39 - The Agent

This is the first of three chapters today to keep ahead of Royal Road. Enjoy.

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Bianca flashed a smile as I let her push me onto the couch. “Ever kissed a girl?”

“No.”I smiled back, heart thumping. “No.” It was happening, but what would it be like? Was she going to take control, or would I need to?

Her lips touched mine, and my brain stopped. She moved them slightly, kissing the corner of my mouth, then my chin. They were so soft—softer than Peter’s, the only other person I’d kissed. When she pulled away momentarily, I tasted something lemony on my lips that hadn’t been there before.

I wanted more.

I tried to sit up, but Bee pushed me back down. She leaned over me for another kiss and—

“Hey, Underoos, you in there?” Gourmet asked. “Class is starting.”

I shook the fantasy away, face hot and flushed. The last two weeks had been rough. I’d been a theater kid, so I’d changed costumes with the other girls in school, and I’d noticed some other actresses were gorgeous. Didn’t everyone do that?

Everyone did that, right?

Anyways, everyone did that. So it wasn’t a big deal. It was a lot like checking out Punch and Grapple. Even if I was still dating Peter, I couldn’t help but notice both were ripped. I bet they lifted with Avan or something. Or maybe with Milo, but I doubted it.

But Bianca felt different than all that.

I headed in and made myself comfortable in a black La-Z Boy before that train of thought could leave the station.

“Today’s lesson is on Extras and whether they should be involved in Episodes. And if they are involved, how to do so safely and respectfully. We’ll be focused on The Agent today,” Doctor Jackson sniffed, looking down her nose and narrowing her eyes. “The Agent, for those who don’t know, has two unique powers. One of them lets heroes and villains sign their Signature Skills over for his second power. The second allows him to assign those powers to volunteer Extras temporarily.”

I replaced my stupid-looking fantasizing grin with an eager one. The Agent Episodes were always chaotic as hell and so much fun to watch.

“This one is from the Second Power Wars, the first point The Agent showed up in Episodes. In it, he’s up against Getaway Driver, whose plan revolves around a turbo-powered bus. We’ll jump right into the action.”

The TV flicked on, and the Kill Bus took off. Getaway Driver had covered the whole thing with spikes for this one, and as we watched, it backed out of the side of a bank. Unlike that ancient superhero flick, it didn’t try to blend in with other buses. It took off down the street, accelerating with a roar.

The screen flicked to a brown-haired man in a three-piece suit ambling down a residential street. He opened a picket fence, knocked on the door, and waited. A middle-aged woman opened it. She blinked. “We don’t accept traveling salesmen. I didn’t know they still did that.”

“I’m not a salesman. How would you like to be…a Hero!?”

“Y-y-you’re…the…” The woman began, eyes wide.

“The Agent, yes. Listen, people’s lives are at risk, and there’s a 20% royalty in it for you. So, what do you say?”

“My son’ll never let me live it down if I say no. I’m in.”

“Wonderful. Now, fill out these forms. Sign here, here, and initial here, here, and here. This is a liability waiver. Sign here.” The Style System popped up next to the woman, rolling until it stopped. “Wonderful. Whey Tee Lif’s power. So, what I need you to do is…”

Doctor Jackson paused it and fast-forwarded while talking. “The Agent asks Sarah here to stop the bus since Whey Tee Lif could have handled that job. Then he knocks on the next door and recruits another Extra as a Temp Hero. Let’s watch Sarah handle the bus.”

Sarah got flattened by the bus.

“She lived. But she was in and out of Los Tacoma Hospital for the next year. The Agent covered all her bills, put her kids through college, and ensured she didn’t have to work. But more importantly, he changed his Code of Ethics after what happened to Sarah. So, as we break into teams for the day, whose fault was Sarah’s injury? Hers? The Agent’s? Or Getaway Driver’s? I had one team two years ago argue that it was Whey Tee Lif’s fault. Once you assign responsibility, discuss how your codes can prevent this from happening to you.”

We circled the chairs and got ready to discuss.

“Alright, on three, say who you think is to blame,” Theseus said. “One…two…three! Sarah!

“The Agent!”

“The Agent!”

“Sarah!”

I looked around, but the battle lines were drawn. Fursona and Gourmet high-fived while I glared at Theseus. We both agreed it was Sarah’s fault she’d been hurt. So, like it or not, we were both on the same side.

For now.

Gourmet cleared her throat. “Guys, The Agent is responsible here. He knew what Sarah was getting into. He could have done what he started to do later; swarm tactics with dozens of Temp Heroes.”

“Why do you think he started doing that?” I asked.

“Yeah, Understudy’s right on this one,” Theseus said. “The Agent had a liability form. He was legally protected from responsibility. And he waited for her to read it. She chose not to. Besides, this was the first time The Agent hurt a Temp this badly. He had no way of knowing what could happen.”

“Nah,” Fursona said. “New Power Boldness Syndrome was well-understood by the Second Power War. The ilneats even said it’d happen, and it kicked off the first war.”

“Aren’t you a newbie hero?” I asked, annoyed. “How do you know so much about superpowered stuff?”

“I did research after I found the Fursona suit,” they said smugly.

“Okay, back on topic. We all agree that it’s Sarah’s fault, right?” Theseus asked.

“What! No!”

“Oh, come on!”

“Holy shit, guys, we’ve gotta agree on something here!”

Code of Conduct: October 1

• We will not endanger harm threatenendanger civilians Extras needlessly

◦ When Extras must be involved, every effort must be taken to make them aware of danger they must be clearly informed of danger

◦ What about Henchmen?

▪ WHO CARES ABOUT HENCHMEN?

▪ I care about henchmen!

• Destruction of non-government residential non-corporate/non-government property is to be kept to a minimum not necessary not okay

◦ I can’t agree to this, guys. I need to eat!

▪ Bring your own snacks. I bring my own! And quit making fun of me!

▪ You ate a wrestling singlet!

• Medical Extras are off limits. Healing heroes should only be targeted if involved in the fighting are a low priority target are not a target unless they directly engage

• Property damage must have a point be for a purpose be directly related to the Episode’s goals

◄▼►

“DuPont! Come on in, come on in!” Rocko yelled. “Find a seat, find a bottle, and let’s get talking!”

I held The Cloud’s cape scrap in one hand and reached for bottled water with the other. As soon as I sat down, Rocko was up in my grill. “What happened, Annie? You get clobbered by Theseus and Gourmet, and since they both outrank you, the studio only gets 40% of the cut. And then a G Episode? A G? And one with Ed’shero?”

They started crying. I struggled not to roll my eyes, though. Ilneats didn’t cry. Rocko was faking it for me—they’d probably put eye drops in. They glanced at me, then stopped the crocodile tears. “DuPont, just tell me we’re still on the same team.”

“Yeah, we’re on the same team, Rocko. I’m trying to move up, though, and I wanted a minor league sidekick role.” I sighed. I wasn’t going to get the role, and I knew it. There was no way. “Look, can I talk to you and Pataki? I got another Costume piece for Adaptive Armoire.”

“Sure, sure,” the suit-wearing producer said. They knuckle-walked over to the machine, where Pataki sat. “Hey, Pataki, she’s finally here about the toddler’s cape!”

Pataki glanced at me. “Hey, you know you can only equip one costume right now, right?”

She was right. [Adaptive Armoire] only had one Costume slot. But all the same, I wanted the Costume. “I think I can put the Costume in the System and take out the Lab Assistant Panic one, though.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I said, ‘Lab Assistant Panic,’ and Rocko caught it.

“Oh, having some troubles? Don’t really wanna deal with Peter right now? I get it, believe me. My ex and I never talked the last few months.” They clapped their squeezing hands before I could say he wasn’t my ex. “Give Pataki the cape scrap and hop in the machine!”

I did, determinedly not staring at my nude model or saying anything. Rocko sat down at their desk while Pataki walked me through the process. “Hands here, head still, blah, blah, blah. You’re getting better at this, DuPont,” they rasped.

When they finally finished, Rocko started talking. “Alright, you got a good one, DuPont! That’s a possible major leaguer’s Costume right there! We’re talking flight, electric powers, maybe water stuff, and a real neat Grit skill. So let’s see. Start with the standard magical girl set-up. The tot’s original costume was blue and red. Let’s lighten up the red to pink—“

“That’s the same as my colors,” I complained.

“They look good on you, and think about the branding for all the merch we’ll be making! We’ll shorten the skirt, do full leggings—make those blue—and add a cape.”

“Nope,” Pataki rasped. “No capes.”

“That movie was fiction, Pataki! Fiction! No hero’s been sucked into an airplane because of their cape in fifteen years, and Sky Pilot had a million other things go wrong! Gimme a blue cape with cloud patterning. Now, Annie, you had some personality stuff with Lab Assistant Panic, eh?”

“Yeah. When I’m Lab Assistant Panic, I’m a villain,” I said. “I’m still me, but it’s bringing out my villainous side, which, apparently, exists.”

“Well, it makes for hilarious TV, especially against Professor Panic. Reviews are finally in on Professor Panic’s Payoff Plan, and the fans love that dynamic. Whatever happens in your relationship with Peter, it’d be a shame if you two didn’t do Episodes together.”

I hadn’t considered that before. Peter and I could just…stop. It could be over, and I wouldn’t have to put up with his lack of effort the last few weeks anymore. It’d be so much easier on me. I’d been making most of the contacts. I’d been scheduling video calls. I’d been coming up with ideas for long-distance dates. But I’d put so much effort into it already; we’d been together so long. I shook my head. “I don’t know what’s up with him, but we’re not breaking up. We can get through this.”

“That’s good to hear, DuPont!” For a second, Rocko looked almost genuine. Then they shook their heads and shoved an unlit cigar in their mouth. “It’d be a nightmare to lose one of you now when you’re both moving on up. Financially devastating. But also, be aware that the Rainy Day costume might come with some changes too.”

He pointed at the door. “If there’s nothing else, go check out your Magical Girl Rainy Day costume. I think you’ll like its powers! Get outa here!”

I nodded, smiling, and left. For all his faults, Rocko cared a little. Or at least, he cared about the cash Small Town Super and Heroics 101 brought in. And that was the same thing, wasn’t it?

Back in my pastel pink secret base, I clapped my hands twice and grabbed Tails. My transformation to Magical Girl Understudy felt so slow—I knew it was excitement over the new costume, but all the same.

“The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout!” I said, going through the silly hand motions. “Down came the rain and washed the spider out! Up came the sun and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again!”

Thunder crashed. The smell of fresh rain filled the room. And in a flash of lightning, I transformed. Before I could adequately take my new costume in, though, a System Message filled my vision.

[Costume - Magical Girl Rainy Day]

[HP 6/6]

[Styles and Skills]

►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence

►Strong

►Smart

►Sad

►  Light as Vapor 0

►  Hometown Heroine 1

►Silly

►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire 1

►Stored Costumes: (Understudy)

►Ride the Lightning 0

►Tough

► Rejuvenation 1

► Cloudy Disposition 0

“Whoa. I wonder what [Ride the Lightning] does,” I said, then covered my mouth. My voice sounded strange. Higher pitched. More…kid-like. Something had gone horribly wrong, and I ran to the makeup mirror. When I got there, I stared in horror. A pimply, childish, early middle-schooler’s face stared back at me.

I ignored the cloudy, poofy sleeves and the lightning patterns on the full tights. I even ignored Misty Kitty, the cat-shaped cloud I knew was Tails. I recognized the girl in the mirror.

She was me. Me from sixth grade.

I hurried to transform back. No one could see me like this. What would Bianca think? What would Peter think?

Huh. Speaking of Peter, my phone hadn’t buzzed all day.

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