Stella-Lunar unwrapped the Jolly Rancher even as I fired a [Starlance] her way. She ignored the impact, just like our fight in Vigilant Vow’s lair, and held out her hand. Fursona was already dashing toward the little girl, but it was too late. Even as the toddler’s dino costume’s entire fabric mouth closed around Stella’s hand, I knew she wouldn’t make it in time.
Lady Lockless was near the door, and the rest of our people were scattered to the winds in the blazing-hot…Hot Zone. If either Kaiju Kid or Stella-Lunar got out of control, they’d be in danger.
Sure enough, Kaiju Kid began growing until she towered over the Hot Zone’s skyscrapers. She roared, and beneath the roar, I could hear a tiny, high-pitched scream. A gout of fire rippled out from her mouth, her tail thrashed, and an entire intersection worth of stoplights crashed into a building.
“I’ve got this,” Fursona said.
I nodded. “Don’t hurt her. Just try to keep her off our people.”
“Got it, Understudy. I’ll do my best.” I heard her knuckles crack from inside her Kaiju suit, and then she started growing, too, her lizard fursuit doubling in size, then doubling again and again until she looked Kaiju Kid in the eye. “COME ON, KID! SPIT OUT THE CANDY!” she roared, almost as loudly as the first giant dinosaur suit.
“NO! RAWR!” Kaiji Kid screamed, and crashed toward my super-sized sidekick.
The battle for the Hot Zone was on.
As the massive lizards crashed into each other, Stella and I both opened fire. I dashed right, rolling into a [Limelight Barrage], as she used [Moonbeam] and [Reverse Gravity] at the same time. The beam zipped my way, while the gravity shift tossed Kaiju-Sona a couple of feet to the side and unbalanced her just as Kaiju Kid slammed into her. My light lances peppered the number one superhero but didn’t stop her. Worse, her blast chunked me before I could [Quick-Time Change] it.
[Dramatic Damage! +4 Drama Points]
[HP 12/15]
She was barely paying attention to me; instead, she was fighting me and interfering with Kaiju-Sona! I needed more firepower so I could draw her attention; if Fursona could handle the kid without being interrupted, we could do this. So, as another [Moonbeam] fired toward me, I [Quick-Time Changed] into Spotlight Star.
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Advanced Accessories: Magical Girl Understudy, Magical Girl Rainy Day, Lab Assistant Panic]
[Skill Siphon Activated: Style Points Disabled]
[Meter’s Running: 9/10]
[Steel Yourself]
The three spotlights lit up in the sky, drowning out the moonlight as they converged on me, and I struck a pose that felt like Golden Goose’s best. Then the hood covered my hair, armor clasped tight around my arms, and the oversized wand with the comedy and tragedy masks on its tip slapped into my hand. I narrowed my eyes at Stella-Lunar as time resumed. Nine powers. I had nine powers to end this, or at least to get such a massive advantage that Stella-Lunar’s Eclipse Form wouldn’t be enough to turn the tide.
“It’s time for your curtain call, Stella Lunar!”
“Well, your sun’s falling, Understudy!” Stella said, voice full of confidence.
It was time to wipe the smugness off her face.
“[Science Has Rules?] Not at this power level?” I pointed at the stoplights, and they warped and bent as their particle forces shifted them into the shape I wanted them: two giant metal wings that hovered behind me, each with three holes in them. Electricity sparked across the surface, arcing into the holes as they glowed brighter and brighter. “Quasar Laser Phaser Cannon, using endothermic cooling systems and Shockwave-based recharge capabilities.”
[Pseudoscientific Mumbo-Jumbo!]
[Meter’s Running: 8/10]
BWEEEEEEM!
The Quasar Laser Phaser fired, a beam of energy that rivaled anything Eclipse Form Stella-Lunar could muster tearing down the street toward her. She dodged toward the battling titans’ legs, but the beam was too wide. It clipped her, knocking her aside. I was already recharging my beams; hopefully, I’d get a couple of shots off before the traffic light holes melted down.
[Pseudoscientific Mumbo-Jumbo!]
Yes! Each shot didn’t count as one. I dashed out of the way as a gigantic plushie foot crashed into the asphalt behind me. Its claws punched through the street, and water gushed up from a pipe as Kaiju Kid screamed in surprise. She swung a fist toward me, and it shook the buildings nearby. “Fursona! She’s going to hurt our friends!” I shouted.
“I’m…doing my best!” Fursona yelled back. Then she screamed. A moment later, I realized why. Stella had fired a [Maximum Starlance] into her leg. “Get her off me!”
BWEEEEEEEM!
I fired the Quasar Laser Phaser again, dangerously close to my partner. This time, my steel wings did overheat. But the blast also pushed Stella-Lunar back. She jumped into the air, hovering in place fifty feet overhead—near the two Kaiju’s hip height.
Fursona needed cover, so I used [Solar Wing]—wincing at the lost power—and followed her into the air as she fired another [Maximum Starlance] toward Fursona. It hit, and my partner swore.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
[Meter’s Running: 7/10]
As Stella-Lunar spotted me, she dipped toward the asphalt again. I used [Power-Weaving], diving after her, but before I could get a good shot with a barrage, the two giant dinosaurs slammed into each other right in front of me. I slowed down, then dipped between their legs as their tails churned the asphalt into gravel and tar.
“Come on! Spit it out!” Kaiju-Sona roared again.
Stella-Lunar was waiting on the other side, and a [Tidal Pull] ripped me out of the air and sent me crashing toward a warehouse. Both Kaiju staggered, but stayed on their feet. “Jeeze, they’re big,” Stella muttered.
I crashed through a barred window, turning mid-air and firing a [Maximum Starlance] back toward the major leaguer. It caught her between the shoulder blades, sending her into a spiral that she recovered from even as I surged back out of the window on my [Solar Wing].
[Dramatic Damage!]
[Meter’s Running 6/10]
Then, before either of us could stabilize, we were both blasting away.
I used [Ride the Lightning] as I dove toward her, and she fired a [Sunbeam] my way, slicing through the air and ripping into both Kaijus’ plushie armor. One of the Kaijus’ tails swung through the air, and I looped around it as it hissed past my head. Stella used [Gravitic Anomaly], throwing everyone into the air and slamming them down again.
[HP 8/15]
[Electric Lightshow!]
[Meter’s Running: 5/10]
Then I dropped [Solar Wing] and threw myself toward her. As I hit her, I activated [Wind Front], catapulting her through the air. She fired another [Maximum Starlance], and I barely dodged it. As I disengaged and fell toward the ground, she spun, preparing an attack to pin me to the ground.
[Badass Move!]
[Meter’s Running: 4/10]
Before she could fire, I opened up with [Limelight Barrage]. She didn’t have the angle to dodge, and every combo-enhanced shot hit her; the first stunned her, and the rest of the [Maximum Starlances] piled in one after the other.
[Dramatic Damage!]
[Meter’s Running: 3/10]
[Power-Weaving!]
A moment later, [Solar Wing] activated automatically, and I pulled up a few feet from the ground.
[Meter’s Running: 2/10]
Stella didn’t. She hit it with what felt like the force of an atomic bomb. Had I knocked her out? I couldn’t tell from the dust cloud, but I’d definitely hurt her.
Then, a gigantic foot slammed into the pavement next to her, rocking the nearby buildings and the sounds of two gigantic plushy fists pummeling each other filled my ears. Kaiju-Sona’s bobbly eyes rocked on their stalks as she got shoved into a building. Glass shattered behind her, and she roared a gout of flame toward Kaiju Kid, who screamed “NO!” at the top of her lungs and breathed in.
The flames gushed toward her mouth, and a moment later, she breathed them back out at Fursona, who ‘dodged’ into a warehouse, crushing it and filling the street with scattered bits of superhero costumes and half-disassembled drones.
“I swear, by starlight and new moon, that you’re not winning this,” Stella-Lunar said.
I whirled. The dust had cleared, and Stella-Lunar was still up. I’d definitely hurt her—her costume was torn and shredded, and she had the beginning of a bruise on her face—but not enough for the win. I quickly lunged toward the wrecked drones as she fired another [Moonbeam] my way.
Two moves left. Could I push Stella further in two moves? More importantly, could I keep her off Kaiju-Sona and let my partner win the battle of the titans over our heads? I needed something big. Something powerful. As the [Moonbeam] made contact with my arm, I threw myself into the warehouse’s wreckage and used [Science has Rules?] again.
[HP 5/15]
This time, the thing I made wasn’t a cannon. As the drone parts clamped around me, I started rattling off what I imagined the specs might be. “Using sub-nuclear reactions and reverse-gravity dynamos, and taking Panic principles in mind, Solar-Stabilized HORROR armor!”
[Science has Rules?]
[Meter’s Running: 1/10]
I had no idea if the cobbled-together power armor that encased me would be enough to pull off a win here, but it was better protection than nothing. Plus, if I’d ‘designed’ it correctly, it’d hold up for one Costume change—maybe two. Two would be ideal.
Its jets started, throwing me wildly into the air toward Stella-Lunar. Before she could react, I’d already caught her in one steel arm and punched her across the jaw with the other. She fired a [Starlance], but I used [Hometown Heroine] to accelerate into Speedster territory and landed three more blows before she even got the power off.
[Showoff!]
[Meter’s Running: 0/10]
As Spotlight Star faded, I quickly transformed to Understudy, then used [Quick-Time Change] to freeze time and transformed right into Rainy Day inside the power armor. [Hometown Heroine] was still running, and I kept the pressure up on Stella-Lunar, punching and kicking the moment time started again.
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]
But the blows weren’t hitting as hard, even with the Solar-Stabilized HORROR armor and [Hometown Heroine] running. I glanced toward the two titans; Fursona has almost wrapped things up. I just needed to hold a little longer until—hopefully—she got the toddler in the other Kaiju suit under control.
Another [Tidal Pull] jerked me off of Stella and threw me through the air. Then she used [Reverse Gravity] and slammed me into a building. The HORROR armor came apart mid-air, and I [Quick-Time Changed] again before I could hit the ground, this time back to Understudy.
[HP 1/15]
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Rejuvenation Activated! HP 6/15]
It wasn’t much, but it was something. [Solar Wing] caught me automatically, and I fired another [Starlance] toward the major league heroine. She took it on the chin, rocking a little as it hit her.
“You did some good work there, Understudy. But now the moon’s setting, and the sun rises,” Stella said. She whirled in a flash of light, shifting costumes.
But Kaiju Kid roared before she could hit me with her next Form’s powers. Her high-pitched scream echoed across the Hot Zone, and both of us spun to face the hulking, toddler-driven plush suit.
She was losing. Kaiju-Sona had tackled her onto the asphalt and was wrapping her in a gigantic dino-hug that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t escape from. But as the scream went on and on, a boiling, pink light so bright it was almost white filled her massive costume’s mouth. It grew brighter and brighter until I couldn’t look at it anymore. Then the scream cut off, and the light concentrated into a beam.
It hit Fursona right in the face.
Chunks of Kaiju-Sona suit flew everywhere. A massive eye crashed through a skyscraper’s windows, revealing a scared-looking Ilneat who vanished a moment later. Fursona reeled back, shocked by the hit.
The shockwave blew out every window in the Hot Zone a moment later, raining glass onto the streets, the Ilneats, and the very surprised Pro-Earth League supers attacking the different buildings.
Kaiju Kid started shrinking back down to her normal size. The moment she reached toddler size, she yawned, curling up on the street. “Yuck! Nuc-lar bad breath!” Then she fell asleep, Fursona started shrinking, and I turned my attention back to Stella-Lunar.