We found out pretty quickly what else he’d done to the drone.

[Power War: Evergreen Burn: Act Two in Progress]

The drone zipped out from behind a building the moment Act Two kicked off, its camera light flashing in a dizzying array of colors as it sped toward us. My phone buzzed as I fled, trying once again to let Fursona take the bulk of the fighting so I could find Su-Bin and the other god-damned APPEAL members. Screams for help rose from here and there as my phone buzzed, and I checked it quickly.

Something exploded behind me—I couldn’t tell if it was another manhole cover or if the drone had crashed—and I put the phone away again. “Rocko’s working on it! On my way to the next group!” I half-shouted into my mic.

“You got it! Hope they don’t pick [Fast Forward] again, or he’ll get by me,” Fursona replied. I grinned between breaths, knowing that Rocko was listening in on us and that he wouldn’t pick something that’d make us lose.

I had more important things to do than find out what Rocko’s plan was, though, like finding a way across the acid river swirling between me and a group of APPEAL members standing on a metal bench before their refuge gave way to the rising corrosive tide.

“Okay, we’re going to do some shifting,” I muttered to myself as Fursona kicked the drone, sending it spinning out over the green stream. I popped into the air with [Solar Wing], then quickly landed on the bench, which groaned ominously under the added weight. Then, before the APPEAL folks could decide whether to push me off, yell at me, or beg for help, I used [Quick-Time Change] and switched to Rescue Girl Lucky Star.

[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]

“Hi, don’t be afraid! I’m here to help!” I said cheerfully. “You want out of here, right?”

“Yes!” One of the Extras started yelling, and then all of them started shouting, screaming and begging to be flown away first. Their remaining signs splashed into the acid, sending up little droplets that slapped against our legs, adding a few yelps of pain into the mix.

“Okay. One at a time. You’re going to fall through a portal and show up…uh…somewhere safe but still nearby. Don’t panic!” I dropped a [Noncombatant Teleport] under the first one, then the second, and within ten seconds, I stood on an empty, and very, very wobbly bench.

[Dramatic Rescue! +4 Drama Points]

Now I just had to get myself moving again. I couldn’t justify a [Quick-Time Change] for every rescue—not when I’d have to use the regular Transformation Sequence to change into Understudy after every one. As I slowly did the dance and the bench creaked and started to tip below me, I wished I had another speedy change—or that I’d put the flight power on Lucky Star.

I launched into the sky on [Solar Wings] a few seconds before the bench sank into the ever-growing acid sea with a hissing sound and an acrid fume cloud, then spun, looking for the next group.

Instead, I found Livestream.

Rocko had clearly gotten into his stream.

“Okay, we’re going to use [Flash-Intro Punch], then [Flash-Intro Punch], then [Flash-Intro Punch], because our anonymous new bidder’s dumping all their money into it, even though it’s useless against—“

Fursona screeched from twenty feet in the air, drowning out the on-air supervillain.

“—that,” he finished, punching in her direction again.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got him under control!” Fursona said.

“Only until the donations stabilize!” Livestream shouted. “I’m ending this game in five minutes!”

Okay, five minutes. I had five minutes to get control over the APPEAL Extras, and then I’d have to convert over to a fight against the supervillain. That was enough time, right?

Right?

I rocketed away from Eagle-sona as she blasted the retreating supervillain again. The camera drone strafed her, trying to keep her attention off Livestream, but she was too focused. I circled up, looking for another group.

Then another.

Then another.

◄▼►

It wasn’t until I’d racked up another seven Drama Points that I found Su-Bin, and when I did, I wished she’d been anywhere else.

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A pair of APPEAL Extras stood next to her while she rolled on the ground, her arm covered in burn wounds. I dove quickly, getting a scream from one of the Extras as a reaction, and landed next to her, already shifting into Lucky Star. I used [Audition Notes] at the same time as I asked, “What happened?”

[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point]

[Audition Notes for Su-Bin Pak: This Extra has been a thorn in your side for an entire semester, but she’s also important to you. Doing everything in your power might go a long way toward changing her mind about you, but she might also be so set in her ways that she doesn’t change. Su-Bin has some deep-seated hatred of supers—will you be enough to overcome that?]

“Manhole cover. It flipped acid across her,” one of the Extras said. “We can’t move her!”

I nodded as Su-Bin writhed in pain, rolling half onto her unburnt side to glare at me. “Screw you, Understudy,” she spat through gritted teeth. “I don’t need your goddamn help.”

I’d never heard her so vehement, and I had to take a deep breath. “President Pak, you need my help badly, and so do your friends. You’re stuck on this block, and Acid Burn’s filling up the whole neighborhood with acid. Unless you want to stay, you should take my assistance.”

“No. You can’t help me because I won’t let you,” Su-Bin said.

I nodded slowly, then knelt beside her. “That’s interesting. You think I’m a doctor. I’m not. I’m a superhero, and we help people. It’s what we’re supposed to do.”

Then I reached down, touched her shoulder—she flinched and tried to roll away but couldn’t—and activated [Jinx-Bearer].

The pain was unbelievable. It ripped up my arm and the entire side of my body as Su-Bin’s burns disappeared, reappearing on my skin. Tears ran down my face, and I bit back a scream but couldn’t stop the whimper of pain that came with it. My eyes narrowed as the pain faded slightly but didn’t completely disappear.

[Gritty Sacrifice! +2 Grit Points]

[HP 4/8 (Temporarily restricted from 12)]

Su-Bin gasped, looking at her arm, then glared at me even more. “That doesn’t change things. I still don’t want your help.” She looked relieved and exhausted, and I wondered how long she’d be lying here, letting Acid Burn’s biggest power eat at her.

“I don’t care if you want it,” I said, still gritting my teeth. My superhero damage wasn’t. “I’m not here to help people who want it. I’m here to help people who need it.” I slowly pushed myself to my feet, hoping the movement wouldn’t hurt.

It did. But it didn’t drop my superhero damage any further, so I kept going, dropping a [Noncombatant Teleport] under the first Extra. When she disappeared, I aimed another at the second, who vanished a moment later.

“You ready for yours?” I asked, getting ready to send Su-Bin somewhere safe.

She glared back, but Fursona's voice interrupted me before I could get the [Noncombatant Teleport] going. “I lost Livestream. He’s heading your way. Ten seconds!”

I paused, head whirling, then started shifting into Understudy. I couldn’t get Su-Bin out and shift to a combat-ready Costume, but I could shift to a fighter, beat Livestream—or at least keep Su-Bin safe—and then turn back to Lucky Star when the fight was finished.

But I didn’t know if I’d make it. The villain was closing in; in the moment before I closed my eyes and spun, his camera drone and gaudy electric-blue suit caught my eye. Then the spin kicked in, and I just had to hope I’d be in time.

I was. I opened my eyes as Livestream’s fist rocketed toward me, activated [Power-Weaving], and [Quick-Time Changed] right back out of Understudy and into Rainy Day. The [I-Frame Transform] ate his [Flash-Intro Punch] and rewarded me with a few Style Points.

[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]

[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]

[Floating Points: 1 Flamboyance]

It also brought me down to an entire foot and a half shorter than the villain, who swung again as I backed up dangerously close to the acid-covered street. He missed—close enough that I felt the wind in my hair—and I used [Wind Front] to force him back. It splashed acid his way, too, and he rolled to avoid it.

[Badass Move! +1 Badass Point]

[Environmental Expert! +1 Cunning Point]

[Floating Points: 3 Flamboyance, 1 Grit]

Then, before he could recover and disrupt me, I [Rode the Lightning]. It didn’t hit as hard as it could have with [Thunderhead], but it drove him backward as the [Power-Weaving] combo landed.

[Electric Lightshow! +1 Flamboyance Point]

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

Fursona hit the ground a moment later, wings catching her fall as she avoided my lightning and tried to slam her talons into the villain but missed.

The earth shook under us, and the acid started to drain—maybe into the sewers, or maybe Underdelver had found somewhere to put it all. With the threat of instant, painful death receding, I pressed the attack, [Quick-Time Changing] back into Understudy.

[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]

[Rejuvenation Activated: HP 8/8 (Temporarily restricted from 12)]

It wasn’t full superhero damage, but it’d do for now. I fired a [Starlance] at Livestream, whose drone caught it on camera—and then right in its lens. It didn’t crack—the Ilneats built them strong—but it wobbled and had to recover a few yards out of the way, facing the wrong way.

[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]

He punched out, this time catching me twice in rapid succession and driving the air from my lungs. As I spun with the second blow, I saw Su-Bin running toward a street corner. She shot a glare our way, and I realized that, more importantly than beating Livestream, I needed to catch up to her, make sure she was okay, and try to—somehow—explain my version of what had happened to her.

[HP 6/8]

Otherwise, APPEAL would only go after Understudy even more, and I was already on their enemy list.

The ground shook again, and Underdelver’s massive mech arm reached through the sidewalk and grabbed Livestream’s leg. It pinned the villain in place, the camera hovering overhead. Livestream looked into it and said, “Looks like this stream’s done, Livestreamers. I’ll catch you next time! Keep your feeds pointed my way!”

[End of Act Two: Act Three in Five Minutes]

I didn’t listen to the rest of it. I was already airborne, riding my sailboard as I searched the streets below for Su-Bin.

By the time I found her, the intermission between acts was almost over. She’d run for a park nearby, away from Acid Burn’s rivers and Livestream’s shenanigans. I dipped my windsurfer’s bow toward a nearby park bench and landed beside her. “Let’s chat.”