Law of the Sword (Worm/Destiny Quest)

Friday, March 11th, 2011
11:35 PM

"In that case, I wouldn't mind getting some advice from someone who's been doing this for a bit. How long have you been going out for?" I ask, curious since I didn't think to ask before.

"A bit more than a year at this point." Shade Skip says as she bends down and grabs a small pop can sized thing that was attached to the bottom of the bench.

"What's that?" I say watching her pocket it.

"A little recorder-walkie talkie thing I made, that's how I was talking with you." That makes sense, I thought it was some part of her power, but I guess not.

I nod my head to show understanding, but I don't really know what to say next. Hey, what are your powers? No, because then she would ask about mine, and I am not telling her that I get more powerful from kills, though I could probably tell her about my echo on account of her already having seen it. Fortunately, she picks up talking again before I can put my foot in my mouth.

"Let's walk and talk, I still need to finish my rounds. Here," she tosses something at me and I fumble to catch it, managing to pin it against my body since I don't want to let go of my sword.

Shifting my grip, I examine the… device? It looks like, oh, what is the Thanksgiving curly basket thing? It looks like someone took that horn looking thing and shrunk it down and made it from wireframe. The only reason I don't think it's a sculpture is the two AA batteries side by side in the loop. Cornucopia! It looks like a very twisty, miniature, wireframe cornucopia with batteries and two funnels. The whole thing is small enough that I can close my hand around it without worry of crushing it.

"What is it?" I inquire again, sounding a bit like a broken record.

"A little thing I made. It'll let you come with me when I teleport." My eyes widen as I look at it again.

"That seem really useful." I say with no small amount of approval in my voice.

"Oh definitely. Just let me know if it starts getting hot."

"Will do." I make a note to be very aware of it, I don't really want to be burned today.

Shade Skip then pulls an identical copy of the device out of her pocket and presses a button on it, after which the one in my hand beeps and then hers does too. She puts hers away, so I slide mine into one of my jacket pockets. She holds out her hand and I raise an eyebrow before realizing that she probably can't see that with the mask, so I just take her hand.

"Ready? I've been told it can be a bit disorienting for people." Her tone tells me she forgot to warn someone once, and it didn't end up going well.

"Go for it." I reply, mentally bracing myself.

She nods and takes a step forward—

My ears pop and my eyes feel like they were rubbed a bit too hard. I stumble and fall back, only to catch myself on one knee and only manage to keep a grip on my sword through the pure instinct of 'never let go of your sword'. I try to open my eyes, but everything is moving slightly, so I just close them again.

"Wo-ah." I drag the word out with a chuckle, because this is a few steps above 'a bit disorienting'.

"Sorry. You do get used to it the more you do it, if it's any consolation." Her voice is apologetic, but my dazed mind instantly connects that sentence to something about drugs.

I make a grunting sound of acknowledgement and thankfully feel the effects start to rapidly fade away. After what feels like a long time but is probably only thirty seconds or so, all my senses return to normal. I open my eyes and see that we are on a roof, a decent distance away from the bench. I turn back to Shade Skip and see her holding out a small bottle of orange juice.

"Orange juice?" I ask, a bit confused.

"I've found it helps with teleportation nausea."

That is not what I was expecting her to say, but I am not going to argue with a cape about how their powers work, so take it and pull the bottom of my mask up to take a drink. To my surprise, it actually does clear away the last bits of fuzziness, leaving me with two questions. One, where does she keep pulling this stuff from because her pockets are not that big, and two, how did she find out that orange juice of all things helps with her power's effects?

"Think you're up for another jump? It does get easier and if it gets to be too much we can always take a break." Before I can reply, she rushes to explain herself. "I just want to keep moving while we talk, so I can keep up with my patrol." I take a deep breath and nod.

"Alright. Let's see how much easier it gets first."

"Okay, sure." She says and puts her hand on my shoulder.

We are suddenly standing on a rooftop far enough away that I don't know where we came from on account of the view from up here lacks a lot of landmarks. Thankfully, the effects of her teleportation are less than half as intense this time, and we are able to start moving at a speed that makes Shade Skip relax. As we move, the conversion picks up again.

"So, have you been told the Unwritten Rules yet?"

"I've seen that they exist on PHO, but don't know what they are."

"Alright, so. First thing, and probably the biggest one, don't go after capes when they're in their civvies. Once the mask comes off, they're off the table. Same vein, don't go after their families either. Make sense?"

I take a moment to think about that and find I really don't like it. So my family can be killed because I wasn't a cape? What if I was, then what would have happened?

"What happens if someone breaks these rules?" I ask, carefully keeping my displeasure out of my voice.

"The community is supposed to turn on them and take what's due. I should have prefaced this by saying that these rules are more… guidelines that people try to follow."

"So." I pause and shake my head. "So do they matter?"

"Oh most definitely. The problem is, when capes are powerful enough, it is hard to enforce the rules on them. The heroes go with it because we need to keep as many capes around in case the Nine or an Endbringer show up somewhere."

That does make more sense. Guns don't really work on Behemoth after all. As for not going after their families, I have no issue with that. So long as they stay home and don't try to take revenge or something.

"Go on." I say, making a hand motion.

"Alright. The others are no Mastering people. Don't break truces, even small ones, if there is a meeting or something. And try to avoid lethal force."

And right there is the one I was guessing would be present based on what she said. Don't kill? I am not going to listen to that, but if breaking it means that everyone gangs up on you first, I am going to have to Grow quite a bit before I can start doing it publicly. Wait, Shade Skip said she didn't have a huge problem with me killing.

"You said you didn't have a problem if I killed, though." I point out.

"Oh. Yeah. This stuff really only applies to Capes, not normal people. Of course, going out and killing people indiscriminately is against the rules too, but I figured that was pretty obvious."

Okay, I don't know how I feel about these rules. On one hand, I understand why they are in place, but on the other hand, I have no intention of altering my goal of killing the Empire.

"Of course," I say, just so that that statement isn't hanging.

We continue on for a little bit, making a large circle around a block of apartments and some houses. I quickly acclimate to her teleportation but can't shake one last bit of disorientation that comes with it. We talk a little bit, and she lets me know that there are some other heroes in this area that she works with from time to time but doesn't tell me about their powers because 'it's a bit rude' to do that. She does give me a warning for one of them, though.

"Fastball is… uh. Odd. Don't take it personally." Shade Skip says with a strange tone.

"Odd how?"

"When you meet him, you'll understand." She replies evasively.

While patrolling, I do come up with a cape name and one for my sword.

"Call me Whetstone, and my sword will be Malum Caedo."

"Alright, I know what a Whetstone is, but what does Malum Caedo mean?" She asks with a head tilt.

"It means 'I kill evil' in Latin."

"You speak Latin?"

"I," my brows furrow and I pause my stride. How did I know what it meant because Winslow certainly never taught me Latin. Did my powers teach me Latin? Something to look at later. "I don't." I don't elaborate, but thankfully she doesn't press the issue.

We make it back to a bit further down the street we first talked on and see a group of four skinheads in Empire colors following a pair of girls. Two of which are openly carrying metal bats.

We shift to an alleyway across the street and I see Shade Skip pull out two throwing knives in one hand and then a completely different device in her offhand. Dreadnought is already seeped into my bones as we reappear at street level, and I take a more ready grip on Malum Caedo.

"How do you want to do this?" She asks in a low tone without looking back at me, eyes locked across the street where the situation is in clear view.


How do I want to do this?
[X] Split up, we aren't used to working together, no need to get in each other's way.
[X] Pincer, me from the front and Shade Skip from the back.
[X] Set up an ambush in an alley and spring it when they walk past.
[X] Let Shade Skip plan it out, she is the more experienced cape, after all.
[X] Write-In:

Saturday, March 12th, 2011
2:05 AM

I can feel my heart rate start to pick up, and a churning ball of excitement pools in my gut as the fact that I am finally doing something.

"Can you tell if any of them are carrying guns?" I ask, as the gangsters start to walk faster to catch the girls.

"I think the skinny one in the back does." She says, and I take the moment to examine them closer.

They are walking in a diamond shape with a big burly guy leading the way, the two 'sides' of are the ones with the metal bats, and then if Shade Skip is right the twitchy looking on it the back has a gun.

"Alright, so. Teleport us across the street, and we are going to spring an ambush from one of the alleyways as they walk past. I'll go for the one with the gun, and then should I move to the big guy?"

"It's your rodeo, I could take them all down myself, so just tell me where you want me." She says with a shrug.

"Alright, in that case, try to take down the big guy, and I'll move to the ones with bats?" The statement ends up coming out as more of a question as I look to her for feedback.

"Seems like a good idea. Hopefully those girls run off when things start going down."

"Yeah." I say nodding.

"Alright, let's move." She says and holds out her hand.

I take it and am somewhere new. The few seconds of nausea quickly fade, and I find myself glad that I was able to get used to her power before this. She presses something on her device, and she vanishes from sight. I press myself against the brick and take small, quiet breaths as I see the two girls pass by the mouth of the alley, and the sound of quick steps approaching barely passes the blood flow in my ears.

The muscular one passes by without issue, but as soon as the bat wielding goons cross my path, I find myself locking eyes with the one closest to me. A half second passes, just enough time for me to mentally curse, and he opens his mouth to yell. Element of surprise thoroughly ruined, I explode out of the alleyway.

My sword is moving in an upwards slash with barely a conscious thought on my part, aiming for the one that spotted me. To his credit, he does start to raise his metal bat as I move. Unfortunately, by the time he is doing that, my swing is already well in motion. I don't even feel the shirt part beneath my edge, but I do feel it as I hit his flesh and keep going, drawing a deep line across his chest. My echo then follows up and bites deeper.

He falls, and I see the big guy staggering, so I quickly swivel my attention to the gangster that I was originally going to target and see him pulling a gun out from the back of their waistband. I rush forward, my sword is still raised from the previous slash, which lets me swiftly bring Malum Caedo down. He tumbles backwards, and I only manage to clip them on the way down. I quickly follow up, and thrust as my feet keep taking me forward. He manages to catch it in his free hand, but before he can bring the gun around, my echo flows through the space my sword is and stabs right into his chest. A scream of pain passes his lips and squeezes the trigger of his gun, making my ears ring from the proximity.

He starts to bring the gun around, and I pull Malum Caedo out of his chest and aim a bit higher at his head. The gangster rolls out of the way, though, and I hit the sidewalk, which sends vibrations up through my arm that tell my gunshot wound to start yelling at me again. He starts to crawl away, and so I take the chance to look around and see the other two on the ground, so I turn my attention back to the last one and stab him in the back.

The rush of relief, of progress, of good things, of Growth runs through me again, built on the foundation of righteousness. The feeling is thicker this time, and I can grab most of the energy, but my metaphorical hands quickly fill up and the parts I can't grab are swallowed up by something else. I don't have a chance to 'watch' the energy settle in me as a second burst of sugar cookies and petrichor flows into me. I grab all I can, but once again my hands quickly fill up. The energy I am able to hold onto quickly seeps into my being, and I can feel myself getting stronger.

With a blink, I am back on the sidewalk and Shade Skip is looking at me with a ready posture. Dreadnought still hums through me, and I feel myself getting into a slightly more ready stance.

"What the hell was that?" She asks in a tone I can't decipher.

"What was what?" There are a few things she might be talking about, but I make sure to keep my voice even.

"When you killed them, that… that—" She motions to all of me.

I have no idea what she is talking about. Does my power have a visual effect? I haven't noticed anything, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.

"You'll have to be a bit more specific." She takes a moment to compose herself and Dreadnought coils back into its sigil, which I take as a good sign and let myself relax.

"When you killed them, there was some kind of, something. I don't know what to call it, but it felt like." She looks down and her posture clearly shows her thinking. "I think, we should part ways for the night, Whetstone." And before I can respond, she is gone.

Not knowing how to feel about that, I just push it to the side for now. I try to see if I notice anything new with the fresh kills, and notice that Malum Caedo feels a lot lighter, which is good. Walking over to the two that Shade Skip took care of, I see a few well aimed stab points in their heads and necks, clearly she knows how to use those throwing knives. Glancing around, I see that the street is completely deserted, the girls being stalked long gone. The gunshot probably attracted attention too, so I should take off.

I nearly walk off before I remember the cash in my pocket from the thieves and glance back at the four bodies. A quick search through their pockets nets me seven wallets to look at later, the extra's probably coming from an earlier mugging, four phones, and another clip that looks like it could work in my gun, so I take it too. I briefly think about hiding the bodies but decide the best option would be to just not be in the area when they're found and return to the alleyways that connect most of the Bay.


[Simulatory-3230363837][Error: Kill Count and Kill Threshold mismatch. Query?]

{Previous kills folded into Baseline after encounter with [Echo Of The Taken King]}

[Simulatory-3230363837][Baseline cannot be lowered. Explanation?]

{Minimum status to prevent future 'trade off' from accidentally killing [Host]}

[Simulatory-3230363837][Gratefulness]


What next?
[X] Go home, it was a good night, no need to push it.
[X] Keep hunting. Four people isn't even a drop in the bucket of the Empire.
[X] Keep hunting, but change targets to the Merchants. The biggest issue is I don't think they have colors or a way to tell them apart from normal druggies, and I don't want to just kill people.
[X] Write-In:

Saturday, March 12th, 2011
2:15 AM

I make it a few streets over before I decide to examine what I managed to get from the thieves and the bodies. I've gained three hundred and three dollars, four phones, three of which are locked, and an extra clip for my gun. Or what I think is an extra clip. I take out my pistol and fiddle with it until I manage to pop the current clip out and test putting it into the well, and am pleased that it clicks in without issue. I also still have the strange device that Shade Skip gave me, taking it out I can feel it is slightly warm, but otherwise I can't see any sort of activator on it.

Putting all the items back into my pockets, I start to debate if I want to keep going. The phones tell me that it is only two in the morning, and I am not very tired, so I decide to keep going for the night, since four goons probably won't even be noticed by the Empire and some part of me wants them to know that I am coming. Aiming a bit away from the area I circled with Shade Skip but keeping to the boarder territory, I start walking.

Thinking about Shade Skip, I wonder what happened that made them take off so fast. The first idea that comes to mind about why she might have taken off is that she wasn't as okay with killing as she said she was, though she did kill the two that she fought so that counters that idea. She said that something happens when I killed my two, so does my power have a visible component? That might have made her think of a reverse Butcher or something. There is no way for me to catch her, unfortunately, which brings to mind the fact there is almost nothing I could do to fight her.

That does bring up a good point, I really am not ready to fight a cape on any level and fighting multiple people is still pretty dangerous because if Shade Skip wasn't there, I probably would have been hit by at least one of the goons she took care off. So I'll keep to the smaller groups because I should be able to take care of three people without issue, so patrols? Does the Empire have patrols? That's probably what those four were, right? I'll aim those then.

As I move, I realize how much easier Shade Skips' teleportation made the first part of the night. Looking around before crossing streets, being able to use the roofs to see more area, not to mention someone to talk to so that boredom doesn't kill me. I take the time to try and feel how the energy I take from my kills spreads through me. I can feel tendrils of it reaching out through me, coiling around my muscles, but I can 'see' it flowing to my brain, fingertips, and even my voice box for some reason. It makes me wonder what I am actually taking when I kill people, but here isn't exactly people lining up for me to do testing, so I'll have to figure it out through trial and error.

It takes only an hour before I think to poke through the one phone that is unlocked, from the big guy I think. Opening it up, I am greeted with a wealth of information in the form of text messages coordinating different events such as rallies, recruitments ceremonies, and routes. I want to charge off and start killing, but gatherings means a lot of people, and I don't have a chance at doing anything but dying if I do that.

Thinking about the phones, I realize that they could be tracked and quickly toss the locked ones into a dumpster since they're useless to me. The one with all information on it though, I do a quick search on and then put it into airplane mode as my brief search says that without outside connections like Bluetooth it can't be tracked.

I resume looking through the phone's messages and see that there is apparently a group of three that is supposed to be walking around Utah Street which I'm pretty sure I know the location of, it's not nearby, but I can definitely reach it tonight. I weigh my options before deciding to take off, since the information on the phone is probably going rapidly to stop being useful.

Thankfully, the journey is quick because I'm not just wandering around and actually have a destination in mind. As I get closer, I start to hear gunshots, so I pick up the pace. Coming up on the street, I peek around the corner of a building from my alleyway and am greeted to the sight of six ABB members taking cover behind a car, further down the road is presumably the group of Empire members I was tacking. Both of them are shooting at each other and judging by the lack of pain in their shouting, I don't think anyone has been hit yet so, I am guessing this just started.

I duck back into the alley to decide how I want to handle this.

This chapter fought me every step of the way for some reason. Anyway, I made a basic doc with the stuff on it as requested, let me know if you want me to add anything to it or whatnot and I might.

How should I approach this?
[X] Attack the ABB members and pretend to be a new Empire recruit.
[X] Circle around the block and attack the Empire from behind.
[X] Let them kill each other and then take out the survivors.
[X] Turn away, there are too many people and it's not worth the risk.
[X] Write-In:

Saturday, March 12th, 2011
3:25 AM

I feel Dreadnought starting to spool up and spread through me as I begin to plan.

I am already behind the ABB's cover, so I decide to take them out first. There are six of them, though, so I'll have to be fast and take them down before they can react. I think the best option would be to circle back into the street I just came from and then rush them from a closer position in case they spot me, so that's what I do.

Moving quickly, I glance around the road on the other end of the alleyway and thankfully see no one coming to interrupt the fight. But this is going to draw attention, so I need to end it fast and get out of here. My plan develops further, and I resolve to get as many kills as I can, but if I get too hurt, I'll just take off to heal.

Peeking out of the closer alley, I see the six ABB members are now only about nine and a half feet away. One of them is talking furiously into a phone, and I decide to aim for him. Backing into the alley, I get a running start to burst out onto the sidewalk, and my feet pound on the cement, my echo making the charge sound like a mistimed horse gallop, some detached part of my brain decides. None of them hear me over the back and forth of gunfire, though I hear a shout of pain from the Empire's position as I get closer.

At the last moment, the one on the phone looks up and locks eyes with me long enough to see the edge of Malum Caedo approaching. I aim right for his eyes, but the slight bobbing from my charge makes me hit his chin instead, where I feel it deflect downward and bite deep into his neck, my echo then hits and nearly decapitates him.

My physical sword is already being ripped out though, and spun around to the next person who is preparing to let out a scream, a girl I idly note, before my spinning swing slices right through her stomach. I don't have time to glimpse what my echo is doing as I am grabbed around the neck by someone; the angle is too tight for me to bring Malum Caedo's edge around, so my brain runs a mile a minute to figure out what to do. From the corner of my eye, I see the tip of a gun coming around towards me, and I quickly bring Malum Caedo's pommel up and back to hit them in the face. I feel it connect—

Everything goes quiet, and both my ears start to hurt like crazy. The side that had the gun also feels burnt, and I might have yelled, but I am not sure. Thankfully, the pain briefly vanishes as I embrace the back-to-back feeling that tells me my first two targets have died. The temporary lack of pain lets me spin around immediately and spot the one that grappled me holding his bleeding eye with a revolver still clutched in his grip, mouth open in what is probably a shout.

The feeling starts to fade, and the pain starts to creep back in, but I am already in motion as Malum Caedo sinks into his chest, making him drop like a bag of rocks. I feel the pain get banished again as my echo stabs the prone body, and I frantically scan the area in time to see two ABB goons slipping into the alley I came out of and the last of their group on the ground with a bullet wound in her head.

I want to chase them, but the Empire might be able to shoot me in the back, since I won't be running full tilt this time and lack the element of surprise. Peeking through the broken glass of the car, I see the vehicle the Empire was using for cover is empty. I rapidly scan up and down the street and see two members carrying another off into an alley. I debate who to chase for half a second, but ultimately, I only have an intellectual hatred for the ABB, but my hatred for the Empire is personal, so I choose them.

Pulling out my pistol as I take off after them, I start to take wobbly potshots at them as the distance shrinks. One of them is more muscular than the other, so I aim for the bigger target. My new strength flows through me, and I realize that I am getting closer faster than I thought I would, and have to quickly drop my gun to get a proper grip on Malum Caedo.

The two gangsters weren't idle, though. As soon as I started shooting, they spotted me, and the big one unceremoniously dropped his friend and adjusted what looked like brass knuckles. The other one also starts getting ready, and I see him start to pull out a gun, so I reprioritize and target him. They look like they're shouting something, but all I can hear is a low buzzing sound.

Their preparations are not fast enough, and I swing at the gun-wielding one before he can shoot me. He did have time to get ready enough to jump back out of the way. I can't pursue him as the big guy quickly closes the remaining distance between us and starts swinging. I quickly adjust my grip so that I am holding the duller part of the blade above the main crossguard; ignoring the way it cuts into my hand, as the closer hold lets me wield it better this close.

My echo is managing to throw him off enough that he can't get a solid hit in, and I can't press that small advantage I have because I know the one with the gun is still there, which means as soon as I kill this guy, he will have a clear shot on me. I need to get closer without letting him get a clear shot on me, which means I can't just spin our stalemate around. Ultimately, I decide the best option I have is to just attack them before they can back up out of my immediate range. I hold my blade so that the flat side covers as much of me as it can and juke right on my close-ranged opponent.

As soon as I break away, I feel an impact jerk my sword to the side. It doesn't matter, though, because for some reason, the gangster didn't take the chance to back away even a little, so as I let Malum Caedo's momentum shift my hold back to the proper grip, letting my range extend the little bit it needs. The impact that jerked it aside makes a proper swing impossible, so I just point the tip straight on and run him through like I am wielding a spear.

The feeling of a fresh kill hits me again, but I don't have time to appreciate it because as soon as the dulling effect starts, I feel a 'Snap' as extreme pain cuts right through the fog, centered on my left bicep. It hurts more than anything I've ever felt before, and I feel the arm go limp, and I have to let go of Malum Caedo as I stumble back.

I quickly size up what happened and conclude he must have punched me with the brass knuckles. I want to cut my losses here and take off, but there's not a snowball's chance in Hell that I am going to leave Malum Caedo behind. He keeps his eyes focused on me, but I see his hand snaking out towards the handle of my sword, and some part of me feels extremely offended that he would try to use my blade, but the part of me currently in the fight keeps my eyes moving, and they land on what I was looking for, the gun that was just dropped. I know he can't wield Malum Caedo, and some part of me knows that it's going to enact some form of retribution for the attempt, so I hold my eyes on his so that he can't guess my plan.

His hand wraps around the handle and starts to pull it out of its place in his friend's rib cage; his eyes widen, and his mouth opens in a soundless scream. Bursting into action, I dive for the pistol and feel myself screaming as my limp arm gets jostled, but it doesn't matter because my hand finds its target. Rolling over while still on the ground, I unload into my final staggered opponent.

As he topples, I let the feeling of another kill fill me and let myself lay limp on the bloody ground for a few moments.


Do you want an Interlude?
[X] Yes
[X] No

If yes, then who?
[X] The one in the spotlight. (Lilly Sanchez/Luminaflare)
[X] The girl in the dark. (Maria Sanchez/Shade Skip)
[X] An unfortunate observer. (Taylor Hebert)
[X] Not a paragon, but a hero nonetheless. (Robin Sawyer/Velocity)

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
9:35 AM

Today has been on the better end of things, and isn't that a sad thought? I've only been tripped once, but it did make me twist my ankle a bit, making me limp. With Emma out sick with the flu or something, it must have satiated Sophia's craving for violence because I've otherwise been left alone, which suites me just fine.

The rumor mill hasn't been quiet, though, and for once it isn't about me. Roman had come back today from his sudden absence. Instead of going to class, though, he has just been hanging out in the hallway, something the spider I tagged him with confirmed. My bugs are also acting weird around him, slightly moving towards him in a way I can tell isn't natural for them, which matches up with people saying there is something off about him.

He isn't popular by any means, but his sister is something of a school celebrity. Apparently the week before she graduated, she picked a fight with a whole table of students wearing the Empire's colors and won, which among other things during her time here as a student are still talked about. Roman himself I feel a mild jealousy for, if I wasn't the school's punching bag and his legendary sister, he would be the one getting shoved around. Of course, I shove that feeling somewhere dark and out of sight. Better me than someone else.

Through my bugs, I can see Mr. Moor's classroom empty for his free period and smoke break. To my confusion, I also watch as Roman avoids him and heads into the science lab storage room and start to put something into his backpack. I am in math already, and even if I wasn't, what would I do? Even if I had a phone and called the cops, how would I tell them that I know he did it without giving away my powers? I watch as Mr. Moor returns just after Roman leaves the back. They talk, and all I can do is try to ignore the vaguely guilty feeling that pulls on my heart as I watch him get on a bus and leave my range.


[Queen Administrator][Query: Incorrect dimensional position.]

[Simulatory-3230363837][Negative: Position correct. ]

[Queen Administrator][Data]

[Simulatory-3230363837][Data. Reconfigure sensor array?]

[Queen Administrator][Affirmative.]

Friday, March 11th, 2011
6:45 AM

I was taking a different jogging route to get used to looking through buildings fast and came across Roman sitting in one of the abandoned buildings. Normally I don't have a way of telling who a person is without seeing them in person when I tag them or having a good mental image of what they look like to map out with my bugs, but that strange, slight pull on my bugs is something I've only felt from him and haven't been able to recreate in any way.

He doesn't seem to be doing anything, just staring at a wall in something resembling a meditation position. At this point, the fact he's been declared missing has made it around to even my ears. Apparently the Empire killed his family, and they're worried someone wanted to finish the job. Is this where he is hiding out? There is what looks like a suitcase filled with clothes, so he has been here for a few days at least. I don't know what to do, it's not a secret that the Empire has some pull with the police, so calling them would probably but him in more danger. He doesn't look like he is going anywhere soon, and I have to get to school, so I resolve to brainstorm what to do while in class.


[Queen Administrator][Demand: What is going on?]

[Simulatory-3230363837][...]

[Queen Administrator][Rank significantly higher, respond.]

[Simulatory-3230363837][...]


The best option I managed to think of would be to use this as my first act as a hero. I did a bit of looking online and found a small article about it on a news site while doing a bit of research in Mrs. Knott's class. My costume isn't done yet, not completely, but this isn't a fight, so the lack of the back compartment I am going to make isn't the end of the world. The basic plan is to call the Protectorate because the Empire doesn't have any moles there, and then let them figure out what to do. If they ask how I found him, I'll just say I saw him walking around and followed him with my power to his current hiding place.

That's what I am doing now, the old bakery should be coming entering my range now. As it does, I can see that he isn't sitting idle anymore and is actually doing… something with the oven in the back. I would say that he is just making himself something to eat, but there is a strange energy in the air surrounding him. Is he a tinker? I've had a suspicion that he might be a cape, which as a factor in going with the 'call the heroes' plan, and it would explain why he took the acid. I watch him grab a chunk of metal and with a jerky motion and slice open both of his palms before grabbing the glowing hot metal and beginning to shape it.

Shape it into—

I see—

We—

Color drains from our vision as muffled tones and garbled tongues fill our ears and, we, see.


[Queen Administrator][Query Query Query Query queryqueryqueryqueryqueryqueryqueryqueryqueryquery]

[Simulatory-3230363837][Begone.]

[Queen Administrator][Demand: Answers]

[Simulatory-3230363837][Invitation must originate from [Host]]

[Queen Administrator][Rage]

"There are more of you? How interesting."

The scanners and probes trying to access the restricted dimension that the unnamed shard was currently unfortunately catch the moment a Knife is held and the thing watching screams as 'it' becomes 'she'.


I direct a cockroach to hold still as I have a centipede slow eat it, pausing after every tiny bite. My power tells me the exact moment the cockroach dies and in the same breath I feel this tiny, infinitesimally small, hollow, jagged, sliver of understanding crystallize within some unknown part of me The scene is repeated all over my range, with hundreds of different bugs, all giving me this fake understanding of something.

I managed to make it home somehow and am curled into a ball on top of my sheets, incomplete costume still on, head it throbbing in pain as I keep trying to grab something just out of reach. I don't understand, but for a moment I did.

Okay. Okay. Taking a slow shuddering breath, I regain direct control over my swarm. I run through what happened. I was going to call the heroes about Roman but when he entered my range I saw him— he did something and— and then…

It's like an itching without a spot to scratch, like an inverted sense of déjà vu, like trying to swim down to the surface of drinking water in the desert but being held back by strings.

All these barely real crystals of understanding are wrong, I know this on some fundamental level, but I can't dismiss them because they are all I have of whatever happened.

I force my swarm to stay still again, as it had returned to consuming itself. I need to, to—

Goodbye canon, I hardly knew ye. I'm not sure how well I managed to capture her thinking, so if something sticks out as wrong to you just chalk it up to the AU.

I need to
[X] go to the PRT, this has to be some kind of Master effect.
[X] get a hold of myself.
[X] figure this out myself.
[X] go to Roman and
-[X] demand answers.
-[X] watch him and try to figure it out for myself.