Constellations (Worm/Okami)
- Thread starter UnwelcomeStorm
- Start date
Bigj217
Ooooooohhh!!! Pretty!
- Location
- Metropolis, IL
Her 'Shiranui' incarnation has been implied to possibly be male. So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Trollerasu can be whatever she damn well pleases.
- Location
- Plato's Cave
"whatever she damn well pleases" here being anything from reigniting the lost humanity in an empty shell of a person, incarnating in a male body, destroying a dark god, or drunk driving a motorcycle.
You know what the best part of Ammy's current rampage is? Kenta's reaction to all of this is going to be fucking delicious.
Let me try to show you what I mean here from Kenta's POV:
- Kenta goes back to the Shrine to speak with the Miko and is asked about his way of doing business as the Head of a Criminal Organisation.
- His spiel about why he cannot be a better quality of criminal is rejected, by the Miko and, by extension, her Goddess, and is then asked to re-examine his situation, while giving him a brief over-view as why the Miko believes he is going about this all wrong.
- As he mentions that the ABB are at war with E88 and therefore cannot afford to try to change his way of doing business, the Miko asks a very pointed question about their rivals, about removing them from the equation.
- Tired of the silly conversation, he grunts that it would be easier without them.
- The meeting's over and the Miko demands two sidewalks for his disrespect, with a hint ozone in the air.
- Sunday evening, there's news of Hookwolf being apprehended by PRT.
- Tuesday morning, there's word that Rune was caught.
- Tuesday evening, Victor*.
- Thursday morning, Alabaster.
- All this done with only some accounts of a white dog being involved somehow while the Miko was somewhere else completely or even apparently unaware of anything happening.
So, with that in mind, when the so-called dragon of Brockton Bay goes back to the Shrine, I wonder what his general attitude will be.
Also, another hilarious point, Kenta basically made a wish to the Kami of the Shrine (inadvertently, granted) and offered something (coerced into doing it, but an offering nonetheless), and now it's getting sorted out.
Or...here's another way of looking at it, Kenta's told by the representative of a Kami that he's not doing good business, in fact, at the rate the ABB is going, they would lose out eventually, and that he'll be given an opportunity to sort it out. In other words? Kenta went to a Shrine and got his business' fortune told.
*(cape name anyone? Didn't read Worm, tried, but it wasn't my thing.)
Let me try to show you what I mean here from Kenta's POV:
- Kenta goes back to the Shrine to speak with the Miko and is asked about his way of doing business as the Head of a Criminal Organisation.
- His spiel about why he cannot be a better quality of criminal is rejected, by the Miko and, by extension, her Goddess, and is then asked to re-examine his situation, while giving him a brief over-view as why the Miko believes he is going about this all wrong.
- As he mentions that the ABB are at war with E88 and therefore cannot afford to try to change his way of doing business, the Miko asks a very pointed question about their rivals, about removing them from the equation.
- Tired of the silly conversation, he grunts that it would be easier without them.
- The meeting's over and the Miko demands two sidewalks for his disrespect, with a hint ozone in the air.
- Sunday evening, there's news of Hookwolf being apprehended by PRT.
- Tuesday morning, there's word that Rune was caught.
- Tuesday evening, Victor*.
- Thursday morning, Alabaster.
- All this done with only some accounts of a white dog being involved somehow while the Miko was somewhere else completely or even apparently unaware of anything happening.
So, with that in mind, when the so-called dragon of Brockton Bay goes back to the Shrine, I wonder what his general attitude will be.
Also, another hilarious point, Kenta basically made a wish to the Kami of the Shrine (inadvertently, granted) and offered something (coerced into doing it, but an offering nonetheless), and now it's getting sorted out.
Or...here's another way of looking at it, Kenta's told by the representative of a Kami that he's not doing good business, in fact, at the rate the ABB is going, they would lose out eventually, and that he'll be given an opportunity to sort it out. In other words? Kenta went to a Shrine and got his business' fortune told.
*(cape name anyone? Didn't read Worm, tried, but it wasn't my thing.)
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Vicjer
The One Who Knows Less Than Nothing
- Location
- The Space Between Spaces
I think Victor is his cape name. I know I've never seen anything else to the contrary.
- Location
- Australia
I've wondered if his name is supposed to be like a reference or something to 'To the victor go the spoils' line. Would kinda fit with his penchant to steal skills.
- Location
- Plato's Cave
*blinks* I've never thought of it like that - I've always interpreted it as the name, not the word.
*mind blown*
And after all this, Lee tells him who the Shrine belongs to, who the Wolf "serves".
Amaterasu-Omikami, "The Great August Kami who Shines in the Heaven", Goddess of the Sun and Mother of all that is Good.
And Kenta realises he got off freaking easy with a lightning bolt to the face.
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Chapter 23
UnwelcomeStorm
BARK! BARK! BARK!
- Location
- United States
23
"Max, I asked you not to call me."
"I know, Kayden. But this is important. We need you."
Kayden tucked the phone into the crook of her shoulder to free up her hands. Was Max using the royal we, or was he referring to the Empire as a whole? It could honestly have been both. Kayden tried to clear the irritation from her voice. "I'm going to assume this has something to do with the Empire losing four capes in as many days?"
Max's voice gained the slightest edge in warning. "Just so. The Protectorate is being aided by the ABB in this attempt to drive us out."
That gave Kayden pause. She hadn't heard anything about the ABB getting a new cape, but with the type of people they attracted, more capes on their side would only mean bad things for everyone else. For their own people too, for that matter. Lung and his ilk were a cancer.
"The Asians picked up a new cape," Max continued, confirming Kayden's fears before she could voice them. "Rumor paints them as a neutral rogue, but they've been arranging 'accidents' to disable our own so the Protectorate can snap them up easily. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what will happen if the Empire loses ground to the ABB."
Well. Even if he was a snake, that much was true. He didn't need to detail the aftermath, if the ABB became the dominant force in Brockton Bay instead of being in stalemate with the Empire.
"Listen. The Protectorate is doing a prisoner transfer on Thursday— one convoy is taking Hookwolf to a Birdcage transport, the other is transferring Victor, Rune, and Alabaster to a high-security prison outside the city."
"What? They love their Rig, why would they remove their prisoners from Brockton?"
"To ensure that they cannot be broken out of containment on their watch. The PRT is trying to avoid losing face when we inevitably retrieve our forces."
Kayden did a quick tally in her head. "With the recent losses, it's an even 8 - 8 split for capes, Max. And that's not counting the Wards."
"Just so, but that's where you come in."
"I haven't agreed to anything."
"I know, dear Kayden. And I know that this would make you uncomfortable, so all I need from you is a distraction." Max's voice was warm, confident. "The heroes will have to split their forces to guard the convoys, as will we to attack them. But not all of their capes are as useful in battle as we are, and if you start a ruckus elsewhere in the city, a few will have to peel away to intercept you. But you'll be done and gone before they arrive."
Kayden's fingers started to worry at her necklace, the woman already cursing herself, and Max, and herself again.
"Don't worry, Kayden. I wouldn't want to put the mother of my child at risk. But I fear if we do not do this, this city will never be a fit place to raise a child."
". . ."
* * *
Thursday
As Krieg had told her, it wasn't difficult to find her target. The bright red arch was clearly visible, especially from a bird's-eye view like Purity had. She'd dampened her corona to a soft white shell, and her unclouded shape against the high, pale blue skies was more difficult to spot from below than most people would believe. As much as she was compared to Legend, at least Purity didn't leave a glowing tail of colors behind her.
Just a quick diversion, she'd been promised, with no real damage or casualties. The properties all around the weird little building were abandoned, their owners long since driven out by the squalor and hatred that the ABB fostered. If the cape was there, they wouldn't be able to reach her, and the display would serve as a potent warning against the treachery inherent in siding with Lung. Purity gathered the sunlight to her and began to descend.
Before she'd dropped to tree height, the sound of music fluttered up through the air to greet her. A flute, by the sound of it. It seemed so out of place, too. Where was the twangy, plucking-sound thing? The notes formed a pattern as she listened, until Purity recognized the tune; Greensleeves, if she wasn't mistaken. Dammit, Krieg had said the place would be empty, she was a fool to—
The flute's player stuck out like a sore thumb on the gently-yellowing grass down below. A white girl, with black hair and dressed in red and white clothes. She was standing facing a cheap metal sheet stand, which presumably held the musical notes she was practicing. Only a foot or two away was a large white dog, watching the girl with rapturous attention. Recognition slammed Purity so hard she dropped a couple feet out of the air, and the dog perked up her ears as if there'd been a physical impact. Sunny turned to look at her, hovering over the little building, and barked happily.
Taylor stopped playing her flute, and looked up at the glowing shape of Purity above her. Sunny wagged her tail and barked again, and in response Purity saw Taylor give a slightly awkward smile, and wave to her. Purity drifted lower, like a slowly-deflating balloon. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here, except maybe the new ABB cape. There definitely shouldn't have been the smiling girl she'd met at the market.
"Hello." Taylor called up at her.
"Ah— hello." Purity responded, almost on reflex. She was grateful for the slight distortion of her voice, but the wagging tail of Sunny made her nervous. Police used dogs all the time, it was very possible the canine recognized her by scent.
"You're Purity, right? What brings you here?" Taylor asked, her voice guileless, if a bit tense. Purity wondered if the girl knew how close she was to death. "Ah— I don't mean to pry, just curious."
"I… heard a flute? Greensleeves." Purity floundered a bit. Only a dozen feet below her now, Taylor's face brightened a little.
"Oh, yeah. It's Thursday, I practice every Thursday." She held up the metal flute, the girl's pride for the instrument clear as day.
"It's a lovely flute."
"Thank you. It was my mother's."
"Was?" Purity tried to glance around the area. She didn't see any ABB, or Lung lying in wait for her, or… anyone, really. Just Taylor and her dog.
"Yeah. She died in a car crash."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Purity said, and she meant it. It would be hard not to, now that she had a child of her own. Kayden would lie awake at night, some days, with terrible things gnawing at her mind. Imagining what would happen to Aster, if she went out as Purity and never came back.
"Uhm…" Taylor drew Purity's attention back to her. "Would you… like some tea? I've got green tea, and black teas, and… I think there's some hibiscus tea left."
Purity saw Sunny look up at her, doggy face set in a hopeful smile. She remembered keenly the smile on Aster's face, watching the dog play with her. She imagined, for a moment, if she had blasted down the red arch and the little buildings, and then flying down to find the nice girl and her dog crushed in the rubble.
"Tea would be lovely, thank you."
* * *
The Protectorate convoy trundled along, the roads already cleared in advance to facilitate a swift exodus from the city. A smart move, under normal circumstances, but it made plotting out the Protectorate's course laughably easy. Kaiser, the twins, and Crusader set up an ambush point for the convoy carrying Victor and the rest, while Krieg, Othala, Stormtiger, and Cricket set a trap for the trucks moving Hookwolf, almost on the other side of the city.
Kaiser waited for the convoy to approach, then sent a quick text to Purity, as her signal to begin her diversion. The metal of his gauntlets folded back over his fingers, and the phone was swallowed up by his armor. Flanking him, the twins began their growth. The convoy didn't slow, perhaps thinking they could simply evade or run roughshod over them. It was folly.
Kaiser raised one hand, and metal spikes shot through the pavement and speared the trucks, punching through the wheels and halting the vehicles. The metal blades sliced through four inches of the transports' shells before the screech of steel on steel was heard. No...
At his whim, the blades turned, and sheared sideways. Plastic resin split and fell away, the disguise breaking apart to show the armored side of Chessman's vehicles beneath the painted exterior. No.
A decoy. The entire convoy was a decoy. The Protectorate hadn't split their forces at all.
Crusader sent out his phantoms, spreading them out to find the Master cape, but the disguised tanks were already beginning to groan and shrink. An engine started below the highway bypass then revved as a light transport tore away from the scene. It was insulting; Chessman didn't even intend to fight them, just leave them to uselessly smash his sacrificed Pawns.
Max got back to his office late, his power roiling under his iron will as he seethed and stomped. He'd been tricked. Tricked! And there had been no word of Purity's strike on the chinks' shrine cape. She had failed, and at this juncture, failure was the same as betrayal. She wasn't answering her phone, either, and if she didn't have a very good excuse for ignoring him he was going to sue for custody of his daughter once and for all, and let her face down the idea of curtailed visitation rights. Maybe then she'd finally understand what was at stake for her.
Max thumbed through his phone to the contacts list, quickly scrolling to Kayden's personal number. He pressed the Call icon on the touchscreen and waited, turning to look out over his city through his office's floor-to-ceiling windows as he did.
The phone rang, unanswered and unnoticed even by Max. The phone slowly drifted with his hand, away from his ear, as he stared at the dog outside his window. Outside his twentieth story window.
The canine matched the rough descriptions given by his underlings—white and fluffy—but it was a good deal larger than rumor had mentioned. It was also standing on the reinforced glass, as though gravity was just a word that applied to people. The dog looked at him and cocked its head, staring back. Several things went through Max Anders' head at that moment.
The dog had singled out Hookwolf in his civilian identity. It had come out of nowhere, and had played a role in capturing a third of the Empire's powered forces on some inscrutable whim. It had an uncanny ability to appear anywhere, even where it could not possibly be. And it was outside his office— it knew who he was.
Max took a breath and canceled the phone call. He could put an iron spike through the wall and the window, if need be, but if the dog's pattern held there would be a Protectorate response somewhere very close by, just waiting for him to out himself by using his powers.
A fly started buzzing around the window, looking for a way out and doomed to never finding one. It caught the dog's attention and the canine followed the insect with its eyes, then made a quick lunge for the pest. Its teeth and tongue bumped against the glass, leaving a wet nose print and a smear of slobber. The fly, unharmed, bumbled on. The dog lunged again, to much the same effect.
Othala, Stormtiger, and Cricket had been beaten and seized by the combined might of the Protectorate. That made seven capes caught in less than a week. Max could read the writing on the wall. It would look away from him if he didn't provoke it, and right now, securing his assets and finding a means to rebuild his Empire were more important than revenge.
The dog lunged for its prey again, then lost its supposed footing and plummeted away from Max's office. Max didn't feel the need to check on it, and see if it really had fallen or was just waiting a story below. Instead, he calmly sat at his desk, turned on his computer, and prepared for a very long night.
* * *
Taylor hummed behind her painter's mask as she carefully dabbed paint against the concrete. A tree here, a few flowers there… yes, it was technically wrong to be painting the side of the Medhall building, but she was using watercolors today so it would wash off easily, so that made it less wrong, right? Right.
Besides, she needed the relief painting brought her. Having Purity stop by the shrine had been a tense experience, even if the woman had only asked a few questions. She hadn't even mentioned capes or the Empire at all, which at least put her above Lung for courtesy.
Taylor eyed her work and considered what to paint next. Maybe another cat? It would be a nice bookend for the one she'd started with.
Scrabbling claws caught her attention as she painted the outline and a couple of stripes, and Sunny hopped off the wall and trotted back over to her. Taylor stared—so that's where she'd gone—but then shook her head with a smile.
"There you are, Sunny. Didn't start any trouble, right?"
The wolf sneezed, and Taylor reached over to rub her ears for a moment. "Yeah, I knew you'd be good."
Friday
"...the Protectorate is calling it the greatest victory in recent memory, with the capture of a total of seven villains aligned with the Empire Eighty-Eight. Armsmaster was present today to answer a few questions on the villains' capture, as well as speculation on what this will mean for the city and the local gang activity…"
Ashes pittered down from the end of Lung's cigarette, having burned itself out as the man stared at the television in his living room with dawning horror. Oni Lee, standing behind the couch and watching as well, said nothing. Lung's hand twitched, then pawed for the remote, and he cut off the newscaster before she could spell his fate any further.
"Well, shit."
"Max, I asked you not to call me."
"I know, Kayden. But this is important. We need you."
Kayden tucked the phone into the crook of her shoulder to free up her hands. Was Max using the royal we, or was he referring to the Empire as a whole? It could honestly have been both. Kayden tried to clear the irritation from her voice. "I'm going to assume this has something to do with the Empire losing four capes in as many days?"
Max's voice gained the slightest edge in warning. "Just so. The Protectorate is being aided by the ABB in this attempt to drive us out."
That gave Kayden pause. She hadn't heard anything about the ABB getting a new cape, but with the type of people they attracted, more capes on their side would only mean bad things for everyone else. For their own people too, for that matter. Lung and his ilk were a cancer.
"The Asians picked up a new cape," Max continued, confirming Kayden's fears before she could voice them. "Rumor paints them as a neutral rogue, but they've been arranging 'accidents' to disable our own so the Protectorate can snap them up easily. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what will happen if the Empire loses ground to the ABB."
Well. Even if he was a snake, that much was true. He didn't need to detail the aftermath, if the ABB became the dominant force in Brockton Bay instead of being in stalemate with the Empire.
"Listen. The Protectorate is doing a prisoner transfer on Thursday— one convoy is taking Hookwolf to a Birdcage transport, the other is transferring Victor, Rune, and Alabaster to a high-security prison outside the city."
"What? They love their Rig, why would they remove their prisoners from Brockton?"
"To ensure that they cannot be broken out of containment on their watch. The PRT is trying to avoid losing face when we inevitably retrieve our forces."
Kayden did a quick tally in her head. "With the recent losses, it's an even 8 - 8 split for capes, Max. And that's not counting the Wards."
"Just so, but that's where you come in."
"I haven't agreed to anything."
"I know, dear Kayden. And I know that this would make you uncomfortable, so all I need from you is a distraction." Max's voice was warm, confident. "The heroes will have to split their forces to guard the convoys, as will we to attack them. But not all of their capes are as useful in battle as we are, and if you start a ruckus elsewhere in the city, a few will have to peel away to intercept you. But you'll be done and gone before they arrive."
Kayden's fingers started to worry at her necklace, the woman already cursing herself, and Max, and herself again.
"Don't worry, Kayden. I wouldn't want to put the mother of my child at risk. But I fear if we do not do this, this city will never be a fit place to raise a child."
". . ."
* * *
Thursday
As Krieg had told her, it wasn't difficult to find her target. The bright red arch was clearly visible, especially from a bird's-eye view like Purity had. She'd dampened her corona to a soft white shell, and her unclouded shape against the high, pale blue skies was more difficult to spot from below than most people would believe. As much as she was compared to Legend, at least Purity didn't leave a glowing tail of colors behind her.
Just a quick diversion, she'd been promised, with no real damage or casualties. The properties all around the weird little building were abandoned, their owners long since driven out by the squalor and hatred that the ABB fostered. If the cape was there, they wouldn't be able to reach her, and the display would serve as a potent warning against the treachery inherent in siding with Lung. Purity gathered the sunlight to her and began to descend.
Before she'd dropped to tree height, the sound of music fluttered up through the air to greet her. A flute, by the sound of it. It seemed so out of place, too. Where was the twangy, plucking-sound thing? The notes formed a pattern as she listened, until Purity recognized the tune; Greensleeves, if she wasn't mistaken. Dammit, Krieg had said the place would be empty, she was a fool to—
The flute's player stuck out like a sore thumb on the gently-yellowing grass down below. A white girl, with black hair and dressed in red and white clothes. She was standing facing a cheap metal sheet stand, which presumably held the musical notes she was practicing. Only a foot or two away was a large white dog, watching the girl with rapturous attention. Recognition slammed Purity so hard she dropped a couple feet out of the air, and the dog perked up her ears as if there'd been a physical impact. Sunny turned to look at her, hovering over the little building, and barked happily.
Taylor stopped playing her flute, and looked up at the glowing shape of Purity above her. Sunny wagged her tail and barked again, and in response Purity saw Taylor give a slightly awkward smile, and wave to her. Purity drifted lower, like a slowly-deflating balloon. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here, except maybe the new ABB cape. There definitely shouldn't have been the smiling girl she'd met at the market.
"Hello." Taylor called up at her.
"Ah— hello." Purity responded, almost on reflex. She was grateful for the slight distortion of her voice, but the wagging tail of Sunny made her nervous. Police used dogs all the time, it was very possible the canine recognized her by scent.
"You're Purity, right? What brings you here?" Taylor asked, her voice guileless, if a bit tense. Purity wondered if the girl knew how close she was to death. "Ah— I don't mean to pry, just curious."
"I… heard a flute? Greensleeves." Purity floundered a bit. Only a dozen feet below her now, Taylor's face brightened a little.
"Oh, yeah. It's Thursday, I practice every Thursday." She held up the metal flute, the girl's pride for the instrument clear as day.
"It's a lovely flute."
"Thank you. It was my mother's."
"Was?" Purity tried to glance around the area. She didn't see any ABB, or Lung lying in wait for her, or… anyone, really. Just Taylor and her dog.
"Yeah. She died in a car crash."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Purity said, and she meant it. It would be hard not to, now that she had a child of her own. Kayden would lie awake at night, some days, with terrible things gnawing at her mind. Imagining what would happen to Aster, if she went out as Purity and never came back.
"Uhm…" Taylor drew Purity's attention back to her. "Would you… like some tea? I've got green tea, and black teas, and… I think there's some hibiscus tea left."
Purity saw Sunny look up at her, doggy face set in a hopeful smile. She remembered keenly the smile on Aster's face, watching the dog play with her. She imagined, for a moment, if she had blasted down the red arch and the little buildings, and then flying down to find the nice girl and her dog crushed in the rubble.
"Tea would be lovely, thank you."
* * *
The Protectorate convoy trundled along, the roads already cleared in advance to facilitate a swift exodus from the city. A smart move, under normal circumstances, but it made plotting out the Protectorate's course laughably easy. Kaiser, the twins, and Crusader set up an ambush point for the convoy carrying Victor and the rest, while Krieg, Othala, Stormtiger, and Cricket set a trap for the trucks moving Hookwolf, almost on the other side of the city.
Kaiser waited for the convoy to approach, then sent a quick text to Purity, as her signal to begin her diversion. The metal of his gauntlets folded back over his fingers, and the phone was swallowed up by his armor. Flanking him, the twins began their growth. The convoy didn't slow, perhaps thinking they could simply evade or run roughshod over them. It was folly.
Kaiser raised one hand, and metal spikes shot through the pavement and speared the trucks, punching through the wheels and halting the vehicles. The metal blades sliced through four inches of the transports' shells before the screech of steel on steel was heard. No...
At his whim, the blades turned, and sheared sideways. Plastic resin split and fell away, the disguise breaking apart to show the armored side of Chessman's vehicles beneath the painted exterior. No.
A decoy. The entire convoy was a decoy. The Protectorate hadn't split their forces at all.
Crusader sent out his phantoms, spreading them out to find the Master cape, but the disguised tanks were already beginning to groan and shrink. An engine started below the highway bypass then revved as a light transport tore away from the scene. It was insulting; Chessman didn't even intend to fight them, just leave them to uselessly smash his sacrificed Pawns.
Max got back to his office late, his power roiling under his iron will as he seethed and stomped. He'd been tricked. Tricked! And there had been no word of Purity's strike on the chinks' shrine cape. She had failed, and at this juncture, failure was the same as betrayal. She wasn't answering her phone, either, and if she didn't have a very good excuse for ignoring him he was going to sue for custody of his daughter once and for all, and let her face down the idea of curtailed visitation rights. Maybe then she'd finally understand what was at stake for her.
Max thumbed through his phone to the contacts list, quickly scrolling to Kayden's personal number. He pressed the Call icon on the touchscreen and waited, turning to look out over his city through his office's floor-to-ceiling windows as he did.
The phone rang, unanswered and unnoticed even by Max. The phone slowly drifted with his hand, away from his ear, as he stared at the dog outside his window. Outside his twentieth story window.
The canine matched the rough descriptions given by his underlings—white and fluffy—but it was a good deal larger than rumor had mentioned. It was also standing on the reinforced glass, as though gravity was just a word that applied to people. The dog looked at him and cocked its head, staring back. Several things went through Max Anders' head at that moment.
The dog had singled out Hookwolf in his civilian identity. It had come out of nowhere, and had played a role in capturing a third of the Empire's powered forces on some inscrutable whim. It had an uncanny ability to appear anywhere, even where it could not possibly be. And it was outside his office— it knew who he was.
Max took a breath and canceled the phone call. He could put an iron spike through the wall and the window, if need be, but if the dog's pattern held there would be a Protectorate response somewhere very close by, just waiting for him to out himself by using his powers.
A fly started buzzing around the window, looking for a way out and doomed to never finding one. It caught the dog's attention and the canine followed the insect with its eyes, then made a quick lunge for the pest. Its teeth and tongue bumped against the glass, leaving a wet nose print and a smear of slobber. The fly, unharmed, bumbled on. The dog lunged again, to much the same effect.
Othala, Stormtiger, and Cricket had been beaten and seized by the combined might of the Protectorate. That made seven capes caught in less than a week. Max could read the writing on the wall. It would look away from him if he didn't provoke it, and right now, securing his assets and finding a means to rebuild his Empire were more important than revenge.
The dog lunged for its prey again, then lost its supposed footing and plummeted away from Max's office. Max didn't feel the need to check on it, and see if it really had fallen or was just waiting a story below. Instead, he calmly sat at his desk, turned on his computer, and prepared for a very long night.
* * *
Taylor hummed behind her painter's mask as she carefully dabbed paint against the concrete. A tree here, a few flowers there… yes, it was technically wrong to be painting the side of the Medhall building, but she was using watercolors today so it would wash off easily, so that made it less wrong, right? Right.
Besides, she needed the relief painting brought her. Having Purity stop by the shrine had been a tense experience, even if the woman had only asked a few questions. She hadn't even mentioned capes or the Empire at all, which at least put her above Lung for courtesy.
Taylor eyed her work and considered what to paint next. Maybe another cat? It would be a nice bookend for the one she'd started with.
Scrabbling claws caught her attention as she painted the outline and a couple of stripes, and Sunny hopped off the wall and trotted back over to her. Taylor stared—so that's where she'd gone—but then shook her head with a smile.
"There you are, Sunny. Didn't start any trouble, right?"
The wolf sneezed, and Taylor reached over to rub her ears for a moment. "Yeah, I knew you'd be good."
Friday
"...the Protectorate is calling it the greatest victory in recent memory, with the capture of a total of seven villains aligned with the Empire Eighty-Eight. Armsmaster was present today to answer a few questions on the villains' capture, as well as speculation on what this will mean for the city and the local gang activity…"
Ashes pittered down from the end of Lung's cigarette, having burned itself out as the man stared at the television in his living room with dawning horror. Oni Lee, standing behind the couch and watching as well, said nothing. Lung's hand twitched, then pawed for the remote, and he cut off the newscaster before she could spell his fate any further.
"Well, shit."
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jwolfe_beta
Semi Genre-Savvy Overlord
- Location
- Canada
Careful what you wish/ask for Kenta, you might just end up getting it.
MaHaL
Conductor of the Choir of Death
- Location
- Canada
Clearly he needs to use Plan B:
Just imagine a dragon mask on the stick man.
Mockingly-Tricky
Ketchup Enthusiast
- Location
- Happy Funtime Candyland
Ammy why you gotta be such a troll?
- Location
- Plato's Cave
Unless I'm reading this wrong, Taylor just saw that Sunny was walking on the wall spiderdog style, and ran with it. There's a point at which willful ignorance because unfazed acceptance, and I think she's crossed it.
- Location
- Hot Springs
Ok, I like your Kaiser: he's actually INTELLIGENT enough to understand he's up against something that blasting away will not help! He also shows he can take a backhand across the face when he's aware of what's going on and not flinch .
And as for Lung, I see the Intelligence that Okami decided to wake up via LIGHTNING RESURRECTION is now working within adequate specifications, as he's noted how the E88 has had a SEVERE drop in power level, via Okami's ever helpful Instant Cliff, co-designed by ACME!!!!
.And as for Lung, I see the Intelligence that Okami decided to wake up via LIGHTNING RESURRECTION is now working within adequate specifications, as he's noted how the E88 has had a SEVERE drop in power level, via Okami's ever helpful Instant Cliff, co-designed by ACME!!!!
A Living Person
Installing BB.exe
- Location
- Chaldea
Y'know? This must be one of the few moments where Kayden was able to just, feel at peace and serenity and COMPLETELY ignore Max like he didn't exist. All of this with no Aster nearby to. GG Ammy.
Torgamous
Aspiring Gynoid
- Pronouns
- She/Her
She crossed it a while ago.
- Location
- Wherever
Max/Kaiser feels a little off, but I quite like the subtle bit of him thinking of Brockton Bay as 'his' city.
Also nice to see the payoff for Taylor's meeting with Kayden.
Also nice to see Chessman's effect on things. Obviously this isn't precisely analogous to anything that happened in canon, but loosely I'd compare it to how, in canon, Lung got captured... and then got busted out of the transport. It's easy to imagine that Chessman would've prevented that from happening in a similar sort of way as what he did here.
Though at this point Taylor seems a mite Cloud Cookolander. "Yeah, my dog is Spiderdog. But I'm not a parahuman. And it's not a paracanine."
Suuuure Taylor. Sure.
Also nice to see the payoff for Taylor's meeting with Kayden.
Also nice to see Chessman's effect on things. Obviously this isn't precisely analogous to anything that happened in canon, but loosely I'd compare it to how, in canon, Lung got captured... and then got busted out of the transport. It's easy to imagine that Chessman would've prevented that from happening in a similar sort of way as what he did here.
Though at this point Taylor seems a mite Cloud Cookolander. "Yeah, my dog is Spiderdog. But I'm not a parahuman. And it's not a paracanine."
Suuuure Taylor. Sure.
CaesriusPolybius
Worldgate Mechanic
- Location
- United States. Ish.
Why do I get the feeling that that paint will be decent cover come leviathan?
Not the wall, the layer of paint itself.
wtdtd
slow thinker, with crippling abundance of time
- Location
- The Netherlands
- Location
- Italy
This chapter is so much yes.
No other word to describe it XD
No other word to describe it XD
Omake: An overview of Coil's timelines
jwolfe_beta
Semi Genre-Savvy Overlord
- Location
- Canada
Timeline 1
dog.
Timeline dropped
Timeline 2
Dog.
Timeline dropped
Timeline 3
Dog?
Timeline dropped
Timeline 4
Dog?!?
Timeline dropped
Timeline 5
doG!
Timeline dropped
Timeline 6
DoG!
Timeline dropped
Timeline 7
doG.
Timeline dropped
Timeline 8
doG.
(starts rocking back and forth in a corner crying)
A well writen Coil you will never see outside of his own thoughts how badly the last action has run.
The exception to that is totally busting him (like in Security).
- Pronouns
- Exist
Ammy: I never start trouble. I finish it.
Well, in chapter 21, Dauntless said the same thing about Lung talk with Taylor.