“Oh, shit,” I muttered to myself as I flew through the snow flurries that had suddenly covered the University district. A moment ago, it felt like summer; now, it felt like New Year’s Eve. Polar Vortex and Black Ice couldn’t pull this off without help; they were strong, but neither had this much power. That meant King Cold for sure. I dove under power lines covered by ice in spite of their insulation, watching as block after block of the University district went dark.
Part of me wanted to turn and fight—if I could take out Polar Vortex again or make Black Ice retreat, that’d make things easier for whoever the first responders were. But more importantly, I needed to find Fursona before she got caught up in everything. She’d take the fastest way back to the Green Room unless she got the idea that she wanted to headline again.
Dammit. She’d definitely want to headline again.
I turned my board and—finally—accepted the Casting Call for ‘Summer’s End.’
[Casting Call]
[Episode: Power War: Summer’s End - R]
[Role: A Flame in the Cold! Do you accept the role? (Yes/No)]
[Role Focus: Flamboyance+Drama]
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t make a difference against King Cold. As my fight against Stella-Lunar had shown me, my powers couldn’t dent any major league villain’s defenses. But—and it was a big but—I could line up against Polar Vortex or fight a delaying action while I looked for Fursona.
[The End of Summer: Act One in Progress]
My phone buzzed in my pocket. After a moment of hesitation, I pulled it out since it was Fursona’s pattern.
She didn’t respond for a long time, and I let [Solar Wing] hover me over the iced-over power lines, well out of range of Black Ice and Polar Vortex’s attacks. My stomach was in my throat; she’d be so pissed at me for this!
A camera drone zipped toward me, somehow unaffected by the frost. I gulped. Attention meant action was coming my way. Action meant either a minor leaguer I could handle, two I couldn’t, or a major league villain who’d run me over without a thought.
Then, Polar Vortex appeared on the street below me in his red puffer jacket.
He was surfing the ice, just like he had back in the power plant last year, and he didn’t see me. Instead, he iced a power line a little more, then froze a fire hydrant solid, covering it with icicles, humming the whole time.
I followed, thinking up a plan—several plans, in fact.
One: I could get the drop on him, hit him fast and hard, and try to alpha-strike him out of the Episode. He’d been tough before, but if I could hit him with [Bit-Part Barrage] and then roll into a combo, I could pump out a ton of damage. Down a minor league lieutenant, the other two villains would be in trouble when major league heroes showed up.
Two: I could follow him, try to figure out his plan, and support whoever was on the way. It could give me an in with a team, but Rocko would be upset if I didn’t make this all about me. Then again, it was a major league Episode. It wasn’t all about me. Was it?
Three: I could leave. Right now. Just walk away, abandon the Episode, and be safe. The Narrator would want me to leave. My parents would want me to leave. Hell, even Bee would want me to leave. But I could contribute to a hero win early in Power Wars here, either by going for the glory or by giving a major league crew information.
The best choice was obvious.
I dove toward Polar Vortex, the frigid air biting my face, and, as I reached the highest frozen power line, I stopped my downward descent with [Power-Weaving] into [Bit-Part Barrage]. He never saw it coming—the first beam locked him down, and the rest slammed into him for a good chunk of damage.
[Dramatic Damage! +4 Drama Points]
I didn’t have time to celebrate. I was already [Quick-Time Changing], using [I-Frame Transform] to take the sidewalk hit instead of trying to fly again. The Itsy Bitsy Spider dance ate some of the speed, and ice shattered around me as I bounced off the concrete in Rainy Day.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
[Flashy Fitting Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]
[Floating Points: 3 Drama, 1 Flamboyance]
He whirled toward me, lobbing an icicle that slammed into my arm. A moment later, his face contorted in rage. “You again!?”
[HP 9/11]
“Me again. [Thunderhead]!” I said, letting the clouds build overhead. More snow fell from them, but I hardly noticed.
[Pause for Effect! +1 Drama Point]
[Power-Weaving! +6 Drama, +3 Flamboyance, and 1 Grit Points]
A barrage of icicles pounded into me as I waited for the [Thunderhead] to finish building. They tore into my stomach, shattered against my head, and knocked me sideways but did no damage. Polar Vortex was trying to [Combo-Break] me. He remembered the combo I’d used last time, but it was too late—he couldn’t stop it because it was already done!
I [Rode the Lightning]. Tendrils of pure electricity picked me up and reached across the ice toward the supervillain, then tore through what was left of his superhero damage. More reached down from the empowered thunderstorm overhead, adding to the power surge. And when it was over, Polar Vortex was…still standing.
[Electric Lightshow! +1 Flamboyance Point]
Not only that, but he was laughing! Had I overestimated myself that badly? He stomped on the ice-covered ground, and a shockwave rippled through it, throwing me into the air. While I flapped my arms stupidly, he launched a trio of massive ice-balls my way. They hit one after another, catapulting me down the street—and away from TU.
[HP 3/11]
As I flew through the air, I had a moment to think about how badly I’d screwed up. I hadn’t alpha-striked hard enough to take Polar Vortex off the table, and I couldn’t return to being a spy now. I might be able to retreat, though. That looked like my best option, unfortunately.
A moment before I hit the asphalt, I used [Quick-Time Change] for the last time this Act, switching back to Magical Girl Understudy. Then I hit the pavement and watched my HP seesaw. My phone buzzed again.
[Rejuvenation Activated: HP 7/11]
[HP 5/11]
I picked myself up and checked my messages. I had two.
Okay. Okay. I could do this. I breathed deep and threw myself into the air, letting [Solar Wings] take me high into the snow-filled sky. The plan had changed; instead of trying to escape, I needed to pin Polar Vortex here. Winning wasn’t a necessity, either. If I held him in place, The Triad would finish him off and, most likely, eat Black Ice and King Cold for dessert.
Ha. Ice cream jokes.
The alpha strike had failed, but I could still run a delaying fight against Polar Vortex, so I tucked in my magical wings and dove through the street toward him, ripping [Starlances] at him as fast as I could. Some hit, others didn’t, but they forced him to slow down as he rushed at me, building up a massive icicle.
[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]
Then, the icicle flew toward me, splitting the afternoon air with a whumping sound as it collided with first one, then another of my [Starlances]. I pulled up into a fast climb, then dove, but the damn thing was like a guided missile. I couldn’t shake it, and with every second, it gained on me. Worse, I’d lost track of Polar Vortex.
Then, as I ducked around a skyscraper with the ice missile closing fast, a portal opened in front of me, and a trio of identical, red-and-gold-clad men soared through.
“Never fear! Lightbeam is here!”
I was saved!
One of the clones took the gigantic icicle on the chest, disappearing along with it. The other two dove toward the street, where Polar Vortex was surfing away as fast as he could, and fired orange energy beams toward the retreating minor league supervillain.
He desperately dodged back and forth, but another portal opened, and a hulking steel mech stepped through another portal, fired its flamethrower, and melted the supervillain’s path.
Then Tele-Portal stepped through a third portal, yawning, and trapped the villain in a portal loop.
The Triad had arrived.
----------------------------------------
“You good, Understudy?” Tele-Portal asked. Bud Lightbeam zipped overhead, his two bodies moving faster than I could imagine ever going while the third started to rematerialize next to him. He’d left as soon as the fight with Polar Vortex ended, and now he crisscrossed the University district, looking for Black Ice and King Cold.
The Underdelver seemed much less interested in scouting. Though the mech's cab was open, he sat in his pilot’s seat. Its flamethrower vomited fire into the sky, and its two fans howled, blowing hot air down University Street and melting power lines and asphalt.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said. I stood up, pushing off the curb I’d been sitting at. “Do you need my help for this Episode?”
“Nah. It’s one villain and a lieutenant. We’re running Bump and Go, so it’s all about speed and aggression,” Tele-Portal said, naming one of her team’s moves. “You want to make yourself useful? Get back to campus, figure out what you want to do in the Power War, and sign up.”
I nodded slowly. Then I cleared my throat, stepping away from the blaze Underdelver’s flamethrower emitted. “I’d like to keep working with you. What does The Triad need?”
Tele=Portal laughed. “Honestly? We’re a complete team in a fight. If you and Fursona showed up, you’d just be in the way, and the heavies couldn’t go all-out when they needed to. If you want to sign up as a Triad-auxiliary team, we need eyes to watch our backs, information on where the fight is, and someone to keep the Extras out of the line of fire.”
The best support in Tokyexico City needed a support? I suppressed a laugh. “I’d love to do that for you. I’ll talk it over with Fursona, but we could probably be scouts for you and might be able to do some Extra rescue, too. I’ll be in tou—“
“Hold on,” Tele-Portal said, holding up a hand. “Fifteen seconds.”
“You’re off to battle?” I asked when her hand lowered.
“Yeah. Listen, I’ll swing by your apartment tomorrow afternoon. We can go over the auxiliary role, figure out how best to use you, and talk things over with you, me, Fursona, and Braningham. But for now, get out of here before someone else engages and things get rough.”
I nodded, took to the air, and disappeared from the soon-to-be battlefield. As I went, a new System message filled my vision.
[Episode Canceled! No Longer Cast in Summer’s End]
By the time I landed on Walnut Tower’s roof, Fursona knew I was coming, and she was waiting there, helmet barely on. I hit the ground and let the tension melt off as she held me up. She didn’t say anything until we were inside, and even then, it wasn’t a recrimination about how I’d been stupid or anything—just a long, rambling, “I was so worried about you. Did Tele-Portal get there in time? I couldn’t think of anyone else to call! What happened?”
“I…” I untransformed, trying to think about how best to explain it. “I got caught up in stuff, and I owe you for bailing me out. But also, I think I got us a job for Power Wars. We’re working with The Triad.”