- Location
- Here
Broken Adventure
- Thread starter theaceoffire
- Start date
- Crossover
- Status
- Location
- Texas
Maybe Arc 4 can be about Adam encountering a Planeswalker and hearing them complain about how everything sucks since the Mending changed their powers. Adam misunderstands and "fixes" things by enforcing actual MtG trading card rules onto all the Planeswalkers, complete with Yu-Gi-Oh crossover decks. Now everyone is happy again!
Hidden One
Not the Boss, possibly a Playa
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
Yay, the Sarah's are about to share some delicious zesty sauce dripping tacos. I wonder if its Thursday over there.
It is nice to see Pam getting into the thicket of things and Barb recovering is nice and cinnamony.
Now we just need Adam to get a lil snack....
Oh and happy holidays to everyone. 🎅
It is nice to see Pam getting into the thicket of things and Barb recovering is nice and cinnamony.
Now we just need Adam to get a lil snack....
Oh and happy holidays to everyone. 🎅
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Thank god Adam is not a self insert or have fourth wall breaking power. It's great that you included an in-canon explanation for why the jump documents are sometimes weird or detrimental. This is my first time seeing a sympathetic Poison Ivy that feels like a real person. Other fanfic would just collect her for their waifu collection (that is over 20 people)
Adam: I'm bored and there is nothing for me to do
Also Adam: Take something ordinary and make it "BETTER" by taking the functions of other things with reality breaking physics.
Adam: I'm bored and there is nothing for me to do
Also Adam: Take something ordinary and make it "BETTER" by taking the functions of other things with reality breaking physics.
- Location
- India
Maybe Adam can create a Plant version of Baku? So that they can feed from negativity if Gotham and lessen the chances of it turning into a shithole again.
Gotham won't need a caretaker, remember Sarah leaves behind a version of her self. Her previous jumps aren't missing her because she's still there. We're following the version that goes onto a new jump, but there will also be a Sarah that retires with the sexy plant lady and the quadruplets (most guys only fantasize about twins, geeze!) and hangs around Gotham. Even without her accidentally twinning herself this jump.
She's not as all powerful as Adam, but she's still a solid Out Of Context problem to the locals. And by local I mean the setting in general, not just the poor mortal heros and villains of Earth.
At first her power level wasn't too crazy, but she picked up a couple of really big power boosts, FF8 comes to mind. She's basically Cosmic Entity scale power on that one alone.
I think he legitimately kicked it so hard it got booted out into nonexistence, that place between the planes of existence in that reality, not the VOID that Adam was born in(and the jumpchain travels through), that is. So it's basically floating around at many times the speed of light between the bubbles if I remember it right. This was a parasite on his soulmate/martial soul's body! IT GOT THE BOOT! By that, I mean he literally kicked it that hard. I think, been... over a year since then? Has it? It's been a while.
Hmm... Kind of seems like the Jumpchain documents can also be 'infected' or are hosting parasites. Not sure if it's a natural, in a flytrap-like scenario, or just the ones that Adam's seen. Since these jumps are in a more dangerous area. Has some other implications for the 'bring people along' options, since Adam has already found that by the document options alone didn't work that way. So now I'm wondering if in at least some jumps it's a parasite infecting option. In fact I think I can think of a specific Jump document or two that it would be the case in this AU version of jumpchain document verses:
Along with the 'Hunger' being a resonance with parts that 'Sadism' left behind to whatever is left hunting for Sarah now that it is aware she survived. That's what it really feels like to me, especially with bits in this chapter. Especially as some of what Adam was doing in the stealth methods would make the warehouse unappetizing to the parasite.
That relationship stuff for Pamela's team makes me wonder why only the ones noted ended up saved, since the implications are that there were close interactions. And my understanding is the possible retroactive Sarah helping them heal (partly from what her interactions of her past self had with the team) and thus able to survive. Well, I suppose any further information on that would have to wait until they track down whatever happened to the rest of the team. And if they can end up doing a funeral for them; which depends partly on if they only told Pamela that the rest of the team didn't make it, or if it was a 'secret away some test subjects' unethical behavior.
Specifically, Ender's Game and the connected sequel Jump. It was two different Jumpchain documents that I believe were planned to be connected from the start. So if there's more than one for Ender's Game, it'd be the one that specifically mentions the sequel jump (and I think even some of the options state that by taking an option you'll lock yourself into taking a different one in the other. I think it was like a discount, or to get the full effect/capstone booster/whatever. Along with bits about how it's intended to go to the next jump next if you take that specific option, though I can't recall the exact wording/reasoning, but at the time of writing it wasn't finished yet. (Which by the time I read it, was out, so not 'updated' there.)
Anyways, the Ender's Game jumpchain had a companion option of taking a Bugger Queen along with you. In that 'whole cloth companion' option method. Which is all fine and dandy. But the sequel/continuation jump also had a scenario that made the Bugger Queens actively malicious. Pulling a rather long con job. And it specifically mentions that taking the scenario retroactively turns that companion option into a trap if you take it. Which is kind of the most extreme example of a 'companion betrayal' drawback that I think I've seen. Whereas those were just 'in this particular Jump'. Instead, nope, you've got a traitor sleeper agent the entire time. And I can't recall offhand if you can actually flip them back to actually being loyal to you if you take the scenario.
Anyways, the Ender's Game jumpchain had a companion option of taking a Bugger Queen along with you. In that 'whole cloth companion' option method. Which is all fine and dandy. But the sequel/continuation jump also had a scenario that made the Bugger Queens actively malicious. Pulling a rather long con job. And it specifically mentions that taking the scenario retroactively turns that companion option into a trap if you take it. Which is kind of the most extreme example of a 'companion betrayal' drawback that I think I've seen. Whereas those were just 'in this particular Jump'. Instead, nope, you've got a traitor sleeper agent the entire time. And I can't recall offhand if you can actually flip them back to actually being loyal to you if you take the scenario.
Along with the 'Hunger' being a resonance with parts that 'Sadism' left behind to whatever is left hunting for Sarah now that it is aware she survived. That's what it really feels like to me, especially with bits in this chapter. Especially as some of what Adam was doing in the stealth methods would make the warehouse unappetizing to the parasite.
That relationship stuff for Pamela's team makes me wonder why only the ones noted ended up saved, since the implications are that there were close interactions. And my understanding is the possible retroactive Sarah helping them heal (partly from what her interactions of her past self had with the team) and thus able to survive. Well, I suppose any further information on that would have to wait until they track down whatever happened to the rest of the team. And if they can end up doing a funeral for them; which depends partly on if they only told Pamela that the rest of the team didn't make it, or if it was a 'secret away some test subjects' unethical behavior.
- Location
- Mt. Holly, North Carolina
You mean Sarah the penal worker and Sarah the doctorate holder? The accidental twins of this jump who are hive minded? No, they aren't Simmy and Sammy.
- Location
- Tarn-Vedra
Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays to you theaceoffire and to this fic of yours. 
😀😃
😀😃
Arc 3: Something is off.
- Location
- Here
Sarah couldn't ignore the situation anymore.
Something was not right.
Her enhanced body ignored the large increase in food and snacks she consumed, her powers felt more enhanced and flexible and intuitive than ever, and somehow she felt BETTER every day that passed since Adam went a bit odd…
But there was something different.
Not necessarily wrong, but… O͈f̪̫͙̺f̩̦̙.̱̦̙͎̣̮
She tried to initially dismiss her concerns.
All her personal scans came back clean, after all. And who really complains about feeling stronger, more powerful, more… Stable? Solid? Supported?
Yet with all this came a sense of foreboding.
Not… Not a premonition of danger. Or being harmed. Or her new or old friends being targeted.
But of a momentous event.
Of… Of loss and yet not, at the same time.
That slight edge of eagerness, of anticipation, of building momentum… It had begun to affect her daily life now.
Dr. Isley noticed first, of course, They both spent a lot of time together, either watching over the four 'recovered' girls currently locked in a self perpetuated 'coma' or talking with a recovered but flushed and embarrassed Oracle about what changes Ivy Town should undergo or what new things Sarah and Adam were banned from doing.
So the good woman was the first to point out that Sarah was becoming short tempered. A bit frazzled. A little more aggressive. And, beyond all this, a suddenly boisterous eater.
The initial idea caught Sarah so off guard she nearly dismissed the idea immediately…
But the symptoms continued. Increased. Became more potent.
Now that she noticed the situation she had it under control, of course. But asking Adam had gone… Very odd in it's own way.
Her massive skull partner had her issues times a million.
His attention was looming over nothing in the Warehouse, peering at nowhere and nearly salivating. His focus whipped violently between apathy, dire dedication and obsession, and idle multitasking on a level she had never seen before.
Adam would do nothing for what felt like forever, suddenly do a months amount of activity in a moment, and then pick a task and 'Research' it from scratch and basic principles all the way beyond the level of modern society for no apparent reason.
At her clear concern and overt dismay, he easily handed over information and data and his recent actions… And they had been numerous and impactful.
Her Warehouse might honestly be more stable than the Jumps she visited now.
More than that, compressing the stability of an entire existence into such a tiny singular location had odd consequences and side effects that were even NOW being 'Researched' and investigated by Adam in between his madness sessions.
Hit someone with a football player, and you can tackle them.
Stab them with a dart that has the same amount of FORCE as a football player, and you just got pierced.
Now? Sarah's Warehouse was becoming something so stable that it solidified and secured past and future Jumps just by EXISTING, although she didn't know why. Adam said something about some force he was studying and how there was some sort of… Undefinable pull or Resonance between certain concepts and places and forces and such, but it went over her head even with his attempts at explaining the idea the best he could.
The space between Jumps was a bit hard to describe at the best of times, but basically?
If all her space was a flat sheet and all her Jumps were tiny dots ON that sheet, then Adam and Sarah's meeting point would be over there, where it ripped itself apart and exploded.
Then you could map an odd chain of binding from her new home of Rapture and each Jump she took since then. Sort of.
Sure, Adam was doing something odd in the process and Sarah strongly suspected her chain was far more durable and efficient than it should have been originally, but up till recently it had roughly been just that: A series of stops in a chain.
Now?
Now there were odd spider web-like filaments growing off every node of her Jumps, gently interacting with places she had never visited before.
Unlike actual Jumps, the binding wasn't as powerful or secure, and that odd continuous growth and stability and all that was much less impactful… But she could see that just traveling her Jumpchain through an area was slowly forming less of a chain and more of a reinforced mesh.
The metaphor broke down fairly easily though.
For one thing, the Chain didn't just go in a direction, but also through time and alternate realities and all that. Even the most simple visualization looked like a gnarled mess of a path that interacted with itself and twisted without moving and all that, so the whole mapping idea didn't really work… But it got the idea across.
And from what Adam was saying, their slowly spreading mesh or web had caught the attention of something F̞̯͕̭̲̘̮ḁmi̤͇l͙͉̲̲̭͍̪ia̝͚͓̯̟̦r̩͕̬̖̲̝̥ and D̤̬̪̜̭̘ḙ̲l̦̹̺̮i̗̦͕͉͚c͕͕͍i̙͉̜̼̰̣ous̫̥̘.
No, he didn't know what he meant by that.
No, Adam had no clue WHAT exactly it was.
But he was attempting to map and detect and enhance these formerly wisp like strands of her Jumpmesh into something tempting. Something to lure this and future morsels into easy nomming distance.
Obviously, this concerned Sarah. Worried her.
And she brought this up to Adam. About how this could be risky, and… Uh. Well, it could get messy when the thing exploded at least? Mildly inconvenienced?
Well, he just gave her a look and she had to agree: Adam being in danger just didn't feel likely.
The guy had been drifting through nothingness, smashed into Sarah's Warehouse while it was fracturing and dissolving in a Jump that was exploding, and simply rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
And he wasn't even really at risk anyway.
He had mentioned it before, but her Adam, Adam no last name, was just a part of his Origin seeded out into the Abyss for Adventure.
Death for him meant his data would simply be attached to a new Shard and continued, as easy and simple as HER ability to be 'reborn' if her Avatar was damaged.
That was assuming, of course, that anything could injure Adam to begin with. The newly rebuilt and reinforced Warehouse made that feel unlikely, and supposedly her inner most self was even better protected than THAT, so uh… Yeah.
He wasn't concerned about enhancing her Jumpmesh into some sort of bait station.
Sarah sighed.
The WORST part about arguing this issue was their connection.
Because she could just ever so slightly Ta̯͙̝ͅs̖t̠͔̬̰ͅe̹̫̣ the morsel coming.
It was familiar, if a bit bitter. Like dark chocolate.
But how was she supposed to argue against free candy?
'Oh, you are a grown adult!' 'Be mature.' 'Do not destroy your appetite with sugary junk food'... All that malarkey came from people NOT being offered free delicious smelling snacks!
It was why she knew something was not right.
Because Sarah should be worried about this.
About how ravenous Adam was slowly shifting.
About how her newly discovered Jumpmesh didn't match the records or information salvaged from her Warehouse, even if the partially encoded memories from her future self suddenly seemed awfully smug about something now that she reviewed them.
But it just felt… Right.
She sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to take another break."
Pamela gave a concerned nod. "I'll ask the staff to get you a cup of my new Mint Tea."
Sarah blink. Oops. "Am I getting that bad again?"
A nod. "Your hands are shaking and your silver hair has been giving off blue sparks and embers."
Damn it. "Thought I fixed that." Maybe her body enhanced itself suddenly again. Stupid Adam rebuilding her core existance with godlike materials, it kept forcing her to adjust her many MANY power restrictions and bindings to ensure proper control.
It hadn't gotten so bad that she was crushing door knobs or anything, but when the issue first came up she had just sort of… Stopped being affected by the Jump. Suddenly a strand of her hair was like a reinforced steel wall to people and things, and if she absently pushed something away? Then. It. Would. Be. Pushed.
Gravity only existed when she expected it to, for both her and her equipment. Light only displayed shadows where her mind thought they should go, she didn't make sound unless she was attempting to get attention, all sorts of small issues cropped up due to Adam's bullshit.
Fixing THAT mess so her unconscious desires wouldn't accidentally unlock too much ability without deliberate decisions had been finicky as hell, but it was handled now.
Mostly.
Pamela gave a concerned smile. "Are you sure you don't need a longer rest?"
Sigh. "No, that would just give me more time and more energy to fidget." She pulled up the data and narrowed her eyes at the girls as one of the many helpful Ivy Town staff employees passed her a cup of tea.
Heh, seriously… Nothing phased these people.
Gotham citizens: Oh, super powered women are hiring from their living tree base in a section of town they summoned into existence? Do they offer dental?
For some reason Sarah thought that hiring people to fill up the massive vacancy in 'Batman Village' or 'Ivy Town' would be a daunting task… But she only had to remember her life as Sarah Esdat and how she was willing to go down into the sewers prowled by a cannibal monster crocodile man just to make ends meet for her electric bills.
Compared to working at Gotham Asylum, Ivy Town was a paradise! Or at least, had a drastically lower fatality rate.
Dr. Isley sighed but looked back at the girls. "I can't believe they are still asleep."
Hmm. Sarah sipped from her cup. "From what we can detect, they are conscious enough to determine we are here, that they are safe… And then they found the information databases in the hive mind network."
Pamela snorted. "I bet Jessie jumped into that thing with both feet. That girl devoured new scientific articles before I could even bring the mail into the lab."
Well, as long as they were stable. "Moss will keep them at top physical fitness, and the sensors imply that whatever they are doing in there is stabilizing their Souls on some level… Damn it, I wish I had more Soul manipulation or detection abilities." Maybe in a future Jump.
She sighed. "I know, I know. And compared to before, when it was anyone's guess if they would even live long enough for my next attempt at keeping them stable…" Her fingers carefully brushed stray hair from the sleeping woman's face. "I can wait."
Sarah felt another T̟̱̙̖̫̩u͈̯͕̼g̝͖. "Maybe I'll sit down a bit."
Damn it, this was so distracting.
This wasn't exactly a compulsion, she didn't feel a mandate or anything, but… It was like smelling hot food while you were trying to get shit done. This crap was DISTRACTING!
Sarah walked through bustling hallways, ignoring the cheerful people that were basically handling Ivy Town like a very odd theme park. Most of the stuff was run by this multitude now, and apparently THE Adam West was going to stop by in a month apparently… It was going to be a big deal from what she understood.
Finding a quiet corner with as soft couch, she slumped down cradling the warm tea protectively.
And just… Let time pass.
Sarah absently pulled up her adjusted display. Now that Tasking was so simple to do, making minor adjustments to her skills and settings could be handled in moments without having to feel awkward bothering Adam for every color change or menu alteration and all that.
Once again, almost by default, she flickered to the 'Next Potential Jump' page that had been set up. Not that she was leaving now.
Even if Adam's eagerness was a bit much.
Despite her own restlessness.
Regardless of impulse… knowing with absolute certainty that she had time.
After all, until she left this Jump… Well, the Warehouse and the Jump had an unusual connection when joined like this. She could stay here five minutes or a few thousand years and that tasty treat out there somewhere wouldn't advance even remotely close enough to be an issue.
So she could wait.
Easily.
No problem.
Even if she left, it wasn't like that treat was super close, right?
She'd have to visit another Jump first anyway.
Unless she had Adam go THAT way, towards the seductive aroma…
But uh. Sarah wouldn't.
Because she could wait.
For example! When she accidentally connected to Adam recently and felt for a full moment the level of raw D͓͔͙̻̩̺̱e̼̙s̙i͙͙̠̦͎͓̠r͓͚e͕̘ to D̫͖̰͉̥̦̰e̩͖͍v͕̣̞͉̺ͅo̲̳̮̺͉̻u̩͉r̥?
Well.
Her urges felt nothing like THAT, right?
So uh. She could just wait.
Still… She could look at the options.
Right?
…Probably shouldn't.
No reason to tempt herself.
Sarah took another sip of tea… And blinked when she realized the cup was empty.
Oh. "Hey Adam, can I get another cup of…"
{{T̷̶́h̵҉̢͟͞ȩ̴͘͝y̨͡'̡͡҉r̶̸͘͟e̵̛͏C̶̷o̴̕͞m̛͡į͜҉n҉̕҉͡g͟T̷̷̵̷̕ơ̶̡͡͠Ţ͟a̴ḱ̀͟͡e̛͢͢M̶̡͜é̸̴̀͢A̶̵̡̕w̵͠ą͟͞y̶̷͏,̡͜͠H͞à͞͞H̸̢ą̢̀͞!͟͠}}
Uh. "Adam?"
{{W̵̷h̛͜e̛͞r͏̶́e̸̡͘͜L̨̢̀̀į̸̕f̡̛͝e̶̵͜I̵͘̕̕̕s̷̨B̀͏ȩ̶̸̶̀a҉̸̛ư͝͞t̕҉̴i̷͡͠͝f̡̀u̵̢͢͟͡l̴̵̢A̴͟L̀͟͜L͏͏T̴̶͠͞͏h̨͘͠e̢̕͘͟͜T̷̕͡͝i̴͏̛͟m̵e̕͞͏̧!̢͠A̸͟͞͏͝ǹḑ̵̧͡I͝҉̨'̧̨̨͟l̷̷ĺ̵̕B̛͠é̶̷͘H҉̸A̵̡͟͡P̶̀̕͟͠P҉̢͡͡Y̶̡T͡͝ǫŞ͠҉̕e̢e͏̢҉̴.̸̷͢.̵͜͟.͝͏́}}
Crap! "ADAM!"
{{T͡h̀͢o҉̀s̨͡è҉̀͘.͏̢.̸̶̶̀͡.̶̧͝͏ Th̛́͏o̢s̷e.̵.̸̷.̶̨͠ T̷h͝os̀e.̶.. Uh. Oh. Hi Sarah.}}
Sarah very carefully sat up. "...You alright there?"
Adam S̼̼͔̐̈̚m̓̈́̋̄͏̰̦i̟͕͕ͣl̵̯̟̮͓̯̤̍̔̂ͅe̷̦̘̋̅ͅd̞͖̹̞̽̄ͩ̃.̴̖̣̪̻̭͍̭.͉̲̝̗͙̞͘.͉̲̝̗͙̞͘ {{I've been preparing for a guest.}}
That… Sounded grand. Just great. "Oh… Really?"
He hummed. {{Yep. I was in the middle of preparing a bit of a gift, and just as I got it all wrapped up, 'Research' came up with an intriguing theory.}}
There were layers here. Layers of something gritty and Dark and unsettling in that voice. "...Oh?"
Adam hṵm̠̲͖̥͉̙m̸̥̪̺e̞͕͚d̜̤. {{An old acquaintance may be coming to call.}}
What?
Her friend was not feeling normal. {{Do you remember, Sarah… The promise I made? It was a while ago.}}
Her confusion froze as audio played far away in a Warehouse, to unsettling music.
[[...And if I ever meet the asshole who was tormenting you, they won't have very long to try and apologize before I C̨̙͙̤̦̮̝̟̬̙͓̯͎̘͙̯ͅó̧̥͙͙͈͎͠͝ń̷̡̨̗̖̪͈̙s̹͇͉̞̫̫̠͔̥̼͍̯̬̙̪͈̟̪͜͟͠͞͡u̴͟͏͉̺͙m̷̲̪̩̣̲̯͎̯͖͢͞e̡̝̙̺͓͓̭͇̯̟͙͖͓͕̹͟͟ it...]]
.
.
.
Sarah felt her emotions harden and chill. "Oh. THAT promise."
Adam H̷̸̬͇̦̪̼̥̦̗̖͎̯ù̷̙̥͙̠̺̬̬̣̥̞͎̩͘͢͝m̸̤̮̪̭͖͚͙̹̟̠̖͝m̶͖͉̹̫̱͕̱̜̲͢͢͠è̴̺͇̪̪̰͚̩͉̲̼͚͇̦̹̟͠d̶͖̳̩̤̬͎̹̯̝̳̫͞.̡҉̢͞͏͍̠̺͉̖͇̺̮͕͎̭̬̯̖͙͙͉̙
.
.
.
Sarah's opinion concerning the recent issues Adam had caused upgrading her systems had just significantly shifted upwards. "Are we ready?"
Data came out. {{We were ready several Jumps ago. Especially as 'Research' implies that the reason the Kidnapper smells so delicious is at least partially due… To its injuries.}}
Before, it would have been a one sided victory.
Apparently, Adam was a bit of a big deal.
Now? After these enhancements? Barely an Hors-d'œuvre.
Sarah felt a toothy grin grow. "You mentioned a gift?"
An image of… Well, a pretty much unimpressive black egg came up.
Uh. What?
Adam H͇̟̭͉̥̘̜̳̮͙̫̞̝̕͟͟͝u̡̢̳̤͇̱̦̦͚̦̹̫͚ͯ̐́̂͘͟͞m̴̦͚̫͓̻̦̳̪̺͍͇͙̲̱̫̞͞m̸̢͇̦̙̥͍̻̩̳̺̯̹̺͂̎̉̏̊͜͟͠ͅe͈̲͈͚̬̞̦̯̪̗̠͇̪̙͆́ͤ̂̚̕͠ḑ̷̫͖͈̩̘̟̠̹̼͕͎͖͓̝̜́͞!̠̲̘̳͇̝̺̱̬͓̪̺̤̯͈͎̀͜͠͠ͅ {{Amazing, isn't it?}}
.
.
.
Sarah blinked. "Uh… Maybe?" She scanned it. "Honestly it doesn't look like much, though how you got a chicken egg to survive in that environment I have no idea."
The sound continued. {{Took a LOT of effort to hide it this well. I'm not sure how dense that material is to conceal itself now, but I am still infusing the object with raw material and energy to keep it stable.}}
…Oh. "All that experimentation with matter you've been doing? I thought that was to improve our Warehouse?"
A distant echo of a soundless tune. {{The recent upgrades? A wonderful side effect… I just needed to design something capable of suppressing this object to a significant degree for as long as possible. It should restrain itself for enough seconds to make contact with our incoming guest at least.}}
Well… Damn. "What is it? A bomb?" No, too basic. "Something that changes the constants of reality in a small area?" Unlikely, Adam already did that to help her adjust to her new body mass. Probably seemed like old news by now.
Adam showed a small bit of glass. {{It is a Shard.}}
Sarah examined the image… The static image that almost seemed to move anyway. "A shard of what?"
A͎͙̳̮d̤̥̹͙̘̲a͕̜̮̫m̜̖̪ ͚͔͇H̙̼u̲͉̫̖͙ͅm̗̭̫̼̼m̗͎͇͔e͎̰͈̲͉̟d̩.
.
.
.
.
.
{̩͓̜͓̬̤̭̫̻̫͎̼̲̹̹ͭ̓̍̑ͭ̇̑ͬ̏͛ͬ́ͅ{̷̬͕̣̠̺͍̑̀̄̀̏̐͐̌̐̓́͞͞ͅ[̨̡̼̲͔͎͇̺̦̬͙͇̖̭͖̣̰̬̩̣̔͂̾͛̌̈́̀͟[̸͓̰̗̖͎̖͔̈͂̓̓̽̋͒͠M̷̨̲̺̼͍̟̭̻̞̣̺̣̒̂͑̓̑͒̓ͨͦ̒́̚͘͞ͅe͎̞͍͈̦̤̯̭̫̲̙ͣ͐̓͛̈́̍͛̎ͣ́̊ͬ̐̈́ͨ̎́̕͠͠ͅ.̺̗̲͈̤̣̱͉͙̠̔ͬ̊̂͒ͬ́͡͠ͅ]̵̰̲̼͂̇ͨ́ͯ̚͡]̑̌ͣ̆ͬ̉̑̀҉̼̣̺̟͓̰͈̥̣̳̺͕̫̻}̨̆ͦͩͮ̐̃͆̀͌ͬ̇͆̔ͧ̓ͣ͏̮̘̫̥̯͙̜̖̱̘̠̹͓̫͜}̥̻̼̞͉͖̲͋ͩͨͤ͜͠͝ͅ
.
.
.
Sarah carefully closed the image and data screens. "Ah."
She paused. Considering what would happen if a fragment of Adam was able to burrow inside her Kidnapper the same way he was able to carve a path into her Warehouse.
A fragment that was NOT trying to save it's new 'Partner'.
Devious smiles tried to escape.
Perhaps… Perhaps she didn't have the patience to wait.
To calmly choose a new vacation Jump as planned, one where nothing would happen so she could relax.
To pretend that vengeance was so near yet so far, to ignore this… Opportunity.
She tried to stay calm. "Adam… For the next Jump…"
Sarah failed.
She felt the urge to H̦̥͎u̜̤̻m̪.̞ "Is it possible to pick one that would help us pick up our guest a bit sooner?"
Her 'Next Potential Jump' page pulsed with power as the contents altered dramatically.
On some level, Sarah felt a bit bad for the versions of her that would be left behind to take care of this place when they went off to 'go a wassailing' towards vengeance… But she knew she would understand.
All Sarah's would understand.
Sometimes… Sometimes it was perfectly alright to be impatient.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
One of the newer interns felt concerned. "Is she alright?"
Fresh meat, clearly one of the new children who hadn't grown up in Gotham City themselves. Nice enough children to be sure, but you had to keep an eye open or they'd wander straight into a murder rally or something worse. Even with a damn map these outsiders seemed cursed to stumble on to the most unlikely of circumstances and the more dangerous of scenarios. "Let it go."
He kept glancing over at the break room that Miss Sarah had gone into. "It's just.... The mad cackling? And I heard something singing from inside my eyes!?"
The boy twitched. "I'm just saying that maybe we should go in there and make sure she's doing okay."
This child wouldn't have lasted 3 minutes working for Two-Face. When the dentist you're working for in Gotham starts summoning corrupted possessed tooth demons, all you could do is sit back and make sure your resume was up to date... Also, make sure that you have already flossed and used the good toothpaste just to make sure you don't cross anyone unexpectedly.
You didn't get as old as this by putting your nose in other people's business. "Just make sure to mop up any blood that spills out, if they call for something make sure your prompt and polite... And just let it all go."
He would learn just like the other children, or vanish into the nowhere if he turns out to be terminally incompetent.
Had everyone been this stupid when they were below 40 years old? Kids. "I'm not saying to do nothing wrong, the new bosses don't like anyone doing anything messy if you know what I mean... But in any organization in Gotham, the rules are different at the top."
Oh sure, there's the obvious stuff like avoiding laws and tradition. But that was true for basically anywhere. In Gotham however... Once he became a leader or incredibly powerful, after you gained a following or earned a fortune... Things would start to drift off in unexpected ways.
That's when the crazy people would start putting on the weird colored latex outfits, odd pets would start showing up in the office, and he made sure your references are from the outside edge of the organization for your next resume. You only got bit once before you learned real quick that the people at the top of the chain are the ones most likely to be snipped off... Terrible if you're trying to get more work.
The young man just didn't seem to be able to calm down, so it's best to go with a good standby argument. "Tell you what, give her 10 minutes and if something else happens you can knock on the door and can double check yourself. I'm not hearing anything that sounds like pain or distress..." Honestly, to well-trained ears it sounded like 'eager preemptive planning cackling number 72' if anything. "... So you have time to make sure you're not interrupting anything important that Miss Sarah may be doing."
This was the value of being a local. Of earning a lifetime of experience through grueling and dangerous effort.
The ability to tell people what they need to know when they need to hear it... While still giving yourself time to escape the area just in case this is a foothold situation from another reality.
You didn't get to become an adult in Gotham City without a little forethought, after all.
Something was not right.
Her enhanced body ignored the large increase in food and snacks she consumed, her powers felt more enhanced and flexible and intuitive than ever, and somehow she felt BETTER every day that passed since Adam went a bit odd…
But there was something different.
Not necessarily wrong, but… O͈f̪̫͙̺f̩̦̙.̱̦̙͎̣̮
She tried to initially dismiss her concerns.
All her personal scans came back clean, after all. And who really complains about feeling stronger, more powerful, more… Stable? Solid? Supported?
Yet with all this came a sense of foreboding.
Not… Not a premonition of danger. Or being harmed. Or her new or old friends being targeted.
But of a momentous event.
Of… Of loss and yet not, at the same time.
That slight edge of eagerness, of anticipation, of building momentum… It had begun to affect her daily life now.
Dr. Isley noticed first, of course, They both spent a lot of time together, either watching over the four 'recovered' girls currently locked in a self perpetuated 'coma' or talking with a recovered but flushed and embarrassed Oracle about what changes Ivy Town should undergo or what new things Sarah and Adam were banned from doing.
So the good woman was the first to point out that Sarah was becoming short tempered. A bit frazzled. A little more aggressive. And, beyond all this, a suddenly boisterous eater.
The initial idea caught Sarah so off guard she nearly dismissed the idea immediately…
But the symptoms continued. Increased. Became more potent.
Now that she noticed the situation she had it under control, of course. But asking Adam had gone… Very odd in it's own way.
Her massive skull partner had her issues times a million.
His attention was looming over nothing in the Warehouse, peering at nowhere and nearly salivating. His focus whipped violently between apathy, dire dedication and obsession, and idle multitasking on a level she had never seen before.
Adam would do nothing for what felt like forever, suddenly do a months amount of activity in a moment, and then pick a task and 'Research' it from scratch and basic principles all the way beyond the level of modern society for no apparent reason.
At her clear concern and overt dismay, he easily handed over information and data and his recent actions… And they had been numerous and impactful.
Her Warehouse might honestly be more stable than the Jumps she visited now.
More than that, compressing the stability of an entire existence into such a tiny singular location had odd consequences and side effects that were even NOW being 'Researched' and investigated by Adam in between his madness sessions.
Hit someone with a football player, and you can tackle them.
Stab them with a dart that has the same amount of FORCE as a football player, and you just got pierced.
Now? Sarah's Warehouse was becoming something so stable that it solidified and secured past and future Jumps just by EXISTING, although she didn't know why. Adam said something about some force he was studying and how there was some sort of… Undefinable pull or Resonance between certain concepts and places and forces and such, but it went over her head even with his attempts at explaining the idea the best he could.
The space between Jumps was a bit hard to describe at the best of times, but basically?
If all her space was a flat sheet and all her Jumps were tiny dots ON that sheet, then Adam and Sarah's meeting point would be over there, where it ripped itself apart and exploded.
Then you could map an odd chain of binding from her new home of Rapture and each Jump she took since then. Sort of.
Sure, Adam was doing something odd in the process and Sarah strongly suspected her chain was far more durable and efficient than it should have been originally, but up till recently it had roughly been just that: A series of stops in a chain.
Now?
Now there were odd spider web-like filaments growing off every node of her Jumps, gently interacting with places she had never visited before.
Unlike actual Jumps, the binding wasn't as powerful or secure, and that odd continuous growth and stability and all that was much less impactful… But she could see that just traveling her Jumpchain through an area was slowly forming less of a chain and more of a reinforced mesh.
The metaphor broke down fairly easily though.
For one thing, the Chain didn't just go in a direction, but also through time and alternate realities and all that. Even the most simple visualization looked like a gnarled mess of a path that interacted with itself and twisted without moving and all that, so the whole mapping idea didn't really work… But it got the idea across.
And from what Adam was saying, their slowly spreading mesh or web had caught the attention of something F̞̯͕̭̲̘̮ḁmi̤͇l͙͉̲̲̭͍̪ia̝͚͓̯̟̦r̩͕̬̖̲̝̥ and D̤̬̪̜̭̘ḙ̲l̦̹̺̮i̗̦͕͉͚c͕͕͍i̙͉̜̼̰̣ous̫̥̘.
No, he didn't know what he meant by that.
No, Adam had no clue WHAT exactly it was.
But he was attempting to map and detect and enhance these formerly wisp like strands of her Jumpmesh into something tempting. Something to lure this and future morsels into easy nomming distance.
Obviously, this concerned Sarah. Worried her.
And she brought this up to Adam. About how this could be risky, and… Uh. Well, it could get messy when the thing exploded at least? Mildly inconvenienced?
Well, he just gave her a look and she had to agree: Adam being in danger just didn't feel likely.
The guy had been drifting through nothingness, smashed into Sarah's Warehouse while it was fracturing and dissolving in a Jump that was exploding, and simply rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
And he wasn't even really at risk anyway.
He had mentioned it before, but her Adam, Adam no last name, was just a part of his Origin seeded out into the Abyss for Adventure.
Death for him meant his data would simply be attached to a new Shard and continued, as easy and simple as HER ability to be 'reborn' if her Avatar was damaged.
That was assuming, of course, that anything could injure Adam to begin with. The newly rebuilt and reinforced Warehouse made that feel unlikely, and supposedly her inner most self was even better protected than THAT, so uh… Yeah.
He wasn't concerned about enhancing her Jumpmesh into some sort of bait station.
Sarah sighed.
The WORST part about arguing this issue was their connection.
Because she could just ever so slightly Ta̯͙̝ͅs̖t̠͔̬̰ͅe̹̫̣ the morsel coming.
It was familiar, if a bit bitter. Like dark chocolate.
But how was she supposed to argue against free candy?
'Oh, you are a grown adult!' 'Be mature.' 'Do not destroy your appetite with sugary junk food'... All that malarkey came from people NOT being offered free delicious smelling snacks!
It was why she knew something was not right.
Because Sarah should be worried about this.
About how ravenous Adam was slowly shifting.
About how her newly discovered Jumpmesh didn't match the records or information salvaged from her Warehouse, even if the partially encoded memories from her future self suddenly seemed awfully smug about something now that she reviewed them.
But it just felt… Right.
She sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to take another break."
Pamela gave a concerned nod. "I'll ask the staff to get you a cup of my new Mint Tea."
Sarah blink. Oops. "Am I getting that bad again?"
A nod. "Your hands are shaking and your silver hair has been giving off blue sparks and embers."
Damn it. "Thought I fixed that." Maybe her body enhanced itself suddenly again. Stupid Adam rebuilding her core existance with godlike materials, it kept forcing her to adjust her many MANY power restrictions and bindings to ensure proper control.
It hadn't gotten so bad that she was crushing door knobs or anything, but when the issue first came up she had just sort of… Stopped being affected by the Jump. Suddenly a strand of her hair was like a reinforced steel wall to people and things, and if she absently pushed something away? Then. It. Would. Be. Pushed.
Gravity only existed when she expected it to, for both her and her equipment. Light only displayed shadows where her mind thought they should go, she didn't make sound unless she was attempting to get attention, all sorts of small issues cropped up due to Adam's bullshit.
Fixing THAT mess so her unconscious desires wouldn't accidentally unlock too much ability without deliberate decisions had been finicky as hell, but it was handled now.
Mostly.
Pamela gave a concerned smile. "Are you sure you don't need a longer rest?"
Sigh. "No, that would just give me more time and more energy to fidget." She pulled up the data and narrowed her eyes at the girls as one of the many helpful Ivy Town staff employees passed her a cup of tea.
Heh, seriously… Nothing phased these people.
Gotham citizens: Oh, super powered women are hiring from their living tree base in a section of town they summoned into existence? Do they offer dental?
For some reason Sarah thought that hiring people to fill up the massive vacancy in 'Batman Village' or 'Ivy Town' would be a daunting task… But she only had to remember her life as Sarah Esdat and how she was willing to go down into the sewers prowled by a cannibal monster crocodile man just to make ends meet for her electric bills.
Compared to working at Gotham Asylum, Ivy Town was a paradise! Or at least, had a drastically lower fatality rate.
Dr. Isley sighed but looked back at the girls. "I can't believe they are still asleep."
Hmm. Sarah sipped from her cup. "From what we can detect, they are conscious enough to determine we are here, that they are safe… And then they found the information databases in the hive mind network."
Pamela snorted. "I bet Jessie jumped into that thing with both feet. That girl devoured new scientific articles before I could even bring the mail into the lab."
Well, as long as they were stable. "Moss will keep them at top physical fitness, and the sensors imply that whatever they are doing in there is stabilizing their Souls on some level… Damn it, I wish I had more Soul manipulation or detection abilities." Maybe in a future Jump.
She sighed. "I know, I know. And compared to before, when it was anyone's guess if they would even live long enough for my next attempt at keeping them stable…" Her fingers carefully brushed stray hair from the sleeping woman's face. "I can wait."
Sarah felt another T̟̱̙̖̫̩u͈̯͕̼g̝͖. "Maybe I'll sit down a bit."
Damn it, this was so distracting.
This wasn't exactly a compulsion, she didn't feel a mandate or anything, but… It was like smelling hot food while you were trying to get shit done. This crap was DISTRACTING!
Sarah walked through bustling hallways, ignoring the cheerful people that were basically handling Ivy Town like a very odd theme park. Most of the stuff was run by this multitude now, and apparently THE Adam West was going to stop by in a month apparently… It was going to be a big deal from what she understood.
Finding a quiet corner with as soft couch, she slumped down cradling the warm tea protectively.
And just… Let time pass.
Sarah absently pulled up her adjusted display. Now that Tasking was so simple to do, making minor adjustments to her skills and settings could be handled in moments without having to feel awkward bothering Adam for every color change or menu alteration and all that.
Once again, almost by default, she flickered to the 'Next Potential Jump' page that had been set up. Not that she was leaving now.
Even if Adam's eagerness was a bit much.
Despite her own restlessness.
Regardless of impulse… knowing with absolute certainty that she had time.
After all, until she left this Jump… Well, the Warehouse and the Jump had an unusual connection when joined like this. She could stay here five minutes or a few thousand years and that tasty treat out there somewhere wouldn't advance even remotely close enough to be an issue.
So she could wait.
Easily.
No problem.
Even if she left, it wasn't like that treat was super close, right?
She'd have to visit another Jump first anyway.
Unless she had Adam go THAT way, towards the seductive aroma…
But uh. Sarah wouldn't.
Because she could wait.
For example! When she accidentally connected to Adam recently and felt for a full moment the level of raw D͓͔͙̻̩̺̱e̼̙s̙i͙͙̠̦͎͓̠r͓͚e͕̘ to D̫͖̰͉̥̦̰e̩͖͍v͕̣̞͉̺ͅo̲̳̮̺͉̻u̩͉r̥?
Well.
Her urges felt nothing like THAT, right?
So uh. She could just wait.
Still… She could look at the options.
Right?
…Probably shouldn't.
No reason to tempt herself.
Sarah took another sip of tea… And blinked when she realized the cup was empty.
Oh. "Hey Adam, can I get another cup of…"
{{T̷̶́h̵҉̢͟͞ȩ̴͘͝y̨͡'̡͡҉r̶̸͘͟e̵̛͏C̶̷o̴̕͞m̛͡į͜҉n҉̕҉͡g͟T̷̷̵̷̕ơ̶̡͡͠Ţ͟a̴ḱ̀͟͡e̛͢͢M̶̡͜é̸̴̀͢A̶̵̡̕w̵͠ą͟͞y̶̷͏,̡͜͠H͞à͞͞H̸̢ą̢̀͞!͟͠}}
Uh. "Adam?"
{{W̵̷h̛͜e̛͞r͏̶́e̸̡͘͜L̨̢̀̀į̸̕f̡̛͝e̶̵͜I̵͘̕̕̕s̷̨B̀͏ȩ̶̸̶̀a҉̸̛ư͝͞t̕҉̴i̷͡͠͝f̡̀u̵̢͢͟͡l̴̵̢A̴͟L̀͟͜L͏͏T̴̶͠͞͏h̨͘͠e̢̕͘͟͜T̷̕͡͝i̴͏̛͟m̵e̕͞͏̧!̢͠A̸͟͞͏͝ǹḑ̵̧͡I͝҉̨'̧̨̨͟l̷̷ĺ̵̕B̛͠é̶̷͘H҉̸A̵̡͟͡P̶̀̕͟͠P҉̢͡͡Y̶̡T͡͝ǫŞ͠҉̕e̢e͏̢҉̴.̸̷͢.̵͜͟.͝͏́}}
Crap! "ADAM!"
{{T͡h̀͢o҉̀s̨͡è҉̀͘.͏̢.̸̶̶̀͡.̶̧͝͏ Th̛́͏o̢s̷e.̵.̸̷.̶̨͠ T̷h͝os̀e.̶.. Uh. Oh. Hi Sarah.}}
Sarah very carefully sat up. "...You alright there?"
Adam S̼̼͔̐̈̚m̓̈́̋̄͏̰̦i̟͕͕ͣl̵̯̟̮͓̯̤̍̔̂ͅe̷̦̘̋̅ͅd̞͖̹̞̽̄ͩ̃.̴̖̣̪̻̭͍̭.͉̲̝̗͙̞͘.͉̲̝̗͙̞͘ {{I've been preparing for a guest.}}
That… Sounded grand. Just great. "Oh… Really?"
He hummed. {{Yep. I was in the middle of preparing a bit of a gift, and just as I got it all wrapped up, 'Research' came up with an intriguing theory.}}
There were layers here. Layers of something gritty and Dark and unsettling in that voice. "...Oh?"
Adam hṵm̠̲͖̥͉̙m̸̥̪̺e̞͕͚d̜̤. {{An old acquaintance may be coming to call.}}
What?
Her friend was not feeling normal. {{Do you remember, Sarah… The promise I made? It was a while ago.}}
Her confusion froze as audio played far away in a Warehouse, to unsettling music.
[[...And if I ever meet the asshole who was tormenting you, they won't have very long to try and apologize before I C̨̙͙̤̦̮̝̟̬̙͓̯͎̘͙̯ͅó̧̥͙͙͈͎͠͝ń̷̡̨̗̖̪͈̙s̹͇͉̞̫̫̠͔̥̼͍̯̬̙̪͈̟̪͜͟͠͞͡u̴͟͏͉̺͙m̷̲̪̩̣̲̯͎̯͖͢͞e̡̝̙̺͓͓̭͇̯̟͙͖͓͕̹͟͟ it...]]
.
.
.
Sarah felt her emotions harden and chill. "Oh. THAT promise."
Adam H̷̸̬͇̦̪̼̥̦̗̖͎̯ù̷̙̥͙̠̺̬̬̣̥̞͎̩͘͢͝m̸̤̮̪̭͖͚͙̹̟̠̖͝m̶͖͉̹̫̱͕̱̜̲͢͢͠è̴̺͇̪̪̰͚̩͉̲̼͚͇̦̹̟͠d̶͖̳̩̤̬͎̹̯̝̳̫͞.̡҉̢͞͏͍̠̺͉̖͇̺̮͕͎̭̬̯̖͙͙͉̙
.
.
.
Sarah's opinion concerning the recent issues Adam had caused upgrading her systems had just significantly shifted upwards. "Are we ready?"
Data came out. {{We were ready several Jumps ago. Especially as 'Research' implies that the reason the Kidnapper smells so delicious is at least partially due… To its injuries.}}
Before, it would have been a one sided victory.
Apparently, Adam was a bit of a big deal.
Now? After these enhancements? Barely an Hors-d'œuvre.
Sarah felt a toothy grin grow. "You mentioned a gift?"
An image of… Well, a pretty much unimpressive black egg came up.
Uh. What?
Adam H͇̟̭͉̥̘̜̳̮͙̫̞̝̕͟͟͝u̡̢̳̤͇̱̦̦͚̦̹̫͚ͯ̐́̂͘͟͞m̴̦͚̫͓̻̦̳̪̺͍͇͙̲̱̫̞͞m̸̢͇̦̙̥͍̻̩̳̺̯̹̺͂̎̉̏̊͜͟͠ͅe͈̲͈͚̬̞̦̯̪̗̠͇̪̙͆́ͤ̂̚̕͠ḑ̷̫͖͈̩̘̟̠̹̼͕͎͖͓̝̜́͞!̠̲̘̳͇̝̺̱̬͓̪̺̤̯͈͎̀͜͠͠ͅ {{Amazing, isn't it?}}
.
.
.
Sarah blinked. "Uh… Maybe?" She scanned it. "Honestly it doesn't look like much, though how you got a chicken egg to survive in that environment I have no idea."
The sound continued. {{Took a LOT of effort to hide it this well. I'm not sure how dense that material is to conceal itself now, but I am still infusing the object with raw material and energy to keep it stable.}}
…Oh. "All that experimentation with matter you've been doing? I thought that was to improve our Warehouse?"
A distant echo of a soundless tune. {{The recent upgrades? A wonderful side effect… I just needed to design something capable of suppressing this object to a significant degree for as long as possible. It should restrain itself for enough seconds to make contact with our incoming guest at least.}}
Well… Damn. "What is it? A bomb?" No, too basic. "Something that changes the constants of reality in a small area?" Unlikely, Adam already did that to help her adjust to her new body mass. Probably seemed like old news by now.
Adam showed a small bit of glass. {{It is a Shard.}}
Sarah examined the image… The static image that almost seemed to move anyway. "A shard of what?"
A͎͙̳̮d̤̥̹͙̘̲a͕̜̮̫m̜̖̪ ͚͔͇H̙̼u̲͉̫̖͙ͅm̗̭̫̼̼m̗͎͇͔e͎̰͈̲͉̟d̩.
.
.
.
.
.
{̩͓̜͓̬̤̭̫̻̫͎̼̲̹̹ͭ̓̍̑ͭ̇̑ͬ̏͛ͬ́ͅ{̷̬͕̣̠̺͍̑̀̄̀̏̐͐̌̐̓́͞͞ͅ[̨̡̼̲͔͎͇̺̦̬͙͇̖̭͖̣̰̬̩̣̔͂̾͛̌̈́̀͟[̸͓̰̗̖͎̖͔̈͂̓̓̽̋͒͠M̷̨̲̺̼͍̟̭̻̞̣̺̣̒̂͑̓̑͒̓ͨͦ̒́̚͘͞ͅe͎̞͍͈̦̤̯̭̫̲̙ͣ͐̓͛̈́̍͛̎ͣ́̊ͬ̐̈́ͨ̎́̕͠͠ͅ.̺̗̲͈̤̣̱͉͙̠̔ͬ̊̂͒ͬ́͡͠ͅ]̵̰̲̼͂̇ͨ́ͯ̚͡]̑̌ͣ̆ͬ̉̑̀҉̼̣̺̟͓̰͈̥̣̳̺͕̫̻}̨̆ͦͩͮ̐̃͆̀͌ͬ̇͆̔ͧ̓ͣ͏̮̘̫̥̯͙̜̖̱̘̠̹͓̫͜}̥̻̼̞͉͖̲͋ͩͨͤ͜͠͝ͅ
.
.
.
Sarah carefully closed the image and data screens. "Ah."
She paused. Considering what would happen if a fragment of Adam was able to burrow inside her Kidnapper the same way he was able to carve a path into her Warehouse.
A fragment that was NOT trying to save it's new 'Partner'.
Devious smiles tried to escape.
Perhaps… Perhaps she didn't have the patience to wait.
To calmly choose a new vacation Jump as planned, one where nothing would happen so she could relax.
To pretend that vengeance was so near yet so far, to ignore this… Opportunity.
She tried to stay calm. "Adam… For the next Jump…"
Sarah failed.
She felt the urge to H̦̥͎u̜̤̻m̪.̞ "Is it possible to pick one that would help us pick up our guest a bit sooner?"
Her 'Next Potential Jump' page pulsed with power as the contents altered dramatically.
On some level, Sarah felt a bit bad for the versions of her that would be left behind to take care of this place when they went off to 'go a wassailing' towards vengeance… But she knew she would understand.
All Sarah's would understand.
Sometimes… Sometimes it was perfectly alright to be impatient.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
One of the newer interns felt concerned. "Is she alright?"
Fresh meat, clearly one of the new children who hadn't grown up in Gotham City themselves. Nice enough children to be sure, but you had to keep an eye open or they'd wander straight into a murder rally or something worse. Even with a damn map these outsiders seemed cursed to stumble on to the most unlikely of circumstances and the more dangerous of scenarios. "Let it go."
He kept glancing over at the break room that Miss Sarah had gone into. "It's just.... The mad cackling? And I heard something singing from inside my eyes!?"
The boy twitched. "I'm just saying that maybe we should go in there and make sure she's doing okay."
This child wouldn't have lasted 3 minutes working for Two-Face. When the dentist you're working for in Gotham starts summoning corrupted possessed tooth demons, all you could do is sit back and make sure your resume was up to date... Also, make sure that you have already flossed and used the good toothpaste just to make sure you don't cross anyone unexpectedly.
You didn't get as old as this by putting your nose in other people's business. "Just make sure to mop up any blood that spills out, if they call for something make sure your prompt and polite... And just let it all go."
He would learn just like the other children, or vanish into the nowhere if he turns out to be terminally incompetent.
Had everyone been this stupid when they were below 40 years old? Kids. "I'm not saying to do nothing wrong, the new bosses don't like anyone doing anything messy if you know what I mean... But in any organization in Gotham, the rules are different at the top."
Oh sure, there's the obvious stuff like avoiding laws and tradition. But that was true for basically anywhere. In Gotham however... Once he became a leader or incredibly powerful, after you gained a following or earned a fortune... Things would start to drift off in unexpected ways.
That's when the crazy people would start putting on the weird colored latex outfits, odd pets would start showing up in the office, and he made sure your references are from the outside edge of the organization for your next resume. You only got bit once before you learned real quick that the people at the top of the chain are the ones most likely to be snipped off... Terrible if you're trying to get more work.
The young man just didn't seem to be able to calm down, so it's best to go with a good standby argument. "Tell you what, give her 10 minutes and if something else happens you can knock on the door and can double check yourself. I'm not hearing anything that sounds like pain or distress..." Honestly, to well-trained ears it sounded like 'eager preemptive planning cackling number 72' if anything. "... So you have time to make sure you're not interrupting anything important that Miss Sarah may be doing."
This was the value of being a local. Of earning a lifetime of experience through grueling and dangerous effort.
The ability to tell people what they need to know when they need to hear it... While still giving yourself time to escape the area just in case this is a foothold situation from another reality.
You didn't get to become an adult in Gotham City without a little forethought, after all.
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Adam is like a shark that just smelt some delicious blood in the void, and he's something of a super-predator for that specific species too(not that he isn't one normally though)! He made a fucking War-Shard though. There's some sorta dramatic irony for Sadism to get this karmic treatment as the target of a super-parasite attack vector, ain't there?
Adam doesn't forgive. I mean, he was in a Xianxia world for a few centuries, he had to have inherited some traits from it, eh? And Sadism? That one's personal.
Adam doesn't forgive. I mean, he was in a Xianxia world for a few centuries, he had to have inherited some traits from it, eh? And Sadism? That one's personal.
- Location
- Earth U.S.
Hidden One
Not the Boss, possibly a Playa
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.
Someone is hankering for some snackage!
Now we just need to wonder if there will be cooking battles, parking wars or Kung Fury in the near future.
Don't hassle the Sarah. So sayeth the Adam Shard. 🦎
Someone is hankering for some snackage!
Now we just need to wonder if there will be cooking battles, parking wars or Kung Fury in the near future.
Don't hassle the Sarah. So sayeth the Adam Shard. 🦎
- Location
- Planet Earth
Those were the days...
Dunno what the next jump might be... still looking forward to, or am hopeful for, a Harry Potter jump. Or maybe a Stargate one? Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Meh... looking forward to a LOT of possible jumps.
Huh. I wonder how far that mesh is reaching. Because it really seems like something that would eventually reach out to the areas pre-Bioshock jump. Especially as its going for 'past' jumps. I can kind of see it potentially stabilizing other jumps, the ones that Adam thought were lost. But Sarah has the mesh just 'hide' them away. Basically if it would have collapsed by glancing at it without the stabilization, it appeared to do so. Mostly because there's the jumps that run backwards in time in the void. So that mesh is going to be building forwards and backwards in voidtime. Maybe even retroactively.
Heck, with it done that way, Sarah could totally have caused the injuries/panic in her vengeance target via the jumpmesh. Maybe not originally, but via setting a sort of self-fulfilling timeloop. And most likely a bit more damage/hits compared to the 'original'. Especially as she'd already have won in the warehouse fight. Adam's right, where timetravel really makes a mess of things.
Although now I'm imagining Future!Sarah popping in after current!Sarah moves on to the next jump, finishes up healing the team that's there (since there was explicitly no 'self-memories', just the ones the 'memories that other have of being there at the same time/place). And maybe piling in the 'lost'/dead members of the team. For even more strangeness, end up bringing back the ones that were healed, since I think technically they might be different people what with the exact specifics of how Sarah brought them back. I mean, Sarah ended up with a twin in this jump, so why not the ones that she healed they way she healed them?
And we get ever closer to finding out more about how Sarah got Kidnapped/Warehouse hijacked by the parasite. As an aside, we don't actually know what the Warehouse that Future!Sarah is talking about that, by the time Sarah encounters it, Adam already created a better system set. Given the mention of Future Sarah in the chapter... I'm wondering if it turns out that it's the remnants that the Parasite is holding onto/hanging around discarded. I mean, technically it would be a Warehouse, especially as what got left behind with Sarah wasn't really the Warehouse, just the dredges, tools that the Parasite left behind in a panic, as it grabbed what it could and bolted. And started dumping stuff from there for its own survival.
Because I kind of think that immediately after Sarah gets revenge, she'd start checking up on her previous jumps. And that kind of secret/inside joke of being just a few jumps ahead would be something to be smug about.
Of course, from there, that only makes me want to see a few things from there, not necessarily the nitty gritty details, but more a 'compare and contrast' way: 1) Sarah's Warehouse/seed, or an approximation of what it was like before it got parasited. 2) Some kind of 'average' Warehouse setup. Probably a 'starter' point, but also one more developed would be nice. That would get a better look at just how the Jumpchain documents are working. And how malicious they are or not. Or if it's Sarah closing a time loop/trolling Adam with things that would make him assume other events than what is actually happening. Due to the retroactive shenanigans.
Heck, with it done that way, Sarah could totally have caused the injuries/panic in her vengeance target via the jumpmesh. Maybe not originally, but via setting a sort of self-fulfilling timeloop. And most likely a bit more damage/hits compared to the 'original'. Especially as she'd already have won in the warehouse fight. Adam's right, where timetravel really makes a mess of things.
Although now I'm imagining Future!Sarah popping in after current!Sarah moves on to the next jump, finishes up healing the team that's there (since there was explicitly no 'self-memories', just the ones the 'memories that other have of being there at the same time/place). And maybe piling in the 'lost'/dead members of the team. For even more strangeness, end up bringing back the ones that were healed, since I think technically they might be different people what with the exact specifics of how Sarah brought them back. I mean, Sarah ended up with a twin in this jump, so why not the ones that she healed they way she healed them?
And we get ever closer to finding out more about how Sarah got Kidnapped/Warehouse hijacked by the parasite. As an aside, we don't actually know what the Warehouse that Future!Sarah is talking about that, by the time Sarah encounters it, Adam already created a better system set. Given the mention of Future Sarah in the chapter... I'm wondering if it turns out that it's the remnants that the Parasite is holding onto/hanging around discarded. I mean, technically it would be a Warehouse, especially as what got left behind with Sarah wasn't really the Warehouse, just the dredges, tools that the Parasite left behind in a panic, as it grabbed what it could and bolted. And started dumping stuff from there for its own survival.
Because I kind of think that immediately after Sarah gets revenge, she'd start checking up on her previous jumps. And that kind of secret/inside joke of being just a few jumps ahead would be something to be smug about.
Of course, from there, that only makes me want to see a few things from there, not necessarily the nitty gritty details, but more a 'compare and contrast' way: 1) Sarah's Warehouse/seed, or an approximation of what it was like before it got parasited. 2) Some kind of 'average' Warehouse setup. Probably a 'starter' point, but also one more developed would be nice. That would get a better look at just how the Jumpchain documents are working. And how malicious they are or not. Or if it's Sarah closing a time loop/trolling Adam with things that would make him assume other events than what is actually happening. Due to the retroactive shenanigans.
'burrow' not 'borrow'.
Sadism: "Why do I keep hearing that music ?"
Adam:
🍴
As always, thanks for the chapter. Judging the level of power Sarah is reaching, it seems likely that Arc 3 will end soon.
Adam:
🍴As always, thanks for the chapter. Judging the level of power Sarah is reaching, it seems likely that Arc 3 will end soon.
- Location
- Out in the banjoes
You know, with this moodset Adam's in, I kinda want to see them in either Hollywood Jump with the Magnum Opus drawback, Musician Jump with Battle of the Bands (if they can squeak out support for the +800 CP from that), or even Generic Medical Drama with the Soap Opera drawback.
I know for that last one, my Chains turn it into a telenovela on the basis that it seems funnier to not just have a cheap, hammy soap opera but instead have a cheap, hammy soap opera in rapid-fire Spanish and totally the wrong region (like the Chicago or Seattle locations while the "set" is obviously "filmed" south of the border).
Edit:
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aVZUVeMtYXc
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Honestly, to well-trained ears it sounded like 'eager preemptive planning cackling number 72.
The ability to tell people what they need to know when they need to hear it... While still giving yourself time to escape the area just in case this is a foothold situation from another reality.
Amazing, Gotham is such a shithole that the common worker can identify the type cackles that their bosses are doing, and can identify dimensional foothold situations. The less said about the tooth demon thing the better. Dentist are summoning demons on the regular. What the fuck Gotham.
The ability to tell people what they need to know when they need to hear it... While still giving yourself time to escape the area just in case this is a foothold situation from another reality.
Amazing, Gotham is such a shithole that the common worker can identify the type cackles that their bosses are doing, and can identify dimensional foothold situations. The less said about the tooth demon thing the better. Dentist are summoning demons on the regular. What the fuck Gotham.
- Status