- Location
- Leeds
Counter point, I propose that Quetzalcoatlus is the perfect rider.[] Un-derail the thread
A Champion in Earth Bet [Worm/Original Setting]
- Thread starter sun tzu
- Start date
Dmol8
The Undead Unhinged Lunatic of the Web
- Location
- Belgrade,Serbia
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
A selfish egotistical hedonistic cunning anti-racist prat that didn't understand how to build a proper state and only knew how to fight wars.
I take issue with both how Saber is treated in all of Nasuverse and how Iskander himself is a character assassination of the real Alexander the Great.
Now that's not fair. Yes both Rommel and Lee were the kind of leaders worthy of staring as leads in an older Blizzard game, but Alexander wasn't. I see both Alexander the Great and King Arthur as the type of character Dumbledore from Harry Potter is. Flawed human beings driven by their passion to do what they believe is right and they will step over other people's choices in the process:
1)Alexander believed that he was the Chosen One meant to unite the whole world and so he acted like it. He worked towards eliminating racism and racist disputes between the many people under his reign. He organized numerous cultural exchanges. Except whoops he didn't know jack shit about running a state outside of warfare so he hired people to help him with that. Except whoops he didn't know how to tell if the people he hired actually shared his dreams or if they were just sycophants seeking to gain power by getting into his good graces. So after Alexander died (most likely assassinated by a member of his court) his great state was broken into pieces by his court's infighting.
2)King Arthur was a peasant that was revealed to be of royal birth and was first in line for the succession of his nation's crown. So he took to the task with gusto and also set himself the task of being a good, benevolent and righteous ruler. So he builds his Knights of the Round Table to make sure to show to his knights that before the state each statesman is equal to any other including their King. He also in almost all stories worked to better the life of the common man and right the injustices of both nobles and commoners alike. Except well the novel Frankenstein was written to critique the Enlightenment ideas of it's time and also to critique a Romantic archetype of which King Arthur is the best known example of. So Artur's fuck up is two fold:
-He believes in the Chivalrous code completely and he never questions it and explores some of the failings the honor that code subscribes to has which comes back to bite him in the ass when his best fighter (and thus innocent of any crime he doesn't want to be guilty off as he can defend his honor and thus his innocence in any duel) and his wife (who he only treated as far as the code of honor of Knights demanded and nothing more which left the marriage in a state where there wasn't enough trust and intimacy to have room to talk about say an infatuation with another person) end up having feelings for one another;
-He doesn't understand the evil people are capable of and why they commit it. He believes that if he satisfies the physical needs of his people then they will be a happy and just people. He neglects or just doesn't even understand the emotional needs of the people around him and that comes back to bite him in the ass multiple times trough out the stories told about him.
So Arthur's court literally tears itself apart because of the passions of it's members. And Camelot ends.
3)Dumbledore was a magical prodigy who dabbled in the Dark Arts in his youth and lost his sister and his lover to them. This has left him adamant in protecting others from them. But his loss never tempered his pride and arrogance in his skill and his intellect. Which is why he spends most of Harry Potter books being overprotective to the point of self sabotage of what he sees as Magical Britain's only hope for beating the current Dark Lord. It's why J.K Rowling killed him in the way she did in the Half-Blood Prince. He was about to surrender one of the most powerful magical artifacts in Britain to Voldemort (He was only planning on his suicide because he had injured himself badly destroying one of Voldemort's Horcruxes which meant that Voldemort was in the process of beating him, but in his arrogance Dumbledore thought he was winning) when Draco outplayed both him and Voldemort (Riddle didn't think Malfoy would succeed, but gave him the task just as a way of dealing with the family one way or another) and unintentionally saved the day. So if not for Draco Malfoy's desperate gambit working Dumbledore would have handed over the most powerful Wand in Magical Britain to Voldemort.
I had a point here. And it wasn't that our culture has evolved enough to recognize the toxicity of this type of person on society as a whole in the long run. Though making that point is a bonus in my book. Ah got it. King Artur is not a better person than someone like Alexander the Great. He was just a better (if considered more fictional) ruler than Alexander because the people around him were better people both in character and in knowledge than Alexander ever had in his life.
Edit: Spell checks and a sentence finished because I really didn't know all the points I was trying to make when I started this post.
Edit 2: OK now I am done and I go away from this page for a bit so I don't sit here rereading it for another hour.
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Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Okay, seriously guys, is there a Fate/Zero thread somewhere that you could take this discussion to? Please?
How many pages are in this update?!
As many as are needed.
In seriousness, we won't know until sun Tzu feels he's reached a good stopping point.
Like I said, lots of people talking in this one. It's getting long enough, that the actual fight in Lagos will have to wait for a later update. ^^'
Turns out, when you want to create a big international security organization, you gotta talk to a lot of people. XD
With all seriousness, maybe you should consider pulling the plug on the "quest" aspect of this and just ask a GM to transfer it to the User Fiction section.
That's not meant as a negative or anything... it seems increasingly like you writing this as a story is engaging you far more than some kind of frequent back and forth with voters.
I'm... pretty sure I wouldn't have written as much of this story (or as quickly) if not for the quest and audience-participation elements.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Here's a little thing that'll hopefully be helpful for whenever someone brings up 'it's not a quest, it's a story' in the future.
This is a handy summary from Aranfan on what a quest is:
So let's all just sit back, chillax, discuss, scheme, and don't question our free entertainment over an imaginary issue.
This is a handy summary from Aranfan on what a quest is:
Note the complete and utter lack of anything specifying time. A Champion In Earth Bet just has alot more to 'resolve action to generate new derivative' than most other quests. So long as at some point there is a new vote, it's a quest.
So let's all just sit back, chillax, discuss, scheme, and don't question our free entertainment over an imaginary issue.
The Brigade Reborn
THE BRIGADE REBORN
[X] The Avatar and the Guild focus their efforts on hunting down the Slaughterhouse Nine. While the group has gone to ground, there have to be some clues nevertheless.
[X] The Avatar and the Guild try to liberate Lagos: The former capital of Nigeria has fallen under the control of warlords and gangs after Behemoth devastated it, and some of the worst villains in the country now rule over what's left. Liberating the city will go a long way toward encouraging Nigeria to act as Africa's peacekeeper.
[X] The Avatar, both in public speeches and private discussions, tries to convince various European powers to provide proper manpower to the European Brigade, in the hope of turning it into a legitimate international parahuman law enforcement agency.
[X] The Avatar works with Dragon and others to create alternatives to the Birdcage. Prisons in other planes, in orbit, deep underground, underwater… If there are prisons that can hold supervillains indefinitely without automatically meaning life without parole, it could go some way toward making the parahuman justice system less messed-up.
[X] Like Eidolon, the Avatar temporarily moves to Mexico City. Integrating Mexico into the Protectorate is a delicate process, and the Avatar's help could make a big difference.
"With the last three major ops, the Guild has gathered a lot of credit around the world," Narwhal explains. "We've proven that we're a genuinely international force - it's not like Washington or Toronto had anything to gain in Kolwezi - and we've proven that we're actually getting things done. That makes it much easier to convince capes from all over the world to do us the occasional favor."
"I know a few JDF Thinkers who would be helpful in the hunt for the Slaughterhouse Nine," Sunblade follows, "and most of the Diet is feeling grateful these days."
"I'll have a few words with my superiors," Wing Warrior nods, "and I may be able to contribute myself. My helmet has a fairly powerful sensor suite."
"Any Thinker support is appreciated," says Silver Crusader. "Tattletale and Forecast have been a big help, but tracking the Nine is still an uphill battle."
You nod. "I agree that the Nine should be a priority, for much the same reasons Madame Lustucru was. Firstly for humanitarian reasons. Secondly, to let the world know that monsters will not be tolerated. Lastly, because if the Nine's thought process is similar to Lustucru's - and Dragon seems to think so - then they're probably working on on a dramatic grand finale as we speak.
"But to save the world, it's not enough for the Guild to take down a group of monsters every week or so." You survey the other heroes in this room. "When I went after the Purifier, Moord Nag, Wyld Hunter and Heartbreaker, I chose them specifically because I knew I could take them down on my own. I joined the Guild because together, we could take down the Four Ghosts of Santiago and Madame Lustucru. But even the growing Guild, though it is effecting geopolitical change, is not in itself the full solution: Just because we can handle any problem, doesn't mean we can handle every problem."
You let the words hang in the air for a moment. "What we need to do is encourage the rise of powerful hero teams the world over. The USA and Canada managed as well as they did because they have the Protectorate - thousands of heroes working together. Kenya did well because it has the Pentagon - a team of powerful heroes with great synergy. We need more heroes across the world. We need a European Brigade. We need an African peacekeeping force. We need to support and empower forces for good."
"God knows I had my issues with Nigeria's 'peacekeeping' back in the days," says Doctor Metal. "They liked to throw their geopolitical weight around. And they're not fully democratic - the junta still holds a big chunk of the executive power. But West and central Africa need a peacekeeping force, and right now…" she grimaces, "...it's gotta be Nigeria. Before Swarm, the Ivory Coast could have done it, but as things are right now…"
"Nigeria and Kenya already have favors we owe them, for helping in Kolwezi," says Dragon. "I'd rather repay those favors now than later." She points at the map. "Nigeria was fairly successful in integrating its capes into their National Parahuman Alliance. Then, in 2001, Behemoth attacked Lagos. Of the eight million people who resided in the city at the time, 1.9 million perished that day, making it one of Behemoth's deadliest attacks; over three million have since either died or left the city. Parahuman casualties in the battle were massive, especially among Nigerian heroes; even today, those are still being felt, and the hero-to-villain ratio in the country is almost as bad as 1-to-5.
"The only silver lining is that the government was evacuated in time, and were able to keep most of the country from collapsing. However, with so many dead heroes, and with a disproportionate number of them getting stationed at the new capital in Kano, the NPA has been unable to retain control of every city. In particular, Port Harcourt, Benin City, Zaria, and Lagos have all fallen under the control of gangs and warlords, with the NPA effectively pulling out of their areas." She pauses. "If we want to stabilize Nigeria and by extension its neighboring area, then our best bet is probably liberating Lagos."
"Lagos isn't Santiago de Cuba," Doctor Volt points out. "It's a major metropolis, and even with all the death and exodus, there's still around three million people there. What's the actual situation?"
"Eidolon was able to clear the worst of the radioactivity after Behemoth," says Dragon, "but cancer rates were still several times the national average for a while. Nowadays, in the absence of government forces, the city has been divided into zones of control by various warlords. At the latest estimate, less than a third of the population has access to electricity, and about a half has access to clean running water."
"Why don't they leave?" asks Harmonic. "Are the warlords physically keeping them there, or…?"
"That would be impractical with such a large area. No, they stay because their homes are there. Nigeria is struggling and failing to house the millions who left the city; those who stay at least have a roof above their heads, which wouldn't be guaranteed if they moved out.
"With or without government services, the city needs food and other resources. A fraction is produced internally. Some is acquired via legitimate businesses. More and more, however, the warlords acquire it from the outside via practices such as an extensive network of human trafficking."
"Ugh." The sentiment of disgust is shared by many, but there is no surprise.
Dragon resumes. "At current count, there are between 300 and 350 parahumans in Lagos; between 80% and 90% are affiliated with one of the major warlords. Intelligence from the NPA lists the stronger warlords as follows:"
Images appear. A man dressed all in crimson, in the process of killing an entire team of capes. "Blood Count. A-class threat. He creates a Shaker effect in a radius of 50-to-200 yards, causing gradual fatigue in everyone present, which can lead to death by exhaustion if he maintains the effect for sufficiently long. The more he drains people, the more he develops a vast array of temporary powers. He tends to maintain a low profile when not actively attacking anyone, but he is considered the strongest cape in the country, and has a cadre of subordinate parahumans, most of them Movers, who help maintain control over his territory."
Another image. A man wearing what looks like a cross between a gas mask and a smiley. "Choker. Another Shaker villain, he seems able to move vast swathes of nitrogen through the air. He's been known to asphyxiate entire city blocks simply by displacing all the oxygen. Possibly psychotic."
A woman in a gold-colored uniform, including a lot of actual gold. "Sun Gun. Blaster, able to generate beams of light sufficiently intense to set flesh on fire. A veteran cape, she was already second-in-command of the largest Lagos gang before Behemoth; she took over what was left of the gang afterward and kept expanding."
A woman wearing a laurel wreath on her head. "Conquest. Thinker, possibly precognitive. Has recently managed to rise to power by eliminating two lesser warlords and absorbing their organizations."
A man dressed in a parody of medical clothes. "The Doctor. One of the strongest healers on the continent, able to restore even the terminally ill or injured to full health with a touch. He's built up a whole racket, demanding subservience in exchange for healing, and has gathered a small army to maintain his 'business' and ensure he can collect on his 'favors'."
A woman dressed in green and yellow with plant symbolism. "Harvest. Plant Tinker. She controls a significant fraction of the port area. It is believed that her alga farms provide around 10% of the city's food, giving her a very strong negotiating position. She has also been known to equip her troops with organic 'guns' that fire poisoned darts."
A maskless man in a military uniform. "The General. He was actually an army captain back in the days…"
"Just how many villains are there who call themselves 'the General'?" Iron snake mutters.
"...until his court-martial over selling military equipment to warlords led him to trigger. His powers include flight and extremely fast regeneration. Perhaps more importantly, over three hundred of his men followed him when he fled to Lagos, and he has since picked up a number of parahuman minions; his solid understanding of tactics, strategy and organization has allowed him to control the rest of the port area."
Doctor Metal pauses to consider. "All right. Some of these could be difficult, especially Blood Count… and we need more data on notable minions… but, assuming they don't work together right from the start, this shouldn't be too difficult."
"What about Harvest and the Doctor?" you ask. "Their powers could be extremely helpful, if used more ethically."
"They're criminals and murderers who have shown no selfless inclinations before," Dragon says sadly, "and their fate would ultimately be up to the Nigerian government. If you can negotiate some kind of community service I'd applaud it, of course."
Doctor Metal doesn't seem too happy about that. Fair enough. Disliking it when villains avoid the punishment they deserve is perfectly normal. But if it saves thousands of lives… Well, you'll give it some thought.
"You say Conquest is probably a precog. Should we expect the rest of them to get an early warning? Is there a risk of them joining forces against us? Or, heck, just Blood Count draining thousands of people to death in anticipation of the fight?" asks Sunblade.
"We don't know. Hence why we will need some time to gather better intelligence first."
"I have another question," says Météore. "Doing this rewards Nigeria for protecting Kolwezi. What about Kenya?"
"I'm currently working a different angle with Kenya," says Dragon. "I'm not saying the Guild won't assist them with their own problem, but Kenya is more stable than Nigeria currently is." True, though you wish that was a higher bar to clear.
"Speaking of other issues for the Guild to handle…" Iron Snake gets up. "There's a matter. An organization in Surabaya. They call themselves the Lords of Flesh."
Slides are projected, showing individuals and figures. "The Lords of Flesh are a criminal organization specializing in human trafficking. Slave labor, prostitution, organ harvesting, you name it. We think they control between 2% and 3% of all human trafficking in Indonesia. Aside from many nonpowered members, they include twelve confirmed villains, and probably a handful that we don't know about. Several of their confirmed capes are Masters."
"And both the Avatar and Celo have an immunity to mind-influencing powers. Aura and Dragon have some resistance as well," Surdoué notes. "You want the Guild to assist Red White with taking them down?"
"No. All previous attempts to take the Lords of Flesh down before have essentially failed before they'd even begun," Iron Snake explains. "I don't know if it's powers, bribes, or a combination of the two, but they clearly have inside knowledge about the police and Red White both. They know when we're about to make a move on them. The last two times we tried anything, good heroes ended up spending months under Master control." He grits his teeth. "They don't get this kind of advanced warning when dealing with rival gangs, so we don't think it's precognition. What I want is for the Guild to investigate them, find their operational centers, find their leaders, and take them down without any warning. If possible, discover who their informants are." He pauses. "The Lords of Flesh ruin thousands of lives on a regular basis, but they're small-time compared to the Ghosts of Santiago or Skylance. This doesn't require the full might of the Guild, just… the help of a few key members."
"I would be honored to help," you say.
He looks uncomfortable. "Ah… I'll be the first to acknowledge that your powers would be extremely useful in this sort of situation, but… I think I'd rather you stuck to a backup role on this one." Why is he… oh. "Please don't get me wrong. I have immense respect for you. Even if we ignored your victory against Leviathan and the Simurgh, you've done more good for the world in one month than any of us have in the past decade." Debatable in a few cases, especially Dragon's. "However, I think the Guild needs-"
"The Guild needs to run successful and visible operations that I am not part of," you complete the reasoning, "because the Guild needs to be an international alliance of heroes defending the world, rather than an being 'the army of the Avatar'. And it is important that it be perceived as such as well. The organization cannot have a single point of failure."
"...Yes. I mean no offense-"
"Iron Snake," you smile, "no offense is taken. It is perfectly sound reasoning. I'm honored to be part of the Guild, but I am not the Guild; it was fighting the good fight before me, and will presumably keep doing so after I depart. After all, I do intend to return to Earth-Gimmel at some point. My goal is not to make myself the great problem-solver of Earth-Bet, it is to inspire and empower Earth-Bet's own problem solvers. I believe I have said as much, once or twice or twenty times."
He smiles, relieved that you understand.
"With that in mind," you add, "there are a few other matters that I, myself, need to look into… and I'll need assistance."
"...that Brockton Bay doesn't need me anymore. I feel that my presence in other cities can do more good at this point."
"The PRT generally agrees," says Legend. Also present at the meeting are several PRT regional directors, though mostly by videoconference. "We've actually been debating where to send you. We've narrowed it down to five Protectorate-territory urban centers that could benefit from you the most. Do you have any particular requests?"
"As a matter of fact… I wish to be assigned to the Mexico City team."
Legend smiles, unsurprised. "Well, it is one of the five."
"That place is halfway to being a warzone, and it's going to cross the other half real soon," says director Tagg. Everything about the man's demeanor tells you he's ex-military. "Mexico's got a more functional government and police than any place South of it, but their cartels are more powerful than any of our gangs short of the Elite and Battalion. Mexico City itself has an estimated villain population between 550 and 600, and some 300 heroes… and the only reason the hero ratio is so high is because the government had half of them bused in from all over the rest of the country."
"That was actually one of the stumbling blocks in the negotiations for their Protectorate membership," points director Weyland. "The Mexican government insisted that the ratio of heroes assigned to the capital must remain high. To be fair, we do the same thing in Washington…"
"That's not the same thing at all!" Tagg protests angrily. "Washington DC is a mid-sized town, just over half a million people! Bringing in a dozen heroes is enough to turn the tides there. Mexico City is practically the size of New York!"
"Still," says Weyland. "Sending in both Eidolon and the Avatar should make for a smoother transition, and earn a lot of goodwill."
"Goodwill with the Mexicans, maybe," says Tagg, eyeing you. "Not sure if it'll earn goodwill from Eidolon."
Hm. You wonder… "Will that be a problem?"
"Might or might not be," says Tagg. "The man's spent his entire cape career being the ace in the hole of the Protectorate. The strongest cape on Earth bar Scion. And now you're here. Legend can probably give you a better idea."
Legend looks slightly awkward. "Eidolon is a professional. I don't think there's going to be a problem."
Hopefully not. Still, something to keep in mind.
The conversation goes on for a while, before you move on to other topics. You want the PRT's input on two of your current projects. One is the support you wish to give the European Brigade. The other…
"Sorry I'm late," says the French foreign minister as he arrives, his secretary glancing at you and blushing as she brings him coffee and his notes. He isn't actually late, he's just the only one at the meeting who isn't early. Gathered here…
Well. There's the French president. She's run on a center-right political platform, and like so many French politicians, she calls herself a gaullist. It does not surprise you that unlike De Gaulle, when she lost a major referendum two years ago, she did not resign, but instead made her prime minister resign in her stead. She's been implicated in a number of financial scandals, but seeing as this is her second term, she's not eligible for reelection anyway. She is, however, concerned with her legacy.
There's the prime minister. As the party's number two, it's no secret that he's angling for the presidency. From what you know, he is somewhat lacking in charisma, his social skills mostly manifesting in deliberations with equals; the sort of politician who struggles to get the people behind him, but can achieve consensus with fellow politicians. He doesn't seem particularly attached to ideology; he's been accused of appealing to xenophobes in an attempt to steal votes from the far right, which seems more a matter of cynical calculation than internalized bigotry (which is little consolation for the victims of said xenophobia).
There's the foreign minister. He's spent over twenty years in total as a diplomat - in Berlin, Rome, and Istanbul. He seems to actually have a passion for international politics; his current position is his actual dream job. It is a known fact that he's received some suspiciously expensive "gifts" on the job, but the public doesn't particularly care as long as said job gets done - and the man is generally considered the architect of the 2007 trade treaty.
And then, there's Victoire, national director of the Irréductibles. The French equivalent of the Protectorate. Victoire is some kind of Thinker, and has led the organization practically since its founding. The exact nature of her power is officially classified, but after all these years it's a bit of an open secret: She selects a goal, and her power tells her whether any action she's about to take will increase or decrease her chances of completing said goal. By all accounts, she is driven, competent at her job, and incorruptible. She's caught some flak years ago for the "purges" where she removed from the Irréductibles various sympathizers of the Front Pour La Patrie (the French branch of Gesellschaft), but from the dossier you've read, you wholeheartedly support that particular decision.
"Ladies. Gentlemen. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."
"We could hardly refuse to meet with the Anti-Fin," says the president with a magnanimous smile. "The nation, all nations, are in your debt."
"Nevertheless, I know that you are all extremely busy people, so I'll be straight and to the point," you say. "As you know, the Protectorate is currently expanding to cover Mexico. At the same time, the Guild is recruiting, with new members from Brazil, Poland, Japan, India, Indonesia, Cuba, the Ivory Coast… Earth-Gimmel…
"This kind of internationalism is yielding fruits already. The Caribbean region and Eastern Asia are already benefiting from greatly increased stability, and the crimes against humanity that were ongoing in Kolwezi have stopped."
"For the time being," says the foreign minister. "I'm honestly surprised that you were able to secure the cooperation of the Nigerian and Kenyan governments."
"They're helping with this situation. We will help them in return. Cooperation is the blood of civilization, and civilization on Earth-Bet is only a few short steps away from extinction." Your eyes survey the room. "For civilization to survive, its guardians must work together. I believe Europe has the bare bones of such a project already in place."
"The European Brigade," says Victoire. "Back in the days, there were talks about it including thousands of heroes." As opposed to the current roster of eighteen, ten of whom are from Italy and Spain.
"That was never going to happen, obviously," says the foreign minister. "No one nation would have been willing to give up that large a fraction of its heroes. But a few hundreds was a genuine possibility, until, well…"
"Until Lausanne, London, and Warsaw," you conclude. "But the Simurgh is dead. Other threats still exist, and they will require something like the Brigade to oppose. If nothing else, the existence of additional Endbringers means we need all the organization we can get."
"It's not that simple," says the president. "There are a lot of barriers to creating an organization like that. What country will it be headquartered in? How will control over it be shared? How is it going to be funded, when the countries funding it don't even use the same denominations?" She pauses. "There were extensive negotiations back then, and only temporary agreements were reached. Agreements that no-one has bothered revising, since the Brigade barely exists on more than paper."
"Those are all problems that can be solved," argues the foreign minister. "The real difficulty is each country's unwillingness to commit its own forces to the task."
"And for that purpose… I suppose you are well-suited to acting as ambassador," says the prime minister, gazing at you.
"Precisely," you say. "I have meetings throughout this week, in Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands… I aim to get everyone to commit a number of heroes based on national population. Furthermore, the current version of the European Brigade includes exclusively heroes provided by the governments of member nations. I believe it may be possible to bring in dozens of additional members, easily, if provisions are made that allow independent heroes to join, conditional upon a Brigade committee judging them fit for it."
Victoire blinks at that. "That… could work. You'd have to be careful in setting up said committee - there are a lot of independent heroes and vigilantes you don't want in a group like this - but I can think of many who would jump on the opportunity."
You nod. "That will help with quantity. For quality... I'm trying to include certain specific heroes who I believe will be a particular asset to an international team like the Brigade. I have brought a list…"
After examining your list, the gathered individuals are somewhat reluctant. Still… Victoire is nothing if not committed to the mission, and she sees an opportunity to take her country and the world back from the various forces of evil. The foreign minister is seeing the opportunity for a diplomatic accomplishment eclipsing what he's done so far. As for the president and prime minister… well, some negotiation is necessary.
This deep beneath the waters, there is no light except for the occasional bit of bioluminescence. Hardly a problem; you simply tune your senses to detect radioactivity.
Which leads you to the shattered remains of the submarine. All the ballistic missiles, as well as the uranium fuel, are still there, scattered on the ocean floor.
The French government is still uncertain if it was Leviathan who sank this submarine, but they've kept its loss a secret (separately informing the families of each individual crewman that they'd died in an accident), since they didn't want it known that nuclear weapons (or military technology, period) were up for grabs for any parahuman capable to operating at the bottom of the ocean.
Everybody wants something. The French politicians wanted a discreet recovery, and an iconic handshake for the cameras with you as they renewed France's commitment to the European Brigade. A joint speech in favor of the initiative.
In Denmark, the Speaker of the Folketing wanted you to repair the Øresund Bridge (with carbosteel) that connects Copenhagen to Sweden; a villain gang had destroyed the bridge as part of an extortion plot eight months ago, and with the ongoing budget crisis the government had been unable to allocate funds for repairs.
Italy's president is an ardent proponent of inter-European cooperation who already supports your goal here. The harder sell is the leadership of the Legione Difesa, who resent sending Italian heroes abroad rather than keep them focused on dealing with national problems. It taxes your oratory skills, but you argue that the European Brigade will overall improve national security well enough that they at least seem willing not to sabotage the process.
Poland's a wreck, and wasn't part of the original negotiations for the creation of the Brigade in the first place. Their authorities agree to get some volunteer heroes to join, on the condition that they won't be asked to provide more than token funding (not like their economy can take it) and that they receive an informal guarantee the Brigade will provide a push toward stabilizing Poland.
Ireland's mostly terrified of the UK situation; with the bloody repression of the Scottish revolt, the ongoing fascistization of the government, and the worrying rhetoric of Lord Walston toward their own nation, they want to include some clauses toward mutual defense of member nations. That's a poor fit for the Brigade itself, but as you tell them, it's plain to see that tighter bonds between Ireland and mainland Europe will go a long way toward discouraging the King's Men from doing anything foolish.
Luxembourg is a bit of an oddity. In the face of civilization gradually collapsing, many members of the world's financial elite have fled to the tiny country; its native parahumans are actually outnumbered by the foreign capes who are employed as private security by wealthy residents. That makes it one of the safest places in the world… and opens it to extensive critique as, essentially, a tool for the rich and powerful to escape and abandon the rest of the world to its troubles. However, a handful of independent native capes are interested in joining the Brigade; the government agrees to authorize such a thing, hoping it will mend their international image.
And so it goes. Country after country, meeting after meeting, several speeches in several different languages… interspersed, of course, with all your other activities. You bring up your projects for new cape prisons… but, also on the subject of the European Brigade, you need to speak to a number of individual capes.
"Of course I'll be joining." Napoleon - the Polish hero Captain Hydro recommended - is among the first in his country to volunteer to join the Brigade. "I've been saying Europe needs to work together for years. This is an opportunity to finally get that done."
"I'm glad you'll be on board," you tell him. "An organization like that will need proper Thinker support."
"I am aware." He pauses. "Obviously, I'm from a country that's effectively collapsed, and everyone will know Poland needs help from foreign powers. I've no intention of being beggars, however. It's why I'm trying to get more volunteers to join in. I want the Brigade to know it owes Poland."
You nod. "I would recommend prioritizing good team players. The Brigade will effectively hit the ground running, and the faster it learns to work together, the better."
"And you would have some experience there," he notes. "What about the language barrier? Are we assuming English as the operational language? The only member nation that speaks it is Ireland."
"It remains the language likely spoken by the most prospective members," you admit. "At the moment, speaking it is a sine qua non condition for joining."
"I see." He pauses. "There are certain parahumans that I believe absolutely need to join, but might not fit the profile you're looking for."
"I'm listening."
"I have always refused to join the Legione Difesa. I don't see why I should be any more eager to join the Brigade. There's a reason I spend all my time here."
The Ice Queen is considered one of the strongest capes in Europe, rated Shaker 9-10. You've seen videos; her ability to manifest ice and alter its physical properties is impressive indeed, and one of the main reasons Naples is still standing (and anyone who can effectively use frozen water against Leviathan is clearly impressive in a number of ways).
She is also a consummate loner who barely ever leaves the ice castle she's built herself on a mountaintop, from which she conducts astronomy with telescopes made from modified ice. She still occasionally publishes her findings, but she limits human interaction to a minimum. It's a matter of speculation how she even knows when to come down from the mountain to participate in S-class and A-class battles; the Legione Difesa denies rumors of having a way to contact her.
"I know that you are a loner," you say. "To be honest, your antisocial nature makes what you do more impressive."
That gives her pause. "...What do you mean?"
"I mean that you are not close to your family. You are not fighting to protect your friends. You hold little love for humanity. As far as anyone can tell, you do not particularly enjoy fighting. Yet, you still go out there once or twice a year, risking your life to defend a world of total strangers. That strikes me as unusually selfless."
She blinks. "It needs to be done."
"It does. But if you are willing to inconvenience yourself, risk your own life, to do what needs to be done… then is it not worth doing right?"
She stares at you. You press on: "To join an organization, to collaborate with other parahumans… That isn't what you want on a selfish level. It's not in your inclination. But you are already doing the selfless thing anyway. You would get far more mileage by working with a group.
"I am not actually suggesting that you join the Brigade full-time. However, the revised charter currently being debated offers 'associate membership'. Associates are encouraged to train with the Brigade to improve teamwork, and will be asked to participate in operations, but are not obligated to do anything."
She considers in silence for a moment. "I see your point, but I am uncertain that this is a good idea."
"Doctor Esposito…" you know she has little care for the cape name the press has given her; she uses it in combat situations, but seems to value her astronomy credentials more. "You have proven again and again that you are a capable, determined woman. This would not be an easy task, nor a small adjustment to make, but I do not believe that can stop you. In the end, it is only a question of whether you choose to. Seeing as you already choose to come down from the mountain as is…" you shrug.
"The Peur-de-Rien have always striven to maintain a tradition of heroic panache, you understand. We've fiercely maintained our independence from the government. At the same time… Well. I'd be lying if I said the recent victories of the Guild weren't inspiring. So, yes, the rest of the team is considering joining the new and improved Brigade."
Surdoué himself recommended that you talk to Les Peur-de-Rien. The most prestigious independent hero team in France, they were founded in 1996, but have suffered greatly since. Most of the team fought the Simurgh in Lausanne; in the months that followed, the (French-Algerian) team leader, during a fight with villains of the Front pour la Patrie, killed one of the enemy capes... who turned out to be a fifteen-year-old girl; the ensuing scandal became a black mark against French heroes, and drove up the Front pour la Patrie's recruitment. Calls for his arrest ultimately amounted to nothing, as he and all but two other team members were killed a few months later during Behemoth's second attack on Lyons in October 2003.
It says something about the team's prestige that new independent heroes still flocked to their banner after that disaster. The team remains a big deal, and performed admirably against the Three Blasphemies two years ago.
Getting a team like that to join, even if only as associate members, could do wonders for both the legitimacy and recruitment rates of the Brigade. And then, of course, there's the individual members.
Cyranette, the team's second-in-command, can summon a weightless blade that cuts through almost any material effortlessly. Effective against many Brutes.
L'Inspecteur Masqué is a Thinker with a form of environmental hyper-awareness. The sort of force-multiplier the Brigade needs.
La Matraque Bleue is an Alexandria package who can extend her enhanced durability to objects like the massive warhammer she carries.
Éprouvette is a bio-Tinker who, in addition to creating useful combat minions, is a capable team medic. And the Brigade needs healers.
Laser Ninja, the most recent team member, is a decent Blaster.
As for the man you are currently talking to, he goes by Goldorak. The last surviving founding member and current team leader, he is a Tinker specialized in giant mecha; he's patterned his creation and identity on a Japanese pre-Sundering fictional property (something a government hero definitely couldn't get away with).
"You said 'the rest of the team'. Not you?" you ask.
He winces under his helmet. "...I can't operate outside Paris itself. My mecha gets to and from the battlefield thanks to a teleporter I built inside our HQ, and it has a limited range."
Which is probably why he's survived this far, though he clearly finds the limitation painful. "That might not be an issue, actually," you tell him. "One of the capes the Spanish government is contributing to the Brigade," after some negotiation on your part, "is a Tinker specialized in pocket dimensions. It's an energy-expensive process, but she can open a portal from the pocket dimension to pretty much anywhere on Earth."
"Wait, are you talking about Caja? Doesn't she help with Endbringer deployments?"
"Yes, that's her."
He pauses. "That… would get past the limitation. I could… I could help!"
"Goldorak, you have fought in several dozens of parahuman fights since you got your powers. No-one could, in good faith, claim you haven't been helping."
"Not enough."
"And yet far more than most people. Though I believe the Brigade would welcome your contributions. Europe, the world, need heroes, now more than ever."
"I still can't believe you convinced them to let me join the European Brigade," says Leonardo. "It was really starting to feel like the Legione Difesa thought I was their golden goose."
"Well, they're only committing to a two-year tour of duty," you say, "on the condition that you regularly maintain their copy of the oracle machine. I understand it's been giving encouraging results?"
"Oh yes!" The Italian Tinker, as you know, has been getting a lot of mileage from his chronotech specialization. "So far, it's warned us about a parahuman gang fight, a big fire, and a villain attack on a jewelry store hours before they all happened. I'll also be building a copy for the Brigade… once I get back to a chronotech specialization."
"Which one are you using now?"
He grins. "Dragon has shown me some of Prochonost's work. You know him?"
"The Toybox Tinker who can reduce tinkertech's maintenance need."
"Right. Well, I've managed to get a version of his specialization. Probably a bit weaker, but… still good enough that I can improve my own gear. You know how maintenance is a huge bottleneck for Tinkers."
You nod. "I can see how that would make a drastic difference in what you can accomplish. Congratulations."
"And it's not just restricted to my gear. You know Fortress? From the Kenya Pentagon?"
"I haven't met, but I've read files on the Pentagon. Force-field Tinker, has made personal shields for the rest of the team, uses a gun that traps enemies in force-bubbles, yes?"
"That's Fortress. Well, Dragon asked me for a favor there," he seems downright giddy about that last part, "so, I've used my current robustness specialization on Fortress's gear. Which frees Fortress to make more tinkertech, make the team even more efficient, you know?" He's almost giggling. "Best part, the Pentagon's Mover-Shaker - you know, Kinesis? - kept me going at super-speed for the duration. I was able to do three days' worth of work in a single afternoon."
Right. Dragon said she was doing something for Kenya. It's good to see that her collaboration with Leonardo remains fruitful - he's contributed to her projects, and she's been teaching him a great deal.
"So, any particular heroes I should try to get to know on the Brigade?"
"Not everyone on the Brigade is technically a hero, actually."
"...What do you mean?"
"A handful of parahumans there are going to be former villains who were in custody, and will be given the opportunity to make amends." You notice his dubious expression. "Naturally, their past will not be kept a secret from other Brigade members. These are people who genuinely want to do better."
"I guess. Any names I'd recognize?"
"Does the name 'Niszczyciel' sound familiar?"
"No. Is that Polish?"
"Yes. Napoleon recommended him - he will likely be the most powerful Brute on the team…"
Niszczyciel has significant criminal history. He was arrested for doing henchman work for a Warsaw villain, then triggered overnight while in police custody with a skintight force-field that can selectively annihilate anything it touches. He could easily have escaped then, but one of the police officers present had the presence of mind to convince him to cut a deal. Initial power testing proved promising; there were talks of sending him to fight Endbringers.
Unfortunately, his hero career ended before it even began. The Simurgh attacked the city. He broke his hand punching her. In the aftermath, he went to Krakow, where he became a quasi-invincible villain.
And then, he became one of hundreds of villains worldwide who turned themselves in following Leviathan's death.
Napoleon and the Polish authorities had you talk to him. He permitted use of telepathy. He's… flawed, certainly, but you were able to confirm that he is genuine. Integrating him into the Brigade will not be easy. But then, the list of capes you've requested includes many team players, friendly sorts and social balm types. Hopefully, that will…
You are interrupted as Leonardo's device dings. "Ooh, looks like it's done recharging!"
With that, he aims it at the Gray Boy victim. An instant later, the time loop is broken, and paramedics rush in to help the man. Jacob Manx, a car mechanic who'd had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time when the Nine were in town. Relatives of his are anxiously waiting at the hospital.
Between your own activity, Leonardo, and Dragon's successful copy of his device, you've broken a total of 67 loops over the past five days. Which leaves a grand total of exactly one victim left.
For that one, though… you're handling things a bit differently.
You understand that in his "base" form, his body is covered in silver fur, an obvious case-53.
Right now, though, one couldn't tell. Shape-Stealer's power allows him to take the appearance of anyone he's killed… and manifest a copy of their powers while assuming their forms.
That made him a very useful member to the Slaughterhouse Nine back in the days. He could infiltrate, murder local capes and briefly assume their identity, display an extremely versatile powerset…
Still didn't save him from Grey Boy once he had his falling out with Jack Slash. He's been trapped in a loop ever since.
He's a mass-murderer. A monster. But no-one deserves this. No-one deserves eternal torment.
The loop makes it a little harder to read his mind, but you have all the time you could need. You also have Tattletale right there, drawing conclusions from the information you provide her.
"...Jack saw his betrayal coming," she concludes, "but he'd failed to predict the mayor's choice. He's much, much better at predicting capes than non-capes. I'm… 80% confident that's a feature of Jack's powers," she concludes.
You nod. You signal everyone to get into position.
And then you shatter the time-loop.
Shape-Stealer falls to the ground, gasping. "I'm… free?"
He stares at you.
Then his shape immediately shifts to that of a fourteen-year-old girl. You recognize her from the file on him. She was a Toronto Ward with Blaster abilities.
You ignore the fireball he throws at you, blasting him unconscious.
Shape-Stealer opened his eyes and looked around. "Where… Where am I?"
"You are inside Lockbox-1," came Dragon's voice on the loudspeaker.
He took a measure of his surroundings. "There was a kill order on me. Doesn't the PRT have those anymore?"
"It still does, and the one on your head still applies. However, capturing you alive was easy enough given the circumstances, and it was decided that locking you up instead of executing you sent a message. It's a better display of strength, and it tells the world that civilization is being restored."
"Should have just killed me," he grinned. "I'll get out of here. Just a matter of time."
"Unlikely. You were not sent to the Birdcage, precisely because it was feared you might be able to do something by stealing the powers of others. The Lockboxes are a new set of prisons designed for parahumans, many still under construction. Lockbox-1, in particular, is in geosynchronous orbit. You are currently six times further away from Earth's atmosphere than the actual radius of the planet, none of your powers allow you to survive in space, and the prison is designed to self-destruct in an extremely violent way if it looks like you are successfully escaping."
His grin faded.
"As far as villains go, Trigger hasn't really done anything Birdcage-worthy," Silver Crusader comments. "But I don't think she's going to be eager to escape."
"No shit," says Tattletale. "If I'd been rescued from the Nine, and knew they wanted my power? I'd welcome protective custody at the other end of the country too."
It's a shame the Slaughterhouse Nine remains a step ahead of the manhunt. Thankfully, the increased focus on tracking them down does seem to be limiting their ability to gather resources. Tattletale is effectively dedicating the near-totality of her ability to the task. Silver Crusader works on both this and other Guild operations. Forecast has provided a handful of questions for the hunt. Wing Warrior and yourself have both been assisting with crime scene investigation. Japan has also been loaning you the services of Souvenir, a postcognitive Thinker who can see past events as they have occurred at his present location.
Trigger, for herself, is a villainess from a minor gang in Buffalo. She's got a criminal dossier, but no outright murder charges. Her Trump power is that she can "store" the effects of other parahuman powers, and program them to be "released" at a specific time or upon specific conditions.
You hate to imagine what the Nine would have done to her… or with her.
With the last of the Grey Boy loops taken care of, you have six extra hours in the day. Which, on the following day, allows you to serve as backup for the operation against the Lords of Flesh.
Forecast helped avoid actions that would have tipped the gang off. Silver Crusader was able to find key members, whom Centro was able to add to her list. Winged Warrior provided solid investigative work, in large part thanks to his armor's sensor suite.
In short, by the time the Guild moves in, it knows quite a great deal about the human trafficking organization, and the Lords of Flesh don't see it coming.
Besides Centro and Winged Warrior, several other new Guild members play a role. Dauntless, having recently joined, serves as flying artillery. Aura personally takes down a Master whose power relies on manipulation of brain chemistry. Ninja Roja, a Cuban Stranger who can appear to anyone as whoever they most expect to see there, infiltrated the base ahead of time to set up traps and help protect the abductees. Centuria, a Cuban Master who can generate dozens and dozens of human-equivalent projections, uses them to storm the complex. Go-Go, a Japanese Mover-Striker who can teleport herself and what she touches, provides both rapid transportation for the Guild and sends a couple villains directly inside cages where they get covered in containment foam.
Iron Snake restricts himself to fighting against non-powered gang members. He goes through them like a chainsaw through butter.
In the end, you don't need to intervene at all… though the Guild would have been more hesitant to launch this op without you as backup. It's heartening, however, to see the team growing stronger, bolder, and better able to help Earth-Bet. Today has seen the dismantling of a particularly nasty gang, the arrest of 16 villains and 98 gang members, and the liberation of 125 victims, half of them below the age of majority; many of the captured criminals are eager to cut a deal by revealing their informants among the police and Red White. You're comfortable calling it a good day.
...Not that the day ends there. A few hours later, you're in Mexico City, along with Eidolon and eighteen other American and Canadian heroes.
"Is it true the European Brigade is getting over a hundred new capes?" one of them whispers to you.
"Barely, but yes. Sixty sent by national agencies, forty recruited among independent heroes."
You all fall silent as two of Mexico's heroes step in.
Excellente, wearing black-and-gold full body armor. Until today, he was the leader of the national parahuman law enforcement agency. Now, he's the leader of the Mexico City Protectorate. His powers afford him excellence in all physical domains and at least most mental ones.
Del Duque, in his blue-with-gold-accents suit, cape, and luchador mask. He's Excellente's second-in-command, a position he's keeping under the current reorganization. Exact powers unknown - he's been known to take down his enemies with insulting ease in hand-to-hand combat, but none of what he does is explicitly superhuman, so most speculate he is a Thinker of some sort.
"All right, boys and girls, listen up," Excellente begins in English with a perfect Texas accent, before switching to Spanish. "I don't know what any of you were expecting when you got here. Maybe you think Mexico is like your cozy Northern cities where most cops at least try to be subtle about taking bribes and murder still kills less people than cancer. Maybe you think this country is a lawless shithole where every moment a villain isn't attacking you is a moment another villain is stealing skin flakes to make an evil clone of you.
"Well, as you're gonna find out real soon? Truth's somewhere in the middle. Fact of the matter is, chaos encourages crime, and right now? We're in a transition period, and that means chaos aplenty. Just yesterday, the Cognito Cartel decided to make a nuisance of themselves by robbing a police armory. Smooth job, total communication jam, no-one outside the armory even knew what was happening until they were done." He pauses. "So of course their biggest rivals, the Omega Cartel, decided to top them. They've assaulted a military armory earlier today, stole enough armament to outfit an entire regiment, including some heavy weaponry. Killed at least seven soldiers in the process, injured dozens of others. That's going completely over the line, and cannot go unanswered."
He holds up a clenched fist. "Deadmask, the Omega Cartel's leader, is inside his fortress-manor. Taking the son of a bitch down will be the first thing we do under the new name." He gestures at his second-in-command. "Del Duque will be in charge of the operation. You all answer to him in the interval."
De Duque steps forward; even with the mask, he radiates nonchalant confidence. "Deadmask is a known quantity. He was an ambitious cartel hitman before he triggered, he's prouder than the Devil, he can shoot laser beams from his eyes that liquefy people but don't work on non-living matter, he rules through fear. He took over the Omega Cartel last year, when it was the strongest in the region, but he's been steadily losing power - some to members defecting to rival cartels, some to members dying in his own purges. He's struggling to maintain control and he knows it.
"His fortress is reinforced with tinkertech and filled with both unpowered and powered cartel men he trusts, but that's still going to be a fairly small fraction of the Omega Cartel in total. If we go in with forty capes - you twenty and twenty locals - we will completely outnumber what's inside. Just, not the reinforcement he could potentially call. We have options. We can try to take them down too fast for reinforcements. We can try to jam their communications and hope they don't have a way to bypass it. We can try to take over the fortress and entrench ourselves, fighting the reinforcement head-on - dangerous, but a chance to take down the entire cartel, not just the leadership. Or," he sounds amused, "we can try to talk the men inside into just letting us take Deadmask and telling us where the stolen weapons are, in exchange for leaving the rest of them alone. He's hardly beloved by his own men at this point.
"I'm going to be in overall command, but with forty capes, we'll need to split leadership. Meaning," he glances at you and Eidolon, "one of you needs to be secondary commander…"
In preparation for the battle of Lagos, the Avatar has been doing a number of things in the background (Pick two):
[ ] Convinced Kenya's authorities to send the Pentagon to assist. You'll really owe Kenya after this, but it helps build the narrative for an African defense force, and the Pentagon is the most effective hero team on the continent.
[ ] Located and made contact with a number of heroically-inclined capes inside Lagos, recruiting them for the fight ahead.
[ ] Dedicated dozens of man-hours to surveillance and data-gathering via his own array of powers.
[ ] Participated in mock battles with the Guild and the heroes assigned to the op by the Nigerian government.
[ ] Spoke to a number of politicians to secure immediate relief efforts to get the city back on its feet.
Regarding the Doctor and Harvest…
[ ] They're warlords and unrepentant murderers. Any good they've done, they've only done from the profit motive. There needs to be justice for their victims. Lock them up and be done with it.
[ ] There needs to be justice for the victims, but you also need to think of those who are still alive. Try to negotiate a reduced punishment in exchange for them using their abilities for the continued good of the people.
Mexico:
[ ] You literally have more experience leading a superhero team than anyone else on this planet, and while you're not the best ever, you're better at it than Eidolon. You should be the secondary commander.
[ ] You're confident you can complete this op regardless of who gets to be second-in-command, it won't necessarily define any long-term command structure, and Eidolon has Protectorate seniority. Letting him take the lead will avoid stepping on toes and help maintain team cohesion.
[ ] Support blitzing the compound. Go in, take Deadmask before reinforcement show up, go out.
[ ] Support taking over the compound. A battle with the full might of the Omega Cartel might appear daunting, but a chance to take the entire organization down is worth the risk, especially with both you and Eidolon on the job.
[ ] Support trying to turn the villains inside against Deadmask. Minimum violence, and the guy who actually ordered this morning attack gets removed from power.
[ ] Write-in.
[X] The Avatar and the Guild focus their efforts on hunting down the Slaughterhouse Nine. While the group has gone to ground, there have to be some clues nevertheless.
[X] The Avatar and the Guild try to liberate Lagos: The former capital of Nigeria has fallen under the control of warlords and gangs after Behemoth devastated it, and some of the worst villains in the country now rule over what's left. Liberating the city will go a long way toward encouraging Nigeria to act as Africa's peacekeeper.
[X] The Avatar, both in public speeches and private discussions, tries to convince various European powers to provide proper manpower to the European Brigade, in the hope of turning it into a legitimate international parahuman law enforcement agency.
[X] The Avatar works with Dragon and others to create alternatives to the Birdcage. Prisons in other planes, in orbit, deep underground, underwater… If there are prisons that can hold supervillains indefinitely without automatically meaning life without parole, it could go some way toward making the parahuman justice system less messed-up.
[X] Like Eidolon, the Avatar temporarily moves to Mexico City. Integrating Mexico into the Protectorate is a delicate process, and the Avatar's help could make a big difference.
"With the last three major ops, the Guild has gathered a lot of credit around the world," Narwhal explains. "We've proven that we're a genuinely international force - it's not like Washington or Toronto had anything to gain in Kolwezi - and we've proven that we're actually getting things done. That makes it much easier to convince capes from all over the world to do us the occasional favor."
"I know a few JDF Thinkers who would be helpful in the hunt for the Slaughterhouse Nine," Sunblade follows, "and most of the Diet is feeling grateful these days."
"I'll have a few words with my superiors," Wing Warrior nods, "and I may be able to contribute myself. My helmet has a fairly powerful sensor suite."
"Any Thinker support is appreciated," says Silver Crusader. "Tattletale and Forecast have been a big help, but tracking the Nine is still an uphill battle."
You nod. "I agree that the Nine should be a priority, for much the same reasons Madame Lustucru was. Firstly for humanitarian reasons. Secondly, to let the world know that monsters will not be tolerated. Lastly, because if the Nine's thought process is similar to Lustucru's - and Dragon seems to think so - then they're probably working on on a dramatic grand finale as we speak.
"But to save the world, it's not enough for the Guild to take down a group of monsters every week or so." You survey the other heroes in this room. "When I went after the Purifier, Moord Nag, Wyld Hunter and Heartbreaker, I chose them specifically because I knew I could take them down on my own. I joined the Guild because together, we could take down the Four Ghosts of Santiago and Madame Lustucru. But even the growing Guild, though it is effecting geopolitical change, is not in itself the full solution: Just because we can handle any problem, doesn't mean we can handle every problem."
You let the words hang in the air for a moment. "What we need to do is encourage the rise of powerful hero teams the world over. The USA and Canada managed as well as they did because they have the Protectorate - thousands of heroes working together. Kenya did well because it has the Pentagon - a team of powerful heroes with great synergy. We need more heroes across the world. We need a European Brigade. We need an African peacekeeping force. We need to support and empower forces for good."
"God knows I had my issues with Nigeria's 'peacekeeping' back in the days," says Doctor Metal. "They liked to throw their geopolitical weight around. And they're not fully democratic - the junta still holds a big chunk of the executive power. But West and central Africa need a peacekeeping force, and right now…" she grimaces, "...it's gotta be Nigeria. Before Swarm, the Ivory Coast could have done it, but as things are right now…"
"Nigeria and Kenya already have favors we owe them, for helping in Kolwezi," says Dragon. "I'd rather repay those favors now than later." She points at the map. "Nigeria was fairly successful in integrating its capes into their National Parahuman Alliance. Then, in 2001, Behemoth attacked Lagos. Of the eight million people who resided in the city at the time, 1.9 million perished that day, making it one of Behemoth's deadliest attacks; over three million have since either died or left the city. Parahuman casualties in the battle were massive, especially among Nigerian heroes; even today, those are still being felt, and the hero-to-villain ratio in the country is almost as bad as 1-to-5.
"The only silver lining is that the government was evacuated in time, and were able to keep most of the country from collapsing. However, with so many dead heroes, and with a disproportionate number of them getting stationed at the new capital in Kano, the NPA has been unable to retain control of every city. In particular, Port Harcourt, Benin City, Zaria, and Lagos have all fallen under the control of gangs and warlords, with the NPA effectively pulling out of their areas." She pauses. "If we want to stabilize Nigeria and by extension its neighboring area, then our best bet is probably liberating Lagos."
"Lagos isn't Santiago de Cuba," Doctor Volt points out. "It's a major metropolis, and even with all the death and exodus, there's still around three million people there. What's the actual situation?"
"Eidolon was able to clear the worst of the radioactivity after Behemoth," says Dragon, "but cancer rates were still several times the national average for a while. Nowadays, in the absence of government forces, the city has been divided into zones of control by various warlords. At the latest estimate, less than a third of the population has access to electricity, and about a half has access to clean running water."
"Why don't they leave?" asks Harmonic. "Are the warlords physically keeping them there, or…?"
"That would be impractical with such a large area. No, they stay because their homes are there. Nigeria is struggling and failing to house the millions who left the city; those who stay at least have a roof above their heads, which wouldn't be guaranteed if they moved out.
"With or without government services, the city needs food and other resources. A fraction is produced internally. Some is acquired via legitimate businesses. More and more, however, the warlords acquire it from the outside via practices such as an extensive network of human trafficking."
"Ugh." The sentiment of disgust is shared by many, but there is no surprise.
Dragon resumes. "At current count, there are between 300 and 350 parahumans in Lagos; between 80% and 90% are affiliated with one of the major warlords. Intelligence from the NPA lists the stronger warlords as follows:"
Images appear. A man dressed all in crimson, in the process of killing an entire team of capes. "Blood Count. A-class threat. He creates a Shaker effect in a radius of 50-to-200 yards, causing gradual fatigue in everyone present, which can lead to death by exhaustion if he maintains the effect for sufficiently long. The more he drains people, the more he develops a vast array of temporary powers. He tends to maintain a low profile when not actively attacking anyone, but he is considered the strongest cape in the country, and has a cadre of subordinate parahumans, most of them Movers, who help maintain control over his territory."
Another image. A man wearing what looks like a cross between a gas mask and a smiley. "Choker. Another Shaker villain, he seems able to move vast swathes of nitrogen through the air. He's been known to asphyxiate entire city blocks simply by displacing all the oxygen. Possibly psychotic."
A woman in a gold-colored uniform, including a lot of actual gold. "Sun Gun. Blaster, able to generate beams of light sufficiently intense to set flesh on fire. A veteran cape, she was already second-in-command of the largest Lagos gang before Behemoth; she took over what was left of the gang afterward and kept expanding."
A woman wearing a laurel wreath on her head. "Conquest. Thinker, possibly precognitive. Has recently managed to rise to power by eliminating two lesser warlords and absorbing their organizations."
A man dressed in a parody of medical clothes. "The Doctor. One of the strongest healers on the continent, able to restore even the terminally ill or injured to full health with a touch. He's built up a whole racket, demanding subservience in exchange for healing, and has gathered a small army to maintain his 'business' and ensure he can collect on his 'favors'."
A woman dressed in green and yellow with plant symbolism. "Harvest. Plant Tinker. She controls a significant fraction of the port area. It is believed that her alga farms provide around 10% of the city's food, giving her a very strong negotiating position. She has also been known to equip her troops with organic 'guns' that fire poisoned darts."
A maskless man in a military uniform. "The General. He was actually an army captain back in the days…"
"Just how many villains are there who call themselves 'the General'?" Iron snake mutters.
"...until his court-martial over selling military equipment to warlords led him to trigger. His powers include flight and extremely fast regeneration. Perhaps more importantly, over three hundred of his men followed him when he fled to Lagos, and he has since picked up a number of parahuman minions; his solid understanding of tactics, strategy and organization has allowed him to control the rest of the port area."
Doctor Metal pauses to consider. "All right. Some of these could be difficult, especially Blood Count… and we need more data on notable minions… but, assuming they don't work together right from the start, this shouldn't be too difficult."
"What about Harvest and the Doctor?" you ask. "Their powers could be extremely helpful, if used more ethically."
"They're criminals and murderers who have shown no selfless inclinations before," Dragon says sadly, "and their fate would ultimately be up to the Nigerian government. If you can negotiate some kind of community service I'd applaud it, of course."
Doctor Metal doesn't seem too happy about that. Fair enough. Disliking it when villains avoid the punishment they deserve is perfectly normal. But if it saves thousands of lives… Well, you'll give it some thought.
"You say Conquest is probably a precog. Should we expect the rest of them to get an early warning? Is there a risk of them joining forces against us? Or, heck, just Blood Count draining thousands of people to death in anticipation of the fight?" asks Sunblade.
"We don't know. Hence why we will need some time to gather better intelligence first."
"I have another question," says Météore. "Doing this rewards Nigeria for protecting Kolwezi. What about Kenya?"
"I'm currently working a different angle with Kenya," says Dragon. "I'm not saying the Guild won't assist them with their own problem, but Kenya is more stable than Nigeria currently is." True, though you wish that was a higher bar to clear.
"Speaking of other issues for the Guild to handle…" Iron Snake gets up. "There's a matter. An organization in Surabaya. They call themselves the Lords of Flesh."
Slides are projected, showing individuals and figures. "The Lords of Flesh are a criminal organization specializing in human trafficking. Slave labor, prostitution, organ harvesting, you name it. We think they control between 2% and 3% of all human trafficking in Indonesia. Aside from many nonpowered members, they include twelve confirmed villains, and probably a handful that we don't know about. Several of their confirmed capes are Masters."
"And both the Avatar and Celo have an immunity to mind-influencing powers. Aura and Dragon have some resistance as well," Surdoué notes. "You want the Guild to assist Red White with taking them down?"
"No. All previous attempts to take the Lords of Flesh down before have essentially failed before they'd even begun," Iron Snake explains. "I don't know if it's powers, bribes, or a combination of the two, but they clearly have inside knowledge about the police and Red White both. They know when we're about to make a move on them. The last two times we tried anything, good heroes ended up spending months under Master control." He grits his teeth. "They don't get this kind of advanced warning when dealing with rival gangs, so we don't think it's precognition. What I want is for the Guild to investigate them, find their operational centers, find their leaders, and take them down without any warning. If possible, discover who their informants are." He pauses. "The Lords of Flesh ruin thousands of lives on a regular basis, but they're small-time compared to the Ghosts of Santiago or Skylance. This doesn't require the full might of the Guild, just… the help of a few key members."
"I would be honored to help," you say.
He looks uncomfortable. "Ah… I'll be the first to acknowledge that your powers would be extremely useful in this sort of situation, but… I think I'd rather you stuck to a backup role on this one." Why is he… oh. "Please don't get me wrong. I have immense respect for you. Even if we ignored your victory against Leviathan and the Simurgh, you've done more good for the world in one month than any of us have in the past decade." Debatable in a few cases, especially Dragon's. "However, I think the Guild needs-"
"The Guild needs to run successful and visible operations that I am not part of," you complete the reasoning, "because the Guild needs to be an international alliance of heroes defending the world, rather than an being 'the army of the Avatar'. And it is important that it be perceived as such as well. The organization cannot have a single point of failure."
"...Yes. I mean no offense-"
"Iron Snake," you smile, "no offense is taken. It is perfectly sound reasoning. I'm honored to be part of the Guild, but I am not the Guild; it was fighting the good fight before me, and will presumably keep doing so after I depart. After all, I do intend to return to Earth-Gimmel at some point. My goal is not to make myself the great problem-solver of Earth-Bet, it is to inspire and empower Earth-Bet's own problem solvers. I believe I have said as much, once or twice or twenty times."
He smiles, relieved that you understand.
"With that in mind," you add, "there are a few other matters that I, myself, need to look into… and I'll need assistance."
"...that Brockton Bay doesn't need me anymore. I feel that my presence in other cities can do more good at this point."
"The PRT generally agrees," says Legend. Also present at the meeting are several PRT regional directors, though mostly by videoconference. "We've actually been debating where to send you. We've narrowed it down to five Protectorate-territory urban centers that could benefit from you the most. Do you have any particular requests?"
"As a matter of fact… I wish to be assigned to the Mexico City team."
Legend smiles, unsurprised. "Well, it is one of the five."
"That place is halfway to being a warzone, and it's going to cross the other half real soon," says director Tagg. Everything about the man's demeanor tells you he's ex-military. "Mexico's got a more functional government and police than any place South of it, but their cartels are more powerful than any of our gangs short of the Elite and Battalion. Mexico City itself has an estimated villain population between 550 and 600, and some 300 heroes… and the only reason the hero ratio is so high is because the government had half of them bused in from all over the rest of the country."
"That was actually one of the stumbling blocks in the negotiations for their Protectorate membership," points director Weyland. "The Mexican government insisted that the ratio of heroes assigned to the capital must remain high. To be fair, we do the same thing in Washington…"
"That's not the same thing at all!" Tagg protests angrily. "Washington DC is a mid-sized town, just over half a million people! Bringing in a dozen heroes is enough to turn the tides there. Mexico City is practically the size of New York!"
"Still," says Weyland. "Sending in both Eidolon and the Avatar should make for a smoother transition, and earn a lot of goodwill."
"Goodwill with the Mexicans, maybe," says Tagg, eyeing you. "Not sure if it'll earn goodwill from Eidolon."
Hm. You wonder… "Will that be a problem?"
"Might or might not be," says Tagg. "The man's spent his entire cape career being the ace in the hole of the Protectorate. The strongest cape on Earth bar Scion. And now you're here. Legend can probably give you a better idea."
Legend looks slightly awkward. "Eidolon is a professional. I don't think there's going to be a problem."
Hopefully not. Still, something to keep in mind.
The conversation goes on for a while, before you move on to other topics. You want the PRT's input on two of your current projects. One is the support you wish to give the European Brigade. The other…
"Sorry I'm late," says the French foreign minister as he arrives, his secretary glancing at you and blushing as she brings him coffee and his notes. He isn't actually late, he's just the only one at the meeting who isn't early. Gathered here…
Well. There's the French president. She's run on a center-right political platform, and like so many French politicians, she calls herself a gaullist. It does not surprise you that unlike De Gaulle, when she lost a major referendum two years ago, she did not resign, but instead made her prime minister resign in her stead. She's been implicated in a number of financial scandals, but seeing as this is her second term, she's not eligible for reelection anyway. She is, however, concerned with her legacy.
There's the prime minister. As the party's number two, it's no secret that he's angling for the presidency. From what you know, he is somewhat lacking in charisma, his social skills mostly manifesting in deliberations with equals; the sort of politician who struggles to get the people behind him, but can achieve consensus with fellow politicians. He doesn't seem particularly attached to ideology; he's been accused of appealing to xenophobes in an attempt to steal votes from the far right, which seems more a matter of cynical calculation than internalized bigotry (which is little consolation for the victims of said xenophobia).
There's the foreign minister. He's spent over twenty years in total as a diplomat - in Berlin, Rome, and Istanbul. He seems to actually have a passion for international politics; his current position is his actual dream job. It is a known fact that he's received some suspiciously expensive "gifts" on the job, but the public doesn't particularly care as long as said job gets done - and the man is generally considered the architect of the 2007 trade treaty.
And then, there's Victoire, national director of the Irréductibles. The French equivalent of the Protectorate. Victoire is some kind of Thinker, and has led the organization practically since its founding. The exact nature of her power is officially classified, but after all these years it's a bit of an open secret: She selects a goal, and her power tells her whether any action she's about to take will increase or decrease her chances of completing said goal. By all accounts, she is driven, competent at her job, and incorruptible. She's caught some flak years ago for the "purges" where she removed from the Irréductibles various sympathizers of the Front Pour La Patrie (the French branch of Gesellschaft), but from the dossier you've read, you wholeheartedly support that particular decision.
"Ladies. Gentlemen. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."
"We could hardly refuse to meet with the Anti-Fin," says the president with a magnanimous smile. "The nation, all nations, are in your debt."
"Nevertheless, I know that you are all extremely busy people, so I'll be straight and to the point," you say. "As you know, the Protectorate is currently expanding to cover Mexico. At the same time, the Guild is recruiting, with new members from Brazil, Poland, Japan, India, Indonesia, Cuba, the Ivory Coast… Earth-Gimmel…
"This kind of internationalism is yielding fruits already. The Caribbean region and Eastern Asia are already benefiting from greatly increased stability, and the crimes against humanity that were ongoing in Kolwezi have stopped."
"For the time being," says the foreign minister. "I'm honestly surprised that you were able to secure the cooperation of the Nigerian and Kenyan governments."
"They're helping with this situation. We will help them in return. Cooperation is the blood of civilization, and civilization on Earth-Bet is only a few short steps away from extinction." Your eyes survey the room. "For civilization to survive, its guardians must work together. I believe Europe has the bare bones of such a project already in place."
"The European Brigade," says Victoire. "Back in the days, there were talks about it including thousands of heroes." As opposed to the current roster of eighteen, ten of whom are from Italy and Spain.
"That was never going to happen, obviously," says the foreign minister. "No one nation would have been willing to give up that large a fraction of its heroes. But a few hundreds was a genuine possibility, until, well…"
"Until Lausanne, London, and Warsaw," you conclude. "But the Simurgh is dead. Other threats still exist, and they will require something like the Brigade to oppose. If nothing else, the existence of additional Endbringers means we need all the organization we can get."
"It's not that simple," says the president. "There are a lot of barriers to creating an organization like that. What country will it be headquartered in? How will control over it be shared? How is it going to be funded, when the countries funding it don't even use the same denominations?" She pauses. "There were extensive negotiations back then, and only temporary agreements were reached. Agreements that no-one has bothered revising, since the Brigade barely exists on more than paper."
"Those are all problems that can be solved," argues the foreign minister. "The real difficulty is each country's unwillingness to commit its own forces to the task."
"And for that purpose… I suppose you are well-suited to acting as ambassador," says the prime minister, gazing at you.
"Precisely," you say. "I have meetings throughout this week, in Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands… I aim to get everyone to commit a number of heroes based on national population. Furthermore, the current version of the European Brigade includes exclusively heroes provided by the governments of member nations. I believe it may be possible to bring in dozens of additional members, easily, if provisions are made that allow independent heroes to join, conditional upon a Brigade committee judging them fit for it."
Victoire blinks at that. "That… could work. You'd have to be careful in setting up said committee - there are a lot of independent heroes and vigilantes you don't want in a group like this - but I can think of many who would jump on the opportunity."
You nod. "That will help with quantity. For quality... I'm trying to include certain specific heroes who I believe will be a particular asset to an international team like the Brigade. I have brought a list…"
After examining your list, the gathered individuals are somewhat reluctant. Still… Victoire is nothing if not committed to the mission, and she sees an opportunity to take her country and the world back from the various forces of evil. The foreign minister is seeing the opportunity for a diplomatic accomplishment eclipsing what he's done so far. As for the president and prime minister… well, some negotiation is necessary.
This deep beneath the waters, there is no light except for the occasional bit of bioluminescence. Hardly a problem; you simply tune your senses to detect radioactivity.
Which leads you to the shattered remains of the submarine. All the ballistic missiles, as well as the uranium fuel, are still there, scattered on the ocean floor.
The French government is still uncertain if it was Leviathan who sank this submarine, but they've kept its loss a secret (separately informing the families of each individual crewman that they'd died in an accident), since they didn't want it known that nuclear weapons (or military technology, period) were up for grabs for any parahuman capable to operating at the bottom of the ocean.
Everybody wants something. The French politicians wanted a discreet recovery, and an iconic handshake for the cameras with you as they renewed France's commitment to the European Brigade. A joint speech in favor of the initiative.
In Denmark, the Speaker of the Folketing wanted you to repair the Øresund Bridge (with carbosteel) that connects Copenhagen to Sweden; a villain gang had destroyed the bridge as part of an extortion plot eight months ago, and with the ongoing budget crisis the government had been unable to allocate funds for repairs.
Italy's president is an ardent proponent of inter-European cooperation who already supports your goal here. The harder sell is the leadership of the Legione Difesa, who resent sending Italian heroes abroad rather than keep them focused on dealing with national problems. It taxes your oratory skills, but you argue that the European Brigade will overall improve national security well enough that they at least seem willing not to sabotage the process.
Poland's a wreck, and wasn't part of the original negotiations for the creation of the Brigade in the first place. Their authorities agree to get some volunteer heroes to join, on the condition that they won't be asked to provide more than token funding (not like their economy can take it) and that they receive an informal guarantee the Brigade will provide a push toward stabilizing Poland.
Ireland's mostly terrified of the UK situation; with the bloody repression of the Scottish revolt, the ongoing fascistization of the government, and the worrying rhetoric of Lord Walston toward their own nation, they want to include some clauses toward mutual defense of member nations. That's a poor fit for the Brigade itself, but as you tell them, it's plain to see that tighter bonds between Ireland and mainland Europe will go a long way toward discouraging the King's Men from doing anything foolish.
Luxembourg is a bit of an oddity. In the face of civilization gradually collapsing, many members of the world's financial elite have fled to the tiny country; its native parahumans are actually outnumbered by the foreign capes who are employed as private security by wealthy residents. That makes it one of the safest places in the world… and opens it to extensive critique as, essentially, a tool for the rich and powerful to escape and abandon the rest of the world to its troubles. However, a handful of independent native capes are interested in joining the Brigade; the government agrees to authorize such a thing, hoping it will mend their international image.
And so it goes. Country after country, meeting after meeting, several speeches in several different languages… interspersed, of course, with all your other activities. You bring up your projects for new cape prisons… but, also on the subject of the European Brigade, you need to speak to a number of individual capes.
"Of course I'll be joining." Napoleon - the Polish hero Captain Hydro recommended - is among the first in his country to volunteer to join the Brigade. "I've been saying Europe needs to work together for years. This is an opportunity to finally get that done."
"I'm glad you'll be on board," you tell him. "An organization like that will need proper Thinker support."
"I am aware." He pauses. "Obviously, I'm from a country that's effectively collapsed, and everyone will know Poland needs help from foreign powers. I've no intention of being beggars, however. It's why I'm trying to get more volunteers to join in. I want the Brigade to know it owes Poland."
You nod. "I would recommend prioritizing good team players. The Brigade will effectively hit the ground running, and the faster it learns to work together, the better."
"And you would have some experience there," he notes. "What about the language barrier? Are we assuming English as the operational language? The only member nation that speaks it is Ireland."
"It remains the language likely spoken by the most prospective members," you admit. "At the moment, speaking it is a sine qua non condition for joining."
"I see." He pauses. "There are certain parahumans that I believe absolutely need to join, but might not fit the profile you're looking for."
"I'm listening."
"I have always refused to join the Legione Difesa. I don't see why I should be any more eager to join the Brigade. There's a reason I spend all my time here."
The Ice Queen is considered one of the strongest capes in Europe, rated Shaker 9-10. You've seen videos; her ability to manifest ice and alter its physical properties is impressive indeed, and one of the main reasons Naples is still standing (and anyone who can effectively use frozen water against Leviathan is clearly impressive in a number of ways).
She is also a consummate loner who barely ever leaves the ice castle she's built herself on a mountaintop, from which she conducts astronomy with telescopes made from modified ice. She still occasionally publishes her findings, but she limits human interaction to a minimum. It's a matter of speculation how she even knows when to come down from the mountain to participate in S-class and A-class battles; the Legione Difesa denies rumors of having a way to contact her.
"I know that you are a loner," you say. "To be honest, your antisocial nature makes what you do more impressive."
That gives her pause. "...What do you mean?"
"I mean that you are not close to your family. You are not fighting to protect your friends. You hold little love for humanity. As far as anyone can tell, you do not particularly enjoy fighting. Yet, you still go out there once or twice a year, risking your life to defend a world of total strangers. That strikes me as unusually selfless."
She blinks. "It needs to be done."
"It does. But if you are willing to inconvenience yourself, risk your own life, to do what needs to be done… then is it not worth doing right?"
She stares at you. You press on: "To join an organization, to collaborate with other parahumans… That isn't what you want on a selfish level. It's not in your inclination. But you are already doing the selfless thing anyway. You would get far more mileage by working with a group.
"I am not actually suggesting that you join the Brigade full-time. However, the revised charter currently being debated offers 'associate membership'. Associates are encouraged to train with the Brigade to improve teamwork, and will be asked to participate in operations, but are not obligated to do anything."
She considers in silence for a moment. "I see your point, but I am uncertain that this is a good idea."
"Doctor Esposito…" you know she has little care for the cape name the press has given her; she uses it in combat situations, but seems to value her astronomy credentials more. "You have proven again and again that you are a capable, determined woman. This would not be an easy task, nor a small adjustment to make, but I do not believe that can stop you. In the end, it is only a question of whether you choose to. Seeing as you already choose to come down from the mountain as is…" you shrug.
"The Peur-de-Rien have always striven to maintain a tradition of heroic panache, you understand. We've fiercely maintained our independence from the government. At the same time… Well. I'd be lying if I said the recent victories of the Guild weren't inspiring. So, yes, the rest of the team is considering joining the new and improved Brigade."
Surdoué himself recommended that you talk to Les Peur-de-Rien. The most prestigious independent hero team in France, they were founded in 1996, but have suffered greatly since. Most of the team fought the Simurgh in Lausanne; in the months that followed, the (French-Algerian) team leader, during a fight with villains of the Front pour la Patrie, killed one of the enemy capes... who turned out to be a fifteen-year-old girl; the ensuing scandal became a black mark against French heroes, and drove up the Front pour la Patrie's recruitment. Calls for his arrest ultimately amounted to nothing, as he and all but two other team members were killed a few months later during Behemoth's second attack on Lyons in October 2003.
It says something about the team's prestige that new independent heroes still flocked to their banner after that disaster. The team remains a big deal, and performed admirably against the Three Blasphemies two years ago.
Getting a team like that to join, even if only as associate members, could do wonders for both the legitimacy and recruitment rates of the Brigade. And then, of course, there's the individual members.
Cyranette, the team's second-in-command, can summon a weightless blade that cuts through almost any material effortlessly. Effective against many Brutes.
L'Inspecteur Masqué is a Thinker with a form of environmental hyper-awareness. The sort of force-multiplier the Brigade needs.
La Matraque Bleue is an Alexandria package who can extend her enhanced durability to objects like the massive warhammer she carries.
Éprouvette is a bio-Tinker who, in addition to creating useful combat minions, is a capable team medic. And the Brigade needs healers.
Laser Ninja, the most recent team member, is a decent Blaster.
As for the man you are currently talking to, he goes by Goldorak. The last surviving founding member and current team leader, he is a Tinker specialized in giant mecha; he's patterned his creation and identity on a Japanese pre-Sundering fictional property (something a government hero definitely couldn't get away with).
"You said 'the rest of the team'. Not you?" you ask.
He winces under his helmet. "...I can't operate outside Paris itself. My mecha gets to and from the battlefield thanks to a teleporter I built inside our HQ, and it has a limited range."
Which is probably why he's survived this far, though he clearly finds the limitation painful. "That might not be an issue, actually," you tell him. "One of the capes the Spanish government is contributing to the Brigade," after some negotiation on your part, "is a Tinker specialized in pocket dimensions. It's an energy-expensive process, but she can open a portal from the pocket dimension to pretty much anywhere on Earth."
"Wait, are you talking about Caja? Doesn't she help with Endbringer deployments?"
"Yes, that's her."
He pauses. "That… would get past the limitation. I could… I could help!"
"Goldorak, you have fought in several dozens of parahuman fights since you got your powers. No-one could, in good faith, claim you haven't been helping."
"Not enough."
"And yet far more than most people. Though I believe the Brigade would welcome your contributions. Europe, the world, need heroes, now more than ever."
"I still can't believe you convinced them to let me join the European Brigade," says Leonardo. "It was really starting to feel like the Legione Difesa thought I was their golden goose."
"Well, they're only committing to a two-year tour of duty," you say, "on the condition that you regularly maintain their copy of the oracle machine. I understand it's been giving encouraging results?"
"Oh yes!" The Italian Tinker, as you know, has been getting a lot of mileage from his chronotech specialization. "So far, it's warned us about a parahuman gang fight, a big fire, and a villain attack on a jewelry store hours before they all happened. I'll also be building a copy for the Brigade… once I get back to a chronotech specialization."
"Which one are you using now?"
He grins. "Dragon has shown me some of Prochonost's work. You know him?"
"The Toybox Tinker who can reduce tinkertech's maintenance need."
"Right. Well, I've managed to get a version of his specialization. Probably a bit weaker, but… still good enough that I can improve my own gear. You know how maintenance is a huge bottleneck for Tinkers."
You nod. "I can see how that would make a drastic difference in what you can accomplish. Congratulations."
"And it's not just restricted to my gear. You know Fortress? From the Kenya Pentagon?"
"I haven't met, but I've read files on the Pentagon. Force-field Tinker, has made personal shields for the rest of the team, uses a gun that traps enemies in force-bubbles, yes?"
"That's Fortress. Well, Dragon asked me for a favor there," he seems downright giddy about that last part, "so, I've used my current robustness specialization on Fortress's gear. Which frees Fortress to make more tinkertech, make the team even more efficient, you know?" He's almost giggling. "Best part, the Pentagon's Mover-Shaker - you know, Kinesis? - kept me going at super-speed for the duration. I was able to do three days' worth of work in a single afternoon."
Right. Dragon said she was doing something for Kenya. It's good to see that her collaboration with Leonardo remains fruitful - he's contributed to her projects, and she's been teaching him a great deal.
"So, any particular heroes I should try to get to know on the Brigade?"
"Not everyone on the Brigade is technically a hero, actually."
"...What do you mean?"
"A handful of parahumans there are going to be former villains who were in custody, and will be given the opportunity to make amends." You notice his dubious expression. "Naturally, their past will not be kept a secret from other Brigade members. These are people who genuinely want to do better."
"I guess. Any names I'd recognize?"
"Does the name 'Niszczyciel' sound familiar?"
"No. Is that Polish?"
"Yes. Napoleon recommended him - he will likely be the most powerful Brute on the team…"
Niszczyciel has significant criminal history. He was arrested for doing henchman work for a Warsaw villain, then triggered overnight while in police custody with a skintight force-field that can selectively annihilate anything it touches. He could easily have escaped then, but one of the police officers present had the presence of mind to convince him to cut a deal. Initial power testing proved promising; there were talks of sending him to fight Endbringers.
Unfortunately, his hero career ended before it even began. The Simurgh attacked the city. He broke his hand punching her. In the aftermath, he went to Krakow, where he became a quasi-invincible villain.
And then, he became one of hundreds of villains worldwide who turned themselves in following Leviathan's death.
Napoleon and the Polish authorities had you talk to him. He permitted use of telepathy. He's… flawed, certainly, but you were able to confirm that he is genuine. Integrating him into the Brigade will not be easy. But then, the list of capes you've requested includes many team players, friendly sorts and social balm types. Hopefully, that will…
You are interrupted as Leonardo's device dings. "Ooh, looks like it's done recharging!"
With that, he aims it at the Gray Boy victim. An instant later, the time loop is broken, and paramedics rush in to help the man. Jacob Manx, a car mechanic who'd had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time when the Nine were in town. Relatives of his are anxiously waiting at the hospital.
Between your own activity, Leonardo, and Dragon's successful copy of his device, you've broken a total of 67 loops over the past five days. Which leaves a grand total of exactly one victim left.
For that one, though… you're handling things a bit differently.
You understand that in his "base" form, his body is covered in silver fur, an obvious case-53.
Right now, though, one couldn't tell. Shape-Stealer's power allows him to take the appearance of anyone he's killed… and manifest a copy of their powers while assuming their forms.
That made him a very useful member to the Slaughterhouse Nine back in the days. He could infiltrate, murder local capes and briefly assume their identity, display an extremely versatile powerset…
Still didn't save him from Grey Boy once he had his falling out with Jack Slash. He's been trapped in a loop ever since.
He's a mass-murderer. A monster. But no-one deserves this. No-one deserves eternal torment.
The loop makes it a little harder to read his mind, but you have all the time you could need. You also have Tattletale right there, drawing conclusions from the information you provide her.
"...Jack saw his betrayal coming," she concludes, "but he'd failed to predict the mayor's choice. He's much, much better at predicting capes than non-capes. I'm… 80% confident that's a feature of Jack's powers," she concludes.
You nod. You signal everyone to get into position.
And then you shatter the time-loop.
Shape-Stealer falls to the ground, gasping. "I'm… free?"
He stares at you.
Then his shape immediately shifts to that of a fourteen-year-old girl. You recognize her from the file on him. She was a Toronto Ward with Blaster abilities.
You ignore the fireball he throws at you, blasting him unconscious.
Shape-Stealer opened his eyes and looked around. "Where… Where am I?"
"You are inside Lockbox-1," came Dragon's voice on the loudspeaker.
He took a measure of his surroundings. "There was a kill order on me. Doesn't the PRT have those anymore?"
"It still does, and the one on your head still applies. However, capturing you alive was easy enough given the circumstances, and it was decided that locking you up instead of executing you sent a message. It's a better display of strength, and it tells the world that civilization is being restored."
"Should have just killed me," he grinned. "I'll get out of here. Just a matter of time."
"Unlikely. You were not sent to the Birdcage, precisely because it was feared you might be able to do something by stealing the powers of others. The Lockboxes are a new set of prisons designed for parahumans, many still under construction. Lockbox-1, in particular, is in geosynchronous orbit. You are currently six times further away from Earth's atmosphere than the actual radius of the planet, none of your powers allow you to survive in space, and the prison is designed to self-destruct in an extremely violent way if it looks like you are successfully escaping."
His grin faded.
"As far as villains go, Trigger hasn't really done anything Birdcage-worthy," Silver Crusader comments. "But I don't think she's going to be eager to escape."
"No shit," says Tattletale. "If I'd been rescued from the Nine, and knew they wanted my power? I'd welcome protective custody at the other end of the country too."
It's a shame the Slaughterhouse Nine remains a step ahead of the manhunt. Thankfully, the increased focus on tracking them down does seem to be limiting their ability to gather resources. Tattletale is effectively dedicating the near-totality of her ability to the task. Silver Crusader works on both this and other Guild operations. Forecast has provided a handful of questions for the hunt. Wing Warrior and yourself have both been assisting with crime scene investigation. Japan has also been loaning you the services of Souvenir, a postcognitive Thinker who can see past events as they have occurred at his present location.
Trigger, for herself, is a villainess from a minor gang in Buffalo. She's got a criminal dossier, but no outright murder charges. Her Trump power is that she can "store" the effects of other parahuman powers, and program them to be "released" at a specific time or upon specific conditions.
You hate to imagine what the Nine would have done to her… or with her.
With the last of the Grey Boy loops taken care of, you have six extra hours in the day. Which, on the following day, allows you to serve as backup for the operation against the Lords of Flesh.
Forecast helped avoid actions that would have tipped the gang off. Silver Crusader was able to find key members, whom Centro was able to add to her list. Winged Warrior provided solid investigative work, in large part thanks to his armor's sensor suite.
In short, by the time the Guild moves in, it knows quite a great deal about the human trafficking organization, and the Lords of Flesh don't see it coming.
Besides Centro and Winged Warrior, several other new Guild members play a role. Dauntless, having recently joined, serves as flying artillery. Aura personally takes down a Master whose power relies on manipulation of brain chemistry. Ninja Roja, a Cuban Stranger who can appear to anyone as whoever they most expect to see there, infiltrated the base ahead of time to set up traps and help protect the abductees. Centuria, a Cuban Master who can generate dozens and dozens of human-equivalent projections, uses them to storm the complex. Go-Go, a Japanese Mover-Striker who can teleport herself and what she touches, provides both rapid transportation for the Guild and sends a couple villains directly inside cages where they get covered in containment foam.
Iron Snake restricts himself to fighting against non-powered gang members. He goes through them like a chainsaw through butter.
In the end, you don't need to intervene at all… though the Guild would have been more hesitant to launch this op without you as backup. It's heartening, however, to see the team growing stronger, bolder, and better able to help Earth-Bet. Today has seen the dismantling of a particularly nasty gang, the arrest of 16 villains and 98 gang members, and the liberation of 125 victims, half of them below the age of majority; many of the captured criminals are eager to cut a deal by revealing their informants among the police and Red White. You're comfortable calling it a good day.
...Not that the day ends there. A few hours later, you're in Mexico City, along with Eidolon and eighteen other American and Canadian heroes.
"Is it true the European Brigade is getting over a hundred new capes?" one of them whispers to you.
"Barely, but yes. Sixty sent by national agencies, forty recruited among independent heroes."
You all fall silent as two of Mexico's heroes step in.
Excellente, wearing black-and-gold full body armor. Until today, he was the leader of the national parahuman law enforcement agency. Now, he's the leader of the Mexico City Protectorate. His powers afford him excellence in all physical domains and at least most mental ones.
Del Duque, in his blue-with-gold-accents suit, cape, and luchador mask. He's Excellente's second-in-command, a position he's keeping under the current reorganization. Exact powers unknown - he's been known to take down his enemies with insulting ease in hand-to-hand combat, but none of what he does is explicitly superhuman, so most speculate he is a Thinker of some sort.
"All right, boys and girls, listen up," Excellente begins in English with a perfect Texas accent, before switching to Spanish. "I don't know what any of you were expecting when you got here. Maybe you think Mexico is like your cozy Northern cities where most cops at least try to be subtle about taking bribes and murder still kills less people than cancer. Maybe you think this country is a lawless shithole where every moment a villain isn't attacking you is a moment another villain is stealing skin flakes to make an evil clone of you.
"Well, as you're gonna find out real soon? Truth's somewhere in the middle. Fact of the matter is, chaos encourages crime, and right now? We're in a transition period, and that means chaos aplenty. Just yesterday, the Cognito Cartel decided to make a nuisance of themselves by robbing a police armory. Smooth job, total communication jam, no-one outside the armory even knew what was happening until they were done." He pauses. "So of course their biggest rivals, the Omega Cartel, decided to top them. They've assaulted a military armory earlier today, stole enough armament to outfit an entire regiment, including some heavy weaponry. Killed at least seven soldiers in the process, injured dozens of others. That's going completely over the line, and cannot go unanswered."
He holds up a clenched fist. "Deadmask, the Omega Cartel's leader, is inside his fortress-manor. Taking the son of a bitch down will be the first thing we do under the new name." He gestures at his second-in-command. "Del Duque will be in charge of the operation. You all answer to him in the interval."
De Duque steps forward; even with the mask, he radiates nonchalant confidence. "Deadmask is a known quantity. He was an ambitious cartel hitman before he triggered, he's prouder than the Devil, he can shoot laser beams from his eyes that liquefy people but don't work on non-living matter, he rules through fear. He took over the Omega Cartel last year, when it was the strongest in the region, but he's been steadily losing power - some to members defecting to rival cartels, some to members dying in his own purges. He's struggling to maintain control and he knows it.
"His fortress is reinforced with tinkertech and filled with both unpowered and powered cartel men he trusts, but that's still going to be a fairly small fraction of the Omega Cartel in total. If we go in with forty capes - you twenty and twenty locals - we will completely outnumber what's inside. Just, not the reinforcement he could potentially call. We have options. We can try to take them down too fast for reinforcements. We can try to jam their communications and hope they don't have a way to bypass it. We can try to take over the fortress and entrench ourselves, fighting the reinforcement head-on - dangerous, but a chance to take down the entire cartel, not just the leadership. Or," he sounds amused, "we can try to talk the men inside into just letting us take Deadmask and telling us where the stolen weapons are, in exchange for leaving the rest of them alone. He's hardly beloved by his own men at this point.
"I'm going to be in overall command, but with forty capes, we'll need to split leadership. Meaning," he glances at you and Eidolon, "one of you needs to be secondary commander…"
In preparation for the battle of Lagos, the Avatar has been doing a number of things in the background (Pick two):
[ ] Convinced Kenya's authorities to send the Pentagon to assist. You'll really owe Kenya after this, but it helps build the narrative for an African defense force, and the Pentagon is the most effective hero team on the continent.
[ ] Located and made contact with a number of heroically-inclined capes inside Lagos, recruiting them for the fight ahead.
[ ] Dedicated dozens of man-hours to surveillance and data-gathering via his own array of powers.
[ ] Participated in mock battles with the Guild and the heroes assigned to the op by the Nigerian government.
[ ] Spoke to a number of politicians to secure immediate relief efforts to get the city back on its feet.
Regarding the Doctor and Harvest…
[ ] They're warlords and unrepentant murderers. Any good they've done, they've only done from the profit motive. There needs to be justice for their victims. Lock them up and be done with it.
[ ] There needs to be justice for the victims, but you also need to think of those who are still alive. Try to negotiate a reduced punishment in exchange for them using their abilities for the continued good of the people.
Mexico:
[ ] You literally have more experience leading a superhero team than anyone else on this planet, and while you're not the best ever, you're better at it than Eidolon. You should be the secondary commander.
[ ] You're confident you can complete this op regardless of who gets to be second-in-command, it won't necessarily define any long-term command structure, and Eidolon has Protectorate seniority. Letting him take the lead will avoid stepping on toes and help maintain team cohesion.
[ ] Support blitzing the compound. Go in, take Deadmask before reinforcement show up, go out.
[ ] Support taking over the compound. A battle with the full might of the Omega Cartel might appear daunting, but a chance to take the entire organization down is worth the risk, especially with both you and Eidolon on the job.
[ ] Support trying to turn the villains inside against Deadmask. Minimum violence, and the guy who actually ordered this morning attack gets removed from power.
[ ] Write-in.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Very nice. The amount of world-building you do is staggering.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Aaaand you're getting into Overwatch at least a little.
Sounds like Smoke went Section 8.
Battalion? Don't remember them.
Ah yes. With Leviathan, most of the old island resorts and tax havens are no longer viable.
Hello Elsa.
So Alexandria with a hint of Siberian.
So solitary confinement in earth orbit.
One thing's for sure: nobody can say they're being soft on crime.
... We have our own Jack Slash.
We have someone who can Communicate Jack Slash.
I've been enjoying MiracleOfSound's work since long before Overwatch was a thing.
...Mind, I have been taking advantage of the current free week-end trial on Overwatch. Not really my thing, but...
They're not canon, and I haven't discussed them before, so... you're not forgetting anything.
Well, she can't share her toughness with living stuff...
Lots of different Lockboxes being built. Orbit, deep underground, under the sea... other dimensions is being looked into...
Nnnnot really? That's not how her power works.
Evaunit02mark1
S-s-smell the Prey, S-s-start the Hunt.
We're closing in on you Jackie boy, step by fucking step.
I can't wait to punt your stupid ass into orbit.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
So Thinker abilities don't count as 'effects'. Got it.
Khepri14
Thus kindly I scatter...
- Location
- Following the wind
Nah, I want him de-powered, permanently(And yes, that includes Bonesaw's enhancements). See how he likes it when he can no longer command the respect or fear of anyone ever again. Or how he can no longer get a "read" on capes or convince them to follow his lead. Let him rot in a jail cell for the rest of his life, doomed to be forgotten by the world at large. Jack Slash is never going to be more than a fleeting memory. A bit-player who thought himself fit for a bigger role and for his hubris, fell.
- Location
- College Station, Texas
Probably one of my favorite parts about this guy. I'm hoping to one day to some of that world-building in my ideas.
- Location
- Leeds
Ah, the days before hopeful optimism was smothered...
I do like how Dragon just crushed is mistaken notion that he was be able to escape one day.
Nice work on the worldbuilding suntzu. This update was well worth the wait.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
No he should not. This isn't about one upping him on a verbal debate, it's about dealing with a monster.
