43 - Roll the Skills!

[50 Flamboyance Credits Used. Rolling Skill!]

[50 Grit Credits Used. Rolling Skill!]

The letters spun as I ran and Fursona hopped toward the door. The back of my neck prickled with [Inkling’s]aftereffects, even though we were between Acts. I was torn between staying and hunting internships and leaving, but the line for Tele-Portal was still brutal and we’d talked to everyone else I cared about. Besides, Lady Lockless was out there somewhere.

As we pushed through the unlocked front door into the noon sun, the system’s letters slowed, then stopped, forming two new powers.

[New Skill! Flickerform 1! Flicker to another Costume momentarily, using a power before shifting back. Does not trigger triggered powers. 2/Act]

[New Skill! I-Frame Transform 1! A moment of invulnerability with each completed transformation. 2/Act]

Huh. [Flickerform] looked neat. I could see it being really powerful, especially if I could store more than one Costume. I could see flickering over for a [Speed Hack] and then to another for a big follow-up attack on a weakened Genius or using [Cloudy Disposition] to survive a hit while…not being a pre-teen again. At least not for very long. And even if I didn’t get another rank of it, it’d keep scaling with my other powers.

I wasn’t so sure about [I-Frame Transform]. Usually, I didn’t switch Costumes while I fought. I’d change if I got a lull, but not when Peter’s FEAR armor was in my face or when I was fighting Jungle Jim. I didn’t see how two moments during an Act where I couldn’t take damage outcompeted [Rejuvenation].

I equipped [Flickerform] in place of [Starwave Sail]. Losing the mobility hurt, but Fursona had plenty of speed for our team. Besides, maybe I could [Flickerform] up a [Light as Vapor] from the Rainy Day costume. That had to be The Cloud’s flight power. I-Frame Transform needed some thinking, so I dumped it in [Skill Storage]. I’d refine my build later, back in my secret base, when I had time to think about it properly.

[Alias - Understudy] [Archetype - Magical Girl] [Community Rank - 473/523]

[HP 7/7]

[Styles and Skills]

►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence

►Badass (lvl 0; 36)

►Cunning (lvl 2; 22)

► Inkling 1

►Drama (lvl 3; 31)

►  Stellar Ray 1

►Flamboyance (lvl 4; 1) (Skill Roll? Yes/No)

►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire

►Stored Costumes: (Rainy Day)

►Flickerform 1

►Spotlight Strike 1

►Grit (lvl 2; 0) (Skill Roll? Yes/No)

► Rejuvenation 1

We hurried away from the gym, but the System message starting Act Two popped up before we could leave.

[You’re Super-Suited for This Job!: Act Two Beginning]

We jogged toward Walnut Tower. Twenty years ago, someone running around a college campus in a frilly pink-and-blue dress with a kangaroo furry would have drawn eyes or a crowd. But instead, people saw a pair of superheroes running, took one look at my determined face and Fursona’s plastic eyes, and started going the other way.

“So, we’re looking for…what, exactly?” Fursona asked.

“Well, if it’s Lady Lockless, she doesn’t have much combat power. If we see henchmen running around, we’ll follow them. I dunno how we’ll recognize that they’re henches, though. Helmets, I guess?”

We looked everywhere, from Walnut Tower to the SUB and then to Ash Hall. But we couldn’t find anything anywhere. No one was running around in a mask or helmet. Then I got an [Inkling].

The warehouses.

The warehouses sat past Ash Hall, right up against the wall. I’d seen them on the drive in, but they hadn’t caught my eye; a few broad, long buildings with ‘Tokyexico University Staff Only’ signs outside of them and locked gates. But right now, they were the most interesting thing on campus.

I squeezed past the gate. Fursona bounded over it a second later. Four white vans—suspiciously similar to the one ‘S’ had rammed me with—sat outside one of the buildings. And a moment later, we saw a figure in a dark-red costume and spiked helmet. “What the [Beep],” the red-costumed man said.

Then he lifted a walkie-talkie to his helmet. “Boss, you got two heroes out here! Do it now! Make it snappy!” He dropped the radio and pulled out a nightstick.

Alright! I choked back a cheer. Now we’d gotten somewhere!

[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point Pending]

The henchman—he had to be a hench—took a swing with the club. I ducked, and it whooshed over my head.

“[Spotlight Strike]!” My fist lashed out before he could even recover to defend. It caught him in the chest, and he went down. Hard.

[Stylish Strike! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

“Alright, alright! She forced me,” the henchman said, flopping to the ground and dropping the club before I could hit him again. “I surrender.”

Shit. Every henchman was going to do that, weren’t they? I pointed at him. “Stay down. Wait for the police, or I’ll be back.” Then I dashed toward a door hanging just slightly open. As I pulled it open, I saw a tiny pink flower and an open padlock on the ground outside it.

“That’s a [Calling Card],” I said. “I’ve never had a villain use one before. Be careful in there. If Lockless is here, the [Calling Card] will make her team faster or stronger. Don’t fight near—“

Wham!

[HP 6/7]

“God [Beep] it!” I'd have a broken nose if it hadn’t been for superhero damage. As it was, it stung, but not as much as the censor warning that popped up right after.

[Rating Warning #1! Episode Rating - PG! Censor in Effect]

[Gritty Recovery! +1 Grit Point Pending]

Fursona bounded through the door and kicked the man in the stomach with both feet. He crashed into a wall and blinked once, then shut his eyes and slid to the ground. But before they could adjust, another pulled something from her jacket.

I blinked. “Is that a…”

Pop! Pop pop pop pop!

A small window shattered as her gun went off. Paint splattered against Fursona’s plush, and Tails scurried under a pallet, hissing and spitting. The paintball gun popped and shot as fast as the henchwoman could pull the trigger, covering Fursona’s face with yellow and pink paint. They hopped toward the gunwoman, but a pair of henches with clubs attacked before they could get there.

Fursona swung and kicked, then wiped the paint below their plastic eyes. When the kangaroo didn’t even try to dodge a club, I realized they couldn’t see. The paintballer had blinded them! It was up to me!

With Fursona blind, my first goal was to keep them safe. I swooshed my wand, aiming it at the paintballer, and yelled, “[Stellar Ray]!” The light beam punched her in the shoulder, and she dropped the paintball gun. It shot her in the leg a few times, and she flopped. She was still a threat, but not for a few seconds. I turned my gaze to the two henchmen beating up Fursona.

[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point Pending]

As long as the paintballer stayed down, I didn’t mind her still being conscious.

Fursona was giving as good as they got. One of their sneakers caught a henchman in the face, knocking him back and rattling his head in his helmet. The other henchman swung his club around, trying to slam it into the furry hero’s face.

I activated [Flickerform] with [Ride the Lightning]. For a moment, my vision dropped almost a foot. Then my body jerked toward the ceiling as a blue-yellow lightning bolt sliced into the warehouse floor below me. The minion crawled backward, but an electric tendril reached out and touched him. The burst of energy threw him toward a shelf, which shook with the impact. My lightning stopped. I fell to the ground, all four feet eight inches of me—I remembered how tall I’d been in sixth grade.

A moment later, I was back in my regular Costume.

[Stylish Switch! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

[Electric Lightshow! +1 Flamboyance Point Pending]

[Dramatic Assist!] +1 Drama Point Pending]

“I’m…I’m good! I’m okay!” Fursona sounded like they were gritting their teeth. They coughed into their modulator and picked themselves up, pawing at their eyes. “The [Beep] got me in the face. Rude!”

I checked on the henchman I’d fried. He had a pulse, and his breathing seemed fine, but I stayed there for a moment to make sure. Only then did I blow out a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding. I’d never fought minions or henchmen before, and I wasn’t sure how tough they were. But…wouldn’t the Style System have told me if I’d killed him? He’d gotten a little scorched, but the henchman’s helmet must’ve given him a superhero damage point or something.

A second later, his eyes opened. “Holy [Beep], chick! Tone it down, alright? She forced us!”

I slapped my forehead and then rubbed my eyes. Seriously? They’d trained all these henchmen to say that? “Okay, sit your butts down, and don’t move. You’ve surrendered, and you were ‘being forced,’ so that should get you out of legal trouble. Just promise me you’ll stop working with evil and villainy?”

They nodded their heads, except the last one, who was busy staring into Fursona’s now-pink-and-yellow plastic eyes. Her eyes were wide, and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the Justice-Roo long enough to pay attention to me. She couldn’t tear her body away from my sidekick either; the kangaroo gripped her outfit and held her off the floor in one hand. I shook my head. “Put her down, Fursona. She’s no threat to you anymore.”

“Your eyes aren’t full of paint!” Fursona complained. They dropped the woman, who crumpled on the floor. “Hey, before we go, we could probably figure out Lockless’s plan from them.”

“Won’t work,” the woman muttered. “Per the Involuntary Supervillain-Assistant Amnesty Clause, subsection four, paragraph eight, ‘unwilling henchmen, mooks, and minions are protected from self-incrimination. This includes unmasking, interrogation, searches for anything but weapons (which we’ve already dropped), and requests/orders to assist heroes.’ We’re untouchable since we didn’t do this of our own free will.”

Ugh. Law students!

Fursona rolled their eyes. “Why would anyonebecome a minion?”

“Have you seen the price of college these days?” A mook asked.

“Oh. Right.”

I explored the room. Crates and boxes lined the shelves, and though some shelves had been cleared, it almost felt random. The remnants told what their neighbors had been; a box of dried food here, a crate full of old textbooks there—at least those had value—and once, a shrink-wrapped pallet of smaller boxes labeled ‘Free Condoms: Shield Wall says, “Protect Yourself!”’ with a picture of a smarmy-looking, winking superhero on them.

I blushed. The henchmen had priorities, it seemed.

“Hey, Understudy, check this out!”

I hurried over. Maybe it’d be a hint or a clue, and we’d be able to track down Lockless, beat her, and get back to the arena before the job fair ended.

Or maybe it’d be simpler than that.

Another [Calling Card] sat on the ground next to a note written in a gorgeous flowing script.

Dearest Friends in the TUSSA,

My beloved adversaries and foes, rivals, and especially the accursedly-skillful Sara-N-Dipity; if you’ve found this casually-dropped missive, know that while my heart yearns to be here with my beloved minions, I must attend a much more pressing engagement. If you hurry, you may yet meet me at the Speech and Debate Department in the Beaumont Building.

I look forward to your presence,

Lady Lockless, The Mistress of the Master Lock

Fursona glanced at me. “What’s in the Speech and Debate department?”

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