I rolled my eyes; Sister Sly’s head poked out of the power armor’s helmetless torso, the fox suit’s eyes staring back at me. A few pieces of cloth, almost like a nun’s habit, hung from its bulk and covered the solid-looking steel armor, and attached to her left shoulder was a launcher; I couldn’t tell if it was for grenades or rockets, but it looked a lot like Theseus’s arm. “I’m so sick of people thinking it’s game over. We haven’t even gotten started,” I said.
“You’re right!” Sister Sly leveled her launcher and opened fire. Orbs flew from the Swiss cheese openings, slamming into the asphalt and exploding as Fursona and I scattered. Laser grids popped up, only to vanish as the barrage went on and on, grenades detonating and destroying the grid generators almost as quickly as Sister Sly could launch them.
I found myself pressed against the church’s wall, with nowhere to go. The explosions carpeting the street raced toward me, and I used [Quick-Time Change] for Lab Assistant Panic, rattling off a rap and launching myself through the fire and flames as [Freeze Frame] ate the damage for me.
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]
As the bomblets ripped apart the church’s facade, the whole thing creaked ominously, and I watched TA-1LZ and Fursona dash toward the power-armored villainess. She turned smoothly into Fursona’s kicks, lashing out with a servo-strengthened arm and bashing my partner into the street.
A wall of tasers bounced off her armor, though one or two stuck in the gaps between the steel plates, and she flinched back. TA-1LZ leaped onto a dumpster and then a fire escape across the street from the ruined church. I nodded; the high ground would help here.
But all we’d accomplished was disrupting her; she didn’t look hurt, and the armor didn’t have a scratch. If we wanted to beat Sister Sly, we’d have to peel her suit like an orange.
Then I used [Speed Hacker] to attack Sister Sly’s suit from the inside. The green lines of code flashed by in my goggles, and a moment later, the grenade launcher started firing again. Its shots bounced off the asphalt at the fox nun’s feet this time. She backpedaled hard, helmet staring toward me.
[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point]
[Playing with Powers Beyond Comprehension! +1 Drama Point]
[Warning: Hunting Dog Antivirus Activated!]
I’d seen this show before and stopped the [Speed-Hack] instantly. If Sister Sly had an antivirus set up, she knew what Lab Assistant Panic could do—either that or she was paranoid. Her armor’s chestplate and leg armor were blackened and charred from the explosions, with marks burned into them where the lasers had sliced into them.
Fursona hopped back into battle, landing a crushing [Double-Kick] on the power armor’s chest, and something buckled. Sister Sly cursed and spun to stomp after the kangaroo, firing a few more grenades into the street before a clicking sound cut through the explosions. “I think I got her!” Fursona shouted.
“Like hell!” The shoulder-mounted grenade launcher fell away, and a pair of blades popped from the power armor’s wrists. Its boots lit up with fire, and she catapulted through the air toward Fursona as TA-1LZ pelted her with tasers in a barrage so thick their wires looked like bridge cables.
I went for another [Speed Hacker], even though I knew the antivirus would stop it quickly, and, shockingly, it stuck. Her boots sputtered for a moment—not for long, but for long enough. Her leap turned into a flailing flop, and she caromed off the asphalt and into the church’s facade.
[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point]
The belltower wobbled precariously, then started tilting over the street below. Fursona hopped away, and I grabbed TA-1LZ by the Gatling turret, dragging her away as a horrible creaking sound filled the air.
Something snapped inside the building.
Suddenly, the roof fell inward as the tower disintegrated, toppling down onto Sister Sly. Her armor’s helmet slid up as the dust cloud engulfed her. I definitely wasn’t taking the church for Lab Assistant Panic’s lair! But the real disaster hadn’t even started yet.
The collapse happened in slow motion, and I was sure Rocko would add it in for dramatic effect. Even when the tower was halfway to the ground, I could still see the shape of the old church in the bricks. They hit the road, shattering into shrapnel or bouncing like bombs. I rolled away from one, but another slammed into my back, driving the air from my lungs in a painful whoosh.
I tried to get to my feet, but something heavy drove me back down. Heavy…and fuzzy.
“I got you—oooof!” Fursona said as bricks rained down around us. The collapse lasted way longer than any building collapse had a right to, but when the last brick exploded to reddish dust around us, it couldn’t have been more than five seconds—maybe ten.
Fursona pushed herself off my back, offering me a hand, and I took it before slowly transforming back to Understudy.
“Think we got her?” Fursona asked. She started walking toward the giant pile of rubble where Sister Sly’s power armor had been, then stopped. “Nope. Not falling for that a second time this Episode.”
I landed as the music and lights faded, wand at the ready and Tails trailing behind. “Let’s check it out. She might be alive under there, and we should save her.”
As we got closer, a few bricks moved, and over the sound of settling rubble, I could hear a slow beeping that gradually sped up…faster and faster. It almost sounded like a self-destruct beep. But she wouldn’t do that, would she?”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Beepbeepbeeepbeeepbeeeeeeeeeeee!
I threw myself away from the rubble pile as a muffled explosion tore open a hole in the brick pile. From inside, a thin rope with a hook snaked out, and a moment later, Sister Sly flew through the air overhead. “Nice try, Fursona, but you’ve only beaten my first form!”
“Why do you even care so much about this?” Fursona asked as she hopped toward the fox nun’s landing spot. “You’re not my rival; you’re a girl in a fox suit. You don’t even care about the Poudre districts!”
A laser grid sprang into the air, slicing through the sky overhead to box off the camera drone and leaving Fursona and Sister Sly to fight one another. I relaxed on the far side; it’d fade in a moment, and I’d be back in the fight when it did. Until then, Fursona could handle unarmored Sister Sly. She’d done it before.
In fact, really, this was fine.
I didn’t need to be involved in the takedown here because it wasn’t my show. This was Fursona’s, and the best thing I could do was play sidekick—both for her and, honestly, for me. I’d have plenty of time to take the starring role as soon as 3V1L took the bait here, so for now, I’d let Fursona have the limelight.
Still, the moment the laser grid faded, Sister Sly got the [Limelight Barrage]. Every single [Starlance] followed her perfectly, and her explosives’ smoke covered their approach until they’d closed too much to dodge. Hit after hit landed, knocking her onto her back in the middle of the street as the camera drone dipped in for a good look.
[Dramatic Damage! +5 Drama Points]
Fursona landed on the villainess a moment later, [Double Kick] driving the air from her lungs, and I circled around to cut off her possible escape route. Then, suddenly, an explosion ripped through the air as the church’s ruins convulsed again.
“That’s my cue! Time to go!” Sister Sly said. She shimmered and disappeared. Fursona reeled back like something had punched her in the face, and a moment later, she hit the asphalt. She popped right back up, looking back and forth, but another invisible blow hit her in the chin, and she stepped back, looking confused.
I stared at the smoke-filled corridor, then [Quick-Time Changed] back to Lab Assistant Panic. I couldn’t find Sister Sly, but I could make it impossible for her to find me. That way, when she made a mistake, I could take advantage of it.
“Careful, Understudy. 83% toward a villainous breakdown from your earlier actions,” TA-1LZ whispered as she shimmered out of sight. A moment later, I joined her with [Set Dressing].
[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point]
Fursona had weathered the rain of invisible blows. As TA-1LZ snaked left, I circled right, trying to find anything I could use to track down the villainess. Fursona’s head whipped back and forth, looking for her enemy as she pulled herself back together. The dust and smoke from the collapsed church and explosives whirled in the air around her.
“Catch!” Sister Sly shouted, and a grenade appeared in mid-air. It flew toward Fursona, who threw herself to the side as it exploded in a burst of flame that scorched the street and melted its tar. I was hardly watching her, though.
My eyes were glued to the swirling dust where the bomb had come from. It was moving, but not with the breeze. Instead, it was heading straight for me!
I took a deep breath, trying to see the point where the dust and smoke parted, and threw myself toward it.
[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point]
I hit something, and we both crashed to the ground. My shoulder slammed against the curb with a splitting pain that superhero damage didn’t fully mitigate. A moment later, Sister Sly and I shimmered into existence, and Fursona leaped through the air. Her feet swung around as Sister Sly looked up in horror.
[HP 1/13]
[Badass Takedown! +1 Badass Point]
She tried to push her invisibility button again, but even as she vanished, I wrapped myself around her legs, pinning her in place. Fursona fell like a wrecking ball, crashing down on Sister Sly with a bone-crunching thud.
[Episode Finished!]
[Episode: Faith, Hope, and Charity - PG-13]
[Penalties: 0x Rating Warnings - No Penalty]
[Episode Finished! +3 of each Style Point]
[Winner Winner! +3 of each Style Point]
[Role Focus: Flamboyance+Badass - Goal Unmet]
[Alias - Understudy] [Archetype - Magical Girl] [Community Rank - 174/523]
[HP 1/13]
[Styles and Skills]
►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence
►Combo Skills - Power-Weaving
►Badass (60) (Skill Roll Available)
►Cunning (37)
►Drama (58) (Skill Roll Available)
► Bit-Part Barrage 2
► Starlance 1
►Flamboyance (58) (Skill Roll Available)
►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire 3
►Stored Costumes: (Rainy Day, Copy Cat, Lab Assistant Panic)
►Solar Wing 1
► Quick-Time Change 3
► Improvised Ovation 1
►Grit (23)
► Freeze Frame 1
As the emergency sirens filled the air and Fursona talked into the camera drone, getting the final words in for the Episode, I switched back to Understudy and sat on a pile of half-shattered bricks. Sister Sly wasn’t conscious, but she’d be okay—probably. More importantly, she was out of the picture, and in a very, very public way. That’d be ideal for Fursona and me. 3V1L would take notice; with their rival out of the way, it’d only be a matter of time before they overextended, and when they did, we’d be there to take advantage.
An officer picked up Sister Sly and carted her off toward a waiting patrol car, and Fursona hopped over to me. “Thanks, Understudy! I really appreciate it. Now, take us home.”
“I just did what needed to be done,” I said, summoning the sailboard and waiting for my partner to climb on. Then we took off toward Walnut Tower, and I rolled my Cunning skill.
[50 Badass Credits Used. Rolling Skill!]
[50 Drama Credits Used. Rolling Skill!]
[50 Flamboyance Credits Used. Rolling Skill!]
[Rank-Up! Limelight Barrage 2: Each Starlance in the barrage has a 10% chance to remove a buff power from its target]
[Rank-Up! Doom Ball 1: Can use Doom Ball a second time per act]
[Rank-Up! Improvised Ovation 2: Duplicates low-rank powers, giving a second use of the power]
“You did a lot more than that, babe,” Fursona said. “It felt great to be the lead there for a little, and to have a villain of my own instead of whoever you wanted to fight.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I said, even though it was a big deal to her. I had to play it cool, at least until we got home. The camera drone was still following us, after all, and until it was offline and plugged into its charger, I couldn’t say much more.
I could feel Bianca thinking it, though, as she turned on the sailboard and wrapped her arms around me, letting go of the steering bar. “I know what we can do when we get home,” she said through my headset, and I groaned. I couldn’t flirt back without the camera drone catching me. Even if it was an open secret that Fursona and I were a couple, confirming it on camera was too much for me.
So I didn’t reply—at least, not how I wanted to. “Yeah, we’ve got to get to work on our finals. You and I are going to write so many papers!”