[Welcome to Rocko’s Backstage. System Disabled. Now arriving at Costuming]

I didn’t pay much attention to Rocko as the four-armed, otter-furred alien movie executive rocketed up from his desk and knucklewalked toward me. I was far too busy basking in the gift’s glow.

Sure, it was a cat collar, which made me anxious. I wasn’t ready to be a furry, even as a Costume. Honestly, I had no idea how Bianca dealt with her gimmick. I guess if no one knew who you were, it’d be fine. But I’d be transforming on-screen. If I got a catgirl costume, no one would ever be able to take Understudy seriously. And it’d probably look like a Magical Girl still; I’d be Magical Girl Here Kitty Kitty or something.

God, that’d be the worst.

Most of my brain was still fuzzing up, though. I thought back to when Peter finally gave me his goggles and how nice it was to wear something of his. This felt just as nice. Maybe even nicer because I could wear a cat collar with certain outfits. I’d just be another eccentric theater girl on campus. There were dozens of us—dozens!—and our numbers grew daily. Gifts had always been a weakness for me; unlike some people, I wasn’t a present-poacher, but I loved getting little trinkets and doo-dads, especially if they meant something.

“DuPont, you’re daydreaming,” Rocko snapped.

I sucked in a breath, blinking. My hand gripped the collar, squeezing it like a stress ball. The Ilneat handed me a water bottle; I set the collar in my lap so I could take a sip.

“Now that you’re with us, I have an even better Christmas present than Marino here does,” Rocko said. “But first, results.”

They hopped back onto their chair and pressed a remote. The screen showed the big finish to my Series Finale—specifically, the part where I dive-bombed Professor Panic’s TERROR Mech and used [Bit-Part Barrage] to break into the cockpit, then landed on the professor and punched him in the face. He paused it. “Top ratings in the little league for the first two weeks, third now. Not bad at all, DuPont, Marino. Not. At. All. We’re starting to recover from all the losses I took getting that Episode running in the first place.”

“What, exactly, did you have to do?” I asked.

“I sold the rights to the Small Town Super spin-off with Collidus, arranged a new contract for him and Professor Panic, and I owe…let’s see…two more favors to major league studios. Plus, I emptied Rocko Studios’ coffers. I’ve got two super contracts unfilled and no budget for ‘em, but that doesn’t matter. Know why?”

“No, why?” Bianca asked. She winked at me. I grinned back, but I was processing. He’d gotten Professor Panic a new contract. We wouldn’t fight again. Not unless one of us guest-starred on the other’s show. Relief washed over me.

“Har har. Because I’ve got you two.” They fiddled with their computer, and the screen changed. The Network’s schedule appeared. They’d shown me this before, but this time, they typed again, eliminating 95% of the shows. The remaining ones included ‘Heroics 101,’ ‘Infinity Stellar Saga Redux,’ ‘Saccharin and Chili Powder,’ ‘Crimson Crescent,’ and a few others. All were Magical Girl-led shows.

‘Infinity Stellar Saga Redux’ was highlighted in red.

“Is that…”

“Yep.” The Ilneat grinned predatorily. “One of the minor league Magical Girls is set to drop leagues—super’s choice, not the studio’s. She’s not hacking it in the minors and wants back on their old show. That leaves an opening. So Merry Christmas. I told you I’d get you a shot at the minors by next season. Here it is.”

“This is…this is great!” I stood up and gave Rocko a big, sweaty hug. “Thanks!”

“Hold on, DuPont,” they said. “This is just a shot. You’ve gotta do the work side of it. See, there’s one teeny tiny problem.”

They messed with the screen again. “You two kick back for a bit, eh? Just enjoy the show, like your Superpower Ethics class, but a little different.”

I stared at the screen. The Broadway Mall, where I’d patrolled with Tele-Portal, was in chaos. Shattered glass covered the ground, and a villainess laughed maniacally as she piled clothes into a henchman’s arms. “The Shoppe-Lifter strikes again!” She yelled.

I facepalmed. This had to be a little league villain. She was probably a bruiser, judging by her bulging biceps and by the deep red, sleeveless costume designed to showcase them. She was ripped; if she had that kind of strength and was robbing shopping malls, she wasn’t a minor leaguer.

The scene switched as a figure jumped from one rooftop to another, closing in on Mid-Town. Every time he jumped, a dozen shining crystals bobbed up and down around him, bathing his white outfit and the plaid scarf around his neck in a multi-colored light. The boy—he wasn’t a college student, no way—pulled a jet-black wand from his pocket as he ran. He stopped on an overlooking rooftop, watching the madness unfold below.

I recognized him from somewhere. I knew it. I just couldn’t place where.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

A title popped across the screen. ‘Vowsworn: Season Two, Episode One: Broadway Blitz.’ This was an actual, publicly aired Episode, not one of the unpublished cuts from Superpower Ethics or a half-edited Rocko project. I hadn’t heard about Vowsworn before. Back home, I’d been focused on my show or the minors and majors I wanted to be like, not on other little leaguers. And since I got here, I’d been playing catch-up or watching those same major leaguers with Bee, not keeping up on other little league heroes.

“Who’s he?” Bianca asked Rocko.

The Ilneat paused the screen. “Your competition. His Alias is Magical Boy Vigilant Vow. He’s an up-and-comer with a [Signature Skill] that’s almost as unique as Understudy’s and a lot more up-front powerful. He’s only been on the little league circuit for two years, but he’s on his way up. That’s the issue. Vigilant Vow’s forty points ahead on the community rank board, and that board is the number three decider in offering minor league spots, just behind archetype and marketability. It’s not enough to be a camera magnet with your skills or sell lots of toys, which you both do. You’ve gotta win. This kid’s got all three. Watch what he does.”

They pressed play, and the action started. I sighed. I’d been about to explain that we had been winning.

Vigilant Vow touched an opalescent crystal with the onyx wand and rattled off an oath. “I swear to defend Tokyexico in starlight and under new moon. To stand against evil and corruption. And, above all, to remain true to what’s right and just. So witness star, so witness moon.”

I blinked. Bianca gasped. That was Magical Girl Stella-Lunar’s oath—everyone knew that. I leaned forward, eager to see what happened next.

The crystal broke. Light pooled and swirled below it. Something formed from the light, becoming increasingly solid by the second until Stella-Lunar’s familiar Iyago suddenly stood there. The two-headed albino owl opened his two beaks and hooted once, then flew up to sit on Vigilant Vow’s shoulder.

He cracked four more crystals, ending up with two cats, a weasel, and a fish that swam through the air around Iyago. Then he dropped to the ground, letting the owl slow his descent.

“Look, we could watch the whole Episode, but no one’s got time for that. You’ve got a dinner, and I’ve got investors to schmooze. Let me sum it up from here. Vigilant Vow punches a few mooks. The army of damn familiars he’s contracted with uses their original girls’ powers to flatten The Shoppe-Lifter—not sure how that works, exactly, but holy shit do I wish I’d signed VV instead of Collidus when I had the chance. You two would already be minor leaguers with his familiar army and you as his sidekick.”

Rocko tapped the pause button, leaving Vigilant Vow frozen mid-charge. I took a moment to compose myself. “How does his power work? It has something to do with the oaths, right?”

“Right. But we ain’t focused on Vigilant Vow right now. We’re focused on Understudy. Specifically, rebranding.”

“Rebranding? Like, a new oath and costume?” I grinned. This Christmas kept getting better and better; it almost made it worth not being home.

----------------------------------------

“On the platform, feet on the Xs,” Pataki drawled at me. Bee sat nearby, watching as I stepped into the scanner. I held my hands out, waited for the tickling sensation, and held still while the machine built a hard-light mannequin of me. It took way too long, but the model eventually finished, and Pataki waved me off. “Step out of the scanner, DuPont. We don’t need yours, Marino. The suit’s dimensions stay the same.”

“Alright, alright, toss her normal costume up there,” Rocko ordered. My pastel pink-and-blue dress covered the electronic mannequin, white tights and gloves on its limbs, and bows in its ‘hair.’

“What’s first?” I asked. I had some ideas, but I wanted to see what Rocko came up with.

Surprisingly, though, they pointed at Pataki. “Ideas. Go.”

The costume designer took a long drag from their ever-present cigarette and spoke into their translator. “First off, ditch the little league look. It’s been great for you, but you’re moving up, and your costume should reflect that. Let’s pull up Stella-Lunar’s Star Form outfit as a baseline.”

Stella-Lunar’s Star Form costume appeared on another mannequin. Pataki waved several hands at my outfit. “Get rid of that. Duplicate Star Form, resized for DuPont,” Rocko said. They seemed more intense than usual, staring at it. I wasn’t great at reading Ilneats’ body language, but I thought I could hear the cash register sounds in their head.

“Done.” Before I could protest, Pataki pulled the outfit off my hard-light copy, then quickly covered it with Stella-Lunar’s dress. It looked nothing like my frilly, bow-festooned outfit. Instead, my model was encased in overlapping, semi-rigid plates, each covered in silk. The skirt only reached my upper thighs, and boots met it at the hemline instead of tights. It looked dangerous. Powerful. And—I blushed a bit at the thought—sexy.

It also featured a tiara instead of bows, which I approved of.

“You’re still running the Magical Girl Understudy moniker, right?” Pataki asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“No,” Rocko interrupted at the same time. “How about Magical Girl Spotlight Star? More adult, more confident, kinda evokes Golden Goose and her powerset. Could be good.”

“No,” Bianca said quickly. I glanced at her questioningly. “You don’t want that kind of reputation.”

“Why not? She makes millions for her studio, and she’s amazing at stopping supervillains,” Rocko said.

As they argued about Golden Goose’s relative merits, I pondered. Golden Goose did win her fights, and Rocko said we needed wins. Lots of wins. If I built a reputation as the little league’s Golden Goose, I could win Episodes before they even started. That’d be powerful. But…that wasn’t me, and even though it was still theater-themed, Spotlight Star didn’t fit what my power did. I wasn’t a star. Not a spotlight-hogging one. [Adaptive Armoire] let me fill any role easily, but I wasn’t an expert bot-builder, a powerful elementalist, or great at anything else. I was the backup actor.

“I’m sticking with Understudy,” I said, interrupting their argument. “It fits my [Signature Skill], and you said it’d be what got me to the majors, right?”

Rocko sighed. “Fine. Fine. You wanna stick with a little league name, be my guest. It’s only our shot at the minors on the line. Now, let’s talk oaths and outfits. That’s what really needs to change. Gimme your oath.”

“’I swear on my family, who I love very much, that I’ll stand up against Professor Panther, his minions, and evil all over Riverside! I’ll fight for justice, peace, and hope! And I’ll never stop ‘til evil does first,’” I recited. “Then I go through the sequence. Can we fix the sequence, too?”

“Maybe. I’ve got appointments.”

“Got it. Then, after the sequence, it’s ‘Don’t fear. Magical Girl Understudy is here! I swear to defend the weak against evil and uphold truth and love.”

“Wow.” Bianca laughed. “I’ve never paid attention to exactly what you say. Yeah, that’s gotta change.”