[Episode Finished!]
[Power Wars: Evergreen Burn - R (Auxiliary PG-13]
[Penalties: N/A]
[Episode Finished! +3 of each Style Point]
[Winner Winner! +3 of each Style Point]
[Role Focus: Drama+Cunning - Goal Partially Met: +10 Drama Points]
[Alias - Understudy] [Archetype - Magical Girl] [Community Rank - 201/523]
[HP 12/12]
[Styles and Skills]
►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence
►Combo Skills - Power-Weaving
►Badass (48)
►Cunning (57) (Skill Roll Available)
►Drama (63) (Skill Roll Available)
► Bit-Part Barrage 2
► Starlance 1
►Flamboyance (61) (Skill Roll Available)
►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire 3
►Stored Costumes: (Rainy Day, Copy Cat, Lab Assistant Panic)
►Solar Wing 1
► Quick-Time Change 3
► Spotlight Strike 1
►Grit (25)
► I-Frame Transform 3
We’d finished the Episode, so by all rights, I should be rolling my skills, freed from the camera drones overhead. I didn’t know how the Triad had wrapped things up with Acid Burn, but they’d gotten the win, and so had we, so it must’ve gone well. I should have been checking out my new Cunning, Drama, and Flamboyance skills, making adjustments to my builds, and meeting up with Fursona.
Instead, I stood in front of Su-Bin with my arms out, blocking her path.
“President Pak, have a seat,” I said, gesturing to the bench. She glared but followed my direction, and I relaxed slightly. Maybe she was here to listen. Could we actually have a reasonable conversation? I sat next to her. “What do you think happened here? No, that’s a bad first question. Why were you here? Aren’t you in school?”
“Yes, but thanks to this Power War bullshit, I’ve got the days off as long as I can keep up with my classes. We’ve been hitting up town halls across all the districts, trying to get our faces on camera so people will wake up and see what’s happening!” Su-Bin practically spat those last words.
“I see. And what do you think is happening?”
She paused, noticing the camera drone for the first time. “This is still an episode, huh? And let me guess? I’m the bad guy, right? Well, I’m not gonna be your propaganda. What’s happening is there’s a system in place that benefits from ‘Extras’’ deaths, the destruction of their homes, and the breaking of their societies. There’s a whole world out there beyond what you’re doing, but you’re too stupid and self-absorbed to see it.”
“I…” I paused, breathing deeply. This was a much more aggressive President Pak than I’d experienced last semester. “I’m just as opposed to the bad things happening to people as you are, President Pak. Why do you think I put myself between your people and the acid? Why do you think I ignored the good, easy fight against Livestream to find you? It’s a flawed world, sure. There shouldn’t be villains to fight, but there are, and if heroes don’t, they won’t back down and retire or anything.”
“So you’re doing me a favor by fighting? You know, Man vs. Nature didn’t destroy my life—not really. It was the supers. They showed up, fought the ‘good fight,’ and then left without really seeing the consequences of their heat rays and super-strength. They always leave without seeing the consequences, and unpowered people have to bear them.”
Something about those words stung, and I couldn’t figure out why for a minute. Then I nodded slowly. “So that’s why you hate me? Because I didn’t have to help fix the Grant Building?”
“No. I hate you because you’re a stupid college student who’s got delusions that you’re something special.”
“Okay, let’s step back. What do you think would have happened here today if Fursona and I hadn’t been here?” I said, standing up.
Su-Bin stood, too, sighing. “If you and Fursona hadn’t showed up, we would have shouted slogans at Acid Burn while on her cameras. She would have made some threatening gestures at us, maybe sprayed the road with a little acid, and then gotten away, and we would have had another peaceful protest on the news. Or, maybe, the Triad would have rolled in a few minutes later, and we could have had some footage with us protesting them, too.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Instead, we got this. I’ll have to rally the troops and see who’s still with us. You know, we’ve protested half a dozen supervillains and superheroes in the last week, and nothing’s gone this badly.”
“I don’t see how it’s my fault,” I said. I really didn’t. I’d been patrolling, and I’d done my job perfectly, bringing in the major leaguers to deal with Acid Burn, then running rescue while Fursona fought the minor league Livestream. So far, APPEAL members had complicated several of our Episodes since the Power War started, plus the Orientation Episode, and who knew how many more times we’d run into Su-Bin and her friends?
“Let me guess? ‘I’m just doing my job, citizen.’ Give me a break,” Su-Bin said. “If you really wanted to help people, you’d—
“Enough,” I said. “This isn’t helpful for either of us. I’m trying to help protect people from villains because, like it or not, the world we live in has them. They’re here, and they’re not going anywhere. I did a lot of thinking after our last conversation. If I don’t help people with my powers, what’s the point of having them? So I’m trying, and it seems like no matter what I do, you APPEAL people won’t be happy until I’m in some superpower-dedicated city under the New Gotham Accords.”
“No, I won’t be happy until there aren’t superpowers anymore,” Su-Bin said.
“Okay, there’s no reasoning with you, President Pak. Do you want a lift back to campus? I can drop you off at the Student Union Building.”
“Yes. The least you can do since Carl’s car got melted.”
As I used [Solar Wing] to summon my windsurfer, I called Fursona. Her fursuit had gotten wrecked, but she’d still be effective as a fighter. Still, I wanted to check in with her before I left. “Hey. I’m heading back to campus. Are you okay to get back on your own? If not, Su-Bin and I can figure out how to get you back.”
“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” Fursona said into my ear. “Did you talk some sense into her?”
“No. See you at the Green Room.”
The whole flight home, I waited for Su-Bin to say something—anything—but she stayed silent. The moment the camera drone left, she lost all interest in talking.
Honestly, though, that was a mercy for both of us, because I was furious, and so was she. I couldn’t figure out how to make her listen to my side of things, and even though I understood why she thought what she did, she wanted me to stop existing—at least how I was. Sometimes, superhero work was frustrating, but I liked doing what I did, especially now that I had a Costume I could dedicate to rescue work and helping people.
She didn’t get that, though. Was she right that people—innocent people, mostly—got screwed over by the fighting? Yes. But the MIRACLE program and Ilneat money fixed those issues most of the time, and Thornton was a rare, early failure. From everything I’d read in school, MIRACLE had succeeded at rebuilding 94% of the time, and usually came in under budget and ahead of schedule; that was rare enough in government projects that it’d stuck in my head.
And when MIRACLE rebuilding wasn’t enough, some teams of supers stepped in. When they couldn’t, the Council of Heroes seemed willing to help. Thornton aside—and Tele-Portal had said their problems were mundane now, not super—the city seemed to be doing alright. At least, it would be if we could get this Power War under control.
I landed fifteen minutes later, at the parking garage, and Su-Bin stepped off my sailboard and disappeared into the rows of cars. Presumably, she didn’t want to be seen with me; I understood, since hitching a ride from the superhero she hated the most probably wasn’t a good look. I took off, not bothering to say goodbye since she hadn’t either. Maybe a long flight would clear my head.
I banked over the University district, then dove low to get a good look at Tottergarten. Inside, The Narrator and Honeycomb were probably managing the Playpen Patrol, although I couldn’t figure out how they’d do that without their retired villains. Nearby, a little league Episode popped up, but I ignored it. Some other hero could take that one.
I’d saved a lot of lives today. I’d done good work, and we’d proven that an Eagle-sona and Lucky Star combo could play the auxiliary role the Triad wanted from us. We’d even won the Episode despite not one, but two drop-in villains showing up to spite us.
So why did I feel off about the whole thing?
I pulled up on the border between University and the Poudre districts and sat staring into the 3V1L-controlled neighborhoods on my sailboard. The villainous group hadn’t gone after Fursona and me since ‘The Root of all 3V1L,’ so why did they suddenly have it out for me now? They’d dropped their goal of beating Acid Burn and sacrificed their entire mission for a chance at taking Fursona and me off the board.
That begged the question of why. We’d left them alone, and with their organization’s model, they’d be able to grow faster than we could. The reality was that if we didn’t start dealing with 3V1L soon, they’d have the Poudre districts completely locked down again, and we’d need a Top Ten hero to dislodge them. And we’d been playing right into their hands.
All they would have had to do was leave us alone, and we’d have done the same thing. Instead, they’d dropped everything to attack us.
I watched the border for another ten minutes until a text pulled me from my vigil.
Whether I’d figured out anything or not, it was time to go home. Fursona was waiting, and we needed to talk this Episode over, because things didn’t sit right with me.
While I flew, I finally rolled my new powers.
[Rank-Up! Card Curio 1: Temporary buffs based on the draw to help with the future]
[New Skill! Spatial Warp 1: Move an enemy or ally ten feet in any direction. Must end in a safe location, but the location doesn’t have to stay safe]
[Rank-Up! Cat-Scratch Fever 1: Initial impact fully blinds opponent for five seconds]
The new power seemed useful, but I couldn’t figure out if I wanted it in Lucky Star. It might take the place of [Hog the Limelight], but I couldn’t be sure. Was it offensive? Would [Combat Inhibitor] stop it from being useful? If not, maybe I could bend the rules with other powers, at least to protect myself.
The rank-ups were just rank-ups, although the [Card Curio] one had the potential to boost me a ton if I could line up those buffs with [Hometown Heroine]. [Cat Scratch Fever] had a lot more utility as a combo piece now, since it could lock down villains for a few seconds, letting me combo off more easily. Still, they weren’t anything to be excited for—not really.
I landed on the roof and hurried inside the Green Room, where Bianca lounged on the chaise. She’d unsuited, and I hurried to join her. Once I’d finally untransformed, I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think Su-Bin’s going to come around, Bee.”
“No. But that’s not what kept you out, is it?”
“Nope. We’ve got other problems.” I sat down. “We’ve been playing this wrong.”
“About what?” Fursona asked.
“3V1L. We’ve got to be more proactive in dealing with them, or they’ll get back up to their major league power. I propose we shift our focus. We’ll still do some work with the Triad, but from here out, our main goal is figuring out how to manage the rise of 3V1L. We’ll start by learning 3V1L’s history.”