Fursona had brought two other heroes. I ran through a mental list of who it could be. They’d have to be experienced and tough enough to fight Madame Shockwave—who’d killed someone on her first outing—but also weak enough to not win against me. As I thought through the heroes she could have conscripted, the two she’d picked became obvious. The system update had given me a hint, and the buzzing in the air only confirmed it.

“Magical Girl Honeycomb, you can’t stop me!” I shouted into the evening haze over Thornton.

The bee-themed Magical Girl strode around the corner, a confidence to her that shouldn’t have been there. Didn’t she know who she was up against? I’d mop the floor with her—but at the same time, I was glad for my domino mask hiding my identity.

“Maybe not,” Honeycomb said, cracking a single knuckle and wincing. “Maybe I’m unable to stop you, but I am able to ask you to stop.”

I blinked. That sounded a lot like—

Before I could finish my thought, a purple flash filled the air, and I whirled as Vigilant Vow summoned a gigantic pink rabbit. “I swear to fight evil, uphold justice, and look damn cute doing it!” He said.

I winced. “I don’t recognize that one. New Magical Girl?”

“Yes. Magical Girl Battle Bun. Now, let’s go.” His dark, spiky hair and reddening face peeked out from under his hoodie as he dropped into a fighting stance, two more crystals overhead.

“Sure. [Shock and Awww]!” A sparking shockwave rippled out from around me, electricity and force surging toward my enemies. Honeycomb’s gossamer wings threw her over it, and the rabbit hopped toward me, but it threw Vigilant Vow across the street and into a snowdrift.

[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]

A chrome camera drone with a slightly different look than Rocko’s captured the whole fight; I’d said that whoever showed up’s studio could have this one, and it looked like…someone had grabbed it. “Not so fast, huh?” I ask Vigilant Vow, only to catch a splash of warm, sticky honey across my back. I tried to move but couldn’t.

“Stick around!” Honeycomb yelled triumphantly. The rabbit slammed into me a moment later, kicking and biting with its hilariously sharp plastic teeth. I used [Grounding] and took the hits, letting the cables from my feet dissipate the pain into the ground.

[True Grit! +1 Grit Point]

[HP 13/14]

Then, before the plushie bunny could escape, I fired up [Blitz]. The Badass move acted more like a speedster’s than a bruiser’s, propelling me across the street and toward Honeycomb, breaking her honey spray. I slammed into the surprised Magical Girl before she could react, driving the air from her lungs in a surprised “Ooof!”

[Badass Damage! +1 Badass Point]

A voice in the back of my head said I needed to retreat. This had to be Fursona’s Phase One, and the plan wasn’t to wreck Thornton. It was to move the fight into the Hot Zone. But these upstart heroes thought they could stand against me. Against me! I had to show them!

So, as Vigilant Vow summoned a massive bird with a deep red pouch under its beak, I used [Live Wire Limit Break]. Sparking, crackling wires surrounded my arms and legs, electricity snapping as they augmented my arms and legs. More importantly, my mind sped up to keep up with my enhanced body. It felt like I had a million new synapses firing up there! I dashed toward Vigilant Vow—but it was too late!

[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point]

The bird threw itself into my path, its red pouch expanding until it filled my vision. I bounced off it, caroming through a nearby store’s boarded window and the glass behind it.

[HP 12/14]

Okay. Okay. I shook my head to clear it as my lightning-bolt-patterned cat peered over me. A tangle of shattered shelves surrounded me, and for a moment, I only wanted to beat these two upstart little leaguers to within an inch of their lives.

Tails was right. I needed to make it a good show while retreating toward the Hot Zone. A quick, [Live Wire Limit Break]-empowered shove cleared the shelves, and I slipped out the store’s back door as Vigilant Vow’s pair of familiars pushed through the broken window. I’d reset the fight and do things on my—

“[Honey Spray]!”

Honeycomb fell from the sky like a thunderbolt, and I couldn’t aim one of my own at her before the sticky substance landed all around me. It didn’t hurt—I didn’t know if Honeycomb had any powers that hurt. But it did slow me down, and before I could escape the alleyway, Vigilant Vow and his two familiars crashed through the door. The rabbit hopped, spinning mid-air, and lashed out with both feet. I should have been able to dodge, but all the honey slowed me down.

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“Oof!” I said as the feet hit my stomach. Then, “Oof!” again as I bounced off a dumpster.

[HP 10/14]

I couldn’t afford to take this kind of damage. We were still in Act One, and I needed superhero damage to fight against Fursona—and to cause chaos once we got into the Hot Zone.

So, as Honeycomb took to the air again and Vigilant Vow’s familiars advanced toward me, I used [Blitz] again. But this time, I was leaving.

[Badass Move! +1 Badass Point]

[Live Wire Limit Break] was still running, too, and I easily out-paced most of my pursuers. Honeycomb was tough to shake; she’d gotten airborne, and I couldn’t evade her. But I didn’t really want to. She needed to know where I was heading so she could tell the others. We had to make a fight out of it.

The red-throated bird landed in front of me, and I slowed down to avoid its ridiculous crimson air sack. As I did, Vigilant Vow jogged around the corner. “What are you trying to accomplish?”

I paused. The heroes wouldn’t stop, and I couldn’t shake them. But I’d seen this scene a hundred times and played it out a dozen or more times myself. Plus, Bianca and I had worked on this line. “I’m trying to deliver a shock to the whole system, be a spark of change, and wave goodbye to the current, corrupt order.”

“And you’re fine with destroying a whole district to get what you want?” Honeycomb asked. She landed in front of me, completing my encirclement. No matter which way I went, I had a fight on my hands.

“No. If it wakes people up, I’m fine with destroying the whole city.” The camera drone was eating this up; that wasn’t right. Bianca and I had planned on the cameras cutting off at some point, and I’d been willing to bet that it’d happen right here. But I had to keep going. “You have to feel it, right? The tides changing? We can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing. None of us can anymore. We have to fight for what we believe in.”

“And what do you believe in?” Honeycomb asked loudly. Too loudly; I could hear Vigilant Vow and his familiars closing in while she tried to distract me.

“Justice.”

As the bird and rabbit both lunged toward me, I used [Shock and Awww]. It threw all four assailants away, slamming them into walls and dumpsters just like I’d been a second ago.

[Dramatic Damage! +4 Drama Points]

I winced. That wasn’t supposed to hit quite that hard. But as Honeycomb and the bird recovered, I started running, getting ready to fight a running battle against two less-powered heroes. The first corner gave me an opportunity, and as the funny-looking bird came around it, I fired off an uncharged [Wallshocker]. The shockwave rippled off a wall on the far side of the narrow street, a boom echoing as the air superheated at the impact point. Sparks flew through the air, chips cracked off the concrete wall, and the bird was down a moment later!

[Stylish Strike! +1 Flamboyance Point]

That left…Vigilant Vow, his rabbit, one unknown familiar, and Honeycomb. I could draw this out. And the Hot Zone’s border was only a few blocks away.

My feet beat the pavement as [Live Wire Limit Break] faded for the first time. I could hear Vigilant Vow’s shoes echoing my steps, and I piled on as much speed as I could without using the power again. The small park Fursona and I had identified as the best break-through point was close. I just had to get—

WHAM!

Something slammed into me. I rolled across the pavement, a tangle of limbs and wings flailing as Honeycomb’s fists pounded my back. She swung fast and hard, and it was all I could do for a moment to keep my head sheltered. I had to get some distance—what was with her?

[HP 9/14]

I used [Blitz] again. Instead of trying to hit her this time, I surged down the block, leaving Honeycomb on the sidewalk behind me. She hit the ground with a thump.

[Badass Move! +1 Badass Point]

As Vigilant Vow ran past into the street behind me, I used [Live Wire Limit Break] again. These two didn’t have a chance against me. My mind sped up to keep up with my wire-enhanced body, and I rushed the vigilante before he could summon another familiar. “The trouble with your power is that it’s slow,” I said conversationally as I punched him and grabbed his wand hand. The black wand stopped inches from his crystal.

[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point]

He swung at me, but I blocked it casually, letting the sparking wires shock him for his trouble. As he recoiled, I let him go. He hit the pavement—hard. Almost as hard as his girlfriend had.

[Good Thinking! +1 Cunning Point]

Both heroes pushed themselves to their feet. I stared at them and laughed. “You’re really going to keep trying, huh? I said you couldn’t stop me, and I meant it.”

“And I said I was able to ask you to stop, and I…I meant it, too.” Honeycomb couldn’t stop panting. The poor girl was completely out of her league. So was Vigilant Vow now that he didn’t have his Agent-granted familiar army.

But I didn’t have time for mercy. I needed to handle this before Fursona showed up, because with only this Costume, I couldn’t handle her and them together. Heck, I wasn’t sure I could handle her alone. I used [Blitz], this time aiming for the vigilante who’d been my rival. Then, as I slammed into him faster than he could see, I used another weak [Wallshocker]. The electrical explosion echoed off the nearby buildings and slammed into him. Then, he slammed into the ground.

[Badass Damage! +1 Badass Point]

[Stylish Strike! +1 Flamboyance Point]

Honeycomb fired a glob of honey my way, leaping into the air to avoid my next [Blitz]. I let her go—partially because I didn’t have a great anti-air option in this build. I’d been lucky. The bird had chosen to fight me on the ground, and Honeycomb was…less relevant than I’m sure she’d hoped to be.

After a few moments of strafing, she seemed to realize it, too. She dipped toward me, firing another [Honey Spray] toward me, but as I dodged, she switched focus to the down but not out Vigilant Vow. She hoisted him over her shoulder and took off, bumble-beeing through the air with his extra weight. “We’ll be back, evildoer!”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I laughed. “Why don’t you bring some extra firepower?”

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