32 - Let's Go Find Honeycomb

“’I’m in. Let’s go find Honeycomb,’ I said. ‘It’ll be easy,’ I said,” Fursona grumbled as they looked in their pouch. “I shoulda packed some snacks in here.”

“How would you even eat them?” I asked. “That thing’s stuck to your head.”

“I’d find a way!”

We’d searched around the art gallery for hours, looking for any sign of Magical Girl Honeycomb. They’d cleaned up the alley; someone had taken the painting’s frame, and a new dumpster stood without a me-shaped dent. But no Magical Girl Honeycomb.

Tokyexico’s University District was shockingly upscale. Movies and TV shows seemed to think college students were all broke, so I couldn’t figure out why jewelry shops and art galleries would be nearby. Most of the nearby apartment buildings seemed to house older students or college staff, and my professors were probably well-off, but not that well-off. Except for Doctor Mindstorm. Everyone knew she had billions piled away somewhere from her supervillain career.

Honeycomb had to live around here somewhere. She felt like a local heroine. We’d checked the local businesses, but no one could point us toward the bee-themed Magical Girl. The cashier at a convenience store did snort into her register when we asked, though. “Yeah, she’s some hero, alright. Reallyhelped out when Jumper cleaned me out a month ago.” Clearly, Honeycomb wasn’t doing a great job as a friendly neighborhood bee.

We’d found plenty of Episodes, though.

Most were minor league, with a few major league ones thrown in for good measure. But even the few little league ones we thought we could handle had problems. Like the roles available. A lot of sidekick roles, but none for a team of two.

“One more loop, Marsupial of Justice?” I asked. This would be our fifth time around—we’d gone a little bigger every single time—and both of us were beat. “I have homework to do, too. Plus, I have to try to get this math done so my tutor can at least tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

“I need to eat something, Understudy. But…yeah, one more loop.”

We hadn’t gone two blocks when we passed a daycare sign—a car on a long pole with block letters under it. ‘Tottergarten,’ the sign read. Even this late, the lights inside were still on, and movement inside showed a handful of toddlers inside.

[Casting Call]

[Episode: Short: Playpen Peril with Jungle Jim - G]

[Role: Day-Saver! Do you accept the role? (Yes/No)]

[Role Focus: Silly > Strong]

Fursona stopped in their tracks. “Do we accept this one?”

“You never saw Playpen Patrol as a kid? Absolutely not.” I kept walking, even though my feet were hurting in my boots. “We’ll end up coming in and teaching the kids about kangaroos or something. What do you know about kangaroos?”

“I know I’m one and that they’re marsupials,” they said. “Other than that, nothing.”

“Well, don’t accept any G-rated Episodes unless you’re willing to teach toddlers about your costume, and maybe get beaten up by them,” I said. We kept walking through the university district, but Magical Girl Honeycomb had vanished.

Worse, even though I kept seeing white vans, the people driving them certainly weren’t ‘S,’ or at least they weren’t wearing a mask. It wasn’t even the same person behind the wheel every time. I stayed on my toes, though. One of the drivers could go hostile at any point, and I was not getting vanned again!

It took almost an hour to walk our last loop. Fursona kept reaching down to massage their oversized feet, though what they could accomplish through the rubber pads and thick plush, I couldn’t tell. If they were making an impact on them, though, I was jealous. My feet hurt!

But eventually, we saw the Mister Felsic statue in the distance. I groaned. “Honestly, I’m tempted to try again.”

“Oh, hell no,” Fursona said. “Understudy, I’ve been walking for hours, and this suit doesn’t have Pataki’s upgrades yet. And I’m starving. I’m sorry, but I’m done for the night.”

Fursona had a point. It had to be close to seven, and I had homework. “Alright. Email me. We’ll set up a time to look for Honeycomb tomorrow.”

“Deal!” Fursona waved and started slowly hopping away toward their dorm tower.

“[Starwave Sail]!” If I wasn’t still searching with Fursona, I sure wasn’t walking anymore. The sooner I made it to Walnut Tower, the better.

Plus, my phone was buzzing.

I landed, slipped inside, and untransformed. Then I opened my phone.

<Hey, I saved the company 30,000 monthly today. How r classes? - Peter 6:58>

<Hanging in there, hun. Stuff’s busy. Lots of homework - Annie 6:59>

I wasn’t lying. I opened my algebra book and tried a few problems while I waited for Peter. “5x squared times 32x minus 14 equals -7?” Math had never, ever been my strong suit. I supposed I could try Lab Assistant Panic; TA-1LZ had math skills, and I could act like I didn’t care about cheating.

<Oh? Whatcha working on? - Peter 7:01>

<Just algebra. How’s supervillain stuff? - Annie 7:01>

<Tremble, Riversiders, there’ll be no pity! My bots are taking over the city! - Professor Panic - 7:02>

<Are you in the middle of an Episode? - Annie 7:02>

<Maybe…yep! - Peter 7:03>

“Aaaauugh!” I slammed my math book shut and jammed my palms into my face. It was so frustrating! Everyone was doing Episodes except for Fursona and me! And Peter was texting me during one. His stupid Genius powers just let him chill and earn Style Points as his stupid bots did their stupid thing!

<That’s great. Fursona and I searched for a good Episode tonight - Annie 7:04>

<Didn’t find one - Annie 7:04>

<We got our asses kicked yesterday, though. Did I tell you about that? - Annie 7:05>

<No. Collidus is coming. Tell me, will read later - Peter 7:06>

I sighed and started texting. I told him about Gourmet and Theseus, how I’d needed the win to make it to the minor leagues as a sidekick, and how we’d gotten clobbered by the villains in the weight room, and they’d gotten away with one of the weightlifting champ’s arms. He didn’t respond. My messages just stayed on ‘Read,” and my math problems weren’t solving themselves.

More importantly, I wasn’t solving them either.

After an hour of staring at the phone and math book, I gave up. I couldn’t stop thinking about Honeycomb. Where was she? I needed something to distract me, so I grabbed some pillows and flopped down next to the Lil Pal parts on my bedstand. If I couldn’t do the math, and Peter was busy, I’d occupy myself with building his gift instead.

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He didn’t text me back until after Ilneat Relations the next day.

<Hey. Sorry, the Episode went long. Way past Collidus’s bedtime - Peter 3:15>

<It’s fine. - Annie 3:16>

I headed back toward Walnut Tower. It was fine, honestly. I’d told him not to text during class, so he’d waited. He shouldn’t be texting at work, but that was a ‘Peter’ problem, not an ‘Annie’ one.

<So, we’re on for a video call tonight, right? - Peter 3:18>

<Yeah. 6:30 is good, right? - Annie 3:19>

<See you then! - Peter 3:20>

That’d give me a few hours to relax and eat, work on homework, and eat dinner. I rode the elevator up, stepped inside, and kicked off my shoes. I hadn’t even been inside for a minute before the elevator intercom buzzed at me. I pressed its button.

“Hey, M.O.J. here. You wouldn’t believe what I found online. Let me up, and I’ll show you,” Fursona’s modulated voice said.

“Okay, one sec. How long have you been waiting down there?” I asked.

“Twenty-five minutes.”

“Fursona, just send me an email next time. Even better, I’ll give you my number.” I let go of the button and started my [Transformation Sequence]. As the room filled with light and sound, I wondered what Fursona had found. Whatever it was, they were excited enough to stand in the tunnels and push the intercom button over and over for almost half an hour. I rolled my eyes.

The last bow finally tied itself into my hair, and my feet touched the ground again. As soon as I let her go, Tails stretched out on the couch, plushie back arched. <Are we searching again? Right meow? I was settling down for a nap.>

“Nah. Fursona’s coming over.” I pushed the button to open the elevator below and headed into my secret base. Sure enough, it wasn’t hot pink anymore. Instead, Fang Swee’s power had toned it down to a lovely light pastel rose. The couches and the chaise lounge seemed less overstuffed, and a few spots on the back wall beside the stairs had TVs running. Both were set to different Tokyexico City news shows.

The elevator door opened, and Fursona hopped out. They bounced onto the chaise lounge. “Get me a laptop!”

“Hold up. New costume? Pataki’s been busy!” The ilneat tailor had switched out Fursona’s sweatshirt and pants for something more form-fitting. The orange-and-blue color scheme stayed, with racing stripes and a zipper for their pouch instead of baggy sweats. The kangaroo looked more like a proper superhero now. Their ankles included braces and they wore a little cat collar around their neck. They couldn’t stop fidgeting with the metal paw.

“Yeah. Pataki said it’d fit better with the speedster theme, even if I’m not a traditional one. Rocko says I’m probably more of a hybrid bruiser/speedster. They braced up the feet a whole bunch, though, so it won’t hurt when I kick something or have to hop for a while, and they had a Genius work on the tail. It’s controllable now, so hopefully I’ll get some Powers for it soon. Now will you please get me a computer?”

I laughed. “Alright, one second.” Then I dipped through the ‘maintenance’ door and grabbed my laptop.

We opened it up, and Fursona started typing—with their paws on, they had to chicken-peck at the keyboard. “So, I searched ‘Magical Girl Honeycomb Episodes.’ Did you know she’s been in like fifty?”

I hadn’t known that. Of course, I hadn’t looked for her. Still, it was odd I’d never heard of her if she had that kind of reach…unless…

“No. There’s no way.”

Fursona pressed ‘Enter.’

“Of course she would,” I muttered. Every result was the same. ‘Playpen Pals and Magical Girl Honeycomb Save Christmas!’ or ‘Playpen Pals and The Jealousy Triplets, Guest Starring Magical Girl Honeycomb.’ Honeycomb was a G-rated heroine!

We’d been so close. She’d probably been inside Tottergarten when we declined the Episode, and we hadn’t even bothered to check it out. “God dammit.”

“Yep.” Fursona flopped back onto the chaise lounge. “We messed up on that one for real. So, what are we gonna do?”

Just then, my doorbell rang.

“Shit!” That had to be Su-Bin. I hopped up from my comfy couch, popped open the door, and sprinted into my apartment. “Just a minute! Getting straightened up.”

Then I dashed back to Fursona. “Okay, you can’t be here. I’ll email you when I’m done with my tutoring. Thanks for the tip. We’ll come up with a plan soon!”

I practically shoved the protesting kangaroo superhero into the elevator. As soon as it started down, I untransformed, took three deep breaths, and grabbed my math book and a pillow.

I was not ready for algebra tutoring. I’d only solved a few problems from the previous class’s homework, and I certainly hadn’t touched today’s. Worse, I couldn’t even say I wanted Su-Bin’s help right now. My brain was totally on Tottergarten and Magical Girl Honeycomb. But I couldn’t do anything about that tonight—not if I had tutoring and Peter’s video call.

I opened the door.

Su-Bin stood there, armed with her phone, a gigantic fast-food cup, and an even bigger smile. I struggled not to shudder. It didn’t feel like a friendly smile.

Her smile meant math.

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