Told to the person she has taken to a new world, isolating her from the rest of humanity while controlling the way to and from it...
Yer a cult leader Taylor!
Contractual Villainy
- Thread starter Sandy River DL
- Start date
Told to the person she has taken to a new world, isolating her from the rest of humanity while controlling the way to and from it...
Yer a cult leader Taylor!
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Replies time.
Well, she's definitely worried about being a target for them, and has planning around them on her To Do list.
She definitely doesn't expect to find them waiting for her outside the warehouse on her next trip, that's for sure. But they are a potential threat to her once she starts recruiting, should they notice.
It also drives home for Emma that The Game Has Changed. What she tried would've worked at school, but cape fights are a different beast entirely.
Currently the only Path involving Taylor is the Better Coffee one, yes, and only indirectly. Cauldron's main interest is her recall anchors, which they're planning on commissioning more of for their own usage later. She is not running a backup world for them, her virgin Earth was only granted to make her feel indebted to them and view them more positively.
Typo has been corrected.It rains bears on this world...? Not sure if establishing a colony is a good idea.
That said Pern had the Thread so...
Eventually...
Specifically the Ukrainian Carpathians. And because it fills in the painfully empty void in the supposedly tight bond between Taylor and her mother while simultaneously expanding the world that should be noticeably different from our own but isn't. Using the Elder Scrolls Nordic faith because that way I'm not failing to do real religions justice.
Yeah, the idea that she's some sort of backup plan really isn't anything more than speculation by a reader. Like, sure, if she's successful, Cauldron might dump people on her in the hopes that Zion won't notice that world, but it's hardly the main point. Though DM did admit back in the first chapter that her power was at least interesting enough that they might make a recruitment pitch once she's eighteen.
Fixed.
Did you read the chapter or just peek at the end? Because she mentioned her plan and has started gathering the materials to make the concrete she needs to build the thing. Going 'yeah, right' at the author, about things she just posted, is... well, not exactly sensible. And the idea of Taylor being a Cauldron backup plan was not anything I posted or have attested to. Cauldron has no idea what she's capable of. And frankly, I'm having to wonder if you've even been reading the story, if you think she's not displayed anything outside of human knowledge, or barely understanding things that've been known for tens of thousands of years...
- Pronouns
- He
To be honest with how sparse the update rate is, I forgot most of it. And mostly skimmed the chapter, because there was too much reasoning of everything without... anything happening. My replies were mostly reaction and asumptions from other people reactions. So... sorry if I wrote something that is not truth, canon or was just wrongly understood. Well and thanks for the reply.
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OK, whilst the author has indicated no to this whole discussion, let's just point out that you are baseing your apparent thinking on very modern terms.
After all these are challenges that the classical world could and did take on.
The Greek and Roman empires being the most well known. The many many incarnations of China, the Norse, the Germanics, etc, etc
Given that certain members of Cauldron come from stone age or bronze age style civilizations, they will understand that the indicators of success are not technological. They are the strength of your culture, and the state of your granger.
Is Taylor a long way from being able to succeed in this? Yes. But not because of the state of her technology. It's because she has a tribe of two. She just doesn't have the depth of " this is how it is" to not be subsumed by a group of any size. She barely has a start on " what makes us, us", and at that, mostly because Emily is letting her.
Remember she's a Civilization maker, not a colony maker. There is a difference
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And chances that someone (cougharmsmastercough) is able to run a atomic analysis to find out she wasn't kidding about the 'Virgin World' quip?
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
How would he do that? Isotopic ratios and impurity compositions would tell him it's from Earth and there's enough variations that all he'd know beyond that is that it wasn't from any known deposit, which doesn't really scream 'from a different Earth', as there's who knows how many that nobody's found yet. Barring him having a scanner that's based more on Shard BS than his norm already around, he wouldn't know.
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Well, she's known to have a teleporter.
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- Location
- Oslo
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Beautiful places they are, I heard. Didn't get a chance to visit.
Huh... Thanks for your answers
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You missed an opertunity. In the latest chapter when the storm hits, for a thunder sound effect of a nice big "THU'UM".
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
Tinkers are bullshit?
YuffieK
(Verified Ninja Princess)
Not really. Gold has only one stable isotope and a sizable nugget like that is naturally going to be rather high quality. (20 karat or better)
Being Armsmaster I wouldn't be surprised if he found some microscopic trace elements indicative of a parallel Earth, if he was allowed to destructively test evidence.
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MultipleChoice
(Verified Unverified)
To me the issue with anyone testing to see if Taylor's materials come from an alternate Earth is that they first have to think to test for it. Right now no one has any reason to suspect she's based on a virgin earth, and no one would run those sorts of tests except to confirm a hypothesis. Besides, Armsmaster has better things to do like make the grappling hook in his halberd weigh 0.745 grams less.
Triumph is oddly passive here. Like, beyond "avoiding looking bad" full-on "this is embarrassing, let's just go".
This is, iirc, the second time we've seen Emma and Taylor fight. The first time, she was with Gallant. The second time, with Triumph.
Cauldron's putting their thumb on the scale and sabotaging Emma, aren't they?
This is, iirc, the second time we've seen Emma and Taylor fight. The first time, she was with Gallant. The second time, with Triumph.
Cauldron's putting their thumb on the scale and sabotaging Emma, aren't they?
Arzte
Lady Of Chaos
- Location
- Where Order Is Not
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Hers
I do believe you accidentally forgot your response to my thoughts about her getting help to deal with this upcoming rainy season
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
So I did! She'll be picking up more people by the time things start getting bad, including the final member of her eventual polycule.I do believe you accidentally forgot your response to my thoughts about her getting help to deal with this upcoming rainy season
Agriculture 4
Sandy River DL
(Verified Destroyer Leader)
- Location
- Lake Michigan
- Pronouns
- Her/She
Brockton Bay, Earth Bet, Feb 10, 2011.
A knife snapped against my brigandine as the clearly drugged out of reality Merchant attempted to stab me with the rusted blade. Why these losers were trying to rob a home improvement store, I had no idea, but it was rather annoying. It wasn't even like they'd brought a vehicle to haul off the appliances for drug-making or whatever it was they did, so it really didn't make any sense for them to be here. Or were the morons looking for chemicals to feed into a meth lab?
Ramming my fist into the now disarmed dumbass's gut, I then followed up with a knee to his groin and a leg sweep. Letting the poleaxed man drop, I then slammed an elbow into a second ganger's diaphragm. Instead of having the wind knocked out of her, she vomited all over her downed compatriot before passing out in a heap. I grabbed the piece of rebar she'd been holding and tossed it into a bin full of PVC piping before moving on to the plywood sheets that I'd come for in the first place.
I felt, rather than heard, the heavy footfalls as I reached for the last things I'd be needing to begin building my first permanent structure on Tǩóymos and let out a low groan. Was nothing going to go right on this run?
"Please tell me that it's Armsmaster approaching me, rather than the Nazi Murder Blender or one of the fascist bikini models," I snarked, doing my best to keep my heart rate from spiking.
A voice I had to have heard a thousand times on TV spoke in reply. "I'm impressed you noticed me Hausōs, given that your drones aren't about right now. Maintenance issues?"
Turning to make not eye contact with the man who had been my favorite hero and was probably technically here to arrest me, I couldn't help but feel a pang of resentment. Of Emma, who was working with him despite being even less of a hero than I was. Of Armsmaster himself, because of his ability to readily source any material or equipment he needed. And of what the man ultimately represented. The United States government, that didn't give a shit about anyone who wasn't rich unless they were a cape. Mom had once said things were different before parahumans, or at least there was an effort to make it seem that way, but that time was long since past.
In fact, with Cauldron selling powers, it wouldn't be at all surprising if there were numerous secret parahumans among the rich and powerful. Major business leaders, A-list celebrities, politicians, maybe even the PRT, for all that it'd be illegal… And depending on when the whole thing started, they could've been there since the Eighties. Hell, Cauldron might've been responsible for powers being a thing in the first place for all I knew. It'd certainly explain some things…
Pushing all that down, I shook my head in response. "No, they're just elsewhere in the building as I wasn't expecting to get jumped by Merchants right off the bat. Threw my entire flow off, which is rather annoying. Now, I'm guessing you're here to arrest me?"
Much to my surprise, that elicited a chuckle in place of the expected confirmatory nod. "Do you want me to? Personally, I would rather see you join either the Wards or the Juvenile Cape Rehabilitation Program of your own accord, but the system would settle for you getting your feet under yourself and moving away from crime as soon as possible. The only things I plan on asking you right now are what you're looking for, and why you haven't been 'paying' with gold nuggets if you have access to them."
"Uh, I was needing plywood to make forms for pouring concrete," I said in a slight daze. Why was I telling him that? Like, it would probably not hurt at this point as they'd have to be actively trying to not know I was based somewhere outside the city at this point, but just outright telling him I was working on felt a little off. Probably because of the risk of some Protectorate Thinker puzzling things out. On the other hand, I was now curious as to just what Armsmaster was planning.
"As for why I haven't been paying with random bits of gold, I have exactly no idea how or where to convert the stuff into cash, and nowhere takes the stuff as normal payment. Doing so at Leonard's was kinda spur of the moment due to having actually had the nugget in my pocket at the time. That, and they were selling quality handmade clothing, which is really good to have…"
The Protectorate leader nodded with what seemed like a thoughtful look on what was visible of his face. "Yes, I do see how that would be an issue for a young displaced cape. Still, I cannot allow you to rob this store."
He then pulled a card out of a pouch on his waist and held it up. Not a business card though, but a credit card or similar. "Recall your drones then Hausōs and go find a trolley, this robbery is being thwarted into being a perfectly legitimate shopping excursion."
I stared at the man, wide eyed. That… was not supposed to be how this went. It wasn't that I wanted to fight a cape I'd admired for years, but him flipping the script like this was disconcerting. Still, it probably was a better outcome from a material standpoint, as this meant being able to get more plywood than I'd have otherwise been able to. There was even a decent chance of being able to get enough to build the storehouse walls in much larger sections.
Triggering the recall function on the drones as asked, I then set off back towards the front where the specified carriers were located. As I did so, I spotted a pair of normal cops standing guard over the two Merchants and had to suppress a shudder at the look one of the two officers shot at me. It wasn't a pleasant one, and not in the usual way. Like he wanted something but wasn't sure he could get it. Which was creepy.
Very deliberately moving on, I quickly found what I was looking for and made a beeline back to Armsmaster. Something told me that sticking around that man was a bad idea.
"So then," the hero said as I started loading the big plywood sheets onto the trolley. "How long do you think it will take you to reestablish yourself and be able to start supporting your tinkering through legitimate means?"
Oh, that was the worst thing he could've asked. I couldn't give him any answer that would be even vaguely satisfying to him without revealing Cauldron, and doing that would… probably not end well. So I'd have to give the only response that I had.
"I don't know. Food is becoming less of an issue, some things I can now get by trading with Toybox, and most of what's needed to start exploiting the local resources I already have in some form or can make soon enough. But things like medicine and proper clothes are a different story. Same with a bunch of construction materials like the plywood. I can build the infrastructure, but that will take some time and the only way to speed it up is more people. And your bosses are unlikely to appreciate me recruiting on any meaningful scale."
I paused my shifting of sheets and rolled my shoulders with a groan. "Assholes probably would claim I'm building a gang or insurgency. I'm not interested in contesting control of anywhere, nor establishing a criminal organization to parasitize on those just trying to get by. I'm just doing what I have to so I can have my own life again..."
"Are you being blackmailed?"
The question caught me off-guard and I couldn't help but wince. "Not… blackmailed, exactly, but the deal I had to make to get the place I'm living now has… well, I have to occasionally hit assigned locations for them. What they get out of it, I can't tell you, but it's the price for a fresh start that I'd badly needed."
Armsmaster frowned, but didn't comment. Instead, he just turned and pulled down a selection of large lumber beams, adding them to the growing collection on the trolley.
"There, I believe you now have everything needed for casting concrete. Is this a reinforced structure or unreinforced?"
"Um, unreinforced," I replied, almost stumbling over my words at the fact that I was technically talking tinkering with Armsmaster. "It's just a small single story storehouse that can survive harsh weather better than the quick and dirty thing I threw together earlier. Not like the Romans did reinforcement, and what I'm building is nowhere near their level. Just a few basic structures I'll be needing."
"Then unless you need anything else here, we're done," the hero stated. "Though before we proceed to the check-out, I think it prudent to pass on a warning. The fact that Askā selected Silver Dawn based on knowledge acquired in her personal life got out, and the Empire may be able to use that information to compromise her identity. If they do, it's possible they could find your base should you use nearby communities as places to be out of costume. Should that happen, well, the Empire is suspected to ignore the unspoken rules when they can get away with it and has connections to a German cape group called Gesellschaft that is known to engage in human trafficking."
I shuddered. The idea of the Nazis getting access to my base… That was not at all pleasant to consider. Happily, they didn't have any Tinkers of their own. "I don't think there's a risk of them finding me, but thanks for the warning anyway. I've been back here in civvies and they might be able to possibly link her to me in other ways."
"Best to avoid being out together either way, as you were already in their sights and hitting a front or sympathizer while all but admitting your teammate is from a sympathizer family is only going to make it worse."
Nodding, I began pushing the now fully laden trolley towards the front. "Yeah, we didn't think that quite all the way through, but what's done is done. And, uh, how are your superiors going to take you buying me stuff?"
He snorted, a very unexpected sound from the man, in response. "This is actually on an expense account we have specifically to pay off villainous tinkers so they focus more on their work than crime. You're probably the first to benefit from it locally in several years, as Leet commits crimes for entertainment and most other tinkers who turn up in the Bay don't stick around. There's currently a grand total of five here not part of the Protectorate. We might be up to six soon though, as Lung is suspected to be attempting to recruit the Cornell Bomber for the ABB. And a bomb tinker is the last thing this city needs."
That sounded like an understatement actually. The Bay needed a terrorism-inclined bomb tinker about as much as it needed a visit from all three Endbringers.
"Hopefully they take each other out instead," I replied with a scowl. "Preferably managing to somehow off Kaiser in the process. I don't think the Bay could survive having tinkertech bombs going off every time the ABB and Empire clash…"
Armsmaster nodded at that. "Quite. Now, once we've got your items paid for, there are a few more things that need to be covered. Mainly checks Child Protective Services requires us to make, but also some Dragon and I feel are necessary."
Wincing at that, I made the groan familiar to anyone working with teens. One of the greatest downsides to being non-threatening and then not fleeing when confronted: government bureaucracy sticking its nose into my business…
"Relax Hausōs, all CPS wants to know is what steps you're taking to ensure you're taking care of yourself. They aren't looking to micromanage you like the Youth Guard has tried to do with underage independents, just confirm you aren't doing anything stupid like subsisting on junk food, and see if you need to access any of their support resources. What you tell me will determine what assistance they'll offer, it has nothing to do with you engaging in villainous activity, just their standard approach to underage parahumans operating without adult support. My own interest is in ensuring you have sufficient ability to use your powers so you don't suffer from the known problems stemming from not using parahuman abilities that may drive you into more serious criminal activity. Dragon wants contact information and details on your internet connection so she can address any validation problems you have and reduce the number of sourceless requests."
I blinked and stared at the hero, who merely chuckled in response. "I've heard that enough times to know what that groan means. I don't like how so much of this support is limited to parahumans, but that is likely because it's capes who pose a big enough threat to force the government to actually offer solutions. And unfortunately the existing system is still better than the parahuman warlordism that looks to be the alternative, so here I stay."
He then began scanning the tags on the various pieces we'd collected with the doohickey the self-checkout station had. A dozen eight-foot sheets of plywood, another dozen 4x6 boards, and a caulking gun with three tubes that he must have grabbed while I was getting the trolley. This haul was vastly better than I'd been expecting, and I wasn't actually sure how I'd bring it all back. Armsmaster however seemed to have also noticed the issue, as he started binding the boards and sheets together with some sort of plastic tie extruded from one of his gauntlets. Probably some sort of restraint fabricator normally.
"So," he said once he'd run the expense card and confirmed the purchase. "What are you doing for food security? Agriculture I presume is part of it, going by how you've acquired seeds and potatoes, but what we know you have isn't going to be sufficient to have a good diet."
This was going to be annoying to explain without giving things away too early…
"And so you are aware, one of the fruits you dropped during your first encounter with Zenith was recovered and analyzed. I know you aren't on Bet," he added quietly, seeming very deliberate to keep anyone else from hearing.
Well, shit. That… could be bad. Oh Winds, that could be very bad.
Taking a deep breath, I replied "I… would appreciate that information not spreading, especially since I'm not remotely prepared to handle the inevitable response."
When he gave an understanding nod, I continued "Foraging is currently my main source of food that isn't coming from crime, though we're working on getting a proper farm going with a wider range of crops and Askā is currently testing some different ways of fishing and trapping. Hopefully we'll be able to stop relying on processed meats and canned fruit within the month, and if the survivalist sites pay off we'll have the agricultural side of things fully handled. Overall, nutrition's mostly worked out and adequate, if my scanners are as good as I think they are."
Armsmaster gave me a slight smile and a satisfied nod. "Excellent. That should be enough to keep CPS from demanding access to your base and putting you through survival courses for the next year."
My incredulous look lost behind my visor, he continued "Now, what are you doing to satisfy your power needs?"
"Built a hydro-generator, datalink for internet, currently making concrete and clay roofing tiles. That all seems to be doing the trick for now, but I'm starting to feel an itch to forge something soon, so I'll need to build a forge reasonably fast."
Even with his eyes concealed, I could see the skeptical look he was giving me. What could I say, my power was amazing. And helpful as he was, I wasn't telling him my suspicion about my specialization, because that was something he would not be able to get away with concealing outside of a declared Truce. A civilization Tinker would be far too big to be overlooked, and everyone would be after me if so much as a rumor got out…
"As for my internet connection, I used a protocol similar to the one used for interfacing with Aleph's internet, just with a different identifier string to avoid looking like an Aleph connection. Which, thinking about it, might be why my attempt to sign up on PHO failed, since it's supposed to be configured to only take Bet traffic."
A soft whir heralded a business card emerging from his currently still stowed halberd, which he then passed to me. "Here. If your email address is valid, just send Dragon one and she will be able to help you get your connection sorted out. Be aware though, she will be sharing it with CPS so they can communicate with you as well. It isn't malicious, just her following the law regarding unsupervised underage independents. A warrant would be required to trace your account, and I suspect you're not hosting it yourself anyways."
I stared dumbstruck at the man. He'd just handed me some of the most coveted contact information on the planet in the most casual manner. So I could get help troubleshooting my internet connection. Me. A nobody villain. Kyne's Breath, what was my life now?
A knife snapped against my brigandine as the clearly drugged out of reality Merchant attempted to stab me with the rusted blade. Why these losers were trying to rob a home improvement store, I had no idea, but it was rather annoying. It wasn't even like they'd brought a vehicle to haul off the appliances for drug-making or whatever it was they did, so it really didn't make any sense for them to be here. Or were the morons looking for chemicals to feed into a meth lab?
Ramming my fist into the now disarmed dumbass's gut, I then followed up with a knee to his groin and a leg sweep. Letting the poleaxed man drop, I then slammed an elbow into a second ganger's diaphragm. Instead of having the wind knocked out of her, she vomited all over her downed compatriot before passing out in a heap. I grabbed the piece of rebar she'd been holding and tossed it into a bin full of PVC piping before moving on to the plywood sheets that I'd come for in the first place.
I felt, rather than heard, the heavy footfalls as I reached for the last things I'd be needing to begin building my first permanent structure on Tǩóymos and let out a low groan. Was nothing going to go right on this run?
"Please tell me that it's Armsmaster approaching me, rather than the Nazi Murder Blender or one of the fascist bikini models," I snarked, doing my best to keep my heart rate from spiking.
A voice I had to have heard a thousand times on TV spoke in reply. "I'm impressed you noticed me Hausōs, given that your drones aren't about right now. Maintenance issues?"
Turning to make not eye contact with the man who had been my favorite hero and was probably technically here to arrest me, I couldn't help but feel a pang of resentment. Of Emma, who was working with him despite being even less of a hero than I was. Of Armsmaster himself, because of his ability to readily source any material or equipment he needed. And of what the man ultimately represented. The United States government, that didn't give a shit about anyone who wasn't rich unless they were a cape. Mom had once said things were different before parahumans, or at least there was an effort to make it seem that way, but that time was long since past.
In fact, with Cauldron selling powers, it wouldn't be at all surprising if there were numerous secret parahumans among the rich and powerful. Major business leaders, A-list celebrities, politicians, maybe even the PRT, for all that it'd be illegal… And depending on when the whole thing started, they could've been there since the Eighties. Hell, Cauldron might've been responsible for powers being a thing in the first place for all I knew. It'd certainly explain some things…
Pushing all that down, I shook my head in response. "No, they're just elsewhere in the building as I wasn't expecting to get jumped by Merchants right off the bat. Threw my entire flow off, which is rather annoying. Now, I'm guessing you're here to arrest me?"
Much to my surprise, that elicited a chuckle in place of the expected confirmatory nod. "Do you want me to? Personally, I would rather see you join either the Wards or the Juvenile Cape Rehabilitation Program of your own accord, but the system would settle for you getting your feet under yourself and moving away from crime as soon as possible. The only things I plan on asking you right now are what you're looking for, and why you haven't been 'paying' with gold nuggets if you have access to them."
"Uh, I was needing plywood to make forms for pouring concrete," I said in a slight daze. Why was I telling him that? Like, it would probably not hurt at this point as they'd have to be actively trying to not know I was based somewhere outside the city at this point, but just outright telling him I was working on felt a little off. Probably because of the risk of some Protectorate Thinker puzzling things out. On the other hand, I was now curious as to just what Armsmaster was planning.
"As for why I haven't been paying with random bits of gold, I have exactly no idea how or where to convert the stuff into cash, and nowhere takes the stuff as normal payment. Doing so at Leonard's was kinda spur of the moment due to having actually had the nugget in my pocket at the time. That, and they were selling quality handmade clothing, which is really good to have…"
The Protectorate leader nodded with what seemed like a thoughtful look on what was visible of his face. "Yes, I do see how that would be an issue for a young displaced cape. Still, I cannot allow you to rob this store."
He then pulled a card out of a pouch on his waist and held it up. Not a business card though, but a credit card or similar. "Recall your drones then Hausōs and go find a trolley, this robbery is being thwarted into being a perfectly legitimate shopping excursion."
I stared at the man, wide eyed. That… was not supposed to be how this went. It wasn't that I wanted to fight a cape I'd admired for years, but him flipping the script like this was disconcerting. Still, it probably was a better outcome from a material standpoint, as this meant being able to get more plywood than I'd have otherwise been able to. There was even a decent chance of being able to get enough to build the storehouse walls in much larger sections.
Triggering the recall function on the drones as asked, I then set off back towards the front where the specified carriers were located. As I did so, I spotted a pair of normal cops standing guard over the two Merchants and had to suppress a shudder at the look one of the two officers shot at me. It wasn't a pleasant one, and not in the usual way. Like he wanted something but wasn't sure he could get it. Which was creepy.
Very deliberately moving on, I quickly found what I was looking for and made a beeline back to Armsmaster. Something told me that sticking around that man was a bad idea.
"So then," the hero said as I started loading the big plywood sheets onto the trolley. "How long do you think it will take you to reestablish yourself and be able to start supporting your tinkering through legitimate means?"
Oh, that was the worst thing he could've asked. I couldn't give him any answer that would be even vaguely satisfying to him without revealing Cauldron, and doing that would… probably not end well. So I'd have to give the only response that I had.
"I don't know. Food is becoming less of an issue, some things I can now get by trading with Toybox, and most of what's needed to start exploiting the local resources I already have in some form or can make soon enough. But things like medicine and proper clothes are a different story. Same with a bunch of construction materials like the plywood. I can build the infrastructure, but that will take some time and the only way to speed it up is more people. And your bosses are unlikely to appreciate me recruiting on any meaningful scale."
I paused my shifting of sheets and rolled my shoulders with a groan. "Assholes probably would claim I'm building a gang or insurgency. I'm not interested in contesting control of anywhere, nor establishing a criminal organization to parasitize on those just trying to get by. I'm just doing what I have to so I can have my own life again..."
"Are you being blackmailed?"
The question caught me off-guard and I couldn't help but wince. "Not… blackmailed, exactly, but the deal I had to make to get the place I'm living now has… well, I have to occasionally hit assigned locations for them. What they get out of it, I can't tell you, but it's the price for a fresh start that I'd badly needed."
Armsmaster frowned, but didn't comment. Instead, he just turned and pulled down a selection of large lumber beams, adding them to the growing collection on the trolley.
"There, I believe you now have everything needed for casting concrete. Is this a reinforced structure or unreinforced?"
"Um, unreinforced," I replied, almost stumbling over my words at the fact that I was technically talking tinkering with Armsmaster. "It's just a small single story storehouse that can survive harsh weather better than the quick and dirty thing I threw together earlier. Not like the Romans did reinforcement, and what I'm building is nowhere near their level. Just a few basic structures I'll be needing."
"Then unless you need anything else here, we're done," the hero stated. "Though before we proceed to the check-out, I think it prudent to pass on a warning. The fact that Askā selected Silver Dawn based on knowledge acquired in her personal life got out, and the Empire may be able to use that information to compromise her identity. If they do, it's possible they could find your base should you use nearby communities as places to be out of costume. Should that happen, well, the Empire is suspected to ignore the unspoken rules when they can get away with it and has connections to a German cape group called Gesellschaft that is known to engage in human trafficking."
I shuddered. The idea of the Nazis getting access to my base… That was not at all pleasant to consider. Happily, they didn't have any Tinkers of their own. "I don't think there's a risk of them finding me, but thanks for the warning anyway. I've been back here in civvies and they might be able to possibly link her to me in other ways."
"Best to avoid being out together either way, as you were already in their sights and hitting a front or sympathizer while all but admitting your teammate is from a sympathizer family is only going to make it worse."
Nodding, I began pushing the now fully laden trolley towards the front. "Yeah, we didn't think that quite all the way through, but what's done is done. And, uh, how are your superiors going to take you buying me stuff?"
He snorted, a very unexpected sound from the man, in response. "This is actually on an expense account we have specifically to pay off villainous tinkers so they focus more on their work than crime. You're probably the first to benefit from it locally in several years, as Leet commits crimes for entertainment and most other tinkers who turn up in the Bay don't stick around. There's currently a grand total of five here not part of the Protectorate. We might be up to six soon though, as Lung is suspected to be attempting to recruit the Cornell Bomber for the ABB. And a bomb tinker is the last thing this city needs."
That sounded like an understatement actually. The Bay needed a terrorism-inclined bomb tinker about as much as it needed a visit from all three Endbringers.
"Hopefully they take each other out instead," I replied with a scowl. "Preferably managing to somehow off Kaiser in the process. I don't think the Bay could survive having tinkertech bombs going off every time the ABB and Empire clash…"
Armsmaster nodded at that. "Quite. Now, once we've got your items paid for, there are a few more things that need to be covered. Mainly checks Child Protective Services requires us to make, but also some Dragon and I feel are necessary."
Wincing at that, I made the groan familiar to anyone working with teens. One of the greatest downsides to being non-threatening and then not fleeing when confronted: government bureaucracy sticking its nose into my business…
"Relax Hausōs, all CPS wants to know is what steps you're taking to ensure you're taking care of yourself. They aren't looking to micromanage you like the Youth Guard has tried to do with underage independents, just confirm you aren't doing anything stupid like subsisting on junk food, and see if you need to access any of their support resources. What you tell me will determine what assistance they'll offer, it has nothing to do with you engaging in villainous activity, just their standard approach to underage parahumans operating without adult support. My own interest is in ensuring you have sufficient ability to use your powers so you don't suffer from the known problems stemming from not using parahuman abilities that may drive you into more serious criminal activity. Dragon wants contact information and details on your internet connection so she can address any validation problems you have and reduce the number of sourceless requests."
I blinked and stared at the hero, who merely chuckled in response. "I've heard that enough times to know what that groan means. I don't like how so much of this support is limited to parahumans, but that is likely because it's capes who pose a big enough threat to force the government to actually offer solutions. And unfortunately the existing system is still better than the parahuman warlordism that looks to be the alternative, so here I stay."
He then began scanning the tags on the various pieces we'd collected with the doohickey the self-checkout station had. A dozen eight-foot sheets of plywood, another dozen 4x6 boards, and a caulking gun with three tubes that he must have grabbed while I was getting the trolley. This haul was vastly better than I'd been expecting, and I wasn't actually sure how I'd bring it all back. Armsmaster however seemed to have also noticed the issue, as he started binding the boards and sheets together with some sort of plastic tie extruded from one of his gauntlets. Probably some sort of restraint fabricator normally.
"So," he said once he'd run the expense card and confirmed the purchase. "What are you doing for food security? Agriculture I presume is part of it, going by how you've acquired seeds and potatoes, but what we know you have isn't going to be sufficient to have a good diet."
This was going to be annoying to explain without giving things away too early…
"And so you are aware, one of the fruits you dropped during your first encounter with Zenith was recovered and analyzed. I know you aren't on Bet," he added quietly, seeming very deliberate to keep anyone else from hearing.
Well, shit. That… could be bad. Oh Winds, that could be very bad.
Taking a deep breath, I replied "I… would appreciate that information not spreading, especially since I'm not remotely prepared to handle the inevitable response."
When he gave an understanding nod, I continued "Foraging is currently my main source of food that isn't coming from crime, though we're working on getting a proper farm going with a wider range of crops and Askā is currently testing some different ways of fishing and trapping. Hopefully we'll be able to stop relying on processed meats and canned fruit within the month, and if the survivalist sites pay off we'll have the agricultural side of things fully handled. Overall, nutrition's mostly worked out and adequate, if my scanners are as good as I think they are."
Armsmaster gave me a slight smile and a satisfied nod. "Excellent. That should be enough to keep CPS from demanding access to your base and putting you through survival courses for the next year."
My incredulous look lost behind my visor, he continued "Now, what are you doing to satisfy your power needs?"
"Built a hydro-generator, datalink for internet, currently making concrete and clay roofing tiles. That all seems to be doing the trick for now, but I'm starting to feel an itch to forge something soon, so I'll need to build a forge reasonably fast."
Even with his eyes concealed, I could see the skeptical look he was giving me. What could I say, my power was amazing. And helpful as he was, I wasn't telling him my suspicion about my specialization, because that was something he would not be able to get away with concealing outside of a declared Truce. A civilization Tinker would be far too big to be overlooked, and everyone would be after me if so much as a rumor got out…
"As for my internet connection, I used a protocol similar to the one used for interfacing with Aleph's internet, just with a different identifier string to avoid looking like an Aleph connection. Which, thinking about it, might be why my attempt to sign up on PHO failed, since it's supposed to be configured to only take Bet traffic."
A soft whir heralded a business card emerging from his currently still stowed halberd, which he then passed to me. "Here. If your email address is valid, just send Dragon one and she will be able to help you get your connection sorted out. Be aware though, she will be sharing it with CPS so they can communicate with you as well. It isn't malicious, just her following the law regarding unsupervised underage independents. A warrant would be required to trace your account, and I suspect you're not hosting it yourself anyways."
I stared dumbstruck at the man. He'd just handed me some of the most coveted contact information on the planet in the most casual manner. So I could get help troubleshooting my internet connection. Me. A nobody villain. Kyne's Breath, what was my life now?
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If Emma learns about this conversation, the explosion will be amazing
Now *this* is how law enforcement and social services *should* work. Kind of makes sense, if they weren't good at their jobs there wouldn't be any society at all on Bet.
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
To be fair, if it gets that far, she has a lot bigger worries.
Arzte
Lady Of Chaos
- Location
- Where Order Is Not
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Hers
Wow armsmaster really went out of his way to be a hero here. Feels really faithful to my reading of canon honestly, had the initial interactions with him gone differently.
It's sad that she had to become a parahuman to get this kind of support, but that they're able to work with her anyways... It's nice? I like this chapter I think. Probably my favorite so far.
It's sad that she had to become a parahuman to get this kind of support, but that they're able to work with her anyways... It's nice? I like this chapter I think. Probably my favorite so far.
- Location
- Beyond the Unknowable Veil
I'm surprised Taylor isn't more untrusting of Armsmaster's help. "What's the catch? I'm not rich or famous, why would you care? You'd get more press and profit crushing the evil villain like (insert air quotes here) 'Heroes'are supposed to than you'd get helping a homeless child?"
She was just thinking a moment before how useless and biased the government and other such powers are. Nor, for that matter would she believe the CPS actually cares about a kid.
That's the impression I got about her thinking anyway.
She was just thinking a moment before how useless and biased the government and other such powers are. Nor, for that matter would she believe the CPS actually cares about a kid.
That's the impression I got about her thinking anyway.
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Well, I guess Taylor was right -- the Protectorate really will do anything to recruit Tinkers, even ignoring the law to do so.
As with Amy, the allure of "Tinker with off-world base" is an amazing incentive for people to work with her. I can only wonder who else Armsmaster has told, or what Taylor's comments here will inadvertently reveal.
As with Amy, the allure of "Tinker with off-world base" is an amazing incentive for people to work with her. I can only wonder who else Armsmaster has told, or what Taylor's comments here will inadvertently reveal.