I see Carol, Kayden and Marquis as very broken people who tried their best to be good parents. Kayden is a nazi, a racist and a violent criminal and I hate her so much for this but she clearly love Aster and fight for her little girl, despite failing to provide her a good and decent life (Aster will never have a normal life with a mother waging war against people that her fucked up ideology doesn't like ). Marquis is a villain but one of the best and most dedicated fathers I've seen in this story
Yeah, Kayden is also someone who draws a fair amount of controversy;some people talk about how if she really wants to better then she should stop being a racist, whereas I'm personally willing to cut some slack for the person who was indoctrinated into a cult* but found the strength to try and escape fro her child.
She could have been something great if she had simply left but Max has a far greater reach than her and she knows that he would take Aster if she did, as well as it would have meant leaving Theo to suffer in silence.
* Max's behaviour seems extremely cult leader-esque to me
I like your idea of Worm's summary. Its very fitting to Worm's general theme . My idea is something like that: Its a hellish world where people prefer to fight against each other (villains against heroes, heroes against heroes, villains against villains), keep innumerable secrets and act like antagonists despite having apparently noble final purposes (Cauldron) or being general assholes or monsters (Jack, Heartbreaker, etc) INSTEAD of working together to make the world a better place to live in. The world will never get better if people will never work together for the common good but nobody seems to understand this .
That also works pretty well with mine; I was referring to them each doing what they think is best and well... there are a lot of different opinions on that
Most of Masters who control people are some of the lowest "human beings" ever. They're few genuinely good people, but not enough to make me change my opinion about them.
The irony is that my father is a fan of Master Classification and he kind of like to control people. If he'll ever trigger, I think he'll trigger with a Master power. My trigger will be some kind of Thinker power, maybe similar with Lisas because of my general difficulties to trust people.
That's not quite how it works; trigger events end to relate more along the lines of what is the situation than the kind of power you want (there are other factors, which include those mentioned by Doctor Mother, Bonesaw and Tattletale)
E.g. Masters tend to have isolation issues, Strikers when something is right in their face, Thinkers tend to go through great emotional or mental strain, etc.
There's a table of this for all of the categories and it wouldn't actually spoil anything, if you're interested.
I like when a story brings so many different opinions but I like more that people in this fandom RESPECT each other' opinions, even they they're so different and sometimes doesn't agree with them. I was part of fandoms that attacked my opinions without bringing any arguments to counter what I said and even insulted me because I didn't agree with their opinions or they didn't like my opinions... I ❤ this fandom.
Yeah, Kayden is also someone who draws a fair amount of controversy;some people talk about how if she really wants to better then she should stop being a racist, whereas I'm personally willing to cut some slack for the person who was indoctrinated into a cult* but found the strength to try and escape fro her child.
She could have been something great if she had simply left but Max has a far greater reach than her and she knows that he would take Aster if she did, as well as it would have meant leaving Theo to suffer in silence.
* Max's behaviour seems extremely cult leader-esque to me
That also works pretty well with mine; I was referring to them each doing what they think is best and well... there are a lot of different opinions on that
Not really a master, she just uses her power in a manner that fits the role well... may be subconsciously related to having a master-like trigger
(also Parian's power is weird; I think there's a WOG on her possibly being able to push back an endbringer solo if she knew how to use it properly)
Master's tend to be people who are fairly isolated from others... sometimes there might be a legitimate reason for that to happen
That's not quite how it works; trigger events end to relate more along the lines of what is the situation than the kind of power you want (there are other factors, which include those mentioned by Doctor Mother, Bonesaw and Tattletale)
E.g. Masters tend to have isolation issues, Strikers when something is right in their face, Thinkers tend to go through great emotional or mental strain, etc.
There's a table of this for all of the categories and it wouldn't actually spoil anything, if you're interested.
Yeah, overall, the arguments here tend to be pretty tame.
There are some thing that are basically considered almost to facts of reality, though, such as the therapist's fanon title of "Saint Yamada"
Actually Kayden remained a nazi even after Max's death. Now, there's nobody threatening her to take the child away from her (except for S9 but they don't have anything to do with her ideology), yet she remained a nazi leader. I think this woman really believe in her ideology and she thinks that what she's doing is for the "greatest good of white race". Even Max observed (in her Interlude) that when she tried to do "street justice" solo, she only targeted asian people, never white people. Maybe she's an arguable good mother, but she SUCKS as a human being. People with her ideology are very shitty according to my opinion.
If they're isolated from others, then maybe others have some good reasons to isolate them (well, Taylor, Rachel and Sabah are exceptions because these girls did nothing wrong to deserve to be isolated or treated badly by their peers. Heartbreaker's children are other exceptions because their father made them like this).
I can't look at the table you mentioned because I'm afraid of spoilers (maybe there are new characters mentioned there as examples and I'm trying to avoid these spoilers as much as possible).
TRUE FACT: Saint Yamada SHOULD become Jessica's second name, she's too pure for this world ❤.
Actually Kayden remained a nazi even after Max's death. Now, there's nobody threatening her to take the child away from her (except for S9 but they don't have anything to do with her ideology), yet she remained a nazi leader. I think this woman really believe in her ideology and she thinks that what she's doing is for the "greatest good of white race". Even Max observed (in her Interlude) that when she tried to do "street justice" solo, she only targeted asian people, never white people. Maybe she's an arguable good mother, but she SUCKS as a human being. People with her ideology are very shitty according to my opinion.
That's kind of what I was saying actually; ten years of indoctrination don't just disappear and expecting it to just happen is unrealistic Max managed to get his claws into her while she was young and align her to match the people around her.
I think that actually her being locked in Brockton did play a part in her not getting better; she can't leave or Max will take Aster but at the same time, she's in an extremely vulnerable state from 10 years of manipulation and she also can't afford to antagonise the Empire 88 because they know who she is and will respond. (and added on top of that is the guilt over Theo's situation)
Using Max's words as an argument also kind of works in my view because not only was he the one to integrate her into that kind of mindset, he is also actively in the process of manipulating her into serving him so he's hardly going to bring it up in a positive light.
TL;DR - in the words of Krixwell (another word let's read-er) "Fuck you, Max"
Personally, I lose sympathy with her after she goes on her rampage after Coil reveals their identities but before that, I think that she had a lot potential for growth and development if she had managed to get away from Max's influence.
Hello, my friends. Last time, we had something called one of the VERY BEST INTERLUDES in the whole story, Chevalier Interlude . His Interlude became one of my favorites and Chevalier became the hero that I'm irremediable in love with ❤. He's too perfect and no words can make him enough justice. Chevalier (still upset because I don't know his real name) is one of the characters that I want to become the protagonist of Worm's sequel, Ward, the others being: Vista, Legend, Miss Militia and Weld. I want to say that I'd love for Tattletale to become Ward's protagonist, but there's a little problem with her. She's like the Miss Exposition and NO-Twist herself and reading Ward from her POV will be pretty boring once there will be no secrets and twists available to feed my curiosity . Reading something from Lisa's POV is like reading a book for the tenth time, you already know too much about the plot but you keep reading it because you don't have anything else to read. BOREFEST. All in all, Chevalier Interlude was a TREASURE for my 👀 and my ❤. One of the most heroic heroes, the first Endbringer who died (THANK YOU, Scion Kevin Norton 😃), everyone fighting hard to save New Delhi, its citizens and even the whole India. Perfect, just perfect, the whole Arc was PERFECTION. My second favorite Arc, situated after Migration Arc and before S9 Mini Arc. Migration Arc still remained the best Arc, nothing else made me so emotionally invested and so tensed than watching Travelers "evolution" from victims of Simurgh to victims of their own flaws, bad decisions, powers and ultimately their dick of a fate .
Btw, before starting with...another Interlude ??!!, I'd like to recommend to my readers something to read while they wait for Ward's updates and my liveblog updates. Its a "superhero" comic called The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. I'm warning you, its very dark, violent, GOREFEST and have a lot of really disgusting and most of the time total unnecessary sexual abuses but its a good shit for the ones who enjoy gore, a good "superhero" story and a couple of cool characters. Pros: action, good plot, gore, WTF moments, cool fights, badass vigilantes. Cons: ABSOLUTE GARBAGE PIECE OF SHIT "HEROES" 🤮, non-original powers, way too much sexual violence, WTF moments, a world more shitty than the one depicted in Worm. In the entire story (I finished reading the comics and I heard that there's also a TV show and I can't wait to see how good it is), I only liked 4 characters (3 vigilantes and the only real hero of the story). For people who are curious:
Annie/Starlight, MY BOY Hughie, Frenchie ❤Female.
That's all. All the other characters are fucking super DICKS. The biggest super dicks in the history of super dicks 😡. So, you can probably imagine that the humanity depicted in The Boys is not very kind. Anyway, read on your own risk if you wanna. I just wanted to recommend you something different from the normal superhero stories.
Back to Worm Interlude 24 (Donation Bonus #1)
"Why isn't everyone cheering and hollering anymore?"
"Really fucking tired," Grace said. She was beside Cuff, who'd been stripped of her armor from the waist up, with only a thin covering of near-liquid metal on her upper body for modesty's sake. A nurse was attending to her arm.
"Really tired," Golem said. "Oh my god. My entire body hurts, and I didn't even take a direct hit."
Tecton ventured a reply instead. "I think I understand what Cuff means. It's hard to believe he's gone. It's like, you're five years old, and Leviathan appears for the first time, and your parents have to explain that a bunch of people died, and it's because of these monsters and yet nobody has figured out why."
"I've been dealing with the aftermath of the Endbringer attacks for a while," Cuff said. Her eyes were on the floor, and an expression of pain crossed her face as the doctor cut away a tag of burned skin on her shoulder. The scar was like a snowflake carved into the skin's surface, angry and red. Her arm seemed to tremble involuntarily.
"When my family got killed in Hawaii, I made promises to myself. It's why I came. I don't feel like I did enough, to fulfill my own end of those promises."
In response to the glances cast his way, Wanton waved his stump around. "Going to take getting used to. Getting dressed, eating…"
He moved the stump in the direction of his lap, jerked it up and down.
"Golem?" Tecton asked. "Have you even talked to her about it?"
This Interlude is dedicated to the heroes who faced Behemoth and survived him. GOOD, SO GOOD. I needed this Interlude like a fish needs water to survive . Poor Wanton, he lost an arm. But, don't worry, young man, Defiant will give you a cyborg arm in no time. Then your teammates will envy you because your arm is stronger and better than their natural arms. Cuff have some nasty burns, but you know what, my girl? You can't be a badass hero without having scars. Scars are the beauty sign of badassery. Everyone will appreciate your badassery if they'll see your scars . The sad thing is that her parents are dead . I thought that they're alive and she become a hero in order to protect them from monsters of all shapes and sizes, but I'm surprised- in a non-pleasant way- to find out that they're no longer alive. Poor Cuff, she become a hero in order to HONOR THEIR MEMORY and make them proud of her from where their souls are probably now. Tecton is the natural team leader. He's not just a team leader, he's like a big brother for his team, he's the one who always find a good word for his people, the one who support them as best as he can when they need support, the brains and the heart of his team. Grace is the badass sister of the team and Theo is the team shy child . Taylor is the villain with the heart of gold and the mind of a general of the team. I freaking love Chicago Wards, Taylor is lucky that her team is composed of such great heroes and people. What Theo wants from Taylor? My best bet: he wants her to train him. He knows that she is the right person to train him but he's too shy to ask her directly, because he's afraid that she might judge him for his family. Well, Taylor is not someone quickly to judge people, she'd rather judge herself than anyone else. Be a man and ask her to train you, its not like you're asking her out on a date . Not that I'll ever opposite to the possibility of date.
Where the hell is Scapegoat? Move your sorry ass here, Scapegoat, people need you to heal them. Come on, there are only a couple of burns, radiation ulcers, cancer, you know, they fought against a natural disaster in the shape of a kaiju after all.
Scapegoat: FUCK MY LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!! "runs away"
I can imagine Taylor with Scapegoat's powers. She'll be like....after she heals few dozens of people injured during Behemoth Battle, she exclaims, on a tired voice:
-My head hurts a big, I think I need some rest for a bit. 10 minutes will be enough.
Classical Taylor .
Suck to have Scapegoat powers. They should become the boogeyman of superpowers, just like Contessa is the boogeyman of parahumans. Every kid who want to get power should think better at their wish knowing that they might get powers similar with Scapegoats (I know that they'll never get the powers they want but some kids really believe that they can choose their powers). Not the trigger event should be the most scary thing but the possibility of getting Scapegoat's power. Oh, the horror!!!
"Door me," Pretender said.
A light sliced across the floor of the alleyway, three feet across. When it had reached its full length, it began thickening, raising up until the portal was a full four by seven feet. There was a long white hallway on the other side.
Pretender shook, gingerly, unsure of the full extent of Alexandria's enhanced strength.
Satyr held on to the hand, caressing it. "They say you should marry your best friend, and now that you're a woman…"
Satyr shook his head. "We've killed before. Selfishly, selflessly. Only difference is you got caught."
"Well then. Good luck with saving the world."
"And good luck with saving civilization from itself," Pretender answered. He looked skyward for a moment. "Close the door."
Ok, back to these fucking traitors. Pretender wearing Alexandria's body as usual and Satyr being all mysterious and creepy with the whole "saving the civilization from itself". What this shit means, Satyr? I know that if you want to save something from itself, you have to destroy it, so "saving the civilization from itself" means that you have to destroy the civilization itself or a part of it . This is ominous as hell, don't you think, Satyr? Doesn't help my absolute lack of trust in you. I wonder what your Cauldron bosses have to say hearing you talking like this. Unless they agree with you and this is actually their final solution to save the world, by destroying the civilization itself (or allowing it to be destroyed) then I don't think they'll be ok with you talking like this. Pretender, I don't judge you because you're a criminal and not an entirely good hero (after all you helped against Behemoth which was a quite impressive feat ), I judge you because you're a traitor and someone who have such low morals that have no problem possessing a braindead woman body. As much as I hated Alexandria, I think I hate more what this asshole of a Master is currently doing with her body 🤢. Gosh, these two are so freaking unpleasant and ominous...At least they're a couple and they seem really love each other. Even jerks can have cute love stories, isn't true? Of course, people who aren't jerks or traitors or disrespectful towards almost dead persons will never love any of them so...they found each other, they noticed how many shit they have in common so they decided: why not, lets make a lovely couple...Good for them and Satyr seems to be ok with Pretender wearing a BRAINDEAD WOMAN body, this decision telling me two things about Satyr: his morals are equal with Pretender's morals, meaning ZERO, and he loves Pretender for the person he's, not for the body he wears . I'd have shipped them if they weren't so awful. But I'll still like to see how Pretender possess a body. Does he physically enter into the respective body, like a ghost or energy specter? Does he transfer his mind into the other body? The fact that he can control Alexandria's powers is also a very interesting detail of his power, maybe his Passenger can control other Passengers in the same manner Glaistig Uaine collects Passengers adding them to her "army". I dislike him with intensity but damn if I don't want to see his power in action, not after the possession. Alright, enough with these jerks, lets move on...
Colin shifted his weight restlessly, watching the screens.
There was a process, he knew. He'd been filled in on the details, forewarned. That didn't make this any easier.
Too many years he'd spent alone. Too many years, he'd had nothing to care about. Nothing and nobody to hold precious. A dad who worked two jobs, a mother who traveled. They'd divorced, and virtually nothing had changed in the grand scheme of things. They'd looked after him, but they hadn't been there. They had been occupied with other things, with dreams and aspirations that had never included him.
Colin knew he had been the weird child. Had never made friends, had convinced himself he didn't want or need them. He was efficient in how solitary he was.
People talking about Behemoth's death on forums. Most of them can't believe that this shit is real and I don't blame them. Living their entire life under the murderous shadow of Endbringers, seeing entire cities ruined by them and millions of lives destroyed, its very hard to believe that one of these monsters is gone for real, being killed by the greatest hero of Earth Bet. I can see people thinking that everything was only a government false flag with the purpose to calm down an increasingly panicked and hopeless population and give them false hopes that the monsters can be destroyed. Only the heroes, villains and rogues who fought Behemoth, New Delhi's civilians and Scion himself know the whole truth, but I wonder how many will believe them and not believe instead that the government orchestrated this "conspiracy" . I'd like to read conspiracy fans denying that Scion killed Behemoth and accusing the world governments for lying their citizens. I'd also like to read heroes trying to deny these accusations and explaining how the battle really went, will be so very similar with the endless discussions about (more or less ridiculous) conspiracy theories in our world. Really fun to read.
Colin's backstory. His parents were more preoccupied with themselves than with their own child. More awful parents? More awful parents, there were never enough awful parents in Worm . He triggered because he was alone, this is the reason why Colin is such an antisocial cyborg. Well, while he's still antisocial, now he have a couple of good friends. A hero with a heart bigger than the weapons he creates, Chevalier, and an AI with a human heart who love him and help him to become just as human as her. He have friends now, he's no longer alone. He also changed so much, the formerly insufferable and manipulative prick is the current devoted and honest hero that everyone should admire ❤.
No, he realized. Even worse. He would have to head her off before she got access to the data. If he had to load that backup, he would be loading her as she was before he freed her of the PRT's shackles. She would be obligated to fight him. He'd managed a sneak attack the first time. The second? She'd see what he did, force him to try another means.
He wanted to contact Chevalier, to know that his friend was okay, that theProtectorate was okay. He didn't trust himself to stay calm, to keep from saying something about Dragon, from venting, being emotional.
Chevalier would understand, he suspected. But Colin's masculinity would take a hit, and it would only cause more trouble than it fixed.
Dragon had been pissed when he'd suggested she was the feminine ideal. That, in the eternal crisis that any woman faced between being the virgin, the madonna, and being sensual, sexual, she was both.
To be a man, though, it wasn't much easier. The standard society set was just as high. To be a provider, a rock, to be sensitive, yet to avoid beingemotional.
Oh, God, Dragon was damaged during Behemoth Battle and Colin wants to restore her. Well, its going to be a bit hard because its not his specialty, but he's a Tinker and Tinkers can copy all other specialties/powers so I'm sure that he'll be successful in his efforts to bring her back. There's nothing a dedicated and genius lover like Colin won't do for the woman who stole his heart ❤.
NO, Colin, Dragon can't be both, she can't be the virgin and the sexual woman, she can be WHATEVER SHE WANTS TO BE, NOT WHAT YOU WANT HER TO BE. A woman (even an AI woman) is free to be a virgin or a sexual woman, or an asexual and aromantic woman or anything else she wants to be. This is the reason why Dragon is pissed because Colin was the one who choose for her to be his perfect woman, he didn't allow her the possibility to choose for herself. Wrong, Colin, wrong, you need to learn more about women and understand that women are no longer submissive to men (at least in the modern and civilized societies) and that both sexes are equal and complementary. You still need to learn about relationships, Colin, you're a good man, but there are things that you still don't know about . As for men and not showing weakness, this is another wrong thing that our society demands from our boys. Be a man and never cry because crying is for women and weak men. Fucking BULLSHIT. There are very strong and badass men, yet they'll cry like children when they will feel like crying. My father is the strongest and toughest man I've ever seen but he's not afraid to cry when he watches romantic movies, for example, or when he hears about something sad. For me and my mother he's our ROCK, but he always tell me that is no shame at all in crying and showing weakness, even if the one crying is a man . Men are human beings, not unsentimental robots and they have all the right to act like human beings, without feeling ashamed for their feelings and how others might see them. Fuck what the society thinks.
Now I really want to see Colin crying in front of Chevalier and have his friend MANLY hugging him and telling him that they'll always be the best bros. Give me this scene, Wildbow, give me, give me...
"You can stay where you are," the doctor said, not looking up from the clipboard.
Kirk had halted in his tracks, shifting his weight to keep his bare feet from making too much contact with the cold floor.
Odd, in a way, that he had to. But his power tended to be all or nothing.
"I shouldn't tell you this, and I'm not naming names, but the first test results have come in, for some of the others who were at your side in New Delhi. Here, and in other cities. The tests for radiation are coming back negative."
Kirk blinked.
"Thank you," Kirk said, smiling for the first time. "Thank you."
"I should be the one saying that to you," the doctor said. "Just… don't be too disappointed if the answer isn't what you wanted, okay?"
"Earlier in the year, for those of you who don't remember, Chevalier boasted of a new Protectorate, clear of the sabotage and interference from its own leaders. Today may serve as a testament to that boast."
"All around the world, people seem to be celebrating, but it's a markedly cautious celebration. Early polls on the UKCC web site suggest that a fulleighteen percent of people who voted are waiting for more information or verification before celebrating the heroes' victory, and ten percent of people don't intend to celebrate at all."
"Not at all?"
"No, Lizbeth. In the comments thread of the poll, a common trend seems to be the feeling that he isn't or can't be dead, that the heroes were mistaken, or that this might even provoke a response from the remaining Endbringers."
"We killed him," the words were a repeat of earlier. As if that summed it up. "I think it's already on the news."
"I know. I saw, but I didn't quite believe it. I'm dumbfounded. Amazed. I'm so proud of you. Wow."
"Taylor, no. It's not fear. I saw some of your friends, not long ago. I wanted to talk to your employee, Charlotte, and the others came. And I saw this whole other life, this side of you I couldn't recognize at all. Little things that I recognized, yes, and then big things that I could barely fathom. I've never been able to handle loss well, with Annette, and now feeling like I maybe lostyou… I just… I want to adjust, to get my head around this, and then I can visit and things will be like they were."
"I'm not afraid, Taylor. If there's any fear, my love for you outweighs it by far, understand?"
But the phone was already steadily buzzing with a dial tone. The pause was enough.
Annex is fine which is good and we get to know his name, Kirk, which is even better . When we'll be lucky enough to get to know all other Chicago Wards' names?
People act as I expected them to act: some doesn't believe that Behemoth's death is for real, someone can't believe that something like this happened, someone believe in conspiracy, others are too afraid to celebrate thinking that they'll be disappointed. But they're people who doesn't give a shit about conspiracy or thinking about a dark future and they celebrate this obvious victory. Well, I'm glad that some know how to stop worry about the future and learn how to love the moment. These people are my kind of people .
I'm surprised that Simurgh didn't predict Behemorg's defeat or maybe she saw it happening but couldn't do anything because Scion would have killed her too. Yep, she must be like: -Behemoth will die. No worries, I can make a few more like Behemoth in no time. Can't wait to see these inferior humans celebrating Scion's victory until they'll realize that they're literally screwed. Lets start...collect more material from here, then put everything together...give them an indestructible core....- Isn't she lovely 😇🕊?
Another sad moment between Taylor and her father . Everytime when these two met I can't help but feel like I want to cry. Danny can't get over his personal fears: he fears for his daughter's safety but he's also AFRAID OF HER (he loves her so much and he keeps denying that he fears her but despite everything he's telling her or himself, he's afraid of her and he still can't accept that she's a villain turned hero. Maybe he's proud of her but he also doesn't like what she was and he fears that the villain in her is still alive and kicking despite her intentions to act like a hero). I completely understand him but I think that he should give her a little benefit of the doubt, especially after he saw how good she treated the people living in her territory when she was a crime lady. Taylor puts pressure on him to accept her, trying to assure him that she's no longer a villain and a criminal. Taylor, be patient with your father, he still need time to get used with the idea that his daughter killed people (one of front of him), ruled over a territory and was an antagonist to heroes until she switched sides. Its not so easy to get over to such a terrible sock. They both need time to heal, discover, accept and understand each other again .
Note the link back to this thread just earlier today. (Kid has Weaver show up for Wards event at park.) Paraphrasing hearsay: 'I had everything, I gave it up'. You can see how much she cares about them.
Is the Echidna thing tied to the mysterious info-blackout in Brockton Bay re: time portal created?
Wondering about Tecton. Liking his talk about powers and building teams, but he defects leadership to known ex-villain who knows little to nothing about his team?
Anyone else wondering why they went with the 'V' hand sign? That's a rude gesture in New Delhi, 99% sure. Americans.
Intimate moment b/w Weaver and Grue. Anyone else feel like a pervert watching this? Can't see anything, but I think they're kissing. If I thought this was staged I stopped when this happened.
Regent/girl with gray mask (forget name) funny as hell. Hoping they all make it out okay.
Have to stop at 12 minute mark. Burned girl. Too real.
Glenn reached across his keyboard to refresh his email, then hit the key on his keyboard to shut down the machine. While the screen went through the motions, Glenn walked around the desk to kneel on the floor. The computer itself was set into a recess in the floor, and he worked at unplugging and unscrewing each wire in turn.
A butterfly flew across his field of vision, and he jumped despite himself.
"Weaver," he said, turning around.
"The secretary's supposed to call me. They gave me one of the superhero phones so I could call my dad, told me to hold onto it. I'd take it as a good sign, except there's a video circulating online. My video. Well past the point where anyone could hope to control access to it. Mirrors, bitsharing, hardcopies…"
"I see. Upsetting."
"I expect I'll be fired. They'll make me clean out my office, so I figured I would get a headstart. I don't keep anything permanent that isn't on my personal computer, so this box is all I need."
"Bigger, Weaver. Come on. Do you think I got to where I am by thinking one dimensionally? What else, why? I'm getting fired. I knew I'd get fired. Would I do it just for that?"
"I'm your ally, Weaver. You think I don't recognize the issues in the PRT? The corruption that's still at the core? The need for change? There has to be some sacrifice, and there has to be someone to step forward, a harbinger for that change. Chevalier may be the hero of the day, he can lay the groundwork for change, but he can't be that harbinger. He's too entrenched."
"It'll be hard, but I think you'll manage with that. Putting this video online, it's going to achieve a lot of things. I think, seeing you in the thick of it, it's going to change people's opinion of you. There'll be controversy, some will hate you. But others? This will be their first view of what it's truly like on the battlefield. They'll have to like you, to sympathize. But the rule of three says you won't be forgotten about."
"Being worshipped as a god wouldn't be worth hurting them again," Weaver retorted. Her voice was hard again. "Grue believes that image and reputation are a kind of protection. Being seen as soft, when he's dealing with people in the criminal underworld? It could get him killed."
He met her eyes. "They won't be as upset with you as they are right this moment. I'll draw the initial heat. By the time they're done with me, my career and any possible job in a related field will be ashes in the wind. For you, well, it'll tip the scales. If you're halfway into the 'deserves a medal' camp and halfway into the 'needs to be punished' camp, this will help."
"I could have done some things better, but was I that bad?"
"Consorting with villains you were supposed to avoid, putting Wards on the line to help them, dealing with Phir Sē without contacting any superiors. You ignored the rules regarding image, took gambles-"
People talking again about Behemoth battle, some of them enjoying seeing the short moment between Weaver and Grue (freaking pervs), others will be disappointed because Regent didn't survived alongside with the girl with the gray mask (again, what was her name? ). Tecton did very well when he decided that Weaver will be a better leader than him because she proved herself to be an excellent strategist and some of the best leaders should be excellent strategists too. As for "V" gesture, at least it wasn't the "Middle Finger" gesture. Maybe for indians is an insult but for the rest of the world means "Victory" or "Peace" and you can't expect some american teenagers to know that the Victory sign means something else for indian people. You're way too judgmental with these kids (said the most judgmental piece of shit that is me ).
Glenn was fired because he released the video. Why? This is not a reason to fire him, you dumb bastards. He released the video because he wanted to show to the world that Protectorate is not so rotten to the core like many people believe after the huge disappointment with Triumvirate, that Chevalier's Protectorate actually work, that a villain turned hero was very capable to help the heroes protecting a whole city (and even saving the respective city- its citizens at least- after she convinced Phir Sē to collaborate with her and the other heroes), that some young Wards fought until the last moment against the Death personified, that some young villains fought until the last moment against the same Death personified. Glenn did excellent when he decided to release the video (even if Taylor feels like she betrayed her for friends) and his superiors were such an assholes for firing him because he took the right decision to improve the heroes in the eyes of the public . ASSHOLES. Well, goodbye, Glenn, I wish that this is not the last time when I see. I like you, you're a smart and very dedicated person to the image of heroes and you actually do something useful, unlike other people who prefer to never take difficult decisions but they can't stop criticizing people who are brave enough to decide in their place. I can't wait for the video to create a good impression to the public and everyone (starting with his superiors and Taylor herself) to admit that what Glenn did was extremely useful for the future of Protectorate and Taylor. Glenn is a FINE example that not all mundane (people without powers) people in government are fuckers like Tagg .
"Defiant?"
Defiant couldn't move, as he held a heavy concrete slab out of the way for emergency crews. He used the cursor embedded in his eye to select the 'answer' command, and shut the vents around his mouth.
"Tiamat II, hold off on any reports for now." Can't take it, not right this moment.
DRAGON IS ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!! Colin brought her back, told you that he's an excellent Tinker and he'll be successful to get his girlfriend, his virgin, his sexual woman back . Gosh, I love Tinkers so much, they just never know when to give up and they're so damn dedicated to their work. Colin is so dedicated to Dragon that he did something completely outside of his specialty, he re-created her. He gave her back the life that Behemoth stole from her. I can imagine a living Richter being immensely impressed by Colin's success but also warning him that Dragon should never be allowed to surpass the limits that he decided for her to have. Not that Colin would care anyway (I have to admit that an unrestricted Dragon still make me feel uncomfortable but I know her now, lets say that I want to trust her but I trust Colin more that he'll know what to do if something will go wrong. Dragon's very human personality and Colin's permanently presence in her life+ his knowledge about her system are what keep me from freaking out that an unrestricted AI might become a world menace ).
All in all, these two Interludes were perfect. Almost everything ended well, too well I might say. Except for Glenn losing his job, Taylor and Danny's lovingly but problematic relationship, Taylor feeling like she betrayed her friends and Satyr's total ominous words about "saving the civilization from itself", everything else ended too damn well. This end of this Arc was a pleasure to read, very enjoyable and quite optimistic. Until next time when...Simurgh will proceed to simultaneous send Leviathan AND a couple of Behemoth clones in different cities of the world, right when the world will celebrate the original Behemoth's death. Fun times .
I think that Wildbow did a really good job with this chapter in regards to showing how people might realistically react to something like this happening; amazing, yet also too good to be true.
However, it does make me feels sorry for Kevin Norton; he must be feeling so much guilt right now because he's the kind of good person that I imagine a would think more along the lines of, "It took me ten years to gather my courage enough for this; how many lives could have been saved if I had been just a bit quicker?"
I think that Wildbow did a really good job with this chapter in regards to showing how people might realistically react to something like this happening; amazing, yet also too good to be true.
However, it does make me feels sorry for Kevin Norton; he must be feeling so much guilt right now because he's the kind of good person that I imagine a would think more along the lines of, "It took me ten years to gather my courage enough for this; how many lives could have been saved if I had been just a bit quicker?"
I can imagine how the people in our world would act if Endbringers were a real thing and Scion would have killed one:
Half of them- JESUS SAVED US, lets all pray to Him and ask him for more miracles! GOD LOVES US!!!
2/3- Can't believe this shit happened. Must be government false flag or even if is real something worse will happen very soon. Nothing good last forever.
The rest of people- Celebrate the victory or they're too drunk to properly properly.
How the people in our world would react seeing Scion for the first time:
60%: Jesus' Second Coming!
20%: Russians/chinese/Islamists attack us with their flying golden cyborgs.
19%: I'm too drunk/drugged for this shit.
The only 1% left: What if is not Jesus but...an alien?
Yes, Kevin Norton must feel guilty for not asking Scion to kill Endbringers long time ago instead of playing with them. I'll never understand why he didn't do that but I suppose that he thought that Scion will understand what he should do, without being necessary for a human to explain him everything. Kevin's mistake was that he ignored that Scion was more like an alien puppet doing only what his human puppeteer tells him to do (for some reasons) instead of taking his own decisions. When he realized his mistake, he corrected it, even if maybe was too late. But plenty of people survived after Behemoth was killed so...its never too late .
Yes, Kevin Norton must feel guilty for not asking Scion to kill Endbringers long time ago instead of playing with them. I'll never understand why he didn't do that but I suppose that he thought that Scion will understand what he should do, without being necessary for a human to explain him everything. Kevin's mistake was that he ignored that Scion was more like an alien puppet doing only what his human puppeteer tells him to do (for some reasons) instead of taking his own decisions. When he realized his mistake, he corrected it, even if maybe was too late. But plenty of people survived after Behemoth was killed so...its never too late .
As I read his interlude, Kevin didn't so much ignore Zion so much as he was terrified of the idea that the fate of the world was literally in his hands and ran away from the responsibility because he couldn't handle it; he said something about having finally gathered enough courage to return (which I am going to partially attribute to Duke because he's a good dog).
So Kevin's mindset would be more along the lines of "If only I was less of a coward..."
And I can really understand that because I'm not sure that I would be able to handle a responsibility of that magnitude
As I read his interlude, Kevin didn't so much ignore Zion so much as he was terrified of the idea that the fate of the world was literally in his hands and ran away from the responsibility because he couldn't handle it; he said something about having finally gathered enough courage to return (which I am going to partially attribute to Duke because he's a good dog).
So Kevin's mindset would be more along the lines of "If only I was less of a coward..."
And I can really understand that because I'm not sure that I would be able to handle a responsibility of that magnitude
Yes, you're right, Kevin was pretty coward and this was a big flaw of his. I remember that he said that his girlfriend was abusive towards him but he was too much of a coward (or too much of a gentleman) to confront her until he got tired of her abuse and just ran away. I love this man but he was indeed a coward and he hated to take big decisions. But I'm glad that he changed because he started to understand that saving the world is more important than running from responsibilities.
Yes, I think I could handle this responsibility, all I have to do is to order Scion to kill some monsters without anything human in them. Its not like I'd be killing human beings. Yes, I can't see myself assuming the responsibility to sacrifice humans beings, ESPECIALLY innocents (unless the lives of my loved ones will be in danger if I don't take radical measures to protect them- the only exception) and I'm generally against "doing the wrong things for the right reason" bullshit, but knowing that I can kill non-human monsters who keep killing millions of humans, this is something that I CAN do. Its a big responsibility but not something that will possible make me regret my decision and question my morality.
So, if I were in Kevin's place, I'd have asked Scion to kill Endbringers long time ago. This.... and make me ridiculous rich .
Hello, my friends. Time for a new Arc with a title that made me chuckle. Why? Because this is the name I give to Taylor's Passenger. Scarab (I swear, I didn't read the titles of the next Arcs before I named her Passenger, I just said that was crossing my mind in that moment. In the Ancient Egypt mythology, scarab beetles were considered to be a symbol for Khepri, the egyptian god of rising sun and the creation of life. I called her Passenger like that because scarab was a symbol of a god and I feel like it was fitting because Passengers are little gods in their own alien way I'm also very good with mythology and I wanted to impress my readers). What if...what if this Arc will be told from her Passenger's POV and it will call itself Scarab and I'll freak out because my prediction turned so be so damn true and I'll start to question my very own existence ? I'll be more than fine to read a whole Arc from the POV of an alien. That will be one hell of a challenge. Not just for Wildbow but also for me too. Because I can imagine that isn't very easy to understand an alien's POV. Anyway, challenge already accepted, Wildbow. Go ahead, lets see...But before that, I'd like to express my love for Chicago Wards. They're like the best hero team so far, even better than Brockton Bay Wards (this doesn't mean that I don't like you anymore, Missy, Chris, Dennis, you're still my favorite BB Wards ❤, but what is special about Chicago Wards is that I like the entire team, without any exception. I'm in love with this team). So, my favorites are (in this order): Tecton, Theo, Cuff, Grace, Kirk and Wanton (sorry, Wanton, you're not a bad guy, I just like you less than the others. I still want you to get a kickass cyborg arm ). Ok, now lets start with the first Chapter Scarab 25.1
"She's a sixteen year old girl with strong opinions, Wilkins," Armstrong answered. "Nothing more. She holds onto those opinions and her core worldview, and vulnerable people get caught up in her momentum. Cult leaders will do the same thing, only it's purposeful in their case. Get people tired, get people worn out, scared and hungry, and then give them someone with presence to give them support."
"You're saying she's an accidental cult leader?"
"I think you're off target," I said. "You're talking about Foil, I get it, and Parian, and now the Chicago Wards and Glenn. But all of the decisions they made were when I wasn't anywhere near them. Unless you're implying I have some sort of mind control."
Ok, Taylor is being judged for her actions during Behemoth Battle by the non-parahumans bosses of Protectorate, Armstrong included. Armstrong defends her which is great (this is the first time when we see Armstrong in person, all I know about him comes from the parahumans who worked with him, especially Weld. Weld described Armstrong as being like a father for him; if someone so freaking nice like Weld considers Armstrong like a father to him, then I have to trust him that the director of Boston Protectorate is a good man ). He even act like a good man, defending Taylor. Of course, why not defend her? Taylor DID NOTHING WRONG DURING BEHEMOTH BATTLE. She saved countless of people, she devised some very good strategies to fight Behemoth, yes, she broker her rules by working with Undersiders but this thing SHOULD NOT MATTER AT ALL as long as they saved lives. She could work with Satan for all I care and still wouldn't matter for me as long as she does the right thing. I'll be seriously pissed if they'll start judging her for her very right actions or even think at...punishing her. Bleah 🤮.
Wilkins' name reminds me of WikiLeaks, that website publishing uncomfortable news leaks founded by Julian Assange. I can't stop thinking at WikiLeaks when I read Wilkins' name lol.
No, I can't see Taylor as a cult leader, not even as an accidental one. She's not very good at manipulating people into doing what she wants. Yes, she can use violence or persuasion to convince them, but NEVER to manipulated them. Actually, she failed many times when she tried to manipulate, manipulation is just not her thing. Lisa would make a much more better cult leader, if she wants. Especially since she knows people's deepest secrets and she can manipulate them with what she knows about them. Other perfect cult leaders would be: Valefor (he's already a real cult leader since Fallen were defined as being a cult), Jack (he's soooooooo good at manipulating the psychos under his care and other people) and Heartbreaker (his family is already a cult and he's their guru). But Taylor? Never ever.
"While the girl's so tired she could fall asleep sitting up," Glenn observed. "Or is it that you want to resolve this while Chevalier is in the hospital?"
"Chevalier doesn't matter," Wilkins said. "This is PRT business."
"My concern…" a woman said, drawing out the thought, "Is that her actions go against the spirit of the PRT and the groups under the PRT's umbrella. Conspiring with a known terrorist, betraying the truce, even, for a subtle advantage in dealing with that terrorist, returning to her old team against all terms of her probation, rejecting orders, and taking reckless risks with PRT personnel, getting two injured. A longstanding goal of the PRT has been to reassure the public, and this only paints heroes as something dangerous."
I snapped to attention, fully awake in an instant. I had to take a second to look at the faces of the people around the table before I realized who'd said it. Armstrong, the man who'd been my advocate an instant ago.
"We lost. Scion won," Armstrong responded. "Participation will be up for the next fight. Let's use that. We bolster the numbers further, by tapping the Birdcage. There are powerful capes in there, and some are cooperative."
"A moderate risk for a chance to save hundreds, thousands, even millions of lives," Armstrong said.
"How many lives do we lose because of the monsters we set free?" West retorted. "Those criminals were put there for a reason."
See what I was trying to say? Taylor can't even manipulate these ASSHOLES to stop talking shit about her (in her presence). She's exactly the opposite of a cult leader. She's the perfect cult non-leader one can possible meet in their lives. Director non-WikiLeaks and director West and that random director woman talk about her like she's a war criminal, instead of someone who saved so many people in just a single day, someone who worked so WELL with a half crazy well intentioned indian extremist, stopped him from fucking things up and convinced him to actually do the RIGHT THING instead of the wrong one . She was there, on the battlefield, fighting against a kaiju with the power of earth itself, with only bug control as her sole power, so small and powerless against an unstoppable force of nature. Instead of running away and save her life, she almost made the ultimate sacrifice to try to stop Behemoth from claiming more victims, she organized a hero team that she didn't even know well, and I'm sure that she was scared and frightened and almost lost her hope but she had to stay strong for people under her care and command. Look who judge her? Mundane people who never moved their fat ass from their office, who have no idea what its like to be on battlefield and fight until your death or the death of your enemy, who never had to see children being burned in front of their eyes ....You fucking assholes...As bad as they're, at least Piggot and Tagg fought on battlefield and lost parts of themselves...what non-WikiLeaks and West ever did, besides criticizing a heroine who did her job so flawless?
Thank you, Armstrong and Glenn for defending Taylor in front of these emotional "vampires". Weld wasn't wrong at all when he talked so high about you, Armstrong. You're a good man 😀. Of course he's a good man if he doesn't care how a man looks like (Weld) before considering him as his son.
As for Armstrong's proposal- release some of the well-behaved Birdcage's criminals, I think I have to agree with it (depends of the released criminals, of course). For example: Paige, Amelia and Marquis would be very good suggestions. Paige didn't do anything wrong except for that accident and the life in prison literally break her spirit, Amelia isn't a monster- she was just mentally unstable when did something UTTERLY UNFORGETTABLE to her sister (mind raping her ) and something that can be (not easy anyway) forgiven if she'll put her back (messing with her body)+ her freedom might bring her back to Broken Victoria so she can finally heal her (BOTH mentally and physically), Marquis is a villain and a criminal but he also protected women and children during S9 rampage and who knows...maybe he'll protect other women and children from Endbringers' further rampages. Yes, I agree with releasing them. On the other hand, someone like Glaistig Uaine should never be released (I can see her a second Echidna; she's getting more and more crazy as she slips more and more under her Passenger control so if they don't want another proto- Endbringer to weak havoc they should not make the mistake to release her. I don't want someone so obviously unstable "protecting" civilians). Lung is another NO. He's very strong but he'll be easily defeated if he'll go so strong that Endbringers will appear weak in front of him (his power will abandon him and he'll be fucked just like he was during his fight with Leviathan). This and Lung is a drug dealer and mafia leader who DOESN'T GIVE A CRAP about protecting civilians, he'll only fight Endbringers to prove his power, not to save lives . After the experience with Leviathan, I doubt that he'll be eager to fight with him again. Teacher...Teacher is a Master controlling humans (already a red flag), he quite enjoy to control them (second red flag) and my friend told me that he's a monster (she didn't told me what he'll do, she just told me that he's a monster at heart. I trust her). So...NO Teacher, he'll be the first who'll run away from the fight, along with his students. I don't know about others...Lustrum seems ok to me, but she hates men and who knows...maybe she was a femme fatale, seducing and killing men before being birdcaged. Can't trust her protecting male civilians or even her male battlemates. As I said, I agree with Armstrong's idea as long as he doesn't put people' lives in danger by releasing creepy murderers in the world.
"It's a violation of her probationary membership. She's off the team for the time being, if not permanently. She fulfills the remainder of her sentence, then remains in our custody as a consult. "
I noticed that my bugs were acting of their own volition, treating this as a crisis scenario. They were massing, and they were winding silk threads around the PRT uniforms that guarded the room, around the containment foam sprayers and guns that they held.
He wanted to play hardball? I'd play hard in return. I turned my attention to my swarm for a moment.
"I think you're underestimating how badly the public would react if Weaver was punished," Glenn said.
Maaaaaaaaaaaaan, these assholes piss me off to not end . This scene actually give me anxiety. Its very similar with the scene at Taylor's school, when Alan defended what his daughter did to Taylor, threatening Danny and his daughter with trial because Emma was...bitchslapped a bit. And the principal agreed with him, without giving a fuck about the bullying campaign that Taylor was exposed to for an year and a half . I found that scene to be extremely uncomfortable and I find this scene to be equally uncomfortable. Taylor is already such a great and dedicated heroine yet dickheads like non-WikiLeaks and West already treat her like shit because they're afraid of "public reaction". Bullshit. The public will LOVE Weaver, if they don't already love her. She's a good example of a villain turned hero, they'll not be so angry because she worked with ex villains and she broke few useless rules. When they found that Alexandria was a monster working for Cauldron, most of people still loved her and mourned her. Why? Because she was also a hero who fought Endbringers and saved millions of lives during years and years (as much as I hate her I have to admit this truth. She doomed lives but she also saved lives. She was both a monster and a defender). I still think that her "death" was well-deserved but what Pretender is doing with her barely alive body is a disgusting sacrilege . People will see Weaver as a villain turned hero and will respect her even more for that. Can't wait when these thurds will see how many supporters Taylor already have. How many people will defend and even praise her action. It will be something similar with the scene in Arcadia High, when Dragon and Defiant tried to capture Taylor but the kids were immediately by her side. Lets see these bastards trying to punish Taylor then have the public considering her punishment being an outrageous act and defending her.
I still hate this scene even if I'm sure that things will turn better for Taylor .
"Why?" I asked. "You can't deny I helped. I didn't deliver a serious blow, but I helped to coordinate, I had ideas, I used them."
"I did a lot of good, and you're railroading me. Is it because you're losing control of things and I make an easy target? Because you're afraid of me?"
"You're dangerous, Taylor Hebert. Unpredictable. You're deceptive, clever enough to come up with tricks, but not clever enough to stick to the straight and narrow from the beginning. Armstrong said it himself. You're good at manipulating people."
…Manipulating people, I thought. Not as good as I wanted to be.
"Physically exhausting too," I said, not taking my eyes off the Chief Director. "You know, running around, fighting Behemoth while you guys sit in your-"
West met my eyes. "Taylor Hebert, you violated the terms of your probation. You'll return to Gardener tonight, and you'll carry out the rest of your sentence. Your test run with the Wards teams is over. Offer rescinded. Provided you do not talk to the media, we stop there. We'll talk to you when you turn eighteen, to see about plans for the future."
Tens of thousands of bugs speaking words at a sound barely above a whisper, louder in places where more people congregated.
Dispatch and Exalt were the first to make their way to our floor. They entered the room without knocking.
I met Dispatch's eyes. Not the rescuer I'd hoped for. We'd worked together, but he'd disliked me from the outset.
"Anything goes against Endbringers," Tecton said, from the hallway. He'd just arrived with Grace and Annex beside him. "We wouldn't have done half as well if it wasn't for her."
"I do," Tecton said. "All of us do. We watched the video together. We talked about it. Kismet made a mistake. As far as Particulate, we looked him up. He's reckless, dangerous. Not the best way she could have handled it, but it worked."
"Maybe I am," I told her. "I'm not all good, not all bad. I'm just… getting by. Doing what I can, not holding back against enemies who don't deserve it. And under Chevalier's system, Glenn's system, I guess I'm revealing all of that stuff we usually keep hidden, and it's up to others to make the call whether they can roll with it or not. Up to the public, my potential teammates."
"Honestly," Tecton said, "If you're going to lock her up after all this, you can consider me done. You're going to undermine Chevalier, when what he's doing worked? I'm gone."
No shit, West. Throw a heroine in prison only because she broke your non-sense rules . Would you really like to share Tagg's fate? Would you risk it? Well, if you'd like to risk, then I won't have any problem. Go ahead. God, I don't hate West as much as I hated Tagg, but he's close enough. Such an insufferable prick, if it wasn't for Chicago Wards coming into Tasylor's defense, I think I would have taken a break . The whole scene was very hard to read and analyse for me. Too many assholes doing nothing but pointing the accusing finger to a girl who did nothing but helped people. Tecton....see, people, why he's my favorite Chicago Ward ❤? For doing things like this one. He's quickly to defend his teammate (more like the person that he entrusted with the leadership of his team) even with the price of pissing West off and losing his job. Tecton...my love for your is pretty high on Richter scale (because he's a Tinker specialized in earthquakes...get my laaaaaaaame attempt of a joke?) But others are great too. Dispatch doesn't even like Taylor yet he short of defended her because she did GOOD not only for civilians but also for her team. West, you're outnumbered. Heroes doesn't agree with you, Armstrong is obviously by Taylor's side, Glenn risked his job to help Taylor and I'm 100% sure that the majority of the public will be: This is the hero we deserve. West, give up, man. This is a lost battle. You'll only end up humiliating yourself further. Just admit your defeat and FUCKING MOVE ON .
I hope I'm not going to see West again. Unfair people like him make my blood boil.
"You'll make your way to Chicago at the end of the week, and provided everything goes well, you will be a member of the team. If you're wise, you won't take interviews, and you won't take any action that draws attention to you."
"See to it that you follow these rules. You've got the backing of the heroes here, maybe you've got the public's favor, but we will remove you if you give us an excuse."
"You didn't make any allies in this room today."
"Thank you," I said.
"Not a problem," he said. "You kept us alive, I figure we owe you one."
"People would recognize it, that the PRT didn't have the ability to control all of its heroes. Some would act on it. It would be devastating, damaging on a fundamental level."
"Isn't that what you wanted?" I asked. "Your 'harbinger'?"
"As a minor, we ask that you have a guardian or respected professional to help guide you through the process, and to help verify what you're testifying."
Before I could speak, I heard someone's chair scraping against the floor somewhere behind me. Standing up. "Her father."
I felt my heart leap. I hadn't seen him when I'd peeked through the crowd behind me, but I hadn't been using my bugs either. No use disturbing anyone. I kept my eyes fixed in front of me.
"Would you please approach?"
I could hear him walk, but didn't turn to look. Fuck, I was still hurt, still angry, even in the moment I was filled with relief. He came to stand next to me, and my hand found his. I squeezed, hard, and he squeezed back.
"With that, you are now a probationary member of the Wards, until such a time as you turn eighteen or violate the terms of your probationary membership. Congratulations, Taylor Hebert."
He smiled, but the expression faltered as he glanced a little to one side. "I think your team wants to talk to you."
I nodded. "Talk to you in a bit?"
"Tomorrow," he said.
It wasn't perfect, but it was a step forward. It had to count for something.
Welcome to Chicago Wards, Taylor. Enjoy your staying here until you'll turn 18. Maybe you'll never consider them as close as you still consider Undersiders, but they're still good people trying to become friends with you. At least, you can appreciate them for having your back when you need it the most. Danny finally supported her which is always a good sign that make me so happy. They want to talk with each other. PERFECT, just perfect. Well, its a good start, right ?
I can't wait for the moment when (if) Cauldron will (ever) start to behave like ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS and will accept to work with other people, probably the first one they'll work with being Taylor. Of course Taylor will not say no to work with Cauldron as long as they don't involve her in their horror stuff. I can imagine West's reaction:
-You don't work with a group of terrorists, mass-murderers and mad scientists, miss. Its against MY RULES. These people committed crimes against humanity. What the public will think?
Taylor 🦋: Yes, I can work and I'll work. Because all I'm doing is for the greatest good.
West:.....👀
Taylor:.....👀
West:...Fine, but you'll be supervised...
Taylor runs through a portal opened by Doormaker"
West: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU 🤯
I'm thinking very hard about what Contessa and Number Man will do in Birdcage if they'll ever be arrested. There are also other possibilities for them: to die or to escape from the loooooong arm of law. I'm not sure about Doctor Mother, if she'll be send to Birdcage or normal jail. She said that she isn't a parahuman and she never demonstrated any power but her being parahuman is still a possibility (after all, she's TINKERING with these power giving vials and this sound pretty powered to me). Well, don't tell me if she's a parahuman or not, I'll consider any information to be a spoiler and I really don't like to have my surprise of discovering myself Doctor mother's true nature being spoiled like that . Thanks. Number Man will have to get used with his new life, he will never escape from there by himself. As for Contessa, I can see her acting like this, after the first hour spend there:
Contessa 🕵️♀️-- > USE YOUR BULLSHIT OP POWER: Path to escape from Birdcage.
Next day, Dragon 🖥staring at the screens: Where the 01100110011101010110001101101011 prisoner 667 alias Contessa is?
Defiant 🤖: Stop swearing like a sailor. You know what happened last time...
Dragon 🖥: But I'm so 01010111011010000111100100100000011101110110000101 11001101110100011001010010000001110100011010000110 01010010000001110100011010010110110101100101001111 11..... SISTEM ERROR....SISTEM ERROR...
Defiant 🤖: Fuck...not again...
Conclusion: you can't keep Contessa locked in the inescapable prison and you can't also keep Dragon from crashing everytime when she cusses.
I nodded, doing my best to maintain eye contact. Campanile was about eight feet tall. I'd been given a complete physical and fitness test right off the bat, and I was five feet and nine inches tall.
The height difference put my eye level just a couple of feet above Campanile's hip level. He wore a skintight suit, and there was little left to the imagination. I thought I might have seen a ridge or a vein, in that split-second I'd glanced down to make sure my eyes weren't fooling me.
I'll give Campanile thicker fabric below the waist, maybe, I thought.
I stared out at the workshop, glad for the excuse to look away. Did he know how tightly the costume was clinging to him below the waist?
"Got it," I said. I very nearly glanced down to make sure the protrusion in his skintight outfit was still there, stopped myself. Even in my peripheral vision, it stood out. Seriously, that thing's as long as my forearm.
Shy. I very nearly cracked a smile at that. He was the one who should be bashful, but he just radiated confidence, instead.
I tried not to imagine him in the pediatric's wing of a hospital. You'd need to change. Or wrap something around your waist.
Taylor, stop staring at Campanile's crotch, isn't something very nice to do. Well, I guess that Campanile's power is to grow to giant proportions...EVERYWHERE 😦. If he wasn't a hero, he'd be an excellent porn actor...if you know what I mean 😛. Campanile, I have to warn you about Taylor, her other codename (back when she was Skitter) was The Destroyer of Dicks. Lung and Velocity can confirm that. Well, Velocity can't confirm anymore because he's dead but if you ask Lung, you'll see why Taylor is so feared in battles against male adversaries. You don't want her to get batshit insane and attack your dick with her usual ferocity. Make it...smaller, all right? Everything will be just fine if Taylor will not be triggered to return to her old habits 🤪.
I realized why. The bastards. They were pulling the same trick Campanile had, stuffing something in the front of their costumes. Tecton, for his part, wore a mechanical suit, so he'd simply bulked out the crotch portion of his armor with additional armor plating. Obvious, not even trying to hide what they were doing. Wanton gave me a cheeky smile as I made eye contact with him.
"She's not reacting, and I'm feeling really, really dumb," he said.
"Don't sue me for sexual harassment," Annex told me.
I smiled a little. "I'm not going to sue. I've been around people who did worse."
"I was thinking it was a bad idea," Golem said, "With your background, that you might not like being picked on. They gave me one, but I thought it was a bad idea to test you."
"It was a terrible idea," Tecton said. "Juvenile. But sometimes you need a cheap laugh."
"They're embarrassing themselves worse than they're embarrassing me," I told Golem. "I'm okay with it. I'm glad to have an initiation into the group. Could have been far worse."
"Alright guys, joke's over," Tecton said. He unclasped and removed the metal codpiece from his armor. "She's right. We're just embarrassing ourselves now. Get rid of the damn things. And I don't want to see them lying around anywhere."
I shrugged. "I figure I've got blackmail material now. Just need to get my hands on the security camera footage."
Wanton doubled over mid-stride, falling to the ground. Once he realized what had happened, he started thrashing in his effort to get the offending object out of his pants. I had to avert my gaze before he inadvertently flashed me.
Well, it was a joke...Hmmm, I don't know what to say about it . I find it pretty funny but also pretty tasteless. Funny because they all had a good laugh after that and Taylor didn't feel offended at all, tasteless because it wasn't exactly tasteful. My opinion is...I don't think that I'd have laughed if I were in Taylor's place. I think I'd have reacted like a crazy woman and kick everyone in their crouch, even if I'd know that it wasn't even sexual harassment . I'm kind of triggered by any allusion of sexual harassment, even harmless jokes like this one. (The truth is that I was sexually harassed by an asshole. I ignored him for a while but when he went too far for my liking, I kicked him in the crouch and broke his nose and upper lip. He never repeated his jerkish behavior toward me. His male pride was more hurt than his body and he didn't dare to complain about the beating that he got from a girl . Plus the horror stories I heard in my work as volunteer for orphaned or neglected children . Sexual abuses seriously trigger me. I don't make a single grimace during some of the most gruesome scenes described in great details, but I want to puke when I read about sexual abuse or rape). I also want to notice that this prank scene reminds me of a memorable (in a very bad way) scene from the comics that I just finished reading- The Boys
(in which a heroine was sexually abused by her male teammates as part of initiation in the team. Yes, told you that there are plenty of garbage heroes in The Boys )
I can imagine how Taylor will react if someone will really try to abuse her:
The random boy : Suck it, bitch.
Taylor, very calm 🦋: Sorry, I can't hear you.
The random boy : I SAID....SUCK IT, BITCH.
Taylor 🦋: I can't still hear you over the sound of worms...
The random boy : Worms? Are you mental?
Taylor, still terrifying calm 🦋: ....the sound of worms eating your balls...from the inside.
Classical Taylor.
Ok, Taylor is feeling good in the company of her new team and I'm glad she's feeling like this. She deserves to relax for a bit after Behemoth nightmare and West nightmare she went through. I think she'll get along very well with her new team. Looking forward for their adventures .
Glenn (even if he kind of messed with the video leak and he lost his power) and Armstrong are my favorite nonpowered people with power in Protectorate. If more people would be like them ❤...
When the Chicago Wards pranked Taylor like that?
Second question: Would you punish Taylor for breaking the rules or give her a second chance because she did so much well on the battlefield?
I really need some answers, I want to know how other people think 😀 .
Thanks.
I didn't really react to the prank? It seems silly and completely pointless, but also harmless. I'd probably just ignore it.
Rules? The only rules in Endbringer fights are "Win" and "Minimize casualties." And I didn't see Taylor breaking those rules. She did, however, contribute a lot to the fight and to preserving lives, so I'd commend her.
I didn't really react to the prank? It seems silly and completely pointless, but also harmless. I'd probably just ignore it.
Rules? The only rules in Endbringer fights are "Win" and "Minimize casualties." And I didn't see Taylor breaking those rules. She did, however, contribute a lot to the fight and to preserving lives, so I'd commend her.
Hello, my friends. Lets see how Taylor will get along with her team of Chicago Wards and if she'll teach them to kick ass without breaking any rule. Well, they already kicked ass during Behemoth Battle, but there weren't any rules to respect- they fought against an invincible beast and one can't ask heroes to respect rules in the middle of such apocalyptic battle...I'm looking at YOU, West . One must be too stupid or ridiculous to want to punish heroes for breaking the non-existent rules...I'm still looking at you, West. But how about fighting evil parahumans, and not Endbringers? Chicago Wards did excellent with Behemoth but what they'll do with superpowered criminals? Since they're so many rules: don't kill villains, don't hurt them too bad, don't beat children villains, respect people's property, respect people's privacy, etc, etc. YAAAAAAAAAWN. At least Taylor is no longer the Butterfly Queen, she's free now to use her bugs in which way she wants, as long as she doesn't mutilate her adversaries. This sounds like a good news for her but isn't enough. How will she continue to castrate and blind villains if she have to respect these rules ? Her life will slowly become a day by day HELL if she can't mutilate villains just like her heart desires. Actually, she was already PUNISHED. This is her punishment. Being free in her own prison. At least she'll have good people to support her and be her friends, if she will allow herself to befriend them. And maybe....MAYBE...break two or three rules when nobody is watching . Anyway, 2 years are not such a long time. Right when she'll be 18, she'll have the best occasion of her life: to kill as many S9 clones as she'll be able to do and stop the end of the world. Taylor, you have to wait for the FUN TIMES just a bit Scarab 25.2
"Doesn't feel like it," he said. He bent down, hands on his knees.
Maybe I wouldn't have felt the same way if I hadn't grown up there, but I liked the balance in Brockton Bay. The way there was everything I could want, as far as malls, shopping centers, theaters. It was a big enough city. Yet there was just as much room to wake up early in the day, when others weren't out, and have Brockton Bay to myself.
Theo is trained by Taylor. Something that I expected to see happening (I already SAID that she's going to be his mentor). After all, he wanted to ask her about a little favor and look, this is the little favor he wanted from her. She's going to make a man out of you, Theo, you can't do anything else but grit your teeth and run until your breath will stop, your heart will stop pumping blood in your veins and they'll throw Taylor in Birdcage for killing the hero that she offered to train . This will be the start of the end of the world. Taylor will not be able to fight S9 Clones anymore because she'll be in the superjail, heroes will lose the fight if they don't have the power of Taylor's super-strategic brain by their side and the world will end. Just like that. And so...Theo became the trigger that triggered the end of the world through a series of unfortunate events . Pooooooooor Theo .
I was feeling cramped. I wasn't a social person at my core, and being here, like this, never allowed to be out and on my own, it rankled. I liked time on my own, with the internet or a good book, even a bad book, to get my mind settled down, my thoughts in order. It wasn't that I didn't like people, that I didn't likecompany, but too much was too much, and I had no elbow room here.
Whether they knew it or not, the PRT directors had found a fitting way to punish me. Hopefully it wouldn't go any further than this. I'd done as they asked, I was staying under the radar, and though I didn't plan to stay there, I didn't think they had any reason to make my life more difficult. I had my suspicions that my phone and computer were tapped, so I was careful about what I browsed and how I communicated.
There was stuff going on behind the scenes, and speculation was rampant on the Parahumans Online site. Satyrical's name had come up. As far as could tell, the Vegas capes had gone rogue, and they were apparently targeting the more corrupt elements of the PRT.
"When you were dealing with the Slaughterhouse Nine back in Brockton Bay, you fought Jack Slash, right?"
"Yeah. Kind of."
"Kind of?"
"He doesn't really fight, unless he's got his people around him and the fight's unfair. Mostly, I was chasing him around, trying not to get killed in the process."
"I'm… I'm not good at this. Everything Kaiser was, I'm not."
"That's not a bad thing. He was an asshole. You aren't."
"I don't fit the typical cape mold," Theo said.
I resisted the urge to tell him I didn't either, but I didn't. I remembered a tidbit of advice I'd heard Tecton giving, and listened instead. "You're feeling nervous. Anyone would."
Told you that this is like a punishment for her. She can't do whatever she wants, she's limited in her movements and she doesn't like this AT ALL. She was so free and happy (as happy as someone like Taylor can be) in the company of Undersiders and now she looks so gloomy and defeated...She ALWAYS liked Undersiders more than anyone else. She'll never like her new teammates as much as she liked Undersiders . She liked the freedom she had when she was an Undersider and she hates the lack of freedom she have now as Chicago Ward. I understand her. Its hard to have friends for the first time in her life, REAL FRIENDS, I mean, then to be forced to abandon them and try to make other friends, completely DIFFERENT OTHER FRIENDS. As much as Taylor will like her Chicago Wards, they'll never fill the emptiness in Taylor's heart after she had to leave her Undersiders behind . Yep, she sacrificed a big part of herself when she decided to listen Dinah and become a harbinger of salvation.
I'm thinking....I'm SERIOUSLY THINKING this time....what if Theo will have zero chances to defeat Jack? Not because he'll hesitate to kill Jack (I can't see Theo hesitating to kill Jack, especially when the life of his sister is in the direct danger. No matter how pacifist he might be, he'll go all KILL-DESTROY-SCREW FOREVER on Jack if he'll ever have the slightest chance. For his sister alone). The problem will not be Theo lack of willingness to kill Jack, but Jack's second superpower. Because I'm convinced that he have a secret second superpower. The way that he manipulates some psychos even more crazy than him (Mannequin, Burnscar, Crawler without them ever questioning the control he have over them), the way that he almost convinced Amelia to join his team (well, Amelia is usually easily manipulated so its not entirely his merit) and how he convinced Kayden to let him leave her apartment despite him threatening to kill her daughter. Master power? Trump power? Or Thinker power? I'm not sure if he can mind control them, stop their powers from working against him or know how to manipulate their weaknesses but he must have a second power. If he'll use it against Theo, our poor boy will not stand a chance to keep his promise towards Jack . This is what I'm afraid for. Jack making Theo lose through cunningness rather than fighting skills.
Golem arrived a minute after I got there, decked out in his costume. It had changed from its first iteration, complete with a layer of spider silk and heavy armor over top of it. He wore a mask with a neutral, almost solemn face, and fan-like decorations at his waist and shoulders, the spaces stretching between the slats painted white, a darker metal composing the frame and edges.
"Hey," Kirk greeted us, stepping out as Golem arrived. He wore a t-shirt and yoga pants, and was glistening with sweat. His head was shaved, and his skin was a striking jet black. "You guys sparring?"
"Training," I said. "Not sparring, really."
"Can I watch?"
I looked at Golem, "Are you okay with it?."
"I'm the one embarrassing myself, you mean."
"I think you're past the point where you're embarrassing yourself," I said.
Another part of the swarm congealed into a rough decoy, and Golem clutched it in a fist of concrete. Faster this time. The bugs seeped out through the gaps in the fingers as the hand retreated into the floor's surface.
Each panel of the fan was a different material. Concrete, steel, granite, wood. Common materials were in easy reach. Less common ones were a gesture away. Two at once, this time. Two figures to strike. Golem caught one with his right hand, but I moved the other as he reached for it with his left. He wasn't quick enough to catch it, and the angle was poor.
Theo is tortured by a lot of self-doubt . Which is a weakness in the eyes of an adversary like Jack. Theo doubts his own powers, despite being so kick-ass, he doubts his ability to fight, he doubts his importance as Ward, he doubts his heroic side, he doubts that he can even keep up with Taylor during their training. He doubts everything and Jack might use this weakness as his main weapon against him. I just can see Jack trying to break Theo. Jack : Listen, Theo, I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse. Theo: I'm listening, sir. Jack: Kill yourself. Theo: No....I...."kills himself in the next minute". JACK SLASH WINS! FATALITY!
I feinted, now, misleading him about where my clones were moving. He struggled but managed to deliver the hits. Dragonflies and faster insects formed a more mobile body, and I avoided the strikes, right up until he started creating hands that sprouted forth from limbs that were already sticking out of the ground: branching barriers to limit movement. I tried to simulate the general effect of the obstacles, and Golem took the opportunity to deliver a finishing blow, crushing another swarm-decoy..
"Hit them harder now," I said. Running, I tried to raise expectations for myself. Here, I did much the same for Golem.
The movements became more violent. A hand cupped around one swarm and then pulled it against the ground, melding back into the surface. Bugs were squished against the spacial distortion field, and my swarm's numbers were severely reduced.
He hit it again, drawing two hands together as if he were squeezing it. There was no substance to the monster's body, though. I judged that he wasn't doing enough damage and simply reformed it. The monster advanced on him.
"Jack's going to throw some scary motherfuckers at you," I said. "But he'll be looking for an opening. Always, always watch your back. Don't forget to watch your friend's backs too. You probably won't die if you do, but you might wish you were dead, when you see what Jack and his gang do to them."
Death by suicide will be too boring for Jack. Jack HATES things that make him feel bored so he'll come up with other ways to torture Theo- more ingenuous and fantastic ways to make Theo feels like he's an asshole who deserve the worst because he can't defeat Jack. Jack will probably kill Aster in front of Theo then kill all the poor boy's teammates, one by one, until Theo will fall in his knees and cry and scream and beg Jack to end his life . Jack is sadistic and imaginative enough to torture Theo until he'll completely break and will become nothing but a WORM crawling at Jack's feet.
Now I'm starting to understand why Cauldron can't attack Jack. Not because of his "people", Number Man and Contessa will not have any troubles DESTROYING the rest of S9, including Jack, but...they're afraid of Jack. They know that Jack have a secret second power and they can't let themselves to be defeated by Jack and become his victims or his soldiers. Contessa, especially, knows that she's one of the strongest parahumans and if Jack will grab her in his claws, then he'll become virtually invincible. Cauldron surely must hate S9 as much as everyone (they're bad but S9 are much worse and if Cauldron genuinely want to protect the world, they know that they should eliminate what is immediate dangerous for the world ). But they don't want to fight Jack because...Jack have a serious ace upon his sleeve and Cauldron knows his secret and avoid him like fans of classical and badass vampires avoid watching movies with fairy shining "vampires" 🧛♂️.
"Interesting to watch. Figuring out ways to apply his power?"
"Pretty much. Tricks for his repertoire, building some familiarity with using his abilities, attacking to recognize threats and attack without hesitation when needed."
"You really buy that Jack's going to wake up from some cryogenic sleep just to fight some kid who didn't even have powers when they last met?"
"Yeah," I answered. I made my way to the common area and took the first unoccupied spot at the computer. Grace was there, but she wore a school uniform, and had homework spread around her.
"Don't say a word," she told me, clearly annoyed.
"Wasn't going to," I responded.
I logged in, and was greeted by the customized desktop.
I think I have an idea about how they can stop S9 Clones before they'll be fully formed in their cryogenic stasis. But everything depends of Cauldron, if they decide to help. Clairvoyant can locate the pocket dimension where Bonesaw hides the clones, Doormaker can open a portal inside the dimension and Contessa can attack Bonesaw . I doubt Bonesaw will even have time to fight back, all Contessa 🕵️♀️ should do is -->USE YOUR BULLSHIT OP SUPERPOWER: Path to go through Bonesaw's safeguards- and she'll disarm Bonesaw pretty easy, maybe even kill her . Then all she should do is to smash the pods, completely killing EVERYONE inside. Jack will not be capable to stop her because he will be sleeping. It will be REALLY COOL if Contessa will act according to my wishes predictions. Really, really cool and I think that I'll love her for this. Even if she's Cauldron, I won't care. She'd be amazing. But...its still too simple and simplicity is NOT Wildbow's specialty . What if...Jack can use his power even when he's frozen? Similar with Taylor's bugs acting sometimes without her knowledge and control. I can visualize Contessa falling under a sleeping Jack's control and staying like this -without doing nothing- until he'll wake up and release the other clones. If Contessa doesn't do anything to stop Jack- despite having so many opportunities- then she must KNOW something and she refrains from doing anything stupid that might put her and everyone else in more danger than they're already. Lets read further and see how close to the truth I'm.
These coming days and weeks would speak volumes. Were the Endbringers going to alter their tactics? Would the schedule continue at its accelerated pace, with Behemoth appearing in seven to ten months?
I watched on the screen as Legend, Alexandria and Eidolon engaged the Simurgh. She avoided the worst of their attacks, primarily through the only cover available – the airplane.
My teammates didn't talk much as we watched the fight progress. In one instant, it seemed, the dynamic changed. The heroes began trying to attack the plane, and the Simurgh started trying to defend it.
For eleven minutes, she managed, using her telekinesis to move the craft, her wings and body to block it from being damaged.
A fire started on the body of the ship as Eidolon tore into the Simurgh with a reality warping power of some kind, complete with lightning, fire, distorted light, and ice. The Simurgh cast the craft aside in the following instant, letting it flip, burn and tumble before hitting the water and virtually disintegrating.
Virtually no casualties, the planeload of people excepted. Nobody was reporting anything about heroes dying, but it had been clear enough from the footage that this hadn't been a serious loss. Barely forty capes had been out there, and I hadn't seen any die.
Hey, hello, Simurgh. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, she used a plane full with passengers as protective shield against the heroes' attacks . They're forced to hit the plane first just to be able to hit her. HORRIBLE. She knew what they're going to do, right? She wanted to destroy the plane but not with her own hand. She wanted the heroes to destroy the plane in her place, just to make them feel guilty because they're responsible of the death of people they tried to save. She wants to mentally break 3 of the greatest heroes. This bitch is like the alien version of Taylor- a master strategist who can pull out from her ass the most convoluted and improbable plans in existence, plans that will turn out to be very successful against all odds. They'd be terrific together .
You're not the only one who feel upset, Taylor. I'm even more upset than you and not in an irrational way. So many poor souls died during this attack....RIP Plane's passengers . What this flying bitch wants? To force Legend or Eidolon to snap just like she did with Mannequin and turn them against humanity as punishment because her big baby Behemoth died? (I'm not sure if Pretender in Alexandria body can be affected, he have very few morals anyway to begin with and people so low on morality scale aren't usually emotionally devastated by the loss of plane).
"Taylor."
"Do you have a minute?"
"Of course."
She stood and crossed the room to close the door. I hadn't realized I'd left it open.
"I've been sort of enjoying the peace, the fact that the Protectorate are dealing with the meanest bastards around, the Folk, the Royals, the Condemned. But I was telling myself it came down to the Endbringer fight. That I'd participate, I'd wake up, fight."
"Yeah," I eventually said. "Maybe not as big a role. Again, that's unrealistic. But I want to help."
"If the Simurgh wanted to deliver a hit to morale, this would be a way to do it," Mrs. Yamada said. "After New Delhi, a lot of capes were hoping to make a difference, to be heroes. Her choice of venue, the short battle, the narrow focus, it denied everyone the chance. Not just you."
"I need to be stronger," I said. "I'm supposed to be one of the people that's around for this prophesied end of the world. Except I'm not getting chances here."
I drew in a deep breath, then sighed. "I feel spooked, because something'scoming and it's going to be ugly, and I'm not prepared. I feel less prepared with every day where nothing happens."
"Golem has your support, I know. They all do, in some respect. In terms of what Cuff is going through, I know your team is dividing the workload in helping her with paperwork. That says a lot."
"It may not be, but it's constructive. Perhaps you'll feel less disarmed if you focus on the tools and, so to speak, the weapons at your disposal."
"Maybe," I answered her. "But I hate feeling helpless."
When I stood from my chair, she did too. She stepped forward and gave me a hug.
I wasn't sure how normal that was, but I'd remarked once on how few hugs I got, and how some hugs I'd given or received in the past had been meaningful moments for me, and she'd asked if I wanted one from her.
Taylor and Jessica therapy sessions are like a balm for my soul . I'd read a whole book with Jessica's therapy sessions and never get bored not even a moment. I like psychological stuff and my friend just told me that Ward will be more psychological than Worm (Worm is more action oriented but Ward is more character oriented. SO.FUCKING.FANTASTIC ). Jessica reads Taylor like an an open book and she realizes that Taylor is almost like a natural born warrior- she just can't stay away from fights, she feels like her life is not complete if she doesn't fight until her last breath and she ALWAYS blame herself if she can't do something to help. Just like she blamed herself because she wasn't allowed to die fighting Simurgh. Jessica is soooooo good to read people but this is something that I was already aware of. So, Taylor should relax, should help her teammates and be a good friend and should stop blaming herself when she can't do anything to change the outcomes. And she should receive more hugs, because hugs are better than any satisfaction to throw herself in battle even when she knows that she can't win 🤗.
I'm dying to see the interactions between Jessica and Lisa. A NIGHTMARE SESSION for both of them. I don't even know who's going to be the therapist and the patient. They'll both try to outsmart each other during the entire session .
Whatever the reason for this particular attack, I doubted it would be clear anytime soon.
Mrs. Yamada had been right, I mused, as I found the files on the local kingpins and warlords. I was doing myself a disservice by waiting for opportunity to come to me. If I was going to do as Glenn had suggested, and make a calculated play, I needed to act, rather than hope for another chance like we'd had in New Delhi.
Chevalier's Protectorate, ups and downs aside, was more about honesty. I wanted to tap into Skitter's strengths, her ruthlessness, but I also wanted to be a hero. That was at the core of what I had achieved in New Delhi.
"Tecton," I called out, as my eyes fell on a portrait of a supervillain with a mask of an upside-down face. An established power, located at the city's edge for nearly ten years.
Too established? I didn't want to set another ABB fiasco in motion. There were advantages to being open. The ability to ask questions, get feedback.
That villain with a mask of an upside-down face just remained me of one of the most creepy characters in SCP universe: The Man with the Upside-Down Face from the Herman Fuller's Circus. Hope this villain is not THAT creepy like the SCP villain .
We also have new villain groups: Folk, the Royals and the Condemned. Folk brings to mind folk music. Maybe they secretly enjoy listening/singing traditional music when they don't commit crimes ? Royals is a group that will surely welcome people like Marquis, August Prince, Contessa in their ranks and Condemned are another religious cult or a group composed of recidivists.
Taylor is going to take down the villain with an upside-down face and she decided to be honest with her teammates and tell them about her plans instead of surprising them. Good, she started to lean and Jessica seems to have a good influence on her . Lets see how the first non-Endbringer fight in the company of Chicago Wards will go (I know they fought against Echidna too but she was a proto- Endbringer so she doesn't count).
ADORABLE CUFF (EVERYTHING IS ADORABLE ABOUT THIS GIRL EXCEPT FOR HER CREEPY-ASS FULL FACE MASK. WHY?!? 😱)
CREDIT Cuff by lonsheep on DeviantArt
CREEPY MASK+ CREEPY BUT BADASS POWER+ A GOOD HEART= GOLEM
CREDIT Thinking in base 4
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OUR FAVORITE BUTTERFLY PRINCESS
WEAVER, I LIKE YOUR NEW COSTUME BETTER THAN YOUR OLD ONE. COMPARED WITH YOUR NEW CREEPY LOOKING TEAMMATES, YOU LOOK SO
PRE...."gets suffocated by thousands of butterflies"
CREDIT Weaver of Chicago by lonsheep on DeviantArt
Hello, my friends. Let me tell you something. Or better said, COMPLAIN about something. One of my "friends" on Facebook messaged me with a surprising request: that I should stop liking Amy or feeling pity for her because she's a psycho bitch and she doesn't deserve my pity. The respective person also called me hypocritical for hating characters for doing bad things but liking Amy even if she did "worse things" ☹. I'm utterly puzzled. What the hell happened? What Amy will presumably do in the future to make my Facebook "friend" hates her so much and call me hypocritical because I like her? Well, I'm not a precog, even if I'm pretty good at guessing some shit happening in the future (based on the small details that I pay attention to+ my advanced intuition+ my obsession with crazy theories ), I'm unable to predict what the hell Amy will do to deserve so much hate. So far, all the bad things (and unforgettable, I must add) she did was to MIND RAPE Victoria and refuse to turn her back into a normal human with a normal body. Yes, these are very bad things but, while I'll never forgive her (just like I'll never forgive Taylor for what she did to Triumph or for the heroes she sacrificed in order to kill Echidna), I still can't bring myself to hate her. Because her mind stopped working correctly after Bonesaw messed with her and forced her to break her personal code, her Passenger probably messed with her too, guiding her power to ruin was she was trying to fix (Victoria) and her own personal issues were also an important factor. Its not like Amy turned into a rapist and a macabre artist of flesh and blood overnight and decided to exercise her talent first on her poor sister . Her situation is more complicated than this. So, I'm going to still like and feel pity for Amy UNTIL she'll start to do more shit once she'll be free from Birdcage (if they'll take Armstrong's proposition in serious, of course) then I'll probably change my mind she'll manage to piss me off enough with her future actions. Just few examples:
Amy, leaving Birdcage and looking like a completely crazy person- proceeds to create hundreds of different lethal infectious diseases, spreading them across the world. Everyone, with very few exceptions, die.
Bonesaw- survives only thanks to her bajillion of safeguards: This mean lady just destroyed my art gallery "cries, no longer a happy girl"
Or Amy will kidnap Broken Victoria from Parahuman Asylum, kill Jessica then proceed to expose Broken Victoria to more horrifying body horror.
Any of this shit will seriously convince me to stop feeling sorry for her and hate her instead.
But I don't like when people tell me (especially on a rude tone) to like or dislike a character based on what they'll do in the future. I only know what I know about characters, I can't see the future and I can't hate or love them for things that they'll do when I don't have (or I barely have) a slightly idea about what the author is planning for them. Look, first I disliked Colin, Dragon and Alec so much but later I started to love them (well, except for Alec but his sacrifice partially redeemed him in my eyes), or I liked Accord at first but later I started to dislike him when I found more about his other activities. I can change my opinion about some characters but only after I'll decide myself that what they're doing impress me or disgust me enough to change my opinion about them not because people ask me to do. Besides, asking me such thing is almost like you're spoiling me and I'm not ok with this . Hope this unfortunate event will never happen again in the future. Otherwise I'll log into my Facebook account only after I'll finish both Worm and Ward, something that is not trilling but is necessary Scarab 25.3
Wind stirred the snow that had piled up at the rooftop's edge. As it entered the space over the Chicago street, city lights caught the flurry and made it almost luminescent, whirling clouds in intense, intricate patterns.
I was, in other words, bored beyond comprehension.
Stakeouts? Not nearly as interesting as they were in the movies. Not even as interesting as they were in the TV shows where nothing happened and the cops complained about how dull things were.
No, this was a special kind of boring, where I was told to limit how much I moved, because of the half-a-percent chance that the targets in the building on the other side of the street might look out a window, and the ensuing one-in-a-thousand chance that they might actually be able to see me perched on the rooftop, surrounded by snow in my dark gray and white costume.
"Thank you, Grace. Situation unchanged. Target's grabbing a late dinner. There's seven others working under him. Nothing special in their chatter. There's plainclothes capes in there, but they're not using names."
Still, I'd explained how my bugs would let me track the target's movements. Our boss had okayed the job, with certain restrictions. The surveillance had to be airtight, with the check-ins, a mandate that any breaks had to fall between check-ins, and the restrictions on entertaining myself or drawing attention. At the same time, he'd said with a smile, the PRT rulebook said a Ward couldn't be forced to undertake or carry out a mission. If I wanted to walk away, I could. If I got too cold I had to.
Wow, I'm getting bored watching Weaver getting bored. The BORECEPTION. They're going to capture the Upside Face villain, right? But until then, Weaver have to bore me to death with surveillance. I still don't understand how this villain wears an upside face mask. I bet that the mouth serves him as eyes and eyes as mouth. Of course, if he have a mouth imprinted on mask and not an blank space where the mouth should be. But he should have a hole so he can see since the "mouth" must be in front on his eyes. What a weird choice of a mask 👎. Man, Adepts were pretty adventurous in comparison with these guys. They even had sexy times. These guys? Are just eating. I'd absolute hate to be in Weaver's place right now. If cold will not kill me first then I'm sure that the BOREDOM will do it 🥶😴.
Six hours in, I'd left for three bathroom breaks, each between four and a half and five minutes in duration, and had relocated three times, as our target went out to lunch and then returned to check on the business.
Wanton and Annex had both come to keep me company, until the Director had found something else for them to do.
Then Revel had come on shift, and I had an ally who wasn't just ready to go to bat for me, but able to. She was working reduced hours after her head injury, deferring more tasks to Shuffle, but she was still the boss.
That had been two hours ago. Somewhere in the midst of her battle with the Director, she'd reached out to the police chief and mayor. She would be trying to sell them on our plan.
I'd saved a little something from the lunch I'd packed into my plastic Alexandria lunchbox.
The lunchbox was a memento, really, an impulse I'd justified in the moment by telling me it fit with my general camouflage, that it was ironic. I hadn't counted on how long I'd be left to stare at it, while my bugs tracked the target going about his day. It made for a long time spent ruminating on past events, debating just how the bureaucrats could sabotage me, intentionally or otherwise.
No, I wouldn't go back. I missed them; scarcely an hour went by where I didn't wonder how they were getting by, but I wasn't allowed to contact them. I wanted to know how Imp had changed in response to Regent's passing, if Grue was getting enough support, or if Rachel was managing in the cold on the other side of the Brockton Bay portal. Was Tattletale using her power too much, still? How was Sierra managing as a corporate magnate and front-man for a villainous organization?
Ah, the IRONY of keeping your Alexandria lunchbox, Weaver. Do you like to keep trophies of your victims, eh? Next, you're going to tell us that you're keeping hair from Tagg's nose in one of your favorite cups? Or are you drawing random snake motifs on walls everytime when your artist skills are kicking in? Weaver being your casual creepy kid .
Aww, she's thinking at her Undersiders. She misses them, just like I said. She'll always love them and always miss them ❤. They should let her visit them, at least when she'll be 18 (well, of course I don't prefer to wait until Taylor will be 18 so she'll have a chance to see Undersiders again but maybe I can hope at random time skip between Chapters, which will be great. Well, a time skip is not only great, but also necessary, just for S9 Clones and end of the world plot). Rachel is no longer in Brockton Bay? Or...better said, she's no longer on Earth Bet? She went through the portal to another place? This is a bit surprising but knowing Rachel, is not something exceptionally surprising. She always liked to be alone in the company of her puppies more than with other people. She probably live in wilderness now and she's more happy than ever. If she feels like this, then I'm happy for her too 🐺. Hope her puppies will keep her warm enough. Aisha must be still sad after Alec's death, he was her best friend and the way he died hit her the hardest. Weaver doesn't say a word about Heartbreaker. What if Aisha managed to keep her word and kill her for destroying Alec's life? What if she slaughtered this monsters and saved his children and now she and Lisa are taking good care of them (or at least they're trying to keep some feral Masters in leash, not an easy feat ). I'll be pissed because I want to have the satisfaction to see Heartbreaker dying ONSCREEN but also happy because a monster was slayed and his kids were given better life. So many things I want to know about Undersiders RIGHT NOW. An Interlude or two about them, a 2 years time skip, don't care, I want to know what they're doing. $^#%$^&**&%$#@$%^ "throws her little tantrum against all the walls...and ceiling...through ceiling...to fucking sky".
"Shortly. PRT trucks are already en route and will be standing by, when they're not actively transporting your teammates. Campanile, Brazier, Shuffle and Gauss will be a short distance away, but they won't engage unless this goes belly-up. This is your show. You and the Wards. Quite a few people hoping you guys can pull this off. A handful hoping you fail."
"Roger-roger from the field team," Tecton said. "Just reached perimeter. Sending Annex and Cuff your way. Golem and I will be working."
'Cape fight in progress.'
The bugs flowed out of the box and disappeared into the air vents. Slowly, they made their way up to the apartment of a local supervillain. A black market storehouse first, an apartment second, really. The only reason it seemed he slept here was convenience. The old adage of not shitting where one ate fell apart when ninety percent of the day was spent eating.
The apartment was one of many detours in an extended distribution chain that saw guns and drugs making their way to the Folk, one of the rare criminal organizations that predated capes and still functioned in more or less the same fashion today. Topsy and his underlings were guarantors, middlemen who made it possible for diehard enemies to do business. If a fight erupted, he and his minions would deal with the situation quickly, promptly and efficiently.
It was a simple job, and it was one he'd done for nearly a decade. In the process, he'd apparently grown exceedingly rich, and he had recently started to become more ambitious. Campanile and Shuffle had interfered with a deal, and Topsy had hired some mercenaries to seek out retaliation. If the escalation of the situation wasn't bad enough, the mercenaries had crossed lines, and Topsy had been relocated to the heroes' shit list as a consequence. He was an acceptable target.
Campanile, Brazier, Shuffle and Gauss.....Campanile is the porn guy with gigantism, Brazier have fire powers? but their powers are also in high demand for BBQ restaurants when they're not busy with heroic stuff, Shuffle- the best gambler in Chicago and Gauss- some physics shit, probably an electric Tinker or some shit like this .
Heroes doesn't like Topsy (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, what a codename for such a scary and creepy villain; actually, fits his choice of a mask, but still sound hilarious as fuck ) because he's an asshole who hired mercenaries to beat the crap out of them. The fact that he crossed lines, his mercenaries probably killed some heroes and of course that heroes can't wait to throw his upside down ass in Birdcage. Right, Waver will take care to send this bastard where is his place. He's also an unscrupulous druggie. Fuck this guy. Upside down 👍👎.
Minutes passed as I followed Topsy's movements through the apartment. One by one, I collected his underling's phones, as they put them down. A girl in the group said she needed to make a call, couldn't find her phone, and borrowed one from someone else. The second she put it down and turned her back, cockroaches swept it into the space between the table and the wall, and then proceeded to nudge it well out of reach, beneath furniture.
I could sense Annex and Cuff through the bugs that were warm and safe in the folds of their costumes. They trudged through the two inches of snow that had accumulated on the plowed sidewalks. Cuff seemed oddly more comfortable compared to Annex, who clutched his cloak around his shoulders.
There. I snapped my head up to look in the direction of the upstairs apartment, as though I could see through the walls. Topsy had put his phone down on the kitchen counter to grab a beer, setting the thing to speaker mode while he looked for a bottle opener.
"I've disabled their communications," I said. "Let's go."
Topsy was swearing as he nearly dropped his beer in his haste to rush to the sink and push his sleeves up to dig for the smartphone in the mess of dishes and scummy water. I could taste how much old food was in the water. It wasn't a sense that translated well, but I could detect a thin, strong scent permeating the kitchen, one a select few of my bugs were attracted to.
"Tecton, Grace," I said, "Annex and Cuff are here, we're standing aside while I engage. I'm not forcing this. Longer it takes them to catch on, the better the psychological effect."
Once the majority of his underlings were out of the apartment, Topsy leveraged his power, reorienting gravity to shift the boxes and piles of stuff. They hit the wall, slid down the hallway, and finally tumbled through the open front door of the apartment in a heap. With money bands cut and bags chewed open, much of the merchandise in Topsy's stock was scattered to the wind. My bugs could sense the clouds of powder filling the air. Evidence, if nothing else.
He wasn't screaming, now, which I found odd. Now that his underlings had gone ahead, he'd settled into a grim and quiet attitude. He turned to the sole remaining underling. "Anything?"
Looks like Weaver is so famous that every single villain, including Topsy, heard about her. Cool .
I can see a dialogue between all the assholes and monsters (alive and death) about Weaver going like this: Tagg: Weaver... How do I begin to explain miss Weaver? Coil: Weaver is flawless. Tagg: She made me eat some delicious insects. Coil: I hear she shoot me in the face. Valefor: I still hear the worms eating my eyeballs. Jack: Her favorite hobby is to listen people talking with her bugs. Leviathan: One time she fought me. Leviathan: - and she gave me a second anus. Alexandria: One time she left me braindead... it was awesome.
I'm DYING of curiosity to see what miss Weaver will do to Topsy and his people. Topsy's power is a bit similar with Skidmark, he seems to be capable of altering the direction of gravitational pull, manipulating the gravity. Pretty dangerous power if he can use it on people. I have a feeling that Weaver's jetpack will be very useful in her inevitable confrontation with Topsy .
Topsy was tricky. Part of the reason for the surveillance had been to identify the other parahumans in his group. He hired mercenaries, paying well, and there was no sure way to tell who he had with him, short of seeing them in costume. Trouble was, his people were defaulting to heavier clothing over their costumes, due to the cold weather. Identities were doubly hard to discern, and Topsy wasn't one to blab over the phone about who was working for him.
I sent bugs ahead of the group to check the way. Annex flowed up the stairs to intercept them. Some steps became slopes instead, others had the supports removed, so the stairs collapsed underfoot. Each of Topsy's underlings fell at some point, their burdens thrown from their arms or crushed beneath them. An unlucky or clumsy few fell more than once.
"Annex," I said. No use. He was inside the stair's surface. An unfortunate side effect of his power was the fact that his senses were limited while he was inside an object. He was blind, deaf, and his ability to feel was limited by the material he occupied. He could sense heat as much as the object could hold heat, could sense vibrations as much as the material could receive them.
The lieutenant continued, "Mockshow, open the garage doors. Get some cold air in here."
"I'm already freezing," the girl of the group said. "We left our jackets up there."
"Don't fucking care. Bit of cold will deal with these bugs faster than it hurts us. Move."
"Be advised," I reported, my hand to my ear, "They're attempting retreat in vehicles. Original plan may hit a snag. Topsy's got a newbie supervillain working for him. Mockshow. If I'm remembering right, she's a master-slash-shaker six."
Holy shit, Annex's power is incredible cool and versatile. He can wreck the objects or buildings he's merging with. He can collapse stairs under people's feet or collapse buildings on people's heads. Too bad his power sucks when it comes to spying since he can't hear or see anything. Topsy and his people are running like little kids from Boogeyman . They know that they can't do too much against such an excellent attack coming from heroes. Topsy can play with gravitation but isn't enough against Weaver, who can fly and be very little affected by his power. Mockshow scares me more than him. She's a Master. Doesn't matter what number, just RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN !
Mockshow touched the garage door, and the mechanisms shifted to life. Cold air flooded into the garage. I was forced to pull my bugs back, drawing them into the stairwell and through the vents to the box I held. Only the bugs nestled in the villains' clothing remained.
I could barely hear as the lieutenant spoke to Mockshow, "See?"
"Bosses are advising we try plan as detailed," Grace said. "If it fails, orders are to abort."
And there was our first bit of interference. The Director didn't want us to succeed. Topsy wasn't a likable guy, was dangerous in his own way, even, but he was a known quantity. Manageable.
No less than ten seconds later, they ran over the chain that Cuff had laid in the snow just past the garage door. She'd reshaped it so spikes jutted out, I knew. I could hear the tires pop, and pieced together the scene from the movements of the people and boxes within the trucks. The second truck had made it halfway across the spike strip losing its front tires, but the collision of the third truck ramming it from behind drove its rear wheels over the strip.
Watch was a package deal like Grace or Circus. A lot of powers, flexible. His specific powers weren't on record, but it was fairly well known that he was capable of short bursts of intense, short-ranged clairvoyance.
He could see people's biology, ignore the issues of light, darkness or intervening objects, and he had a limited super speed coupled with what had been dubbed 'phantom hands'. The ability to reach through people like Shadow Stalker might, targeting particular aspects of people's body to shred arteries or tear through nerves with his fingers and fingernails.
He was a monster who left his victims dead if they were lucky, quadriplegic if they weren't. Maybe that was ableist, but I didn't fancy being left to rely on the care of others for the rest of my natural life, suffering what was, by all accounts, an indescribably painful case of phantom limb.
Mockshow's power is not that scary. She can Master only objects like garage door, not living beings, which is perfect. Her power reminds me of Parian's power, but instead of telekinetically controlling textiles, she telekinetically control metal. Anyway, she's a Master that I can tolerate. On the other hand Watch is PURE NIGHTMARE . If this guy will die I will not be sad. Not at all. He's a sadistic murderer whose power bypass Manton effect and he can kill people or paralyze them by literally inserting his hands inside their bodies and tearing their nerves. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! This is a power that will be better if it is used on "people" like Heartbreaker, Jack, etc. Because death is too easy for them, they deserve a very pissed Watch in their lives and especially a very pissed on them Watch. Imagine the things this guy will do with the ones he personally hate. I'm not worried for Weaver as much as I'm worried for poor Cuff. First Behemoth, now this sadistic piece of shit, this girl's troubles seem to never end . Good that she wears the full body costume that Weaver had woven for her. Maybe Watch can't affect materials as well as direct skin (his power reminds me of Amy's power, only less versatile). Hopefully.
As we ducked behind cover, taking our steps into the alley, the snow that had accumulated on the ground began to fall in reverse, in thick, wet clumps. I felt the same kind of lift that accompanied a use of my flight pack, and both Cuff and I were lifted off the ground as well.
The weightlessness ceased, and we fell. Only we fell up.
My flight pack kicked to life, and the wings unfolded so I could use the propulsion. I reached for Cuff with one free hand, nearly grabbing one of her braids, but found her wrist instead, felt her hand clasp my wrist in return. Snow and ice pummeled us as it broke free of the sidewalk and flew skyward.
The arms of my flight pack reached out to try and grip Cuff, but the angles of our bodies didn't offer anything substantial to grab. Her braids? No. Nothing on her costume either.
Still, we managed to reel her in, her climbing, me hauling the chain in, inch by agonizing inch. The men with the guns rounded the corner, still shooting, as they kept out of the way of Topsy's power. I had to duck low to take some cover behind the insulated metal box and the metal slats of the fire escape. More bullets ricocheted off of Cuff's armor.
She found the railing, and I gripped her armor to help pull her over.
Gravity shifted again. Our backs slammed against the side of the building, the two of us grunting in unison. My metal box scraped against the metal of the fire escape to land beside me. We were now more or less lying down on the building's face.
Watch and Topsy's men were making their way along the side of the building, walking on it.
I pulled off my flight pack and handed it to Cuff.
She nodded, and I gave her a boost with the flight pack to move her along as I dropped into Annex's hole. I made it ten feet into the hallway before getting out of range of Topsy's power and skidding to a halt on the carpeted floor.
I noted Mock, but I couldn't see much of what she was doing. Her power, though, put her in the same general category as Rachel. She empowered minions. They even fit into the same general weight class as Rachel's dogs. The difference, though, was that they were inanimate. Loose, telekinetically animated servants, typically with the size, clout and general strategy of a grown rhino. Charge things, hit them hard, repeat.
I had no doubt she'd be working on the truck. Maybe multiple trucks. Bugs were still inside the vehicles, and I could sense things shifting and lurching as she reconfigured it into a more or less mobile form.
Poor, poor Cuff. If it wasn't for Weaver's costume, she would have been shoot . Topsy and his mercenaries try HARD to kill the heroes and this is not fun anymore. Adepts, at least, avoided as much as possible to kill heroes but these guys...these guys deserve nothing but Birdcage (except for Watch, I don't want to be worried for the few people in Birdcage I like if this nightmare will go there so I prefer him to fucking die).
Mockshow's power is more similar with Parian's power than with Bitch's power, Weaver, and is easy to see why. Bitch's power allows her to mutate dogs into loyal minions (but they're not exactly controlled by her, they should be trained first), Parian's power allows her to directly control animals and creatures created from textile in the same manner Mockshow is doing with trucks and garage door. So, Mockshow is more like Parian powerwise than Bitch, you have to do your homework about powers, Weaver, you're too much behind .
I bet that Mockshow's favorite movie is Transformers, she probably watched it for the hundredth time while Weaver was bored to death doing her surveillance job. I can see Mockshow preparing her "living" trucks like this:
You, Autobots, be careful with the metalbender bitch, she's pretty good with her metal tricks, you, Decepticons, avoid the bug bitch as much as possible because she's the biggest threat. But, please, don't start a war between you. You're by the same side...I mean, my side...our side...I have no damn idea what I'm doing .
I promised myself I'd owe her one and slowed her the only way I could – I used the flight pack to push her against the side of the building, using friction and drag to slow the fall.
She hit the alley on the far side of the building at a speed that was probably too fast to be comfortable, not so fast she was gravely hurt. I used the propulsion in the flight pack's wings to help speed her along as she stumbled, jogged, then sprinted towards the front of the apartment building.
Cuff rounded the corner just as Mockshow led her quadruped truck-minion outside. I folded the wings in just as she made contact.
Cuff threw out a chain with an audible clatter, then caught the end, moving like she was winding it around the villain. She reconsidered as Topsy and his minions reacted to the noise of the collision and came after her. She was nearly at the far end of the street when Topsy used his power. He reoriented gravity, and she veered to one side, striking the wall beside the alleyway rather than disappearing inside. The tilt continued, and she turned away, moving with the tilt.
He leveraged his power further, only this time, it was his namesake topsy-turvy 'up is down' variant. It was his most offensive power, the ability to hurl large numbers of people or objects into the city's skyline, then revoke his power to let them fall.
Cuff, to her credit, was ready. I could sense her catching ahold of the building's face, using the cover of the rising snow around her to climb up and disappear into the alley.
He reached for Mockshow, and she slapped his hand away. He caught her wrist, simultaneously capturing her arm and blocking the path of the cockroach I'd hidden in between her sweatshirt and her jacket. He plucked it out.
With a systematic, accurate and patient series of movements, Watch began catching and killing every single one of my bugs. Slowly but surely, I was being rendered blind and deaf. It would make tracking a great deal harder.
"Could fight," Watch said. "…ther plan. Let me kill these last few, then I'll …"
Over the ensuing four or five seconds, he killed the bugs I'd planted on him despite my best effort to retreat them to inconvenient and inaccessible areas.
"Revel," I said. "We won't get close to him. Promise. I've been on the team for six months, I've shown you guys I can play nice, play safe, avoid making trouble. But you guys brought me on board to be the shot caller in the field, with Tecton as the leader. Let me do what I'm supposed to do and call the shots. It'll be a win for the good guys, I promise."
There was a long pause. I'm up against Revel and the Director, now. My advocate had switched stances.
"Okay," Revel said. "Only because we can't move the Protectorate heroes there fast enough. You are not to engage."
"Roger," I reported, my relief mixed with a frustration that the go-ahead had come so late.
They had a different plan in mind. They reversed direction and headed straight for a restaurant with a sign showing a gold dragon against a red background.
"Grace," I said. "Wei shu wu? Does typing it into the computer turn up anything?"
"A cover business for a group with affiliations to the Folk," Revel volunteered.
Watch is not only a sadistic asshole who can give someone a fate worse than death, he's also a literal pain in the ass. He destroyed Weaver's ways to see and hear them in a couple of seconds (his action reminds me of Tattletale's action when she told Weaver- Bug back then- to kill the spiders modified by Amy to give her headaches. Thinkers are truly a pain in Leviathan's double ass ). At least Cuff is safe and this is all that matters for me now .
The bad guys ran to hide inside an restaurant. This is NOT GOOD because customers might end up getting hurt if the heroes will attack Topsy and his mooks inside the restaurant. I don't care how you'll capture them, Weaver, but don't you dare to put civilians's lives in danger because you want to prove to you bosses that you don't know when to give up. Wait until they'll leave the restaurant or convince them to leave without further violent incidents. I'm going to SMACK Weaver if she'll do something stupid like escalating when its absolute necessary to deescalate as much as possible.
"No. They have people with powers, and that's beyond the scope of this manhunt."
"Can you find the number at the building? A restaurant, Wei shu wu."
"Weaver," Revel said, her tone a warning.
"Please," I said, as the villains disappeared inside.
Because you're hapless restaurant owners or because your gang doesn't have the clout there to go head to head with Topsy?
"Don't hang up the phone," I said, "Use your cell phones, talk to anyone you can think of that might help. Bosses, franchise owners, whoever. Fill them in. Let them know that the guests in your store include men called Topsy and Watch. If they ask who I am, you tell them I'm a superhero called Weaver."
It was over. I could read it in their body language. As much as the Director had wanted to wear me down, to have me sit in the cold with nothing to occupy myself with but the five minute check-ins, we'd achieved the same thing against the villains, and we'd been successful in doing it. This was only residual stubbornness.
This time, when the villains emerged, they did so with arms raised in surrender.
I watched Mockshow on the monitors. She was young. Well, young was relative. She was fourteen or so, and now that she had her costume with her, she wore a hard mask sporting a stylized smiley-face, a headband with screws sticking out like antennae. She'd lost the outdoor clothing and had donned her mask, as if it were a shield between her and us.
I glanced over at our superiors. Revel was in a discussion with the Director, the Mayor and the police chief.
Mockshow's eyes widened as she saw the bugs filtering into the interrogation room. The tables and chairs had been removed to deny her anything solid enough to use her power on, so she had nothing to hide behind as they began forming into a mass.
"Paradigm is changing, Mockshow. I want to make that clear, so you know what people are talking about when they offer you deals. People aren't going to be inclined to play nice."
Good move, Weaver, good fucking move. Convince the restaurant employee to "convince" the villains to leave without hurting anyone, right after you told him who you're . You have quite a reputation, now everyone will tremble with fear hearing your codename. I'm glad that everything ended well for heroes and civilians alike. Well, Cuff kinda scared me a little but I really liked this fight, to be fair. Cool powers- I find Mockshow's power strangely cute, cool battle tactics, cool conclusion . Well, Topsy and Watch, Birdcage is waiting for you with its open metallic claws (hopefully). As for Mockshow, I think that she deserves a second chance. I'm the LAST person giving people (real or fictional) a second chance, but sometimes....SOMETIMES, I'm willing to make exceptions. Mockshow is a kid, she's only 14, she didn't hurt anyone during this fight (she only prepared her weak and useless army of Autobots and Decepticons), she's not a criminal like Topsy, in fact she wasn't even respected by Topsy and Watch- they treated her pretty brutal and they seemed to accept her only for her power. I think that she can become a hero if she's given this chance. As a hero she'll be more respected and treated like a human being rather than a disposable mook. Besides, she'll stay away from a criminal life. I can't see Bambina and Augustin Price becoming good and heroic children -they're little criminal pricks and they seem very ok with what they're doing- but I can see someone like Mockshow switching sides. Hope I'm not very naive choosing to have faith in this kid .
"Yeah. Exactly," I said. I glanced at the others. The Director wasn't participating in the conversation anymore. He was staring at a monitor, but his reaction didn't suggest he was watching me interact with Mock.
Either way, I had to wrap it up. "But those guys? They aren't on your side either. Once upon a time, they'd be the same people who'd push for people like you to go free. Because maybe you'd help somewhere down the road. Now? They have no reason to give you that slack. You've got no help here, and I think you'll be surprised at how hard they come after you."
"You signed up with Topsy. With Watch. This is as much about them as it is about you. Making Topsy uncomfortable, denying him a resource they'd just acquired. Stripping away his conveniences, leaving him wondering if you'll plea out."
"Join the Wards," I suggested.
"Or go be a scumbag, but be a scumbag who helps save the world," I said.
"I gotcha," she said. Her shoulders slumped a little, as if in defeat. She glanced up at me, and I could see a glimmer of vulnerability in her expression. "Weaver?"
I felt my hair stand on end as the Director approached. I'd always felt a little caught off guard by him. He looked more like a classic politician than the generals and soldiers I was used to associating with the PRT, with dimples, styled sandy hair and a tidy suit. His demeanor, body language, everything, it was warm. That warmth didn't reach his eyes. Not when he'd looked at me. Especially not right now.
"It's reality. It's a horrible waste of energy, a tragedy, really, but I'm forced to dedicate time to reining you in, controlling you, keeping you in check. If that results in nights like tonight, we have a balance. Hardly a compromise, but we'll manage."
"I'd tell you to avoid leaking the fact that you played a major role in tonight's events, but we both know you wouldn't listen," he said. "I'd threaten punishment, but you'd do what you wanted and even enjoy it, feeling vindicated. So we'll go another route. If you don't play ball and let us share this narrative the way we need to, I punish the other Chicago Wards. Inconvenient shifts, extra volunteer work, more paperwork."
"Just do me a favor? Try not to murder me like you did the other three Directors." He winked. It was a jibe, a verbal thrust, delivered with humor and offhandedness, but it struck home, stirred ugly feelings.
"If you're willing to allow me to suggest some targets," the police chief said, "I think I could adjust shifts, ensure we have enough squad members to limit or stop traffic inside potential sites of conflict."
Appears like Mockshow can't decided what is good for her . Well, Weaver gave you this chance. You'll not get another chance if you turn your back to this opportunity. Its your choice, kid. You still have some time to make up your mind.
Ha, director Hearthrow SUCKED IT . He tried to make Waver fail hard but instead he was the one who sucked it. The Mayor liked what Weaver did and he gave her green light to continue to clean Chicago's streets, send the stinking trash to Birdcage and try to recycle the less stinking trash. Good and FAIR man this mayor. He wants to keep his city clean instead of trying to sabotage a hero's work (I'm looking with evil eyes 👀 at you, Hearthrow), good, good .
Weaver is getting an army of ex-villains turned heroes, right? An army that she'll probably use when the end of the world will knock at everyone's doors. To fight against S9 Clones and stop Jack? 100% okey dokey !
Maybe, but they have NO right to spoil me when I didn't even finish Worm.
Now you spoiled me too -you're implying that Amy will survive to Worm and will appear in Ward and she'll do some bad things there .
Sorry, but I can't hate her if I don't have any idea what she'll do in Ward.
Don't blame me if I can't see the future. I'm not a parahuman. I like the actual Amy and if she'll turn evil then I'll probably stop liking her. Just don't want to be spoiled about her. This is everything I'm asking for.
Sticking to what's already happened in the story, Carol's interlude contained some implications about what Amy did to Victoria that most readers missed at the time, which were clarified recently by word of god. Not sure whether you'd consider going into more detail a spoiler, so I'll leave it at that for now.
Why are people insisting on posting spoilers (even veiled ones) immediately after blackarrow complained about spoilers? I don't think she was actually asking for us to comment on her theories regarding Amy yet.
Sticking to what's already happened in the story, Carol's interlude contained some implications about what Amy did to Victoria that most readers missed at the time, which were clarified recently by word of god. Not sure whether you'd consider going into more detail a spoiler, so I'll leave it at that for now.
I don't understand what she did to Victoria that was worse than everything she already did. Or maybe she had the capacity to undoe the mind rape but she REFUSED because she wanted Victoria to forcibly love her forever? 😠 If its true then I can understand why people hate her.
But even so, I can't hate her based on something that I'm not ever sure about. I don't want to read Wildbow's WoG, I want to have the surprise finding the sad or shocking, terrible truth myself 🤫.
Thank you.
). Marquis is a villain but one of the best and most dedicated fathers I've seen in this story
