Catherine, also known as Cat: compassionate, kind, considerate, and completely incapable of valuing the lives of assholes. Among her assets are an encyclopedic knowledge of poisons, a grab bag of sneaky powers, and a complete lack of messing around. She's also wound up in Brockton Bay, much to the (terminal) displeasure of the local villain population.
Feline Problem Solving Techniques
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Deathcapping Calvert
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
If I'd shown up a couple days sooner I'd have been able to prevent Taylor Hebert's trigger. I'd have done it too, out of basic decency if nothing else. Unfortunately, I wound up getting dumped in Brockton Bay a bit too late for that.
That said, since I was stuck here anyway, I figured I might as well off Brockton Bay's roster of villains. It was the least I could do. Also rather high priority, since hiding my ears and tail was rather unpleasant, and I wouldn't put it past the local Nazis to try and gank me for it.
That said, despite my distaste for the Nazis, they couldn't be my top priority. Coil couldn't be allowed to live long enough to learn of my existence, and I needed to eliminate Bakuda before she could start shoving bombs into people's heads. I'd take a trip to Cornell later to deal with Bakuda, but right now I was targeting Calvert.
It had taken about a week of covert observation to identify Calvert's civilian residence. Another two days to figure out how to get past the security system without setting it off. That done, I waited until I was certain Calvert wasn't home, then entered. Wearing gloves and a respiratory mask of course; wouldn't do to leave any fingerprints or DNA behind.
I was very careful not to disturb any object whatsoever from its location as I entered the kitchen. There was a single objective I had in mind: poison the contents of his refrigerator. While still being very careful, I opened the refrigerator. As it turned out, it was quite well-stocked.
I still had three kilograms of my conjuration budget for today, and I spent roughly fifty grams of it conjuring A-Amanitin (the active toxin in deathcap mushrooms) inside every last food item in the refrigerator. The ld50 in humans was only 0.1 mg/kg. So being conservative, Calvert would only need to ingest thirty total milligrams of it to die. Any significant meal prepared from the food in that fridge would likely deliver far more than that into his system.
That said, the low required dose wasn't the primary reason for picking that poison. No, the reason for Amanitin is that it was slow, and wouldn't be likely to tip Calvert off about being poisoned until it was far too late for his janky power to save him.
My business done, I closed the refrigerator and made my exit. Wouldn't see any results from this for a few days at minimum, so I should attend to other matters.
It took about an hour to get back to my day job. I didn't have any seed money when I got here, and pawning conjured jewelry could only get me so far before it got suspicious. But I had managed to land an apprenticeship to an electrician. Still not quite sure how I managed that one, but Mr. Stent seemed to be a decent fellow. No gang affiliation I could spot, a diverse circle of friends, and a genuine pride in doing a good job. He was also willing to keep quiet about my feline attributes and cover for my villain-removal activities, which was extremely helpful.
As I entered the small office, Mr. Stent greeted me.
"Welcome back, Cat. How did your errand go?"
I shrugged as I took off my hat, letting my feline ears free for the first time in a while.
"It went about as smoothly as it possibly could have. Won't see any results for a few days though."
"Fair enough. That said, we've gotten called in to fix someone's DIY wiring disaster. Told them we could be there in half an hour, and I could really use the help."
"Sure thing. Just give me a couple minutes to massage my ears ok? The hat gets really uncomfortable after wearing it for multiple hours."
"No problem."
Just my luck that it turned out to be the Barnes household. Apparently their doorbell broke, and Alan got it into his head that he could replace it himself. It took rather a lot of self-restraint not to vent my many objections to Emma's behavior on the family. She wasn't here at the moment, and I could pretty confidently guess that they wouldn't believe me about just how screwed up their daughter was. So I kept my trap shut and just focused on the paying work.
It took about two hours to get the job done, most of which was spent removing the melted mess of wiring that resulted from Alan making a short circuit. Mr. Stent assigned me to testing the new doorbell's functionality while he explained very thoroughly just how close Alan had come to burning his house down. That done and our fees collected, we headed back to the office to pick up some more supplies before we went to the next job site.
Work ended at five o' clock sharp, and I went through my evening routine. Go "home" to the studio apartment I'd managed to rent, eat dinner, double-check the news again to see if Bakuda had Triggered yet, spend half an hour snuggling with the cat I'd adopted, then sleep for exactly four hours.
I woke up around ten PM. With my schedule of going to bed again at four in the morning, I'd be able to get a bit less than six hours of night-time activities in without suffering sleep deprivation. Perfect for a chance to get some "caping" in for lack of a better term. I quickly donned my protective mask and tactical gear as I prepared for tonight's mission, my tail and ears flowing relatively free and unrestricted.
While I still couldn't conclusively identify Bakuda for elimination yet, there was something I could do to remove a major force multiplier from her list of options. I was all too aware just how dangerous infinitely duplicating exotic Tinker bombs could be, and I was going to put a stop to that before it could start.
It was time to track an Oni to his lair.
That said, since I was stuck here anyway, I figured I might as well off Brockton Bay's roster of villains. It was the least I could do. Also rather high priority, since hiding my ears and tail was rather unpleasant, and I wouldn't put it past the local Nazis to try and gank me for it.
That said, despite my distaste for the Nazis, they couldn't be my top priority. Coil couldn't be allowed to live long enough to learn of my existence, and I needed to eliminate Bakuda before she could start shoving bombs into people's heads. I'd take a trip to Cornell later to deal with Bakuda, but right now I was targeting Calvert.
It had taken about a week of covert observation to identify Calvert's civilian residence. Another two days to figure out how to get past the security system without setting it off. That done, I waited until I was certain Calvert wasn't home, then entered. Wearing gloves and a respiratory mask of course; wouldn't do to leave any fingerprints or DNA behind.
I was very careful not to disturb any object whatsoever from its location as I entered the kitchen. There was a single objective I had in mind: poison the contents of his refrigerator. While still being very careful, I opened the refrigerator. As it turned out, it was quite well-stocked.
I still had three kilograms of my conjuration budget for today, and I spent roughly fifty grams of it conjuring A-Amanitin (the active toxin in deathcap mushrooms) inside every last food item in the refrigerator. The ld50 in humans was only 0.1 mg/kg. So being conservative, Calvert would only need to ingest thirty total milligrams of it to die. Any significant meal prepared from the food in that fridge would likely deliver far more than that into his system.
That said, the low required dose wasn't the primary reason for picking that poison. No, the reason for Amanitin is that it was slow, and wouldn't be likely to tip Calvert off about being poisoned until it was far too late for his janky power to save him.
My business done, I closed the refrigerator and made my exit. Wouldn't see any results from this for a few days at minimum, so I should attend to other matters.
It took about an hour to get back to my day job. I didn't have any seed money when I got here, and pawning conjured jewelry could only get me so far before it got suspicious. But I had managed to land an apprenticeship to an electrician. Still not quite sure how I managed that one, but Mr. Stent seemed to be a decent fellow. No gang affiliation I could spot, a diverse circle of friends, and a genuine pride in doing a good job. He was also willing to keep quiet about my feline attributes and cover for my villain-removal activities, which was extremely helpful.
As I entered the small office, Mr. Stent greeted me.
"Welcome back, Cat. How did your errand go?"
I shrugged as I took off my hat, letting my feline ears free for the first time in a while.
"It went about as smoothly as it possibly could have. Won't see any results for a few days though."
"Fair enough. That said, we've gotten called in to fix someone's DIY wiring disaster. Told them we could be there in half an hour, and I could really use the help."
"Sure thing. Just give me a couple minutes to massage my ears ok? The hat gets really uncomfortable after wearing it for multiple hours."
"No problem."
Just my luck that it turned out to be the Barnes household. Apparently their doorbell broke, and Alan got it into his head that he could replace it himself. It took rather a lot of self-restraint not to vent my many objections to Emma's behavior on the family. She wasn't here at the moment, and I could pretty confidently guess that they wouldn't believe me about just how screwed up their daughter was. So I kept my trap shut and just focused on the paying work.
It took about two hours to get the job done, most of which was spent removing the melted mess of wiring that resulted from Alan making a short circuit. Mr. Stent assigned me to testing the new doorbell's functionality while he explained very thoroughly just how close Alan had come to burning his house down. That done and our fees collected, we headed back to the office to pick up some more supplies before we went to the next job site.
Work ended at five o' clock sharp, and I went through my evening routine. Go "home" to the studio apartment I'd managed to rent, eat dinner, double-check the news again to see if Bakuda had Triggered yet, spend half an hour snuggling with the cat I'd adopted, then sleep for exactly four hours.
I woke up around ten PM. With my schedule of going to bed again at four in the morning, I'd be able to get a bit less than six hours of night-time activities in without suffering sleep deprivation. Perfect for a chance to get some "caping" in for lack of a better term. I quickly donned my protective mask and tactical gear as I prepared for tonight's mission, my tail and ears flowing relatively free and unrestricted.
While I still couldn't conclusively identify Bakuda for elimination yet, there was something I could do to remove a major force multiplier from her list of options. I was all too aware just how dangerous infinitely duplicating exotic Tinker bombs could be, and I was going to put a stop to that before it could start.
It was time to track an Oni to his lair.
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verycoolname
Not actually cool
This definitely has me intrigued. The kill 'em all storylines can be fun if done right, and I like the matter-of-fact way Cat narrates.
- Pronouns
- Male
Excellent chapter. Also a point. She can sneak back into his house and remove the poison if I'm remembering correctly. No evidence at all.
Interlude: Aftermath of Amanitin
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
A/N C: got the timelines slightly mixed up in the first version. Fixed.
As it so happened, the man variously known as Thomas Calvert or Coil happened to sleep at his house the night after a certain catgirl visited. He'd eaten dinner at the PRT cafeteria, but still had a desire for some desert when he got home. In addition, his mercenaries had been successful today, so he dropped the no-go timeline.
Then, he split the timeline again. In one timeline, he ate a small bowl of ice cream, while in the other he opted for a fruit smoothie. Unbeknown to him, both of these options contained a lethal amount of Amanitin.
In the ice cream timeline, Thomas went to bed. In the smoothie timeline, he stayed up in order to keep tabs on events. As it so happened, the smoothie contained a slightly higher dose of poison than the ice cream, resulting in him getting stomach cramps at two in the morning while still being blissfully asleep in the ice cream timeline. Figuring he'd already learned enough tonight and not yet realizing he'd been poisoned, Coil dropped that timeline.
He was rudely awoken at four in the morning, when his stomach cramped and he felt an immediate need to go to the bathroom. After two hours spent grumbling on the toilet about expired food, Thomas felt a bit better. Shortly afterwards, he shoveled all the food in his kitchen into his trash barrel and put it on the curb for pickup. Thus, he unwittingly eliminated the only evidence that could possibly lead back to his killer.
Two hours later, he was at his PRT desk job. For two days, things seemed mostly normal. Then things took a turn for the worse.
He was just entering the PRT building when the receptionist noted "Mr. Calvert? You don't look so good."
Calvert looked down at his hands. Was his skin always that color yellow? It must have been, skin color didn't just change for no reason. Without realizing it, Coil fell unconscious in both timelines. The timeline in which he was still driving ended abruptly as his now uncontrolled car swerved right in front of an oncoming semi-trailer far too abruptly for the truck driver to respond.
Immediately, the receptionist called for medics and Calvert was hauled to the infirmary. The jaundice was an immediate clue that something was wrong with Calvert's liver, and sure enough tests showed severe damage to both his liver and kidneys. The medics quickly determined that they wouldn't be able to save Mr. Calvert with the resources of the PRT infirmary, and he was quickly airlifted to Brockton General.
While there, Panacea could have saved Mr. Calvert. That was very true. Unfortunately, there had been a fight between the Empire and Merchants downtown, resulting in life-threatening injuries to several dozen bystanders. So by the time Amy got through with that disaster, Thomas had expired from liver failure. Still, Panacea did give the corpse a brief poke, confirming both that Thomas died of deathcap mushroom poisoning, and that he had been a Parahuman.
The very next day, an anonymous tip arrived at the PRT building that Coil's base was likely to self-destruct, along with its location. Also the fact that Thomas Calvert had been Coil, and that the writer of the note had been the one to poison him with that knowledge. The message was typed in Courier New, leaving no room for handwriting analysis. Similarly, there were absolutely no fingerprints or DNA or other forensic evidence on the message. Not even a pseudonym was attached.
Just the bare facts of "I killed this man", along with a recommendation to deal with the bomb under a significant residential area.
As it so happened, the man variously known as Thomas Calvert or Coil happened to sleep at his house the night after a certain catgirl visited. He'd eaten dinner at the PRT cafeteria, but still had a desire for some desert when he got home. In addition, his mercenaries had been successful today, so he dropped the no-go timeline.
Then, he split the timeline again. In one timeline, he ate a small bowl of ice cream, while in the other he opted for a fruit smoothie. Unbeknown to him, both of these options contained a lethal amount of Amanitin.
In the ice cream timeline, Thomas went to bed. In the smoothie timeline, he stayed up in order to keep tabs on events. As it so happened, the smoothie contained a slightly higher dose of poison than the ice cream, resulting in him getting stomach cramps at two in the morning while still being blissfully asleep in the ice cream timeline. Figuring he'd already learned enough tonight and not yet realizing he'd been poisoned, Coil dropped that timeline.
He was rudely awoken at four in the morning, when his stomach cramped and he felt an immediate need to go to the bathroom. After two hours spent grumbling on the toilet about expired food, Thomas felt a bit better. Shortly afterwards, he shoveled all the food in his kitchen into his trash barrel and put it on the curb for pickup. Thus, he unwittingly eliminated the only evidence that could possibly lead back to his killer.
Two hours later, he was at his PRT desk job. For two days, things seemed mostly normal. Then things took a turn for the worse.
He was just entering the PRT building when the receptionist noted "Mr. Calvert? You don't look so good."
Calvert looked down at his hands. Was his skin always that color yellow? It must have been, skin color didn't just change for no reason. Without realizing it, Coil fell unconscious in both timelines. The timeline in which he was still driving ended abruptly as his now uncontrolled car swerved right in front of an oncoming semi-trailer far too abruptly for the truck driver to respond.
Immediately, the receptionist called for medics and Calvert was hauled to the infirmary. The jaundice was an immediate clue that something was wrong with Calvert's liver, and sure enough tests showed severe damage to both his liver and kidneys. The medics quickly determined that they wouldn't be able to save Mr. Calvert with the resources of the PRT infirmary, and he was quickly airlifted to Brockton General.
While there, Panacea could have saved Mr. Calvert. That was very true. Unfortunately, there had been a fight between the Empire and Merchants downtown, resulting in life-threatening injuries to several dozen bystanders. So by the time Amy got through with that disaster, Thomas had expired from liver failure. Still, Panacea did give the corpse a brief poke, confirming both that Thomas died of deathcap mushroom poisoning, and that he had been a Parahuman.
The very next day, an anonymous tip arrived at the PRT building that Coil's base was likely to self-destruct, along with its location. Also the fact that Thomas Calvert had been Coil, and that the writer of the note had been the one to poison him with that knowledge. The message was typed in Courier New, leaving no room for handwriting analysis. Similarly, there were absolutely no fingerprints or DNA or other forensic evidence on the message. Not even a pseudonym was attached.
Just the bare facts of "I killed this man", along with a recommendation to deal with the bomb under a significant residential area.
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Hunting the Oni... And a few Nazis.
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
Fundamentally, hunting Oni Lee was a lot more dangerous than hunting Coil had been. While Coil would have been a nightmare if he'd had an opportunity to start planning around me, I hit him first specifically to prevent that. On the other hand, the particulars of Oni Lee's teleportation made him very difficult to track. It also made it vastly more likely for him to notice me and attack while I was tracking, since if I misjudged his direction of travel he could easily turn up right next to me with no warning.
Waylaying and interrogating un-powered members of the ABB also wasn't an option, since then Oni Lee and Lung would be actively looking out for me and taking countermeasures. My solution was more indirect methods of surveillance: little spying devices all over rooftops, powered by low-energy Diamond 14 betavoltaics. Conjuration was such a useful ability, even if I only got five kilograms of mass per day. Making things even better, this surveillance network would let me track other capes just as well, in addition to Oni Lee. If they used the rooftops to get around (which Oni Lee did), I'd be able to track them.
I actually wound up discovering Purity's residence as a result of this before finding Oni Lee's hideout. Still, Oni Lee was higher up the hit list for Bakuda-related reasons, so I let Purity be for now. Five days of planting bugs (not the kind Taylor could control) later, I had a conclusive list of three locations where Oni Lee slept. I proceeded to plant surveillance devices in all of them, so as to avoid showing up when he was awake and could respond to an attack.
A week after starting the hunt, I left my apartment with my suppressed .700 Nitro Express rifle. It had taken saving up multiple days of conjuration allowance to make this, but for certain targets having what basically amounted to a shoulder-fired cannon was absolutely worth it. Particularly given that I would almost certainly need to shoot through a closed window in this case.
I waited until two hours after Oni Lee went to bed to get into my firing position. I double-checked that my earplugs were firmly in place, jumped up the fire escape on the building adjacent to my target's lair, and lined up my shot. Even knowing exactly where my target was, they were at a rather inconvenient angle to the window. I had to be two stories above and significantly to the left to line it up. But line it up I did. I pressed the stock of my gun to my shoulder, made darn sure I'd lined up the gun with Oni Lee's chest, and fired.
The stock slammed backwards into my shoulder, a still very loud report making itself known despite the suppressor. Simultaneously, the window shattered and I could clearly see a splash of blood from inside, the brass-jacketed lead slug obliterating Oni Lee's chest cavity. I quickly reloaded and put another bullet into Oni Lee's head just to be sure, then promptly made myself scarce. No cartridge casings left behind.
I still had eight bullets left for my big gun tonight, and I figured I should probably make full use of my last night of true obscurity to hit a few more targets. Given that I knew where Victor and Othala lived, along with Purity, they were the obvious targets. Also relatively high on the hit list priority scale; Victor had who knew whatever skills, Othala was the Empire's irreplaceable healer, and Purity could level significant chunks of the city if allowed to rampage.
Lining up a shot on Victor and Othala proved significantly easier than nailing Oni Lee had been. Lee had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor, while these two Nazis had a proper bed. That said, there was the single complication of there being two adjacent targets that I needed to hit simultaneously. So I loaded one of my special bullets: a timer-fused high explosive round. Knowing the exact muzzle velocity and distance, I could guarantee it would explode right in Othala's chest cavity, peppering Victor with shrapnel. That ought to incapacitate him sufficiently to reload and nail him with a conventional bullet before he could leave my firing zone.
Bang. Othala dead and Victor very rudely awakened. Very quickly reload, and put a brasscase right through his chest. He'd barely managed to get upright and look around before I did that. Just for extra certainty, I fired once more, putting a bullet through Victor's skull. Pick up the spent brass from the explosive round, and on to the next target.
I'd barely reloaded after putting a brasscase through Kayden's chest when I heard a faint noise coming from my right. I whirled to look, and saw a certain crossbow-wielding edgelord appraising me, crossbow pointed in my general direction, but not quite lined up yet.
"Alright, are we doing this the easy way or the ha-"
Then she was cut off as a .700 Nitro Express expanding round obliterated her chest cavity. Just to be double sure, I drew my pistol and fired three 9mm bullets into her head. Being honest, I'd viewed Sophia as a low-priority "get to her eventually" target, but this encounter made her too much of a threat to allow to live. To utterly destroy all recording devices she might have had on her, I dragged Shadow Stalker's corpse to the street and conjured Thermite all over her. As that conflagration burned, I forced entry to Kayden's house.
I quickly found the baby Aster, and brought her to the local Child Protective Services office. I made sure to leave behind everything that could tie her to her biological family. As far as adoption services would know, this child was named Jessica, and both her parents were dead. Well, that last part would be true soon enough.
My very busy night now over, I went home, stashed my gear, cleaned myself up and went back to sleep.
Waylaying and interrogating un-powered members of the ABB also wasn't an option, since then Oni Lee and Lung would be actively looking out for me and taking countermeasures. My solution was more indirect methods of surveillance: little spying devices all over rooftops, powered by low-energy Diamond 14 betavoltaics. Conjuration was such a useful ability, even if I only got five kilograms of mass per day. Making things even better, this surveillance network would let me track other capes just as well, in addition to Oni Lee. If they used the rooftops to get around (which Oni Lee did), I'd be able to track them.
I actually wound up discovering Purity's residence as a result of this before finding Oni Lee's hideout. Still, Oni Lee was higher up the hit list for Bakuda-related reasons, so I let Purity be for now. Five days of planting bugs (not the kind Taylor could control) later, I had a conclusive list of three locations where Oni Lee slept. I proceeded to plant surveillance devices in all of them, so as to avoid showing up when he was awake and could respond to an attack.
A week after starting the hunt, I left my apartment with my suppressed .700 Nitro Express rifle. It had taken saving up multiple days of conjuration allowance to make this, but for certain targets having what basically amounted to a shoulder-fired cannon was absolutely worth it. Particularly given that I would almost certainly need to shoot through a closed window in this case.
I waited until two hours after Oni Lee went to bed to get into my firing position. I double-checked that my earplugs were firmly in place, jumped up the fire escape on the building adjacent to my target's lair, and lined up my shot. Even knowing exactly where my target was, they were at a rather inconvenient angle to the window. I had to be two stories above and significantly to the left to line it up. But line it up I did. I pressed the stock of my gun to my shoulder, made darn sure I'd lined up the gun with Oni Lee's chest, and fired.
The stock slammed backwards into my shoulder, a still very loud report making itself known despite the suppressor. Simultaneously, the window shattered and I could clearly see a splash of blood from inside, the brass-jacketed lead slug obliterating Oni Lee's chest cavity. I quickly reloaded and put another bullet into Oni Lee's head just to be sure, then promptly made myself scarce. No cartridge casings left behind.
I still had eight bullets left for my big gun tonight, and I figured I should probably make full use of my last night of true obscurity to hit a few more targets. Given that I knew where Victor and Othala lived, along with Purity, they were the obvious targets. Also relatively high on the hit list priority scale; Victor had who knew whatever skills, Othala was the Empire's irreplaceable healer, and Purity could level significant chunks of the city if allowed to rampage.
Lining up a shot on Victor and Othala proved significantly easier than nailing Oni Lee had been. Lee had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor, while these two Nazis had a proper bed. That said, there was the single complication of there being two adjacent targets that I needed to hit simultaneously. So I loaded one of my special bullets: a timer-fused high explosive round. Knowing the exact muzzle velocity and distance, I could guarantee it would explode right in Othala's chest cavity, peppering Victor with shrapnel. That ought to incapacitate him sufficiently to reload and nail him with a conventional bullet before he could leave my firing zone.
Bang. Othala dead and Victor very rudely awakened. Very quickly reload, and put a brasscase right through his chest. He'd barely managed to get upright and look around before I did that. Just for extra certainty, I fired once more, putting a bullet through Victor's skull. Pick up the spent brass from the explosive round, and on to the next target.
I'd barely reloaded after putting a brasscase through Kayden's chest when I heard a faint noise coming from my right. I whirled to look, and saw a certain crossbow-wielding edgelord appraising me, crossbow pointed in my general direction, but not quite lined up yet.
"Alright, are we doing this the easy way or the ha-"
Then she was cut off as a .700 Nitro Express expanding round obliterated her chest cavity. Just to be double sure, I drew my pistol and fired three 9mm bullets into her head. Being honest, I'd viewed Sophia as a low-priority "get to her eventually" target, but this encounter made her too much of a threat to allow to live. To utterly destroy all recording devices she might have had on her, I dragged Shadow Stalker's corpse to the street and conjured Thermite all over her. As that conflagration burned, I forced entry to Kayden's house.
I quickly found the baby Aster, and brought her to the local Child Protective Services office. I made sure to leave behind everything that could tie her to her biological family. As far as adoption services would know, this child was named Jessica, and both her parents were dead. Well, that last part would be true soon enough.
My very busy night now over, I went home, stashed my gear, cleaned myself up and went back to sleep.
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- Location
- Denmark
Offing a ward is going to bite her in the ass
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
J: Very definitely possible.
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
C: Sophia is a fucking psycho. The only reason she hasn't been doing the same is being unable to acquire the needed equipment.
Umbra99
Good Civilization
- Location
- The Moon
Just figured Sophia would be a bit more wary since it looks like this cat girl just sniped a random woman in her house, unless Kayden was wearing her purity getup around the house.
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
C: I mean, that makes sense?
- Pronouns
- Male
Sure but in the end of the day, it's for the better.
Also this fic continues to entertain. I love how quick and brutal those takedowns were. Might start getting civilians ideas.
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Interlude: From Another Point Of View
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
"Last night, five Parahumans were murdered in Brockton Bay, including Shadow Stalker."
Everyone in the meeting room was more than a bit shocked when Director Piggot said that. Armsmaster clenched his jaw, Miss Militia looked extremely saddened, and the rest of the local Protectorate roster had similar responses.
"Aside from Shadow Stalker, Oni Lee was found dead at one of his safehouses. In addition, three people inconclusively identified as Victor, Othala, and Purity were found dead in their homes. All four of them died of large-caliber gunshot wounds through nearby windows; the ballistics people say the recovered rounds match .700 Nitro Express, a type of elephant gun. In addition, the particulars of the damage to Othala and Victor's body are consistent with a high explosive round being fired."
"As for Shadow Stalker, we're not quite sure of the exact cause of death. Her assailant dragged her corpse onto the street before giving her an impromptu cremation using Thermite. Only the melted remains of her crossbow and mask allowed us to identify the charred skeleton as once being Shadow Stalker. Even then, any and all electronics on her person were thoroughly destroyed by the thermite, leaving us with very little to go on about her killer."
"So, that's what we know so far. Does anyone have anything else to contribute?"
Miss Militia raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"Given that Shadow Stalker was nowhere near her allowed patrol routes, I don't think she was an intended target for our mystery killer. More likely that Shadow Stalker happened upon them, there was some sort of altercation, and Shadow Stalker got the worst of it."
Armsmaster spoke,
"That still doesn't make the killing of a Ward in any way acceptable. Shadow Stalker's apparent violations of her probation are not relevant to that statement."
Emily Piggot frowned,
"You are both entirely correct. The fact of the matter is that we have a killer on the loose with no compunctions about using lethal force in cold blood, and access to a variety of highly lethal mundane equipment. So far they have unambiguously killed five people, six if you think they're the same person who poisoned Calvert. While so far all their actual targets have been villains, their killing of a Ward shows that's not a hard line."
"This killer is too dangerous and unpredictable to allow free. We need to find and capture them. Does anyone have any suggestions for how?"
Velocity spoke up,
"At the very least, having a name to refer to them by would make talking about them easier. Perhaps Hunter would work as a codename? Seeing as they use an elephant gun and track down specific targets for elimination."
Assault answered,
"Hunter's taken, as are Manhunter, Headhunter, and a few other related names. I checked before the meeting. Safari's open, though."
"Good enough, we can designate the killer as Safari. Now, does anyone have any actual ideas on how to go about tracking Safari down?"
Everyone in the meeting room was more than a bit shocked when Director Piggot said that. Armsmaster clenched his jaw, Miss Militia looked extremely saddened, and the rest of the local Protectorate roster had similar responses.
"Aside from Shadow Stalker, Oni Lee was found dead at one of his safehouses. In addition, three people inconclusively identified as Victor, Othala, and Purity were found dead in their homes. All four of them died of large-caliber gunshot wounds through nearby windows; the ballistics people say the recovered rounds match .700 Nitro Express, a type of elephant gun. In addition, the particulars of the damage to Othala and Victor's body are consistent with a high explosive round being fired."
"As for Shadow Stalker, we're not quite sure of the exact cause of death. Her assailant dragged her corpse onto the street before giving her an impromptu cremation using Thermite. Only the melted remains of her crossbow and mask allowed us to identify the charred skeleton as once being Shadow Stalker. Even then, any and all electronics on her person were thoroughly destroyed by the thermite, leaving us with very little to go on about her killer."
"So, that's what we know so far. Does anyone have anything else to contribute?"
Miss Militia raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"Given that Shadow Stalker was nowhere near her allowed patrol routes, I don't think she was an intended target for our mystery killer. More likely that Shadow Stalker happened upon them, there was some sort of altercation, and Shadow Stalker got the worst of it."
Armsmaster spoke,
"That still doesn't make the killing of a Ward in any way acceptable. Shadow Stalker's apparent violations of her probation are not relevant to that statement."
Emily Piggot frowned,
"You are both entirely correct. The fact of the matter is that we have a killer on the loose with no compunctions about using lethal force in cold blood, and access to a variety of highly lethal mundane equipment. So far they have unambiguously killed five people, six if you think they're the same person who poisoned Calvert. While so far all their actual targets have been villains, their killing of a Ward shows that's not a hard line."
"This killer is too dangerous and unpredictable to allow free. We need to find and capture them. Does anyone have any suggestions for how?"
Velocity spoke up,
"At the very least, having a name to refer to them by would make talking about them easier. Perhaps Hunter would work as a codename? Seeing as they use an elephant gun and track down specific targets for elimination."
Assault answered,
"Hunter's taken, as are Manhunter, Headhunter, and a few other related names. I checked before the meeting. Safari's open, though."
"Good enough, we can designate the killer as Safari. Now, does anyone have any actual ideas on how to go about tracking Safari down?"
A Catgirl named Safari. Helllll yeah.
- Location
- Pale Blue Dot
Well, at this point the PRT would need to check Sophias emails, phone calls etc to see if there was an actual reason for her to be where she had been killed, and if that revealed more about the killer.
...if... this version of the PRT has a minimum level of competence. Which it might or might not have.
Why is this important? Because Calvert is not around to disrupt the investigation, and the results will absolutely give Piggot blood pressure problems.
No, I don't excpect the PRT to actually clean up after themselves (busy with more important things then making it so their people don't torture and hospitalize civilians, after all), but it's a nice way to gauge how useless this particular version of the PRT is.
...if... this version of the PRT has a minimum level of competence. Which it might or might not have.
Why is this important? Because Calvert is not around to disrupt the investigation, and the results will absolutely give Piggot blood pressure problems.
No, I don't excpect the PRT to actually clean up after themselves (busy with more important things then making it so their people don't torture and hospitalize civilians, after all), but it's a nice way to gauge how useless this particular version of the PRT is.
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She Followed Me Home, Can We Keep Her?
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
Distasteful as it was, I was going to leave Lung alive a bit longer, again for Bakuda-related reasons. That bomb Tinker was anything but stable, and without Lung there was no way of knowing where she would go. Given the weapons of mass destruction she could no doubt make, I would much rather she come to Brockton Bay, where my ever-growing surveillance network gave me quite good odds of intercepting and eliminating her before she could hurt anyone.
That said, I'd adjusted my sleep schedule a bit, cutting down on my caping hours to have more time in the early morning. The reason being that I was interested in joining Taylor Hebert on her morning runs.
The first time I encountered her, I simply waved and we went our separate ways. The second time, we ran alongside for a few minutes before going our separate ways. In my case, having my tail shoved down my pants made it rather uncomfortable, but I grit my teeth and bore it. The third time, Taylor finally acknowledged my presence.
"Why are you following me?"
I shrugged,
"Honestly? You look like you could use a friend. Also, the nature of your powers means you could be a massive problem for me later, so I'd rather have you on-side."
Taylor's eyes widened.
"You know!? How?"
"I'm more perceptive than most; bugs don't usually act the way they do when you're around. That said, out of fairness I'll reveal my secret too if you can find a private spot."
Taylor backpedaled away from me, a faint buzzing making itself known.
"And how do I know this isn't some sort of trap?"
Staring the teenager dead in the eyes, I answered.
"If I wanted you dead, I'd have killed you in your sleep."
Taylor shuddered, before answering "Right, this way." and leading me into an alley.
As soon as we were out of sight, I took off my hat and pulled my tail out of the concealed slot for it I'd added to my pants.
Taylor blinked. "You're a cat!"
I wobbled my hand in a 'so-so' gesture.
"Kinda. That's not all though; lots of powers don't work right on me, and I can materialize five kilograms of mundane equipment per day. There's one other thing, but I'm keeping it under wraps until I really need it."
Taylor made a thoughtful expression for a bit, then asked "So... why haven't I heard of you as a Cape anyway?"
I answered "A few reasons. First, I'm new to the area. Second, I use heavy information-denial tactics to protect myself. Third, I refuse to play Cape society's bullshit game."
Taylor blinked as she tried to process what I just said, then asked a question.
"Er, what do you mean by Cape society being a bullshit game? Heroes and Villains are good and bad, right?"
I shook my head.
"Ever noticed that whenever a Villain gets arrested, it never sticks? If any normal person went around causing that much harm, law enforcement would just shoot them and no-one would lose sleep over it. I bet most heroes aren't even aware they're doing it, but having a power and a costume gets you an unjustified amount of leniency."
"Huh... I never really thought about that before. What about you then?"
I couldn't help but smile.
"I track down the really bad ones that hurt or kill innocent people and ruin lives on the regular, and I take them out. Permanently. No showboating, no banter, no flashy fights, just immediate lethal force at a time and place where they're an easy target."
Taylor had a skeptical expression,
"You're a murderer!? And you're just admitting that!?"
I shrugged "Yeah, I suppose so. I prefer to think of it as proactive defense of others, but it is what it is. You heard about the deaths of Oni Lee, Othala, Victor, Purity, and Shadow Stalker right? Yeah, that was me."
"You killed a Ward!? Why!?"
And there was the buzzing again. I better talk fast.
"Shadow Stalker, also known as Sophia Hess was a menace to society, and also a failure of the PRT's efforts to redeem villains. She violated the terms of her probation regularly, refused to help people unless they measured up to her bullshit standards, and was perfectly willing to kill people who were only forced into a life of crime by shit circumstances."
I paused for a moment.
"Admittedly she was relatively low-priority on my hit list; she found me when I was out hunting, and I couldn't allow her to live after getting that much information on me."
Taylor had seemingly frozen up.
"Er, are you alright?"
"Sorry, just trying to process the fact that someone who's been making my life hell for two years was a Ward."
"Look on the bright side; she won't be able to keep tormenting you."
Taylor frowned,
"Won't help much, there's still Emma and Madison, even with Sophia gone."
"Do you happen to mean Emma Barnes?"
I already knew of course, but I'd prefer not to let that slip.
"Yes, why?"
"I've met Emma. That girl is deeply broken inside, especially once she realizes Sophia is dead. One good push and she'll either end up in a sanitarium, or dangle herself from a homemade noose."
Tayor's face scrunched up.
"Despite everything Emma's done to me, I'd really prefer if neither of those things happened to her. Is there anything you can do?"
"If you want, I can try and talk to her? No guarantees it'll go well though."
"Please? Also, what's your name?"
"Me? I'm Catherine, commonly shortened to Cat. How about you?"
"I'm Taylor Hebert, though given you've apparently been spying on me you probably knew that already."
"Yeah, that's true. Please don't take it too personally; I spy on everyone."
I extended my hand for a shake.
"See you again sometime?"
"You know what? Sure."
That said, I'd adjusted my sleep schedule a bit, cutting down on my caping hours to have more time in the early morning. The reason being that I was interested in joining Taylor Hebert on her morning runs.
The first time I encountered her, I simply waved and we went our separate ways. The second time, we ran alongside for a few minutes before going our separate ways. In my case, having my tail shoved down my pants made it rather uncomfortable, but I grit my teeth and bore it. The third time, Taylor finally acknowledged my presence.
"Why are you following me?"
I shrugged,
"Honestly? You look like you could use a friend. Also, the nature of your powers means you could be a massive problem for me later, so I'd rather have you on-side."
Taylor's eyes widened.
"You know!? How?"
"I'm more perceptive than most; bugs don't usually act the way they do when you're around. That said, out of fairness I'll reveal my secret too if you can find a private spot."
Taylor backpedaled away from me, a faint buzzing making itself known.
"And how do I know this isn't some sort of trap?"
Staring the teenager dead in the eyes, I answered.
"If I wanted you dead, I'd have killed you in your sleep."
Taylor shuddered, before answering "Right, this way." and leading me into an alley.
As soon as we were out of sight, I took off my hat and pulled my tail out of the concealed slot for it I'd added to my pants.
Taylor blinked. "You're a cat!"
I wobbled my hand in a 'so-so' gesture.
"Kinda. That's not all though; lots of powers don't work right on me, and I can materialize five kilograms of mundane equipment per day. There's one other thing, but I'm keeping it under wraps until I really need it."
Taylor made a thoughtful expression for a bit, then asked "So... why haven't I heard of you as a Cape anyway?"
I answered "A few reasons. First, I'm new to the area. Second, I use heavy information-denial tactics to protect myself. Third, I refuse to play Cape society's bullshit game."
Taylor blinked as she tried to process what I just said, then asked a question.
"Er, what do you mean by Cape society being a bullshit game? Heroes and Villains are good and bad, right?"
I shook my head.
"Ever noticed that whenever a Villain gets arrested, it never sticks? If any normal person went around causing that much harm, law enforcement would just shoot them and no-one would lose sleep over it. I bet most heroes aren't even aware they're doing it, but having a power and a costume gets you an unjustified amount of leniency."
"Huh... I never really thought about that before. What about you then?"
I couldn't help but smile.
"I track down the really bad ones that hurt or kill innocent people and ruin lives on the regular, and I take them out. Permanently. No showboating, no banter, no flashy fights, just immediate lethal force at a time and place where they're an easy target."
Taylor had a skeptical expression,
"You're a murderer!? And you're just admitting that!?"
I shrugged "Yeah, I suppose so. I prefer to think of it as proactive defense of others, but it is what it is. You heard about the deaths of Oni Lee, Othala, Victor, Purity, and Shadow Stalker right? Yeah, that was me."
"You killed a Ward!? Why!?"
And there was the buzzing again. I better talk fast.
"Shadow Stalker, also known as Sophia Hess was a menace to society, and also a failure of the PRT's efforts to redeem villains. She violated the terms of her probation regularly, refused to help people unless they measured up to her bullshit standards, and was perfectly willing to kill people who were only forced into a life of crime by shit circumstances."
I paused for a moment.
"Admittedly she was relatively low-priority on my hit list; she found me when I was out hunting, and I couldn't allow her to live after getting that much information on me."
Taylor had seemingly frozen up.
"Er, are you alright?"
"Sorry, just trying to process the fact that someone who's been making my life hell for two years was a Ward."
"Look on the bright side; she won't be able to keep tormenting you."
Taylor frowned,
"Won't help much, there's still Emma and Madison, even with Sophia gone."
"Do you happen to mean Emma Barnes?"
I already knew of course, but I'd prefer not to let that slip.
"Yes, why?"
"I've met Emma. That girl is deeply broken inside, especially once she realizes Sophia is dead. One good push and she'll either end up in a sanitarium, or dangle herself from a homemade noose."
Tayor's face scrunched up.
"Despite everything Emma's done to me, I'd really prefer if neither of those things happened to her. Is there anything you can do?"
"If you want, I can try and talk to her? No guarantees it'll go well though."
"Please? Also, what's your name?"
"Me? I'm Catherine, commonly shortened to Cat. How about you?"
"I'm Taylor Hebert, though given you've apparently been spying on me you probably knew that already."
"Yeah, that's true. Please don't take it too personally; I spy on everyone."
I extended my hand for a shake.
"See you again sometime?"
"You know what? Sure."
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Barbaric Bob
The Barbaric One
- Location
- Soon to be plundering a village near you
Murder buddies~✨
escelation is better when you have a friend saying: Do it coward!
escelation is better when you have a friend saying: Do it coward!
tenmachi
We don't talk about the other nine
Interlude: Two Other Teenagers
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
"Hey Emma, I'd like to talk to you for a bit."
Quickly, the red-headed teenager whirled around to see a hat-wearing young woman walking up to her at the mostly empty bus stop. She surreptitiously reached for her pepper spray, even as she asked "Why?"
The young woman shrugged,
"Overheard some of your friend group laughing about your bullying some other kid named Taylor."
"They're lying!"
"No, they aren't. Honestly I'm just confused; I don't understand what you get out of doing that, and I was hoping you could explain it to me."
"Er..."
"Can't be money, Taylor's pretty thoroughly broke. Pretty sure she'd have killed you if it was for sex. So that leaves social clout, psychological baggage..."
Something came loose inside Emma's mind.
"It's to prove that she's weak and I'm strong and... And that she deserves it!"
The young woman blinked.
"How in the heck does tormenting a non-combatant prove that you're strong? From my perspective, it just proves that you've got utterly bizarre priorities. Surely there's a better use of your time and effort."
"It's worth it! It means no-one will hurt me ever again!"
There was a brief pause, before the young woman asked another question.
"How exactly are those connected? Seriously, I can't spot a logical connection there, and it would be appreciated if you explained it."
Emma frowned, before replying,
"Wow, you really don't get it do you? There's two types of people, predator and prey. The predators are strong enough to take what they want from the prey, while the prey are too complacent to stop them. If you're a predator you can't be prey."
"And you're making yourself a predator by tormenting Taylor?"
Emma nodded enthusiastically,
"See, now you're getting it!"
"I can spot a few faults in your logic. First off, in the wild predators prey on other predators all the time. Tuna fish eat smaller fish, while themselves being eaten by sharks, dolphins, and humans."
Emma's jaw dropped slightly.
"Second, predators don't have to spend loads of effort reminding everyone that they're predators. Being a predator means being entirely comfortable with ending lives to sustain yourself, be that for food or for self-defense. Pretty sure Taylor was still up and kicking, last I checked."
"Meanwhile, constantly throwing up lots of threats of violence and threat displays to deter aggression is more of a prey behavior. It can be quite effective, particularly if you've actually got the lethality to back it up. But you don't really do that either."
"If anything, your determination to ruin someone else's life in order to make your own better fits a very different ecological niche than either of those. Congratulations Emma, you're a parasite."
With that, something snapped in Emma's brain, and she tried to pepper spray this arrogant bitch right in the face. Unfortunately for her, the young woman was much quicker on the draw, and laid her out with a tazer before she could get the can lined up.
From her position sobbing on the ground, Emma was distantly aware of the young woman calling the police on her cell phone.
"Yeah, we were just talking and then she tried to pepper spray me. I think something is seriously wrong with her, and she needs to go to the psych ward. Yes, we're at that bus stop. I can keep her here for two minutes until an officer shows up, no problem."
Shortly after the police car departed with Emma in tow, Lisa walked across the street to talk to the interesting young woman.
slight bulges under hat and left pant leg, concealing non-human appendages
"Well, if it isn't the local wannabe Kitsune. You've certainly got the smug grin down, but you're missing the tail and ears."
has rehearsed that line, knows you know about her non-human attributes, has a rough idea of your abilities
Lisa blinked.
"I have to say, that was a very interesting conversation you just had."
"It was, wasn't it."
Lisa waited for a whole minute as the two silently stared each other down.
"What do you actually want?"
Lisa blinked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I just got out of a horrible job, and now I'm trying to figure out what to do next with my life."
"Have you considered becoming a detective? You could do a lot of good for people."
is being entirely sincere
"...You know, I actually hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the idea."
"You're welcome, by the way. See you around."
is implying involvement in Coil's death
Lisa desperately wanted to ask the mysterious woman more, but she'd already turned to leave.
Quickly, the red-headed teenager whirled around to see a hat-wearing young woman walking up to her at the mostly empty bus stop. She surreptitiously reached for her pepper spray, even as she asked "Why?"
The young woman shrugged,
"Overheard some of your friend group laughing about your bullying some other kid named Taylor."
"They're lying!"
"No, they aren't. Honestly I'm just confused; I don't understand what you get out of doing that, and I was hoping you could explain it to me."
"Er..."
"Can't be money, Taylor's pretty thoroughly broke. Pretty sure she'd have killed you if it was for sex. So that leaves social clout, psychological baggage..."
Something came loose inside Emma's mind.
"It's to prove that she's weak and I'm strong and... And that she deserves it!"
The young woman blinked.
"How in the heck does tormenting a non-combatant prove that you're strong? From my perspective, it just proves that you've got utterly bizarre priorities. Surely there's a better use of your time and effort."
"It's worth it! It means no-one will hurt me ever again!"
There was a brief pause, before the young woman asked another question.
"How exactly are those connected? Seriously, I can't spot a logical connection there, and it would be appreciated if you explained it."
Emma frowned, before replying,
"Wow, you really don't get it do you? There's two types of people, predator and prey. The predators are strong enough to take what they want from the prey, while the prey are too complacent to stop them. If you're a predator you can't be prey."
"And you're making yourself a predator by tormenting Taylor?"
Emma nodded enthusiastically,
"See, now you're getting it!"
"I can spot a few faults in your logic. First off, in the wild predators prey on other predators all the time. Tuna fish eat smaller fish, while themselves being eaten by sharks, dolphins, and humans."
Emma's jaw dropped slightly.
"Second, predators don't have to spend loads of effort reminding everyone that they're predators. Being a predator means being entirely comfortable with ending lives to sustain yourself, be that for food or for self-defense. Pretty sure Taylor was still up and kicking, last I checked."
"Meanwhile, constantly throwing up lots of threats of violence and threat displays to deter aggression is more of a prey behavior. It can be quite effective, particularly if you've actually got the lethality to back it up. But you don't really do that either."
"If anything, your determination to ruin someone else's life in order to make your own better fits a very different ecological niche than either of those. Congratulations Emma, you're a parasite."
With that, something snapped in Emma's brain, and she tried to pepper spray this arrogant bitch right in the face. Unfortunately for her, the young woman was much quicker on the draw, and laid her out with a tazer before she could get the can lined up.
From her position sobbing on the ground, Emma was distantly aware of the young woman calling the police on her cell phone.
"Yeah, we were just talking and then she tried to pepper spray me. I think something is seriously wrong with her, and she needs to go to the psych ward. Yes, we're at that bus stop. I can keep her here for two minutes until an officer shows up, no problem."
Shortly after the police car departed with Emma in tow, Lisa walked across the street to talk to the interesting young woman.
slight bulges under hat and left pant leg, concealing non-human appendages
"Well, if it isn't the local wannabe Kitsune. You've certainly got the smug grin down, but you're missing the tail and ears."
has rehearsed that line, knows you know about her non-human attributes, has a rough idea of your abilities
Lisa blinked.
"I have to say, that was a very interesting conversation you just had."
"It was, wasn't it."
Lisa waited for a whole minute as the two silently stared each other down.
"What do you actually want?"
Lisa blinked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I just got out of a horrible job, and now I'm trying to figure out what to do next with my life."
"Have you considered becoming a detective? You could do a lot of good for people."
is being entirely sincere
"...You know, I actually hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the idea."
"You're welcome, by the way. See you around."
is implying involvement in Coil's death
Lisa desperately wanted to ask the mysterious woman more, but she'd already turned to leave.
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- Location
- new york
She wouldn't be a cat if she didn't watch everyone