Scraped from here.
Worm, a fantastic web serial, is owned by Wildbow. This quest will spoil a...
Worm, a fantastic web serial, is owned by Wildbow. This quest will spoil a...
Alchemical Solutions [Worm/Exalted] Thread 10: Journey Joins Juniors, Jerk Jinxes Juju
- Thread starter Gromweld
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Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Scraped from here.
Worm, a fantastic web serial, is owned by Wildbow. This quest will spoil a great deal - if not all - of the story, so if you haven't finished it already... go read it now! (Unless you don't care about spoilers, that is.)
Exalted, a delightful RPG system, is owned by White Wolf and CCP Games. Support the game by picking up a few PDFs on Drive-Thru RPG, would ya?
***
Story Index:
Arc 1: Spark
- 1.1
- 1.2
- 1.3
- 1.4
- 1.5
- 1.6
- 1.7
- Interlude: Simurgh
Arc 2: Ignition
- 2.1
- 2.2
- 2.3
- 2.4
- 2.5
- 2.6
- 2.7
- Interlude: Coil
- Interlude: Oblivion
- Interlude: Piggot
Arc 3: Fuel
- 3.1
- 3.2
- 3.3
- 3.4
- 3.5
- 3.6
- 3.7
- Interlude: Cauldron
Arc 4: Combustion
- 4.1
- 4.2
- 4.3
- 4.4
- 4.5
- 4.6
- 4.7
- Interlude: Jack Slash
Arc 5: Ember
- 5.1
- 5.2
- 5.3
- 5.4
- 5.5
- Interlude: Citrine
- 5.6
- Interlude: Aisha
- 5.7
- Interlude: Dragon
- Interlude: PRT Database
Arc 6: Flame
- 6.1
- Interlude: Exaltation Journal
- 6.2
- Interlude: Uriel
- 6.3
- Interlude: Chris
- 6.4
- Interlude: Saint
- 6.5
- 6.6 (Writing in Progress)
***
Extras:
Primary Quest Thread 01
Primary Quest Thread 02
Primary Quest Thread 03
Primary Quest Thread 04
Primary Quest Thread 05
Primary Quest Thread 06
Primary Quest Thread 07
Primary Quest Thread 08
Primary Quest Thread 09
Primary Quest Thread 10
Primary Quest Thread 11
Primary Quest Thread 12 [-- Discussion is here!</b]
==Story-Only Thread==
Quest Character Sheet
Quest Mechanics
Quest Equipment
Charm Cheat-Sheet (Courtesy of RCa)
Explanation - How To Play Exalted, A Primer
Explanation - Social Combat (Courtesy of RCa)
Explanation - Combat vs Snipers (Courtesy of RCa)
Explanation - The History of Exalted, In Brief (Posted by GamingGeek)
Explanation - Creation/Elsewhere (Posted by GamingGeek)
TV Tropes Page for Alchemical Solutions
***
Omake: (Not Quest Canon unless otherwise stated)
1.1 - Mrs. Knott (Courtesy of NotAlwaysFanfic)
1.1 - Madison (Courtesy of Blackout785)
1.2 AU - Enduring Order Administrator (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
1.2 AU - Armsmaster (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
1.2 AU - Sophia Hess (Courtesy of DragonBard)
1.2 AU - Emma Barnes (Courtesy of DragonBard)
1.6 - Daniel Hebert (Courtesy of Bozwieval)
1.7 - Miss Militia (Courtesy of Jinnt)
2.1 - Drs. Laurel & Hardy (Courtesy of DragonBard)
2.1 - Mr. Gladly (Courtesy of DragonBard)
2.1 - Emma Barnes (Courtesy of DragonBard)
2.4a - Glenn Chambers (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
2.4b - Taylor Hebert (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
2.4c - Glenn Chambers (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
2.7 - Resonant Terror Cascade (Courtesdy of Kelenas)
2.7 - Armsmaster (Courtesdy of Jinnt)
2.7 - Vista (Courtesy of Jinnt)
2.7 - Greg (Courtesy of RCa)
2.7a - Undersiders (Courtesy of Jinnt)
2.7b - Undersiders (Courtesy of Jinnt)
Arc 2 Interlude - Director Piggot (Courtesy of DragonBard, adapted into Canon Interlude)
Arc 2 Interlude - Kaiser (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.1 - Contessa (Courtesy of Jinnt)
3.1 - Black Widow #174 (Courtesy of veekie)
3.3 - Assault (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
3.4a - Eye of Autochthon (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.4b - Director Piggot (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.4c - Jessica Yamada (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.4d - Missy & Hannah (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.4 - Missy (Courtesy of Dimensionist)
3.5 - Director Piggot (Courtesy of cosoco)
3.6 - Chevalier (Courtesy of Chandra Magic)
3.6 - Glenn Chambers (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.7 - Dragon (Courtesy of Jinnt)
3.7 - Behemoth & Simurgh (Courtesy of kestrel404)
4.1 - Possible Battles (Courtesy of Demonic Spoon)
4.1 - Danny Hebert (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.1a - Tattletale (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.1b - Tattletale (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.1 - Ball 'o Spiders (Courtesy of DragonBard)
4.2 - Über and Leet (Courtesy of tomio)
4.3 - Tattletale (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.3 - Defenders at PRT HQ (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
4.3 - Über & Leet (Courtesy of tomio)
4.4 - Iron Sun (Courtesy of .IronSun.)
4.4 - Panacea (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
Arc 4 AU - Taylor & Iris (Courtesy of AkatsukiLeader13)
4.5 - Tattletale (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.7a - Taylor & Protectorate (Courtesy of DragonBard)
4.7b - Taylor & Protectorate (Courtesy of wingnut2292)
4.7 - Taylor & Tattletale (Courtesy of sun tzu)
4.7 - Emma Barnes (Courtesy of Jinnt)
5.4 AU - Taylor & Missy (Courtesy of Jinnt)
Arc 5+ - Parahumans Online (Courtesy of sun tzu)
Arc 5+ - Parahumans Online (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
Arc 5+ - Coil (Courtesy of DragonBard)
Arc 5+ - Taylor & Daniel Hebert (Courtesy of DragonBard)
Arc 5+ - Taylor & Dragon (Courtesy of Azure)
Arc 5+a - Alchemical Solutions/Conquest Quest Crossover (Courtesy of sun tzu)
Arc 5+b - Alchemical Solutions/Conquest Quest Crossover (Courtesy of sun tzu)
Arc 5+ - Taylor & Wards (Courtesy of BobTheNinja)
Arc 5+ - Taylor, Miss Militia, Wards (Courtesy of DragonBard)
5.1 - Dragon (Courtesy of Jinnt)
5.5 - Aisha & Taylor (Courtesy of Jinnt, turned into Canon Interlude)
Arc 6+ - Chevalier (Courtesy of FunkyEntropy)
Arc 6+ - Medical Log (Courtesy of uju32)
Arc 6+ - Matchmaking Through War (Courtesy of charysa)
Arc 6+ - Matchmaking Through Everything (Courtesy of charysa)
Arc 6+ - Asymmetric Strategic Threat Workgroup (Courtesy of uju32)
Arc 6+ - BOLO for Iris (Courtesy of uju32)
Arc 7+ - Dragon Ascendant (Courtesy of DragonBard)
Arc 7+ - A Good Day (Courtesy of uju32)
Arc 8+ - Glenn Chambers(Courtesy ofDragonBard)
Arc 10+ - Taylor & Vista (Courtesy of DragonBard)
A Bad End (Courtesy of Demonic Spoon)
A Good End (Courtesy of RCa)
Sidereal-Style Poem (Courtesy of linkhyrule5)
***
Quest-Related Art: (Not Quest Canon unless otherwise stated)
Taylor Hebert Pre-Exaltation (Art by Hybrid303) (Quest Canon)
The Simurgh (Art by Scarfgirl) (Quest Canon)
The Death of Taylor Anne Hebert (Art by assana73)
Alchemical Taylor (Stylized, Art by Shyft)
1.2 - Taylor In The Mirror (Art by assana73)
2.3 - Missy In Suitjamas (Art by assana73) (Quest Canon)
Miss Militia & Taylor & Iris (Art by assana73)
3.6 - Saving Chevalier From Iris (Art by charysa)
3.6 - Taylor/Dragon Collaboration Dress (Art by Shyft) (Quest Canon)
If Behemoth Was A Week Late (Art by charysa)
Brockton Bay Wards Beach Vacation (Art by charysa)
Taylor's Iconic Anima Display (Art by Demonic Spoon)
Taylor's Iconic Anima Display (Art by assana73)
Series of Sketches and Comics:
- Iris of Innovation Sketches (Art by assana73)
- Taylor, Behemoth, and a Carrot (Art by assana73)
- Interrupting Lung's Nap (Art by assana73)
- Line Art For Above - Links Below Art (Art by assana73)
4.4 - Daniel Hebert (Art by assana73) (Quest Canon)
Behemoth (Art by BobTheNinja)
Lung Dressed As Mumm-Rah (Art by assana73)
4.7 Omake - Taylor & Protectorate (Art by assana73, from This Omake)
Iris, Jack, Bonesaw & Simurgh (Art by charysa)
***
Worm, a fantastic web serial, is owned by Wildbow. This quest will spoil a great deal - if not all - of the story, so if you haven't finished it already... go read it now! (Unless you don't care about spoilers, that is.)
Exalted, a delightful RPG system, is owned by White Wolf and CCP Games. Support the game by picking up a few PDFs on Drive-Thru RPG, would ya?
***
Story Index:
Arc 1: Spark
- 1.1
- 1.2
- 1.3
- 1.4
- 1.5
- 1.6
- 1.7
- Interlude: Simurgh
Arc 2: Ignition
- 2.1
- 2.2
- 2.3
- 2.4
- 2.5
- 2.6
- 2.7
- Interlude: Coil
- Interlude: Oblivion
- Interlude: Piggot
Arc 3: Fuel
- 3.1
- 3.2
- 3.3
- 3.4
- 3.5
- 3.6
- 3.7
- Interlude: Cauldron
Arc 4: Combustion
- 4.1
- 4.2
- 4.3
- 4.4
- 4.5
- 4.6
- 4.7
- Interlude: Jack Slash
Arc 5: Ember
- 5.1
- 5.2
- 5.3
- 5.4
- 5.5
- Interlude: Citrine
- 5.6
- Interlude: Aisha
- 5.7
- Interlude: Dragon
- Interlude: PRT Database
Arc 6: Flame
- 6.1
- Interlude: Exaltation Journal
- 6.2
- Interlude: Uriel
- 6.3
- Interlude: Chris
- 6.4
- Interlude: Saint
- 6.5
- 6.6 (Writing in Progress)
***
Extras:
Primary Quest Thread 01
Primary Quest Thread 02
Primary Quest Thread 03
Primary Quest Thread 04
Primary Quest Thread 05
Primary Quest Thread 06
Primary Quest Thread 07
Primary Quest Thread 08
Primary Quest Thread 09
Primary Quest Thread 10
Primary Quest Thread 11
Primary Quest Thread 12 [-- Discussion is here!</b]
==Story-Only Thread==
Quest Character Sheet
Quest Mechanics
Quest Equipment
Charm Cheat-Sheet (Courtesy of RCa)
Explanation - How To Play Exalted, A Primer
Explanation - Social Combat (Courtesy of RCa)
Explanation - Combat vs Snipers (Courtesy of RCa)
Explanation - The History of Exalted, In Brief (Posted by GamingGeek)
Explanation - Creation/Elsewhere (Posted by GamingGeek)
TV Tropes Page for Alchemical Solutions
***
Omake: (Not Quest Canon unless otherwise stated)
1.1 - Mrs. Knott (Courtesy of NotAlwaysFanfic)
1.1 - Madison (Courtesy of Blackout785)
1.2 AU - Enduring Order Administrator (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
1.2 AU - Armsmaster (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
1.2 AU - Sophia Hess (Courtesy of DragonBard)
1.2 AU - Emma Barnes (Courtesy of DragonBard)
1.6 - Daniel Hebert (Courtesy of Bozwieval)
1.7 - Miss Militia (Courtesy of Jinnt)
2.1 - Drs. Laurel & Hardy (Courtesy of DragonBard)
2.1 - Mr. Gladly (Courtesy of DragonBard)
2.1 - Emma Barnes (Courtesy of DragonBard)
2.4a - Glenn Chambers (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
2.4b - Taylor Hebert (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
2.4c - Glenn Chambers (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
2.7 - Resonant Terror Cascade (Courtesdy of Kelenas)
2.7 - Armsmaster (Courtesdy of Jinnt)
2.7 - Vista (Courtesy of Jinnt)
2.7 - Greg (Courtesy of RCa)
2.7a - Undersiders (Courtesy of Jinnt)
2.7b - Undersiders (Courtesy of Jinnt)
Arc 2 Interlude - Director Piggot (Courtesy of DragonBard, adapted into Canon Interlude)
Arc 2 Interlude - Kaiser (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.1 - Contessa (Courtesy of Jinnt)
3.1 - Black Widow #174 (Courtesy of veekie)
3.3 - Assault (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
3.4a - Eye of Autochthon (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.4b - Director Piggot (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.4c - Jessica Yamada (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.4d - Missy & Hannah (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.4 - Missy (Courtesy of Dimensionist)
3.5 - Director Piggot (Courtesy of cosoco)
3.6 - Chevalier (Courtesy of Chandra Magic)
3.6 - Glenn Chambers (Courtesy of DragonBard)
3.7 - Dragon (Courtesy of Jinnt)
3.7 - Behemoth & Simurgh (Courtesy of kestrel404)
4.1 - Possible Battles (Courtesy of Demonic Spoon)
4.1 - Danny Hebert (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.1a - Tattletale (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.1b - Tattletale (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.1 - Ball 'o Spiders (Courtesy of DragonBard)
4.2 - Über and Leet (Courtesy of tomio)
4.3 - Tattletale (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.3 - Defenders at PRT HQ (Courtesy of Daemir Silverstreak)
4.3 - Über & Leet (Courtesy of tomio)
4.4 - Iron Sun (Courtesy of .IronSun.)
4.4 - Panacea (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
Arc 4 AU - Taylor & Iris (Courtesy of AkatsukiLeader13)
4.5 - Tattletale (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
4.7a - Taylor & Protectorate (Courtesy of DragonBard)
4.7b - Taylor & Protectorate (Courtesy of wingnut2292)
4.7 - Taylor & Tattletale (Courtesy of sun tzu)
4.7 - Emma Barnes (Courtesy of Jinnt)
5.4 AU - Taylor & Missy (Courtesy of Jinnt)
Arc 5+ - Parahumans Online (Courtesy of sun tzu)
Arc 5+ - Parahumans Online (Courtesy of LoreOfClark)
Arc 5+ - Coil (Courtesy of DragonBard)
Arc 5+ - Taylor & Daniel Hebert (Courtesy of DragonBard)
Arc 5+ - Taylor & Dragon (Courtesy of Azure)
Arc 5+a - Alchemical Solutions/Conquest Quest Crossover (Courtesy of sun tzu)
Arc 5+b - Alchemical Solutions/Conquest Quest Crossover (Courtesy of sun tzu)
Arc 5+ - Taylor & Wards (Courtesy of BobTheNinja)
Arc 5+ - Taylor, Miss Militia, Wards (Courtesy of DragonBard)
5.1 - Dragon (Courtesy of Jinnt)
5.5 - Aisha & Taylor (Courtesy of Jinnt, turned into Canon Interlude)
Arc 6+ - Chevalier (Courtesy of FunkyEntropy)
Arc 6+ - Medical Log (Courtesy of uju32)
Arc 6+ - Matchmaking Through War (Courtesy of charysa)
Arc 6+ - Matchmaking Through Everything (Courtesy of charysa)
Arc 6+ - Asymmetric Strategic Threat Workgroup (Courtesy of uju32)
Arc 6+ - BOLO for Iris (Courtesy of uju32)
Arc 7+ - Dragon Ascendant (Courtesy of DragonBard)
Arc 7+ - A Good Day (Courtesy of uju32)
Arc 8+ - Glenn Chambers(Courtesy ofDragonBard)
Arc 10+ - Taylor & Vista (Courtesy of DragonBard)
A Bad End (Courtesy of Demonic Spoon)
A Good End (Courtesy of RCa)
Sidereal-Style Poem (Courtesy of linkhyrule5)
***
Quest-Related Art: (Not Quest Canon unless otherwise stated)
Taylor Hebert Pre-Exaltation (Art by Hybrid303) (Quest Canon)
The Simurgh (Art by Scarfgirl) (Quest Canon)
The Death of Taylor Anne Hebert (Art by assana73)
Alchemical Taylor (Stylized, Art by Shyft)
1.2 - Taylor In The Mirror (Art by assana73)
2.3 - Missy In Suitjamas (Art by assana73) (Quest Canon)
Miss Militia & Taylor & Iris (Art by assana73)
3.6 - Saving Chevalier From Iris (Art by charysa)
3.6 - Taylor/Dragon Collaboration Dress (Art by Shyft) (Quest Canon)
If Behemoth Was A Week Late (Art by charysa)
Brockton Bay Wards Beach Vacation (Art by charysa)
Taylor's Iconic Anima Display (Art by Demonic Spoon)
Taylor's Iconic Anima Display (Art by assana73)
Series of Sketches and Comics:
- Iris of Innovation Sketches (Art by assana73)
- Taylor, Behemoth, and a Carrot (Art by assana73)
- Interrupting Lung's Nap (Art by assana73)
- Line Art For Above - Links Below Art (Art by assana73)
4.4 - Daniel Hebert (Art by assana73) (Quest Canon)
Behemoth (Art by BobTheNinja)
Lung Dressed As Mumm-Rah (Art by assana73)
4.7 Omake - Taylor & Protectorate (Art by assana73, from This Omake)
Iris, Jack, Bonesaw & Simurgh (Art by charysa)
***
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Relevant Philadelphia Information:
- Civilian Population: 900,000
- Parahuman Population (Officially): 10 Protectorate, 5 Wards, 91 Supervillains, 65 Unaffiliated Heroes, 9 Rogues
- Parahuman Population (Effective): 10 Protectorate, 5 Wards, 102 Supervillains, 67 Unaffiliated Heroes, 9 Rogues
- PRT Offices: PRT Headquarters/Downtown, PRT North, PRT Northeast, Protectorate Island
- Philadelphia's PRT usually counts Camden's non-PRT parahuman population in its numbers, as it does most of the work there. Cherry Hill and the other Camden County cities pitch in when available (which isn't often).
CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
Relevant Camden Information:
- Civilian Population: 52,000
- PRT Offices: Camden PRT Headquarters
- Parahuman Population (Officially): 3 Protectorate, 0 Wards, 11 Supervillains, 2 Unaffiliated Heroes, 0 Rogues
- Many of Philadelphia's Gangs claim territory in Camden, but the parahumans don't live there.
- Somehow worse than Brockton Bay: over 40% of the population is under the poverty line, gangs rule the streets, and the most of the city is condemned
Relevant Philadelphia Information:
- Civilian Population: 900,000
- Parahuman Population (Officially): 10 Protectorate, 5 Wards, 91 Supervillains, 65 Unaffiliated Heroes, 9 Rogues
- Parahuman Population (Effective): 10 Protectorate, 5 Wards, 102 Supervillains, 67 Unaffiliated Heroes, 9 Rogues
- PRT Offices: PRT Headquarters/Downtown, PRT North, PRT Northeast, Protectorate Island
- Philadelphia's PRT usually counts Camden's non-PRT parahuman population in its numbers, as it does most of the work there. Cherry Hill and the other Camden County cities pitch in when available (which isn't often).
CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
Relevant Camden Information:
- Civilian Population: 52,000
- PRT Offices: Camden PRT Headquarters
- Parahuman Population (Officially): 3 Protectorate, 0 Wards, 11 Supervillains, 2 Unaffiliated Heroes, 0 Rogues
- Many of Philadelphia's Gangs claim territory in Camden, but the parahumans don't live there.
- Somehow worse than Brockton Bay: over 40% of the population is under the poverty line, gangs rule the streets, and the most of the city is condemned
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Much Ado About SoPA:
[X] My Little Controller (Friendship Is OBEY): It wants to help! Keep it on all the time, because it loves us and wants to bring Order to the world.
The Word Is Out:
[X] Positions of Trust: Tell only the Wards and superiors we trust without reservation. Vista, Chevalier, Miss Militia and Armsmaster come to mind.
Road Trip to Philadelphia: The Third Leg
[X] Essence Reservoir-to-Heart: Provide counsel for a member of your caravan, getting to know them better as a mortal as well as evaluating them for Alchemical potential.
- [x] Stunt: Talk to Dennis, find out how he's doing, and what he thinks of things so far. Get his support in covering up for any Clarity induced social mistakes, and see about enlisting his assistance in keeping Aisha sufficiently motivated and amused, especially after their mutual Glenn sessions. The last personal conversation you've had with him involved a prank involving being surrounded by a swarm of bugs, after all, things could stand to be on a more positive note.
XP Expenditures:
[X] 4 XP - Performance ●○○○○
[X] 2 XP - Integrity (Mental Trauma ●○○)
***
Vista's shocked exclamation eventually snaps you out of your contemplation of your Shard of Perfect Administration's sub-modules.
"Weaver! What happened?!"
You shake your head wearily to try to warn off the others' concern, but the van's interior spins more than expected. Placing your elbows on your knees, you lean forward and take your head in your hands in an attempt to steady yourself, then run through a few seconds of deep breathing before you answer.
"I… think I have... a better understanding of my powers, now. Mostl-."
But your words - now sounding much more crystalline and melodic in your ears - catch in your throat as you finally notice the long, gleaming, silver hair cascading down your head and into your peripheral vision.
Who's comment punctuates your observation with an amused snort.
"Yer powers scared ya grey?"
You hear a muffled thwap as Vista likely smacks Who for the comment, which is followed by an amused titter from the Twins. Battery places a hand on your upper back to steady you, but the vast majority of your attention is focused on running your right hand through the unnaturally-beautiful locks framing your face.
With a mental twitch, you bring your Visual Enhancements online and focus your microscopic vision on the strands lightly gripped in your hand.
Platinum, you manage to deduce from the density and sheen, though the weight seems completely off from what should typically be the case for the element. Even more bizarre, the construction isn't reminiscent of hair follicles at all; instead, your observe that each larger 'strand' of hair is instead composed of dozens of smaller fibers. Eerily similar to…
"... Spider silk?"
With your Ultraperipheral Awareness sub-module now online, you're able to note the small shifts of heads and upper-bodies that denote your fellow passengers' surprise at your comment. Battery, however, is the first to audibly react to the claim with a measure of uncertainty.
"That's spider silk, Weaver? We were wondering what happened when your hair suddenly… changed."
"No… platinum, actually, but I can see it's…" you gesture with a handful of brilliant silver strands, "just woven like spider silk somehow. And it's lighter than platinum should be?"
This evokes a long whistle from the white-clad Protectorate heroine.
"Weaver, last I checked platinum cost more than gold. A lot more."
While the idea had crossed your mind, briefly, you frown in remembrance of a previous attempt to divvy out samples your body's construction.
"I don't think that'll work," you note, shaking your head. "Predict samples will melt away like previous samples of skin given to lab."
Nodding warily, Vista is quick to pick up after Battery - pointing with a hand to go along with her description.
"It started at your tips and flowed up to your head, almost like someone poured ink on your head… but, you know, in reverse. The curls even went away with it, too."
Slowly straightening your posture from leaning on your elbows, you take two handfuls of your long hair and cusp it in front of you.
You feel… almost nothing about this change, though you still barely feel in general. Memories of religiously washing, brushing, and treating your hair every day for the last three years still give you pause, but it all feels so… distant, now. Yes, it was your closest tie to your mother, but you can almost see her face every day now when you look in the mirror - especially when you are in your human disguise. It also served as the lone evidence of your femininity, but that's…
… well, you have the opposite of that problem, now.
A spark races through your lone consciousness as your Industrial Survival Frame charm springs to life. The sensation of something forcing itself into your mind, too subtle to notice on your own, causes you to grimace as you try to bring the charm online; with only three motes in your personal essence reservoir now that your charms have settled, you might as well activate the full suite with your peripheral pool now, and just wait a few minutes for your anima to settle before reactivating anything else.
As the world around your body drops away, the 'radiance' of your anima swallowing up the light of van's interior like a black hole, you realize the source of the intrusion into your mind: Who's power, which now appears to be active once again.
Holding your hands up at the yelps from Vista and the Twins, as well as Battery's sudden withdrawal of her hand on your shoulder, you direct a flat stare at the wary Stranger still seated across from you.
"Who, why did you stop suppressing your power?"
Leaning back from your display of power and focused glare, Who holds up her hands defensively.
"Because you're actin'... different all 'a sudden," sighs the newest Ward, the presence of her power receding at the same time. "Just wanted 'ta be sure."
Vista, having recovered from her Who-induced double-take already, puffs her cheeks out and lightly rapps her Stranger neighbor on the shoulder.
"That's how she normally talks, Who."
A weak nod and 'mhm' from the Twins - despite their discrete attempts at edging away from the luminescent flakes of soulsteel dripping off your skin - reinforces Vista's statement, causing Who to shrug and pull out her handheld game system.
"Alright, alright, whatever."
At the soft sounds of Who's game starting up, Vista turns back to you with an air of curiosity.
"So… you're ok, then, Weaver?"
"Yes," you nod, letting your hands fall to your knees and your hair back down around your head. "My… charms feel more… settled. It's going to take a few more tries to figure everything out completely, I calculate, but I'm operating a much higher level of efficiency now."
Visibly wincing at your choice of words, Vista takes a moment to consider your statement - allowing Battery to follow up with her own question.
"Your voice sounds different now, Weaver," the older heroine notes, before adding quickly, "well, different than the way its sounded recently, at least."
Humming carefully, you place your right hand over where you now realize your Echo Chamber Vocalizationsub-module has replaced your vocal chords. As you tentatively try humming a few different notes in various octaves, you begin to pick out the crystalline harmonics generated by the sub-module's adamant-and-moonsilver construction.
"My disguise charm was malfunc-… stuck," you eventually muse aloud. "There's a high probability that disabling it completely caused my hair and voice to revert to their base states."
"Your hair…" Uzu murmurs, before Tatsu finishes the thought for her. "... Beautiful."
As the rest of the Wards - and Battery - nod in agreement, you attempt to construct a new mental image for yourself with your… restored hair. After a few seconds of considering it, you realize just how much you have come to rely on the use of your charms for spatial awareness; your sub-module's 360-degrees of visual awareness usually is able to note your reflection in some surrounding surface, and you almost always have a few hundred insects silently floating just out of (a normal person's) sight to give you complete awareness of your own body and surroundings.
Sighing to yourself, you relax the mental lock on your Shard of Perfect Administration charm and bask in the sensory input that washes over your mind. As you feel out the millions of insects within your range, a small part in the back of your mind notes a distinct lack of any abrupt emotional overrides; your emotions are, disappointingly, still creeping back into your conscious mind, but the subtle need to control your surroundings is no longer there.
For now, at least.
Pushing that thought back, you nod in thanks for the compliment and lean back into your seat's restraints. You still have some time before you can reactivate Incomparable Efficiency Upgrade without triggering your fear illusion, so you might as well spend the time reviewing the three-hundred and forty-four dresses, hats, pants, shirts, undergarments, shoes, and pieces of jewelry obtained from your photo shoot.
Perhaps you could alter those matching tops for Sakura and Saki, and then that turquoise dress for Missy...
***
The traffic that has almost defined your road trip finally lessens as your van passes the Newark International Airport, allowing your caravan to travel at a much more efficient sixty-to-seventy miles-per-hour. As your van noticeably accelerates, Battery even breathes a sigh of relief and sags back into her restraints… before mildly cursing to herself.
"Damnit, Assault."
This gets some confused looks between Vista and the Twins, though it's Vista who voices the question.
"What did he do now?"
"Oh, I nothing, I guess," Battery groans, waving the concern away with an idle gesture. "It's that I just lost a bet - not that I wanted to win, though."
Despite their helmets, it's clear that the three Wards looking at the elder heroine are giving her blank stares. Sighing again, Battery holds her right hand up with fingers splayed open.
"The last five times we traveled to New York in a van, each time Assault and I were attacked by some new, random gang trying to make a name for themselves."
Who snickers at the idea, but the Twins and Vista only manage a weak laugh.
"And you didn't… say anything?" Vista warily inquires, reaching up to place a hand to her helmeted forehead. Right as she makes contact, she jolts upright and points accusingly at Battery.
"So that's why Adamant was wondering why our vans were still in one piece!"
Uzu, however, raises her hand questioningly before Battery can respond.
"What did you…" starts the first Twin, which Tatsu finishes. "... bet with Assault?"
Almost as if summoned by his name, Battery's phone rings with a familiar tone. Grumbling to herself, Battery withdraws the phone from one of her belt pockets and immediately thumbs the 'Call Decline' button on its face. With the call now sent to voicemail, she quickly punches in her password and bringing up her internet browser in an attempt to dodge the question.
"Just… forget I said anything."
The other Wards don't let the matter settle that easily, but you nod and consider the matter complete.
That certainly explains the several unknown capes that you noted within your swarm's senses throughout the trip across New York, though each only watched your vans' passing momentarily before moving away.
***
You only get a few minutes of uniterrupted travel, however, before your swarm notices a massive amount of traffic congestion attempting to exit the interstate highway. As the van begins to slow, Battery's phone bleats with the tone used by the PRT for emergency alerts.
Quickly extracting it, Battery reads the broadcast aloud.
"New Jersey Boyz stopping cars on I-95 bridge over Raritan River. Kiloton, Sandpaper on route to engagement."
"Aren't the Jersey Boyz…"
"... a vigilante group?" the Twins inquire with raised hands.
Continuing to thumb her phone to scroll through the links attached to the alert, Battery shakes her head after a moment of silent review, her tone dripping with exasperation and disdain as she relays her findings.
"Looks like this is a new gang being led by… Money Shot. Apparently he got tired of taking orders anymore from… Big Richard."
Who's laughter is soon joined by Vista's giggle and the Twins' restrained titter.
"Are you for real? That's their fuckin' names?"
Before Battery can put the matter to rest, Who is quickly, and cheerfully, answered by the Twins
"Prefers to go by…"
"Big Dick."
Battery's loud sigh is drowned out by the four Wards' laughter. You are more focused on the world outside of the van, keeping your conscious mind focused on the surrounding foliage for any suspicious activity.
After a few minutes, the laughter dies down enough inside the van for Battery to resume her explanation.
"While I'd love to help put these guys down, we're under orders to do everything in our power to avoid engagements. Looks like we're taking the scenic route agai-."
A loud grumble from the Twins' stomachs interrupts the elder Protectorate heroine, eliciting an awkward pause from the rest of the van.
"... and I suppose we can stop for lunch, too."
***
After a back-and-forth series of conversations between the boys' van, the caravan settles on a New Brunswick favorite: Old Man Rafferty's.
With your anima having only receded completely moments before, you opt to drain your meager personal essence pool to activate Integrated Artifact Transmogrifier - thankful of your decision to keep the reserves free when you enabled Industrial Survival Frame earlier.
More thankfully, your new hair does not carry over to your disguise. You do, however, get a chance to watch the effect of your hair rippling and dying itself in a process similar-but-reversed to what Vista described. With the effect complete, you feel a momentary pang of… satisfaction… at having your old hair returned to you. For now, at least.
As you and the other girls are joined by the boys, you note the unusually somber mood hanging over their heads, specifically Clockblocker's. With their drooped heads and shoulders, you wonder what must have gone on in the van to have caused such a decay in their spirits.
"I still say stomping some thugs would have brigtened everyone's day," Assault tries to explain, but backpedals with his hands up defensively at the disappointed snort from Battery. "Buuut I can see how it would have been stepping on the local team's toes. And hey, free lunch."
As your assembled group takes their seats, you note the the boys perk up as they hear the banter between the Twins and Who - the latter grilling the former two for any and all innuendo-laden cape names they can remember. The group begins to move tables together for seating, but decide to follow Clockblocker as he seperates from the group to take a seat inside - motioning to Assault and Battery that you'll see what's going on.
While the low population of insects in the restaurant speaks well of its standards of cleanliness, it doesn't impede your ability to track the white-suited Striker as he plops down at a corner stall. As you approach the table, however, you note a slight pause in his movements. To avoid drawing undue attention, you decide to quietly slide in on the opposite side of the table.
After several seconds of silence, you hear a muffled sigh from the older (by five months) Ward.
"No bugs, this time?"
"No bugs," you reply evenly, shaking your head slowly as you do.
You detect a slight decrease in his pulse rate at your comment, which is followed by another long sigh and nearly a minute of silence as he appears to stare out the window across from your table. Bringing his hands together and leaning forward on the table, you suspect whatever he is about to say is interrupted by the short, brunette waitress who smoothly glides up to your table with a set of menus.
After giving her your drink orders - lemonade for yourself, due to its known properties of refreshment, and a Coke for Clockblocker - the two of you sit in silence for at least a few more minutes before you finally decide to break the ice.
"Who looked like she enjoyed your jokes at the restaurant the other day."
Starting slightly, Clockblocker turns his head a fraction to bring you into his peripheral vision.
"How did you… oh, wait, bugs. Right. Could you hear all that, even when you were cooking?"
You settle in your seat, brushing your costume's dress straight underneath your legs with your hands, and nod.
"Control and sensory feedback don't take up any extra attention. I'm navigating the few cockroaches and flies from the back out of the restaurant right now."
"Welp, there goes my appetite."
"Wait, no," you interject, holding up a hand as Clockblocker looks about ready to leave. "Nothing near the food, only the trash bins. Kitchen is clean, or I would have said something before we stopped."
Holding his lean forward for a moment longer after your clarification, he eventually sighs and falls back into the cushioned fabric of his seat. After a few moments of silence, he lazily tilts his head to look at you.
"Your voice's back to normal, but you're still talking kinda weird. That still part of that 'feedback loop' thing you mentioned?"
You nod, furrowing your brow at the description.
"My diction has been chosen for clarity and succinctness. I may have been… shorter than was optimal the last few days, though."
This evokes a tired laugh from Clockblocker, to which you respond with a level stare.
"Hey, hey," he capitulates, "I'm just saying it wasn't too hard to give you your space to work things out."
Blinking at his comment, you wonder at the veracity of it - part of your mind yearning for the lie detector in your armor's helmet. While you noted the rest of the Wards seemed preoccupied with their own affairs, were they truly avoiding you because of your heightened Clarity?
You nod to note your acceptance of his sentiment, but the thought makes you momentarily glad for your current lack of any wasteful feelings like 'sorrow' or 'regret.'
"And yourself?"
"Huh?"
Clockblocker lowers his hands slightly in confusion, but you remain silent to let him work out the question himself. Eventually he shifts in his seat and drapes his costume-clad arms over the table again, returning his gaze to the windows leading outside.
"It just all feels… surreal, you know? Like, what are we even doing here?"
You withhold your immediate response of "Eating," avoiding interrupting the more experienced Ward as he continues to muse aloud.
"I spent… I dunno, years? Freaking out about my dad's leukemia. He'd go in for some new treatment, it'd go into remission, but then it'd always come back and we wouldn't know if it would be the last time…"
At his extended silence after his last comment, you ask the obvious question.
"Panacea?"
"Booked up," Cockblocker snorts with long-withheld derision. "And whenever she'd have space, he'd be in remission so we'd be moved off the list for someone who was needing it right then."
You had heard that the demand for Panacea's services was astronomical - New Wave not charging for the healer's services, but instead prioritizing by immediate need - and that there had been a near-constant pilgrimage to the two major Brockton Bay hospitals she frequented, but still…
"You didn't ask Amy?"
Clockblocker is silent, the various illuminated clocks emblazoned on his white armor quietly ticking away until he finally answers with a shake of his head.
"How could I? Every second of her time was another life saved - I was only gonna do that if it looked like things… whatever, not like it matters anymore."
Bringing his hands up in a 'hallelujah' pose, Clockblocker raises his voice in an over-dramatic display of mock-celebration.
"Nothing to bury, so no need to stick around for funerals! Off to Philly we go!"
With most of the lunch crowd sitting outside, there are only a few customers inside to hear the outburst - including your server, who just happened to be bringing your drinks at the time. Noticing her approach, Clockblocker points enthusiastically to her, which almost causes her to spill the two drinks in her hands.
"You there, serving girl!" he exclaims in an overly-cheerful tone. "Do you have parents?!"
"Uhh-... ye-" she begins in a weakened, cautious voice, but is cut off immediately by loud laugh from Clockblocker. Vigorously pointing to himself with a thumb and then gesturing to the rest of the Wards outside, he practically beams through his helmet at the surprised server.
"Hah! Well, none of us do anymore! Except her, but her dad tried to kill her, so I guess she counts too."
You blink at the exclamation, but mentally sigh in relief: your bugs outside don't register his exuberance near where the rest of the Wards are eating casually.
You hold up a hand to silence the boisterous Striker, then give a meaningful look to the server - who thankfully interprets it correctly and bolts after depositing your drinks. With her gone, you turn back to Clockblocker who has begun to deflate after the outburst.
"Would you have rather stayed at the camp?"
The white-suited young hero is quiet for a long minute, taking breaths shallow enough for you to have trouble discerning the rise and fall of his costume lightly-armored chestpiece. Eventually he balls his fists - briefly - before relaxing again and placing his palms down on the table.
"I probably would have lost it, all that ash and the memories."
Jerking forward, Clockblocker pounds the table with his open hands in frustration, but says nothing more. You idly note the slight spill of his Coke and your lemonade, but don't move to clean it up just yet.
Instead, you reach across the table and cover his left, gloved hand with your own.
The both of you are silent for at least a minute before he sighs and nods to himself, some of his usual wry attitude slipping into his tone.
"And this is where you remind me that spiders eat their mates."
With your free hand, you grasp your lemonade, take a sip, then return it gently to the glass tabletop.
"This is where I offer a hug if you apologize to the serving staff."
"Waiter!"
***
The rest of your lunch follows much more smoothly, though you are interrupted just as the two of you are ordering dessert by a wandering crew of Who, Vista, and the Twins - ostensibly having gotten up to use the restroom together.
"Well well well," Vista alludes slyly, sashaying up to your table. "What have we here?"
You brace for the sexual innuendo from Who, but curiously the new Stranger merely 'hmms' with suspicion along with the Twins. Luckily, Clockblocker jumps to your rescue.
"I didn't want to have half my plate eaten by… Who again? I wonder…"
Over the inevitable verbal jousting Clockblocker's comment incites with Who, you manage to get your order for dessert - the 'Black & White Mousse Supreme' - out to the bewildered server before she shuffles off in confusion. Vista gives you a stare after the server leaves, but you're unable to determine the meaning behind it due to her helmet's opaque visor. Eventually you just shake your head to disabuse her of whatever notion she had dreamed up, which causes her to huff in frustration and plop down next to you.
"Well I'm gonna count this as his date idea, anyway," Vista mumbles softly to you, "because I'm still going to make him pay up."
Thinking back, you narrow your eyes at the young Shaker.
"Last week was your idea?"
Under your gaze, Vista's cheerful smile wanes until she finally begins to force a laugh through her remaining grin. Leaping up, she somehow manages to grab all three of the other girls' arms with her two hands.
"Ohlookatthat well we gotta go see you in a few!"
Turning your narrowed gaze from Vista's retreating form, Clockblocker - his mouth still partially visible after sliding back the chin part to allow him to eat his steak lunch - seems to puzzle over what just happened for a moment before making the connection.
"Ah, she… told you about the pay-off?"
Your continued, flat stare answers his question for him. Eventually he shrugs and holds his hands up in a 'what can you do' gesture.
"Hey, you covered me in flies before I could even say anything… and threatened to eat me… so as far as I'm concerned, we're even."
You release the breath you were holding to say something in response through your nose, then nod slowly as you eventually deem his logic sound.
You still plan on placing a number of flies in his socks and shoes, however.
***
The rest of your trip to Philadelphia proves delay-free, allowing your caravan to pull into Philadelphia after only barely more than an hour more on the road. As the two vans pull into the underground parking lot below the Northeast Philadelphia PRT Headquarters, you note that your caravan has traveled only a few blocks after passing a particularly noteworthy landmark.
Holmsberg Prison, one of the largest cape-and-civilian mixed prisons in the northeast united states. Which has also been under a great deal of public scrutiny recently after attention was called to decades of state-condoned dermatological, pharmaceutical, and biochemical weapons tests were performed covertly on its inmates.
The whistleblowers, a local vigilante group called 'the Truth Seekers', are also currently under suspicion of breaking out hundreds of inmates and assaulting correctional officers, government workers, and elected officials to get the information used in the media blast.
After observing the excited twitching and shifting of your fellow Wards as they prepare to arrive at their new home, you decide to keep this revelation to yourself for the time being.
The Northeast Philadelphia PRT Headquarters is, like most PRT buildings, a squat, white obelisk with mirror-reflective windows (nestled in recessed openings) only on the front-facing side. From your swarm's senses - which this PRT building has not been designed to limit - you detect ten stories: seven above-ground, three below. Nearly a block-and-a-half wide, at the front, the PRT Headquarters is backed by a long, covered training ground (in which you can see three large, weathered obstacle courses), giving the entire complex a sideways 'L' shape.
In the above-ground parking lot framed by the seven-story PRT Headquarters, awaits a collection of local news vans; judging by the weary attitudes of the reporters and staff, you suspect they have been set up and awaiting your arrival for several hours by now.
This revelation, you feel, is worthy of disseminating to your companions. Unfortunately, it has the predicted effect of causing a collective groan in dismay.
"They told me that we'd have some time to get settled before we'd have to deal with the press," Battery grumbles, tugging away her phone after hammering out some unhappy text messages, "but it looks like media got wind of our arrival anyway. Great. I'll grab Assault and sort this out, so you girls just stay in the van for now."
The caravan vans pulling to a stop alongside four - much more weathered - PRT Emergency Response vans, Battery hops out and quickly shuts the door behind her. At Vista's and Who's requests, you narrate the scene as it unfolds outside.
As Battery and Assault begin to confer with each other on what to do, the nearby troop-transport elevator opens to reveal your new chain of command: Director Martin Uriel, Chevalier, and Broadcast - the leader of the Philadelphia Wards.
While you have already read up on him, the PRT Director still strikes you as remarkably… average. A little under six feet, clean-shaven with no visible scars or facial markings, and a head of close-cropped dark-brown hair all rounded out by an otherwise average build covered by a plain grey suit. A PRT Director that has achieved his position not by dint of field work or exemplary action, but rather through working his way steadily to the top and being in the right position at the right time.
If anything, his almost bored expression is the most remarkable thing about him. From that alone you suspect Director Piggot would grow to dislike any interaction with the man, but there must be more to her nearly-vindictive shot at your new Director by allowing Aisha's cape name.
Besides Chevalier - still clad in his usual gold-and-silver medieval-style armor and iconic cannonblade - and the mundane Philadelphia PRT Director, Broadcast looks practically flamboyant in his high-collared, skintight, red-white-and-blue costume. Defying the typical costume with those colors, Broadcast's is not patterned like the American flag - instead, the costume displays an expanding series of upside-down stars, each a new color in the pattern, all centered on the white star that shapes the bottom 'V' of his extended neckline and collar.
Luckily, the Brute/Blaster has smile, chest, and pectoral girth to pull off the outrageous piece. You wonder if Glenn designed the outfit himself, or merely jumped for joy when Broadcast presented the idea to him.
The three leaders make their way to where your vans are parked, but before Assault or Battery can utter a word of greeting the PRT Director lazily waves at the vans behind the experienced Protectorate duo.
"Let's get things moving, shall we? Haul them out."
Through the flies you have perched and hovering near the ceiling, you're able to make out the downturn in Assault's and Battery's expressions before they silently nod and open the back doors of their respective vans.
Having paid attention to your narration, Vista, Who, and the Twins are prepared for the swift opening of the van doors and the call to exit from Battery. You allow the more experienced Vista to lead the exit from the van's interior, which evokes a small smile on her face before it sets again in a firm line when she lays eyes on Director Uriel.
It takes only a few seconds for your group to line up together outside the vans, during which you assume a 'parade rest' stance to give the impression to your new Director that you are aware of your position as a member of a militant organization.
Either you are unable to read the recognition in his bored expression, or Director Uriel doesn't seem to notice. Or care.
"Right. Well, welcome to Philadelphia. If any of you screw up, I'm blaming Weaver. Grab your things and let's go."
***
Clarity Gains: 0 Points
Clarity Losses: 1 Point (Compassion Roll [1])
Net Clarity Change: -1 Point
New Temporary Clarity Rating: 3 Points (-1 to non-Intimidation Social Rolls, -1 to Compassion Rolls)
SoPA Status: ON
END OF ARC: > 13 INTIMACIES DETECTED
Intimacy: Aegis/Carlos LOST! [End of Arc, lowest Intimacy]
*Integrity (Mental Trauma ●○○) GAINED!
Performance ●○○○○ GAINED!
Socialize +1 Training Interval (2/6 Intervals)
And with that, we finally arrive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Looks like our boss is a cheery fellow, yes?
6.1 is going to pick up a week after we leave off here, with our Clarity lower, but we won't have had time for 'Meditation on Exaltation' yet because… reasons. Reasons that we're going to vote on now!
Welcome to Philadelphia: A Week of Hell (Choose three, one Stunt allowed for each!)
[ ] Feel The Burn: Now you get to see what most other city's Wards get to do instead of patrol: training! Lots, and lots of training on the obstacle courses and time in the sparring ring with the other Wards. DODGE!
[ ] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
[ ] Spirit of Envy: You joined your new school's cheer team just in time to travel all around the city and support your school's teams! Too bad you completely disrupted the delicate social pyramid by merely existing!
[ ] No Good Deed…: On an example patrol you went on, staying to help a group of civilians with some random task got you involved in a three-way gang/vigilante brawl. You helped win the day, but… thepaperwork.
[ ] Seriously, Fuck Camden: Another example patrol wound up getting roped into an emergency call from Camden, New Jersey. If this is what Brockton Bay was turning into, maybe Behemoth was a mercy.
[ ] Taste Is Blind: Kathy Patrice and Glenn's assistant showed up at the PRT's doorstep and stole you for twelve straight hours. You can read Elsewhere-stored books while you model, but she spoke of a return visit…
School Rules: (Choose one, one stunt allowed!)
[ ] Plaid Skirts: St. Hubert Catholic School for Girls, which is two blocks from your new home and has free periods.
[ ] Bacchanalia: Northeast High School, with an International Baccalaureate Program.
[ ] Winslow, Round 2: Frankford High School, to bring Order to the Chaos.
Please remember to format XP Expenditures properly:
[X] ? XP - Item ●●●○○
[X] ? XP - Item (Specialization ●●○)
[X] My Little Controller (Friendship Is OBEY): It wants to help! Keep it on all the time, because it loves us and wants to bring Order to the world.
The Word Is Out:
[X] Positions of Trust: Tell only the Wards and superiors we trust without reservation. Vista, Chevalier, Miss Militia and Armsmaster come to mind.
Road Trip to Philadelphia: The Third Leg
[X] Essence Reservoir-to-Heart: Provide counsel for a member of your caravan, getting to know them better as a mortal as well as evaluating them for Alchemical potential.
- [x] Stunt: Talk to Dennis, find out how he's doing, and what he thinks of things so far. Get his support in covering up for any Clarity induced social mistakes, and see about enlisting his assistance in keeping Aisha sufficiently motivated and amused, especially after their mutual Glenn sessions. The last personal conversation you've had with him involved a prank involving being surrounded by a swarm of bugs, after all, things could stand to be on a more positive note.
XP Expenditures:
[X] 4 XP - Performance ●○○○○
[X] 2 XP - Integrity (Mental Trauma ●○○)
***
Vista's shocked exclamation eventually snaps you out of your contemplation of your Shard of Perfect Administration's sub-modules.
"Weaver! What happened?!"
You shake your head wearily to try to warn off the others' concern, but the van's interior spins more than expected. Placing your elbows on your knees, you lean forward and take your head in your hands in an attempt to steady yourself, then run through a few seconds of deep breathing before you answer.
"I… think I have... a better understanding of my powers, now. Mostl-."
But your words - now sounding much more crystalline and melodic in your ears - catch in your throat as you finally notice the long, gleaming, silver hair cascading down your head and into your peripheral vision.
Who's comment punctuates your observation with an amused snort.
"Yer powers scared ya grey?"
You hear a muffled thwap as Vista likely smacks Who for the comment, which is followed by an amused titter from the Twins. Battery places a hand on your upper back to steady you, but the vast majority of your attention is focused on running your right hand through the unnaturally-beautiful locks framing your face.
With a mental twitch, you bring your Visual Enhancements online and focus your microscopic vision on the strands lightly gripped in your hand.
Platinum, you manage to deduce from the density and sheen, though the weight seems completely off from what should typically be the case for the element. Even more bizarre, the construction isn't reminiscent of hair follicles at all; instead, your observe that each larger 'strand' of hair is instead composed of dozens of smaller fibers. Eerily similar to…
"... Spider silk?"
With your Ultraperipheral Awareness sub-module now online, you're able to note the small shifts of heads and upper-bodies that denote your fellow passengers' surprise at your comment. Battery, however, is the first to audibly react to the claim with a measure of uncertainty.
"That's spider silk, Weaver? We were wondering what happened when your hair suddenly… changed."
"No… platinum, actually, but I can see it's…" you gesture with a handful of brilliant silver strands, "just woven like spider silk somehow. And it's lighter than platinum should be?"
This evokes a long whistle from the white-clad Protectorate heroine.
"Weaver, last I checked platinum cost more than gold. A lot more."
While the idea had crossed your mind, briefly, you frown in remembrance of a previous attempt to divvy out samples your body's construction.
"I don't think that'll work," you note, shaking your head. "Predict samples will melt away like previous samples of skin given to lab."
Nodding warily, Vista is quick to pick up after Battery - pointing with a hand to go along with her description.
"It started at your tips and flowed up to your head, almost like someone poured ink on your head… but, you know, in reverse. The curls even went away with it, too."
Slowly straightening your posture from leaning on your elbows, you take two handfuls of your long hair and cusp it in front of you.
You feel… almost nothing about this change, though you still barely feel in general. Memories of religiously washing, brushing, and treating your hair every day for the last three years still give you pause, but it all feels so… distant, now. Yes, it was your closest tie to your mother, but you can almost see her face every day now when you look in the mirror - especially when you are in your human disguise. It also served as the lone evidence of your femininity, but that's…
… well, you have the opposite of that problem, now.
A spark races through your lone consciousness as your Industrial Survival Frame charm springs to life. The sensation of something forcing itself into your mind, too subtle to notice on your own, causes you to grimace as you try to bring the charm online; with only three motes in your personal essence reservoir now that your charms have settled, you might as well activate the full suite with your peripheral pool now, and just wait a few minutes for your anima to settle before reactivating anything else.
As the world around your body drops away, the 'radiance' of your anima swallowing up the light of van's interior like a black hole, you realize the source of the intrusion into your mind: Who's power, which now appears to be active once again.
Holding your hands up at the yelps from Vista and the Twins, as well as Battery's sudden withdrawal of her hand on your shoulder, you direct a flat stare at the wary Stranger still seated across from you.
"Who, why did you stop suppressing your power?"
Leaning back from your display of power and focused glare, Who holds up her hands defensively.
"Because you're actin'... different all 'a sudden," sighs the newest Ward, the presence of her power receding at the same time. "Just wanted 'ta be sure."
Vista, having recovered from her Who-induced double-take already, puffs her cheeks out and lightly rapps her Stranger neighbor on the shoulder.
"That's how she normally talks, Who."
A weak nod and 'mhm' from the Twins - despite their discrete attempts at edging away from the luminescent flakes of soulsteel dripping off your skin - reinforces Vista's statement, causing Who to shrug and pull out her handheld game system.
"Alright, alright, whatever."
At the soft sounds of Who's game starting up, Vista turns back to you with an air of curiosity.
"So… you're ok, then, Weaver?"
"Yes," you nod, letting your hands fall to your knees and your hair back down around your head. "My… charms feel more… settled. It's going to take a few more tries to figure everything out completely, I calculate, but I'm operating a much higher level of efficiency now."
Visibly wincing at your choice of words, Vista takes a moment to consider your statement - allowing Battery to follow up with her own question.
"Your voice sounds different now, Weaver," the older heroine notes, before adding quickly, "well, different than the way its sounded recently, at least."
Humming carefully, you place your right hand over where you now realize your Echo Chamber Vocalizationsub-module has replaced your vocal chords. As you tentatively try humming a few different notes in various octaves, you begin to pick out the crystalline harmonics generated by the sub-module's adamant-and-moonsilver construction.
"My disguise charm was malfunc-… stuck," you eventually muse aloud. "There's a high probability that disabling it completely caused my hair and voice to revert to their base states."
"Your hair…" Uzu murmurs, before Tatsu finishes the thought for her. "... Beautiful."
As the rest of the Wards - and Battery - nod in agreement, you attempt to construct a new mental image for yourself with your… restored hair. After a few seconds of considering it, you realize just how much you have come to rely on the use of your charms for spatial awareness; your sub-module's 360-degrees of visual awareness usually is able to note your reflection in some surrounding surface, and you almost always have a few hundred insects silently floating just out of (a normal person's) sight to give you complete awareness of your own body and surroundings.
Sighing to yourself, you relax the mental lock on your Shard of Perfect Administration charm and bask in the sensory input that washes over your mind. As you feel out the millions of insects within your range, a small part in the back of your mind notes a distinct lack of any abrupt emotional overrides; your emotions are, disappointingly, still creeping back into your conscious mind, but the subtle need to control your surroundings is no longer there.
For now, at least.
Pushing that thought back, you nod in thanks for the compliment and lean back into your seat's restraints. You still have some time before you can reactivate Incomparable Efficiency Upgrade without triggering your fear illusion, so you might as well spend the time reviewing the three-hundred and forty-four dresses, hats, pants, shirts, undergarments, shoes, and pieces of jewelry obtained from your photo shoot.
Perhaps you could alter those matching tops for Sakura and Saki, and then that turquoise dress for Missy...
***
The traffic that has almost defined your road trip finally lessens as your van passes the Newark International Airport, allowing your caravan to travel at a much more efficient sixty-to-seventy miles-per-hour. As your van noticeably accelerates, Battery even breathes a sigh of relief and sags back into her restraints… before mildly cursing to herself.
"Damnit, Assault."
This gets some confused looks between Vista and the Twins, though it's Vista who voices the question.
"What did he do now?"
"Oh, I nothing, I guess," Battery groans, waving the concern away with an idle gesture. "It's that I just lost a bet - not that I wanted to win, though."
Despite their helmets, it's clear that the three Wards looking at the elder heroine are giving her blank stares. Sighing again, Battery holds her right hand up with fingers splayed open.
"The last five times we traveled to New York in a van, each time Assault and I were attacked by some new, random gang trying to make a name for themselves."
Who snickers at the idea, but the Twins and Vista only manage a weak laugh.
"And you didn't… say anything?" Vista warily inquires, reaching up to place a hand to her helmeted forehead. Right as she makes contact, she jolts upright and points accusingly at Battery.
"So that's why Adamant was wondering why our vans were still in one piece!"
Uzu, however, raises her hand questioningly before Battery can respond.
"What did you…" starts the first Twin, which Tatsu finishes. "... bet with Assault?"
Almost as if summoned by his name, Battery's phone rings with a familiar tone. Grumbling to herself, Battery withdraws the phone from one of her belt pockets and immediately thumbs the 'Call Decline' button on its face. With the call now sent to voicemail, she quickly punches in her password and bringing up her internet browser in an attempt to dodge the question.
"Just… forget I said anything."
The other Wards don't let the matter settle that easily, but you nod and consider the matter complete.
That certainly explains the several unknown capes that you noted within your swarm's senses throughout the trip across New York, though each only watched your vans' passing momentarily before moving away.
***
You only get a few minutes of uniterrupted travel, however, before your swarm notices a massive amount of traffic congestion attempting to exit the interstate highway. As the van begins to slow, Battery's phone bleats with the tone used by the PRT for emergency alerts.
Quickly extracting it, Battery reads the broadcast aloud.
"New Jersey Boyz stopping cars on I-95 bridge over Raritan River. Kiloton, Sandpaper on route to engagement."
"Aren't the Jersey Boyz…"
"... a vigilante group?" the Twins inquire with raised hands.
Continuing to thumb her phone to scroll through the links attached to the alert, Battery shakes her head after a moment of silent review, her tone dripping with exasperation and disdain as she relays her findings.
"Looks like this is a new gang being led by… Money Shot. Apparently he got tired of taking orders anymore from… Big Richard."
Who's laughter is soon joined by Vista's giggle and the Twins' restrained titter.
"Are you for real? That's their fuckin' names?"
Before Battery can put the matter to rest, Who is quickly, and cheerfully, answered by the Twins
"Prefers to go by…"
"Big Dick."
Battery's loud sigh is drowned out by the four Wards' laughter. You are more focused on the world outside of the van, keeping your conscious mind focused on the surrounding foliage for any suspicious activity.
After a few minutes, the laughter dies down enough inside the van for Battery to resume her explanation.
"While I'd love to help put these guys down, we're under orders to do everything in our power to avoid engagements. Looks like we're taking the scenic route agai-."
A loud grumble from the Twins' stomachs interrupts the elder Protectorate heroine, eliciting an awkward pause from the rest of the van.
"... and I suppose we can stop for lunch, too."
***
After a back-and-forth series of conversations between the boys' van, the caravan settles on a New Brunswick favorite: Old Man Rafferty's.
With your anima having only receded completely moments before, you opt to drain your meager personal essence pool to activate Integrated Artifact Transmogrifier - thankful of your decision to keep the reserves free when you enabled Industrial Survival Frame earlier.
More thankfully, your new hair does not carry over to your disguise. You do, however, get a chance to watch the effect of your hair rippling and dying itself in a process similar-but-reversed to what Vista described. With the effect complete, you feel a momentary pang of… satisfaction… at having your old hair returned to you. For now, at least.
As you and the other girls are joined by the boys, you note the unusually somber mood hanging over their heads, specifically Clockblocker's. With their drooped heads and shoulders, you wonder what must have gone on in the van to have caused such a decay in their spirits.
"I still say stomping some thugs would have brigtened everyone's day," Assault tries to explain, but backpedals with his hands up defensively at the disappointed snort from Battery. "Buuut I can see how it would have been stepping on the local team's toes. And hey, free lunch."
As your assembled group takes their seats, you note the the boys perk up as they hear the banter between the Twins and Who - the latter grilling the former two for any and all innuendo-laden cape names they can remember. The group begins to move tables together for seating, but decide to follow Clockblocker as he seperates from the group to take a seat inside - motioning to Assault and Battery that you'll see what's going on.
While the low population of insects in the restaurant speaks well of its standards of cleanliness, it doesn't impede your ability to track the white-suited Striker as he plops down at a corner stall. As you approach the table, however, you note a slight pause in his movements. To avoid drawing undue attention, you decide to quietly slide in on the opposite side of the table.
After several seconds of silence, you hear a muffled sigh from the older (by five months) Ward.
"No bugs, this time?"
"No bugs," you reply evenly, shaking your head slowly as you do.
You detect a slight decrease in his pulse rate at your comment, which is followed by another long sigh and nearly a minute of silence as he appears to stare out the window across from your table. Bringing his hands together and leaning forward on the table, you suspect whatever he is about to say is interrupted by the short, brunette waitress who smoothly glides up to your table with a set of menus.
After giving her your drink orders - lemonade for yourself, due to its known properties of refreshment, and a Coke for Clockblocker - the two of you sit in silence for at least a few more minutes before you finally decide to break the ice.
"Who looked like she enjoyed your jokes at the restaurant the other day."
Starting slightly, Clockblocker turns his head a fraction to bring you into his peripheral vision.
"How did you… oh, wait, bugs. Right. Could you hear all that, even when you were cooking?"
You settle in your seat, brushing your costume's dress straight underneath your legs with your hands, and nod.
"Control and sensory feedback don't take up any extra attention. I'm navigating the few cockroaches and flies from the back out of the restaurant right now."
"Welp, there goes my appetite."
"Wait, no," you interject, holding up a hand as Clockblocker looks about ready to leave. "Nothing near the food, only the trash bins. Kitchen is clean, or I would have said something before we stopped."
Holding his lean forward for a moment longer after your clarification, he eventually sighs and falls back into the cushioned fabric of his seat. After a few moments of silence, he lazily tilts his head to look at you.
"Your voice's back to normal, but you're still talking kinda weird. That still part of that 'feedback loop' thing you mentioned?"
You nod, furrowing your brow at the description.
"My diction has been chosen for clarity and succinctness. I may have been… shorter than was optimal the last few days, though."
This evokes a tired laugh from Clockblocker, to which you respond with a level stare.
"Hey, hey," he capitulates, "I'm just saying it wasn't too hard to give you your space to work things out."
Blinking at his comment, you wonder at the veracity of it - part of your mind yearning for the lie detector in your armor's helmet. While you noted the rest of the Wards seemed preoccupied with their own affairs, were they truly avoiding you because of your heightened Clarity?
You nod to note your acceptance of his sentiment, but the thought makes you momentarily glad for your current lack of any wasteful feelings like 'sorrow' or 'regret.'
"And yourself?"
"Huh?"
Clockblocker lowers his hands slightly in confusion, but you remain silent to let him work out the question himself. Eventually he shifts in his seat and drapes his costume-clad arms over the table again, returning his gaze to the windows leading outside.
"It just all feels… surreal, you know? Like, what are we even doing here?"
You withhold your immediate response of "Eating," avoiding interrupting the more experienced Ward as he continues to muse aloud.
"I spent… I dunno, years? Freaking out about my dad's leukemia. He'd go in for some new treatment, it'd go into remission, but then it'd always come back and we wouldn't know if it would be the last time…"
At his extended silence after his last comment, you ask the obvious question.
"Panacea?"
"Booked up," Cockblocker snorts with long-withheld derision. "And whenever she'd have space, he'd be in remission so we'd be moved off the list for someone who was needing it right then."
You had heard that the demand for Panacea's services was astronomical - New Wave not charging for the healer's services, but instead prioritizing by immediate need - and that there had been a near-constant pilgrimage to the two major Brockton Bay hospitals she frequented, but still…
"You didn't ask Amy?"
Clockblocker is silent, the various illuminated clocks emblazoned on his white armor quietly ticking away until he finally answers with a shake of his head.
"How could I? Every second of her time was another life saved - I was only gonna do that if it looked like things… whatever, not like it matters anymore."
Bringing his hands up in a 'hallelujah' pose, Clockblocker raises his voice in an over-dramatic display of mock-celebration.
"Nothing to bury, so no need to stick around for funerals! Off to Philly we go!"
With most of the lunch crowd sitting outside, there are only a few customers inside to hear the outburst - including your server, who just happened to be bringing your drinks at the time. Noticing her approach, Clockblocker points enthusiastically to her, which almost causes her to spill the two drinks in her hands.
"You there, serving girl!" he exclaims in an overly-cheerful tone. "Do you have parents?!"
"Uhh-... ye-" she begins in a weakened, cautious voice, but is cut off immediately by loud laugh from Clockblocker. Vigorously pointing to himself with a thumb and then gesturing to the rest of the Wards outside, he practically beams through his helmet at the surprised server.
"Hah! Well, none of us do anymore! Except her, but her dad tried to kill her, so I guess she counts too."
You blink at the exclamation, but mentally sigh in relief: your bugs outside don't register his exuberance near where the rest of the Wards are eating casually.
You hold up a hand to silence the boisterous Striker, then give a meaningful look to the server - who thankfully interprets it correctly and bolts after depositing your drinks. With her gone, you turn back to Clockblocker who has begun to deflate after the outburst.
"Would you have rather stayed at the camp?"
The white-suited young hero is quiet for a long minute, taking breaths shallow enough for you to have trouble discerning the rise and fall of his costume lightly-armored chestpiece. Eventually he balls his fists - briefly - before relaxing again and placing his palms down on the table.
"I probably would have lost it, all that ash and the memories."
Jerking forward, Clockblocker pounds the table with his open hands in frustration, but says nothing more. You idly note the slight spill of his Coke and your lemonade, but don't move to clean it up just yet.
Instead, you reach across the table and cover his left, gloved hand with your own.
The both of you are silent for at least a minute before he sighs and nods to himself, some of his usual wry attitude slipping into his tone.
"And this is where you remind me that spiders eat their mates."
With your free hand, you grasp your lemonade, take a sip, then return it gently to the glass tabletop.
"This is where I offer a hug if you apologize to the serving staff."
"Waiter!"
***
The rest of your lunch follows much more smoothly, though you are interrupted just as the two of you are ordering dessert by a wandering crew of Who, Vista, and the Twins - ostensibly having gotten up to use the restroom together.
"Well well well," Vista alludes slyly, sashaying up to your table. "What have we here?"
You brace for the sexual innuendo from Who, but curiously the new Stranger merely 'hmms' with suspicion along with the Twins. Luckily, Clockblocker jumps to your rescue.
"I didn't want to have half my plate eaten by… Who again? I wonder…"
Over the inevitable verbal jousting Clockblocker's comment incites with Who, you manage to get your order for dessert - the 'Black & White Mousse Supreme' - out to the bewildered server before she shuffles off in confusion. Vista gives you a stare after the server leaves, but you're unable to determine the meaning behind it due to her helmet's opaque visor. Eventually you just shake your head to disabuse her of whatever notion she had dreamed up, which causes her to huff in frustration and plop down next to you.
"Well I'm gonna count this as his date idea, anyway," Vista mumbles softly to you, "because I'm still going to make him pay up."
Thinking back, you narrow your eyes at the young Shaker.
"Last week was your idea?"
Under your gaze, Vista's cheerful smile wanes until she finally begins to force a laugh through her remaining grin. Leaping up, she somehow manages to grab all three of the other girls' arms with her two hands.
"Ohlookatthat well we gotta go see you in a few!"
Turning your narrowed gaze from Vista's retreating form, Clockblocker - his mouth still partially visible after sliding back the chin part to allow him to eat his steak lunch - seems to puzzle over what just happened for a moment before making the connection.
"Ah, she… told you about the pay-off?"
Your continued, flat stare answers his question for him. Eventually he shrugs and holds his hands up in a 'what can you do' gesture.
"Hey, you covered me in flies before I could even say anything… and threatened to eat me… so as far as I'm concerned, we're even."
You release the breath you were holding to say something in response through your nose, then nod slowly as you eventually deem his logic sound.
You still plan on placing a number of flies in his socks and shoes, however.
***
The rest of your trip to Philadelphia proves delay-free, allowing your caravan to pull into Philadelphia after only barely more than an hour more on the road. As the two vans pull into the underground parking lot below the Northeast Philadelphia PRT Headquarters, you note that your caravan has traveled only a few blocks after passing a particularly noteworthy landmark.
Holmsberg Prison, one of the largest cape-and-civilian mixed prisons in the northeast united states. Which has also been under a great deal of public scrutiny recently after attention was called to decades of state-condoned dermatological, pharmaceutical, and biochemical weapons tests were performed covertly on its inmates.
The whistleblowers, a local vigilante group called 'the Truth Seekers', are also currently under suspicion of breaking out hundreds of inmates and assaulting correctional officers, government workers, and elected officials to get the information used in the media blast.
After observing the excited twitching and shifting of your fellow Wards as they prepare to arrive at their new home, you decide to keep this revelation to yourself for the time being.
The Northeast Philadelphia PRT Headquarters is, like most PRT buildings, a squat, white obelisk with mirror-reflective windows (nestled in recessed openings) only on the front-facing side. From your swarm's senses - which this PRT building has not been designed to limit - you detect ten stories: seven above-ground, three below. Nearly a block-and-a-half wide, at the front, the PRT Headquarters is backed by a long, covered training ground (in which you can see three large, weathered obstacle courses), giving the entire complex a sideways 'L' shape.
In the above-ground parking lot framed by the seven-story PRT Headquarters, awaits a collection of local news vans; judging by the weary attitudes of the reporters and staff, you suspect they have been set up and awaiting your arrival for several hours by now.
This revelation, you feel, is worthy of disseminating to your companions. Unfortunately, it has the predicted effect of causing a collective groan in dismay.
"They told me that we'd have some time to get settled before we'd have to deal with the press," Battery grumbles, tugging away her phone after hammering out some unhappy text messages, "but it looks like media got wind of our arrival anyway. Great. I'll grab Assault and sort this out, so you girls just stay in the van for now."
The caravan vans pulling to a stop alongside four - much more weathered - PRT Emergency Response vans, Battery hops out and quickly shuts the door behind her. At Vista's and Who's requests, you narrate the scene as it unfolds outside.
As Battery and Assault begin to confer with each other on what to do, the nearby troop-transport elevator opens to reveal your new chain of command: Director Martin Uriel, Chevalier, and Broadcast - the leader of the Philadelphia Wards.
While you have already read up on him, the PRT Director still strikes you as remarkably… average. A little under six feet, clean-shaven with no visible scars or facial markings, and a head of close-cropped dark-brown hair all rounded out by an otherwise average build covered by a plain grey suit. A PRT Director that has achieved his position not by dint of field work or exemplary action, but rather through working his way steadily to the top and being in the right position at the right time.
If anything, his almost bored expression is the most remarkable thing about him. From that alone you suspect Director Piggot would grow to dislike any interaction with the man, but there must be more to her nearly-vindictive shot at your new Director by allowing Aisha's cape name.
Besides Chevalier - still clad in his usual gold-and-silver medieval-style armor and iconic cannonblade - and the mundane Philadelphia PRT Director, Broadcast looks practically flamboyant in his high-collared, skintight, red-white-and-blue costume. Defying the typical costume with those colors, Broadcast's is not patterned like the American flag - instead, the costume displays an expanding series of upside-down stars, each a new color in the pattern, all centered on the white star that shapes the bottom 'V' of his extended neckline and collar.
Luckily, the Brute/Blaster has smile, chest, and pectoral girth to pull off the outrageous piece. You wonder if Glenn designed the outfit himself, or merely jumped for joy when Broadcast presented the idea to him.
The three leaders make their way to where your vans are parked, but before Assault or Battery can utter a word of greeting the PRT Director lazily waves at the vans behind the experienced Protectorate duo.
"Let's get things moving, shall we? Haul them out."
Through the flies you have perched and hovering near the ceiling, you're able to make out the downturn in Assault's and Battery's expressions before they silently nod and open the back doors of their respective vans.
Having paid attention to your narration, Vista, Who, and the Twins are prepared for the swift opening of the van doors and the call to exit from Battery. You allow the more experienced Vista to lead the exit from the van's interior, which evokes a small smile on her face before it sets again in a firm line when she lays eyes on Director Uriel.
It takes only a few seconds for your group to line up together outside the vans, during which you assume a 'parade rest' stance to give the impression to your new Director that you are aware of your position as a member of a militant organization.
Either you are unable to read the recognition in his bored expression, or Director Uriel doesn't seem to notice. Or care.
"Right. Well, welcome to Philadelphia. If any of you screw up, I'm blaming Weaver. Grab your things and let's go."
***
Clarity Gains: 0 Points
Clarity Losses: 1 Point (Compassion Roll [1])
Net Clarity Change: -1 Point
New Temporary Clarity Rating: 3 Points (-1 to non-Intimidation Social Rolls, -1 to Compassion Rolls)
SoPA Status: ON
END OF ARC: > 13 INTIMACIES DETECTED
Intimacy: Aegis/Carlos LOST! [End of Arc, lowest Intimacy]
*Integrity (Mental Trauma ●○○) GAINED!
Performance ●○○○○ GAINED!
Socialize +1 Training Interval (2/6 Intervals)
And with that, we finally arrive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Looks like our boss is a cheery fellow, yes?
6.1 is going to pick up a week after we leave off here, with our Clarity lower, but we won't have had time for 'Meditation on Exaltation' yet because… reasons. Reasons that we're going to vote on now!
Welcome to Philadelphia: A Week of Hell (Choose three, one Stunt allowed for each!)
[ ] Feel The Burn: Now you get to see what most other city's Wards get to do instead of patrol: training! Lots, and lots of training on the obstacle courses and time in the sparring ring with the other Wards. DODGE!
[ ] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
[ ] Spirit of Envy: You joined your new school's cheer team just in time to travel all around the city and support your school's teams! Too bad you completely disrupted the delicate social pyramid by merely existing!
[ ] No Good Deed…: On an example patrol you went on, staying to help a group of civilians with some random task got you involved in a three-way gang/vigilante brawl. You helped win the day, but… thepaperwork.
[ ] Seriously, Fuck Camden: Another example patrol wound up getting roped into an emergency call from Camden, New Jersey. If this is what Brockton Bay was turning into, maybe Behemoth was a mercy.
[ ] Taste Is Blind: Kathy Patrice and Glenn's assistant showed up at the PRT's doorstep and stole you for twelve straight hours. You can read Elsewhere-stored books while you model, but she spoke of a return visit…
School Rules: (Choose one, one stunt allowed!)
[ ] Plaid Skirts: St. Hubert Catholic School for Girls, which is two blocks from your new home and has free periods.
[ ] Bacchanalia: Northeast High School, with an International Baccalaureate Program.
[ ] Winslow, Round 2: Frankford High School, to bring Order to the Chaos.
Please remember to format XP Expenditures properly:
[X] ? XP - Item ●●●○○
[X] ? XP - Item (Specialization ●●○)
Last edited:
Reposting from previous thread
I predict this debate could get messy.
The cheerleader one should probably be done just for the Socialise practice in an environment where mistakes don't really matter.
I'd like to steer clear of the patrols, and the focus on the social ones as they seem like they'd reinforce. I'll think of stunts, but for now my provisional votes are:
[ ] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
[ ] Spirit of Envy: You joined your new school's cheer team just in time to travel all around the city and support your school's teams! Too bad you completely disrupted the delicate social pyramid by merely existing!
[ ] Taste Is Blind: Kathy Patrice and Glenn's assistant showed up at the PRT's doorstep and stole you for twelve straight hours. You can read Elsewhere-stored books while you model, but she spoke of a return visit…
We need to build our public image in preparation for recruitment, we need to practice our social skills, and I want to get the opportunity to assess Glenn for recruitment. Playing along should help.
Also:
[ ] Plaid Skirts: St. Hubert Catholic School for Girls, which is two blocks from your new home and has free periods.
Being able to maintain control of our insects in our workshop while we're at school would be invaluable, particularly if we ever get workshop helper drones, or simply have them dive bomb keyboards so we can use multiple computers at once. It's worth it simply to get the spider silk production lines running optimally full time.
I predict this debate could get messy.
The cheerleader one should probably be done just for the Socialise practice in an environment where mistakes don't really matter.
I'd like to steer clear of the patrols, and the focus on the social ones as they seem like they'd reinforce. I'll think of stunts, but for now my provisional votes are:
[ ] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
[ ] Spirit of Envy: You joined your new school's cheer team just in time to travel all around the city and support your school's teams! Too bad you completely disrupted the delicate social pyramid by merely existing!
[ ] Taste Is Blind: Kathy Patrice and Glenn's assistant showed up at the PRT's doorstep and stole you for twelve straight hours. You can read Elsewhere-stored books while you model, but she spoke of a return visit…
We need to build our public image in preparation for recruitment, we need to practice our social skills, and I want to get the opportunity to assess Glenn for recruitment. Playing along should help.
Also:
[ ] Plaid Skirts: St. Hubert Catholic School for Girls, which is two blocks from your new home and has free periods.
Being able to maintain control of our insects in our workshop while we're at school would be invaluable, particularly if we ever get workshop helper drones, or simply have them dive bomb keyboards so we can use multiple computers at once. It's worth it simply to get the spider silk production lines running optimally full time.
I would argue against the Catholic school. Taylor's not exceptionally religious, and having Catholic doctrine pushed on her day after day would be supremely irritating to her I would expect.Alratan said:
Most catholic schools, from what I've seen, aren't very religious at all. I would expect approximately zero indoctrination. Given Talyor's celebrity status, she should have no trouble making sure that if she doesn't want to hear it, people tone it down.landcollector said:
The important thing is that it massively increases the amount that we can get done, as we can continue using our swarm to do stuff in our workshop and use computers for all the hours that would otherwise be wasted.
We stood up against the Herokiller one on one. We are more than covered on the combat front. It's social that we still need to work on, both to prepare for Autocthon's coming and to recruit new members of the Assembly.DeAnno said:
Quite the opposite, actually. If there is religious teaching, which I doubt, it would probably be helpful. Autocthon is the primordial inventor of tools, faith, and doctrine. Something like Catholicism would fit right into his interests. We're John the Baptist to his Jesus, to but it in Christiological terms.DeAnno said:
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
Woop! Thanks for catching that. Fixed!Lethe said:
Of course! In fact, they tend to actually have very good cheerleading squads that are focused more on the athleticism of the sport than the social aspect (though that's still a huge deal, because high school).dpara said:
The fact that we were even capable of surviving against him at all means that we're pretty much sorted.sainen said:
We're never going to be a direct fighter, it's not our strength, and we don't have the charms. What we need to do is get the social skills to recruit a combat focused Alchemical to do that for us. Alchemical are designed to work in Assemblies, so let's get one.
Despite this, we have lots of indirect combat potential. We're a potent crafter, leader, and information gatherer, and we're becoming socially competent. We should focus on those, now that we've done enough to be very survivable.
No matter what we do, we've been told we need another assembly member when S9 come to town, so let's focus on the social stuff to make sure we have one and make sure we have time to build the equipment we'll need ourselves.
I would advocate dropping "The Fourth Estate" choice. We could use the extra Dodge training. Add a stunt of turning off our 360 degree vison to force us to pay attention.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
Welcome to Philadelphia: A Week of Hell (Choose three, one Stunt allowed for each!)
[X] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
-[X] Stunt: Make use of the opportunity to promote support for combating S-class and A-class threats. Emphasize the need for humanity to stand together against these threats to civilization, that even those who are not able to contribute to a direct conflict can be of enormous assistance in rescue, evacuation, or support roles. Push the message of unity, across nations and personal matters. All humanity must stand together, or fall alone.
[X] Spirit of Envy: You joined your new school's cheer team just in time to travel all around the city and support your school's teams! Too bad you completely disrupted the delicate social pyramid by merely existing!
[X] Taste Is Blind: Kathy Patrice and Glenn's assistant showed up at the PRT's doorstep and stole you for twelve straight hours. You can read Elsewhere-stored books while you model, but she spoke of a return visit…
- [X] Stunt: You have several entrepreneurial ideas for leveraging your powers. One of them is an ad on PHO to Parian, inviting her collaboration on your spider silk business. Right now the public doesn't know that Parian & Panacea have joined the Undersiders, so you're not publically consorting with villains. You still want to open a dialogue with Tattletale. Also, you want to provide a way for that team to go legit and avoid a kill order. You hope your new assistant can help and proof read your post.
[X] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
-[X] Stunt: Make use of the opportunity to promote support for combating S-class and A-class threats. Emphasize the need for humanity to stand together against these threats to civilization, that even those who are not able to contribute to a direct conflict can be of enormous assistance in rescue, evacuation, or support roles. Push the message of unity, across nations and personal matters. All humanity must stand together, or fall alone.
[X] Spirit of Envy: You joined your new school's cheer team just in time to travel all around the city and support your school's teams! Too bad you completely disrupted the delicate social pyramid by merely existing!
[X] Taste Is Blind: Kathy Patrice and Glenn's assistant showed up at the PRT's doorstep and stole you for twelve straight hours. You can read Elsewhere-stored books while you model, but she spoke of a return visit…
- [X] Stunt: You have several entrepreneurial ideas for leveraging your powers. One of them is an ad on PHO to Parian, inviting her collaboration on your spider silk business. Right now the public doesn't know that Parian & Panacea have joined the Undersiders, so you're not publically consorting with villains. You still want to open a dialogue with Tattletale. Also, you want to provide a way for that team to go legit and avoid a kill order. You hope your new assistant can help and proof read your post.
[X] Winslow, Round 2: Frankford High School, to bring Order to the Chaos.
- [X] Stunt: You walk in to your second new school in as many months glad that clarity suppresses the butterflies in your stomach, as memories of Winslow die hard. This time though, you know what to do. You've already arranged to sit down with the principle to arrange an introduction on your own terms, where you can make a speech to the school about the anti-bullying program you're the face of. Third time lucky.
- [X] Stunt: You walk in to your second new school in as many months glad that clarity suppresses the butterflies in your stomach, as memories of Winslow die hard. This time though, you know what to do. You've already arranged to sit down with the principle to arrange an introduction on your own terms, where you can make a speech to the school about the anti-bullying program you're the face of. Third time lucky.
Because we have better things to do with our time. We know we need at least one Alchemical by the time the S9 turn up. We should do the things that help with that.sainen said:
I'd prefer not to have Aisha at all. We are already supremely, indeed perfectly, talented at stealth thanks too optical shroud. We have that competency covered. She doesn't add anything novel to the Assembly, and I'd prefer to minimise our recruitment of minors as much as possible. Glenn, however, adds something that we just can't do ourselves, thanks to our low social Abilities. There are a wide range of skillsets we need, we can't afford to be sentimental about this.sainen said:
Really, 1986?1986ctcel said:
Gromweld
Learning By Mistake
The catholic school is JUST out of range of SoPA while you're in class, but you could easily jog to within range between classes if you needed to swap projects. Also worth noting: there's a huge park between the two locations that is covered by SoPA while you're in class.
These are real schools. Once we pick them I'm going to change their names in the story to avoid pinging Google searches, but you can GoogleMaps them now.
For reference, NE PRT HQ is the big empty lot at 7501 Edmund St, Philadelphia, PA 19136
These are real schools. Once we pick them I'm going to change their names in the story to avoid pinging Google searches, but you can GoogleMaps them now.
For reference, NE PRT HQ is the big empty lot at 7501 Edmund St, Philadelphia, PA 19136
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
What? We can up our Social stats with this selection and ease ourselves into normal ward activities. Edit: Besides I went to a Catholic school and it wasn't that bad. Basically like a regular school except we usually got a day off on our Patron Saint's holy day and maybe a session of religion class a few times a week and like Alratan said Faith and Doctrine are part of Autocthon's tools.landcollector said:
Welcome to Philadelphia: A Week of Hell (Choose three, one Stunt allowed for each!)
[X] Feel The Burn: Now you get to see what most other city's Wards get to do instead of patrol: training! Lots, and lots of training on the obstacle courses and time in the sparring ring with the other Wards. DODGE!
-[X] Stunt: It has come to your attention during the battle with Behemoth that the other Wards are poorly equipped and not making full use of their abilities. Talk to available Tinkers to see about getting everyone properly equipped, and work on team tactics for various situations. IEU greatly enhanced Vista's abilities, experiment with the rest of the wards to study its effects on their powers and get them used to it. Make sure to get acquainted with the other Wards' abilities and backgrounds. Perhaps some of them are broken like Autochton.
[X] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
-[X] Stunt: Make use of the opportunity to promote support for combating S-class and A-class threats. Emphasize the need for humanity to stand together against these threats to civilization, that even those who are not able to contribute to a direct conflict can be of enormous assistance in rescue, evacuation, or support roles. Push the message of unity, across nations and personal matters. All humanity must stand together, or fall alone. Make an effort to spread the videos of our interviews around to ensure that at least some of them go viral.
[X] No Good Deed…: On an example patrol you went on, staying to help a group of civilians with some random task got you involved in a three-way gang/vigilante brawl. You helped win the day, but… the paperwork.
-[X] Stunt: It was a golden opportunity for you get to know the non-PRT parts of the city's cape population, and get some unofficial contact with them, but it was even more of a surprise to know that some of them are sponsored by local businesses interested in keeping some order in the city. While stooping to being a heroic billboard is a bit on the crass side, you learn about some business owners who would be open to city improvement projects. You also met new capes who may be candidates for recruitment when you know them better.
School Rules: (Choose one, one stunt allowed!)
[X] Bacchanalia: Northeast High School, with an International Baccalaureate Program.
-[X] Stunt: Inform Director Uriel that you would like to supply spider silk uniforms for the local Wards, Protectorate and PRT, and that your ability to do so would be greatly increased if you had access to terrariums full of spiders in an otherwise empty apartment close to the school. At the school, make sure to enroll into parahuman studies, psychology, sociology, economics, languages and politics courses, even as your enhanced abilities and bug-assisted multitasking in the apartment allow you to rapidly complete standard curriculum. The world needs to be put to order, but you need to persuade them to LET you.
[X] Feel The Burn: Now you get to see what most other city's Wards get to do instead of patrol: training! Lots, and lots of training on the obstacle courses and time in the sparring ring with the other Wards. DODGE!
-[X] Stunt: It has come to your attention during the battle with Behemoth that the other Wards are poorly equipped and not making full use of their abilities. Talk to available Tinkers to see about getting everyone properly equipped, and work on team tactics for various situations. IEU greatly enhanced Vista's abilities, experiment with the rest of the wards to study its effects on their powers and get them used to it. Make sure to get acquainted with the other Wards' abilities and backgrounds. Perhaps some of them are broken like Autochton.
[X] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
-[X] Stunt: Make use of the opportunity to promote support for combating S-class and A-class threats. Emphasize the need for humanity to stand together against these threats to civilization, that even those who are not able to contribute to a direct conflict can be of enormous assistance in rescue, evacuation, or support roles. Push the message of unity, across nations and personal matters. All humanity must stand together, or fall alone. Make an effort to spread the videos of our interviews around to ensure that at least some of them go viral.
[X] No Good Deed…: On an example patrol you went on, staying to help a group of civilians with some random task got you involved in a three-way gang/vigilante brawl. You helped win the day, but… the paperwork.
-[X] Stunt: It was a golden opportunity for you get to know the non-PRT parts of the city's cape population, and get some unofficial contact with them, but it was even more of a surprise to know that some of them are sponsored by local businesses interested in keeping some order in the city. While stooping to being a heroic billboard is a bit on the crass side, you learn about some business owners who would be open to city improvement projects. You also met new capes who may be candidates for recruitment when you know them better.
School Rules: (Choose one, one stunt allowed!)
[X] Bacchanalia: Northeast High School, with an International Baccalaureate Program.
-[X] Stunt: Inform Director Uriel that you would like to supply spider silk uniforms for the local Wards, Protectorate and PRT, and that your ability to do so would be greatly increased if you had access to terrariums full of spiders in an otherwise empty apartment close to the school. At the school, make sure to enroll into parahuman studies, psychology, sociology, economics, languages and politics courses, even as your enhanced abilities and bug-assisted multitasking in the apartment allow you to rapidly complete standard curriculum. The world needs to be put to order, but you need to persuade them to LET you.
Your stunt options need " Stunt:" after the boxes.Peanuckle said:
Came up with a school stunt, thoughts?
-[ ] Stunt: Enroll into a number of parahuman studies, psychology, sociology, economics and politics courses, even as your enhanced abilities allow you to rapidly complete standard curriculum. The world needs to be put to order, but you need to persuade them to LET you first.
-[ ] Stunt: Enroll into a number of parahuman studies, psychology, sociology, economics and politics courses, even as your enhanced abilities allow you to rapidly complete standard curriculum. The world needs to be put to order, but you need to persuade them to LET you first.
With stunts:
[ ] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
- [ ] Stunt: While it's true when you tell your friends that you're taking one from the team, the deeper truth is that you have a deeper motive for playing along. The people you meet here have power, influence, both things you need if the Endbringers are to be defeated and the world saved. You just have to work out who they are and ensure that they are open to speak to you again.
[ ] Spirit of Envy: You joined your new school's cheer team just in time to travel all around the city and support your school's teams! Too bad you completely disrupted the delicate social pyramid by merely existing!
- [ ] Stunt: Once, you'd have envied and pitied the girls who've lives you've disrupted simply by appearing. Now small and petty it seems. Now, however, you understand. When you control so little, what you do control is even more important, and the social harmony is part of that. Comprehending that, you can take the first steps of how to smooth your path.
[ ] Taste Is Blind: Kathy Patrice and Glenn's assistant showed up at the PRT's doorstep and stole you for twelve straight hours. You can read Elsewhere-stored books while you model, but she spoke of a return visit…
- [ ] Stunt: While four of your trains of consciousness read books, the rest of you takes advantage of the opportunity. One self to learn everything that happens around you, and one to sculpt the public appearance you present, about what your nature says about you. This time you chose to appear fully human, saving your platinum hair for next time, to maximise the public impact. You do tip Kathy off to prepare some appropriate designs though.
[ ] Plaid Skirts: St. Hubert Catholic School for Girls, which is two blocks from your new home and has free periods.
- [ ] Stunt: You walk in to your second new school in as many months glad that clarity suppresses the butterflies in your stomach, as memories of Winslow die hard. This time though, you know what to do. You've already arranged to sit down with the principle to arrange an introduction on your own terms, where you can make a speech to the school about the anti-bullying program you're the face of. Third time lucky
Any suggestions for improvements?
Assemblies also don't have Heads. We may administer the Assembly, but we shouldn't try to rule it. That's not what Alchemicals are or do.
Decent catholic schools in the middle of major cities also don't shove another religion down your throat, unless I'm very mistaken.
Why do people seem to have such an awful opinion of them? You're making them sound like brainwashing.
[ ] The Fourth Estate: While all the Brockton Bay Wards have had to go through the media machine this week, you've had an extra-heaping helping of local Television interviews, meet-and-greets, and photo ops. Smile!
- [ ] Stunt: While it's true when you tell your friends that you're taking one from the team, the deeper truth is that you have a deeper motive for playing along. The people you meet here have power, influence, both things you need if the Endbringers are to be defeated and the world saved. You just have to work out who they are and ensure that they are open to speak to you again.
[ ] Spirit of Envy: You joined your new school's cheer team just in time to travel all around the city and support your school's teams! Too bad you completely disrupted the delicate social pyramid by merely existing!
- [ ] Stunt: Once, you'd have envied and pitied the girls who've lives you've disrupted simply by appearing. Now small and petty it seems. Now, however, you understand. When you control so little, what you do control is even more important, and the social harmony is part of that. Comprehending that, you can take the first steps of how to smooth your path.
[ ] Taste Is Blind: Kathy Patrice and Glenn's assistant showed up at the PRT's doorstep and stole you for twelve straight hours. You can read Elsewhere-stored books while you model, but she spoke of a return visit…
- [ ] Stunt: While four of your trains of consciousness read books, the rest of you takes advantage of the opportunity. One self to learn everything that happens around you, and one to sculpt the public appearance you present, about what your nature says about you. This time you chose to appear fully human, saving your platinum hair for next time, to maximise the public impact. You do tip Kathy off to prepare some appropriate designs though.
[ ] Plaid Skirts: St. Hubert Catholic School for Girls, which is two blocks from your new home and has free periods.
- [ ] Stunt: You walk in to your second new school in as many months glad that clarity suppresses the butterflies in your stomach, as memories of Winslow die hard. This time though, you know what to do. You've already arranged to sit down with the principle to arrange an introduction on your own terms, where you can make a speech to the school about the anti-bullying program you're the face of. Third time lucky
Any suggestions for improvements?
It's not a waste of time, it's just significantly less useful than the other things we can spend our time on. The opportunity cost is too high.sainen said:
Loads of people will listen to us. People with more necessary powers or who are old enough to make such a major decision.sainen said:
Assemblies also don't have Heads. We may administer the Assembly, but we shouldn't try to rule it. That's not what Alchemicals are or do.
If he loses his job, then he can work for Autocthon full time. Also, he wouldn't be a parahuman, and they'd know that.sainen said:
We probably do want non-parahumans to help manage shard-chard psychosis.Esbilon said:
If we didn't have Optical Shroud, I'd agree, but with the way Grom has massively buffed it, her power is massively redundant.Esbilon said:
Because it teaches us how to do it and how to understamd religion, which is a massively important part of Autocthon. Tools, Faith, and Doctrine. The three are equal to him. Think about what that means.Peanuckle said:
Decent catholic schools in the middle of major cities also don't shove another religion down your throat, unless I'm very mistaken.
Why do people seem to have such an awful opinion of them? You're making them sound like brainwashing.
[x] Feel The Burn: Now you get to see what most other city's Wards get to do instead of patrol: training! Lots, and lots of training on the obstacle courses and time in the sparring ring with the other Wards. DODGE!
[x] No Good Deed…: On an example patrol you went on, staying to help a group of civilians with some random task got you involved in a three-way gang/vigilante brawl. You helped win the day, but… thepaperwork.
[x] Seriously, Fuck Camden: Another example patrol wound up getting roped into an emergency call from Camden, New Jersey. If this is what Brockton Bay was turning into, maybe Behemoth was a mercy.
[x] No Good Deed…: On an example patrol you went on, staying to help a group of civilians with some random task got you involved in a three-way gang/vigilante brawl. You helped win the day, but… thepaperwork.
[x] Seriously, Fuck Camden: Another example patrol wound up getting roped into an emergency call from Camden, New Jersey. If this is what Brockton Bay was turning into, maybe Behemoth was a mercy.