A Champion in Earth Bet [Worm/Original Setting]
- Thread starter sun tzu
- Start date
Sheaman3773
(Unverified Writer)
- Location
- Within ~1 AU of Sol
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] Armsmaster is your current leader. You can set up your communication power to ask for instructions very, very quickly.
[X] Armsmaster is your current leader. You can set up your communication power to ask for instructions very, very quickly.
FunkyEntropy
Occasionally insightful, possibly grumpy
- Location
- Los Angeles
[X] Armsmaster is your current leader. You can set up your communication power to ask for instructions very, very quickly.
For a couple reasons.
(1) I don't want to have to deal with a Armsmaster whinny bitchfest because we hurt his pride.
(2) We did, IIR, agree to follow the rules, regulations, and chain of command of the PRT during our stay at BB.
(3) We can easily intervene if things go south. Not that I except them to, but if things go bad we suddenly have a good excuse for not perfectly adhering to the letter of our agreement with the PRT.
For a couple reasons.
(1) I don't want to have to deal with a Armsmaster whinny bitchfest because we hurt his pride.
(2) We did, IIR, agree to follow the rules, regulations, and chain of command of the PRT during our stay at BB.
(3) We can easily intervene if things go south. Not that I except them to, but if things go bad we suddenly have a good excuse for not perfectly adhering to the letter of our agreement with the PRT.
[X] The quicker you end this, the less you need to worry about someone getting hurt. You take the Merchants down with quick, efficient strikes.
You have already been ordered to go there and make a difference. There is no need for micromanagement and Armsmaster's ego shouldn't be an issue that especially concerns you right now.
You have already been ordered to go there and make a difference. There is no need for micromanagement and Armsmaster's ego shouldn't be an issue that especially concerns you right now.
[X] The quicker you end this, the less you need to worry about someone getting hurt. You take the Merchants down with quick, efficient strikes.
- Location
- Brazil
[X] Armsmaster is your current leader. You can set up your communication power to ask for instructions very, very quickly.
[X] Armsmaster is your current leader. You can set up your communication power to ask for instructions very, very quickly.
VOTE CLOSED.
Vote tally:
##### 3.21
[X] The quicker you end this, the less you need to worry about someone getting hurt. You take the Merchants down with quick, efficient strikes.
No. of votes: 10
Goldfish, Rooster, Tsotate, EVA-Saiyajin, Prefixmancer, alid610, Erehwon, Dirk93, Nemonowan, CatScannerDarkly
[X] Armsmaster is your current leader. You can set up your communication power to ask for instructions very, very quickly.
No. of votes: 16
moonberserker, wingstrike96, devo342, devas, veekie, Broken25, Somebodynobody10, SirKaid, Lord Samiel, Diller, ryuan, Sheaman3773, Unelemental, FunkyEntropy, Zaratustra, LordCassius
Vote tally:
##### 3.21
[X] The quicker you end this, the less you need to worry about someone getting hurt. You take the Merchants down with quick, efficient strikes.
No. of votes: 10
Goldfish, Rooster, Tsotate, EVA-Saiyajin, Prefixmancer, alid610, Erehwon, Dirk93, Nemonowan, CatScannerDarkly
[X] Armsmaster is your current leader. You can set up your communication power to ask for instructions very, very quickly.
No. of votes: 16
moonberserker, wingstrike96, devo342, devas, veekie, Broken25, Somebodynobody10, SirKaid, Lord Samiel, Diller, ryuan, Sheaman3773, Unelemental, FunkyEntropy, Zaratustra, LordCassius
"under attack", I presume.
Pretty sure that the second one is supposed to be "objectively".
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That's wrong. He offered protection via his own power messing with hers. Which does actually work, to be fair. Alcott was a bonus.
Not exactly. He said that if his plan worked he'd acquire the resources to make their return possible. Which was true enough. And he was really working toward curing Noelle as we saw during his Interlude. But the point was that he only told them that he'd be able to help them after they'd have helped him.
For the time being, Coil hasn't failed to live up to his promise to them.
"pornography"
The vote is closed, but this is the winning option.
About halfway through writing the next update.
I gotta wonder if he was aware of Cauldron's interdimensional capabilities (probably not, since I don't see why they'd tell him, but...).
- Location
- England
[X] The locals have more experience fighting the Merchants than you. You focus on a support role and on preventing any collateral damage.
My theory is that Madman is Sun Tzu's SI from his CYOA fic.
His power was Inspired Inventor.
His power was Inspired Inventor.
Ad Hoc, you mean? XD
An amusing theory, but, nah. Ad Hoc is trying to be Lawful Good. Madman is having a blast being Chaotic Neutral.
Much like Checkmate Warren, Madman was a character I'd used in one of my earliest fanfics, whom I ended up recycling for The Avatar's World when I needed characters for a superhero setting.
Well, after several decades of being Lawful Good, he might feel like trying something new, take a vacation so to speak. His tech is OCP for most settings.
Do you have a link to that fanfic?
Yyyyyes, but, keep in mind... it's from over a decade ago, it's one of the first things I've ever written (with the lower quality one might expect), and Fanfiction.net has murdered the formatting so it's hard to tell when there's a scene switch.
If none of that deters you, enjoy Snowball, which was inspired by the excellent Snowmen and Sneak Attacks. (Just to clarify: The Madman in the fanfic is ten. The one in the Avatar's World is an adult, hence the somewhat, ah, larger scale of operations.)
Thanks.
I like your current fics, so I won't judge you too harshly
Cooperation
COOPERATION
You're still new to this world, this city. The Protectorate are the lawfully deputized heroes here, and New Wave has been at it for many years. Furthermore, you have agreed to operate for the time being as an agent of the Protectorate. So why not work with the chain of command?
Which is not to say you need to be idle. You fly right in front of Skidmark, giving him a stern look with your arms crossed while his power pulls your cape behind you. That gives him a few seconds of hesitation while you mentally communicate with your team leader.
"Armsmaster, Avatar here. All four recorded Merchants capes present, eleven unpowered mooks, three New Wave capes. Orders?"
To his credit, the Tinker responds pretty quickly: "Control the battlefield. Keep them from hurting anyone, OR from escaping."
Well. You can do that.
Skidmark is the one causing the most damage. Thankfully, flying in his face the way you are doing means that he is focusing his attention on you instead of Brandish. He is backing away (only for you to follow, matching his speed), trying to use his power to propel you backwards, all the while making spectacularly ugly use of the English language.
Not even bothering to look at him (which seems to enrage him even further), you wave your hand, causing a solid omni-metal wall to appear, completely blocking the street. The eleven gangsters and Trainwreck are on the other side of it; everyone else is on yours.
"STOP IGNORING ME, you cock-chewing son of a cum-guzzling diarrhea-eating whore!" Skidmark lets his displeasure be known.
"Make me," you say, hovering as you circle around him, not sparing him a glance. Childish… but it distracts him, which serves the purpose of the short taunt; he is so focused on you, he completely forgets about Brandish until she drives her energy blade in the back of his thigh, causing the Merchants' leader to fall down with a pained yelp.
Glory Girl and Flashbang are still handling Squealer. You fly past Mush, who dives to get out of your way - not that he was your target. Instead, you fly above the wall you've created earlier. Trainwreck and the unpowered Merchants are still trying to decide whether to try to break down the wall or take a detour from another street. When they see you, several of them raise their guns and fire; Trainwreck himself blasts at you with what you guess is some kind of tinkertech mass driver. Not that it matters; compared to Leviathan's punches, anything they can bring to bear against you might as well be nerf guns.
You send out an energy blast. Not the sort of focused, all-destroying blast you used on Leviathan; no, this time you spread the energy thinly, and only use a small fraction of it at that, hitting all twelve of your targets simultaneously. The mooks collapse to the ground, unconscious; Trainwreck stumbles, hurt but still standing.
You remain at a decent altitude, turning your gaze back to the rest of the battlefield. Squealer's mech almost manages to punch Glory Girl against a lamppost, but the young heroine gets out of the way at the last moment. The next instant, Armsmaster's tinkertech bike finally gets in range, stopping with a loud squeal of the tires; he doesn't even wait to dismount before aiming his halberd at the mech. An electric sound comes out, and then Squealer's machine falls over like a giant ragdoll. Some kind of EMP blaster?
Mush is rushing toward Brandish, when he gets nailed by a luminous beam. Gallant, who is arriving with Shadow Stalker. The villain is only slightly pushed back… but he doesn't move forward. He remains still as Shadow Stalker and Brandish attack him.
You guess Gallant must have hit him with some form of resigned despair, or something to that effect. Good enough. You send another blast at Trainwreck - more focused and concentrated than the last, though still nowhere near what you used against the Endbringer. This time, he collapses to the ground. A second later, Flashbang yells at Brandish and Shadow Stalker to get out of the way, which they do as he hits the villain with another explosive sphere. Glory Girl, reaching into Squealer's mech, rips the Tinker out of the cockpit.
You quickly switch to a suite of enhanced senses, scanning the area for any further problem, but find none. The battle is won, and your side didn't so much as suffer a minor injury.
Lady Photon arrives shortly afterward. She is followed by her children, Crystal Pelham/Laserdream and Eric Pelham/Shielder. Armsmaster is on his com unit, reporting that the situation is contained and Dauntless's assistance is not required (he fails to mention Velocity, which further inclines you to think he has a problem with Dauntless specifically). You are busy disintegrating the wall you made and making a few quick repairs to the collateral damage when Neil Pelham/Manpower, Lady Photon's husband, arrives on the scene - meaning that the only member of New Wave not present is Panacea, the healer you saved at the Endbringer fight.
Things wind down a bit as the criminals are secured and you all await the PRT vans. With the situation under control, Lady Photon approaches you.
"Avatar. It's an honor."
"From what I've read about your family, I could say the same." New Wave, known as the Brockton Bay Brigade in its early days, is one of the longest-running independent superhero teams in the country. They became New Wave when they publicly abandoned their secret identities in an effort to make parahumans more accountable - an attempt that ended in tragedy when one of their members was murdered in her own home. Despite how it ended, you have to admire their courage and sense of duty.
"We try," she says modestly, "but you seem to be getting results a lot faster than we ever did. Coil, the Travelers… and I'm not sure we'd have gotten the Merchants without your intervention."
"Debatable, but I doubt I would have been here in time if you hadn't been there to intercept them in the first place. This is as much New Wave's victory as the Protectorate's."
She smiles at that. "I don't know how many people will see it like that, but what truly matters is that they're gone. I suppose this leaves the Empire, Faultine's Crew, and the Undersiders as the only significant villain forces in town."
"Actually, I'm not even sure about the Undersiders," you say. "They're the ones who made Coil's arrest possible - most notably Skitter, who is leaving the gang and trying to negotiate a position in the Wards out of town."
Lady Photon frowns. "Skitter. Hm. I can't say my nieces are very fond of her."
"Understandable given the circumstances where they met, but Skitter's got a good heart underneath a couple of poor life choices. Speaking of your nieces, though… I note Panacea is the only absent team member. Is she working at the hospital?"
It Panacea's mother, Brandish, who answers. "Panacea is… on a break. Between the pressure she is constantly under and her injuries in the Endbringer battle, it was decided that she needed three days away from cape business, including her hospital work."
"You can thank Gallant for that," says Glory Girl with an amused smirk. She said it half in jest, but Armsmaster instantly takes notice. "What do you mean?" His gaze alternates between the flying brick and the Ward.
"Ah… I've been noticing Panacea seemed to be under more pressure than she could handle," says Gallant, clearly uncomfortable under the Protectorate leader's scrutiny. "I told her family, and that's led to her being told to take a short break."
"Which she is taking at a local SPA resort, courtesy of Vicky's rich boyfriend," Shielder says with some amusement.
Hm. Gallant isn't lying, but he isn't saying everything, either. Mind you, that might just be concern for Panacea's privacy. Armsmaster looks displeased with him, but you suspect Armsmaster doesn't really grok the concept of rest and relaxation. To be honest, it's not one that comes naturally to you, either… but you have much experience with human beings, and adjust accordingly. Armsmaster's lack of empathy may prevent him from understanding mindsets different from his own.
You avoid that particular minefield for now, resuming your conversation with Lady Photon. The subject of secret identities comes up around the time the PRT vans arrive.
"...so we don't know your name, but you have no mask that I can see. I wasn't sure what your position on secret identities was."
"I have been working as a superhero 24/7 for nearly a century. I do not have a civilian identity to protect," you say. Not the entire truth… but the reason you hide your true nature is because that particular bit of knowledge could potentially be used to cataclysmic purpose. "Back in the America of Earth-Gimel - and, really, most democratic nations - metahumans are required to register with a specialized government agency under their real name, but they have the option of requesting that it remains sealed from the public. About half of them take it."
"What about the other half? Aren't they concerned about becoming targets?"
"Not really, for the same reason regular police forces do not bother with secret identities: Anyone who tries to get at a superhero via their civilian lives will immediately become the top priority of hundreds upon hundreds of their colleagues. Such incidents are thus very rare." Seeing her expression, you add: "For the record, I agree with New Wave's ideals. Parahumans should be held to the same degree of accountability as unpowered people." For an unmasking like the one New Wave performed to work, though, there needs to be a critical mass of heroes - not just a half-dozen capes. You keep that thought to yourself for now, though - no need to pour salt on old wounds.
As you escort the PRT convoy bringing the Merchants back to base, you have the opportunity to talk to Gallant.
"Good job with Mush. You made Flashbang's job a lot easier."
"Thank you sir. Though I don't think my presence was strictly necessary."
"Not any one person's was, but everybody who got there in time helped." You pause. "Concerning Panacea's difficulties. Is there some way I may assist?"
He pauses, slightly taken back, and considers. "I don't think so, but, thanks for the offer. Panacea has… Well, she's been through a lot. I've been realizing that since the Central Bank robbery. I kept intending to do something to help her, but then the gang war started, I got distracted with all the mayhem… I guess almost getting killed by Leviathan reminded me that if I don't do something now, I might not have a chance to do it later. I've been talking to Vicky, to their parents, to the Pelhams, and I did my best to explain that the girl needed a break." Again, you sense that he isn't telling you everything, but you're not sensing any guilt in his tone or body language - probably hiding some family secrets, or something Panacea wouldn't want known. "I'm hoping I can get her some support, maybe a good therapist. Amy's a great girl, but she's got too much to put up with."
"Perhaps," you say. "But if she has reliable friends who understand her and will keep working to help her - which it appears she does - then I suspect that, ultimately, she will be fine," you reply with a smile.
You take (almost literally) a second to write and turn in your report of the altercation. The director will want to debrief you all, but there's some time before that. You have a few ideas of what to do with that time when, once again, your communicator activates. Not the PRT this time - it's Skitter.
Well, you gave her your number for a reason.
Perhaps it's slightly paranoid of you, but you use your communication powers instead of the device once again. "Greetings, Skitter. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Ah… I hope I'm not bothering you in the middle of something important. I was hoping for some advice."
"Certainly. Would you rather meet face-to-face, or is this fine?"
She hesitates for a moment. "...I wouldn't mind face-to-face."
A short while later, the bug-costumed heroine and you are discussing matters on an abandoned building's roof.
"I've met with the PRT's image expert," she says. "I'm not so sure about some of the changes he wants to make. I mean, there's small stuff, like changing my name to Weaver. Adding gold to my color scheme wouldn't make for great camouflage, but I could live with it. But then there's my combat tactics, the way he wants me to use my bugs… I feel like the PRT cares less about how efficient heroes are than about public image."
"A valid concern," you say. "However, try to look at it from their perspective. Do you think they are wrong to care about public image?"
"I can see why they would be concerned about losing public support and government money," she shrugs, "but if they make too many sacrifices in order to look good, they're not going to accomplish any of their actual objectives."
"And what would you say is your objective?" you ask with a patient smile.
She pauses. "To save people. To stop the bullies."
"Good answer! But tell me this, then," you add with a more serious expression: "What is the point of saving the day, if people keep living in fear tomorrow?"
She pauses at that, confused. She stops to think about it for a moment. "You mean that if the heroes are just as scary as the villains, everyone will be living in fear?"
"Essentially. I could have fought Leviathan like an avenging angel, focusing entirely on killing him before he took any more lives, and then promising bloody vengeance on anyone else who dared threaten the innocent. But would that really have done more good than my chosen approach? I didn't choose to be the threat of righteous retribution. I chose to speak for hope and compassion. I sincerely believe that I have accomplished more good that way than I would have, had I chosen to be terrifying."
"OK, I can see your point. Heroes should be inspiring. But it's not so much help if the heroes lose."
"You might be surprised on that front, too," you grin. "I've seen losers whose courage inspired others to rise in their support, defeat notwithstanding. But Skitter… or Weaver, whichever you prefer… I am not asking you to lose." You gaze expectantly at her. "You have proven your cleverness on multiple occasions. If the PRT is asking you to be more image-friendly, then I would like to ask you: Can you think of ways to keep winning while doing just that?"
Again, she pauses to think before answering. "I think I can come up with a few ideas."
"Excellent. I have faith in your abilities."
"T… Thank you." She pauses. "Thank you for taking some of your time for this."
You notice the small irregularity in her voice. "With that said… was there anything else? A different reason you wanted to talk?"
She flinches at that, crossing her arms defensively. "I… no, it's fine, thank you."
Gently, you place a hand on her shoulder. "I will not insist if this is a matter you do not wish to discuss, my young friend. However, I do hope you understand that I do want to help you. Whatever it is, I'll be happy to at least present a sympathetic ear."
In truth, you rarely have the time for this sort of thing. Working for the Protectorate, however, your schedule currently leaves more time for social matters than you've had in years.
The young heroine, to the very least, is not insensible to your sincere offer. "It's… It sounds pretty stupid compared to everything else, but the PRT says they can't move on to the next step of my recruitment without bringing in my dad. I don't mind telling them my secret identity, not at this point. But my dad doesn't know about this. About any of this. He doesn't know I have powers, he doesn't know how bad things got for me that I got powers, he doesn't know about all the times I almost died… I intended to tell him, at some point, once I had some heroic victories under my belt, but then I became a villain instead. I haven't even been home for two weeks, because he knew I was hiding something, and he tried to force a confrontation, and I couldn't take it and…"
For the second time this week, you give her a hug. Goodness, this girl hasn't been having a very good month, has she?
As she returns the much-needed hug, you speak softly: "Skitter… do you love your father?"
"Yeah," comes the strangled voice of someone close to crying.
"And does he love you?"
"Yeah."
No hesitation. That's good. There's a lot about Skitter that reminds you of recovering abuse victims, but the way she talks about her father isn't one of them. If there's anyone at the source of her misery, it's not him. "Then doesn't that matter more than any other concerns? Are you worried he'll react poorly to your past actions as a villain?"
"...He won't be happy about it."
"But do you think he'll try to be understanding?"
She pauses. "Yeah. I think so."
You smile. "With that said, would it help if I was there when you broke the news to him?"
Danny Hebert had at first felt relief when his daughter finally came home, compounded by a multitude of worries at seeing she was accompanied by a man his age he didn't recognize.
Hugging Taylor had felt nice - he hadn't realized until then how much he had needed that hug. But then, the man had metamorphosed into… the Avatar? The Endstopper? The Miracle-Worker of Brockton Bay? Why on Earth…
The Avatar had been very charming. He had said he had met Taylor during Leviathan's attack, while she had been working hard to save several helpless civilians (which gave Danny a cold sweat. Taylor had called him quickly in the aftermath of the battle, reassured him she was OK, but even days later, the idea that she'd been out there was terrifying). He went on to praise Taylor's courage and selfless nobility.
And then, the Avatar had said the PRT wanted to recruit Taylor into the Wards.
Taylor was a cape.
His daughter had seemed hesitant. She had looked at the Avatar for reassurance. Reassurance that he seemed able to give her with a look.
"Dad, I'm Skitter."
The following… half an hour? Hour? He wasn't sure - had been highly emotional, but explained a lot. Taylor fighting Lung. Taylor going undercover with the Undersiders. Taylor finding herself unable to betray them. Taylor discovering the extent of Coil's depravity, helping the Avatar stop him. A lot of things suddenly made sense.
He had handled it as well as he could. Promised to support her in the Wards. Reassured her that moving to another city was feasible, now that the dockworkers' situation wasn't so hopeless (one more thing for which he thanked the Avatar). Agreed to meet the PRT tomorrow morning.
By the end of that conversation, after Taylor returned to her room, he was feeling both drained, terrified, relieved, cautiously hopeful… and, to a degree, like even more of a failure as a father than before. He had been unable to help Taylor with her problems. The Avatar, showing up less than a week ago, had done so much more-
That train of thought was interrupted by the Endstopper… congratulating him on having raised someone like Taylor.
"I don't think I've been the rock she needed me to be," he admitted wearily.
"If not, then you have the opportunity to make up for that now," the Avatar said with contagious confidence. "Your daughter is a good person. She did not get it from a bad father."
Somehow, when the Avatar said it, it just sounded eminently reasonable.
The debriefing is going to start in a short while, but you have just enough time for one short conversation. With that in mind, you quickly locate Shadow Stalker.
She tenses up at the sight of you. "Uh, hey. See you with Pigg… Piggot in a few."
"I will, but, would you mind having a short chat before that?"
Her body language is guarded - you get the impression she's like that with authority figures in general - but she doesn't brush you off. "...Sure. About what?"
"I was wondering. Back in the field, you seemed less than happy with me." Her body language indicated some dissatisfaction, certainly. "I was wondering what had upset you."
She seems hesitant to answer, so you add: "I assure you, criticism is welcome. I do not take offense at having my failings honestly pointed out."
"Well, if you're gonna to ask…" She matches your gaze with intensity. "You could have taken those assholes down in five seconds flat, instead of playing keepaway with them. You were playing support. If you'd cut loose, it would have been done in a flash."
"That's true," you state simply, which takes some of the wind out of her sails. "It would have been quicker. There would have been some extra property damage, and the odds of one of us getting injured would have been just a little bit higher. As such, I didn't really see any major problem with Armsmaster's orders."
She snorts at that. "And that's a joke."
"Which part?"
"You, taking orders from Armsmaster. You're basically Alexandria, a super-boosted Legend, and one third of Eidolon rolled into one. He's a Tinker with a fancy halberd and a stick up his ass. Don't get me wrong, he could probably kick my ass in fight, but the two of you aren't in the same league."
You chuckle at that. "Are you saying that, because I am more powerful than him, his orders are irrelevant?"
"I'm saying, if you told him to go fuck himself, he wouldn't have much of a recourse. You can humor him, but he can't force you to do anything."
"None of this is incorrect," you say with a small smile. "And yet, I took the time to ask Armsmaster for orders instead of jumping right in with my own battle plan."
"And that's what gets me," she says. "You're the freaking Endslayer, and you're still playing their games. An apex predator playing the part of a housecat."
Your smile is more than a little amused by now. "And how well, exactly, do you think I would have fared against Leviathan, if Armsmaster hadn't disintegrated his ablative armor? If Vista hadn't allowed Armsmaster to do it without getting in range of Leviathan's melee attacks? If Eidolon hadn't held him in place? If Tattletale hadn't told me about his weak point?" You give a little laugh. "Goodness, Shadow Stalker, I'm powerful, not omnipotent. All of my greatest accomplishments were team efforts - like nearly everyone else.
"You call me an apex predator. Well, so is mankind. Humans have laughable teeth and claws, no venom worth mentioning, and quite frankly they're terrible sprinters. What they do have going for them is their intelligence… and cooperation in the most advanced, complex, massive societies in the world, eclipsing even the anthills that dominate the insect world. They build walls around their villages. They hunt in teams. They learn how to make tools and fire, then transmit that knowledge to the next generation. They cooperate to achieve impossible things. For crying out loud - scientists, medical personnel, and United Nations bureaucrats working together for two decades were able to drive the smallpox virus to extinction - and if anything ever earned the title of apex predator, it's smallpox.
"You say that I'm powerful, Shadow Stalker, and you're right. You are oh so very right. But a near-century of superpowered fights has shown me, again and again, that power comes in many forms. Sometimes, power is the ability to blast enough energy to raze a mountain. Sometimes, power is the cleverness required to come up with a brilliant plan mid-battle. And sometimes, power is the ability to make friends and allies who will fight by your side."
You gaze into the distance. "You would be amazed at how many times that last one has saved me. You think your S-class threats are bad… but, if I didn't have a team I could rely on completely back home, my attempts to protect Earth-Gimel would have ended in dismal failure ten times over by now.
"So, yes, I obeyed Armsmaster's orders. Because Armsmaster knows this world, this city, these villains, better than me. Because I agreed to work with the Protectorate, and that means playing by their rules. Because part of what makes me strong is that I work with others, and I believe I will need that strength in Earth-Bet just as much as in Gimel.
"There is strength in cooperation," you conclude, "and it is well worth having."
You're not sure if this was exactly a life-changing revelation or anything, but you think you got to her at least somewhat. Which is good, because it seems clear that Shadow Stalker is trying a bit too hard to be an edgy anti-hero, and you don't think she's doing it at the request of the PR department.
The debriefing itself, which is also attended by Brandish, is fairly uneventful for the most part. Director Piggot asks questions, comments about the tactical decisions made, finds a few minor (if legitimate) causes to gripe… but, overall, she's happy with the results.
"This has, in essence, been your first actual fight in the field with Protectorate supervision," she notes. "Glad to see you know how to follow orders."
"I did agree to operate by the Protectorate's rules for as long as I was a member, provisional or not," you state matter-of-factly. "I am no stranger to having a field commander." You may be the leader of the Global Champions, but you have tactical geniuses like Bleu-Blanc-Rouge take command in the field in the heat of battle. It's only sensible.
"Then it's good to see the power isn't going to your head." The director is, admittedly, somewhat tactless, and you've gotten the distinct impression she distrusts superpowered individuals. Still, she's been doing an acceptable job so far. As she files some of the paperwork, your cosmic senses allow you to read a paper she signed that wasn't facing you - it's an authorization form for the use of parahuman healing abilities, aimed at Genesis. She probably doesn't intend to mention it during the debriefing itself, obviously.
"All right," Brandish interrupts, "unless there is anything else… I think we need to address the elephant in the room."
"Which would be?" the director eyes her cautiously.
"The ABB are gone," says Brandish. "The Undersiders diminished. Coil has lost most of his resources. The Travelers are in jail. So are the Merchants." She pauses. "Putting aside Faultline's mercenaries, the only major criminal force left in this city is the Empire. They may have lost a lot of resources with the involuntary unmasking, but they still have more parahumans than the Protectorate and Wards combined. For now, they're laying low - Nazi or not, Kaiser isn't stupid enough to seek a fight while the Avatar is in town. But I imagine you won't always be in town, will you?" she turns her eyes toward you, then returns her gaze to the director. "When he leaves, all those white supremacists will crawl out of the woodworks, and take over every bit of territory they can. The situation of minorities in Brockton Bay will be worse than ever - worse than even in the days of Allfather. Unless we take them out first."
A few ideas are thrown around, though it's nothing official - Brandish isn't the leader of New Wave, and neither she nor Gallant or Shadow Stalker are part of the decision-making process of the ENE Protectorate. Still, this is an opportunity to push for the ideas that you think would work best. You recommend…
[ ] Go. Hunt. Arrest Nazis. You know the faces of the E88 capes, and your powers let you search the whole city in mere hours.
[ ] Hunting them down when they're out of costume might make villains in other cities twitchy. Instead, you find Kaiser, and offer him a choice between such a hunt, or gathering his forces for a final showdown between E88 and the local Protectorate (yourself included).
[ ] Instead of going after the capes, go after their remaining money sources. Patrol the city all the time. Seek and destroy drug stashes. Find and confiscate weapon caches. Dismantle E88's organized crime network.
[ ] Write-in.
You're still new to this world, this city. The Protectorate are the lawfully deputized heroes here, and New Wave has been at it for many years. Furthermore, you have agreed to operate for the time being as an agent of the Protectorate. So why not work with the chain of command?
Which is not to say you need to be idle. You fly right in front of Skidmark, giving him a stern look with your arms crossed while his power pulls your cape behind you. That gives him a few seconds of hesitation while you mentally communicate with your team leader.
"Armsmaster, Avatar here. All four recorded Merchants capes present, eleven unpowered mooks, three New Wave capes. Orders?"
To his credit, the Tinker responds pretty quickly: "Control the battlefield. Keep them from hurting anyone, OR from escaping."
Well. You can do that.
Skidmark is the one causing the most damage. Thankfully, flying in his face the way you are doing means that he is focusing his attention on you instead of Brandish. He is backing away (only for you to follow, matching his speed), trying to use his power to propel you backwards, all the while making spectacularly ugly use of the English language.
Not even bothering to look at him (which seems to enrage him even further), you wave your hand, causing a solid omni-metal wall to appear, completely blocking the street. The eleven gangsters and Trainwreck are on the other side of it; everyone else is on yours.
"STOP IGNORING ME, you cock-chewing son of a cum-guzzling diarrhea-eating whore!" Skidmark lets his displeasure be known.
"Make me," you say, hovering as you circle around him, not sparing him a glance. Childish… but it distracts him, which serves the purpose of the short taunt; he is so focused on you, he completely forgets about Brandish until she drives her energy blade in the back of his thigh, causing the Merchants' leader to fall down with a pained yelp.
Glory Girl and Flashbang are still handling Squealer. You fly past Mush, who dives to get out of your way - not that he was your target. Instead, you fly above the wall you've created earlier. Trainwreck and the unpowered Merchants are still trying to decide whether to try to break down the wall or take a detour from another street. When they see you, several of them raise their guns and fire; Trainwreck himself blasts at you with what you guess is some kind of tinkertech mass driver. Not that it matters; compared to Leviathan's punches, anything they can bring to bear against you might as well be nerf guns.
You send out an energy blast. Not the sort of focused, all-destroying blast you used on Leviathan; no, this time you spread the energy thinly, and only use a small fraction of it at that, hitting all twelve of your targets simultaneously. The mooks collapse to the ground, unconscious; Trainwreck stumbles, hurt but still standing.
You remain at a decent altitude, turning your gaze back to the rest of the battlefield. Squealer's mech almost manages to punch Glory Girl against a lamppost, but the young heroine gets out of the way at the last moment. The next instant, Armsmaster's tinkertech bike finally gets in range, stopping with a loud squeal of the tires; he doesn't even wait to dismount before aiming his halberd at the mech. An electric sound comes out, and then Squealer's machine falls over like a giant ragdoll. Some kind of EMP blaster?
Mush is rushing toward Brandish, when he gets nailed by a luminous beam. Gallant, who is arriving with Shadow Stalker. The villain is only slightly pushed back… but he doesn't move forward. He remains still as Shadow Stalker and Brandish attack him.
You guess Gallant must have hit him with some form of resigned despair, or something to that effect. Good enough. You send another blast at Trainwreck - more focused and concentrated than the last, though still nowhere near what you used against the Endbringer. This time, he collapses to the ground. A second later, Flashbang yells at Brandish and Shadow Stalker to get out of the way, which they do as he hits the villain with another explosive sphere. Glory Girl, reaching into Squealer's mech, rips the Tinker out of the cockpit.
You quickly switch to a suite of enhanced senses, scanning the area for any further problem, but find none. The battle is won, and your side didn't so much as suffer a minor injury.
Lady Photon arrives shortly afterward. She is followed by her children, Crystal Pelham/Laserdream and Eric Pelham/Shielder. Armsmaster is on his com unit, reporting that the situation is contained and Dauntless's assistance is not required (he fails to mention Velocity, which further inclines you to think he has a problem with Dauntless specifically). You are busy disintegrating the wall you made and making a few quick repairs to the collateral damage when Neil Pelham/Manpower, Lady Photon's husband, arrives on the scene - meaning that the only member of New Wave not present is Panacea, the healer you saved at the Endbringer fight.
Things wind down a bit as the criminals are secured and you all await the PRT vans. With the situation under control, Lady Photon approaches you.
"Avatar. It's an honor."
"From what I've read about your family, I could say the same." New Wave, known as the Brockton Bay Brigade in its early days, is one of the longest-running independent superhero teams in the country. They became New Wave when they publicly abandoned their secret identities in an effort to make parahumans more accountable - an attempt that ended in tragedy when one of their members was murdered in her own home. Despite how it ended, you have to admire their courage and sense of duty.
"We try," she says modestly, "but you seem to be getting results a lot faster than we ever did. Coil, the Travelers… and I'm not sure we'd have gotten the Merchants without your intervention."
"Debatable, but I doubt I would have been here in time if you hadn't been there to intercept them in the first place. This is as much New Wave's victory as the Protectorate's."
She smiles at that. "I don't know how many people will see it like that, but what truly matters is that they're gone. I suppose this leaves the Empire, Faultine's Crew, and the Undersiders as the only significant villain forces in town."
"Actually, I'm not even sure about the Undersiders," you say. "They're the ones who made Coil's arrest possible - most notably Skitter, who is leaving the gang and trying to negotiate a position in the Wards out of town."
Lady Photon frowns. "Skitter. Hm. I can't say my nieces are very fond of her."
"Understandable given the circumstances where they met, but Skitter's got a good heart underneath a couple of poor life choices. Speaking of your nieces, though… I note Panacea is the only absent team member. Is she working at the hospital?"
It Panacea's mother, Brandish, who answers. "Panacea is… on a break. Between the pressure she is constantly under and her injuries in the Endbringer battle, it was decided that she needed three days away from cape business, including her hospital work."
"You can thank Gallant for that," says Glory Girl with an amused smirk. She said it half in jest, but Armsmaster instantly takes notice. "What do you mean?" His gaze alternates between the flying brick and the Ward.
"Ah… I've been noticing Panacea seemed to be under more pressure than she could handle," says Gallant, clearly uncomfortable under the Protectorate leader's scrutiny. "I told her family, and that's led to her being told to take a short break."
"Which she is taking at a local SPA resort, courtesy of Vicky's rich boyfriend," Shielder says with some amusement.
Hm. Gallant isn't lying, but he isn't saying everything, either. Mind you, that might just be concern for Panacea's privacy. Armsmaster looks displeased with him, but you suspect Armsmaster doesn't really grok the concept of rest and relaxation. To be honest, it's not one that comes naturally to you, either… but you have much experience with human beings, and adjust accordingly. Armsmaster's lack of empathy may prevent him from understanding mindsets different from his own.
You avoid that particular minefield for now, resuming your conversation with Lady Photon. The subject of secret identities comes up around the time the PRT vans arrive.
"...so we don't know your name, but you have no mask that I can see. I wasn't sure what your position on secret identities was."
"I have been working as a superhero 24/7 for nearly a century. I do not have a civilian identity to protect," you say. Not the entire truth… but the reason you hide your true nature is because that particular bit of knowledge could potentially be used to cataclysmic purpose. "Back in the America of Earth-Gimel - and, really, most democratic nations - metahumans are required to register with a specialized government agency under their real name, but they have the option of requesting that it remains sealed from the public. About half of them take it."
"What about the other half? Aren't they concerned about becoming targets?"
"Not really, for the same reason regular police forces do not bother with secret identities: Anyone who tries to get at a superhero via their civilian lives will immediately become the top priority of hundreds upon hundreds of their colleagues. Such incidents are thus very rare." Seeing her expression, you add: "For the record, I agree with New Wave's ideals. Parahumans should be held to the same degree of accountability as unpowered people." For an unmasking like the one New Wave performed to work, though, there needs to be a critical mass of heroes - not just a half-dozen capes. You keep that thought to yourself for now, though - no need to pour salt on old wounds.
As you escort the PRT convoy bringing the Merchants back to base, you have the opportunity to talk to Gallant.
"Good job with Mush. You made Flashbang's job a lot easier."
"Thank you sir. Though I don't think my presence was strictly necessary."
"Not any one person's was, but everybody who got there in time helped." You pause. "Concerning Panacea's difficulties. Is there some way I may assist?"
He pauses, slightly taken back, and considers. "I don't think so, but, thanks for the offer. Panacea has… Well, she's been through a lot. I've been realizing that since the Central Bank robbery. I kept intending to do something to help her, but then the gang war started, I got distracted with all the mayhem… I guess almost getting killed by Leviathan reminded me that if I don't do something now, I might not have a chance to do it later. I've been talking to Vicky, to their parents, to the Pelhams, and I did my best to explain that the girl needed a break." Again, you sense that he isn't telling you everything, but you're not sensing any guilt in his tone or body language - probably hiding some family secrets, or something Panacea wouldn't want known. "I'm hoping I can get her some support, maybe a good therapist. Amy's a great girl, but she's got too much to put up with."
"Perhaps," you say. "But if she has reliable friends who understand her and will keep working to help her - which it appears she does - then I suspect that, ultimately, she will be fine," you reply with a smile.
You take (almost literally) a second to write and turn in your report of the altercation. The director will want to debrief you all, but there's some time before that. You have a few ideas of what to do with that time when, once again, your communicator activates. Not the PRT this time - it's Skitter.
Well, you gave her your number for a reason.
Perhaps it's slightly paranoid of you, but you use your communication powers instead of the device once again. "Greetings, Skitter. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Ah… I hope I'm not bothering you in the middle of something important. I was hoping for some advice."
"Certainly. Would you rather meet face-to-face, or is this fine?"
She hesitates for a moment. "...I wouldn't mind face-to-face."
A short while later, the bug-costumed heroine and you are discussing matters on an abandoned building's roof.
"I've met with the PRT's image expert," she says. "I'm not so sure about some of the changes he wants to make. I mean, there's small stuff, like changing my name to Weaver. Adding gold to my color scheme wouldn't make for great camouflage, but I could live with it. But then there's my combat tactics, the way he wants me to use my bugs… I feel like the PRT cares less about how efficient heroes are than about public image."
"A valid concern," you say. "However, try to look at it from their perspective. Do you think they are wrong to care about public image?"
"I can see why they would be concerned about losing public support and government money," she shrugs, "but if they make too many sacrifices in order to look good, they're not going to accomplish any of their actual objectives."
"And what would you say is your objective?" you ask with a patient smile.
She pauses. "To save people. To stop the bullies."
"Good answer! But tell me this, then," you add with a more serious expression: "What is the point of saving the day, if people keep living in fear tomorrow?"
She pauses at that, confused. She stops to think about it for a moment. "You mean that if the heroes are just as scary as the villains, everyone will be living in fear?"
"Essentially. I could have fought Leviathan like an avenging angel, focusing entirely on killing him before he took any more lives, and then promising bloody vengeance on anyone else who dared threaten the innocent. But would that really have done more good than my chosen approach? I didn't choose to be the threat of righteous retribution. I chose to speak for hope and compassion. I sincerely believe that I have accomplished more good that way than I would have, had I chosen to be terrifying."
"OK, I can see your point. Heroes should be inspiring. But it's not so much help if the heroes lose."
"You might be surprised on that front, too," you grin. "I've seen losers whose courage inspired others to rise in their support, defeat notwithstanding. But Skitter… or Weaver, whichever you prefer… I am not asking you to lose." You gaze expectantly at her. "You have proven your cleverness on multiple occasions. If the PRT is asking you to be more image-friendly, then I would like to ask you: Can you think of ways to keep winning while doing just that?"
Again, she pauses to think before answering. "I think I can come up with a few ideas."
"Excellent. I have faith in your abilities."
"T… Thank you." She pauses. "Thank you for taking some of your time for this."
You notice the small irregularity in her voice. "With that said… was there anything else? A different reason you wanted to talk?"
She flinches at that, crossing her arms defensively. "I… no, it's fine, thank you."
Gently, you place a hand on her shoulder. "I will not insist if this is a matter you do not wish to discuss, my young friend. However, I do hope you understand that I do want to help you. Whatever it is, I'll be happy to at least present a sympathetic ear."
In truth, you rarely have the time for this sort of thing. Working for the Protectorate, however, your schedule currently leaves more time for social matters than you've had in years.
The young heroine, to the very least, is not insensible to your sincere offer. "It's… It sounds pretty stupid compared to everything else, but the PRT says they can't move on to the next step of my recruitment without bringing in my dad. I don't mind telling them my secret identity, not at this point. But my dad doesn't know about this. About any of this. He doesn't know I have powers, he doesn't know how bad things got for me that I got powers, he doesn't know about all the times I almost died… I intended to tell him, at some point, once I had some heroic victories under my belt, but then I became a villain instead. I haven't even been home for two weeks, because he knew I was hiding something, and he tried to force a confrontation, and I couldn't take it and…"
For the second time this week, you give her a hug. Goodness, this girl hasn't been having a very good month, has she?
As she returns the much-needed hug, you speak softly: "Skitter… do you love your father?"
"Yeah," comes the strangled voice of someone close to crying.
"And does he love you?"
"Yeah."
No hesitation. That's good. There's a lot about Skitter that reminds you of recovering abuse victims, but the way she talks about her father isn't one of them. If there's anyone at the source of her misery, it's not him. "Then doesn't that matter more than any other concerns? Are you worried he'll react poorly to your past actions as a villain?"
"...He won't be happy about it."
"But do you think he'll try to be understanding?"
She pauses. "Yeah. I think so."
You smile. "With that said, would it help if I was there when you broke the news to him?"
Danny Hebert had at first felt relief when his daughter finally came home, compounded by a multitude of worries at seeing she was accompanied by a man his age he didn't recognize.
Hugging Taylor had felt nice - he hadn't realized until then how much he had needed that hug. But then, the man had metamorphosed into… the Avatar? The Endstopper? The Miracle-Worker of Brockton Bay? Why on Earth…
The Avatar had been very charming. He had said he had met Taylor during Leviathan's attack, while she had been working hard to save several helpless civilians (which gave Danny a cold sweat. Taylor had called him quickly in the aftermath of the battle, reassured him she was OK, but even days later, the idea that she'd been out there was terrifying). He went on to praise Taylor's courage and selfless nobility.
And then, the Avatar had said the PRT wanted to recruit Taylor into the Wards.
Taylor was a cape.
His daughter had seemed hesitant. She had looked at the Avatar for reassurance. Reassurance that he seemed able to give her with a look.
"Dad, I'm Skitter."
The following… half an hour? Hour? He wasn't sure - had been highly emotional, but explained a lot. Taylor fighting Lung. Taylor going undercover with the Undersiders. Taylor finding herself unable to betray them. Taylor discovering the extent of Coil's depravity, helping the Avatar stop him. A lot of things suddenly made sense.
He had handled it as well as he could. Promised to support her in the Wards. Reassured her that moving to another city was feasible, now that the dockworkers' situation wasn't so hopeless (one more thing for which he thanked the Avatar). Agreed to meet the PRT tomorrow morning.
By the end of that conversation, after Taylor returned to her room, he was feeling both drained, terrified, relieved, cautiously hopeful… and, to a degree, like even more of a failure as a father than before. He had been unable to help Taylor with her problems. The Avatar, showing up less than a week ago, had done so much more-
That train of thought was interrupted by the Endstopper… congratulating him on having raised someone like Taylor.
"I don't think I've been the rock she needed me to be," he admitted wearily.
"If not, then you have the opportunity to make up for that now," the Avatar said with contagious confidence. "Your daughter is a good person. She did not get it from a bad father."
Somehow, when the Avatar said it, it just sounded eminently reasonable.
The debriefing is going to start in a short while, but you have just enough time for one short conversation. With that in mind, you quickly locate Shadow Stalker.
She tenses up at the sight of you. "Uh, hey. See you with Pigg… Piggot in a few."
"I will, but, would you mind having a short chat before that?"
Her body language is guarded - you get the impression she's like that with authority figures in general - but she doesn't brush you off. "...Sure. About what?"
"I was wondering. Back in the field, you seemed less than happy with me." Her body language indicated some dissatisfaction, certainly. "I was wondering what had upset you."
She seems hesitant to answer, so you add: "I assure you, criticism is welcome. I do not take offense at having my failings honestly pointed out."
"Well, if you're gonna to ask…" She matches your gaze with intensity. "You could have taken those assholes down in five seconds flat, instead of playing keepaway with them. You were playing support. If you'd cut loose, it would have been done in a flash."
"That's true," you state simply, which takes some of the wind out of her sails. "It would have been quicker. There would have been some extra property damage, and the odds of one of us getting injured would have been just a little bit higher. As such, I didn't really see any major problem with Armsmaster's orders."
She snorts at that. "And that's a joke."
"Which part?"
"You, taking orders from Armsmaster. You're basically Alexandria, a super-boosted Legend, and one third of Eidolon rolled into one. He's a Tinker with a fancy halberd and a stick up his ass. Don't get me wrong, he could probably kick my ass in fight, but the two of you aren't in the same league."
You chuckle at that. "Are you saying that, because I am more powerful than him, his orders are irrelevant?"
"I'm saying, if you told him to go fuck himself, he wouldn't have much of a recourse. You can humor him, but he can't force you to do anything."
"None of this is incorrect," you say with a small smile. "And yet, I took the time to ask Armsmaster for orders instead of jumping right in with my own battle plan."
"And that's what gets me," she says. "You're the freaking Endslayer, and you're still playing their games. An apex predator playing the part of a housecat."
Your smile is more than a little amused by now. "And how well, exactly, do you think I would have fared against Leviathan, if Armsmaster hadn't disintegrated his ablative armor? If Vista hadn't allowed Armsmaster to do it without getting in range of Leviathan's melee attacks? If Eidolon hadn't held him in place? If Tattletale hadn't told me about his weak point?" You give a little laugh. "Goodness, Shadow Stalker, I'm powerful, not omnipotent. All of my greatest accomplishments were team efforts - like nearly everyone else.
"You call me an apex predator. Well, so is mankind. Humans have laughable teeth and claws, no venom worth mentioning, and quite frankly they're terrible sprinters. What they do have going for them is their intelligence… and cooperation in the most advanced, complex, massive societies in the world, eclipsing even the anthills that dominate the insect world. They build walls around their villages. They hunt in teams. They learn how to make tools and fire, then transmit that knowledge to the next generation. They cooperate to achieve impossible things. For crying out loud - scientists, medical personnel, and United Nations bureaucrats working together for two decades were able to drive the smallpox virus to extinction - and if anything ever earned the title of apex predator, it's smallpox.
"You say that I'm powerful, Shadow Stalker, and you're right. You are oh so very right. But a near-century of superpowered fights has shown me, again and again, that power comes in many forms. Sometimes, power is the ability to blast enough energy to raze a mountain. Sometimes, power is the cleverness required to come up with a brilliant plan mid-battle. And sometimes, power is the ability to make friends and allies who will fight by your side."
You gaze into the distance. "You would be amazed at how many times that last one has saved me. You think your S-class threats are bad… but, if I didn't have a team I could rely on completely back home, my attempts to protect Earth-Gimel would have ended in dismal failure ten times over by now.
"So, yes, I obeyed Armsmaster's orders. Because Armsmaster knows this world, this city, these villains, better than me. Because I agreed to work with the Protectorate, and that means playing by their rules. Because part of what makes me strong is that I work with others, and I believe I will need that strength in Earth-Bet just as much as in Gimel.
"There is strength in cooperation," you conclude, "and it is well worth having."
You're not sure if this was exactly a life-changing revelation or anything, but you think you got to her at least somewhat. Which is good, because it seems clear that Shadow Stalker is trying a bit too hard to be an edgy anti-hero, and you don't think she's doing it at the request of the PR department.
The debriefing itself, which is also attended by Brandish, is fairly uneventful for the most part. Director Piggot asks questions, comments about the tactical decisions made, finds a few minor (if legitimate) causes to gripe… but, overall, she's happy with the results.
"This has, in essence, been your first actual fight in the field with Protectorate supervision," she notes. "Glad to see you know how to follow orders."
"I did agree to operate by the Protectorate's rules for as long as I was a member, provisional or not," you state matter-of-factly. "I am no stranger to having a field commander." You may be the leader of the Global Champions, but you have tactical geniuses like Bleu-Blanc-Rouge take command in the field in the heat of battle. It's only sensible.
"Then it's good to see the power isn't going to your head." The director is, admittedly, somewhat tactless, and you've gotten the distinct impression she distrusts superpowered individuals. Still, she's been doing an acceptable job so far. As she files some of the paperwork, your cosmic senses allow you to read a paper she signed that wasn't facing you - it's an authorization form for the use of parahuman healing abilities, aimed at Genesis. She probably doesn't intend to mention it during the debriefing itself, obviously.
"All right," Brandish interrupts, "unless there is anything else… I think we need to address the elephant in the room."
"Which would be?" the director eyes her cautiously.
"The ABB are gone," says Brandish. "The Undersiders diminished. Coil has lost most of his resources. The Travelers are in jail. So are the Merchants." She pauses. "Putting aside Faultline's mercenaries, the only major criminal force left in this city is the Empire. They may have lost a lot of resources with the involuntary unmasking, but they still have more parahumans than the Protectorate and Wards combined. For now, they're laying low - Nazi or not, Kaiser isn't stupid enough to seek a fight while the Avatar is in town. But I imagine you won't always be in town, will you?" she turns her eyes toward you, then returns her gaze to the director. "When he leaves, all those white supremacists will crawl out of the woodworks, and take over every bit of territory they can. The situation of minorities in Brockton Bay will be worse than ever - worse than even in the days of Allfather. Unless we take them out first."
A few ideas are thrown around, though it's nothing official - Brandish isn't the leader of New Wave, and neither she nor Gallant or Shadow Stalker are part of the decision-making process of the ENE Protectorate. Still, this is an opportunity to push for the ideas that you think would work best. You recommend…
[ ] Go. Hunt. Arrest Nazis. You know the faces of the E88 capes, and your powers let you search the whole city in mere hours.
[ ] Hunting them down when they're out of costume might make villains in other cities twitchy. Instead, you find Kaiser, and offer him a choice between such a hunt, or gathering his forces for a final showdown between E88 and the local Protectorate (yourself included).
[ ] Instead of going after the capes, go after their remaining money sources. Patrol the city all the time. Seek and destroy drug stashes. Find and confiscate weapon caches. Dismantle E88's organized crime network.
[ ] Write-in.
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- Location
- Mandaluyong City
[ ] Instead of going after the capes, go after their remaining money sources. Patrol the city all the time. Seek and destroy drug stashes. Find and confiscate weapon caches. Dismantle E88's organized crime network.
Extra:Leave behind notes saying "quit all of this assholer-y, please. Also don't try saying I'm no better than any other villain because I'm a hero. I'm not the one engaging in human trafficking, arms dealing, kidnapping, racketeering, beating up minorities, robbery etc."
Extra:Leave behind notes saying "quit all of this assholer-y, please. Also don't try saying I'm no better than any other villain because I'm a hero. I'm not the one engaging in human trafficking, arms dealing, kidnapping, racketeering, beating up minorities, robbery etc."
Pffft what? That's the name they chose for him? Sounds like they named him after a candy.
[X] Hunting them down when they're out of costume might make villains in other cities twitchy. Instead, you find Kaiser, and offer him a choice between such a hunt, or gathering his forces for a final showdown between E88 and the local Protectorate (yourself included).
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