Remove ads

Distance Learning for fun and profit...

Reader mode
I wonder how much the other tech has already been distributed to her guards. There was personal cloaking device mentioned and various inertia field manipulators. Some of her guards might have fast tracked tech to basically make them like an even higher tech version of the Predator tech from the Predator movie franchise or the stealth tech that appeared in the Ghost in the Shell manga/anime/movies.

Given the revealed micro-blackhole tech weapon, maybe they could have a punch-dagger version designed to create an extremely brief tiny (very less than 1 mm^3 volume) high-gravity at the tip as an anti-brute/anti-armor melee weapon. Just punch at the target and depending on the matter/energy resistance feedback the tiny gravity field might range from the effect of a 10 Gs to blackhole level. Hopefully the cloaking device side effect would be disperse/deflect in case the even tiny microscopic effect might throw out effects ranging from high temperature plasma to gamma rays.
 
I have noticed a number of posts presuming there will be new conflicts with the end of the Endbringer truce.

Allow me to propose an alternative.

Said truce has resulted in over a decade of peace between signatory nations, and with it free trade between them. This is long enough that as lot of old hatreds will be forgotten, and where an appreciation of the aid that has come from other nations, including the U.S. will have eclipsed prior conflicts.

As such, it is unlikely that there will be new conflicts springing between said nations any time soon. Yes, there are Rouge Nations like the CUI that will be causing issues, but that's not a new conflict, but instead an inciting reason for other nations to join the U.S. should a conflict with such Rouge Nations begin.

Yes, everyone will want the new toys that the U.S. has to offer, but I expect few will risk actual conflict instead of using espionage to quietly gain the tech. Key word: quietly. Open conflict provides too much risk for too little reward. Whereas espionage has a much lower risk, but offers rewards at least as great...

Just something to think about.
 
suicidejunkie said:
Oh man, modem hijinks. The big one I witnessed at least made sense at the end:
Internet down? Start with power cycling the modem;
"please unplug wait 30s plug back in."
"Er... I don't think that's safe"
...
...
"Why would you say that?"
"Well the basement is flooded and the plug is underwater."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Username checks out, I guess.

DoctorNobody said:
Honestly, it was too easy.

(President: It was not easy.)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I love it!

Jacen1 said:
As such, it is unlikely that there will be new conflicts springing between said nations any time soon. Yes, there are Rouge Nations like the CUI that will be causing issues, but that's not a new conflict, but instead an inciting reason for other nations to join the U.S. should a conflict with such Rouge Nations begin.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This is either an incredibly subtle and slightly insensitive communism joke, or you've misspelled 'rogue'. I'm not sure which I prefer.
 
You all think to small. After Taylor kidnapped by [censored]. Admin will do just one thing. Activate battlemode on certain communication satellite with codename test engine 3. Someone trying to cut Admin from sweet data. Soo is time for red button.
 
Jacen1 said:
I have noticed a number of posts presuming there will be new conflicts with the end of the Endbringer truce.

Allow me to propose an alternative.

Said truce has resulted in over a decade of peace between signatory nations, and with it free trade between them. This is long enough that as lot of old hatreds will be forgotten, and where an appreciation of the aid that has come from other nations, including the U.S. will have eclipsed prior conflicts.

As such, it is unlikely that there will be new conflicts springing between said nations any time soon. Yes, there are Rouge Nations like the CUI that will be causing issues, but that's not a new conflict, but instead an inciting reason for other nations to join the U.S. should a conflict with such Rouge Nations begin.

Yes, everyone will want the new toys that the U.S. has to offer, but I expect few will risk actual conflict instead of using espionage to quietly gain the tech. Key word: quietly. Open conflict provides too much risk for too little reward. Whereas espionage has a much lower risk, but offers rewards at least as great...

Just something to think about.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The problem is that while Wildbow didn't actually show or even mention the knock on effects that should have occurred, I believe it is canon that fear of Levi attacking ships was crippling international trade. Didn't matter if it did attack ships or not, the fear was there. And ports were definitely being destroyed on a regular basis. Major ports at that. And not just international trade either. The S9 were allowed free reign to terrorize the entire midwest, wiping out farms and farming communities everywhere they went. This should have crippled the USA's food production. Major cities were getting wiped off the map every 3 months due to radiation, having to be walled off, or the entire area being sank beneath the waves. This again should have had severe impacts on domestic and international trade. Heck, I believe New York City got attacked by Behemoth multiple times. Why wasn't it considered a radioactive wasteland? And the sinking of entire landmasses should have had severe ecological impact on more then just those local regions. Why weren't both the east and west coast washed out by the tsunamis that should have resulted?

Kurt Wynn's market manipulations shouldn't have been enough to keep everything going like nothing had happened. I mean, when the source of most food eaten in the USA keeps getting slaughtered with no end in sight no amount of of financial trickery is going to prevent there from being a major food shortage. Similarly no amount of financial trickery is going to undo damage caused by international trade getting crippled. This past year and a half is ample proof of that. What about gas prices? Offshore drilling would have been wrecked due to fear of Levi. And between major oil fields being attacked by Behemoth and still being on fire decades later and the entire area decending into chaos, there should have been a serious oil shortage. Well, maybe ethonal blends could make up for that? Nope, those farms that would be growing corn for such purposes keep getting wiped out by the S9. And that's not taking into account that Cauldron was actively ensuring that criminal organizations were kept going, or even being strengthened while gutting law enforcement. That would have a knock on effect of legitimate businesses everywhere suffering.
 
testpilot24 said:
You all think to small. After Taylor kidnapped by [censored]. Admin will do just one thing. Activate battlemode on certain communication satellite with codename test engine 3. Someone trying to cut Admin from sweet data. Soo is time for red button.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

"In a further shocker in an already shocking series of events, the White House announced today that The Simurgh would be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her successful capture of the Supervillain Alexandria..."
 
DoctorNobody said:
The PRT and Protectorate withdrew because Taylor's secrutiy stopped shooting because Taylor was being used as a human shield.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'm surprised they just didn't blow the tires off of the PRT's escape vehicle and/or move to block them in. Human shields don't automatically give you a Mover rating.

Matrix Dragon said:
DM: We are officially not getting involved, holy fuck!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
More like...

Legend: "... what the fuck?"
Contessa: *thousand-yard stare*
Number Man: "This situation is out of control. This is entirely out of control and Cauldron will be lucky to survive!"
Doctor Mother: (tonelessly) "Eidolon."
Eidolon: (nervously) "... yes?"
Doctor Mother: "You. Legend. And Alexandria's unconscious body dumped on the White House lawn in a barrel of containment foam."
*beat*
Doctor Mother: "NOW!"
*they both scramble frantically for the door*
 
Last edited:
Matrix Dragon said:
Nice one Vista. You outmanuvered the secret service!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I am kinda disappointed the Wards kept obeying orders even after they were fighting the US government and Shadow Stalker brought out the 'protective custody' person looking like a homicide attempt.

Hell, I'm kinda disappointed in the Protectorate. I mean, even if we leave ethics entirely out of the equation self-preservation is gonna kick in. Miss Militia's the only one mentally rigid enough to just completely blank out the 'so, how do we not get arrested for treason after this?' part. You'd think Assault at least would go "Oh, fuck no, this is gonna get me sent to the Birdcage. I do not want to go to the Birdcage. I was lucky enough to duck that shit the first time!"
 
Last edited:
FaerieKnight79 said:
The problem is that while Wildbow didn't actually show or even mention the knock on effects that should have occurred, I believe it is canon that fear of Levi attacking ships was crippling international trade. Didn't matter if it did attack ships or not, the fear was there. And ports were definitely being destroyed on a regular basis. Major ports at that. And not just international trade either. The S9 were allowed free reign to terrorize the entire midwest, wiping out farms and farming communities everywhere they went. This should have crippled the USA's food production. Major cities were getting wiped off the map every 3 months due to radiation, having to be walled off, or the entire area being sank beneath the waves. This again should have had severe impacts on domestic and international trade. Heck, I believe New York City got attacked by Behemoth multiple times. Why wasn't it considered a radioactive wasteland? And the sinking of entire landmasses should have had severe ecological impact on more then just those local regions. Why weren't both the east and west coast washed out by the tsunamis that should have resulted?

Kurt Wynn's market manipulations shouldn't have been enough to keep everything going like nothing had happened. I mean, when the source of most food eaten in the USA keeps getting slaughtered with no end in sight no amount of of financial trickery is going to prevent there from being a major food shortage. Similarly no amount of financial trickery is going to undo damage caused by international trade getting crippled. This past year and a half is ample proof of that. What about gas prices? Offshore drilling would have been wrecked due to fear of Levi. And between major oil fields being attacked by Behemoth and still being on fire decades later and the entire area decending into chaos, there should have been a serious oil shortage. Well, maybe ethonal blends could make up for that? Nope, those farms that would be growing corn for such purposes keep getting wiped out by the S9. And that's not taking into account that Cauldron was actively ensuring that criminal organizations were kept going, or even being strengthened while gutting law enforcement. That would have a knock on effect of legitimate businesses everywhere suffering.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Certainly it should have had a much worse effect especially the Endbringer attacks but I think your over estimating the S9 impact. I suspect they rarely did large scale massacres instead focusing on sudden bursts of violence or killing those that brought hope or were icons. Then they ran for it before an organised response could occur, hence why they lasted so long. They would then lay low for a while before popping up elsewhere far away.
Sure there impact would be major but they would have to avoid predicable patterns or long term events which would lead to them being found and destroyed. This is the most likely answer to how they last so long with only modest PTV interference which is frankly too disturbing and questionable.

EDIT

cliffc999 said:
I am kinda disappointed the Wards kept obeying orders even after they were fighting the US government and Shadow Stalker brought out the 'protective custody' person looking like a homicide attempt.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
How would they know there facing the US government and not some well organised gang? After all they probably aren't carrying around ID even assuming the wards would recognise it. They were probably told that this place and person was off interest and there might be resistance for hostile individuals. So why would they believe the other side over there bosses?
 
Last edited:
CastleTrime said:
How would they know there facing the US government and not some well organised gang? After all they probably aren't carrying around ID even assuming the wards would recognise it. They were probably told that this place and person was off interest and there might be resistance for hostile individuals. So why would they believe the other side over there bosses?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Why wouldn't they be carrying ID? They aren't infiltrating a foreign country, there's no rules of war requiring uniforms, plus the ones hiding under optical diversion fields probably would be in full secret service dress blacks, curly earpiece and raybans included. They're only avoiding notice so as to make it less obvious that they are there to protect the Heberts (oh and keep Taylor from panicking about all these spooks, not that she didn't spot them all more or less immediately) because random civilians who suddenly gain a really obvious SS detail are interesting in ways most people would never want to be. Once some idiot goes loud with a frontal assault on the home, that whole subterfuge is clearly no longer working, or necessary, so they would discard it.
 
Last edited:
CastleTrime said:
How would they know there facing the US government and not some well organised gang?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Probably from the part where they're yelling "FEDERAL AGENTS!" at the top of their lungs, have standardized weapons (gangs really aren't into everyone bringing the exact same rifle and ammo), have body armor almost identical to the PRT tac teams they're familiar with, have identifying markers all over that body armor (remember, this isn't the black ops guys, this is the Secret Service and the Marines, so they're in uniform), and actually stopped shooting when the kids entered the line of fire? Because that would certainly at least be a clue towards 'Probably not the Nazis'.

CastleTrime said:
After all they probably aren't carrying around ID even assuming the wards would recognise it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
What? Of course they're carrying ID. This is a Secret Service protection detail. The everyday line of defense is plainclothes, yes. They don't want to draw attention. But there's a difference between "plainclothes" and "black ops", so even the plainclothes agents have their credentials in their pockets. And after the panic button gets hit and the tac teams leap out of the safehouses and deploy, at this point everything is overt.
 
It wouldn't have to be repeated large scale massacres. They canonically wipe out small towns to the last person when they pass through without it being noticed till after they have left. Presumably they also kill any farmers or campers they encounter as well. They may not attack medium to large cities very often, but what about the small towns like Gutenberg or Zwingle (both in Iowa) that you could walk the entire length of in ten minutes or less? For at least 20 years they were rampaging across the nation, mostly hanging out in the midwest. I very much doubt Jack Slash was willing to let anyone escape his deprivations if he could help it. And it was only the major cities that were reliably able to chase the Nine off. Should that be true? Hell no. Jack himself should have been dead long before he met the girl who would become Bonesaw. Any random farmer or small town hick with a shotgun should have killed him due to his ego demanding he 'play' with his victims. Same with Shatterbird and Burnscar.

The S9 should not have been that successful. But since they canonically were that successful (in part due to Cauldron protecting them), this suggests that the midwest should have been severely depopulated over the 20+ years the S9 were active. Even if they only killed a tenth of the population, the fear of being next could well cause farmers to retire and move somewhere safer. Industrial farms have been driving family farms under in our world, but in Worm they likely also are struggling because a band of murder hobos could (and probably do) pass through and kill all the workers at any given moment. It wouldn't take many farming communities getting killed off before the agracultural industry would begin to feel it. And as more got killed, it would get worse and worse.
 
cliffc999 said:
Probably from the part where they're yelling "FEDERAL AGENTS!" at the top of their lungs, have standardized weapons (gangs really aren't into everyone bringing the exact same rifle and ammo), have body armor almost identical to the PRT tac teams they're familiar with, have identifying markers all over that body armor (remember, this isn't the black ops guys, this is the Secret Service and the Marines, so they're in uniform), and actually stopped shooting when the kids entered the line of fire? Because that would certainly at least be a clue towards 'Probably not the Nazis'.


What? Of course they're carrying ID. This is a Secret Service protection detail. The everyday line of defense is plainclothes, yes. They don't want to draw attention. But there's a difference between "plainclothes" and "black ops", so even the plainclothes agents have their credentials in their pockets. And after the panic button gets hit and the tac teams leap out of the safehouses and deploy, at this point everything is overt.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm currently seeing it as it being possible that the smarter members of the Protectorate and Wards were starting to shift to a holding action, especially when Piggot got on the comms screaming bloody murder... And then Shadow Stalker, who would barely have been on the Wards for long at this point, shows up with a wounded hostage and things get even messier.
 
The fact that the Protectorate ENE branch and Protectorate ENE almost in it's entirity (and the Wards too) are getting reclassified as villains in the wake of the omake's events would be a serious blow to both the PRT and Protectorate as a whole. Wonder if this would cause Glen Chambers to trigger?
 
Matrix Dragon said:
And then Shadow Stalker, who would barely have been on the Wards for long at this point, shows up with a wounded hostage and things get even messier.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
At this point it really takes some kind of mob hysteria for everybody not Miss Militia to just turn and stare... and then immediately KTFO Miss Militia and Shadow Stalker.

Assault - "Okay, we give up! This operation just went totally rogue AND THEY DIDN'T TELL US ABOUT THIS PART! I don't know what the hell kind of secret orders Miss Militia gave Shadow Stalker!"

Dauntless - "Seriously, it wasn't us! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE CLOCKBLOCKER STABILIZE THE CASUALTY UNTIL PANACEA CAN GET HERE! DON'T SHOOT!"

Aegis - "What the hell?"

Battery - "Just everybody stand very still and stay quiet! Those guys with the grenade launchers are not looking happy, and only a couple of us are bulletproof enough!"
 
Last edited:
FaerieKnight79 said:
The fact that the Protectorate ENE branch and Protectorate ENE almost in it's entirity (and the Wards too) are getting reclassified as villains in the wake of the omake's events would be a serious blow to both the PRT and Protectorate as a whole. Wonder if this would cause Glen Chambers to trigger?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Reclassification as villains requires there to still be a Protectorate ENE and Wards ENE after this, given that, unless eveyone's completely stupid, there would be a mass resignation of capes from the organization as soon as they make it back to base.
 
cliffc999 said:
At this point it really takes some kind of mob hysteria for everybody not Miss Militia to just turn and stare... and then immediately KTFO Miss Militia and Shadow Stalker.

Assault - "Okay, we give up! This operation just went totally rogue AND THEY DIDN'T TELL US ABOUT THIS PART! I don't know what the hell kind of secret orders Miss Militia gave Shadow Stalker!"

Dauntless - "Seriously, it wasn't us! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE CLOCKBLOCKER STABILIZE THE CASUALTY UNTIL PANACEA CAN GET HERE! DON'T SHOOT!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Militia really leaned on her authority long enough to a baravian fire drill... And may have still ended up ko'ed by velocity and dauntless before getting back to the rig.

"What the hell?"
"Just play along, that's who we're here for."
"What the hell?!"
"I know what I'm doing?"
"Do you? Really?!"
 
Sandy River DL said:
Reclassification as villains requires there to still be a Protectorate ENE and Wards ENE after this, given that, unless eveyone's completely stupid, there would be a mass resignation of capes from the organization as soon as they make it back to base.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
So... a typical Tuesday in Worm. Yeah, no I'm not joking. That would be a typical reaction in Worm verse. To just keep on, keeping on. Status Quo and all that junk.
 
Sandy River DL said:
Reclassification as villains requires there to still be a Protectorate ENE and Wards ENE after this, given that, unless eveyone's completely stupid, there would be a mass resignation of capes from the organization as soon as they make it back to base.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Pretty sure the reclassification from "heroes and law enforcment officers" to "villains and wanted criminals" would have occurred the very second they assaulted federal troops while trying to abduct Taylor in the omake. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Only those kept out of the loop or who actually stood down when they realized it was federal troops that were protecting the Hebert home would not instantly get reclassified.
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
Pretty sure the reclassification from "heroes and law enforcment officers" to "villains and wanted criminals" would have occurred the very second they assaulted federal troops while trying to abduct Taylor in the omake. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Only those kept out of the loop or who actually stood down when they realized it was federal troops that were protecting the Hebert home would not instantly get reclassified.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I.E. Only Missy. The rest would be so inured to the violence that they wouldn't have paid it one wit. Maybe Assault, but wouldn't bet on it.

{edit}
cliffc999 said:
At this point it really takes some kind of mob hysteria for everybody not Miss Militia to just turn and stare... and then immediately KTFO Miss Militia and Shadow Stalker.

Assault - "Okay, we give up! This operation just went totally rogue AND THEY DIDN'T TELL US ABOUT THIS PART! I don't know what the hell kind of secret orders Miss Militia gave Shadow Stalker!"



Dauntless - "Seriously, it wasn't us! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE CLOCKBLOCKER STABILIZE THE CASUALTY UNTIL PANACEA CAN GET HERE! DON'T SHOOT!"



Aegis - "What the hell?"



Battery - "Just everybody stand very still and stay quiet! Those guys with the grenade launchers are not looking happy, and only a couple of us are bulletproof enough!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Just realized what you were inferring here. Yeah, no. Leaving aside the fact that the entire universe there runs on how many idiot balls a character is juggling. There's the fact that between Brockton Bay being so super/crime infested that even the Wards still see action, despite not supposed to see action save for explicit emergencies. To get powers one has to go through a PTSD triggering event, in both sense of the phrase. And that literally from the point of their powers activating until here when Taylor turned it off, the shards kept pushing conflict, to the point that, save certain mental proclivities, it becomes a natural reaction to parahumans. Basic human decency, never mind common sense, has long since been thrown out the proverbial window. So, yeah, they're operating under "some kind of mob hysteria", and have been for months, to years.
 
Last edited:
Armsmaster and Piggot too. Armsmaster was off duty, finding out about things only afterwords. And Piggot was kept in the dark about what was happening by Costa-Brown until after the fecal matter hit the rotary air movement device.
 
. . . Okay, yeah, Armsmaster and Piggot too. I'd... honestly forgotten about them, and was only focused on the obvious culprits.
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top