Accidental Magical Girl in Worm (AMGCYOA SI)
- Thread starter Siks
- Start date
Say would she be like BRS or Mami Tomoe? In fighting style I mean, using metal element.
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I'm thinking like Noel Vermilion
Hmm okay, then she have another transformation ?
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Of Course, Additional transformations are awesome.
Damm now im curious
- Location
- Czech Republic
My rec is that you rewrite the story. Premise is good. Plot can work, but some parts are just written in off puting way. That bank disscussion for example had me in some lines wondering who spoke them.
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I actually plan to rewrite the story when I reach Leviathan so I won't go the wrong direction. I'll try to work on improving dialogue among other things until then. Oh, give me a moment I got an idea.
- Location
- Czech Republic
I magnanimously accend to this.
Also stupidity killed the cat. Curiousity was framed.
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Eh, the idea is useless right now. I'll use it when I know what I need.
@unLuckerII For now, tell me about what your thoughts. What's off putting?
@unLuckerII For now, tell me about what your thoughts. What's off putting?
Last edited:
I disagree. It's like, the 3rd or 4th time i see you write this fic premise in different settings. One day you'll have to keep going, might as well be now.
A yet another rewrite, even if you don't change the setting this time, doesn't seem conductive to growing as a writer to me.
Now, i don't want you to 'stop' writing, far from it, I'm saying that a bit of dialog clumsiness is no big deal as a starting writer and that the only remedy is more experience.
A yet another rewrite, even if you don't change the setting this time, doesn't seem conductive to growing as a writer to me.
Now, i don't want you to 'stop' writing, far from it, I'm saying that a bit of dialog clumsiness is no big deal as a starting writer and that the only remedy is more experience.
Last edited:
What Should Have Happened 1
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
AN: I couldn't think of what to write so I'll throw in this instead
Drop In
October 15th, 1987
Picking Worst Day Ever x3 was the worst decision I ever made. Not knowing I would end up here should not be an excuse but then, completing the CYOA was supposed to be for fun and I didn't expect to end up here.
I dropped in to the world of worm in my work uniform, my laptop crashing into the ground beside me, shattering. I had a hard time recovering from landing in the city. When I did though, I found myself face to face with a kid. I rubbed my eyes, trying to bring the color back only to realize this kid was actually monochrome.
Gray Boy
I didn't realize it until I was already sealed in place. I panicked barely listening to his words.
"Will you tell me an interesting story?" He asked as he played with his knife. Seeing how I was having trouble speaking he continued. "I guess I'll have to motivate you. I've learned pain is a good motivator. If you tell me a good enough story I'll let you recover."
I didn't know what kind of story he wanted. So I spoke of a short story I wrote a long time ago. It was a story that expressed the contrast of perception between a dragon and the people of a kingdom. I spoke even as he stabbed and cut at my body. And when I was done, He left.
I recovered. I thought I escaped the pain but the cuts, they returned and I screamed. And I reset. And reset. And reset. And reset.
----
I lost my mind and returned to sanity over and over. It only ended at the end of the day when I triggered.
I reset. The pain continued. I couldn't think I just wanted to escape. My power activated. And I found myself outside of the loop looking in. I was still trapped but there was another me. Ah, I should have known. This is worm, where powers help you escape your situation without actually helping you.
"Help me." I weakly spoke. I could see the other me panic trying to figure out what to do.
"I can't. I don't know what to do." He said.
"Calm." I barely got out as the cuts returned again. There was a moment as my replica breathed. He calmed down and opened his eyes again.
"I'll come back." He said even as his form changed. He ran and I was alone.
Drop In
October 15th, 1987
Picking Worst Day Ever x3 was the worst decision I ever made. Not knowing I would end up here should not be an excuse but then, completing the CYOA was supposed to be for fun and I didn't expect to end up here.
I dropped in to the world of worm in my work uniform, my laptop crashing into the ground beside me, shattering. I had a hard time recovering from landing in the city. When I did though, I found myself face to face with a kid. I rubbed my eyes, trying to bring the color back only to realize this kid was actually monochrome.
Gray Boy
I didn't realize it until I was already sealed in place. I panicked barely listening to his words.
"Will you tell me an interesting story?" He asked as he played with his knife. Seeing how I was having trouble speaking he continued. "I guess I'll have to motivate you. I've learned pain is a good motivator. If you tell me a good enough story I'll let you recover."
I didn't know what kind of story he wanted. So I spoke of a short story I wrote a long time ago. It was a story that expressed the contrast of perception between a dragon and the people of a kingdom. I spoke even as he stabbed and cut at my body. And when I was done, He left.
I recovered. I thought I escaped the pain but the cuts, they returned and I screamed. And I reset. And reset. And reset. And reset.
----
I lost my mind and returned to sanity over and over. It only ended at the end of the day when I triggered.
I reset. The pain continued. I couldn't think I just wanted to escape. My power activated. And I found myself outside of the loop looking in. I was still trapped but there was another me. Ah, I should have known. This is worm, where powers help you escape your situation without actually helping you.
"Help me." I weakly spoke. I could see the other me panic trying to figure out what to do.
"I can't. I don't know what to do." He said.
"Calm." I barely got out as the cuts returned again. There was a moment as my replica breathed. He calmed down and opened his eyes again.
"I'll come back." He said even as his form changed. He ran and I was alone.
MaimakteriAnn
(Verified Sleepy)
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Dr
Interesting. Mostly just body horror stuff with tones of inescapability. Not badly done though.
EDUT: Also I think this belongs under the Apocrypha tag rather than side story since it apparently isnt taking place in the world of the story
EDUT: Also I think this belongs under the Apocrypha tag rather than side story since it apparently isnt taking place in the world of the story
Last edited:
Explosion 1.2B
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
AN: Chrome starts a cycle of her own.
Chapter 9: New Rule
Uber and Leet agreed under the condition that, a) we still promote video games through our activities, b) We do public events and, c) I stick to only repairing Leet's Tech until his powers are fixed. The last one was an agreement between me and Uber mostly because he was worried about his friend. I won't say anything about that right now mostly because I don't know how to think about that. I understand how he feels but at the same time, if something isn't done about it, things could get worse. At least, that's how I feel.
I also offered a chance for Leet to just go all out, a catharsis for his powers. Any testing for these situations would take place in the Overcity. Of course, abilities that may break the dimensional barrier would have to be tested in unpopulated areas but we can solve that by moving such tests out over the bay.
That settled, we tested whether we could use the Overcity as a Base first before seting up at the rig. Turns out, the Overcity only shares features with the real world if no changes are made beyond destruction of property. So if you build something, It stays there but if you destroy a building, it'll recover over time.
Leet chose to give the rig a Dr. Wily Castle Skin using the holographic Projector which, I actually found impressive. Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to use it while the skin is in place. When I asked him why he did it anyway, he said he isn't likely to go out any time soon since there are a lot of things to settle while re-branding. Purpose, Costumes, Names(?), Modus Operandi, and so on.
Uber on the other hand decided to train me, which, I thought was great, until I found myself battered and bruised and all around worn down. We spent a week just training and getting used to working together or setting up shop when the first change occurred in the Overcity. The security system in the castle went off blaring the warning sfx for boss battles, something we put in place because it was better to have it than to not. All three of us ran to the control room and checked the scene. Shadows of people began forming and approaching us, only they moved like zombies, were made of darkness and bore significant deformations making the only human features the fact they had two arms and two legs, some of them didn't even had heads or necks.
"I thought you said the Overcity was safe." Leet complained.
"I thought so too." I almost yelled. "This kind of stuff should only happen when the world has enough ambient mana. This is a world where science rules so this shouldn't be the case." I spoke based on assumptions I made while testing my powers. Wait, I shouldn't be relying on assumptions. "Hey goldie, what's going on?"
"(Purpose of User becoming a magical girl is to awaken the magical potential of user's world. User's expended mana is used to incubate the world by suffusing the energy through the land. A side effect is the materialization of spirits and magical beasts, often growing from abundant conceptual energies such as hope and fear. In this case, negative emotions corrupt the ambient mana and creating shadow beasts.)" Golden Thorn explains out loud for the benefit of the class.
"A sentient weapon?" Leet asked, marveling at the strange construct.
"No time." Uber interrupts, having Leet activate the tower defenses, which bare resemblance to the turrets in mega man 7, taking the mid range. I transform, drawing the DMR. I don't have the skill to use the two handguns at once yet, something I will ask Uber to help me with. I aim and fire, taking out the tougher looking enemies, any misses hitting the surrounding enemies as I adjust my aim. Uber, dressed as Sniper Joe, shot down those who got too close. Fortunately the enemies were weak and their numbers were limited. Still...
"(Shadow beasts normally only appear when a certain level of ambient mana is reached which hasn't happened yet or the emotions in an area resonate, making up the difference through energy quality.)" Golden Thorn supplies as the conflict dies down.
"Which means something has happened outside." I finish.
"Wait, does this mean we have to make sure people in the city feel safe just to protect our base?" Leet asks in resignation.
"I guess so." I shrugged. "Or we could build better defenses. We'll need a better energy source if we want to do this though."
"What about these?" Uber asks as he rummaged through the piles of black mud, the remains of the monsters, and pulles out a dark crystal.
"Loot?" Leet yells out and starts examining the object, his eyes glimmering and the light twists and bends as his powers draw up blueprints for him to use.
"I guess we have something to sell now." Uber continues searching the bodies. Leet and I pitch in, scouring the battlefield, the long bridge that leads to the city. The actual crystals were pretty rare, 1 in 20 bodies had ones the size of a fingernail even though the first one Uber found was the size of a fist. When we were done, we came up with around 54 crystals, only one fist sized, 12 around 2 inches in diameter, 17 one inch and the rest the size of a nail.
The benefits were great but none of us could shake the worry about what's going on in the city.
Chapter 9: New Rule
Uber and Leet agreed under the condition that, a) we still promote video games through our activities, b) We do public events and, c) I stick to only repairing Leet's Tech until his powers are fixed. The last one was an agreement between me and Uber mostly because he was worried about his friend. I won't say anything about that right now mostly because I don't know how to think about that. I understand how he feels but at the same time, if something isn't done about it, things could get worse. At least, that's how I feel.
I also offered a chance for Leet to just go all out, a catharsis for his powers. Any testing for these situations would take place in the Overcity. Of course, abilities that may break the dimensional barrier would have to be tested in unpopulated areas but we can solve that by moving such tests out over the bay.
That settled, we tested whether we could use the Overcity as a Base first before seting up at the rig. Turns out, the Overcity only shares features with the real world if no changes are made beyond destruction of property. So if you build something, It stays there but if you destroy a building, it'll recover over time.
Leet chose to give the rig a Dr. Wily Castle Skin using the holographic Projector which, I actually found impressive. Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to use it while the skin is in place. When I asked him why he did it anyway, he said he isn't likely to go out any time soon since there are a lot of things to settle while re-branding. Purpose, Costumes, Names(?), Modus Operandi, and so on.
Uber on the other hand decided to train me, which, I thought was great, until I found myself battered and bruised and all around worn down. We spent a week just training and getting used to working together or setting up shop when the first change occurred in the Overcity. The security system in the castle went off blaring the warning sfx for boss battles, something we put in place because it was better to have it than to not. All three of us ran to the control room and checked the scene. Shadows of people began forming and approaching us, only they moved like zombies, were made of darkness and bore significant deformations making the only human features the fact they had two arms and two legs, some of them didn't even had heads or necks.
"I thought you said the Overcity was safe." Leet complained.
"I thought so too." I almost yelled. "This kind of stuff should only happen when the world has enough ambient mana. This is a world where science rules so this shouldn't be the case." I spoke based on assumptions I made while testing my powers. Wait, I shouldn't be relying on assumptions. "Hey goldie, what's going on?"
"(Purpose of User becoming a magical girl is to awaken the magical potential of user's world. User's expended mana is used to incubate the world by suffusing the energy through the land. A side effect is the materialization of spirits and magical beasts, often growing from abundant conceptual energies such as hope and fear. In this case, negative emotions corrupt the ambient mana and creating shadow beasts.)" Golden Thorn explains out loud for the benefit of the class.
"A sentient weapon?" Leet asked, marveling at the strange construct.
"No time." Uber interrupts, having Leet activate the tower defenses, which bare resemblance to the turrets in mega man 7, taking the mid range. I transform, drawing the DMR. I don't have the skill to use the two handguns at once yet, something I will ask Uber to help me with. I aim and fire, taking out the tougher looking enemies, any misses hitting the surrounding enemies as I adjust my aim. Uber, dressed as Sniper Joe, shot down those who got too close. Fortunately the enemies were weak and their numbers were limited. Still...
"(Shadow beasts normally only appear when a certain level of ambient mana is reached which hasn't happened yet or the emotions in an area resonate, making up the difference through energy quality.)" Golden Thorn supplies as the conflict dies down.
"Which means something has happened outside." I finish.
"Wait, does this mean we have to make sure people in the city feel safe just to protect our base?" Leet asks in resignation.
"I guess so." I shrugged. "Or we could build better defenses. We'll need a better energy source if we want to do this though."
"What about these?" Uber asks as he rummaged through the piles of black mud, the remains of the monsters, and pulles out a dark crystal.
"Loot?" Leet yells out and starts examining the object, his eyes glimmering and the light twists and bends as his powers draw up blueprints for him to use.
"I guess we have something to sell now." Uber continues searching the bodies. Leet and I pitch in, scouring the battlefield, the long bridge that leads to the city. The actual crystals were pretty rare, 1 in 20 bodies had ones the size of a fingernail even though the first one Uber found was the size of a fist. When we were done, we came up with around 54 crystals, only one fist sized, 12 around 2 inches in diameter, 17 one inch and the rest the size of a nail.
The benefits were great but none of us could shake the worry about what's going on in the city.
Why this treadmark is not count as one? wierd.
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Forgot to write the label. ^^'
Lel okay. I thought this is some kind of error.
ok, now Leet and uber are your alies for life, real life TD to keep your base. With loot drops
They are in love
They are in love
Explosion 1.3A
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Chapter 10: Angry Uber
I entered what could superficially be considered a restaurant, a pub, a few steps behind Uber. Old, Run down, blinking lights, It reminds me of the service hall behind my old workplace, only worse. This place felt decades older, covered in rust and paint from the bars covering the windows and the metal stools to the floor and walls. There were splotches of paint as if they were too lazy to clean stains and decided to paint over them, the color off here and there.
Uber ordered drinks for the both of us, He got a beer and I got cream soda. I'm actually impressed they have that here. I took in those that are already here, the Undersiders took the booth in the corner, Kaiser and the Empire took the table in the center, Coil sitting across from Kaiser. Skinny wearing a skintight suit with a snake winding around his body, he was indeed very creepy. Faultlines team took the seat to the right of Kaiser. We sat near the door.
Finally, the merchants came strutting in only to get snuffed by Kaiser, kicking the chair Skidmark wanted to sit in off from under him.
"The fuck!" Skidmark yelled.
"You can sit in the booth." Kaiser replied calmly though you could almost feel the weight of his authority in his voice if I were to speak dramatically. Really, he had the charisma, or disposition to give weight behind his words. It didn't make up for the subtle discomfort the creeped it's way down my back when he spoke. Is this the nazi aura? (just kidding.)
"This is because I'm black, hunh? That's what you're all about, yeah?"
I shook my head. Ignoring the merchants and tried to figure out what I'm doing here. I mean, I already explained what I knew was going on but apparently they wanted confirmation. They looked serious so I let them be. I still ended up accompanying Uber because Leet was the best when in came to defending the base. It seems I'm just here to learn how to interact with others here but it certainly far more difficult to pick up anything beyond the significance of reputation and charisma, both things I doubt I'll ever have.
The travelers came in lead by Top-hat Trickster. "That should be everyone. Seems Lung won't be coming, though I doubt any of us are surprised, given the subject of tonight's discussion." Coil confirmed, taking the lead.
"The ABB," Kaiser spoke.
Coil didn't move and continued to speak. Was Kaiser upset? "Thirty five individuals confirmed dead and over a hundred hospitalized in this past week. Armed presence on the streets. Ongoing exchanges of gunfire between ABB members and the combined forces of the police and military. They have raided our businesses and bombed places where they think we might operating. They have seized our territories, and there's no indication they intend to stop anytime soon."
"It's Inconvenient." Oh, is Kaiser looking for a way to take control of the discussion?
"They're being reckless," Faultline casually spoke not caring for the competition between the two.
Coil said the would have to take care of the ABB because they were drawing too much attention, otherwise it would have been fine to watch them self-destruct and Grue covered Bakuda's involvement in the situation, civilians forcefully recruited through implanted bombs, even invading homes. Apparently she had already 'recruited' over 300 people and even set up a dead man switch to detonate the bombs in the event she was assassinated.
Uber's eyes went dark at this information. We already talked about this turn of events yesterday but a day isn't enough for him to get over this. He watched the video Grue played of the events after his and Leet's defeat with an intensity not unlike how he used his powers before and I couldn't think of what to say. It may be a good thing that I kept silent because it might have interrupted the inspiration he seemed to have acquired? No, he was angry and he was suppressing his emotions. Has anyone actually seen an angry Uber? I'm actually curious what he would do.
"The ABB cannot be allowed to continue operating." Coil finished the introduction and moved on the purpose of the meeting. "Then I suggest we establish a truce."
I entered what could superficially be considered a restaurant, a pub, a few steps behind Uber. Old, Run down, blinking lights, It reminds me of the service hall behind my old workplace, only worse. This place felt decades older, covered in rust and paint from the bars covering the windows and the metal stools to the floor and walls. There were splotches of paint as if they were too lazy to clean stains and decided to paint over them, the color off here and there.
Uber ordered drinks for the both of us, He got a beer and I got cream soda. I'm actually impressed they have that here. I took in those that are already here, the Undersiders took the booth in the corner, Kaiser and the Empire took the table in the center, Coil sitting across from Kaiser. Skinny wearing a skintight suit with a snake winding around his body, he was indeed very creepy. Faultlines team took the seat to the right of Kaiser. We sat near the door.
Finally, the merchants came strutting in only to get snuffed by Kaiser, kicking the chair Skidmark wanted to sit in off from under him.
"The fuck!" Skidmark yelled.
"You can sit in the booth." Kaiser replied calmly though you could almost feel the weight of his authority in his voice if I were to speak dramatically. Really, he had the charisma, or disposition to give weight behind his words. It didn't make up for the subtle discomfort the creeped it's way down my back when he spoke. Is this the nazi aura? (just kidding.)
"This is because I'm black, hunh? That's what you're all about, yeah?"
I shook my head. Ignoring the merchants and tried to figure out what I'm doing here. I mean, I already explained what I knew was going on but apparently they wanted confirmation. They looked serious so I let them be. I still ended up accompanying Uber because Leet was the best when in came to defending the base. It seems I'm just here to learn how to interact with others here but it certainly far more difficult to pick up anything beyond the significance of reputation and charisma, both things I doubt I'll ever have.
The travelers came in lead by Top-hat Trickster. "That should be everyone. Seems Lung won't be coming, though I doubt any of us are surprised, given the subject of tonight's discussion." Coil confirmed, taking the lead.
"The ABB," Kaiser spoke.
Coil didn't move and continued to speak. Was Kaiser upset? "Thirty five individuals confirmed dead and over a hundred hospitalized in this past week. Armed presence on the streets. Ongoing exchanges of gunfire between ABB members and the combined forces of the police and military. They have raided our businesses and bombed places where they think we might operating. They have seized our territories, and there's no indication they intend to stop anytime soon."
"It's Inconvenient." Oh, is Kaiser looking for a way to take control of the discussion?
"They're being reckless," Faultline casually spoke not caring for the competition between the two.
Coil said the would have to take care of the ABB because they were drawing too much attention, otherwise it would have been fine to watch them self-destruct and Grue covered Bakuda's involvement in the situation, civilians forcefully recruited through implanted bombs, even invading homes. Apparently she had already 'recruited' over 300 people and even set up a dead man switch to detonate the bombs in the event she was assassinated.
Uber's eyes went dark at this information. We already talked about this turn of events yesterday but a day isn't enough for him to get over this. He watched the video Grue played of the events after his and Leet's defeat with an intensity not unlike how he used his powers before and I couldn't think of what to say. It may be a good thing that I kept silent because it might have interrupted the inspiration he seemed to have acquired? No, he was angry and he was suppressing his emotions. Has anyone actually seen an angry Uber? I'm actually curious what he would do.
"The ABB cannot be allowed to continue operating." Coil finished the introduction and moved on the purpose of the meeting. "Then I suggest we establish a truce."
Explosion 1.3B
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Chapter 11 (Real) Plan
Coil ended the meeting by getting announcements and grievances out of the way. Hookwolf complained about Bitch's attack on his dog fighting gig, and wow that sounds petty outside of context. Well, it isn't very impressive even watching it happen. We were about to leave since it didn't seem like there would be anything else important to add to the discussion. We already agreed to participate in taking down the ABB. Unfortunately, someone just had to pull us in the discussion.
"That's settled then. Anything else?" Coil asked, "Issues, negotiations, requests?"
When no one answered, Coil turned towards us and I resisted the urge to shrink in. "Do you have anything to add since you have worked with Bakuda before?" It's almost like he wants to make us public enemy number 1. Well, I don't doubt he wants us out of the way but this wouldn't be his best move.
"We'll take down Bakuda. Even we have our limits and she crossed it." Uber declared. He didn't say any more after that, only collecting the contact information for a follow up. It was probably for the best, making excuses or expanding on plans would reveal weakness especially when we weren't prompted on the details.
I looked over at Tattletale and Skitter but they didn't seem to recognize me. I thought I would have left a stronger... impression… I just noticed Tattletale absentmindedly playing with a Fedora. Tattletale looked at me and I received a calculating gaze. A warning. But it wasn't from Tattletale herself. I just realized how impressive the path to victory is. And I'm not immune. Did Contessa remove those memories from the Undersiders? If so, than it's likely because it would do more harm than good. I'll have to see if she did the same to Panacea and Glory Girl. If so… I can't just treat my actions from here as casually as I did.
Somehow, being a part of the path to victory made me realize how real this world is to me. It's definitely different than simply knowing things are real. I think I have to accept that I'm part of this world now. I couldn't hold back the shiver from realizing how close I was to making a major mistake. If I remember correctly, shards collect information that can be recovered by the entity the shard came from. Which means if Scion chose to look into the information I revealed, as long as the Undersiders thought about it at one point when using their powers, he could pull the information. I'm tempted to just stay between the HQ and Overcity but I know how much of a problem that would be. The Overcity is effected by the real world and if I don't do something to mitigate the damage done to the will of mankind as a whole, the shadow beasts we encountered would be the least of our problems. Maybe I'm being paranoid but-
"Let's go back and get Leet caught up." Uber interrupted my thoughts. "We're going to have to do something about Bakuda's bombs. He should be able to solve that now that his powers seem to be cooperating."
-----
Uber filled Leet in on the events at the meeting as soon as we got back to the rig. "What do you think?"
"I normally wouldn't care at this point what people thought of us." Leet started after thinking for a bit. "But we're going to have to gather more people if we want to keep this base." He pulled out the notebook he's been writing in since the first day.
"From what I could tell, even after factoring in the unrest in the city, the number of shadow beasts are increasing in number, not by much but it's noticeable. It'll be fine if things continue at this rate for a couple months but there's a limit to what we can do with our current resources." He pointed out the range of the turrets, firing rate and spawn rate of the enemy. The amount of time we'd have to invest with our current resources was predicted to increase at an accelerated rate. "At this rate by the end of July, all three of us will have to spend our time defending the base or we'll lose it."
"You want to hire minions." I spoke up trying to find a way to participate. I don't want to be useless but I have no idea what input I can provide yet…
"Employees. Our activities here aren't exactly illegal. After all, this dimension is part of your power." Leet pointed out. "As long as we stake our claim on this dimension, mining the resources and selling it should give us a decent income simply because of the uniqueness of the material. All the better if someone can figure out how to use it."
"Wait, if we're the first humans here, can't we declare this land an independent nation?" I pointed out as a joke. "We'd have to have a stable community formed on some kind of basis but as long as we had enough people, it counts." Heh, Convention Nation.
"Well the only difference between a gang and the government is how accepted it is among the population." Uber played along. "Still, lets not get ahead of ourselves." He brought us back on track. "Clearing our reputation is more important if we want to attract enough people. And that means we'll have to prove we shouldn't be underestimated."
"We'll end up attracting the wrong kind of attention from the PRT though. They left you guys alone mostly because you didn't seem too much of a threat even if they already deduced Leet can make anything once." I pointed out.
"It's either raise our threat level or take a long time to build a better reputation and we don't have the time." Uber rebutted. "Power attracts people and we can sift out those who don't meet our standards but if we waste too much time trying to build the reputation we want to attract those we need, we're going to be overwhelmed. Best we do something big."
Leet thought for a minute. "I already have an idea on how to deal with Bakuda's bombs. I'll have to lock onto the signal she's using for the detonator and dead man switch. I can isolate the signal and mimic it. If someone can distract or even capture Bakuda, the last person can remove or disable the bombs from the hostages."
"I'll take care of the bombs. You already know I can repair and analyze tech, sabotage is just repairing in the wrong direction. I'll be careful and if I can't do anything, I'll get help from Panacea." I offered.
"That leaves taking down Bakuda to me." Uber grinned. "I'll get the details of their last encounter from the Undersiders. All that's left is the theme."
Coil ended the meeting by getting announcements and grievances out of the way. Hookwolf complained about Bitch's attack on his dog fighting gig, and wow that sounds petty outside of context. Well, it isn't very impressive even watching it happen. We were about to leave since it didn't seem like there would be anything else important to add to the discussion. We already agreed to participate in taking down the ABB. Unfortunately, someone just had to pull us in the discussion.
"That's settled then. Anything else?" Coil asked, "Issues, negotiations, requests?"
When no one answered, Coil turned towards us and I resisted the urge to shrink in. "Do you have anything to add since you have worked with Bakuda before?" It's almost like he wants to make us public enemy number 1. Well, I don't doubt he wants us out of the way but this wouldn't be his best move.
"We'll take down Bakuda. Even we have our limits and she crossed it." Uber declared. He didn't say any more after that, only collecting the contact information for a follow up. It was probably for the best, making excuses or expanding on plans would reveal weakness especially when we weren't prompted on the details.
I looked over at Tattletale and Skitter but they didn't seem to recognize me. I thought I would have left a stronger... impression… I just noticed Tattletale absentmindedly playing with a Fedora. Tattletale looked at me and I received a calculating gaze. A warning. But it wasn't from Tattletale herself. I just realized how impressive the path to victory is. And I'm not immune. Did Contessa remove those memories from the Undersiders? If so, than it's likely because it would do more harm than good. I'll have to see if she did the same to Panacea and Glory Girl. If so… I can't just treat my actions from here as casually as I did.
Somehow, being a part of the path to victory made me realize how real this world is to me. It's definitely different than simply knowing things are real. I think I have to accept that I'm part of this world now. I couldn't hold back the shiver from realizing how close I was to making a major mistake. If I remember correctly, shards collect information that can be recovered by the entity the shard came from. Which means if Scion chose to look into the information I revealed, as long as the Undersiders thought about it at one point when using their powers, he could pull the information. I'm tempted to just stay between the HQ and Overcity but I know how much of a problem that would be. The Overcity is effected by the real world and if I don't do something to mitigate the damage done to the will of mankind as a whole, the shadow beasts we encountered would be the least of our problems. Maybe I'm being paranoid but-
"Let's go back and get Leet caught up." Uber interrupted my thoughts. "We're going to have to do something about Bakuda's bombs. He should be able to solve that now that his powers seem to be cooperating."
-----
Uber filled Leet in on the events at the meeting as soon as we got back to the rig. "What do you think?"
"I normally wouldn't care at this point what people thought of us." Leet started after thinking for a bit. "But we're going to have to gather more people if we want to keep this base." He pulled out the notebook he's been writing in since the first day.
"From what I could tell, even after factoring in the unrest in the city, the number of shadow beasts are increasing in number, not by much but it's noticeable. It'll be fine if things continue at this rate for a couple months but there's a limit to what we can do with our current resources." He pointed out the range of the turrets, firing rate and spawn rate of the enemy. The amount of time we'd have to invest with our current resources was predicted to increase at an accelerated rate. "At this rate by the end of July, all three of us will have to spend our time defending the base or we'll lose it."
"You want to hire minions." I spoke up trying to find a way to participate. I don't want to be useless but I have no idea what input I can provide yet…
"Employees. Our activities here aren't exactly illegal. After all, this dimension is part of your power." Leet pointed out. "As long as we stake our claim on this dimension, mining the resources and selling it should give us a decent income simply because of the uniqueness of the material. All the better if someone can figure out how to use it."
"Wait, if we're the first humans here, can't we declare this land an independent nation?" I pointed out as a joke. "We'd have to have a stable community formed on some kind of basis but as long as we had enough people, it counts." Heh, Convention Nation.
"Well the only difference between a gang and the government is how accepted it is among the population." Uber played along. "Still, lets not get ahead of ourselves." He brought us back on track. "Clearing our reputation is more important if we want to attract enough people. And that means we'll have to prove we shouldn't be underestimated."
"We'll end up attracting the wrong kind of attention from the PRT though. They left you guys alone mostly because you didn't seem too much of a threat even if they already deduced Leet can make anything once." I pointed out.
"It's either raise our threat level or take a long time to build a better reputation and we don't have the time." Uber rebutted. "Power attracts people and we can sift out those who don't meet our standards but if we waste too much time trying to build the reputation we want to attract those we need, we're going to be overwhelmed. Best we do something big."
Leet thought for a minute. "I already have an idea on how to deal with Bakuda's bombs. I'll have to lock onto the signal she's using for the detonator and dead man switch. I can isolate the signal and mimic it. If someone can distract or even capture Bakuda, the last person can remove or disable the bombs from the hostages."
"I'll take care of the bombs. You already know I can repair and analyze tech, sabotage is just repairing in the wrong direction. I'll be careful and if I can't do anything, I'll get help from Panacea." I offered.
"That leaves taking down Bakuda to me." Uber grinned. "I'll get the details of their last encounter from the Undersiders. All that's left is the theme."
To heck with the Undersiders; is your SI forgetting that Uber and Leet are parahumans too?
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
She was more worried about the details of the story being exposed than the shard's reaction to her magic. She didn't want Zion to go crazy and blow up the world. She didn't tell Uber and Leet those details.
Oh, wow. Somehow I completely missed chapter 0.6 of your story, so I thought there was just an abrupt transition from the middle of the robbery to Winslow later. Yes, that makes much more sense.