[Casting Call]
[Episode: Power War: Cell Theory - R]
[Role: Prison-Breaker! Do you accept the role? (Yes/No)]
[Role Focus: Drama + Cunning]
[Cell Theory: Act One in Progress]
It was 11:15 when Fursona and I ducked across the border between Mid-Town and Thornton. If I was right, Su-Bin’s protest should have the pro-Ilneat supers’ attention. That left us free to act unchecked. In theory, at least.
The plan was simple—mostly because we didn’t know what we were up against. We’d break into The Agent’s private prison, fight through the defenses until we got to Dr. Jackson, and rescue her. Bring her to Mrs. N. That was it. Nothing fancy.
So, of course, things went off the rails almost instantly.
Thornton’s southern tip wasn’t any better off than the rest of it. The feeling of decay and dereliction was almost oppressive, and the half-melted snow revealing mud, cracked sidewalks, and weeds didn’t help. In the distance, I could hear an engine revving, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. “Okay, keep it together,” I whispered.
“I’m good,” Fursona said behind me. She’d gone Kaiju-Sona again. Part of me wondered if she’d ever use the other suits again.
“I know. I’m talking to myself,” I retorted. The plan might not have been anything fancy, but a lot was riding on it all the same. Fursona and I had to execute flawlessly, and Su-Bin had to hold attention for as long as she could. Otherwise, this would be the shortest offensive of all time.
The engine drew closer, and I whirled to face the oncoming vehicle.
It wasn’t a car. It wasn’t even a motorcycle—at least not a street-legal one. The massive dirt bike’s spiked wheels ripped into the asphalt, leaving behind molten gouges in the rider’s wake. For a second, I thought it had to be Roadrage, but the devil helmet left me no doubt—this was 3V1L!
The bike zipped forward impossibly quickly, and I threw myself to the side. Fursona slammed a shoulder into the handlebar, and though the rider managed to stay on, the bike’s swaying knocked a passenger off her back.
As the second V rolled, the first one flipped her bike around and shouted, “This is 3V1L territory now! Leave!”
“Why is it that 3V1L always takes the worst places in town,” Fursona asked through our comms. I shrugged.
The bike rolled a little closer as the other V picked herself up and brushed off asphalt that seemed to have melted to her skin. She squinted at us. Then her eyes went wide. “Number Two, that’s Understudy! The One L wants her, and he wants her alive!”
The dirt biker revved her engines. It shot a cloud of asphalt our way like a huge, never-ending shotgun blast, pushing me back until I fired a [Starlance] toward the rider.
[HP 14/15]
[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]
Meanwhile, the tar spiderwebbing in the street had started to boil, filling the air with a sickly petroleum smell. I whirled to attack the other V, but her hands were elbow-deep in the road, and a circle of half-melted gravel and asphalt ten feet wide had formed around her.
“Outrider and Felsic clones!” Fursona shouted. “Switch!”
I rotated, letting the massive Kaiju lumber after the dirt-bike-riding V. The Kaiju suit could probably have tanked the fire damage, but I didn’t have to. I hopped into the air with [Solar Wing] just as the Felsic clone erupted the street. Cement and streetlights shattered, the street caved in as a massive, orange-glowing sinkhole formed in its center, and the V balanced on a pillar as lava surged around her, melting the snow and setting the weeds ablaze.
Somehow, it felt a little underwhelming.
“I don’t think it’s Felsic,” I said. “He’d have taken out the whole district.”
“Burn, bitch!” she screamed at me. A gigantic fireball roared my way, exploding against the side of a building and shattering the brickwork. It rained down around me, but I whirled and fired two more [Starlances]. Both hit, knocking her off her pillar—but another semi-molten tower rocketed out of the ground to catch her!
[Dramatic Damage! +2 Drama Points]
Now she was moving, hopping from pillar to half-molten pillar like a pair of gigantic, red-hot stilts. I dove under a stone spear as it erupted from the side of a building; a second later, the whole building collapsed, and a wave of lava surged down the street.
“I’m heading east,” Fursona said. “Got a couple of good hits in.”
“Understood. Split Ends into Hammertime,” I responded, heading east as well, but moving more to the north. The reality was that this Felsic-wannabe—maybe Cinder-Ella’s power-set—had the most destructive potential of any V I’d ever encountered. But she also posed basically no threat to me as long as I kept her at a distance.
The fight looked flashy, but it was…honestly kind of boring. I fired another [Starlance], dodged another pillar, and gained another few feet of distance. Then I repeated. And repeated.
[Dramatic Damage! +3 Drama Points]
“Are you going to do anything else, or should we just keep dancing?” I asked.
Stolen story; please report.
“Understudy, pull out!” Fursona shouted in my ear.
“No,” the V said, lowering herself to the ground and melting the street again. This time, the gooey tar and red-hot gravel spread out around a figure standing in the middle of the street—one with a cane in one and and bowler hat in the other. The hat was improbably cut to fit his mask. “He is.”
The new V locked eyes with me through the mask. Then he raised his heel. “Cover me, One and Two. I’ll deal with this.”
His shoe touched the ground, and the whole district seemed to shake.
----------------------------------------
“Tapdance, Tapdance, Tapdance!” Fursona screamed into her mic.
“Oh, shit!” I yelled back.
Oh, shit was right. Tapdance was a city-destroyer. If left unchecked, it’d be just like that Episode Dr. Jackson had shown us during the first semester of freshman year. There’d be nothing left of Thornton—or The Agent’s private prison. Sure, there weren’t many people living here. But some people did. And his power was indiscriminate, unlike Dark Girl Shock and Awe’s. He’d destroy everything.
That made my choice pretty clear; we had to drop the dancing V, regardless of what the other two did while we weren’t countering them.
“Focus on the dancer,” I said, toning down a little and letting the mic pick up my voice. “The other two don’t matter; we can mop them up after.”
“Got it. No ultimate forms, though.” Fursona roared and stomped toward the villain, pushing through the shockwaves rippling out from the dancing man. His cane spun, and his hat flew into the air.
I used [Bit-Part Barrage]. The first bolt hit, exploding against him in a pink-and-blue lightburst, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But somehow, he danced right through the stun. The other lances slammed into him a moment later, and those broke his concentration.
[Dramatic Damage! +5 Drama Points]
That let Fursona close the gap—only to take a massive burst of lava to the face as the street erupted. Sweat poured down my face even at my distance, and the black smoke cloud sparked with lightning. At the same moment, the dirt bike leaped through the air, spiked wheels ripping at nothing as the engine screamed. “I’m going the distance!” the rider yelled.
It hit me, and I fell, wings desperately trying to right myself.
Before I could, I hit the molten asphalt.
[HP 10/14]
It burned everywhere all at once, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I rolled, trying to break free of the tar, and pushed myself to my feet even as a wave of lava surged toward me. The heat was unbelievable—the street melted even more as I launched myself skyward again.
But Not-Tapdance was at it again. We had to stop him, or, just like that Episode, he’d break all of Thornton to take us out. Already, Fursona looked wobbly as the earth rippled under her feet, and a nearby building’s brickwork was raining into the street below.
I used [Power-Weaving] and [Quick-Time Changed] into Rainy Day. It was time to lay on the damage as much as I could. My feet touched down on the temporarily frozen street, and I dashed forward, using every second of my [Freeze Frame] to close the gap.
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]
Everything shook as soon as time moved again, but Rainy Day had the tools to disrupt Not-Tapdance—I hoped. I rolled right to dodge an oncoming dirt bike, then used [Thunderhead] at near-point-blank to buffet the dancing villain off his feet.
[Pause for Effect! +1 Drama Point]
[Floating Points: 3 Flamboyance, 1 Grit]
The world slowed, then stopped…shaking, that is. Even as my cloud built overhead, though, the volcanic one from the street behind me rose to meet it, and flames spread along the weed-choked gutters. Steam poured off the quickly melting snow.
Another ball of lava exploded, this time on Fursona’s armored plush, and she rolled on the ground to put out the fire. I wanted to help her—to use [Virga] to quell the blaze.
But Not-Tapdance was getting back to his feet. “I said cover me,” he said. His shoes clicked again, and the rocking started. This time, when Kaiju-Sona lunged toward him, he tip-tapped away, whacking her with his cane. I nodded; he was good.
Then I used [Ride the Lightning].
[Electric Lightshow! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Thunderstruck! +1 Drama Point]
[Power-Weaving! +6 Flamboyance, 3 Grit, and 1 Drama Points]
But even as the storm broke overhead, I could tell it wouldn’t be enough. Worse, a volley of gravel and molten asphalt arced through the air and shattered against me, and yet another fireball burst overhead a moment later. I screamed as hot shards of sharp stone rained down on me.
[HP 7/14]
Still, we’d made progress. A little more, and—
CRASH!
The first building came down. Bricks and steel screamed as it twisted, collapsing into the fiery sinkhole below. I desperately tried to dodge the stones, but even as I did, someone screamed.
Someone was riding the building down.
I used [Quick-Time Change] and rocketed toward the building as soon as the Understudy transformation was finished. Fighting Not-Tapdance didn’t matter; I’d said the whole thing was wrong, and we should be helping people, not just fighting.
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Rejuvenation Activated: HP 11/15]
The whole building was coming apart. I only had one shot at getting the resident out, so I aimed for the window where I saw a man’s silhouette. Then I crashed through it, wrapping one arm around his waist and hoisting him clean off his feet. There wouldn’t be time to turn around; instead, I blasted his apartment’s door open with a [Starlance] and zoomed out into the hall.
[Dramatic Rescue! +1 Drama Point]
A moment later, we were back outside, breathing dusty air. “You should be safe here,” I said, depositing him on the ground. “Was anyone else in there?”
“N-no. I lived alone. Last tenant in the building. Hell, last tenant on the block.”
I breathed a sigh of relief even as the tension left my shoulders. Thank god Thornton sucked so much. “Okay. Stay here, or run away. Either is fine, but don’t follow me.
Fursona roared, an ear-splitting shriek accompanied by crackling flames, and the ground rolled again. I jumped back into the air, leaving pink and blue contrails behind me. Not-Tapdance needed to be stopped.
So this time, when I got to the battlefield—dodging a dirt bike in the process—I shot straight for the villain. Instead of using any of my powers, I lowered my head and led with it, right into his gut. If I could keep him off his feet, he’d be powerless.
It’d be just like the Outrider vs. Tapdance Episode.
And it was working. Fursona stomped toward us, shrugging off another fireball as the volcanic V struggled to stop her. If she got to us, she could finish off Not-Tapdance. It’d be easy to mop up the other two villains from there.
But something grabbed me by my collar and pulled. Hard.
Gravel shot up next to me. I kicked and thrashed, trying to break my attacker’s grip even as she yelled, “Get off him!” in my ear. We bumped along the road. Asphalt and gravel gouged into me, and my whole body felt stretched. I needed a plan. Something had to change before the dirt bike V pulled us too far from Fursona.
[HP 10/15]
The solution was simple. I couldn’t fight while holding Not-Tapdance. And Fursona couldn’t catch up. So I needed to get rid of Not-Tapdance.
I let go. Then, as he hit the road behind us, I kicked with both feet.
[Badass Damage! +1 Badass Point]
He rolled, arms flailing as the rough road chewed through his superhero damage. I used [Quick-Time Change], switching to Copy-Cat. And Fursona leaped into the air, then crashed down on Not-Tapdance before he could regain his feet. They disappeared in a cloud of debris as another fireball exploded on her back.
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]
When the dust around them cleared, she was standing, and he wasn’t.