“Lord Destructo and McHammer couldn’t possibly be this stupid,” Bee said as we stood on top of Walnut Tower and watched the ‘fighting’ in the distance. Not that there was much in the way of combat. The Mays/Tennyson/Jackson combo kept shutting down Lord Destructo’s lieutenants, and only the fact that we hadn’t seen either of the big vils was keeping them from suffering the same fate. Instead, they had Mindstorm tracking them down.

A very, very angry Mindstorm.

I could feel the psychic rage bashing against me, and I knew every student on campus could, too. If Mindstorm found them before Mays and Jackson, McHammer and Lord Destructo were in trouble—and not the small kind.

I nodded. “Yeah, this is dumb, even for villains. There’s nothing to be gained here and everything to lose. So why did they do it?”

“You’re not thinking about an Investigative Episode right now?” Bee asked. Her eagle helmet was off, letting her feel the cold December air on her reddening cheeks.

I shivered in my dress. “No. For once, I want to stay out of it. Getting between Mindstorm and Lord Destructo is not in our best interests.”

“No, it is not.”

We went back to watching the fighting. It wouldn’t be long; Mays and Jackson were slow in that they could only take out one supervillain at a time, but they were efficient. I watched them teleport in, shut down a lieutenant with a shield the size of a car, and teleport away with the shield. A moment later, a familiar blue-suited superheroine slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

“That’s Springlock! TUSSA’s getting involved! Come on,” I said, using [Solar Wing]. Bee pulled on the Eagle-sona helmet, and we took off toward the fighting.

[Casting Call]

[Episode: Power War: Back With Avengeance - R]

[Role: Campus Crusader! Do you accept the role? (Yes/No)]

[Role Focus: Drama+Grit]

We dove toward the fighting as Milo’s red-skinned wrestling moves subdued a second lieutenant, who dropped her blue-glowing staff. I accepted the Casting Call and landed behind the formerly shield-wielding man, who started running.

[Back With Avengeance: Act One in Progress]

His flight didn’t last long, though. As he wove through the trees toward wherever he was trying to get, Springlock flew by my head and crashed into his back. A moment later, Fursona landed in front of him, screeching. The fighting didn’t last long after that, and the villains were both down within a minute.

“Thanks,” Milo interpreted as Springlock signed. I could read a little of it, but Milo was way faster than me. “We’ve got other problems, though. Sara’s trying to mobilize TUSSA. The Student Supervillains are up to something!”

“Well, let’s go!” I said. “We’ve got to get back to essay writing and stuff, so if we can mop this up fast, that’d be great.”

“You got it. We’ll head toward Mr. Felsic, and from there, we’ll loop past the Grant Building. You two go for Roth Arena, check it over real quick, and we’ll meet at the Perkins Building,” Springlock signed. “The rest of TUSSA is rallying there—at least, everyone minor-league and up is. The others are holding position in their bases or at the TUSSA-Cave.”

“Why didn’t we know about this?” Fursona asked.

Milo shrugged. “Did you check your phones?”

“No.” My face flushed.

“Well, there you go.” He grabbed Springlock’s hand, and a moment later, the two of them catapulted through the air, leaving red and blue streaks for a moment.

Fursona grumbled through our comms. “I mean, seriously? How could we expect TUSSA to get involved in this? It’s not like the administration didn’t just tell us to stay out of it.”

“When has that ever stopped supers?” I asked. “Come on. Roth Arena. Let’s go.”

The gigantic white dome and sparkling glass walls of Roth Arena loomed over Fursona and me as we flew toward the stadium where we’d fought Theseus and Gourmet last year. As we got close, though, I realized I’d much rather have dealt with the two minor leaguers. A figure in a massive set of armor crashed through a window, hammer swinging wildly, and a second one followed. A moment later, the psychic anger I’d been feeling since Fursona and I got on the roof doubled in pressure, then doubled again.

Windows blew out across the whole building, shards of glass freezing in the air. And, through them, Mindstorm stalked toward the two major league villains. The glass swirled around her, then disappeared as she waved with one hand. “Boys, you’re in…over your heads. You’re going to lose them for this, too.”

Fursona circled the three major leaguers from a hundred feet up while I hovered just above that. The air had stilled until I could hear every spoken word—and a strange whistling sound, too. Suddenly, the whistling increased in pitch, and more windows blew out. “You caught me at a bad time, so you’re lucky. I’m…full illusionist today, so your minds are safe.”

The two hammer-wielding vils started flinching and trying to defend themselves from an invisible attack, and I realized two things.

First, Mindstorm hadn’t made the glass shards disappear. She’d just made them invisible with an illusion.

And second—as an invisible shard sliced across my cheek and I yelped in pain—we were collateral damage!

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

[HP 12/13]

“Come on!” I dove for the shattered windows, Fursona hot on my tail, as the whirling glass storm sliced into our superhero damage. My arms and face burned even through the shield, but we pushed through as the storm reached what felt like a crescendo, dipping through the shattered windows and landing in the stadium’s atrium.

[HP 11/13]

I rolled to my feet; if Lord Destructo and McHammer were here, their lieutenants might be, too, and we’d be in for a fight. But I couldn’t see anyone except for a statue of the school’s ram mascot, and that wasn’t trying to kill us. “What the hell?” I whispered.

“Let’s check out the underground,” Fursona said, picking herself up and checking her wings for damage. “Not too bad. [Fursonal Furcefield] is getting good!”

We hurried through the building, heading for the secret tunnels the student supers used—and for the subway entrance. That had to be how the vils had gotten here undetected. It had to be.

But a familiar face was waiting for us when we got to the subway station.

Two of them, actually. Kind of.

“Understudy,” Iron Fist nodded once, glancing at me. “And Fursona. Just who we wanted to see.”

The devil-helmeted woman standing next to him grinned. “We timed this perfectly. We can take care of business here and get out before the rest of the school’s heroes know we’re here.”

“No. The deal was that you’d help us reclaim our spot on campus, and in return, we’d—“

I cleared my throat, readying my wand as Fursona spread her wings for take-off. There wasn’t time to wonder why one of 3V1L’s Vs and the SSS’s leader were working together. I had to take advantage and hit before they did. “You’re here for me, huh? Well, I’m right here, so let’s do this thing! [Limelight Barrage]!”

A handful of [Starlances] ripped across the subway station, punching into Iron Fist one after another as he spun to dodge. Fursona took off and screeched. The sound echoed and bounced across the battlefield and ripped across his armor.

[Dramatic Damage! +5 Drama Points]

Then, with a battle cry, he threw himself toward me. His fist punched into my stomach, folding me over it and slamming me into a wall. At the same time, a reddish-gray aura whipped out from the V’s hand, snagging Fursona by the wing and holding her in place.

[HP 9/13]

My partner’s screech echoed off the tile walls hard enough to crack them and blast the V back toward the turnstiles. She slid on the floor, ending with one hand up and the other on the floor, and a wavering red-gray shield took most of Fursona’s attack.

Then I lost track of the fight between Fursona and the V. I had Iron Fist to manage, and, yeah, I’d fought him before, but this was different. This time, help wasn’t coming.

This time, I had to beat him on my own.

I used [Power-Weaving]. Either I’d bait a [Combo-Breaker], or I’d get a ton of free damage if I could execute right. Either way, it’d be another step toward victory, and I’d already hit hard with [Limelight Barrage].

Then, as the fist slammed me into the wall again, I used [Quick-Time Change] and [Freeze Frame]. The force of the blow launched me into the tile, but then I slid right off the reciprocating arm, landing on the floor a full six inches below Iron Fist’s iron fist, which I moved my head away from.

[Flashy Fitting Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]

[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]

[Floating Points: 1 Flamboyance]

I used [Wind Front], the force of the gust picking Iron Fist up and tossing him away from me—and sending a whirling cone of wind through the subway station. Over the wind’s roar and Fursona’s screeching, we heard a clattering, chugging sound. The train was approaching!

[Badass Move! +1 Badass Point]

[Floating Points: 3 Flamboyance, 1 Grit]

Fursona flapped across the battlefield, a gigantic red aura tendril following her. It crashed into a pillar, and shards of concrete erupted from its far side.

Then Iron Fist sprang at me. As he flew through the air with his fist reeled back. I used [Ride the Lightning]. Iron Fist ate the lightning and kept right on coming, his fist crackling with energy even as my electricity ripped through him.

[Electric Lightshow! +1 Flamboyance Point]

[Power-Weaving! +6 Flamboyance, 3 Grit, and 1 Badass Point]

His fist slammed into me, sending me sliding across the yellow line, across the edge of the platform, and into the oncoming train’s path!

[HP 5/13]

I stood up, stomach aching from the blow, and used [Quick-Time Change] to return to Understudy. [Rejuvenation] healed me up, but before I could use [Solar Wing] to leap into the air, the sound of screeching brakes filled my ears. I wasn’t going to make it!

[Flashy Fitting Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]

[Rejuvenation Active: HP 10/13]

So, instead of trying to fly over the train, I jumped toward it.

WHAM!

[HP 4/13]

Getting hit by the train felt like…getting hit by a train. The air rushed from my lungs, and my fingers scrabbled for purchase on the metal grate. I found myself hanging from the engine, a few inches above the screeching wheels, as sparks shot from the tracks. One slip-up and I’d be gone, and I didn’t think four superhero damage would save me from an entire subway train!

I’d only get one shot at this. I had to get inside, where it was safe, and right now, the train was definitely ‘attacking’ me, right? So maybe…

I used [Quick-Time Change], this time landing on Copy Cat. She was the toughest Costume I had, and if [Freeze Frame] didn’t save me from the attacking train, I’d need every chance at survival I could get. I squeezed my eyes shut as the world stopped, and Tails and I merged.

[Flashy Fitting Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]

[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]

Then, something big passed through me. I opened my eyes and locked gazes with a horrified-looking train operator, then whisked through the engine car’s back door and into the first passenger one. Then, suddenly, I was solid, rolling down the aisle and bouncing off Extras’ legs.

The passengers wouldn’t stop screaming as I picked myself up, brushing off my fur and sprinting for the stopping train’s back door. “Sorry, excuse me, superhero business!” I shouted, ducking and weaving as I used [Hometown Heroine] to push myself faster and faster. I had to get back to the fighting. I had to—

CRASH!

I burst through the back of the train, the whole world going slow-motion. Iron Fist was sprinting toward the train, fist already starting to rev up again. Behind him, Fursona had the V in her talons, though the entire train tunnel had filled with a red-gray aura that bashed against her repeatedly. She wasn’t going to be able to hold the V much longer.

I launched myself toward Iron Fist with [Leaping Leopards], using [Doom Ball] before he could get a grip on me, and my claws ripped into him. He whirled, but as I went flying, my claw lashed out at his face, and I used [Cat-Scratch Fever]. He rocked on his feet, the blind effect giving me a window to get some distance, and I got ready to hit him again.

[Badass Move! +1 Badass Point]

[Badass Damage! +3 Badass Points]

[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]

He teetered, tossed himself over a rail onto a maintenance walkway, and collapsed. A moment later, the V yelled, “Fuck!” and sent a wave of red-gray magic our way. It rippled through the tunnel, and when it passed, she’d vanished toward the TU stop.

“Come on,” I said, wincing as I popped my neck. It was time to put an end to 3V1L’s ambitions!

[End of Act One: Act Two in 3 Minutes]