SnorlaxMotive
Fear the Lax! Praise the Snor!
- Location
- Narnia, down the tree from Bag's End
It says something about the GM.
Ben 10 X Worm SI Quest
- Thread starter Soundlesssteps
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- ben 10 worm self insert quest randomness
- Location
- Louisiana
To be fair, our MC did stumble upon tourtured rape victims. I couldn't imagine feeling very merciful under that condition, and this is a SI.Interesting quest! Though I'm not sure about the fact that he's just a few minutes in a new universe and is already being so brutal without problem, Ghostfreak influence or not.
- Location
- Just passing through.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Fair enough.
1-2 Genesis
- Location
- Louisiana
Now that our MC has had his first opening step into heroism, he must find out whatever he can about this new world he finds himself in.
Time: Friday Dec. 31st, 10:00 AM.
Location: Shantytown abandoned warehouse ABB
Had he actually needed to breathe, Ghostfreak would have been hyperventilating from the flood of adrenaline that his human body would have been producing in spades. Instead he floated over the comatose man figuratively and questionably dead to the world around him. In a fit of justified rage, he viciously terrified and injured five of the worst kind of criminals. They likely deserved what they got, but it wasn't something he ever expected to do before that very morning. He never expected to be able to turn into Ghostfreak either, but the former was considerably more important to him for the moment. He was sure he didn't kill anyone, but he could have at any point.
As Ghostfreak stared at his claws glowing with underutilized spectral energy, a high pitched gasp drew his attention back to the room where the reasons he did what he did were contained. Three of them were staring at him in horror tinged with a hint of uncertainty. The fourth was the Caucasian girl he couldn't get a good look at before whose eye showed uncertain awe, the other eye being swollen shut. He was able to make out remnants of thick black makeup around her lips and eyes. "Are...you a cape, or a ghost?"
After a moment of surprise, he chuckled at her question. "My kind prefer the term, Ectonurite." What uncertainty showed in her eyes faded away as the light of curiosity began to shine through, becoming laughably obvious in the gloom. He managed to hold up a glowing palm just in time to forestall any further questions. "Let me bring you to some light. I understand that humans don't fare as well in the dark as we do." Ghostfreak hovered away from the room, claws still glowing to give them a guiding light. He didn't get far before a fearful gasp drew his attention back to the barely decent girl, who was panicking at the sight of the unconscious man lying at her feet. The glow in his claws flared, pulling her off her feet and straight to him. "If he ever wants to touch you again, he'll have to go through me!"
After putting her down, she suddenly dove forward and wrapped her arms around his torso. He looked down at her in confusion, then back up to see the one she was formerly hugging glaring at him with a complex web of emotions on her face. "What are you going to do to us?"
Ghostfreak gently lifted the girl by the thighs and looked back at the older girl, making her flinch. "I'm going to contact your law enforcement, ensure your safety, then leave them to handle the rest. Now follow me or I'll make you follow." He turned down the hall but put his eye on his back to make sure none were left behind. Once they reached the same outer room were Ghostfreak dealt with three of the crooks, he tried to set the crying girl down, but she was having none of that. With a put upon sigh, he focused his attention back on the eldest. "Hold her till I return." He phased through her arms and used his telekinesis to grab the unconscious perp and carried him to the locked room, paying no heed to minor obstacles like solid walls.
He continued gathering the criminals until all five were safely under lock and key, while making sure to grab a phone to call 911. "This is the Brocton Bay Police Department, what is the nature of your emergency?" said a young woman with a level tone.
"Hello," he could practically hear the disturbed reaction to his voice, "I have five criminals and four victims here," he hissed out.
"I...uh. Are you a cape sir? Can you tell me your name and location."
And there was that term again. Coming from an Earth were superheroes existed only in stories, the reoccurring use of a word that could only be slang for superheroes was very concerning. "It's Ghostfreak, and I expected you to track this phone."
He could practically feel the awkward confusion the lady was giving off from his end of the line. "Sir, you should know that we aren't allowed to work with villains."
"Well it's a good thing that I'm a hero then," he snapped back at her with a level tone. "Now, do you still want that address?"
"I...yes sir."
"Then hold for a second." Having returned to the room holding the girls, he placed the phone on a tall crate and reached inside his self. He found it quickly and pulled, causing skin to explode from his chest and reform his protective layer while also making the rescued girls gasp. He sent his eye to look them over while flying outside with the phone in hand he grumbled at the back alleyway a bit before taking a direct route to the street corner nearest to the building's front. "Everyone is in the back of the largest warehouse at the corner of Marina Avenue and Bay Street. Is that all?"
"We'd like to confirm the condition of the victims. Either way, a PRT and Protectorate response are on their way."
And there was another set of unfamiliar terms. He was never good with anagrams, but he was sure that there weren't any police groups by the former name. Protectorate sounded more in line with superhero naming conventions. He decided to shelve that line of thinking as he returned to the lit storage room. The youngest had separated from the group and looked to have found the smartphone that the fifth thug had. The other three were huddled together well away from where they were imprisoned.
He floated over to them and handed the phone to the girl who had proven to have the strongest constitution. "They want to talk to one of you."
She shushed him harshly. "Hey, can't you see that she's sleeping." She glared at him, then at the phone, then back at him. "Can you take her without waking her up?"
Ghostfreak rolled his eye at her, which consisted of his eye moving around his head. "You aren't afraid of me," he stated plainly.
"Because compared to before, you're practically Casper now." Ghostfreak narrowed his eye at her then sent out a group of tentacles to cradle the sleeping girl. The other girl visibly restrained her reaction to a shudder. "Fucking freaky ghost cape." She took the phone from his hand and announced herself to whoever was at the other end as he chuckled at her reaction and tried to shape his self into a more comfortable pillow, requiring a tentacle for the best shape. "His name's Ghostfreak," she deadpanned suddenly, making him chuckle. "Oh, it fits alright."
The phone conversation continued from there. She answered a few questions about their well being before being pulled into a long conversation about what he was capable of and looked like. It didn't bother him so long as they didn't know about his weakness. The monotony was broken by the sound like a camera shutter from behind him. His eye moved until spotting the Asian girl using the thug's phone to take pictures of him. "What are you doing?"
She flinched at his tone but was otherwise unaffected. "I'm posting on PHO. I'm sorry...I'm supposed to ask permission first."
"Go ahead." Being in the public eye didn't bother him either. It may make him less scary in the future, but Ghostfreak was plenty capable without fear tactics. If nothing else, he had nine other options. Time passed as he kept his eye on the girls, including the one acting as a nonentity. The youngest tried to ask questions, only to get shushed into silence. It only took another minute before they could hear sirens in the distance, followed by a warning tone coming from the symbol on his chest. "Well, time to go." He set the girl down, who stirred from the movement. He then turned invisible and flew to the front, wanting to make sure that law enforcement was there despite the risk of changing back in plain view. What he found was a group of armored men in well armed vans. The most distinct individuals was an olive skinned woman wearing military fatigues and an American flag as a scarf with a Caucasian man wearing red spandex with racing stripes around his arms, legs, and forming a V over his chest. He was curious about what they were talking about, but he didn't know how much time his transformation had left. He quickly found somewhere close enough to populated zones to reach quickly while still being hidden. He finally changed back in a hidden corner and just sat to ponder his day. He stroked his chin and froze at being hit with another surprise. "What the fuck happened to my awesome beard?!"
Time: Friday, Dec 31st, 10:26 AM.
Location: Downtown Appartments E88
It took close to ten minutes before the Omnitrix signaled that it was ready for use again. Most of that time had been spent thinking about the past hour, and what an eventful hour it was. The rest of his time was spent asking where the nearest library was. Everyone he asked only seemed to know about Brocton Bay Central Library, but it was one middle-aged woman's stray comment that was the real kicker. "And why is a kid looking for a library during winter vacation. Shouldn't you be enjoying your time away from school." He knew he always had a young face, but even shaved, he should have passed for a college-aged teen. Some details like a lack of hair were it should be and a speckling of acne over his right temple were painting a very uncomfortable picture. He wanted to find a mirror, but a library was higher up his priority list. It was fortunate that libraries were nearly certain to have decent bathrooms. That left the question of how to get there. One generous individual gave him some bus money when he thought to consider how he would reach the library, but the Omnitrix wielder hesitated to use up any of it. Fortunately, he had better options. After diving into a readily available abandoned alley, and dialed in his choice. He wanted speed and to learn the lay of the land, the later of which was easier for him to do not with a map, but by traversing the area personally. "Time to XLR8."
Votes: 20; 4; 10; 22
1/5 Roll=5 - Success
Partway through the transformation, XLR8's perceptions of time increased dramatically. He tried to process it at nearly forty times the speed of a normal human, but it still ended in a subjective two seconds. What he felt then was a near overwhelming need to move, to never stop. There was a big city to explore, and an unknown limit of time to do so. So he ran.
His first goal was the area were he encountered the rapists/kidnappers. That area, along with a good portion of the southeastern coast was covered in tags that were a stylized ABB made from red and green paint. Sometimes they covered a stylized M that lacked a color theme. In any direction away from this other than northwest, he saw tags of a stylized E88 using black and red paint. The most disconcerting part was that the two 8's reminded him of the Nazi swastika. The area he woke up in originally was an area with mostly apartment complexes and a large privately own hospital. The southern-central area of the city appeared to be the downtown area where most of the government buildings, non-distinct companies, a boardwalk type area near the coast, and of course the city's library. He went further west to find the rich people areas and parks and looped around north of the downtown area to find a middle-low class residential area with mostly two-story homes. Once he returned to the shore, in what looked like a dock area, he started seeing the ABB marks again with much fewer E88 marks forming a border. The further north he went form there, the more rundown it was with an increasing amount of M tags. Clearly the group that made them didn't have much in the way of standards. The most interesting thing of all was the oil rig out in the bay that was surrounded by some kind of energy bubble. He'll save that visit for Ripjaws.
Even while moving at subsonic speeds, it took a lot of time to explore what he did. With no idea of what kind of time-limit he had to deal with, he made a beeline for the downtown area. Up to that point, no one who saw XLR8 could perceive him long enough to consider him any more than a figment of their imaginations. That changed when his gaze met that of a red suited man moving around at super speeds. It was the same hero that showed up for the warehouse rescue. XLR8 considered escaping, but he felt a compulsive desire to compare speed with his fellow speedster. He closed the distance at nearly his top speed then began circling him for observation. The superhero looked to be fairly tired and pushing hard to keep up. He was also trying to hail him. XLR8 considered complying, but the Omnitrix gave out a warning tone. With some resignation, he dove into an alley and circled around to check if the slower speedster followed before running off to the library. He found a secluded spot nearby and touched the dial, reverting to human form.
After a moment of consideration, he looked at his watch which said 11:07. He wanted to use the time to figure out how long his transformations last, only to face palm when he realized that he didn't check to see what the time was when he transformed. Believing that he reached his quota of derp for the day, he left the alley and zeroed onto his ultimate target.
Once he entered the building, the scent of books carried on artificially warmed air hit him head on. He glanced at the librarian, who was a middle aged man, and tilted his head at the slight deviation from typical expectations. He dismissed the thought while looking around for the best source of information. His gaze zeroed in on a line of computers that seemed to ask that users limit themselves to thirty minutes. He doubted that mattered with no one else there.
Date, Geography, recent events, major heroes, major villains, and important history: he had a lot to learn and something told him that he needed to learn it quickly. He needed some brain power, or more accurately, the ability to process and assimilate lots of information quickly. He had little doubt that Grey Matter could handle it, but he'd be limited by the speed of his eyes and the hardware. It was good that one alien lacked that limitation.
With his plan in place, he went into the bathroom while being mindful of the cameras. Once inside, he considered how he was going to get back out as Upgrade without being connected to to the person that just went in. Before coming to a decision, the mirror caught his eye and reminded him of his secondary goal. With trepidation, he walked over to it and gazed into his reflection. It was not the face of someone who could be in his mid-twenties. It was the face of someone who could pass for a pre-teen if not for the stringy hair on his chin and lips. The upper end was fifteen or sixteen, and he felt compelled to think that it was the former. He stood transfixed upon his visage until the air conditioning cut on, startling him. It also gave him an idea that was obvious in hindsight. "Okay...I've got bigger fish to fry. Time for an Upgrade."
Votes: 21; 5; 9; 27
1/5 Roll=5 - Success
Upgrade took a look at the mirror and felt satisfaction at another successful change and his appearance not having the Omnitrix for an eye. This was followed by a face palm after forgetting to time his transformation, and another for forgetting that the computer clock would do the job. Once done beating himself up, he stretched for the vent and began to ooze into the vents and tried his best to remind his self that cobwebs and bugs weren't a problem for his nano-mechanical body. Once he passed through a fan, his original plan of dropping from the ceiling got killed by lightning. Why do that when he could ride the electrical wiring right into the back of a computer with none the wiser. It took a few tries, but he managed to find one of the public computers and plan a route between it and the fan. He finally settled in, turned the laptop quality desktop into a supercomputer, then began his research.
Time: Friday Dec. 31st, 11:25 AM.
Location: PRT HQ
When Miss Militia got called out for a morning encounter involving a new cape, she wasn't expecting it to be so emotionally draining. The victims were in a horrific state, mentally speaking. Kendra, the oldest among them, put up a good front, but she couldn't forget the pain and fear that were in her eyes. She couldn't forget anything after all, but that was another issue altogether. It was likely that the moment that the other girls couldn't see her do it, she'll crack.
Sandra had drawn herself in, becoming a shell of a person. It may take her days to come to terms with what happened. Amber had clearly suffered the worst of it. If her bruises didn't make it obvious, the way she shied away from men even more than the others did. Beyond that, she was practically starved of positive human contact, which Kendra provided readily. As for May, she was really lucky that she was Asian. Kendra seemed glad for this, but Sandra seemed to resent May's mostly intact innocence. Lastly was the perpetrators of their suffering. Their injuries weren't too bad, just fractured bones and minor to moderate concussions. It was how terrified they were that was really telling on what kind of cape this Ghostfreak was. The time to interview the girls separately had come, and she wasn't looking forward to that.
The doors behind her opened, admitting her partner for the day into the room: Velocity. She got along with him thanks to his military training and her experience in war-zones meshing well. He looked very winded, which raised a few questions when coupled with how late the Mover was. "What happened?" Her tone was curious, but only mostly curious. He must have pushed his power hard, but he would have radioed in if there was real trouble.
"New...cape," he said between breaths.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Not Ghostfreak," she stated.
He took one last deep breath then stood straight, though his sweat under his skintight suit both betrayed him and encouraged her to keep her eyes locked on his face. Flawless memory had its disadvantages. "No, but they were a Case 53. They looked like a human sized black and blue velociraptor, but I couldn't get a much better look than that."
"Why not?"
Even standing in a pseudo attention stance, his fidgeting betrayed his nervousness. "The cape...was too fast."
That came as a shock to Miss Militia, her empowered weapon even responding by shifting from a bowei knife to an assault rifle, a high caliber rifle, a Desert Eagle, a machete, the back to the knife. To human perception speeds, it would just been an erratic cloud of black and green energy flitting around her body for a second. She was more focused on how Brocton Bay's fastest mover was beaten at his own game. His exhaustion made more sense with that in mind. His power put his body and mind in an accelerated state, but it made it harder for him to influence the world around him. At his top speed of 400 mph, his spandex suit was more like wearing 300 pounds of restrictive bands, which is why he stuck with a 170 cruising speed. Even so, he should have been able to track something moving at his top speed. Two new Case 53s in the same city wasn't unheard of. Two new powerful Case 53s would turn some heads. One of them being human Master was a massive headache. People with an inhuman appearance, amnesia, and super powers were always a recipe for disaster. It was fortunate that they've had a minimum presence. Hopefully they can be recruited before Faultline's crew finds them. Either way, Director Piggot was in for a headache. At least it was calm for the moment.
As if to defy her thought, the doors were slammed open by a Caucasian couple. "Where's our daughter?!" yelled the man. They zeroed in on the two capes and stomped over. "This is your fault! Honestly, that girl's cape obsession is only trumped by that goth phase of hers! Do you have anything to say for yourselves?!"
Her brain went into hyper drive, and she had the perfect answer in a single blink. "I'm sorry sir, but your daughter has had an encounter with a previously unknown Master/Stranger cape. We will need to hold her for a minimum 24 hour period to insure that she is free of lasting influence."
The man went red in the face and was about to resume yelling before his wife's hand on his shoulder gave him pause. "Of course. Perhaps this experience will teach her what is really wrong with the world these days." Miss Militia recognized the comment for what it was, but suppressed any reaction. Either way, it pacified her husband, making the heroine more than happy to accept the barb.
The man straightened, displaying as much presence as possible. "Of course. We will return tomorrow, so we can put this whole debacle behind us."
She doubted that it'd be close to that easy, especially if they act the same way as they just did. Hopefully she bought enough time to prepare them properly. Once the couple left, she got an eyeful of Velocity's knowing smirk. "That was good work."
She smiled back at him, the corner of her eyes crinkling as they always did. "I was just following protocol." At the end of the day, that's why the rules existed: to protect people.
Time: Friday Dec. 31st, 1:20 PM.
Location: Social Security Office
While still back at the library, he learned that his transformations lasted for around thirty minutes, but he doubted that this was set in stone. He learned a lot during his time on the internet, but the most important thing to him at the moment was learning that this Earth had actually made contact with an alternative version of itself. The other Earth, Earth Aleph, was almost exactly like his own home discounting the obvious difference. This coupled with the date became a conundrum. There was a non-zero possibility that a version of himself had been born on Earth Bet who would be in his twenties. Since there wasn't a possible way for a person to travel between dimensions, he needed a new identity, hence his current location.
He knew nothing about illicit identities and wasn't comfortable with the idea, so that meant he needed a backstory for a fifteen-year-old popping up from out of nowhere. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on perspective, The Slaughterhouse Nine provided the best keystone to build his story around. After that decision, he eventually developed the idea of isolationist parents who formed a agreement with an Amish settlement. They were visiting when The Nine found the place. Some of the pictures he found online still made his blood run cold just thinking about it. Those people were actually alive through that bloody flesh. Not even The Joker was that f-d up.
He shook his head to clear out his distracted thoughts and finally managed to get his hands on the paperwork he needed. Due to being a minor, hurrah for puberty, and the effectiveness of his back story, he was only required to give his name, date of birth, and his parents' name. The DOB was easy, but he'd already determined that another Ethan Blake with his face could be out there. He was not good with names, but the Omnitrix gave him the perfect idea. If he has the powers, if he was going to be the hero, he might as well take the name; so it was with a smile that he wrote down, Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Honestly, with his brown hair, dark green eyes, good looking face, and green clothes; he practically looked like him.
After forging some fake parental names, he returned to the person who gave him the papers and returned them. The motherly clerk took them with a smile. "Thank you. Now I took the liberty of contacting Social Services, and after hearing your story, they've agreed to send a representative over as soon as they can. You'll be set up in a loving home in no time."
"Wow, you make me feel like a puppy, but I guess any family is better than no family." That came out with a lot more angst than he expected, but it fit in well. The lady gave him a confused frown while he went to sit down and wait for the representative to show. When she did, Ben wasted no time joining her in her car. "So, do you know how long this will take?"
She buckled in and started the car. "Well, your in luck. We have a potential foster home already lined up. If the interview with the Clements goes well, you'll have you're own bed by New Years. I even heard that they have a teenage daughter."
That was a surprising fact for him. The idea painted a few pictures, some good and some bad. "Well, let's hope my luck holds out. I've always wanted a little sister." She gave him a strange and amused glance but said nothing of it. It was time to start his new life.
And here's chapter two. No random changes yet, but it's only a mater of time. Review and discuss to your hearts content.
Time: Friday Dec. 31st, 10:00 AM.
Location: Shantytown abandoned warehouse ABB
Had he actually needed to breathe, Ghostfreak would have been hyperventilating from the flood of adrenaline that his human body would have been producing in spades. Instead he floated over the comatose man figuratively and questionably dead to the world around him. In a fit of justified rage, he viciously terrified and injured five of the worst kind of criminals. They likely deserved what they got, but it wasn't something he ever expected to do before that very morning. He never expected to be able to turn into Ghostfreak either, but the former was considerably more important to him for the moment. He was sure he didn't kill anyone, but he could have at any point.
As Ghostfreak stared at his claws glowing with underutilized spectral energy, a high pitched gasp drew his attention back to the room where the reasons he did what he did were contained. Three of them were staring at him in horror tinged with a hint of uncertainty. The fourth was the Caucasian girl he couldn't get a good look at before whose eye showed uncertain awe, the other eye being swollen shut. He was able to make out remnants of thick black makeup around her lips and eyes. "Are...you a cape, or a ghost?"
After a moment of surprise, he chuckled at her question. "My kind prefer the term, Ectonurite." What uncertainty showed in her eyes faded away as the light of curiosity began to shine through, becoming laughably obvious in the gloom. He managed to hold up a glowing palm just in time to forestall any further questions. "Let me bring you to some light. I understand that humans don't fare as well in the dark as we do." Ghostfreak hovered away from the room, claws still glowing to give them a guiding light. He didn't get far before a fearful gasp drew his attention back to the barely decent girl, who was panicking at the sight of the unconscious man lying at her feet. The glow in his claws flared, pulling her off her feet and straight to him. "If he ever wants to touch you again, he'll have to go through me!"
After putting her down, she suddenly dove forward and wrapped her arms around his torso. He looked down at her in confusion, then back up to see the one she was formerly hugging glaring at him with a complex web of emotions on her face. "What are you going to do to us?"
Ghostfreak gently lifted the girl by the thighs and looked back at the older girl, making her flinch. "I'm going to contact your law enforcement, ensure your safety, then leave them to handle the rest. Now follow me or I'll make you follow." He turned down the hall but put his eye on his back to make sure none were left behind. Once they reached the same outer room were Ghostfreak dealt with three of the crooks, he tried to set the crying girl down, but she was having none of that. With a put upon sigh, he focused his attention back on the eldest. "Hold her till I return." He phased through her arms and used his telekinesis to grab the unconscious perp and carried him to the locked room, paying no heed to minor obstacles like solid walls.
He continued gathering the criminals until all five were safely under lock and key, while making sure to grab a phone to call 911. "This is the Brocton Bay Police Department, what is the nature of your emergency?" said a young woman with a level tone.
"Hello," he could practically hear the disturbed reaction to his voice, "I have five criminals and four victims here," he hissed out.
"I...uh. Are you a cape sir? Can you tell me your name and location."
And there was that term again. Coming from an Earth were superheroes existed only in stories, the reoccurring use of a word that could only be slang for superheroes was very concerning. "It's Ghostfreak, and I expected you to track this phone."
He could practically feel the awkward confusion the lady was giving off from his end of the line. "Sir, you should know that we aren't allowed to work with villains."
"Well it's a good thing that I'm a hero then," he snapped back at her with a level tone. "Now, do you still want that address?"
"I...yes sir."
"Then hold for a second." Having returned to the room holding the girls, he placed the phone on a tall crate and reached inside his self. He found it quickly and pulled, causing skin to explode from his chest and reform his protective layer while also making the rescued girls gasp. He sent his eye to look them over while flying outside with the phone in hand he grumbled at the back alleyway a bit before taking a direct route to the street corner nearest to the building's front. "Everyone is in the back of the largest warehouse at the corner of Marina Avenue and Bay Street. Is that all?"
"We'd like to confirm the condition of the victims. Either way, a PRT and Protectorate response are on their way."
And there was another set of unfamiliar terms. He was never good with anagrams, but he was sure that there weren't any police groups by the former name. Protectorate sounded more in line with superhero naming conventions. He decided to shelve that line of thinking as he returned to the lit storage room. The youngest had separated from the group and looked to have found the smartphone that the fifth thug had. The other three were huddled together well away from where they were imprisoned.
He floated over to them and handed the phone to the girl who had proven to have the strongest constitution. "They want to talk to one of you."
She shushed him harshly. "Hey, can't you see that she's sleeping." She glared at him, then at the phone, then back at him. "Can you take her without waking her up?"
Ghostfreak rolled his eye at her, which consisted of his eye moving around his head. "You aren't afraid of me," he stated plainly.
"Because compared to before, you're practically Casper now." Ghostfreak narrowed his eye at her then sent out a group of tentacles to cradle the sleeping girl. The other girl visibly restrained her reaction to a shudder. "Fucking freaky ghost cape." She took the phone from his hand and announced herself to whoever was at the other end as he chuckled at her reaction and tried to shape his self into a more comfortable pillow, requiring a tentacle for the best shape. "His name's Ghostfreak," she deadpanned suddenly, making him chuckle. "Oh, it fits alright."
The phone conversation continued from there. She answered a few questions about their well being before being pulled into a long conversation about what he was capable of and looked like. It didn't bother him so long as they didn't know about his weakness. The monotony was broken by the sound like a camera shutter from behind him. His eye moved until spotting the Asian girl using the thug's phone to take pictures of him. "What are you doing?"
She flinched at his tone but was otherwise unaffected. "I'm posting on PHO. I'm sorry...I'm supposed to ask permission first."
"Go ahead." Being in the public eye didn't bother him either. It may make him less scary in the future, but Ghostfreak was plenty capable without fear tactics. If nothing else, he had nine other options. Time passed as he kept his eye on the girls, including the one acting as a nonentity. The youngest tried to ask questions, only to get shushed into silence. It only took another minute before they could hear sirens in the distance, followed by a warning tone coming from the symbol on his chest. "Well, time to go." He set the girl down, who stirred from the movement. He then turned invisible and flew to the front, wanting to make sure that law enforcement was there despite the risk of changing back in plain view. What he found was a group of armored men in well armed vans. The most distinct individuals was an olive skinned woman wearing military fatigues and an American flag as a scarf with a Caucasian man wearing red spandex with racing stripes around his arms, legs, and forming a V over his chest. He was curious about what they were talking about, but he didn't know how much time his transformation had left. He quickly found somewhere close enough to populated zones to reach quickly while still being hidden. He finally changed back in a hidden corner and just sat to ponder his day. He stroked his chin and froze at being hit with another surprise. "What the fuck happened to my awesome beard?!"
Time: Friday, Dec 31st, 10:26 AM.
Location: Downtown Appartments E88
It took close to ten minutes before the Omnitrix signaled that it was ready for use again. Most of that time had been spent thinking about the past hour, and what an eventful hour it was. The rest of his time was spent asking where the nearest library was. Everyone he asked only seemed to know about Brocton Bay Central Library, but it was one middle-aged woman's stray comment that was the real kicker. "And why is a kid looking for a library during winter vacation. Shouldn't you be enjoying your time away from school." He knew he always had a young face, but even shaved, he should have passed for a college-aged teen. Some details like a lack of hair were it should be and a speckling of acne over his right temple were painting a very uncomfortable picture. He wanted to find a mirror, but a library was higher up his priority list. It was fortunate that libraries were nearly certain to have decent bathrooms. That left the question of how to get there. One generous individual gave him some bus money when he thought to consider how he would reach the library, but the Omnitrix wielder hesitated to use up any of it. Fortunately, he had better options. After diving into a readily available abandoned alley, and dialed in his choice. He wanted speed and to learn the lay of the land, the later of which was easier for him to do not with a map, but by traversing the area personally. "Time to XLR8."
Votes: 20; 4; 10; 22
1/5 Roll=5 - Success
Partway through the transformation, XLR8's perceptions of time increased dramatically. He tried to process it at nearly forty times the speed of a normal human, but it still ended in a subjective two seconds. What he felt then was a near overwhelming need to move, to never stop. There was a big city to explore, and an unknown limit of time to do so. So he ran.
His first goal was the area were he encountered the rapists/kidnappers. That area, along with a good portion of the southeastern coast was covered in tags that were a stylized ABB made from red and green paint. Sometimes they covered a stylized M that lacked a color theme. In any direction away from this other than northwest, he saw tags of a stylized E88 using black and red paint. The most disconcerting part was that the two 8's reminded him of the Nazi swastika. The area he woke up in originally was an area with mostly apartment complexes and a large privately own hospital. The southern-central area of the city appeared to be the downtown area where most of the government buildings, non-distinct companies, a boardwalk type area near the coast, and of course the city's library. He went further west to find the rich people areas and parks and looped around north of the downtown area to find a middle-low class residential area with mostly two-story homes. Once he returned to the shore, in what looked like a dock area, he started seeing the ABB marks again with much fewer E88 marks forming a border. The further north he went form there, the more rundown it was with an increasing amount of M tags. Clearly the group that made them didn't have much in the way of standards. The most interesting thing of all was the oil rig out in the bay that was surrounded by some kind of energy bubble. He'll save that visit for Ripjaws.
Even while moving at subsonic speeds, it took a lot of time to explore what he did. With no idea of what kind of time-limit he had to deal with, he made a beeline for the downtown area. Up to that point, no one who saw XLR8 could perceive him long enough to consider him any more than a figment of their imaginations. That changed when his gaze met that of a red suited man moving around at super speeds. It was the same hero that showed up for the warehouse rescue. XLR8 considered escaping, but he felt a compulsive desire to compare speed with his fellow speedster. He closed the distance at nearly his top speed then began circling him for observation. The superhero looked to be fairly tired and pushing hard to keep up. He was also trying to hail him. XLR8 considered complying, but the Omnitrix gave out a warning tone. With some resignation, he dove into an alley and circled around to check if the slower speedster followed before running off to the library. He found a secluded spot nearby and touched the dial, reverting to human form.
After a moment of consideration, he looked at his watch which said 11:07. He wanted to use the time to figure out how long his transformations last, only to face palm when he realized that he didn't check to see what the time was when he transformed. Believing that he reached his quota of derp for the day, he left the alley and zeroed onto his ultimate target.
Once he entered the building, the scent of books carried on artificially warmed air hit him head on. He glanced at the librarian, who was a middle aged man, and tilted his head at the slight deviation from typical expectations. He dismissed the thought while looking around for the best source of information. His gaze zeroed in on a line of computers that seemed to ask that users limit themselves to thirty minutes. He doubted that mattered with no one else there.
Date, Geography, recent events, major heroes, major villains, and important history: he had a lot to learn and something told him that he needed to learn it quickly. He needed some brain power, or more accurately, the ability to process and assimilate lots of information quickly. He had little doubt that Grey Matter could handle it, but he'd be limited by the speed of his eyes and the hardware. It was good that one alien lacked that limitation.
With his plan in place, he went into the bathroom while being mindful of the cameras. Once inside, he considered how he was going to get back out as Upgrade without being connected to to the person that just went in. Before coming to a decision, the mirror caught his eye and reminded him of his secondary goal. With trepidation, he walked over to it and gazed into his reflection. It was not the face of someone who could be in his mid-twenties. It was the face of someone who could pass for a pre-teen if not for the stringy hair on his chin and lips. The upper end was fifteen or sixteen, and he felt compelled to think that it was the former. He stood transfixed upon his visage until the air conditioning cut on, startling him. It also gave him an idea that was obvious in hindsight. "Okay...I've got bigger fish to fry. Time for an Upgrade."
Votes: 21; 5; 9; 27
1/5 Roll=5 - Success
Upgrade took a look at the mirror and felt satisfaction at another successful change and his appearance not having the Omnitrix for an eye. This was followed by a face palm after forgetting to time his transformation, and another for forgetting that the computer clock would do the job. Once done beating himself up, he stretched for the vent and began to ooze into the vents and tried his best to remind his self that cobwebs and bugs weren't a problem for his nano-mechanical body. Once he passed through a fan, his original plan of dropping from the ceiling got killed by lightning. Why do that when he could ride the electrical wiring right into the back of a computer with none the wiser. It took a few tries, but he managed to find one of the public computers and plan a route between it and the fan. He finally settled in, turned the laptop quality desktop into a supercomputer, then began his research.
Time: Friday Dec. 31st, 11:25 AM.
Location: PRT HQ
When Miss Militia got called out for a morning encounter involving a new cape, she wasn't expecting it to be so emotionally draining. The victims were in a horrific state, mentally speaking. Kendra, the oldest among them, put up a good front, but she couldn't forget the pain and fear that were in her eyes. She couldn't forget anything after all, but that was another issue altogether. It was likely that the moment that the other girls couldn't see her do it, she'll crack.
Sandra had drawn herself in, becoming a shell of a person. It may take her days to come to terms with what happened. Amber had clearly suffered the worst of it. If her bruises didn't make it obvious, the way she shied away from men even more than the others did. Beyond that, she was practically starved of positive human contact, which Kendra provided readily. As for May, she was really lucky that she was Asian. Kendra seemed glad for this, but Sandra seemed to resent May's mostly intact innocence. Lastly was the perpetrators of their suffering. Their injuries weren't too bad, just fractured bones and minor to moderate concussions. It was how terrified they were that was really telling on what kind of cape this Ghostfreak was. The time to interview the girls separately had come, and she wasn't looking forward to that.
The doors behind her opened, admitting her partner for the day into the room: Velocity. She got along with him thanks to his military training and her experience in war-zones meshing well. He looked very winded, which raised a few questions when coupled with how late the Mover was. "What happened?" Her tone was curious, but only mostly curious. He must have pushed his power hard, but he would have radioed in if there was real trouble.
"New...cape," he said between breaths.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Not Ghostfreak," she stated.
He took one last deep breath then stood straight, though his sweat under his skintight suit both betrayed him and encouraged her to keep her eyes locked on his face. Flawless memory had its disadvantages. "No, but they were a Case 53. They looked like a human sized black and blue velociraptor, but I couldn't get a much better look than that."
"Why not?"
Even standing in a pseudo attention stance, his fidgeting betrayed his nervousness. "The cape...was too fast."
That came as a shock to Miss Militia, her empowered weapon even responding by shifting from a bowei knife to an assault rifle, a high caliber rifle, a Desert Eagle, a machete, the back to the knife. To human perception speeds, it would just been an erratic cloud of black and green energy flitting around her body for a second. She was more focused on how Brocton Bay's fastest mover was beaten at his own game. His exhaustion made more sense with that in mind. His power put his body and mind in an accelerated state, but it made it harder for him to influence the world around him. At his top speed of 400 mph, his spandex suit was more like wearing 300 pounds of restrictive bands, which is why he stuck with a 170 cruising speed. Even so, he should have been able to track something moving at his top speed. Two new Case 53s in the same city wasn't unheard of. Two new powerful Case 53s would turn some heads. One of them being human Master was a massive headache. People with an inhuman appearance, amnesia, and super powers were always a recipe for disaster. It was fortunate that they've had a minimum presence. Hopefully they can be recruited before Faultline's crew finds them. Either way, Director Piggot was in for a headache. At least it was calm for the moment.
As if to defy her thought, the doors were slammed open by a Caucasian couple. "Where's our daughter?!" yelled the man. They zeroed in on the two capes and stomped over. "This is your fault! Honestly, that girl's cape obsession is only trumped by that goth phase of hers! Do you have anything to say for yourselves?!"
Her brain went into hyper drive, and she had the perfect answer in a single blink. "I'm sorry sir, but your daughter has had an encounter with a previously unknown Master/Stranger cape. We will need to hold her for a minimum 24 hour period to insure that she is free of lasting influence."
The man went red in the face and was about to resume yelling before his wife's hand on his shoulder gave him pause. "Of course. Perhaps this experience will teach her what is really wrong with the world these days." Miss Militia recognized the comment for what it was, but suppressed any reaction. Either way, it pacified her husband, making the heroine more than happy to accept the barb.
The man straightened, displaying as much presence as possible. "Of course. We will return tomorrow, so we can put this whole debacle behind us."
She doubted that it'd be close to that easy, especially if they act the same way as they just did. Hopefully she bought enough time to prepare them properly. Once the couple left, she got an eyeful of Velocity's knowing smirk. "That was good work."
She smiled back at him, the corner of her eyes crinkling as they always did. "I was just following protocol." At the end of the day, that's why the rules existed: to protect people.
Time: Friday Dec. 31st, 1:20 PM.
Location: Social Security Office
While still back at the library, he learned that his transformations lasted for around thirty minutes, but he doubted that this was set in stone. He learned a lot during his time on the internet, but the most important thing to him at the moment was learning that this Earth had actually made contact with an alternative version of itself. The other Earth, Earth Aleph, was almost exactly like his own home discounting the obvious difference. This coupled with the date became a conundrum. There was a non-zero possibility that a version of himself had been born on Earth Bet who would be in his twenties. Since there wasn't a possible way for a person to travel between dimensions, he needed a new identity, hence his current location.
He knew nothing about illicit identities and wasn't comfortable with the idea, so that meant he needed a backstory for a fifteen-year-old popping up from out of nowhere. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on perspective, The Slaughterhouse Nine provided the best keystone to build his story around. After that decision, he eventually developed the idea of isolationist parents who formed a agreement with an Amish settlement. They were visiting when The Nine found the place. Some of the pictures he found online still made his blood run cold just thinking about it. Those people were actually alive through that bloody flesh. Not even The Joker was that f-d up.
He shook his head to clear out his distracted thoughts and finally managed to get his hands on the paperwork he needed. Due to being a minor, hurrah for puberty, and the effectiveness of his back story, he was only required to give his name, date of birth, and his parents' name. The DOB was easy, but he'd already determined that another Ethan Blake with his face could be out there. He was not good with names, but the Omnitrix gave him the perfect idea. If he has the powers, if he was going to be the hero, he might as well take the name; so it was with a smile that he wrote down, Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Honestly, with his brown hair, dark green eyes, good looking face, and green clothes; he practically looked like him.
After forging some fake parental names, he returned to the person who gave him the papers and returned them. The motherly clerk took them with a smile. "Thank you. Now I took the liberty of contacting Social Services, and after hearing your story, they've agreed to send a representative over as soon as they can. You'll be set up in a loving home in no time."
"Wow, you make me feel like a puppy, but I guess any family is better than no family." That came out with a lot more angst than he expected, but it fit in well. The lady gave him a confused frown while he went to sit down and wait for the representative to show. When she did, Ben wasted no time joining her in her car. "So, do you know how long this will take?"
She buckled in and started the car. "Well, your in luck. We have a potential foster home already lined up. If the interview with the Clements goes well, you'll have you're own bed by New Years. I even heard that they have a teenage daughter."
That was a surprising fact for him. The idea painted a few pictures, some good and some bad. "Well, let's hope my luck holds out. I've always wanted a little sister." She gave him a strange and amused glance but said nothing of it. It was time to start his new life.
And here's chapter two. No random changes yet, but it's only a mater of time. Review and discuss to your hearts content.
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- Location
- Philippines
... Madison clement if she's not in highschool here or just starting highschool then he has 20/100 chance on making her not a B's underling though depends if she like accept him enough to be her big brother and how much she want to be in the popular crowd ...
- Location
- Louisiana
This story starts three days before Taylor's trigger. That ship has sailed.
- Location
- Louisiana
I'd say it's both a quest and normal fiction. There is a vote constantly available in the poll at the top. Everyone can change their vote of the chance of failure at any time, giving you guys constant control. In a way, this story is a reversal of normal quest formula. Instead of me providing the options and the readers deciding were to go from there, you guys control what the MC's level of control and options will be and I have to decide what to do.
I've always felt that the normal quest format was superficial as far as stories go. There will be chapters in the future where I can't decide what to do next and I might leverage voting if I get stuck behind a block, but this story is mostly self-sufficient. The main reason being is that I really wanted to try my hand at a SI, which means that the MC must have my decision making processes as well. All that said, I am more that open to ideas for things you guys want to see.
The Stormbringer
Worm Fanfic & Crack Connoisseur
- Location
- Spaaaaace~!
I'm definitely enjoying it so far.
1-3 Genesis
- Location
- Louisiana
I did some math and found the conditions for unlocking aliens far too strict, and the problem was with the middle roll. I've decided to get rid of it. Even without, it is very unlikely for every alien to be unlocked, which was one reason for having it in the first place. This change is in place for this chapter.
I will still use the roster system, limiting the MC's choices to 10 aliens of your choosing. Additionally, random rolls will be from 1-80, with the last 10 applying to the active roster. This way, the active aliens still will have an increased chance of being chosen randomly. Let's have fun everyone.
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 1:56 PM.
Location: Downtown
Mathew Clements and Patricia Clements drove into the downtown area with a cloud of hesitation so thick, one could perceive it from across the street if they had a sense for such things. They were wondering what they were thinking when they signed up for the foster system a year ago. They've heard the tales about how foster homes were often not much better than what put them in the system in the first place, but those stories failed to mention that the foster children weren't much better. Everyone they met had given the feeling of a cornered animal ready to lash out at the slightest provocation. Even then, they had yet to remove themselves from the registry in hopes that someone could be helped; so when they were contacted about a mild mannered orphan, they jumped at the opportunity so fast that they failed to register that the orphan was a teenage boy by time they were on their way. They did say that they would interview him, and it felt wrong not to do at least that much.
It was nearly time for the 2 pm. meeting by the time they arrived. It only took a short conversation with the front desk secretary before they were ushered into a back room where they saw a single middle aged woman. This was the first step in the interview process, where the case worker gave her impressions of the child. It was the same, but different. Usually there was some kind of underlying tension, but there wasn't any.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Clements, I'm Miss Cremshaw."
They knew that already. It was just another part of the pattern by that point. Still, she was more chipper than usual, something Mathew felt compelled to point out. "Hello Miss Cremshaw. You seem to be in a good mood."
"Yes. I think we can attribute that to young Mr. Tennyson. I haven't had much time with him, this being a rush case as I'm sure you've been told, but he has been very cooperative once I figured out how to leverage my questions. With most kids, they simply refuse to answer anything about themselves. For Benjamin, it's more like he's trying to figure out how to answer the question. If he takes too long to answer, it will be a bit peculiar. Watch out if he says what pops into his head too. Those tend to be the real kickers."
"Really?" asked Patricia
"Yes, which reminds me of an example I think you should hear. Right after I picked him up, I implied that he was lucky that you had a daughter at his age, his first response was that he always wanted a little sister. I tried bringing it up again not long ago, and I got scolded for it. Let me tell you, you don't know surreal until you've made a career out of dealing with troubled teens then get scolded by one for misbehavior." The Clements couldn't help but laugh, Patricia even more so since she was on the verge of scolding the professional herself. "Come on. Let's meet the man of the hour."
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 2:08 PM.
Location: Social Services Office
Ben sat staring at his Omnitrix while waiting to get called in for his interview with his potential foster parents. He was nervous about the encounter, but there was nothing he could do to really prepare. The tightness in his chest loosened when the buzzer signaled the end of his stewing period. He stood and followed the recently memorized path to Miss Cremshaw's office. The two who must have been the Clements family sans daughter sat at the front. It must have been a case of likes attracting since they were both petite individuals with dark hair and young faces. The man looked to be around 5'7" and his wife was around 5'1" tall. He easily ignored how cute the mother was and decided to break the ice. "Hi. You guys look a lot nicer than I expected."
They blinked at him before turning their attention back on Cremshaw, who seemed to have an 'I told you so' expression. He dismissed it and took the empty seat. What followed was a short awkward silence that Ben tried to break through again. "What kind of home do you have?"
From there, they described their home, which was from the western area of the suburbs north from downtown. It was a three bedroom and two bathroom where he'd have to share with a teenage girl, and wasn't that a joyful thought. He learned that they were the type to provide school lunches and were planning to see fireworks later that night.
That led to him asking if he could join followed by what kind of lifestyle he was used to. It was a surprise to them that he demonstrated a willingness to eat no more than eggs, rice, and assorted vegetables everyday. They were less surprised by him stating his dislike for hand washing dishes despite a willingness to do it. All together, what he told them summed up to him wanting to be as little of a burden as possible. At the end of it, he sighed deeply and gave a hard look at no one in particular. "I don't really think this is a good way to make a decision like this. Wouldn't we need to spend some real time together first."
"That's actually the next step Mr. Tennyson. This is us deciding if we want to go that far."
"Oh," he said with understanding. "This is the sales pitch. Next is the test drive."
Miss Cremshaw shook her head at that. "Mr. Tennyson, is that how you see this?"
"It seemed like the right metaphor, and...I've upset you, didn't I?" He deflated just before adding in that last part.
The caseworker sighed then shook her head with a smile. "It's okay, but it sounds like you're belittling yourself."
"Ah, I just thought it fit."
She shook her head at him. "As Mr. Tennyson explained to me earlier, it's very uncommon for him to have negative intentions behind his words. If you get in the habit of asking if he says something unusual, you shouldn't have any more trouble with him than your own daughter; less if his desire to be semi-independent is genuine."
"Not to mention that I've heard the stories saying that boys are easier."
That got a chuckle from Mr. Clements. "I won't deny that Madison has been the occasional handful, but that's not what we're worried about."
Ben narrowed his eyes and stared at them motionlessly. "Family is sacred to me. I just lost one. I'm not going to ruin another."
The two shared a glance between another before Mrs. Clements spoke up. "Honey, I think we should give him a chance."
He took one look at Ben's much more attentive expression then nodded back at her. "Okay. One chance."
"One's all I need sir."
"Excellent. We will need to deal with some paperwork plus extra. Mr Tennyson doesn't have anything, so we will need to deal with some extra paperwork. It's just so we can reimburse you for certain necessities that he would have normally had he been with us longer, up to a certain cap of course."
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 2:30 PM.
Location: PRT HQ
The new year was just around the corner, and it already looked like the parahuman scene was looking to kick things off with a bang for Brocton Bay. Director Emily Piggot had to haul her overweight ass over for a precautionary dialysis session when she heard that there was a new Master classed Case 53 in town. She praised her own foresight when the report of another Case 53 came in courtesy of Velocity. The most fortunate part of the situation was that there were firsthand accounts of what the capes were capable of, which hopefully would include a weakness. Even if they weren't villains, it always paid to be prepared. That was why she and Armsmaster were with Velocity and Miss Militia. "I think we should start with the least worrisome...Velocity." There was no questioning in her sharp tone.
"I gave some thought to cape we've code-named Velociraptor, and I believe from how they ran that their power ratings are the same as mine...but higher. I'm thinking Mover 6, Thinker 3, and Breaker. I hesitate to give a rating to their Breaker power until we know how it plays into their speed."
So he gave Velociraptor an additional two in Mover and another in Thinker. It was either a blow to his pride, or because of it. Emily didn't care which. "Is that all?" All she got for an answer was an embarrassing display of sheepishness. "You must have something more. Personality, what they were up to? I'd settle for where their tattoo is."
He shook his head disappointingly. "I didn't see a tattoo. The only distinct thing I saw was a green shape." She noticed Miss Militia perk up a bit. "It really stood out because I'm sure I saw it turn orange just before they escaped."
That was different, and Emily suspected Miss Militia knew why it may be important. "Does that sound familiar to anyone?"
Miss Militia immediately chimed in. "When I questioned the girls that were rescued this morning, they were all consistent on saying that the only symbol they remember seeing was a glowing green hourglass set on disk that Ghostfreak wore on his chest. All of them but Amber agreed that the symbol beeped and turned orange just before Ghostfreak decided to leave them."
"No." All of their eyes snapped towards Velocity. "The sound, it was more like a buzzer, like what you'd hear from an alarm clock."
And that sounded like they were getting somewhere. "That implies a connection between the two," Armsmaster concluded.
"Get the recordings from the cameras you've placed around the city. I want visual confirmation on this symbol. See if you caught what they were up to." He nodded. "Now, Ghostfreak. I want his ratings, description, personality, and explanations."
"Ghostfreak is a Master 6, Stranger 5, Breaker 5, Striker 3, Mover 2, Changer 2, and a possible Brute. His Changer power gives him two appearances, three if the mentions of black mist by the ABB members are true. The form that we have pictures of show him resembling the typical concept of a featureless ghost with two arms, four-fingered hands, greenish gray skin, and a crisscrossing series of breaks in his skin that his one green eye can move along. Wisps of his skin hang from his tail and fingertips. His second form has gray skin, a one eyed skull, some exposed bones at his ribs and tail, bone claws that were responsible for stabbing through an active fuse-box, and bony spines along his...spine. He can switch between forms either by tearing off his outer skin or regrowing it from his stomach. In either form, he can project at least four black and white tentacles that can support at least 70 pounds each."
Miss Militia paused to give everyone else a chance to process everything she said. A sharp breath from Armsmaster drew attention to him. "You may be right about a low brute assessment. I suspect that those tentacles are stronger than we've seen. I recommend a tentative Brute 2 rating."
And with that, Ghostfreak had a rating in over half the classifications. It was the sort of thing usually only seen in power generating Trumps. Emily was already hating the direction the power assessment was going. "So far, I believe that Ghostfreak has the potential to be kind or cruel. After subduing the ABB members, he took the time to ensure that the victims would feel safe in spite of his appearance."
"Did he use his Master power on them?" Piggot interjected.
"I doubt it. A...testimony from Amber's parents stated that she had an attraction to cape and goth culture. All of the victims agree that she made the first move toward trusting him. In general, they described him as nice, firm, but creepy. The example of his cruelty comes from how excessively he dealt with the ABB. Not one of them had severe injuries, but they all woke up in a panic and had signs of extreme stress. Ghostfreak set out to deal as much psychological damage as he could when he could have disabled them quickly and cleanly. By leveraging his Breaker state into a Striker power, he can stab someone's head and incapacitate them with only a temporary concussion to show for it."
Emily wanted to ask how she came to that conclusion, but she'd already wasted enough time on wanting explanations. "Tell me about his Master, Stranger, and Breaker powers and any weaknesses."
The military styled cape nodded back. "Ghostfreak's major powers seem to follow the ghost motif: invisibility, intangibility, and possession. Ghostfreak can only Master one person at a time which would be less threatening if he weren't inside the person he's Mastering. It's unlikely that thermal imaging will see through his invisibility as he is endothermic. His intangibility does is not Manton Limited, but there are no signs that he can turn fully tangible while inside anyone. He also lacks Shadow Stalker's inability to handle electricity or thick walls. Unless some miracle weakness comes to light, I don't know how we could fight him directly, especially if he can maintain his major powers indefinitely. We need more information."
Emily sighed. "Its true that I'd like more, but we have more than we could expect from a cape's only appearance. I'd want a detailed report on why you think he has that he does. Back on the subject of this green hourglass, I doubt that this is the last we've seen of it. These are my orders: find out whatever you can about this symbol and just how many capes are a member of this team. Do not let it escalate into a fight unless any of these capes display obviously criminal behavior."
"Yes mam!" came the chorus of acceptance from the three capes.
"We need to have a strong presence for the New Years celebrations. Make sure everyone is on the lookout for trouble and these Case 53s. Dismissed!"
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 3:56 PM.
Location: Clements Household
Ben had forgotten how time consuming shopping for clothes was, especially when you didn't have any to start with. It didn't help that he had his own preferences that were notably picky for any male. He eventually settled upon just over a dozen shirts that were black/white, green/black, and all three colors. He got six pairs of denim pants, three black and three dark blue. After getting some lazy stay-at-home clothes, the essential toiletries, and a houswarming gift of a cheep mini laptop, they started heading for what may be his new home.
The eggshell white building followed the New England style of covering little ground space, with the public rooms at the ground floor and bedrooms at the top floor. With as many bags as he could carry, Ben made his way up the stairs and ended up taking a long look at door decorated with feminine demands for privacy. He 'noped' himself away and turned his focus upon the opposite door. Just like with the front door, he worked himself into position and revealed a decent sized room with a bed, dresser, and closet. Beyond that, the room was completely empty of all but the most bare amount of decoration, giving it the impression of a guest room that they actually used enough to warrant not being turned into storage. He put everything in its inevitable place.
Once done making himself at home, he went downstairs to ask where his little sister was. Turned out that the moment she was alone in the house, she decided that she wanted to hang out with her friends. When he asked if they told her about him, he learned that she only knew to expect a big surprise when she gets home. Ben sighed loudly and glared at them. "Great. Now she thinks that you got her a car or something."
They looked at him in wide eyed shock until Mathew's face shifted into a grimice and Patricia's became more doubtful. "Surely she won't think something like that. She's 15, and Christmas was just a week ago."
"Which means that she's old enough get a learner's permit, and it could be a late present," chimed in Mathew. A few seconds passed during where she mirrored her husband's former expressions.
"She might not think it's a car, but she's expecting something really good." Following the logical path of his words, the obvious solution came to his mind. "You have to tell her about me, or at least warn her that she might not like the big surprise."
"Yeah. That may be a good idea son."
Ben's heart skipped a beat at Mathew's choice in words, and couldn't decide if it was a slip of the tongue or shorthand for sonny-boy. "I...I-I'll go upstairs. Call me down when she's home." He literally leaped up the stairs, two at a time, entered his newly acquired private space, locked the door and crashed onto the bed. He then spent a minute or so fixated upon the 'watch' on his wrist with his mind wandering. The shopping trip truely hammard home the fact that he was on an alien world. Most of the brands and products that he preferred to use for himself were nonexistent, and the ones that did exist didn't have the particular varieties he liked. He didn't have his clothes, his home, his computer, or his family. Not even his face and body were like he last remembered. The only familiar thing of his in the entire world came from a TV series.
He breathed deeply for another few minutes before deciding that it was time to make use of the real reason he wanted such a small computer. It may not have been much, but the cheep construction and electronics were just the kinds of traits that were perfect for Greymatter to tinker around with. He hadn't changed for hours, a was itching to experience another alien form. "I've got nothing," he said before pressing in his choice.
Votes: 23; 7; 12; 41
1/5 Roll=3 - Success
After the near instant transformation, his perspective had changed entirely. Everything was larger, and he was on the floor. The galvan sighed before jumping as hard as he could, only to quickly learn that wasn't a good idea. It was only by sheer luck that he managed to grab onto the sheets before falling off the edge. "Note to self: galvans jump good." He walked over to the computer and looked it over with his genius intellect. "And I have no idea what I'm doing. Welp, time to void the warranty." With a precise application of leverage and what strength his five inch tall body could muster, he tore off the laptop's cheap casing. Only when he could see the laptop's inner workings did he understand how it operated, and it was a piece of crap. Just with the materials inside the computer, he could make something at least thirty times better. Unfortunately, his human self had neglected to collect any materials or tools for the work he had planed on doing. He couldn't do anything about the former, but the later issue was easily solved by finding a few stray bobby pins. He then began planning out what he would do, and realized that he didn't have enough time for the rewiring and the subsequent coding. He needed to extended his transformation. With his vastly improved memory, he realized that he could do that. "Omnitrix, command code 1-0-1-0, Tennyson, Benjamin. Engage life form lock." He tapped the symbol on his back, making it beep. He tapped it again with the intent of turning human, to no effect. "Now we're in business."
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 5:13 PM.
Location: Docks/Boardwalk border
"Hey, buddy...how are things on your end?" asked a strong baritone voice.
"Going pretty good friend of mine," responded a more nasely voice.
"Nothing will explode on us, will it?"
"I double checked, triple checked, then quadruple checked everything. It's all pretty low tech, so we should be good even if pops like a zit."
"Dude...gross."
"Not as gross as those burritos last night."
"Yeah. I might just cook something to get that taste out of my mouth."
"Dude, really?!" the scrawny young man exclaimed.
"Get back to tinkering," his statuesque friend snapped back good naturedly. "We'll get ready then think about food."
"Sounds like a plan, but I think I'm done. Brocton Bay is in for a New Years event they won't soon forget."
And that marks the end of another chapter. I was honestly scared of getting a random roll this chapter. Imaging if (rolls 1/80)...well, Jetray wouldn't have been too bad. I was just scared of destroying their home. The MC doesn't know about the randomness yet after all. I also have a vote for you guys.
What should be the video game theme next chapter. In needs to have elements that can resemble fireworks.
[X]Write in
My vote: Missile Command
I will still use the roster system, limiting the MC's choices to 10 aliens of your choosing. Additionally, random rolls will be from 1-80, with the last 10 applying to the active roster. This way, the active aliens still will have an increased chance of being chosen randomly. Let's have fun everyone.
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 1:56 PM.
Location: Downtown
Mathew Clements and Patricia Clements drove into the downtown area with a cloud of hesitation so thick, one could perceive it from across the street if they had a sense for such things. They were wondering what they were thinking when they signed up for the foster system a year ago. They've heard the tales about how foster homes were often not much better than what put them in the system in the first place, but those stories failed to mention that the foster children weren't much better. Everyone they met had given the feeling of a cornered animal ready to lash out at the slightest provocation. Even then, they had yet to remove themselves from the registry in hopes that someone could be helped; so when they were contacted about a mild mannered orphan, they jumped at the opportunity so fast that they failed to register that the orphan was a teenage boy by time they were on their way. They did say that they would interview him, and it felt wrong not to do at least that much.
It was nearly time for the 2 pm. meeting by the time they arrived. It only took a short conversation with the front desk secretary before they were ushered into a back room where they saw a single middle aged woman. This was the first step in the interview process, where the case worker gave her impressions of the child. It was the same, but different. Usually there was some kind of underlying tension, but there wasn't any.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Clements, I'm Miss Cremshaw."
They knew that already. It was just another part of the pattern by that point. Still, she was more chipper than usual, something Mathew felt compelled to point out. "Hello Miss Cremshaw. You seem to be in a good mood."
"Yes. I think we can attribute that to young Mr. Tennyson. I haven't had much time with him, this being a rush case as I'm sure you've been told, but he has been very cooperative once I figured out how to leverage my questions. With most kids, they simply refuse to answer anything about themselves. For Benjamin, it's more like he's trying to figure out how to answer the question. If he takes too long to answer, it will be a bit peculiar. Watch out if he says what pops into his head too. Those tend to be the real kickers."
"Really?" asked Patricia
"Yes, which reminds me of an example I think you should hear. Right after I picked him up, I implied that he was lucky that you had a daughter at his age, his first response was that he always wanted a little sister. I tried bringing it up again not long ago, and I got scolded for it. Let me tell you, you don't know surreal until you've made a career out of dealing with troubled teens then get scolded by one for misbehavior." The Clements couldn't help but laugh, Patricia even more so since she was on the verge of scolding the professional herself. "Come on. Let's meet the man of the hour."
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 2:08 PM.
Location: Social Services Office
Ben sat staring at his Omnitrix while waiting to get called in for his interview with his potential foster parents. He was nervous about the encounter, but there was nothing he could do to really prepare. The tightness in his chest loosened when the buzzer signaled the end of his stewing period. He stood and followed the recently memorized path to Miss Cremshaw's office. The two who must have been the Clements family sans daughter sat at the front. It must have been a case of likes attracting since they were both petite individuals with dark hair and young faces. The man looked to be around 5'7" and his wife was around 5'1" tall. He easily ignored how cute the mother was and decided to break the ice. "Hi. You guys look a lot nicer than I expected."
They blinked at him before turning their attention back on Cremshaw, who seemed to have an 'I told you so' expression. He dismissed it and took the empty seat. What followed was a short awkward silence that Ben tried to break through again. "What kind of home do you have?"
From there, they described their home, which was from the western area of the suburbs north from downtown. It was a three bedroom and two bathroom where he'd have to share with a teenage girl, and wasn't that a joyful thought. He learned that they were the type to provide school lunches and were planning to see fireworks later that night.
That led to him asking if he could join followed by what kind of lifestyle he was used to. It was a surprise to them that he demonstrated a willingness to eat no more than eggs, rice, and assorted vegetables everyday. They were less surprised by him stating his dislike for hand washing dishes despite a willingness to do it. All together, what he told them summed up to him wanting to be as little of a burden as possible. At the end of it, he sighed deeply and gave a hard look at no one in particular. "I don't really think this is a good way to make a decision like this. Wouldn't we need to spend some real time together first."
"That's actually the next step Mr. Tennyson. This is us deciding if we want to go that far."
"Oh," he said with understanding. "This is the sales pitch. Next is the test drive."
Miss Cremshaw shook her head at that. "Mr. Tennyson, is that how you see this?"
"It seemed like the right metaphor, and...I've upset you, didn't I?" He deflated just before adding in that last part.
The caseworker sighed then shook her head with a smile. "It's okay, but it sounds like you're belittling yourself."
"Ah, I just thought it fit."
She shook her head at him. "As Mr. Tennyson explained to me earlier, it's very uncommon for him to have negative intentions behind his words. If you get in the habit of asking if he says something unusual, you shouldn't have any more trouble with him than your own daughter; less if his desire to be semi-independent is genuine."
"Not to mention that I've heard the stories saying that boys are easier."
That got a chuckle from Mr. Clements. "I won't deny that Madison has been the occasional handful, but that's not what we're worried about."
Ben narrowed his eyes and stared at them motionlessly. "Family is sacred to me. I just lost one. I'm not going to ruin another."
The two shared a glance between another before Mrs. Clements spoke up. "Honey, I think we should give him a chance."
He took one look at Ben's much more attentive expression then nodded back at her. "Okay. One chance."
"One's all I need sir."
"Excellent. We will need to deal with some paperwork plus extra. Mr Tennyson doesn't have anything, so we will need to deal with some extra paperwork. It's just so we can reimburse you for certain necessities that he would have normally had he been with us longer, up to a certain cap of course."
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 2:30 PM.
Location: PRT HQ
The new year was just around the corner, and it already looked like the parahuman scene was looking to kick things off with a bang for Brocton Bay. Director Emily Piggot had to haul her overweight ass over for a precautionary dialysis session when she heard that there was a new Master classed Case 53 in town. She praised her own foresight when the report of another Case 53 came in courtesy of Velocity. The most fortunate part of the situation was that there were firsthand accounts of what the capes were capable of, which hopefully would include a weakness. Even if they weren't villains, it always paid to be prepared. That was why she and Armsmaster were with Velocity and Miss Militia. "I think we should start with the least worrisome...Velocity." There was no questioning in her sharp tone.
"I gave some thought to cape we've code-named Velociraptor, and I believe from how they ran that their power ratings are the same as mine...but higher. I'm thinking Mover 6, Thinker 3, and Breaker. I hesitate to give a rating to their Breaker power until we know how it plays into their speed."
So he gave Velociraptor an additional two in Mover and another in Thinker. It was either a blow to his pride, or because of it. Emily didn't care which. "Is that all?" All she got for an answer was an embarrassing display of sheepishness. "You must have something more. Personality, what they were up to? I'd settle for where their tattoo is."
He shook his head disappointingly. "I didn't see a tattoo. The only distinct thing I saw was a green shape." She noticed Miss Militia perk up a bit. "It really stood out because I'm sure I saw it turn orange just before they escaped."
That was different, and Emily suspected Miss Militia knew why it may be important. "Does that sound familiar to anyone?"
Miss Militia immediately chimed in. "When I questioned the girls that were rescued this morning, they were all consistent on saying that the only symbol they remember seeing was a glowing green hourglass set on disk that Ghostfreak wore on his chest. All of them but Amber agreed that the symbol beeped and turned orange just before Ghostfreak decided to leave them."
"No." All of their eyes snapped towards Velocity. "The sound, it was more like a buzzer, like what you'd hear from an alarm clock."
And that sounded like they were getting somewhere. "That implies a connection between the two," Armsmaster concluded.
"Get the recordings from the cameras you've placed around the city. I want visual confirmation on this symbol. See if you caught what they were up to." He nodded. "Now, Ghostfreak. I want his ratings, description, personality, and explanations."
"Ghostfreak is a Master 6, Stranger 5, Breaker 5, Striker 3, Mover 2, Changer 2, and a possible Brute. His Changer power gives him two appearances, three if the mentions of black mist by the ABB members are true. The form that we have pictures of show him resembling the typical concept of a featureless ghost with two arms, four-fingered hands, greenish gray skin, and a crisscrossing series of breaks in his skin that his one green eye can move along. Wisps of his skin hang from his tail and fingertips. His second form has gray skin, a one eyed skull, some exposed bones at his ribs and tail, bone claws that were responsible for stabbing through an active fuse-box, and bony spines along his...spine. He can switch between forms either by tearing off his outer skin or regrowing it from his stomach. In either form, he can project at least four black and white tentacles that can support at least 70 pounds each."
Miss Militia paused to give everyone else a chance to process everything she said. A sharp breath from Armsmaster drew attention to him. "You may be right about a low brute assessment. I suspect that those tentacles are stronger than we've seen. I recommend a tentative Brute 2 rating."
And with that, Ghostfreak had a rating in over half the classifications. It was the sort of thing usually only seen in power generating Trumps. Emily was already hating the direction the power assessment was going. "So far, I believe that Ghostfreak has the potential to be kind or cruel. After subduing the ABB members, he took the time to ensure that the victims would feel safe in spite of his appearance."
"Did he use his Master power on them?" Piggot interjected.
"I doubt it. A...testimony from Amber's parents stated that she had an attraction to cape and goth culture. All of the victims agree that she made the first move toward trusting him. In general, they described him as nice, firm, but creepy. The example of his cruelty comes from how excessively he dealt with the ABB. Not one of them had severe injuries, but they all woke up in a panic and had signs of extreme stress. Ghostfreak set out to deal as much psychological damage as he could when he could have disabled them quickly and cleanly. By leveraging his Breaker state into a Striker power, he can stab someone's head and incapacitate them with only a temporary concussion to show for it."
Emily wanted to ask how she came to that conclusion, but she'd already wasted enough time on wanting explanations. "Tell me about his Master, Stranger, and Breaker powers and any weaknesses."
The military styled cape nodded back. "Ghostfreak's major powers seem to follow the ghost motif: invisibility, intangibility, and possession. Ghostfreak can only Master one person at a time which would be less threatening if he weren't inside the person he's Mastering. It's unlikely that thermal imaging will see through his invisibility as he is endothermic. His intangibility does is not Manton Limited, but there are no signs that he can turn fully tangible while inside anyone. He also lacks Shadow Stalker's inability to handle electricity or thick walls. Unless some miracle weakness comes to light, I don't know how we could fight him directly, especially if he can maintain his major powers indefinitely. We need more information."
Emily sighed. "Its true that I'd like more, but we have more than we could expect from a cape's only appearance. I'd want a detailed report on why you think he has that he does. Back on the subject of this green hourglass, I doubt that this is the last we've seen of it. These are my orders: find out whatever you can about this symbol and just how many capes are a member of this team. Do not let it escalate into a fight unless any of these capes display obviously criminal behavior."
"Yes mam!" came the chorus of acceptance from the three capes.
"We need to have a strong presence for the New Years celebrations. Make sure everyone is on the lookout for trouble and these Case 53s. Dismissed!"
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 3:56 PM.
Location: Clements Household
Ben had forgotten how time consuming shopping for clothes was, especially when you didn't have any to start with. It didn't help that he had his own preferences that were notably picky for any male. He eventually settled upon just over a dozen shirts that were black/white, green/black, and all three colors. He got six pairs of denim pants, three black and three dark blue. After getting some lazy stay-at-home clothes, the essential toiletries, and a houswarming gift of a cheep mini laptop, they started heading for what may be his new home.
The eggshell white building followed the New England style of covering little ground space, with the public rooms at the ground floor and bedrooms at the top floor. With as many bags as he could carry, Ben made his way up the stairs and ended up taking a long look at door decorated with feminine demands for privacy. He 'noped' himself away and turned his focus upon the opposite door. Just like with the front door, he worked himself into position and revealed a decent sized room with a bed, dresser, and closet. Beyond that, the room was completely empty of all but the most bare amount of decoration, giving it the impression of a guest room that they actually used enough to warrant not being turned into storage. He put everything in its inevitable place.
Once done making himself at home, he went downstairs to ask where his little sister was. Turned out that the moment she was alone in the house, she decided that she wanted to hang out with her friends. When he asked if they told her about him, he learned that she only knew to expect a big surprise when she gets home. Ben sighed loudly and glared at them. "Great. Now she thinks that you got her a car or something."
They looked at him in wide eyed shock until Mathew's face shifted into a grimice and Patricia's became more doubtful. "Surely she won't think something like that. She's 15, and Christmas was just a week ago."
"Which means that she's old enough get a learner's permit, and it could be a late present," chimed in Mathew. A few seconds passed during where she mirrored her husband's former expressions.
"She might not think it's a car, but she's expecting something really good." Following the logical path of his words, the obvious solution came to his mind. "You have to tell her about me, or at least warn her that she might not like the big surprise."
"Yeah. That may be a good idea son."
Ben's heart skipped a beat at Mathew's choice in words, and couldn't decide if it was a slip of the tongue or shorthand for sonny-boy. "I...I-I'll go upstairs. Call me down when she's home." He literally leaped up the stairs, two at a time, entered his newly acquired private space, locked the door and crashed onto the bed. He then spent a minute or so fixated upon the 'watch' on his wrist with his mind wandering. The shopping trip truely hammard home the fact that he was on an alien world. Most of the brands and products that he preferred to use for himself were nonexistent, and the ones that did exist didn't have the particular varieties he liked. He didn't have his clothes, his home, his computer, or his family. Not even his face and body were like he last remembered. The only familiar thing of his in the entire world came from a TV series.
He breathed deeply for another few minutes before deciding that it was time to make use of the real reason he wanted such a small computer. It may not have been much, but the cheep construction and electronics were just the kinds of traits that were perfect for Greymatter to tinker around with. He hadn't changed for hours, a was itching to experience another alien form. "I've got nothing," he said before pressing in his choice.
Votes: 23; 7; 12; 41
1/5 Roll=3 - Success
After the near instant transformation, his perspective had changed entirely. Everything was larger, and he was on the floor. The galvan sighed before jumping as hard as he could, only to quickly learn that wasn't a good idea. It was only by sheer luck that he managed to grab onto the sheets before falling off the edge. "Note to self: galvans jump good." He walked over to the computer and looked it over with his genius intellect. "And I have no idea what I'm doing. Welp, time to void the warranty." With a precise application of leverage and what strength his five inch tall body could muster, he tore off the laptop's cheap casing. Only when he could see the laptop's inner workings did he understand how it operated, and it was a piece of crap. Just with the materials inside the computer, he could make something at least thirty times better. Unfortunately, his human self had neglected to collect any materials or tools for the work he had planed on doing. He couldn't do anything about the former, but the later issue was easily solved by finding a few stray bobby pins. He then began planning out what he would do, and realized that he didn't have enough time for the rewiring and the subsequent coding. He needed to extended his transformation. With his vastly improved memory, he realized that he could do that. "Omnitrix, command code 1-0-1-0, Tennyson, Benjamin. Engage life form lock." He tapped the symbol on his back, making it beep. He tapped it again with the intent of turning human, to no effect. "Now we're in business."
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 5:13 PM.
Location: Docks/Boardwalk border
"Hey, buddy...how are things on your end?" asked a strong baritone voice.
"Going pretty good friend of mine," responded a more nasely voice.
"Nothing will explode on us, will it?"
"I double checked, triple checked, then quadruple checked everything. It's all pretty low tech, so we should be good even if pops like a zit."
"Dude...gross."
"Not as gross as those burritos last night."
"Yeah. I might just cook something to get that taste out of my mouth."
"Dude, really?!" the scrawny young man exclaimed.
"Get back to tinkering," his statuesque friend snapped back good naturedly. "We'll get ready then think about food."
"Sounds like a plan, but I think I'm done. Brocton Bay is in for a New Years event they won't soon forget."
And that marks the end of another chapter. I was honestly scared of getting a random roll this chapter. Imaging if (rolls 1/80)...well, Jetray wouldn't have been too bad. I was just scared of destroying their home. The MC doesn't know about the randomness yet after all. I also have a vote for you guys.
What should be the video game theme next chapter. In needs to have elements that can resemble fireworks.
[X]Write in
My vote: Missile Command
- Location
- los angeles
[X] Tetris
XkaliburRage
Perpetual Procrastinator
[X] Galaga
- Location
- Louisiana
Splatoon isn't a viable vote. This story is set at the end of 2010 right now. Splatoon is a 2015 game.
SnorlaxMotive
Fear the Lax! Praise the Snor!
- Location
- Narnia, down the tree from Bag's End
[X] Call of Duty: World at War
Zombies! Zombies!
Zombies! Zombies!
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Mass effect
- Location
- sweden
is that Driba and Blukic(or is it the gamers?) this is going to be fun i wonder if they are going to rip a hole in the fabric of the universe and open a hole to a game universe?
Last edited:
[X] Final Fantasy VII
The Stormbringer
Worm Fanfic & Crack Connoisseur
- Location
- Spaaaaace~!
[X] Missile Command
Malbutorius
C'est le bien qui fait mal
[X] Galaga
1-4 Genesis
- Location
- Louisiana
I know quest writers put down the results of any votes here, but I feel that leaving a surprise for those who will read this long after now would be better. Enjoy.
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 6:12 PM.
Location: Clements Household
It was hours ago when Madison's parents told her that she was in for a big surprise when she got home. She was excited at first and couldn't wait to get home to see what it was. Emma, the redheaded beauty of school, and Sophia, the track star, joined her on her walk to the bus station, being just as interested in what the surprise was as she was. The bus had just arrived when her parents called again to tell her that she might not like the surprise. What followed was a short discussion on if they should go see anyways. Majority vote decided that they'll stick around and follow their original plan, which was browsing the boardwalk. Sophia seemed more interested in the roofs and where they were setting up for fireworks. Emma was focused on the boutiques and thrift stores. Madison shared some of Emma's interests, but her real focus was on the people in the area. She paid special attention to group dynamics and who led each group.
Nearly two hours after deciding to stay, the sun had set, and they were ready to go see what the big surprise would be. The bus ride over was of course spent on trying to guess at it. They first thought it could be some kind of stupid pet, but the idea was discarded when the most obvious came to mind: a baby. Madison wasn't sure what she thought about being a being a big sister, but at least she had time to get used to the idea. She simply couldn't conceive of having a fully developed obnoxious brother after just one day. Once they figured that much, Emma left at her usual stop while Sophie left at another of her random spots, leaving Madison to face the 'surprise' on her own.
Seconds after she opened the front door, her mother approached her while her father went upstairs. "So, what's the big surprise?" Wordlessly, the woman led her into their living room and sat down at the flower printed couch, patting the seat as an indicator for Madison to sit next to her. The teen was feeling a bit confused about why her father was upstairs and not with them, but the silence was growing awkward. After a few more seconds of that, she decided to kick things off without him. "Am I going to be a big sister."
The older lady practically choked on the words forming in her mouth, and ended up coughing out a stray bit of spit that made its way into her windpipe. She sighed the discomfort away then smiled at her daughter. "Something like that, sweetie." Madison felt a little worried when she took another deep breath. "There's something we've never told you, mostly because we were beginning to think that nothing would ever come from it. Today, we found a reason to give it a real chance; it's an opportunity to really help someone out."
With that, Madison was confused. "What's going on mom?"
"Well, for a long time, we, your father and I, have always wanted to try taking care of someone who doesn't have anyone who could do that for them, so we signed up to foster a child." The knot in her chest tightened. As a student of Winslow, which was considered the recruitment zone for all the major gangs, she knew full well what kids part of the foster system were like. The certainty that they wouldn't pick a teenage foster girl was what helped ground her. "So many weren't a good fit for us that we were about to give up. We didn't expect anything to happen today, but Ben turned out to be a nice boy." Her mind ground to a halt. "Madison, say hello to Benjamin."
She turned around and everything shattered. Standing right there with a wide smirk and a lazy wave was a boy around her age. He was some combination of handsome and cute that somehow turned out to be not very eye-catching. "Hello Madison. I'm your new foster brother."
She didn't realize that she'd run off to her room until she already had her hand on the doorknob. She went in and immediately pulled out her phone and texted both her friends.
M: I can't believe it. They took in a foster kid.
E: Wow. Sucks 2 b u.
S: Yea. Probably another one of those sad fucks always bitching about not having any nice parents.
M: That's not the worst part. HE'S our age.
E: He?
S: M. Your parents are stupid.
E: Is he at least cute.
M: What?! And don't call my parents stupid.
S: Your parents brought home a foster boy.
E: If your living with a strange boy, he's got to at least b cute.
M: Fine, they're idiots. And yes, but he's dorky looking too.
S: If he's a dork, he probably doesn't have the balls to try anything. A swift kick will take care of him if he does.
E: S is right. You can deal 4 yourself.
M: Gee, thanks.
S: Suck it up buttercup. Just make sure you're ready 4 Monday.
E: Yeah. She's going to freak. It'll be hilarious.
M: Yeah. Ttyl.
Madison put away her phone, feeling a little relieved that she had a chance to vent. The boy did look a bit dorky to her, is Sophie was probably right about not trying anything. That still left her having to live with a boy. She needed to forget about what was wrong with the situation for the moment, so she got on her laptop with the intent of checking out PHO. Sophia mentioned a new Case 53 in town, and Madison was instantly curious.
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♦ Topic: A Creepy Cape Just Saved Us
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay
Spring_A+ (Original Poster)
Posted 7 hours ago:
A couple days ago, I was picked up by some of the ABB. They said that my parents were behind on their payments and were being really loud. Then, they saw me. They decide that I could pay off the debt in their steed. My parents begged them to stop, but there was nothing they could do. It was really scary and only got worse when they shoved me into a pitch black room with three other girls. I didn't even understand what dark meant until I was stuffed in a room with no windows or even a crack in the door for light to shine through. It stank of excrement and...other things. I couldn't even tell how long we were in there until we heard some mumbling from a new voice.
I thought that it was the guy that was going to...'break me in,' until he started asking us 'Who did this?' There was the sound to cracking knuckles and he asked again. His voice was really creepy. He then told us he was a superhero and said he'd pay the ABB a visit. That's when the screaming started. We could hear loud thumps and running around outside the door until the meanest looking ABB guy opened the door. He had a crazy look in his eye and looked ready to really hurt us. That's when we saw Ghostfreak.
He just appeared out of nowhere with bone claws glowing green and slammed the bad guy into the wall. I thought he was going to eat his soul or something until he stabbed the man in the head with his fingers. The guy was still alive though.
He told us to come out, but only only one of us wasn't too scared of him. She hugged him and he hugged her back. We weren't so scars then, so we followed him as he carried her to a big well lit room. He then used a cheepo phone to call the PRT, flew through the walls, then came back to pull his extra skin out of his chest.
I found a bad guy's expensive phone and am posting from it. I even have pics. [1][2][3]
He was a lot scarier before he put the extra skin on.
(Showing page 1 of 13)
► Tripple2
Replied 7 hours ago:
Sweet Jesus fucking Christ! What fresh hell did this thing spawn from?! It has giant fucking tentacles for Christ's sake!
► Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Replied 7 hours ago:
Wow. I don't know if I should call this heartwarming or terrifying, and I can't believe that there's a cape that can make you wonder about both at the same time. He's not the scariest looking cape I've seen, (Endbringers, Nilbog, Crawler) but he's up there. I don't want to think about what's under the skin.
Regardless, he's done a good thing. I'm glad you girls are safe now and sorry you weren't found sooner.
That said, I don't think you posted this for sympathy. So let's kick off this discussion. Ghostfreak being a Master/Stranger is a pretty safe bet. Breaker too for going through walls. Stabbing someone in the head without killing them adds Striker. Let's speculate.
@ Tripple2: keep in mind that Case 53s don't get to choose what they look like.
► oneeyedpharaoh
Replied 7 hours ago:
And now another being of the shadows stalks the night. Our resident Shadow Stalker has a challenger for her throne.
► Laser Augment
Replied 7 hours ago:
Let me take a moment to mention what Ghostfreak found. There have always been theories that the ABB went around kidnapping little girls for shit like this, but this is our first real proof. As scary as he looks, I think that whatever Ghostfreak did was exactly what those pricks deserved, if not more.
► White Fairy (Veteran Member)
Replied 7 hours ago:
I'm not sure I agree with Laser on condoning whatever Ghostfreak did to them. We don't know what he can do to people, so I'll reserve judgment about his character until we find out. I can't argue about little girls being rescued from a terrible situation though.
► Spring_A+ (Original Poster)
Replied 7 hours ago:
He just left. The symbol on his chest suddenly beeped and flashed orange. He was gone in seconds.
Velocity just showed up.
► White Fairy (Veteran Member)
Replied 7 hours ago:
Well that's a relief, and a little unusual. Has anyone ever heard of a Case 53's tattoo beeping or flashing?
► Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
That's news to me, and I'm The Guy in the Know. Beeping and flashing sounds like tinkertec to me, and last I checked, tattoos aren't tinkertec or any kind of tec.
That brings me to another odd fact. All Case 53s have lost all their memories when they are found. Ghostfreak already had a name, seemed to have a good idea on how his powers worked, and knew how to work a phone. A tinkertec tattoo doesn't seem to fit the ghost motif. Maybe Ghostfreak's actually been around for a while, and this is his first sighting. It wouldn't be unusual for a Stranger to do that.
► Tripple2
Replied 7 hours ago:
Are we still ignoring the tentacles in the room. He's got that girl wrapped in them. And how do we know that he didn't Master any of them?
► Ekul
Replied 7 hours ago:
I don't think he Mastered them. If his powers keep with the ghost theme, then he'd have to be inside someone to control them. He's clearly visible in those pictures, though part of me wishes he wasn't. Those tentacles are creepy.
End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … 11, 12, 13
The next two pages were just about his appearance, with mentioning of his roaming eye added in. There were also a few lewd jokes involving the girl he was holding and his tentacles. Some infractions shut that up real quick.
(Showing page 4 of 13)
End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … 11, 12, 13
Madison had no idea what to think about Upgrade and what he said. Tin Mother got involved later on and gave him some infractions for hacking, which he accepted with a laugh. The tread derailed a bit after that until Upgrade announced his departure and reminded everyone about the topic. It was more of the same up till the end, with occasional plumber cracks. L33T even made a Mario comparison about heroic plumbers. That led to Ghostfreak being photoshoped with red skin and overalls, and it was downhill from there. She had almost forgotten how upset she was with her parents before she heard a knock at the door and a mostly unfamiliar voice. "Madison?" She was flushed with indignation that they'd send up the boy to try to get them out. "Come on out. We have fresh cookies."
That did explain the smell she was just noticing. "What kind?" Her voice had a petulant reluctance that she failed to notice.
"They're peanut butter and banana." She expected peanut butter, but banana was unexpected. It sounded good. "I have one you can try right here." She grumbled a bit the went to her door to find him standing in the hall with a small plate in his hand. When she grabbed the cookie, there was an insufferable smirk on his face as if he was so sure of his victory. So she slammed the door in his face and went back to her bed. After looking over the confection a bit, she finally took a bite out of the snack and found it to her liking. "I mixed and baked them myself. There's more downstairs if you want them." He was making it very hard to dislike him. She might as well get used to him if they were going to see the fireworks together.
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 10:05 PM.
Location: The Rig (Protectorate HQ)
It had taken hours for the coordination between all the heroes to be completed in time for New Years. He could have completed the task sooner if New Wave didn't reveal partway that they would be involved in preventive measures as well. He was momentarily upset at the sudden change in plans, but quickly realized that the addition of four fliers was a significant boost in the efficiency of the patrols. He only had to make sure that their routes didn't take them into the path of any fireworks. The forecast warned that it would be a moonless cloudy night: great for fireworks, poor for visibility.
With barely more than an hour left before he needed to be ready, there simply wasn't enough time left to do anything significant to improve his performance. Some deliberation had concluded that the time would be best spent programming. He'd been working on a field lie detector when he realized that the social assistance program that the greatest Tinker Dragon gifted him to help him relate with people.
Speaking of the exalted Tinker, she had recently contacted him through their private communication channel. He dropped his original intent. The insights he could glean from their interactions were always worth the time spent and she never minded if he worked during the conversation He pressed the button, and a holographic image of her face materialized in his workshop. She had an average beauty and the kind of face where it would be difficult to place her ethnicity. She spoke with a slight Canadian accent. "Hello Collin," she said using his real name. "I hear that there are some new interesting capes in your area."
He smiled at her directness. "I take it that you've seen my high speed camera footage."
The hologram blinked at him then looked to the side as if focused on something else. "I have now. This must be XLR8." She spoke the name with a deliberate slowness.
He tore his attention away from his programming and focused entirely on her. "I wasn't aware that he had a name. I wonder what would cause him to choose a name like XLR8." No sooner than after the words left his mouth did the Tinker realize the thought behind the name. The smirk on Dragon's face told him that he had the reaction she intended for him. "Ah. Clever. How did you come by that name?"
"I was alerted to someone successfully hacking into PHO about twelve hours ago and found someone calling themselves Upgrade and claiming to know Ghostfreak and XLR8." That came as a surprise to Collin. He was among the select few that knew that Dragon designed PHO. Hacking into her work is a significant feat. "I confronted him about it, and he only did it to give himself the unverified cape tag. I gave him his infractions, but let him keep the tag. He earned that much."
It was an interesting bit of news to him, but it's information that would've reached the director's desk by now. What really had his attention was that if Upgrades choice in name had anything to do with his Tinker specialty, he was the kind of cape anyone would want their hands on, even more than the typical Tinker. "Do you think you can get in contact with him?"
"I'll give it a try." A tab on his screen popped up, showing the conversation. Dragon was using her cape account, which should make getting information easier if Upgrade really was a hero.
1/5 Roll=2 - Success
Dragon: Hello Upgrade. Do you have a moment?
They had expected to wait a few minutes if not indefinitely. That's why the rapid response caught them slightly off guard.
Upgrade: Apologies, but Upgrade is indisposed at the moment. Depending on your intent, I can relay the message or handle it personally.
Collin felt a spike of suspicion at the message that made him think of it as a hoax. He logically concluded that it was in his imagination.
Dragon: May I ask who I am speaking to?
Upgrade: Of course. You may address me by my chosen moniker, Greymatter.
The two Tinkers shared pointed looks. If what they read was true, they had just confirmed a fourth member of a team that literally sprung up overnight. Dragon's next question was obvious.
Dragon: Can you tell us how many of you are there.
Upgrade: I suspect that you'll want me to tell you what they're capable of as well. I hope you will be satisfied with this much: Wildmut, Four Arms, Diamondhead, Ripjaws, Stinkfly, Heatblast. We will have to keep some secrets to ourselves.
Collin actually felt his breath hitch. Six names, a team that had ten members. That made them the second largest team in Brockton Bay, right behind the Nazi supported Empire Eighty-Eight. Two of those ten had been confirmed to be powerful capes in their own rights. Perhaps if he included the underage Wards in his count, but they weren't allowed to see potentially dangerous situations until they were adults.
Upgrade: I'm afraid that my time is running short. Perhaps we can continue this line of inquiry at a later date. Diamondhead should be announcing our presence tomorrow.
Greymatter logged out of Upgrades profile, leaving the hero leader temporarily at a loss for what to do. Fortunately, he had a friend to keep him on track. "Collin, I think you should inform Director Piggot about this." He nodded back at her. What he got was valuable information, regardless of how unsettling it was.
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 11:50 PM.
Location: The Boardwalk
The last sixteen hours had undoubtedly been the most interesting day of Ben's life. The last eight hours came with a handful of discoveries. The first was that using the life-form lock put the Omnitrix in its recharge state for four hours. Clearly it was better to transform normally and save the life-form lock for emergency situations.
He also discovered that his new little sister was ridiculously cute. Ben was glad that she lacked the reserved disposition that was essential for him to consider someone romantically, because she had a good bit of what he considered physically attractive. That was especially true of her thin petite build. There was also the fact that the fifteen year old went out of her way to look even younger than she looked naturally, which ringed all of the pedophilia bells. Ben may have understood he was fifteen physically, but his mind was still that of an adult's. It was easy enough for him to stick her firmly in the sibling category of his mind.
One after he was able to coax her out of her room, Mrs. Clements had encouraged all of them to spend some time playing board games. That went on for a long time, and gave him ample opportunity to play the role of an obnoxious older brother. In fact, he settled into the role so suddenly that the entire Clements family was a bit shell shocked. Her cuteness simply made for too easy of a sticking point for most of his cracks at her.
Eventually game night came to an end, leaving them with some time to get ready for the celebrations. Ben wasted no time locking himself back in his room so he could use Greymatter to write a few programs that would turn out invaluable in any future endeavors. Getting a message from Dragon in the middle of that turned out to be a surprise. Being an unverified cape drew a lot of unwanted attention on PHO, but a world famous hero was worth responding to. She was just fishing for information, and Ben saw no reason to deny her. Greymatter saw it a bit differently. If it worked out, the plan he set up would protect his human identity.
"Emma!" Ben was pulled from his thoughts at Madison calling out to someone. He looked towards the direction she was waving to and picked out a very pretty red headed teen that was more shapely than anyone at the age of fifteen had any right to be. She closed the distance with the kind of gait designed to draw attention. She was quickly classified as 'only interesting due to being sister's friend' in his mind. "Is Sophia around?" Madison asked the redhead.
"She's around, but we won't find her." There was something about the...certainty in her words that seemed off to Ben, but he dismissed it when Emma started giving him some kind of upward smile. "So you're the foster kid. You are cute."
"Thanks. You're pretty pretty yourself." He could have been talking about the weather for all the intent he put in his voice.
"I think we should leave you kids alone to hang out," Patricia chimed in. "Don't wander off too far. The docks are dangerous at night." And with that, the parental figures left.
"Your parents are really lame Madi."
The smaller girl groaned in affirmation while what they were talking about clicked in Ben's head. "Oh. There trying to do a set up."
Madison's groaning turned into a hand on her forehead. "Please, talk about anything else."
As if to answer her plea, the speakers screeched suddenly. When it stopped, a voice with all the presence of a movie announcer sounded out throughout all of the boardwalk. "Happy New Years Brocton Bay. For many generations, we have used fireworks to herald forth the new year. The same tired formula for what should be a time of change, but fear not, for we have looked back to the beginning of man's greatest pastime for inspiration."
"Great. Don't these losers ever give up?"
"I take it back."
"This is Uber and Leet, right? I hear that they are more like illegal performers than real villains."
"They're pathetic. I don't know why the heroes haven't taken them down yet." Ben glanced at Emma for her comment. There was a tone to her voice that he found unusually aggressive, but he dismissed it for more important things. Uber and Leet were the videogame villains. Ben liked video-games as much as the next nerd guy, but Uber and Leet gave them a bad name. Video-game characters were supposed to be the heroes.
"It was realized that we have been too selfish, so we decided for others to get a chance to enjoy themselves. However, we understand that you are not as familiar with the greatest arts of modern man. But there is one work that has stood out and touched the hearts and minds of millions. One that all know how to play." The speakers began playing a very familiar Russian tune. Four two foot long spikes impaled the ground near a handful of people and formed a 64 square-foot grid out of lasers made visible by mist. "Brought to you from the minds of Uber and Leet, we invite the flying heroes of Brocton Bay to a game of 3-DIMENSIONAL TETRIS!"
Emma ended up laughing loudly. "Do those idiots really think that they heroes will play their stupid game?"
She continued ranting, but Ben didn't stick around to listen. Uber and Leet were still villains, and villains usually had a way to force compliance when they want it. He didn't know what that method would be, but he did understand how the game would be played. Uber had specifically invited flying heroes to play, which meant that only aerial cspes will be able to control the descent of the inevitable Tetris blocks. Ben needed maximum aerial maneuverability and spacial awareness, and there was only one choice that fit the bill. He found a spot away from any people and prepared his choice. "Time to fly."
1/5 Roll=2 - Success
Yep, Tetris was the winner. SB votes were 7 to 7 between Halo and Tetris, but SV had 2 votes for Tetris. Good for me too, because I'm sure I wrote myself into a corner that would have made a Halo theme nearly impossible. (Fun fact: if I used Missile Command, the MC would've chosen Heatblast.)
I wanted to include the conflict as well, but the chapter was already big enough by my standards.
I also have another vote prepared. Ben will try to introduced Diamondhead publicly. Two Wards will be there patrolling. Pick two.
[] Aegis: The Fearless Leader
[] Clockblocker: Jokester
[] Vista: Young, Cute, and Experienced
[] Gallant: The Chivalrous One
[] Kid Win: The Sociable Tinker
[] Shadow Stalker: Broody Anti-Heroine
I'm not certain if the next chapter will reach the moment you're voting for, but I figured I'd get it out of the way.
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 6:12 PM.
Location: Clements Household
It was hours ago when Madison's parents told her that she was in for a big surprise when she got home. She was excited at first and couldn't wait to get home to see what it was. Emma, the redheaded beauty of school, and Sophia, the track star, joined her on her walk to the bus station, being just as interested in what the surprise was as she was. The bus had just arrived when her parents called again to tell her that she might not like the surprise. What followed was a short discussion on if they should go see anyways. Majority vote decided that they'll stick around and follow their original plan, which was browsing the boardwalk. Sophia seemed more interested in the roofs and where they were setting up for fireworks. Emma was focused on the boutiques and thrift stores. Madison shared some of Emma's interests, but her real focus was on the people in the area. She paid special attention to group dynamics and who led each group.
Nearly two hours after deciding to stay, the sun had set, and they were ready to go see what the big surprise would be. The bus ride over was of course spent on trying to guess at it. They first thought it could be some kind of stupid pet, but the idea was discarded when the most obvious came to mind: a baby. Madison wasn't sure what she thought about being a being a big sister, but at least she had time to get used to the idea. She simply couldn't conceive of having a fully developed obnoxious brother after just one day. Once they figured that much, Emma left at her usual stop while Sophie left at another of her random spots, leaving Madison to face the 'surprise' on her own.
Seconds after she opened the front door, her mother approached her while her father went upstairs. "So, what's the big surprise?" Wordlessly, the woman led her into their living room and sat down at the flower printed couch, patting the seat as an indicator for Madison to sit next to her. The teen was feeling a bit confused about why her father was upstairs and not with them, but the silence was growing awkward. After a few more seconds of that, she decided to kick things off without him. "Am I going to be a big sister."
The older lady practically choked on the words forming in her mouth, and ended up coughing out a stray bit of spit that made its way into her windpipe. She sighed the discomfort away then smiled at her daughter. "Something like that, sweetie." Madison felt a little worried when she took another deep breath. "There's something we've never told you, mostly because we were beginning to think that nothing would ever come from it. Today, we found a reason to give it a real chance; it's an opportunity to really help someone out."
With that, Madison was confused. "What's going on mom?"
"Well, for a long time, we, your father and I, have always wanted to try taking care of someone who doesn't have anyone who could do that for them, so we signed up to foster a child." The knot in her chest tightened. As a student of Winslow, which was considered the recruitment zone for all the major gangs, she knew full well what kids part of the foster system were like. The certainty that they wouldn't pick a teenage foster girl was what helped ground her. "So many weren't a good fit for us that we were about to give up. We didn't expect anything to happen today, but Ben turned out to be a nice boy." Her mind ground to a halt. "Madison, say hello to Benjamin."
She turned around and everything shattered. Standing right there with a wide smirk and a lazy wave was a boy around her age. He was some combination of handsome and cute that somehow turned out to be not very eye-catching. "Hello Madison. I'm your new foster brother."
She didn't realize that she'd run off to her room until she already had her hand on the doorknob. She went in and immediately pulled out her phone and texted both her friends.
M: I can't believe it. They took in a foster kid.
E: Wow. Sucks 2 b u.
S: Yea. Probably another one of those sad fucks always bitching about not having any nice parents.
M: That's not the worst part. HE'S our age.
E: He?
S: M. Your parents are stupid.
E: Is he at least cute.
M: What?! And don't call my parents stupid.
S: Your parents brought home a foster boy.
E: If your living with a strange boy, he's got to at least b cute.
M: Fine, they're idiots. And yes, but he's dorky looking too.
S: If he's a dork, he probably doesn't have the balls to try anything. A swift kick will take care of him if he does.
E: S is right. You can deal 4 yourself.
M: Gee, thanks.
S: Suck it up buttercup. Just make sure you're ready 4 Monday.
E: Yeah. She's going to freak. It'll be hilarious.
M: Yeah. Ttyl.
Madison put away her phone, feeling a little relieved that she had a chance to vent. The boy did look a bit dorky to her, is Sophie was probably right about not trying anything. That still left her having to live with a boy. She needed to forget about what was wrong with the situation for the moment, so she got on her laptop with the intent of checking out PHO. Sophia mentioned a new Case 53 in town, and Madison was instantly curious.
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♦ Topic: A Creepy Cape Just Saved Us
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay
Spring_A+ (Original Poster)
Posted 7 hours ago:
A couple days ago, I was picked up by some of the ABB. They said that my parents were behind on their payments and were being really loud. Then, they saw me. They decide that I could pay off the debt in their steed. My parents begged them to stop, but there was nothing they could do. It was really scary and only got worse when they shoved me into a pitch black room with three other girls. I didn't even understand what dark meant until I was stuffed in a room with no windows or even a crack in the door for light to shine through. It stank of excrement and...other things. I couldn't even tell how long we were in there until we heard some mumbling from a new voice.
I thought that it was the guy that was going to...'break me in,' until he started asking us 'Who did this?' There was the sound to cracking knuckles and he asked again. His voice was really creepy. He then told us he was a superhero and said he'd pay the ABB a visit. That's when the screaming started. We could hear loud thumps and running around outside the door until the meanest looking ABB guy opened the door. He had a crazy look in his eye and looked ready to really hurt us. That's when we saw Ghostfreak.
He just appeared out of nowhere with bone claws glowing green and slammed the bad guy into the wall. I thought he was going to eat his soul or something until he stabbed the man in the head with his fingers. The guy was still alive though.
He told us to come out, but only only one of us wasn't too scared of him. She hugged him and he hugged her back. We weren't so scars then, so we followed him as he carried her to a big well lit room. He then used a cheepo phone to call the PRT, flew through the walls, then came back to pull his extra skin out of his chest.
I found a bad guy's expensive phone and am posting from it. I even have pics. [1][2][3]
He was a lot scarier before he put the extra skin on.
(Showing page 1 of 13)
► Tripple2
Replied 7 hours ago:
Sweet Jesus fucking Christ! What fresh hell did this thing spawn from?! It has giant fucking tentacles for Christ's sake!
► Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Replied 7 hours ago:
Wow. I don't know if I should call this heartwarming or terrifying, and I can't believe that there's a cape that can make you wonder about both at the same time. He's not the scariest looking cape I've seen, (Endbringers, Nilbog, Crawler) but he's up there. I don't want to think about what's under the skin.
Regardless, he's done a good thing. I'm glad you girls are safe now and sorry you weren't found sooner.
That said, I don't think you posted this for sympathy. So let's kick off this discussion. Ghostfreak being a Master/Stranger is a pretty safe bet. Breaker too for going through walls. Stabbing someone in the head without killing them adds Striker. Let's speculate.
@ Tripple2: keep in mind that Case 53s don't get to choose what they look like.
► oneeyedpharaoh
Replied 7 hours ago:
And now another being of the shadows stalks the night. Our resident Shadow Stalker has a challenger for her throne.
► Laser Augment
Replied 7 hours ago:
Let me take a moment to mention what Ghostfreak found. There have always been theories that the ABB went around kidnapping little girls for shit like this, but this is our first real proof. As scary as he looks, I think that whatever Ghostfreak did was exactly what those pricks deserved, if not more.
► White Fairy (Veteran Member)
Replied 7 hours ago:
I'm not sure I agree with Laser on condoning whatever Ghostfreak did to them. We don't know what he can do to people, so I'll reserve judgment about his character until we find out. I can't argue about little girls being rescued from a terrible situation though.
► Spring_A+ (Original Poster)
Replied 7 hours ago:
He just left. The symbol on his chest suddenly beeped and flashed orange. He was gone in seconds.
Velocity just showed up.
► White Fairy (Veteran Member)
Replied 7 hours ago:
Well that's a relief, and a little unusual. Has anyone ever heard of a Case 53's tattoo beeping or flashing?
► Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
That's news to me, and I'm The Guy in the Know. Beeping and flashing sounds like tinkertec to me, and last I checked, tattoos aren't tinkertec or any kind of tec.
That brings me to another odd fact. All Case 53s have lost all their memories when they are found. Ghostfreak already had a name, seemed to have a good idea on how his powers worked, and knew how to work a phone. A tinkertec tattoo doesn't seem to fit the ghost motif. Maybe Ghostfreak's actually been around for a while, and this is his first sighting. It wouldn't be unusual for a Stranger to do that.
► Tripple2
Replied 7 hours ago:
Are we still ignoring the tentacles in the room. He's got that girl wrapped in them. And how do we know that he didn't Master any of them?
► Ekul
Replied 7 hours ago:
I don't think he Mastered them. If his powers keep with the ghost theme, then he'd have to be inside someone to control them. He's clearly visible in those pictures, though part of me wishes he wasn't. Those tentacles are creepy.
The next two pages were just about his appearance, with mentioning of his roaming eye added in. There were also a few lewd jokes involving the girl he was holding and his tentacles. Some infractions shut that up real quick.
(Showing page 4 of 13)
► Bruce Lao
Replied on 6 hours ago:
I think that's enough about the tentacles and how scary he looks. I thought we were supposed to be speculating on his powers, which is pointless. We should consider what this new cape could mean for Brocton Bay. He's already made a move against the ABB, and Lung isn't known for taking something like this laying down. With the way he looks and how he seemed to run off just before the Protectorate heroes showed up, he's probably going to be an independent hero, if he even sticks to being a hero. He may end up joining Faultline's Crew. We know they have a notable number of Case 53s. Either way, the Protectorate and New Wave will keep their eyes on him.
► Weld (Verified Cape)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
I'm sure that the Protectorate can find a place for Ghostfreak. It is always a pleasant feeling when one of us decides to go out and help fight for the people that can't defend themselves. I wouldn't mind an opportunity to meet with him.
► GstringGirl
Replied on 6 hours ago:
I actually like his tentacles. It looks like he has really good control over them. I'm jealous.
Also: OMG It's Weld. I am such a big fan of yours.
► XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied on 6 hours ago:
Jealous
And what if he's not really a Case 53? I looked over those pictures a lot, and I didn't see a single one of those inverted capital omega symbols. @Bagrat You even said that he knew what he was doing. What if he doesn't have amnesia?
► GstringGirl
Replied on 6 hours ago:
:blushes: Not like that. I just thought it's be nice, like having extra hands that'll do whatever I tell them to.
And if Ghosfreak isn't a Case 53, then what could he be?
► Upgrade (Unverified Cape)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
@thosemakinglewdjokes That's rude. Those girls suffered a forced introduction into what you're joking about. If you look at pictures 1&2, you'll notice that he's protecting her modesty, not violating it.
@XxVoidcowboyxX You're on the right path. Ghostfreak isn't a Case 53.
► Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
@Upgrade I haven't heard about a cape going by that name before, which is weird since it's a really obvious name for any Tinker. Maybe you could tell us about yourself and what you know, if anything, about Ghostfreak. We don't need any tinfoil hats here, and encouraging Voidcowboy won't help with that.
► Upgrade (Unverified Cape)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
Ghostfreak and I are like this)(. You could practically say that we're of the same unit. I haven't been where anyone can see me, just Ghostreak and XLR8 so far. I won't share anything more about my powers beyond what my name implies. I will say that I don't look human but am not a Case 53 either. What am I?
► Laser Augment
Replied 6 hours ago:
I say that you're a troll. Someone shouldn't be able to get an unverified cape tag when there isn't a known cape by that name. You even come in on a new cape's thread and claim to be his teammate. Capes may come out of nowhere, but whole teams do not. That goes doubly true for monstrous capes. Lastly, its like you're trying to bring in the tinfoil hats. Next thing we know, they'll start saying that you guys are aliens here to harvest our capes for their powers.
► Upgrade (Unverified Cape)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
You said it, not me. Maybe we're just alien Plumbers.
Replied on 6 hours ago:
I think that's enough about the tentacles and how scary he looks. I thought we were supposed to be speculating on his powers, which is pointless. We should consider what this new cape could mean for Brocton Bay. He's already made a move against the ABB, and Lung isn't known for taking something like this laying down. With the way he looks and how he seemed to run off just before the Protectorate heroes showed up, he's probably going to be an independent hero, if he even sticks to being a hero. He may end up joining Faultline's Crew. We know they have a notable number of Case 53s. Either way, the Protectorate and New Wave will keep their eyes on him.
► Weld (Verified Cape)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
I'm sure that the Protectorate can find a place for Ghostfreak. It is always a pleasant feeling when one of us decides to go out and help fight for the people that can't defend themselves. I wouldn't mind an opportunity to meet with him.
► GstringGirl
Replied on 6 hours ago:
I actually like his tentacles. It looks like he has really good control over them. I'm jealous.
Also: OMG It's Weld. I am such a big fan of yours.
► XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied on 6 hours ago:
Jealous
And what if he's not really a Case 53? I looked over those pictures a lot, and I didn't see a single one of those inverted capital omega symbols. @Bagrat You even said that he knew what he was doing. What if he doesn't have amnesia?
► GstringGirl
Replied on 6 hours ago:
:blushes: Not like that. I just thought it's be nice, like having extra hands that'll do whatever I tell them to.
And if Ghosfreak isn't a Case 53, then what could he be?
► Upgrade (Unverified Cape)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
@thosemakinglewdjokes That's rude. Those girls suffered a forced introduction into what you're joking about. If you look at pictures 1&2, you'll notice that he's protecting her modesty, not violating it.
@XxVoidcowboyxX You're on the right path. Ghostfreak isn't a Case 53.
► Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
@Upgrade I haven't heard about a cape going by that name before, which is weird since it's a really obvious name for any Tinker. Maybe you could tell us about yourself and what you know, if anything, about Ghostfreak. We don't need any tinfoil hats here, and encouraging Voidcowboy won't help with that.
► Upgrade (Unverified Cape)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
Ghostfreak and I are like this)(. You could practically say that we're of the same unit. I haven't been where anyone can see me, just Ghostreak and XLR8 so far. I won't share anything more about my powers beyond what my name implies. I will say that I don't look human but am not a Case 53 either. What am I?
► Laser Augment
Replied 6 hours ago:
I say that you're a troll. Someone shouldn't be able to get an unverified cape tag when there isn't a known cape by that name. You even come in on a new cape's thread and claim to be his teammate. Capes may come out of nowhere, but whole teams do not. That goes doubly true for monstrous capes. Lastly, its like you're trying to bring in the tinfoil hats. Next thing we know, they'll start saying that you guys are aliens here to harvest our capes for their powers.
► Upgrade (Unverified Cape)
Replied on 6 hours ago:
You said it, not me. Maybe we're just alien Plumbers.End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … 11, 12, 13
Madison had no idea what to think about Upgrade and what he said. Tin Mother got involved later on and gave him some infractions for hacking, which he accepted with a laugh. The tread derailed a bit after that until Upgrade announced his departure and reminded everyone about the topic. It was more of the same up till the end, with occasional plumber cracks. L33T even made a Mario comparison about heroic plumbers. That led to Ghostfreak being photoshoped with red skin and overalls, and it was downhill from there. She had almost forgotten how upset she was with her parents before she heard a knock at the door and a mostly unfamiliar voice. "Madison?" She was flushed with indignation that they'd send up the boy to try to get them out. "Come on out. We have fresh cookies."
That did explain the smell she was just noticing. "What kind?" Her voice had a petulant reluctance that she failed to notice.
"They're peanut butter and banana." She expected peanut butter, but banana was unexpected. It sounded good. "I have one you can try right here." She grumbled a bit the went to her door to find him standing in the hall with a small plate in his hand. When she grabbed the cookie, there was an insufferable smirk on his face as if he was so sure of his victory. So she slammed the door in his face and went back to her bed. After looking over the confection a bit, she finally took a bite out of the snack and found it to her liking. "I mixed and baked them myself. There's more downstairs if you want them." He was making it very hard to dislike him. She might as well get used to him if they were going to see the fireworks together.
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 10:05 PM.
Location: The Rig (Protectorate HQ)
It had taken hours for the coordination between all the heroes to be completed in time for New Years. He could have completed the task sooner if New Wave didn't reveal partway that they would be involved in preventive measures as well. He was momentarily upset at the sudden change in plans, but quickly realized that the addition of four fliers was a significant boost in the efficiency of the patrols. He only had to make sure that their routes didn't take them into the path of any fireworks. The forecast warned that it would be a moonless cloudy night: great for fireworks, poor for visibility.
With barely more than an hour left before he needed to be ready, there simply wasn't enough time left to do anything significant to improve his performance. Some deliberation had concluded that the time would be best spent programming. He'd been working on a field lie detector when he realized that the social assistance program that the greatest Tinker Dragon gifted him to help him relate with people.
Speaking of the exalted Tinker, she had recently contacted him through their private communication channel. He dropped his original intent. The insights he could glean from their interactions were always worth the time spent and she never minded if he worked during the conversation He pressed the button, and a holographic image of her face materialized in his workshop. She had an average beauty and the kind of face where it would be difficult to place her ethnicity. She spoke with a slight Canadian accent. "Hello Collin," she said using his real name. "I hear that there are some new interesting capes in your area."
He smiled at her directness. "I take it that you've seen my high speed camera footage."
The hologram blinked at him then looked to the side as if focused on something else. "I have now. This must be XLR8." She spoke the name with a deliberate slowness.
He tore his attention away from his programming and focused entirely on her. "I wasn't aware that he had a name. I wonder what would cause him to choose a name like XLR8." No sooner than after the words left his mouth did the Tinker realize the thought behind the name. The smirk on Dragon's face told him that he had the reaction she intended for him. "Ah. Clever. How did you come by that name?"
"I was alerted to someone successfully hacking into PHO about twelve hours ago and found someone calling themselves Upgrade and claiming to know Ghostfreak and XLR8." That came as a surprise to Collin. He was among the select few that knew that Dragon designed PHO. Hacking into her work is a significant feat. "I confronted him about it, and he only did it to give himself the unverified cape tag. I gave him his infractions, but let him keep the tag. He earned that much."
It was an interesting bit of news to him, but it's information that would've reached the director's desk by now. What really had his attention was that if Upgrades choice in name had anything to do with his Tinker specialty, he was the kind of cape anyone would want their hands on, even more than the typical Tinker. "Do you think you can get in contact with him?"
"I'll give it a try." A tab on his screen popped up, showing the conversation. Dragon was using her cape account, which should make getting information easier if Upgrade really was a hero.
1/5 Roll=2 - Success
Dragon: Hello Upgrade. Do you have a moment?
They had expected to wait a few minutes if not indefinitely. That's why the rapid response caught them slightly off guard.
Upgrade: Apologies, but Upgrade is indisposed at the moment. Depending on your intent, I can relay the message or handle it personally.
Collin felt a spike of suspicion at the message that made him think of it as a hoax. He logically concluded that it was in his imagination.
Dragon: May I ask who I am speaking to?
Upgrade: Of course. You may address me by my chosen moniker, Greymatter.
The two Tinkers shared pointed looks. If what they read was true, they had just confirmed a fourth member of a team that literally sprung up overnight. Dragon's next question was obvious.
Dragon: Can you tell us how many of you are there.
Upgrade: I suspect that you'll want me to tell you what they're capable of as well. I hope you will be satisfied with this much: Wildmut, Four Arms, Diamondhead, Ripjaws, Stinkfly, Heatblast. We will have to keep some secrets to ourselves.
Collin actually felt his breath hitch. Six names, a team that had ten members. That made them the second largest team in Brockton Bay, right behind the Nazi supported Empire Eighty-Eight. Two of those ten had been confirmed to be powerful capes in their own rights. Perhaps if he included the underage Wards in his count, but they weren't allowed to see potentially dangerous situations until they were adults.
Upgrade: I'm afraid that my time is running short. Perhaps we can continue this line of inquiry at a later date. Diamondhead should be announcing our presence tomorrow.
Greymatter logged out of Upgrades profile, leaving the hero leader temporarily at a loss for what to do. Fortunately, he had a friend to keep him on track. "Collin, I think you should inform Director Piggot about this." He nodded back at her. What he got was valuable information, regardless of how unsettling it was.
Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 11:50 PM.
Location: The Boardwalk
The last sixteen hours had undoubtedly been the most interesting day of Ben's life. The last eight hours came with a handful of discoveries. The first was that using the life-form lock put the Omnitrix in its recharge state for four hours. Clearly it was better to transform normally and save the life-form lock for emergency situations.
He also discovered that his new little sister was ridiculously cute. Ben was glad that she lacked the reserved disposition that was essential for him to consider someone romantically, because she had a good bit of what he considered physically attractive. That was especially true of her thin petite build. There was also the fact that the fifteen year old went out of her way to look even younger than she looked naturally, which ringed all of the pedophilia bells. Ben may have understood he was fifteen physically, but his mind was still that of an adult's. It was easy enough for him to stick her firmly in the sibling category of his mind.
One after he was able to coax her out of her room, Mrs. Clements had encouraged all of them to spend some time playing board games. That went on for a long time, and gave him ample opportunity to play the role of an obnoxious older brother. In fact, he settled into the role so suddenly that the entire Clements family was a bit shell shocked. Her cuteness simply made for too easy of a sticking point for most of his cracks at her.
Eventually game night came to an end, leaving them with some time to get ready for the celebrations. Ben wasted no time locking himself back in his room so he could use Greymatter to write a few programs that would turn out invaluable in any future endeavors. Getting a message from Dragon in the middle of that turned out to be a surprise. Being an unverified cape drew a lot of unwanted attention on PHO, but a world famous hero was worth responding to. She was just fishing for information, and Ben saw no reason to deny her. Greymatter saw it a bit differently. If it worked out, the plan he set up would protect his human identity.
"Emma!" Ben was pulled from his thoughts at Madison calling out to someone. He looked towards the direction she was waving to and picked out a very pretty red headed teen that was more shapely than anyone at the age of fifteen had any right to be. She closed the distance with the kind of gait designed to draw attention. She was quickly classified as 'only interesting due to being sister's friend' in his mind. "Is Sophia around?" Madison asked the redhead.
"She's around, but we won't find her." There was something about the...certainty in her words that seemed off to Ben, but he dismissed it when Emma started giving him some kind of upward smile. "So you're the foster kid. You are cute."
"Thanks. You're pretty pretty yourself." He could have been talking about the weather for all the intent he put in his voice.
"I think we should leave you kids alone to hang out," Patricia chimed in. "Don't wander off too far. The docks are dangerous at night." And with that, the parental figures left.
"Your parents are really lame Madi."
The smaller girl groaned in affirmation while what they were talking about clicked in Ben's head. "Oh. There trying to do a set up."
Madison's groaning turned into a hand on her forehead. "Please, talk about anything else."
As if to answer her plea, the speakers screeched suddenly. When it stopped, a voice with all the presence of a movie announcer sounded out throughout all of the boardwalk. "Happy New Years Brocton Bay. For many generations, we have used fireworks to herald forth the new year. The same tired formula for what should be a time of change, but fear not, for we have looked back to the beginning of man's greatest pastime for inspiration."
"Great. Don't these losers ever give up?"
"I take it back."
"This is Uber and Leet, right? I hear that they are more like illegal performers than real villains."
"They're pathetic. I don't know why the heroes haven't taken them down yet." Ben glanced at Emma for her comment. There was a tone to her voice that he found unusually aggressive, but he dismissed it for more important things. Uber and Leet were the videogame villains. Ben liked video-games as much as the next nerd guy, but Uber and Leet gave them a bad name. Video-game characters were supposed to be the heroes.
"It was realized that we have been too selfish, so we decided for others to get a chance to enjoy themselves. However, we understand that you are not as familiar with the greatest arts of modern man. But there is one work that has stood out and touched the hearts and minds of millions. One that all know how to play." The speakers began playing a very familiar Russian tune. Four two foot long spikes impaled the ground near a handful of people and formed a 64 square-foot grid out of lasers made visible by mist. "Brought to you from the minds of Uber and Leet, we invite the flying heroes of Brocton Bay to a game of 3-DIMENSIONAL TETRIS!"
Emma ended up laughing loudly. "Do those idiots really think that they heroes will play their stupid game?"
She continued ranting, but Ben didn't stick around to listen. Uber and Leet were still villains, and villains usually had a way to force compliance when they want it. He didn't know what that method would be, but he did understand how the game would be played. Uber had specifically invited flying heroes to play, which meant that only aerial cspes will be able to control the descent of the inevitable Tetris blocks. Ben needed maximum aerial maneuverability and spacial awareness, and there was only one choice that fit the bill. He found a spot away from any people and prepared his choice. "Time to fly."
1/5 Roll=2 - Success
Yep, Tetris was the winner. SB votes were 7 to 7 between Halo and Tetris, but SV had 2 votes for Tetris. Good for me too, because I'm sure I wrote myself into a corner that would have made a Halo theme nearly impossible. (Fun fact: if I used Missile Command, the MC would've chosen Heatblast.)
I wanted to include the conflict as well, but the chapter was already big enough by my standards.
I also have another vote prepared. Ben will try to introduced Diamondhead publicly. Two Wards will be there patrolling. Pick two.
[] Aegis: The Fearless Leader
[] Clockblocker: Jokester
[] Vista: Young, Cute, and Experienced
[] Gallant: The Chivalrous One
[] Kid Win: The Sociable Tinker
[] Shadow Stalker: Broody Anti-Heroine
I'm not certain if the next chapter will reach the moment you're voting for, but I figured I'd get it out of the way.
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