B2 7-8 - Power-Weaving and All My Builds

7 - Power Weaving

Monday, January 5

- - - - -

Subject: Conditions of Future Enrollment

To Anika DuPont, aka Magical Girl Understudy

Due to your actions in the last month of the fall semester, the Tokyexico University Campus Administration has placed you under a behavioral hold. The destruction levels from the two Episodes you were involved in, ‘TUEAS Dogpile’ and ‘Absent-Hearted Professor Parts One and Two,’ represent a significant financial hardship for the university. Further, they put student safety at unacceptable risk.

Tokyexico University takes its students’ safety very seriously, as you know. In order to remain enrolled, you must abide by the following rules.

1. You may not commit further acts of violence or aggression on Tokyexico University grounds. You may defend yourself if attacked, but must attempt to either leave campus or find professiorial help. Any Episodes started by you will be considered aggression.

2. You must report any superheroic involvement on Tokyexico University grounds within twelve hours, including Episode name, locations, and known participants. Failure to do so will be considered subverting Rule One. This does not include meeting with heroes on your team, TUSSA meetings, or Superpower Studies classes.

3. You must confirm receipt of this email and your intention to follow Rules One and Two.

Note that the Campus Administration’s protocols for such destruction typically follow a zero-tolerance policy. The Department of Superpower Studies faculty and your Studio advocated for your continued attendance at Tokyexico University. However, violating these terms will result in your immediate expulsion, as will not responding by Friday, January 9.

We look forward to having you on campus,

Helen Barber

Vice-President of Student Services

Tokyexico University

I didn’t have much choice in how to respond. Getting kicked out of TU wasn’t an option; I needed on-campus resources to boost me to the minor league. But at the same time, losing out on all the on-campus Episodes? That sucked. That sucked a lot. Hopefully, radio shows and PSAs didn’t count as Episodes, and I could still work out with Punch and Grapple.

Ilneat Politics was a bust; Doctor Doug Quailman continued to be completely uninspiring, monotoning on and on about the syllabus. However, unlike Ilneat Relations, guest lectures dotted the schedule, including three actual Ilneats. I circled those dates in red pen, even though one was on a weekend after Spring Break. Those would be worth something.

Doctor Quailman stopped talking about the syllabus about ten minutes before class ended. “Now, to understand modern Ilneat politics, we must first understand Earth’s role in its heirarchy. My research on the Ilnean Empire’s political structure shows that it’s closest not to a modern monarchy or republic but to an early feudal European kingdom. To make this analogy work, consider those Ilneats on Earth to be lords or knights of varying ranks.”

I raised my hand. The poorly-named professor droned on for another few sentences. “Yes, miss…DeWalt?”

“No, DuPont. How does that work with the stated role of Earth within the Ilneat Empire? Aren’t we a studio world?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t change the empire’s political structure as I describe it. Now, within this feudal structure are two major factions and dozens or hundreds of smaller ones. The two that matter are the traditionalist Atonement faction and the reformist Collective.”

He’d just dismissed my question. Plus, I knew a little about Ilneat politics from Rocko and Pataki; neither had ever mentioned that they were any kind of lord or knight. Hell, Rocko made it sound like they couldn’t even afford to pay their mortgage half the time. None of this made any sense to me. I made a note to ask Rocko for a political overview of Ilneat space later, then settled in for the last few minutes of Ilneat Politics. I tuned out Doctor Quailman’s voice and focused on the textbook, only to discover he’d also written it.

By the time Ilneat Politics ended, I regretted signing up for it.

<Hey. Got classes between now and this afternoon? - Annie 10:52>

<Nope. Don’t hate me though - Bianca 10:53>

<I could never hate you - Annie 10:53>

<What did you do? - Annie 10:53>

Bianca didn’t respond. What had she done? We’d just cleaned what I hopedwas the last of the glitter out of my green room. If she was in my apartment making another mess, I’d—

…actually, what would I do if she trashed my apartment? Probably nothing. But it’d be a bummer.

<You’re not making a mess, are you? - Annie 10:56>

<Only of your late January schedule. Sorry - Bianca 10:56>

<What did you DO? - Annie 10:57>

<Green room in 10? - Bianca 10:58>

<Fine - Annie 10:58>

I arrived at my apartment five minutes later. Bianca was already there, helping herself to some coffee. I gave her a quick hug. “Seriously, though, what did you do?”

“Remember how I was talking about that radio program on campus? The host turned out to be pretty excited about having you on. He said he’d get a roundtable discussion scheduled for January twenty-second in the afternoon. 3:00, I think. So we have that public relations campaign going.”

“Shit.” I’d hoped Bee would forget about that. “Any idea who else is invited?”

“No. I just called him an hour ago, and he said he’d need to make some phone calls to see if he could get emails for someone from the SSS and from APPEAL to join in.”

I searched APPEAL on my phone. Then, when that obviously didn’t find anything, I searched ‘APPEAL TU.’ That got a hit. “The Anti-Power Protestors’ and Extras’ Advancement League is one of several pro-Extra organizations on campus. We—they—strive to create a world where people are safe from those more powerful than them, starting with Tokyexico University and spanning the globe.”

“So they’re an anti-power organization? That’ll be a fun round table. Can you imagine you, Monologue, and some know-nothing anti-powers person?”

I nodded, feigning enthusiasm. “This isn’t until the twenty-second, you said?”

“That’s right. So there’s plenty of time to prepare.”

“Good. Now, I have bad news.” I told her all about my email from Helen Barber.

Surprisingly, she nodded. “I got one, too, but mine was just a warning. I’m not on a behavioral hold, and I can still do Episodes freely. They must’ve decided it was your fault. We’ll have to figure out how to leverage that.”

“Or how to get my ban lifted,” I agreed.

◄▼►

“Welcome to Combat Styles,” the silver-clad superhero said. He couldn’t have been more than thirty, and his blonde goatee was immaculate. “I’m Doctor Warp Tennyson, and I co-teach this class with Doctor Mindstorm and a rotating guest lecturer. This semester, it’s Underdelver. After our introduction, we’ll split into three teams, each with a professor, based on the three major Combat Style groups.”

Doctor Mindstorm nodded curtly from her seat behind Warp Tennyson, while Underdelver’s massive mech sat in the corner of the basement classroom. Underdelver himself grinned and waved.

“This first lesson will be about just what, exactly, Combat Styles is, “Tennyson continued. As is tradition in most Superpower Studies classes, this is pass/fail, though Mindstorm insistson keeping a gradebook. Passing is determined by your mastery of the skills we teach. Now, what’s the difference between a minor league hero and a little leaguer?”

I thought for a moment while The Crumb raised his hand. “Your power?”

“Potential,” Punch said, glaring.

“Not quite, but good guesses.” Tennyson clapped his hands. “Without a team, my power would only be minor-league-worthy. It’s not as versatile as Tele-Portal’s, and it’s gimmicky. But it has high potential when I’m combined with teammates. With Doctors Mays and Jackson, my power becomes Episode-stopping. I can drop them into a fight, Mays can stop the fighting, and Jackson is unaffected by Mays’s power. It’s incredibly high potential. But neither of those defines minor-league heroes.

“This class will be about learning how to be a minor-league hero. By the end, you’ll have a leg up on other former little-leaguers who have to learn these skills independently. But it alone won’t mean you’re a minor leaguer.” He clapped his hands again. “Now, we’ll divide up by Combat Style. Geniuses, you’ll be learning how to use [Systematic Chaos] from Underdelver. You’re in the room to our left. Bruisers, Tanks, Speedsters, and Mindbenders, you’ll be with Doctor Mindstorm. Your focus is on [Power-Chaining] in the room to our right. And Magical Girls and Elementalists, you’re with me. We’re learning[Power-Weaving].”

“See you later, Fursona,” I said.

“Byeeee,” Fursona gave me an air high-five and left, following Doctor Mindstorm. As the supervillain professor left the room, I couldn’t help but feel a little relieved, though that stopped when I looked around.

Besides me and Doctor Tennyson, only three super students remained. A girl in a dark blue dress glowered at me from the corner. In the middle of the room, another blue-clad figure with skin that seemed to ebb and flow like a river stood with his arms crossed over his vest.

And, standing uncertainly by the door, stood Flare. “I’m a hybrid Speedster/Elementalist. I’ve been mostly focused on the elemental side, though.”

“Well, you can choose between Chaining and Weaving.” Tennyson strolled over to Flare and put a hand on his shoulder. They talked for a while, and Flare returned to his seat.

“Wonderful. Five is about how many we usually have in the [Power Weaving] team, but four will do.” He clapped his hands yet again. “Right. Let’s get started. When a super hits the minor leagues, the Style System opens up three new power slots. The first one is free, the second is always [Combo-Breaker], and the last is either [Systematic Chaos], [Power-Chaining], or my favorite, [Power-Weaving]. We’re unlocking [Power-Weaving]for you early so you can practice with it. I need a power type. Any will do.”

“Drama!”

“Cunning.”

“Grit.”

“Flamboyance it is. Excellent choice, class. So, if I start with a Flamboyance power as a little league super, then I use a Badass power, and both deal 1 point of damage, how much have I dealt?”

“Uh, two points,” the water-skinned guy said.

“Correct! But as a minor league hero with [Power-Weaving], if I use a Flamboyance power, then a Badass power, I’ve dealt?”

“Four?” I asked.

“No. Trick question. Still two. But I earn one Flamboyance point for the first power, one Badass point for the second, and one Flamboyance point floats. If I then use a Drama power, I earn a Drama point, and another Flamboyance and Badass point are floating. Then, I can cap the combo with another Flamboyance power. How many points do I get?”

Flare rolled his eyes. “Four Flamboyance, two Badass, and one Drama. It’s a lot more points, but how does that help with fighting?”

Doctor Tennyson laughed. “The last ability that closes out a combo hits much harder. The minor league gets much more dangerous when you combine that with [Environmental Combos], known weaknesses, and harder-hitting powers. So, for the next ten minutes, think about your power set and what your most effective combo is, taking into account cooldowns, how you’re built, and your finisher’s extra two points of superhero damage. No [Environmental Combos] unless you can create them yourself.”

The other students started thinking, but I raised my hand. “Can I have a paper and pen?”

“Why?”

“I have fifteen different powers equipped, and I won’t be able to stay organized without it.”

“One of those weird Magical Girl signatures, huh? Sure. Go for it. Nine minutes!”

1. Stellar Ray > Quick-Time Change > Speed Hacker > Bit-Part Barrage

That wasn’t bad, but I felt like I’d left a lot on the table. The middle felt weak with a double-utility power streak.

2. Spotlight Strike > Quick-Time Change > Ride the Lightning > NOPE

3. Ride the Lightning > Quick-Time Change > Check the Script > Bit-Part Barrage

That was probably my strongest until I shuffled some powers around. This would take some real work. A thought hit me; what if I ran that combo backward?

4. BPB > CTS > QTC > RTL

Assuming only one hit, that was stronger, but I’d have to aim pretty badly to miss a full [Bit-Part Barrage]. It’d probably win out in an [Environmental Combo] zone set up for lightning. I was still wasting parts of the combo with utilities, though.

I’d come up with three more by the time Doctor Tennyson stopped us. “Now, we’ll introduce ourselves by hero name, the Style we’re comboing off, and how much potential damage we do.

The other Magical Girl was Candi Crush. I didn’t see it; she didn’t seem all the strong. There was no way she was really a Badass-based Magical Girl either, but she claimed she could get a respectable seven points out of her combo spread across all four moves.

I had her beat at eight or so, though it was 100% carried by [Bit-Part Barrage], so accuracy could hurt.

Flare shocked me at first with a Grit-based combo that somehow did twelve points of damage. When I called bullshit, he grinned. “I’ve been playing with combos for years. This stuff is new, but with my [Burn Baby Burn] power, I can reduce one power’s damage to double a different one. You just only let me combo off once when we fought before.”

Waterspout, the other Elementalist in the group, could only get five points of damage. He shrugged. “I fight more like a Tank, but I’m technically an Elementalist.”

“We’ve got an arrangement with the System to unlock this power early, so be ready for it.

Fursona hopped over to me. “Chaining is so easy. I just use powers from the same style over and over.”

I groaned. “Of course yours is super-easy. Weaving is all up-front work and then executing it in a fight. I’ll need to rebuild all my builds.“

◄▼►

8 - All My Builds

<Hey Tele-Portal, Fursona and I want to use your training room - Understudy 3:15>

I stared at the phone, one arm around Bee’s waist, as we sat on the green room couch. It’d been an hour since my text, and while the snuggling was nice, I wanted that phone call. I reached for the phone, and Bianca laughed and grabbed my hand. “She’s probably fighting a gigantic buffalo or something. Come on. Let’s go do something.”

“Like what? It’s freezing outside.”

As Bianca pulled me to my feet, the phone buzzed.

<Elevator - Tele-Portal 4:21>

“Shit. She’s here,” I said. Bianca sprinted for the bathroom to change into her fursuit, and I started a transformation sequence. It took far too long, but eventually, I’d finished. I tapped the button to let Tele-Portal onto the elevator, cleared a spot on the chaise lounge—then thought better of it and found an armchair instead—and waited.

We didn’t need to wait long. The elevator dinged, and Tele-Portal stepped out. She wasn’t alone, but I barely noticed her lawyer. The superheroine looked terrible. One arm was torn off her super suit, her portal cannon had black burn marks on part of it, and her hair was a mess under her speedskater’s helmet. But her eyes caught my…eyes…right away. Her glare told me she was pissed, sure, but the bags under her eyes scared me more than that. I pointed at the armchair, then at the lounge. “Your choice.”

“Thanks.” The major leaguer took off her stilts, set the portal cannon down, and dropped onto the chaise lounge. She cleared her throat. “What the hell, Understudy?”

“I’m sorry, but what?” I asked.

“I think you know. Your bullshit with your nemesis drags The Triad onto your campus, then the second we turn around to deal with Fanfic, you’re out there wrecking stuff again! Then, the second you beat him, you run off to your next class. Okay. Fine. That one’s fair, but fuck! The least you could do is text to schedule another Patrol. I’ve been busy, but holy shit, Understudy.”

Mr. Braningham, the lawyer, cleared his throat before she could keep going. “Tele-Portal, please allow me to explain.”

“Sure, Edgar, go for it. You’re better at this than me.”

“What my client is trying to say is that, while she’s been busy, the expectation was that you’d patrol once a month with her. Now, I believe it’s reasonable to have missed November. Tele-Portal couldn’t have Patrolled then if she’d wanted to. However, you missed December. As far as my client is concerned, until you make that up, she has no interest in helping you train.”

“Damn right,” Tele-Portal said from the chaise lounge. She yawned.

Fursona walked through the door, and Tele-Portal jumped to her feet, blinking and reaching for the cannon. “Easy, easy, just the Marsupial of Justice,” Fursona said, holding up her paws.

Tele-Portal relaxed. Then she yawned again, and before I could get another word in, she’d fallen asleep on the chaise lounge. I laughed. “Sorry, Fursona. She’s got your favorite spot.”

“That’s fine. I’ll stand.” Fursona pointed at Tele-Portal. “She’s working herself ragged, huh?”

“Yes, quite so.” Mr. Braningham frowned. “Unfortunately, some smaller-time villains have decided that a Man vs. Nature is the perfect time to push their luck, and the city’s heroes have been working overtime for weeks. Your message reached her during an ambush. A few minor leaguers set a trap for the Triad. They took over the gate and pinned them between the turbo-buffalo herd and the wall. It got ugly, but luckily, she’s Tele-Portal. The Triad left, Golden Goose was contacted, and the minor league villains are… dealt with.”

I gulped. ‘Dealt with’ meant a totally different thing when it came to Golden Goose. Plus, my internship was almost certainly sunk. I’d just had so much going on, and it’d fallen through the cracks. “She didn’t have to come here. She could have just texted and said the internship was off.”

“It’s not off.” Mr. Braningham opened his briefcase. “However, when she contacted me immediately after escaping, I took the liberty of putting together a contract. We were woefully lacking one before, and I blame myself for that.”

He pulled out a stack of papers. “This document states that you’ll make up the December Patrol by the end of January, as well as that you’ll participate in monthly Patrols. In exchange, your internship will continue, and you’ll gain access to the Triad’s Training Room at Tele-Portal’s discretion. Right now, that means February.”

I looked over the contract as Fursona stared over my shoulder. She nodded, and I reached for a pen. “I wish we had Jennifer and Robert right about now.”

“Yeah.”

But we didn’t have the pre-law Extras. I clicked the pen and signed my name in all the necessary spots.

“Wonderful. Now, your first Patrol is this Saturday, from 9:00 to 2:00. It’s long, but crucially, Tele-Portal will have had an entire day off to recover. That’s important, as this time, you’re looking for an ongoing Episode, not just ‘schmoozing,’ as Tele-Portal might say. Now, as much as my client needs her sleep, she needs to get back to The Triad’s base more, and I need to get home.”

◄▼►

The moment the elevator door closed, Fursona squealed. “This is so exciting!”

I stared at her. “Calm down. It’s not a win. We’re not getting into that training room for at least a month—and it could be a lot longer.”

“It is absolutely a win. We’re not in a rush to get training. We both have classes, and you have a public relations campaign to win. Plus, we can hunt villains off-campus on the weekends. In some ways, your ban’s a blessing, not a curse.”

“How so?” It didn’t feel like a blessing to me. Not. At. All.

“Well, as long as you’re on campus, you can focus on school, and when you’re being a superhero, you’ll be off-campus. My dad’s always going on about a healthy work/life balance, which is really funny coming from him, but…I don’t know, it could be good.”

“It might be,” I hedged. “I need to work on my builds before Friday’s practicum. I went through some combos on paper in class, but I think I messed stuff up because [Quick-Time Change] and [Bit-Part Barrage] are both Flamboyance.”

“I’m so glad I only have one build to deal with,” Fursona said. “I’ll go get some dinner. We can eat in tonight.”

“Thanks!” I gave Fursona a quick hug after checking for glitter bombs, then got to work while she changed out of her fursuit.

My Magical Girl Understudy build needed a lot of work. [Quick-Time Change] was the first major addition. A speedy switch between costumes took away a lot of the risk of transforming, even if I only got one use per Act. It also opened up cross-Costume combos.

Equipping it also opened up a power I’d previously thought was a trap. [I-Frame Transform] was a Grit power I’d gotten last semester. It was supposed to make me invincible for a couple of seconds after transforming, but it took so long to change that I couldn’t use it to avoid damage the way it was meant to. [Quick-Time Change] fixed that—plus, it was possible that triggered powers worked with[Power-Weaving]. If it did, I had a Flamboyance-to-Grit link between costumes now.

I was, of course, assuming a lot. Like that they wouldn’t have some way to simulate [Power-Weaving] and that we’d actually gain it as a power. But if we did, I’d get a huge power spike compared to my little league competition—and I could use it. Vigilant Vow was running Shorts. A lot of Shorts.

[Quick-Time Change] only got that one use, so I couldn’t rely on it as a combo piece. I needed a Badass or Cunning power with some kick, or even better, another power slot like the minor leaguers, but there just weren’t enough slots for Understudy to run combos by itself right now. I ended up with a generalist build that could almost do everything I wanted it to.

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

[HP 8/8]

[Styles and Skills]

►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence

►Badass (46)

►Cunning (48)

►Drama (41)

►  Stellar Ray 1

► Bit-Part Barrage 1

►Flamboyance (14)

►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire

►Stored Costumes: (Rainy Day, Copy Cat)

►Quick-Time Change

►Starwave Sail 1

►Grit (16)

►I-Frame Transform 1

Lab Assistant Panic had started as a grab-bag of Professor Panic’s powers, but with [Science has Rules?] and [TA-1LZ Size Increase], it finally had an identity as a lunatic engineer working on her attack bot!

It turned out that the answer to [Science has Rules?] was ‘Yes.’ As I’d seen in the series finale, any changes to Tails while she was TA-1LZ stayed when she turned back, but the new parts wouldn’t remain. So if when ripped out some wiring to attach a new weapon or tool, she’d be missing stuffing on the other side, and she wouldn’t keep the improvised weapon for long. She also wasn’t very big; she’d been able to carry a Gatling taser during the finale couldn’t have fit much else.

The [TA-1LZ Size Increase] fixed that limitation. Now, with enough junk and spare parts, I could ‘engineer’ up all sorts of cool TA-1LZ add-ons—at least temporarily. It also gave hope for more TA-1LZ powers in the future; permanent upgrades beat [Science Has Rules?] every time.

[Costume - Lab Assistant Panic]

[HP 8/8]

[Styles and Skills]

►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence

►Badass

►Cunning

► Speed-Hacker 0

► Check the Script 1

►Drama

►  Science has Rules? 0

►Flamboyance

►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire 1

►Stored Costumes: (Understudy)

►Maniacal Reveal 0

►Grit

► TA-1LZ Size Boost 0

[Thunderhead] was the stand-out new move for Magical Girl Rainy Day, but it once again left me frustrated with my lack of Cunning and Badass skills. I set up the tween terror’s build to support a single combo: [Spotlight Strike] into [Check the Script] into [Thunderhead], with [Ride the Lightning] as its finisher.

I hated using [Check the Script] as a combo-enabler. Something about it felt cheap, and for the first time, I realized just how limiting six power slots—five, once [Adaptive Armoire] took up a spot—really was. It wasn’t enough to have well-rounded builds, and I couldn’t maintain the utility I wanted and run viable combos for Friday’s practicum. It was so frustrating; there had to be a workaround somehow.

[Costume - Magical Girl Rainy Day]

[HP 8/8]

[Styles and Skills]

►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence

►Badass

►Cunning

► Check the Script 1

►Drama

► Thunderhead 0

►Flamboyance

►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire 1

►Stored Costumes: (Understudy)

►Starwave Sail 1

►Ride the Lightning 0

► Spotlight Strike

►Grit

Finally, I had Copy Cat. Fursona’s Costume was practically perfect the way it was, but I had a power I wanted to experiment with, and the Bruiser Costume didn’t look like it was designed for combos. At least, not the [Power-Weaving] kind. It had the best power synergy out of my builds right now, though with a few useful Cunning powers, any of the others would beat it easily.

I took out [Spotlight Strike] in favor of [Doom Ball], imagining leaping onto an enemy, kicking and scratching the shit out of them, and then getting away with [Hometown Heroine]. It’d be a solid bruiser. At least, I hoped so. I’d never been a bruiser before.

[Costume - Copy Cat]

[HP 8/8]

[Styles and Skills]

►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence

►Badass

►  Leaping Leopards 0

►  Doom Ball 0

►Cunning

►Drama

►  Cat Scratch Fever 0

►  Hometown Heroine 1

►Flamboyance

►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire 1

►Stored Costumes: (Understudy)

►Grit

► Fursonal Furcefield 0

I left Lab Assistant Panic behind. Tele-Portal wanted firepower, and for the first time in my career, I felt like I had enough of that. Rainy Day and Costume-switching would carry me through the first day of Combat Style Practicum.

◄▼►