A Champion in Earth Bet [Worm/Original Setting]
- Thread starter sun tzu
- Start date
Hope you enjoy the read. Next update should be done sometime this week.
- Location
- Leeds
October. Understood
Of which year?October. Understood
Reconstruction
RECONSTRUCTION
[x][Nigeria] Free activists: By requesting that Nigeria liberates the 98 political prisoners, you can push the country toward democracy, freedom and justice - a concern both because you're helping the government maintain control and because you want them to help police their neighbors.
[x][Nigeria] Provide food, oil, rubber and iron for Kenya: This will help rebuild the Kenyan economy and feed the massive population of refugees that have fled inside its borders.
[x][Guild] Maintain a focus on hunting down the Slaughterhouse Nine. They're frustratingly good at evading capture, but so far the pressure put on them is clearly giving them trouble, and they cannot hide forever.
[x][Guild] Take back Belo Horizonte. The government of Brazil is currently in control of only the city of Brasilia; taking another city back is the first step toward reclaiming the country (and repaying Doctor Volt).
[x][Guild] Take down the Death-Dealers. This powerful Kenya gang is no match for the Guild, and removing them from the field will help repay your debt toward the nation.
[x][Avatar] Help Centro build up her information network in Argentina. She's been extremely helpful to the Guild, and it could help liberate the country in the long run.
[x][Avatar] Diplomacy with Black Sun and Phosphor. They've been clearly trying to maintain a truce since shortly after Leviathan's death; greasing the wheels might do a lot of good for Vietnam, and show other parahuman warlords that it's specifically the worst of the worst you're after.
[x][Avatar] Help Hydro restore order in Poland. The country's still a terrible mess after what the Simurgh did to it, and is in no small part held together by foreign aid.
Several pairs of eyes turn toward you. You are not in any sort of official leadership position in the Guild… but you are knowledgeable and experienced enough in the affairs of humanity to generally have a solid idea of what is or isn't a wise path to follow, and charismatic enough to make your point convincingly. You may not give the Guild orders, but you are listened to.
"Météore is right," you say. "We need Nigeria as our ally, and we need our allies to be as morally upstanding and trustworthy as practically feasible. These political prisoners, if freed, will work tirelessly to advance the causes of freedom, justice, and accountability in the nation; that is important for Nigeria's people, for its neighbors, and for our ability to rely on Nigerian assistance in the Guild's continued mission, particularly in ameliorating the condition of the African continent. To be honest, I think I would rather we allow these men and women some time to influence the country before we ask Nigeria to intervene in Benin.
"Kenya, meanwhile, has gone to great lengths to help us, not once but twice. Even if repaying it was not a political necessity, it would be our moral duty." You consider briefly. "Sending the Doctor would make for a nice token, but accomplish too little. Instead, having Nigeria provide the raw materials Kenya needs to jump-start its economy would go a long way toward stabilizing the nation and meaningfully improving millions of lives. In parallel, taking down the Death-Dealers would be a fairly simple task for the Guild, while removing a genuine threat to Kenyan stability. A good first step, though I do not think the Guild ought to stop there - after all, Kenyan and Nigerian security forces will be held up in Kolwezi for a long time."
"Sounds reasonable," says Narwhal. "Any other thoughts?"
"For one, that once the Death-Dealers are down for the count, the Guild's next priority should be Belo Horizonte." Doctor Volt perks up as he gives you a very interested look. "Reclaiming South America from the cartels is going to be a long, difficult, thankless task, and it is about time we get started on it. With that in mind, Centro, I also wish to assist you with the Argentina situation; I don't doubt you have some ideas.
"I do not think we ought to go in more directions than that at the time, however - we are already in the middle of hunting down the Slaughterhouse Nine, and as we are growing closer to catching them, we ought to maintain the pressure, especially as additional Thinkers are throwing in to assist."
Narwhal considers. "What about Vietnam?"
"I will attempt diplomacy between Black Sun and Phosphor. Hopefully this will buy time, without requiring direct Guild intervention yet."
"Well, you've proven you have some skill at diplomacy," Chevalier comments. "Good luck."
After the meeting progresses and decisions are made, you visit a Guild member who's still recuperating from her injuries.
"Captain Hydro? How are you holding up?"
"Ah… well, I'm… I'm all right. It's not the first time I get some bad burns, and… well, you and Voodoo did a good job fixing me up. The docs insisted I take at least a few days off." She pauses. "...I don't mind a few days off."
"Few would, considering. I'm sorry you got hurt."
"It's part of the job. We saved the day and I'm still alive; I'm not gonna complain."
You smile. "I suppose. Do not feel obligated to return to action quickly; you've more than earned your rest."
"Thanks. And don't worry about me." She pauses. "Ah, was there anything else?"
"It is my understanding that the situation in Poland remains an extremely difficult one."
"Well… Yes. I'm hoping that the European Brigade can make a difference."
"So do I, but I would like to do more than just hope. I was wondering what I could do to help."
She stares at you, then grins. "Well, I've got a few ideas, and Napoleon would have more…"
You have used your cosmic power pool to communicate with an entire city (or even more people) multiple times over your superheroic career, including the time spent in Earth-Bet. You've gotten the hang of it.
"People of Warsaw, this is the Avatar speaking. Some of you have heard of me as the killer of the Simurgh." Nothing is allowed to leave Simurgh exclusion zones, including communications, but radio waves still get in; there's little doubt that the survivors have a number of working TV and radio sets in there. "Though the quarantine on your city remains for now, I have received dispensation to visit." While the Polish government was only too happy to let you do it - you didn't get the impression the current leadership consider long-term consequences very deeply - obtaining permission from the PRT was like pulling teeth. The question of you visiting Simurgh exclusion zones has been getting discussed ever since the Simurgh's death - your presence in Earth-Bet was clearly unaccounted for by her precognition and disrupted her plans, after all, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate every one of the Rube-Goldberg doomsday devices left in her wake - but you've finally obtained this dispensation. Convincing the PRT was helped by pointing out the issues with reintegrating the Kyushu refugees; as you told them, the less the people in the exclusion zones feel abandoned by the rest of the world, the better things will go the day those who remain are allowed to rejoin society. And those exclusion zones won't stay up forever.
It's not that Simurgh exclusion zones are left to die (with the exception of Switzerland) - rations of food, water and medicine are airdropped regularly. But since no information is allowed out of the zones, it's not as if much is known about what's happening in there. The London exclusion zone was reopened several years ahead of schedule by the King's Men, and the effects of the traps laid there by the Simurgh are still being felt across the British Isles.
For the immediate order of business, you invest most of your cosmic power pool into two-way communication, and the rest into mental super-seed, allowing you to communicate with up to thirty locals simultaneously. Over the span of the following hour, you manage short conversations with several thousands of Warsaw residents.
"...go to Doctor Öztürk's clinic whenever we..."
"...just tell my wife I…"
"...they hoard all the food…"
"...monsters in the…"
"...gang holed up in the…"
It's heartbreaking, but unsurprising that you cannot accept every plea for help - you're only authorised to spend a few hours in Warsaw, you're not allowed to transmit personal communications to the outside (and frankly, considering how the Simurgh worked, you approve), and with all your other duties you cannot afford to spend an inordinate amount of time helping one single individual.
Heartbreaking. Unsurprising. From the moment you became this avatar, you've known all too well you would not be able to help everyone you encountered. Even as an overpowered superhero who never sleeps and never takes breaks, you can't answer every call for help.
But you press on and help as many as possible.
Right now, these thousands of rapid-burst conversations have given you a list of targets - things you can do in just a few hours.
Create antibiotics, disinfectants, bandages, rabies vaccines, and other medical supplies, then distributing them to seven operational clinics across the city: 13 minutes.
Hit the compound of the Wola militia, destroy all of their stockpiled guns and ammo, free the 71 children they're keeping as hostages, and capture both of their parahuman leaders: 9 minutes.
Create significant supplies of food and clean water, then distribute them across several dozens of spots where they should be accessible to a large number of people: 25 minutes.
Investigate the strange events in Wilanow district, read the minds of some of the people who won't speak about their missing time, discover their personality has been erased by a parahuman villain who's replaced it with a shell obedient to him yet able to semi-convincingly fake being the original person, track down the Master, read his mind to identify all 208 of his victims, confirm they cannot be saved, mercy-kill them, haul off the Master: 40 minutes.
Take down the slaver gang in Bialoleka district, including its five parahumans: 8 minutes.
Storm the police HQ, administer a painful beating to what used to be the city's police force, destroy their weapon and ammo stockpiles, force them to release their sex slaves and hoarded food: 12 minutes.
Hit the neighborhood in Wawer district under the control of the plant-Tinker, capture her, destroy every single last trace of her weaponized plants, note that their pollen can breed with regular plants, cleanse as much pollen across the district as you can: 38 minutes.
Counting the time that you spent talking to everyone, that still leaves you about half an hour to handle smaller matters across the city. Once you are done, the parahumans you captured are sent directly to the Birdcage - neither the PRT nor the Polish government were willing to take any risks beyond that.
Life in the Warsaw exclusion zone will remain harsh and brutal. But the help you've provided (and information about the sort of supplies they most need airdropped) will ease their burden, while likely also disabling a couple of leftover Simurgh time bombs.
The end of your visit to Warsaw is not the end of your visit to Poland. Your discussion with Napoleon pointed at several other actionable items.
The Maw is by far the single most powerful gang in Krakow, with twenty confirmed villains, including A-lister Bóg Zabójca; their territory covers a third of the city, and the heroes think twice before messing with them. A short blitz into their territory later, they have six less parahumans than before, and Bóg Zabójca is among those headed to a Lockbox.
Lodz has become the hub of a massive human trafficking operation. Following leads from Napoleon and some police contacts that he considers trustworthy, you have a general idea where to look, and are able to leverage enhanced senses and super-speed to locate "merchandise", free the slaves, mind-read the muscle present to go up the chain, and find some of the leaders behind the operation. Over forty arrests in total (including two parahumans), nearly two hundred victims freed, and many leads you hope the police will be pursuing to dismantle the rest of the network.
Wroclaw's nastiest villain is Grendel, who has personally killed six heroes over the past three years and has seven villains answering to him (albeit they're all small-timers with unimpressive powers; Grendel is very much the gang's outlier). Thankfully, it's an observed fact that Grendel is pathologically driven to prove himself the strongest and won't back down from a challenge; using your communication power to challenge him to a duel is enough to drive him out of hiding. Admittedly, his ability to turn into several dozen cubic meters of fast-regenerating, semi-liquid flesh able to take a variety of shapes is an impressive power, but nothing that really takes you too much effort to beat. Soon enough, Grendel is another Lockbox prisoner.
"I think you've done more for Poland in half a day than I have in my entire career," Captain Hydro comments. "That's several of our worst villains gone."
"There wouldn't be a Poland left to save if not for the efforts of hundreds of heroes like you," you reply, "and it's the efforts of countless heroes like you that will be needed for the rest. I'm happy to get some of the roadblocks out of your way, though."
The rest of the day is spent in Mexico City. Apparently, Excellente has been making Eidolon use a combination of Thinker powers to track down a number of villains who've been giving local heroes problems for years. One is a Tinker who's spent the better part of the past decade selling hundreds of rayguns to villains and mercenaries; Del Duque led the team that captured her. One is Fuerza de Libertad, a mercenary team specialized in breaking villains out of prison; Eidolon led the team that arrested them. Lastly, there's an unnamed Thinker whose power lies in knowing what evidence needs to be removed to ensure certain things remain secret, whom Excellente believes has been doing consulting work for criminals and villains (and, no doubt, a number of business tycoons, police leaders and politicians) for years now. Her power has allowed her to hide from the law all this time, but now, at long last, there's enough intel to not only confirm her existence but narrow down her location to just a few blocks - blocks that you patrol while sensing the interplanar energies typical of parahuman powers. Soon enough, you locate a parahuman who is taken in for interrogation; her power is insufficient in the face of the Thinkers brought in for the job, who confirm she's who Excellente thought she was.
You also spend several hours patrolling the city with Asalto, Angel Verde, and a rookie hero called Remoto. It is no less productive than your previous patrol of the city.
This was not an easy meeting to arrange. Both parties have ample cause to mistrust each other, after all. You had considered a teleconference, but you're less good a mediator via a screen than in person.
Thankfully, you are very persuasive, and giving them your word than any party using this meeting to betray the other would make themselves your top priority target helped sway them.
"Black Sun," you nod at the Tinker 8 specialized in energy nullification, who rules over a tenth of Vietnam. "Phosphor," you nod at the plasma-shooting Blaster, who rules over another tenth. "Thank you both for coming."
"You've killed two Endbringers. That gets you an audience," says Black Sun. She was a teenager from Vinh when she triggered in 2003, when her city was suffering under the rule of a particularly brutal warlord. She killed the warlord, took over his organization, and has been trying to unite the country under her rule ever since. She works hard to ensure food, clean water and electricity are available throughout her territory, and she cracks down brutally on child trafficking. On the other hand, she's too quick to execute those who stand against her, she doesn't exactly protect free speech, and local villains gain significant-though-finite leeway by agreeing to work for her.
"Very true. And if you can help the motherland, then it's my duty to listen to what you have to say," says Phosphor. He was an officer in the military stationed in the Thanh Hóa province when the government fell; he was among the soldiers who shot at crowds of protesters when his commanding general took over the area. The next day, having triggered from the experience, he killed the general and took over. Despite (or perhaps because of?) his brutal beginnings, he is loath to harm civilians, but he is not above cutting off food and water to cities and villages to force compliance.
Of all the warlords fighting for a slice of the Vietnamese pie, these two are arguably the most reasonable ones - the ones who at least try to create functional nations where people can live in peace. They've also been fighting each other for years, but agreed to a cease-fire after Leviathan's death - a cease-fire that's been collapsing under pressure.
"Thank you," you say. "It is the future of Vietnam and its people I am concerned with today. Now, I am all too aware that national reunification is not a realistic objective at this point in time." But just mentioning such a far-off goal reminds them that there's more at stake than their immediate grievances. "Nonetheless, the people need peace and decent living conditions. They need to be able to believe, without naiveté, that as long as they work hard and live honestly, they and their family can have the life they deserve. Constant warfare, collapsing economies, and bullies with power all get in the way of this."
"Bullies with power?" Black Sun says dryly. "You mean, like the Wild Riders, or the White Spear?" Both parahuman gangs that work in her territory and owe her allegiance. "I'd love to get rid of those assholes, but it's not like I can afford to. I have enemies everywhere," she glares at Phosphor, "I can't afford to turn down good muscle."
"Don't you dare blame me for this," Phosphor replies. "You chose to hire bandits, rapists and murderers."
"What, like your army isn't full of those?"
"I maintain strict military discipline!"
"That's never stopped-"
"If I may," you interject. "If we let ourselves get distracted by this blame-throwing, we'll be here all day and get nothing done. May I suggest the following: Let's start by listing the problems we have, along with out goals."
The negotiations end up taking most of the day, with multiple breaks - breaks that you spend patrolling nearby cities in both warlords' territories (in the process, you bring three people in need of urgent medical care to the nearest hospitals, arrest a man who was holding his wife and daughters prisoners in the basement, and free fourteen slaves from a sweatshop). By the end, a number of concerns have emerged:
One, of all things, is currency. The bank notes printed by the defunct government (with Ho Chi Minh's face) are still being used for most exchanges in much of the country; Black Sun and Phosphor both use it to pay their parahumans, their soldiers, their civilian functionaries… Problem is, both have taken to printing more of these banknotes, with the inflationary risks that this involves. Getting them to agree on a mutual cap on printing money is not too difficult.
Trade agreements are not that hard. The Nghệ An province needs certain resources, Thanh Hóa needs others, so trade can help both, but there are concerns about unrestricted free trade - for instance, if wealthy potentates in Nghệ An start buying a lot of food from neighboring provinces at prices locals can't compete with, it can induce a famine in Thanh Hóa. Agreements - both to protect and to regulate trade - are made; nothing too complicated or fancy, but something that covers the basics.
And then there are the more contentious issues. The parahuman group known as the White Spear have been nothing but loyal to Black Sun, but have committed war crimes in Phosphor's territory. Meanwhile, Nguyen Lam is a very wealthy man in Phosphor's territory who has given him his support in exchange for a number of concessions, but is wanted by Black Sun for his association with the brutal warlord whose crimes in Vinh caused her trigger event. The fact that both of these remain powerful and untouched is one of the factors (by no means the only one, but a significant one certainly) why maintaining a truce between the two warlords is difficult.
You can see the problem, obviously. As long the White Spear are allowed to operate freely, it's a slap in the face of not only Phosphor's authority and credibility, but also of all their victims; it allows other war criminals to feel safe and beyond the reach of justice. The same happens with Nguyen Lam, who knowingly funded and supported a mass-murdering maniac as long as said maniac bought his military surplus and helped him move merchandise; he shouldn't be allowed to dodge consequences just because of his wealth and connections. On the other hand, if the White Spear actually pay for their crimes, then other parahumans under Black Sun's leadership will wonder if they remain safe as long as Black Sun's in charge; if Nguyen Lam is arrested and punished, Phosphor will have a much harder time maintaining a working economy, especially as other local potentates may decide he's bad for business.
Ultimately, while both warlords are on board with strengthening their truce, you need to make them some promises of your own to get more out of them:
[ ][Vietnam] Black Sun agrees to provide some of her tinkertech to the Guild. (cost: 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Black Sun agrees to a partial implementation of the Declaration of Human Rights in her territory. (cost: 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Black Sun agrees to extradite the members of the White Spear so Phosphor can have them punished. (cost: 2 Black Sun favors. Gives 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Phosphor agrees to send a parahuman contingent to the next Endbringer battle. (cost: 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Phosphor agrees to a partial implementation of the Declaration of Human Rights in his territory. (cost: 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Phosphor agrees to extradite Nguyen Lam so Black Sun can have him punished. (cost: 2 Phosphor favors. Gives 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You persuade Prochnost to upgrade Black Sun's tinkertech. (Gives 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You dedicate a daily hour for patrolling Black Sun's territory for the rest of the week. (Gives 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You promise to help Black Sun with three fights of her choice (as long as it's morally palatable) when she calls upon you. (Gives 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You persuade Doctor Metal to make a power armor suit for Phosphor. (Gives 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You dedicate a daily hour for patrolling Phosphor's territory for the rest of the week. (Gives 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You take down a marauding villain gang that's been giving Phosphor trouble for a while. (Gives 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] None of the above.
The day after that is largely divided along three activities: Mexico City patrols, the hunt for the Slaughterhouse Nine, and preparation to take down the Death-Dealers.
The patrols in Mexico City come in two forms: The first is having you move at a slow pace along with a team of heroes, looking for problems with enhanced senses. The second is having you paired with flyers, going a few dozen feet above the street, flying fast enough to cover lots of ground but slowly enough that people get a good look. You're familiar with this approach - it's sending everyone, honest citizens and criminals alike, the message that the city is under your protection.
The hunt for the Slaughterhouse Nine receives additional help in the form of the Nigerian hero known as Mister Clue.
"Physically, I'm about twenty times faster," the former police detective turned superhero from Ibadan explains, "but mentally? I basically no longer take time to think. If I'm smart enough to notice something, to think of something, if I just had enough time? I think of it immediately." These powers, combined with his investigative training, have made him a remarkably efficient crime-fighter in Ibadan since 2006; he is currently one of several capes the Nigerian authorities are considering for Guild membership.
Between Mister Clue, Tattletale, Forecast, the Guild Thinkers, the PRT Thinkers, the Japanese Thinkers, and some of Toybox's tinkertech, the pressure placed on the Nine is like never before. From the looks of it, the manhunt forced them to flee from Albany before they could get their target.
"It's infuriating," Silver Crusader says. "Just a couple hours earlier, and we could have caught those bastards once and for all."
"I see it as encouraging, actually," you tell him. "It means they're losing. They have to move too quickly to gather power and resources, and despite that, we're getting closer by the day. We kept them from getting Dungeon, and I shudder to imagine what they could have done with his power… and when we do catch up to them, they'll have to do without."
Dungeon is a mercenary operating out of Albany with an interesting Striker/Shaker power. He can, at will, create a pocket dimension filled with complex constructions (including various minions) and transport himself there, along with anyone he's touching. He can also bring what he creates out of the pocket dimension, but it fades away in less than a day. Right now, he's in Protectorate custody, still somewhat shaken by the whole experience.
As for the Death-Dealers… You spend some time discreetly casing out the city of Kisumu. Wing Warrior and Mister Clue investigate. Local Kenyan heroes and police help out. Tattletale examines the facts. Forecast answers a couple of questions.
The assault is planned to take place in 36 hours.
The next day, Nigerian authorities announce that, with Lagos retaken, they are "stepping down" the state of national emergency (not ending - "stepping down", a deliberately nebulous term) and are releasing 102 prisoners whose activities were considered too much of a disturbance while the nation was teetering on the edge of collapse. Those include the 98 political prisoners recommended by Météore, and four others deemed harmless enough by the government (presumably to inflate the number and make the gesture look bigger). Those former prisoners will, in all likelihood, fight tooth and nail for the cause of justice and freedom in their country.
Also in Nigerian news, out of gratitude for Kenya's assistance with Lagos, the government announces its plan to subsidize the sale of food, oil, and certain raw materials to them. For Nigeria, this is a small dent in the national budget. For Kenya, this is expected to mean an averted famine for refugees, an end to scheduled blackouts, and over a hundred thousand returning manufacturing jobs.
Much further North, the European Brigade has seen its second deployment, successfully wiping out Les Damnés, the most violent parahuman gang in the Paris area.
The news don't mention anything about Kaboul, but you drop by to check on Starfall anyway just to be safe.
You spend a chunk of the day working in Mexico City. Aside from patrols, you are also called in to intervene in what looks like a spontaneous street fight between two villains; thankfully, both of them immediately surrender when you show up.
You have to interrupt one of your patrols halfway through when the PRT informs you that a cargo ship is sinking in the Atlantic, over 1 300 miles away from North America's coast. You quickly fly there to stop the sinking, repairing the hull and removing spilled fuel from the water; you expect this sort of accidents will be relatively common for a while, as a growing pain of international trade returning to its pre-Leviathan scale.
Once your Protectorate duties are handled, however, it's time to assist Centro.
The Argentinian Thinker, due to the nature of her fight, values secrecy a great deal; she minimizes contacts with most of the Guild, and avoids Tattletale like the plague. She has also been an extremely valuable member of the Guild since you asked her to join - against the Four Ghosts of Santiago, against Sylance and Fuji-Sama, against the villains of Lagos… In short, you owe her a lot, and it's more than time to begin addressing the problems of the South-American continent.
"Argentina's situation is different from Brazil's," she explains. "In Brazil, each cartel seizes what cities and regions it can, guards them jealously, and tries to seize territory from rival cartels. Argentina's villains are more 'civilized'," she says in a tone dripping with sarcasm, "each city is divided into areas held by different cartels, which are all spread across the nation. So, the Cartel de las Sombras holds some neighborhoods in Cordoba, some in Santa Fe, some in Rosario - and the Ejército Glorioso cartel holds other neighborhoods in those same cities. They fight and politic each other to increase their territorial and business holdings, but they try to keep fatalities among their ranks low - usually. Officially, the army is in charge of maintaining law and order, but it will take orders from local cartel members; they're glorified minions at this stage."
"I see." It fits what you've read, certainly. "Now, how can I help?"
"Several things," Centro grins. "First of all, I have been doing a lot of work against the Cartel de las Sombras, and I believe I could make much, much faster progress against those bastards if I could add this woman to my 'list'," she shows you the picture of a woman in a concealing black bodysuit. "Her name's Saltadora, and she's a teleporter the cartel uses at least as extensively as the Guild uses Strider. Parahumans, merchandise, VIPs, she moves everything. It took me months of work to both confirm her existence and narrow down her residence to a few blocks; if I could just touch her once, I'd be able to gather intelligence on the cartel like never before. Problem is, I occasionally know where she'll be expected to show up, but I never have opportunities to act upon it. You, on the other hand… You could show up there discreetly, and see through her mask. You have photographic memory, right?"
"I could find out and show you her real face, if that's what you're asking."
"Perfect. Once I have that, well… I have the right people on my list that I can attach a name and a residence to the face. I can arrange to bump into her in her civilian identity."
"Happy to help. And, for that matter, to serve as your backup for the riskier parts."
"Thank you. Second… another person I need added to my list is this man." The picture shows a man whose uniform boasts an unreasonable amount of medals. "General Ocampo. He effectively leads the military around Cordoba. Deals with all the cartels, and has made a fortune from it. In his case, I already know where he lives; I could ask Strider to teleport me at night. But even if I was confident I'd catch him asleep, the man is cautious; that glitzy mansion of his is packed with guards and security cameras."
"I could both watch from a safe distance to find the right time," you say, "and hide us from sight and a wide array of sensors when Strider teleports us in."
Centro's grin is now growing feral. "Third. Represalias, a new Cordoba superheroine I've been watching for a few weeks. Good girl, but her luck ran out yesterday; she's being held in an Ejército Glorioso prison. There's a number of possible locations for that prison; you can scout them, find her, and then you and Strider can get her out." She pauses. "So far, they haven't started torturing her - they always start with the recruitment pitch first - but that won't last.
"Fourth is this man." She shows you a picture of a man in a white and blue costume, with a sun on his cape. "Captain Argentina. Laugh if you will, but he was a big-name hero before the cartels took over; these days, he makes some attacks on small-time villains every other week - nothing big enough for the cartels to really prioritize killing him, but it's something. Like Celo, he has to operate discreetly to be a hero in a cartel-run country.
"I think I could work with him. Thing is, I have no way of contacting him, and even if I did, there's no guarantee he'd listen to some unknown Thinker calling him out of the blue."
You see where this is going. "I can call him with my communication power. He'll doubt it's me, of course, but I can ask him to agree on a codeword I'd say on my next public appearance. Arranging a meeting shouldn't be too hard after that."
You hover in the sewers beneath the street, your cosmic senses stretched in every direction in a range of several blocks as you wait.
And then, a woman in a concealing black bodysuit teleports in, handing a memory stick to someone in the nearby building.
You've seen Saltadora's face.
Visible, infrared and ultraviolet light. Movement detectors. Proximity detectors.
Many ways to detect intruders, and you hide yourself, Strider and Centro from them all as she gently taps the sleeping general.
The fourth prison you scout holds Represalias.
For a couple of minutes, that is. With you on overwatch, Strider gets her out in an instant.
She is soon placed with the Guild, given food and medical attention. After you double-check that she wasn't placed under a Master influence or some kind of parahuman surveillance, Centro contacts her.
"...It's an honor to meet you." This took some doing, but you eventually meet Captain Argentina face-to-mask. "I… If you and the Guild help us… we can save this country, we-"
"Captain, the reason I contacted you in the first place is because a certain compatriot of yours is trying to achieve precisely that."
Centro has a lot of work to do, and a long road ahead of her if she is to liberate her country from the villains that have taken it over. But thanks to the help you and others have given her yesterday, she's now several steps closer to achieving that objective.
Today, however, your focus is on Kisumu, as the Guild moves in to take down the Death-Dealers.
Seven of them are parahumans. They have a capable Thinker. They have two powerful Strangers. They are ruthless enough to murder heroes, rival villains, and public figures in their homes.
None of this protects them today. Not against the growing might of the Guild.
The sting takes several hours, because you're all being cautious. And thanks to your caution, not a single villain escapes, not a single hero or civilian is seriously hurt, and most of the non-powered minions are caught and arrested.
And just like that, with ease, the gang that was breaking the unwritten rules and giving Kenya a cold sweat is undone. Kisumu law enforcement do make a big production of having them hauled away, though.
"It's almost scary," says Laser Fist. "The Guild's been powerful for a while, but now? I catch myself thinking of what we do less as terribly risky fights with superpowered murderers, and more like pest-control. I know things could have gone wrong a million ways in Lagos and some good people died, but…"
"Keep those dangers in mind," says Narwhal. "We're getting better, but our luck won't hold forever. There'll be setbacks and bad days."
True. But for now, you have largely repaid the Guild's debt to Kenya. Which means it's time to focus on the next item on the agenda.
"I was expecting representative Dunst to throw a fit about the Kisumu op," says Doctor Volt, apparently checking the latest from the notably racist politician, "but I'll admit, he went further than I expected."
"What did he say this time?" asks an exasperated Chevalier.
"Apparently, the Simurgh's final last-ditch backup plan was manipulating the Avatar into focusing on, and I quote, 'third-world hellholes that are already far beyond saving', thus neglecting, and I quote, 'the last bastions of civilization'."
Chevalier gives you an apologetic wince. "I'm really sorry about that. I want to say Dunst is an isolated lunatic and no-one will listen to him…"
But if that was true, he wouldn't be in congress.
"It's all right," you say. "I'm used to it. There are always people like that. Remember, I became an active superhero at the height of the Ku Klux Klan's power, and not long before the rise of Nazism; I've seen worse."
"I hate that that comparison even needs to be made," says Chevalier. "We're America. We're supposed to not need the Nazi comparison to look good."
"Since when?" Doctor Volt says wryly. "When the country was originally founded on slavery and genocide, when it took the Philippines as its colony, or when it systematically destroyed democracy across Latin America? Your moral superiority never existed outside of your imagination."
"I wasn't trying to say America was morally superior," Chevalier says. "Just that it's always disappointing when it falls short of its ideals."
Truth be told, you've never encountered a nation that was even half as good and righteous as its own self-image. Even Logre fell short in a number of ways, despite the very significant efforts Arthur Pendragon invested in the cause of justice.
Regardless, the debate dies down as Narwhal and Dragon begin their presentation, aided by Doctor Volt.
"Belo Horizonte. Population: 5 million. Under the control of the Novo Império cartel, which is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. The cartel has been busy fighting its rivals for control over what's left of São Paulo this year, which is why its parahuman presence in Belo Horizonte is relatively light - less than two hundred villains," Dragon explains.
"This makes Belo Horizonte a target of opportunity, despite it being far more distant from Brasilia than, say, Goiânia," says Narwhal. "We need to take Belo Horizonte first, while it's a relatively soft target. After that, Goiânia - a city five times smaller, and much closer to Brasilia - will be our immediate next target."
"Assuming we win," says Doctor Volt, "the worst case scenario is the cartels agreeing to a truce long enough to push us out of the country - even as strong as the Guild currently is, it can't fight ten thousand supervillains all at once. We need to keep them from working together, and the best way to do that is to play on their greed." He grins. "Novo Império's rivals want to take its holdings in São Paulo. We need to make it too tempting a target for them to ignore."
"This is Punho Dynamite," Dragon shows the supervillainess's picture, "one of Novo Império's strongest parahuman in São Paulo - strong enough to punch through concrete walls, fast enough to kill seven enemies before the first is done hitting the ground. She's a visible threat, highly feared by their rivals. The goal is to have her visibly removed, without making it obvious the Guild was responsible."
"To that effect," Narwhal explains, "the Avatar is to take another form and costume, and attack her in a public venue, using powers that wouldn't out his identity." Entirely doable. Her punches, while devastating, are not on Leviathan's level, so you can tank them for a while. You can use your power pool to grant yourself matching speed. And you can switch your energy glasts to electric attacks. "They are to fight for a while, then use this device - courtesy of Toybox - to teleport out in a big flash, leaving two charred corpses behind." Corpses which your powers can create. "Thus, when we attack Belo Horizonte a day or two later, the forces in São Paulo will believe there is an exceptional opportunity, with Novo Império being weaker than ever."
"The odds are good… at least in the short run," says Forecast. "They'll keep fighting for the next two weeks, almost definitely."
"After that… Well. We'll have to hope for the best," says Doctor Volt. "Can't take back the country all at once, sadly."
"As for the Belo Horizonte battle plan itself…" Narwhal presents the strategy the Guild's agreed on.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Blitz: Bring as many Brazilian heroes with you as possible, organize rapid strikes across the city's villains without giving them time to prepare.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Incapacitation: Take the time to identify Thinkers, Movers and other key parahumans in the organization of the cartel's defenses, and focus on removing them from play first.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Blitz/Incapacitation Hybrid: Organize massive, rapid strikes, while using small fireteams to take out key organizational parahumans.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Silent Takeover: Relying on stealth and Strangers, work to take out as many of the city's villains before the cartel even realizes you're here.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Artillery Hit-And-Run: With superior Movers and Blasters, slowly and methodically take the villains down one-by-one from a safe distance without giving them a chance to strike back.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Takeover/Artillery Hybrid: Slowly and methodically take villains one-by-one from a safe distance, keeping them too distracted by the showy attacks to realize Strangers are slowly taking them out from the inside.
[x][Nigeria] Free activists: By requesting that Nigeria liberates the 98 political prisoners, you can push the country toward democracy, freedom and justice - a concern both because you're helping the government maintain control and because you want them to help police their neighbors.
[x][Nigeria] Provide food, oil, rubber and iron for Kenya: This will help rebuild the Kenyan economy and feed the massive population of refugees that have fled inside its borders.
[x][Guild] Maintain a focus on hunting down the Slaughterhouse Nine. They're frustratingly good at evading capture, but so far the pressure put on them is clearly giving them trouble, and they cannot hide forever.
[x][Guild] Take back Belo Horizonte. The government of Brazil is currently in control of only the city of Brasilia; taking another city back is the first step toward reclaiming the country (and repaying Doctor Volt).
[x][Guild] Take down the Death-Dealers. This powerful Kenya gang is no match for the Guild, and removing them from the field will help repay your debt toward the nation.
[x][Avatar] Help Centro build up her information network in Argentina. She's been extremely helpful to the Guild, and it could help liberate the country in the long run.
[x][Avatar] Diplomacy with Black Sun and Phosphor. They've been clearly trying to maintain a truce since shortly after Leviathan's death; greasing the wheels might do a lot of good for Vietnam, and show other parahuman warlords that it's specifically the worst of the worst you're after.
[x][Avatar] Help Hydro restore order in Poland. The country's still a terrible mess after what the Simurgh did to it, and is in no small part held together by foreign aid.
Several pairs of eyes turn toward you. You are not in any sort of official leadership position in the Guild… but you are knowledgeable and experienced enough in the affairs of humanity to generally have a solid idea of what is or isn't a wise path to follow, and charismatic enough to make your point convincingly. You may not give the Guild orders, but you are listened to.
"Météore is right," you say. "We need Nigeria as our ally, and we need our allies to be as morally upstanding and trustworthy as practically feasible. These political prisoners, if freed, will work tirelessly to advance the causes of freedom, justice, and accountability in the nation; that is important for Nigeria's people, for its neighbors, and for our ability to rely on Nigerian assistance in the Guild's continued mission, particularly in ameliorating the condition of the African continent. To be honest, I think I would rather we allow these men and women some time to influence the country before we ask Nigeria to intervene in Benin.
"Kenya, meanwhile, has gone to great lengths to help us, not once but twice. Even if repaying it was not a political necessity, it would be our moral duty." You consider briefly. "Sending the Doctor would make for a nice token, but accomplish too little. Instead, having Nigeria provide the raw materials Kenya needs to jump-start its economy would go a long way toward stabilizing the nation and meaningfully improving millions of lives. In parallel, taking down the Death-Dealers would be a fairly simple task for the Guild, while removing a genuine threat to Kenyan stability. A good first step, though I do not think the Guild ought to stop there - after all, Kenyan and Nigerian security forces will be held up in Kolwezi for a long time."
"Sounds reasonable," says Narwhal. "Any other thoughts?"
"For one, that once the Death-Dealers are down for the count, the Guild's next priority should be Belo Horizonte." Doctor Volt perks up as he gives you a very interested look. "Reclaiming South America from the cartels is going to be a long, difficult, thankless task, and it is about time we get started on it. With that in mind, Centro, I also wish to assist you with the Argentina situation; I don't doubt you have some ideas.
"I do not think we ought to go in more directions than that at the time, however - we are already in the middle of hunting down the Slaughterhouse Nine, and as we are growing closer to catching them, we ought to maintain the pressure, especially as additional Thinkers are throwing in to assist."
Narwhal considers. "What about Vietnam?"
"I will attempt diplomacy between Black Sun and Phosphor. Hopefully this will buy time, without requiring direct Guild intervention yet."
"Well, you've proven you have some skill at diplomacy," Chevalier comments. "Good luck."
After the meeting progresses and decisions are made, you visit a Guild member who's still recuperating from her injuries.
"Captain Hydro? How are you holding up?"
"Ah… well, I'm… I'm all right. It's not the first time I get some bad burns, and… well, you and Voodoo did a good job fixing me up. The docs insisted I take at least a few days off." She pauses. "...I don't mind a few days off."
"Few would, considering. I'm sorry you got hurt."
"It's part of the job. We saved the day and I'm still alive; I'm not gonna complain."
You smile. "I suppose. Do not feel obligated to return to action quickly; you've more than earned your rest."
"Thanks. And don't worry about me." She pauses. "Ah, was there anything else?"
"It is my understanding that the situation in Poland remains an extremely difficult one."
"Well… Yes. I'm hoping that the European Brigade can make a difference."
"So do I, but I would like to do more than just hope. I was wondering what I could do to help."
She stares at you, then grins. "Well, I've got a few ideas, and Napoleon would have more…"
You have used your cosmic power pool to communicate with an entire city (or even more people) multiple times over your superheroic career, including the time spent in Earth-Bet. You've gotten the hang of it.
"People of Warsaw, this is the Avatar speaking. Some of you have heard of me as the killer of the Simurgh." Nothing is allowed to leave Simurgh exclusion zones, including communications, but radio waves still get in; there's little doubt that the survivors have a number of working TV and radio sets in there. "Though the quarantine on your city remains for now, I have received dispensation to visit." While the Polish government was only too happy to let you do it - you didn't get the impression the current leadership consider long-term consequences very deeply - obtaining permission from the PRT was like pulling teeth. The question of you visiting Simurgh exclusion zones has been getting discussed ever since the Simurgh's death - your presence in Earth-Bet was clearly unaccounted for by her precognition and disrupted her plans, after all, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate every one of the Rube-Goldberg doomsday devices left in her wake - but you've finally obtained this dispensation. Convincing the PRT was helped by pointing out the issues with reintegrating the Kyushu refugees; as you told them, the less the people in the exclusion zones feel abandoned by the rest of the world, the better things will go the day those who remain are allowed to rejoin society. And those exclusion zones won't stay up forever.
It's not that Simurgh exclusion zones are left to die (with the exception of Switzerland) - rations of food, water and medicine are airdropped regularly. But since no information is allowed out of the zones, it's not as if much is known about what's happening in there. The London exclusion zone was reopened several years ahead of schedule by the King's Men, and the effects of the traps laid there by the Simurgh are still being felt across the British Isles.
For the immediate order of business, you invest most of your cosmic power pool into two-way communication, and the rest into mental super-seed, allowing you to communicate with up to thirty locals simultaneously. Over the span of the following hour, you manage short conversations with several thousands of Warsaw residents.
"...go to Doctor Öztürk's clinic whenever we..."
"...just tell my wife I…"
"...they hoard all the food…"
"...monsters in the…"
"...gang holed up in the…"
It's heartbreaking, but unsurprising that you cannot accept every plea for help - you're only authorised to spend a few hours in Warsaw, you're not allowed to transmit personal communications to the outside (and frankly, considering how the Simurgh worked, you approve), and with all your other duties you cannot afford to spend an inordinate amount of time helping one single individual.
Heartbreaking. Unsurprising. From the moment you became this avatar, you've known all too well you would not be able to help everyone you encountered. Even as an overpowered superhero who never sleeps and never takes breaks, you can't answer every call for help.
But you press on and help as many as possible.
Right now, these thousands of rapid-burst conversations have given you a list of targets - things you can do in just a few hours.
Create antibiotics, disinfectants, bandages, rabies vaccines, and other medical supplies, then distributing them to seven operational clinics across the city: 13 minutes.
Hit the compound of the Wola militia, destroy all of their stockpiled guns and ammo, free the 71 children they're keeping as hostages, and capture both of their parahuman leaders: 9 minutes.
Create significant supplies of food and clean water, then distribute them across several dozens of spots where they should be accessible to a large number of people: 25 minutes.
Investigate the strange events in Wilanow district, read the minds of some of the people who won't speak about their missing time, discover their personality has been erased by a parahuman villain who's replaced it with a shell obedient to him yet able to semi-convincingly fake being the original person, track down the Master, read his mind to identify all 208 of his victims, confirm they cannot be saved, mercy-kill them, haul off the Master: 40 minutes.
Take down the slaver gang in Bialoleka district, including its five parahumans: 8 minutes.
Storm the police HQ, administer a painful beating to what used to be the city's police force, destroy their weapon and ammo stockpiles, force them to release their sex slaves and hoarded food: 12 minutes.
Hit the neighborhood in Wawer district under the control of the plant-Tinker, capture her, destroy every single last trace of her weaponized plants, note that their pollen can breed with regular plants, cleanse as much pollen across the district as you can: 38 minutes.
Counting the time that you spent talking to everyone, that still leaves you about half an hour to handle smaller matters across the city. Once you are done, the parahumans you captured are sent directly to the Birdcage - neither the PRT nor the Polish government were willing to take any risks beyond that.
Life in the Warsaw exclusion zone will remain harsh and brutal. But the help you've provided (and information about the sort of supplies they most need airdropped) will ease their burden, while likely also disabling a couple of leftover Simurgh time bombs.
The end of your visit to Warsaw is not the end of your visit to Poland. Your discussion with Napoleon pointed at several other actionable items.
The Maw is by far the single most powerful gang in Krakow, with twenty confirmed villains, including A-lister Bóg Zabójca; their territory covers a third of the city, and the heroes think twice before messing with them. A short blitz into their territory later, they have six less parahumans than before, and Bóg Zabójca is among those headed to a Lockbox.
Lodz has become the hub of a massive human trafficking operation. Following leads from Napoleon and some police contacts that he considers trustworthy, you have a general idea where to look, and are able to leverage enhanced senses and super-speed to locate "merchandise", free the slaves, mind-read the muscle present to go up the chain, and find some of the leaders behind the operation. Over forty arrests in total (including two parahumans), nearly two hundred victims freed, and many leads you hope the police will be pursuing to dismantle the rest of the network.
Wroclaw's nastiest villain is Grendel, who has personally killed six heroes over the past three years and has seven villains answering to him (albeit they're all small-timers with unimpressive powers; Grendel is very much the gang's outlier). Thankfully, it's an observed fact that Grendel is pathologically driven to prove himself the strongest and won't back down from a challenge; using your communication power to challenge him to a duel is enough to drive him out of hiding. Admittedly, his ability to turn into several dozen cubic meters of fast-regenerating, semi-liquid flesh able to take a variety of shapes is an impressive power, but nothing that really takes you too much effort to beat. Soon enough, Grendel is another Lockbox prisoner.
"I think you've done more for Poland in half a day than I have in my entire career," Captain Hydro comments. "That's several of our worst villains gone."
"There wouldn't be a Poland left to save if not for the efforts of hundreds of heroes like you," you reply, "and it's the efforts of countless heroes like you that will be needed for the rest. I'm happy to get some of the roadblocks out of your way, though."
The rest of the day is spent in Mexico City. Apparently, Excellente has been making Eidolon use a combination of Thinker powers to track down a number of villains who've been giving local heroes problems for years. One is a Tinker who's spent the better part of the past decade selling hundreds of rayguns to villains and mercenaries; Del Duque led the team that captured her. One is Fuerza de Libertad, a mercenary team specialized in breaking villains out of prison; Eidolon led the team that arrested them. Lastly, there's an unnamed Thinker whose power lies in knowing what evidence needs to be removed to ensure certain things remain secret, whom Excellente believes has been doing consulting work for criminals and villains (and, no doubt, a number of business tycoons, police leaders and politicians) for years now. Her power has allowed her to hide from the law all this time, but now, at long last, there's enough intel to not only confirm her existence but narrow down her location to just a few blocks - blocks that you patrol while sensing the interplanar energies typical of parahuman powers. Soon enough, you locate a parahuman who is taken in for interrogation; her power is insufficient in the face of the Thinkers brought in for the job, who confirm she's who Excellente thought she was.
You also spend several hours patrolling the city with Asalto, Angel Verde, and a rookie hero called Remoto. It is no less productive than your previous patrol of the city.
This was not an easy meeting to arrange. Both parties have ample cause to mistrust each other, after all. You had considered a teleconference, but you're less good a mediator via a screen than in person.
Thankfully, you are very persuasive, and giving them your word than any party using this meeting to betray the other would make themselves your top priority target helped sway them.
"Black Sun," you nod at the Tinker 8 specialized in energy nullification, who rules over a tenth of Vietnam. "Phosphor," you nod at the plasma-shooting Blaster, who rules over another tenth. "Thank you both for coming."
"You've killed two Endbringers. That gets you an audience," says Black Sun. She was a teenager from Vinh when she triggered in 2003, when her city was suffering under the rule of a particularly brutal warlord. She killed the warlord, took over his organization, and has been trying to unite the country under her rule ever since. She works hard to ensure food, clean water and electricity are available throughout her territory, and she cracks down brutally on child trafficking. On the other hand, she's too quick to execute those who stand against her, she doesn't exactly protect free speech, and local villains gain significant-though-finite leeway by agreeing to work for her.
"Very true. And if you can help the motherland, then it's my duty to listen to what you have to say," says Phosphor. He was an officer in the military stationed in the Thanh Hóa province when the government fell; he was among the soldiers who shot at crowds of protesters when his commanding general took over the area. The next day, having triggered from the experience, he killed the general and took over. Despite (or perhaps because of?) his brutal beginnings, he is loath to harm civilians, but he is not above cutting off food and water to cities and villages to force compliance.
Of all the warlords fighting for a slice of the Vietnamese pie, these two are arguably the most reasonable ones - the ones who at least try to create functional nations where people can live in peace. They've also been fighting each other for years, but agreed to a cease-fire after Leviathan's death - a cease-fire that's been collapsing under pressure.
"Thank you," you say. "It is the future of Vietnam and its people I am concerned with today. Now, I am all too aware that national reunification is not a realistic objective at this point in time." But just mentioning such a far-off goal reminds them that there's more at stake than their immediate grievances. "Nonetheless, the people need peace and decent living conditions. They need to be able to believe, without naiveté, that as long as they work hard and live honestly, they and their family can have the life they deserve. Constant warfare, collapsing economies, and bullies with power all get in the way of this."
"Bullies with power?" Black Sun says dryly. "You mean, like the Wild Riders, or the White Spear?" Both parahuman gangs that work in her territory and owe her allegiance. "I'd love to get rid of those assholes, but it's not like I can afford to. I have enemies everywhere," she glares at Phosphor, "I can't afford to turn down good muscle."
"Don't you dare blame me for this," Phosphor replies. "You chose to hire bandits, rapists and murderers."
"What, like your army isn't full of those?"
"I maintain strict military discipline!"
"That's never stopped-"
"If I may," you interject. "If we let ourselves get distracted by this blame-throwing, we'll be here all day and get nothing done. May I suggest the following: Let's start by listing the problems we have, along with out goals."
The negotiations end up taking most of the day, with multiple breaks - breaks that you spend patrolling nearby cities in both warlords' territories (in the process, you bring three people in need of urgent medical care to the nearest hospitals, arrest a man who was holding his wife and daughters prisoners in the basement, and free fourteen slaves from a sweatshop). By the end, a number of concerns have emerged:
One, of all things, is currency. The bank notes printed by the defunct government (with Ho Chi Minh's face) are still being used for most exchanges in much of the country; Black Sun and Phosphor both use it to pay their parahumans, their soldiers, their civilian functionaries… Problem is, both have taken to printing more of these banknotes, with the inflationary risks that this involves. Getting them to agree on a mutual cap on printing money is not too difficult.
Trade agreements are not that hard. The Nghệ An province needs certain resources, Thanh Hóa needs others, so trade can help both, but there are concerns about unrestricted free trade - for instance, if wealthy potentates in Nghệ An start buying a lot of food from neighboring provinces at prices locals can't compete with, it can induce a famine in Thanh Hóa. Agreements - both to protect and to regulate trade - are made; nothing too complicated or fancy, but something that covers the basics.
And then there are the more contentious issues. The parahuman group known as the White Spear have been nothing but loyal to Black Sun, but have committed war crimes in Phosphor's territory. Meanwhile, Nguyen Lam is a very wealthy man in Phosphor's territory who has given him his support in exchange for a number of concessions, but is wanted by Black Sun for his association with the brutal warlord whose crimes in Vinh caused her trigger event. The fact that both of these remain powerful and untouched is one of the factors (by no means the only one, but a significant one certainly) why maintaining a truce between the two warlords is difficult.
You can see the problem, obviously. As long the White Spear are allowed to operate freely, it's a slap in the face of not only Phosphor's authority and credibility, but also of all their victims; it allows other war criminals to feel safe and beyond the reach of justice. The same happens with Nguyen Lam, who knowingly funded and supported a mass-murdering maniac as long as said maniac bought his military surplus and helped him move merchandise; he shouldn't be allowed to dodge consequences just because of his wealth and connections. On the other hand, if the White Spear actually pay for their crimes, then other parahumans under Black Sun's leadership will wonder if they remain safe as long as Black Sun's in charge; if Nguyen Lam is arrested and punished, Phosphor will have a much harder time maintaining a working economy, especially as other local potentates may decide he's bad for business.
Ultimately, while both warlords are on board with strengthening their truce, you need to make them some promises of your own to get more out of them:
[ ][Vietnam] Black Sun agrees to provide some of her tinkertech to the Guild. (cost: 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Black Sun agrees to a partial implementation of the Declaration of Human Rights in her territory. (cost: 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Black Sun agrees to extradite the members of the White Spear so Phosphor can have them punished. (cost: 2 Black Sun favors. Gives 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Phosphor agrees to send a parahuman contingent to the next Endbringer battle. (cost: 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Phosphor agrees to a partial implementation of the Declaration of Human Rights in his territory. (cost: 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] Phosphor agrees to extradite Nguyen Lam so Black Sun can have him punished. (cost: 2 Phosphor favors. Gives 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You persuade Prochnost to upgrade Black Sun's tinkertech. (Gives 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You dedicate a daily hour for patrolling Black Sun's territory for the rest of the week. (Gives 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You promise to help Black Sun with three fights of her choice (as long as it's morally palatable) when she calls upon you. (Gives 1 Black Sun favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You persuade Doctor Metal to make a power armor suit for Phosphor. (Gives 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You dedicate a daily hour for patrolling Phosphor's territory for the rest of the week. (Gives 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] You take down a marauding villain gang that's been giving Phosphor trouble for a while. (Gives 1 Phosphor favor)
[ ][Vietnam] None of the above.
The day after that is largely divided along three activities: Mexico City patrols, the hunt for the Slaughterhouse Nine, and preparation to take down the Death-Dealers.
The patrols in Mexico City come in two forms: The first is having you move at a slow pace along with a team of heroes, looking for problems with enhanced senses. The second is having you paired with flyers, going a few dozen feet above the street, flying fast enough to cover lots of ground but slowly enough that people get a good look. You're familiar with this approach - it's sending everyone, honest citizens and criminals alike, the message that the city is under your protection.
The hunt for the Slaughterhouse Nine receives additional help in the form of the Nigerian hero known as Mister Clue.
"Physically, I'm about twenty times faster," the former police detective turned superhero from Ibadan explains, "but mentally? I basically no longer take time to think. If I'm smart enough to notice something, to think of something, if I just had enough time? I think of it immediately." These powers, combined with his investigative training, have made him a remarkably efficient crime-fighter in Ibadan since 2006; he is currently one of several capes the Nigerian authorities are considering for Guild membership.
Between Mister Clue, Tattletale, Forecast, the Guild Thinkers, the PRT Thinkers, the Japanese Thinkers, and some of Toybox's tinkertech, the pressure placed on the Nine is like never before. From the looks of it, the manhunt forced them to flee from Albany before they could get their target.
"It's infuriating," Silver Crusader says. "Just a couple hours earlier, and we could have caught those bastards once and for all."
"I see it as encouraging, actually," you tell him. "It means they're losing. They have to move too quickly to gather power and resources, and despite that, we're getting closer by the day. We kept them from getting Dungeon, and I shudder to imagine what they could have done with his power… and when we do catch up to them, they'll have to do without."
Dungeon is a mercenary operating out of Albany with an interesting Striker/Shaker power. He can, at will, create a pocket dimension filled with complex constructions (including various minions) and transport himself there, along with anyone he's touching. He can also bring what he creates out of the pocket dimension, but it fades away in less than a day. Right now, he's in Protectorate custody, still somewhat shaken by the whole experience.
As for the Death-Dealers… You spend some time discreetly casing out the city of Kisumu. Wing Warrior and Mister Clue investigate. Local Kenyan heroes and police help out. Tattletale examines the facts. Forecast answers a couple of questions.
The assault is planned to take place in 36 hours.
The next day, Nigerian authorities announce that, with Lagos retaken, they are "stepping down" the state of national emergency (not ending - "stepping down", a deliberately nebulous term) and are releasing 102 prisoners whose activities were considered too much of a disturbance while the nation was teetering on the edge of collapse. Those include the 98 political prisoners recommended by Météore, and four others deemed harmless enough by the government (presumably to inflate the number and make the gesture look bigger). Those former prisoners will, in all likelihood, fight tooth and nail for the cause of justice and freedom in their country.
Also in Nigerian news, out of gratitude for Kenya's assistance with Lagos, the government announces its plan to subsidize the sale of food, oil, and certain raw materials to them. For Nigeria, this is a small dent in the national budget. For Kenya, this is expected to mean an averted famine for refugees, an end to scheduled blackouts, and over a hundred thousand returning manufacturing jobs.
Much further North, the European Brigade has seen its second deployment, successfully wiping out Les Damnés, the most violent parahuman gang in the Paris area.
The news don't mention anything about Kaboul, but you drop by to check on Starfall anyway just to be safe.
You spend a chunk of the day working in Mexico City. Aside from patrols, you are also called in to intervene in what looks like a spontaneous street fight between two villains; thankfully, both of them immediately surrender when you show up.
You have to interrupt one of your patrols halfway through when the PRT informs you that a cargo ship is sinking in the Atlantic, over 1 300 miles away from North America's coast. You quickly fly there to stop the sinking, repairing the hull and removing spilled fuel from the water; you expect this sort of accidents will be relatively common for a while, as a growing pain of international trade returning to its pre-Leviathan scale.
Once your Protectorate duties are handled, however, it's time to assist Centro.
The Argentinian Thinker, due to the nature of her fight, values secrecy a great deal; she minimizes contacts with most of the Guild, and avoids Tattletale like the plague. She has also been an extremely valuable member of the Guild since you asked her to join - against the Four Ghosts of Santiago, against Sylance and Fuji-Sama, against the villains of Lagos… In short, you owe her a lot, and it's more than time to begin addressing the problems of the South-American continent.
"Argentina's situation is different from Brazil's," she explains. "In Brazil, each cartel seizes what cities and regions it can, guards them jealously, and tries to seize territory from rival cartels. Argentina's villains are more 'civilized'," she says in a tone dripping with sarcasm, "each city is divided into areas held by different cartels, which are all spread across the nation. So, the Cartel de las Sombras holds some neighborhoods in Cordoba, some in Santa Fe, some in Rosario - and the Ejército Glorioso cartel holds other neighborhoods in those same cities. They fight and politic each other to increase their territorial and business holdings, but they try to keep fatalities among their ranks low - usually. Officially, the army is in charge of maintaining law and order, but it will take orders from local cartel members; they're glorified minions at this stage."
"I see." It fits what you've read, certainly. "Now, how can I help?"
"Several things," Centro grins. "First of all, I have been doing a lot of work against the Cartel de las Sombras, and I believe I could make much, much faster progress against those bastards if I could add this woman to my 'list'," she shows you the picture of a woman in a concealing black bodysuit. "Her name's Saltadora, and she's a teleporter the cartel uses at least as extensively as the Guild uses Strider. Parahumans, merchandise, VIPs, she moves everything. It took me months of work to both confirm her existence and narrow down her residence to a few blocks; if I could just touch her once, I'd be able to gather intelligence on the cartel like never before. Problem is, I occasionally know where she'll be expected to show up, but I never have opportunities to act upon it. You, on the other hand… You could show up there discreetly, and see through her mask. You have photographic memory, right?"
"I could find out and show you her real face, if that's what you're asking."
"Perfect. Once I have that, well… I have the right people on my list that I can attach a name and a residence to the face. I can arrange to bump into her in her civilian identity."
"Happy to help. And, for that matter, to serve as your backup for the riskier parts."
"Thank you. Second… another person I need added to my list is this man." The picture shows a man whose uniform boasts an unreasonable amount of medals. "General Ocampo. He effectively leads the military around Cordoba. Deals with all the cartels, and has made a fortune from it. In his case, I already know where he lives; I could ask Strider to teleport me at night. But even if I was confident I'd catch him asleep, the man is cautious; that glitzy mansion of his is packed with guards and security cameras."
"I could both watch from a safe distance to find the right time," you say, "and hide us from sight and a wide array of sensors when Strider teleports us in."
Centro's grin is now growing feral. "Third. Represalias, a new Cordoba superheroine I've been watching for a few weeks. Good girl, but her luck ran out yesterday; she's being held in an Ejército Glorioso prison. There's a number of possible locations for that prison; you can scout them, find her, and then you and Strider can get her out." She pauses. "So far, they haven't started torturing her - they always start with the recruitment pitch first - but that won't last.
"Fourth is this man." She shows you a picture of a man in a white and blue costume, with a sun on his cape. "Captain Argentina. Laugh if you will, but he was a big-name hero before the cartels took over; these days, he makes some attacks on small-time villains every other week - nothing big enough for the cartels to really prioritize killing him, but it's something. Like Celo, he has to operate discreetly to be a hero in a cartel-run country.
"I think I could work with him. Thing is, I have no way of contacting him, and even if I did, there's no guarantee he'd listen to some unknown Thinker calling him out of the blue."
You see where this is going. "I can call him with my communication power. He'll doubt it's me, of course, but I can ask him to agree on a codeword I'd say on my next public appearance. Arranging a meeting shouldn't be too hard after that."
You hover in the sewers beneath the street, your cosmic senses stretched in every direction in a range of several blocks as you wait.
And then, a woman in a concealing black bodysuit teleports in, handing a memory stick to someone in the nearby building.
You've seen Saltadora's face.
Visible, infrared and ultraviolet light. Movement detectors. Proximity detectors.
Many ways to detect intruders, and you hide yourself, Strider and Centro from them all as she gently taps the sleeping general.
The fourth prison you scout holds Represalias.
For a couple of minutes, that is. With you on overwatch, Strider gets her out in an instant.
She is soon placed with the Guild, given food and medical attention. After you double-check that she wasn't placed under a Master influence or some kind of parahuman surveillance, Centro contacts her.
"...It's an honor to meet you." This took some doing, but you eventually meet Captain Argentina face-to-mask. "I… If you and the Guild help us… we can save this country, we-"
"Captain, the reason I contacted you in the first place is because a certain compatriot of yours is trying to achieve precisely that."
Centro has a lot of work to do, and a long road ahead of her if she is to liberate her country from the villains that have taken it over. But thanks to the help you and others have given her yesterday, she's now several steps closer to achieving that objective.
Today, however, your focus is on Kisumu, as the Guild moves in to take down the Death-Dealers.
Seven of them are parahumans. They have a capable Thinker. They have two powerful Strangers. They are ruthless enough to murder heroes, rival villains, and public figures in their homes.
None of this protects them today. Not against the growing might of the Guild.
The sting takes several hours, because you're all being cautious. And thanks to your caution, not a single villain escapes, not a single hero or civilian is seriously hurt, and most of the non-powered minions are caught and arrested.
And just like that, with ease, the gang that was breaking the unwritten rules and giving Kenya a cold sweat is undone. Kisumu law enforcement do make a big production of having them hauled away, though.
"It's almost scary," says Laser Fist. "The Guild's been powerful for a while, but now? I catch myself thinking of what we do less as terribly risky fights with superpowered murderers, and more like pest-control. I know things could have gone wrong a million ways in Lagos and some good people died, but…"
"Keep those dangers in mind," says Narwhal. "We're getting better, but our luck won't hold forever. There'll be setbacks and bad days."
True. But for now, you have largely repaid the Guild's debt to Kenya. Which means it's time to focus on the next item on the agenda.
"I was expecting representative Dunst to throw a fit about the Kisumu op," says Doctor Volt, apparently checking the latest from the notably racist politician, "but I'll admit, he went further than I expected."
"What did he say this time?" asks an exasperated Chevalier.
"Apparently, the Simurgh's final last-ditch backup plan was manipulating the Avatar into focusing on, and I quote, 'third-world hellholes that are already far beyond saving', thus neglecting, and I quote, 'the last bastions of civilization'."
Chevalier gives you an apologetic wince. "I'm really sorry about that. I want to say Dunst is an isolated lunatic and no-one will listen to him…"
But if that was true, he wouldn't be in congress.
"It's all right," you say. "I'm used to it. There are always people like that. Remember, I became an active superhero at the height of the Ku Klux Klan's power, and not long before the rise of Nazism; I've seen worse."
"I hate that that comparison even needs to be made," says Chevalier. "We're America. We're supposed to not need the Nazi comparison to look good."
"Since when?" Doctor Volt says wryly. "When the country was originally founded on slavery and genocide, when it took the Philippines as its colony, or when it systematically destroyed democracy across Latin America? Your moral superiority never existed outside of your imagination."
"I wasn't trying to say America was morally superior," Chevalier says. "Just that it's always disappointing when it falls short of its ideals."
Truth be told, you've never encountered a nation that was even half as good and righteous as its own self-image. Even Logre fell short in a number of ways, despite the very significant efforts Arthur Pendragon invested in the cause of justice.
Regardless, the debate dies down as Narwhal and Dragon begin their presentation, aided by Doctor Volt.
"Belo Horizonte. Population: 5 million. Under the control of the Novo Império cartel, which is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. The cartel has been busy fighting its rivals for control over what's left of São Paulo this year, which is why its parahuman presence in Belo Horizonte is relatively light - less than two hundred villains," Dragon explains.
"This makes Belo Horizonte a target of opportunity, despite it being far more distant from Brasilia than, say, Goiânia," says Narwhal. "We need to take Belo Horizonte first, while it's a relatively soft target. After that, Goiânia - a city five times smaller, and much closer to Brasilia - will be our immediate next target."
"Assuming we win," says Doctor Volt, "the worst case scenario is the cartels agreeing to a truce long enough to push us out of the country - even as strong as the Guild currently is, it can't fight ten thousand supervillains all at once. We need to keep them from working together, and the best way to do that is to play on their greed." He grins. "Novo Império's rivals want to take its holdings in São Paulo. We need to make it too tempting a target for them to ignore."
"This is Punho Dynamite," Dragon shows the supervillainess's picture, "one of Novo Império's strongest parahuman in São Paulo - strong enough to punch through concrete walls, fast enough to kill seven enemies before the first is done hitting the ground. She's a visible threat, highly feared by their rivals. The goal is to have her visibly removed, without making it obvious the Guild was responsible."
"To that effect," Narwhal explains, "the Avatar is to take another form and costume, and attack her in a public venue, using powers that wouldn't out his identity." Entirely doable. Her punches, while devastating, are not on Leviathan's level, so you can tank them for a while. You can use your power pool to grant yourself matching speed. And you can switch your energy glasts to electric attacks. "They are to fight for a while, then use this device - courtesy of Toybox - to teleport out in a big flash, leaving two charred corpses behind." Corpses which your powers can create. "Thus, when we attack Belo Horizonte a day or two later, the forces in São Paulo will believe there is an exceptional opportunity, with Novo Império being weaker than ever."
"The odds are good… at least in the short run," says Forecast. "They'll keep fighting for the next two weeks, almost definitely."
"After that… Well. We'll have to hope for the best," says Doctor Volt. "Can't take back the country all at once, sadly."
"As for the Belo Horizonte battle plan itself…" Narwhal presents the strategy the Guild's agreed on.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Blitz: Bring as many Brazilian heroes with you as possible, organize rapid strikes across the city's villains without giving them time to prepare.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Incapacitation: Take the time to identify Thinkers, Movers and other key parahumans in the organization of the cartel's defenses, and focus on removing them from play first.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Blitz/Incapacitation Hybrid: Organize massive, rapid strikes, while using small fireteams to take out key organizational parahumans.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Silent Takeover: Relying on stealth and Strangers, work to take out as many of the city's villains before the cartel even realizes you're here.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Artillery Hit-And-Run: With superior Movers and Blasters, slowly and methodically take the villains down one-by-one from a safe distance without giving them a chance to strike back.
[ ][Belo Horizonte] Takeover/Artillery Hybrid: Slowly and methodically take villains one-by-one from a safe distance, keeping them too distracted by the showy attacks to realize Strangers are slowly taking them out from the inside.
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So much worldbuilding. It's incredible.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Wooo! Love the music!
Yeah, she's a parahuman. Her little friend in the brainpan won't let her rest too long.
That'll be one hell of a moment to celebrate... and the perfect moment to introduce a new strategic-level Endbringer. To say nothing of whatever ziz-bombs were really long-term plans.
And probably 'just' air-dropped. No control, no care if the dropzone's controlled by gangs, just throwing supplies into a black hole.
... and these asshats are still in power? Fuck's sake, what the hell is Cauldron thinking with this?
Right, lessee what we got.
The Pod-Person is definitely a Ziz-bomb, and the plant-tinker probably was as well.
Holy shit. Worm had a non-contagious Alex Mercer. Or maybe more of a Carnage.
And this time there won't be annoying domestic politics to get in the way of political realities.
That's one disaster averted.
And this is the start of something bigger.
Damn. Black Sun is really ruling by feudalism, so a rule change will introduce instability that can only be crushed by both a swift campaign and an honest hand in those who accept the new deal. Nguyen Lam needs to get people to invest in his little fief, and that means economic connections. If international businesses start small but symbolically putting funds in, he'll make it hard for the other guys with money to say no. After all, it's the one thing they care about: more profit.
Getting Phosphor business connections should be much easier than taking down White Spear. I think it'll require a very public statement by Black Sun to all her underlings: There's new rules for the benefits she gives them. Any members of White Spear who give up now will receive mercy and protection from reprisal. Any who walk away are on their own for the rest of their short lives. Any who fight? Go down. And the rest of the gangs keep to the new rules, they'll get the same deal: Mercy and a chance for a pardon.
... oh you are so bullshit. You'd need to be a Jack level Thinker to even have a shot.
*looks at US shipbuilding infrastructure* Oh yeah, that'll take decades to rebuild.
Fucking hell. I hate to ask what kind of constituency elected him.
That's always the question, isn't it? Can the idealism be achieved, or do the crimes of the past forever taint what progress is made?
That's one hell of a distraction. But any plan is going to need to invest defensive infrastructure pretty quickly.
- Location
- Buenos aires
wow such great chapter i loved the argentina section (since im from buenos aires) and i cant wait to see what happens next
TimEd
Meteor maker
is this intentional?
Look at us, saving the world without turning it into a hellhole first. Wooo. Cauldron is still the Sting I am waiting for.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Sun Tzu's been sticking the votes in later for awhile so people get to digest and comment on the update itself. Obviously if the after-update content remains a bit small that's a little strange, but it made sense at the time it was rolled out and has remained so since.
- Location
- The City of Tears, Hallownest
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Should be Kabul
Energy Blasts
Otherwise, great chapter, Cauldron what are you doing, blackmail this congressman already. Nice to see the avatar continuing to do avatar things
Probably something along the lines of "Can't hold everyone's hand. You'd think they'd be smarter than that, but I guess not. Contessa, be a dear and beat Lord Walston (I think that's his name; the head of the King's Men) up. If he's terrified of a more permanent reprisal then maybe he won't be as boneheaded in the future, and in the meantime we won't need to waste time babysitting Britain."
Cauldron's biggest problem is always that they don't have enough time to manage everything, so they have to prioritize establishing power blocks capable of keeping a lid on things. Apart from the cock-up with London the King's Men are doing a fairly sterling job at keeping Britain at a low simmer, so removing them would be counterproductive.
---
The sheer scale of the problem in Brazil hadn't hit me until this chapter. Ten thousand parahumans. That's a big yikes from me. How many does the government in Brasilia control? I mean there's doubtless a large number of underground heroes who will come out of the cold once the government has control again, but it'll be a hell of a thing to try and take back Brazil. Even if the Guild put their entire focus on the problem it'd be a huge undertaking, and for all the problems of cartel violence in Brazil it isn't so bad that the Guild can afford to put other things aside to give it their full attention.
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
Cauldron's ultimate failure is that they managed to simultaneously underestimate and overestimate Zion - they were so terrified of him noticing them that they didn't actually try and build up the kind of multiplanetary infrastructure and research projects necessary to wage war against an Entity, but at the same time they didn't realize that there was zero way he didn't notice them in some fashion, even if he didn't keep eyes on Eden's corpse (likely for the same reason a human wouldn't want to watch a 24/7 live feed of their dead spouse).
They erred far too much on the side of caution, and were incredibly sloppy and excessive within the boundaries they set themselves; even while they were running a multidimensional kidnapping/human experimentation ring, and letting a good percentage of their membership spend most of their time on Earth-Bet, they somehow overlooked the fact that if the Triumvirate's constant Dooring around didn't set Scion off, then maybe they could Door other things, too, and tried to handle the planet as indirectly and tentatively as could possibly be managed.
So, either they didn't deal with the King's Men because they couldn't find a means of doing so via triple-proxy 14th-dimensional mind chess bullshit within a reasonable timescale, or their commitment to remaining hands-off with Earth-Bet affairs meant they tended to favor a sort of semi-controlled chaos over trying to establish actual lines of control & influence beyond the PRT/Protectorate, and thus allowed pretty much everything outside of the PRT's sphere of influence to run itself unless PtV dictated otherwise.
Arcane Howitzer
Serial Arcanist
- Location
- United States
Cauldron has probably been quietly shifting gears since Leviathan fell. As much as they might want to offer support to Avatar as the closest thing to a "silver bullet" that they can ever expect to find (and by his very nature far closer than any Parahuman could ever be), they're going to want to have all of their various crimes against humanity swept under the rug first before they openly extend the hand.
Finding a carpet three feet thick and roughly the size of Antarctica is a bit of a sticking point, but hey, that's what Contessa is for.
TimEd
Meteor maker
Yeah, and isnt that just annoying. Hopefully they are as incompetent at hiding their tracks as they are at doing their Prime Directive.
Sorry this took a while.
Hm. To my annoyed surprise, it looks like the new SV code is a lot less good at letting me copy-paste the chapter into a post. Didn't keep italics and bolds, so I had to hunt them down and change them manually. Didn't keep the inserted lines I use to separate scenes, either.
Cauldron's busy running across the planet. Path to Victory didn't call for Lord Walston's removal.
Incidentally, I've had some "fun" ideas for what the Nine could have done with Dungeon's power on their side.
The way America talks itself up, you'd think it never was a colonial power, that it single-handedly and selflessly saved the world from Nazism, that it's a worldwide champion of freedom. None of those things are even close to being true.
The way England talks itself up, you'd think it practiced slavery solely for the pleasure of outlawing it. And wasn't the biggest drug pusher of the 19th century.
The way France talks itself up, you'd think the Haitian Revolution never happened, the Crusades were heroic ventures, and there was no French involvement in Indochina.
The way Japan talks itself up, WWII was a tragic thing that happened to Japan.
And you know, I love Tinin, but Jesus fucking Christ there's a reason the author was later mortified by that early Congo book.
In 2019, Brazil has a population of 210 million people and change. 2011 Bet!Brazil would have less, due to a combination of societal collapse and a big chunk of São Paulo being radioactive ruins (thanks, Behemoth!), but the number's still not much below 200M.
So, going by the general numbers we see in Earth-Bet, there's likely more than 20,000 parahumans in Brazil.
Remember how in America and Canada, there's three villains for every hero (not counting rogues)? That's under near-best conditions, with a powerful Protectorate and semi-functioning civilian infrastructure. In a country where the government has effectively collapsed and the crime lords of yesterday are now warlords who openly rule whole cities and states? Heroes are few and far between; working for the cartels is the way to go.
So like I said, ten thousand parahumans working for the cartels? Those are lowballed numbers.
EDIT: Oh jeez, you're right. I got confused by other stories where she takes that codename. No, she's "Forecast" here.
On one hand, they're very interested in having Budget Scion killing Endbringers, since Endbringers are one of the big factors making their job harder.
On the other hand, they find Budget Scion deeply unnerving. "Can we trust this guy? Are we sure he's not an Entity?"
On one hand, the Avatar's work at restoring the balance of civilization is good for Earth-Bet.
On the other hand, Cauldron barely gives a shit about Earth-Bet, except to the extent that it's their recruitment ground for their parahuman army. In the end, the only thing Cauldron truly cares about is saving humanity across every dimension from Scion - and in that context, a single, lonesome inhabited world like Earth-Bet is ultimately expendable. They want to keep it one piece, because that's where nearly all the parahumans are, but their goals are much larger.
So, they've been adapting. Feeling the Avatar out. Trying new tools - getting data out of Tattletale, replicating her and Flechette's powers via Wing Warrior+Prochnost, focusing their Cauldron vials efforts on the creation of high-powered heroes (of which you've already met some. Hello, Leonardo), restoring Eidolon's power...
Hm. To my annoyed surprise, it looks like the new SV code is a lot less good at letting me copy-paste the chapter into a post. Didn't keep italics and bolds, so I had to hunt them down and change them manually. Didn't keep the inserted lines I use to separate scenes, either.
From the awesomely over-the-top Kung Fury.
Well, that's something several more years in the future.
Well, yes. Standard policy toward Simurgh exclusion zones is that you not only don't let anyone out - you also avoid talking to them or so much as looking at them, in case something you see causes a Simurgh-planned chain reaction.
"These guys are building a powerful parahuman army and even if they weren't, they wouldn't be among our top fifty concerns", basically.
Cauldron's busy running across the planet. Path to Victory didn't call for Lord Walston's removal.
I had You Say Run playing on loop while writing this. Considered making it the music for this chapter. XD
Very likely.
I don't know enough about those characters to meaningfully comment, but fights with Grendel tended to involve a bunch of massive tentacles, each one long as a diplodocus's tail and thick as a cow, massacring everyone on the battlefield.
Hopefully. Parahumans tend to make geopolitics even more volatile than they usually are.
Are you talking about the hunt for the Nine, or Dungeon's power?
Incidentally, I've had some "fun" ideas for what the Nine could have done with Dungeon's power on their side.
Presumably the same kind of constituency that elected Steve King.
Plus, you know. Virtually every country likes to think that it's special, and righteous in its actions.
The way America talks itself up, you'd think it never was a colonial power, that it single-handedly and selflessly saved the world from Nazism, that it's a worldwide champion of freedom. None of those things are even close to being true.
The way England talks itself up, you'd think it practiced slavery solely for the pleasure of outlawing it. And wasn't the biggest drug pusher of the 19th century.
The way France talks itself up, you'd think the Haitian Revolution never happened, the Crusades were heroic ventures, and there was no French involvement in Indochina.
The way Japan talks itself up, WWII was a tragic thing that happened to Japan.
And you know, I love Tinin, but Jesus fucking Christ there's a reason the author was later mortified by that early Congo book.
To the extent that such infrastructure can be built.
Thanks! I'm always concerned in sections like that whether I'm doing various countries justice, with the very limited bits of research I do.
Ten thousand is actually Doctor Volt lowballing it.
In 2019, Brazil has a population of 210 million people and change. 2011 Bet!Brazil would have less, due to a combination of societal collapse and a big chunk of São Paulo being radioactive ruins (thanks, Behemoth!), but the number's still not much below 200M.
So, going by the general numbers we see in Earth-Bet, there's likely more than 20,000 parahumans in Brazil.
Remember how in America and Canada, there's three villains for every hero (not counting rogues)? That's under near-best conditions, with a powerful Protectorate and semi-functioning civilian infrastructure. In a country where the government has effectively collapsed and the crime lords of yesterday are now warlords who openly rule whole cities and states? Heroes are few and far between; working for the cartels is the way to go.
So like I said, ten thousand parahumans working for the cartels? Those are lowballed numbers.
She took the codename "Oracle" when she joined the Wards a while ago.
EDIT: Oh jeez, you're right. I got confused by other stories where she takes that codename. No, she's "Forecast" here.
Cauldron's been adapting their strategy since the Battle of Brockton Bay.
On one hand, they're very interested in having Budget Scion killing Endbringers, since Endbringers are one of the big factors making their job harder.
On the other hand, they find Budget Scion deeply unnerving. "Can we trust this guy? Are we sure he's not an Entity?"
On one hand, the Avatar's work at restoring the balance of civilization is good for Earth-Bet.
On the other hand, Cauldron barely gives a shit about Earth-Bet, except to the extent that it's their recruitment ground for their parahuman army. In the end, the only thing Cauldron truly cares about is saving humanity across every dimension from Scion - and in that context, a single, lonesome inhabited world like Earth-Bet is ultimately expendable. They want to keep it one piece, because that's where nearly all the parahumans are, but their goals are much larger.
So, they've been adapting. Feeling the Avatar out. Trying new tools - getting data out of Tattletale, replicating her and Flechette's powers via Wing Warrior+Prochnost, focusing their Cauldron vials efforts on the creation of high-powered heroes (of which you've already met some. Hello, Leonardo), restoring Eidolon's power...
Last edited:
SaltyWaffles
I am dissapoint, son
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Good god, I remembered just how much I love this quest. This update was fantastic. So much to love--the worldbuilding, the laying out of so many real-world issues and how the right people in the right place at the right time can help a whole lot with them, making Earth-Bet feel so much more alive and real than any fanfic or quest out there.
Quick question: I thought Dina took the name Forecast, not Oracle? Am I misremembering?
I assume the Guild would be using lethal force from the outset, here? Because there's no way their opponents won't be using lethal force, and there's no way the Guild or even the PRT could find a way to imprison 10,000 villains at once, or even remotely close.
Regardless, how does the Guild expect the city to remain out of the cartels' hands once they leave? If there are thousands of villains who would love to capture that "market" once the Guild leaves, and the Brazilian government isn't strong enough to hold it against such forces, then...?
Furthermore, shouldn't Cauldron be convinced by the fact that Avatar is predictable to Thinkers? And that Dinah alone can predict that Avatar would never commit genocide against humans, for example? Or that Contessa could not create a path for him becoming evil? Or that she can find a path to actually killing him, and the methods required are absolutely nothing like the methods required to kill Eden or Scion?
Also, please tell me Cauldron is making the creation and mass production of tinkertech Sting its top priority? With Contessa, Dragon, Muramasa, Leet, Leonardo, and Eidolon, there's no way they haven't already made immense progress on that. It's the one effective weapon for killing Endbringers that they've got (aside from Avatar himself), and they have no idea when Behemoth will attack, or when new Endbringers will show up. and Contessa could just go "Path to replicating Flechette's power with tinkertech, and giving Dragon the ability to mass produce said tinkertech", and immediately find the answer.
Quick question: I thought Dina took the name Forecast, not Oracle? Am I misremembering?
It's worth noting that most parahumans do not have especially impressive powers, especially compared to top-tier heroes like Avatar, Narwhal, Dragon, Strider, etc. And that those ten thousand would be heavily divided between cartels that are constantly feuding and warring with each other, no doubt with a high turnover rate since deaths would be prevalent in such clashes.
I assume the Guild would be using lethal force from the outset, here? Because there's no way their opponents won't be using lethal force, and there's no way the Guild or even the PRT could find a way to imprison 10,000 villains at once, or even remotely close.
Regardless, how does the Guild expect the city to remain out of the cartels' hands once they leave? If there are thousands of villains who would love to capture that "market" once the Guild leaves, and the Brazilian government isn't strong enough to hold it against such forces, then...?
You'd think that Cauldron would be catching on to the blatant demonstration Avatar is giving them that quality trumps quantity when it comes to building a parahuman force. Hero organizations can be counted on to actually fight Scion when the time comes. A mob of terrified, selfish parahumans is highly unlikely to have any chance against Scion even if they had a combination of powers that could threaten him.
Furthermore, shouldn't Cauldron be convinced by the fact that Avatar is predictable to Thinkers? And that Dinah alone can predict that Avatar would never commit genocide against humans, for example? Or that Contessa could not create a path for him becoming evil? Or that she can find a path to actually killing him, and the methods required are absolutely nothing like the methods required to kill Eden or Scion?
Also, please tell me Cauldron is making the creation and mass production of tinkertech Sting its top priority? With Contessa, Dragon, Muramasa, Leet, Leonardo, and Eidolon, there's no way they haven't already made immense progress on that. It's the one effective weapon for killing Endbringers that they've got (aside from Avatar himself), and they have no idea when Behemoth will attack, or when new Endbringers will show up. and Contessa could just go "Path to replicating Flechette's power with tinkertech, and giving Dragon the ability to mass produce said tinkertech", and immediately find the answer.
...
Well, is my face red.
It's true. Most parahuman powers are no big deal.
But if there's ten thousand parahumans, you can expect a significant number of A-listers among them.
In the short term, the cartels are gonna be otherwise occupied. And the Guild can always return.
In the longer term... well. Let's say the Guild is expecting multiple operations in Brazil to be necessary.
Those all factor into why Cauldron isn't freaking the hell out.
However, at the same time, here's the Avatar claiming to be from a world where magic is real, aliens have blown up Madagascar, genetic-based superpowers are a thing, there's an ancient city of elves ruled by an immortal evil sorcerer... and the combined efforts of Contessa, Clairvoyant and Door can not reach this strange world or even confirm its existence. Plus, the Avatar has demonstrated that his fate-warping powers can fool the Simurgh, so they definitely can fool Contessa.
They're still more inclined to view him as a huge asset, but they're understandably cautious.
Cauldron isn't confident that Sting would work against Scion, but they do consider it their best bet to date - that's why they put all that effort into creating multiple replicas (at least one in their hands, one in Wing Warrior's suit, and one in the hands of Koroleva).
With that said, Masamune is currently MIA and believed dead, Leet is the last Tinker you want involved in any sort of mass-production project (and is kind of on an extended vacation following his ordeal with the Simurgh), and attempts at mass-producing tinkertech are infamously fickle. So it's not as easy as it sounds.
Also note - ever since Leviathan's death, the PRT has been bringing in parahumans from all over the world, testing their powers against Leviathan's corpse to see what works and what doesn't. Without giving away too much, Sting is not the only promising lead they've found.
Does this work? Nope. Does this work? Nope. Does this work? Nope. Does this work? Eh. Maybe stick on the revisit pile. Next!
I pity whoever gets stuck overseeing that mess.
- Location
- Koszalin, Poland
Some polish words corrections:
Wilanow -> Wilanów
Bialoleka -> Białołęka
Krakow->Kraków if you want to keep it strictly polish
Lodz->Łódź
Wroclaw->Wrocław
Ahh polish language and lots of strange letters in it like ą, ę, ć, cz, etc.
Damsel of Distress should possibly work. Her power would work according to the lore through Alexandria's forcefield, so yeah, this is reasonably safe bet. Problem is that personality, but this is pretty much a given with most parahumans really.
Scrub I don't think triggered yet or he may never do with all those butterflies, but this is also good bet.
Also pretty much members of unofficial 'All-or-Nothing club all sound like potential good candidates to break through Endbringers or at least stop them for some time properly.
And who knows what is out there in the world with your amazing worldbuilding.
Wilanow -> Wilanów
Bialoleka -> Białołęka
Krakow->Kraków if you want to keep it strictly polish
Lodz->Łódź
Wroclaw->Wrocław
Ahh polish language and lots of strange letters in it like ą, ę, ć, cz, etc.
Damsel of Distress should possibly work. Her power would work according to the lore through Alexandria's forcefield, so yeah, this is reasonably safe bet. Problem is that personality, but this is pretty much a given with most parahumans really.
Scrub I don't think triggered yet or he may never do with all those butterflies, but this is also good bet.
Also pretty much members of unofficial 'All-or-Nothing club all sound like potential good candidates to break through Endbringers or at least stop them for some time properly.
And who knows what is out there in the world with your amazing worldbuilding
.
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Carnage sounds about right, but I think instead of being a stereotypical serial killer, he's more of a "The strongest survive, and I am strong!" type.
I wish I had a better sense of the real effect of the vote here.
I mean, in the sense that we voted for the Avatar to help in these places so we got a bunch of scenes of him helping in these places. But if we had voted for him to help in other places instead, would there be any real difference other than a set of different scenes?
Is there some behind the scenes tracker of countries getting strong/weaker that has effects when they reach certain critical points?
I mean, in the sense that we voted for the Avatar to help in these places so we got a bunch of scenes of him helping in these places. But if we had voted for him to help in other places instead, would there be any real difference other than a set of different scenes?
Is there some behind the scenes tracker of countries getting strong/weaker that has effects when they reach certain critical points?