Ah, sure, why not. This is a Choose Your Own Adventure, based on the fun little series of images...
Dreams of Green (Worm CYOA, SI)
- Thread starter Lost Demiurge
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Ah, sure, why not. This is a Choose Your Own Adventure, based on the fun little series of images that's been going around. I do not own Worm, or the images, but I'll sure as hell take the concept and play with it for my own enjoyment (And thoroughly non-profit ends)
This space reserved for an index, if I get that far.
SOWING: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
REAPING: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5
Omake
Query - Scion in a Blue World
This space reserved for an index, if I get that far.
SOWING: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
REAPING: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5
Omake
Query - Scion in a Blue World
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Sowing 1.1
My face was wet, and consciousness returned to me.
The hell?
I opened my eyes, expecting to see my kid dumping water on me, or something of the nature. What I got was grey, overcast sky, and edging it, two brick walls. The smell of trash, urine, and warm concrete filled my nose, ameliorated a bit by the deluge. It was raining on me.
Okay... Last thing I remembered was falling asleep in my bed... I looked around, saw an alley. Someone had kidnapped me, and put me in an alley?
Traffic noise from one end of alley. Chain link fence on the other. I turned my head... Someone had tucked me behind a dumpster. Why-
Oh.
Oh shit. The CYOA. The one that I'd taken one look at, and sneered at the cheesiness. Good art, mind you, but so goddamn unbalanced. I'd been gaming for almost three decades, and nothing about it seemed balanced. But later on I'd read it again and reconsidered... That was the point, wasn't it? Worm wasn't exactly a setting where balance was a thing. Like most superhero settings, the various types of powergaming balanced each other out in the long-run, and no one was invulnerable to everything.
So I'd gone through the little exercise, and after thinking it over, and fiddling with the points, I'd come up with a character sheet. In the comfort of my study, with no pressure or expectation of anything beyond a seed for a story later, I'd made my choices.
"You HAD to choose standard. Couldn't go for world-breaker, you dumb fuck. Because it was too CHEESY. Dumbass." I clonked my head against the dumpster, gently.
I stood up, griping at the world in general. Couldn't have been whisked away to Narnia, or Oz, or even Middle-Earth, or one of those other vaguely cool places. Couldn't have had this happen back when you were a kid, nooooooo. Had to wait until you had a family and a mortgage and a career, then boof. Congrats, you get Brockton Bay! Have fun with that!
Alright. First things first. My perks would give me a little breathing room. Blank had given me a shot at staying under the radar. Invictus meant I wouldn't be ruffled by self-doubts or fears... I could think things through logically. It'd mean I'd be more detached than usual though, I'd have to watch that. I regretted dropping inspiring... Social situations would be my bane.
Well, maybe.
This was pretty much a fresh start. If it worked like I thought it would, once I "won", I'd get back to my family, my old life, and everything else with no passage of time or serious downsides.
If it didn't, though, or if I lost... Reset back home? Maybe? Hard to say.
Best to treat it like a dream. A dream that could probably last years. That said, I couldn't treat the people here like a dream. Didn't know if I was the butterfly or the peasant. One man's fictional book could be another man's vision of an alternate world, and I'm a firm believer in treating others like you want to be treated.
All right.
Now we get into the next question... How should I meddle? How much do I have the right to interfere?
My biggest advantage here wasn't the power I'd chosen, or even the perks, but the fact that I knew how one version of the story went. But if I went active at all, if I meddled at all, things would change. And the more it changed, the less I'd know. My big fear was that I'd change it to something worse. Worm had been rough enough already on a hell of a lot of people, did I really want to be responsible for any new deaths or disasters that might happen if I let something spill at the wrong time? Or if I accidentally got a key player killed?
It'd be fun to dive into things Dire style, but as much fun as DD was to write about, I couldn't BE her. Besides, the power set and advantages weren't there. I sighed. That Inspiring perk had been so tempting, but it would have meant taking complications. I figured they'd find me on their own.
I puffed my cheeks out, let out a long breath. This'd be rough. I'd have to find a balance. Try to find a way to make things better without hurting anyone who didn't deserve it. I'd have to be cautious, too. I had only one power, though if things went my way and I had a lot of luck, I could pretty much set up humanity for a golden age.
I smiled. After all, that's why I hadn't gone with worldbreaker. Worm was more of a story about learning new approaches to problems with what you had, rather than powering up and bulling your way through things. There, in my comfy study, with a cat on my lap and no pressure on me, with Brockton Bay merely a place in a book (Well, web serial, but it WILL be a book at some point, so whatever) I had chosen to go with the spirit of the story rather than the most powergamey options.
But enough stalling, time to get things rolling.
First things first... I closed my eyes, and felt around in my head for my power... And there it was.
A series of chords, a state of mind, a sense somewhere between sight and touch... Indescribeable, though I tried. I knew it was there, it would always be there, and I laughed as I felt it and me, and the world around me, and we were all one.
The most taoist of powers for a western taoist, I thought. It had seemed appropriate.
With a thought I called up my body's health problems, and eliminated them. With another thought, I reinforced my body, strengthening the muscles a bit. I considered my fat, and left it where it was. It wasn't enough to impede me, and I didn't mind it after all these years. Besides, I had the first glimmers of a plan, and if it came to fruition my first body wouldn't be an issue anyway.
I stood, flexing my reinvigorated muscles, grimacing at the pins and needles feeling of things. Then I looked down at a patch of grass and weeds growing out of the foundation of a building nearby, and I reached out, the... *Sound* reverberating through my mind. I touched the plants and drew forth their very essence...
Yes, that would work. Drawing inspiration from Roland, the Gunslinger of Eld, I made of one of them a rose. And in this rose, I put me.
You could call it a savegame, if you had no poetry in your soul, but hey knock yourself out. It was a backup state, something to hop back to if my original body died. Potentially a relay for my power, once I figured it out.
Though in the interests of paranoia, I put the bulk of the actual "me" in the roots of the rose. The stem, leaves, thorns, and flower itself were mainly decoration, and would regrow in a matter of days if cut.
I stood, pulling my jacket around me, and glanced around. The rain was still falling, though it was more or less a mist, now. I hummed, and *felt* out a bit, and found the people for three blocks around going about their lives.
So I went out to join them, and get my first look at the city I'd read so much about, long ago in a galaxy far, far away...
My face was wet, and consciousness returned to me.
The hell?
I opened my eyes, expecting to see my kid dumping water on me, or something of the nature. What I got was grey, overcast sky, and edging it, two brick walls. The smell of trash, urine, and warm concrete filled my nose, ameliorated a bit by the deluge. It was raining on me.
Okay... Last thing I remembered was falling asleep in my bed... I looked around, saw an alley. Someone had kidnapped me, and put me in an alley?
Traffic noise from one end of alley. Chain link fence on the other. I turned my head... Someone had tucked me behind a dumpster. Why-
Oh.
Oh shit. The CYOA. The one that I'd taken one look at, and sneered at the cheesiness. Good art, mind you, but so goddamn unbalanced. I'd been gaming for almost three decades, and nothing about it seemed balanced. But later on I'd read it again and reconsidered... That was the point, wasn't it? Worm wasn't exactly a setting where balance was a thing. Like most superhero settings, the various types of powergaming balanced each other out in the long-run, and no one was invulnerable to everything.
So I'd gone through the little exercise, and after thinking it over, and fiddling with the points, I'd come up with a character sheet. In the comfort of my study, with no pressure or expectation of anything beyond a seed for a story later, I'd made my choices.
"You HAD to choose standard. Couldn't go for world-breaker, you dumb fuck. Because it was too CHEESY. Dumbass." I clonked my head against the dumpster, gently.
I stood up, griping at the world in general. Couldn't have been whisked away to Narnia, or Oz, or even Middle-Earth, or one of those other vaguely cool places. Couldn't have had this happen back when you were a kid, nooooooo. Had to wait until you had a family and a mortgage and a career, then boof. Congrats, you get Brockton Bay! Have fun with that!
Alright. First things first. My perks would give me a little breathing room. Blank had given me a shot at staying under the radar. Invictus meant I wouldn't be ruffled by self-doubts or fears... I could think things through logically. It'd mean I'd be more detached than usual though, I'd have to watch that. I regretted dropping inspiring... Social situations would be my bane.
Well, maybe.
This was pretty much a fresh start. If it worked like I thought it would, once I "won", I'd get back to my family, my old life, and everything else with no passage of time or serious downsides.
If it didn't, though, or if I lost... Reset back home? Maybe? Hard to say.
Best to treat it like a dream. A dream that could probably last years. That said, I couldn't treat the people here like a dream. Didn't know if I was the butterfly or the peasant. One man's fictional book could be another man's vision of an alternate world, and I'm a firm believer in treating others like you want to be treated.
All right.
Now we get into the next question... How should I meddle? How much do I have the right to interfere?
My biggest advantage here wasn't the power I'd chosen, or even the perks, but the fact that I knew how one version of the story went. But if I went active at all, if I meddled at all, things would change. And the more it changed, the less I'd know. My big fear was that I'd change it to something worse. Worm had been rough enough already on a hell of a lot of people, did I really want to be responsible for any new deaths or disasters that might happen if I let something spill at the wrong time? Or if I accidentally got a key player killed?
It'd be fun to dive into things Dire style, but as much fun as DD was to write about, I couldn't BE her. Besides, the power set and advantages weren't there. I sighed. That Inspiring perk had been so tempting, but it would have meant taking complications. I figured they'd find me on their own.
I puffed my cheeks out, let out a long breath. This'd be rough. I'd have to find a balance. Try to find a way to make things better without hurting anyone who didn't deserve it. I'd have to be cautious, too. I had only one power, though if things went my way and I had a lot of luck, I could pretty much set up humanity for a golden age.
I smiled. After all, that's why I hadn't gone with worldbreaker. Worm was more of a story about learning new approaches to problems with what you had, rather than powering up and bulling your way through things. There, in my comfy study, with a cat on my lap and no pressure on me, with Brockton Bay merely a place in a book (Well, web serial, but it WILL be a book at some point, so whatever) I had chosen to go with the spirit of the story rather than the most powergamey options.
But enough stalling, time to get things rolling.
First things first... I closed my eyes, and felt around in my head for my power... And there it was.
A series of chords, a state of mind, a sense somewhere between sight and touch... Indescribeable, though I tried. I knew it was there, it would always be there, and I laughed as I felt it and me, and the world around me, and we were all one.
The most taoist of powers for a western taoist, I thought. It had seemed appropriate.
With a thought I called up my body's health problems, and eliminated them. With another thought, I reinforced my body, strengthening the muscles a bit. I considered my fat, and left it where it was. It wasn't enough to impede me, and I didn't mind it after all these years. Besides, I had the first glimmers of a plan, and if it came to fruition my first body wouldn't be an issue anyway.
I stood, flexing my reinvigorated muscles, grimacing at the pins and needles feeling of things. Then I looked down at a patch of grass and weeds growing out of the foundation of a building nearby, and I reached out, the... *Sound* reverberating through my mind. I touched the plants and drew forth their very essence...
Yes, that would work. Drawing inspiration from Roland, the Gunslinger of Eld, I made of one of them a rose. And in this rose, I put me.
You could call it a savegame, if you had no poetry in your soul, but hey knock yourself out. It was a backup state, something to hop back to if my original body died. Potentially a relay for my power, once I figured it out.
Though in the interests of paranoia, I put the bulk of the actual "me" in the roots of the rose. The stem, leaves, thorns, and flower itself were mainly decoration, and would regrow in a matter of days if cut.
I stood, pulling my jacket around me, and glanced around. The rain was still falling, though it was more or less a mist, now. I hummed, and *felt* out a bit, and found the people for three blocks around going about their lives.
So I went out to join them, and get my first look at the city I'd read so much about, long ago in a galaxy far, far away...
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- Location
- ROB's House
This is pretty good, only downside I see is you don't have shattered limiter so you are screwed if you face an endbringer. Also please put your choices on CYOA in a spoiler tag, because I'd really like to know what you have to work with. Also you said you got blank and invictus, but that still leaves you with two points to spare after you chose shaper as your power, what did you spend those two points on and please tell you did spend those points and didn't just leave it there, that annoys me so much when people do that
- Location
- Madison, WI
Awww, I'm so torn about this, on one hand, it means less attention to Dire, on the other hand, I really excited to see new work of yours.
Kind of happy to see you NOT starting the fic with the standard 'what should I choose' screen, but instead revealing some of it in your inner monologue, it gives the story a more 'story' feel, also feel like this is actually going somewhere, since the majority of the CYOA fics I've read this far didn't really make much past the selection.
Also kind of happy to see you feel some responsibility toward the people, now that they are no longer black letters on a screen, (or rather, white letters on a black background), it's one thing to point and laugh or judge as a reader, it's another to actually be there.
Kind of happy to see you NOT starting the fic with the standard 'what should I choose' screen, but instead revealing some of it in your inner monologue, it gives the story a more 'story' feel, also feel like this is actually going somewhere, since the majority of the CYOA fics I've read this far didn't really make much past the selection.
Also kind of happy to see you feel some responsibility toward the people, now that they are no longer black letters on a screen, (or rather, white letters on a black background), it's one thing to point and laugh or judge as a reader, it's another to actually be there.
NorthSouthGorem
To Walk Down Every Path
- Location
- Maplewood, NJ
Hey. At least you didn't choose Skitter mode.
Apart from that, looks like you're going full Shaper, right? Good luck with that. But did you really only take Blank and Invictus?
NorthSouthGorem
To Walk Down Every Path
- Location
- Maplewood, NJ
Wait...Standard mode gets you 6 points. He spend 2 on Shaper, 1 on Blank, and another on Invictus. That still leaves him with 2 points. So what did he take with those?
If you were going for Shaper as not being as overpowered as the others I have some bad news for you. If you read the power it is possible that you could basically be Khepri but able to turn your power off. But thats just the start. It states that you have complete understanding of the biology of all life in your radius down to the atomic level. The Slaughterhouse 9000 arc shows that clones have the powers of the originals. This is something you can do with a thought.
Basically Leviathan shows up and you can throw infinite Eidolons at him. Or at least until Eidolon's shard runs out of juice.
Basically Leviathan shows up and you can throw infinite Eidolons at him. Or at least until Eidolon's shard runs out of juice.
Legion1771
The God
Break into Eidolon's shard space, use newly acquired knowledge of Entity Biology to recharge Eidolon's shard. Fire beam composed of Pure Eidolon. Works every time.
Also, pay Crawler a visit sometime, all that wonderful evolution in one spot, only need him to come within your range.
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NorthSouthGorem
To Walk Down Every Path
- Location
- Maplewood, NJ
Lol.
You'd just need to tell him that you can kill him. He's such a sucker that he'll come running.
Ridiculously Average Guy
I'm you, but stronger
- Location
-
Oh hey, a CYOA that actually caught my attention.
Sowing 1.2
Y'know, when you got down to it, Shaper was a thoroughly broken power. As I walked through the bad part of town I tested my range, and found it... Well... Pretty sure I could cover about a state or two, sensing the life within it. All life. Every bit of life. Total control of it, too. Fix or kill things in a heartbeat, if I was of a mind to. Not that I would.
More impressively, I could stay sane while sensing a couple of states worth of life. I could now tell you the number of bees in what was probably a good chunk of Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.
It seemed pretty high. I wondered if colony collapse was a thing here. Worth studying before I went back home, if it wasn't.
I collected stares as I walked through the streets. My clothing was fairly casual, but it was pretty obvious I wasn't a local. Too much rubbernecking, different clothes from the rest of the neighborhood. Eh, no biggie.
At least until a group of teenagers unfolded off a stoop, and started walking after me. Red jackets and green bandannas, and all of them looked asian, or part-asian.
Well, fuck. That meant I was in... The northeast part of town? Maybe?
I was a little fuzzy on Brockton Bay's geography.
On the plus side, if the ABB were around, now I knew something of the date. It had to be before... May 2011? Yeah, I think that's when the ABB collapsed. I cursed myself for not memorizing the timeline. That would limit the utility of my knowledge, possibly cause problems down the road. I'd have to use events as landmarks, and if they got delayed or butterfly'd, then my advantage ebbed.
The group followed me, in no particular hurry. As I walked, I saw bystanders clearing out in an awful hurry. A foodcart vendor closed his stand, pushed it down a sidestreet. An old woman hawking what looked like knockoff clothes dropped an armload of misprinted t-shirts and ran up the steps of a brownstone, slamming the door behind her. And in the buildings I passed, window shades were pulled down to the left and right.
I sighed.
I hated confrontation. And it looked like it was going to be one. Furthermore, it was one where I had nothing to gain. My fighting skills, such as they were, were pretty rusty. No way I'd win this one without powers. And exposing powers here meant drawing too much notice, too fast.
Well.
If there was nothing to gain, why fight?
With a thought, I started to work on my body. Reinforced skeleton, capable of stopping bullets. Membrane around the brain and vital organs, to cushion them from impact. Muscles and tendons amped up, and... Yeah. That ought to do it.
I took off running. Shouts behind me, and they pursued. I didn't care, I had twice their speed with a tenth of the exhaustion.
Didn't think they'd escalate to guns unless it came to a fight. Nonetheless...
As I ran, I reached back into their brains. Now where were those chemicals... Ah, there we go. I didn't know the proper name for them, but I could *feel* that they controlled aggression, motivation. A temporary reduction in those, and I felt them drop further behind as the importance of chasing me diminished. They made noises at each other in a language I didn't have, but I could guess the meaning. Making excuses for giving up the pursuit.
Well, that was good. I ran a few blocks, turned, and looked for a good place to get a vantage point. Brockton Bay was a coastal city, once I found the ocean, I could orient myself somewhat. And then initiate phase two...
Behind me, one of the brains I'd meddled with spiked adrenaline, then felt enormous amounts of pain before falling insensate.
Huh?
I shifted my focus a bit, found a new person in my *sight*. He was moving fast, and by the signals I got, he was fighting the ABB gangers I'd left in my wake. And given the fact that their brains were short on aggression right now, he was winning easily.
I wondered... I jogged back a block, peeked around the corner.
Black leather. Red straps and domino mask. Holstered weapons, and moving like Bruce Lee on speed, a black-haired guy was giving them the business. Kicks, punches, something that was probably Thai kickboxing, and occasionally a flicker of a baton or taser.
Motherfucker had a cape. But he was good enough to make it work.
My lips curved, as I recognized him from his artwork. Already?
I started jogging back. When I got within the last fifty feet or so, I had to walk around dropped, groaning gangers. Not all of them were out, but none of them were in any shape to fight. A few others still standing fled faster than I had, back the way we'd come. He shrugged as they went, and started stripping necklaces and rings off of the fallen.
"Hey, thanks!" I said.
"No problem." Guy had an east coast accent. He looked me up and down a minute. "Huh. Fast as you were going, I'd figure you'd be winded. No offense."
I slapped my gut, shrugged. "None taken. You're the Highwayman, right?"
He flashed a grin. Good teeth on him. "Sure am."
"Name's Demiurge," I said, and instantly his face went guarded. The teeth vanished. I waved a hand. "Hey, relax. Yeah, it's a cape name. You're actually one of the reasons I'm in town. I'd like to talk with you, you and Butterfly if she's around."
He didn't take his eyes off of me, as he finished looting the gangers around him, going so far as to check for wallets and grab cell phones. They all went in a carryall under his cape. "And what if I decline?"
I shrugged. They'd been purchased as companions, so they really didn't have a choice in the matter. But that didn't mean I had to be a dick about it. "Then I walk away. And find someone who will talk with me."
It occured to me that I could find my way by tracking concentrations of marine life... Ah, yeah, okay. East was that way. "But I really would like to talk with you. I like your style, and... Frankly I need help." I looked back at the gangers. Didn't look like the ones on the ground were paying much attention to me, but still... "I don't want to talk in front of these guys, though. Can we go someplace else? Your choice."
He pulled out a cell phone, hit a number, held it to his ear. "You done?" After a second, he nodded at me. "All right. Go four blocks east, one north, and get in the car that pulls up in five minutes. If no car pulls up, then we've declined your invitation."
I nodded, started walking. Behind me, a pattering of feet, and I turned back in time to see him parkouring his way over a fence, and away. Right, right, agility of spider-man on his best day.
Five minutes later I was resting on a stoop, resting my eyes, and ignoring the busy street around me. This one had a row of storefronts, half of them closed, and the other half advertising bail bond services, pawn shops, or convenience
stores. Half the stores had signs in kanji in the windows, and I was collecting a lot of stares, but I didn't care.
A screech of tires in front of me, as a lime-green car of an unfamiliar make pulled up. The window rolled down, and a blonde woman with aviator glasses stared at me. I rose, waved.
She rolled the window up, and I caught the motions of conversation as she talked with the driver. After a brief argument, the back right door opened, and a rather pretty voice said "Get in."
I did.
When I put my rump on the seat below me, it clicked and beeped. I laughed, and pulled the door shut. "Oh. Let me guess. Shaped charge or something under the seat?"
"Nope," said Highwayman, pulling out into traffic. "Nothing so lethal. But trust me, you won't enjoy it, and you'll be out for a while. So let's keep it civil and without funny business."
He was out of his mask, but I could see dark glasses on his face as well. The hair was the same, though the outfit was sans cape. The blonde studied me as we drove, and I folded my arms behind my head, and looked at her right back.
She had to be Butterfly.
"You want to talk, it's your dime," he said. "You've got ten minutes, then we drop you off at a point of your choosing. Fair?"
"Fair enough," I said. "Long story short, I got powers last night. Stupidly effective powers. World-class powers. Which leaves me kind of stuck."
Butterfly's lips twitched. "You might just be a psycho. Got any proof?"
"Depends. Can I demonstrate without click beep frying my nuts?"
"Do it slow, and tell me what you've got."
"Pretty much control of all organic life within about a tri-state area."
"You're kidding."
"Mmmnope." I raised a hand. "Demonstration incoming."
I dulled the nerves around my left hand, raised it, assembled bacteria, tweaking it into a tiny, fast growing plant. A rose bloomed from my palm, and twined around my arm, before I severed the stem and returned my palm to normal.
"Seems like a parlor trick," she said.
I morphed the rose into a tiny lizard, stem fattening, blossom becoming a head with a pair of blinking eyes, limbs bursting out of what was the stem. I had it sit up and look at her, then wave solemnly. She poked it. It did a Pillsbury doughboy, squeaking and covering its tummy. She smiled, just a bit before falling back into a neutral expression.
Her tone was still doubtful. "Ah... Okay. But that came from you. You said 'all life,' and that's a pretty big boast."
"I'm open to any test you've got that doesn't harm someone or cause a lot of fuss." I said. "Oooh, I know. See that guy in the Cadillac next to us? What's your favorite color?"
"Red."
"Cool. Watch him."
The guy was yakking away on his cell phone. He didn't notice when I changed his skin pigmentation bright red for a few seconds, then changed it back.
"Could do a lot worse. Not gonna, though. Or on the upside I could take care of his kidney stones. Though that's not really something you could see visible proof of, and the guy's driving so I don't want to startle him." I frowned. "Even if he is on the cell phone, and just asking for it. Oh, now he's texting... What an asshole."
"All right. Let's say we buy what you said for now," said Highwayman. "You've got incredible amounts of power, why come to us? We're not exactly either in your league, or in much of a position to protect you in a way you can't."
"No, but..." I fell silent for a second. How to phrase this? I put the lizard on my shoulder while I thought, and had it assume Michelangelo's "thinker" pose. "The fact is that this power is going to make me really attractive to a lot of people. I've no desire to join the protectorate, but I DO want to help people. I've no desire to do crimes, but villains are people too, and some of them are worth helping. Hell, some of them need helping. Too, there's a mess coming. I've... I can't really explain it, but some serious shit is gonna hit Brockton Bay soon. I could do a lot of good here. But I need people to help me. From what I know about you, you're basically honest, you're pretty good people for, well, villains, and you're good at staying alive. And you could, if you wanted, show me the ropes."
"If you can do what you say, I don't know what ropes we could show you," Butterfly kept glancing at the lizard. I had it bow, doff an imaginary hat.
"Well... You've spent years learning really useful skills that I don't have. Fighting, for example. Staying under the radar. Dealing with villains and heroes alike. I've got none of that. And I need all of that." I sighed. "I've got the powers of a demigod, and enough intelligence to know that the more I throw that around and flaunt it, the more trouble I'm going to attract. Come in too loud and too hard, and my dream of helping people goes out the window. It... Yeah."
"And the Protectorate's not an option?" Highwayman turned to look at me as he drove, and I tried not to wince. Between his reactions and danger sense he was probably good, but still... I buckled my seat belt. He chuckled, wiggled the wheel a bit, and I glared at him. Butterfly punched him in the side. "Quittit."
"Ow! Jerk."
"Dildo."
"Your mom."
"Yours too. Ah, listen... Demiurge?"
"Yeah. Pretentious, I know, but I like the sound of it. And it's less alarming than 'Super Nilbog with ridiculous range but not as evil or insane.'"
Highwayman chewed his lip. "Oooh. Yeah. If you can do that..."
"And more. Not gonna, though. It's that whole sane and relatively decent person thing. Or trying to be, anyway."
"...I can see why you didn't go to the Protectorate. Well, that and the Protectorate's mostly bullshit, with a few good guys here and there. Anyway, you tell a good story. But I'm going to have to confer with my partner, here. Privately. You mind if we contact you later? Give our decision then?"
"Mm. Depends. I was out for a while there... What day is it?"
"April first, and if you're not for real then this is one hell of a prank."
April first... Okay. Some time before the big trouble starts, but not too long, if my memory was correct. Thank god for standard difficulty, Skitter mode probably dropped you in front of Lung or something. While wearing a sign that said something derogatory in Japanese.
I laughed. "I wish. No, it'd be a lot easier on my peace of mind if this was a prank. But no, it's real. Ahh.... Sure, you can contact me later if you want. Thing is, I don't have a cell phone, ID, or any place really to go. On the upside, I don't need to sleep or eat or get shelter right now, so anywhere you drop me I can hang around for a few days."
"No place to go? Seriously?" Butterfly asked.
I sighed. "You know about trigger events, yeah?"
They nodded.
"Let's just say last night was a doozy." Not technically a lie...
But it did quiet them. Butterfly looked to Highwayman and put her hand on his shoulder. He sighed and turned his head back to the road. "We were targeting the stash in the building you passed, the one you pulled the gangers away from. Butterfly raided it with minimal difficulty, thanks to you. So how's this, we use some of that money and a fake ID to get you a hotel room, and we come see you there in a day or so."
"That's... More than fair. Thank you."
"And if we decide no, we can at least give you a few pointers. Maybe a number to someone who can help," Butterfly said.
I nodded. "Thank you. It's... I'm glad you live up to your reputations."
He snorted. "Don't thank us yet. You want training? Even if we don't take you on, anyway we point you to will work you harder then you've ever been worked. Especially if you're not a fighter."
I grinned. "We'll see. I'm a cheaty bastard. So, got a hotel in mind?"
Turns out a Holiday Inn is a Holiday Inn, regardless of dimension. I used my card to get into the room, flopped onto the bed, and considered. The nameless lizard wormed its way out of my pocket, grabbed the television remote, and started flicking through channels.
Well. First goal achieved, without me having to do anything about it. My first set of companions found their way into your path without much trying... That said...
I had a feeling the Nagase sisters would be more difficult. But once I'd gained their help, then I'd have the last of my spent points available. And I could start helping them settle down, and get supplied. I had some ideas on that front, but I couldn't do it alone...
So I'd get established, start the first phase of the plan, then go looking for them.
There was another thing to do before I got too far along, though, and it'd be trickier. But it was best settled early, and amicably.
Blank was a hell of a perk, but it wasn't unbeatable. And before I got too established and built my web of cover-ups and misdirection, I'd need to sit down and have a long and hopefully amicable talk with the one person who could screw it up in the worst possible way if she decided to speak up at the wrong time.
In a word? Tattletale.
Now, how to go about this?
Y'know, when you got down to it, Shaper was a thoroughly broken power. As I walked through the bad part of town I tested my range, and found it... Well... Pretty sure I could cover about a state or two, sensing the life within it. All life. Every bit of life. Total control of it, too. Fix or kill things in a heartbeat, if I was of a mind to. Not that I would.
More impressively, I could stay sane while sensing a couple of states worth of life. I could now tell you the number of bees in what was probably a good chunk of Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.
It seemed pretty high. I wondered if colony collapse was a thing here. Worth studying before I went back home, if it wasn't.
I collected stares as I walked through the streets. My clothing was fairly casual, but it was pretty obvious I wasn't a local. Too much rubbernecking, different clothes from the rest of the neighborhood. Eh, no biggie.
At least until a group of teenagers unfolded off a stoop, and started walking after me. Red jackets and green bandannas, and all of them looked asian, or part-asian.
Well, fuck. That meant I was in... The northeast part of town? Maybe?
I was a little fuzzy on Brockton Bay's geography.
On the plus side, if the ABB were around, now I knew something of the date. It had to be before... May 2011? Yeah, I think that's when the ABB collapsed. I cursed myself for not memorizing the timeline. That would limit the utility of my knowledge, possibly cause problems down the road. I'd have to use events as landmarks, and if they got delayed or butterfly'd, then my advantage ebbed.
The group followed me, in no particular hurry. As I walked, I saw bystanders clearing out in an awful hurry. A foodcart vendor closed his stand, pushed it down a sidestreet. An old woman hawking what looked like knockoff clothes dropped an armload of misprinted t-shirts and ran up the steps of a brownstone, slamming the door behind her. And in the buildings I passed, window shades were pulled down to the left and right.
I sighed.
I hated confrontation. And it looked like it was going to be one. Furthermore, it was one where I had nothing to gain. My fighting skills, such as they were, were pretty rusty. No way I'd win this one without powers. And exposing powers here meant drawing too much notice, too fast.
Well.
If there was nothing to gain, why fight?
With a thought, I started to work on my body. Reinforced skeleton, capable of stopping bullets. Membrane around the brain and vital organs, to cushion them from impact. Muscles and tendons amped up, and... Yeah. That ought to do it.
I took off running. Shouts behind me, and they pursued. I didn't care, I had twice their speed with a tenth of the exhaustion.
Didn't think they'd escalate to guns unless it came to a fight. Nonetheless...
As I ran, I reached back into their brains. Now where were those chemicals... Ah, there we go. I didn't know the proper name for them, but I could *feel* that they controlled aggression, motivation. A temporary reduction in those, and I felt them drop further behind as the importance of chasing me diminished. They made noises at each other in a language I didn't have, but I could guess the meaning. Making excuses for giving up the pursuit.
Well, that was good. I ran a few blocks, turned, and looked for a good place to get a vantage point. Brockton Bay was a coastal city, once I found the ocean, I could orient myself somewhat. And then initiate phase two...
Behind me, one of the brains I'd meddled with spiked adrenaline, then felt enormous amounts of pain before falling insensate.
Huh?
I shifted my focus a bit, found a new person in my *sight*. He was moving fast, and by the signals I got, he was fighting the ABB gangers I'd left in my wake. And given the fact that their brains were short on aggression right now, he was winning easily.
I wondered... I jogged back a block, peeked around the corner.
Black leather. Red straps and domino mask. Holstered weapons, and moving like Bruce Lee on speed, a black-haired guy was giving them the business. Kicks, punches, something that was probably Thai kickboxing, and occasionally a flicker of a baton or taser.
Motherfucker had a cape. But he was good enough to make it work.
My lips curved, as I recognized him from his artwork. Already?
I started jogging back. When I got within the last fifty feet or so, I had to walk around dropped, groaning gangers. Not all of them were out, but none of them were in any shape to fight. A few others still standing fled faster than I had, back the way we'd come. He shrugged as they went, and started stripping necklaces and rings off of the fallen.
"Hey, thanks!" I said.
"No problem." Guy had an east coast accent. He looked me up and down a minute. "Huh. Fast as you were going, I'd figure you'd be winded. No offense."
I slapped my gut, shrugged. "None taken. You're the Highwayman, right?"
He flashed a grin. Good teeth on him. "Sure am."
"Name's Demiurge," I said, and instantly his face went guarded. The teeth vanished. I waved a hand. "Hey, relax. Yeah, it's a cape name. You're actually one of the reasons I'm in town. I'd like to talk with you, you and Butterfly if she's around."
He didn't take his eyes off of me, as he finished looting the gangers around him, going so far as to check for wallets and grab cell phones. They all went in a carryall under his cape. "And what if I decline?"
I shrugged. They'd been purchased as companions, so they really didn't have a choice in the matter. But that didn't mean I had to be a dick about it. "Then I walk away. And find someone who will talk with me."
It occured to me that I could find my way by tracking concentrations of marine life... Ah, yeah, okay. East was that way. "But I really would like to talk with you. I like your style, and... Frankly I need help." I looked back at the gangers. Didn't look like the ones on the ground were paying much attention to me, but still... "I don't want to talk in front of these guys, though. Can we go someplace else? Your choice."
He pulled out a cell phone, hit a number, held it to his ear. "You done?" After a second, he nodded at me. "All right. Go four blocks east, one north, and get in the car that pulls up in five minutes. If no car pulls up, then we've declined your invitation."
I nodded, started walking. Behind me, a pattering of feet, and I turned back in time to see him parkouring his way over a fence, and away. Right, right, agility of spider-man on his best day.
Five minutes later I was resting on a stoop, resting my eyes, and ignoring the busy street around me. This one had a row of storefronts, half of them closed, and the other half advertising bail bond services, pawn shops, or convenience
stores. Half the stores had signs in kanji in the windows, and I was collecting a lot of stares, but I didn't care.
A screech of tires in front of me, as a lime-green car of an unfamiliar make pulled up. The window rolled down, and a blonde woman with aviator glasses stared at me. I rose, waved.
She rolled the window up, and I caught the motions of conversation as she talked with the driver. After a brief argument, the back right door opened, and a rather pretty voice said "Get in."
I did.
When I put my rump on the seat below me, it clicked and beeped. I laughed, and pulled the door shut. "Oh. Let me guess. Shaped charge or something under the seat?"
"Nope," said Highwayman, pulling out into traffic. "Nothing so lethal. But trust me, you won't enjoy it, and you'll be out for a while. So let's keep it civil and without funny business."
He was out of his mask, but I could see dark glasses on his face as well. The hair was the same, though the outfit was sans cape. The blonde studied me as we drove, and I folded my arms behind my head, and looked at her right back.
She had to be Butterfly.
"You want to talk, it's your dime," he said. "You've got ten minutes, then we drop you off at a point of your choosing. Fair?"
"Fair enough," I said. "Long story short, I got powers last night. Stupidly effective powers. World-class powers. Which leaves me kind of stuck."
Butterfly's lips twitched. "You might just be a psycho. Got any proof?"
"Depends. Can I demonstrate without click beep frying my nuts?"
"Do it slow, and tell me what you've got."
"Pretty much control of all organic life within about a tri-state area."
"You're kidding."
"Mmmnope." I raised a hand. "Demonstration incoming."
I dulled the nerves around my left hand, raised it, assembled bacteria, tweaking it into a tiny, fast growing plant. A rose bloomed from my palm, and twined around my arm, before I severed the stem and returned my palm to normal.
"Seems like a parlor trick," she said.
I morphed the rose into a tiny lizard, stem fattening, blossom becoming a head with a pair of blinking eyes, limbs bursting out of what was the stem. I had it sit up and look at her, then wave solemnly. She poked it. It did a Pillsbury doughboy, squeaking and covering its tummy. She smiled, just a bit before falling back into a neutral expression.
Her tone was still doubtful. "Ah... Okay. But that came from you. You said 'all life,' and that's a pretty big boast."
"I'm open to any test you've got that doesn't harm someone or cause a lot of fuss." I said. "Oooh, I know. See that guy in the Cadillac next to us? What's your favorite color?"
"Red."
"Cool. Watch him."
The guy was yakking away on his cell phone. He didn't notice when I changed his skin pigmentation bright red for a few seconds, then changed it back.
"Could do a lot worse. Not gonna, though. Or on the upside I could take care of his kidney stones. Though that's not really something you could see visible proof of, and the guy's driving so I don't want to startle him." I frowned. "Even if he is on the cell phone, and just asking for it. Oh, now he's texting... What an asshole."
"All right. Let's say we buy what you said for now," said Highwayman. "You've got incredible amounts of power, why come to us? We're not exactly either in your league, or in much of a position to protect you in a way you can't."
"No, but..." I fell silent for a second. How to phrase this? I put the lizard on my shoulder while I thought, and had it assume Michelangelo's "thinker" pose. "The fact is that this power is going to make me really attractive to a lot of people. I've no desire to join the protectorate, but I DO want to help people. I've no desire to do crimes, but villains are people too, and some of them are worth helping. Hell, some of them need helping. Too, there's a mess coming. I've... I can't really explain it, but some serious shit is gonna hit Brockton Bay soon. I could do a lot of good here. But I need people to help me. From what I know about you, you're basically honest, you're pretty good people for, well, villains, and you're good at staying alive. And you could, if you wanted, show me the ropes."
"If you can do what you say, I don't know what ropes we could show you," Butterfly kept glancing at the lizard. I had it bow, doff an imaginary hat.
"Well... You've spent years learning really useful skills that I don't have. Fighting, for example. Staying under the radar. Dealing with villains and heroes alike. I've got none of that. And I need all of that." I sighed. "I've got the powers of a demigod, and enough intelligence to know that the more I throw that around and flaunt it, the more trouble I'm going to attract. Come in too loud and too hard, and my dream of helping people goes out the window. It... Yeah."
"And the Protectorate's not an option?" Highwayman turned to look at me as he drove, and I tried not to wince. Between his reactions and danger sense he was probably good, but still... I buckled my seat belt. He chuckled, wiggled the wheel a bit, and I glared at him. Butterfly punched him in the side. "Quittit."
"Ow! Jerk."
"Dildo."
"Your mom."
"Yours too. Ah, listen... Demiurge?"
"Yeah. Pretentious, I know, but I like the sound of it. And it's less alarming than 'Super Nilbog with ridiculous range but not as evil or insane.'"
Highwayman chewed his lip. "Oooh. Yeah. If you can do that..."
"And more. Not gonna, though. It's that whole sane and relatively decent person thing. Or trying to be, anyway."
"...I can see why you didn't go to the Protectorate. Well, that and the Protectorate's mostly bullshit, with a few good guys here and there. Anyway, you tell a good story. But I'm going to have to confer with my partner, here. Privately. You mind if we contact you later? Give our decision then?"
"Mm. Depends. I was out for a while there... What day is it?"
"April first, and if you're not for real then this is one hell of a prank."
April first... Okay. Some time before the big trouble starts, but not too long, if my memory was correct. Thank god for standard difficulty, Skitter mode probably dropped you in front of Lung or something. While wearing a sign that said something derogatory in Japanese.
I laughed. "I wish. No, it'd be a lot easier on my peace of mind if this was a prank. But no, it's real. Ahh.... Sure, you can contact me later if you want. Thing is, I don't have a cell phone, ID, or any place really to go. On the upside, I don't need to sleep or eat or get shelter right now, so anywhere you drop me I can hang around for a few days."
"No place to go? Seriously?" Butterfly asked.
I sighed. "You know about trigger events, yeah?"
They nodded.
"Let's just say last night was a doozy." Not technically a lie...
But it did quiet them. Butterfly looked to Highwayman and put her hand on his shoulder. He sighed and turned his head back to the road. "We were targeting the stash in the building you passed, the one you pulled the gangers away from. Butterfly raided it with minimal difficulty, thanks to you. So how's this, we use some of that money and a fake ID to get you a hotel room, and we come see you there in a day or so."
"That's... More than fair. Thank you."
"And if we decide no, we can at least give you a few pointers. Maybe a number to someone who can help," Butterfly said.
I nodded. "Thank you. It's... I'm glad you live up to your reputations."
He snorted. "Don't thank us yet. You want training? Even if we don't take you on, anyway we point you to will work you harder then you've ever been worked. Especially if you're not a fighter."
I grinned. "We'll see. I'm a cheaty bastard. So, got a hotel in mind?"
Turns out a Holiday Inn is a Holiday Inn, regardless of dimension. I used my card to get into the room, flopped onto the bed, and considered. The nameless lizard wormed its way out of my pocket, grabbed the television remote, and started flicking through channels.
Well. First goal achieved, without me having to do anything about it. My first set of companions found their way into your path without much trying... That said...
I had a feeling the Nagase sisters would be more difficult. But once I'd gained their help, then I'd have the last of my spent points available. And I could start helping them settle down, and get supplied. I had some ideas on that front, but I couldn't do it alone...
So I'd get established, start the first phase of the plan, then go looking for them.
There was another thing to do before I got too far along, though, and it'd be trickier. But it was best settled early, and amicably.
Blank was a hell of a perk, but it wasn't unbeatable. And before I got too established and built my web of cover-ups and misdirection, I'd need to sit down and have a long and hopefully amicable talk with the one person who could screw it up in the worst possible way if she decided to speak up at the wrong time.
In a word? Tattletale.
Now, how to go about this?
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- Location
- Somewhere on the flat earth
Its the smug force. Its objective is the damnation of all the good plans laid by others.
Isn't Tattletale just a hyper advanced version of Sherlock's observational abilities? Using various cues from the person in question as well as other information to connect the dots so to speak. If so, Demiurge is basically immune to her abilities as well. Invictus helps minimize certain emotional reactions, right? Between that and Shaper removing any physical cues, TT shouldn't have much to go on. I'm not saying she couldn't get a read on him, but it would be no more effective than a normal person. Unless of course my interpretation of her powers is all wrong.
Yay, someone is using the companions and it's the same writer that makes splendid OC's!
I believe her power doesn't just use her physical senses but has other mechanics hidden in the background that help provide answers.
TT's power has inferred things in ways that frankly make no sense in canon.
I believe her power doesn't just use her physical senses but has other mechanics hidden in the background that help provide answers.
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Arafell
Verified Cephalon
- Location
- Oregon
Hmm - using your body as a Shaper puppet would get rid of basically everything nonverbal, yeah. Still, you'd have to speak, so it wouldn't be totally effective.
Edit: Unless you abused telepathy, which would be entertaining.
Tattletale: So o o. . . what's your power?
Mental Voice: I'm psychic.
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Well, it is either a physical process where she collects cues and puts them together or some sort of precognitive ability. Either way, he's either partially or completely immune to it.
In that case, he could just manipulate his vocal chords to get a natural voice scrambler. Alternate from low to high pitch, male to female, change accents in mid sentence. That would make it impossible to get anything out of it, though it might make it hard to understand.
- Location
- ROB's House
Take care of coil for her, that would get tattletale on your side, looking forward to more 