Hexcalibur
Not So Ordinary Sword
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- It
Did Bakuda just triggered as a lie detector?
-
For all readers and writers
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All Guns Blazing (Worm/Star Blazers)
Welp hello Zion you depressed idiot. I believe she did. Which is interesting to see. Piggot honestly makes sense her veiwpoint of capes who just betrayed everyone at Ellisburg leaving them for dead. Piggot I don't believe ever got treated for PTSD and she also technically got promoted way too high.
- Location
- none of your business
Huh, from the look of things, I'd say yes
- Location
- Bosnia
Yes. And apparently, she can do more damage with that than she ever could with bombs. Talk about Escalation!
Also, funnily, this time she probably already has a presigned kill order, should she ever approach Washington DC. Or Florida.
- Location
- none of your business
I get why DC because Politicians and FBI HQ and a short drive from there to Langley and the CIA, but why Florida?
Because that is where the government employees go on vacation?
Ride Captain Ride
Nimodes
Weary Worldwalker
- Location
- Arizona
Ride Captain Ride
* * *
* May 10 2011, Brockton Bay *
"Old Man Henderson is complaining that cultists stole his garden gnomes."
"What? Again?"
"Cut the comm chatter, people. Positron, you in position?"
"Almost. Slowing from cruising speed." Taylor rose up above the cloud cover and began scanning, the little antennae and sensors extending from their housings and aiming where her focus was.
(Yamato: Confirming. Weather pattern is not natural. Density of cloud formation. Probability of Endbringer: Leviathan higher than 80%.)
Taylor said a few words that anyone who spent time at the Docks would learn.
"Positron, a reminder that you have an open channel," said the PRT Console.
"PRT Console. Requesting drone launch," said Positron as she hovered at 10,000 feet.
"Doublechecking authorization. Still green for military and commercial. Go ahead, Positron."
Positron put her hands out, opened a portal, and the Yamato fired off a surveillance drone that made the trip between worlds.
"PRT Console, relaying datastream," said Positron as she retracted all but one antennae and began monitoring.
"Clear signal Positron... Armsmaster questions density data."
"Form of directed EM pulse. Return signal analysis indicates density of material and subspace penetration. I have targeting data." Positron began warming up her onboard weapons systems. "Target has determined that I have located it. Moving too quickly and erratically for me to lock in and attempt to reprogram. As target is underwater and at depth, lasers will be ineffective. Yamato is working on targeting predictor."
"Console, this is Yamato. Data from last Endbringer file was given to authorities. Was data not distributed? Over."
"Yamato, this is PRT Console. That's a negative on distribution."
"Console, Yamato expresses concern about data non-distribution about enemy nature and threat tactical data not being given to those who actually have to fight the damn thing. Over."
"PRT Console to Yamato. Concern noted and seconded."
"Yamato, PRT Console, this is General Quartermain. Flashing copy of data given by Positron to DoD and DARPA back in February to local PRT on Channel Alpha Tango Bravo and Armsmaster's email. Over."
"General Quartermain, my command chain wants me to state that this is a Parahuman matter and for the DoD to not get involved."
"General Quartermain, this is Armsmaster. Looking over data now. Implications are troubling."
"Quartermain to Armsmaster. Yes, yes it was. Console, we are not currently participating in this endeavor unless and until our presence is requested per legal and jurisdictional concerns. However we DO have facilities and resources on-site which ARE our concern. Over."
"Roger that, General."
"Positron here. Leviathan is at 24 miles distance. Hydrokinetic control makes it difficult to pin down speed and location but compensating for both. Subspace ripple from dimensional folding tracked. Predictive program active. Permission to fire?"
"Console to Positron. If you have a lock, take the shot."
"Tracking torpedo. Dimensional shear type. Targeting highest mass area. Firing. Prep Beehive Torpedo. Firing. Prep Penetrator. Firing."
* Leviathan *
He didn't want to be here. Not at all. Top Level Node had decided, so he went. He didn't like that. At all. He had enough autonomy for that.
Trying to avoid the drone flying around over the cloud level had been difficult and the vibrations in the water had informed him of how the thing was following him. So he set up false images of water pressure and dampened the pressure waves and vibrations around himself.
The drone had compensated within eight seconds. Somehow figuring out which were the fakes and then locking onto...
It had detected an area free of vibrations and pressures and determined that was the target. Damn it.
Current false images were cancelled out and a new batch sent out. This time he tried to mimic the appearance of the copies. The drone continued to follow his movements. Method of determining which was the real him: unknown.
A request to abort the attack and possible alternate target sites was sent back to the Top Level Node: Administrator Priority. If nothing else the time to analyzing and determining this tracking method would allow mission parameters a greater chance of success.
The first missile entered the water, powered through the barriers erected in the way, but finally detonated when the water became a shearing field of pressure waves.
The detonation was not a simple concussive force. Instead the thing put out a dimensional interference field that dampened extradimensional effects.
And that HURT. Suddenly all mass outside the physical boundaries of this particular universe was denied, negating the mass regeneration ability. Work to re-establish that connection was immediately started.
Then a second missile entered the water and broke apart to become two thousand smaller torpedoes.
One was detonated by rotating pressure waves in a vortex. The explosion was small but left an inert area in the water.
One thousand and ninety-nine little torpedoes continued to track and pursue.
Yeah. Today was turning out to suck.
* Elsewhere, fifteen minutes prior to torpedo launch *
"Yamato, be advised we have exited the Dimensional Sea and are on approach."
"Yamato greets you, but my associate is about to go into battle. So a full greeting may have to wait."
"Just giving warning of approach, Yamato. Supply Ship Wellerman, Terraforming Ship Edmund Fitzgerald, Expedition Command Ship Bataan, and Science Ship Gathering Floral Samples are on approach."
"Gathering Floral Samples? That sounds like a Thranx naming convention."
"(Affirmative, greetings Yamato,)" came the whistling speech in High Thranx.
"Sending data on Endbringer: Leviathan. Confrontation in progress. Supply ship, terraformer, expeditionary mobile base, and a science ship. Should be enough data for you to work on."
"Appreciate it, Yamato. We're the forward force. The Thranx have been especially interested in the dimensional frequency data."
"(Elegant math. Expands base reality theories in new directions. Fascinating.)"
* Brockton Bay *
There was a sudden massive plume of displaced water from which glittering pieces of crystalline flesh could be seen.
"YEAH! TAKE THAT YOU FISHY F*CK!" yelled someone with a strong Australian accent.
"About time one of you hero types did something to justify your paychecks."
Armsmaster glanced to the side at Buckshot, then over at Hookwolf, sparing a thought about Endbringer Truces and strange allies. He didn't bother to dispute Hookwolf though - it wouldn't change anyone's mind and would be an inefficient use of time. He and Dragon were busy collecting and analyzing the data that Positron was relaying.
Positron zipped around like some hypersonic hummingbird, sending blasts into the water that occasionally threw chunks of crystalline structure into the air.
Armsmaster frowned and accessed a channel as motion caught his eyes. "Vista. What are you doing here?"
"Got him!" declared Positron. "Tractor beaming his butt out. Attempting to hack."
"It's my home too!" protested Vista.
"All forces, Dragon speaking. Scion spotted at 15,000 feet altitude. 9 miles distant. Appears to be hovering... and my drone was just destroyed."
A frantically squirming Leviathan was being pulled out of the water, with the Endbringer forming a bubble of water around itself as soon as it was pulled completely above the surface.
The squirming slowed, then stopped. This was followed by the sphere of churning water losing the spikes that had formed then calming before dropping away entirely.
"Leviathan has been shut down," announced Positron. "Thank you all for your... HEY!"
Positron had just dodged a yellow beam that went past her to carve a trench in Captain's Hill.
The golden man streaked in, firing yellow beams directly at the now frantically dodging Positron.
"Vista, this is Positron. Since you're here, I want to try something."
"What's going on?" asked Vista. "Why is Scion shooting at you?"
Armsmaster was about to ask Positron to lead Scion out to sea as each of those yellow beams that missed seemed to have an energy release measurable at least in the kiloton range.
"Vista! When I form a portal, I need you to stretch it as far as you can," said Positron over the channel.
"Golden Boy there seems to have gone full villain there, do we shoot or not?" asked that Australian from earlier.
A golden beam lashed out in a different direction.
"Whoever did that teleport to get me out of the way of that? Thank you," said the same Australian.
"Buckshot, clear the channel."
"Now, Vista!"
The battlefield changed again as a hole appeared in mid-air and Armsmaster came to an understandable conclusion. "Is that a projection?"
It was the simplest, most obvious, conclusion to be made. A flying battleship ramming Scion like some freight train hitting a Ford Pinto on the tracks was NOT what he was expecting out of an Endbringer battle.
An alert pinged that Leviathan was still shut down but showing signs of revival. Apparently Positron or Yamato had reassigned resources to deal with the new threat.
* Elsewhere *
* Minutes ago *
"Scion is attacking. We're going to Plan Omega," announced Yamato.
"We're just the forward group, the main force won't get here for another month," protested Bataan. The Expeditionary Mobile Base class was basically a Destroyer-class hull rebuilt to act as an exploration ship or as a near-conflict coordination command base. Her commanding officer said something to her though, so her body language went to professional instead of her being caught flat-footed. She was a relatively new hull, having never actually seen combat personally, so some nervousness could be excused. "Aye sir. Plans. Enemy. Understood. Red Alert. All ships prepare to sortie! Sending message torpedo with updated data to ComFleet now."
"Schiaparelli reports unable to immediately sortie due to time required to pull back equipment already deployed. Will prep and remain on station."
"Edmund Fitzgerald reporting unable to attend. I'm a terraformer with limited defensive weapons currently approaching Mars orbit. Unable to sortie from current position."
"Wellerman reporting. All crew to battle stations. Preparing for sortie. Engines hot and accelerating." The Australian-accented shipgirl sent an image of her saluting next to a readied and staffed bridge crew. "Combat readiness in three."
"(Would have preferred more time, but you mammals tend to hurry things along. This is Captain Avenzuzex of Gathering Floral Samples. We are preparing for battle. Gravity guns coming online.)"
"Positron is dodging multiple attacks while attempting to open portals," said Yamato. "Ah. One of my fighter-bombers is being prepped."
"(We are recording and analyzing field patterns,)" indicated Captain Avenzuzex.
"Matching speed and course with you, Yamato," said Bataan.
"(Hasty mammals. We are following,)" came Captain Avenzuzex's message, the pop-up video showing hands and antennae indicating tolerant humor.
The little square opening into another universe suddenly stretched further and further as something grabbed the hole and widened it. It became stationary, and Yamato was already moving with shields and reinforcement fields both active as it went through the hole.
Three hundred and thirty-three meters long and slamming bow-first into Scion at 70,000 kph, the atmosphere ignited around it as the vessel continued to accelerate.
Wellerman followed close behind and heeled hard to starboard as soon as it cleared the discontinuity. Supply ship she might have been, she was still a military vessel and her turrets rotated to track the probable target. Positron shock cannon were ready and only waiting for the order to fire.
Bataan was next and put her maneuverability to the test as she skewed hard to port as soon as she cleared.
Gathering Floral Samples just barely made it through as the opening began shrinking abruptly, one of her antennae masts getting clipped and torn off by the spatial distortion. A single transmission in Low Thranx expressed a desire not to risk that ever again.
Positron continued to take pot shots and one apparently hit something vital as Scion abruptly disappeared.
A new point in space abruptly turned huge.
Yamato sent a request for a suitable gift basket to be sent to Vista. Maybe a good sniper rifle for when she's old enough to properly use one.
Then she was through, flying over an alien version of Earth, and one of her fighters had just launched.
* Contessa *
Her favorite fedora was stashed away to the side because it just wouldn't fit under the helmet.
She was also pretty sure that if anyone from Cauldron could see her face right now, they'd be pushing a panic button for Master screening.
[HUD targeting active.]
[Targets selected.]
[Weapons selected. Ghidora-class missiles x4.] [Firing.]
[Accelerating out of blast radius.]
[New targets selected.]
[Weapons selected. SCRAAM.]
Self-Contained Reactive Anti-structure Anti-barrier Missiles. Missiles built to drill into structures and leave holes that assault troops could use to gain entry to those structures. No troops to use those large holes, but they were certainly useful in just finding energy conduits and making them non-connective.
[Firing. Missile load depleted.]
[Accelerating out of blast radius.]
[Next target selected.]
[Weapons selected. Fusion bombs.]
[Analyzing. Highlighting. Target: energy nexus areas.]
[Releasing.]
[Accelerating out of blast radius.]
Contessa smiled as she circled the planet below, watching as an entire continent of crystal and tubules and organic pulsing machinery vanished in a series of explosions.
Big explosions. Her power was both horrified and fascinated.
She re-oriented on another continent and another large extension of Scion, currently being redecorated by positron shock cannons after a very large section had been eliminated by wave motion gun.
There was something to be said for the satisfaction of bringing all the big guns to a fight where it was absolutely applicable.
Then came the message she'd waited and plotted and planned for, ever since Yamato had hacked the restrictions on her power.
(Path to Defeating Scion: Complete.)
(Path to ensuring human survival from Entities: Current steps complete. Next step: four months, three days.)
After a moment to enjoy that feeling, while heading towards the Yamato, Contessa decided to put a new path in to replace one of the completed ones.
* Scion *
The cattle whose world had taken the Thinker from him were in the process of killing him.
How?
The harvest of the worlds of the cattle was all part of the Cycle. Collapsing the worlds into a single sterile singularity and eliminating the primitive life there released enough energy to recharge and propel the two of them to the next civilization. It was usual for the cattle to try and fight, part of the whole learning process of the shards themselves before everything was harvested to begin a new Cycle.
After millions of years and thousands of Cycles, the partner had failed on approach to one of the worlds. After all that time now the Warrior found himself under siege.
Vehicles far too advanced for the host species had appeared. Weapons and technologies that would have drawn a "strike first" attack instead of attempting to colonize this dirtball. Or it could have been one of those coreward worlds that the Entities themselves avoided because there were civilizations they avoided because the meal would not be worth the effort.
Had spotting the origin world of this technology been the distraction that the Thinker faced before hitting that planet at near-relativistic speed? Was that the cause?
Still, there was one shard. One host. The one who'd been at the center of this. Even though he died, there was one he could destroy in return for this indignity.
With a thought, he was back where the most recent conflict had begun.
His projection was breaking up. It was hard to focus. There was still enough time and energy to throw power at the pest whose projections had killed him and know a moment of satisfaction at knowing that tiny lower lifeform was extinguished.
* Armsmaster *
The obvious conclusion was obvious.
First -the revelation during the Canberra Conflict (so dubbed by the media) that SOMEONE had been controlling the Endbringers and they'd been set loose against humanity. Speculation had gone wild but nobody including Positron had known for certain who that was.
Second had been that as soon as Positron had begun "hacking" Leviathan, Scion had moved to attack Positron.
The obvious conclusion that had swept Comm Channel 2 was that it had been Scion who was directing the Endbringers. The most powerful parahuman wielding the most powerful weapons. Like one of those firefighters who started their own fires for the acclaim or mental quirks, the First Parahuman sent the Endbringers in order to fight them on those occasions he hadn't simply directed them from afar.
Little moments captured in previous recorded encounters such as when the golden man had seemed further distracted while elsewhere and an Endbringer fight was going on? Evidence, or at least that was the current conclusion.
Now that someone had subsumed that control, naturally Scion had moved to attack the source of that. Understandable motive.
That Positron had pulled two spaceships and a flying battleship out of nowhere was another concern altogether, and basically the source of many "what the hell" and "Tinker: BS level" comments.
There were still shouts and comments and questions and a lot of "how the hell should I know?" going on but anyone doing that on Comm Channel 1 was bounced off with repeated demands to keep OFF the emergency channel.
With a crack of displaced air, Scion reappeared in the sky and began gathering a large ball of swirling brightness in his hands.
Armsmaster frowned as his onboard systems registered what he was seeing. Both the energy level of the sphere and the fact that Scion appeared to be dissolving into golden sparkles that drifted away in the breeze.
Dragon's voice went over Comm Channel 1. "Energy buildup significant. Folded space containment. Estimate from discharges is in excess of 8 megatons."
Then Scion aimed at a specific section of the city and hurled the sphere. At the biggest congregation of heroes still present. Armsmaster shifted his halberd, unsure of what he could do in the seconds before that hit.
Positron darted in front of the sphere, deploying two rods from the backpack section of her costume, extending a shimmering field that stretched out to cover most of the Docks while the two remaining ships each launched something.
The sphere hit the field and exploded. The world turned white as his anti-glare measures were briefly overwhelmed.
When the flare had cleared, he had a good view of Scion flickering and vanishing. He also had an excellent view of Positron falling from the sky.
"Positron deceased E7," said the Endbringer bracelet.
Armsmaster frowned at the message, and he wasn't sure what to make of the second message as Dragon intercepted something that came flying off the power armor.
"Recovering Cosmo Stabilizer."
* * *
* May 10 2011, Brockton Bay *
"Old Man Henderson is complaining that cultists stole his garden gnomes."
"What? Again?"
"Cut the comm chatter, people. Positron, you in position?"
"Almost. Slowing from cruising speed." Taylor rose up above the cloud cover and began scanning, the little antennae and sensors extending from their housings and aiming where her focus was.
(Yamato: Confirming. Weather pattern is not natural. Density of cloud formation. Probability of Endbringer: Leviathan higher than 80%.)
Taylor said a few words that anyone who spent time at the Docks would learn.
"Positron, a reminder that you have an open channel," said the PRT Console.
"PRT Console. Requesting drone launch," said Positron as she hovered at 10,000 feet.
"Doublechecking authorization. Still green for military and commercial. Go ahead, Positron."
Positron put her hands out, opened a portal, and the Yamato fired off a surveillance drone that made the trip between worlds.
"PRT Console, relaying datastream," said Positron as she retracted all but one antennae and began monitoring.
"Clear signal Positron... Armsmaster questions density data."
"Form of directed EM pulse. Return signal analysis indicates density of material and subspace penetration. I have targeting data." Positron began warming up her onboard weapons systems. "Target has determined that I have located it. Moving too quickly and erratically for me to lock in and attempt to reprogram. As target is underwater and at depth, lasers will be ineffective. Yamato is working on targeting predictor."
"Console, this is Yamato. Data from last Endbringer file was given to authorities. Was data not distributed? Over."
"Yamato, this is PRT Console. That's a negative on distribution."
"Console, Yamato expresses concern about data non-distribution about enemy nature and threat tactical data not being given to those who actually have to fight the damn thing. Over."
"PRT Console to Yamato. Concern noted and seconded."
"Yamato, PRT Console, this is General Quartermain. Flashing copy of data given by Positron to DoD and DARPA back in February to local PRT on Channel Alpha Tango Bravo and Armsmaster's email. Over."
"General Quartermain, my command chain wants me to state that this is a Parahuman matter and for the DoD to not get involved."
"General Quartermain, this is Armsmaster. Looking over data now. Implications are troubling."
"Quartermain to Armsmaster. Yes, yes it was. Console, we are not currently participating in this endeavor unless and until our presence is requested per legal and jurisdictional concerns. However we DO have facilities and resources on-site which ARE our concern. Over."
"Roger that, General."
"Positron here. Leviathan is at 24 miles distance. Hydrokinetic control makes it difficult to pin down speed and location but compensating for both. Subspace ripple from dimensional folding tracked. Predictive program active. Permission to fire?"
"Console to Positron. If you have a lock, take the shot."
"Tracking torpedo. Dimensional shear type. Targeting highest mass area. Firing. Prep Beehive Torpedo. Firing. Prep Penetrator. Firing."
* Leviathan *
He didn't want to be here. Not at all. Top Level Node had decided, so he went. He didn't like that. At all. He had enough autonomy for that.
Trying to avoid the drone flying around over the cloud level had been difficult and the vibrations in the water had informed him of how the thing was following him. So he set up false images of water pressure and dampened the pressure waves and vibrations around himself.
The drone had compensated within eight seconds. Somehow figuring out which were the fakes and then locking onto...
It had detected an area free of vibrations and pressures and determined that was the target. Damn it.
Current false images were cancelled out and a new batch sent out. This time he tried to mimic the appearance of the copies. The drone continued to follow his movements. Method of determining which was the real him: unknown.
A request to abort the attack and possible alternate target sites was sent back to the Top Level Node: Administrator Priority. If nothing else the time to analyzing and determining this tracking method would allow mission parameters a greater chance of success.
The first missile entered the water, powered through the barriers erected in the way, but finally detonated when the water became a shearing field of pressure waves.
The detonation was not a simple concussive force. Instead the thing put out a dimensional interference field that dampened extradimensional effects.
And that HURT. Suddenly all mass outside the physical boundaries of this particular universe was denied, negating the mass regeneration ability. Work to re-establish that connection was immediately started.
Then a second missile entered the water and broke apart to become two thousand smaller torpedoes.
One was detonated by rotating pressure waves in a vortex. The explosion was small but left an inert area in the water.
One thousand and ninety-nine little torpedoes continued to track and pursue.
Yeah. Today was turning out to suck.
* Elsewhere, fifteen minutes prior to torpedo launch *
"Yamato, be advised we have exited the Dimensional Sea and are on approach."
"Yamato greets you, but my associate is about to go into battle. So a full greeting may have to wait."
"Just giving warning of approach, Yamato. Supply Ship Wellerman, Terraforming Ship Edmund Fitzgerald, Expedition Command Ship Bataan, and Science Ship Gathering Floral Samples are on approach."
"Gathering Floral Samples? That sounds like a Thranx naming convention."
"(Affirmative, greetings Yamato,)" came the whistling speech in High Thranx.
"Sending data on Endbringer: Leviathan. Confrontation in progress. Supply ship, terraformer, expeditionary mobile base, and a science ship. Should be enough data for you to work on."
"Appreciate it, Yamato. We're the forward force. The Thranx have been especially interested in the dimensional frequency data."
"(Elegant math. Expands base reality theories in new directions. Fascinating.)"
* Brockton Bay *
There was a sudden massive plume of displaced water from which glittering pieces of crystalline flesh could be seen.
"YEAH! TAKE THAT YOU FISHY F*CK!" yelled someone with a strong Australian accent.
"About time one of you hero types did something to justify your paychecks."
Armsmaster glanced to the side at Buckshot, then over at Hookwolf, sparing a thought about Endbringer Truces and strange allies. He didn't bother to dispute Hookwolf though - it wouldn't change anyone's mind and would be an inefficient use of time. He and Dragon were busy collecting and analyzing the data that Positron was relaying.
Positron zipped around like some hypersonic hummingbird, sending blasts into the water that occasionally threw chunks of crystalline structure into the air.
Armsmaster frowned and accessed a channel as motion caught his eyes. "Vista. What are you doing here?"
"Got him!" declared Positron. "Tractor beaming his butt out. Attempting to hack."
"It's my home too!" protested Vista.
"All forces, Dragon speaking. Scion spotted at 15,000 feet altitude. 9 miles distant. Appears to be hovering... and my drone was just destroyed."
A frantically squirming Leviathan was being pulled out of the water, with the Endbringer forming a bubble of water around itself as soon as it was pulled completely above the surface.
The squirming slowed, then stopped. This was followed by the sphere of churning water losing the spikes that had formed then calming before dropping away entirely.
"Leviathan has been shut down," announced Positron. "Thank you all for your... HEY!"
Positron had just dodged a yellow beam that went past her to carve a trench in Captain's Hill.
The golden man streaked in, firing yellow beams directly at the now frantically dodging Positron.
"Vista, this is Positron. Since you're here, I want to try something."
"What's going on?" asked Vista. "Why is Scion shooting at you?"
Armsmaster was about to ask Positron to lead Scion out to sea as each of those yellow beams that missed seemed to have an energy release measurable at least in the kiloton range.
"Vista! When I form a portal, I need you to stretch it as far as you can," said Positron over the channel.
"Golden Boy there seems to have gone full villain there, do we shoot or not?" asked that Australian from earlier.
A golden beam lashed out in a different direction.
"Whoever did that teleport to get me out of the way of that? Thank you," said the same Australian.
"Buckshot, clear the channel."
"Now, Vista!"
The battlefield changed again as a hole appeared in mid-air and Armsmaster came to an understandable conclusion. "Is that a projection?"
It was the simplest, most obvious, conclusion to be made. A flying battleship ramming Scion like some freight train hitting a Ford Pinto on the tracks was NOT what he was expecting out of an Endbringer battle.
An alert pinged that Leviathan was still shut down but showing signs of revival. Apparently Positron or Yamato had reassigned resources to deal with the new threat.
* Elsewhere *
* Minutes ago *
"Scion is attacking. We're going to Plan Omega," announced Yamato.
"We're just the forward group, the main force won't get here for another month," protested Bataan. The Expeditionary Mobile Base class was basically a Destroyer-class hull rebuilt to act as an exploration ship or as a near-conflict coordination command base. Her commanding officer said something to her though, so her body language went to professional instead of her being caught flat-footed. She was a relatively new hull, having never actually seen combat personally, so some nervousness could be excused. "Aye sir. Plans. Enemy. Understood. Red Alert. All ships prepare to sortie! Sending message torpedo with updated data to ComFleet now."
"Schiaparelli reports unable to immediately sortie due to time required to pull back equipment already deployed. Will prep and remain on station."
"Edmund Fitzgerald reporting unable to attend. I'm a terraformer with limited defensive weapons currently approaching Mars orbit. Unable to sortie from current position."
"Wellerman reporting. All crew to battle stations. Preparing for sortie. Engines hot and accelerating." The Australian-accented shipgirl sent an image of her saluting next to a readied and staffed bridge crew. "Combat readiness in three."
"(Would have preferred more time, but you mammals tend to hurry things along. This is Captain Avenzuzex of Gathering Floral Samples. We are preparing for battle. Gravity guns coming online.)"
"Positron is dodging multiple attacks while attempting to open portals," said Yamato. "Ah. One of my fighter-bombers is being prepped."
"(We are recording and analyzing field patterns,)" indicated Captain Avenzuzex.
"Matching speed and course with you, Yamato," said Bataan.
"(Hasty mammals. We are following,)" came Captain Avenzuzex's message, the pop-up video showing hands and antennae indicating tolerant humor.
The little square opening into another universe suddenly stretched further and further as something grabbed the hole and widened it. It became stationary, and Yamato was already moving with shields and reinforcement fields both active as it went through the hole.
Three hundred and thirty-three meters long and slamming bow-first into Scion at 70,000 kph, the atmosphere ignited around it as the vessel continued to accelerate.
Wellerman followed close behind and heeled hard to starboard as soon as it cleared the discontinuity. Supply ship she might have been, she was still a military vessel and her turrets rotated to track the probable target. Positron shock cannon were ready and only waiting for the order to fire.
Bataan was next and put her maneuverability to the test as she skewed hard to port as soon as she cleared.
Gathering Floral Samples just barely made it through as the opening began shrinking abruptly, one of her antennae masts getting clipped and torn off by the spatial distortion. A single transmission in Low Thranx expressed a desire not to risk that ever again.
Positron continued to take pot shots and one apparently hit something vital as Scion abruptly disappeared.
A new point in space abruptly turned huge.
Yamato sent a request for a suitable gift basket to be sent to Vista. Maybe a good sniper rifle for when she's old enough to properly use one.
Then she was through, flying over an alien version of Earth, and one of her fighters had just launched.
* Contessa *
Her favorite fedora was stashed away to the side because it just wouldn't fit under the helmet.
She was also pretty sure that if anyone from Cauldron could see her face right now, they'd be pushing a panic button for Master screening.
[HUD targeting active.]
[Targets selected.]
[Weapons selected. Ghidora-class missiles x4.] [Firing.]
[Accelerating out of blast radius.]
[New targets selected.]
[Weapons selected. SCRAAM.]
Self-Contained Reactive Anti-structure Anti-barrier Missiles. Missiles built to drill into structures and leave holes that assault troops could use to gain entry to those structures. No troops to use those large holes, but they were certainly useful in just finding energy conduits and making them non-connective.
[Firing. Missile load depleted.]
[Accelerating out of blast radius.]
[Next target selected.]
[Weapons selected. Fusion bombs.]
[Analyzing. Highlighting. Target: energy nexus areas.]
[Releasing.]
[Accelerating out of blast radius.]
Contessa smiled as she circled the planet below, watching as an entire continent of crystal and tubules and organic pulsing machinery vanished in a series of explosions.
Big explosions. Her power was both horrified and fascinated.
She re-oriented on another continent and another large extension of Scion, currently being redecorated by positron shock cannons after a very large section had been eliminated by wave motion gun.
There was something to be said for the satisfaction of bringing all the big guns to a fight where it was absolutely applicable.
Then came the message she'd waited and plotted and planned for, ever since Yamato had hacked the restrictions on her power.
(Path to Defeating Scion: Complete.)
(Path to ensuring human survival from Entities: Current steps complete. Next step: four months, three days.)
After a moment to enjoy that feeling, while heading towards the Yamato, Contessa decided to put a new path in to replace one of the completed ones.
* Scion *
The cattle whose world had taken the Thinker from him were in the process of killing him.
How?
The harvest of the worlds of the cattle was all part of the Cycle. Collapsing the worlds into a single sterile singularity and eliminating the primitive life there released enough energy to recharge and propel the two of them to the next civilization. It was usual for the cattle to try and fight, part of the whole learning process of the shards themselves before everything was harvested to begin a new Cycle.
After millions of years and thousands of Cycles, the partner had failed on approach to one of the worlds. After all that time now the Warrior found himself under siege.
Vehicles far too advanced for the host species had appeared. Weapons and technologies that would have drawn a "strike first" attack instead of attempting to colonize this dirtball. Or it could have been one of those coreward worlds that the Entities themselves avoided because there were civilizations they avoided because the meal would not be worth the effort.
Had spotting the origin world of this technology been the distraction that the Thinker faced before hitting that planet at near-relativistic speed? Was that the cause?
Still, there was one shard. One host. The one who'd been at the center of this. Even though he died, there was one he could destroy in return for this indignity.
With a thought, he was back where the most recent conflict had begun.
His projection was breaking up. It was hard to focus. There was still enough time and energy to throw power at the pest whose projections had killed him and know a moment of satisfaction at knowing that tiny lower lifeform was extinguished.
* Armsmaster *
The obvious conclusion was obvious.
First -the revelation during the Canberra Conflict (so dubbed by the media) that SOMEONE had been controlling the Endbringers and they'd been set loose against humanity. Speculation had gone wild but nobody including Positron had known for certain who that was.
Second had been that as soon as Positron had begun "hacking" Leviathan, Scion had moved to attack Positron.
The obvious conclusion that had swept Comm Channel 2 was that it had been Scion who was directing the Endbringers. The most powerful parahuman wielding the most powerful weapons. Like one of those firefighters who started their own fires for the acclaim or mental quirks, the First Parahuman sent the Endbringers in order to fight them on those occasions he hadn't simply directed them from afar.
Little moments captured in previous recorded encounters such as when the golden man had seemed further distracted while elsewhere and an Endbringer fight was going on? Evidence, or at least that was the current conclusion.
Now that someone had subsumed that control, naturally Scion had moved to attack the source of that. Understandable motive.
That Positron had pulled two spaceships and a flying battleship out of nowhere was another concern altogether, and basically the source of many "what the hell" and "Tinker: BS level" comments.
There were still shouts and comments and questions and a lot of "how the hell should I know?" going on but anyone doing that on Comm Channel 1 was bounced off with repeated demands to keep OFF the emergency channel.
With a crack of displaced air, Scion reappeared in the sky and began gathering a large ball of swirling brightness in his hands.
Armsmaster frowned as his onboard systems registered what he was seeing. Both the energy level of the sphere and the fact that Scion appeared to be dissolving into golden sparkles that drifted away in the breeze.
Dragon's voice went over Comm Channel 1. "Energy buildup significant. Folded space containment. Estimate from discharges is in excess of 8 megatons."
Then Scion aimed at a specific section of the city and hurled the sphere. At the biggest congregation of heroes still present. Armsmaster shifted his halberd, unsure of what he could do in the seconds before that hit.
Positron darted in front of the sphere, deploying two rods from the backpack section of her costume, extending a shimmering field that stretched out to cover most of the Docks while the two remaining ships each launched something.
The sphere hit the field and exploded. The world turned white as his anti-glare measures were briefly overwhelmed.
When the flare had cleared, he had a good view of Scion flickering and vanishing. He also had an excellent view of Positron falling from the sky.
"Positron deceased E7," said the Endbringer bracelet.
Armsmaster frowned at the message, and he wasn't sure what to make of the second message as Dragon intercepted something that came flying off the power armor.
"Recovering Cosmo Stabilizer."
Welp, I never thought I'd feel sorry for Levi, but, yeah, his day sucked. Those vids were the perfect tough though. And damnit, why the cliffy, WHY!?! Wonderful chapter overall though.
I've been reading so much fanfic that I've forgotten, is Taylor a shipgirl, is Yamato in her head/body does everyone know about the split?
The government NOT being allowed info/to act in Endbringer battles is why there is such a mess afterwards. The PRT/Protectorate seems to have zero sense of what to do in a disaster except throw the wrong things at it, I see they're waving their metaphorical dicks around trying to keep authority instead of taking all the help they can get.
edit-
I faintly recall seeing Yamato on a cloudy cable channel back in the day and since it was so fuzzy I ignored it, but I'm so scared of getting sucked into another fandom even at these late decades cuz that Battle from the link was awesome.
The government NOT being allowed info/to act in Endbringer battles is why there is such a mess afterwards. The PRT/Protectorate seems to have zero sense of what to do in a disaster except throw the wrong things at it, I see they're waving their metaphorical dicks around trying to keep authority instead of taking all the help they can get.
edit-
I faintly recall seeing Yamato on a cloudy cable channel back in the day and since it was so fuzzy I ignored it, but I'm so scared of getting sucked into another fandom even at these late decades cuz that Battle from the link was awesome.
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All Guns Blazing
Nimodes
Weary Worldwalker
- Location
- Arizona
yamato 16: All Guns Blazing
* The next day *
"So this is it?" asked Danny Hebert.
"Yes. Our little insurance policy," said Yamato.
The football-sized device seemed to glow with a light that wasn't quite right, seeming to come from angles that didn't quite exist.
Danny sighed and looked at the holographic representation of a ship intelligence. "She's in there?"
"Yes. The cost of such a device is equal to an Andromeda III battleship, but it's only been done twice before because of various concerns voiced about such measures. Some philosophical, some political, some religious, some - well - humans can be very contrary," said Yamato. "This will be the first time used in such a manner."
* Later *
"This is the Morning Show on WAVE, your AM station for news. It's nine o'clock, Thursday, June 2, 2011. Today we've got Zelvenzuzar, one of the crewmen from the Gathering Floral Samples. I hope I've got your name right, this is the first time I've met a Thranx."
"Passable for someone without breathing spicules, Chet of Chaucer. I am Zelvenzuzar, 3rd Shift Helmsman and backup Weapons Officer for the science vessel Gathering Floral Samples."
"Zelvenzuzar, your kind has known humanity in your home universe for two hundred years?"
"One hundred seventy-six of your years, roughly."
"What is your race's opinion of humans?"
"You are insane."
"Excuse me?"
"The Yamato was one of the first vessels my race encountered. We were skirmishing with the AAan, a hostile reptillian species that considers intelligent life a preferred consumable. So humans are insane by Thranx standards, but a good ally to have in a universe where aggressive aliens can be found."
"Why would you consider humanity as a whole insane?"
"Yamato was our second contact with your species, the first being the non-AI industrial ship Kobayashi Maru which was an under-weaponed ship. Can you blame us for coming to this conclusion? You guys started building a ship, then decided to build a gun and then built a ship around it. Then you guys decided 'hey you know what this ship needs? more guns!' Then you added even more guns. Then you added missiles, more missiles, a hangar for a small number of fighter spacecraft, and even more missiles. You managed to get deflector shields, some until-then-unknown space fold shield, and a reinforcement field all working together without tearing your ship apart. You had one ship on a field of battle where ten of our ships were leaking atmosphere, and you faced off against four AAan battleships, two carriers, and a Death Sphere. I've viewed the holorecordings and one of the captains of our fleet at the time likened it to a goddess of war arriving hungry at a banquet."
"Uhm."
"So, yes, by Thranx standards, humans are insane. You are much more individual and independent than the Thranx, and much more prone to conflict. That's why Thranx are among the more highly sought as diplomats and negotiators among you mammals. We are not as prone to swings of emotion or extremes of such as you. All in all, our partnership has worked well for both of us. Doesn't mean you're not crazy by Thranx standards, but you're the sort of crazy we can live and work well with together."
"Okay, well, there's that I guess. Looking at human history, I can see your point there."
"Truth. And your skill at conflict certainly taught the AAan that some races are not to be considered menu items."
"Yeah, there's a human slogan for you. 'Humans. We're not on the menu.'"
* July 4, 2023 *
The ship was still new as the drydock flooded, the launch commenced, and she rose into the evening sky from the Norfolk Naval Yards.
The Taylor Hebert, the first of her line, came alongside the Yamato.
On the bridge, Danny Hebert turned away from the hologram of his daughter. "You're sure she's in there?"
"Iskandaran technology isn't completely understood, but yes - everything indicates that Taylor's in there," said Captain Kirk, who had heard ALL the jokes about his name thank you very much. "She just hasn't awakened yet. That takes some time."
Danny Hebert indicated the unblinking face he knew so well. "I remember. It's just seeing her like this..."
"She'll most likely outlive both of us," said Captain Kirk. "This is the first time we've tried using a modified Cosmo Reverser as a soul carrier specifically to form the core of a shipgirl. At least deliberately. I..."
Taylor blinked.
"Well now, that's encouraging," said Captain Kirk, as he spotted the movement.
* July 4, 2024 *
"Space. The Final Frontier.
"These are the voyages of the Taylor Hebert, Exploration Carrier class starship.
"My continuing mission,
"To explore strange new worlds,
"To seek out new life,
"and new civilizations.
"To boldly go where no one has gone before."
Captain Kirk smirked at his ship's avatar. "You couldn't resist, could you?"
Taylor shrugged and tugged the brim of her cap down just a little. "I could have. But where's the fun in that?"
"Course sir?" asked Helmsman Zelvenzuzar.
"Alpha Centauri sounds like a good place to start," said Captain Kirk, leaning back in the command chair. "Let's go. Thataway."
"Acknowledged Captain," said the Helmsman, clicking buttons. "Best speed."
"You couldn't resist?" asked Taylor.
"Where's the fun in that?" responded Captain Kirk as the ship accelerated towards the first viable warp-point.
Taylor smiled and turned her attention to the display as the ship performed a hyperspace jump.
She had the shields and she had armor (though as an explorer/carrier less than a battleship), she had fighters and probes and shuttles.
And she had guns. Because it could be a rough universe out there and humanity had learned that sometimes, just sometimes-
-it was best to be able to respond with all guns blazing.
* * *
* This story was released earlier than intended originally because of Leiji Matsumoto's death. Goodbye Matsumoto-san, may you voyage on the sea of stars.
Earth Defense Fleet Expeditionary Carrier Taylor Hebert
Class: Battlecarrier
Fighters: 16 Space Combat Attack Fighters (Cosmo Python III), 16 Space Combat Fighters (Cosmo Tiger IV)
Transports: 2 Work/Repair (Wasps), 4 Shuttlepods, 1 Transport/Explorer (Seagull)
Remote Probes (recoverable/reusable): 18 environmental probes, 6 long-sensor buoys, 4 monitor spheres
Armaments: 2 triple-mounted 30.5 positron shock cannon turrets, 4 close-range anti-fighter plasma autocannon turrets, 4 missile launchers (typically smart missiles, SCRAAM, beehive missiles, gravitic shear missiles, ghidora-class missiles), two dedicated torpedo launchers (typically shield generators, fusion bombs, penetrating high explosive), Wave Motion Gun
Defenses: reinforcement field, cerasteel armor, wave motion shield, force field, gravitic shear defensive field
Propulsion: Dimensional Wave Motion Engine, chemical thrusters, gravitic drive, Kelvin-type auxiliary impulse engine
Power: Wave Motion Energy, two Yoyodyne Type III Fusion Engines, Internal Batteries
Length: 395meters
The Taylor Hebert was built using plans and technology from the Yamato's Earth-of-origin, with materials developed and manufactured from her own Earth-of-origin. As the first Hebert-class Exploratory Carrier, she is test-bedding several new applications of existing technology. Her initial full Awakening was recorded on July 4 2023 before her hull was even three-quarters finished.
The Exploratory Carrier Taylor Hebert underwent extensive in-system tests before the official launch and first mission July 2024. That mission returned valuable data about dimensional variations in the local star systems as well as the first encounter with two sapient species that had not been eliminated by the Shard Entities.
* The next day *
"So this is it?" asked Danny Hebert.
"Yes. Our little insurance policy," said Yamato.
The football-sized device seemed to glow with a light that wasn't quite right, seeming to come from angles that didn't quite exist.
Danny sighed and looked at the holographic representation of a ship intelligence. "She's in there?"
"Yes. The cost of such a device is equal to an Andromeda III battleship, but it's only been done twice before because of various concerns voiced about such measures. Some philosophical, some political, some religious, some - well - humans can be very contrary," said Yamato. "This will be the first time used in such a manner."
* Later *
"This is the Morning Show on WAVE, your AM station for news. It's nine o'clock, Thursday, June 2, 2011. Today we've got Zelvenzuzar, one of the crewmen from the Gathering Floral Samples. I hope I've got your name right, this is the first time I've met a Thranx."
"Passable for someone without breathing spicules, Chet of Chaucer. I am Zelvenzuzar, 3rd Shift Helmsman and backup Weapons Officer for the science vessel Gathering Floral Samples."
"Zelvenzuzar, your kind has known humanity in your home universe for two hundred years?"
"One hundred seventy-six of your years, roughly."
"What is your race's opinion of humans?"
"You are insane."
"Excuse me?"
"The Yamato was one of the first vessels my race encountered. We were skirmishing with the AAan, a hostile reptillian species that considers intelligent life a preferred consumable. So humans are insane by Thranx standards, but a good ally to have in a universe where aggressive aliens can be found."
"Why would you consider humanity as a whole insane?"
"Yamato was our second contact with your species, the first being the non-AI industrial ship Kobayashi Maru which was an under-weaponed ship. Can you blame us for coming to this conclusion? You guys started building a ship, then decided to build a gun and then built a ship around it. Then you guys decided 'hey you know what this ship needs? more guns!' Then you added even more guns. Then you added missiles, more missiles, a hangar for a small number of fighter spacecraft, and even more missiles. You managed to get deflector shields, some until-then-unknown space fold shield, and a reinforcement field all working together without tearing your ship apart. You had one ship on a field of battle where ten of our ships were leaking atmosphere, and you faced off against four AAan battleships, two carriers, and a Death Sphere. I've viewed the holorecordings and one of the captains of our fleet at the time likened it to a goddess of war arriving hungry at a banquet."
"Uhm."
"So, yes, by Thranx standards, humans are insane. You are much more individual and independent than the Thranx, and much more prone to conflict. That's why Thranx are among the more highly sought as diplomats and negotiators among you mammals. We are not as prone to swings of emotion or extremes of such as you. All in all, our partnership has worked well for both of us. Doesn't mean you're not crazy by Thranx standards, but you're the sort of crazy we can live and work well with together."
"Okay, well, there's that I guess. Looking at human history, I can see your point there."
"Truth. And your skill at conflict certainly taught the AAan that some races are not to be considered menu items."
"Yeah, there's a human slogan for you. 'Humans. We're not on the menu.'"
* July 4, 2023 *
The ship was still new as the drydock flooded, the launch commenced, and she rose into the evening sky from the Norfolk Naval Yards.
The Taylor Hebert, the first of her line, came alongside the Yamato.
On the bridge, Danny Hebert turned away from the hologram of his daughter. "You're sure she's in there?"
"Iskandaran technology isn't completely understood, but yes - everything indicates that Taylor's in there," said Captain Kirk, who had heard ALL the jokes about his name thank you very much. "She just hasn't awakened yet. That takes some time."
Danny Hebert indicated the unblinking face he knew so well. "I remember. It's just seeing her like this..."
"She'll most likely outlive both of us," said Captain Kirk. "This is the first time we've tried using a modified Cosmo Reverser as a soul carrier specifically to form the core of a shipgirl. At least deliberately. I..."
Taylor blinked.
"Well now, that's encouraging," said Captain Kirk, as he spotted the movement.
* July 4, 2024 *
"Space. The Final Frontier.
"These are the voyages of the Taylor Hebert, Exploration Carrier class starship.
"My continuing mission,
"To explore strange new worlds,
"To seek out new life,
"and new civilizations.
"To boldly go where no one has gone before."
Captain Kirk smirked at his ship's avatar. "You couldn't resist, could you?"
Taylor shrugged and tugged the brim of her cap down just a little. "I could have. But where's the fun in that?"
"Course sir?" asked Helmsman Zelvenzuzar.
"Alpha Centauri sounds like a good place to start," said Captain Kirk, leaning back in the command chair. "Let's go. Thataway."
"Acknowledged Captain," said the Helmsman, clicking buttons. "Best speed."
"You couldn't resist?" asked Taylor.
"Where's the fun in that?" responded Captain Kirk as the ship accelerated towards the first viable warp-point.
Taylor smiled and turned her attention to the display as the ship performed a hyperspace jump.
She had the shields and she had armor (though as an explorer/carrier less than a battleship), she had fighters and probes and shuttles.
And she had guns. Because it could be a rough universe out there and humanity had learned that sometimes, just sometimes-
-it was best to be able to respond with all guns blazing.
* * *
* This story was released earlier than intended originally because of Leiji Matsumoto's death. Goodbye Matsumoto-san, may you voyage on the sea of stars.
Earth Defense Fleet Expeditionary Carrier Taylor Hebert
Class: Battlecarrier
Fighters: 16 Space Combat Attack Fighters (Cosmo Python III), 16 Space Combat Fighters (Cosmo Tiger IV)
Transports: 2 Work/Repair (Wasps), 4 Shuttlepods, 1 Transport/Explorer (Seagull)
Remote Probes (recoverable/reusable): 18 environmental probes, 6 long-sensor buoys, 4 monitor spheres
Armaments: 2 triple-mounted 30.5 positron shock cannon turrets, 4 close-range anti-fighter plasma autocannon turrets, 4 missile launchers (typically smart missiles, SCRAAM, beehive missiles, gravitic shear missiles, ghidora-class missiles), two dedicated torpedo launchers (typically shield generators, fusion bombs, penetrating high explosive), Wave Motion Gun
Defenses: reinforcement field, cerasteel armor, wave motion shield, force field, gravitic shear defensive field
Propulsion: Dimensional Wave Motion Engine, chemical thrusters, gravitic drive, Kelvin-type auxiliary impulse engine
Power: Wave Motion Energy, two Yoyodyne Type III Fusion Engines, Internal Batteries
Length: 395meters
The Taylor Hebert was built using plans and technology from the Yamato's Earth-of-origin, with materials developed and manufactured from her own Earth-of-origin. As the first Hebert-class Exploratory Carrier, she is test-bedding several new applications of existing technology. Her initial full Awakening was recorded on July 4 2023 before her hull was even three-quarters finished.
The Exploratory Carrier Taylor Hebert underwent extensive in-system tests before the official launch and first mission July 2024. That mission returned valuable data about dimensional variations in the local star systems as well as the first encounter with two sapient species that had not been eliminated by the Shard Entities.
Sakuya's Butler
A refined Butler to a knife wielding Mistress.
- Location
- ↓, ↘, → + Punch
Annnnnd....
What happened to Yamato herself?
What happened to Yamato herself?
Hexcalibur
Not So Ordinary Sword
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- It
Well, Taylor ended up as a shipgirl herself. And Contessa's path to ensuring humanity's survival seems to be humanity's expansion beyond the planet.
Nimodes
Weary Worldwalker
- Location
- Arizona
Yamato: "What do you mean I've been assigned to 'diplomatic liason'? I'm a battleship."
Earth Defense Force: "Who better to argue that invading us isn't in their own best interest?"
A good ending to a great fic. You did good here. Looking forward to you next project.
- Location
- Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy
Aww yiss... The titledrop.
- Location
- none of your business
Well then, I can imagine how that encounter with the AAan ended, with a WMG to the face
Yamato: Well then, yet another Target-Rich Environment full with my regular dosage of Asshat Aliens to destroy
Yamato: "Good point"
- Location
- Maryland
Well, that was fun. I just discovered it today so I binged the whole thing. I had to admit I was curious about how you would interface Worm with Space Battleship Yamato (which I'm using because you used the Japanese crew names...which sound better than "Derek Wildstar" IMO). Interesting mix-in of other sci-fi properties, too. I recognized the Humanx Commonwealth and Traveller species, at least.
To paraphrase the original Latin "Veni, vedi, vici", Taylor was heard to say "We came, we saw, we kicked some ass!"
BlackBaron
Inspector General
- Location
- Michigan, USA
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I loved this, now I hope there is potential for a sequel.
It would also be amusing if the Taylor Hebert busted into Mass Effect and just smacked down the Reapers.
It would also be amusing if the Taylor Hebert busted into Mass Effect and just smacked down the Reapers.
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LostArchivist
Sane, unfortunately.
- Location
- The State of Confusion
I don't think I've ever seen useful bystanders in that school before. This is a refreshing and funny change of pace. Also the implication that they're all just sitting there watching this like it's another Tuesday. I know it's usually a running gag that there's a knife fight there every week, but one starts to wonder...
There have been stories with that premise before, but you'd really think they'd have more combat thinkers that know how to not look like combat thinkers. Then again, that would reduce the amount of potential conflict than if they suddenly know how to perform perfect wrestling moves and use them in public.
...COIL!!!
Isn't her name canonically Karen? It's certainly on point here...Uh oh. Someone is about to get undercut on the advanced tech market.
I love stories with a well-written badass Danny in them. He's certainly regained his fire here!
Assault is always willing to contribute to the conversation. Even when he probably shouldn't be.
Damn funny though.
CLASSIC teenager response. And I say that knowing full well it'd be my own reaction.
That's... quite insightful. Armsmaster being grumpy is also weirdly cute...
He's checked out the rest of the meeting.
Also probably jealous.
Calvert, you're not half as clever as you think you are.
lol
I don't really have any commentary to add to this one. It's perfectly on target for her reaction. She really hates Calvert.
You write really good villains. They wouldn't have survived that long if they were idiots... probably. So it's nice to see that.
Piggot just got Lisa as an ally for life. Whether she wanted that or not.
"Fricking Tinkers!"
"You're still on the line!"
Hm, that scene change seems weirdly topical, almost like it's implying something...
The man is rather stupid in that way, yeah. Although I imagine the people questioning him were somewhat disappointed.
This is great. Absolute perfection.
"Can't a girl learn breakdancing without getting weird stares? Hmph."
It's such a wooden taunt that it actually working is hilarious.
ROFL!
Welp, that's going to recursively escalate.
I'm not sure if this is what Dragon actually did but it's badass. And RCB seems somewhat approving, actually, despite having apparently okayed the judge to try this whole mess.
The lack of respect is hilarious but kinda depressing if you think about it. They don't like their orders that much but don't have the choice.
...aaaannnnnd many bricks were shat.
Eidolon also feels weirdly depressed and berated for some reason.
Ouch. Also, how does New Wave afford their insurance premiums?
YES
This is the first time I've heard someone say that but it justifies my existence.
Mood. Also annoyingly accurate to real life...
ooooh noooo... Someone's in trouble~~!
I feel like that scene break might be implying something again!
*its
Is anyone listening in to what she's saying here? I imagine that alone causes them to have interesting thoughts about her loadout...
Funny how that always works.
"I appreciate the effort, but dealing with you people hiding things for my benefit makes me feel less healthy."
*papers are presented, Piggot starts reading*
"Never mind, please continue."
Is this THAT Belka? Magical shipgirls possibly a thing after all...?
Good for him!
"Aneurysms. Aneurysms everywhere."
Geez, that man wastes no time. Coincidence or was Dragon on his "list"?
Of course, given he tried to mind control a robot, this situation will resolve itself quite cleanly.
Much to Heartbreaker's displeasure, this was the last time any part of him was ever again to be compared to a quarterstaff. Everyone else found it ironic, though most consider it merely "a good start."
I'm slightly sad that this didn't start a funny running gag about Dragon's "vacations" and how she keeps running into villains and subduing them accidentally.
She wasted no time on that!
"Admirable response time. The collateral is... actually I'm okay with that in this instance."
Positrons are like that one college friend. They're all too happy to get involved, and suddenly it's next morning and you have a new basement where there wasn't one before.
Given how much infrastructure costs in practice, this is possible, actually.
"I feel like we should step in, but it's too funny not to do so."
"Call it a learning exercise in PR."
Are we talking Misaka or Gilgamesh?
The Thranx are the best. Naming conventions alone are hilarious.
"Evidence, you say."
"Teshting shows the pizza is of eckthepshionally good quality. *mlhem* Good dishribution of pepperoni. *gulping noises*"
Well. That happened. I am both surprised and not at all surprised.
Is offering them advice allowed or appreciated?
"Ooh, how about 'Grandma got run over by a tour bus'?"
"No, Nigel, too soon."
"...Is this because we ran over a grandma or because it's after Christmas?"
Gee, I wonder why that might be.
I hadn't expected that to actually show up outside the news segment. Or to be that funny.
It's funny that despite living in THAT city this is what did her in.
Please tell me Leviathan is about to get a yacht dropped on him.
The endbringer perspectives are really good and not something I knew I needed before.
She gets to take out Scion and drive a space fighter with all the guns. What part of that would not cause a shit-eating grin of unprecedented scale?
Wait, wot?
"It rather requires that, yes."
"We have observed further strange behavior in your peoples, as re-watching the footage tends to induce literal hunger in your species. Usually for the food you call 'popcorn.'"
That was unusually canny for someone in a governmental position in a fictional story...
The only acronym that immediately comes to mind is "wild mass guess" which seems more disorienting than a battle-ender.