The catwalk was quiet, but behind me, I could hear henches—and hopefully, Fursona—heading for the door. Below me, the three massive tanks of industrial solvent bubbled and popped away as they cooked, and tendrils of fumes filled the air. I didn’t want to stack up against Haze-Matt. Even a minor-league version of him could easily be trouble.
But I didn’t want Fake-Haze-Matt to get away, either. And they knew something about The Agent. So I had to win this one.
Fake-Haze-Matt moved first. The two gas fans on their wrists vomited pale yellow smog at me as they stomped across the catwalk. It stuck to the metal, dripping onto the grate and hissing when it hit the solvent tanks below. I took a step back, then another.
But soon, there weren’t any more steps back to take.
So, instead of retreating, I fired a [Limelight Barrage] toward the villain. The shots exploded against the hazmat suit and staggered against the railings. I pressed the attack with [Starlance], but they threw a grenade that exploded mid-air, filling the space between us with gray dust. It hung there as my lance zoomed toward it.
[Dramatic Damage! +5 Drama Points]
[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]
BOOM!
When my [Starlance] hit the dust cloud, it exploded in a blinding flash. The whole catwalk rocked, and Fake-Haze-Matt had to hold the railing to avoid falling. I wasn’t so lucky.
[HP 3/13]
The explosion threw me into the air, and I barely got my [Solar Wing] under me in time to avoid the boiling solvent tub. I banked, dipping down between the huge tanks and angling back up as another grenade exploded mid-air. The wings caught my forward motion, stopping me just out of the blast zone.
But the villain was already throwing another one, which wasn’t aimed my way. It was heading for the ground.
For Fursona and the henches.
I dove again, this time as hard as I could. And, just before the grenade hit the ground for its first bounce, I used [Quick-Time Change]. As Tails and I mind-merged, I had a brief second to make sure the angles were good.
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
Then I hit the ground. [Freeze Frame] was running, but I let my plushie cat’s instincts take over. We hit the ground. My legs coiled, and Tails lunged us toward the grenade.
[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]
We batted the grenade. Time started again, and it bounced under one of the solvent tanks even as Fursona and the henches ran for the door. I used [Leaping Leopards] to hop back onto the catwalk—now a literal one, too! Tails wanted me to arch my back and hiss, but I wasn’t giving her that much control.
[Badass Move! +1 Badass Point]
But I did need to do something about Fake Haze-Matt. And I didn’t want to knock them out. I wanted to talk to them and get the info I needed.
It was time for a change of plans.
I ran toward the villain, whose grenades were all reloading. They sprayed fog my way, filling the catwalk with an orange and red mixture of gasses that stung at my throat and forced me to cough, but then I was in range.
[Tough Kitty! +1 Grit Point]
[HP 2/13]
I used [Doom Ball]. My claws ripped into Fake Haze-Matt’s yellow suit, and though they didn’t catch any skin, the suit ruptured in a half-dozen places, leaking air with a deflating balloon sound. I leaped away before it could get in my nose.
[Badass Damage! +4 Badass Points]
The suit was deflating around Fake Haze-Matt as foul-smelling gas erupted from the half-dozen openings I’d created. But their grenades refilled, and the villain dumped all three onto the catwalk at once.
BOOM!
The whole platform shook. Then, metal shrieking, it tore itself apart right between us. Fake Haze-Matt clung to their railing as the whole thing swayed toward a solvent tank, splashing cleaning solution that hissed when it touched the floor. The burning smell in my nose overwrote all my instincts, replacing them with one Tails thought.
Climb.
I climbed, even as my half of the catwalk twisted free from its brackets and plunged into a boiling, bubbling tub below. “This place really doesn’t have safety inspectors, does it?” I asked, throwing myself toward the relative safety of the floor.
[Tough Kitty! +1 Grit Point]
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I hit the ground, rolling, and popped up just in time to see the catwalk pry open the grenade-damaged tank and send a wave of acrid concentrated cleaner my way. The greenish wave washed toward me, and I leaped for a pile of crates.
I didn’t quite make it—it was too far—and ten thousand gallons of acid rushed toward me.
Then, a hand closed on the scruff of my neck, and Fursona jerked me up onto what was left of the catwalk. “I got you, Understudy!”
I let her pull me up to safety, twisting to avoid the worst of the razor-sharp steel where it had broken off. The whole working floor was trashed; acid had torn pockmarks in the metal walls, and the floor was pitted where it wasn’t still covered with stinking, sizzling cleaner.
But more importantly, Fake Haze-Matt was still clinging to their perch on a slowly dissolving bit of catwalk.
“Thanks, babe, but we’ve gotta get them before they get away!” I said, pointing.
“I’ve got you on this, too!” Fursona said. She pointed back a couple of steps. “I’ll toss you.”
“What?”
“I’ll toss you. Neither of us can jump that gap and get him.”
“Alright,” I said, staring at the gap. It was farther than I’d ever jumped, but I didn’t have time to switch to Understudy for the flight. The villain was already running out of time.
I used [Leaping Leopard] again. This wouldn’t be so bad, right?
We’d never practiced this. Ever. So, I wasn’t quite ready for her to jump herself as my foot made contact with her paws. I went flying through the air, Tails yowling in my head the whole time, and barely caught Fake Haze-Matt with my extended paws, ripping them off the catwalk and slamming him into the ground.
[Badass Move! +1 Badass Point]
We rolled, and I ended up on top of them, pinning their gas fans to their sides with my legs while I straddled their stomach. Their mask fell off, and I suddenly realized I was straddling a very pretty-looking boy. “V, surrender, or I’ll finish the fight!” I shouted in his face, not expecting a response.
But shockingly, I got one. “I surrender,” the villain said.
----------------------------------------
The Third V was blonde, with longish hair that reeked of sweat and chemicals. He stared up at me with terrified-looking eyes. “What’s going on?” He asked, looking around stupidly.
I almost hit him right there. He couldn’t possibly believe that I bought his bullshit, could he? But when the camera drone dipped in close, and he flinched, I realized that he wasn’t a supervillain. He might not even have been a henchman. After all, he hadn’t told me anyone had made him do it.
So, if he wasn’t a V, and he wasn’t a hench, what was he?
“Could you get off me?” he asked, wincing.
“Not until you explain yourself.”
“I will, I will.” When I didn’t move, he turned even more petulant. “Please? I promise I’m done—really, I am. I’m just a really big fan of Haze-Matt’s shows, and when the opportunity presented itself to be him for a day or two, I couldn’t say no.”
“Wait.” I sat there, keeping the kid pinned. He couldn’t be much younger than me—maybe eighteen—and he looked genuine. But even so, I wasn’t about to let someone with Haze-Matt’s powers get up without backup.
Then he started wiggling, trying to squirm free. And he wouldn’t shut up. “Listen, Understudy, I know you’re not going to hurt me, and I know my rights. I’m a villain fan, and I know even Haze-Matt had to be treated with respect. So come on, let me up!”
He wouldn’t. Stop. Struggling. Not even when I threatened him with a faceful of claws like Tails suggested. So, as Fursona walked over, I relented, climbing off of him and offering him a paw up. He took it, flushed red from his efforts—and maybe from our position, which Fursona clearly noticed by the way her plastic eyes lingered on me for a moment. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “So, this is the villain?”
“I’m not a villain,” the boy insisted.
“Then what are you?”
“I’m…” he flushed even redder. “I’m a cosplayer.”
I stared at him incredulously. Fursona burst into laughter. “Understudy, you almost got beaten by a cosplayer? You’ll never live this one down, and it’s all on camera.”
“Shut up, babe,” I whispered. Then I cleared my throat. “So that’s why you had Haze-Matt’s mannerisms, then. Explains some things. Okay, how does a cosplayer get involved with 3V1L?”
“Uh, it’s not that complicated, really. The Agent’s had Haze-Matt’s power contracted for a while, but the problem with Haze-Matt is that his powers make you go crazy when you’re suited up. So, he couldn’t exactly give that power out. But I’m Haze-Matt’s biggest fan. After he died, I was devastated.”
I couldn’t relate. There were a lot of villains the world could live with. McHammer and Lord Destructo. Jumper. Even Mindstorm wasn’t so bad. But Haze-Matt was a problem, and as much as I hated to admit it, the world was better off without him. I regretted his death, but I hadn’t killed him, and he wouldn’t kill any more Extras. Besides, I’d had therapy for that whole mess.
The kid kept going. “But two days ago, I got a knock on my apartment door, and when I opened it? Bang, The Agent, right in my entryway. I invited him in, he took one look at my Haze-Matt cosplay, and just like that, a deal popped into my head. I’d get to be Haze-Matt, not just play him at conventions and stuff. He’d get to use the power. It was a win/win.”
“But you lost,” I said.
“I did. But before I did, I got to live my dream.” The kid’s face fell. “I’m just disappointed that my suit’s wrecked. This thing cost me over five thousand to make.”
“And do you know where The Agent is now?” I asked, ignoring his whining.
“Kind of.” When the kid didn’t say anything else, I glared at him. “Okay, okay, listen. He didn’t give me an address to visit him, but I’ve got a location I was supposed to go to. I’d get to talk to an 3V1L member there, and he’d get a message to The Agent for me. The guy’s playing a high-secrecy game. Not surprising. He’s probably got half the city after him.”
I didn’t think so. The other heroes’ hands were full with the villains still active for Power War Three. The Agent was my problem, at least according to Rocko.
“Okay. Give us the address, and we’ll take it from here,” I said. He handed it over, and the Episode ended. Hopefully, Rocko would cut this whole conversation out.
[Episode Finished!]
[Episode: Power War: Back with Avengeance - R]
[Penalties: 0x Rating Warnings - No Penalty]
[Episode Finished! +3 of each Style Point]
[Winner, Winner! +3 of each Style Point]
[Role Focus: Flamboyance+Grit- Goal Unmet]
[Alias - Understudy] [Archetype - Magical Girl] [Community Rank - 163/523]
[HP 7/13]
[Styles and Skills]
►Archetype Skill - Transformation Sequence
►Combo Skills - Power-Weaving
►Badass (53) (Skill Roll Available)
►Cunning (52) (Skill Roll Available)
►Drama (72) (Skill Roll Available)
► Bit-Part Barrage 2
► Starlance 1
►Flamboyance (63) (Skill Roll Available)
►Signature Skill - Adaptive Armoire 3
►Stored Costumes: (Rainy Day, Copy Cat, Lab Assistant Panic)
►Solar Wing 1
► Quick-Time Change 3
► Improvised Ovation 1
►Grit (53) (Skill Roll Available)
► I-Frame Transform 3
As the stats message appeared, I blinked. “ Wow! All five styles?”