I haven't been working on my other stories lately, because this idea has been eating at me. I...
FFTaylor [Worm - Alt!Power Taylor - Crossover]
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I haven't been working on my other stories lately, because this idea has been eating at me. I recently found the iso file for my favorite original PlayStation game on my backup hard drive, and I wondered what the power that every character in the game has would be like in Worm. Overpowered? Maybe. Fun? Hell Yeah!
Reality stopped. People, places, and things around me were cast in black and white, paused, and a ray of concentrated sunlight shone down on me from the heavens above. Arrayed around me in a circle were copies of my own form, still and unmoving, each wearing a different outfit representing their various abilities. With a thought the immobile forms rotated around me while maintaining a perfect circle, concepts and numbers flowing into my mind as I cycled through the various choices. The form I finally selected was garbed in a blue cloak and pointed straw hat, an exact copy of my face barely visible beneath its wide brim.
I summoned the correct equipment for this choice from my pocket dimension, feeling the still curious sensation of a robe settling over my shoulders and a pointed hat similar to that of the mannequin I had chosen appearing atop my head. A polished wooden staff of golden oak materialized in my hands, its end curved like a shepherd's crook. I selected my anticallary abilities, doing my best to maximize my chances of winning the upcoming encounter.
I took a few minutes to study my surroundings, studying the foes I was setting myself up to face. My nerves settled. I was as ready as I was ever going to be now. I steeled myself for the upcoming confrontation, my will hardening into carbon steel. I willed the world to unpause and once again the sights and sounds of reality returned. I could smell the salt on the air from the bay, could feel the sure footing the gravel on the rooftop below my feet gave me.
Beneath me in a filthy alleyway, stood a loose crowd, many of the men and boys there wearing red and green. Flying the flag. Towering above most of these blagards stood an intimidating specimen of humanity adorned with spiraling dragon tattoos which covered his arms and torso, a metallic mask pulled over his face. Lung, I knew. I'm really going to fight Lung… Well, ambush, more like. I felt fear, true, but also the surety of my chosen course of action. No one is going to kill children, not if I can stop them. I used my power on myself first, whispering the words that would activate one of the skills from the secondary ability I had chosen to equip myself with. "Layer upon layer make your mark now... Haste!" I felt the world speed up, saw the people below start to move more slowly than slugs.
Still invisible to the men I was targeting, I raised both of my arms and began to chant. My eyes narrowed in anger, my resolve sharp. Try to kill children, will you! I was going to end their sick endeavor before it ever started. "Freezing wind, speak of forgotten truths! Blizzaga!" I cried, thrusting my hands downward at the milling gangsters. Lung's head snapped upward toward the spot I stood in slow motion, his cold eyes boring into mine. It was too late. He had not even begun to change into a dragon at this point, and was thus was completely unprepared for my attack. Faster than even my Haste enhanced eyes could follow, enormous crystals of ice materialized in the air above the ABB members, the largest centered on Lung.
Glittering blue behemoths the size of moving vans fell toward the people below at so great a speed that the sound barrier itself was shattered. I felt like vomiting as I watched the ice launch itself at the would-be child killers, a giant's parody of hail. Several of the gangsters were battered terribly, skin shriveled and darkened by cold-burn, limbs crushed, twisted, severed. Arms still held out in front of me, I twitched my hands, using the last vestiges of the control I wielded over the spell to guide the largest pieces of ice away from the gangbangers' heads and other vital areas just before they hit. In stopping these depraved cowards I did not want to become a murderer myself.
I had never used my more destructive abilities on a real human being before, never taken a life, and attacking real people like this felt revolting. I grimaced as the ice storm finally slowed, then stopped, surveying the damage. Pieces of ice were strewn everywhere, large and small, and there was little sign of movement in the alleyway below. Several of the gangsters were unconscious, though a sizeable minority had curled themselves up into balls, lying on the ground and shivering desperately. The night around me was cool, but the temperature in the alley was now several degrees below zero. I moved my eyes to Lung, and blanched. Oh, no. No...
I hadn't made any particular effort to spare Lung damage from my attack as I had his unpowered henchmen. I had thought that due to his Brute resiliency and regeneration powers, the notorious villain would be able to tank a large portion of the damage from my spell. I had been terribly wrong. A jagged wedge of ice was embedded in the concrete under the gang leader's body, just below his shoulders, severing his spine and most of his torso. The lower and upper parts of his body were attached by only a sliver of flesh now. The tattooed man's skin was blue-black everywhere I looked, and all four limbs were mutilated, either crushed or partially torn away. I looked to Lung's head, and knew he was beyond my help… It was crushed under the corner of the largest piece of ice that remained after my barrage. Skull and iron mask both were ground into paste on the dirty concrete. I fell forward, barely catching myself on all fours at the edge of the roof, nearly tumbling down to join the ABB members below. Vomit erupted from my lips, splattering upon the icy pavement and wounded criminals both, adding to the terrible mess I had made of things. This is the man who fought an Endbringer solo? How did this happen!?
I wiped my mouth, slowly gathering myself up and onto my feet. Haste was still active, and barely any time had passed since the start of the "fight". Some fight… more of a slaughter. I Paused again, quickly picking a different me-mannequin, this one wearing a hooded cloak of white, and resumed reality. Several of the wounded gangsters below were close to hypothermia, were missing limbs, and possibly had internal bleeding… and I wasn't going to allow anyone else to die because of mistakes I made, not tonight.
Arms outstretched, I mentally targeted all of the broken, huddled bodies below, save that of Lung. I spoke, my hands once again in motion. "Blessing breeze, blow in energy! Curaga!" A green energy-laced wind surrounded the people below, and suddenly no one was shivering, no limbs were crushed or detached. Gangbanger began hopping up, running away as fast as they could. Soon the alley was empty of all but ice and Lung's broken remains.
I was still looking sadly down at the body of the man I had inadvertently killed when a trio of giant lizard-dog monsters showed up. Haste wore off, I thought, as the giant animals landed on the rooftop nearby. Four people were riding the monsters, and all of them were gazing at me intently. My back stiffened as a shiver went up it, and I quickly Paused, using the supernatural stillness to gauge the new arrivals. I once more wished that Pause didn't leach the color from the world, but then again my power was so patently ridiculous that I had absolutely no right to complain.
Two of mounted capes, for that is what they had to be, were obviously male, the other pair female. The largest and most intimidating of the four was a man who was covered from head to toe in what looked like biker leathers. His helmet had been modified to look like a skull. Ominous. The other male was dressed like he was headed to a renaissance fair, and sported a white mask and dark, wavy hair. The ren-fair reject rode double with a blonde in a purple costume and domino mask, her face sporting a wary expression. The last member of the group wore normal clothing, a cheap disposable rottweiler mask barely concealing her identity.
I recognized them, of course. I had been studying the cape scene ever since I had become an unwilling member three months before. They were a gang of small-time operators known as the Undersiders, dubbed by the media and cape enthusiasts as the "Masters of Escape" for the flawless string of getaways they had made after robbing other criminals. Despite the fact that they hadn't ever stole from anyone other than criminals, they had been branded Villains. I figured that it was mostly due to the presence of Grue, a small-time criminal, and Bitch, or Hellhound, a wanted murderess. They were as "safe" as you could get when it came to criminals in Brockton Bay, having no agenda or ideology that put them at odds with other capes or encouraged random violence. Really, they were nothing like Lung, just a group of powered kids who seemed to treat their powers as a way to have fun and make money.
Just kids, I thought, like me. Wait, kids… God DAMNIT! They're the "kids" Lung was planning to kill… and I just murdered him for daring to have a beef with another Parahuman gang. Anger coursed through my veins, and my eyes narrowed. The four teens on the rooftop with my were the reason I had made myself a killer. I doubted they could have beat Lung; whole teams of seasoned Heroes had fought him and lost, and these capes seemed to be better at being slippery than putting the smack down. That didn't make it right that I killed him, even if he would have done the same to them, I knew, and now I had to live with knowing that I had murdered a man to protect a troupe of thieves. My jaw clenched.
I wondered to myself, the grey tones of the night around me still and silent, if would they send me to the Birdcage for killing Lung? Even a newbie like me knew that a cape killing someone on their first night out looked really, really bad. But what if I have something else to show for my first night… My mind turned. If I can take the Undersiders in, and I have four live criminals to stand beside a single dead one, would that change things? My will hardened once more, my mind and course set. I selected a new avatar, one with abilities well suited to stopping "Masters of Escape", and started to plan.
I thought for a time. I didn't know much about the girl in purple, Tattler or something, including what her power could do. I also didn't know anything at all about the Ren-Faire guy… I only had a handle on the powers of half of the group, so I would need to be cautious. But then again, they had no idea what I could do either. And I could do so many, many things. I knew would have to hit the two unknowns hard, followed by Grue. At the same time I would need to avoid Bitch's dog-monsters, as they looked strong as well as mean. I played around with sub-abilities for a while, finally locking in my choice, and selected the best movement ability I currently had access to. I wished that I could fly right now, that would let me easily avoid the monsters, but I hadn't been able to unlock that particular ability quite yet. I equipped the best equipment I had, and Unpaused.
"You really saved us some trouble," began Grue, "When we learned that Lung was-" He was suddenly cut off by his blonde teammate.
"Oh, shit!" she yelled, her eyes wide, "Grue, she's a fucking hero! And a Trump! We have to-" The world flickered, and suddenly I was right next to Tattler, my Teleport landing me on the back of her steed, sitting right behind her and the Ren-Faire cape. I grabbed the purple-wearing cape and Teleported away again, to the the building on the opposite side of the alley. As soon as we landed I used one of the powers in my secondary list, this one called Paralyze, on the cape I still held. I was able to forgo the chant that accompanied many of my abilities for this skill thankfully, saving me precious seconds. Tattler slumped to the ground, unmoving. Her eyes promised my future self unspeakable torments.
The rest of the Undersiders had already found me, and the monster carrying Bitch was in the process of bounding over the gap between buildings, on course to smash me into paste. I Teleported once again, landing near the edge of the same roof. A chant was already on my lips, and my hands in motion when I arrived. I was able to target Bitch and her dog, as well as Ren-Faire and his mount. Grue was already lost in a sea of black fog, which was spreading rapidly. I smirked; even if he ran I would still have something to show for this endeavour. Not that I thought that he was planning to run, there would be no point to the darkness if he was.
I cast my spell on the four targets that I could see. "Obey the sky's will, slow time down! Slowja!" I got to see something amazing; Ren-Faire and his steed were still mid-air when I cast the spell, and now they were sailing across the sky at a snail's pace, their movements glacial. Bitch's dog mask had been knocked to the side, and her face was a snarling mask of fury as, from her perspective, I erupted into a blur of speed, running at her. A quick yank and another application of Paralyze, and she was taken out of commission, lying near her likewise immobile teammate.
I dismissed Ren-Faire and the riderless monster as a threat for now, it would be several minutes until they could move at more normally. I used the few seconds I had for now to buff myself, quickly casting Haste on myself, further increasing the subjective time until Ren-Faire would become a problem, and giving me an advantage against Grue; it was time to go hunting. Before I did so, however, there was one more spell to cast.
I targeted the cloud of black smoke with an ability I had not used previously, but just as I was about to cast I noticed saw Grue, still riding his beast, coming at me from the side at a ridiculous pace considering me enhanced perception of time. He had used the cover of his darkness cloud to jump to another rooftop, and charge at me from my blind-spot. I teleported out of the way as he neared, targeting him and his dog.
I felt my arm try to jerk itself slowly to the side, but it happened gradually enough that I was able to power through the weak attack and cast my spell. "Land of all lives, suppress all rebels! Immobilize!" Grue and his mount suddenly stopped, all forward momentum completely disappearing. Black smoke started pouring from him, but in slow motion it wasn't much of a threat. I was upon him in seconds, quickly casting the Sleep spell that was part of my secondary list of abilities to put him into a deep, dreamless slumber. I had used it on my dad several times to help him with his insomnia, so I knew that it would take hours before he would wake normally.
By now Ren-Faire was on the roof. As I ran toward him he sped up from grass-growing to paint drying as Slowja ran out. Thankfully, I still had Haste cast. I started to cast Sleep on the last member of the Undersiders when I felt my shoulder painfully wrench itself down, interrupting my spell. I frowned, teleporting behind him and attempting once more to place him into an enchanted slumber when I saw his head finish turning toward me. My hand cramped just as I was finishing, ruining my work. Fuck! He has some ability to track me, and he can cause my body to move at just the wrong time, cancelling my spells before they can be cast!
Fuck. This. It was time to cheat. I Paused, returning to the Job menu. This time I selected one of the more physical of my skillsets, one that didn't need time and fancy hand-waving to work. I chose Time Mage for my secondary skillset this time, as those spells were ungodly useful, and I didn't want to be without them if I could help it. The primary avatar I picked this time had callused knuckles and bare arms, and was perfect for the situation I had found myself in. I hadn't been terribly impressed by this skillset at first, but after obtaining several of the skills I had been forced to admit that these powers could definitely come in handy. Monk was a simple, yet effective skillset.
Time resumed. Still under the aegis of Haste, I darted at Ren-Faire, his eyes slowly going wide. Still several feet away, I launched my fist toward him, causing a ball of blue energy to fly out of it toward him at supersonic speeds. He had no time to react, even as my Haste buff failed, and he was struck. Ren-Faire was thrown from his mount, vulgarities spilling from his lips as he caught the rooftop back-first, skipping twice like a flat stone over water before coming to a stop. He didn't get up.
A few minutes later I had finished securing my four captives, all of them bound hand and foot with high strength nylon rope that I had purchased and stored in my inventory for just such a purpose. I had also placed loose burlap hoods over their respective headgears to prevent the captive Parahumans from using their powers on me. None of the teenaged villains was a Brute as far as I knew, and the battle bore that supposition out, so I left the steel manacles alone for the moments. I had also cast another group Sleep spell on them, which should keep them out for the next couple of hours.
Gure wouldn't suffer from his double-exposure to the spell; the effects of Sleep thankfully didn't stack, so the second application basically reset the timer on his journey to dreamland. He would end up waking at around the same time as the others. The three dogs, which were likewise sleeping under the influence of my power, had shrugged off their monstrous features and returned to their regular size. I looked at the piles of meat and chitin that the dogs had sloughed off, my nose upturned in distaste. They were simply crawling with insects. What a disgusting ability.
I figured that the PRT or Protectorate would be along shortly; I had found used one of the burner phones I purchased and stored in my inventory to alert them after I finished defeating and securing the Undersiders. Sure enough, I heard an engine whine in the distance, and before I could worry too much Armsmaster himself was dismounting his Tinker-tech motorcycle and approaching me carefully, his pole-arm drawn. I had moved myself and my captives to the alley-way where I killed Lung and defeated a score of his men, my captives laid out near the dragon-man's body. Large pieces of ice were still everywhere, the magically created substance refusing to melt in the cold weather.
In preparation for this meeting, I had changed into the "Primary" costume I wanted to be recognized by, at least at this point in time. It was the most protective equipment I had obtained from the Other World so far, and I had to change Jobs to Knight to equip it. I had on a set of what my Inventory called "Gold Armor", as well as a matching "Gold Helmet"; they weren't made of gold by any means, being silvery armor that was much heavier than the Mithril plate I had traded up from, strewn with real gold accents. The detail on the armor was amazing, and the quality superb. Just wearing it made me feel more powerful. It also weighed close to fifty pounds altogether; I had to switch jobs to Knight to wear heavy armor comfortably without straining, as that particular job granted me increased strength, resiliency, and endurance.
I could probably sell the beautiful set of armor for a staggering amount of money in the Real World, but I figured that it would do me much more good protecting me from harm. Items from the Other World had a strange but beneficial interaction with my power, increasing my abilities in various ways when I wore them. Under the helmet I wore a supremely powerful item, which was simply called a "Ribbon". It was the single most useful wearable item I had yet found; it allowed me to ignore anything that could be considered a "status effect", which could evidently include the effects of many cape powers. My power had stuttered, the world blurring and pixelating madly, when I had first placed it on my head underneath my helmet, but my power stabilized afterward, and I was able to get the benefits of both. My silly power still wouldn't let me "equip" them both automatically, but if I placed the ribbon manually after equipping the armor it worked. Crazy power... as if wearing a small hair ribbon would actually preclude me from putting anything else on my head.
Armsmaster approached, his blue and silver armored form moving carefully as he assessed the situation. He was perhaps a dozen feet away when he stopped. I could see the Protectorate hero eyeing the sword sheathed on my hip carefully; I'll bet he would be more wary if he could see the gleaming red blade of the Blood Sword I wore. My left arm had a "Golden Shield" which matched my armor and helmet strapped tightly to it. I knew that my own armor make me look impressive, in a "knights of old" kind of way, but to my eye Armsmaster's Tinker-tech armor and weapon was amazing. The thought that any armor was vulnerable to my Knight abilities hung in my forebrain. If he decided to get aggressive he would be in for a surprise.
"You going to fight me?" asked the leader of the Protectorate East-North East, his signature weapon held at the ready.
"Of course not," I replied, "I'm a hero. I'm the one that called you down here." If I wanted to fight, you would know it. He relaxed almost imperceptibly.
"I haven't seen you out before. Recent trigger, or transfer?"
"I'm new. You can call me... Ivalice." It had been one of the top names on my list, but it just felt right. Ivalice was the name of the Other World.
"Ivalice," said the Tinker, as if tasting the word. "Do you mind explaining why Lung is dead, and why you have a group of unconscious capes tied up next to his body?" He paused, staring at me eerily. "Be careful with your answer," he warned, "This conversation is continually being recorded to an offsite location." His words, delivered in a veritable monotone, made my stomach clench and my heart turn to ice.
"I was out on patrol, for the first time, when I came upon Lung and his men, gathered in this alley. I was up there," I explained, pointing, "On that rooftop. I heard Lung say that he was going to murder some children." I was angry now, so angry…
I continued, though I knew I shouldn't. I was practically confessing to the gang leader's murder. I absolutely had to get this out, though, to explain my side of the story. "I wasn't about to let that happen, to let him get away with that. So I used one of my stronger powers to attack him preemptively." Armsmaster continued to stare at me, unmoving. I couldn't stop myself, I had to make him understand.
I chuckled, then, a dry, unhappy thing that was barely related to a real laugh. "I've heard about him, you know? The great Lung. How he's practically invincible, able to defeat entire teams of capes, all at the same time. How he made an Endbringer retreat singlehandedly at Kyushu. So I cast Blizzaga on him, and of the men with him. I made sure that none of the regular gang members got hit by any of the larger pieces of ice, not anywhere critical, but I didn't hold back on Lung. Why would I? He's Lung."
My mouth was dry, my tongue like a rock. I kept talking. "I was ready to throw more at him, too, when I saw him down there. Not moving. I honestly didn't expect to win against him. I even had the thought that I might die if I was really unlucky… but that's not what happened, is it?" I felt contemptible, stupid. "I just want to be a hero." I knew that my power was really strong, that I could do a lot of damage. Why didn't I hold back, maybe cast a weaker spell?
"A what about the Undersiders?" he asked. A long tear leaked from my left eye, trailing down my cheek under my golden helmet.
"They showed up just after I healed Lung's henchmen. Some of them were pretty bad off, and I didn't want to kill anyone else tonight. I used Curaga on the lot of them, and as soon as they were better they all ran away. Not a single one of those assholes even tried to help their boss. The Undersiders were there when I looked up from the alley, and I recognized them from PHO. I thought… maybe if I can bring in four live villains…" I paused, looking at him, more tears coming out, now. My voice hitched. "Maybe then, it wouldn't be as bad that Lung was dead. I wanted something good to come out of this night. So I caught them, then called the PRT."
Armsmaster had moved close to me while I was talking, his halberd now folded up and slung across his back. I was barely looking at him, my head hung down toward the ground. I started as he placed his gauntleted hand on my shoulder. "That's why we have the Wards program. So that young parahumans like you can learn how to use your powers in a safe environment. Have you ever considered joining?" His voice was softer than before. Isn't he going to arrest me now?
I looked up at him. "I thought about it a lot. I want to join, but I don't want any more teen drama. My school life… isn't… good. And the last thing I need is to be the low man on the totem pole in a group of teenagers. I thought that if I could prove myself out here, that maybe I could join on better terms."
"I understand." he said gruffly. "It's not widely known, but I was part of the first team of wards. It was there that I really learned how to use my powers. How to be a hero, and work with a team. The wards program is definitely not perfect, but it's far better than what's in store for you out here on your own."
His hand lifted from my shoulder, and he backed up two steps. He spoke, his voice no longer soft, yet not as harsh or toneless as when he first arrived. "This is what's going to happen now, Ivalice. I am not going to arrest you, but you are going to come with me to The Rig--that's the protectorate base on the bay--to make a statement. I want you to talk to a few people, and then we will discuss your options."
I nodded at Armsmaster, and he continued. "Honestly, with Lung dead and his men free to spread the story of what happened, this whole situation is going to explode." He snorted at his own words for some reason. "But. If we work quickly, and get you into the Wards, I think we might be able to keep the other two capes in the ABB from retaliating against you too harshly."
"Wait," I said slowly, "Two capes? I thought that they only had Lung and Oni Lee, the teleporter." I frowned.
"They have a new cape, a Tinker called Bakuda. Do you know what a Tinker is, Ivalice?" asked the hero.
"Yeah, a Parahuman who can build things that are years ahead of the current tech level." I said, "Like you."
"Correct."replied Armsmaster, "But what you might not know, is that each Tinker has a specialty, a type of technology where they are singularly gifted. Mine is miniaturization. Bakuda's is explosives."
A chill went down my spine at the thought of what a Parahumans who could make super-science explosives might be able to do. It was regular men who built the atomic bomb, after all. I swallowed before speaking. "That's terrifying." I said. "How would the Wards program be able to protect me from being hit with a bomb? I would think that having people backing me up would just give this Bakuda more targets."
"There's a reason why government and rule of law still stands, even when the ratio of heroes to villains is worse than three to one." I hadn't realized that it was that bad. The Protectorate Tinker continued, "When a parahuman commits certain types of crimes, such as mass murder, rape, or killing heroes," he paused, "especially Wards, their life is made legally forfeit. Something called a "Kill Order" is signed, and thereafter there is no penalty for their murder. If fact, whoever sees them dead is given a bounty."
"And if Bakuda killed me now, it would just be a villain 'getting even' against the independant who killed her boss…" I said, thinking it through as I spoke. "But if I joined the Wards, and she still targeted me, then if she succeeded her life wouldn't be worth a red cent."
"Yes." said the power armored cape.
All things considered, joining the Wards had to be better than going it on my own. And it was definitely better than being arrested for murder, like I thought I might happen. I doubted that any of the kids in the Wards would be too objectionable; they were heroes after all. And it's not like Bakuda would be stupid enough to specifically target a hero or go on a rampage because of Lung's death.
"Let's go." I said.
FFTaylor
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Reality stopped. People, places, and things around me were cast in black and white, paused, and a ray of concentrated sunlight shone down on me from the heavens above. Arrayed around me in a circle were copies of my own form, still and unmoving, each wearing a different outfit representing their various abilities. With a thought the immobile forms rotated around me while maintaining a perfect circle, concepts and numbers flowing into my mind as I cycled through the various choices. The form I finally selected was garbed in a blue cloak and pointed straw hat, an exact copy of my face barely visible beneath its wide brim.
I summoned the correct equipment for this choice from my pocket dimension, feeling the still curious sensation of a robe settling over my shoulders and a pointed hat similar to that of the mannequin I had chosen appearing atop my head. A polished wooden staff of golden oak materialized in my hands, its end curved like a shepherd's crook. I selected my anticallary abilities, doing my best to maximize my chances of winning the upcoming encounter.
I took a few minutes to study my surroundings, studying the foes I was setting myself up to face. My nerves settled. I was as ready as I was ever going to be now. I steeled myself for the upcoming confrontation, my will hardening into carbon steel. I willed the world to unpause and once again the sights and sounds of reality returned. I could smell the salt on the air from the bay, could feel the sure footing the gravel on the rooftop below my feet gave me.
Beneath me in a filthy alleyway, stood a loose crowd, many of the men and boys there wearing red and green. Flying the flag. Towering above most of these blagards stood an intimidating specimen of humanity adorned with spiraling dragon tattoos which covered his arms and torso, a metallic mask pulled over his face. Lung, I knew. I'm really going to fight Lung… Well, ambush, more like. I felt fear, true, but also the surety of my chosen course of action. No one is going to kill children, not if I can stop them. I used my power on myself first, whispering the words that would activate one of the skills from the secondary ability I had chosen to equip myself with. "Layer upon layer make your mark now... Haste!" I felt the world speed up, saw the people below start to move more slowly than slugs.
Still invisible to the men I was targeting, I raised both of my arms and began to chant. My eyes narrowed in anger, my resolve sharp. Try to kill children, will you! I was going to end their sick endeavor before it ever started. "Freezing wind, speak of forgotten truths! Blizzaga!" I cried, thrusting my hands downward at the milling gangsters. Lung's head snapped upward toward the spot I stood in slow motion, his cold eyes boring into mine. It was too late. He had not even begun to change into a dragon at this point, and was thus was completely unprepared for my attack. Faster than even my Haste enhanced eyes could follow, enormous crystals of ice materialized in the air above the ABB members, the largest centered on Lung.
Glittering blue behemoths the size of moving vans fell toward the people below at so great a speed that the sound barrier itself was shattered. I felt like vomiting as I watched the ice launch itself at the would-be child killers, a giant's parody of hail. Several of the gangsters were battered terribly, skin shriveled and darkened by cold-burn, limbs crushed, twisted, severed. Arms still held out in front of me, I twitched my hands, using the last vestiges of the control I wielded over the spell to guide the largest pieces of ice away from the gangbangers' heads and other vital areas just before they hit. In stopping these depraved cowards I did not want to become a murderer myself.
I had never used my more destructive abilities on a real human being before, never taken a life, and attacking real people like this felt revolting. I grimaced as the ice storm finally slowed, then stopped, surveying the damage. Pieces of ice were strewn everywhere, large and small, and there was little sign of movement in the alleyway below. Several of the gangsters were unconscious, though a sizeable minority had curled themselves up into balls, lying on the ground and shivering desperately. The night around me was cool, but the temperature in the alley was now several degrees below zero. I moved my eyes to Lung, and blanched. Oh, no. No...
I hadn't made any particular effort to spare Lung damage from my attack as I had his unpowered henchmen. I had thought that due to his Brute resiliency and regeneration powers, the notorious villain would be able to tank a large portion of the damage from my spell. I had been terribly wrong. A jagged wedge of ice was embedded in the concrete under the gang leader's body, just below his shoulders, severing his spine and most of his torso. The lower and upper parts of his body were attached by only a sliver of flesh now. The tattooed man's skin was blue-black everywhere I looked, and all four limbs were mutilated, either crushed or partially torn away. I looked to Lung's head, and knew he was beyond my help… It was crushed under the corner of the largest piece of ice that remained after my barrage. Skull and iron mask both were ground into paste on the dirty concrete. I fell forward, barely catching myself on all fours at the edge of the roof, nearly tumbling down to join the ABB members below. Vomit erupted from my lips, splattering upon the icy pavement and wounded criminals both, adding to the terrible mess I had made of things. This is the man who fought an Endbringer solo? How did this happen!?
I wiped my mouth, slowly gathering myself up and onto my feet. Haste was still active, and barely any time had passed since the start of the "fight". Some fight… more of a slaughter. I Paused again, quickly picking a different me-mannequin, this one wearing a hooded cloak of white, and resumed reality. Several of the wounded gangsters below were close to hypothermia, were missing limbs, and possibly had internal bleeding… and I wasn't going to allow anyone else to die because of mistakes I made, not tonight.
Arms outstretched, I mentally targeted all of the broken, huddled bodies below, save that of Lung. I spoke, my hands once again in motion. "Blessing breeze, blow in energy! Curaga!" A green energy-laced wind surrounded the people below, and suddenly no one was shivering, no limbs were crushed or detached. Gangbanger began hopping up, running away as fast as they could. Soon the alley was empty of all but ice and Lung's broken remains.
I was still looking sadly down at the body of the man I had inadvertently killed when a trio of giant lizard-dog monsters showed up. Haste wore off, I thought, as the giant animals landed on the rooftop nearby. Four people were riding the monsters, and all of them were gazing at me intently. My back stiffened as a shiver went up it, and I quickly Paused, using the supernatural stillness to gauge the new arrivals. I once more wished that Pause didn't leach the color from the world, but then again my power was so patently ridiculous that I had absolutely no right to complain.
Two of mounted capes, for that is what they had to be, were obviously male, the other pair female. The largest and most intimidating of the four was a man who was covered from head to toe in what looked like biker leathers. His helmet had been modified to look like a skull. Ominous. The other male was dressed like he was headed to a renaissance fair, and sported a white mask and dark, wavy hair. The ren-fair reject rode double with a blonde in a purple costume and domino mask, her face sporting a wary expression. The last member of the group wore normal clothing, a cheap disposable rottweiler mask barely concealing her identity.
I recognized them, of course. I had been studying the cape scene ever since I had become an unwilling member three months before. They were a gang of small-time operators known as the Undersiders, dubbed by the media and cape enthusiasts as the "Masters of Escape" for the flawless string of getaways they had made after robbing other criminals. Despite the fact that they hadn't ever stole from anyone other than criminals, they had been branded Villains. I figured that it was mostly due to the presence of Grue, a small-time criminal, and Bitch, or Hellhound, a wanted murderess. They were as "safe" as you could get when it came to criminals in Brockton Bay, having no agenda or ideology that put them at odds with other capes or encouraged random violence. Really, they were nothing like Lung, just a group of powered kids who seemed to treat their powers as a way to have fun and make money.
Just kids, I thought, like me. Wait, kids… God DAMNIT! They're the "kids" Lung was planning to kill… and I just murdered him for daring to have a beef with another Parahuman gang. Anger coursed through my veins, and my eyes narrowed. The four teens on the rooftop with my were the reason I had made myself a killer. I doubted they could have beat Lung; whole teams of seasoned Heroes had fought him and lost, and these capes seemed to be better at being slippery than putting the smack down. That didn't make it right that I killed him, even if he would have done the same to them, I knew, and now I had to live with knowing that I had murdered a man to protect a troupe of thieves. My jaw clenched.
I wondered to myself, the grey tones of the night around me still and silent, if would they send me to the Birdcage for killing Lung? Even a newbie like me knew that a cape killing someone on their first night out looked really, really bad. But what if I have something else to show for my first night… My mind turned. If I can take the Undersiders in, and I have four live criminals to stand beside a single dead one, would that change things? My will hardened once more, my mind and course set. I selected a new avatar, one with abilities well suited to stopping "Masters of Escape", and started to plan.
I thought for a time. I didn't know much about the girl in purple, Tattler or something, including what her power could do. I also didn't know anything at all about the Ren-Faire guy… I only had a handle on the powers of half of the group, so I would need to be cautious. But then again, they had no idea what I could do either. And I could do so many, many things. I knew would have to hit the two unknowns hard, followed by Grue. At the same time I would need to avoid Bitch's dog-monsters, as they looked strong as well as mean. I played around with sub-abilities for a while, finally locking in my choice, and selected the best movement ability I currently had access to. I wished that I could fly right now, that would let me easily avoid the monsters, but I hadn't been able to unlock that particular ability quite yet. I equipped the best equipment I had, and Unpaused.
"You really saved us some trouble," began Grue, "When we learned that Lung was-" He was suddenly cut off by his blonde teammate.
"Oh, shit!" she yelled, her eyes wide, "Grue, she's a fucking hero! And a Trump! We have to-" The world flickered, and suddenly I was right next to Tattler, my Teleport landing me on the back of her steed, sitting right behind her and the Ren-Faire cape. I grabbed the purple-wearing cape and Teleported away again, to the the building on the opposite side of the alley. As soon as we landed I used one of the powers in my secondary list, this one called Paralyze, on the cape I still held. I was able to forgo the chant that accompanied many of my abilities for this skill thankfully, saving me precious seconds. Tattler slumped to the ground, unmoving. Her eyes promised my future self unspeakable torments.
The rest of the Undersiders had already found me, and the monster carrying Bitch was in the process of bounding over the gap between buildings, on course to smash me into paste. I Teleported once again, landing near the edge of the same roof. A chant was already on my lips, and my hands in motion when I arrived. I was able to target Bitch and her dog, as well as Ren-Faire and his mount. Grue was already lost in a sea of black fog, which was spreading rapidly. I smirked; even if he ran I would still have something to show for this endeavour. Not that I thought that he was planning to run, there would be no point to the darkness if he was.
I cast my spell on the four targets that I could see. "Obey the sky's will, slow time down! Slowja!" I got to see something amazing; Ren-Faire and his steed were still mid-air when I cast the spell, and now they were sailing across the sky at a snail's pace, their movements glacial. Bitch's dog mask had been knocked to the side, and her face was a snarling mask of fury as, from her perspective, I erupted into a blur of speed, running at her. A quick yank and another application of Paralyze, and she was taken out of commission, lying near her likewise immobile teammate.
I dismissed Ren-Faire and the riderless monster as a threat for now, it would be several minutes until they could move at more normally. I used the few seconds I had for now to buff myself, quickly casting Haste on myself, further increasing the subjective time until Ren-Faire would become a problem, and giving me an advantage against Grue; it was time to go hunting. Before I did so, however, there was one more spell to cast.
I targeted the cloud of black smoke with an ability I had not used previously, but just as I was about to cast I noticed saw Grue, still riding his beast, coming at me from the side at a ridiculous pace considering me enhanced perception of time. He had used the cover of his darkness cloud to jump to another rooftop, and charge at me from my blind-spot. I teleported out of the way as he neared, targeting him and his dog.
I felt my arm try to jerk itself slowly to the side, but it happened gradually enough that I was able to power through the weak attack and cast my spell. "Land of all lives, suppress all rebels! Immobilize!" Grue and his mount suddenly stopped, all forward momentum completely disappearing. Black smoke started pouring from him, but in slow motion it wasn't much of a threat. I was upon him in seconds, quickly casting the Sleep spell that was part of my secondary list of abilities to put him into a deep, dreamless slumber. I had used it on my dad several times to help him with his insomnia, so I knew that it would take hours before he would wake normally.
By now Ren-Faire was on the roof. As I ran toward him he sped up from grass-growing to paint drying as Slowja ran out. Thankfully, I still had Haste cast. I started to cast Sleep on the last member of the Undersiders when I felt my shoulder painfully wrench itself down, interrupting my spell. I frowned, teleporting behind him and attempting once more to place him into an enchanted slumber when I saw his head finish turning toward me. My hand cramped just as I was finishing, ruining my work. Fuck! He has some ability to track me, and he can cause my body to move at just the wrong time, cancelling my spells before they can be cast!
Fuck. This. It was time to cheat. I Paused, returning to the Job menu. This time I selected one of the more physical of my skillsets, one that didn't need time and fancy hand-waving to work. I chose Time Mage for my secondary skillset this time, as those spells were ungodly useful, and I didn't want to be without them if I could help it. The primary avatar I picked this time had callused knuckles and bare arms, and was perfect for the situation I had found myself in. I hadn't been terribly impressed by this skillset at first, but after obtaining several of the skills I had been forced to admit that these powers could definitely come in handy. Monk was a simple, yet effective skillset.
Time resumed. Still under the aegis of Haste, I darted at Ren-Faire, his eyes slowly going wide. Still several feet away, I launched my fist toward him, causing a ball of blue energy to fly out of it toward him at supersonic speeds. He had no time to react, even as my Haste buff failed, and he was struck. Ren-Faire was thrown from his mount, vulgarities spilling from his lips as he caught the rooftop back-first, skipping twice like a flat stone over water before coming to a stop. He didn't get up.
. . .
A few minutes later I had finished securing my four captives, all of them bound hand and foot with high strength nylon rope that I had purchased and stored in my inventory for just such a purpose. I had also placed loose burlap hoods over their respective headgears to prevent the captive Parahumans from using their powers on me. None of the teenaged villains was a Brute as far as I knew, and the battle bore that supposition out, so I left the steel manacles alone for the moments. I had also cast another group Sleep spell on them, which should keep them out for the next couple of hours.
Gure wouldn't suffer from his double-exposure to the spell; the effects of Sleep thankfully didn't stack, so the second application basically reset the timer on his journey to dreamland. He would end up waking at around the same time as the others. The three dogs, which were likewise sleeping under the influence of my power, had shrugged off their monstrous features and returned to their regular size. I looked at the piles of meat and chitin that the dogs had sloughed off, my nose upturned in distaste. They were simply crawling with insects. What a disgusting ability.
I figured that the PRT or Protectorate would be along shortly; I had found used one of the burner phones I purchased and stored in my inventory to alert them after I finished defeating and securing the Undersiders. Sure enough, I heard an engine whine in the distance, and before I could worry too much Armsmaster himself was dismounting his Tinker-tech motorcycle and approaching me carefully, his pole-arm drawn. I had moved myself and my captives to the alley-way where I killed Lung and defeated a score of his men, my captives laid out near the dragon-man's body. Large pieces of ice were still everywhere, the magically created substance refusing to melt in the cold weather.
In preparation for this meeting, I had changed into the "Primary" costume I wanted to be recognized by, at least at this point in time. It was the most protective equipment I had obtained from the Other World so far, and I had to change Jobs to Knight to equip it. I had on a set of what my Inventory called "Gold Armor", as well as a matching "Gold Helmet"; they weren't made of gold by any means, being silvery armor that was much heavier than the Mithril plate I had traded up from, strewn with real gold accents. The detail on the armor was amazing, and the quality superb. Just wearing it made me feel more powerful. It also weighed close to fifty pounds altogether; I had to switch jobs to Knight to wear heavy armor comfortably without straining, as that particular job granted me increased strength, resiliency, and endurance.
I could probably sell the beautiful set of armor for a staggering amount of money in the Real World, but I figured that it would do me much more good protecting me from harm. Items from the Other World had a strange but beneficial interaction with my power, increasing my abilities in various ways when I wore them. Under the helmet I wore a supremely powerful item, which was simply called a "Ribbon". It was the single most useful wearable item I had yet found; it allowed me to ignore anything that could be considered a "status effect", which could evidently include the effects of many cape powers. My power had stuttered, the world blurring and pixelating madly, when I had first placed it on my head underneath my helmet, but my power stabilized afterward, and I was able to get the benefits of both. My silly power still wouldn't let me "equip" them both automatically, but if I placed the ribbon manually after equipping the armor it worked. Crazy power... as if wearing a small hair ribbon would actually preclude me from putting anything else on my head.
Armsmaster approached, his blue and silver armored form moving carefully as he assessed the situation. He was perhaps a dozen feet away when he stopped. I could see the Protectorate hero eyeing the sword sheathed on my hip carefully; I'll bet he would be more wary if he could see the gleaming red blade of the Blood Sword I wore. My left arm had a "Golden Shield" which matched my armor and helmet strapped tightly to it. I knew that my own armor make me look impressive, in a "knights of old" kind of way, but to my eye Armsmaster's Tinker-tech armor and weapon was amazing. The thought that any armor was vulnerable to my Knight abilities hung in my forebrain. If he decided to get aggressive he would be in for a surprise.
"You going to fight me?" asked the leader of the Protectorate East-North East, his signature weapon held at the ready.
"Of course not," I replied, "I'm a hero. I'm the one that called you down here." If I wanted to fight, you would know it. He relaxed almost imperceptibly.
"I haven't seen you out before. Recent trigger, or transfer?"
"I'm new. You can call me... Ivalice." It had been one of the top names on my list, but it just felt right. Ivalice was the name of the Other World.
"Ivalice," said the Tinker, as if tasting the word. "Do you mind explaining why Lung is dead, and why you have a group of unconscious capes tied up next to his body?" He paused, staring at me eerily. "Be careful with your answer," he warned, "This conversation is continually being recorded to an offsite location." His words, delivered in a veritable monotone, made my stomach clench and my heart turn to ice.
"I was out on patrol, for the first time, when I came upon Lung and his men, gathered in this alley. I was up there," I explained, pointing, "On that rooftop. I heard Lung say that he was going to murder some children." I was angry now, so angry…
I continued, though I knew I shouldn't. I was practically confessing to the gang leader's murder. I absolutely had to get this out, though, to explain my side of the story. "I wasn't about to let that happen, to let him get away with that. So I used one of my stronger powers to attack him preemptively." Armsmaster continued to stare at me, unmoving. I couldn't stop myself, I had to make him understand.
I chuckled, then, a dry, unhappy thing that was barely related to a real laugh. "I've heard about him, you know? The great Lung. How he's practically invincible, able to defeat entire teams of capes, all at the same time. How he made an Endbringer retreat singlehandedly at Kyushu. So I cast Blizzaga on him, and of the men with him. I made sure that none of the regular gang members got hit by any of the larger pieces of ice, not anywhere critical, but I didn't hold back on Lung. Why would I? He's Lung."
My mouth was dry, my tongue like a rock. I kept talking. "I was ready to throw more at him, too, when I saw him down there. Not moving. I honestly didn't expect to win against him. I even had the thought that I might die if I was really unlucky… but that's not what happened, is it?" I felt contemptible, stupid. "I just want to be a hero." I knew that my power was really strong, that I could do a lot of damage. Why didn't I hold back, maybe cast a weaker spell?
"A what about the Undersiders?" he asked. A long tear leaked from my left eye, trailing down my cheek under my golden helmet.
"They showed up just after I healed Lung's henchmen. Some of them were pretty bad off, and I didn't want to kill anyone else tonight. I used Curaga on the lot of them, and as soon as they were better they all ran away. Not a single one of those assholes even tried to help their boss. The Undersiders were there when I looked up from the alley, and I recognized them from PHO. I thought… maybe if I can bring in four live villains…" I paused, looking at him, more tears coming out, now. My voice hitched. "Maybe then, it wouldn't be as bad that Lung was dead. I wanted something good to come out of this night. So I caught them, then called the PRT."
Armsmaster had moved close to me while I was talking, his halberd now folded up and slung across his back. I was barely looking at him, my head hung down toward the ground. I started as he placed his gauntleted hand on my shoulder. "That's why we have the Wards program. So that young parahumans like you can learn how to use your powers in a safe environment. Have you ever considered joining?" His voice was softer than before. Isn't he going to arrest me now?
I looked up at him. "I thought about it a lot. I want to join, but I don't want any more teen drama. My school life… isn't… good. And the last thing I need is to be the low man on the totem pole in a group of teenagers. I thought that if I could prove myself out here, that maybe I could join on better terms."
"I understand." he said gruffly. "It's not widely known, but I was part of the first team of wards. It was there that I really learned how to use my powers. How to be a hero, and work with a team. The wards program is definitely not perfect, but it's far better than what's in store for you out here on your own."
His hand lifted from my shoulder, and he backed up two steps. He spoke, his voice no longer soft, yet not as harsh or toneless as when he first arrived. "This is what's going to happen now, Ivalice. I am not going to arrest you, but you are going to come with me to The Rig--that's the protectorate base on the bay--to make a statement. I want you to talk to a few people, and then we will discuss your options."
I nodded at Armsmaster, and he continued. "Honestly, with Lung dead and his men free to spread the story of what happened, this whole situation is going to explode." He snorted at his own words for some reason. "But. If we work quickly, and get you into the Wards, I think we might be able to keep the other two capes in the ABB from retaliating against you too harshly."
"Wait," I said slowly, "Two capes? I thought that they only had Lung and Oni Lee, the teleporter." I frowned.
"They have a new cape, a Tinker called Bakuda. Do you know what a Tinker is, Ivalice?" asked the hero.
"Yeah, a Parahuman who can build things that are years ahead of the current tech level." I said, "Like you."
"Correct."replied Armsmaster, "But what you might not know, is that each Tinker has a specialty, a type of technology where they are singularly gifted. Mine is miniaturization. Bakuda's is explosives."
A chill went down my spine at the thought of what a Parahumans who could make super-science explosives might be able to do. It was regular men who built the atomic bomb, after all. I swallowed before speaking. "That's terrifying." I said. "How would the Wards program be able to protect me from being hit with a bomb? I would think that having people backing me up would just give this Bakuda more targets."
"There's a reason why government and rule of law still stands, even when the ratio of heroes to villains is worse than three to one." I hadn't realized that it was that bad. The Protectorate Tinker continued, "When a parahuman commits certain types of crimes, such as mass murder, rape, or killing heroes," he paused, "especially Wards, their life is made legally forfeit. Something called a "Kill Order" is signed, and thereafter there is no penalty for their murder. If fact, whoever sees them dead is given a bounty."
"And if Bakuda killed me now, it would just be a villain 'getting even' against the independant who killed her boss…" I said, thinking it through as I spoke. "But if I joined the Wards, and she still targeted me, then if she succeeded her life wouldn't be worth a red cent."
"Yes." said the power armored cape.
All things considered, joining the Wards had to be better than going it on my own. And it was definitely better than being arrested for murder, like I thought I might happen. I doubted that any of the kids in the Wards would be too objectionable; they were heroes after all. And it's not like Bakuda would be stupid enough to specifically target a hero or go on a rampage because of Lung's death.
"Let's go." I said.
Kolarthecool
Hiding from the light of day.
- Location
- Calgary, Canada.
Oh wow that is OP, FFTs ability to change classes at any time is definitely a high tier ability for wormverse and thats just with the basic classes at level 1. Seeing as she has Time Mage and Knight Taylor probably has some high levels in Soldier and the Mage classes.
Definitely watching this.
Definitely watching this.
- Location
- United States
Great to see another attempt at applying Final Fantasy powers to Worm. Not too familiar with the classes for Tactics (never had a PSP) but the various spells are well used IMO. Essentially Taylor is a slightly less bullshit trump than Eidolon.
Definitely watched and looking forward to how you handle the character interactions since your fight scenes are good. Especially since the initial meeting with Piggot and the Shadow Stalker situation is a land mine for most stories.
Definitely watched and looking forward to how you handle the character interactions since your fight scenes are good. Especially since the initial meeting with Piggot and the Shadow Stalker situation is a land mine for most stories.
- Location
- Tokyo, Japan
Huh, so Taylor has access to the World of Ivalice. So she can go to and back between the two worlds at will?
Also, from what timeline in Ivalice does she 'hail' from? A time of peace, or war? Sounds like she hasn't been in the meat grinder that is FFT, though...
Also, from what timeline in Ivalice does she 'hail' from? A time of peace, or war? Sounds like she hasn't been in the meat grinder that is FFT, though...
Taylor its stupid as hell to go to the rig, you might as well hand all your items over. I see she is still in the throes of being a 'hero'.
Like it. She's gonna be forced to sign up, anyone good enough to kill the lizard wont be allowed to go free.
Liking this sounds interesting as hell.
Like it. She's gonna be forced to sign up, anyone good enough to kill the lizard wont be allowed to go free.
Liking this sounds interesting as hell.
- Location
- United States
Not having a conflict ball stuck in her head really helps, doesn't it? Also having levels in Orator doesn't hurt.
- Location
- Philippines
Not having a conflict ball stuck in her head really helps, doesn't it? Also having levels in Orator doesn't hurt.
I wasn't really all that familiar with FF tactics but I googled it. And IMO, a Taylor with social-fu mastery is always interesting~
Yawn. Another boring Alt!Power Taylor which starts with the Lung fight. And she's got some incredibly Overpowered abilities that lets her murder Lung, the Challenger of Leviathan, an Endbringer from the Get Go. And she's a healer and everything. More useful and powerful than the Triumvirate out the door. Wow. Never seen that before! (Sarcasm)
Jesus fucking christ, it can't be that difficult to do something original, can it?
Replace Taylor with a damn OC or, hell, Theo Anders? That'd be interesting to read. There's like, 63 Fics here on how Taylor gets an incredibly overpowered and unstoppable Superpower, and the first chapter depicts her fighting/trashing/killing/overpowering Lung.
Why is she even out there fighting Lung? I mean, what the hell? She's literally one of the most important people to live what with her healing abilities. She shouldn't logically be in that streetcorner when she can be revered and loved as another Miracleworker.
Railroading. No creativity. Boring.
It doesn't matter if the grammar is fine and the writing is 'exciting', it's like... This and the 'locker scene' with Taylor as the Main Character tells me a lot of bad things from the very start. Maybe it'll work out, cause dealing with the Undersiders from the beginning is a very different take on things.
I'll wait and see. It was well-written, don't doubt that, but when I even see Armsmaster doing the ridicilous 'You gonna fight me' introduction (For the 67th time, get real man) when the character doesn't look like an evil villain it takes the cake. Or how you're overplaying his seemingly social incompetence.
He's not dysfunctional. He's not socially challenged. Armsmaster doesn't have autism. I remember one fic I read, which depicted Colin as a not really slick or charismatic fellow, but a leader whom really sold the 'You should join the Protectorate, man. As the leader of the local branch, I've got to say it's a pretty swell deal' pretty well. (Cause he'd no doubt have coached himself in the whole recruitment spiel, when it comes to Parahumans. Cause coming off as a socially stilted moron and general retarded pumpkin is a bad idea).
I mean, especially as well... Lung might've been a splattered corpse (kinda gruesome), but the 'obviously heroic looking' fellow with four Cosplayers bound together allows a child to draw the right conclusions.
Jesus fucking christ, it can't be that difficult to do something original, can it?
Replace Taylor with a damn OC or, hell, Theo Anders? That'd be interesting to read. There's like, 63 Fics here on how Taylor gets an incredibly overpowered and unstoppable Superpower, and the first chapter depicts her fighting/trashing/killing/overpowering Lung.
Why is she even out there fighting Lung? I mean, what the hell? She's literally one of the most important people to live what with her healing abilities. She shouldn't logically be in that streetcorner when she can be revered and loved as another Miracleworker.
Railroading. No creativity. Boring.
It doesn't matter if the grammar is fine and the writing is 'exciting', it's like... This and the 'locker scene' with Taylor as the Main Character tells me a lot of bad things from the very start. Maybe it'll work out, cause dealing with the Undersiders from the beginning is a very different take on things.
I'll wait and see. It was well-written, don't doubt that, but when I even see Armsmaster doing the ridicilous 'You gonna fight me' introduction (For the 67th time, get real man) when the character doesn't look like an evil villain it takes the cake. Or how you're overplaying his seemingly social incompetence.
He's not dysfunctional. He's not socially challenged. Armsmaster doesn't have autism. I remember one fic I read, which depicted Colin as a not really slick or charismatic fellow, but a leader whom really sold the 'You should join the Protectorate, man. As the leader of the local branch, I've got to say it's a pretty swell deal' pretty well. (Cause he'd no doubt have coached himself in the whole recruitment spiel, when it comes to Parahumans. Cause coming off as a socially stilted moron and general retarded pumpkin is a bad idea).
I mean, especially as well... Lung might've been a splattered corpse (kinda gruesome), but the 'obviously heroic looking' fellow with four Cosplayers bound together allows a child to draw the right conclusions.
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- Location
- Philippines
I kind of agree with the idea of messiah!Taylor... But then again, with Panacea there, she might be downplayed.
As for Armsmaster, I don't think he acted incompetent at all. He was being cautious. Lung's corpse was right there. The Undersiders being tied up doesn't automatically make her look like a hero. (Villains also fight each other, remember?)
And even if Taylor didn't look like a Villain, there are other capes out there that don't look the part either. (like maybe Purity?)
No reason to lower your guard. With his lie detector, it was the best way to confirm her hostility.
And what Dysfunctional? He actually gave a good reason for Taylor to join the wards. (Teaching her not to kill, and keeping her from unintentional murder)
Sure, you make a good point. Yet, it's so nauseatingly common to see Armsmaster's "Are you going to fight me?" in every fucking iteration there is of the Lung fight. Ugh. After the first 5 times it becomes a 'tad much. After 20 it's starting to get somewhat silly. After 50 times of seeing that exact line pointed at Taylor after she 'destroyed' Lung in some 'original' fashion, it ends up getting really frikkin' irritating. Pet Peeve tweaked incessantly.
A simple "What happened here?" would've been absolutely wonderful.
A simple "What happened here?" would've been absolutely wonderful.
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- Location
- Philippines
Lol, I get what you mean but I always give fics like this some leeway during the beginning. I know it gets old but the crossing familiar ground to get the divergence point makes me think.
"Oh, another fresh start." Kind of comfortable feeling.
"Are you going to fight me?" Remains common because it makes sense.
Think of it in police terms. Every time they pull you over, their very first question is "Do you have any weapons in the car?" This is to let them know what kind of traffic stop it's going to be. If you point out a gun (especially if it's with your registration papers), they're not going to get too twitchy when you inadvertently get close to it while getting out your stuff. If, on the other hand, you say no and they see a gun, you are going to be dragged out of your car and handcuffed at the very least.
For a Parahuman though, they're always armed. They literally cannot be unarmed. So the question is not "Do you have?" but "Are you going to use?" If they say no, then you can deal with things as they come. If they say yes or refuse to answer though, you have to assume that they're hostile and work from that because most people don't flat-out lie the first time when asked a direct question. And if they say they don't want to fight you, but then you (in Taylor's case) start seeing swarms gathering (or some other manifestation of power) you can then immediately start dealing with it as a hostile situation, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
TL;DR: It's something that I would consider a standard procedure, so it just makes sense.
Now, Taylor always fighting Lung on her first night out...
- Location
- Philippines
There should be a snip where Lung spontaneously obtains meta-knowledge and remember each and every encounter he had with that ever changing cape one night. As in, all the fanfics where Lung always gets the first beat down from Taylor.
- Location
- va
well if the undersiders get taken in Coil gets to play mysterious boss and prove there's no where they can hide from him if he breaks them out of jail
Wobulator
Within 1 AU of you!
- Location
- Mars
- Pronouns
- She/Her
This certainly looks interesting. I hope you nerf Taylor somehow, because as she is now, very, very few capes would be able to fight her. Maybe put a time limit on her powers?
It's always nice to see a reasonable Armsmaster and Taylor encounter- so, so many authors caricaturize Armsmaster into an asocial glory-seeking asshole, and it's nice to see a fic that does otherwise.
It's always nice to see a reasonable Armsmaster and Taylor encounter- so, so many authors caricaturize Armsmaster into an asocial glory-seeking asshole, and it's nice to see a fic that does otherwise.
- Location
- Tokyo, Japan
I hope Taylor doesn't get nerfed; if only for the sole reason of understanding that the FFT template is a sure way to cause problems and it can spread, as far as I know.
That said, I hope Taylor can teach those willing to learn the Job System; as I can understand, that was a thing in Ivalice, why can it be not in Earth Bet?
A Grue with Knight training? A Bitch with Thief training, or even Chemist training. A Regent with Orator training? Imagination goes limitless!
That said, I hope Taylor can teach those willing to learn the Job System; as I can understand, that was a thing in Ivalice, why can it be not in Earth Bet?
A Grue with Knight training? A Bitch with Thief training, or even Chemist training. A Regent with Orator training? Imagination goes limitless!
BlackoutSampler
So Easily Forgotten
Horray for Final Fantasy Tactics. I do hope we get to see some of the more low-key but still OP as fuck abilities that Taylor has on her... although I don't see her trying to level up Dancer any time soon, even though it would be one of her best non-lethal takedown abilities she has.
While a part of me is glad she isn't minmaxing the job/ability system to the degree it has been over time, I still was sorta expecting a Math Hight5 Holy/Flare/Stop when she pulled out the Black Mage job. The wacky combinations she could pull are going to be absolutely amazing. I keep imagining stuff like a Hamedo/Fly/Mediator Taylor with a uzi going full gun kata on everyone who even thinks of shooting her.
Still, Taylor is probably going to get a lot of use out of the normally niche Jobs like Oracle/Mystic, Mediator, Dancer, and Theif, since as a hero she will be aiming for non-lethal. Maybe she should look into grabbing the Nagarock.
While a part of me is glad she isn't minmaxing the job/ability system to the degree it has been over time, I still was sorta expecting a Math Hight5 Holy/Flare/Stop when she pulled out the Black Mage job. The wacky combinations she could pull are going to be absolutely amazing. I keep imagining stuff like a Hamedo/Fly/Mediator Taylor with a uzi going full gun kata on everyone who even thinks of shooting her.
Still, Taylor is probably going to get a lot of use out of the normally niche Jobs like Oracle/Mystic, Mediator, Dancer, and Theif, since as a hero she will be aiming for non-lethal. Maybe she should look into grabbing the Nagarock.
- Location
- Argentina
The most broken thing she did, in my opinion, is pausing. PAUSING. Effectively, she is a turn-based character in a real-time world. Just being able to take her time to think about all possible solutions to any problem should give her a high thinker ranking.
I love it.
I love it.