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A Darker Path [Worm Fanfic]

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This updates really demonstrates just how broken the precog + teleportation combo is (and her power was already broken by design; Abaddon wasn't playing the game). Especially an instant teleport like her armband's "instant translation" mode.

As often comes up in discussions about fighting Jedi, a reasonable way of dealing with a combat precog is a large explosion; it doesn't matter how well you can dodge when there's no place to dodge. That was already ineffective except as maybe area denial against Atropos, since her precog is more than good enough to ensure that she just wouldn't be there when you set off the bomb. With Leet's teleporter though, she can actually be in the blast radius and it still won't work. In order to fool Bastard Son like she did, she must have triggered the teleport after the explosion destroyed the video transmitter, but before the blast wave hit her; perfectly doable with the instant translation/perfect precog combo, but it showcases just how much harder the thing makes actually hitting her. Which was already at "not going to happen" levels.
 
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Ack said:
Yeah, and what happens when the first cop gets suspicious? A gun to our heads, that's what. Kayleen wasn't stupid. She knew how this sort of thing played out in movies and TV shows.
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So, when I started reading this, I was a bit distracted by Discord and, for a moment, I misread her name as Kayden. Which caused my brain to imagine the look on the Elite goon's face when he realized he just threatened Purity's kids. For about the 0.5 seconds it would last before deals with him in a rather permanent manner.
 
Crazael said:
So, when I started reading this, I was a bit distracted by Discord and, for a moment, I misread her name as Kayden. Which caused my brain to imagine the look on the Elite goon's face when he realized he just threatened Purity's kids. For about the 0.5 seconds it would last before deals with him in a rather permanent manner.
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Never gonna happen. No way Kayden is going to knowingly be in the same time zone as Atropos. :D
 
Gotta give it to Bastard Son. He was very well prepared.
Ack said:
In the next moment, the interior of the car was flooded with light. Kidnapper A swore and adjusted the rearview mirror so it wasn't throwing a concentrated beam of light into his eyes; Kayleen felt the car surge forward as he put his foot down.

In response, there was a chirp of siren from behind them, then a bullhorn-amplified voice bellowed, "DARK GREY FORD SEDAN, PULL OVER. NOW!"
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Huh, I don't think this complication was expected.
Ack said:
"If Atropos shows up, we fucking pull over and surrender. Dipshit."

"Don't call me dipshit. Asshole."
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Hey, listen to Asshole, he has the right idea.
Ack said:
The tiny screen built into the remote fuzzed then cleared, showing the view from the tiny fisheye lens built into the frame of the rear-view mirror. Settling back with his thumb resting lightly on the detonation button, he prepared to watch the show.
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You'll soon have Atropos looking through that screen.
Ack said:
"One sec." I turned as one of the PRT troopers approached me. The rest were keeping their distance, setting up a perimeter. "Reave. How many favours did you have to burn to get lead on this case?"
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Hey, Reave.
Ack said:
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" he exclaimed, staring at the screen and jabbing the button again. "Work, you sonovabitch! Work!"

But on the screen ... nothing happened.
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Ack said:
To his mounting glee, she made no move to get out of the car. When the timer hit five seconds, he knew she was doomed; even if she ran for it now, she'd be caught in the blast radius. 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

And then the image on the screen was replaced by hash, and he fist-pumped. "Fuckin' yes!"

Atropos was gone.

He'd won.
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She's a teleporter, assclown.
Ack said:
Strolling forward, I ended up behind Reave. One of his subordinates was apparently asking him something over the radio, because he was shaking his head and taking under his breath. "No, she's not dead," he insisted. "I'd bet a year's pay that she'll—"

"—show up again out of nowhere?" I suggested.
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He's genre savvy.
SanguisAnima said:
*lugs around a cart with something fragrant inside*
Popcorn! Freshly popped popcorn! Salted, caramel, butter popcorn! Get yer popcorn 'ere!
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Got any sourcream ones?
 
SanguisAnima said:
*blocks from pouncing on the popcorn, getting pounced on instead* Oy oiy oy hoj, there's plenty for everyone, no need to monopolise... which one and how much?
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A wheelbarrow-full of whatever the fox desires, so I can watch the popcorn equivalent of an arctic fox nosediving into feet of snow to catch its dinner. Also a soda for me, please, with a straw so I can slurp it obnoxiously during the quiet bits.

Nice to see Reave getting fully converted to the dark side, btw - he and Aisha have more in common than he thinks!
 
:This fox pokes his head up from his bag of peanut butter filled pretzels: That Bastard's indignation is going to make his face light up like a Sun when this is done
 
Balrog said:
Yo! I'll take twenty pounds of kettle corn.
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*glances at the kernel popper* *does some quick mental calculations* It'll take twelve to fourteen minutes for twenty pounds, you fine with waiting that long?
Icipall said:
Got any sourcream ones?
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*snaps fingers* Dangit, I knew I was forgetting something.
Kit said:
A wheelbarrow-full of whatever the fox desires, so I can watch the popcorn equivalent of an arctic fox nosediving into feet of snow to catch its dinner. Also a soda for me, please, with a straw so I can slurp it obnoxiously during the quiet bits.
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That's... going to take some time to prepare... but I got the soda covered. Half-litre, full litre, 1.5L, 2L, or 3L bottles, and would you like a twisty capped straw or the bendy capped straw?
 
Kit said:
Twisty straw! If I'm gonna be enabling my inner obnoxious child, let's go all-in, yo.
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Gotcha, you still haven't picked a choice of drink size. Any preference in soda, though?
Aganippe said:
Why can I see that whole exchange with the popcorn and the soda straws making a PHO interlude...
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If Ack deems it funny or worthy enough to be thrown in a PHO interlude, I'd be honoured.

On that note, popcorn?
 
SanguisAnima said:
Gotcha, you still haven't picked a choice of drink size. Any preference in soda, though?
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D'oh! I'mma make sure I have enough for the wait to the next chapter, so... a 2-liter of birch beer would hit the spot, actually. (If Ack is willing to help with the import fees a case of Bundy original-and-cola would be tops but that's a lot of overhead.)
 
Ack said:
Taylor had a reason for sparing Riley.

She has none for sparing Bastard Son.
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Yeah. In the short term she's already gotten something (unspecified) from Riley. In the long run somebody benevolently inclined with Riley's abilities is of obvious benefit to the city and the society in general, which fits Atropos's plans even if they never directly interacted again.

But Bastard Son? What does he bring to the table besides killing people, just less competently and more indiscriminately than Atropos does? Nothing. Plus of course he intends to go after her family and friends which in her own words earned him "special attention".
 
Avernus said:
Yeah. In the short term she's already gotten something (unspecified) from Riley. In the long run somebody benevolently inclined with Riley's abilities is of obvious benefit to the city and the society in general, which fits Atropos's plans even if they never directly interacted again.

But Bastard Son? What does he bring to the table besides killing people, just less competently and more indiscriminately than Atropos does? Nothing. Plus of course he intends to go after her family and friends which in her own words earned him "special attention".
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Specifically, Riley is capable - once the brainwashing was reversed, thanks Amy! - of being benevolently inclined. Bastard Son, on the other hand, is not, and I strongly doubt that Taylor has any interest in leaving alive someone who thinks that a good precursor to targeting her friends and family is to kidnap and try to kill random innocents... and even if she did, the sort of persuasion that might make it possible to trust that he wouldn't do something like that in the future is too much work entirely, because it would need to be foolproof. Making an example of him neatly solves both the problem of Bastard Son, and the problem of at least some of the people who might otherwise try to follow in his footsteps, without leaving him dangling out there like the pest he is, waiting for the next 'opportunity.'

Nope, he's been warned not to Fuck Around, more than once, and now, in the grand Atropos tradition, he will Find Out.
 
Avernus said:
But Bastard Son? What does he bring to the table besides killing people, just less competently and more indiscriminately than Atropos does? Nothing. Plus of course he intends to go after her family and friends which in her own words earned him "special attention".
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No, no. Bastard Son brings one thing to the table, the one thing that he is exceptionally good at.
He's very good at getting a lot of attention by being a right bastard. Which means he's also going to be exceptional at being a very large warning to all and sundry that you cannot, in fact, out-smart, out-play, or out-murder Atropos.

Now we all know that she's got that nifty little Hand-and-a-half sword (otherwise known coloquially as a bastard sword), so I'm willing to put money and half? no, all, all of a bag of popcorn on Bastard Son being parted from his little son, and then being given the ol' sharp and pointy.
 
Okibruez said:
Now we all know that she's got that nifty little Hand-and-a-half sword (otherwise known coloquially as a bastard sword), so I'm willing to put money and half? no, all, all of a bag of popcorn on Bastard Son being parted from his little son, and then being given the ol' sharp and pointy.
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So as I mentioned before, the Bastard Sword is on theme, but I don't think its enough. She turned Skidmark into an actual Skidmark, Butcher got Butchered, The hemokenetic got bloodposioning, the pyrokenetic was burned to death, Coil got his throat cut twice once for each timeline. Kaiser got stabbed with a sword owned by an actual Kaiser, Heartbreaker got stabbed in the heart by a candy heart, the Dragonslayers were killed by a dragon. Fog got turned into (pink) mist, Night who turned into a freaky stabby monster, got stabbed by basically the cape boogeyman for a 100% role reversal.

Bastard Son's power is to make people hyper competent with strange objects, and in doing so makes them minor master victims.

Just getting killed by a Bastard Sword is too mundane, its not enough. There's no twist to make it memorable, otherwise she's just put a bullet in his eye.

I totally think the bastard sword is involved, I think we're just still missing that last little bit that makes it a show instead of merely a hit.
 
TypoNinja said:
So as I mentioned before, the Bastard Sword is on theme, but I don't think its enough. She turned Skidmark into an actual Skidmark, Butcher got Butchered, The hemokenetic got bloodposioning, the pyrokenetic was burned to death, Coil got his throat cut twice once for each timeline. Kaiser got stabbed with a sword owned by an actual Kaiser, Heartbreaker got stabbed in the heart by a candy heart, the Dragonslayers were killed by a dragon. Fog got turned into (pink) mist, Night who turned into a freaky stabby monster, got stabbed by basically the cape boogeyman for a 100% role reversal.

Bastard Son's power is to make people hyper competent with strange objects, and in doing so makes them minor master victims.

Just getting killed by a Bastard Sword is too mundane, its not enough. There's no twist to make it memorable, otherwise she's just put a bullet in his eye.

I totally think the bastard sword is involved, I think we're just still missing that last little bit that makes it a show instead of merely a hit.
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All the pieces of the puzzle have been revealed already. They just need to be put together.
 
She made some kind of unspecified modifications to Ravioli's shotgun, and she asked Riley to make something to be exclusively used on bad guys. Plus, of course, she picked up the sword to "make a point". Can't recall what other prep she's done.
 
Okibruez said:
... so I'm willing to put money and half? no, all, all of a bag of popcorn on Bastard Son being parted from his little son, and then being given the ol' sharp and pointy.
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Anyone wants to take up the offer, popcorn's here *raises bag of kernels and shakes ir gently*

That said, if anyone wants some partially popped popcorn to throw at Bastard Son, I have six bags ready.
 
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