48 - Up the Waterspout

“…went up the spout again!” I popped into my Rainy Day costume and nodded at the ceiling. “Ready!”

[Rejuvenation Activated: Hit Points 5/7]

In the few seconds before the try-out started, as the pillars and boxes started shimmering from holographic overlays and the room turned into a mock-up of Mission Control, I devised a plan. I had a massive advantage over other would-be interns; I’d seen ‘Missile Man and the Helmettes Take Over Missile Control.’ Twice. In the last year.

And I thought I had a way to beat the scenario in the first two minutes—well before the five-minute timer where Golden Goose intervened.

Missile Man would be in the Administrator’s office. The Genius spent most of his time there, and Stella-Lunar couldn’t get there because of his minions and her move-set. She’d been running Moon Form and didn’t have her Star Form mobility for the first three minutes of the Episode until her switch cycle happened. I didn’t have that limitation. And there wasn’t any danger to me or the launch techs. I knew Missile Man had given orders not to harm any Extras, and it was a simulation anyways.

I could already see the training room’s layout. The Administrator’s office was on the third floor; I looked to be starting next to the rocket itself, right where Stella had.

The set finished projecting, a half-dozen mooks with guns and opaque fishbowl helmets appeared in front of me, and Tele-Portal’s voice filled the training room. “Begin!”

“Hey, freeze!”

“Magical Girl sighted! Boss, it’s not Stella!”

“Hands up, or we’ll shoot!”

The digital henchmen expected Steall-Lunar, not a pre-teen. Their guns wavered for a moment. Clearly, they weren’t interested in shooting a kid. I grinned and activated [Light as Vapor]. Then, as I took off, I started counting. If they were the standard-issue henches from the second Power Wars, I’d have about three seconds before one of them opened fire.

One. A henchman dashed toward me and jumped; I felt her fingers graze my boot, but I was too high for her to grasp. Instead, the bump spun me in a spiral I struggled to slow.

Two. The first shot rang out. I winced. I’d been wrong about the henches’ reaction time. Two other henches started screaming at the trigger-happy one.

Three. Another gunman opened fire. Bullets pounded into me. The first triggered [Cloudy Disposition], but the second hit, shoving my lighter-than-air body into the main building’s wall. I screamed—superhero damage or not, bullets hurt! Then I punched the glass and threw myself inside, deactivating [Light as Vapor].

[HP 4/7]

[Stood Your Ground! +1 Grit Point Pending]

[Unique Plan! +1 Cunning Point Pending]

[Dramatic Escape! +1 Drama Point Pending]

[System Warning: 50% reduction in Style Points for the first monthly training exercise]

“Huh,” I said to myself as I picked myself up off the floor and poked at the red welt in my thigh where I’d been shot. Did training come with Style Point reductions? Interesting. I could still earn them, though, just not as fast. I’d have to figure out a way to train properly with Fursona.

I’d have to figure out a lot of things.

I poked my head out the window and immediately came under fire. The mooks had split up. Three kept firing at the window while three others—including Trigger-Happy—rushed the building. And there were probably more inside. If they had comms, and those helmets almost certainly did, they’d spread all over the building. [Ride the Lightning] needed a big priority target, or maybe a bunch of clumped ones. I transformed back to Magical Girl Understudy and opened the door.

[Inkling]. Duck.

A mook with an electric baton swung at me. I ducked under it, feeling it crackle and spark inches above my head. “You’re in my limelight!” I shouted as I used [Spotlight Strike]. Then I punched her right in the center of her silver body armor. The armor cracked and caved in, pushing into her sternum. She screamed and crashed to the carpet. One down.

[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point Pending]

[Stylish Strike! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

Two more henches charged me with batons. “[Stellar Ray]!” punched one in the fishbowl, but the other swung at me before I could stop her. We traded blows for a moment before I got a [Spotlight Strike] off and dropped her too.

[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point Pending]

[Stylish Strike! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

[HP 3/7]

Alright. This wasn’t working. If I fought every henchman I came across, I’d never get to Missile Man before Golden Goose arrived and the spotlight and drones shifted to her, and the best way to impress Tele-Portal was to make it to Missile Man in…the next two minutes.

Shit.

I started running. I definitely didn’t have time to fight the gun-wielding mooks beginning to pour into the hallway. Their gunshots were deafening—their helmets probably reduced the noise, so they didn’t care, those jerks.

Or maybe they were just projections and didn’t care. Right. Training simulation.

I avoided their shots and sprinted up the stairs toward the Administrator’s office. If I remembered correctly, it was on the fifth floor facing the massive Saturn rocket just finishing fueling outside. Missile Man would be there, watching the rocket take off.

I crashed through the doors to the fifth floor. A long hall stretched in front of me; at the far end stood a trio of mooks. There wasn’t any cover, and I didn’t have time for anything fancy. I’d have to close the gap somehow. So I started running as they opened fire.

[HP 2/7]

The first bullet hit me in the stomach, leaving a welt through the superhero damage, but I kept going. My wand pointed at the first gunman. “[Stellar Ray]!” The blue light beam blasted into her, knocking her to the floor. She held up her hands and dropped the gun.

[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point Pending]

The mook holding a shock baton charged me. We’d meet halfway, so just before we hit, I used [Flickerform] with [Ride the Lightning]. We hit each other at the same time. I got zapped, but she got knocked cold by my lightning tendrils.

[Stylish Switch! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

[Electric Lightshow! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

Then it was just the last henchman. Another gunman. More bullets slammed into the walls around me as I charged. Another hit me.

[HP 1/7]

Then, just before I got to the henchman, a booming voice rang out over the speakers. “Attention, evildoers! Your goose is cooked, and mine’s golden! Now, throw down those guns and surrender, or you’ll be on my highlight reel—and in the hospital watching it!”

The holograms over the training course flickered, then stopped, and I groaned. With Golden Goose on the battlefield, the simulation was over. Which meant I’d failed. Again.

Sure enough, Tele-Portal joined me on the training ground floor, popping in through a green portal. “Why did you rush Missile Man?” She asked, yawning.

“I’d seen the Episode. I knew the henchmen were expecting a grounded Stella-Lunar. I figured I could skip some of the mooks and get to Missile Man quickly. He’s a Genius, not a bruiser, and in the Administrator’s office, I could beat him since he couldn’t use his…well…missiles.”

“But why take the risk?” The major league support heroine’s face wasn’t giving me any hints. Was she pissed, thrilled, or confused?”

“Because Missile Man needed to be—“ I stopped. She wasn’t asking about the scenario. She wanted to know why I thought it’d look good as a try-out. “I figured with your powers, you were used to thinking outside the box. Stella’s solution was to hole up and fight mooks until Golden Goose won the fight. But I wanted to make a splash and try out my Rainy Day powers.”

“Good answer. We’ll be in touch. Here’s my card.” Teleportal handed me a business card with an incredibly-cute anime version of herself giving a thumbs-up while holding the giant cannon. Then she opened a portal, which we stepped through.

[Episode Finished!]

[Episode: You’re Super-Suited For This Job! - PG]

[Penalties: 2x Rating Warnings - No Penalty]

[Episode Finished! +5 of each Style Point]

[Winner Winner! +2 of each Style Point]

[Role Focus: Flamboyance > Cunning - Goal Partially Met! +10 Flamboyance Points]

[Alias - Understudy] [Archetype - Magical Girl] [Community Rank - 449/523]

[HP 1/7]

[Styles and Skills]

►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence

►Badass (lvl 0; 45)

►Cunning (lvl 2; 36)

► Inkling 1

►Drama (lvl 3; 47)

►  Stellar Ray 1

►Flamboyance (lvl 3; 27)

►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire

►Stored Costumes: (Rainy Day)

►Flickerform 1

►Spotlight Strike 1

►Grit (lvl 1; 11)

► Rejuvenation 1

I was so close! So close to getting my first Badass power and another Drama one too. I’d never had a Badass power before; [Spotlight Strike] almost filled the role, but not quite. I needed to sit down and focus on a build.

Something bothered me, though…

“How are you going to get in touch with me?” I asked Tele-Portal. “I don’t have a card to give out.”

“Oh, I’ll talk to Cathy. Hey, Cathy, I’m gonna email you a couple of names. Can you get me their contact info later?” Tele-Portal asked Doctor Jackson.

“Sure.”

“Great. See, Understudy? Easy enough. Now, in full confidence, I’m going to be emailing you. You got the third-least henchman take-downs, but you were also the hero that got closest to Missile Man. I like that initiative, even if that wasn’t the objective. I’ll be seeing you.”

“Holy shit,” I said as Fursona bounded up to me. “Holy shit.”

“You okay?” Fursona asked.

“Yeah.” I couldn’t breathe; every time I tried, they came in useless, shallow waves that wouldn’t fill my lungs. Eventually, I got enough air to continue. “I think I just got a Tele-Portal internship. What do I do?”

Fursona hopped up and down and cheered. “Good job, Understudy! Now, back on my team, we always trained hard and then dropped the training off just before a big game. I’ll see if I can put a workout program for you, and we can start tomorrow. We’ll definitely need to hit the gym, running, and stuff. I feel a lot slower as a superhero since I stopped working out as a regular person.”

The job fair had ended while I fought the henchmen. Minor league heroes and villains packed up their booths and tables, while 3V1L’s swarm of henchmen had collapsed the tent. Several TUSSA heroes and one or two SSS villains with morals picked up stray pamphlets and snack wrappers. I was too dazed to care about what was inside 3V1L’s tent or to help with the clean-up. I just let Fursona guide me toward the tunnel back home. I’d…won. Or at least I thought I had. And god had I needed the win!

It was only four in the afternoon when I stepped out of the elevator, transformed into my dirty jeans and sweater, and collapsed on my bed. I thought about texting Peter for a second, and my mood almost slipped.

Almost.

But I was too tired to think about him. The adrenaline had burned off, and I felt like I hadn’t slept in days. I was too tired to think about classes, how tough superheroing was in Tokyexico, or even how excited I was to get an internship—maybe. I fell asleep before I could even brush my teeth or change into my nightie—the funky smell from my bedding be damned!

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