We're trying to avoid revealing any powers that can't be explained by 'skill thinker+'.
Headway/Nexus Quest 4 (Worm/Gamer-lite/Multicross/Dimensional Travel/One Piece/X-Men Evo)
mojtaba
nothing new going on here.
Do we want to be recognized for our heroics. I mean who doesn't but the question is what benefits will it bring us.
So we know that everyone in the prt will know we captured the merchants solo and so all of the gangs will know as well.
So the question is do we want the public to know about us and I think we should let them know we did it all by ourselves if we're ready to accept the fact that if there's a gang war between the ABB and the E88, some people will blame us. Or if a new gang from outside tries to fill the vacuum.
In any case I think we should just take the credit.
So we know that everyone in the prt will know we captured the merchants solo and so all of the gangs will know as well.
So the question is do we want the public to know about us and I think we should let them know we did it all by ourselves if we're ready to accept the fact that if there's a gang war between the ABB and the E88, some people will blame us. Or if a new gang from outside tries to fill the vacuum.
In any case I think we should just take the credit.
- Location
- Koszalin, Poland
<Facepalm> Take this as my 'brain fart' moment.
Anyway, in this case, it's not exactly a photo, but instead, she could do a recording and show her super sewing. I think this should do the trick. I think Dragon would accept this as evidence.
I would say this is mostly about building a legacy and becoming an inspiring icon. More fame means it's easier to do it. Pretty much become a bringer of hope to this universe. Taylor wants to be a hero, someone people look up to, so this is how it would happen.
Also if Taylor wants to consider this option, it may also mean some sponsorship contracts. Yes, Taylor isn't into this for money, but she could for example use it on some charities. Pretty much become someone like Mouse Protector in canon. An independent, that does her job, while using some earned money to help others.
I'm perfectly fine personally with the public fully knowing our main cape persona. As I mentioned before I feel like Earth-Bet needs someone who can truly bring a change, and show others it's possible. For anything more subtle the other cape persona will easily do the trick.
Anyway, I'm fine with sharing credit later on (if people suddenly start losing trust towards Protectorate), but this early on I think Taylor establishing herself as someone 'who gets shit done' is something I would go for. Also, I think if it motivates Protectorate in some ways to be more active? If you ask me? All the better. Sooner or later status quo of Brockton Bay would be disturbed, and pretending everything is all fine and dandy is something Taylor wouldn't want to deal with long term.
Also yes, I suspect some people will blame us in this case if it happens, but there are always people not happy with someone doing something, and it's impossible to make everyone happy. Also, Merchants were picked up here, because them going away means the lowest impact on the Brockton Bay cape scene. In canon, Merchants roamed a lot, and held territories (before Leviathan) mostly on a temporary basis, in the least desirable parts of the city, pretty much the 'scraps'. So most likely if something changes, it would be some smaller player, either from inside a city or someone from outside. But with how strongly established are E88 and ABB, this may not be a big issue, as it's not that likely.
Also as it is spoilered, I will keep it behind spoilers myself for now:
Nice reward. Especially as there is that WoG that his power with enough layers can topple back something as heavy as an Endbringer
This is a pretty underrated power. Yeah, it's kind of disgusting in use, but it's pretty much an additional source of armor. May come in handy against bigger opponents in One Piece world especially. The issue is having enough material to be able to use it in the first place. Especially if the material used here does affect overall durability. Including things like Seastone, etc. in the debris may make this more efficient
I wouldn't mind seeing this as an option.
Only if it starts getting lower, as some public trust is needed to keep things somewhat stable. Merchants in the end aren't that big of a deal to IMO affect things too much. Also, I believe this may motivate them to be more active, which for me is a plus.
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- Location
- Underground
When Taylor met Miss Militia she talked about wanting to work with them to help things. She was vague on what help she would provide. Well, this is a small example to demonstrate.
hm, I wonder if instead of being taught martial arts or something, Danny would instead be interested in being taught politics, economics, sociology, criminal justice, etc. (maybe some engineering for civil projects).
To help him run circles around local and state politicians to make things better. Maybe even make a run for office himself.
We really would need to register and screen our superhuman ability to teach (assuming it's there by then) to avoid comparisons to Teacher, though. We could try to avoid links between Danny and Factota, but I think that ship sailed when we set up with that firm to trade our treasure for Bet money.
hm, I wonder if instead of being taught martial arts or something, Danny would instead be interested in being taught politics, economics, sociology, criminal justice, etc. (maybe some engineering for civil projects).
To help him run circles around local and state politicians to make things better. Maybe even make a run for office himself.
We really would need to register and screen our superhuman ability to teach (assuming it's there by then) to avoid comparisons to Teacher, though. We could try to avoid links between Danny and Factota, but I think that ship sailed when we set up with that firm to trade our treasure for Bet money.
We didn't go to that meeting as Factota. And it was outside of BB. A high level Thinker could still find the connection probably, but I think it's unlikely for any of them to pay attention to such a minor event.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Mush's power combines amazingly with any devil fruit that generates material. Mush plus wax-wax fruit makes the wax-wax a logia ontop of all it's other advantages.
- Location
- Underground
Huh, ok. Remembered that differently.
Still, she already mentioned possible superhuman teaching to New Wave, right? They might believe her when she said there's no master component...might not. But the mere possibility, until it's formally proven otherwise, could make people suspicious of Factota and those she associates with publicly and are suddenly very skilled at things.
So if we do teach Danny or others skills in a way that others will notice, Factota either will need to be registered and that power proven safe, or the association with Factota will need to be secret. Though if the latter and people find out that screams 'master'/Teacher even more.
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Just to make sure we're on the same page my previous reply was about the treasure trading meeting we had with the lawyer in… Boston? For that one both Tay and Danny just had generic domino masks on.
2.24: First Stretch 8/Prelude to Baroque Works 4/Merchant Hunt Conclusion
A/N: Unsure if the players approved/voted to purchase zipties at any point in the quest(s) prior, so assume it's a very slight retcon if that's not the case. You will not lose additional Mahon USD as a result of this possible-retcon. This is half the reason I equivocated with 'and other misc. supplies' when you bought stuff at the hardware store.
2.24: First Stretch 8/Prelude to Baroque Works 4/Merchant Hunt Conclusion
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Friday, June 3, 1532
"Hey, not bad!" you give Usopp an appreciating nod as you glance over his work.
Usopp gives you a big old grin, wiping his goggles off with his undershirt. (It's been a bit chilly this morning - you were worried about a snowstorm hitting last night, but you only got a slight dusting at worst. Had to cover the tangerine trees, though.) "Aw, it's mostly the tools."
You shake your head. "Don't sell yourself short. Those are some clean cuts right there." He's in the process of building a new table for the lounge room - the current one only really big enough for six people, and there are eight people on the ship, so if everyone's eating, two people always have to stand or sit on the floor. "If you do want some feedback, though - that joint to your right - I think we can take another look at the weight distrib…"
And so you spend the morning making a new table. It's perhaps a small thing, a quality of life improvement for the Merry, but it feels nice to be making a concrete impact. Things on the Merry are quickly turning around, conveniences building on conveniences, safeties on safeties. You and Usopp finish assembling the table, Sanji offering you and him (mostly you, but you insist the sniper get something as well) some nice squid rice stew for a breakfast.
Table assembled, Usopp gives you a proud smile. "That was awesome! It's always been such a chore, just doing repairs around the ship I was barely qualified to even attempt, but this - awesome!" he repeats himself. His enthusiasm is contagious, and you find your mood lifted even after your tedious late night. "Look, Taylor, I gotta repay you. Not just because of using up the batteries-"
You're going to have to recharge it at home. Thank God Mahon-tech uses similar outlets as your homeworld's. In the long run, you'll likely need to find somewhere on Mahon to use as a base of operations, just to avoid raising suspicions with the power company and anyone who might be observing household power consumption. Right now, the power use isn't that much of an issue, but you're worried about setting a dangerous precedent.
"-but for letting me even use these beauties in the first place!"
You cringe a little. "Just go a bit easy on them in the future. It's… a bit difficult, in the long run, to recharge them all the time."
He looks a bit deflated, but he nods. "Aw. I guess I get it. Sorry, I went a bit overboard. There were just so many possibilities, and when one didn't work, I just went over to the next - anyway. I'll try to save their use for sure things in the future. Thank you," he says, sheepishly.
You wave him off. "My fault for not mentioning it sooner."
Usopp thinks for a moment, before a lightbulb goes off in his head. "Are you still interested in marksmanship training?"
Your grin is all the answer he needs.
–
"I just want to say, Taylor-" Usopp, shivering a bit from the cold, gives a despairing look at the school of flying fish (maybe half a foot long, nothing impressive enough to adjust Headway's shape changing rolodex) dropped on the deck. "-your power is so scary. I've said this before, but I need you to know, I really, really mean it."
He's not entirely wrong to feel that way, you guess. With a little under two hours of practice, you've gone from 'would be a Neanderthal tribe's most valuable player' to 'the best a human can possibly be at using a slingshot or other pre-archery thrown weapons'.
"It's not any more impressive than what you've already seen," you say, under your breath, abandoning the Swordfish Fishman form, glancing over at the pile. If you're going to kill it, you oughta eat it. "Thank you, by the way."
"You're welcome. And no, I should thank you for the existential crisis. I thought I was the crew sniper! Oh man, this is…"
You frown at him. "You're still better at me. You hit one of the fish at twice the distance I did."
"Yeah, but-" he freezes, an epiphany in his eyes. "Actually, this is a good thing!"
What.
"Yeah! Luffy can't ask me to go out onto Nightmare Island all the time if you become the crew sniper! This is a great developm-"
"Oh! Taylor!" Luffy shouts excitedly, emerging from the background. Usopp shrieks girlishly, and you have to fight to bite back what almost feels like a giggle. "You got us some meat!"
"Marksmanship training. Thank Usopp, not me."
Luffy nods eagerly, sharing a wide, toothy grin with both of you. "More fish is always good! Saaaaaanji!" he calls, disappearing in the general direction of the kitchen.
Usopp holds a hand to his heart. "Oh man, he scared the crap out of me."
"The brave Captain Usopp, showing fear?" you tease.
He 'hmphs' and looks away. "The brave Captain Usopp," he repeats, "never shows fear! He merely projects an illusion of weakness to fool his many and varied enemies. And…" he steels himself, meeting your eyes with a serious countenance that gives way to a shaky smirk. "...he does not yield in the face of competition."
–
"I've said that this is a silly idea, right?" Vivi gives you a pitying look. You return it with an impatient one.
"If you don't want to help, I can find something else to do."
She makes a face. "That might be for the best. Can you at least stand so the hammock catches you when you fall?"
You roll your eyes, and acquiesce. "This is going to reap dividends, I promise," you say, shifting over so that you're over by your hammock.
"Could you also wear something to protect your head? You almost fell on your skull last time."
You let out maybe too unsubtle a sigh, before tying a pillow around your head, a flawless sailor's knot holding it taut. At least that's one skill you seem to be able to get the hang of.
"I feel ridiculous."
"You'd feel worse with a concussion," Vivi retorts.
You wish you had a good response to that insufferably fair point. And you wish even more that you had any success with learning how to resist the influence of even a fraction of Miss Goldenweek's talents.
"Fgin kp gwng," you say, trying to swear, but it just comes out as a slur. You try to stand, using the hammock for support, but you just wind up slipping on the floor. Vivi tightens her lips into a line.
"No, I'm afraid we'll have to continue this at a later date. I'm ringing the bell here."
"Cmon!" you groan, frustratedly, but it's half-hearted, and just as much directed at yourself as her. "Thg yu," you say quietly, trying to shake away the vertigo and the shame.
–
"Alright, test subject number two," Nami claps her hands together performatively.
Zoro gives her a flat glare, and then gives you a look that practically screams out 'why are you involved in this?'. "Whatever it is, absolutely not."
"See? I told you," Nami tells you, shrugging.
The swordsman is silent for a moment, before he sighs and rests his head against the wood, lazily making eye contact with her. "Told her what," he says more than he asks, as if he's already expecting nonsense and is just asking out of morbid curiosity. Maybe you're projecting. That's how you might feel in his shoes.
"That you'd be afraid of a little pickpocket training."
"Pickpocketing?! Just how much are you planning on corrupting her?" he snaps, and you suspect it's more him being annoyed with Nami than being defensive of you. "And I'm not stupid enough to fall for such a basic reverse-psychology trick."
Nami actually cackles. "Again, Taylor, I told you! I told you he'd use that exact excuse!"
"No you didn't! You're making that up!"
It can't be this easy. She waves dismissively at him, and pats you on the shoulder as she starts walking away, a cue to leave. "Whatever. I bet Sanji's less of a wuss than he is, anyway."
"Why you- get back here, dammit!" It's that easy. "What sort of bullshit are you trying to rope me into?"
"Are you familiar with misdirection?" you ask.
He makes a face. "Cheap tricks. Like… who was that clown in Usopp's hometown? Jenga?"
"Jango," you reply, absent-mindedly. Zoro and Nami look a tiny bit surprised that you know the name, before comprehension hits their faces. "But no, that's not really what I mean. That's more hypnosis. What Miss Goldenweek will be using, if we meet her. I'm talking about sleight-of-hand. Dexterity. Misdirection. Making yourself unpredictable in combat."
Zoro shrugs, giving you a neutral look. "I guess it's not a terrible idea. In your shoes, I'd rather just learn to cut better."
"We have different size feet," you quip back. "Are you interested in helping out?"
"So long as I don't have to get up." Nami blatantly slips a coin into his shirt pocket. He gives her an unimpressed look. "I saw you do that," he observes.
"Yes, yes, very good. Taylor, take the coin from him."
Zoro scowls. You kneel in front of him and with one hand, start performing a ridiculous kind of waving gesture near and around his face. "Why are you saying that in front of me? I thought you were supposed to be teaching her how to do this right. I've seen six year olds subtler than-" With your other hand, you reach into his pants pocket and insert a second coin. Headway triggers at that very moment. "-that!"
Nami smiles proudly. "Zoro, can you give me that coin back?"
"Is this your way of admitting you lost?" he asks, casually flicking her the fifty-beri coin, which she catches effortlessly. Impressive, on both counts.
"You gave me the wrong one, blockhead," she rolls her eyes. "Your left pants pocket."
"There's no-" he reaches, and his face contorts as he feels the coin in his pocket. You're now a good pickpocket, with you have an above average understanding of misdirection. Long way to go… but you find yourself strangely satisfied by the gawking disbelief on Zoro's face. "Son of a bitch!"
–
You finally have some success with Kachi Kachi. The coat from the power manifests over your body noticeably quicker than before - maybe requiring about half a minute of focus and concentration, not counting a false start or two. The cracking is largely gone, but in its place is a certain stiffness. You can perform a basic punch with Kachi Kachi active, but you're slowed, from well beyond even superhuman norms to maybe a bit below peak human.
It should go without saying that, even with the current limitations, there aren't too many people who could take a rock-hard, red-hot punch moving at the speed of a conventional (for Bet) master martial artist. If you had to guess, maybe a few hundred thousand, million, on Mayim, a planet of billions. Unfortunately, you're more likely than not to face those exceptional people, so as it stands, it's only an incremental improvement, as predicted.
It's difficult to tell - it's been almost a month since Clockwork Island's liberation and a lot has happened since then - but you don't recall Bear King having much problem moving with the Fruit's effect active. It's tough to gauge your progress off of his end result - he wasn't all that bright or clever a fighter, and that limits his usefulness in measuring your growth.
You find yourself able to augment a single limb with the Devil Fruit's effect as well, but the precise control to narrow it down to a single fingertip, or even an arm from the whole body, takes more effort, maybe fifteen more seconds than just coating your whole physique.
This applies functionally the same when you generate a bear paw or albatross talon - you discover, to your complete lack of surprise, that you're a complete anvil with this power, and can't fly with it active. The albatross can't currently support the transformation, and you aren't sure if it ever will synergize to that extent.
The heat is more overbearing, and that's your greatest worry about training it, a visible steam emerging from your body on the cold day, and even though you practiced with it while standing on scrap metal, you still had that worry about starting a fire. Heat will pulse out randomly, temperature shifting wildly, the problem of the rocky form being crumply and lukewarm replaced by a new obstacle to be overcome.
You doubt this is the final level of efficacy with the Kachi Kachi no Mi you'll reach. It feels clumsy, unintuitive, even as you make noticeable gains in your understanding of the power. But that's what further training is for.
–
A chunk of hail the size of a penny smacks into you from an angle, Sube Sube sending it flinging off harmlessly through the gaps in the railing into the sea. It's raining sideways, with noticeable, unpredictable gusts strong enough to blow a person back ten feet. You'd almost think they were targeted if you didn't notice them randomly battering waves or the Merry.
To be more specific - it's not quite sleeting sideways, but it's close enough. You aren't fully sure how, even with a pretty damn high Meteorology skill, but the rain and occasional bits of hail are slapping down against the Merry at almost a flat angle. It's not dangerous yet, per se, beyond being a fairly nasty blow that might have worried you if you had the skill level you did a few weeks ago.
Nami doesn't seem to think it's going to be a crisis, but you figure it's better safe than sorry, hence why you, her, Sanji, and a miserable looking Horlio are standing out on deck in the storm. "Windward ho!" you call out, and you join the batsman in manipulating the mainsail as needed. This storm doesn't require the attention of the whole crew, but there's no sense in not taking it seriously.
"We're almost out of the worst of it!" Nami calls out, squeaking when a gust grazes her and steals her balance. She gives a grateful look to the doorknob she uses as a balancing tool.
You hear Horlio mutter something, but he's a distance away and the wind is howling. You doubt it was all that positive. He isn't much happier when a bit of hail smacks his shoulder. Fortunately for him, Nami's prediction was accurate, and after about another five minutes, you make it to clearer skies.
Horlio collapses to the deck. "I hate that this is the Crucible at its best," he groans.
Another term for the First Stretch. You offer him a hand up, and he reluctantly accepts. To think you'd figured it'd just be a bit chilly today. Now that the storm has passed, there's a unpleasant hot, sticky humidity in the air, when it was just… what, just below freezing when the storm hit?
Sube Sube banishes whatever moisture made it through while the storm was raging, and after some quick adjustments to the sails and winding down the crew from squall readiness, you scarf down some dinner at the Merry's much appreciated shiny new table, enjoying a squid dish you're amazed Sanji is able to prepare on such short notice.
–
"You heading out, Taylor?" Luffy asks. He's migrated out to his spot on the figurehead, using a long piece of squid fat as a twisted piece of floss.
You glance over to make sure the guests aren't listening. At some point, you'll have to tell them, maybe after the current crisis is resolved, but for now, you'd rather keep your origins close to the vest. They're not in sight. Still in the lounge room. "Yeah. Maybe got something big coming up on my homeworld."
"Something big?" he blinks.
"Maybe a fight. A hero thing."
"Dangerous?"
You shrug haplessly. "Probably. We'll have to see."
He nods sagely, the effect marred by his frustrated flossing with the surprisingly resilient fat. "I hate that I can't help you with that," he says quietly.
You think back to what you and Dad discussed not too long ago. It feels odd to see the two in a similar light. "I'm sorry."
He looks off into the distance. "No helping it. You gonna die?"
"I hope not. I don't think so."
"Well, you aren't allowed to die."
You smile. "I'll let the Merchants know if they try."
The squid fat piece snaps in half. He gives it an annoyed look, before tossing what's left into the sea and shifting over to more directly face you. "I'm not joking, Taylor. I'm ordering you. Don't die."
There's a tense pause for a few moments before you answer. "Yes, Captain."
"Good. Man, you always make me act so serious! Feels weird."
He adjusts his hat and goes back to facing the sea, the Merry sailing head-on towards the setting sun. You take that as your cue to leave.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Saturday, January 22, 2011
Dad lets out a heavy exhalation as you fill him in. "You know, I was almost having a relaxing Saturday, too," he laughs humorlessly. "Um, gosh. Come home safe, alright? If it is big, and I'm inclined to trust your gut on this one, don't do any heroi-" he pauses. "Don't do anything suicidal," he corrects himself. "Try to keep a distinction between the two."
"The slipping effect should protect me from everything they have."
"Sh-" He's about to repeat the word should, but stops himself. "Well. You'd know more than I would. I love you. Come home safe."
"I love you too. I will."
When you arrive at Cammell, leaving a bit earlier than normal to make sure you don't miss any nighttime illicit activity, you feel a sense of trepidation. Not even from the idea of danger, but if you're wrong, if you worried family and friends for nothing. If you're turning into the girl who cried wolf.
With superhuman perception, in shearwater form, your eyes sweep over the street and its environs, not finding a pebble out of sight. There are the usual indicators of poverty, disrepair, decrepitude, but you don't see any evidence of criminal activity. A homeless man sleeps here, a window's been broken here, but nothing like what you're looking for. Odd increase in homelessness in this area. It's fairly rare in the Bay, since squatting is such an available option.
Was this a mistake? Did you confuse Piercings' furtive looks for a clue, finding patterns where none existed? No. You're sticking with your gut. Dad trusted it, why can't you? And it's not even a gut observation. It's data. Based on hard evidence, from a honed and developed thinker power. Yes. Data.
Your self-pep talk is interrupted by confirmation. You spot two cars, driving in a rough formation before parking sloppily on the side of the street by one of the cracked, hopefully soon to be condemned buildings. Neither look like they have Squealer's modifications on them.
The meeting place you assumed existed - it's not on Cammell, it's on Jackson, the street over. New Wave's information may have been close, but seemingly not exact. Assuming this is it. Which it has to be, right?
You shift closer, and true enough, in the time it took you to get closer to the building in question, Skidmark's stepped out of the car. He's got his arm wrapped around the waist of a woman, and six more people - Piercings among them - stand in a loose crowd around him.
You recognize Squealer from various videos published online of street races she's run, using quick monstrosities assembled and abandoned without any care or thought to the danger inherent in their existence. She's an ugly, trashy woman. A few inches shorter you, with thin blonde hair in asymmetrical pigtails, a torn camo jacket and booty shorts squeezing legs too fat to make the look appealing.
When she smiles at Skidmark - you assume that she's the girlfriend Piercings implied on his phone call with Dwayne - you can see yellowed teeth blackened, chipped or rotted out. Chemistry and Doctor tell you what common sense would imply - meth mouth.
A man wearing a basketball jersey for one of the local players gingerly opens a container - it looks like a repurposed insulin kit - but there's obviously a sickly brown liquid within these syringes, and you're a good distance away, at a bad angle for checking, admittedly, but they don't look all that clean.
"This shit don't look clean," Skidmark snaps, gesturing at the container. "Thought you were bringing high quality shit?"
Jersey shakes his head. "Sold it all, man. Got a good deal with the Nazi day before you called."
Nazi? E88 has to have its own means of 'providing' for interested members. Why would they, who have connections abroad, be trading with the Merchants?
"Mother-klukker," Skidmark swears. "When you called, you said you had some left over!"
Motherclucker? Why the restraint? "Sorry. This is it!"
Skidmark looks at him as if he were the stupidest person on Earth. "We tryna convince Mush to get his head straight, and you're giving me this? Motherfucker, this shit even pure?" he hisses.
Jersey steps back a bit, and Skidmark shakes his head in frustration. "Ain't even powder!"
"He's been clean for days, right, sweetie?" Squealer pipes up. She has a horrible voice. Like a chipmunk. "He'll be happy with anything at this point!"
Skidmark makes a face. "Not if he's all cold-turkey-ass 'ooh I'm gonna get all clean' again!" he snaps, and she slinks back a bit. "Aw, I'm sorry, babe. I ain't mean it. We just gon' have to improvise, 's'all. Close that shit up, Ty." He shows his rotting teeth and gestures his head at the apartment, beckoning the group forward. What are they, muscle? To intimidate Mush?
This is a sickening situation. He's trying to get better, and they're just going to force heroin on him until he relapses? No. Fuck that. No good can come of letting them enter that building. You take human form out of sight, and with superhuman grace, speed, and stealth, you descend. You lock onto Skidmark as he leads the group, and from his side, you pounce.
Your fist meets the side of his face in just the right position to knock him out - beyond expert knowledge of a handful of martial arts more than enough to safely render him unconscious, just like in the Hollywood movies and tv shows. Headway tingles, he's out before he hits the ground, and now you have to deal with the fact that you've jumped into a crowd of lowlives.
Squealer next. Can't risk her reaching inside her outfit for anything that might be tinkertech, no matter how unlikely it is with her specialty. A palm strike with one hand, launched in such a way as to throw her into those behind her, sending them off balance, even as you hurl Skidmark into the legs of several of his allies with your other hand, stealing their footing as well.
You've moved so quickly and entered the fray so unexpectedly from their perspective, that they haven't even had time to move past the deer-in-headlights stage. No point letting them. One has a bulge in his jeans back pocket that looks like a sidearm. You hurl yourself at him - a surgical strike downs him, before you sweep your legs out and let two of his comrades join him.
Piercings involuntarily jerks back in fear, and you give him two blows, one to the stomach, another to the face. Emotional. You've watched this monster make the world demonstrably worse for days now, you make an irrational decision, taking a precious quarter of a second more than you needed.
You aren't used to pulling your punches like this. Every strike, you have to consciously remember that Bet humans are more fragile than Mayim ones. What feel like soft jabs to you are knockout blows to any of these people. Behind your mask, you give a hate-filled stare to the last two, who now have the presence of mind to start turning away, with what starts as a clumsy shifting and will morph into a run if you let them.
You don't.
Maybe one and three-quarters seconds of effort for the eight of them, all in all.
You take a moment to strip them of weapons, hurling them up onto a rooftop that, from above, didn't look like it was easily accessible. For a second, you consider taking the sidearm for yourself, but you aren't sure how comfortable you are with looting an active crime scene on your homeworld, especially when the PRT might be looking for reasons to distrust you. Maybe you'd be willing to do something like that on Mahon, but not here.
While Skidmark is still out, you knot up his balaclava so that if he awakes, his eyes will be covered. Hopefully his power is line-of-sight limited. You do something similar for Squealer, using some zipties purchased at another world's hardware store to double-cuff her. Tinkers deserve extra precautions.
Headway took something from her. The power. The tinkering ability. You're certain of it. Oh, and a bit of knifelore from one, some modern gunplay from another as well, nothing too exciting in comparison. But a tinker ability… even a crappy one… you were thinking about getting a base of operations on Mahon even before you downed Squealer. But there's even more incentive now.
You grab Piercings' cell phone - having memorized his passcode while watching his movements, it's clearly the best choice in case the 9-1-1 operator asks you to dial a PRT non-emergency line. Their protocol likely wouldn't dictate that, but better safe than sorry.
You almost feel disassociated from yourself right now. Heart pounding, a surging wave of triumph threatening to break through carefully curated professionalism and focus. Not now, T- Factota.
The ones you downed will only be out for ten to thirty minutes. You'll have to deal with Mush fast. Maybe you could have let them find him for you, but then you would have had to fight them in close quarters, on a turf they likely understood better than you. Higher chance of being spotted, even with absurd stealth skill. No, not worth it.
You'll just have to rely on investigation. Zipties latched on to all of your captures' arms and legs, you sprint silently into the apartment building. You have no idea what Mush looks like and have no means to detect parahumans without letting them get the advantage first - so you hope this building isn't too heavily squatted.
The building is in terrible shape. One of the many times you're grateful superhuman Perception can be filtered. Graffiti, unexplained splotches, doors off the hinges, an overpowering sense of decay permeating the atmosphere. You can see places where some of the prior residents defecated in the hallways in ages past, leaving stains that were never cleaned.
You specify 'prior residents' because the building is seemingly empty of everyone but the roaches. You're going floor by floor, checking rooms, and now that you're at the top, you're growing increasingly concerned that you'll have to leave in a few minutes to check on the Merchants to make sure they haven't hurt themselves in their confusion… and then you hear, of all things, a soft belch.
If you hadn't been augmenting sight and hearing aspects of Perception, you might have never noticed. Your eyes veer to a room at the very end - yes, that makes sense. The street's emptier on that side, he'd have more of a view, it's the closest thing you'll get to a penthouse in this part of town… that checks out.
The door… locked. Of course. You swear silently, and try to get a good look… no dice. You can't see inside, obviously. Your kingdom for x-ray vision. Reaching into your longcoat, you grab for something to use as a lockpick… but you realize you don't have the skill. You have the dexterity, but you don't know the technique! Fuck!
You'll have to settle for brute strength. You wouldn't try this with a tinker lair, or in a more put-together environment, but you press a thin metal bit, the kind you would have used to open the lock, to press a hole in the door. As small as possible, that he's least likely to notice, praying your Stealth and Carpentry are high enough to open a peephole above the lock without Mush noticing.
He doesn't. You can see the back of his head. He's sitting on a futon that's seen better days, the glow of a television illuminating the room, no sound coming from it. Craning your head around to get a good look, you can see beer bottles, glass and aluminum, chunks of scrap wood, bits of metal, miscellaneous clumps of refuse scattered around.
In an ordinary bachelor pad, you'd assume it was just clutter, but you suspect that's not the only case here. That kind of clutter doesn't make sense for an innocent in this man's position to have scattered around. That's ammunition. For Mush's Changer power.
Windows aren't an option. Boarded up. Damn. You had a brief thought about breaking them to get in.
Thankful that he's not watching, you widen the hole with your lockpick, enough for your pointer finger to fit through, and then, double checking for any watchful eyes besides your quarry, who's immersed with the TV, you shift your finger to an extended albatross talon. Having done so, you flick both locks down as quietly as possible.
There's an audible click. Your heart skips a beat, until you realize that it was only audible to you, a person with superhuman hearing who was right next to it. Mush's balding head doesn't move at all, no indication he noticed. That was terrifying.
Is this even the right thing to do? He was trying to change, get out of his rut. No. Not the time and place for doubts, and he could have easily skipped town, left this place and reinvented his cape identity in another city if he was truly invested in changing. He supported Skidmark as he spread poison through your city. If he wants to improve himself, he can do so after serving his time.
You can tell, just by looking, that the door will squeak when you open it. That might be another reason Mush picked this apartment. Meaning he'll be far more likely to react to you in time, relative to Skidmark and Squealer, who were easily ambushed. No helping it. No matter how stealthy you are, you can't disassemble the door or open it without him noticing. Not with your current skill level.
You yank the door open, and Mush jumps, obviously startled. His arm splits, power working before the mind can even consciously activate. Three tendrils of flesh fork out and grope for material - lurching for the beer bottle he was nursing, a plastic spork on the table, the TV remote - you can't let him build up. Could you beat him at his best? Probably. But why take that risk when you also have the Merchants down below to worry about?
The distance crossed in less than a half-second, you launch your fist at Mush's face. He's softer than the kinds of people you're used to fighting, and you have to manage the blow carefully to find that sweet spot between ineffectiveness and permanent brain damage. But you manage it, Headway tingling right as the flesh-tendrils start integrating with the clutter they were reaching for.
Mush sprawls back-first onto the coffee table and you realize just as he's falling that his power is taking in his clothes, flesh worms emerging from his chest, tearing them apart and spreading them out with the overall shell. The disgust at seeing this thin, pale, scrawny, balding Gollum of a man nude aside, you feel a sudden hitch of panic when you realize that his power isn't stopping now that he's unconscious.
Handsy tendrils of mangled flesh seek out any available loose matter, a protective shell of everything from a used tissue to what he was just wearing to a nearby glass bottle forming around his vulnerable form. Zipties would be worse than useless here. You don't know his tendrils' range, so, noting that they seem to be moving slowly by your standards, you frantically rush around to grab the more problematic items - wood, metal, glass, and start kicking them aside so that his flesh can't latch onto them.
You watch for a minute or two as the yearning flesh assembles protection for its host from the refuse you didn't want to risk getting close enough to move, noting as you do that they don't seem to be subsuming the futon, coffee table, space heater, generator or television into the mass. You momentarily consider using any combination of those to restrain him, but what if the flesh starts trying to disassemble those as well? You have no real way of gauging if his form is limited in strength.
Fuck. Nothing you can do but toss the larger matter aside. You flip the coffee table, dropping Mush harmlessly on his belly, his power groping at particulates in the dirty carpet to try and add more to the amalgamated shell, and with your other hand, you toss the futon to the other side of the room, joined soon by the coffee table.
You spot Mush's cell phone somewhere in the amorphous gunk making up his forming body. Wow, you're really glad you had the foresight to grab Piercings' phone. You would not want to leave him alone like this. The tendrils don't seem to be straying too far from him, but there's always the possibility that could change.
You dial 9-1-1. "9-1-1, what is the address of your emergency?" A woman's voice.
"57 Jackson Avenue, north side, Trainyard. Could I be redirected to the PRT line, please?"
"This operator redirects parahuman-related crimes as well. What is your name?"
"Factota. I'm an independent heroine. I've just captured or disabled three supervillains - Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush, as well as six nonpowered associates."
The tendrils are grasping for dust and grime, but they're increasingly finding less material to work with. You allow yourself a bit of relief. The tendrils seem to have a set range limit. If Mush were more ambulatory, he'd likely be able to grab on to more matter, expand his shifted state, but as he is - down and out.
"The PRT's automated systems have already alerted the nearest containment team and heroes on patrol. They will be en route as we speak. Could you please tell me the phone number you're calling from?"
"No, I'm afraid this is one of the perps' phones. I can keep it on me until the crisis is resolved."
"That would be helpful, thank you. Could you please tell me what happened, as concisely as possible?"
"I've been stalking the Merchants for several weeks now, found an opportunity, engaged them and defeated them. Skidmark, Squealer, and the six baselines are ziptied down on the street by the entrance to the building. Mush can't be ziptied due to the nature of his power - he's unconscious but his power is active."
Your heart is pounding. "I'm transferring the call over to Lieutenant Michaels, the PRT squad leader handling this situation. She knows what you've told me. Do you understand?"
The moment the call was rerouted to the PRT, an automated captioning system would have sent the agents on call a transcript. "Yes. Thank you."
There's a click. "Lieutenant Michaels, Parahuman Response Team." Her voice is harsher, more clipped than the operator's. "We will be there in four minutes, Dauntless and Shadow Stalker will be there in three." That's fas - did she say Shadow Stalker? "To confirm - all nine Merchants are disabled, cuffed, and disarmed."
You try to get your thoughts back in order. "Correct."
"Status of Squealer's tinkertech? Any exotic or anomalous technology?"
"I didn't see any when I searched her. They rode in what looked like conventional station wagons.." Hard to believe those went out of style on Aleph. You don't know why that thought occurred to you just now. Nerves, maybe. "She's double-cuffed, arms and ankles."
"You said Mush's power is active. Provide some details, please."
"I have a combat thinker ability that lets me render individuals unconscious for periods of ten to thirty minutes. Varies by person, randomly." Higher medical skill might let you determine the duration more effectively, or make it last longer without harming the person in question. "I struck him when he was just initiating his power, but he managed to assemble a mass for himself while unconscious. It seems to operate autonomously. I've removed most of the ammunition from his immediate range, which seems to be three to five feet."
"Noted. You said Skidmark was cuffed. Does he have line-of-sight for his surroundings?"
"I tied his mask into a knot, and his limbs are bound with zipties. He shouldn't."
"We've diverted an ambulance to the scene, but to confirm - do any of the disabled Merchants require medical attention?"
"They shouldn't, ma'am. My power tells me the path to take to strike someone so that they're rendered unconscious without permanent injury. I didn't spot any critical wounds when I looked over them."
"Our liaison with New Wave tells us you're a skill-combat thinker. Is this correct?"
They already know that? Wow. You were expecting to have to tell them explicitly. "Yes, ma'am."
"So your understanding of their medical condition comes from a parahuman power."
"Correct. Is that a problem?"
"It's something we'll have to mark down. You said that the unconsciousness effect of your power lasts ten to thirty minutes. How long ago was the effect used on your first targets?"
"Seven and a half minutes ago, by my count."
There's an almost unnoticeable pause. "We should arrive in time. Do you feel comfortable with your ability to defeat Mush, should he awaken in that time?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Then continue to stand guard over him. Based on the information we have, an active parahuman power is the most dangerous thing about this situation as it currently stands. We will deploy containment foam when on site, but for the time being, we need you monitoring the situation."
"Can do."
"Good. Which apartment number are you in?"
"426. The number's faded, but it's on the far west side of the top floor. Door's open and will remain open."
"Conventional weapons. You said that the Merchants were disarmed. Where did you place the weapons?"
"I threw them up onto a nearby rooftop, one without convenient access."
"Which address?"
You take a moment to consider the street's geography. "55 Jackson."
There's another pause on the other end. "That's a four story building. Was their removal assisted by your power?" 'Or are you listing the wrong address', is the unspoken rest of that question.
"Yes, ma'am. I have superhuman strength born of enhanced understanding of fitness and exercise, as well as increased skill with throwing objects." Primitive marksmanship coming in clutch. You'll have to thank Usopp. You're not sure you could have pulled it off without him.
"Noted. Is this your first time working in a crisis situation with the PRT or Protectorate?"
"Yes, ma'am."
You hear the sound of two motorcycles revving. That must be Dauntless and Shadow Stalker. "GPS shows heroes on site. We are forty-five seconds behind. To confirm - are there any civilians in the immediate area who may be endangered by potential PRT operations?"
"I didn't see any. The building Mush is squatting in is otherwise uninhabited."
"Do you know this through a parahuman power?"
"Yes. Enhanced perception - sight, hearing, smell - with filtering."
"Noted. We will be arriving in thirty seconds. Remain on line, but assume that the next time we speak will be in person."
"I understand. Thank you."
"You're welcome." After that, there's silence on the line. You can hear shuffling in the background, and the sound of a moving vehicle. The heroes' motorcycles have since been deactivated.
Whew. That… was intense! You really locked yourself into hero mode there, just a constant back and forth, going purely off of instinct and a bit of Acting as the hero you hope to be. You wish you had a good view of the outside, it'd be interesting to learn how Dauntless and… Shadow Stalker… were handling the disabled Merchants.
Shit. Why did it have to be her? You try to focus. Mush's Changer form is shifting slightly, but the tendrils have slowed their groping and are more randomly shifting the detritus around than doing anything productive to broaden their reach. Some bits of the old carpet have been ripped off where weak points were found, and you shoot a nervous glance at the wood, wondering if he can start disassembling the floor and accessing whatever junk might be below.
He doesn't even look human anymore.
You hear heavy footsteps below you. You back up so that you'll be visible from the hallway, hopefully avoiding potential friendly fire. "Clear a path!" Michaels' voice booms loud enough from the first floor that you could probably hear it without superhuman perception. Machine-assisted speakers built into her armor, from the sound of it.
They make it up the stairs in impressive time for baseline humans, and two squaddies enter, tall, faceless figures in black ceramic and klospenian - the PRT's patented fabric - with interlayered chainmail mesh. You wonder what it would take to reverse engineer that armor. Or buy a suit off of them. Who knows. Maybe you'll wind up in their good books after this.
Standing back, you watch them advance, throwing hand signals you don't recognize all the while. Maintaining at least a six foot distance from Mush means a few of them brush within a few feet of you, and you carefully step out of their way. Michaels and two squaddies surround the unconscious parahuman, one carefully aiming the nozzles emerging from his flamethrower-like back-mounted container tank. Two others stand at the entryway. All have rifles ready, but not aimed directly at Mush.
"Launch!" Michaels calls out, voice warbled slightly by her helmet.
"Launching!" the foam squaddie shouts. Saito, from the nametag.
Streams of yellow-white liquid spew out from the nozzle, rapidly expanding into the containment foam the PRT uses to nonlethally contain parahumans. It takes mere seconds for Mush to be fully covered. "Empty!"
You half-worried the foam would just be subsumed by Mush's Changer effect, but the impact/tear resistance seems to apply to his effect as well. There's some struggling, and you see some of the liquid get absorbed into the shell before it can expand, but the bulk of it, maybe ninety-five percent of it, functions as intended. The constant shift of his altered state ceases.
"Breathe a sigh of relief, fellas. Crisis over," Michaels says. She cranes her faceplate over to you. "Nice to meet you in person, Factota. Lieutenant Michaels, PRT."
"Likewise."
"I'd shake your hand, but it's awkward as hell with the gloves."
You wave her off. "Don't even worry about it."
"Good work here. We'll need to have the EMTs take a closer look at the folks you brought down, but this seems like it was done cleanly and professionally. Were you operating under another identity before this?"
You shake your head. "Just my power at work. Combat thinker thing."
"I'd say lucky you, but I know from experience that powers are never that convenient," Michaels says. It's impossible to gauge her expression through the faceplate. Again, x-ray vision. "Don't leave just yet, we'll need to get your statement, but you can go on downstairs if you'd like. Dauntless might want to speak with you."
Fuck. You're disguising your voice, and putting on a professional front, but does Sophia know you well enough to recognize you through that? She shouldn't, but… no point dwelling.
"Thank you. Is there anything else I can help with where Mush is concerned?" you offer.
Michaels shakes her head, and that's a bit of an endeavor with the PRT's armor. "He's all foamed up. We'll be transporting him shortly. Frankly, I might sound a bit rude saying this, but the best way you can help is by staying out of the hallway while we cart him to the van with the others."
"Gotcha. I can take a hint," you say, in what you hope is a friendly, joking way. Impossible to tell through Michaels' faceplate. You step towards the hallway. "Thank you for showing up as quickly as you did."
"No problem. Stay safe, and if I don't see you again, keep up the good work!"
A quick speed-walk downstairs (no functioning elevators in abandoned buildings - you suspect all of the more crucial wiring and electronics have been stripped by enterprising crackheads anyway). You find Dauntless and Shadow Stalker standing close to where you left the bulk of the Merchants (in custody now), the latter leaning against a flickering streetlight antsily.
Dauntless spots you and gives a friendly wave. You can't see much of his face, either, save for his eyes, but he's good at smiling with them. "Factota, I presume! The lady of the hour! Come on over."
You aren't sure whether to offer a handshake or not, so you settle for offering a wave. Shadow Stalker is looking in your direction, and it's impossible to gauge her expression. Man, you're beginning to hate that, even as you feel like a hypocrite in your featureless, reflective oval mask. "Dauntless. Shadow Stalker. Good to meet you both."
"Same to you!" Dauntless replies. He has a contagious joviality. You think you can spot the affectation behind it, but it feels more like he's exaggerating an existing personality than inventing one wholesale. You could see yourself enjoying working with someone like him. Shame about the Sophia-sized elephant in the room.
He's a tall man, naturally tall, not cheating with costumes or heeled boots. Tailor skill isn't just for good design, after all. Gold and white heavy armor is accentuated by his stereotypical Greek-style helmet, and you can spot the famous Arclance softly shimmering with electricity on his back. You don't give Shadow Stalker much attention, hoping that it's easier to sell being impressed by Dauntless than her. (Not that difficult!)
"Yeah, same," she says, with more energy than you expected, almost as if trying to force you to give her attention. Her voice is muffled by the helmet, but it's still recognizably her.
"I saw your introductory video, but you dropped off the grid for a while. This is a hell of way to make a comeback!" Dauntless gestures to the van, parked next to an ambulance. Doors are open and you can see a furious Squealer sitting alone, EMTs looking over a still unconscious Skidmark.
No guards, you suppose they expected the two heroes to be enough. A few conventional police squad cars have arrived for the lesser Merchants by now - you suppose PRT involvement greases the wheels there.
"Thank you. The Merchants have been on my radar for a while now."
"Ah. Personal?" Dauntless asks.
You shake your head. "They're bottomfeeders. I figured they'd be a good start for something more."
"A good start? Ambitious!" he replies, and you can hear the grin in his voice. You're a bit unsettled by Shadow Stalker's nod there. "How far do you plan to go?"
"As far as I can," you reply, honestly. "You can go pretty far with some planning and a good combat thinker power."
"Clearly," he agrees. "Planning to do that kind of indie work solo sounds like quite a commitment."
Shadow Stalker shifts in a way that might have been imperceptible to anyone save you. You continue. "I don't plan to take any more risks than I have to, but… I got these powers for a reason. And that reason is to make the Bay a better place."
Limiting yourself to only protecting this city feels wrong, but you have to do it if you want to keep a low profile. Can't withstand the threats of the world as you are now. Have to restrain those impulses to do more. "If you want to fix this city, kicking Merchant ass is a good way to start," Shadow Stalker says, appreciatively. You don't miss the glance Dauntless shoots her.
Oh no. You thought she might have been judging you. This is far, far worse.
"I might not use such colorful language-" Dauntless says it in a tone that implies it's a not so subtle hint. Your Dad used to do things like that when you were younger. "-but I am inclined to agree. This is basically the ideal way for an independent heroine to introduce herself."
"You take the guys who are selling drugs to kids, tearing up the streets with ugly ass tinkertrucks, the monsters like Mush, and you beat the hell out of them. It's good stuff," Sophia nods vigorously. Is… is that admiration in her voice?
Oh God. You're going to need a shower, and not just because of the mess in the apartment complex.
"Uh." You catch the verbal filler and curse inwardly, willing yourself to speak coherently. "Thank you. It's nice to hear. Sorry, all the praise is a bit overwhelming."
Dauntless holds up his hands reassuringly, and backs up a step. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. Didn't mean to make you feel cornered."
"You didn't, don't worry," you say, maybe a bit too quickly.
"I'm glad. I'd hate to scare you off on our first meeting," he says, lightly. "What's your next move?"
"Well, um, I collected a decent bit of information while scoping out the Merchants. I'm not sure how legally admissible it will be, but I can give statements, some photographs I took of one of their dealers with his clients. I don't know how much is actually left of the Merchants' noncape operations - I just saw an opportunity to take down Skidmark, Squealer and Mush in one move and took it."
"Don't feel bad about that," Dauntless replies. "In your shoes, I would likely have done the same. Getting the bad capes off the streets should be the priority. There's way more harm someone like Skidmark can do with their powers than the average dealer."
"That was my thinking, too," you nod.
He raises two fingers and moves them as if to press them against his helmet, before pausing. "Do you want to give your statement now, or wait until another time to do it at HQ?"
"Now is fine. While it's fresh in my memory."
"Awesome. The helmet has a built-in bodycam and recorder - are you comfortable being recorded?"
That sounds better than being stuck in an office in Protectorate headquarters or… however else it would happen. "Go ahead."
He presses into his helmet, and a yellow light appears above his right eye-slit. "You're now on camera. Feel free to begin wherever you'd like."
You walk him through the process - getting a list of addresses from Brandish, following the leads, getting lucky with Piercings, listening in on his phone calls, finding out about Mush's reverse intervention, and your enhanced perception spotting your quarry's furtive looks in this general vicinity. Dauntless asks questions here and there for clarification, but lets you do most of the talking.
"...and then I called 9-1-1 with Piercings' phone, and now we're here," you say, finishing.
"Dang. Skill-combat thinkers get it done," Dauntless says, admirably, and that compliment feels a lot better coming from him than Sophia. "If anything will get your name out there, that will."
You pause. You actually hadn't put much consideration into your reputation as of late, you were so laser focused on getting the Merchants dealt with. "My name out there?"
Shadow Stalker pipes in. "You know. Rep. You gotta get people to go 'oh crap, that's Factota'. Local thug keeping an eye out, not bothering people, because he knows 'hey, Factota might come after me.'"
You hate that that sounds like a tempting argument. But the trouble with that, the local thug might be Lung or Kaiser, and they've got a lot more power than some two-bit dealers with a couple easily-planned-around tricks.
"It's possible you might want to avoid that kind of exposure, though," Dauntless mentions. Shadow Stalker whirls towards him a bit faster than expected, and you suspect she's got a dirty look on her face beneath her mask. "One option is yielding the credit to the Protectorate. Claim it was wholly a PRT in-house job. I'm not suggesting this to advance my career or anything underhanded like that - but too much attention for an independent cape can be fatal if it happens too early in your career.
You could also go for a middle of the road option. Claim it as a joint venture. Information from New Wave, manpower from the new independent cape Factota and the Protectorate. A joint operation. We wouldn't elaborate on your capabilities to the public in any case, and no matter what, the Bay's heroes would all be aware of what you did tonight."
You hesitate for a moment, before responding.
How do you want to handle credit with the Protectorate? This scene will be written for the next update as a flashback with the winning vote.
-[ ] "I like the idea of getting my name out there. Full credit, please. Something like 'independent hero Factota operating on information from New Wave'?"
-[ ] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
-[ ] "I'd rather keep low key for now, if you don't mind. The Protectorate can take the credit, so long as New Wave's mentioned as well in the press statement."
–
After you answer, you add, "Did we talk about Stain?"
Dauntless tilts his head. You're almost worried he'll topple over, with that giant helmet. "Stain? Where'd you hear that name?"
"Piercings mentioned him. On that phone call with Dwayne. When I was recapping, I only mentioned the bits relevant to the Merchant takedown so you guys would have an easier time, organization-wise. I don't know if he's a cape or not, but Piercings mentioned doing jobs for him."
Dauntless looks like he's thinking, which is impressive when you can't see most of his face. "I know the name's come up in some interrogations. We aren't sure if they're a cape, either. They're active to some extent in the drug scene in the trainyard. We thought they might be Merchant-affiliated. Did Piercings imply that they were?"
You appreciate his using your made-up, unoriginal name for the dealer in question. "He said that Skidmark talked to Dwayne about reaching out to Stain. Piercings said the jobs he did for Stain were from last year."
"So if he's a cape, he's got some experience under his belt," Dauntless muses. "Thank you for telling us about that, we can have Informations look into that."
He deactivates the camera now that your statement is over, and you take that as permission to get a bit more frank than you might have been while being filmed. "You asked me about what I might do next. If you guys don't have anyone you'd rather I go after… I was thinking I might target some more of the Bay's bottomfeeder villain capes. The people you might not have the resources for. Stain, Whirlygig, Trainwreck. People like that. Independents, like Circus, Über, Leet."
You can make out Dauntless' eyebrows raising. "Quite a spread there. I remember Miss Militia mentioning you said you might want to take on Lung, and I thought she was joking."
"Really? That's ballsy," Shadow Stalker remarks. Please stop that.
"Maybe something to do in the future. I'm still learning, and there's more room for my powers to grow. That's part of why I waited so long to actually do something."
Dauntless chuckles. "Your powers have that incubation phase, too, huh?"
You nod. "Learning based. Take something mundane, add practice, make it superhuman. That's the cliff's notes of my power."
You feel a little dirty lying to a guy like this. It's not quite lying, but you're leaving out enough of the truth to feel bad.
"It's the kind of thing that could lend itself well to investigations like what you did with the Merchants. I heard over the radio - we were listening in to your call with the Lieutenant on our headpieces - you have a real grab bag of tricks up your sleeve. If you can 'teach' yourself to be a superhuman investigator, that's one hell of a thinker power, on top of already superhuman capabilities."
"Just takes time," you say.
"Trust me," he laughs. "You found the right guy to commiserate on that front."
You laugh, too. He continues. "I think what you're doing and planning is great, if you want to stay an independent hero. I'm not the Director, though, and I suspect she might believe differently than I would when it comes to what she might describe as loose cannon independents."
Shadow Stalker visibly stiffens. You try to ignore her. "So does that mean you wouldn't be able to give me any information to work off of? I don't know if I could have done this without New Wave's list."
"Ahhh…" Dauntless starts, reluctance obvious in his voice. "No. I'm sorry. The Director would not be happy giving independents more information than we have to. Collaboration with New Wave might be a better route, if you're still interested in seeking third party knowledge. We have a more established working relationship with them."
"Dang," you say. Saying the pseudo-curse genuinely feels a bit unnatural in your mouth, but you're reluctant to swear in Dauntless' presence after he told off Shadow Stalker.
"I think that, now that I'm already being a heel, I oughta mention this. I know capes can have… a lot of baggage about institutions, and bureaucracies." You know where this is going. "But. I know we've touched on this, but… being an independent hero is dangerous. I'm sure you've seen the statistics on indie survival rates. I'm not gonna regurgitate all of those for you here. I'm just gonna say - being a government-sanctioned hero isn't as restrictive as you might think.
You have support, steady pay, a constant mission. It's not just talking to kids at schools and newspeople, either. There are Protectorate capes who go undercover, who liaise oversees with foreign allies, who protect small towns and rural areas, who exclusively respond to crises for search and rescue. If you name something a hero could do as a focus, there's a cape in the Protectorate who does it. Heck, someone with your skillset would be perfect for Watchdog, now that I think about it."
The investigative branch of the PRT. They look into cape-related financial malfeasance, fraud, conspiracies. You wouldn't be interested in joining WEDGDG full time, but you can see doing jobs for them in the future, if they'll let you.
"What I'm trying to say is - it's not the kind of job where you have to be pigeonholed into being a cog in the machine, some dancing circus monkey for the cameras. I'm not getting strongarmed by the Director into telling you all of this - I hope I'm doing a good job of conveying this information. This is what I genuinely believe. We could really use someone like you on our side."
You can't stop yourself from squirming a little. Why couldn't he have been a jackass instead? Someone you could feel good about saying no to? "I… I'm sorry, Dauntless. I can't."
He somehow manages to convey disappointment while dressed head to toe like a modern-day Spartan warrior. "I understand. Then that's all I'll say on the subject of directly joining. Thank you for hearing me out."
"I-" you interject almost as soon as he finishes, and feel a bit self-conscious. "I have heard about just registering with the PRT, and collecting a stipend like that?"
"That's more complicated. Stalker, you might know more than I. Were you registered with the PRT before you signed on?"
She shrugs, her posture slouching a bit. She's bored by this direction of conversation. "Nope."
"Dang. Factota, with your power, you might be better off just learning law and looking the details up on the Internet. I can give you the short version, is that alright?" You nod. "Bearing in mind I was never independent, and I'm not too knowledgeable on how exactly that life works - the lowest level is just… I want to say… twenty-five thousand dollars a year? I wish I remembered. You go to our TRA department - sorry, that's Testing, Research, and Analysis - they make sure your powers aren't radioactive or mind controlling or anything like that, perform some tests to get an idea of your powers. You sign a contract agreeing to act lawfully - that might be something for you to look into, study closely."
"That sounds good," you say, not sure if you're even lying. "Do you have to unmask? I sort of want to keep my civilian and cape life separate. In every respect."
Dauntless shakes his helmet. "Not as far as I'm aware, for that lowest level. For the most part, the lowest level of registration is close to being purely symbolic. You don't get that much in salary, and you'll still be expected to help out in crises, but the Protectorate won't bother you too much - if you're worried about the PRT constantly knocking on your door. You'd be in decent company if you went down that route. Dragon's on the lowest level of independents registered with the PRT, believe it or not."
You blink underneath your mask. "Really? But she's…so important."
"Crazy, right?" he says. "It's just like I said. The Protectorate isn't monolithic. There are higher levels, where you unmask and keep yourself on reserve, but don't join a team full-time, or you ask to be assigned to a small town or national park. Some big city capes use opportunities like that as a break or retirement. But that's where my knowledge really gets thin on the ground, I'm sorry to say."
"Thank you," you say, meaning it. "So if Dragon's on that lowest level, does that mean I could be authorized to sell goods I make with my power?"
"You make goods too? Like, with some sort of super-craftsmanship?" he asks, sounding surprised.
You nod. "Metalworking, sewing, carpentry-" you gesture at your outfit, "-Costume design. There's a lot I'm pretty good at, not just the fighting stuff."
Dauntless raises his arms and performatively presses them against his helmet, as if clutching his head. "The Director's gonna have my hide for not being able to recruit you, Factota," he bemoans.
"Sorry," you say, sheepishly chuckling.
"Don't even worry about it," he holds up a hand.
"I also talked to Brandish and Lady Photon from New Wave before I really started this hunt in earnest. I told them I might be good at teaching people skills, like, superhumanly good. Brandish, um… she was very polite, and very professional, but she basically told me that she couldn't trust someone who wasn't registered. She raised comparisons to Teacher."
Shadow Stalker mutters 'bitch' under her breath almost imperceptibly. You hate, hate, hate, that she keeps saying things you sympathize or even agree with.
Dauntless winces. "Oof. I… That was a bit undiplomatic of her."
"Would the TRA analysis help with that? You said it tested for mind altering effects. Could I teach someone on PRT payroll and prove I'm not… some kind of a monster?"
"I wish I could help with that. I'm sorry Brandish said that about you, I can imagine it probably felt pretty crappy to hear. Um… when I did power testing, I know Master capabilities were covered. But if you're talking about something as direct as teaching, that kind of… I don't know, mental transfer, I suspect it would be more involved than what Shadow Stalker and I had to deal with. This is all outside of my wheelhouse, I'm afraid. You might be better off doing some research on your own."
"No problem. Was just hoping to get the inside scoop on it all," you say. "I'll look into it when I have the ti-"
You stop short.
The PRT squaddies, led by Michaels, roll out with what looks like a modified stretcher, carrying over Mush's now conscious form. He looks… confused and scared, embedded helplessly in the mass of once-assimilated junk and foam, and you feel a horrible sense of guilt. Eyes flicker back and forth, and his mouth is frozen in a quivering scream, muffled by the foam. "O-oh God," you say, staring at him.
"Not a pretty sight," Dauntless agrees. "You said they were pressuring him into doing some of this stuff?"
"Not all of it," Shadow Stalker scoffs. "Who cares if he felt bad about it? He was still helping a guy like Skidmark push poison to kids, fuck up whole communities. Don't kick yourself over teaching an asshole like him a lesson just because he's scared to face consequences for once in his miserable life."
She… she just… that was your reasoning. You remember, less than half an hour ago, having those exact same thoughts, those exact same justifications, for targeting Mush. You shudder a little, and you recover in time to see Dauntless reaching out towards you. "Hey. You alright?"
"Yeah. Just… the night is catching up to me, is all."
"Of course," Dauntless bobs his helmet up and down. "If it makes you feel any better, prison programs for villain capes tend to have well-funded rehab clinics, where applicable."
"A little," you reply.
"I'm glad to hear that. Thank you again for doing this. I'm ashamed that we hadn't brought these people in already."
Michaels shouts over to Dauntless, summoning him over to address something to do with the prisoners' transport forms. "I'll be back in a moment," he says. "If you leave while the Lieutenant and I are talking - just know that, whatever you decide, I look forward to working with you more in the future."
You shake his hand. "Next time we see each other, we'll both be stronger," you say, hoping the joke is taken in good humor.
"Ha! Very true!" he waves goodbye, and jogs off, clanking a lot less than you would expect.
And then there were two. "That guy is too much sometimes," Shadow Stalker says quietly, so Dauntless doesn't overhear. Thank God. She said something disagreeable. You aren't insane. Completely. "Hey. We didn't get a chance to talk without Dunceless listening in. Pretty fucking badass what you pulled here."
You try not to visibly stiffen. "Thanks."
"I wanted to do shit like this when I was indie. Never got farther than some worthless hoods," she folds her arms, anger evident in her voice. "You're right to want to keep your distance from the PRT. They want to strip out your spirit, sanitize it."
"Really," you say, flatly.
She shakes her head bitterly. "Yeah. Fucking sucks. Dauntless ain't wrong about indie life being okay if you stick your head in the PRT's box, but what if you actually want to do something, and fuck up a couple times? Then they slam the hammer down."
A lull in the conversation follows, and you very hesitantly break it. "Is that what happened to you?"
"Yeah. It blows. I miss having the kind of freedom you do."
Hold on, wait a minute. Wasn't the PRT… covering for her bullshit? You assumed that was why… why she got away with this shit for so long. "It can't be all that bad," you prod a bit. "It gets you someone in your corner, right?"
She's silent for a bit, considering. "I guess you kind of have a point. You can still get away with a lot of stuff, yeah."
You can practically feel your blood boiling. Shadow Stalker and Dauntless. Night and fucking day. How… how much does the Protectorate know? How much did they know?
Doesn't matter. Never mattered, in the long run. You're a hero now, you'll work with them, but no matter how nice and well-meaning Dauntless is, you sure as fuck aren't joining full time. You can bear working with them briefly, at the very least. "Think I'm gonna stick with being independent."
"Smart lady," Shadow Stalker says, and you can hear the smile in her voice. "Look me up sometime. I'd love to go on patrol with you if this is the kinda shit you do."
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," you say, hoping you don't sound as obviously insincere as that statement feels. Dauntless and Michaels' conversation doesn't look like something that can be easily resolved in the next few minutes - bureaucratic matters, something to do with containing a parahuman who was actively using assimilatory powers at the time of foaming - and you're almost positive that if you keep talking to Shadow Stalker, you'll wind up putting a fist through her chest. "It's been an adrenaline-filled night. I'm going to head home now that I've given my statement. Cool to get a chance to talk to you."
"Need a ride back to your neck of the woods?" Shadow Stalker offers. "Bet I can talk Dauntless into letting me do it."
You shake your head. "I've got alternative means," you say. If there was anyone to show off in front of… You give a quick glance to the apartment, before you sprint towards it, Fitness, Running, Acrobatics, and Freerunner synergizing to let you scale a four story building in the space of fifteen seconds, before you break out into a sprint, jumping rooftop to rooftop, only occasionally pausing to get a grip in the side of a structure with a story difference. You hear Sophia murmur 'holy shit' as you do, and you allow yourself that petty bit of oneupmanship.
You obviously abandon the charade once you're positive you're out of sight, and take your shearwater form home. Along the way, a thought occurs to you. Sophia was your first real fight… ever. And she wound up being there for the aftermath of your first real fight as a hero. You guess life is sadistically funny like that.
–
You can hear Dad's surprised gasp when you come in from the backyard. "You're safe!" he exclaims, from his spot in the living room. You feel a pang of sadness. He didn't even try to go to sleep. He laughs in relief, and pulls you in for a hug. "How did it go?"
For a blissful half hour, you forget about old memories, about powerlessness and anxiety and feelings of worthlessness, about worries about the future, about Baroque Works and Yonkou and Endbringers and… whatever else awaits you. "It was that easy? Seven and a half minutes? Seriously?" "You met Dauntless! Really! What was he like?"
It's nice. You fill him on the details, trying and failing to skim over the grosser and more horrific bits. He laughs, he worries. He shows pride. "You've done something incredible today, Taylor," he beams. "Oh man, it's too bad it's so late, I'd take you out to celebrate! Come on. We gotta do someth-"
Sometimes things don't have to be training, or stopping a supervillain, or saving an island, to give life meaning. Sometimes you just need a private late night celebration with your Dad.
Before you head back to the Merry, you reactivate what you thought would be a disposable Prima account, and reach out to New Wave once more.
Good morning. This is Factota. I wanted to reach out and say thank you to Brandish and Lady Photon for the information they gave me on the Merchants. I was able to use it as a lead from which to extrapolate, investigate and break their operation's back. Thank you again, and I look forward to working with you all more in the future!
Breaking the operation's back… does that carry too many connotations of violence? Should you revise… oh fuck it. It's late. You're tired. You revise the message to just say 'break their operation'. If it were another day, you might have spent ages staring at it out of anxiousness, but it's not worth the trouble. Maybe it's a bit clunky, but you've had a long night.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
To get from the storeroom to the women's room, you have to go through the deck first. You're stealthy enough that you never wake anyone (you hope), so it's just a bit of an inconvenient detour. Maybe it'd be easier if you had Sophia's powers, but you aren't even sure you consider her worth calling 'an enemy to be defeated'.
You let out a yawn, and you're about to unceremoniously collapse into your hammock… but then you see Luffy at the figurehead, napping while sitting straight up. You walk up to him and gently tap him on the shoulder. "Gah!" he shouts, almost falling off into the sea, and he hurriedly slaps the ship's railing to keep a grip. "Taaayylor! Geez, you scared me!"
You smile, despite yourself. Hopefully that didn't wake anyone. Luffy grins widely, rubbing his eyes. "Well? How'd the fight go?"
"It went great! It… almost wasn't even a fight, believe it or not."
"Shishishishi! I can't believe I ordered you not to die, then!" he laughs. "So. Did that help you to be a hero?"
That's… actually an interesting question. Are you a hero now? Yes, absolutely. By any definition of the word, you've noticeably changed Brockton Bay for the better, in the course of less than ten minutes. But… are you the hero you dreamed of being? No. Not yet.
Only one answer, really.
"It's a good start."
Author's Notes, further commentary on update:
How do you want to handle credit with the Protectorate? This scene will be written for the next update as a flashback with the winning vote.
-[ ] "I like the idea of getting my name out there. Full credit, please. Something like 'independent hero Factota operating on information from New Wave'?"
-[ ] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
-[ ] "I'd rather keep low key for now, if you don't mind. The Protectorate can take the credit, so long as New Wave's mentioned as well in the press statement."
You have one day to vote on now. Day 1 (Sunday, January 23, 2011, Saturday, June 4, 1532, Sunday, November 19, 2000). Vote closes on Saturday, May 20, IRL, at 11:00 PM est.
The Merry will enter Foolshout's climate zone (thereby ending the mandatory boatswain/First Stretch-related actions) on (Monday, January 24, 2011, Sunday, June 5, 1532, Monday, November 20, 2000). By Taylor and Nami's estimation, the Merry will arrive at Foolshout on (Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Tuesday, June 7, 1532, Wednesday, November 22, 2000).
You have six out of seven total actions available. One is reserved for general bosunry and crew assistance on this last day of the First Stretch.
Further projects/VILLAIN HUNTs are on hold until after the Foolshout crisis is resolved.
Please keep in mind that, even if you write a million omakes, Skidmark and Mush's powers will almost certainly not be combat ready in time for Foolshout.
You have not met the prerequisites for Parahuman: Tinker: Squealer and so that has not yet been added. You do not have the tools to train Marksmanship (Modern). An option to reach out to the Xavier Institute on Mahon will be added after the Foolshout arc, which may alleviate some of these problems.
You will be automatically sending the photos you took on your stakeout to the Protectorate via an anonymous account - likely to Dauntless' public email, and the PRT/BBPD's contact emails. Taylor just needs time to load them into a single file. This will be a free action.
Please let me know if you spot any errors or things missing.
Slamu DM'd me to confirm that they've assigned their points to power acquisition rolls for Foolshout. That will be +26 to power acquisition rolls for whichever Baroque Works agents you fight.
I will respond to questions this evening. Character sheet has been updated. Lot going on this update - please feel free to point out mistakes.
[X] Plan Steady Advancement
-[X] Protectorate Handling
--[X] Be polite and professional (the same as your already established behaviour) With the Protectorate Heroes and the PRT agents.
--[X] Give them all of the intel you have gathered during your hunt such as Stain's involvement and Mush's attempt at quitting drugs.
--[X] Ask them if they have any intel they'd be willing to share to make our next operations easier as well as if they have any preferred targets. You're going to continue going after the independent Villains or smaller gangs for now.
--[X] Ask them about the benefits of Registration as well as the expected process (including power testing). They might treat you better if they know you're at least considering it and it'll give you more data points for when you do your own research on the topic.
-[X] Send a message to New Wave to thank them for the intel about the Merchants.
-[X] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 90% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 50% of Sleight-of-Hand 3. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 4.
-[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 40% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
-[X] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5. 20% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 6.
-[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 70% of Master Resistance 1. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[X] Protectorate Handling
--[X] Be polite and professional (the same as your already established behaviour) With the Protectorate Heroes and the PRT agents.
--[X] Give them all of the intel you have gathered during your hunt such as Stain's involvement and Mush's attempt at quitting drugs.
--[X] Ask them if they have any intel they'd be willing to share to make our next operations easier as well as if they have any preferred targets. You're going to continue going after the independent Villains or smaller gangs for now.
--[X] Ask them about the benefits of Registration as well as the expected process (including power testing). They might treat you better if they know you're at least considering it and it'll give you more data points for when you do your own research on the topic.
-[X] Send a message to New Wave to thank them for the intel about the Merchants.
-[X] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 90% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 50% of Sleight-of-Hand 3. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 4.
-[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 40% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
-[X] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5. 20% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 6.
-[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 70% of Master Resistance 1. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
2.24: First Stretch 8/Prelude to Baroque Works 4/Merchant Hunt Conclusion
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Friday, June 3, 1532
"Hey, not bad!" you give Usopp an appreciating nod as you glance over his work.
Usopp gives you a big old grin, wiping his goggles off with his undershirt. (It's been a bit chilly this morning - you were worried about a snowstorm hitting last night, but you only got a slight dusting at worst. Had to cover the tangerine trees, though.) "Aw, it's mostly the tools."
You shake your head. "Don't sell yourself short. Those are some clean cuts right there." He's in the process of building a new table for the lounge room - the current one only really big enough for six people, and there are eight people on the ship, so if everyone's eating, two people always have to stand or sit on the floor. "If you do want some feedback, though - that joint to your right - I think we can take another look at the weight distrib…"
And so you spend the morning making a new table. It's perhaps a small thing, a quality of life improvement for the Merry, but it feels nice to be making a concrete impact. Things on the Merry are quickly turning around, conveniences building on conveniences, safeties on safeties. You and Usopp finish assembling the table, Sanji offering you and him (mostly you, but you insist the sniper get something as well) some nice squid rice stew for a breakfast.
Table assembled, Usopp gives you a proud smile. "That was awesome! It's always been such a chore, just doing repairs around the ship I was barely qualified to even attempt, but this - awesome!" he repeats himself. His enthusiasm is contagious, and you find your mood lifted even after your tedious late night. "Look, Taylor, I gotta repay you. Not just because of using up the batteries-"
You're going to have to recharge it at home. Thank God Mahon-tech uses similar outlets as your homeworld's. In the long run, you'll likely need to find somewhere on Mahon to use as a base of operations, just to avoid raising suspicions with the power company and anyone who might be observing household power consumption. Right now, the power use isn't that much of an issue, but you're worried about setting a dangerous precedent.
"-but for letting me even use these beauties in the first place!"
You cringe a little. "Just go a bit easy on them in the future. It's… a bit difficult, in the long run, to recharge them all the time."
He looks a bit deflated, but he nods. "Aw. I guess I get it. Sorry, I went a bit overboard. There were just so many possibilities, and when one didn't work, I just went over to the next - anyway. I'll try to save their use for sure things in the future. Thank you," he says, sheepishly.
You wave him off. "My fault for not mentioning it sooner."
Usopp thinks for a moment, before a lightbulb goes off in his head. "Are you still interested in marksmanship training?"
Your grin is all the answer he needs.
–
"I just want to say, Taylor-" Usopp, shivering a bit from the cold, gives a despairing look at the school of flying fish (maybe half a foot long, nothing impressive enough to adjust Headway's shape changing rolodex) dropped on the deck. "-your power is so scary. I've said this before, but I need you to know, I really, really mean it."
He's not entirely wrong to feel that way, you guess. With a little under two hours of practice, you've gone from 'would be a Neanderthal tribe's most valuable player' to 'the best a human can possibly be at using a slingshot or other pre-archery thrown weapons'.
"It's not any more impressive than what you've already seen," you say, under your breath, abandoning the Swordfish Fishman form, glancing over at the pile. If you're going to kill it, you oughta eat it. "Thank you, by the way."
"You're welcome. And no, I should thank you for the existential crisis. I thought I was the crew sniper! Oh man, this is…"
You frown at him. "You're still better at me. You hit one of the fish at twice the distance I did."
"Yeah, but-" he freezes, an epiphany in his eyes. "Actually, this is a good thing!"
What.
"Yeah! Luffy can't ask me to go out onto Nightmare Island all the time if you become the crew sniper! This is a great developm-"
"Oh! Taylor!" Luffy shouts excitedly, emerging from the background. Usopp shrieks girlishly, and you have to fight to bite back what almost feels like a giggle. "You got us some meat!"
"Marksmanship training. Thank Usopp, not me."
Luffy nods eagerly, sharing a wide, toothy grin with both of you. "More fish is always good! Saaaaaanji!" he calls, disappearing in the general direction of the kitchen.
Usopp holds a hand to his heart. "Oh man, he scared the crap out of me."
"The brave Captain Usopp, showing fear?" you tease.
He 'hmphs' and looks away. "The brave Captain Usopp," he repeats, "never shows fear! He merely projects an illusion of weakness to fool his many and varied enemies. And…" he steels himself, meeting your eyes with a serious countenance that gives way to a shaky smirk. "...he does not yield in the face of competition."
–
"I've said that this is a silly idea, right?" Vivi gives you a pitying look. You return it with an impatient one.
"If you don't want to help, I can find something else to do."
She makes a face. "That might be for the best. Can you at least stand so the hammock catches you when you fall?"
You roll your eyes, and acquiesce. "This is going to reap dividends, I promise," you say, shifting over so that you're over by your hammock.
"Could you also wear something to protect your head? You almost fell on your skull last time."
You let out maybe too unsubtle a sigh, before tying a pillow around your head, a flawless sailor's knot holding it taut. At least that's one skill you seem to be able to get the hang of.
"I feel ridiculous."
"You'd feel worse with a concussion," Vivi retorts.
You wish you had a good response to that insufferably fair point. And you wish even more that you had any success with learning how to resist the influence of even a fraction of Miss Goldenweek's talents.
"Fgin kp gwng," you say, trying to swear, but it just comes out as a slur. You try to stand, using the hammock for support, but you just wind up slipping on the floor. Vivi tightens her lips into a line.
"No, I'm afraid we'll have to continue this at a later date. I'm ringing the bell here."
"Cmon!" you groan, frustratedly, but it's half-hearted, and just as much directed at yourself as her. "Thg yu," you say quietly, trying to shake away the vertigo and the shame.
–
"Alright, test subject number two," Nami claps her hands together performatively.
Zoro gives her a flat glare, and then gives you a look that practically screams out 'why are you involved in this?'. "Whatever it is, absolutely not."
"See? I told you," Nami tells you, shrugging.
The swordsman is silent for a moment, before he sighs and rests his head against the wood, lazily making eye contact with her. "Told her what," he says more than he asks, as if he's already expecting nonsense and is just asking out of morbid curiosity. Maybe you're projecting. That's how you might feel in his shoes.
"That you'd be afraid of a little pickpocket training."
"Pickpocketing?! Just how much are you planning on corrupting her?" he snaps, and you suspect it's more him being annoyed with Nami than being defensive of you. "And I'm not stupid enough to fall for such a basic reverse-psychology trick."
Nami actually cackles. "Again, Taylor, I told you! I told you he'd use that exact excuse!"
"No you didn't! You're making that up!"
It can't be this easy. She waves dismissively at him, and pats you on the shoulder as she starts walking away, a cue to leave. "Whatever. I bet Sanji's less of a wuss than he is, anyway."
"Why you- get back here, dammit!" It's that easy. "What sort of bullshit are you trying to rope me into?"
"Are you familiar with misdirection?" you ask.
He makes a face. "Cheap tricks. Like… who was that clown in Usopp's hometown? Jenga?"
"Jango," you reply, absent-mindedly. Zoro and Nami look a tiny bit surprised that you know the name, before comprehension hits their faces. "But no, that's not really what I mean. That's more hypnosis. What Miss Goldenweek will be using, if we meet her. I'm talking about sleight-of-hand. Dexterity. Misdirection. Making yourself unpredictable in combat."
Zoro shrugs, giving you a neutral look. "I guess it's not a terrible idea. In your shoes, I'd rather just learn to cut better."
"We have different size feet," you quip back. "Are you interested in helping out?"
"So long as I don't have to get up." Nami blatantly slips a coin into his shirt pocket. He gives her an unimpressed look. "I saw you do that," he observes.
"Yes, yes, very good. Taylor, take the coin from him."
Zoro scowls. You kneel in front of him and with one hand, start performing a ridiculous kind of waving gesture near and around his face. "Why are you saying that in front of me? I thought you were supposed to be teaching her how to do this right. I've seen six year olds subtler than-" With your other hand, you reach into his pants pocket and insert a second coin. Headway triggers at that very moment. "-that!"
Nami smiles proudly. "Zoro, can you give me that coin back?"
"Is this your way of admitting you lost?" he asks, casually flicking her the fifty-beri coin, which she catches effortlessly. Impressive, on both counts.
"You gave me the wrong one, blockhead," she rolls her eyes. "Your left pants pocket."
"There's no-" he reaches, and his face contorts as he feels the coin in his pocket. You're now a good pickpocket, with you have an above average understanding of misdirection. Long way to go… but you find yourself strangely satisfied by the gawking disbelief on Zoro's face. "Son of a bitch!"
–
You finally have some success with Kachi Kachi. The coat from the power manifests over your body noticeably quicker than before - maybe requiring about half a minute of focus and concentration, not counting a false start or two. The cracking is largely gone, but in its place is a certain stiffness. You can perform a basic punch with Kachi Kachi active, but you're slowed, from well beyond even superhuman norms to maybe a bit below peak human.
It should go without saying that, even with the current limitations, there aren't too many people who could take a rock-hard, red-hot punch moving at the speed of a conventional (for Bet) master martial artist. If you had to guess, maybe a few hundred thousand, million, on Mayim, a planet of billions. Unfortunately, you're more likely than not to face those exceptional people, so as it stands, it's only an incremental improvement, as predicted.
It's difficult to tell - it's been almost a month since Clockwork Island's liberation and a lot has happened since then - but you don't recall Bear King having much problem moving with the Fruit's effect active. It's tough to gauge your progress off of his end result - he wasn't all that bright or clever a fighter, and that limits his usefulness in measuring your growth.
You find yourself able to augment a single limb with the Devil Fruit's effect as well, but the precise control to narrow it down to a single fingertip, or even an arm from the whole body, takes more effort, maybe fifteen more seconds than just coating your whole physique.
This applies functionally the same when you generate a bear paw or albatross talon - you discover, to your complete lack of surprise, that you're a complete anvil with this power, and can't fly with it active. The albatross can't currently support the transformation, and you aren't sure if it ever will synergize to that extent.
The heat is more overbearing, and that's your greatest worry about training it, a visible steam emerging from your body on the cold day, and even though you practiced with it while standing on scrap metal, you still had that worry about starting a fire. Heat will pulse out randomly, temperature shifting wildly, the problem of the rocky form being crumply and lukewarm replaced by a new obstacle to be overcome.
You doubt this is the final level of efficacy with the Kachi Kachi no Mi you'll reach. It feels clumsy, unintuitive, even as you make noticeable gains in your understanding of the power. But that's what further training is for.
–
A chunk of hail the size of a penny smacks into you from an angle, Sube Sube sending it flinging off harmlessly through the gaps in the railing into the sea. It's raining sideways, with noticeable, unpredictable gusts strong enough to blow a person back ten feet. You'd almost think they were targeted if you didn't notice them randomly battering waves or the Merry.
To be more specific - it's not quite sleeting sideways, but it's close enough. You aren't fully sure how, even with a pretty damn high Meteorology skill, but the rain and occasional bits of hail are slapping down against the Merry at almost a flat angle. It's not dangerous yet, per se, beyond being a fairly nasty blow that might have worried you if you had the skill level you did a few weeks ago.
Nami doesn't seem to think it's going to be a crisis, but you figure it's better safe than sorry, hence why you, her, Sanji, and a miserable looking Horlio are standing out on deck in the storm. "Windward ho!" you call out, and you join the batsman in manipulating the mainsail as needed. This storm doesn't require the attention of the whole crew, but there's no sense in not taking it seriously.
"We're almost out of the worst of it!" Nami calls out, squeaking when a gust grazes her and steals her balance. She gives a grateful look to the doorknob she uses as a balancing tool.
You hear Horlio mutter something, but he's a distance away and the wind is howling. You doubt it was all that positive. He isn't much happier when a bit of hail smacks his shoulder. Fortunately for him, Nami's prediction was accurate, and after about another five minutes, you make it to clearer skies.
Horlio collapses to the deck. "I hate that this is the Crucible at its best," he groans.
Another term for the First Stretch. You offer him a hand up, and he reluctantly accepts. To think you'd figured it'd just be a bit chilly today. Now that the storm has passed, there's a unpleasant hot, sticky humidity in the air, when it was just… what, just below freezing when the storm hit?
Sube Sube banishes whatever moisture made it through while the storm was raging, and after some quick adjustments to the sails and winding down the crew from squall readiness, you scarf down some dinner at the Merry's much appreciated shiny new table, enjoying a squid dish you're amazed Sanji is able to prepare on such short notice.
–
"You heading out, Taylor?" Luffy asks. He's migrated out to his spot on the figurehead, using a long piece of squid fat as a twisted piece of floss.
You glance over to make sure the guests aren't listening. At some point, you'll have to tell them, maybe after the current crisis is resolved, but for now, you'd rather keep your origins close to the vest. They're not in sight. Still in the lounge room. "Yeah. Maybe got something big coming up on my homeworld."
"Something big?" he blinks.
"Maybe a fight. A hero thing."
"Dangerous?"
You shrug haplessly. "Probably. We'll have to see."
He nods sagely, the effect marred by his frustrated flossing with the surprisingly resilient fat. "I hate that I can't help you with that," he says quietly.
You think back to what you and Dad discussed not too long ago. It feels odd to see the two in a similar light. "I'm sorry."
He looks off into the distance. "No helping it. You gonna die?"
"I hope not. I don't think so."
"Well, you aren't allowed to die."
You smile. "I'll let the Merchants know if they try."
The squid fat piece snaps in half. He gives it an annoyed look, before tossing what's left into the sea and shifting over to more directly face you. "I'm not joking, Taylor. I'm ordering you. Don't die."
There's a tense pause for a few moments before you answer. "Yes, Captain."
"Good. Man, you always make me act so serious! Feels weird."
He adjusts his hat and goes back to facing the sea, the Merry sailing head-on towards the setting sun. You take that as your cue to leave.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Saturday, January 22, 2011
Dad lets out a heavy exhalation as you fill him in. "You know, I was almost having a relaxing Saturday, too," he laughs humorlessly. "Um, gosh. Come home safe, alright? If it is big, and I'm inclined to trust your gut on this one, don't do any heroi-" he pauses. "Don't do anything suicidal," he corrects himself. "Try to keep a distinction between the two."
"The slipping effect should protect me from everything they have."
"Sh-" He's about to repeat the word should, but stops himself. "Well. You'd know more than I would. I love you. Come home safe."
"I love you too. I will."
When you arrive at Cammell, leaving a bit earlier than normal to make sure you don't miss any nighttime illicit activity, you feel a sense of trepidation. Not even from the idea of danger, but if you're wrong, if you worried family and friends for nothing. If you're turning into the girl who cried wolf.
With superhuman perception, in shearwater form, your eyes sweep over the street and its environs, not finding a pebble out of sight. There are the usual indicators of poverty, disrepair, decrepitude, but you don't see any evidence of criminal activity. A homeless man sleeps here, a window's been broken here, but nothing like what you're looking for. Odd increase in homelessness in this area. It's fairly rare in the Bay, since squatting is such an available option.
Was this a mistake? Did you confuse Piercings' furtive looks for a clue, finding patterns where none existed? No. You're sticking with your gut. Dad trusted it, why can't you? And it's not even a gut observation. It's data. Based on hard evidence, from a honed and developed thinker power. Yes. Data.
Your self-pep talk is interrupted by confirmation. You spot two cars, driving in a rough formation before parking sloppily on the side of the street by one of the cracked, hopefully soon to be condemned buildings. Neither look like they have Squealer's modifications on them.
The meeting place you assumed existed - it's not on Cammell, it's on Jackson, the street over. New Wave's information may have been close, but seemingly not exact. Assuming this is it. Which it has to be, right?
You shift closer, and true enough, in the time it took you to get closer to the building in question, Skidmark's stepped out of the car. He's got his arm wrapped around the waist of a woman, and six more people - Piercings among them - stand in a loose crowd around him.
You recognize Squealer from various videos published online of street races she's run, using quick monstrosities assembled and abandoned without any care or thought to the danger inherent in their existence. She's an ugly, trashy woman. A few inches shorter you, with thin blonde hair in asymmetrical pigtails, a torn camo jacket and booty shorts squeezing legs too fat to make the look appealing.
When she smiles at Skidmark - you assume that she's the girlfriend Piercings implied on his phone call with Dwayne - you can see yellowed teeth blackened, chipped or rotted out. Chemistry and Doctor tell you what common sense would imply - meth mouth.
A man wearing a basketball jersey for one of the local players gingerly opens a container - it looks like a repurposed insulin kit - but there's obviously a sickly brown liquid within these syringes, and you're a good distance away, at a bad angle for checking, admittedly, but they don't look all that clean.
"This shit don't look clean," Skidmark snaps, gesturing at the container. "Thought you were bringing high quality shit?"
Jersey shakes his head. "Sold it all, man. Got a good deal with the Nazi day before you called."
Nazi? E88 has to have its own means of 'providing' for interested members. Why would they, who have connections abroad, be trading with the Merchants?
"Mother-klukker," Skidmark swears. "When you called, you said you had some left over!"
Motherclucker? Why the restraint? "Sorry. This is it!"
Skidmark looks at him as if he were the stupidest person on Earth. "We tryna convince Mush to get his head straight, and you're giving me this? Motherfucker, this shit even pure?" he hisses.
Jersey steps back a bit, and Skidmark shakes his head in frustration. "Ain't even powder!"
"He's been clean for days, right, sweetie?" Squealer pipes up. She has a horrible voice. Like a chipmunk. "He'll be happy with anything at this point!"
Skidmark makes a face. "Not if he's all cold-turkey-ass 'ooh I'm gonna get all clean' again!" he snaps, and she slinks back a bit. "Aw, I'm sorry, babe. I ain't mean it. We just gon' have to improvise, 's'all. Close that shit up, Ty." He shows his rotting teeth and gestures his head at the apartment, beckoning the group forward. What are they, muscle? To intimidate Mush?
This is a sickening situation. He's trying to get better, and they're just going to force heroin on him until he relapses? No. Fuck that. No good can come of letting them enter that building. You take human form out of sight, and with superhuman grace, speed, and stealth, you descend. You lock onto Skidmark as he leads the group, and from his side, you pounce.
Your fist meets the side of his face in just the right position to knock him out - beyond expert knowledge of a handful of martial arts more than enough to safely render him unconscious, just like in the Hollywood movies and tv shows. Headway tingles, he's out before he hits the ground, and now you have to deal with the fact that you've jumped into a crowd of lowlives.
Squealer next. Can't risk her reaching inside her outfit for anything that might be tinkertech, no matter how unlikely it is with her specialty. A palm strike with one hand, launched in such a way as to throw her into those behind her, sending them off balance, even as you hurl Skidmark into the legs of several of his allies with your other hand, stealing their footing as well.
You've moved so quickly and entered the fray so unexpectedly from their perspective, that they haven't even had time to move past the deer-in-headlights stage. No point letting them. One has a bulge in his jeans back pocket that looks like a sidearm. You hurl yourself at him - a surgical strike downs him, before you sweep your legs out and let two of his comrades join him.
Piercings involuntarily jerks back in fear, and you give him two blows, one to the stomach, another to the face. Emotional. You've watched this monster make the world demonstrably worse for days now, you make an irrational decision, taking a precious quarter of a second more than you needed.
You aren't used to pulling your punches like this. Every strike, you have to consciously remember that Bet humans are more fragile than Mayim ones. What feel like soft jabs to you are knockout blows to any of these people. Behind your mask, you give a hate-filled stare to the last two, who now have the presence of mind to start turning away, with what starts as a clumsy shifting and will morph into a run if you let them.
You don't.
Maybe one and three-quarters seconds of effort for the eight of them, all in all.
You take a moment to strip them of weapons, hurling them up onto a rooftop that, from above, didn't look like it was easily accessible. For a second, you consider taking the sidearm for yourself, but you aren't sure how comfortable you are with looting an active crime scene on your homeworld, especially when the PRT might be looking for reasons to distrust you. Maybe you'd be willing to do something like that on Mahon, but not here.
While Skidmark is still out, you knot up his balaclava so that if he awakes, his eyes will be covered. Hopefully his power is line-of-sight limited. You do something similar for Squealer, using some zipties purchased at another world's hardware store to double-cuff her. Tinkers deserve extra precautions.
Headway took something from her. The power. The tinkering ability. You're certain of it. Oh, and a bit of knifelore from one, some modern gunplay from another as well, nothing too exciting in comparison. But a tinker ability… even a crappy one… you were thinking about getting a base of operations on Mahon even before you downed Squealer. But there's even more incentive now.
You grab Piercings' cell phone - having memorized his passcode while watching his movements, it's clearly the best choice in case the 9-1-1 operator asks you to dial a PRT non-emergency line. Their protocol likely wouldn't dictate that, but better safe than sorry.
You almost feel disassociated from yourself right now. Heart pounding, a surging wave of triumph threatening to break through carefully curated professionalism and focus. Not now, T- Factota.
The ones you downed will only be out for ten to thirty minutes. You'll have to deal with Mush fast. Maybe you could have let them find him for you, but then you would have had to fight them in close quarters, on a turf they likely understood better than you. Higher chance of being spotted, even with absurd stealth skill. No, not worth it.
You'll just have to rely on investigation. Zipties latched on to all of your captures' arms and legs, you sprint silently into the apartment building. You have no idea what Mush looks like and have no means to detect parahumans without letting them get the advantage first - so you hope this building isn't too heavily squatted.
The building is in terrible shape. One of the many times you're grateful superhuman Perception can be filtered. Graffiti, unexplained splotches, doors off the hinges, an overpowering sense of decay permeating the atmosphere. You can see places where some of the prior residents defecated in the hallways in ages past, leaving stains that were never cleaned.
You specify 'prior residents' because the building is seemingly empty of everyone but the roaches. You're going floor by floor, checking rooms, and now that you're at the top, you're growing increasingly concerned that you'll have to leave in a few minutes to check on the Merchants to make sure they haven't hurt themselves in their confusion… and then you hear, of all things, a soft belch.
If you hadn't been augmenting sight and hearing aspects of Perception, you might have never noticed. Your eyes veer to a room at the very end - yes, that makes sense. The street's emptier on that side, he'd have more of a view, it's the closest thing you'll get to a penthouse in this part of town… that checks out.
The door… locked. Of course. You swear silently, and try to get a good look… no dice. You can't see inside, obviously. Your kingdom for x-ray vision. Reaching into your longcoat, you grab for something to use as a lockpick… but you realize you don't have the skill. You have the dexterity, but you don't know the technique! Fuck!
You'll have to settle for brute strength. You wouldn't try this with a tinker lair, or in a more put-together environment, but you press a thin metal bit, the kind you would have used to open the lock, to press a hole in the door. As small as possible, that he's least likely to notice, praying your Stealth and Carpentry are high enough to open a peephole above the lock without Mush noticing.
He doesn't. You can see the back of his head. He's sitting on a futon that's seen better days, the glow of a television illuminating the room, no sound coming from it. Craning your head around to get a good look, you can see beer bottles, glass and aluminum, chunks of scrap wood, bits of metal, miscellaneous clumps of refuse scattered around.
In an ordinary bachelor pad, you'd assume it was just clutter, but you suspect that's not the only case here. That kind of clutter doesn't make sense for an innocent in this man's position to have scattered around. That's ammunition. For Mush's Changer power.
Windows aren't an option. Boarded up. Damn. You had a brief thought about breaking them to get in.
Thankful that he's not watching, you widen the hole with your lockpick, enough for your pointer finger to fit through, and then, double checking for any watchful eyes besides your quarry, who's immersed with the TV, you shift your finger to an extended albatross talon. Having done so, you flick both locks down as quietly as possible.
There's an audible click. Your heart skips a beat, until you realize that it was only audible to you, a person with superhuman hearing who was right next to it. Mush's balding head doesn't move at all, no indication he noticed. That was terrifying.
Is this even the right thing to do? He was trying to change, get out of his rut. No. Not the time and place for doubts, and he could have easily skipped town, left this place and reinvented his cape identity in another city if he was truly invested in changing. He supported Skidmark as he spread poison through your city. If he wants to improve himself, he can do so after serving his time.
You can tell, just by looking, that the door will squeak when you open it. That might be another reason Mush picked this apartment. Meaning he'll be far more likely to react to you in time, relative to Skidmark and Squealer, who were easily ambushed. No helping it. No matter how stealthy you are, you can't disassemble the door or open it without him noticing. Not with your current skill level.
You yank the door open, and Mush jumps, obviously startled. His arm splits, power working before the mind can even consciously activate. Three tendrils of flesh fork out and grope for material - lurching for the beer bottle he was nursing, a plastic spork on the table, the TV remote - you can't let him build up. Could you beat him at his best? Probably. But why take that risk when you also have the Merchants down below to worry about?
The distance crossed in less than a half-second, you launch your fist at Mush's face. He's softer than the kinds of people you're used to fighting, and you have to manage the blow carefully to find that sweet spot between ineffectiveness and permanent brain damage. But you manage it, Headway tingling right as the flesh-tendrils start integrating with the clutter they were reaching for.
Mush sprawls back-first onto the coffee table and you realize just as he's falling that his power is taking in his clothes, flesh worms emerging from his chest, tearing them apart and spreading them out with the overall shell. The disgust at seeing this thin, pale, scrawny, balding Gollum of a man nude aside, you feel a sudden hitch of panic when you realize that his power isn't stopping now that he's unconscious.
Handsy tendrils of mangled flesh seek out any available loose matter, a protective shell of everything from a used tissue to what he was just wearing to a nearby glass bottle forming around his vulnerable form. Zipties would be worse than useless here. You don't know his tendrils' range, so, noting that they seem to be moving slowly by your standards, you frantically rush around to grab the more problematic items - wood, metal, glass, and start kicking them aside so that his flesh can't latch onto them.
You watch for a minute or two as the yearning flesh assembles protection for its host from the refuse you didn't want to risk getting close enough to move, noting as you do that they don't seem to be subsuming the futon, coffee table, space heater, generator or television into the mass. You momentarily consider using any combination of those to restrain him, but what if the flesh starts trying to disassemble those as well? You have no real way of gauging if his form is limited in strength.
Fuck. Nothing you can do but toss the larger matter aside. You flip the coffee table, dropping Mush harmlessly on his belly, his power groping at particulates in the dirty carpet to try and add more to the amalgamated shell, and with your other hand, you toss the futon to the other side of the room, joined soon by the coffee table.
You spot Mush's cell phone somewhere in the amorphous gunk making up his forming body. Wow, you're really glad you had the foresight to grab Piercings' phone. You would not want to leave him alone like this. The tendrils don't seem to be straying too far from him, but there's always the possibility that could change.
You dial 9-1-1. "9-1-1, what is the address of your emergency?" A woman's voice.
"57 Jackson Avenue, north side, Trainyard. Could I be redirected to the PRT line, please?"
"This operator redirects parahuman-related crimes as well. What is your name?"
"Factota. I'm an independent heroine. I've just captured or disabled three supervillains - Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush, as well as six nonpowered associates."
The tendrils are grasping for dust and grime, but they're increasingly finding less material to work with. You allow yourself a bit of relief. The tendrils seem to have a set range limit. If Mush were more ambulatory, he'd likely be able to grab on to more matter, expand his shifted state, but as he is - down and out.
"The PRT's automated systems have already alerted the nearest containment team and heroes on patrol. They will be en route as we speak. Could you please tell me the phone number you're calling from?"
"No, I'm afraid this is one of the perps' phones. I can keep it on me until the crisis is resolved."
"That would be helpful, thank you. Could you please tell me what happened, as concisely as possible?"
"I've been stalking the Merchants for several weeks now, found an opportunity, engaged them and defeated them. Skidmark, Squealer, and the six baselines are ziptied down on the street by the entrance to the building. Mush can't be ziptied due to the nature of his power - he's unconscious but his power is active."
Your heart is pounding. "I'm transferring the call over to Lieutenant Michaels, the PRT squad leader handling this situation. She knows what you've told me. Do you understand?"
The moment the call was rerouted to the PRT, an automated captioning system would have sent the agents on call a transcript. "Yes. Thank you."
There's a click. "Lieutenant Michaels, Parahuman Response Team." Her voice is harsher, more clipped than the operator's. "We will be there in four minutes, Dauntless and Shadow Stalker will be there in three." That's fas - did she say Shadow Stalker? "To confirm - all nine Merchants are disabled, cuffed, and disarmed."
You try to get your thoughts back in order. "Correct."
"Status of Squealer's tinkertech? Any exotic or anomalous technology?"
"I didn't see any when I searched her. They rode in what looked like conventional station wagons.." Hard to believe those went out of style on Aleph. You don't know why that thought occurred to you just now. Nerves, maybe. "She's double-cuffed, arms and ankles."
"You said Mush's power is active. Provide some details, please."
"I have a combat thinker ability that lets me render individuals unconscious for periods of ten to thirty minutes. Varies by person, randomly." Higher medical skill might let you determine the duration more effectively, or make it last longer without harming the person in question. "I struck him when he was just initiating his power, but he managed to assemble a mass for himself while unconscious. It seems to operate autonomously. I've removed most of the ammunition from his immediate range, which seems to be three to five feet."
"Noted. You said Skidmark was cuffed. Does he have line-of-sight for his surroundings?"
"I tied his mask into a knot, and his limbs are bound with zipties. He shouldn't."
"We've diverted an ambulance to the scene, but to confirm - do any of the disabled Merchants require medical attention?"
"They shouldn't, ma'am. My power tells me the path to take to strike someone so that they're rendered unconscious without permanent injury. I didn't spot any critical wounds when I looked over them."
"Our liaison with New Wave tells us you're a skill-combat thinker. Is this correct?"
They already know that? Wow. You were expecting to have to tell them explicitly. "Yes, ma'am."
"So your understanding of their medical condition comes from a parahuman power."
"Correct. Is that a problem?"
"It's something we'll have to mark down. You said that the unconsciousness effect of your power lasts ten to thirty minutes. How long ago was the effect used on your first targets?"
"Seven and a half minutes ago, by my count."
There's an almost unnoticeable pause. "We should arrive in time. Do you feel comfortable with your ability to defeat Mush, should he awaken in that time?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Then continue to stand guard over him. Based on the information we have, an active parahuman power is the most dangerous thing about this situation as it currently stands. We will deploy containment foam when on site, but for the time being, we need you monitoring the situation."
"Can do."
"Good. Which apartment number are you in?"
"426. The number's faded, but it's on the far west side of the top floor. Door's open and will remain open."
"Conventional weapons. You said that the Merchants were disarmed. Where did you place the weapons?"
"I threw them up onto a nearby rooftop, one without convenient access."
"Which address?"
You take a moment to consider the street's geography. "55 Jackson."
There's another pause on the other end. "That's a four story building. Was their removal assisted by your power?" 'Or are you listing the wrong address', is the unspoken rest of that question.
"Yes, ma'am. I have superhuman strength born of enhanced understanding of fitness and exercise, as well as increased skill with throwing objects." Primitive marksmanship coming in clutch. You'll have to thank Usopp. You're not sure you could have pulled it off without him.
"Noted. Is this your first time working in a crisis situation with the PRT or Protectorate?"
"Yes, ma'am."
You hear the sound of two motorcycles revving. That must be Dauntless and Shadow Stalker. "GPS shows heroes on site. We are forty-five seconds behind. To confirm - are there any civilians in the immediate area who may be endangered by potential PRT operations?"
"I didn't see any. The building Mush is squatting in is otherwise uninhabited."
"Do you know this through a parahuman power?"
"Yes. Enhanced perception - sight, hearing, smell - with filtering."
"Noted. We will be arriving in thirty seconds. Remain on line, but assume that the next time we speak will be in person."
"I understand. Thank you."
"You're welcome." After that, there's silence on the line. You can hear shuffling in the background, and the sound of a moving vehicle. The heroes' motorcycles have since been deactivated.
Whew. That… was intense! You really locked yourself into hero mode there, just a constant back and forth, going purely off of instinct and a bit of Acting as the hero you hope to be. You wish you had a good view of the outside, it'd be interesting to learn how Dauntless and… Shadow Stalker… were handling the disabled Merchants.
Shit. Why did it have to be her? You try to focus. Mush's Changer form is shifting slightly, but the tendrils have slowed their groping and are more randomly shifting the detritus around than doing anything productive to broaden their reach. Some bits of the old carpet have been ripped off where weak points were found, and you shoot a nervous glance at the wood, wondering if he can start disassembling the floor and accessing whatever junk might be below.
He doesn't even look human anymore.
You hear heavy footsteps below you. You back up so that you'll be visible from the hallway, hopefully avoiding potential friendly fire. "Clear a path!" Michaels' voice booms loud enough from the first floor that you could probably hear it without superhuman perception. Machine-assisted speakers built into her armor, from the sound of it.
They make it up the stairs in impressive time for baseline humans, and two squaddies enter, tall, faceless figures in black ceramic and klospenian - the PRT's patented fabric - with interlayered chainmail mesh. You wonder what it would take to reverse engineer that armor. Or buy a suit off of them. Who knows. Maybe you'll wind up in their good books after this.
Standing back, you watch them advance, throwing hand signals you don't recognize all the while. Maintaining at least a six foot distance from Mush means a few of them brush within a few feet of you, and you carefully step out of their way. Michaels and two squaddies surround the unconscious parahuman, one carefully aiming the nozzles emerging from his flamethrower-like back-mounted container tank. Two others stand at the entryway. All have rifles ready, but not aimed directly at Mush.
"Launch!" Michaels calls out, voice warbled slightly by her helmet.
"Launching!" the foam squaddie shouts. Saito, from the nametag.
Streams of yellow-white liquid spew out from the nozzle, rapidly expanding into the containment foam the PRT uses to nonlethally contain parahumans. It takes mere seconds for Mush to be fully covered. "Empty!"
You half-worried the foam would just be subsumed by Mush's Changer effect, but the impact/tear resistance seems to apply to his effect as well. There's some struggling, and you see some of the liquid get absorbed into the shell before it can expand, but the bulk of it, maybe ninety-five percent of it, functions as intended. The constant shift of his altered state ceases.
"Breathe a sigh of relief, fellas. Crisis over," Michaels says. She cranes her faceplate over to you. "Nice to meet you in person, Factota. Lieutenant Michaels, PRT."
"Likewise."
"I'd shake your hand, but it's awkward as hell with the gloves."
You wave her off. "Don't even worry about it."
"Good work here. We'll need to have the EMTs take a closer look at the folks you brought down, but this seems like it was done cleanly and professionally. Were you operating under another identity before this?"
You shake your head. "Just my power at work. Combat thinker thing."
"I'd say lucky you, but I know from experience that powers are never that convenient," Michaels says. It's impossible to gauge her expression through the faceplate. Again, x-ray vision. "Don't leave just yet, we'll need to get your statement, but you can go on downstairs if you'd like. Dauntless might want to speak with you."
Fuck. You're disguising your voice, and putting on a professional front, but does Sophia know you well enough to recognize you through that? She shouldn't, but… no point dwelling.
"Thank you. Is there anything else I can help with where Mush is concerned?" you offer.
Michaels shakes her head, and that's a bit of an endeavor with the PRT's armor. "He's all foamed up. We'll be transporting him shortly. Frankly, I might sound a bit rude saying this, but the best way you can help is by staying out of the hallway while we cart him to the van with the others."
"Gotcha. I can take a hint," you say, in what you hope is a friendly, joking way. Impossible to tell through Michaels' faceplate. You step towards the hallway. "Thank you for showing up as quickly as you did."
"No problem. Stay safe, and if I don't see you again, keep up the good work!"
A quick speed-walk downstairs (no functioning elevators in abandoned buildings - you suspect all of the more crucial wiring and electronics have been stripped by enterprising crackheads anyway). You find Dauntless and Shadow Stalker standing close to where you left the bulk of the Merchants (in custody now), the latter leaning against a flickering streetlight antsily.
Dauntless spots you and gives a friendly wave. You can't see much of his face, either, save for his eyes, but he's good at smiling with them. "Factota, I presume! The lady of the hour! Come on over."
You aren't sure whether to offer a handshake or not, so you settle for offering a wave. Shadow Stalker is looking in your direction, and it's impossible to gauge her expression. Man, you're beginning to hate that, even as you feel like a hypocrite in your featureless, reflective oval mask. "Dauntless. Shadow Stalker. Good to meet you both."
"Same to you!" Dauntless replies. He has a contagious joviality. You think you can spot the affectation behind it, but it feels more like he's exaggerating an existing personality than inventing one wholesale. You could see yourself enjoying working with someone like him. Shame about the Sophia-sized elephant in the room.
He's a tall man, naturally tall, not cheating with costumes or heeled boots. Tailor skill isn't just for good design, after all. Gold and white heavy armor is accentuated by his stereotypical Greek-style helmet, and you can spot the famous Arclance softly shimmering with electricity on his back. You don't give Shadow Stalker much attention, hoping that it's easier to sell being impressed by Dauntless than her. (Not that difficult!)
"Yeah, same," she says, with more energy than you expected, almost as if trying to force you to give her attention. Her voice is muffled by the helmet, but it's still recognizably her.
"I saw your introductory video, but you dropped off the grid for a while. This is a hell of way to make a comeback!" Dauntless gestures to the van, parked next to an ambulance. Doors are open and you can see a furious Squealer sitting alone, EMTs looking over a still unconscious Skidmark.
No guards, you suppose they expected the two heroes to be enough. A few conventional police squad cars have arrived for the lesser Merchants by now - you suppose PRT involvement greases the wheels there.
"Thank you. The Merchants have been on my radar for a while now."
"Ah. Personal?" Dauntless asks.
You shake your head. "They're bottomfeeders. I figured they'd be a good start for something more."
"A good start? Ambitious!" he replies, and you can hear the grin in his voice. You're a bit unsettled by Shadow Stalker's nod there. "How far do you plan to go?"
"As far as I can," you reply, honestly. "You can go pretty far with some planning and a good combat thinker power."
"Clearly," he agrees. "Planning to do that kind of indie work solo sounds like quite a commitment."
Shadow Stalker shifts in a way that might have been imperceptible to anyone save you. You continue. "I don't plan to take any more risks than I have to, but… I got these powers for a reason. And that reason is to make the Bay a better place."
Limiting yourself to only protecting this city feels wrong, but you have to do it if you want to keep a low profile. Can't withstand the threats of the world as you are now. Have to restrain those impulses to do more. "If you want to fix this city, kicking Merchant ass is a good way to start," Shadow Stalker says, appreciatively. You don't miss the glance Dauntless shoots her.
Oh no. You thought she might have been judging you. This is far, far worse.
"I might not use such colorful language-" Dauntless says it in a tone that implies it's a not so subtle hint. Your Dad used to do things like that when you were younger. "-but I am inclined to agree. This is basically the ideal way for an independent heroine to introduce herself."
"You take the guys who are selling drugs to kids, tearing up the streets with ugly ass tinkertrucks, the monsters like Mush, and you beat the hell out of them. It's good stuff," Sophia nods vigorously. Is… is that admiration in her voice?
Oh God. You're going to need a shower, and not just because of the mess in the apartment complex.
"Uh." You catch the verbal filler and curse inwardly, willing yourself to speak coherently. "Thank you. It's nice to hear. Sorry, all the praise is a bit overwhelming."
Dauntless holds up his hands reassuringly, and backs up a step. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. Didn't mean to make you feel cornered."
"You didn't, don't worry," you say, maybe a bit too quickly.
"I'm glad. I'd hate to scare you off on our first meeting," he says, lightly. "What's your next move?"
"Well, um, I collected a decent bit of information while scoping out the Merchants. I'm not sure how legally admissible it will be, but I can give statements, some photographs I took of one of their dealers with his clients. I don't know how much is actually left of the Merchants' noncape operations - I just saw an opportunity to take down Skidmark, Squealer and Mush in one move and took it."
"Don't feel bad about that," Dauntless replies. "In your shoes, I would likely have done the same. Getting the bad capes off the streets should be the priority. There's way more harm someone like Skidmark can do with their powers than the average dealer."
"That was my thinking, too," you nod.
He raises two fingers and moves them as if to press them against his helmet, before pausing. "Do you want to give your statement now, or wait until another time to do it at HQ?"
"Now is fine. While it's fresh in my memory."
"Awesome. The helmet has a built-in bodycam and recorder - are you comfortable being recorded?"
That sounds better than being stuck in an office in Protectorate headquarters or… however else it would happen. "Go ahead."
He presses into his helmet, and a yellow light appears above his right eye-slit. "You're now on camera. Feel free to begin wherever you'd like."
You walk him through the process - getting a list of addresses from Brandish, following the leads, getting lucky with Piercings, listening in on his phone calls, finding out about Mush's reverse intervention, and your enhanced perception spotting your quarry's furtive looks in this general vicinity. Dauntless asks questions here and there for clarification, but lets you do most of the talking.
"...and then I called 9-1-1 with Piercings' phone, and now we're here," you say, finishing.
"Dang. Skill-combat thinkers get it done," Dauntless says, admirably, and that compliment feels a lot better coming from him than Sophia. "If anything will get your name out there, that will."
You pause. You actually hadn't put much consideration into your reputation as of late, you were so laser focused on getting the Merchants dealt with. "My name out there?"
Shadow Stalker pipes in. "You know. Rep. You gotta get people to go 'oh crap, that's Factota'. Local thug keeping an eye out, not bothering people, because he knows 'hey, Factota might come after me.'"
You hate that that sounds like a tempting argument. But the trouble with that, the local thug might be Lung or Kaiser, and they've got a lot more power than some two-bit dealers with a couple easily-planned-around tricks.
"It's possible you might want to avoid that kind of exposure, though," Dauntless mentions. Shadow Stalker whirls towards him a bit faster than expected, and you suspect she's got a dirty look on her face beneath her mask. "One option is yielding the credit to the Protectorate. Claim it was wholly a PRT in-house job. I'm not suggesting this to advance my career or anything underhanded like that - but too much attention for an independent cape can be fatal if it happens too early in your career.
You could also go for a middle of the road option. Claim it as a joint venture. Information from New Wave, manpower from the new independent cape Factota and the Protectorate. A joint operation. We wouldn't elaborate on your capabilities to the public in any case, and no matter what, the Bay's heroes would all be aware of what you did tonight."
You hesitate for a moment, before responding.
How do you want to handle credit with the Protectorate? This scene will be written for the next update as a flashback with the winning vote.
-[ ] "I like the idea of getting my name out there. Full credit, please. Something like 'independent hero Factota operating on information from New Wave'?"
-[ ] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
-[ ] "I'd rather keep low key for now, if you don't mind. The Protectorate can take the credit, so long as New Wave's mentioned as well in the press statement."
–
After you answer, you add, "Did we talk about Stain?"
Dauntless tilts his head. You're almost worried he'll topple over, with that giant helmet. "Stain? Where'd you hear that name?"
"Piercings mentioned him. On that phone call with Dwayne. When I was recapping, I only mentioned the bits relevant to the Merchant takedown so you guys would have an easier time, organization-wise. I don't know if he's a cape or not, but Piercings mentioned doing jobs for him."
Dauntless looks like he's thinking, which is impressive when you can't see most of his face. "I know the name's come up in some interrogations. We aren't sure if they're a cape, either. They're active to some extent in the drug scene in the trainyard. We thought they might be Merchant-affiliated. Did Piercings imply that they were?"
You appreciate his using your made-up, unoriginal name for the dealer in question. "He said that Skidmark talked to Dwayne about reaching out to Stain. Piercings said the jobs he did for Stain were from last year."
"So if he's a cape, he's got some experience under his belt," Dauntless muses. "Thank you for telling us about that, we can have Informations look into that."
He deactivates the camera now that your statement is over, and you take that as permission to get a bit more frank than you might have been while being filmed. "You asked me about what I might do next. If you guys don't have anyone you'd rather I go after… I was thinking I might target some more of the Bay's bottomfeeder villain capes. The people you might not have the resources for. Stain, Whirlygig, Trainwreck. People like that. Independents, like Circus, Über, Leet."
You can make out Dauntless' eyebrows raising. "Quite a spread there. I remember Miss Militia mentioning you said you might want to take on Lung, and I thought she was joking."
"Really? That's ballsy," Shadow Stalker remarks. Please stop that.
"Maybe something to do in the future. I'm still learning, and there's more room for my powers to grow. That's part of why I waited so long to actually do something."
Dauntless chuckles. "Your powers have that incubation phase, too, huh?"
You nod. "Learning based. Take something mundane, add practice, make it superhuman. That's the cliff's notes of my power."
You feel a little dirty lying to a guy like this. It's not quite lying, but you're leaving out enough of the truth to feel bad.
"It's the kind of thing that could lend itself well to investigations like what you did with the Merchants. I heard over the radio - we were listening in to your call with the Lieutenant on our headpieces - you have a real grab bag of tricks up your sleeve. If you can 'teach' yourself to be a superhuman investigator, that's one hell of a thinker power, on top of already superhuman capabilities."
"Just takes time," you say.
"Trust me," he laughs. "You found the right guy to commiserate on that front."
You laugh, too. He continues. "I think what you're doing and planning is great, if you want to stay an independent hero. I'm not the Director, though, and I suspect she might believe differently than I would when it comes to what she might describe as loose cannon independents."
Shadow Stalker visibly stiffens. You try to ignore her. "So does that mean you wouldn't be able to give me any information to work off of? I don't know if I could have done this without New Wave's list."
"Ahhh…" Dauntless starts, reluctance obvious in his voice. "No. I'm sorry. The Director would not be happy giving independents more information than we have to. Collaboration with New Wave might be a better route, if you're still interested in seeking third party knowledge. We have a more established working relationship with them."
"Dang," you say. Saying the pseudo-curse genuinely feels a bit unnatural in your mouth, but you're reluctant to swear in Dauntless' presence after he told off Shadow Stalker.
"I think that, now that I'm already being a heel, I oughta mention this. I know capes can have… a lot of baggage about institutions, and bureaucracies." You know where this is going. "But. I know we've touched on this, but… being an independent hero is dangerous. I'm sure you've seen the statistics on indie survival rates. I'm not gonna regurgitate all of those for you here. I'm just gonna say - being a government-sanctioned hero isn't as restrictive as you might think.
You have support, steady pay, a constant mission. It's not just talking to kids at schools and newspeople, either. There are Protectorate capes who go undercover, who liaise oversees with foreign allies, who protect small towns and rural areas, who exclusively respond to crises for search and rescue. If you name something a hero could do as a focus, there's a cape in the Protectorate who does it. Heck, someone with your skillset would be perfect for Watchdog, now that I think about it."
The investigative branch of the PRT. They look into cape-related financial malfeasance, fraud, conspiracies. You wouldn't be interested in joining WEDGDG full time, but you can see doing jobs for them in the future, if they'll let you.
"What I'm trying to say is - it's not the kind of job where you have to be pigeonholed into being a cog in the machine, some dancing circus monkey for the cameras. I'm not getting strongarmed by the Director into telling you all of this - I hope I'm doing a good job of conveying this information. This is what I genuinely believe. We could really use someone like you on our side."
You can't stop yourself from squirming a little. Why couldn't he have been a jackass instead? Someone you could feel good about saying no to? "I… I'm sorry, Dauntless. I can't."
He somehow manages to convey disappointment while dressed head to toe like a modern-day Spartan warrior. "I understand. Then that's all I'll say on the subject of directly joining. Thank you for hearing me out."
"I-" you interject almost as soon as he finishes, and feel a bit self-conscious. "I have heard about just registering with the PRT, and collecting a stipend like that?"
"That's more complicated. Stalker, you might know more than I. Were you registered with the PRT before you signed on?"
She shrugs, her posture slouching a bit. She's bored by this direction of conversation. "Nope."
"Dang. Factota, with your power, you might be better off just learning law and looking the details up on the Internet. I can give you the short version, is that alright?" You nod. "Bearing in mind I was never independent, and I'm not too knowledgeable on how exactly that life works - the lowest level is just… I want to say… twenty-five thousand dollars a year? I wish I remembered. You go to our TRA department - sorry, that's Testing, Research, and Analysis - they make sure your powers aren't radioactive or mind controlling or anything like that, perform some tests to get an idea of your powers. You sign a contract agreeing to act lawfully - that might be something for you to look into, study closely."
"That sounds good," you say, not sure if you're even lying. "Do you have to unmask? I sort of want to keep my civilian and cape life separate. In every respect."
Dauntless shakes his helmet. "Not as far as I'm aware, for that lowest level. For the most part, the lowest level of registration is close to being purely symbolic. You don't get that much in salary, and you'll still be expected to help out in crises, but the Protectorate won't bother you too much - if you're worried about the PRT constantly knocking on your door. You'd be in decent company if you went down that route. Dragon's on the lowest level of independents registered with the PRT, believe it or not."
You blink underneath your mask. "Really? But she's…so important."
"Crazy, right?" he says. "It's just like I said. The Protectorate isn't monolithic. There are higher levels, where you unmask and keep yourself on reserve, but don't join a team full-time, or you ask to be assigned to a small town or national park. Some big city capes use opportunities like that as a break or retirement. But that's where my knowledge really gets thin on the ground, I'm sorry to say."
"Thank you," you say, meaning it. "So if Dragon's on that lowest level, does that mean I could be authorized to sell goods I make with my power?"
"You make goods too? Like, with some sort of super-craftsmanship?" he asks, sounding surprised.
You nod. "Metalworking, sewing, carpentry-" you gesture at your outfit, "-Costume design. There's a lot I'm pretty good at, not just the fighting stuff."
Dauntless raises his arms and performatively presses them against his helmet, as if clutching his head. "The Director's gonna have my hide for not being able to recruit you, Factota," he bemoans.
"Sorry," you say, sheepishly chuckling.
"Don't even worry about it," he holds up a hand.
"I also talked to Brandish and Lady Photon from New Wave before I really started this hunt in earnest. I told them I might be good at teaching people skills, like, superhumanly good. Brandish, um… she was very polite, and very professional, but she basically told me that she couldn't trust someone who wasn't registered. She raised comparisons to Teacher."
Shadow Stalker mutters 'bitch' under her breath almost imperceptibly. You hate, hate, hate, that she keeps saying things you sympathize or even agree with.
Dauntless winces. "Oof. I… That was a bit undiplomatic of her."
"Would the TRA analysis help with that? You said it tested for mind altering effects. Could I teach someone on PRT payroll and prove I'm not… some kind of a monster?"
"I wish I could help with that. I'm sorry Brandish said that about you, I can imagine it probably felt pretty crappy to hear. Um… when I did power testing, I know Master capabilities were covered. But if you're talking about something as direct as teaching, that kind of… I don't know, mental transfer, I suspect it would be more involved than what Shadow Stalker and I had to deal with. This is all outside of my wheelhouse, I'm afraid. You might be better off doing some research on your own."
"No problem. Was just hoping to get the inside scoop on it all," you say. "I'll look into it when I have the ti-"
You stop short.
The PRT squaddies, led by Michaels, roll out with what looks like a modified stretcher, carrying over Mush's now conscious form. He looks… confused and scared, embedded helplessly in the mass of once-assimilated junk and foam, and you feel a horrible sense of guilt. Eyes flicker back and forth, and his mouth is frozen in a quivering scream, muffled by the foam. "O-oh God," you say, staring at him.
"Not a pretty sight," Dauntless agrees. "You said they were pressuring him into doing some of this stuff?"
"Not all of it," Shadow Stalker scoffs. "Who cares if he felt bad about it? He was still helping a guy like Skidmark push poison to kids, fuck up whole communities. Don't kick yourself over teaching an asshole like him a lesson just because he's scared to face consequences for once in his miserable life."
She… she just… that was your reasoning. You remember, less than half an hour ago, having those exact same thoughts, those exact same justifications, for targeting Mush. You shudder a little, and you recover in time to see Dauntless reaching out towards you. "Hey. You alright?"
"Yeah. Just… the night is catching up to me, is all."
"Of course," Dauntless bobs his helmet up and down. "If it makes you feel any better, prison programs for villain capes tend to have well-funded rehab clinics, where applicable."
"A little," you reply.
"I'm glad to hear that. Thank you again for doing this. I'm ashamed that we hadn't brought these people in already."
Michaels shouts over to Dauntless, summoning him over to address something to do with the prisoners' transport forms. "I'll be back in a moment," he says. "If you leave while the Lieutenant and I are talking - just know that, whatever you decide, I look forward to working with you more in the future."
You shake his hand. "Next time we see each other, we'll both be stronger," you say, hoping the joke is taken in good humor.
"Ha! Very true!" he waves goodbye, and jogs off, clanking a lot less than you would expect.
And then there were two. "That guy is too much sometimes," Shadow Stalker says quietly, so Dauntless doesn't overhear. Thank God. She said something disagreeable. You aren't insane. Completely. "Hey. We didn't get a chance to talk without Dunceless listening in. Pretty fucking badass what you pulled here."
You try not to visibly stiffen. "Thanks."
"I wanted to do shit like this when I was indie. Never got farther than some worthless hoods," she folds her arms, anger evident in her voice. "You're right to want to keep your distance from the PRT. They want to strip out your spirit, sanitize it."
"Really," you say, flatly.
She shakes her head bitterly. "Yeah. Fucking sucks. Dauntless ain't wrong about indie life being okay if you stick your head in the PRT's box, but what if you actually want to do something, and fuck up a couple times? Then they slam the hammer down."
A lull in the conversation follows, and you very hesitantly break it. "Is that what happened to you?"
"Yeah. It blows. I miss having the kind of freedom you do."
Hold on, wait a minute. Wasn't the PRT… covering for her bullshit? You assumed that was why… why she got away with this shit for so long. "It can't be all that bad," you prod a bit. "It gets you someone in your corner, right?"
She's silent for a bit, considering. "I guess you kind of have a point. You can still get away with a lot of stuff, yeah."
You can practically feel your blood boiling. Shadow Stalker and Dauntless. Night and fucking day. How… how much does the Protectorate know? How much did they know?
Doesn't matter. Never mattered, in the long run. You're a hero now, you'll work with them, but no matter how nice and well-meaning Dauntless is, you sure as fuck aren't joining full time. You can bear working with them briefly, at the very least. "Think I'm gonna stick with being independent."
"Smart lady," Shadow Stalker says, and you can hear the smile in her voice. "Look me up sometime. I'd love to go on patrol with you if this is the kinda shit you do."
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," you say, hoping you don't sound as obviously insincere as that statement feels. Dauntless and Michaels' conversation doesn't look like something that can be easily resolved in the next few minutes - bureaucratic matters, something to do with containing a parahuman who was actively using assimilatory powers at the time of foaming - and you're almost positive that if you keep talking to Shadow Stalker, you'll wind up putting a fist through her chest. "It's been an adrenaline-filled night. I'm going to head home now that I've given my statement. Cool to get a chance to talk to you."
"Need a ride back to your neck of the woods?" Shadow Stalker offers. "Bet I can talk Dauntless into letting me do it."
You shake your head. "I've got alternative means," you say. If there was anyone to show off in front of… You give a quick glance to the apartment, before you sprint towards it, Fitness, Running, Acrobatics, and Freerunner synergizing to let you scale a four story building in the space of fifteen seconds, before you break out into a sprint, jumping rooftop to rooftop, only occasionally pausing to get a grip in the side of a structure with a story difference. You hear Sophia murmur 'holy shit' as you do, and you allow yourself that petty bit of oneupmanship.
You obviously abandon the charade once you're positive you're out of sight, and take your shearwater form home. Along the way, a thought occurs to you. Sophia was your first real fight… ever. And she wound up being there for the aftermath of your first real fight as a hero. You guess life is sadistically funny like that.
–
You can hear Dad's surprised gasp when you come in from the backyard. "You're safe!" he exclaims, from his spot in the living room. You feel a pang of sadness. He didn't even try to go to sleep. He laughs in relief, and pulls you in for a hug. "How did it go?"
For a blissful half hour, you forget about old memories, about powerlessness and anxiety and feelings of worthlessness, about worries about the future, about Baroque Works and Yonkou and Endbringers and… whatever else awaits you. "It was that easy? Seven and a half minutes? Seriously?" "You met Dauntless! Really! What was he like?"
It's nice. You fill him on the details, trying and failing to skim over the grosser and more horrific bits. He laughs, he worries. He shows pride. "You've done something incredible today, Taylor," he beams. "Oh man, it's too bad it's so late, I'd take you out to celebrate! Come on. We gotta do someth-"
Sometimes things don't have to be training, or stopping a supervillain, or saving an island, to give life meaning. Sometimes you just need a private late night celebration with your Dad.
Before you head back to the Merry, you reactivate what you thought would be a disposable Prima account, and reach out to New Wave once more.
Good morning. This is Factota. I wanted to reach out and say thank you to Brandish and Lady Photon for the information they gave me on the Merchants. I was able to use it as a lead from which to extrapolate, investigate and break their operation
Breaking the operation's back… does that carry too many connotations of violence? Should you revise… oh fuck it. It's late. You're tired. You revise the message to just say 'break their operation'. If it were another day, you might have spent ages staring at it out of anxiousness, but it's not worth the trouble. Maybe it's a bit clunky, but you've had a long night.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
To get from the storeroom to the women's room, you have to go through the deck first. You're stealthy enough that you never wake anyone (you hope), so it's just a bit of an inconvenient detour. Maybe it'd be easier if you had Sophia's powers, but you aren't even sure you consider her worth calling 'an enemy to be defeated'.
You let out a yawn, and you're about to unceremoniously collapse into your hammock… but then you see Luffy at the figurehead, napping while sitting straight up. You walk up to him and gently tap him on the shoulder. "Gah!" he shouts, almost falling off into the sea, and he hurriedly slaps the ship's railing to keep a grip. "Taaayylor! Geez, you scared me!"
You smile, despite yourself. Hopefully that didn't wake anyone. Luffy grins widely, rubbing his eyes. "Well? How'd the fight go?"
"It went great! It… almost wasn't even a fight, believe it or not."
"Shishishishi! I can't believe I ordered you not to die, then!" he laughs. "So. Did that help you to be a hero?"
That's… actually an interesting question. Are you a hero now? Yes, absolutely. By any definition of the word, you've noticeably changed Brockton Bay for the better, in the course of less than ten minutes. But… are you the hero you dreamed of being? No. Not yet.
Only one answer, really.
"It's a good start."
46:95. Seaman (AoS) 10 not unlocked.
21:70. Boatswain 10 not unlocked. 33:80. Carpentry 7 not unlocked. 39:100. Teaching 6 not unlocked. (Daily bosun/First Stretch activities, rolls for sideways rain and morning table building combined here)
97:00. Marksmanship (Primitive) 5 unlocked. 81:80. Marksmanship (Primitive) 6 unlocked. 26:90. Fishing 6 not unlocked.
12:30. Master Resistance 1 not unlocked.
35:10. Sleight-of-Hand 2 unlocked. 54:50. Sleight-of-Hand 3 unlocked. 41:90. Sleight-of-Hand 4 not unlocked.
85:60. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 unlocked.
27:20. Parahuman: Skidmark unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
72:20. Parahuman: Tinker: Squealer unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
55:20. Parahuman: Mush unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
49:20. Marksmanship (Modern) 0 unlocked. 19:50. Marksmanship (Modern) 1 not unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
67:50. Knives 1 unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
54:100. Investigation 5 not unlocked. 35:90. Forensics 4 not unlocked. 22:60. Criminal Psychology 4 not unlocked. 41:50. Stealth 9 not unlocked. 23:50. Perception 9 not unlocked. (These two were given much better odds due to how much Taylor uses them in the update.) 12:80. Killing Intent 3 not unlocked.
+1 Kachi Kachi no Mi (4)
+1 Knives (1)
+1 Marksmanship (Modern) (0) New skill!
+2 Marksmanship (Primitive) (6)
+2 Sleight-of-Hand (3)
Parahuman: Mush available for training
Parahuman: Skidmark available for training
Parahuman: Tinker: Squealer available for training AFTER you have a large supply of relevant raw materials to work with, in an environment where you're largely free from disturbance or distress, with sufficient tools to start with. Engineering (category skill) 5+ recommended. Not available to train on Bet or Mayim for foreseeable future. Conveniently for you guys, meeting these requirements will also be helpful for training future Tinker powers.
21:70. Boatswain 10 not unlocked. 33:80. Carpentry 7 not unlocked. 39:100. Teaching 6 not unlocked. (Daily bosun/First Stretch activities, rolls for sideways rain and morning table building combined here)
97:00. Marksmanship (Primitive) 5 unlocked. 81:80. Marksmanship (Primitive) 6 unlocked. 26:90. Fishing 6 not unlocked.
12:30. Master Resistance 1 not unlocked.
35:10. Sleight-of-Hand 2 unlocked. 54:50. Sleight-of-Hand 3 unlocked. 41:90. Sleight-of-Hand 4 not unlocked.
85:60. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 unlocked.
27:20. Parahuman: Skidmark unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
72:20. Parahuman: Tinker: Squealer unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
55:20. Parahuman: Mush unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
49:20. Marksmanship (Modern) 0 unlocked. 19:50. Marksmanship (Modern) 1 not unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
67:50. Knives 1 unlocked. (Combat Reward!)
54:100. Investigation 5 not unlocked. 35:90. Forensics 4 not unlocked. 22:60. Criminal Psychology 4 not unlocked. 41:50. Stealth 9 not unlocked. 23:50. Perception 9 not unlocked. (These two were given much better odds due to how much Taylor uses them in the update.) 12:80. Killing Intent 3 not unlocked.
+1 Kachi Kachi no Mi (4)
+1 Knives (1)
+1 Marksmanship (Modern) (0) New skill!
+2 Marksmanship (Primitive) (6)
+2 Sleight-of-Hand (3)
Parahuman: Mush available for training
Parahuman: Skidmark available for training
Parahuman: Tinker: Squealer available for training AFTER you have a large supply of relevant raw materials to work with, in an environment where you're largely free from disturbance or distress, with sufficient tools to start with. Engineering (category skill) 5+ recommended. Not available to train on Bet or Mayim for foreseeable future. Conveniently for you guys, meeting these requirements will also be helpful for training future Tinker powers.
Author's Notes, further commentary on update:
The funny Ward interaction wound up being a bit less funny than it was in my head. Still kind of funny, in a twisted kind of way. Maybe I just have a horrid sense of humor. I'm sure someone else already came up with the idea of Sophia kind of being Taylor's Flash Thompson, but I don't read enough Wormfic to know whether or not that's cliche or not. I think it's a fun idea, and it makes Taylor squirm, which entertains me.
Sophia doesn't really 'admire' Factota - she just has this image in her head of Factota as symbolic of the kind of independent, asskicking, gets results heroine she wanted to be, and is frustrated she's not allowed to be. The actual image of Factota is already probably pretty boring and disappointing to her even after that short conversation, but Sophia wants Factota to be the badass indie vigilante type, so… there's a bit of self-delusion there.
Dauntless is a character that I love. One of my top ten Parahumans characters, easily. Heavens 12.none is one of my favorite things that Wildbow's ever written, and is proof of how one interlude can revolutionize how you view a character.
Both of these characters have unique interactions and synergies with Taylor that are fun to play around with, and that I hope to explore more in the future. Dauntless was one character I knew I had to get Taylor interacting with at some point. Just glad it was so soon.
A lower roll might have seen Taylor interacting with someone like Miss Militia (who wasn't willing to push too hard when the public was around, she's at least somewhat cognizant of PR, but would press if in private) or Battery, who would have pushed harder for her to join the Protectorate, been more interrogative, more fond of the bureaucracy, more institutionalized than someone Taylor can really relate to.
But a 93 gets you Dauntless, the closest thing Parahumans has to Captain America or Superman or the classical Paladin. It also gets you Shadow Stalker, who… well, to be honest, the 93 was mostly just for the Protectorate hero. The Ward was always set in stone. I wanted Sophia to be here for this, for exactly the reason I outlined in the last non-Dad, non-Luffy section. It comes full circle.
(I just wish I had been a more talented writer at seventeen, I always cringe my way through rereading H/NQ 1.)
A 93 also gets you a much easier takedown - all three capes caught off guard, Skidmark doesn't wake up before he's taken into PRT custody - he likely could have used his line-of-sight power to remove the knotted balaclava eventually, and then, even bound, could have been a major pain in the ass to deal with.
Mush could have noticed you sooner, had more time to build up, maybe enough time to defend himself, Factota forced to abandon parts of her costume or even yield the fight entirely due to being unable to impact his Changer state, if the rolls were really unlucky. (In that case, she likely would have retreated and called the PRT in.)
Skidmark is an uncomfortable character to write. That's just an observation, I'm glad he's never having an extended appearance in this story again. (He's probably not gonna be Birdcaged, but he'll at least be in a conventional prison for the foreseeable future.)
Some of you may not be aware of this - Mush's trying to recover and being held back by his 'allies' is canon per WoG. I would have posted that WoG as a link in the update, but couldn't figure out a convenient way to splice it and make it clear it was Wildbow's canon. I made up the bit about Skidmark directly pressuring him back into bad habit, but I think it's consistent with what we see of the character.
Also not too crazy about the ending scene with Danny and Taylor, I think it's a bit rushed, but I didn't want to functionally relitigate what just happened. Best to leave that as a private moment for the two of them.
2.25 will be kind of a speedbump - it will be, by necessity, be a fairly short update. This update was long as fuck and had a lot of ground to cover. I want the two days of sailing in Foolshout's climate zone to be their own update - they're gonna be the end of the bosun mandatory actions and I feel it's neater in their own little box. So 2.25 will be the last of the days in the First Stretch/Crucible.
I've talked enough. Vote options below. Reposting the credit option - what you choose will be applied retroactively in the next update, and you'll get to see Shadow Stalker and Dauntless' reactions to it. Remember to vote on both a plan and the credit option, they will be counted separately.
Sophia doesn't really 'admire' Factota - she just has this image in her head of Factota as symbolic of the kind of independent, asskicking, gets results heroine she wanted to be, and is frustrated she's not allowed to be. The actual image of Factota is already probably pretty boring and disappointing to her even after that short conversation, but Sophia wants Factota to be the badass indie vigilante type, so… there's a bit of self-delusion there.
Dauntless is a character that I love. One of my top ten Parahumans characters, easily. Heavens 12.none is one of my favorite things that Wildbow's ever written, and is proof of how one interlude can revolutionize how you view a character.
Both of these characters have unique interactions and synergies with Taylor that are fun to play around with, and that I hope to explore more in the future. Dauntless was one character I knew I had to get Taylor interacting with at some point. Just glad it was so soon.
A lower roll might have seen Taylor interacting with someone like Miss Militia (who wasn't willing to push too hard when the public was around, she's at least somewhat cognizant of PR, but would press if in private) or Battery, who would have pushed harder for her to join the Protectorate, been more interrogative, more fond of the bureaucracy, more institutionalized than someone Taylor can really relate to.
But a 93 gets you Dauntless, the closest thing Parahumans has to Captain America or Superman or the classical Paladin. It also gets you Shadow Stalker, who… well, to be honest, the 93 was mostly just for the Protectorate hero. The Ward was always set in stone. I wanted Sophia to be here for this, for exactly the reason I outlined in the last non-Dad, non-Luffy section. It comes full circle.
(I just wish I had been a more talented writer at seventeen, I always cringe my way through rereading H/NQ 1.)
A 93 also gets you a much easier takedown - all three capes caught off guard, Skidmark doesn't wake up before he's taken into PRT custody - he likely could have used his line-of-sight power to remove the knotted balaclava eventually, and then, even bound, could have been a major pain in the ass to deal with.
Mush could have noticed you sooner, had more time to build up, maybe enough time to defend himself, Factota forced to abandon parts of her costume or even yield the fight entirely due to being unable to impact his Changer state, if the rolls were really unlucky. (In that case, she likely would have retreated and called the PRT in.)
Skidmark is an uncomfortable character to write. That's just an observation, I'm glad he's never having an extended appearance in this story again. (He's probably not gonna be Birdcaged, but he'll at least be in a conventional prison for the foreseeable future.)
Some of you may not be aware of this - Mush's trying to recover and being held back by his 'allies' is canon per WoG. I would have posted that WoG as a link in the update, but couldn't figure out a convenient way to splice it and make it clear it was Wildbow's canon. I made up the bit about Skidmark directly pressuring him back into bad habit, but I think it's consistent with what we see of the character.
Also not too crazy about the ending scene with Danny and Taylor, I think it's a bit rushed, but I didn't want to functionally relitigate what just happened. Best to leave that as a private moment for the two of them.
2.25 will be kind of a speedbump - it will be, by necessity, be a fairly short update. This update was long as fuck and had a lot of ground to cover. I want the two days of sailing in Foolshout's climate zone to be their own update - they're gonna be the end of the bosun mandatory actions and I feel it's neater in their own little box. So 2.25 will be the last of the days in the First Stretch/Crucible.
I've talked enough. Vote options below. Reposting the credit option - what you choose will be applied retroactively in the next update, and you'll get to see Shadow Stalker and Dauntless' reactions to it. Remember to vote on both a plan and the credit option, they will be counted separately.
How do you want to handle credit with the Protectorate? This scene will be written for the next update as a flashback with the winning vote.
-[ ] "I like the idea of getting my name out there. Full credit, please. Something like 'independent hero Factota operating on information from New Wave'?"
-[ ] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
-[ ] "I'd rather keep low key for now, if you don't mind. The Protectorate can take the credit, so long as New Wave's mentioned as well in the press statement."
You have one day to vote on now. Day 1 (Sunday, January 23, 2011, Saturday, June 4, 1532, Sunday, November 19, 2000). Vote closes on Saturday, May 20, IRL, at 11:00 PM est.
The Merry will enter Foolshout's climate zone (thereby ending the mandatory boatswain/First Stretch-related actions) on (Monday, January 24, 2011, Sunday, June 5, 1532, Monday, November 20, 2000). By Taylor and Nami's estimation, the Merry will arrive at Foolshout on (Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Tuesday, June 7, 1532, Wednesday, November 22, 2000).
You have six out of seven total actions available. One is reserved for general bosunry and crew assistance on this last day of the First Stretch.
Further projects/VILLAIN HUNTs are on hold until after the Foolshout crisis is resolved.
Please keep in mind that, even if you write a million omakes, Skidmark and Mush's powers will almost certainly not be combat ready in time for Foolshout.
You have not met the prerequisites for Parahuman: Tinker: Squealer and so that has not yet been added. You do not have the tools to train Marksmanship (Modern). An option to reach out to the Xavier Institute on Mahon will be added after the Foolshout arc, which may alleviate some of these problems.
You will be automatically sending the photos you took on your stakeout to the Protectorate via an anonymous account - likely to Dauntless' public email, and the PRT/BBPD's contact emails. Taylor just needs time to load them into a single file. This will be a free action.
Please let me know if you spot any errors or things missing.
Going Merry actions. 1 action each. Max 1 action per person, 3 different persons per day. New options may unlock as you get to know the crew better.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 35% of Boatswain 10. 75% of Shipwright 6. 10% of Teaching 6.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9.
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 0% Survival 6. Increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 50% of Navigation 5. 30% of Navigation 6. 0% of Meteorology 6. 60% of Cartography 1. 10% of Cartography 2.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 60% of Sleight-of-Hand 4. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 10% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 7.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 0% of Explosives 6. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 100% of Trapper 2. 70% of Trapper 3. 30% of Trapper 4.
-[ ] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 90% of Master Resistance 1. 20% of Master Resistance 2. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[ ] Ask Vivi to show you the Peacock Slashers style. Your power tells you it's an indigenous Alabastan style. 80% of Peacock Slashers 0. 15% of Peacock Slashers 1. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to teach you about handling Blunt Weapons. 25% of Blunt Weapons 5.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 25% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Swim alongside the Merry as it's in motion. 10% of Swimming 8. 40% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available to Swordfish Fishman).
-[ ] Create a polearm using what's left of the scrap you bought from Vulcan for modernizing the Merry. It might invite awkward questions on Mahon. Creates makeshift (high-quality, given the conditions and your skill) polearm to use while training. Not your best work, but good enough without having to spend any money or go out of your way. Unlocks Polearms training option. 10% of Blacksmith 8. 75% of Weaponsmith 6.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask first, please.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Your money from your account with Markus and Federson should have come in by now. Talk to Dad and see if you can reach out to a local bank branch to surreptitiously withdraw funds from your cape account, get a credit card. You imagine it's an involved process. 1 action, will unlock a future (next few days) mandatory action to actually withdraw the funds.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, even if Dauntless made it sound somewhat appealing, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. May be worth mastering the Law a bit more first. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 15% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of Armorsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to do various research on potentially useful local knowledge. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 5. (+20 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 10% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4. (+30 bonus available)
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydromancy is hard, controlling violent hydromantic projections… even more so. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Parahuman: Mush. Oh, wonderful! A body horror Changer power dependent on covering your body in refuse! You hate that you can think of more than a few possible uses for this ability. 10% of Parahuman: Mush 0.
-[ ] Parahuman: Skidmark. In the hands of someone cleverer… maybe a very potent power. 10% of Parahuman: Skidmark 0.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 50% of Killing Intent 3.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 80% of Criminal Psychology 4.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 40% of Forensics 3.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
-[ ] Parahuman Studies. At this level, you're past reading scientific papers, and more focused on the inner workings of parahumanity. 0% of Parahuman Studies 7. (unavailable until special actions taken)
-[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 40% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge, but it might be a better idea to talk to Horlio. 0% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 90% of Knives 2. 40% of Knives 3. 10% of Knives 4.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 60% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 40% of Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 10% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available).
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 40% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+65 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 5% of Naturalist 7. 70% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 40% of Carpentry 7.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. Might help you knock people out more safely. 0% of Doctor 3. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 10% of Driving 4. Taylor has no car of her own, and isn't comfortable asking to borrow Dad's without a damn good Vehicle Mechanic skill (we'll say 4-5). So this would be purely book learning, theoreticals.
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 9. 10% of Medicine 6. 10% of Anatomy 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 55% of Perception 9. (+19 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 20% of Photography 4.
-[ ] Sleight-of-Hand. The manual dexterity and distraction capability required for skills like pickpocketing and such. Training on your own without a partner will be difficult, maybe ask Nami instead. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 4
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 55% of Stealth 9.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 25% of Seaman 7. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Naturalist, Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 0% of Survival 6.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 15% of Fishing 6.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 70% of Trapper 2. 40% of Trapper 3.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 0% of Tactician 9.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 25% of Public Speaking 4.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 10% of Leadership 5.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 4. 10% of Woodwind Musician 5. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 0% of Acting 7.
-[ ] Disguise. 0% of Disguise 7.
-[ ] Meditation. Can help you center yourself in moments of panic or concern. 40% of Meditation 1.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action unless stated otherwise.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 35% of Boatswain 10. 75% of Shipwright 6. 10% of Teaching 6.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9.
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 0% Survival 6. Increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 50% of Navigation 5. 30% of Navigation 6. 0% of Meteorology 6. 60% of Cartography 1. 10% of Cartography 2.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 60% of Sleight-of-Hand 4. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 10% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 7.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 0% of Explosives 6. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 100% of Trapper 2. 70% of Trapper 3. 30% of Trapper 4.
-[ ] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 90% of Master Resistance 1. 20% of Master Resistance 2. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[ ] Ask Vivi to show you the Peacock Slashers style. Your power tells you it's an indigenous Alabastan style. 80% of Peacock Slashers 0. 15% of Peacock Slashers 1. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to teach you about handling Blunt Weapons. 25% of Blunt Weapons 5.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 25% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Swim alongside the Merry as it's in motion. 10% of Swimming 8. 40% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available to Swordfish Fishman).
-[ ] Create a polearm using what's left of the scrap you bought from Vulcan for modernizing the Merry. It might invite awkward questions on Mahon. Creates makeshift (high-quality, given the conditions and your skill) polearm to use while training. Not your best work, but good enough without having to spend any money or go out of your way. Unlocks Polearms training option. 10% of Blacksmith 8. 75% of Weaponsmith 6.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask first, please.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Your money from your account with Markus and Federson should have come in by now. Talk to Dad and see if you can reach out to a local bank branch to surreptitiously withdraw funds from your cape account, get a credit card. You imagine it's an involved process. 1 action, will unlock a future (next few days) mandatory action to actually withdraw the funds.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, even if Dauntless made it sound somewhat appealing, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. May be worth mastering the Law a bit more first. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 15% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of Armorsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to do various research on potentially useful local knowledge. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 5. (+20 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 10% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4. (+30 bonus available)
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydromancy is hard, controlling violent hydromantic projections… even more so. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Parahuman: Mush. Oh, wonderful! A body horror Changer power dependent on covering your body in refuse! You hate that you can think of more than a few possible uses for this ability. 10% of Parahuman: Mush 0.
-[ ] Parahuman: Skidmark. In the hands of someone cleverer… maybe a very potent power. 10% of Parahuman: Skidmark 0.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 50% of Killing Intent 3.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 80% of Criminal Psychology 4.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 40% of Forensics 3.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
-[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 40% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge, but it might be a better idea to talk to Horlio. 0% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 90% of Knives 2. 40% of Knives 3. 10% of Knives 4.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 60% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 40% of Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 10% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available).
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 40% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+65 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 5% of Naturalist 7. 70% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 40% of Carpentry 7.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. Might help you knock people out more safely. 0% of Doctor 3. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 10% of Driving 4. Taylor has no car of her own, and isn't comfortable asking to borrow Dad's without a damn good Vehicle Mechanic skill (we'll say 4-5). So this would be purely book learning, theoreticals.
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 9. 10% of Medicine 6. 10% of Anatomy 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 55% of Perception 9. (+19 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 20% of Photography 4.
-[ ] Sleight-of-Hand. The manual dexterity and distraction capability required for skills like pickpocketing and such. Training on your own without a partner will be difficult, maybe ask Nami instead. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 4
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 55% of Stealth 9.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 25% of Seaman 7. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Naturalist, Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 0% of Survival 6.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 15% of Fishing 6.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 70% of Trapper 2. 40% of Trapper 3.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 0% of Tactician 9.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 25% of Public Speaking 4.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 10% of Leadership 5.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 4. 10% of Woodwind Musician 5. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 0% of Acting 7.
-[ ] Disguise. 0% of Disguise 7.
-[ ] Meditation. Can help you center yourself in moments of panic or concern. 40% of Meditation 1.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action unless stated otherwise.
Slamu DM'd me to confirm that they've assigned their points to power acquisition rolls for Foolshout. That will be +26 to power acquisition rolls for whichever Baroque Works agents you fight.
I will respond to questions this evening. Character sheet has been updated. Lot going on this update - please feel free to point out mistakes.
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fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Peak human acting skill.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Now I want to steal his swords off him.
- Location
- Koszalin, Poland
-[X] "I like the idea of getting my name out of here. Full credit, please. Something like 'independent hero Factota operating on information from New Wave'?"
-[X] Plan Focused Prep/Combat Pre-Foulshout Arc + Luffy Social Wildcard
-[X] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[X] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 90% of Master Resistance 1. 20% of Master Resistance 2. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[X] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 100% of Trapper 2. 70% of Trapper 3. 30% of Trapper 4.
-[X] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[X] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9.
1. Luffy social is something I'm curious about. I suspect it will be something combat related, but if not - I just want to hang out with a guy.
2. Vivi's skill is very close to leveling up, and maybe this small increase will make a difference.
3. Traps may come in handy in any hit and run/bait scenario.
4. NinJutsu with this +60 bonus is something I think it's worth to aim for.
5. Why Capoeira? It's a guaranteed increase at this point. Also Capoeira is a martial art that focuses on applying dancing moves in combat, and it should synergize REALLY WELL with Acrobatics as it is also a martial art that really likes the user to be nimble, with lots of body movement involved. Also at level 5 she starts applying combat skills in combat, so yeah, I think it's a great moment for it.
6. This small power increase with Zoro's social I feel like may help out as well in the incoming conflict.
So yeah, this voting option is pretty much picking up the options with the highest potential success rate, for the incoming conflict. With Luffy wildcard in. I consider registering, but I still think about it. If something is off with the vote, just point it out to me.
-[X] Plan Focused Prep/Combat Pre-Foulshout Arc + Luffy Social Wildcard
-[X] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[X] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 90% of Master Resistance 1. 20% of Master Resistance 2. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[X] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 100% of Trapper 2. 70% of Trapper 3. 30% of Trapper 4.
-[X] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[X] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9.
1. Luffy social is something I'm curious about. I suspect it will be something combat related, but if not - I just want to hang out with a guy.
2. Vivi's skill is very close to leveling up, and maybe this small increase will make a difference.
3. Traps may come in handy in any hit and run/bait scenario.
4. NinJutsu with this +60 bonus is something I think it's worth to aim for.
5. Why Capoeira? It's a guaranteed increase at this point. Also Capoeira is a martial art that focuses on applying dancing moves in combat, and it should synergize REALLY WELL with Acrobatics as it is also a martial art that really likes the user to be nimble, with lots of body movement involved. Also at level 5 she starts applying combat skills in combat, so yeah, I think it's a great moment for it.
6. This small power increase with Zoro's social I feel like may help out as well in the incoming conflict.
So yeah, this voting option is pretty much picking up the options with the highest potential success rate, for the incoming conflict. With Luffy wildcard in. I consider registering, but I still think about it. If something is off with the vote, just point it out to me.
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- Location
- Earth
Try to get some master resistance while we still can, hope to get the Kachi to 5
Try to get fishman to 5. With 3 it is already close and we have boni to it.
Massive bonus to Ninjutsu, has a chance to raise all the component skills mostly.
There's no way the island isn't trapped to hell and back, knowing more about traps will let us spot that easier.
-[X] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
[X] Plan: Preparations for Conflict
-[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 90% of Master Resistance 1. 20% of Master Resistance 2. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 5. (+20 bonus available)
-[X] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4. (+30 bonus available)
-[X] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[X] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9.
-[X] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 100% of Trapper 2. 70% of Trapper 3. 30% of Trapper 4.
Try to get fishman to 5. With 3 it is already close and we have boni to it.
Massive bonus to Ninjutsu, has a chance to raise all the component skills mostly.
There's no way the island isn't trapped to hell and back, knowing more about traps will let us spot that easier.
-[X] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
[X] Plan: Preparations for Conflict
-[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 90% of Master Resistance 1. 20% of Master Resistance 2. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 5. (+20 bonus available)
-[X] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4. (+30 bonus available)
-[X] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[X] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9.
-[X] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 100% of Trapper 2. 70% of Trapper 3. 30% of Trapper 4.
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-[X] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
[X] Plan: Preparations for Conflict
Shared credit seems like the best option. It gives us some rep in case we have to interact with the public, while not making us look dangerous enough for gangs to take notice before we are ready.
[X] Plan: Preparations for Conflict
Shared credit seems like the best option. It gives us some rep in case we have to interact with the public, while not making us look dangerous enough for gangs to take notice before we are ready.
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- Pronouns
- He
-[X] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
[X] Plan: Preparations for Conflict
[X] Plan: Preparations for Conflict
lockingbane
If you're crazy and you know it clap your hands!
- Location
- Waxahachie tx
Does anyone else look at this and see a good ic excuse to go tinker in marvel for a bit?
-[X] "I like the idea of getting my name out of here. Full credit, please. Something like 'independent hero Factota operating on information from New Wave'?"
-[X] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
We need to start having a rep among the Civilians and to be frank I don't trust the PRT's operational security to actually keep our involvement out of the hands of the villains. Inevitably there will be office gossip or something even if they don't spill the full story or get access to the confidential files.
[X] Plan Grinding Continues
-[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 90% of Master Resistance 1. 20% of Master Resistance 2. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[X] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 5. (+20 bonus available)
-[X] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 60% of Sleight-of-Hand 4. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 5.
-[X] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4. (+30 bonus available)
-[X] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
Master Reistance in prep for Foolshout (even if a single level won't do much, even a split second of resistance can mean something in a fight). Kachi Kachi and Sleight-of-hand to try to get them to level 5 before Foolshout. Fishman Karate for Alabasta and because it's our best supernatural martial art.
Ninjutsu cause it's cool and Luffy because I'm curious.
-[X] "I like that shared credit option. It gives the three of us the best of both worlds."
We need to start having a rep among the Civilians and to be frank I don't trust the PRT's operational security to actually keep our involvement out of the hands of the villains. Inevitably there will be office gossip or something even if they don't spill the full story or get access to the confidential files.
[X] Plan Grinding Continues
-[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 90% of Master Resistance 1. 20% of Master Resistance 2. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[X] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 5. (+20 bonus available)
-[X] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 60% of Sleight-of-Hand 4. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 5.
-[X] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4. (+30 bonus available)
-[X] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
Master Reistance in prep for Foolshout (even if a single level won't do much, even a split second of resistance can mean something in a fight). Kachi Kachi and Sleight-of-hand to try to get them to level 5 before Foolshout. Fishman Karate for Alabasta and because it's our best supernatural martial art.
Ninjutsu cause it's cool and Luffy because I'm curious.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Double "it tested".
To be clear to use kachi kachi in the coming fight we need to get it up to 5 right?
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Such that Taylor feels comfortable integrating it into her fighting style yes. I expect that if she gets trapped in wax she will activate it to try and melt her way out.