Yeah no, papercuts are one thing, but what amounts to *cluster bombs made of glass shards* is another thing entirely.

Not a good idea at all
 
Rules for Inators said they gotta be even in the Good vs Bad. I made one to fix everything and one to break everything
OK, fix a lot of things VS become responsible for mass murder is not actually even. Actually, what even does this do, mechanically?

Oh it's a Worm reference, I now know even less about Worm then I thought I did.
Shatterbird is a Worm villain with the power to control all silicon in a large radius, which she uses mainly to assault cities and commit mass murder via making every glass object in then violently explode.
 
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Rules for Inators said they gotta be even in the Good vs Bad. I made one to fix everything and one to break everything
Fixing things that might be damaged versus breaking everything that's not broken isn't at all even, to say nothing of what happens when every silicate-based material within range shatters violently. There's a reason why Shatterbird was an S-Class threat even before she joined the Slaughterhouse-9. At a bare minimum, she would shatter every window, every pair of glasses, wreck every computer chip, causing not only millions in damages, but hundreds to thousands of deaths and injuries as people were blinded or filleted by the silicate-based products in their vicinity violently exploding.

All that to say is that this Inator, if it goes off, would cripple us at best and destroy our corporation at worst. At the very least, our AI assets would be killed as their processors are annihilated, any Hero who wears glasses would be blinded, anyone who's driving their car when it goes off would be injured or killed...
Short version, it's a terrible, horrible, no-good Inator that would break the board, wreck the game, and kill or injure a number of Hero units. Considering that it's meant to balance out something that will, at best, cause a slight Income improvement as our upkeep is reduced, the twh Inators are in no way balanced.
 
Poise-and-Pose-Inator - All of your hero units gain an amplified self-confidence, find it natural to pose and be more boisterous and dramatic, resulting in a buff of 10 to Diplomacy due to a strange but outstanding charisma and a debuff of 10 to Intrigue due to a stunning lack of subtlety for a turn.

Basically, we're running on JJBA's theme now.
 
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Quest: The Best is Yet to Come- Still Alive
A thousand excuses pass through your head. Admit to working with Syndrome, tell them how you left, deflect, deny, disengage. You can… you can…

Something breaks, at long last, within you. Your eyes close and your face twists in an attempt to hold it back, but the barriers are scattered in turn as a choking sob escapes you.

"I am… a monster." You begin.

And so you tell them everything. You know time is short, but you do your best to leave nothing out. Of the handsome man who seemed to be on top of the world, of grand plans to bring a revolution to the world. Of darker whispers, carefully tested one after another, and which you had decided were unimportant in the face of everything. Of KRONOS.

The real KRONOS. Syndrome's revenge for a petty slight you could never begin to justify. Your employees simply stare at you, mouth agape. Hego watches silently, considering you with eyes you dearly wish would look away, as you tell of more dead than you could even count, offhand, an entire generation of heroes decimated. Gazerbeam, Everseer…

"...Mr. Incredible?" Hego asks, quietly.

The tears begin to flow freely down your face. "He would have loved you." You say, in between heaves that wrack your thin frame. "He was kind, professional, brilliant. He never stopped fighting, ever, until…"

You close your eyes. "He could have killed me." You say slowly. "But he didn't. Maybe he should have."

"This- this is insane!" Marco declares, leaping to his feet despite his many, many serious injuries and pointing an accusing finger directly at you. "She was going to say murderer- you're a murderer!"

"Marco, you shouldn't get upset." Lizzy says tonelessly.

"Don't you 'don't get upset' me, Ms. Clinically Detached! This is a blatantly appropriate time to be upset! What could possibly justify-"

"Marco." Lizzy interrupts.

"What?"

"Your ribs are broken."

Marco blinks, as if he had momentarily forgotten. "Oh, right. OW, JESUS-!"

Marco collapses back to the ground amidst a litany of invectives. "This changes nothing!"

Lizzy looks at you with a slight tilt of her head. "No, it does not." From her, it might as well be a gunshot.

"Well." Mezmerella, still holding the actual gun, "I guess I was right."

She's started pacing. "I had my suspicions. The omnidroids were obvious on the scale they acted. Compared to any other company, Kronos' 'incidental' Super kill count was way too high for it to be anything but deliberate. That and-" She pauses there.

"I'm sure you don't need to hear me monologue about it, do you?"

You shake your head, quietly. You don't trust your own voice right now. You shy away for a moment before forcing yourself to meet her gaze. A part of your mind you wish you could force down quietly lists off the known conditions of her power, and what she could do to you.

Mezmerella stares long and hard into your eyes, looking for something.

There is a quiet click of metal.

"Oh well." With that, Mezmerella shrugs, and holsters the safetied gun between her wings. "And I only got to use those like, once, too."

"What?" you ask quietly.

"What?!?" Marco complains, from the ground.

"What?" Mezmerella quips sardonically. "Everyone involved is dead now except for you, right? Shallow graves, one and all. There's no one left to apologize to."

"We can't just-"

Lizzy cuts Marco off before he can finish. "She's the super."

"Hey!" Mez snaps. "I am a perfectly normal super affairs consultant." Nobody buys it. After a moment the attempt at levity fades, and an uncomfortable silence descends on the four of you.

That silence is shattered by the sound of sirens. How long has it been since the police were called? Twenty minutes? Thirty? It might as well have been months. Regardless, you can see snipers taking up positions on the roof in case of active supers, and think you can see the blue of EMT uniforms picking through the rubble. The party is very… over.

"What… happens now?" You ask, your ability to control the situation long since drained away.

"I'll figure that out once I'm sure there's no internal bleeding." Marco snarls from the floor.

"I see no reason to involve the authorities." Lizzy says. "I will be informing the doctor."

With that she is already walking away, possibly to guide the first responders.

Mezmerella glances at you. "I'll make sure she doesn't feed them her ants. Or vice versa." As she turns to go, she pauses. She looks like she wants to say something, but instead she simply leaves you alone, with one exception.

Hego looks at you for a long, long moment. He's hardly spoken since you began your story, eyes hardly leaving your face since admitting the truth. The man has been an open book as long as you'd known him, yet now you might as well be staring at a locked door.

Then his hands grasp your arms. Faster than you can even process, you are held in place. Hego gazes directly into your eyes.

"Anyone can cook."

W-what???

Hego's face twitches for a moment at your incomprehension, the beginnings of a snarl passing over it before he smoothes it away as quickly as it came.

"Anyone can be a hero. At the right time, for the right reasons. Anyone can make a difference.

"You have to."

He sets you down, you try not to stumble.

"Be better." he says.

And then he too walks away.

===

The paramedics arrive moments later, lifting Marco up onto a gurney before moving on to Evelyn, Warren, Winston, and the countless others unconscious or worse throughout the convention hall. You pause for a moment as Cyrus Bortel is carted past you, arm bent horrifically in at least three places from falling rubble. Before they can move on to the ambulatory, however, Winston stirs, his burned arm gripping onto the hem of the responder's uniform. "Wait… Evelyn-"

"She's alive, sir, but we need to get you both to the hospital."

"Make sure she's guarded." He adds, surprising even you. "Hego? Elizabeth?"

You walk over to the man, bereft of anything else to do.

"Thank you." He says, eyes shining with tears even as his arm shakes from the effort. "You, and everyone you brought with you. DEI has stood with Supers time and again, and tonight… you helped to save them, save me, save my sister… from herself. Whatever shape Olympia takes, you have my support. Will have my support. Always. Thank you for all you've done for supers."

You attempt to smile. You accomplish a grimace. Lizzy coughs. Mez rubs the back of her neck.

You are saved by a horrible, crackling screech, and then a rush of static. "Hey, is one of these doodads actually still working? Oh, fantastic. It's a new day for all of us!"

You look up to see a single surviving intercom device, dangling from the ceiling by a thin black cord. "What in the-"

"Yep, it's me. Surprised? I did say I hacked the mainframe. Hopefully ENCOM can forgive the aheh, little intrusion."

The dulcet tones of Frank Sinatra pipe over the intercom.

You are too tired to ask how.

"Well done Ms. Peña. Knew you had it in ya. Smiles all around!"

"You gonna go back in your robot thing?" Lizzy asks.

"Ah, no. That old suit's a bit… fried. Cryin' shame, I'll miss it. Was sorta hoping it wouldn't come to this, but there's worse ways to live, I suppose."

"Then why are you here?" She asks, and again you are too tired to stop her.

"Well. The show must go on. And I did say I had my own original composition to provide. Not gonna let this little mishap get in the way. Was hoping to play it live, but this'll have to do."

The last living intercom crackles once again as you walk out of the room and into the dim light of the moon. There's a glaze in your eye as the trumpets begin, and a limp in your step as the saxophones play their first chord. You feel like garbage. But…


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22vbhTi1ieI

This was a triumph
I'm making a note here; "Huge success"
It's hard to overstate
My satisfaction
Olympia Science:
I do what I must
Because I can
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who are dead-


Evelyn begins to stir, slightly, only for a horde of national guard to descend on her with riot grenades. She screeches in fury as Sinatron launches into another verse, even as she's overtaken by orbs of sticky black goo that you know for a fact were provided to the state by Kronos. You stumble slightly, and try not to think on it.

-Now, these points of data
Make a beautiful line
And we're out of beta
We're releasing on time
So I don't mind the shock
Because you're not gonna walk-
With the people who are
Still alive-


A hovercraft moving significantly faster than it ought to practically crashes itself into the ground. An extremely incensed Shego leaps out of it, only to find her brother standing in front of her, a neutral expression on his face.

A few months ago, he might have asked her if he'd proved it yet.

Now he doesn't need to.

-And believe me I am still alive,

I feel fantastic and I'm still alive,

I'm plat'num charting and I'm still alive

Still Alive

Still Aliivvvvve!


"I'm still alive, baby!" Sinatron crows.

And with a final spark, the speaker's cord snaps, and it smashes onto the floor.

===

Quest: The Best is Yet to Come complete!

Mirage's Intrigue has increased by 1! Mirage's Stewardship has increased by 2!

Marco's Martial has increased by 2! Marco has sustained several injuries and a sick new scar!

Lizzy's Diplomacy has increased by 1! Lizzy's Learning has increased by 2!

Mezmerella's Intrigue has increased by 2!

Winston's Diplomacy has increased by 4.

Hego's stats have increased across the board.

Judge Doom's Diplomacy has increased by… 1.

Glomgold's Stewardship has increased by 1!

Thanks to Glomgold's actions, Gilbert Huph will not be sleeping tonight!

Reach an Agreement with ENCOM Diplomacy option unlocked!

Glomgold has proposed a collaboration! When both Large Carnivore and Large Herbivore Exhibits are completed, Glomgold will offer a collaboration option to expand Dinosaur Parks to the international stage. Officially, this is a casual offer, but this is nonetheless a rare opportunity. Ignoring Glomgold for too long will result in his offer being retracted.

Sycorax is interested in a collaboration on military matters!

Judge Doom is interested in burying the hatchet!

Marco, Lizzy and Mezmerella lose -5 Loyalty (working with Mirage)!

Olympia has become Allied! Allied factions are extremely receptive to diplomacy and collaborations, and are less likely to stab you in the back given an incentive to do so.

First Allied faction established! Faction Opinion meter unlocked permanently!

Self-rival reports unlocked! Olympia corp will now let you know what you look like from the outside!

Thanks to your actions, the affected Supers did not deal nearly as much damage as they could have! Several people still died, but nobody you knew.

Thanks to your actions, Edna Mode views you in an extremely negative light! While she wasn't privy to your full confession, she has declared her intent to do some snooping on her own time…

Thanks to your actions in this quest, a certain ship has been finally and irreparably sunk.
 
Well, we are still alive. as the song says, so that's a comfort. One major rival just self-destructed and the company allied with us, besides the whole bit with Mirage, things went pretty damn well to be honest. Hell, I hope that Mirage becomes batman a full on hero herself at this rate too, as a kinda redemption thing.

And wow, Hego's really living up to the Legacy of the golden age with that comment. I really hope he ends up turning into a Superman equivalent.

Also, we can now know what people think of us! Rather then just hoping we are the black hole of intrigue we wish we were- Ally faction, get! :V
 
Well too bad about the ship oh well. This can be very useful. Note I want to work on Drossel more then Dinosaurs. Sorry Doom not done with you yet. As for Edna, well we will have Doof back to throw up smoke screens soon, and well depending on how things go you might have a harder time finding her.
 
Yeah, but now we need to deal with the fact that Mirage's full crimes are known to Doof and his employees, or at least some of them.

That's going to get ugly.
 
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"Anyone can be a hero. At the right time, for the right reasons. Anyone can make a difference.

"You have to."
Here's hoping Mirage keeps Delegate because she needs it.
Hopefully ENCOM can forgive the aheh, little intrusion."
Sinatron knows, but does he know how outmatched he is in cyberspace?
"Well done Ms. Peña. Knew you had it in ya. Smiles all around!"
Now we only need to deal with Edna. I'm going to guess 3 turns before we have to submit a progress report.
Marco has sustained several injuries and a sick new scar!
Marco needs a sparing partner who doesn't heal or watch anime.
Marco, Lizzy and Mezmerella lose -5 Loyalty (working with Mirage)!
That is well within their rights.
Thanks to your actions in this quest, a certain ship has been finally and irreparably sunk.
It was never going to work out. I'm just glad it was Hego that closed the door instead of Mirage rejecting the boy scout.
 
Well, on matters of Olympia and negotiations with the rival factions... that could've been a lot worse. We have a ton of options and new stuff unlocked now, and everybody got buffs! Even Glomgold and Doom. Hm. Also, Evelyn is gone! And, we pretty much have a shoo-in for the Council of the Semi-Sane!
On matters of personal loyalty and diplomacy... that could've been a lot better. Loyalty maluses across the board, a lost opportunity for love (my heart... I must grieve), and who knows what state Mirage will be in after this. Not to mention Edna doing her own snooping. That's not going to be good.
So, bad news, some things could've gone better. We should focus a bit on internal affairs when it comes to involved parties (MY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP~~!!!!!:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:). Good news, other things could've gone a whole lot worse! We should also put some focus on outreach in the coming turns.

Now, what's next?
--[x] [Diplomacy] Establish ties with Magical New York (Kitsune)
DC 85 (Reduced by XP)
88+26+29+2=145
Great Success

To be continued in Interlude: The Balance of Things
US Government
---[x] [Intrigue] Investigate the theft of the Declaration of Independence (Monogram)
DC ???=120
52+35+21+3+10 (XP)=121
Bare Success!
--[x] [Learning] Research with the Imagination Institute
---[x] Study Doof's Mind (Technor)
DC 100 (Reduced by XP)
14+11+25+30+40+4=124
Success

To be continued in Interlude: Deep into Your Mind
--[x] [Occult] Form a Coven (Gomez)
DC 40 (Reduced by XP)
52+5+11+1+2 (XP)=71
Success

Having done most of the work last month, all Gomez had to do was make sure the luncheon was scheduled on time and order food from a non-Bueno Nacho source. By all accounts the meeting was a success. There are few enough mages at DEI (and all of them placatable by free food) that an informal system of collaboration was put together easily.

Second Occult Action Unlocked! Court Wizard Unlocked! All Council Positions Unlocked! Councilor Positions now available to be filled!

To be continued in Interlude: The Right Hands for the Job
-[x] Personal Actions:
--[x] Mirage:
---[x] Go undercover
94
To be continued in Interlude: Seeds

--[x] Jumba (Work with Janus on ???)
99
To be continued in Interlude: Seeds

--[x] Janus Lee (Work on ??? with Jumba)
83
To be continued in Interlude: Seeds
Oh!
--[x] [Intrigue] Track down Kat: ACME Unlimited (Wile E. Coyote)
DC ???
25+31+18+3+10 (XP)=87
Massive Failure!

To be continued in Interlude: Venus de Mime-o
Oh.
--[x] Norm Prime (Follow Wendy to San Fransokyo)
27
Norm's trip to San Fransokyo wasn't all that interesting. It mostly involved a lot of waiting and talking, and while Wendy Wower was really nice, she sent him away before she went to talk to Trevor! Norm ended up chatting with his secretary, or maybe a bush, for the next three hours. Records are unclear due to sustained molasses damage, as Norm reported only being 'told to stay with his playmate'.

--[x] Wendy Wower (Talk to Trevor)
1

To be continued in Interlude: I'm Sorry; Please Help.
Ooooooo...
Not looking forward to those last bits....
 
First off, this was a great quest. Very interesting stuff happening, lots of interactions, some great twists showing this has been setup for a while, and nice emotional payoffs and character progression. Bravo. Definitely up in the top tier of the quests.

So let's breakdown the results.

Mirage's Intrigue has increased by 1! Mirage's Stewardship has increased by 2!

Marco's Martial has increased by 2! Marco has sustained several injuries and a sick new scar!

Lizzy's Diplomacy has increased by 1! Lizzy's Learning has increased by 2!

Mezmerella's Intrigue has increased by 2!

Winston's Diplomacy has increased by 4.

Hego's stats have increased across the board.

Judge Doom's Diplomacy has increased by… 1.

Glomgold's Stewardship has increased by 1!

Thanks to Glomgold's actions, Gilbert Huph will not be sleeping tonight!

Reach an Agreement with ENCOM Diplomacy option unlocked!

Glomgold has proposed a collaboration! When both Large Carnivore and Large Herbivore Exhibits are completed, Glomgold will offer a collaboration option to expand Dinosaur Parks to the international stage. Officially, this is a casual offer, but this is nonetheless a rare opportunity. Ignoring Glomgold for too long will result in his offer being retracted.

Sycorax is interested in a collaboration on military matters!
Dang!!!

That's a lot of stat increases!

And a bunch of new interesting projects. I'm especially interested in the dinosaur parks. Looks like that could get us a lot of income and is a rare chance to work with glomgold. He seems hard to impress and we seem to have done it. Best keep that train rolling.

Marco, Lizzy and Mezmerella lose -5 Loyalty (working with Mirage)!
Unfortunate. But completely fair. Probably better than we could have hoped for. I'm assuming because we came clean without lying.
Olympia has become Allied! Allied factions are extremely receptive to diplomacy and collaborations, and are less likely to stab you in the back given an incentive to do so.

First Allied faction established! Faction Opinion meter unlocked permanently!

Self-rival reports unlocked! Olympia corp will now let you know what you look like from the outside!
YES!!!

This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. Absolutely fantastic!

This is really exciting. I can't wait to see what comes of this.
Thanks to your actions, Edna Mode views you in an extremely negative light! While she wasn't privy to your full confession, she has declared her intent to do some snooping on her own time…
This is a problem. Not sure what to do about it. The only thing I can think of is going and telling her the truth but ask for Hego to be there. He should be a moderating influence.
Thanks to your actions in this quest, a certain ship has been finally and irreparably sunk.
I assume this is the Hego/Mirage ship? Kinda a bummer but... yeah totally reasonable.

A hovercraft moving significantly faster than it ought to practically crashes itself into the ground. An extremely incensed Shego leaps out of it, only to find her brother standing in front of her, a neutral expression on his face.

A few months ago, he might have asked her if he'd proved it yet.

Now he doesn't need to.
I... don't really understand this part. It seems important but I think I'm missing the significance.
 
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