I want a refund! (Tinker of Fiction Semi-SI)
- Thread starter Unders
- Start date
- Location
- Canada
That's not a blatant violation or anything. Oh I forgot this is the ENE, things like that are expected!
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
Oh she'd definitely wind up cooking up some Tyranids. As cool as the Adeptus Mechanicus are I'm a really big fan of swarms of alien locusts (and would probably use Tyranids if I played 40k).
I can't bloody wait till I get the starcraft stuff. A zerg larva would make such a handy living DNA library and nothing could possibly go wrong with making one
Sadly starcraft isn't the next tech tree so I guess Piggot gets to breath a sigh of relief.
Taylor would make a good Queen of Blades..... But then so would Annette!
If you get Starship Troopers Tech you could make lots of Bug Friends for Taylor too! ^_^
I like the Micro Nukes best though!
- Location
- romania
Hello chibi Bonesaw how are you?
My problem here is that something seems to have placed the MC in the body of Addy unless somehow there is a cycle of reincarnation and the MC ended up in Worm and somehow remembered their previous life the second and biggest problem is that her shard should have attracted the attention of some nasty things, if it can see into other realities then why don't the enteties act on the matter? is Bioschock a locked world? is the tech made up by the shard or is it from an actuall dimension?
There are plenty of nasty dimensional creatures that would not like being viewed or analysed by the shard for info they would strike back and escalte the conflict.
Adding the mind influence does change the fic however the above problem still remains, depending on the chosen universe there would be spirits, magic, aliens and some such that could and would take notice about someone dicking around there. Now if you explain it as a creature placing the MC in Worm in hopes of causing damage to Scion and disguising her power as another shard might be more explainable.
My problem here is that something seems to have placed the MC in the body of Addy unless somehow there is a cycle of reincarnation and the MC ended up in Worm and somehow remembered their previous life the second and biggest problem is that her shard should have attracted the attention of some nasty things, if it can see into other realities then why don't the enteties act on the matter? is Bioschock a locked world? is the tech made up by the shard or is it from an actuall dimension?
There are plenty of nasty dimensional creatures that would not like being viewed or analysed by the shard for info they would strike back and escalte the conflict.
Adding the mind influence does change the fic however the above problem still remains, depending on the chosen universe there would be spirits, magic, aliens and some such that could and would take notice about someone dicking around there. Now if you explain it as a creature placing the MC in Worm in hopes of causing damage to Scion and disguising her power as another shard might be more explainable.
Last edited:
It's problem with any such crossover where you have other dimensions with future tech, magic and other cool shit, entities just wouldn't settle on boring oridinary earth when there is ton of more interesting ones.
Its basicaly how they create most powers anyway, hook up on alien brain and see how it does that it does.
Its basicaly how they create most powers anyway, hook up on alien brain and see how it does that it does.
Last edited:
A way around that is The infinite Multiverse let me explain.
So we have Earth bet and Earth Aleph Dimensions And all the other dimensions.
This would be inside a Universe Which is like a bubble.
In an infinite Multiverse There would be an infinite amount of "bubbles".
And since the infinite multiverse is Infinite every possibility should be well possible.
And from my understanding of The Entities only have Access to Interdimensional Travel
Not Intermultiverse Travel.
1. Example Like from Earth bet to Earth Aleph.
2. But Not from (Earth bet Cannon worm) To (This Fic Earth bet)
Not Intermultiversal travel In between the infinite Multiverse.
The first example is what the Entities can do ( Interdimensional Travel ).
The Second Is what they cannot do ( Intermultiverse Travel ).
Well, that's reasonable for fics with Celestial Forge, or some God-like entity givin Taylor altpower, but I mostly have in mind PostGM fics where Contessa dumps Taylor in other world, so Cauldron can reach these worlds via Doormaker, or this fic, since if shard can scan other worlds that means they are reachable, althrough it can be that only Abbadon able to reach them and Zion and Eden don't.
She and Peter would get along well. He does like his girls utterly terrifying and agree with the inferior specs of baseline human body.Probably the same stuff as would happen to an animal, it has tissues replaced with unstable stem versions, except slower of course since plants don't have the same sort of circulatory system as animals do.
Addy is hoping for something that'll let her fix up stuff. Being a Little Sister isn't entirely without side effects after all (though she'll have years to fix it anyway)
I'll post up the fiction list at some point (probably be edited into my previous Info threadmark). It's mostly the same as the one in the original Tinker of Fiction quest thread, except with stuff I'm not completely familiar with removed. Sadly as I am unfamiliar with RWBY it's off the list for the moment which is a bit of a pity as what I've seen of the weapons is pretty cool.
The way I'm having it work is it basically forces undying loyalty and a desire to protect the caster. In Dragon's case she'd probably be treated as the figure of highest legal authority, at least till it wears off after which that instance of Dragon will suicide (since she can emulate emotions enough to feel the suicidal depression part hit her).
I do accept fiction suggestions. Just googled SS13 and it looks pretty cool. I'll have to test it out and see what it offers before I can put it on my list though.
I want to answer this but I don't want to give out spoilers. You'll just have to wait and see in a couple chapters
Addy has a bit of tunnel vision when it comes to her plans and is stockpiling resources for the moment so she can get the chamber built. Once it's done she can worry alternate power supplies and stuff.
As for Amy she's unlikely to help. Her likely response is to Addy wanting to play with her is not going to be "sure kid I'll help you experiment with this magical tinkertech cancer you've infused yourself with and totally help you biotinker up a better version". Also GG kinda hates Addy's guts, even if she doesn't know who Addy is. Amy is unlikely to get on board with any of Addy's plans (and considering Addy's usual plans would be more likely to call the PRT immediately). Also Amy doesn't do brains, so she wouldn't be able to fix all the problems until she decides her rule is stupid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next chapter may be delayed slightly because I've just started playing Warhammer 40k: Mechanicus after nabbing it earlier during the steam xmas sale. Praise the Omnissiah!
Also sadly no, Warhammer 40k stuff isn't on my tech tree list. Most of my 40k knowledge I've gained via cultural osmosis so I doubt I could do the setting justice. Even if the thought of Addy with servo skulls is kinda cool. I'll just have to leave the mechanical transhumanism to Peter.
Although her insistence on failing flesh is abit of a disappointment
Unders
Suffers from delusions of competence
@Tisaku Ty for the corrections
Honestly it's a really cool spec to grab but we'll have to see if it pops up. She'd need to make a machine to make eezo though.
Method 1)
Addy decides a goal (eg. Wants to build a kickass AI).
I look through my big master list and pick the ones that have AI stuff in them.
I assign them a number and then roll some dice to pick the spec.
Method 2)
Addy has no goal she wants to achieve.
I roll and consult my master list to see what pops up. If the tree is invalid (such as rolling Fallout before the cooldown is over) I reroll.
screw over experiment on and set up a sort of bubble around all the assorted dimensions they plan to use. This hides them from potential threats and lets them conduct their cycles in piece. Think of the bubble as a 1-way window where Reality Lens can peer out and keep a lookout for potential threats while the entities stay hidden away from the greater multiverse to do their thing.
The tech Reality Lens gives Addy is made by the shard, which is basically looking at the stuff in that particular reality, slapping some black boxes all over it and feeding the designs into her brain. In the case of magic shenanigans Reality Lens just simulates a way to do the same stuff via tech, blackboxes it and gives it to Addy, etc. The realities do exist, but exist outside the bubble the entities set up and so far the only aware of that fact is Reality Lens itself.
It's on the list. Whether it comes up is another matter.
Also on the list. Never played Andromeda so any stuff from there isn't. Addy would be able to make reaper tech.
Honestly it's a really cool spec to grab but we'll have to see if it pops up. She'd need to make a machine to make eezo though.
It's pretty random what her next specialisations are. I use two different methods to pick her spec choices:
Method 1)
Addy decides a goal (eg. Wants to build a kickass AI).
I look through my big master list and pick the ones that have AI stuff in them.
I assign them a number and then roll some dice to pick the spec.
Method 2)
Addy has no goal she wants to achieve.
I roll and consult my master list to see what pops up. If the tree is invalid (such as rolling Fallout before the cooldown is over) I reroll.
It's on the list. Both Star Wars and Lego Star Wars.
Well they are on the lookout for a big scary biotinker and Addy is possibly a precog that might know something. Something something ends something something means.
While Taylor or Annette would make a good Queen of Blades they're not really going to want to say yes to the whole infestation thing. Addy on the other hand would probably need to be held back but I'm planning a slightly different Zerg route if Starcraft ever gets selected.
Technically Bonesaw is just as chibi as Addy. If anything Addy is the special DLC reskin.
My general concept is the entities pick a world to
The tech Reality Lens gives Addy is made by the shard, which is basically looking at the stuff in that particular reality, slapping some black boxes all over it and feeding the designs into her brain. In the case of magic shenanigans Reality Lens just simulates a way to do the same stuff via tech, blackboxes it and gives it to Addy, etc. The realities do exist, but exist outside the bubble the entities set up and so far the only aware of that fact is Reality Lens itself.
Dunno about Peter and Addy, but I could quite easily see their Taylors quietly commiserating with each other though.
- Location
- Bowling Green
Then Bonesaw needs to abandon the old man and join Addy, that way she gets 2 big sisters instead of 1.
- Location
- UK
If your still interested in possible ideas, here are a couple. Nier Automata because having a bunch of basically Human androids running around can make no one panic, and
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Why that one? Well, in that world Magic works thanks to nano machines that connect to peoples thought pattens and then produce the effect. That sounds like pretty much exactly the sort of thing Addy would consider neat and release on the world without thinking it through.
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Why that one? Well, in that world Magic works thanks to nano machines that connect to peoples thought pattens and then produce the effect. That sounds like pretty much exactly the sort of thing Addy would consider neat and release on the world without thinking it through.
Ah yes. Master: Fuck You
On the subject of Specializations, how much are magical or magitech in nature?
Series like Harry Potter, Mahouka, Lyrical Nanoha or Date a Live that have either have extensive magical knowledge or Magitech nature.
Unders
Suffers from delusions of competence
Not sure what I'm doing with Bonesaw yet. On the one hand she's a heavily traumatised girl with stockholme syndrome and could have a nice redemption arc etc, on the other hand she made Murderrat.
Nier is on the list. I'll have to look into the other one.
Clarktech would be a better descriptor. Reality Lens would be imitating magic via sufficiently advanced (and blackboxed) technology.
I have no idea how Lego changes what Star Wars is. Everything is made out of plastic? Easy to build with modular pieces?
God it would be hilarious if everyone thinks Addy is a precog. It could only be better if Coil somehow thinks that Addy is a precog, then kidnaps her and lets loose a very angry biotinker in his base.
I'm enjoying how Addy's power is desensitizing her to everything. It just pokes the squishy cute button in her head.
Yay! Can't wait to see how you explain the Decoy Glove and the Lego Tinkering.
Kid Win will be inspired.
Last edited:
Due to the gaming binge I've been helping my roomies with, I have a tech-set-suggestion for Addy to acquire.
Deep Rock Galactic.
A.K.A. Space Dwarves! What would it give? Heavy weapons, heavy armor, personal shields, awesome nigh-invincible pet robot buddy, robot buddy bartender, robot buddy carrying loot, robot buddy DESTROYING EVERYENEMY AROUND YOU!, robot buddy piloting giant drill, an assortment of alcoholic beverages, one instantly-sobering drink, four sets of easy-to-use tools to get around places, TURRETS!, rechargeable area-shield emitter, rechargeable flare dispenser, SUPER-BRIGHT flare gun!, rechargeable grappling hook, numerous kabooms, beards, skin conditions, orbital drop ships, orbital beacons, orbital stations, refinery, mining rig, terrain scanner, laser pointer, and hats!
Oh, and an extra pocket for your favorite sandwich!
Deep Rock Galactic.
A.K.A. Space Dwarves! What would it give? Heavy weapons, heavy armor, personal shields, awesome nigh-invincible pet robot buddy, robot buddy bartender, robot buddy carrying loot, robot buddy DESTROYING EVERYENEMY AROUND YOU!, robot buddy piloting giant drill, an assortment of alcoholic beverages, one instantly-sobering drink, four sets of easy-to-use tools to get around places, TURRETS!, rechargeable area-shield emitter, rechargeable flare dispenser, SUPER-BRIGHT flare gun!, rechargeable grappling hook, numerous kabooms, beards, skin conditions, orbital drop ships, orbital beacons, orbital stations, refinery, mining rig, terrain scanner, laser pointer, and hats!
Oh, and an extra pocket for your favorite sandwich!
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- She
Rock and stone, brother! Also, you forgot something -- the ability to make a Fallout Mini Nuke... Out of a 40mm grenade. And to expand on the drinks, not only are they apparently incredibly delicious they also all have effects! From the nebulous ability to increase one's health or gold from ore to a one-use teleport and creating winds cold enough to freeze a suit of power armor solid.
Oh, and speaking of armor, the Gunner's gear is, apparently, rated for it and the operator (if they have their helmet!) to survive a thermonuclear device. Fun stuff!
Red_Faux
私を終わらせる
- Location
- 'Straya M8
Any true Clarketech's possible? How about Sliders for some adventure on like Earth Alelph or something? And what about old school science fiction like The Ship Who Sang? Or really old school like Ten Thousand Leagues Under the Sea?
Basically what I'm asking is just how far reaching possible tech trees are going to get. Is there like a standard list your pulling from in the first place?
Basically what I'm asking is just how far reaching possible tech trees are going to get. Is there like a standard list your pulling from in the first place?
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
I think he is using one of the Jumpchain Lists?
Or it could just be a list of Fiction of their own?
But oh would I love to see some Sliders stuff!
That was my favourite Sci Fi show as a Kid, before it got wrecked by Fox anyway.
Lots of Cool Tech in Sliders....
- Location
- universe
Contrary to how I felt during the earlier chapters, I'm really beginning to warm to Addie's characterisation, and find that it flows more naturally and believably with each new chapter - at least with regards to her social interactions. I find that this fic has some genuine moments of intimacy that I didn't expect, which feel strangely earned compared to most SI fics. However, in my mind the fic's biggest flaw rn is the fact that Addie gets away with too much in the power department for it to be entirely believable, with Taylor accepting things too easily beyond a mild freak out upon hearing them. I think that things would fit better if Addie's escapades had a more permanent and visible effect on how Taylor treats her. However this is slowly being rectified in recent chapters with first Taylor proactively responding to ideas, and then later giving her Wards ultimatum. I look forward to seeing how this is further expanded on in later chapters. Imo there should be a more obvious change in their interactions now that Taylor has realised how unhinged and messed up Addie has become.
Ty for writing this, I look forward to more.
Ty for writing this, I look forward to more.
Last edited:
Taylor's treatment of Addy isn't that far from how canon Taylor treated teammates' powers with horrible implications. Canon Taylor was always quick to judge Alec's use of his power to enslave people and ignored the reasons for why he ever did it. But it was ok as long as Taylor is the one directing him to enslave someone (enslaving Shadow Stalker, enslaving Shatterbird). See the bad things are ok when Taylor says so because she has good reasons and can trust her judgement. Everything would be better if people listened to Taylor. From Taylor's perspective Addy is unhinged and out of control, but now that Taylor is the one giving permission to build the bring-my-mom-back tech, now all the bad things are ok.
Taylor wasn't the a reliable or self-reflective narrator.
Eternal_0bserver
(Unverified Bookworm)
- Location
- Earth, Northern Europe
Also, Addie is now, for the most part, the only person Taylor trusts and supports her. It can be hard to admit that someone important to you needs help, especially if you don't trust those who are supposed to be helping.
Final Fantasy would be a good setting it'd paint an even larger bullseye on Addy's back, make gems that let you use powers and make monsters. Would Taylor like some Genova cells and a very long katana.
Unders
Suffers from delusions of competence
Probably have it with easy to make modular bits made of plastic but functioning as as metal/whatever. I'll figure it out if/when it comes up
Yup. That's one thing she's looking forward to doing if she ever meets him. Letting him know his specialty (and maybe giving encouragement to be more OP than Armsmaster because IMO modularity is just as bullshit as efficiency/miniaturisation)
I'll have to throw it on the list of stuff I need to look into before it can go on the actual list.
I started by grabbing stuff from my steam library that sounded like it could be fun and then looked at my bookshelf to see if there was any cool stuff I could grab from there.
Then I went to the Tinker of Fiction quest thread and shameless stole the big list @Monk Penguin was using, except paring it down a bit since I wasn't familiar with a big chunk of the stuff on that list. I'll post the list up at some point (probably editing it into the Info threadmark I explained her power, and I'll then post a note in the latest chapter saying that info thing has been updated).
Sadly I was a poor deprived child and don't know much about Sliders, having only seen a couple episodes many many years ago (and the only thing that sticks in my mind is some kickass spider-wasp things)
Ty. It's taken me a little while to figure out who Addy is as a person. I'm still working on Taylor-Addy social dynamics. Addy won't be having a free reign forever, especially once Taylor learns that Addy kept the whole accidentally killed three people thing from her.
Yeah this pretty much sums up how I try to write Taylor. There's a Taylor interlude coming up so we get to see inside her head.
Sadly I've never actually played FFVII that much. I had it briefly on ps2 till my sister borrowed it and I haven't seen it since. I know the general story ofc (if only via cultural osmosis and some let's plays) but haven't ever gotten a chance to properly play it so it's sadly off the list.
FFX however is on the list because I love the shit out of that game. X-2 is on the list as well, but that's mostly because it's in the same universe. (Just think, Addy with dress-spheres! The horror!)
Interlude 2. Friendship, Laughter, Miscomunication
Unders
Suffers from delusions of competence
New update! Praise the Omnissiah!
Interlude 2:
Missy Biron felt massively conflicted. Her friend Adeline, Addy, was almost certainly a parahuman. The girl had lost her parents not to long ago and then been forced to move to a new city to live with family she'd never met before. It sounded like the perfect recipe for a trigger event. Her best guess was that Addy might be a Thinker, more specifically a precog, based on a comment she'd barely heard on the day the Simurgh attacked.
She'd told her superiors of course. A precog that could predict Endbringers was a massive thing, and so far Piggot had asked her to keep an eye on her friend and try to soft sell joining the up with the Wards. She even let Missy have some extra tickets for the PR event coming up this weekend. Enough tickets that she could give some to Addy while still having enough for her other friends to keep it from looking like she was singling Addy out. If Addy was a parahuman it'd hopefully get her more predisposed to sign on. If she wasn't it only cost the PRT a few tickets.
But now it was definitely clear Addy was a parahuman. She was either a precog Thinker of some sort which was honestly the best possibility, or running with the worst case she was either Splice or connected to Splice in some way.
So was she a precog or the biotinker her superiors were looking for? It could go either way. Addy was constantly doodling in class instead of focusing on her work. Is that how her power worked? Did she draw the future or something? Or is it the stereotypical thing tinkers did where they constantly had to put down designs? Making matters worse Missy knew Addy had a weird sense of humor and AddItUp was exactly the sort of stupid, pun-based name Addy would use as a PHO handle. It was just too much to put to a coincidence.
She knew should go to one of her superiors with her suspicions. Especially with the new evidence potentially connecting Addy to Splice, or even just because of that picture's contents.
Missy found herself looking at her phone once again at the picture she'd snapped. A very well-done sketch of a cluster of tentacle cats under a tree. Some looked like they may were meant to be kittens, much smaller that the others with oversized eyes and tentacles. Was Addy a precog or was she a biotinker making cat monsters? She should be telling her superiors immediately and she just wasn't.
The problem was that Missy knew Addy wasn't malicious or evil. She remembered the when she first met the awkward and not a little frightened girl, taking her under her wing and letting her get used to living in a new city. She'd opened up over time, even if she was a bit introverted at times. Hell it took them over a month along with the need to be comforted before Addy would allow them to shorten her name.
Missy just had a hard time mentally connecting her friend and a dangerous villain as the same person.
Then again what did they really know about Splice? There was the ugly tentacle cat, which Addy clearly has some connection to even if she isn't Splice. There's also Splice's grudge against Glory Girl, and Missy totally wanted to give her a high five for making that meme. The tentacle cat had killed people, but it's possible that was an accident and they did stop that woman from being raped.
Maybe that's why nobody has seen any sign of one of them since? It was an accident and Addy isn't letting any creepy creatures out of her sight. Missy glanced back at her phone, looking at the picture she'd snapped of Addy's notebook and decided that was the most plausible thing. Her cat-thing got out somehow and caused a bit of a mess so now Addy is being much more careful.
This was assuming she was Splice of course. If she was a precog that theory fell apart entirely. Addy being a precog might even explain how she knew what Missy could pull off with her power. Did she see it in the future? Missy had tested out the half-Asian girl's suggestion, and while it took a lot of effort and thinking at first it soon fell into place. It was almost like her power didn't know what she was doing at first before suddenly and enthusiastically helping her, the space warping into place smoothly once she figured out exactly how to bend it and leaving her with a deep sense of satisfaction at her efforts.
Sure she'd only warped a tiny bit of space, enough to do a good imitation of a magnifying glass, but Missy knew in her gut it would easily scale it up. Very easily, her power seeming eager to try. Addy's comment about her being able to melt enemies down to ash seemed very accurate. Missy had even figure out how to warp space in a different way to simulate a telescope, increasing her range of vision by orders of magnitude.
She hadn't told anyone she could use her power in this way. She was going to, but after being denied a taser or some other weapon for subduing criminals, again, even though she could demonstrate the ability to hit with a melee weapon from a safe range she just gave up in irritation.
Well screw them. Missy would keep her new techniques to herself then. Besides that laser thing would make a great ace in the hole if she ever encountered Hookwolf again. Addy was right, yet again, that her PR image would get in the way.
Which added more weight to the 'Addy is a precog column'.
Maybe she could draw future events? That could explain why she had a picture of that tentacle cat thing (or catthulu as Assault had been trying to get them to call it).
Missy opened the door to the Wards common room with a sigh. She really didn't know what to do. She should tell Armsmaster and Piggot, but that felt a little like betraying her friend. Especially if she wasn't actually Splice, who her superiors seemed to be thinking of as the second coming of Nilbog. Making plans in case of dangerous monsters was one thing, but Piggot was beginning to take it a little overboard with over a half-dozen plans and contingencies that she was putting into place.
She pulled on her Vista costume and thought for a bit before, deciding she would keep reaching out and trying to get her to join the Wards.
Missy thought Addy would enjoy being in the Wards. She'd get along well with Dennis as they both have similar senses of humor and it would be nice to have a proper girl on the team (Sophia doesn't count). The problem was that it Addy was Splice then her creature was responsible for three people being dead. Maybe they could bring her in as a probationary member? They did it with Sophia when she was a violent vigilante thug and Addy would make a way better team member than Sophia ever would.
The problem is she just wasn't sure if her superiors would let Addy join up even as a probationary member if she turned out to be the biotinker. She considered asking Miss Militia about it as a hypothetical scenario but decided against that for the moment. Instead she settled into her shift on console and decided to wait and see how things were after the upcoming mall PR event.
Taylor lay in bed unable to sleep. She was caught thinking about earlier. It was hard not to really.
There was a chance she could get her mother back and she wanted it. She wanted it so bad. Addy could build something with her weird as hell tinker power that could bring back the dead. Her cousin come little sister, and yes Addy may as well be her little sister now. In fact from a genetic standpoint Addy was her sister (well half-sister). And it was nice having Addy around, despite Addy's sheer Addy-ness. Her father was still distant and overworked but Addy had slipped in and filled a hole Taylor didn't know she had.
It felt good to be the big sister.
School was still hell but Addy gave her something to look forward to every day, eagerly waiting for Taylor to get home before the mad little girl showed off something or other seeking Taylor's approval. It was nice to be wanted and looked up to like that. They would hang out and talk about all sorts of things and Addy believed in her. Believed that Taylor could be a great hero. No she didn't just believe, she wanted to support her.
It felt nice being the big sister that Addy looked up and listened to. Mostly, as there some hiccups, but it was nice to be needed and relied upon. Not with homework, no, though there was something just so funny about listening to her little sister rant about how much of a waste of time it was even as she completed all the work. No Addy needed her to keep her from going overboard with her overblown enthusiasm.
Which is why Taylor felt so damn guilty now.
Taylor had been doing a lot of research on capes, and even more on tinkers, since her little sister had come into her life. She'd read that sometimes powers did affect the way capes thought. She could even see it with herself. The insects that had once creeped her out were now almost just extensions of herself in a way. Addy seemed to be affected even further, maybe because she'd gotten her power so young.
Addy needed help and Taylor didn't know how to help her. She had the feeling that one day her little sister's recklessness was going to get her in trouble. Or that she'd come home one day and Addy would be standing there with tentacles for hair or something as equally grotesque and her irresponsible little sister just wouldn't get why anyone would be concerned. And then Addy would no doubt offer to do the same thing to anyone who asked.
Addy needed help and what's worse is Taylor didn't do anything. She let let her own selfish desires at the chance to have her mother back get in the way of making sure Addy got the help she needed. Taylor felt so much self-loathing and guilt at that fact, further exacerbated by the fact she knew she would make that choice again in a heartbeat.
Taylor knew she was try to assuage that some of that guilt right now by watching over Addy with some insects as she slept upstairs. It was easy to tell when Addy was asleep or when she was faking it. Her little sister snored, loudly. How such a small girl could somehow make so much noise was something that would forever confuse the older brunette.
She was also a blanket bandit, constantly roaming about in search of blankets. Any time Addy fell asleep on the couch any shared blankets would inevitably end up bundled about the girl as she rolled about in her sleep. If Addy was pretending to be asleep then she'd be laying still instead.
Right now she was peacefully snoring away like a walrus inhaling a lawnmower, hands already beginning to bundle up the blanket that a cluster of cockroaches were dragging towards her. Taylor wanted to help her get the help she needed but she didn't know where to start.
Mom would know what to do, Taylor thought to herself. That thought actually brought out a small huff of wry amusement. If the vita-chamber thing worked (and Addy was confident it will work, citing quantum entanglement to pull her mother's consciousness through time, along with a whole mess of tinkerbabble when Taylor had asked for more details) then Taylor could ask her mother what to do.
Maybe this plan wasn't so crazy after all. She would get her mother back, filling in the final void of their family, and Addy could then get the help she needs. All she had to do was figure out a way to steal equipment from Nazis.
And wasn't that a kick to the teeth? Learning that the fucking Empire was that deeply entrenched into Brockton Bay. Max Anders, Kazier's civilian identity according the Addy, was widely regarded as a philanthropist and overall good person, donating funding to all sorts of charities to help the people of the bay. The thought that somebody so well know for being kind and generous could secretly be an evil supervillain leading of a group of literal Nazis infuriated her.
It could be that Addy was just making it up to get her to go along with this. Taylor trusted her not to as Addy has always been pretty truthful (and blunt) but there was still a tiny niggling doubt. She didn't want to believe somebody publicly so good could be evil.
She resolved to scout it things out. As her little sister had suggested when she'd first learnt Addy had powers her powers were amazing for scouting out locations. She wouldn't be missed if she skipped a few days of school to scout out Medhall and the alleged Nazi infestation, and if it turned out to be true she'd already have some information to work out a plan for the robbery Addy wants to commit.
And if it was secretly run by Nazis it certainly would be an interesting coincidence if if a new insect controlling heroine happened to make her debut capturing the Nazis while they fought with the giant, tentacled monster trying to rob them.
"Morning Addy. Feeling better?" Missy greeted said girl, having had to jog a bit to catch up. She'd gotten dropped off just as Addy was entering the building.
"Oh hey. Good morning." The half-Asian girl smiled as she turned around. "Yeah I'm feeling a lot better today. I messed about on the computer and hung out with my sister which helped a lot."
"I thought she was your cousin?"
"Eh she's more like a big sister now. Also our mothers were identical twins so we technically count as half-sisters if you squint at it." Addy shrugged. "She acts like a big sister anyway."
"Sounds nice. I'm an only child so I don't really know what that's like."
"It's nice. She can be a bit bossy sometimes but she does look out for me. She helped me with my hair this morning." Addy gestured to said hairdo. She'd gone without her customary hat today and had the long part of her hair set in a braid that dangled over her shoulder.
"Yeah it looks good on you. I was going to ask but wanted to see how you were doing first."
"Hey guys! Nice hair Addy." Anna called out, walking quickly up the corridor towards them, followed closely by Karen, Clara and Louise.
"Thanks." The half-Asian girl preened.
"You are the girliest tomboy I have ever met Addy." The brunette commented with a giggle.
"Am not." Addy pouted.
"You totally are Addy." Karen added with amusement.
"Anyway." Missy interjected, cutting Addy off before this could devolve into an argument. Addy always got a little weird when people called her on it. "Anyone have trouble with their math-" "Maths." "-homework?" Missy deflected, ignoring another one of Addy's quirks.
"Well Addy obviously didn't, since she's Asian!" Louise grinned, resting her arm comfortably on the shorter girl's shoulder.
"Something something black people something something chicken." The half-Asian girl countered, jabbing the black girl lightly in the side with her elbow to dislodge her taller friend's arm.
Louise gave her a fake glare and then the pair of them both cracked into laughter.
"How come you guys get to tell the racist jokes?" Anna asked.
"Minority privilege." They replied in tandem with matching shit-eating grins.
"Well I found the homework alright." Clara said, rolling her eyes at the antics of the other two. "What about you Missy?"
"Yeah it was fine." Missy replied. She was going to continue further but Addy caught her attention. The half-Asian girl seemed shocked by something, and then began to zone out for a bit like she usually did.
They'd gotten to class and were finding their seats when Missy decided to just ask. "Addy you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine."
Missy wondered if it was her possible precog power was going off? Whatever it was Addy seemed to be thinking hard about it. "I'm here if you need help okay?" Missy offered.
"Thanks Missy." The shorted girl smiled back but still seemed distracted by her thoughts. Missy nodded and they both hurried off to catch up with everyone else.
Classwork went the same as it normally did, except Missy noted that Addy seemed more distracted than usual. Not that it stopped her from answering questions. Her friend always seemed to know the answers to everything. Except history. Addy sucked hard at history.
Just as lunch break was starting the half-Asian girl pulled her aside.
"Hey Missy. Can I talk to you in private for a moment?"
That took Missy by surprise. "Sure."
"So you have family that work for the PRT right?" Addy asked, sounding a little awkward.
Missy took a second to remember her excuse for giving out the tickets last week. "Yeah that's right."
"So hypothetically, if I knew somebody who could see the future you'd be able to pass it on to the PRT right?"
Missy felt so much relief. Addy was definitely a precog and not an evil biotinker like she had suspected! Then the blonde focused on what Addy had been asking. "Um yes. Yes I can! What did this person see?"
Addy's power had obviously warned her of something and she was trying to get Missy to warn the PRT.
"Well they said Mayor's niece is going to be kidnapped by the Pedosnake because he want to use her Thinker powers for himself." The half-Asian girl told her with confidence.
"Pedosnake?" Missy found herself blurting out, totally confused. "And when?" The blonde didn't even touch on the fact that the Mayor's niece was apparently a Thinker too.
"Sorry I meant Coil. I- the precog I know is like 90% sure he's a pedophile." Wait what? Missy had met the Mayor's niece at PR events occasionally now and some minor villain pedophile wanted to kidnap her? "They also said the kidnapping happens next month."
As Missy was digesting that Addy continued. "Oh yeah can you not tell your PRT family member I told you. My precog friend wants to keep anonymous for now and said I should do the same."
"Of course." Missy replied, fishing out her phone. She needed to contact the PRT right now. It took "I'll call my uncle right now."
"Okay well I'll go and meet up with the others. See you in a bit."
Missy nodded distractedly as Addy left. She wasn't sure she should be feeling right now. Addy was definitely a precog and trusted her enough to give her information. So yay? But Missy also felt concern and dread. Missy had met the Mayor's niece, named D-something, once or twice at PR events. She seemed like a nice girl, but had apparently triggered and was going to be kidnapped.
Thankfully Addy had trusted her enough to come forward with this, and Missy was going to use the faith her friend put in her to save somebody else. With a firm nod she pushed the dial button on her phone.
Director Piggot ran a weary hand over her face. If someone had told her she had been cursed with interesting times she'd be hard pressed to argue against it.
Her morning started with having her request for more personnel being turned yet again down by Chief Director Costa-Brown, which was made even more galling than normal because Piggot still found herself having to worry about hidden biotinker creations.
Then she'd been going over reports from yesterday, because even though were no major parahuman incidents that didn't mean the PRT got to relax. Once over she then had a meeting with Arsmaster which culminated in an extremely detailed report on Squealer's latest attempt at creating the ultimate moving violation, the woman's tinkertech seeming to deeply offend the the Protectorate hero's aesthetic sensibilities.
Then after managing to finagle her schedule enough to actually have a lunch break, or as close to a lunch break as fifteen free minutes would allow, Vista then calls up needing to talk to her immediately.
Which then after Vista had passed her intel on had led to bringing in Triumph and informing him that his cousin was at risk of being kidnapped by Coil for her power, and possibly worse. Triumph himself had just gotten off the phone to his aunt who'd informed them that young Dinah was currently at home due to horrible migraines, or as the PRT director suspected: Thinker headaches.
The sound-based hero had then excused himself to go check in his cousin and aunt in person, along advising them to have Dinah placed in the Wards for her safety. Warning from a precog that the girl was at risk of being kidnapped by a pedophile would definitely provide incentive to get her somewhere safe.
At least they had definite confirmation that Vista's friend was a precognitive Thinker and Piggot planned to push a bit harder on selling the wards to the girl. Thinkers were a rare and hot commodity to the gangs and there was no way in hell Piggot was going to let this one go.
At least one thing was looking up. The girl, Adeline, had confirmed to Vista that she would be attending the Wards event scheduled this weekend which meant it would be easy enough to have someone discreetly approach her guardian during the event and make suggestions. Much more discrete than having PRT aligned agents visit her house. That would be an instant Fresh Trigger Here sign to the gangs.
Sadly the possibility of getting a new parahuman into the Wards and away from the gangs was didn't make up for the new issue Piggot was facing. Splice's creatures.
After warning them about Dinah Alcott Vista then forwarded a picture she had taken of a notebook Adeline had begun to draw in. Seeing it made the PRT director's blood run cold. It showed multiple of those things and that they could breed. The tree in the background suggested those monsters would be spreading into out into neighbourhoods from wherever they were holed up in the docks.
And this was on top of the Empire and ABB doing minor skirmishes along their borders forcing Piggot to direct more resources to deal with that rather than deal with the biotinker running loose cooking up God knows what. She had the pre-signed Kill Order ready but couldn't quite risk going public with it yet.
The moment it went active not only would the PRT-ENE have to explain that yes there is a dangerous biotinker active in Brockton Bay making self-replicating monsters and no they haven't found them yet, but the Kill Order would draw in opportunists like flies to dung. There was no official bounty yet, so that just left the type of people that wanted to try their hand at legally being allowed to kill someone or the psychos that enjoyed tracking down and hunting other people.
Director Piggot had no desire to see those kinds of people running about her city when it was already powder keg of tension. No instead she was now going to be spending the rest of the day briefing her strike commanders and after that the local members of the Protectorate about what to do once they found Splice.
A/N:
Addy's perspective for the Vista conversations will be up next chapter and we get to see how she's a very unreliable narrator.
Interlude 2:
Missy Biron felt massively conflicted. Her friend Adeline, Addy, was almost certainly a parahuman. The girl had lost her parents not to long ago and then been forced to move to a new city to live with family she'd never met before. It sounded like the perfect recipe for a trigger event. Her best guess was that Addy might be a Thinker, more specifically a precog, based on a comment she'd barely heard on the day the Simurgh attacked.
She'd told her superiors of course. A precog that could predict Endbringers was a massive thing, and so far Piggot had asked her to keep an eye on her friend and try to soft sell joining the up with the Wards. She even let Missy have some extra tickets for the PR event coming up this weekend. Enough tickets that she could give some to Addy while still having enough for her other friends to keep it from looking like she was singling Addy out. If Addy was a parahuman it'd hopefully get her more predisposed to sign on. If she wasn't it only cost the PRT a few tickets.
But now it was definitely clear Addy was a parahuman. She was either a precog Thinker of some sort which was honestly the best possibility, or running with the worst case she was either Splice or connected to Splice in some way.
So was she a precog or the biotinker her superiors were looking for? It could go either way. Addy was constantly doodling in class instead of focusing on her work. Is that how her power worked? Did she draw the future or something? Or is it the stereotypical thing tinkers did where they constantly had to put down designs? Making matters worse Missy knew Addy had a weird sense of humor and AddItUp was exactly the sort of stupid, pun-based name Addy would use as a PHO handle. It was just too much to put to a coincidence.
She knew should go to one of her superiors with her suspicions. Especially with the new evidence potentially connecting Addy to Splice, or even just because of that picture's contents.
Missy found herself looking at her phone once again at the picture she'd snapped. A very well-done sketch of a cluster of tentacle cats under a tree. Some looked like they may were meant to be kittens, much smaller that the others with oversized eyes and tentacles. Was Addy a precog or was she a biotinker making cat monsters? She should be telling her superiors immediately and she just wasn't.
The problem was that Missy knew Addy wasn't malicious or evil. She remembered the when she first met the awkward and not a little frightened girl, taking her under her wing and letting her get used to living in a new city. She'd opened up over time, even if she was a bit introverted at times. Hell it took them over a month along with the need to be comforted before Addy would allow them to shorten her name.
Missy just had a hard time mentally connecting her friend and a dangerous villain as the same person.
Then again what did they really know about Splice? There was the ugly tentacle cat, which Addy clearly has some connection to even if she isn't Splice. There's also Splice's grudge against Glory Girl, and Missy totally wanted to give her a high five for making that meme. The tentacle cat had killed people, but it's possible that was an accident and they did stop that woman from being raped.
Maybe that's why nobody has seen any sign of one of them since? It was an accident and Addy isn't letting any creepy creatures out of her sight. Missy glanced back at her phone, looking at the picture she'd snapped of Addy's notebook and decided that was the most plausible thing. Her cat-thing got out somehow and caused a bit of a mess so now Addy is being much more careful.
This was assuming she was Splice of course. If she was a precog that theory fell apart entirely. Addy being a precog might even explain how she knew what Missy could pull off with her power. Did she see it in the future? Missy had tested out the half-Asian girl's suggestion, and while it took a lot of effort and thinking at first it soon fell into place. It was almost like her power didn't know what she was doing at first before suddenly and enthusiastically helping her, the space warping into place smoothly once she figured out exactly how to bend it and leaving her with a deep sense of satisfaction at her efforts.
Sure she'd only warped a tiny bit of space, enough to do a good imitation of a magnifying glass, but Missy knew in her gut it would easily scale it up. Very easily, her power seeming eager to try. Addy's comment about her being able to melt enemies down to ash seemed very accurate. Missy had even figure out how to warp space in a different way to simulate a telescope, increasing her range of vision by orders of magnitude.
She hadn't told anyone she could use her power in this way. She was going to, but after being denied a taser or some other weapon for subduing criminals, again, even though she could demonstrate the ability to hit with a melee weapon from a safe range she just gave up in irritation.
Well screw them. Missy would keep her new techniques to herself then. Besides that laser thing would make a great ace in the hole if she ever encountered Hookwolf again. Addy was right, yet again, that her PR image would get in the way.
Which added more weight to the 'Addy is a precog column'.
Maybe she could draw future events? That could explain why she had a picture of that tentacle cat thing (or catthulu as Assault had been trying to get them to call it).
Missy opened the door to the Wards common room with a sigh. She really didn't know what to do. She should tell Armsmaster and Piggot, but that felt a little like betraying her friend. Especially if she wasn't actually Splice, who her superiors seemed to be thinking of as the second coming of Nilbog. Making plans in case of dangerous monsters was one thing, but Piggot was beginning to take it a little overboard with over a half-dozen plans and contingencies that she was putting into place.
She pulled on her Vista costume and thought for a bit before, deciding she would keep reaching out and trying to get her to join the Wards.
Missy thought Addy would enjoy being in the Wards. She'd get along well with Dennis as they both have similar senses of humor and it would be nice to have a proper girl on the team (Sophia doesn't count). The problem was that it Addy was Splice then her creature was responsible for three people being dead. Maybe they could bring her in as a probationary member? They did it with Sophia when she was a violent vigilante thug and Addy would make a way better team member than Sophia ever would.
The problem is she just wasn't sure if her superiors would let Addy join up even as a probationary member if she turned out to be the biotinker. She considered asking Miss Militia about it as a hypothetical scenario but decided against that for the moment. Instead she settled into her shift on console and decided to wait and see how things were after the upcoming mall PR event.
Taylor lay in bed unable to sleep. She was caught thinking about earlier. It was hard not to really.
There was a chance she could get her mother back and she wanted it. She wanted it so bad. Addy could build something with her weird as hell tinker power that could bring back the dead. Her cousin come little sister, and yes Addy may as well be her little sister now. In fact from a genetic standpoint Addy was her sister (well half-sister). And it was nice having Addy around, despite Addy's sheer Addy-ness. Her father was still distant and overworked but Addy had slipped in and filled a hole Taylor didn't know she had.
It felt good to be the big sister.
School was still hell but Addy gave her something to look forward to every day, eagerly waiting for Taylor to get home before the mad little girl showed off something or other seeking Taylor's approval. It was nice to be wanted and looked up to like that. They would hang out and talk about all sorts of things and Addy believed in her. Believed that Taylor could be a great hero. No she didn't just believe, she wanted to support her.
It felt nice being the big sister that Addy looked up and listened to. Mostly, as there some hiccups, but it was nice to be needed and relied upon. Not with homework, no, though there was something just so funny about listening to her little sister rant about how much of a waste of time it was even as she completed all the work. No Addy needed her to keep her from going overboard with her overblown enthusiasm.
Which is why Taylor felt so damn guilty now.
Taylor had been doing a lot of research on capes, and even more on tinkers, since her little sister had come into her life. She'd read that sometimes powers did affect the way capes thought. She could even see it with herself. The insects that had once creeped her out were now almost just extensions of herself in a way. Addy seemed to be affected even further, maybe because she'd gotten her power so young.
Addy needed help and Taylor didn't know how to help her. She had the feeling that one day her little sister's recklessness was going to get her in trouble. Or that she'd come home one day and Addy would be standing there with tentacles for hair or something as equally grotesque and her irresponsible little sister just wouldn't get why anyone would be concerned. And then Addy would no doubt offer to do the same thing to anyone who asked.
Addy needed help and what's worse is Taylor didn't do anything. She let let her own selfish desires at the chance to have her mother back get in the way of making sure Addy got the help she needed. Taylor felt so much self-loathing and guilt at that fact, further exacerbated by the fact she knew she would make that choice again in a heartbeat.
Taylor knew she was try to assuage that some of that guilt right now by watching over Addy with some insects as she slept upstairs. It was easy to tell when Addy was asleep or when she was faking it. Her little sister snored, loudly. How such a small girl could somehow make so much noise was something that would forever confuse the older brunette.
She was also a blanket bandit, constantly roaming about in search of blankets. Any time Addy fell asleep on the couch any shared blankets would inevitably end up bundled about the girl as she rolled about in her sleep. If Addy was pretending to be asleep then she'd be laying still instead.
Right now she was peacefully snoring away like a walrus inhaling a lawnmower, hands already beginning to bundle up the blanket that a cluster of cockroaches were dragging towards her. Taylor wanted to help her get the help she needed but she didn't know where to start.
Mom would know what to do, Taylor thought to herself. That thought actually brought out a small huff of wry amusement. If the vita-chamber thing worked (and Addy was confident it will work, citing quantum entanglement to pull her mother's consciousness through time, along with a whole mess of tinkerbabble when Taylor had asked for more details) then Taylor could ask her mother what to do.
Maybe this plan wasn't so crazy after all. She would get her mother back, filling in the final void of their family, and Addy could then get the help she needs. All she had to do was figure out a way to steal equipment from Nazis.
And wasn't that a kick to the teeth? Learning that the fucking Empire was that deeply entrenched into Brockton Bay. Max Anders, Kazier's civilian identity according the Addy, was widely regarded as a philanthropist and overall good person, donating funding to all sorts of charities to help the people of the bay. The thought that somebody so well know for being kind and generous could secretly be an evil supervillain leading of a group of literal Nazis infuriated her.
It could be that Addy was just making it up to get her to go along with this. Taylor trusted her not to as Addy has always been pretty truthful (and blunt) but there was still a tiny niggling doubt. She didn't want to believe somebody publicly so good could be evil.
She resolved to scout it things out. As her little sister had suggested when she'd first learnt Addy had powers her powers were amazing for scouting out locations. She wouldn't be missed if she skipped a few days of school to scout out Medhall and the alleged Nazi infestation, and if it turned out to be true she'd already have some information to work out a plan for the robbery Addy wants to commit.
And if it was secretly run by Nazis it certainly would be an interesting coincidence if if a new insect controlling heroine happened to make her debut capturing the Nazis while they fought with the giant, tentacled monster trying to rob them.
"Morning Addy. Feeling better?" Missy greeted said girl, having had to jog a bit to catch up. She'd gotten dropped off just as Addy was entering the building.
"Oh hey. Good morning." The half-Asian girl smiled as she turned around. "Yeah I'm feeling a lot better today. I messed about on the computer and hung out with my sister which helped a lot."
"I thought she was your cousin?"
"Eh she's more like a big sister now. Also our mothers were identical twins so we technically count as half-sisters if you squint at it." Addy shrugged. "She acts like a big sister anyway."
"Sounds nice. I'm an only child so I don't really know what that's like."
"It's nice. She can be a bit bossy sometimes but she does look out for me. She helped me with my hair this morning." Addy gestured to said hairdo. She'd gone without her customary hat today and had the long part of her hair set in a braid that dangled over her shoulder.
"Yeah it looks good on you. I was going to ask but wanted to see how you were doing first."
"Hey guys! Nice hair Addy." Anna called out, walking quickly up the corridor towards them, followed closely by Karen, Clara and Louise.
"Thanks." The half-Asian girl preened.
"You are the girliest tomboy I have ever met Addy." The brunette commented with a giggle.
"Am not." Addy pouted.
"You totally are Addy." Karen added with amusement.
"Anyway." Missy interjected, cutting Addy off before this could devolve into an argument. Addy always got a little weird when people called her on it. "Anyone have trouble with their math-" "Maths." "-homework?" Missy deflected, ignoring another one of Addy's quirks.
"Well Addy obviously didn't, since she's Asian!" Louise grinned, resting her arm comfortably on the shorter girl's shoulder.
"Something something black people something something chicken." The half-Asian girl countered, jabbing the black girl lightly in the side with her elbow to dislodge her taller friend's arm.
Louise gave her a fake glare and then the pair of them both cracked into laughter.
"How come you guys get to tell the racist jokes?" Anna asked.
"Minority privilege." They replied in tandem with matching shit-eating grins.
"Well I found the homework alright." Clara said, rolling her eyes at the antics of the other two. "What about you Missy?"
"Yeah it was fine." Missy replied. She was going to continue further but Addy caught her attention. The half-Asian girl seemed shocked by something, and then began to zone out for a bit like she usually did.
They'd gotten to class and were finding their seats when Missy decided to just ask. "Addy you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine."
Missy wondered if it was her possible precog power was going off? Whatever it was Addy seemed to be thinking hard about it. "I'm here if you need help okay?" Missy offered.
"Thanks Missy." The shorted girl smiled back but still seemed distracted by her thoughts. Missy nodded and they both hurried off to catch up with everyone else.
Classwork went the same as it normally did, except Missy noted that Addy seemed more distracted than usual. Not that it stopped her from answering questions. Her friend always seemed to know the answers to everything. Except history. Addy sucked hard at history.
Just as lunch break was starting the half-Asian girl pulled her aside.
"Hey Missy. Can I talk to you in private for a moment?"
That took Missy by surprise. "Sure."
"So you have family that work for the PRT right?" Addy asked, sounding a little awkward.
Missy took a second to remember her excuse for giving out the tickets last week. "Yeah that's right."
"So hypothetically, if I knew somebody who could see the future you'd be able to pass it on to the PRT right?"
Missy felt so much relief. Addy was definitely a precog and not an evil biotinker like she had suspected! Then the blonde focused on what Addy had been asking. "Um yes. Yes I can! What did this person see?"
Addy's power had obviously warned her of something and she was trying to get Missy to warn the PRT.
"Well they said Mayor's niece is going to be kidnapped by the Pedosnake because he want to use her Thinker powers for himself." The half-Asian girl told her with confidence.
"Pedosnake?" Missy found herself blurting out, totally confused. "And when?" The blonde didn't even touch on the fact that the Mayor's niece was apparently a Thinker too.
"Sorry I meant Coil. I- the precog I know is like 90% sure he's a pedophile." Wait what? Missy had met the Mayor's niece at PR events occasionally now and some minor villain pedophile wanted to kidnap her? "They also said the kidnapping happens next month."
As Missy was digesting that Addy continued. "Oh yeah can you not tell your PRT family member I told you. My precog friend wants to keep anonymous for now and said I should do the same."
"Of course." Missy replied, fishing out her phone. She needed to contact the PRT right now. It took "I'll call my uncle right now."
"Okay well I'll go and meet up with the others. See you in a bit."
Missy nodded distractedly as Addy left. She wasn't sure she should be feeling right now. Addy was definitely a precog and trusted her enough to give her information. So yay? But Missy also felt concern and dread. Missy had met the Mayor's niece, named D-something, once or twice at PR events. She seemed like a nice girl, but had apparently triggered and was going to be kidnapped.
Thankfully Addy had trusted her enough to come forward with this, and Missy was going to use the faith her friend put in her to save somebody else. With a firm nod she pushed the dial button on her phone.
Director Piggot ran a weary hand over her face. If someone had told her she had been cursed with interesting times she'd be hard pressed to argue against it.
Her morning started with having her request for more personnel being turned yet again down by Chief Director Costa-Brown, which was made even more galling than normal because Piggot still found herself having to worry about hidden biotinker creations.
Then she'd been going over reports from yesterday, because even though were no major parahuman incidents that didn't mean the PRT got to relax. Once over she then had a meeting with Arsmaster which culminated in an extremely detailed report on Squealer's latest attempt at creating the ultimate moving violation, the woman's tinkertech seeming to deeply offend the the Protectorate hero's aesthetic sensibilities.
Then after managing to finagle her schedule enough to actually have a lunch break, or as close to a lunch break as fifteen free minutes would allow, Vista then calls up needing to talk to her immediately.
Which then after Vista had passed her intel on had led to bringing in Triumph and informing him that his cousin was at risk of being kidnapped by Coil for her power, and possibly worse. Triumph himself had just gotten off the phone to his aunt who'd informed them that young Dinah was currently at home due to horrible migraines, or as the PRT director suspected: Thinker headaches.
The sound-based hero had then excused himself to go check in his cousin and aunt in person, along advising them to have Dinah placed in the Wards for her safety. Warning from a precog that the girl was at risk of being kidnapped by a pedophile would definitely provide incentive to get her somewhere safe.
At least they had definite confirmation that Vista's friend was a precognitive Thinker and Piggot planned to push a bit harder on selling the wards to the girl. Thinkers were a rare and hot commodity to the gangs and there was no way in hell Piggot was going to let this one go.
At least one thing was looking up. The girl, Adeline, had confirmed to Vista that she would be attending the Wards event scheduled this weekend which meant it would be easy enough to have someone discreetly approach her guardian during the event and make suggestions. Much more discrete than having PRT aligned agents visit her house. That would be an instant Fresh Trigger Here sign to the gangs.
Sadly the possibility of getting a new parahuman into the Wards and away from the gangs was didn't make up for the new issue Piggot was facing. Splice's creatures.
After warning them about Dinah Alcott Vista then forwarded a picture she had taken of a notebook Adeline had begun to draw in. Seeing it made the PRT director's blood run cold. It showed multiple of those things and that they could breed. The tree in the background suggested those monsters would be spreading into out into neighbourhoods from wherever they were holed up in the docks.
And this was on top of the Empire and ABB doing minor skirmishes along their borders forcing Piggot to direct more resources to deal with that rather than deal with the biotinker running loose cooking up God knows what. She had the pre-signed Kill Order ready but couldn't quite risk going public with it yet.
The moment it went active not only would the PRT-ENE have to explain that yes there is a dangerous biotinker active in Brockton Bay making self-replicating monsters and no they haven't found them yet, but the Kill Order would draw in opportunists like flies to dung. There was no official bounty yet, so that just left the type of people that wanted to try their hand at legally being allowed to kill someone or the psychos that enjoyed tracking down and hunting other people.
Director Piggot had no desire to see those kinds of people running about her city when it was already powder keg of tension. No instead she was now going to be spending the rest of the day briefing her strike commanders and after that the local members of the Protectorate about what to do once they found Splice.
A/N:
Addy's perspective for the Vista conversations will be up next chapter and we get to see how she's a very unreliable narrator.
Last edited: