That being said, the Evil Shade is also a positive mother figure, something Taylor has desperately needed for years. And Roma doesn't even mind that Taylor wants to help people. She just has a different view on how this can best be achieved.
School Administrator named Murphy: A mutant badger has rampaged through our records and destroyed any paperwork with the name Alivaril on it. Due to us living in the 1920's we never created any backups. For you to continue your degree you must redo every single credit. Also, due to the requirements of your scholarship grants you are not allowed to take proficiency exams and must do all of the lectures and homework again.
Don't even joke about this. For example my wife has the worst luck I've ever seen. If the paperwork can be lost it is, if she needs an appointment with a doctor their nurse will continually drop the ball on any references she needs, if her schooling is completely paid for by scholarship she'll get so sick she misses most of a semester and the university returns the money to the scholarship and forces the debt on her. My wife is an embodiment of Murphy's law.
Now Alivaril is, to my knowledge, not my wife but it's still entirely possible what you've jokingly said might happen. I know some colleges and universities (and doctor's offices and local governments and businesses(I'm not even joking)) are entirely behind the times in regards to their paperwork.
Wouldn't that be freaky? Being with a spouse for years, good relationship, no major issues, feel like you know their hobbies and interests. Then somehow you find out that a random internet person you have been following for possibly years is actually your spouse.
Second opinion: every narrator in Alivaril's stories is 100% reliable and you can totally trust them. Especially when they contradict each other. Or themselves.
"Oh!" I thought to myself. "It's that really cool crossover!"
And then it wasn't, or at least not the one I was thinking of. Had to re-read because I don't remember watching this at all. Definitely deserved it though, and very happy to check out this story. Very good writing. Shame that there's not 4 years of chapter to go through, though.
Biggest criticism I can offer isn't really a big one at all: the audience is in kind of a dire need to understand how the world operates. Is it copy+paste APGTE? Is it APGTE logic, but applied to the Superhero genre and thus twisted? Neither? Both?
We get introduced to the mechanics of Creation relatively early thanks to the Black Knight's tutelage of Cat, and we can see Cat begin successfully taking those lessons to heart and building off of them until she, IMO, surpasses the master. It's necessary for the audience there, too, because a lot of the contrived bullshit that pops up in the universe is lampshaded beforehand: expect the contrived bullshet because that's how the world works.
In this story, we obviously have the connection to APGTE to build off of, and there have been a lot of hints, but there are also a lot of hints that it works differently. So for the audience to really appreciate what's happening, it needs to be nailed down to some extent - obviously with the possibilities of twists and turns in the future still open, but enough so that bits of the story are recognizable when read.
Like I said though, not really a big criticism because the story is still very young. Ten more chapters of everyone hemming and hawing over how the world operates will start getting pretty old, unless it's a whole arc where the goal is to figure out how it works.
Anyway, 90% of my post is that criticism, so just want to reiterate what's here is a big pleasure to read, just offering up my own thoughts.
Biggest criticism I can offer isn't really a big one at all: the audience is in kind of a dire need to understand how the world operates. Is it copy+paste APGTE? Is it APGTE logic, but applied to the Superhero genre and thus twisted? Neither? Both?
We get introduced to the mechanics of Creation relatively early thanks to the Black Knight's tutelage of Cat, and we can see Cat begin successfully taking those lessons to heart and building off of them until she, IMO, surpasses the master. It's necessary for the audience there, too, because a lot of the contrived bullshit that pops up in the universe is lampshaded beforehand: expect the contrived bullshet because that's how the world works.
In this story, we obviously have the connection to APGTE to build off of, and there have been a lot of hints, but there are also a lot of hints that it works differently. So for the audience to really appreciate what's happening, it needs to be nailed down to some extent - obviously with the possibilities of twists and turns in the future still open, but enough so that bits of the story are recognizable when read.
Are you assuming that everyone here knows the APGTE mechanics? Because that is not true.
Personally, I don't think it needs to be explained ASAP. The setting mechanics being revealed can in and of itself be a plot point. And the story does have the same(?) tutoring dynamic, although the validity of Roma's knowledge is suspect (which means there is no means to convey the actual mechanics like you want in the first place).
Are you assuming that everyone here knows the APGTE mechanics? Because that is not true.
Personally, I don't think it needs to be explained ASAP. The setting mechanics being revealed can in and of itself be a plot point. And the story does have the same(?) tutoring dynamic, although the validity of Roma's knowledge is suspect (which means there is no means to convey the actual mechanics like you want in the first place).
I'm not making that assumption, no. The thing is, it's like an elephant in the room. "My powers work based on narrative tropes??" has come up multiple times. It is begging to be explored, and is becoming more and more invasive to Taylor's life (or at least seemingly so), leaving it lie to tease after multiple chapters where it has come up is... well, it's justified so far, I'm not complaining about that. At a certain point though, it needs to be addressed.
I feel like Taylor has gotten to the point where she's feeling like she's trying to fight blind, so to speak. Before, it was being incredulous at Roma and thinking the world can't possibly work that way. Now she strongly believes that literal Fate just tried to throw her headlong into danger and humiliation. Roma wanting compensation for her answers, that's fitting, but I think it would be out of character for Taylor not to be asking "How exactly do my powers work?" right about now; she's not the type to be content with that kind of blind spot.
Roma being an unreliable source is just fine. We don't necessarily need the exact, true, correct answer, but it does need to be explored in the story, even if it's Roma explaining something to Taylor, Taylor immediately finding a hole in it, and then going from there.
My point with the audience needing to know was more like... this is a bad analogy, but bear with me. Conventional storytelling says that it is best for the author to show rather than tell. However, without the proper frame of reference, the author is kind of stuck having to tell the audience what's happening, because the audience can't pick up on when things are being shown.
Example being the OP pointing out that it was intentional that Taylor's first plan failed even though Roma later said that the first plan never fails. It's hard for the audience to pick up on whether or not that was an error by the rules of the worldbuilding for this crossover, or if that was deliberate by the author to show us something. The answer is that it was deliberate. It's not clear whether what's shown is "The rules actually don't work here", "Taylor is fundamentally not a villain so those tropes don't work on her", or "Roma's knowledge is working in the wrong genre", etc. There also seem to be big hints about other things maybe being mixed up, like Assault acting so out of character.
I know I'm not really conveying this well, so apologies for that. So far it's perfectly fine, but I think milking the "how does it work" mystery too much further will leave the audience confused at what is and isn't meant to be something for them to pick up on and will not make sense for characters not to address and explore. Which isn't to say that it can't be a mystery that Taylor and Roma unravel together, I'm just saying it's about time for them to actually start doing that.
It's only been so long, narratively speaking, that I don't think it's fair to say that the exploration of power mechanics has been neglected. Taylor field-tested her physical improvements and Rise, and is dabbling in magic - all the aspects of her power she knew about. She has only been aware of the narrative aspect a couple chapters by now (and only about a day IC), and only in the latest chapter has it been driven home how important said aspect is. So I would suspect that finding out more is very high on Taylor's list already.
Speaking of the little discrepancies, I don't think they are intended to showcase anything to begin with. Instead they just arise from following the actual mechanics with characters being unreliable narrators. And if even the readers aren't expected to notice these, it won't be fair to expect the same of the characters. And yes, in an ongoing work you may be more inclined to expect error rather than intent, but the benefit of the ongoing work is that you can actually ask the author.
Agreed; part of the interest here is watching the mechanics gradually unspool. Impatience and rushing to vomit exposition all over the audience are not virtues in writing, and despite my own middling understanding of APGTE, I'm quite enjoying seeing Taylor discover her powers at a leisurely pace. Honestly, even for people who don't know APGTE at all, enough has been shown to satisfy what's needed - her power isn't quite like normal Worm powers, it works somewhat on "story logic", there's a "guidance" available to heroes but not villains, and savvy Named can play the narrative tropes to their advantage if they're canny enough - complicated, of course, by the fact that other Named will be attempting to do the same thing. That's literally all you need unless and until the deeper parts of the mechanics become immediately, dangerously relevant, which seems like it'll be a long way off for a while yet.
Enjoying Roma's voice and her corruption/mentorship of Taylor immensely! Keep it up!
Edited AN: Friendly reminder that Taylor is not currently wearing her own face.
"Do not ever speak of victory before the last foe is dead."
—Queen Elizabeth Alban of Callow
On days like this, Dean-as-Gallant was forcibly reminded that "lesser evil" was still very much evil. Today's mall raid was going to go down in history as Über and Leet's most controversial streams. Physically, nobody had suffered anything worse than the odd bruise as the duo's 'Darkspawn' minions—who might have been human henchmen, or may have been robots, and nobody was sure which—shoved customers aside, stole the odd purse, briefly grabbed numerous victims to leave black dye palm-prints on them, and generally distracted everyone while Leet cleaned out an electronics store. Über had tried to ransack a jewelry store nearby, too, but the owner had apparently invested in security that effectively dropped the wares inside segregated metal compartments. It wasn't enough to stop the villain altogether, but it did reduce how much he could steal.
Trackers within several of the stolen phones followed the villainous duo for a few blocks west before some manner of presumed jammer shut down most cell signals within several blocks. By the time it was brought down, the villains were gone. Physical harm may have been minimized, yet their actions had a far greater emotional and mental impact. Their "darkspawn" minions reportedly looked like walking nightmares with discolored patches of skin, sporadic spikes, clotted injuries, and subtly inhuman proportions. The sounds and shrieks they produced sounded akin to either a bio-tinker's abominations or something dying. A similarly infected robotic hound made things even worse. There was only the one, but it was reportedly even more terrifying to many than the humanoid darkspawn had been. Monsters with human appearances could just be villains capable of restraint. A feral animal would tear someone to shreds without a second thought, and it reportedly prowled independently of the other groups. Nobody would have been nearby to rein it in had the "beast" attacked someone.
Fear and panic were inevitable, and Gallant was still finding people curled in corners a good ten minutes after the duo had departed. Children, surrounded by terrifying people and sounds, were the worst off and Gallant expected many of them to remember this incident for the rest of their lives. Fear wasn't the only source of damage, either—there were plenty of people whose friends or family had left them behind in the panic, groups that had been separated, and so on. The departure of the villains had been announced over the speaker system and groups advised to meet where they were at the time of the initial announcement, but it was the usual intercom for large buildings—loud, low-quality, echoing, and insanely difficult to understand. Plus, a lot of people still weren't anything even remotely approaching calm.
Gallant had been utilizing his ability to see emotions in order to find and help the worst off. Had been. Now he was hurrying toward something far more alarming: glee and fear in close proximity, and so strongly that the colors were still visible through the walls and intervening objects. Dimly and it was a stroke of luck that he'd noticed at all, but it still wasn't a good sign.
"This is a bit outside your usual range," Aegis remarked just loudly enough to be heard, wariness and concern foremost among his colors.
If they'd been dealing with an unknown villain or villains, then Gallant would probably have needed to fend off Master/Stranger challenges by now. He didn't think it was out of character for him to investigate someone potentially in active trouble, though.
"And that's why I'm concerned," Gallant agreed, keeping the faint colors in the center of his gaze as they rounded a corner. "I only noticed because of the stark contrast, and even that was sheer luck. They're changing a little, actually, but always in ways that don't bode well—the more fearful one becomes, the happier the other is."
He didn't mention the weak streaks of guilt in the presumed antagonist's aura. Someone engaging in terrible acts while having second thoughts was still choosing to engage in those acts, and it might not even be related to whatever they were doing at the moment. They might just be guilty about forgetting their homework.
The two Wards slowed to a stop outside Ariane's Accoutrement. Judging by the displays, it was a shoe store pretending to be more upscale than it actually was. Gallant frowned faintly. He didn't think that he had misjudged the distances, but… well, he had expected a stairwell or somewhere else secluded. A shoe store didn't fit the bill.
"This seems like a weird place for what you mentioned," Aegis remarked dubiously, echoing Gallant's own thoughts.
"And I'll be very happy if I'm wrong," Gallant agreed, stepping through the open doors and making a beeline for the thirty-some clerk putting his smartphone away.
Gallant felt an immediate stab of sympathy for the poor man; there was the surprise that most felt upon seeing superheroes in person, but there was also quite a bit of muted blue exhaustion and resignation.
"Can I help you, sirs?" the clerk asked evenly, pretending that he wasn't on the verge of collapse.
Off to the side, Gallant saw both contrasting colors flicker momentarily with dark green surprise before streaks of purple—anxiety, probably—wormed their way into the victim's aura. The presumed antagonist didn't seem to care about the possibility of discovery. Gallant was a little surprised himself, but for different reasons: the curtained changing rooms at the back of the store were still almost twenty meters away, and the mall's air conditioning provided plenty of white noise. That meant the mere sound of people was enough for the victim to worry, and that was concerning all on its own. He would have expected their probable tormenter to be more worried about discovery.
"Could you tell us anything about the people in the back?"
The clerk blinked and suddenly straightened up, boredom giving way to the swamp green of alarm.
"Plural? I only saw one person go back there, and I don't think she's a criminal—maybe a shoplifter, at worst, but she hasn't been trying to hide her face at all. Maybe a late teenager or in her very early twenties? She had a backpack, though, so I'd say teenager. Ah, sir. Should I be concerned?"
Gallant waved a hand and would have smiled comfortingly had he not been wearing a full helmet.
"I'm hoping that it's nothing, and it probably is. My sensors have been wrong before, especially after Über and Leet have been through. Just in case, though, are you allowed to lock up and take a quick dinner break?"
"No," the man replied gloomily. "Not without any other employees to mind the counter. I'll risk it if you think it's a good idea, though; it's not as if this job comes with hazard pay."
Aegis stepped forward and gestured toward the doorway. Several Cape groupies had begun milling around and staring inside the open doors, including one person blatantly holding up their phone to take pictures or video.
"Gallant, you can go ahead," Aegis hinted.
Gallant gave his current partner a quick nod and strode to the back of the store, mindful of the watchers congregating outside. Self-preservation was keeping them away for now, but that could only last for so long.
"Sir," Aegis said behind him, "how about you wait across the hall and I'll look after things for you? I don't think your employer could legally take issue with that."
"Hasn't stopped them before," the man said darkly, then sighed. "Besides, there's no cover out there. I'll just hide behind the counter if it comes down to it. Thanks, though."
The changing room curtain didn't quite reach the floor, and if the person or people inside had been sitting normally, then Gallant should have been able to see their feet. At the same time, though, the changing room was small and the bench smaller. It couldn't fit two people without them putting their feet down for stability. More importantly still, the antagonistic aura was beside the bench and Gallant couldn't see anyone there. He tapped the side of his helmet to deactivate external speakers.
"Console, there might be a weird friend," Gallant said over comms, unwilling to outright use the S-word within earshot of the probable Cape in question.
"Stranger report received," blandly replied Chris Kid Win, currently on Console duty. "Triumph is… eight minutes out, he says, or five if he rushes."
"I don't think this is a 'rush' situation, Console, and I don't want to give any victims the wrong idea. There's a crowd outside that could make things needlessly difficult; could he distract them in the interim?"
"Got it, I'll relay that. Uh, Console out, over."
Gallant tapped his helmet again to reactivate the speakers on his armor, took the last few steps to the changing alcove's curtain, and knocked on the wall beside it.
"Hey," he called calmly, "this is Gallant from the Wards ENE team. Are you okay in there? It's safe to come out. There are temporary medical stations with free snacks set up outside the front entrance and in the main eating area."
The concerning gold glee of the Stranger went out like a candle and was replaced with a multicolored emotional cocktail that he was hard-pressed to interpret. Anger, chagrin, and resignation? More? Either way, it didn't bode well; that person was unhappy about his presence, an interruption, or both. The possible victim's new emotions were comparably concerning: shame, more fear, and general unhappiness. At least Aegis had caught up and was slowing to a stop off to one side, out of easy view should the curtain be pulled aside.
"I'm fine," the girl lied with a croak. There was a small pause before she spoke again, albeit with the shaky tones of someone trying very hard not to show how not fine they were. "Thanks, but you're better off helping other people. I'm just a little shaken up, that's all; I'll be fine."
I very much doubt that. Not when announcing his presence had prompted fear, of all things, and not when that reaction might well have been due to a Stranger threatening her. Gallant kept his arms loose and relaxed rather than thoughtfully crossing them. How to get her out and away from the probable Stranger without letting said Cape know they'd been discovered?
Gallant glanced aside to see if Aegis had any ideas. The brute mimed stabbing something into his shoulder, and Gallant nodded.
"You should still go to one of the aid stations for an assessment," Gallant pressed, then paused to see her reaction. Relief. That was progress, but she still didn't seem to be moving. "Please? I would prefer not to leave before knowing you'll be alright."
He didn't enjoy needing to resort to a guilt-trip, but it was the best excuse he could give her to get away. The antagonist flickered with red irritation, but otherwise didn't move until the curtain was pulled aside. Gallant blinked and stared at the lightly tanned teenager in a blood-red ankle-length A-line dress and matching slippers, glad that his helmet disguised his surprise as normal attentiveness. It still took him a few seconds to remember to step aside and let her out, though. He twitched when the colors of the presumed Stranger passed right through him with a sudden chill, but no feeling of impact. Perhaps a projection, then? No, focus.
Gallant originally hadn't seen able to see underneath the blue-eyed brunette's fear, but she was glowing. Not metaphorically, although she was pretty enough for Clockblocker to make an unfortunate joke had he been present. No, it was literal glowing. Golden mists crawled up her body and escaped from the crown of her head as multiple discrete, fluttering streamers, dissipating into the surrounding air after a couple feet. Gallant shot a quick glance at Aegis and saw the crossed arms and bored posture that effectively said he saw nothing unusual. Still, that was definitely a power interaction of some kind. Gallant swore, if they'd just stumbled upon a fresh fucking Trigger-
Gallant quietly took a deep breath as she turned toward him and reminded himself to stay calm. He was jumping to conclusions; he'd never seen a fresh Trigger before, but he imagined she would be worse off than this. Still, how was he even supposed to handle this sort of situation? Hi, you may have a Mover/Stranger following you, or it might be a facet of your new powers. And even if it scared her, he couldn't just ignore it—if it was a malicious Stranger, then that would be negligence of a level bordering on criminal. Besides, she reminded him of Vic—of Glory Girl. He shoved down the pain of their newest breakup and tried to focus on the current situation. Yes, he wanted to reassure this new girl that everything was alright and would be fine, but acting too familiar would almost certainly make her uncomfortable. Her eyes were wide enough with fear already.
"Triumph is on site," Kid Win reported with perfect timing.
Gallant carefully edged to one side and positioned himself so that he wasn't between her and the exit, prompting the young woman to turn away from the crowd outside. If this was a new Cape, then they didn't want any of the Cape groupies to get good footage of her face. Plus, it let Aegis flank the young woman and if she ran, then Triumph could catch her. It was too bad that she wasn't wearing the high-heeled boots she held in one hand—stopping her would be even easier if she had been. Actually, the boots seemed louder than he would expect from someone as skittish as her. He didn't want to support stereotypes, but there was no denying that the boots would draw attention to someone who clearly wanted none of it.
Yet more evidence of an ongoing attack, Gallant thought grimly. Perhaps the shoes would better suit her normal behaviors, or perhaps the Stranger was forcing her to pick specific clothing to make her uncomfortable and more easily controlled. Or maybe they would get lucky and she was just trying a new style or pushing herself to be more outgoing, but Gallant doubted it.
"I want to make it perfectly clear before I ask this that you are not in trouble," he began carefully, "and if it does turn out to be an issue, then the PRT and Protectorate can and will protect you. Do you know why my sensors seem to think there are two people in front of me? And if so, should we be concerned?"
In unison, the dark green of surprise momentarily recolored their auras before both transitioned to violet wariness or another fear-adjacent emotion. Figuring out hue could be tricky sometimes; he was already doing unusually well today, assuming that half his interpretations hadn't been wrong so far.
Seconds later, the immaterial Stranger's aura turned a gleeful gold. The color change was echoed by what was definitely intensifying violet fear from the teenager. The order there was suspicious, to say the least, and Gallant suspected that the two auras were probably in communication.
"Please leave and forget you ever saw me," she requested, wringing her hands and glancing aside to avoid eye contact. "I—I can't explain it without sounding insane, but you—no, forget it. It isn't coercion, so…"
More triumph from the immaterial Stranger, and a pulse of fear from the young woman. Honestly, it was hard not to imagine the antagonist as a malignant ghost.
"Please leave me alone," she repeated, seemingly looking everywhere but at him. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just—please go before this—no, just go."
She cringed a moment later with the shades of anxiety and fear in her aura deepening. Honestly, Gallant was even less inclined to leave her alone now. Who knew what would happen if he left her alone with whatever this was? Especially since the ghost was once again growing happier as its victim grew more fearful. Yes, there was a risk that it was happy about him botching this, but he couldn't leave someone alone with something that might well take joy in terrifying her.
"I can't just leave you alone, Miss…?"
She froze and stared like a deer stuck in headlights, and Gallant internally winced. With that kind of a reaction, the golden mists wafting off her were probably from her own power, then. Or she was otherwise afraid of drawing official law enforcement attention, which also didn't bode well.
"This—this really isn't—" she stuttered, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. "You can leave me alone, can't you? I won't be in any extra danger, so just ignore me. Everyone else does."
He probably wasn't supposed to hear that last part, but one benefit of wearing powered armor was the amplification of spoken speech. It might point toward the ghost being the product of her powers, too; it seemed reasonable that isolation might 'solve' the problem by giving her a projection. The lack of a name was comparably suspicious, to say nothing of that 'extra danger' qualifier.
"You're asking me to leave you alone with a potentially hostile Stranger," Gallant noted. "Listen, you don't need to answer any questions or anything, but could you please come down to the PHQ for an hour or two? I'll feel much better if you still want to leave even after that."
Surprise momentarily erased a portion of the fear and anxiety. The possible fresh Trigger crossed her arms, wide-eyed panic giving way to a thoughtful frown and furrowed brow. Meanwhile, the ghost seemed to be growing rather angry, which Gallant would honestly take as a win at this point.
"One minute," the girl muttered, then lapsed back into silence.
"Take your time," Gallant offered automatically.
He took the time to examine the golden mists wafting off her and wondered what kind of power would manifest them. The ghost harassing her might be a projection, although very few projections seemed to possess their own emotions and even fewer possessed even the semblance of sapience. The malice on display seemed to indicate the presence of both.
"I think that should be safe as long as nobody tries to recruit me for the Wards or acts like I'm something to be contained," she said quietly, pretending not to care that she'd just effectively outed herself despite the anxiety streaking through her at the mention of recruitment.
The ghost's aura turned an even deeper shade of angry red, and was soon echoed by both guilt and anger in the young woman. She winced and bit her lip, effectively confirming that it was communicating with her.
"Actually, I do have prior promises to keep and I need to be home before then. Would it help if I said that the, uh, apparent second person is part of my powers?"
Not even remotely. For starters, she'd seemed a little worried about admitting that she had powers, but not nearly as much as someone lacking a mask should be. And really, backpedaling immediately after the Stranger talked to her again? That was a flag so red that communists would be proud to fly it.
"And," she continued desperately, "there are power quirks which make it really dangerous for me to be around other heroes for any length of time. I'm still working on them, so just… please leave?"
Gallant sighed and eyed the golden mists rising from the top of her head and dissipating into her surroundings. He supposed that might be a manifestation of a Trump ability, but it just didn't fit with the projection. He also couldn't see why being around heroes, specifically, would cause any issues with—
Gold… rising… fuck.
Gallant backed out of immediate reach, almost held up his hands defensively, and opted for crossing his arms lest she think he was threatening her with emotion blasts. It seemed likely that either this girl was the reason they'd needed to sit through an incredibly dull refresher on Master/Stranger protocols, or she was actively Mastered by the person in question. Now he couldn't leave her alone even if her explanations weren't suspicious as hell. He pushed down the rising guilt in his own chest, held one elbow in his hand, and tried to conceal the speaker-deactivating tap to the side of his helmet under the guise of resting his face in his hand.
"Hey, I've been seeing a gold mist rising off Red since we got here," he murmured over comms. "Between that and the malicious Stranger, I'm worried that she might be mas…"
He trailed off, eyes widening. The ghost's emotions surged with triumph even as the girl's turned purple with panic. The new Cape might have known that he had been talking, but she should not have been able to make out any words. Not without enhanced hearing—or a projection relaying his every word, he supposed. The damn thing really was malicious.
The seemingly-sourceless collection of emotions darted toward him, and Gallant couldn't help but yelp and stumble back. Aegis took a half-aborted step forward, hands twitching up in a clear urge to grab the possible Striker/Master before remembering the possible risks inherent in doing so. A weapon with reach would have been really useful to Aegis right about then.
"Mistake," a feminine voice taunted, and the projection flitted back to the cringing young woman.
"I didn't mean–" Gallant started, then remembered that his external speaker was still off.
His arm was halfway to his head when he realized that she'd heard him in the first place, and therefore might still hear him if he spoke. It was too late by then, and in all honesty, it might not have helped. Red kicked the side of one slippered foot against a nearby shelf hard enough to leave a small, weirdly-shaped bloodstain behind—except, her foot appeared perfectly fine? Gallant didn't have long to consider the anomaly.
CRACK!
Gallant squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears as a golden flashbang seemingly went off right in his face despite the helmet that should have dimmed any light above a certain brightness. There were several seconds of panic, of wondering if the light heralded him being Mastered, before he realized that there weren't any afterimages or extra light on the inside of his eyelids. Actually, his eyes didn't even hurt as much as they should after being exposed to something that bright. He cautiously cracked one eye and confirmed that the light still seemed overwhelmingly bright, and sounded like it was roaring loudly enough to burst his eardrums, but neither of those things hurt. He could hear Aegis cursing underneath the roaring, too, and Chris trying to check their status.
"I think we're fine," Gallant tried to say at a normal volume, ignoring how he could barely hear himself, "but there's a loud roaring in my ears and I can't see anything except gold light. And yes, I'm self-aware enough to realize that we're going to go through the M/S gauntlet after this, but I honestly don't feel any different. The light and sound don't hurt, eith–"
The light flickered out and left the two wards blinking rapidly to adjust. There seemed to be another source of bright golden light casting shadows from the entrance to the store, though, and Aegis promptly flew toward it.
"And the first source is gone," Gallant reported, sighing. "There's a second that I'm guessing hit Triumph."
Gallant shot a quick glance at the spot where she'd left the bloodstain, and could only see a burnt-looking black starburst where it had once been. He wrinkled his nose and hurried after his teammate, passing the sole cashier and mentally noting the presence of a small pile of twenties left on the counter. Seeing it was a bit humiliating, actually; it was good that Red Gold hadn't shoplifted, but paying on the way out meant she'd had time to fumble with money rather than simply running for it.
Gallant arrived at the entrance just in time for the second prolonged flashbang to wink out, leaving Triumph blinking in the midst of one or two dozen civilians covering their eyes and ears. The tail ends of several screams trailed off into confused conversation when those present presumably realized that they were perfectly fine.
There was no sign of the new Cape, and an additional five minutes of searching didn't change the reality of their situation: a Stranger and their victim were loose in the city, and Gallant had no idea where to find either of them.
~ ~ ~
That isn't how glamour is supposed to be used and I'm honestly amazed it worked with such haphazard measures. Heroes truly are quite unfair.
I bit back the urge to snarl at midair. I'd managed to slip away long enough to change back into more normal clothes, and aside from one heart-stopping moment where Aegis had flown past, the heroes didn't show any signs of knowing where I had gone. I kept an eye out for Gallant just in case; I didn't know what bullshit Tinker sensors let him notice Roma, but I wasn't keen on a repeat of this fiasco.
Not in the mood! Literally this entire situation could have been avoided if you hadn't demanded that I fulfill the deals first!
Oh, I'll be sure to explain myself shortly. But first, let me enjoy your angry kitten stomping for a little longer.
…It was just as well that someone had already killed Roma. This way, I wouldn't be tempted to do it myself. This was not the time.
Oh, fine. You were already holding the boots, Roma sniffed. Enchanted or not, my requirements should not have been a hardship.
I could have sworn that she'd demanded both the dresses and boots, but to be fair, I had been halfway drunk on panic and anxiety at that point. I might be misremembering.
Do you want me to repeatedly trip and humiliate myself? That seems like a great way to add 'clumsy' to my list of character traits, and that could get me killed.
You don't want to give me any credit whatsoever, do you? Roma lamented.
You literally pretended to be my thoughts for most of the time that I've known you. You're lucky that we're still on speaking terms.
You are still a novice hero, Roma continued blithely, ignoring everything I'd just said. Clumsiness is endearing, and you would grow out of it in time. It may even have helped your balance in the long run.
…I hated the story-based aspects of my powers. I really, really did. How was I supposed to know how the 'story' would go if there were countless subtle variants on every cliche?
I was not being difficult solely out of vanity, either, Roma continued. First, you must learn not to offer future services—fate will frequently conspire to keep you from fulfilling your side of the bargain. To paraphrase one of my predecessors: 'Plans should be made with the understanding that everything you can conceive of going wrong will, and then a few other things besides.'
Let me guess: the original said that villains, specifically, should be wary of that?
There was a momentary pause, but I didn't think it was from needing to dodge around someone stopped on the sidewalk. Especially since Villain then pretended that I hadn't said anything. The quote was definitely about heroes foiling villainous plans.
Second, I want to explain myself with a little story: the heroes stumble across a girl bound to a monster. They apprehend her, but can't pin down what is wrong, and she ultimately escapes or is released. Would you care to guess the eventual fate of such a troubled young woman?
She dies? I hazarded. That plotline had occurred to me, but I'd been hoping that Villain's Roma's nature as a benevolent-ish monster would prevent such a fate.
Being friends just means that you would die in my arms before I slaughtered the offending parties.
I let out a despondent sigh. Seriously, how on earth did anyone live to adulthood with powers acting like this? People were fond of their tragedies, and millennia of history had given us a lot to pick from.
…Hold on. My brow furrowed, and I grabbed a passing thought with both hands. Villain had seemingly lived in a story-book world, but I didn't. Do my powers operate off popular narrative trends or actual history?
Both, I'm afraid,Villain Roma provided.
I hung my head. Things would have been so much easier if I'd only needed to worry about historical trends.
Besides,Roma continued, the Gallant was clearly lying. They would not have released you until you presented an acceptable explanation for my presence, dear, and you do not appear to be capable of providing any such excuse. We were quite clearly stuck in the groove of pointless conflict between those who might otherwise be allies.
Groove?
Divot? Ditch? Furrow? Choose your term, it matters little. Now, I don't suppose you could pretend to still be angry so that I can enjoy more cute kitten stomping?
Irritated indignation erupted. Was she really going to mock me right after her stupid insistence on appearances had drawn heroic attention in the first place?
Ugghhh. Like, okay narrative based powers aside, I hate everything about this chapter in the worst way. I get that it makes a better story for her to want to be a hero and be forced into a villain but Roma should at least be mindful of the fact that they would now know Taylor's face. That's less amusing kitten stomping and more my heiress is now in mortal danger.
Ugghhh. Like, okay narrative based powers aside, I hate everything about this chapter in the worst way. I get that it makes a better story for her to want to be a hero and be forced into a villain but Roma should at least be mindful of the fact that they would now know Taylor's face. That's less amusing kitten stomping and more my heiress is now in mortal danger.
A light-based glamour tweaked my hair and otherwise bare face to imitate the first model I'd seen upon opening a magazine. Or, well, the first model who hadn't been edited to an appearance bordering on plastic. Identity protection was more effective when nobody realized you were using it.
i kind of peeped that eye color thing but I thought it was either a typo or Heiress based physical changes that Taylor hadn't noticed yet.
So many people forget or misremember Taylor's hair and eye color in this fandom you just tend to roll with it.
But if that's what is up I retract my earlier post. Best chapter yet, 10/10.
I will say that the way Dean interprets Roma is interesting. Just, golden fog encompassing Taylor's body that he can sense a malls length away? She'll never be able to escape him, disguise or not.
i kind of peeped that eye color thing but I thought it was either a typo or Heiress based physical changes that Taylor hadn't noticed yet.
So many people forget or misremember Taylor's hair and eye color in this fandom you just tend to roll with it.
But if that's what is up I retract my earlier post. Best chapter yet, 10/10.
I will say that the way Dean interprets Roma is interesting. Just, golden fog encompassing Taylor's body that he can sense a malls length away? She'll never be able to escape him, disguise or not.
He noticed the mix of malicious glee and terror across the mall. Seeing that after a villain attack is worrying. It wasn't until he physically saw Taylor that he saw the golden glow..
He noticed the mix of malicious glee and terror across the mall. Seeing that after a villain attack is worrying. It wasn't until he physically saw Taylor that he saw the golden glow..
So are Roma and Taylor's emotions amplified or is that just Dean's range? Wild either way.
Can't wait till Taylor's new mom pushes her for a new shopping trip and Dean is just camped out there, lmao.
I am always interested in how thinkers who have extraordinary senses or such see stuff like this. Like I don't think he has ever come across that gold glow before. What would say others see?
It looks like Taylor's trying to have her cake, eat it too, and also be a literal Rogue (by the PRT definition) in a rogues gallery that is approximately 0% actual Rogues.
