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Flames (Worm AU)

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kamkong said:
While you are correct in that gaining all the Flame Types would be OP, an interesting idea would be that gaining Sky Flames would cause Taylor to lose the overall power of her other ones. Taylor does all this training and tactics that build up as she gains new abilities, and then she gets the final one, and everything comes crashing down as all previous Flames are nerfed. Sky Flames operate differently from the other types, so if Taylor was left with only them, all of her solo tactics would have to be reworked to utilize her lieutenants instead.
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The problem with this is that...well, Sky Flames are, by nature, designed to harmonize with all of the other flames. So if Taylor has access to the Sky Flames, then the biggest difficulty would be learning how to combine the flames she possesses with the Sky Flame. But that would still be mitigated by the fact that Sky Flames are kind of broken by nature due to the harmonization effect.

If anything getting Sky Flames will do nothing but augment her powers to the point where all of her Flames will be tinged with the Sky attribute and she'll be able to combine all of her flame properties into a huge fuck-you attack.
 
kokuenDG said:
The problem with this is that...well, Sky Flames are, by nature, designed to harmonize with all of the other flames.
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Yes. Harmonize. Not use. What I was sort of thinking is that the the other six flames combine into Sky Flames in a homogeneous manner, wherein once Taylor has Sky Flames, she vastly looses the ability to produce other Flame types (Sky wants to be Sky). The other idea I had was that upon gaining Sky Flames, her other Flame types are spread out amongst those she has formed bonds with, either powering up abilities they have or granting abilities where there were none.
 
Fencer said:
hey guys did a reread just trying to get myself back in the mental place to work on this again and I've got a few concerns. mostly it boils down to option paralysis.

Taylor as she is now is a power house. the amount of power she has to throw around before exhausting her flames is growing with practice and she's starting to mix and match for better effects. Basically she's a badass. the original plan was to keep adding flame types until she had the whole set and they merged into sky flames. at which point she might as well be Eidolon with a time limit. that's seriously seriously OP. I'm not a huge fan of power wankery but that's almost what it would have to be. More than that the way I'm building her power she gets a new flame as she starts to work out new convictions basically. I can make that work but the power build up for that is a long haul. A really long haul. I'm almost worried that I'd get to the end of the fic and not have managed to engineer situations to trigger them all. never mind the time and effort to master them all. following along with that I planned to give her a few lieutenants that might or might not be KHR references

Alternatively part of me wants to cut it off before the power combos go completely ridiculous and just give her lieutenants to fill in the missing flame types. well discounting sky If I go that route there won't be a sky flame because Taylor is the boss period. I could either go back and edit out the lightning or let her keep that and just stop it there or.... I don't know. but then I'd likely base the rest of the lieutenants off of KHR characters. modified KHR characters but yeah the idea is there. ok not if I write out Taylor's lightning flame. None of the canon lightnings deserved to have lines, they were all stupid, and I hate them. I'd basically have to make an OC or have Taylor kill them out of annoyance hers, mine, whichever.

I'm really just looking for feedback here, do you guys want super OP Taylor kicks ass and laughs at the ineffectual mortals or do you want extra and thematic lieutenants to keep Taylor company? Or both I could actually do both pretty damn easily. Cuss I could go either way this. Which really makes me feel like my planning was flawed from the outset. Not surprising since I basically just jumped into this without planning, but then again I did the same with Archer and Using the Force made easy and those both developed just fine. So this failure is sorta stinging my pride here.
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Leave out Sun and Rain. They don't really fit Taylor.
Taylor uses all 100% of herself and others then drags out another 30% to finish the job with predictable fallout, Sun users go in at 110% do it then and there, recover, and go. Dragging out 30% more and suffering the long, miserable recovery from it is certainly something Sun users can do (they are actually uniquely suited to being able to do it), but that's more of a failure state for them, and it's far more likely to destroy them because they go in red-lining before they have to hit the nitrous.
Rain needs little to no explanation, Taylor has no calm. Tranquility just is not Taylor's game.
Taylor should get Sky, but she should struggle with mastery of it. Taylor is a boss, a manager, dare I say an administrator, and part of that is being able to balance, organize, and direct multiple disparate elements to serve a whole greater purpose, but in the same vein her life is a bit of a mess she struggles to put into order. Harmonization is something she is innately drawn towards, but simultaneously something she struggles with herself.
Lightning and Storm are Flames she should have fairly limited advancement in. Taylor is no stranger to aggressive destructive tendencies or stubborn protective stands, but she lacks the kind of directness needed to use them to their full potential as pure Flames. Doubtlessly she can and will make great use of their properties, but proportionately to her Sky, Mist, and Cloud Flames her Storm and Lightning should be significantly lesser in quantity and quality. No straight up disintegrating Weld or punching holes through Leviathan, she's just not that good.
Cloud and Mist are where Taylor really shines. They aren't as directly powerful as Sky Flames, but she takes to them like a fish to water. Making a solution to a problem and then burying the problem under a mountain of the solution has always been Taylor's greatest strength.
The real question though is, Earth Flames Undersiders when? Earth (gravitation) Grue, Desert (hallucination) Tattletale, Forest (realization) Bitch, Mountain (tuning) Regent, and maybe Glacier (freezing) Imp? I actually considered the attributes of all those Flames and their users (the underlying attributes not the manifestation of those attributes as tangible powers), but the Undersiders don't really have anybody fit for Swamp (fermentation) Flames. Fuck it, Amy. The shoe just fits in every way. When things inevitably go to shit within the unstable house of cards that calls itself New Wave Amy (also inevitably) runs away from her problems and gets picked up by Tattletale. Amy becomes the Canon Taylor substitute of Lisa and the Undersiders'.
 
Also, nothing stopping you from adding more detail from the crossover to give Taylor an additional challenge, or augmenting Zion and the Endbringers. Also Cauldron is a pile of lies and villainy that needs to get kicked. And the S9 are always more a psychological threat then anything. So go nuts, have fun, and write your story your way!
 
Enjoyed a reread and damn, I cannot wait for Leviathan to come to play. Shit is about to hit the fan in the best way. I really can't wait to see the Conspiracy rise. A perfect name for a gang consisting of flocks of Ravens.

And murders of Crows...

I like that Carol is being triggered so hard and treating Taylor like the new Marquis. And the good thing is that Amy wasn't horribly traumatized this time around, so in the end she might go to Taylor when Carol snaps and shit hits the fan. Because Carol is so going to treat Taylor like the new Marquis and probably trample all over the unwritten rules all over again.

I would love some Wards PoV and more detail on how Kaiser is viewing Taylor too. When things get real, the threat and danger of everything is going to be pretty fantastic. I could even see Purity, Theo, and Aster joining Morgana's conspiracy. Hell, even Night and Fog if they play it right. With the eventual threat of dealing with Coil in play, especially when Dinah's fate is revealed... fascinating stuff.

I look forward to the future of this story. And it'll be amazing once Taylor kills Leviathan. Because I really think its going to happen. With the Red Flame alone, shit is going to get real. I cannot wait to see how things go. Poor Noelle is probably going to get disintegrated though... as it is, the flames are going to be amazing as she grows them and expands her colorations.
 
Seems to be a very nice fic, only problem so far (chap. 4) seems to be her actively ignoring the threat of Endbringers to her future bolthole. Since a comfortable human population requries a even spread of a few thousand people, which will be frquently cut by endbringer attacks, so probably a few more.

Essentially she cannot have a single bolthole since a single bad trigger or endbringer attack, which are inevitable with time, will destroy it. Meaning she requires multiple separated boltholes of population. Zions defeat MIGHT remove the endbringers but would also lessens limits on powers and makes triggers even worse, you have to remember that triggers are all about the feelings of the triggered person and thus the suffering they experience is relative, thus a population that is not forcibly pliant and passive will cause triggers. A forced training regime of "skin thickening" and harmonic self inspection, ie. a forced discount buddhism on everyone, would reduce the number of triggers and direct the power types that do trigger.

If her goal is to simple live her life to it's end in comfort, her goals are far easier, but she seems to forget that men and women produce children, and thus her or her friends children will force her to plan foward. This problem of children forcing forward planning or amorality will continue until no more children are born, an initial stance of no kids will inevitably break when someone violates it, declines termination and then other couples complain or break it themselves.

TL;DR Plan to rebuild humanity or ruin the future of children.
 
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demonitter said:
Seems to be a very nice fic, only problem so far (chap. 4) seems to be her actively ignoring the threat of Endbringers to her future bolthole. Since a comfortable human population requries a even spread of a few thousand people, which will be frquently cut by endbringer attacks, so probably a few more.

Essentially she cannot have a single bolthole since a single bad trigger or endbringer attack, which are inevitable with time, will destroy it. Meaning she requires multiple separated boltholes of population. Zions defeat MIGHT remove the endbringers but would also lessens limits on powers and makes triggers even worse, you have to remember that triggers are all about the feelings of the triggered person and thus the suffering they experience is relative, thus a population that is not forcibly pliant and passive will cause triggers. A forced training regime of "skin thickening" and harmonic self inspection, ie. a forced discount buddhism on everyone, would reduce the number of triggers and direct the power types that do trigger.

If her goal is to simple live her life to it's end in comfort, her goals are far easier, but she seems to forget that men and women produce children, and thus her or her friends children will force her to plan foward. This problem of children forcing forward planning or amorality will continue until no more children are born, an initial stance of no kids will inevitably break when someone violates it, declines termination and then other couples complain or break it themselves.

TL;DR Plan to rebuild humanity or ruin the future of children.
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.... *rolled up newspaper of doom* ok first of all if Taylors plan goes off without a hitch she'll be forming her own town as nations collapse into tiny little nation states or rather nation cities ruled by warlords. Well that would be after a new world order settles but you get the idea. There would be plenty of people besides her people out there so breeding concerns are a bit premature. The Endbringers are a threat no one can deal with which is why her ideal outcome is to get to an alt earth. But baring that the best she can do is pray to stay unnoticed. If they do get to an alt Earth they either mingle with the natives or need to upscale the size of the settlement they are building neither of which is impossible by any means. Finally most powers are not city killers, not even town killers, and most fresh triggers are not mass murderers so don't treat the worst case trigger scenario like some kind of inevitable death to her ambitions which necessitates some kind of doomed social experiment.
 
So, I have an idea you might not like: The world doesn't end.

Hear me out.

Cauldron and Ziz have to have a different plan from canon, cuz, y'know, Taylor not being Skitter. Have GM go off on an entirely different world without involving her at all. Then Taylor has to evaluate her... everything really. The things she did, the conclusions she reached and the friends and enemies she made, where they all worth it? Even if she ended up being wrong? Does she keep going? Can she afford to stop? How did she end up in a relationship with Grue's sister?

Ahem. Maybe ignore that last bit...
 
Fencer said:
.... *rolled up newspaper of doom* ok first of all if Taylors plan goes off without a hitch she'll be forming her own town as nations collapse into tiny little nation states or rather nation cities ruled by warlords. Well that would be after a new world order settles but you get the idea. There would be plenty of people besides her people out there so breeding concerns are a bit premature. The Endbringers are a threat no one can deal with which is why her ideal outcome is to get to an alt earth. But baring that the best she can do is pray to stay unnoticed. If they do get to an alt Earth they either mingle with the natives or need to upscale the size of the settlement they are building neither of which is impossible by any means. Finally most powers are not city killers, not even town killers, and most fresh triggers are not mass murderers so don't treat the worst case trigger scenario like some kind of inevitable death to her ambitions which necessitates some kind of doomed social experiment.
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Which is all well and good until Ziz portals in like Abridgeducard.


But I don't think the details of Madison, Wisconsin were ever made known. That'll really wrench her plans though if she ever learns the true significance of the Travelers' name.
 
Formerly said:
Which is all well and good until Ziz portals in like Abridgeducard.


But I don't think the details of Madison, Wisconsin were ever made known. That'll really wrench her plans though if she ever learns the true significance of the Travelers' name.
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OK but that still comes down to the fact Taylor doesn't think anyone can really kill an Endbringer and the best plan available is to be lucky enough not to be the target. and as for Madison and Ziz skipping dimensions? she's never actually left bet at this point and the only reason she managed that was because she could hijack the original creator or his shard, or some equally bullshit excuse Wildbow cooked up just to make the winged bitch that much more of a pain in the ass. to the best of my knowledge that was the only time she showed any kind of dimensional tech and her other cross dimensional movements all used parahuman created portals.

Lotus Eater said:
So, I have an idea you might not like: The world doesn't end.

Hear me out.

Cauldron and Ziz have to have a different plan from canon, cuz, y'know, Taylor not being Skitter. Have GM go off on an entirely different world without involving her at all. Then Taylor has to evaluate her... everything really. The things she did, the conclusions she reached and the friends and enemies she made, where they all worth it? Even if she ended up being wrong? Does she keep going? Can she afford to stop? How did she end up in a relationship with Grue's sister?

Ahem. Maybe ignore that last bit...
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That's an interesting thought. but even should Scion be dealt with off world that would likely leave some pretty crazy power vacuums unless cauldron manages it without any capes from earth bet. and even then the planet is still highly destabilized and the Endbringers still need to be considered. Not an unsalvageable mess if the great big un-killable shits are off the board but still prone to becoming chaotic and messy for quite some time. It's certainly an interesting thought though.
 
Fencer said:
OK but that still comes down to the fact Taylor doesn't think anyone can really kill an Endbringer and the best plan available is to be lucky enough not to be the target. and as for Madison and Ziz skipping dimensions? she's never actually left bet at this point and the only reason she managed that was because she could hijack the original creator or his shard, or some equally bullshit excuse Wildbow cooked up just to make the winged bitch that much more of a pain in the ass. to the best of my knowledge that was the only time she showed any kind of dimensional tech and her other cross dimensional movements all used parahuman created portals.


That's an interesting thought. but even should Scion be dealt with off world that would likely leave some pretty crazy power vacuums unless cauldron manages it without any capes from earth bet. and even then the planet is still highly destabilized and the Endbringers still need to be considered. Not an unsalvageable mess if the great big un-killable shits are off the board but still prone to becoming chaotic and messy for quite some time. It's certainly an interesting thought though.
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GM not being a thing would be nice. Maybe somewhere/when along the line before the story behind the scenes Cauldron got a visit from a man in a silly checkered mask and they abused Tri-Ni-Sette bullshit to launch a surprise attack on Scion's real body. After crippling his higher thought functions Scion is exactly what people think he is, a guy with so much power it cost him his mind. Saving cats out of a tree instead of extinguishing a wildfire 20 miles away. The Tri-Ni-Sette (and possibly Earth Flames) contaminating the Scion Shard Hub would also explain how Taylor and people got Dying Will Flame powers without needing a Dying Will mode or ring.
 
Personally, I like OP Taylor with the drama concerning character development, and protecting her own with ruthless intent.

Whichever way you go, though, just remember that Taylor is a Creative, Min-Maxing, She-Devil. She can break things with the smallest of powers.

Keep that Insane Creativity, and it will be Fantastic! 😋🍿
 
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Ch. 15
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    • AN: Well it's still alive, in spite of all the time I've spent away from it. Sorry about that everyone. Risks of reading stuff written by someone as ADD as I am. Hopefully this will also mark the end of my recent writer's block and all my stories will start updating again. Though given how much time I spent just looking at the screen I'm not sure I'm actually past the worst of it yet.

    "This is nice." I commented idly as I slowly walked down the street with Rain at my side. "Beautiful day, decent company, nothing to really stress about, just a relaxing walk through the city."

    "Yeah, sure, but why are we in costume?"

    "I thought I told you already?"

    "No. You just called me up and said to meet you and bring my costume."

    "Oh right. I didn't want to give you a chance to object." Rain's groan caused my smirk to grow ever so slightly. "We're in costume because we want people to know you exist and that you've already picked a side. You said you didn't want to steal stuff so we're not. Congratulations, short of a PRT press conference this may be the most peaceful debut possible."

    "Seriously? That's what this is about? Couldn't you have just bragged about it on PHO?"

    "I will later, just to rub their faces in it. But they wouldn't have any reason to believe me if people didn't see us out and about first."

    "This is a terrible idea."

    "Come on Rain, trust me. We'll be fine." I waved lazily at a teen shooting video of us on their phone. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeves to keep us ahead of any trouble."

    I pulsed out a thin screen of indigo fire and anchored it to myself. With a mental twist I'd spent the past few days mastering the effect took hold. The amateur photographer's mouth dropped and he looked around frantically.

    "Anyone more than four feet away can't see or hear us anymore. I'll drop and raise the effect every now and then keep people guessing where we are and where we're going."

    Rain gave me a look before giving in with a sigh.

    "Your powers are completely unfair. You know that, right?"

    "Mmm, and if ever there comes a day I stop trying to find new ways to cheat with them it's your job to remind me not to get lazy."

    "Any suggestions for my power, oh creative one?" He asked with good humor.

    "Well… you said your attacks start to lose power when they leave your rain, ever tried it during an actual rain storm?"

    "... No, I haven't. We've only had that one little shower though since I got my powers I'll have to test it the next time we get a real storm."

    "What about your legal issues? They come through for you yet?"

    "Insurance companies are dragging their feet, but whatever Coil pulled has kept social services off my back so far."

    "That's good."

    He only hummed back and we walked in silence for about ten minutes. Then I dropped the invisibility and the two of us waved to passersby for a while before I put it back up.

    "We are going to need to watch our backs." I finally got around to the real reason I'd wanted to talk with him today.

    "You mean Coil?" Sharp boy. I felt bad that he was being thrown right into the deep end with me, but if he was this quick on the uptake… Well it certainly said good things for our chances.

    "Yes. Right now, our goals line up. He wants to control the city's organized crime and he believes he can direct us better than he could the Empire or the Merchants. And for now, he can. We don't have the experience or the knowledge to run a gang. We don't have the people or the support structure. Anything we set up is going to be ours in name only until we can get our bearings."

    Rain frowned, chewing that thought over. I could have finished the thought, but I wanted to see if he would put the rest together.

    "So once were established and have our own people running things… How much control will he really have?"

    "And how will someone willing to completely disregard the unwritten rules respond to losing control?"

    Rain hummed. "Good question, not sure I can guess the answer. You?"

    "No, not when I've only met him once. But between the fetish suit and the bond villain lair, never mind his plans for dealing with the Empire… I'm concerned."

    "Fair." He rubbed his chin. "So, what do you want to do about it?" There was a sharpness to his eyes that I was really starting to appreciate. Like the promise of gun smoke and knife blades. It made me grin. He might be new to all of this but he was adapting remarkably fast.

    "Nothing for now. We need him and he needs us. That won't change anytime soon. Just something I wanted you to keep in mind for now. Though we'll need to address it eventually."

    We walked in silence again for a time. I'd said my piece and now we really were only out and about for the reason I'd told him before. I wanted the whole bay to know I'd snagged the newest cape for myself. Letting the world know I was in fact recruiting could only be a good thing now. Though I might owe my fan club an apology considering how recently I'd turned them down.

    "Do you really think we can get away with outing the Empire?" Rain asked seemingly out of the blue. "You said that the rules being unwritten meant you could break them if you could get away with it. Do you really think we can?"

    "...I'm not sure we have much choice. It might be enough to shake the Empire loose, but it's a risky plan. They might not fall for our decoy, or they could just decide to lash out at everyone and go out in a blaze. Personally, I think it's stupid, but I'm not sure we could stop it without getting rid of the boss."

    "... Weren't we just talking about how it might come to that?"

    "Heh. Yeah, but he's not just our boss. The Undersiders and the Travelers answer to him too. They all have reasons to work for him, and if we got rid of him on a whim…"

    "Ah, right, they might not like that."

    "Exactly. You can't stage a mutiny when most of the ship is loyal to the Captain. Not if we want to survive the aftermath. We'll keep our eyes open, and play along for now. If we're lucky I'm worried for nothing and this is the start of a beautiful working relationship. And if I'm right… We'll deal with it when it becomes an issue."

    The glint was back in his eye again. "Fair enough, boss."

    {}{}{}{}

    I glared, perhaps a touch sullenly at the two people in front of me. "I went to a great deal of trouble figuring out how to make the two of us silent and invisible." I ground out. "So pray tell, how did you two manage to see through my illusion?"

    "Thermal." Kid win answered with a shrug.

    Of course. Figures my flames would put off heat even when I was using them to hide things… or did he mean that I'd forgotten to use my flames to mask our body heat? Something to look into and work on then. Later.

    "Kid, don't tell the villains how to better avoid us." Velocity said, rubbing at his forehead through his mask.

    "I'd have just asked Tattletale if he hadn't said anything." I absently replied while I formed a raven to go scouting. The last thing I needed was more heroes getting the drop on us. Both capes tensed as my bird took wing, but relaxed as the long illusion took flight and started circling outward.

    The silence was a touch uncomfortable and Rain for all that he was adapting quickly was visibly tense and playing with the handle of a knife on his belt. Mercifully he hadn't actually unsheathed it, yet.

    "Well, you boys found me… now what?" I asked flippantly.

    "Normally I'd say we bring you in, but you're not hurting anyone right this second, and I'm not sure how much luck we would have... So, let's talk." Velocity's grin had a few more teeth behind it than I liked, but if he wanted to try and stall for time until backup arrived, I could humor him for a few minutes.

    "Well it's not like Rain or I have anywhere pressing to be. I suppose we could spare a few moments to chat. How's Miss Militia doing? Last time I spoke to her she seemed rather shaken up about something."

    Velocity twitched but Kid Win only seemed confused. I guess they were choosing to keep my little theory from the Wards.

    "She's fine. Whatever might be on her mind I'm sure she'll get over it in no time. Who's your new friend, and why are you out without the rest of the Undersiders?"

    I canted my head to the side and debated how to respond. On the one hand the Undersiders and I hadn't completely separated just yet. On the other, things were rapidly heading that way. It was usually best to make a break on one's own terms. Besides, I'm sure Lisa would still be more than happy to chat from time to time.

    "Oh, you know how it is." I said with a shrug. "Big man in power can't quite deal with a confident, powerful woman with her own ideas. Then along came Rain looking for some advice I was only too happy to give. Since he didn't seem thrilled about playing thief, I decided to keep him for myself."

    "And you're just ok with her keeping you?" Kid Win broke in.

    Rain shrugged back. "She made me a pretty sweet offer. My choice of jobs, decent pay, a retirement plan…" My lips quirked up at the not so subtle reference to my long term goals. "Besides, she's the type to take care of what's hers, don't you think?"

    Were he shorter than me I'd have felt inclined to pat him on the head. Instead I settled for smiling cheekily at the heroes.

    "Of course." Velocity deadpanned back. "I thought you weren't recruiting though."

    "Well I wasn't, but you don't turn away a gift horse even if it does arrive a bit early. Though any further recruiting will have to be minimal for now. The Empire are a touch testy at the moment. Any plans of my own can wait until they've calmed down. Though I suppose if any heroes were looking for a better employer, I could make an exception?"

    "You must be joking." Kid Win looked as if he had bitten into a particularly sour lemon.

    "Not at all, you all come with impressive prior experience, and I've certainly got a few things to offer the white hats don't." I grinned at Velocity. "Of course, the adults wouldn't have mentioned that to the Wards…"

    Kid Win glanced at Velocity who cut him off before he could begin with a gesture of his hand.

    "Don't you dare try poisoning the Wards with your personal issues."

    "Why not? One of your Wards poisoned me with hers." I countered silkily.

    "Damn it all, that has nothing to do with them!"

    "And my theory has everything to do with all of us."

    "And it's not going to matter once you're behind bars." He snarled.

    I scoffed. "If by some miracle you manage to catch me, I'll be all too happy to walk right back out through your revolving door."

    Rain snorted from beside me as I finally caught sight of what I'd been watching for; Armsmaster on his bike.

    "Well this has been lovely, but we'll be taking our leave now." I borrowed Grue's favorite trick and filled the street with thick Indigo mist. Placing a hand on Rain's shoulder I applied my new favorite application of flames and told Gravity to go play elsewhere for a while. Kid Win exited my smokescreen about the same time as Rain and I cleared the lip of the nearest building. I paused long enough to give him a wave and then we were well and truly on our way.

    {}{}{}{} Faultline's club, back room

    "You know I was pretty surprised when you called looking for a meeting." Faultline spoke with a professional, if casual, air. "Tattletale and I aren't exactly on speaking terms and you are a part of her team."

    "Eh," I leaned back fully into my plush seat on the other side of her desk, "I like Tattletale, but the Undersiders and I should be going our separate ways fairly soon."

    "Oh? I don't suppose you were looking to join my crew, are you?"

    "I'm afraid not. It's not that I haven't considered it, but I do have a life here in the Bay. I can't exactly get out of school every time you take a job out of town. Though I wouldn't be opposed to working with you from time to time if you ever needed an extra heavy hitter."

    Faultline hummed thoughtfully before pushing on. "If you're not here looking for work, what are you here for? Did you want to hire us for a job?"

    "Yes, though it's not your usual kind of work."

    "Go on."

    "I'm looking for out of town capes who need a change of scenery. People that might be willing to work for me. Your crew spends a lot of time out of town. I'm hoping you'll keep an ear to the ground and get the word out for me."

    "... You're setting up a gang."

    "Eh, it's early days yet. I'm just looking for lieutenants and muscle right now, laying a foundation so to speak. I'll give it some time to let the city settle first before I start rocking the boat by making my own play for power."

    Faultline hummed noncommittally. "Not a bad plan, but if you wait too long, they'll be entrenched and all the more likely to try stomping you out."

    I could only shrug. "Maybe so, but myself and one fresh trigger aren't enough to hold off that many capes. I need more backup. I'll just have to hope the Merchants and the PRT can bleed them of more people and resources in the meantime."

    "Hmm. Two grand up front, and ten for every potential recruit we find."

    "Pricy." I took a moment to think it over. I could afford that a few times without issue, and I'd only need a few more capes anyway. "Two grand up front, fine. Ten for every recruit you find, but only if they show up for an interview. And I'm certainly not going to pay if they show up and try some bullshit power play to take over what I'm building."

    Faultline dipped her head. "Reasonable."

    Standing we shook on it and I couldn't help but smile. This was a much better sort of business relationship than Coil's.

    {}{}{}{} Taylor's home

    "Hey, Dad." I called as I shut the front door behind me.

    "Hey, kiddo. You have a good day?"

    "Productive. I showed off Rain to the rest of the city, found out about a flaw in my latest trick I need to fix, mocked a couple of heroes, and hammered out a minor deal with Faultline's crew to try and recruit out of towners for me."

    Dad looked at me oddly before shaking his head.

    "Anything interesting happen today while I was busy?" I asked.

    "Merchants and the Empire got into a serious fight. Things escalated a lot farther than normal. The news is saying Mush and Krieg are both dead."

    I blinked and whipped around to give Dad my full attention. "The Merchants managed to kill Krieg? How?"

    "Squealer ran him over with a tank."

    I winced at the unpleasant mental image. "That's… That's just going to throw fuel on the fire." I wanted the Empire weakend, but we already had out of towners nosing around the edges. More blood in the water was not good for keeping them out. More than that, considering this made four capes the Empire had lost, this might just send them into a frenzy. Maybe not as bad as Bakuda's, but another all out gang war was a sad possibility.

    Dad poked me in the side and snapped me out of my thoughts.

    "Plot how best to take advantage of it later. It's time for dinner, so go wash up."

    "... Yeah, alright." It would keep for a bit. And for all that we were going our separate ways I was fairly sure I could still count on at least Lisa being friendly enough to talk to me. No point in going in circles guessing when she could feed me the important details first.
     
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    • So,been thinking about this since Taylor started thinking about a gang.

    Sine this Taylor is thinking ahead and planning for the end of the world, I assume she's going to want gang members that can defend her turf and be useful after they find their hideaway. Builders,mechanics, etc. A doctor or two, and oh god does she need a couple of non crazy type ex-military survivalists to run her fighters. Because she has the same problem Lung does right now, there's only one of her. Her people have to be able to defend themselves until she can get to the fight. Her gang is going to need a couple of lawyers as well. An accountant, to insure she's making money. A couple of people that can teach, because if she can't pass knowledge on to the next generation, her colony will crash and burn anyway.

    Something she might look at is the SCA. Any of their blacksmiths, and there are a few, that know how to mine ore, smelt and work steel would be worth their weight in Steel.

    Of course, the who she needs depends on just how bad she thinks it's going to get after the collapse. Are we talking Mad Max, with running cars and gasoline that somehow didn't go bad in the years since the collapse, or The Road, with zero literacy and cannibals running around?

    I hope, which ever she thinks it is going to be, that she's as intelligent about choosing gang-members as she has been about everything else so far.

    On the bright side, we may just see the first gang where members are chosen for something beyond believing in a failed regime or because the Rage master says so.

    I would expect a gang chosen for brains and skills to fuck up everyone else, even if not in the ways they expect.

    She's going to be the smallest gang in the city for a while, I fully expect her and her Conspiracy to fight smarter, not harder.
     
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