Staring down through the wall-to-wall glass windows on the upper half of the Tokyexico Council of Heroes building, I could see the fight raging below.
I couldn’t tell who was winning.
Three Magical Girls were airborne, while Foamy Flash surfed a massive wave of suds with Bubble Bill. Explosions of bubbles and beam weapons filled the air, punctuated by huge bursts of light as Stella-Lunar used her powers. I couldn’t find Chili Powder, and Candi Crush had been grounded.
Further down the road, Flare was playing more conservatively than I’d ever seen him fight while Tractor-Beam-Girl cried on the asphalt. Tearjerker must have gotten her, leaving Flare to handle both her and Grapple. He couldn’t get in close against the wrestling-themed hero, so that left strafing and harassing the two pro-galaxy supers.
And, as I peered down, I saw a man in parachute pants wielding a hammer finish crushing some vil I didn’t know. He sprinted toward the Council of Heroes building, and I smiled as he got inside. “Okay, Fursona, we need to keep pushing. McHammer’s inside. Let’s keep his path clear.”
The Council of Heroes’ room was only a couple of floors up. If we could get there, we could checkmate them or force them onto the battlefield. Either was a win.
There were only three things standing in our way, and they stepped out of a portal as we headed toward the next flight of stairs.
“Magical Girl Understudy, you were supposed to be better than this,” Tele-Portal said. She sounded bored, but I knew she was just burning the candle at every possible end by using her power. “I taught you better than this.”
“You did. That’s why I have to stand up for what I think is right,” I retorted. “Why aren’t you fighting for the right side?”
“I am. You’re too young to remember anything about pre-Launch Day, but things are better now. They’re more peaceful. You know that other than Man vs. Nature and Power Wars, we haven’t had a single war in the last twenty years? Do you know the last time there wasn’t a war on Earth before that?”
“No.”
“Basically never. So sometimes Extras get hurt? It sucks, and it shouldn’t happen, but it’s an acceptable price for peace.”
I pondered that. Then I shook my head. “It’s not worth the cost. Heroes should be doing better than this, and I think the Ilneats are making us worse.”
“I disagree,” Tele-Portal said. “Are we going to fight about it?”
“Yes. [Starlance]!” I fired a bolt at my former mentor, expecting her to juggle it like she had before. Instead, she took the blow right to her face, reacting like she’d been slapped.
[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]
Then, before I could see what had happened, I was outside the tower, falling. I used [Solar Wing] and caught myself mid-air, staring at the portal I’d been thrown out of. It disappeared from the side of the building, and I realized that Tele-Portal had set up a trap. I’d need to move quickly if I wanted to get back to Fursona before—
[HP 2/14]
A massive beam of solid white light filled the air, and even though it only clipped me, it was enough to tell that Stella-Lunar had gained some power since the last time we’d fought. A quick spin through the air broke my fall toward the tower’s sloping side, and also let me see that Stella-Lunar wasn’t focused on me. I was collateral damage in this case.
That didn’t fill me with confidence in handling The Triad, but I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t hurry, they’d kick Fursona’s butt, then turn on me. I rocketed toward the building, heedless of whether or not Stella had seen me. “Fursona, now’s the time!”
“You’re sure?” Bee’s voice came over my earbud. “Now?”
“Yeah! Three! Two! One!”
The entire side of the Tokyexico Council of Heroes Building erupted in a shower of glass, steel, and concrete as Kaiju-Sona surged to her full size.
----------------------------------------
The Council of Heroes building disintegrated into a cloud of glass fragments that rained down on the fighting below us. Heroes and villains alike scattered, running for cover. And over the sounds of twisting, screaming steel and shattering windows, Full Kaiju Fursona roared.
I stopped mid-air. She was clinging to the skyscraper’s frame like a gorilla, gushing a spout of flame straight up. But even as she did, The Triad was already moving to counter her, and the damage wasn’t enough for me to break into the Council of Heroes’ room and try for the checkmate.
The only play was to force multiply off of her, so I used [Quick-Time Change, let the choral music wash over me as a hood covered my face, and used my seconds of [Freeze Frame] to get through the still-flying rubble and duck into the building—behind The Triad.
[Advanced Accessories: Magical Girl Understudy, Magical Girl Rainy Day, Copy Cat]
[Skill Siphon Activated: Style Points Disabled]
[Meter’s Running: 7/8]
The plan was refreshingly simple from here. Fursona and I had been over it a dozen times; she’d soak damage while I tried to wipe out two members of the major league team. I had no idea if I had that kind of firepower, and that’s why I couldn’t start with The Underdelver.
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Instead, I used [Power Weaving] before anyone could turn to see me and fired my [Limelight Barrage] on Bud Lightbeam. The four [Maximum Starlances] rocketed into his back and his back, popping both clones instantly. At the same time, extra [Stellar Rays] jumped from the impacts to spread damage all around The Triad.
[Dramatic Damage!]
[Meter’s Running: 6/8]
Before they could turn, I was already shifting to my next heavy-hitting power. [Doom Ball] activated as I hit the last Bud Lightbeam, and before he could clone again, I had my nails ripping into his costume and opening skin. At this range, he couldn’t use his flight or cloning, and I was behind him, so he couldn’t laser me in the face, either. The wounds I opened were bigger than anything I’d ever caused.
[Badass Damage!]
[Meter’s Running: 5/8]
[Floating Points]
I didn’t even get combo points in Spotlight Star? That was disappointing.
He hit the ground, and a moment later, a massive set of claws crashed down on him as I jumped free. Fursona hadn’t targeted him, but in her attempts to keep The Underdelver off me, she’d accidentally crushed him.
Or not.
As her arm lifted, I could tell he’d been portaled to safety before the blow could land. But even so, he was out of the fight—at least for now. That was all I could ask for.
The next move was more of a puzzle: how best to crack The Underdelver’s armor? I’d wanted to do this earlier, but Tele-Portal had interfered. This time, though? She didn’t know I was comboing. In fact, she probably had no idea what I was doing.
I [Rode the Lightning] and let the goddess of thunder take over. The white light and flaring tendrils of electricity filled the air, all pointing toward The Underdelver. As I moved, the big fluorescent lights cracked overhead, and sparks danced across the mech suit’s drills.
[Electric Lightshow!]
[Meter’s Running: 4/8]
[Floating Points]
I was halfway done. Once I’d tapped out Super Girl Spotlight Star, it’d just be me, and I needed to knock out at least one more member of The Triad. So, as The Underdelver’s mech slowly turned toward me, creaking and sparking, I used [Starlance].
[Dramatic Damage!]
[Meter’s Running: 3/8]
[Power Weaving!]
The single [Maximum Starlance] hit The Underdelver, boring a hole right through the weakened steel plates and into his body. Acrid smoke poured from the rig, and a moment later, the machine let out a loud “EJECT EJECT EJECT!” The man who’d been piloting it flew out the top and right into a portal before vanishing. The extra [Stellar Ray] caught Tele-Portal, knocking her into a wall on her stilts.
At the same moment, the Bud Lightbeams returned. He was airborne, firing his lasers at Full Kaiju Fursona for all he was worth. I could hear her sucking down juice boxes through my headphones, but she couldn’t quite return fire.
So, with The Underdelver’s mech a smoking ruin behind me, I turned toward the only other super who could stop us. Bud Lightbeam had made a mistake; out there in the air, Tele-Portal couldn’t help him anywhere near as much. And I was going to capitalize on it.
I used [Solar Wing], very, very aware that I was almost out of moves and that I couldn’t hit all three clones. But I did have a play in mind—one that could let Fursona deal the finishing blow.
[Meter’s Running: 2/8]
I looped around behind the cloning superhero, got in close, and used [Thunderhead]. The storm started brewing, but that wasn’t the part of the power I’d cared about. Even as the first knockback hit the three clones and pushed them closer to the massive lizard clinging to the Council of Heroes building, I was already using [Wind Front] to follow up.
[Pause for Effect!]
[Badass Move!]
[Meter’s Running: 0/8]
The hurricane-force wind threw the Buds right into Fursona, who wrapped them up in a one-armed bear hug and breathed fire right into them. The clones vanished, and a moment later, she tossed the last one into the building. He rolled, arms flailing, and stopped right in front of Tele-Portal.
At the same time, I transformed back into Understudy. I’d only had eight moves, and I’d capitalized on them perfectly this time. And now, all we had to do was beat one support hero.
As I landed next to Fursona’s lizard leg, Tele-Portal shook her head at me. “Understudy, you’ve grown a lot. That was pretty impressive. It’ll take Bud and Underdelver a few minutes to recover, even back at base. But I can’t let you go up those stairs. You’re not ready for the Council of Heroes.”
I shook my head at my former mentor. “We’ve beaten you, Tele-Portal. Whatever they’re hiding up there for, Fursona and I have proven we’ve got the right to fight them. And we’re not alone. McHammer’s on his way.”
She nodded slowly, trying not to yawn. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Then, before I could say anything else, she vanished.
[End of Act Two: Act Three in Three Minutes]
“Okay, I think it’s over. You can come down now,” I said, patting Fursona’s ankle. It was as high on her Full-Kaiju form as I could reach. “We won.”
Fursona shrank, worming through the twisted metal she’d created as she returned to her normal size. The sound of furious straw-sucking filled my ear for a second. Then she cleared her throat. “What did she mean by that last bit?”
“I have no idea. Let’s find out.” I walked toward the stairwell just as our parachute-pants-wearing, villainous ally stepped out the door.
He took one look at the missing side of the building and whistled. “Damn, you two make a mess. Did you evacuate people first, as per the plan?”
“Yeah. Started a little fire, then checked the offices up here. There shouldn’t be any Extras around,” Fursona said.
“Good. Let’s keep moving.”
The Council of Heroes was only two stories up from where we’d fought The Triad, but a solid steel door was in our way. “No problem,” McHammer said. His hammer crashed into the lock once. Twice. Three times.
As he worked on breaking in, I steeled myself. I didn’t have much left in the tank, not for a room full of major leaguers. Whatever we found inside, it was going to be one hell of a fight. But we had to win. There wasn’t a choice; Mindstorm and the rest of the Pro-Earth League were counting on us.
As the sixth hammer blow landed, the door buckled. McHammer pushed it open, and we rushed into a wide, circular room with blacked-out windows. Arrayed against us were five heroes. One woman wore power armor, while another looked more dressed for a ski race. A man in spandex stood at the head of a table. Another was dressed in a white suit, with white hair and white skin. And, last but not least, an archer held a glowing crossbow at his shoulder.
[The Battle of Mid-Town: Act Three in Progress]
McHammer didn’t waste any time. Before the door even finished hitting the ground, he gave a berserker roar and rushed the nearest hero—the woman in the power armor. His hammer swung back, then slammed into her torso.
She shattered.