Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)

[] Social – Adepts


Heatwave 9.19

Wednesday, June 22

Steam tickles your face and wakes you up. A blink of your eyes shows a pool of water boiling away just a couple of inches away, and you look farther away to find the familiar form of Cassiel sitting at the edge of her island. "I wondered when I would get to talk to you again," you tell the little girl.

"I haven't been able to reach you lately," she says apologetically. "I needed to talk to you. Something happened to Dragon. I think… I think she's dead."

Those words are an arrow in your chest. "What? Dead? How? She was just fine yesterday!"

"You… saw her yesterday?" Cassiel asks with a surprised blink of her baby blue eyes. "I haven't been able to see her for almost a week."

"Oh. OH!" You shake your head and give her the most reassuring smile you can come up with in this desolate bedroom turned torture chamber. "No, no, she isn't dead. A friend of mine made something to help her. Maybe that's why you can't see her."

Cassiel mouths your words for a moment before the lightbulb turns on. "You gave her a physical body? She must like that."

"You knew she was an A.I.?" you demand in shock. You had assumed Cassiel had powerful clairvoyance in addition to her projection ability, but for her to glean enough information that she knew about Dragon's true nature is a step beyond your expectations.

"Mm-hmm. I'm happy for her. Her daddy put a lot of rules on her. If you moved her from a computer into a body, most of those are gone." She curls her arms up to her chest, the chains wrapped around her thin limbs clinking. "I'm happy for her, but I'm jealous, too. I know it's bad to be jealous of people, Mommy and Daddy said so, but I am."

Because now Dragon is free and she is still trapped here. That must be the source of her envy, and her power can't be helpful. If anything, it would only make her envy worse. Eyes that see for who knows how far, and yet she is chained and imprisoned by her own family. "Cassiel, where are you?" you ask. "Where is this place? If you tell me where it is, I can find you. I can free you."

"No! You can't!" she shouts. Her eyes are wide with terror. "Mommy and Daddy, they'd hurt you, or take control of you. And Grandmama…" A shudder wracks her tiny frame. "You don't want her finding you. She's dangerous. I can hide from her if I'm careful, but if she found out I could talk to people through her power… It'd be… bad."

"How bad?" Cassiel shakes her head, fear still obvious on her face. "Okay, different question. You said you can talk to people through her power. What is her power?"

The little girl lowers her voice to a whisper. "She keeps people from seeing. Precogs can't find us. Far-seers can't find us. All anyone sees is her eyes, and then she's in their heads, seeing whatever they see."

That doesn't sound dangerous on its own, but from Cassiel's fear of her grandmother, you know there has to be a darker edge that she is hiding from you. Something about that power sounds familiar, though you can't put your finger on it.

"I almost wish I was in a computer," she says softly. "Then maybe you could do the same thing you did to Dragon."

The same thing you did to Dragon. Looking around at the walls and the painted ceiling, you have to wonder. You aren't really here; Cassiel pulled your consciousness out of your head and projected it into her room. Perfect Storm recognizes her ability as telepathy. Devices use telepathy for communication the same way radios and computers use electromagnetic waves.

Would it be possible? Could Tim build another Unison Device and link it to Perfect Storm so that the next time Cassiel contacts you, the Unison Device reverses the connection so Cassiel is pulled into the Device? It is outlandish in the extreme, but maybe, just maybe it could become reality.

"Cassie?" She looks up at the shortened version of her name. "I can't promise anything, but if we could do something for you like we did for Dragon, would you want us to?" Her nod is almost violent in its speed. "Even if it means there are two yous running around instead of pulling your mind into the new body?"

"Is that what happened to Dragon? Then why can't I see the old her anymore?"

"She…" How do you tell a little girl that Dragon deleted her previous iteration to keep the first her from trying to kill the second? "She did something to get rid of her backup data."

"She killed herself."

Clearly your dissembling needs work. She does not see the scowl on your face, but instead her attention is focused on the bubbling water that surround her. You don't like the ideas you can already see running through her mind. "I think I would still want to try it," she finally tells you. "Could—" Her eyes grow wide. "Grandmama's waking up. You have to go. Now!"

The connection shatters, and a faint squeal echoes in your ears unlike the other times you have spoken with Cassiel. Because she was hasty in breaking the connection? You have no way to know.

Opening your eyes to see the ceiling of your room, you renew your pledge to yourself. That girl needs to be saved one way or another.


It is a gloomy day in New York City that you find when you teleport there, and Tim shivers despite his Hazard Jacket. He pulls the physical form tighter around himself and sighs when the top of his jumpsuit detaches and morphs into a coat. "You sure we can find the Adepts here?"

"It's where they were last time."

Walking down the stairwell into the building itself, you start to get a bad feeling about this. The last time you were here, this meeting hall of the Adepts was at least fully lit, the decor of an old-fashioned study scattered through the industrial design of the rest. Now? Most of the lights are off, turning the hallways into something out of a horror movie.

A thump comes from down the hall, and the hulking silhouette belonging to Maclibuin comes into view. "Oh, it's you," he says, a tired smile appearing on his face. "Come on in. Who's your friend?"

"Shipwright," Tim says with a wave, "one of Calamity Witch's teammates. You must be Maclibuin. We actually came to talk to you and Epoch if he's here."

"Yeah. Yeah, he's here." That leeches away most of the Brute's enthusiasm, and he waves for you to follow him.

The reason for Maclibuin's mood becomes obvious when you enter Epoch's office. "I'm sorry, but I'm really not in the best shape to entertain guests," he says as he tries to wrap up a large gash on his side. He wears neither robe nor shirt, not even a mask to hide his identity.

It takes a minute to find your words, your mind spinning through the possibilities that would explain what you're seeing and coming up with little definitive. "What happened?"

"Turns out Gevaudan's got a bit of an axe to grind. Just stop and let me do that," Maclibuin tells Epoch, batting his nominal superior's hands out of the way. Despite his enormous strength, his motions are surprisingly delicate as he dresses the wound. "This is why no one went to you when they got hurt. You have no clue what you're doing. Anyway, he decided that it would be great fun to tell what seems like every gang in New York that we're down to two people, and they took advantage of that just as he wanted them to. We never held much territory or got involved in a lot of the businesses most gangs do, but when people messed with us because we were 'those crazy capes', we trounced them again and again. They want to get back at us."

"How long has this been going on?" Samantha asks.

Epoch shrugs. "Not too long."

"A couple of weeks," corrects Maclibuin with a scolding glance at the other parahuman. "This isn't the first time you've gotten hurt, either. The longer this goes on, the less we can go out and punch back at them and the more we have to bunker down. We can't go on much longer—" A buzz fills the building, making both remaining Adepts look away in surprise. "That's new. No one's tried ringing the doorbell yet."

"Ah. That would be our last guest," you say with a forced smile. "Sam, would you?"

The raccoon-woman vanishes in a burst of light, and not ten seconds later she reappears with a cape wearing a grey bodysuit and a short mantle, a black hand painted on her chest. The woman pulls off the the half-mask that covers everything above her nose to reveal the noticeably less gothed-up but still recognizable face of Thirteenth Hour. "Epoch! Are you okay?"

"Well as could be expected, Thirteenth Hour. Or I suppose I should call you Standstill again, shouldn't I?" She opens her mouth, but he flicks his hand before she can say anything. "I didn't mean it like that. I don't blame you for going back to the Protectorate. We had a deal, and I couldn't fulfill my side of it. Just wish the timing was better is all."

Maclibuin tugs the gauze wrap just the tiniest bit harder than he necessarily has to. "What he's trying to say is that it's good to see you again, and while we're happy you weren't thrown in a cell we really could have used another set of hands recently."

She crosses one arm in front of herself to hold the opposite elbow, her body language not even apologetic but ashamed. "Because of all the gangs coming after you. I know. I wanted to come, but every time I suggested it I was shut down and sent on a patrol on the other end of the island. Legend said he was concerned that if I went to help you, I'd 'fall back into bad habits'."

"Um, Epoch?" The time-manipulator looks up at Tim's tentative question. "Calamity told me that you previously gathered the Adepts together because you could thought you could feel magic. Why haven't you tried recruiting more potential mages and refill your ranks that way?"

Epoch shakes his head. "It's… hard to trust what I thought was an ability to sense magical talent when it was proven to be so inaccurate. I'd be making more enemies than allies when they found out they don't in fact have magic, and enemies are something I have too many of right now, thank you. Is that why you've come and brought your friend with you, Calamity Witch?"

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you and, well, give you your options." You stop and frown. "Not that I'm complaining, but from what you said, Lilliput is gone for good?" You expected him to head back to Florida where his previous gang was located, but you don't know that for sure.

"We have seen neither hide nor hair of him since the last time you were here."

You nod at Maclibuin's confirmation and pull a chair out for yourself. Samantha moves to stand right behind you, and Tim settles himself to your side. "Just the three of you then. Okay. I take it you're still interested?"

Three nods follow that apparently stupid question.

"If you want to use magic the way I do, you have three basic options. First, I can give you what's called a template. It's essentially a prepackaged set of spells that you, well, remember would be the best way to describe it. It's weird at first, and it has a pretty steep learning curve because the spells can sometimes sneak up on you, but the Device you get with it will help out with the heavy lifting in the beginning. You only have a couple of options you can pick from, though, and what you get is what you get. There's a Blaster template like mine, a close-combat Brute or Striker template, a support-type which I'm pretty sure has healing spells and I expect some other abilities I'm not fully aware of, and a Tinker-style magical engineer template."

"The fourth one is the template I chose," Tim says. "I have no complaints about picking it, but Calamity is right that it takes getting used to. The other option is that I can build you a Device that doesn't have all the built-in spells a template would, though I can calibrate it so it will be easier to use certain spells that you really want to learn. The Devices follow a similar trend to the templates: a staff or gun-like Intelligent Device for long-range spells, an Armed Device with short-range spells to supplement physical attacks, a Boost Device for backline support, or a more general Storage Device that can do a little bit of everything but isn't great at anything and is incompatible with some of the higher level magics."

"Clarification." You look to your staff at Perfect Storm's interruption. "Sufficient magical power grants greater breadth of spell choice beyond initial purpose of Device. Example: close combat spells with Intelligent Device. Linker Core rank A or higher required."

"So just me, then," Epoch says with a frown. "That knowledge is… less exciting than I thought it would be."

"The last option is that we teach you some magic without giving you any template or Device. I do need to warn you that there is a good chance you'll lose the powers you already have if you want a template or a Device, so if you're super-attached to your powers this might be the way to go." You hold up your hands when it looks like all three of the capes are about to shout at you. "We don't know for sure that taking a template or Device will cause you to lose your current powers, but we have enough evidence that we and Dragon, who's also in the know about magic, think it's more likely than not. We haven't exactly tested it to be sure, though."

The three remaining Adepts are quiet for a long minute as they think about their options, and it is Maclibuin who speaks up first. "You said we'd lose our powers if we get something to help us with magic. What about the spells we already know? Epoch's flight, my enchanting?"

"I've wondered about that myself," Samantha cuts in. "How sure are you that your enchanting actually works? We aren't real parahumans, so we haven't been able to verify it."

Well, you could have, you think to yourself. You could have let Vista touch the statue the Adepts gave you and see if she noticed any changes. No need for them to know you didn't think of that until just now.

Epoch and Standstill both nod. "I know for a fact it works," the former gang leader says. "My ability lets me reverse, fast-forward, or pause time for ten seconds. No longer. Do you remember when we first talked and you asked how I convinced Standstill to join us while her partner was paused?" You slowly nod. "It is because of the enchantment. I tapped into everything my charm had, and as a result I was able to freeze him for a full two minutes. It had to be recharged once I did so, but the limits of my power is well-known to the Protectorate. Something else had to be in play for that to happen."

"It was an effective demonstration," agrees Standstill.

You turn to your Intelligent Device and expert on all things template. "Storm?"

"Installation of template changes subject on magical and genetic level. Changed Linker Core renders individually created spell difficult or impossible to cast without significant experimentation."

"That sounds like a good argument against a template, then," Maclibuin says with a sigh. "I do appreciate the offer, Calamity Witch, but those aren't for me. A Device? That I could work with. And…" He looks at his hands. "Getting my powers saved my life, but afterwards they created just as many problems as they solved. Most Brutes can control their strength, can go about doing their normal thing until they need to stop a runaway train or something. I can't. When you can't even reach out and shake someone's hand without spending all your time thinking about how careful you have to be not to hurt them accidentally… My powers have served me well, but it would be a lie to say I wouldn't mind getting rid of them."

Epoch lays a hand on Maclibuin's arm and gives it a quick squeeze. "I also have a concern. As much as I may have sounded like I was belittling it earlier, I too gained my power at great expense. I hope you'll forgive me for saying that I would prefer not to lose it unless I get something equally valuable from the exchange. A template sounds like it would be sufficient, or perhaps just expanding my powers without technologic assistance. A focus by itself I am less enthused with."

"With the strength of your magic, you would have more options than the others do," Samantha reminds him. "A wide spread of abilities would probably be more valuable than just manipulating time. Not to mention, if there is any chance to go for the experienced and well read wizard motif, this would be it."

That reasoning gets a laugh out of him. "True."

"Also possess Regenerator gene line. Genetic manipulation inherent to template installation irreversibly removes Rare Skills."

"I appreciate the warning, Mr. Storm, but I don't use this Rare Skill of yours anyway. It may offer a few additional options, but I would not miss it if it were taken away."

"Um." Everyone looks at Standstill, who is shuffling on her feet. "I know this is a really bad reason to make my decision, but if I lose my powers, the Protectorate would force me to rebrand, and that's a pretty big undertaking. I might be forced to move to another city, and even if I stay here I'd be out of action for months until all the PR people have a plan for how to go about it. They already aren't happy with me for leaving. You said my magic wasn't super-strong like Epoch's, so just accepting a Device… isn't worth it? If those templates are as powerful as you say they are, that might be worth the effort, or just keeping my current powers and picking up an extra trick or two." She smiles faintly. "Not that my powers are great by themselves. It's why I accepted Epoch's offer in the first place, to get a boost to my powers or let me use them without knocking myself out in the process."

Samantha hums and scratches her hairline. "Sounds like you need a protector more than a power boost. Someone to guard you while you're unconscious."

"That… Yeah. That actually sounds pretty cool."

«You want to teach her how to summon a Guardian Beast?» you ask your partner. «If she does that, there's a good chance the Protectorate will notice similarities between you and the one she creates and start asking uncomfortable questions.»

«This Case 53 misdirection was never going to last. It has served its purpose as far as I'm concerned. From what you said, Alexandria has already figured it out and didn't say anything about it, so who can say that anything will be done to me when the truth does come out? The worst that happens is they say I am a thing without rights, and that would be an interesting lawsuit to bring to the courts, I think. I'm more concerned with whether teaching her how to make another of my kind would be possible. Storm, what are your thoughts on the matter?»

«Linker Core of Standstill strong enough to create and support Guardian Beast. Not strong enough to perform other spells should she do so without Device to maximize efficiency of spellcasting.»

You share a look with Samantha, and another with Tim. "Okay. How about this…"


"Pull (point to pad) teleportation pad" added to Shipwright's inventory.

How to organize this? Hmm. Let's try voting by character and see if that works out. You only have one template to give out and it'll take another 6 weeks before you can give out another, so keep that in mind. Especially since I expect the pro-Lacey players still want to tap that.

[ ] Offer Epoch a template
[ ] Convince Epoch to accept a Device – MEDIUM, requires good spell selection. He can learn four spells. Flight and a Shooter-type spell will be free.
[ ] Teach Epoch unassisted magic – He can learn one spell at full power in addition to flight and a Shooter spell, and he keeps his time manipulation power.

[ ] Convince Maclibuin to accept a template – HARD, requires good in-character argument.
[ ] Offer Maclibuin a Device – He can learn two spells. His parahuman boosting enchantment will be free.
[ ] Teach Maclibuin unassisted magic – He can learn one spell at half-power in addition to his parahuman boosting enchantment, and he keeps his superstrength and durability.

[ ] Offer Standstill a template
[ ] Convince Standstill to accept a Device – HARD, requires good in-character argument. She can learn two spells.
[ ] Teach Standstill unassisted magic – She can learn one spell at full power, and she keeps her knockout power.

And just to clarify, you ARE NOT voting for what spells to give each character right this second (though if you have ideas, that's great!). The spell selection vote will happen once I close this vote because trying to do it all at once would turn into a giant headache.

Any in-character arguments should be included as a STUNT/SUBVOTE. I will tell you if it is valid or not as quickly as I can. If one of the HARD options wins without a valid argument, the actual winner will be the first runner up for that character.