RoninSword
Sky God
- Location
- Canada
A device burns out a parahumans power.
The guy from the Adepts kept his power but he just learned telekinesis and I believe he can use the most basic version of Flare Shooter now.
Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)
- Thread starter Silently Watches
- Start date
The guy from the Adepts kept his power but he just learned telekinesis and I believe he can use the most basic version of Flare Shooter now.
- Location
- Belfast
Yeah... that's about where I thought I recalled it being, and since the device is the source of the anti master effects she might as well go all in on things.
That said I do want to see Dragon and Tim run a full analysis of her power before it's gone, simply because there's so many interesting potential uses for it.
- Location
- Canada
Sorry, I did not see that post, as is obvious, otherwise I wouldn't have posted anything. I apologize if I tread on anyone's toes, I was just trying to participate. Nevermind though, I suppose I've learned my lesson. I'll sit down, shut up and stop participating. Message received loud and clear. You don't have to be so negative about the whole thing, you come across as very condescending and high-handed, whether or not that is your intention. When I was reading the post and posting on my screen it was at least obvious to me that it was a recent post and it would be acceptable to add my two cents worth in.
- Location
- Earth, Sol System, Virgo Supercluster, Earth-1218
I didn't intend to come across as condescending, but for the past few votes we've had multiple people vote after the vote is closed and it's become rather annoying that the OP clearly states "Vote Closed" and then people vote anyway. Discussion after a vote can sometimes influence how SW implements a vote, so discussion is always encouraged, before a vote or after, but a post with just a vote in it after the vote has been tallied is hardly encouraging a discussion.
I'm confused though, did you not see the post or did you read it and say "It was only a few minutes ago, maybe I can still vote"? I bolded the part of your post where you claim both.
- Location
- Canada
Exactly what I said, I didn't see it. I didn't see any indication that voting was closed. If it did exist when I posted, then I didn't see it. I don't see how there's anything else to explain. There was nothing marked super obviously from the original poster as voting being closed, or the votes tallied, or anything like that. Now that you've pointed it out to me, yes I can see it, but at the time I saw nothing that said I couldn't vote. I read the story post, saw that it was the last thread mark, read the instructions on the bottom, and then read how everyone else was voting. I then put in my two cents and went on my way. I hope this cleared up matters for you.
You really, really, really want to punch yourself in the face.
Tim has just finished explaining what Mutagenics can do.
Artificial Linker Cores.
But with some slight drawbacks. Like scales. Or glowing eyeballs.
You need to find more bio tinker stuff for Tim to study, but where are you going to find it?
The power vial thingies!
Giving the vials to Alexandria was a mistake.
At best, she's going to waste them on making two new heroes.
In Tim's hands they would help uplift the entire civilization.
Maybe it's not too late? Even letting Tim observe the process would help him improve his craft.
Artificial Linker Cores without the draw backs.
You begin calling Legend and hope you're not too late.
And if you are... you will just have to explore the ruins again and pray you can find more vials for Tim to study.
Edit: see below
Tim has just finished explaining what Mutagenics can do.
Artificial Linker Cores.
But with some slight drawbacks. Like scales. Or glowing eyeballs.
You need to find more bio tinker stuff for Tim to study, but where are you going to find it?
The power vial thingies!
Giving the vials to Alexandria was a mistake.
At best, she's going to waste them on making two new heroes.
In Tim's hands they would help uplift the entire civilization.
Maybe it's not too late? Even letting Tim observe the process would help him improve his craft.
Artificial Linker Cores without the draw backs.
You begin calling Legend and hope you're not too late.
And if you are... you will just have to explore the ruins again and pray you can find more vials for Tim to study.
Edit: see below
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- Location
- Omniverse #1345
It's very unlikely Tim would be able to replicate the vials in any way. They are not the power of a Shard, but a part of a Shard itself.
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
The players aren't as stupid as you seem to think. We did ask and were told they wouldn't be useful to Tim.
/ puts on nerd hat:
OOC ( out of character): The players did. Taylor did not.
If we're going to give Vista an artificial Linker Core...
Getting there is going to be a bitch.
Militia flipped out over the artificial arm thing...
*Surprise!*
We performed surprise bio tinkering on a ward!
We're down with it, Vista's down with it...
Militia is not. She flipped out over the arm thing.
Surprise bio tinkering out of no-where?
That's a kill order.
So we need Militia to sign off on it... Or we need Vista to be legally emancipated.
That should be fairly easy. Destroy Militia.
"How many times did you go on patrol with the criminal scum bag Starmetal? Two? How many times did you go on patrol with the hero Vista? None? I see... I was under the impression you actually cared about her."
Destroy Chevalier: "Explain. Why did you think the mental welfare of a known criminal was more important than an innocent child? Also what possessed you to allow the criminal scumbag Starmetal anywhere near children? Militia, same question."
- Location
- Ural, Russia, Earth
Miss Militia looked confused by these questions. She looked at Chevalier helplessly.
"Don't forget," Chevalier reminded her. "Calamity looks like an adult, but actually she's just a teenager. Don't expect maturity or understanding from her."
"Ah, yes, of course." Miss Militia nodded as if it explained everything. "Well then, let me answer your question. I would like to patrol with Vista more. She's a good teammate and our powers have an excellent synergy. Sadly, she's too young, so the rules say I can't take her to actually dangerous areas. And considering there is only three Protectorate heroes in Philadelphia, I can't patrol safe areas with her, because that would leave a huge part of the city unattented."
Taylor opened her mouth to explain how stupid these rules were. What kind of brainless and heartless monster could look in the eyes of an adorable little girl full of hopes of becoming a hero and tell her that no, she shouldn't go to slums to fight drug-dealers, killers and rapists?
Miss Militia raised her hand, preventing her from speaking. "Of course you can argue that Vista is strong and experienced enough to take her in danger. I would agree, she's an exceptional girl. But the Youth Guard will never allow it."
Chevalier shook his head sadly. "Believe me, Calamity, you are strong enough to face the Fallen army and obliterate them, but you're powerless against a horde of concerned parents who don't want their children turned into child-soldiers and an army of lawyers and journalists leeching on their fears. If we send Vista in danger, the Youth Guard will eviscerate us, especially considering she already almost died that one time."
"Of course we can try to find a compromise." Militia suggested. "For example, you can take over my patrol duties for a week or two, giving me a time to reconnect with Vista. What do you think?"
Taylor shuddered. To spend several of her precious weekly activities on something so boring and pointless when she has too much on her plate already would be highly irresponsible.
"I see you don't like it." Miss Militia nodded. "If I was a teenager, I would accuse you that you don't actually care about Vista. But I'm a responsible adult, so I understand you have your circumstances."
"Now, to your second question." Chevalier said. "I paired Vista with Starmetal because Vista wanted to go patrolling and the rules allow young Wards to patrol only with older Ward or Protectorate member. As Miss Militia explained, we have only three Protectorate members who are too busy with their responsibilities. And we have only one older Ward, Starmetal. I wasn't afraid of his supposed scumbagginess, though. He's a nice boy who just happened to fall in with the bad crowd, not some career criminal. A company of good kids is exactly what he needs to go legit. And I knew, even if he gets any funny ideas, Vista will put him down hard." He sighed. "I forgot however that despite all her experience and supposed maturity Vista's still just a teenager. So of course instead of showing Starmetal an example of what a hero should be, she's sulking and whining like a child."
"Also, I'll totally tell Vista you called her an innocent child unable to deal with scary criminal scumbag Starmetal." Miss Militia added. "Will be nice for once to not be a source of her irritation."
Taylor blanched.
- Location
- Georgia
I've gotten in the habit of refreshing multiple times before voting because it is easy to miss the 'vote closed' post, particularly if you aren't reading every post and you see somebody else post a vote. It happens. A response being a bit aggressively critical also happen, usually because we, humans at least, don't see things as one person each making one mistake, our brains just see lots of mistakes and want to blame everybody in that category for the actions of the entire category.
- Location
- Russia
I still think that the biggest issue with Vista is that, well, it's a bit too late to worry about her becoming a child soldier, because she's already one. Hell, even aside from the whole situation in Brockton Bay, she's practically trained herself into one through trying to get the recognition she wants. And as a consequence of said lack of recognition that only got worse, I'm pretty sure that, at this point, she's never going to get decoded from one, because she mostly has no desire to stop being one.
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- Location
- USA
I do really wonder what the law and such say about parentally approved child-cape activity, most obvious example being the open-identity New Wave.
If Glory Girl can go around punching the worst of the worst and Panacea can go work full-shift doctor hours unpaid, with no legal attention from State or Federal agencies (because they were way too high profile to just blame Brockton corruption) .......
With Chevalier's reactions being so colored by "I am adult and she is whiny brat, respect mah authoritae" lenses over his actual justified reasons.... does he actually remember this isn't a military and Vista can leave anytime she wants, possibly joining a non-government group without the restrictions (see above) ?
On the one hand I think he outright worried about her being a child soldier..... but then, he talks about shipping her off to Alaska as a punishment detail as if those same rules don't have anything to say about forcibly relocating an insubordinate child in the midst of her schooling.
Hard to really talk about deprogramming efforts though, when we only ever see their dialogue-level reactions after the fact and don't directly see their interaction... for say, why Vista apparently brushed off cross-city training activities that otherwise would seem fun if less dangerous? Or anything else that might've let her do something more meaningful than Console duty (another punishment detail for the child volunteer >_>).
=====================
In other topics, following another re-read (this time on Fanfiction to see Silently's author notes and review responses) ..... one gets the impression in hindsight that this was never ever actually going to be a Quiet HappyFun Beach Episode filler arc, huh?
Poor Mr. Stevens... he tried so hard to arrange a nice safe family vacation
Hopefully he's among the already-rescued.
If you were feeling bad for Missy /before she got attacked and Mastered/ with a particularly yikesy memory-tweak type of control.... what sort of relaxing fun vacation from our vacation do you have in mind to cheer her up?
If Glory Girl can go around punching the worst of the worst and Panacea can go work full-shift doctor hours unpaid, with no legal attention from State or Federal agencies (because they were way too high profile to just blame Brockton corruption) .......
With Chevalier's reactions being so colored by "I am adult and she is whiny brat, respect mah authoritae" lenses over his actual justified reasons.... does he actually remember this isn't a military and Vista can leave anytime she wants, possibly joining a non-government group without the restrictions (see above) ?
On the one hand I think he outright worried about her being a child soldier..... but then, he talks about shipping her off to Alaska as a punishment detail as if those same rules don't have anything to say about forcibly relocating an insubordinate child in the midst of her schooling.
Hard to really talk about deprogramming efforts though, when we only ever see their dialogue-level reactions after the fact and don't directly see their interaction... for say, why Vista apparently brushed off cross-city training activities that otherwise would seem fun if less dangerous? Or anything else that might've let her do something more meaningful than Console duty (another punishment detail for the child volunteer >_>).
=====================
In other topics, following another re-read (this time on Fanfiction to see Silently's author notes and review responses) ..... one gets the impression in hindsight that this was never ever actually going to be a Quiet HappyFun Beach Episode filler arc, huh?
Silently Watches said:
Poor Mr. Stevens... he tried so hard to arrange a nice safe family vacation
Hopefully he's among the already-rescued.If you were feeling bad for Missy /before she got attacked and Mastered/ with a particularly yikesy memory-tweak type of control.... what sort of relaxing fun vacation from our vacation do you have in mind to cheer her up?
- Location
- Georgia
A large part of the issue, to me, is that Chevalier has never had to work with a child soldier with years of combat experience at such a young age, the fact that he's less inclined to bend the rules than the autistic and ambitious Armsmaster, the fact that Philly is in nowhere near as bad a shape as Brockton bay was.... Even worse, the way Vista was just moved to a new branch means that she, and the adults responsible for her, are under increased scrutiny. Really, the situation is such a cluster*fondue* of issues that Vista doesn't need the excuse of teenage childishness to wind up so disaffected she's considering leaving the program.
On the plus side, once she gets a Device(and that's almost certainly going to happen after this mess), she'll lose the conflict drive that was reinforcing all of Vista's worst emotions about being prevented from engaging in combat duties.
If you were feeling bad for Missy /before she got attacked and Mastered/ with a particularly yikesy memory-tweak type of control.... what sort of relaxing fun vacation from our vacation do you have in mind to cheer her up?
Go back to the people likely worshiping us as gods on that alter Earth?
Suntan 13.11
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
[] Lethal
[] The Reaper Strikes Back
-[] Behemoth cape first, then the Simurgh cape
Suntan 13.11
The Fallen on the screen are looking around in surprise and anger. This is the best chance you have of getting a follow up strike. «Samantha, give me your coordinates. I'll be joining you in just a moment.» Turning to the fairies, you ask, "What do we know about these capes?"
"Raum," Cassiel says, pointing at a cape in pink this time. "He can induce anger and aggression in anyone in a designated area. He does not have an impressive range, however. The Fallen in the black armor is a member of the McVeay family, but beyond possessing a Blaster ability, I do not know much about him."
"The Teeth cape looks to be Hemorrhagia," Dragon adds. "Self-biokinetic. She uses her own blood for both offense and defense."
Plus the four gunmen to add up to seven. Easy enough. Your sigil spins beneath your feet, and you look over at Missy. In her shoes, you would want to get even, but not with someone on the field who could inflame her anger beyond her ability to control. "Missy, I need you to stay here."
You expect a protest, or a mulish frown at the very least, but all Missy does is look down at the ground. "Okay."
Her quiet acquiescence is disconcerting, but maybe she recognizes as well as you do that she is not in the best mindset to get in a fight. Or maybe she is still trying to wrap her head around the idea that her memories were scrambled. You can't say you would handle it any better.
Your spell deposits you on top of a building, and the flash of light is enough to grab the Fallen's attention. You jump off the roof just as the Behemoth cape in his black armor glows a sickening yellow and unleashes a wave of energy that hits the building on which you stood. The walls do not break under the onslaught; they melt, wood and plaster running in streams to pool together on the sidewalk. Your Barrier Jacket should hold against that, you try to tell yourself, but you would rather not experiment.
Perfect Storm's staff form is still held in your hand. Flicking a mental switch and running a smidgeon of code has the glowing scythe blade sliding out, and you ready yourself for step two. If the Behemoth cape is there, and the Simurgh cape is there…
Blitz Action throws you to the side and bounces you off the empty air like an insane pinball. You hit the ground and stab your staff forwards. With the blade being energy rather than matter, the back of your scythe is just as dangerous as the edge. The scythe cuts through the Behemoth cape like a hot knife, and a swing sends the point into and through the chest of the Simurgh cape before the first cape's disembodied legs have a chance to fall all the way to the ground.
Without the modification that keeps your spell from being lethal, your blade is as hot as plasma should be. That is probably the reason why a moment after being stabbed, the Simurgh cape's long robe catches on fire.
Pulling the blade out, you let his burning corpse fall to the ground.
Something pings against your Barrier Jacket, and you tilt your head to see a crimson needle bounce off the slick fabric of your current costume. A hail of bullets follows. Still you stand there unharmed, and you take the moment without active danger to think.
Your eyes fall to the bodies on the ground before drifting to the humming mana scythe. You had not noticed while you were saving Missy and your mind was clouded with overwhelming anger, but these capes you killed with a clear head. Killing them was so easy, effortless. Between a weapon that is hot enough to cut through damn near anything and Blitz Action making you move so fast no one besides a speedster can react, it would be child's play to execute anyone in your way. There is nothing anyone short of the strongest Brutes could do about it.
That is not the kind of cape, the kind of person, you want to be.
You raise your head to find Hemorrhagia and the gunmen still attacking you, though they seem to be picking up on the fact that what they are doing has no hope of working. "Just stop," you tell them, your voice sounding so tired even to your own ears. "Drop the guns and surrender."
A bullet bounces off your left eye.
«Sam, any advice?»
«Even if the gunmen aren't capes, they still came here with the explicit intent of killing everyone. The other one is a member of the Teeth, and even before she was Mastered she was a murderous piece of shit.» Despite the language, you can detect an undercurrent of hesitation in Samantha's voice, one that only grows stronger as she continues, «I don't know if there's any hope for redemption or rehabilitation for people like this.»
That is not the most useful bit of advice you have ever received from her, mostly because it does not give you much in the way of alternatives. If you leave them alive and just arrest them, the chance of them escaping or killing other people in an attempt is too high. You can understand the logic of what you need to do…
…but that does not mean you have to like it.
«Taylor.» Samantha's voice is more somber than you think you have ever heard from her. «Go ahead and head back to Dragon. I can take care of this.»
Neither of you is under any illusion of what she means by 'take care of', and you shake your head. «No. If I'm going to be responsible for this, I should actually take responsibility for it. I can't have you killing people in my stead and pretend their blood isn't on my hands.»
You take a step forwards, ignoring the sight of the gunmen reloading their rifles. "Give up. Please," you all but beg. Hemorrhagia gives them cover by pulling more blood from several scratches in her arms and flings another volley of needles at you. "Don't make me do this. If you have any decency whatsoever, give me a reason not to kill you."
By now three of the gunmen have reloaded and resumed their fire. The last, however, has not. His hands are shaking too much for him to force the magazine in, and his progress is further hindered by the fact his head keeps looking up to look at you in obvious terror before struggling even more hastily with his weapon.
You let out a slow breath and raise your scythe to a horizontal position. Your eyes sting behind the obsidian mask.
"Blitz Action."
Skidding to a stop, you swing your arm and allow your body to return to normal speed. Four bodies hit the ground, but your eyes seek out the terrified gunman who is still standing. "Put the gun down," you whisper.
Finally, finally, he listens. He drops the gun as though it is burning him to hold it any longer and takes several steps backwards.
"I'm not going to kill you," you tell him, putting action to words and retracting the plasma blade. The entire staff breaks up into motes of orange light that are absorbed into your glove. Strangely this does little to stop his full-body tremors. "I'm not! But I can't have you running around letting the rest of your team know what's going on."
He turns as though to run away from you, but suddenly Samantha is in front of him and slams her fist into the side of his head. He drops into her arms like a sack of potatoes. She gives you a small smile before hiking him up onto her shoulder. "It was a good thing you did, Taylor."
"Doesn't really feel like it," you tell her. There is no blood at your feet, the only good thing about killing people with a ten-thousand-degree plasma blade, but you still have to pick out a path carefully so you do not step on the body parts that have been strewn about. Your feet carry you to the one cape whose death is not your fault, and a frown forms on your face. "Hey, Dragon?" you ask after calling up a screen. "Don't Changers return to normal when they die?"
"Normally yes," she says, confusion evident in her own voice. You suppose now she is wondering the same thing you are: why Animos is still in his giant scaly rhino form. "Unless they are under the effects of another cape's powers. That can cause an interaction that interferes with the normal process."
"I know he was Mastered, but that shouldn't still be in effect. Not only is he dead, his brain got scrambled." It is easier to examine Animos's decidedly non-human body than it would be to do the same with any of the people you killed yourself, and it does not take long before you notice something poking out of his back. It looks almost like an antenna or something. Creating a white-hot Flare Shooter, you cut open the hide next to the hole where the antenna comes out and peer inside. "What is that?"
The 'that' in question is a glass ball filled with a purple glow that is connected to a crude circuit board. That circuit board in turn leads to wires that seem to be implanted directly into Animos's flesh. You cannot see where they go, but you fear the answer is everywhere.
"I… don't know," the Tinker says after a moment. "If I had to take a guess, though, I would assume it is the conduit for a Trump-type effect. Ingenue, a villain in the Birdcage, could do something similar to this, altering another cape's powers to emphasize one aspect at the expense of another. It also caused severe mental side effects, though with this being Tinkertech, I would not expect that to be the case here."
You feel Samantha coming to stand at your back, and the three of you teleport back to the activity center. The guards standing around in the main lobby space are unsurprised at the extra ears and tail your Guardian Beast has sticking out. Considering the random people huddled up around the walls, you remind yourself that Samantha was evacuating people from the restaurant. They probably have gotten used to the sight of her teleporting in.
What they are not used to, however, is the sight of a thug in a ski mask. "Who the hell is that?" one of the guards demanded, his hands on the gun on his belt.
"Chill, Robards," Samantha says in a surprisingly familiar tone. "He's unconscious. He surrendered anyway, so he gets to deal with the court's tender mercies. Nobody gets to enact any personal justice," she adds with a glare around the room.
Your conscience burns at the hypocrisy.
Deciding that Samantha has everything well in hand here, you quietly make your way out of the room. You should head straight back to Dragon, but seeing the guard grab his gun brings to mind the pistol you have in your own possession. You can not do anything with it, but you know someone who does. You should check up on her anyway.
«Track Kayleigh down for me,» you tell your Device as you dismiss your Barrier Jacket.
It takes only a moment for Perfect Storm to do just that, and you follow his directions to a room off to one side. Kayleigh is not alone, thankfully. Looking around to find her in the crowd of random people who were either evacuated or found the activity center on their own, you eventually spot her in a corner sandwiched between her parents. Laura is there, too, sitting a short distance away and looking uncomfortable at being surrounded by so many people.
"Taylor!" Kayleigh says when she looks up to see who has come through the door. She squeezes out from her spot, dodging her mother's hand in the process, and dashed over to wrap you in a hug. Laura does not join the embrace but still follows along at a more sedate pace. "Thank goodness you're okay! We were worried you weren't able to get to safety!"
Her comment confuses you for a moment considering she recognized you when you came to evacuate the spa, but then you pick up what she is doing. You do not think she needs to work quite so hard at selling your completely normal identity to the room at large, but you appreciate the effort nonetheless. "How are you doing?" you ask softly.
"Me? I'm fine." She looks at you in confusion. "That new cape, Cinder I think, brought me back not half an hour ago. Nothing major has happened since."
"Half an hour?" It has only been that long? It feels like you spent all day fighting the Fallen, but it has only been a measly thirty minutes? You shake your head. "Can I talk to you two privately?"
Kayleigh nods and all but drags you out of the room. "Sorry about that," she tells you once she pulls you into the nearby women's restroom and checks that it is empty. "My parents found out the spa was the first place the Fallen attacked and freaked and got all super clingy."
You can not blame them for that. She should be glad she has parents that are capable of worrying about her like that. You really have not since your mom died, even if your dad was still around physically. "I don't know if this will help or hurt," you say as the pistol appears in your hand, "but I figured you should have some way to protect yourself. Samantha picked it off a member of the Fallen. I know the guards have guns as well, so you might be able to get some extra bullets from them—"
Kayleigh's sigh catches you by surprise. "You really know nothing about guns, do you?" You just shake your head, and she holds up the revolver. "Number one, this is a revolver. They use different kinds of bullets than semi-automatics. Number two, this is an M1917. It's 45 caliber. The guards that even have guns are all carrying SIG P226s. Their bullets are too small for me to just borrow a handful."
"Oh…" You look at the gun again. "Uh, then I guess don't try to defend yourself against more than six people?"
That gets an eye roll and a giggle out of her. "I appreciate the thought. Tell Samantha thanks for me too."
"That I can do." You look over at Laura. "Samantha and I already stopped one group of Fallen headed this way, but there are three more and some capes with real nasty powers running around. We're probably heading out after another. Can you stick around and play defense for this place?"
Something between a wince and a grimace passes across Laura's face. "That… may not be the best idea."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I… I just don't know that it'd be a good idea to advertise my powers. If someone recognizes them or takes a video and someone else recognizes them, they could figure out that Cailleach was here and from there that I'm Cailleach."
"That is a risk," you admit. "They could do the same with me, so I understand your concern. If you stay out of sight, though, the chance of you being identified just based on your powers is a small one."
She huffs through her nose. "That's easy for you to say. Not all of us can change our costumes on a whim. Even if I throw on something like I did at the spa, anyone would be able to guess it was because I didn't have a real costume with me. It's not like lots of capes have ice powers."
You take a moment to try to put yourself in Laura's shoes. Unlike her, you have a Barrier Jacket to protect you from physical harm. You have a Guardian Beast to protect Lacey and Kurt, the closest thing you have left to family. If you are identified, it is not as much of a threat. Looked at it that way, you know her she has a basis for her logic.
Logic does not help your knowledge that Laura is one of the only people who is capable of fighting the Fallen attacking this resort and she is nonetheless coming up with reasons why she will not help.
"There are over a thousand people on this island," you remind her. "It would be nearly impossible for anyone to figure out which one of them has your powers. Not to mention you used them to fight off the Beasts during that party we went to. There were a lot fewer people there, and no one figured out it was you."
"It was simpler fighting off the Beasts. They were just dumb animals. I could hide better. I wouldn't be able to do that here, and that increases the risk of exposure." She crosses her arms, though you cannot tell whether it is out of stubbornness or if she is hugging herself. Your thoughts about which it might be are derailed by her next words. "I can only protect so many, and that's all I'm going to protect. Everyone else is just going to have to deal with it themselves."
Deal with it themselves. Like the people enslaved by Purson or buried in the rubble of the restaurant had to deal with it? Like Missy had to deal with it? Missy was mentally assaulted and almost enslaved by the Fallen, and Laura would have just let it happen because it wasn't her problem?!
"You want people to deal with it on their own, huh?" you whisper. "Big words coming from someone who's right this second relying on other people to do all her fighting for her."
"I'm not—"
"The Fallen have two goals. Enslave people to use as breeding stock and kill everyone else. They have Masters who can and have enslaved people to the point they can't even think of trying to escape. Samantha and I are fighting and killing to save you from that!" You jab her hard in the chest before pointing at Kayleigh. "And her! And everyone else! We're doing it because somebody has to, or we'll all die. Yet here you are, nice and safe thanks to me, and you refuse to lend even a single fucking finger! It has nothing to do with weak and strong. It's because you're a coward!"
You take a couple of steps closer until Laura has to back up to keep from being shoved and has to look up to keep your face in view. "You once told me that the difference between heroes and villains is that villains are too smart to overextend themselves. That's bullshit, and we both know it. The difference is much simpler. Villains are too selfish to put themselves in any risk for anyone else without someone holding a gun to their heads.
"You don't want to help anyone but yourself? Fine. Stay here while we do the work. But I want you to remember this moment." Finally you take a step back and stop crowding her space. "Remember that you had the chance of extending a hand to someone else in need. And in the future when you are at another cape's mercy and need help and everyone who could do anything about it just stands by and watches you die, remember that it's because that's all you deserve."
You shoulder-check Laura out of the way as you storm out the door, insults of all kinds whirling in your head. You had deluded yourself into thinking there was anything good and decent in that bitch's soul. Clearly she is no better a person than Emma or any of the other villains you have had to put down.
The security room arrives faster than you expected, and the door slams open before you. Dragon looks up from her screen and pales slightly at the expression on your face. "Taylor? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that we're stuck on this island with the Fallen, and I'm sick and tired of it," you bite out. Now is not the time to vent your anger to Dragon, but you can certainly use it as a weapon against other villains. "Who's left?"
"I'm not sure you're in a good mindset—"
"Dragon, right now the only thing I'm sure of is that I need someone to shoot!" You take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Who. Is. Left?"
She searches your face for something for several seconds before looking back at her holographic workspace. An image from the video feed you sent her at the start of all this appears, depicting the Fallen just as they were splitting up into their groups. Next to it is the very same picture you saw before flying after the suites group. "With the groups attacking the restaurant and here defeated, there are three left. The group attacking the suites is first. I saw you take down Ifrit and Spree, but I lost the others. I assume they continued heading towards the suites."
"I hurt the flying changer pretty good before the teleporter took both of them away."
Dragon nods at that information. "It looked like Spree woke up a couple of minutes ago and wandered off. The camera failed shortly after, so if anything else happened, I don't know. If you go after them, you could be fighting just Empusa, Purson, and Oriax, or you could be fighting all of them. That's not including however many hostages they have in their hands now.
"The second group is the one that attacked the spa. If I had to guess, I would say the Tinker who built whatever that was implanted in Animos is holed up there. It was the first place attacked," she explains before you can ask for her reasoning, "which would give him the most time possible to convert it into an impromptu workshop. That also makes attacking the spa dangerous, especially as we don't know how much he can alter other capes' powers or if that is even is specialty in the first place.
"Finally, the third group is the one we have seen neither hide nor hair of." The image you sent her fades to greyscale except for one cluster of people. "I would put money on them having the source of the dome. I don't see them carrying anything, so either it is remote controlled that they set up ahead of time or it is the result of a parahuman power."
"Magical power, actually." She looks back at you, and you shrug. "Perfect Storm analyzed the dome. That was his best conclusion."
"Very well. A spell it is, then." Dragon glances at the image again. "If that is the case, they really are an unknown. You know best of all of us how versatile magic is. If one of them is a mage, there is no telling what else they can do, and that is without dealing with the other capes with them.
"You want to shoot someone? Those are your options."
And 7 more combatants bite the dust.
The hunt begins! Who are you going after first?
[ ] The spa group. The Tinker is someone you want out of the fight, but you'll be attacking him in his current workshop.
[ ] The suites group. Has a Master and more than likely additional hostages, as well as Oriax with his danger sense.
[ ] The last group. You don't know where they are, so that means a search, but this is the best way to bring down the barrier.
Once we know where we're going, a second vote to discuss tactics will be held.
[] The Reaper Strikes Back
-[] Behemoth cape first, then the Simurgh cape
Suntan 13.11
The Fallen on the screen are looking around in surprise and anger. This is the best chance you have of getting a follow up strike. «Samantha, give me your coordinates. I'll be joining you in just a moment.» Turning to the fairies, you ask, "What do we know about these capes?"
"Raum," Cassiel says, pointing at a cape in pink this time. "He can induce anger and aggression in anyone in a designated area. He does not have an impressive range, however. The Fallen in the black armor is a member of the McVeay family, but beyond possessing a Blaster ability, I do not know much about him."
"The Teeth cape looks to be Hemorrhagia," Dragon adds. "Self-biokinetic. She uses her own blood for both offense and defense."
Plus the four gunmen to add up to seven. Easy enough. Your sigil spins beneath your feet, and you look over at Missy. In her shoes, you would want to get even, but not with someone on the field who could inflame her anger beyond her ability to control. "Missy, I need you to stay here."
You expect a protest, or a mulish frown at the very least, but all Missy does is look down at the ground. "Okay."
Her quiet acquiescence is disconcerting, but maybe she recognizes as well as you do that she is not in the best mindset to get in a fight. Or maybe she is still trying to wrap her head around the idea that her memories were scrambled. You can't say you would handle it any better.
Your spell deposits you on top of a building, and the flash of light is enough to grab the Fallen's attention. You jump off the roof just as the Behemoth cape in his black armor glows a sickening yellow and unleashes a wave of energy that hits the building on which you stood. The walls do not break under the onslaught; they melt, wood and plaster running in streams to pool together on the sidewalk. Your Barrier Jacket should hold against that, you try to tell yourself, but you would rather not experiment.
Perfect Storm's staff form is still held in your hand. Flicking a mental switch and running a smidgeon of code has the glowing scythe blade sliding out, and you ready yourself for step two. If the Behemoth cape is there, and the Simurgh cape is there…
Blitz Action throws you to the side and bounces you off the empty air like an insane pinball. You hit the ground and stab your staff forwards. With the blade being energy rather than matter, the back of your scythe is just as dangerous as the edge. The scythe cuts through the Behemoth cape like a hot knife, and a swing sends the point into and through the chest of the Simurgh cape before the first cape's disembodied legs have a chance to fall all the way to the ground.
Without the modification that keeps your spell from being lethal, your blade is as hot as plasma should be. That is probably the reason why a moment after being stabbed, the Simurgh cape's long robe catches on fire.
Pulling the blade out, you let his burning corpse fall to the ground.
Something pings against your Barrier Jacket, and you tilt your head to see a crimson needle bounce off the slick fabric of your current costume. A hail of bullets follows. Still you stand there unharmed, and you take the moment without active danger to think.
Your eyes fall to the bodies on the ground before drifting to the humming mana scythe. You had not noticed while you were saving Missy and your mind was clouded with overwhelming anger, but these capes you killed with a clear head. Killing them was so easy, effortless. Between a weapon that is hot enough to cut through damn near anything and Blitz Action making you move so fast no one besides a speedster can react, it would be child's play to execute anyone in your way. There is nothing anyone short of the strongest Brutes could do about it.
That is not the kind of cape, the kind of person, you want to be.
You raise your head to find Hemorrhagia and the gunmen still attacking you, though they seem to be picking up on the fact that what they are doing has no hope of working. "Just stop," you tell them, your voice sounding so tired even to your own ears. "Drop the guns and surrender."
A bullet bounces off your left eye.
«Sam, any advice?»
«Even if the gunmen aren't capes, they still came here with the explicit intent of killing everyone. The other one is a member of the Teeth, and even before she was Mastered she was a murderous piece of shit.» Despite the language, you can detect an undercurrent of hesitation in Samantha's voice, one that only grows stronger as she continues, «I don't know if there's any hope for redemption or rehabilitation for people like this.»
That is not the most useful bit of advice you have ever received from her, mostly because it does not give you much in the way of alternatives. If you leave them alive and just arrest them, the chance of them escaping or killing other people in an attempt is too high. You can understand the logic of what you need to do…
…but that does not mean you have to like it.
«Taylor.» Samantha's voice is more somber than you think you have ever heard from her. «Go ahead and head back to Dragon. I can take care of this.»
Neither of you is under any illusion of what she means by 'take care of', and you shake your head. «No. If I'm going to be responsible for this, I should actually take responsibility for it. I can't have you killing people in my stead and pretend their blood isn't on my hands.»
You take a step forwards, ignoring the sight of the gunmen reloading their rifles. "Give up. Please," you all but beg. Hemorrhagia gives them cover by pulling more blood from several scratches in her arms and flings another volley of needles at you. "Don't make me do this. If you have any decency whatsoever, give me a reason not to kill you."
By now three of the gunmen have reloaded and resumed their fire. The last, however, has not. His hands are shaking too much for him to force the magazine in, and his progress is further hindered by the fact his head keeps looking up to look at you in obvious terror before struggling even more hastily with his weapon.
You let out a slow breath and raise your scythe to a horizontal position. Your eyes sting behind the obsidian mask.
"Blitz Action."
Skidding to a stop, you swing your arm and allow your body to return to normal speed. Four bodies hit the ground, but your eyes seek out the terrified gunman who is still standing. "Put the gun down," you whisper.
Finally, finally, he listens. He drops the gun as though it is burning him to hold it any longer and takes several steps backwards.
"I'm not going to kill you," you tell him, putting action to words and retracting the plasma blade. The entire staff breaks up into motes of orange light that are absorbed into your glove. Strangely this does little to stop his full-body tremors. "I'm not! But I can't have you running around letting the rest of your team know what's going on."
He turns as though to run away from you, but suddenly Samantha is in front of him and slams her fist into the side of his head. He drops into her arms like a sack of potatoes. She gives you a small smile before hiking him up onto her shoulder. "It was a good thing you did, Taylor."
"Doesn't really feel like it," you tell her. There is no blood at your feet, the only good thing about killing people with a ten-thousand-degree plasma blade, but you still have to pick out a path carefully so you do not step on the body parts that have been strewn about. Your feet carry you to the one cape whose death is not your fault, and a frown forms on your face. "Hey, Dragon?" you ask after calling up a screen. "Don't Changers return to normal when they die?"
"Normally yes," she says, confusion evident in her own voice. You suppose now she is wondering the same thing you are: why Animos is still in his giant scaly rhino form. "Unless they are under the effects of another cape's powers. That can cause an interaction that interferes with the normal process."
"I know he was Mastered, but that shouldn't still be in effect. Not only is he dead, his brain got scrambled." It is easier to examine Animos's decidedly non-human body than it would be to do the same with any of the people you killed yourself, and it does not take long before you notice something poking out of his back. It looks almost like an antenna or something. Creating a white-hot Flare Shooter, you cut open the hide next to the hole where the antenna comes out and peer inside. "What is that?"
The 'that' in question is a glass ball filled with a purple glow that is connected to a crude circuit board. That circuit board in turn leads to wires that seem to be implanted directly into Animos's flesh. You cannot see where they go, but you fear the answer is everywhere.
"I… don't know," the Tinker says after a moment. "If I had to take a guess, though, I would assume it is the conduit for a Trump-type effect. Ingenue, a villain in the Birdcage, could do something similar to this, altering another cape's powers to emphasize one aspect at the expense of another. It also caused severe mental side effects, though with this being Tinkertech, I would not expect that to be the case here."
You feel Samantha coming to stand at your back, and the three of you teleport back to the activity center. The guards standing around in the main lobby space are unsurprised at the extra ears and tail your Guardian Beast has sticking out. Considering the random people huddled up around the walls, you remind yourself that Samantha was evacuating people from the restaurant. They probably have gotten used to the sight of her teleporting in.
What they are not used to, however, is the sight of a thug in a ski mask. "Who the hell is that?" one of the guards demanded, his hands on the gun on his belt.
"Chill, Robards," Samantha says in a surprisingly familiar tone. "He's unconscious. He surrendered anyway, so he gets to deal with the court's tender mercies. Nobody gets to enact any personal justice," she adds with a glare around the room.
Your conscience burns at the hypocrisy.
Deciding that Samantha has everything well in hand here, you quietly make your way out of the room. You should head straight back to Dragon, but seeing the guard grab his gun brings to mind the pistol you have in your own possession. You can not do anything with it, but you know someone who does. You should check up on her anyway.
«Track Kayleigh down for me,» you tell your Device as you dismiss your Barrier Jacket.
It takes only a moment for Perfect Storm to do just that, and you follow his directions to a room off to one side. Kayleigh is not alone, thankfully. Looking around to find her in the crowd of random people who were either evacuated or found the activity center on their own, you eventually spot her in a corner sandwiched between her parents. Laura is there, too, sitting a short distance away and looking uncomfortable at being surrounded by so many people.
"Taylor!" Kayleigh says when she looks up to see who has come through the door. She squeezes out from her spot, dodging her mother's hand in the process, and dashed over to wrap you in a hug. Laura does not join the embrace but still follows along at a more sedate pace. "Thank goodness you're okay! We were worried you weren't able to get to safety!"
Her comment confuses you for a moment considering she recognized you when you came to evacuate the spa, but then you pick up what she is doing. You do not think she needs to work quite so hard at selling your completely normal identity to the room at large, but you appreciate the effort nonetheless. "How are you doing?" you ask softly.
"Me? I'm fine." She looks at you in confusion. "That new cape, Cinder I think, brought me back not half an hour ago. Nothing major has happened since."
"Half an hour?" It has only been that long? It feels like you spent all day fighting the Fallen, but it has only been a measly thirty minutes? You shake your head. "Can I talk to you two privately?"
Kayleigh nods and all but drags you out of the room. "Sorry about that," she tells you once she pulls you into the nearby women's restroom and checks that it is empty. "My parents found out the spa was the first place the Fallen attacked and freaked and got all super clingy."
You can not blame them for that. She should be glad she has parents that are capable of worrying about her like that. You really have not since your mom died, even if your dad was still around physically. "I don't know if this will help or hurt," you say as the pistol appears in your hand, "but I figured you should have some way to protect yourself. Samantha picked it off a member of the Fallen. I know the guards have guns as well, so you might be able to get some extra bullets from them—"
Kayleigh's sigh catches you by surprise. "You really know nothing about guns, do you?" You just shake your head, and she holds up the revolver. "Number one, this is a revolver. They use different kinds of bullets than semi-automatics. Number two, this is an M1917. It's 45 caliber. The guards that even have guns are all carrying SIG P226s. Their bullets are too small for me to just borrow a handful."
"Oh…" You look at the gun again. "Uh, then I guess don't try to defend yourself against more than six people?"
That gets an eye roll and a giggle out of her. "I appreciate the thought. Tell Samantha thanks for me too."
"That I can do." You look over at Laura. "Samantha and I already stopped one group of Fallen headed this way, but there are three more and some capes with real nasty powers running around. We're probably heading out after another. Can you stick around and play defense for this place?"
Something between a wince and a grimace passes across Laura's face. "That… may not be the best idea."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I… I just don't know that it'd be a good idea to advertise my powers. If someone recognizes them or takes a video and someone else recognizes them, they could figure out that Cailleach was here and from there that I'm Cailleach."
"That is a risk," you admit. "They could do the same with me, so I understand your concern. If you stay out of sight, though, the chance of you being identified just based on your powers is a small one."
She huffs through her nose. "That's easy for you to say. Not all of us can change our costumes on a whim. Even if I throw on something like I did at the spa, anyone would be able to guess it was because I didn't have a real costume with me. It's not like lots of capes have ice powers."
You take a moment to try to put yourself in Laura's shoes. Unlike her, you have a Barrier Jacket to protect you from physical harm. You have a Guardian Beast to protect Lacey and Kurt, the closest thing you have left to family. If you are identified, it is not as much of a threat. Looked at it that way, you know her she has a basis for her logic.
Logic does not help your knowledge that Laura is one of the only people who is capable of fighting the Fallen attacking this resort and she is nonetheless coming up with reasons why she will not help.
"There are over a thousand people on this island," you remind her. "It would be nearly impossible for anyone to figure out which one of them has your powers. Not to mention you used them to fight off the Beasts during that party we went to. There were a lot fewer people there, and no one figured out it was you."
"It was simpler fighting off the Beasts. They were just dumb animals. I could hide better. I wouldn't be able to do that here, and that increases the risk of exposure." She crosses her arms, though you cannot tell whether it is out of stubbornness or if she is hugging herself. Your thoughts about which it might be are derailed by her next words. "I can only protect so many, and that's all I'm going to protect. Everyone else is just going to have to deal with it themselves."
Deal with it themselves. Like the people enslaved by Purson or buried in the rubble of the restaurant had to deal with it? Like Missy had to deal with it? Missy was mentally assaulted and almost enslaved by the Fallen, and Laura would have just let it happen because it wasn't her problem?!
"You want people to deal with it on their own, huh?" you whisper. "Big words coming from someone who's right this second relying on other people to do all her fighting for her."
"I'm not—"
"The Fallen have two goals. Enslave people to use as breeding stock and kill everyone else. They have Masters who can and have enslaved people to the point they can't even think of trying to escape. Samantha and I are fighting and killing to save you from that!" You jab her hard in the chest before pointing at Kayleigh. "And her! And everyone else! We're doing it because somebody has to, or we'll all die. Yet here you are, nice and safe thanks to me, and you refuse to lend even a single fucking finger! It has nothing to do with weak and strong. It's because you're a coward!"
You take a couple of steps closer until Laura has to back up to keep from being shoved and has to look up to keep your face in view. "You once told me that the difference between heroes and villains is that villains are too smart to overextend themselves. That's bullshit, and we both know it. The difference is much simpler. Villains are too selfish to put themselves in any risk for anyone else without someone holding a gun to their heads.
"You don't want to help anyone but yourself? Fine. Stay here while we do the work. But I want you to remember this moment." Finally you take a step back and stop crowding her space. "Remember that you had the chance of extending a hand to someone else in need. And in the future when you are at another cape's mercy and need help and everyone who could do anything about it just stands by and watches you die, remember that it's because that's all you deserve."
You shoulder-check Laura out of the way as you storm out the door, insults of all kinds whirling in your head. You had deluded yourself into thinking there was anything good and decent in that bitch's soul. Clearly she is no better a person than Emma or any of the other villains you have had to put down.
The security room arrives faster than you expected, and the door slams open before you. Dragon looks up from her screen and pales slightly at the expression on your face. "Taylor? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that we're stuck on this island with the Fallen, and I'm sick and tired of it," you bite out. Now is not the time to vent your anger to Dragon, but you can certainly use it as a weapon against other villains. "Who's left?"
"I'm not sure you're in a good mindset—"
"Dragon, right now the only thing I'm sure of is that I need someone to shoot!" You take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Who. Is. Left?"
She searches your face for something for several seconds before looking back at her holographic workspace. An image from the video feed you sent her at the start of all this appears, depicting the Fallen just as they were splitting up into their groups. Next to it is the very same picture you saw before flying after the suites group. "With the groups attacking the restaurant and here defeated, there are three left. The group attacking the suites is first. I saw you take down Ifrit and Spree, but I lost the others. I assume they continued heading towards the suites."
"I hurt the flying changer pretty good before the teleporter took both of them away."
Dragon nods at that information. "It looked like Spree woke up a couple of minutes ago and wandered off. The camera failed shortly after, so if anything else happened, I don't know. If you go after them, you could be fighting just Empusa, Purson, and Oriax, or you could be fighting all of them. That's not including however many hostages they have in their hands now.
"The second group is the one that attacked the spa. If I had to guess, I would say the Tinker who built whatever that was implanted in Animos is holed up there. It was the first place attacked," she explains before you can ask for her reasoning, "which would give him the most time possible to convert it into an impromptu workshop. That also makes attacking the spa dangerous, especially as we don't know how much he can alter other capes' powers or if that is even is specialty in the first place.
"Finally, the third group is the one we have seen neither hide nor hair of." The image you sent her fades to greyscale except for one cluster of people. "I would put money on them having the source of the dome. I don't see them carrying anything, so either it is remote controlled that they set up ahead of time or it is the result of a parahuman power."
"Magical power, actually." She looks back at you, and you shrug. "Perfect Storm analyzed the dome. That was his best conclusion."
"Very well. A spell it is, then." Dragon glances at the image again. "If that is the case, they really are an unknown. You know best of all of us how versatile magic is. If one of them is a mage, there is no telling what else they can do, and that is without dealing with the other capes with them.
"You want to shoot someone? Those are your options."
And 7 more combatants bite the dust.
The hunt begins! Who are you going after first?
[ ] The spa group. The Tinker is someone you want out of the fight, but you'll be attacking him in his current workshop.
[ ] The suites group. Has a Master and more than likely additional hostages, as well as Oriax with his danger sense.
[ ] The last group. You don't know where they are, so that means a search, but this is the best way to bring down the barrier.
Once we know where we're going, a second vote to discuss tactics will be held.
Last edited:
[X] The suites group. Has a Master and more than likely additional hostages, as well as Oriax with his danger sense.
The last group sounds like that they are hiding and protecting the barrier more the anything else, and the Tinker, while trouble, is probably still setting up. If someone is going to attack the civilians, it's most likely the suites group, making them the highest priority.
The last group sounds like that they are hiding and protecting the barrier more the anything else, and the Tinker, while trouble, is probably still setting up. If someone is going to attack the civilians, it's most likely the suites group, making them the highest priority.
QuietlyObserving
The Railgun That Walks Like a Bear
- Location
- Here.
As "Reason You Suck" speeches go, that one was good. Perfectly points out the inherent selfishness of villains.
I know it's not mentally healthy for her, but I like Taylor when she no longer gives a single solitary fuck.
I know it's not mentally healthy for her, but I like Taylor when she no longer gives a single solitary fuck.
- Location
- Hong Kong
[ ] The spa group. The Tinker is someone you want out of the fight, but you'll be attacking him in his current workshop.
They say that you should never attack a Tinker in their own workshop, but this isn't his workshop, and the longer you give him to ramp up, the bigger the threat he'll become. saganatsu is right that the Suites group is a threat to the civilians, but if the Tinker's abilities allow him to somehow weaponize civilians, then taking him out is a priority even above that.
They say that you should never attack a Tinker in their own workshop, but this isn't his workshop, and the longer you give him to ramp up, the bigger the threat he'll become. saganatsu is right that the Suites group is a threat to the civilians, but if the Tinker's abilities allow him to somehow weaponize civilians, then taking him out is a priority even above that.
- Location
- England
[X] The spa group. The Tinker is someone you want out of the fight, but you'll be attacking him in his current workshop.
FictionPack
Monochromatic Ursine
- Location
- Tennessee
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] The spa group. The Tinker is someone you want out of the fight, but you'll be attacking him in his current workshop.
Another point is that the dome is no longer keeping us in here with them but THEM in here with US, so the hidden group can probably wait til the end as whoever is keeping the dome up spends more energy to do so, and the suites group is kinda spread out as well as already wounded. Making the guy who gets stronger with time and stuck in one place the prime target.
They'd probably end up revealing themselves if they try to cut and run or make a move as the only group left anyway, right?
Another point is that the dome is no longer keeping us in here with them but THEM in here with US, so the hidden group can probably wait til the end as whoever is keeping the dome up spends more energy to do so, and the suites group is kinda spread out as well as already wounded. Making the guy who gets stronger with time and stuck in one place the prime target.
They'd probably end up revealing themselves if they try to cut and run or make a move as the only group left anyway, right?
Welcome to Taylor's Shit ListTM, Laura. Good luck getting taken off of it.
For now, choosing this, though I'm opening to changing my vote if convinced:
[X] The last group. You don't know where they are, so that means a search, but this is the best way to bring down the barrier.