- Location
- Fawnland
Plus I doubt all that many people even know about him or know his biggest sins. Soviet Union officials other than general secretaries don't exactly get mentioned in school a lot.
Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)
- Thread starter LordRoustabout
- Start date
Aetharian
Currently on Fire
- Location
- USA
Honestly given Aisha's powers she could end up being somewhat of a boogeyman to Apeiron's Godzilla so the connection would be rather apt.
She'd be the one the disappears people in the middle of the night.
Showman Tinker (Albert)
Over on Discord, I promised an omake where Joe leaves all his California Legal love interests panting for more. Here we go. Assumes a bit of a timeskip, no more than a week or so, but obviously that's all going to be invalidated by the next several chapters.
Miss Militia tugged her bandolier, the unfamiliar weight a bit of an annoyance.
Hopefully she wouldn't need the special munitions it held, as Dragon had already demonstrated the rounds to her, walking her through the assembly process in order to display that they were mass-produced ammunition, rather than one-off tinker-tech. Just in case the trick didn't work on her power's definition of legitimate weapon production. They were munitions able to break through Apeiron's powered armor, and improved to be able to handle several theorized upgrades, so it seemed plausible that Militia's power might reject them as tinkertech no matter how well Dragon could mass produce them.
Dragon's current suit, the newly-designed Scoundrel Thrasher, had as many of them as Dragon could fit in, along with an advanced ECM suite that would make it impossible for anyone to hack the suit, courtesy of Armsmaster. (He might be on bed-rest, but there was nothing wrong with his programming skills.) Once Dragon activated her ECM, nothing electronic was getting in or out.
Apeiron's signal had been narrowed to the Docks during his EW brawl with Dragon, which wasn't much of a surprise. It seemed likely that he and Garment were part of a cluster trigger, after all, given her minor tinker powers and his fashion requirement. Unfortunately, the shaker that gave them both the ability to do hand-work at utterly ludicrous speed hadn't been located, although if that cape were also in the Docks, staying unnoticed in the Age of Apeiron might be the biggest display of good sense from a Brockton cape all year.
Hannah had a suspect for that shaker, but it was an entirely lighthearted bit of speculation, one that she deemed unnecessary to share with anyone in the PRT. Besides, if Distinctive Delicatessens got shut down, half the Protectorate might go on strike.
"Hello, Garment," Miss Militia said, as the door to Garment's Garments opened and the cloth cape waved in greetings. Her body language, always expressive, had become even more communicative lately. Perhaps because she had interns these days who could speak for her when needed: A young lady of around 14 and a beanpole who looked maybe 17, despite being quite tall. (He also looked embarassed to be clad in an authentic Garment design, but that was boys for you. His uniform made him stand out like a fashion god, but he was mortified by it anyway.)
(FOURTH WALL NOTE: I'm assuming that Joe uses a potion to revert back to a teenager when he's 'on shift' at Garment's Garments. And that he's used Putting on the Reich uniforms to emphasize 'employee' enough to overshadow Bayonetta forcing him into 'sexilicious young man'.)
Hannah had only intended to check in with the registered Rogue, to make sure that no one was bothering her recently - the BBPD was quicker than usual to pick up the thugs in the area after Garment apprehended them, but they didn't do capes - but after a moment of introductions and pleasantries, a trio of sketch papers were levitated over to Miss Militia.
"These are-?" She froze, as she recognized the individuals sketched on the first sheet. Every member of the ENE protectorate, with their current themes recognizable, but with their outfits . . . unified. Costumes that were still personalized to the individual cape, but that made it clear that they were on the same team, and working for a common purpose.
Another sheet had a design for PRT uniforms that were far less intimidating than the current design, yet looking far more capable as well. "I am a servant of the people, protector of the common good," the new design seemed to say.
The third sheet was clearly meant for the Wards. Once again, it captured their individuality as capes and specialists, while still emphasizing unity at a team. Not even Vista would find much to complain about, Hannah couldn't help but think.
But while she was considering the sketches, Garment had approached Dragon's Scoundrel Thrasher, and was busily at work with her notepad as she circled the suit of powered armor.
"This is . . ." Dragon began uncertainly, as Miss Militia moved to get a look over her shoulder at the finished sketch. Which was still of powered armor, but somehow looked . . . more.
"I think this might even be practical to create," the Canadian tinker finally said. "Thank you, Garment!"
Hannah didn't miss the amused look on the lanky young man's face, as she and Dragon finally left the boutique. But then again, he was probably used to seeing stunned faces on customers by now. In any event, Garment's prices tended to be more than reasonable, so unless Glenn raised hell after seeing the proposed designs, ENE might be seeing a fashion upgrade in the next few days.
Next up was the deli, practically next door. Hannah stopped as soon as she and Dragon were inside, in order to take a deep breath of the smells in the air, letting her stress levels flow out as the odors came in.
"The ambience in here- Did they take fashion advice from Garment, do you think?" Dragon asked quietly.
Miss Militia nodded to the staff, who in their uniforms looked far smarter and more capable than what should be possible for a small-chain equivalent of a Subway. "PR already has us studying the meeting at the gym, as an example of doing a public meet perfectly. The owner obviously paid attention as well, alongside getting Garment to design the uniforms here. Now, do you want coffee, or would you like the smoothie that I have them mix up for Armsmaster?"
"Caffeine doesn't sit well with me," Dragon admitted. "But I think I see why you like the smell. That's better coffee than I've smelled anywhere else, I think."
"It's not just the coffee," Hannah pointed out. "There's not a drink here that isn't sublime. Even the soda has got to be hand-mixed and made with cane sugar, because once you try a fizzy lemonade here you don't want to go back to what you'll find in grocery stores or at restaurants. And their juices are amazing."
She demonstrated by ordering a pair of OJs, sipping her cup slowly while Dragon emptied hers into an internal reservoir.
"That-" The Canadian cape froze. "That is refreshing. On levels I can't properly express."
(FOURTH WALL NOTE: I'm assuming that Dragon has a bit of bio-tissue in her armor to help seat 'her' into it.)
The woman behind the counter chuckled. "You aren't the first to say something like that. Miss Militia, your usual?"
Hannah nodded, handing over a Franklin and her thermos. "Plus an Armsmaster smoothie for Dragon. And the usual Protectorate platter, at the end of my shift."
The woman nodded, passing back change after ringing up the order. "Alright, one Delved Too Deep coffee, an Armsmaster smoothie, and a Carnivore Calzone for now, with a full platter and drinks for later."
Dragon froze again after adding the smoothie to her reservoir. "Miss Militia, could this place be cape-owned? Because the food is-"
"Too good to believe?" Hannah replied, sitting on her motorcycle and alternating between bites of meaty ecstasy and sips of majestic bitter coal-black wakefulness. "We've checked it. It's not tinker-tech food, it just manages to be perfect. It has Garment's obvious approval and protection, it's affiliated with the gym she chose to debut in association with, it offers a steep discount to Dock locals in good standing, it's helping Armsmaster recover ahead of time-"
"That last just about has to be a shaker effect," Dragon pointed out. "Could this be the shaker part of Apeiron's cluster?"
"Maybe," Miss Militia admitted. "But as the acting leader of the ENE Protectorate, while Armsmaster is recovering, I don't consider Distinctive Delicatessens a puzzle worth investigating. Especially not while the current state of emergency is unresolved."
Dragon tilted the head of her suit for a moment. "Thank you, Miss Militia. That clarifies my responsibilities considerably."
Sometimes the Canadian cape could be a little too inflexible about obeying authority, Hannah reflected. Obedience to the chain of command was a good trait to have, especially for capes, because submitting to lawful non-cape oversight was the single biggest line separating heroes from the temptation of becoming the kind of warlords who'd ruined her childhood. (No matter how much it sometimes chafed, particularly when the Youth Guard got involved.) On the other hand, part of good military discipline was knowing what to ignore, such as all the under-the-table dealing that quartermasters had to engage in to keep logistics running.
Distinctive Delicatessens had qualified as necessary logistics with the first sip of Delved Too Deep coffee to pass Miss Militia's lips. (And after getting herself scanned for the same kind of influence Panacea had been revealed to be under. Which she'd passed, thankfully, because if Panacea had been mastered by Apeiron as Piggot claimed, it was proof enough that the deli wasn't one of his schemes.) Plus, by catering to the people of the Docks though local 'verified good people' discounts, it was providing the kind of support that the honest poor of Brockton Bay sorely needed.
And by the time Colin was back out patrolling, the custom of supporting a local business by bringing back a platter to the Rig after each Dock Patrol ought to be too well established for him to put a halt to it.
Besides, the employees were all part of the network of one Miriam Gartenberg, and that tough old lady was locally known for her baking mastery. Obviously, six decades of cooking experience added up to a lot.
So despite being in a state of emergency, this slice of the Docks was surprisingly peaceful.
And just to show that Murphy was always listening, that was the moment that they heard the explosion.
"That's Bakuda," Dragon confirmed. Her suit's posture went a little . . . predatory. "And where Bakuda is causing trouble, Apeiron will show up to thwart her."
Lung was already starting to swell, when he crashed into a nearby building to the sound of a triumphant guitar riff. "Is some idiot broadcasting youtube clips?" Miss Militia speculated, as she and Dragon sped up to chase the ABB leader back into the fray.
"Or that scoundrel took PHO's advice-" Dragon began, before Lung flew between them this time, crashing to the same building and causing it to start to collapse.
"You scoundrel!" the Canadian cape shouted gleefully, as they came past the treeline and found Apeiron's 'Tripredicus' armor facing off against Bakuda, Oni Lee, Uber, and Leet. Her Scoundrel Thrasher wasted no time in pouncing on the suit, not even to try to determine what threats its altered appearance might herald.
It also had the unfortunate effect of keeping Miss Militia from getting a clear shot, but she had four other targets for anti-tech rounds from her bandolier, while Dragon focused on what was officially the real threat.
She might have even been right, Hannah mused, pulling the trigger and grimacing as her gun fired completely mundane rounds. (Well, so much for that, but it was why she had the bandolier, after all.) Apeiron was already being compared to Hero, as in there were serious debates about whether he was the successor to Hero or whether the deceased cape was merely his predecessor. Or father, but that seemed implausible even by PHO standards. Either way, bringing him in before everyone decided that he put Hero in the shade seemed like a really good idea. Even if he turned out to be right about March, Panacea, Glory Girl, and everything else.
Loading her gun manually took a few precious seconds-
"Are they fighting or dancing?" Leet asked.
He had a point. Dragon was obviously trying to grapple Apeiron, to hold him still long enough for Miss Militia to get a clean shot at critical hardware, but the way that Apeiron posed in his armor with each exchange, the way the robo-limbs of each suit almost caressed each other . . . if Uber and Leet were streaming this, as they usually did, Drageiron shippers were about to get a massive boost.
Then Lung burst back onto the scene, now at least ten feet tall, roaring and breathing fire.
Apeiron's Tripredicus armor leapt into the air, vaulting over Dragon's Scoundrel Thrasher, and time seemed to stand still as Apeiron himself shot out of the armor, landing in front of Lung to the accompaniment of a heavy metal chord. (It wasn't Leet supplying the soundtrack, Hannah realized. Apeiron had found a new way to show off.)
"Don't worry," the Showman Tinker called back to Dragon. "I'll come back for you after I settle Lung down."
The words were innocuous, but the way that Apeiron was dressed . . . if David Bowie had a kid with Mick Jagger who grew up emo, the vision in front of her would be how that kid would dream of looking. The outfit redefined 'edgelord' just by existing, but as it caressed the 'hero bod' clad in it, it seemed to leave everything to the imagination, and then leave the imagination panting for more.
Then there was his pose, and the implication in his words-
And Miss Militia had to quickly look down, to focus on loading her gun, as Apeiron began what was less a fight and more a dance with Lung.
"Dude, that's hot," she heard Uber mutter.
"Gaaaaaay," Leet replied.
Hannah did her best to avoid watching, as she began trading shots with the other villains in the clearing, but it was impossible not to hear the shift in Lung's roars, from rage to confusion and . . . distraction?
Sparing a quick glance, she froze as time seemed to stop again. Somehow, Apeiron had convinced Lung that this wasn't a fight, because the villain was back down to his regular (admittedly bulky) size. And now it was definitely a dance, something that looked like high-impact tango, as the sex god that was Apeiron twirled his partner around before dipping him down, almost gently touching his neck, and leaving Lung on the ground, where the leader of the ABB began to snore lightly.
This time, the power chord felt like the slow descent after a particularly gratifying climax.
ApeiLung had arrived and PHO would never be the same.
"Hot!" Uber muttered again.
"Yeah, no, we're not getting into this right now," Leet replied, pulling something from his outfit and making the duo vanish.
Bakuda snarled as Apeiron turned her way, but after a short rant that somehow managed to imply that she was the only person he should be concerned with, she likewise activated a teleport and vanished, along with Oni Lee.
With Dragon still tangled up in the Tripredicus - and how did it manage to look like they were almost mating?! - that left her alone with Apeiron, who now stood facing her, his posture screaming to the world that he knew exactly what to do with her. And to her mild embarassment, she couldn't help roving her eyes over his body, because it was obvious that he had the experience to satisfy the most demanding lover.
Thank Scion they weren't being streamed anymore.
"I have to say, Miss Militia," he began, "that I've always admired your choice of weapons."
Hannah gasped as her body tried to turn inside out- But despite the utterly salacious implication, that burned as darkly as his lascivious gaze and lewd stance, he instead turned and jumped, meeting his Tripredicus suit midway and entering the armor in a way that could only be described as prurient, sinking in deep and filling it entirely.
She and Dragon watched as the libidinous tinker flew off.
"I take it you weren't in any condition to pursue either," Hannah finally said, once she was confident that her voice would come out steady.
Somehow, Dragon looked shaky, despite being the one in power armor. "He said he was sorry, that he'd intended to get me alone because he wasn't up to handling both of us at the same time," the Canadian reported. "And that next time, he'd be ready to take us all on at once."
It took a massive act of will on Miss Militia's part to avoid collapsing, as her knees went weak and nearly buckled.
"Do you know if Armsmaster has more of his anti-Lung serum?" she asked, to try to distract them both.
"After what happened last time, he had to destroy it and start to research a new version," the Canadian tinker reported. "We can try to foam Lung-"
Hannah shook her head. "Doesn't work. He gets angry and even if you dump an entire block's worth on him, once he's ramped up he just burns it all away."
Dragon nodded. "Well, the villains and scoundrels have all retreated for the night, or are at least sleeping it off. Want to go get that platter and head back to the Rig?"
"That might be for the best," Miss Militia agreed.
She was going to need to find a distraction, to keep from imagining how Apeiron would handle her weapons if he captured her, but if they stayed out any longer, he might use his shaker speed to finish his repairs, come back out, and try to make good on his boast.
From the way Dragon kept to her top speed, the Canadian tinker might be worried about the same thing.
Because unwritten rules or not, if Apeiron showed back up, would either of them have the nerve to turn him down again?
Miss Militia tugged her bandolier, the unfamiliar weight a bit of an annoyance.
Hopefully she wouldn't need the special munitions it held, as Dragon had already demonstrated the rounds to her, walking her through the assembly process in order to display that they were mass-produced ammunition, rather than one-off tinker-tech. Just in case the trick didn't work on her power's definition of legitimate weapon production. They were munitions able to break through Apeiron's powered armor, and improved to be able to handle several theorized upgrades, so it seemed plausible that Militia's power might reject them as tinkertech no matter how well Dragon could mass produce them.
Dragon's current suit, the newly-designed Scoundrel Thrasher, had as many of them as Dragon could fit in, along with an advanced ECM suite that would make it impossible for anyone to hack the suit, courtesy of Armsmaster. (He might be on bed-rest, but there was nothing wrong with his programming skills.) Once Dragon activated her ECM, nothing electronic was getting in or out.
Apeiron's signal had been narrowed to the Docks during his EW brawl with Dragon, which wasn't much of a surprise. It seemed likely that he and Garment were part of a cluster trigger, after all, given her minor tinker powers and his fashion requirement. Unfortunately, the shaker that gave them both the ability to do hand-work at utterly ludicrous speed hadn't been located, although if that cape were also in the Docks, staying unnoticed in the Age of Apeiron might be the biggest display of good sense from a Brockton cape all year.
Hannah had a suspect for that shaker, but it was an entirely lighthearted bit of speculation, one that she deemed unnecessary to share with anyone in the PRT. Besides, if Distinctive Delicatessens got shut down, half the Protectorate might go on strike.
"Hello, Garment," Miss Militia said, as the door to Garment's Garments opened and the cloth cape waved in greetings. Her body language, always expressive, had become even more communicative lately. Perhaps because she had interns these days who could speak for her when needed: A young lady of around 14 and a beanpole who looked maybe 17, despite being quite tall. (He also looked embarassed to be clad in an authentic Garment design, but that was boys for you. His uniform made him stand out like a fashion god, but he was mortified by it anyway.)
(FOURTH WALL NOTE: I'm assuming that Joe uses a potion to revert back to a teenager when he's 'on shift' at Garment's Garments. And that he's used Putting on the Reich uniforms to emphasize 'employee' enough to overshadow Bayonetta forcing him into 'sexilicious young man'.)
Hannah had only intended to check in with the registered Rogue, to make sure that no one was bothering her recently - the BBPD was quicker than usual to pick up the thugs in the area after Garment apprehended them, but they didn't do capes - but after a moment of introductions and pleasantries, a trio of sketch papers were levitated over to Miss Militia.
"These are-?" She froze, as she recognized the individuals sketched on the first sheet. Every member of the ENE protectorate, with their current themes recognizable, but with their outfits . . . unified. Costumes that were still personalized to the individual cape, but that made it clear that they were on the same team, and working for a common purpose.
Another sheet had a design for PRT uniforms that were far less intimidating than the current design, yet looking far more capable as well. "I am a servant of the people, protector of the common good," the new design seemed to say.
The third sheet was clearly meant for the Wards. Once again, it captured their individuality as capes and specialists, while still emphasizing unity at a team. Not even Vista would find much to complain about, Hannah couldn't help but think.
But while she was considering the sketches, Garment had approached Dragon's Scoundrel Thrasher, and was busily at work with her notepad as she circled the suit of powered armor.
"This is . . ." Dragon began uncertainly, as Miss Militia moved to get a look over her shoulder at the finished sketch. Which was still of powered armor, but somehow looked . . . more.
"I think this might even be practical to create," the Canadian tinker finally said. "Thank you, Garment!"
Hannah didn't miss the amused look on the lanky young man's face, as she and Dragon finally left the boutique. But then again, he was probably used to seeing stunned faces on customers by now. In any event, Garment's prices tended to be more than reasonable, so unless Glenn raised hell after seeing the proposed designs, ENE might be seeing a fashion upgrade in the next few days.
Next up was the deli, practically next door. Hannah stopped as soon as she and Dragon were inside, in order to take a deep breath of the smells in the air, letting her stress levels flow out as the odors came in.
"The ambience in here- Did they take fashion advice from Garment, do you think?" Dragon asked quietly.
Miss Militia nodded to the staff, who in their uniforms looked far smarter and more capable than what should be possible for a small-chain equivalent of a Subway. "PR already has us studying the meeting at the gym, as an example of doing a public meet perfectly. The owner obviously paid attention as well, alongside getting Garment to design the uniforms here. Now, do you want coffee, or would you like the smoothie that I have them mix up for Armsmaster?"
"Caffeine doesn't sit well with me," Dragon admitted. "But I think I see why you like the smell. That's better coffee than I've smelled anywhere else, I think."
"It's not just the coffee," Hannah pointed out. "There's not a drink here that isn't sublime. Even the soda has got to be hand-mixed and made with cane sugar, because once you try a fizzy lemonade here you don't want to go back to what you'll find in grocery stores or at restaurants. And their juices are amazing."
She demonstrated by ordering a pair of OJs, sipping her cup slowly while Dragon emptied hers into an internal reservoir.
"That-" The Canadian cape froze. "That is refreshing. On levels I can't properly express."
(FOURTH WALL NOTE: I'm assuming that Dragon has a bit of bio-tissue in her armor to help seat 'her' into it.)
The woman behind the counter chuckled. "You aren't the first to say something like that. Miss Militia, your usual?"
Hannah nodded, handing over a Franklin and her thermos. "Plus an Armsmaster smoothie for Dragon. And the usual Protectorate platter, at the end of my shift."
The woman nodded, passing back change after ringing up the order. "Alright, one Delved Too Deep coffee, an Armsmaster smoothie, and a Carnivore Calzone for now, with a full platter and drinks for later."
-------------------
Dragon froze again after adding the smoothie to her reservoir. "Miss Militia, could this place be cape-owned? Because the food is-"
"Too good to believe?" Hannah replied, sitting on her motorcycle and alternating between bites of meaty ecstasy and sips of majestic bitter coal-black wakefulness. "We've checked it. It's not tinker-tech food, it just manages to be perfect. It has Garment's obvious approval and protection, it's affiliated with the gym she chose to debut in association with, it offers a steep discount to Dock locals in good standing, it's helping Armsmaster recover ahead of time-"
"That last just about has to be a shaker effect," Dragon pointed out. "Could this be the shaker part of Apeiron's cluster?"
"Maybe," Miss Militia admitted. "But as the acting leader of the ENE Protectorate, while Armsmaster is recovering, I don't consider Distinctive Delicatessens a puzzle worth investigating. Especially not while the current state of emergency is unresolved."
Dragon tilted the head of her suit for a moment. "Thank you, Miss Militia. That clarifies my responsibilities considerably."
Sometimes the Canadian cape could be a little too inflexible about obeying authority, Hannah reflected. Obedience to the chain of command was a good trait to have, especially for capes, because submitting to lawful non-cape oversight was the single biggest line separating heroes from the temptation of becoming the kind of warlords who'd ruined her childhood. (No matter how much it sometimes chafed, particularly when the Youth Guard got involved.) On the other hand, part of good military discipline was knowing what to ignore, such as all the under-the-table dealing that quartermasters had to engage in to keep logistics running.
Distinctive Delicatessens had qualified as necessary logistics with the first sip of Delved Too Deep coffee to pass Miss Militia's lips. (And after getting herself scanned for the same kind of influence Panacea had been revealed to be under. Which she'd passed, thankfully, because if Panacea had been mastered by Apeiron as Piggot claimed, it was proof enough that the deli wasn't one of his schemes.) Plus, by catering to the people of the Docks though local 'verified good people' discounts, it was providing the kind of support that the honest poor of Brockton Bay sorely needed.
And by the time Colin was back out patrolling, the custom of supporting a local business by bringing back a platter to the Rig after each Dock Patrol ought to be too well established for him to put a halt to it.
Besides, the employees were all part of the network of one Miriam Gartenberg, and that tough old lady was locally known for her baking mastery. Obviously, six decades of cooking experience added up to a lot.
So despite being in a state of emergency, this slice of the Docks was surprisingly peaceful.
And just to show that Murphy was always listening, that was the moment that they heard the explosion.
"That's Bakuda," Dragon confirmed. Her suit's posture went a little . . . predatory. "And where Bakuda is causing trouble, Apeiron will show up to thwart her."
-------------------
Lung was already starting to swell, when he crashed into a nearby building to the sound of a triumphant guitar riff. "Is some idiot broadcasting youtube clips?" Miss Militia speculated, as she and Dragon sped up to chase the ABB leader back into the fray.
"Or that scoundrel took PHO's advice-" Dragon began, before Lung flew between them this time, crashing to the same building and causing it to start to collapse.
"You scoundrel!" the Canadian cape shouted gleefully, as they came past the treeline and found Apeiron's 'Tripredicus' armor facing off against Bakuda, Oni Lee, Uber, and Leet. Her Scoundrel Thrasher wasted no time in pouncing on the suit, not even to try to determine what threats its altered appearance might herald.
It also had the unfortunate effect of keeping Miss Militia from getting a clear shot, but she had four other targets for anti-tech rounds from her bandolier, while Dragon focused on what was officially the real threat.
She might have even been right, Hannah mused, pulling the trigger and grimacing as her gun fired completely mundane rounds. (Well, so much for that, but it was why she had the bandolier, after all.) Apeiron was already being compared to Hero, as in there were serious debates about whether he was the successor to Hero or whether the deceased cape was merely his predecessor. Or father, but that seemed implausible even by PHO standards. Either way, bringing him in before everyone decided that he put Hero in the shade seemed like a really good idea. Even if he turned out to be right about March, Panacea, Glory Girl, and everything else.
Loading her gun manually took a few precious seconds-
"Are they fighting or dancing?" Leet asked.
He had a point. Dragon was obviously trying to grapple Apeiron, to hold him still long enough for Miss Militia to get a clean shot at critical hardware, but the way that Apeiron posed in his armor with each exchange, the way the robo-limbs of each suit almost caressed each other . . . if Uber and Leet were streaming this, as they usually did, Drageiron shippers were about to get a massive boost.
Then Lung burst back onto the scene, now at least ten feet tall, roaring and breathing fire.
Apeiron's Tripredicus armor leapt into the air, vaulting over Dragon's Scoundrel Thrasher, and time seemed to stand still as Apeiron himself shot out of the armor, landing in front of Lung to the accompaniment of a heavy metal chord. (It wasn't Leet supplying the soundtrack, Hannah realized. Apeiron had found a new way to show off.)
"Don't worry," the Showman Tinker called back to Dragon. "I'll come back for you after I settle Lung down."
The words were innocuous, but the way that Apeiron was dressed . . . if David Bowie had a kid with Mick Jagger who grew up emo, the vision in front of her would be how that kid would dream of looking. The outfit redefined 'edgelord' just by existing, but as it caressed the 'hero bod' clad in it, it seemed to leave everything to the imagination, and then leave the imagination panting for more.
Then there was his pose, and the implication in his words-
And Miss Militia had to quickly look down, to focus on loading her gun, as Apeiron began what was less a fight and more a dance with Lung.
"Dude, that's hot," she heard Uber mutter.
"Gaaaaaay," Leet replied.
Hannah did her best to avoid watching, as she began trading shots with the other villains in the clearing, but it was impossible not to hear the shift in Lung's roars, from rage to confusion and . . . distraction?
Sparing a quick glance, she froze as time seemed to stop again. Somehow, Apeiron had convinced Lung that this wasn't a fight, because the villain was back down to his regular (admittedly bulky) size. And now it was definitely a dance, something that looked like high-impact tango, as the sex god that was Apeiron twirled his partner around before dipping him down, almost gently touching his neck, and leaving Lung on the ground, where the leader of the ABB began to snore lightly.
This time, the power chord felt like the slow descent after a particularly gratifying climax.
ApeiLung had arrived and PHO would never be the same.
"Hot!" Uber muttered again.
"Yeah, no, we're not getting into this right now," Leet replied, pulling something from his outfit and making the duo vanish.
Bakuda snarled as Apeiron turned her way, but after a short rant that somehow managed to imply that she was the only person he should be concerned with, she likewise activated a teleport and vanished, along with Oni Lee.
With Dragon still tangled up in the Tripredicus - and how did it manage to look like they were almost mating?! - that left her alone with Apeiron, who now stood facing her, his posture screaming to the world that he knew exactly what to do with her. And to her mild embarassment, she couldn't help roving her eyes over his body, because it was obvious that he had the experience to satisfy the most demanding lover.
Thank Scion they weren't being streamed anymore.
"I have to say, Miss Militia," he began, "that I've always admired your choice of weapons."
Hannah gasped as her body tried to turn inside out- But despite the utterly salacious implication, that burned as darkly as his lascivious gaze and lewd stance, he instead turned and jumped, meeting his Tripredicus suit midway and entering the armor in a way that could only be described as prurient, sinking in deep and filling it entirely.
She and Dragon watched as the libidinous tinker flew off.
"I take it you weren't in any condition to pursue either," Hannah finally said, once she was confident that her voice would come out steady.
Somehow, Dragon looked shaky, despite being the one in power armor. "He said he was sorry, that he'd intended to get me alone because he wasn't up to handling both of us at the same time," the Canadian reported. "And that next time, he'd be ready to take us all on at once."
It took a massive act of will on Miss Militia's part to avoid collapsing, as her knees went weak and nearly buckled.
"Do you know if Armsmaster has more of his anti-Lung serum?" she asked, to try to distract them both.
"After what happened last time, he had to destroy it and start to research a new version," the Canadian tinker reported. "We can try to foam Lung-"
Hannah shook her head. "Doesn't work. He gets angry and even if you dump an entire block's worth on him, once he's ramped up he just burns it all away."
Dragon nodded. "Well, the villains and scoundrels have all retreated for the night, or are at least sleeping it off. Want to go get that platter and head back to the Rig?"
"That might be for the best," Miss Militia agreed.
She was going to need to find a distraction, to keep from imagining how Apeiron would handle her weapons if he captured her, but if they stayed out any longer, he might use his shaker speed to finish his repairs, come back out, and try to make good on his boast.
From the way Dragon kept to her top speed, the Canadian tinker might be worried about the same thing.
Because unwritten rules or not, if Apeiron showed back up, would either of them have the nerve to turn him down again?
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- Pronouns
- He
...don't underestimate PHO, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if the main current theory is that Apeiron is the child of Hero and Alexandria.
Dint forget to @LordRoustabout so this won't be missed
- Pronouns
- Male
Text size is a little small on mobile btw.
- Location
- Philippines
Glenn Chambers: "I WANT PICTURES! GET ME PICTURES OF APEIRON!"
Seriously, that man has to be regretting Apeiron's dubious morality so much. This is the guy who girls would be buying Armsmaster panties for, only for them to replace Armsmaster's face with Apeiron's later because that is the one true Hot Tinker.
Very different flags would be swinging once his Trump designation becomes official. Aisha got it right, they were shipping Hero with the wrong member of the Triumvirate:
Legend: "So it seems you too have become a gay ico-"
Eidolon: "I'm not in the closet, Legend, regardless of what PHO says!"
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The Shallow
Shallow, Yet Deep
- Location
- Your Universe
- Pronouns
- She/They
Her Armor is Beria, she is Lethe
"there's no guarantee anyone will know Lethe is associated with Apeiron anyway."
sorry for not quoting correctly but the moment people hear "Lethe" they're gonna assume she's associated with Apeiron.
Because who else uses Greek names in brockton bay. This is a very loose hill but people will still stand on it, probably.
sorry for not quoting correctly but the moment people hear "Lethe" they're gonna assume she's associated with Apeiron.
Because who else uses Greek names in brockton bay. This is a very loose hill but people will still stand on it, probably.
Ngl this feels like the type of thing that should be on QQ
- Pronouns
- He
And soon after forget about her.
- Location
- New Jersey, USA
It was only a thousand words, no where near long enough for a new chapter!
The Shallow
Shallow, Yet Deep
- Location
- Your Universe
- Pronouns
- She/They
I would be willing to do a lot for Joe to just get a Mini Ziz
- Location
- Philippines
Also, the fact that she has a very well-made suit for someone who is supposedly a newbie? True, considering she is a Stranger, and one that can modify records of herself at that, but one single look at Beria and people would recognize Apeiron's work. For however short amount of time that recognition lasts anyway.
...also, am I the only one who can see Aisha making full use of her powers to stage the biggest entrances out of nowhere she could do?
Villains: "-wha, WHERE DID YOU EVEN COME FROM!?"
Lethe: "From your worst memories, criminal scum! Face the power of my righteous lunar justice!"
- Location
- Maine
- Pronouns
- They/Them/Theirs
So okay, the theoretical "cluster" that Apeiron would appear to be part of is made up Apeiron: tinker extraordinaire(With a Fashion requirement?), Garment who has Textakinesis, and now Lethe: The Mother of All Strangers.
The one thing they all seem to have in common, aside from the well-designed "requirement" is attention management. Apeiron is a cynosure, now more than even. You just can't look away from him, and if you stop paying attention to him something is bound to change. Garment of course is able to manage attention and ideas through clothing(with a minor tinker specialization in making new clothes, as far as the PRT knows), and Lethe is able to make it so you can't pay attention to and can't remember them.
So the question becomes, what event involving multiple people was A) Stressful enough to cause multiple triggers(it'd just be the capstone of the Tinker, but the shaker and stranger effects indicate it'd involve serious physical harm over an area that was deliberately caused by a person or persons whom the others wanted to get away from) and B) involved these three elements in the last three months(the stated lifespan of independants according to the PRT)?
That's the question the ThinkTank and other PRT assets are going to be chasing their tail over.
The one thing they all seem to have in common, aside from the well-designed "requirement" is attention management. Apeiron is a cynosure, now more than even. You just can't look away from him, and if you stop paying attention to him something is bound to change. Garment of course is able to manage attention and ideas through clothing(with a minor tinker specialization in making new clothes, as far as the PRT knows), and Lethe is able to make it so you can't pay attention to and can't remember them.
So the question becomes, what event involving multiple people was A) Stressful enough to cause multiple triggers(it'd just be the capstone of the Tinker, but the shaker and stranger effects indicate it'd involve serious physical harm over an area that was deliberately caused by a person or persons whom the others wanted to get away from) and B) involved these three elements in the last three months(the stated lifespan of independants according to the PRT)?
That's the question the ThinkTank and other PRT assets are going to be chasing their tail over.
- Location
- Philippines
Depending on how things play out, someone might even detect Survey's influence surrounding Garment's shop and mistake it for some kind of Thinker acting behind the scenes. After all, for a Cluster Trigger, there's no evident source of Apeiron's Thinker power.
The Shallow
Shallow, Yet Deep
- Location
- Your Universe
- Pronouns
- She/They
He wont now that he has the implant, but if he Namedrops Fleet and/or Survery, WEDGDG would lose their minds trying to figure out their powers. All the tinkers would be like "Makes sense, it's the work of 3 tinkers, not 1"
Fuck that's so much better than my idea
In a dragon V Survery scenario, she'd be very interested in Survey connecting to a slew of ever-changing proxies that Aperion uses.
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- Location
- Philippines
Not only that, considering Survey's original duty was contextual analysis, especially in regards with potential threats, someone looking from the outside might look at her work and come to the conclusion that, "Yeah, that's the stronger version of Apeiron's vague Thinker power."
Going off that, they might logically assume that this unknown Thinker is the real power player behind everything that is currently happening in the Bay, not March or even Apeiron.
The Shallow
Shallow, Yet Deep
- Location
- Your Universe
- Pronouns
- She/They
If Dragon sees survey observing Garment, she might think that they are playing their entire cluster like a fiddle, and would get worried for Garment, Lethe & Aperion
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Joe: "Why are we here. Just to suffer?"
Dragon: "Wow, okay. I was just bringing up some concerns about you three being manipulated, but that was pretty edgy. Do you mean in a more general, existential sense, or in Brockton?"
Joe: "Don't even get me started."
Dragon: "Wow, okay. I was just bringing up some concerns about you three being manipulated, but that was pretty edgy. Do you mean in a more general, existential sense, or in Brockton?"
Joe: "Don't even get me started."
Given how Garment is able to appear out of nowhere, as soon as Lethe debuts everyone is going to figure there's Stranger in that cluster, yeah. They still haven't found the Shaker who allows Garment and Apeiron to work at Ludicrous Speed, although I suppose they might decide that Garment herself is the source of the shakering.
Given Dragon's intrusion, I'm guessing that Joe is moving all internal networking to an entangled particle hub, with air gaps for any connection to the internet that doesn't require speed-of-light interaction. But yeah, they'll be looking for the thinker part of his cluster.
Emo sex god in battle is now a thing, and the only way to remove that is to master Aura to the point that Joe doesn't need to go 8th grade Hot Topic anymore, along with becoming so superior in battle that he can handle opponents with his attention split enough to reduce the posing and suppress the battle-flirting. Until then he's going to be leaving everyone either flustered or questioning their orientation.
The next interaction with the Undersiders is going to be interesting times, and I can see Alec being put on liaison duty as the only member shameless enough to have fun flirting back. Especially since Lisa isn't going to need Joe to say them out loud to have all the posing and innuendo come through via Negotiator.
Given Dragon's intrusion, I'm guessing that Joe is moving all internal networking to an entangled particle hub, with air gaps for any connection to the internet that doesn't require speed-of-light interaction. But yeah, they'll be looking for the thinker part of his cluster.
Emo sex god in battle is now a thing, and the only way to remove that is to master Aura to the point that Joe doesn't need to go 8th grade Hot Topic anymore, along with becoming so superior in battle that he can handle opponents with his attention split enough to reduce the posing and suppress the battle-flirting. Until then he's going to be leaving everyone either flustered or questioning their orientation.
The next interaction with the Undersiders is going to be interesting times, and I can see Alec being put on liaison duty as the only member shameless enough to have fun flirting back. Especially since Lisa isn't going to need Joe to say them out loud to have all the posing and innuendo come through via Negotiator.
- Pronouns
- He
He could stop being emo if he gets the perk, That undefinable Thing, a perk that specializes in souls.