Time Change

►Starwave Sail 1

►Grit (20)

I’d made a mistake, I realized, as I opened the door. Instead of [Thunderhead], if I’d gone with [Check the Script], I’d probably have enough Cunning points to get a new power. But even with that revelation, I didn’t care. This was the best pre-Patrol preparation I could have asked for. The combo wasn’t smooth, but it had worked well even so.

At least, I hoped it had. I opened the door back to the observation room. Tennyson said, “Begin,” and Waterspout and Crusade started fighting. The water Elementalist seemed super effective against Crusade’s Bruiser style of fighting; he set traps, slick areas, and whirlpools all through the room, making it impossible for Crusade to get to him.

“Hey, I got a new power,” Fursona said. I could almost hear her grin under the fursuit’s head. “And you were only two points from beating Gourmet. Nice combo.”

“Thanks.” I smiled. “You did well, too. You were totally going to win.”

We chatted for a while about the different fights. By the time class ended, I felt ready for tomorrow’s long Patrol.

◄▼►

10 - Long Patrol

Saturday, January 10

- - - - -

I woke up excited—and nervous. I’d only done one Patrol, and both a crisis on campus and Tele-Portal’s exhaustion had cut it short. This time, we’d do an entire Patrol in the freezing cold. I headed for the monorail station below the Student Union Building; the one below the TUEAS Building was still closed for repairs. Today’s Patrol was going to be something special, I was certain.

Sure enough, a chrome camera drone met me at the bottom of my elevator. I jogged through the tunnels below campus, texting Tele-Portal.

<Hey. Confluence Park, 9:00, right - Understudy 7:42>

<Yes. Dont b l8 - Tele-Portal 7:43>

I was not excited about stomping through a winter wonderland, but Confluence Park had a winter festival today, and The Triad needed to make an appearance. Since the other two heroes were both working, it fell on Tele-Portal. While I rode the train, I thought through my goals for the Patrol, from most to least important.

One: Public Relations: If I could solve a few problems, plug Heroics 101 as the show to watch, and generally schmooze up to the unpowered folks at the park, that’d be a massive victory on the way to the minor leagues. Drawing eyes to my show would help make it more marketable than Vigilant Vow’s.

Two: Keep Tele-Portal Happy: If Fursona and I could keep earning Style Points every Friday in Combat Style Practicum, this was less important. We wanted the specialized Triad Training Room to practice ‘real’ Episodes, though. Plus, Patrols could turn into Episodes. This was an excellent opportunity, and I didn’t want to lose it.

Three: Climb the Community Rankings: It’d be nice to find an Episode and win it while I was out, but the other goals were more long-term planning. Climbing the ranks would come. I just had to stay diligent.

After almost an hour of riding, we arrived near the park, and I hopped onto [Starwave Sail’s] windsurfer. The bitterly cold air stung my cheeks, and my eyes watered as I rode the blue-and-pink streaks across the sky, but I arrived above Confluence Park just before nine. The winter festival was already heating up, so to speak; the smell of cinnamon and hot chocolate wafted through the air, a few dozen vendors had set up walled tents with space heaters inside them, and people walked from one to the next while music—thankfully not Christmas music—played on a sound system.

But the river caught my eye almost immediately. Below a waterfall, a few brave people had put on ice skates and skated back and forth along the frozen bank. They’d cleared the snow to make an impromptu ice-skating rink, and Tele-Portal stood nearby on her stilts, chatting with a couple of unpowered folks.

I dipped down, landing beside her and spinning to bleed off the speed. Then I waved. “Hiya, Tele-Portal. It’s…” I checked my phone.

“8:57. You’re on time,” Tele-Portal said. She shivered a little. “The sun is out, the winter festival is happening, so let’s finish up here, get some cider, and Patrol for a while. Mr. Nesbit, you were saying something about the East Thornton district having trouble?”

“Yep. 3V1L is moving in, and our resident heroes are too busy with the last D-wolvers.” The man looked to be in his sixties, with graying hair around the edges of his head. He squinted at me, nodded, then turned to Tele-Portal. “They’re mostly minor-leaguers, but they’re a real pain in the ass, and they’re bringing chaos to East Thornton. Any chance you can spare some time for us? Or tell us who to get in touch with?”

“The Triad’s schedule is packed, unfortunately,” Tele-Portal said. She pointed at me. “There’s a chance that some of Tokyexico University’s heroes could help, but it’d be on their schedule, and the spring semester is usually pretty busy. Have you talked to the Council of Heroes?”

“Yes. They’re sending someone in a week or two when things calm down. That’s not fast enough.”

Tele-Portal nodded sagely. “I understand. I may have a little pull, but no promises. If I found someone to help, it wouldn’t solve the villain problem. All he’d be able to do is a holding action until the Council has free heroes.”

“I’d do it,” I volunteered. “I have time next weekend. If I convinced a few TUSSA heroes to help, we could make a strong team to fight against 3V1L. Or we could do a Patrol there the next time you have a day off.”

I saw the grin flick across Tele-Portal’s face, and I knew she’d say ‘no’ but that she was happy I’d volunteered. A learning opportunity was coming, and I suppressed a groan. “You’re not ready to fight 3V1L yet, Understudy. Speaking of you, though, this is my part-time sidekick, Magical Girl Understudy. She’s a Tokyexico University freshman and a little league heroine.”

“For now. I’m moving up in the world.”

“That’s great,” Mr. Nesbit said. His heart wasn’t in it, and I understood. I’d be frustrated too if I needed help and it wasn’t coming. “I’ll be seeing you around, Tele-Portal.”

“Have a good day,” Tele-Portal said.

We turned back towards the sheltered booths. “Volunteering your time is a noble move, Understudy, but the Extras can usually wait. Your job isn’t always to solve problems. Sometimes, it’s just to reassure folks that a hero is listening. Mr. Nesbit doesn’t actually need a solution.”

“He doesn’t?”

“Two ciders with cinnamon sticks. Non-alcoholic. We’re both on duty. Thanks,” Tele-Portal said. Then she turned back to me, speaking quietly. “Nope. Thornton always has a ‘crime problem,’ which usually solves itself in-district. It’s bad right now because of the pre-Power War ramp-up and the Man vs. Nature, but I’d bet over half of it isn’t even supervillains. Understanding what superheroes are and are not responsible for is critical to our jobs.”

“Ah,” I said noncommittally. It sounded a little like Tele-Portal didn’t want to help. I mulled it over in my head, trying to figure it out.

We chatted with the Extras at the booths for a while. I signed a few autographs for kids who’d been Small Town Super fans and told plenty of people about Heroics 101, but I didn’t get any hard commitments to watch it. That… sucked, but most of the unpowered people at the festival weren’t there to talk to me. I made the most of the festival and Patrol, though, and even though the conversations were awkward, I felt like I’d found some new fans.

Tele-Portal and I were explaining how heroes were necessary to a skeptical-looking guy with a real belligerent attitude when it happened.

Someone screamed from the river.

“Hold on one moment,” Tele-Portal said to the guy, who looked ready to argue. “You get to see why we’re necessary right now. Understudy, hang on!”

Before I could ask what I was hanging on to, Tele-Portal grabbed me with one hand. She opened a portal below our feet, then one on the river’s far bank. Our ciders lay on the ground where we’d both dropped them, abandoned and forgotten. We instantly traveled through, popping out next to the frozen river.

Only it wasn’t frozen anymore.

Huge cracks had opened across the cleared river, and skaters flailed around, clinging desperately to the ruined ice as they slipped farther and farther into the frigid water. One woman lost her grip, and the river pushed her away mercilessly. Her head disappeared under the still-solid ice downstream a moment later.

[Casting Call: Winter is Coming: Pg-13]

“[Stawave Sail]!” I didn’t bother to read the [Casting Call]. I just accepted it. That woman needed my help, and whatever the Episode was, I’d deal with it.

[Winter is Coming: Act One in Progress]

“Save her! I’ve got the others!” Tele-Portal yelled. I nodded and took off down the iced-over river.

The woman was hard to spot under the thick ice, but I saw a dark-colored blob moving down the river after a few seconds. A thinner dark spot—maybe her arm—pounded against the ice. “[Stellar Ray]!” I shouted, waving my wand. The bright pink beam hit like a boxer’s punch, shattering the ice in a small area above the woman. She clung to the ice for a moment, but the river grabbed her again.

I needed a bigger hole.

I guided the sailboard forward, feet over the frozen river. If I fell in, I’d have a few seconds to get a new [Starwave Sail], but I wasn’t dressed to be cold and wet. Twenty feet ahead of the woman, I stopped. [Bit-Part Barrage] activated, the sailboard disappeared, and I hung mid-air a few feet over the river.

[Show-Stopping Plan! +1 Drama Point Pending]

[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point Pending]

The salvo of [Stellar Rays] crashed across the river’s width, breaking the ice just as the woman surfaced in the newly clear space. She grabbed a bit of ice and tried to drag herself out again, gasping for breath.

I was too busy falling to help her much right that second.

I plummeted toward the frigid water below as I resummoned the [Starwave Sail]. I pulled up, lowering a hand intothe water as the sailboard’s edge caught ripples and rocked back and forth. My fingers brushed against the woman’s down jacket. I tightened my grip and pulled up, popping the sailboard almost straight up.

[Dramatic Rescue! +1 Drama Point Pending]

The woman shivered uncontrollably in my grip as I angled back toward the warm, heated booths at the winter festival. Her skin was blue-tinted, and she kept trying to say something, but she couldn’t get the words out between shivers and coughing up water. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you. I’m Magical Girl Understudy, and you’re safe now.”

Tele-Portal stood outside the nearest hut. She’d saved everyone else with her portal cannon; if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she was showing off. I landed, holding the woman in my arms to keep her from falling onto the trampled snow below my feet.

[Showoff! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

“Thanks, we’ll take it from here,” a woman in an EMT’s outfit said. “You did a great job of saving her, though.”

“Understudy, over here,” Tele-Portal said. She’d lost interest in the ice skaters as soon as they were safe. I thought about what she’d said a couple of months back, during our first Patrol—after a while, you realize an Episode could start any time, and it’s easier to forget Extras are people. Those people were just props to her. That seemed a lot like what Su-Bin’s parents had said at Christmas dinner about how supers were just playing a game.

Still, I was sidekicking with her, so I stomped through the snow back to the riverbank. Tele-Portal knelt by the edge, near one of the bigger ice cracks. She dipped her hand into the water before dunking her arm elbow-deep. “This ice is too thick to have broken from a few skaters. I checked it myself when I saw them out there and again just now. It was safe.”

“Then what’s happening?”

“I’m not sure, but you got a [Casting Call] and accepted it. Check it.”

[Casting Call]

[Episode: Winter is Coming - PG-13]

[Role: Snow Angel! Role Accepted]

[Role Focus: Drama > Flamboyance]

“Snow Angel? Really?” I rolled my eyes.

“Shut up and listen,” Tele-Portal said. She sounded stressed but not angry. She closed her eyes. “I was hoping for an Episode, but if it’s the villain I think it is, we’ll both need to be on our A game. I’m built as a pure support for Man vs. Nature combat. What do you have?”

I rattled off my builds. “Understudy is a ranged attacker. My other two Costumes are Magical Girl Rainy Day, a one-trick-pony combo piece, and Copy Cat, a melee powerhouse. At least, I think she is. I haven’t tried her out yet, though. I’m not built for much utility, but Rainy Day has a Cunning skill we could use to get started.”

Tele-Portal nodded slowly, yawning. “Okay, switch over. We’ll start here and work our way upriver. If we get to the waterfall, we’ll turn around and go the other way.”

I ran through my transformation sequence into Rainy Day—the slow one, not a [Quick-Time Change]. Once I was four feet eight inches, or whatever height I’d been in sixth grade, I looked upriver and used [Check the Script]. But as we searched near the waterfall, the power highlighted something odd. Strange tracks, almost too big to be a person’s, led back up the hill. I started following them; the script had pointed them out, so they had to be a clue. “Hey, these tracks lead toward the winter festival.”

[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point Pending]

[End of Act One! Act Two in Five Minutes!]

[Alias - Understudy] [Archetype - Magical Girl] [Community Rank - 348/523]

[HP 8/8]

[Styles and Skills]

►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence

►Combo Skill - Power-Weaving

►Badass (46)

►Cunning (50) (Skill Roll Available)

►Drama (46)

► Stellar Ray 1

► Bit-Part Barrage 1