Realign 14.14
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
No, I'm not dead. As several people have mentioned, I work in the medical field, more specifically in the hospital rather than in a clinic. It should therefore come as no surprise that while other authors and QMs have more time to write, I actually have less time, and when I have had a few hours I haven't exactly been in the best headspace to write.
I am still writing when I can, as you can see by this update, but I ask for a little patience while we're still dealing with this pandemic. But in the meantime, here's a new chapter.
[] Burn the Sinners, part 2
-[] Death from above. Lethal Solar Wrath the compound, then deal with any survivors.
Realign 14.14
Friday, August 17
You look down at the three-dimensional hologram Dragon created for you. "You're sure the Fallen are there?"
"I looked with three different spy satellites," she confirms. "Most recently yesterday. I'm as sure as I can possibly be that they are there."
"What is this place?" asks Laura as she walks up to take a closer look at it. Behind her, having also recently come in via teleporter, are Kayleigh and Missy. "It looks like a farm or something."
Dragon nods. "It is a farmhouse, actually, not far outside Critzer, Kansas. About 85 miles south of Kansas City. It is isolated, off the grid. If you look here," she continues, magnifying the hologram to show the sleek black roofs of the buildings, "you can see that they have attached solar panels to all the buildings to provide electricity, and they have a well from which to draw water. Between this and the farmlands themselves, which look to be tended, they have all the resources they need to survive outside of normal society."
"Which explains why Watchdog and the Protectorate have always had so much trouble tracking them by mundane methods," Missy says thoughtfully. She turns to you and asks, "Do you have a solid plan for this, or are we still working it out?"
"I have as solid a plan as I can make given all the question marks still floating around," you reply with a sigh. "We are all teleporting in at different coordinates. Missy, I want you in the woods to the south. If anybody tries to escape that way, you are the fastest and the best able to get in and out. There's also this building here that you can bust into and make sure nobody's hiding."
Your finger moves to the east. "Kayleigh, you're in this lawn-type area here. That should give you the best lines of sight to shoot anybody you see. Samantha will be to the north, keeping people from escaping into the fields since she has the most experience out of all of you with flying and can watch from above."
The Guardian Beast gives you a nod and taps the end of her bone harpoon on the ground. Between that, the lack of her suit jacket, and the sword belted around her waist, she looks like she is ready for a big game hunt.
Turning your eyes to Laura, you move your finger to the last cardinal direction. "Laura, you take the west end and the driveway. If you can manage it, I want you wreck their cars so they can't escape by road.
"Once you are all in position, I will use Solar Wrath to demolish this central building first." You give the large building a tap. "Dragon and Cassiel both estimate this will be where Balam, the leader of this family and the most dangerous member they have, is holed up. Her lieutenants could easily also be inside. That makes it the highest priority. Once I've destroyed that, I'll stay up in the air and get ready to blast the next building and then the one after that.
"Just so we're all on the same page, by the time we're done, there won't be anything left of the compound. I will be taking off all the restrictions on my spells as well, so anyone within those buildings is going to die. It's not something I'm looking forward to," you admit, "but from everything I've seen and been told by Legend, Alexandria, Dragon, and Cassiel, I don't see any other options. Not if we're going to end the threat they pose."
You look around at your three human teammates. "This is your last chance to back out. I won't blame you if you don't feel like you can take part in this. I don't consider it necessary for us to be a team. This is something I feel like I have to do, but I won't force it on any of you."
Missy, Kayleigh, and Laura look at each other for a long moment. Three different colors of light flash bright, and when it fades they are replaced by Scarlet Grimoire, Sailor Shining Shot, and Scathach.
"Okay, then. Let's do this."
The air is warm as you float down into view of the farmhouse that is your target. You are still easily a mile above the compound, too far away to be easily distinguished normally and especially not when you have positioned yourself in front of the noontime sun. You could have appeared closer, but that would have announced to the world that you were there. Teleporting so much higher in the air preserves the element of surprise you need so your teammates could move around. And on that note, you call out, «Is everybody in position?»
«In position.»
«Armed and ready!»
«Good to go.»
«Just waiting on you.»
Rolling your eyes at that last comment by Samantha, you end the spell holding you aloft. You drop like a stone, kicking your flight back in once you are only a few hundred feet above the main building. The jeweled head of Perfect Storm points down at the big, elaborate central building, and you start feeding the Device mana that is rapidly converted into an ever-growing ball of flame. The miniature sun stabilizes, but it is not enough. You do not want this to burn or melt a hole in the building. When you are done, you want there to be nothing left.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
The mana from four cartridges surges through your Linker Core and into the spell. Enough power to cast the spell all on their own, used this way they instead send the sun spinning faster and faster. Tongues of fire launch out only to curve back in like fish jumping from the surface of a pond. Sparks drift lazily behind the spin of the sun, tiny asteroids falling to their doom. Your voice and your Device's mingle as you call out your deadly strike.
"Solar Wrath—!"
"—Annihilation!"
You are used to this spell creating tight beams of destruction. What you unleash this time is a wide cone of fiery hate. The flares that had jumped in and out of the sun now swirl along its girth as it rockets to the ground with the scream of the very air igniting into plasma. You can tell when the spell hits the ground; unlike any other time you have used Solar Wrath, this one kicks up a tall wave of dust and dirt.
No, not just dirt. Your eyes widen when that wave hits the nearest building, breaking the door down and shattering the solar panels and upper windows. It is a heady shockwave, one that has already ignited the curtains behind the broken windows.
The spell fades. Where once was a farmhouse, there now stands only a burning crater slowly filling with glass and lava.
In the few moments you needed to shake yourself out of your shock, people started pouring out of the buildings in streams as they come to find out just what happened. From this distance you cannot see much, but what you do see is how they are almost all garbed in white, and those few who aren't all carry what look to be rifles of some kind or another. Movement to the left catches your attention, and a figure standing on the driveway swings a weapon that in turn unleashes a wave of glistening white. Spears of ice grow larger and larger as the wave moves, punching up from the ground to rip holes in the few cars and vans can be seen in the open space that serves as the garage. The holes are quickly rimmed with ice that cascades over the vehicles until they are totally frozen through.
Tim had told you that Laura's Device was programmed with its own Buster equivalent, you recall. This must be it.
Shaking your head, you turn around to look at a building from which no one has escaped. Maybe it is empty. Maybe the villains inside hope to be safe if they hide. Or maybe it is where the Fallen keep any of the Tinkers they have enslaved. There is no way to tell without getting closer.
Another big ball of fire forms, and Solar Wrath punches through the roof. Something within explodes, sending great gouts of fire out through the windows and doors. Something vaguely human-sized flies out one doorway and lands on the ground burning and unmoving.
Whatever that building might have been before no longer matters.
A third Solar Wrath charges as you glance about the battlefield. Laura has apparently stepped over or through the icy terrain she created and is now hacking away at the approaching Fallen with abandon, spinning her body and her halberd in a dancing display you cannot recall Armsmaster ever using in the clips posted on PHO. Screams come from the forest where only a small number of the villains ran into, then are quickly silenced. Something moves in the tree line, and before you can wonder if it is friend or foe a bright green energy flies out and punches a massive hole through one side the building farthest to the south. Another particle beam hits the other side, and with both corners gone the building collapses under its own weight.
The grassy yard where Kayleigh was stationed is alight with crackling bolts of electricity, and as you watch a clump of something or other explodes into wet chunks. That makes you grimace; one of the benefits of using fire is that most of the wounds you make are instantly cauterized. Whatever Kayleigh did doesn't have that advantage.
«Ready to fire,» Perfect Storm reminds you, and you unleash another blast at the next hapless building. That leaves only one standing, but it is the one just to the south of the first target you hit and already has flames billowing out. If there was anyone still inside, they are undoubtedly char and ash already.
You drift down and to the side towards Kayleigh. The colorful girl stands alone, totally untouched by anything the Fallen could have possibly thrown at her, but despite being unharmed her arms are just hanging at her sides with her guns still in her hands. Your feet settle on the grass, and you take the few additional steps farther until you are close enough to rest one hand on Kayleigh's shoulder.
The touch makes her jump, and behind her sunglasses you can just barely see her eyes focus on you instead of whatever she was staring at in her own head. "Oh! Hey. I, uh, I guess we won?" she asks in a weak voice.
"You okay?"
"Good. I'm good." Your face must show the doubt you feel at that answer, and her fragile smile breaks away. Her eyes shift to the side, and follow her gaze to the pile of meat that was previously at least one and possibly a couple of people. "It's just… I've never seen anybody die before. Not for real, and especially not like that. It's… It doesn't look the same way it does in movies or video games."
"Do you want me to take you back to base?"
She rapidly shakes her head. "No. Seriously, Taylor, I'm fine. I just learned that I shouldn't use explosive bullets on people, that's all."
Your eyes move to the four intact bodies lying on the ground. "What about the others? Are they still alive, or?"
"Firefly warned me that hitting somebody with multiple thunder rounds ran the risk of stopping their hearts or sending them into horrible seizures." You turn your head back to Kayleigh, who shrugs helplessly. "I plugged them with an entire magazine. I don't think they're getting up."
Movement catches your eye, but when you turn to face it you find that it is just Laura and Missy coming into view. The latter waves her hand, and you motion for them to come closer. "You two doing okay?"
"I'm good. Don't know about Ice Knight over here," Missy replies. She waits for said knight to arrive before she looks out over the burning remnants of the compound. She shakes her head and says in a marveling voice, "I still can't believe we just did that. Do you know how long the Fallen have been a thorn in the Protectorate's side? They were all but untouchable, as much as nobody wanted to admit it. Even Haven could barely keep up with the aftermath of their attacks, and it was all they did pretty much. Five minutes, and look at this."
"…Is there a reason you know so much about how heroes feel about the Fallen?" Laura slowly asks.
The shorter girl flinches faintly, but before you can say or do anything she rallies. "I was a Ward, once upon a time," she tells Laura. "Means I know bits and pieces of different things."
"Okay."
You glance between the pair, but Missy does not appear willing to offer any more information and Laura looks uninterested in digging any deeper. Considering how strongly Laura values the Unwritten Rules, that does not truly surprise you. "I guess this means it's time we head to Kansas City and tell them what we did."
"No one's going to believe us."
"Kind of hard to assume we did anything besides attack considering what this place looks like," Kayleigh tells Missy.
The younger girl shakes her calico head. "That's not what I mean. Sure, they'll know something happened, but if we want to collect any bounties we need to bring proof of what we did. Video works, but the PRT is always suspicious of outside video evidence because of how easily it can be manipulated by normal people, let alone Tinkers. They prefer some kind of physical evidence. Thing is, the bigger the accomplishment, the stronger the evidence you need. When Breakdown obliterated the Slaughterhouse Nine, he didn't leave anything of them behind, and if it weren't for the fact that he had Bonesaw in custody who confirmed what he had done and plenty of witnesses to him killing the Siberian, he'd probably still be fighting for those bounties."
"So if we need proof…" Laura trails off, and you look at her strangely. She waves you off. "Don't worry about it. Something from history class came to mind."
"Killing the Fallen reminded you of history class?" you can not help but ask.
"Not the Fallen themselves, but yeah." Seeing four pairs of eyes staring at her, she shrugs and says, "We were talking about the Romans, I think? Anyway, what was going on was…"
Laura keeps talking about what people did in ancient times, and about halfway through you turn to stare in horror at Kayleigh, who is looking right back at you with a similar expression. There is no way we're doing that.
"You know," Missy says in a thoughtful tone, "that would totally work. It'd be hard to argue with, too."
"You really think we should do… that?" you ask her.
She wiggles her hands like weighing on a set of scales. "It isn't the weirdest thing I've ever heard of heroes doing, and it would definitely give us a solid reputation outside of Philadelphia. On the other hand, it's the kind of thing that would give Chambers a heart attack if he ever heard of a Ward being part of it—"
Missy stops mid-sentence and stares into space with widening eyes. When she does not snap out of it on her own, Samantha clears her throat and asks, "Who is Chambers?"
"Glenn Chambers. He's the head of Marketing for the Protectorate as a whole. He's the one who came up with a lot of the stupid rules we had to follow about how heroes were supposed to be seen by the general public." Her expression turns into something wicked, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "He'll be beside himself when he hears about this, and as far as I'm concerned, that's reason enough to do it."
You look over at Samantha, who shrugs, and then Laura. "If she's sure it's going to work, maybe?" the blue-haired knight says weakly.
A resigned sigh, and you ignite your scythe.
Orange light deposits the five of you in front of the PRT office in Kansas City. It lies within a squat building, four stories tall and made out of dull grey stone. You can see a stream of people coming in and out, many of whom have stopped to stare at the group of girls in full costume who just appeared. Squaring your shoulders, you start walking towards the door with long strides. «Look alive, girls. This might be the last chance we have to make a positive impression on people.»
«You worry too much,» Missy replies. «Everything will be just fine.»
A telekinetic push throws the doors open in front of you, and your heels clack against the tile floor once you cross the threshold. There is one desk, right in the middle of the room, so that is where you go. The three agents stationed there all move their hands to their hips. You are not sure if that is because of your sudden entrance, your obvious status as capes, or the fact that Missy is the only one who does not have a weapon in plain view. If only they knew the truth.
One of them, apparently the most senior based on the amount of grey hair peaking through the red, steps forward to the edge of the desk and orders in a stern voice, "State your business here."
That is a super polite greeting that is sure to make friends, you think sarcastically. "We are here to claim some bounties."
Something in his face relaxes now that he is back on familiar ground. He sits down in a chair and types on a keyboard, his eyes no longer on you but on the computer screen that you now see is built into the desk. "And what villain's bounty are you claiming?"
"The Simurgh branch of the Fallen."
The quiet whispers that had followed your team into the room die into silence, and the agent looks back up at you with doubt painted across his features. "Which members of that branch did you kill?"
"All of them. At least, all of them that were possibly there," you immediately add. "There are several that we're sure were there, but with the way we killed them, there isn't much in the way of evidence. We brought all we could."
"Uh huh," he says, his doubt somehow even more obvious. "Show me. Put it right here, on the desk."
You open your mouth to reply and close it to look over at all the random people in the lobby. And oh, how wonderful, there looks to be a group of kids from one of the local elementary schools around as well. That is just perfect. "We're a little hesitant to produce them right here and now. Maybe somewhere with a little more… privacy?"
"Girl, you aren't the first con man who's come in claiming to be a cape who's killed one of the Fallen. Not the first con cape, either. I've seen good men die against just some of the Fallen, and you want to claim you killed an entire group of them? If you have proof, you can show me right here," the man said with a sneer.
"Think about where we are," you caution him. "This isn't something you want the regular public to see, I don't think."
"I don't want a bunch of no-name capes wandering around in the PRT office, either. Put your 'proof' on the desk."
You open your mouth to argue, but he taps the fake wood. "Put. It. Here," he whispers.
Letting out a quiet sigh, you can already see any chance of a positive debut swirling down the drain. "You heard him, girls," you tell the group. "Let's give him our proof."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kayleigh asks.
"No, but it looks like we won't get any better a reception." You wave for the others to flank you on either side. Your position does not give the other two agents any further peace of mind. "Unseal on three. One, two… three."
Five flashes of light, and when the afterimages fade you hear the visitors all gasp in shock and horror. Several of them pull out their cell phones, guaranteeing that this is going up on PHO. The agent sitting at the desk can only stare wordlessly at the evidence sitting eye-level with him.
Said evidence in this case being a row of seventeen severed heads, their masks still affixed to their faces but stained with dried blood and ash.
'You wanted proof, you got it' you want to say, but that would not paint you in any better light. You have done enough damage to your group's reputation as is already. "One of us will be back tomorrow to get the bounty money. That should give you time to show this to your superiors." Moving your attention to the rest of the team, you tell them, «Let's go. Samantha can come back tomorrow, I guess.»
«We're just walking away? After everything we just did?» Laura all but demands.
«We are walking away because staying will just make a bigger scene. A bigger scene will get us more negative attention and possibly cause problems if they call for help from the Protectorate, assuming that we're villains. If one of us comes back tomorrow, after they have a chance to process what we've done and come up with an appropriate response, then we avoid an unnecessary fight.»
«Makes sense,» Kayleigh cuts in, «but won't it put Samantha in danger to come by herself? What if they do decide we're the bad guys and attack her when she returns?»
You are sure you are not the only one who can feel the smug radiating off your Guardian Beast. «Out of all of us, I'm the one who can best fight off a bunch of heroes by myself. I'm happy you're worried about me, but Taylor's right. I am the best choice.»
"W-Wait!" the desk agent calls out. You look back to find him on his feet, one hand pointed at you and the other at the heads you are leaving behind. "What— Who are you?!"
You take a breath in and let it out. As first impressions go, this one is pretty awful, but maybe you can still salvage something from it. "We are the Arcana," you tell him in a strong voice that rings through the lobby. "The cards of fate. We're what's waiting for people like that."
Your own pointing finger shows just who you refer to with such disgust.
Flashing from some of the phones catches your attention, and you whip around praying desperately that your mask hides the blush staining your cheeks. Part of you wants to remind him that you will be back, just to make it look like you are not running away, but the larger common sense part of you insists that would be a bad idea and too close to a villainous monologue for your tastes. Instead you give Perfect Storm a prompt for the code for Spatial Translocation.
And then the five of you are gone.
You know what goes well with severed heads? Miracle on 34th Street references! This is why I recommended going with an edgy name because just WTF.
This time you actually got into a fight, so the other girls each get 1 XP for this and Taylor gets a spell point. And I'm going to try something different, mostly because Taylor has so few spells left to learn.
[ ] Sabotage Shift – Create dozens of bullets surrounding you and fire them in all directions.
[ ] Singularity – Create a gravity well to pull enemies into a single spot for easy shooting.
[ ] Barrage – Upgrade for Rust Shooter. Fire four bullets at one time.
[ ] Bind Mine – Lay a trap that, when disturbed, encases the target in a magic block that prevents escape.
[ ] Vampiric Ray – Forcibly drain another's mana to partially refill your Linker Core. If target is not a mage, they are left permanently weakened and somewhat more frail.
[ ] Lion's Pelt – Coat yourself in an additional defensive forcefield three times as strong as your Knight Armor for a short time.
[ ] Convert your spell point into 1 XP
-[ ] for Missy
-[ ] for Laura
-[ ] for Kayleigh
-[ ] for Lacey
-[ ] for Maclibuin
I am still writing when I can, as you can see by this update, but I ask for a little patience while we're still dealing with this pandemic. But in the meantime, here's a new chapter.
[] Burn the Sinners, part 2
-[] Death from above. Lethal Solar Wrath the compound, then deal with any survivors.
Realign 14.14
Friday, August 17
You look down at the three-dimensional hologram Dragon created for you. "You're sure the Fallen are there?"
"I looked with three different spy satellites," she confirms. "Most recently yesterday. I'm as sure as I can possibly be that they are there."
"What is this place?" asks Laura as she walks up to take a closer look at it. Behind her, having also recently come in via teleporter, are Kayleigh and Missy. "It looks like a farm or something."
Dragon nods. "It is a farmhouse, actually, not far outside Critzer, Kansas. About 85 miles south of Kansas City. It is isolated, off the grid. If you look here," she continues, magnifying the hologram to show the sleek black roofs of the buildings, "you can see that they have attached solar panels to all the buildings to provide electricity, and they have a well from which to draw water. Between this and the farmlands themselves, which look to be tended, they have all the resources they need to survive outside of normal society."
"Which explains why Watchdog and the Protectorate have always had so much trouble tracking them by mundane methods," Missy says thoughtfully. She turns to you and asks, "Do you have a solid plan for this, or are we still working it out?"
"I have as solid a plan as I can make given all the question marks still floating around," you reply with a sigh. "We are all teleporting in at different coordinates. Missy, I want you in the woods to the south. If anybody tries to escape that way, you are the fastest and the best able to get in and out. There's also this building here that you can bust into and make sure nobody's hiding."
Your finger moves to the east. "Kayleigh, you're in this lawn-type area here. That should give you the best lines of sight to shoot anybody you see. Samantha will be to the north, keeping people from escaping into the fields since she has the most experience out of all of you with flying and can watch from above."
The Guardian Beast gives you a nod and taps the end of her bone harpoon on the ground. Between that, the lack of her suit jacket, and the sword belted around her waist, she looks like she is ready for a big game hunt.
Turning your eyes to Laura, you move your finger to the last cardinal direction. "Laura, you take the west end and the driveway. If you can manage it, I want you wreck their cars so they can't escape by road.
"Once you are all in position, I will use Solar Wrath to demolish this central building first." You give the large building a tap. "Dragon and Cassiel both estimate this will be where Balam, the leader of this family and the most dangerous member they have, is holed up. Her lieutenants could easily also be inside. That makes it the highest priority. Once I've destroyed that, I'll stay up in the air and get ready to blast the next building and then the one after that.
"Just so we're all on the same page, by the time we're done, there won't be anything left of the compound. I will be taking off all the restrictions on my spells as well, so anyone within those buildings is going to die. It's not something I'm looking forward to," you admit, "but from everything I've seen and been told by Legend, Alexandria, Dragon, and Cassiel, I don't see any other options. Not if we're going to end the threat they pose."
You look around at your three human teammates. "This is your last chance to back out. I won't blame you if you don't feel like you can take part in this. I don't consider it necessary for us to be a team. This is something I feel like I have to do, but I won't force it on any of you."
Missy, Kayleigh, and Laura look at each other for a long moment. Three different colors of light flash bright, and when it fades they are replaced by Scarlet Grimoire, Sailor Shining Shot, and Scathach.
"Okay, then. Let's do this."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The air is warm as you float down into view of the farmhouse that is your target. You are still easily a mile above the compound, too far away to be easily distinguished normally and especially not when you have positioned yourself in front of the noontime sun. You could have appeared closer, but that would have announced to the world that you were there. Teleporting so much higher in the air preserves the element of surprise you need so your teammates could move around. And on that note, you call out, «Is everybody in position?»
«In position.»
«Armed and ready!»
«Good to go.»
«Just waiting on you.»
Rolling your eyes at that last comment by Samantha, you end the spell holding you aloft. You drop like a stone, kicking your flight back in once you are only a few hundred feet above the main building. The jeweled head of Perfect Storm points down at the big, elaborate central building, and you start feeding the Device mana that is rapidly converted into an ever-growing ball of flame. The miniature sun stabilizes, but it is not enough. You do not want this to burn or melt a hole in the building. When you are done, you want there to be nothing left.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
The mana from four cartridges surges through your Linker Core and into the spell. Enough power to cast the spell all on their own, used this way they instead send the sun spinning faster and faster. Tongues of fire launch out only to curve back in like fish jumping from the surface of a pond. Sparks drift lazily behind the spin of the sun, tiny asteroids falling to their doom. Your voice and your Device's mingle as you call out your deadly strike.
"Solar Wrath—!"
"—Annihilation!"
You are used to this spell creating tight beams of destruction. What you unleash this time is a wide cone of fiery hate. The flares that had jumped in and out of the sun now swirl along its girth as it rockets to the ground with the scream of the very air igniting into plasma. You can tell when the spell hits the ground; unlike any other time you have used Solar Wrath, this one kicks up a tall wave of dust and dirt.
No, not just dirt. Your eyes widen when that wave hits the nearest building, breaking the door down and shattering the solar panels and upper windows. It is a heady shockwave, one that has already ignited the curtains behind the broken windows.
The spell fades. Where once was a farmhouse, there now stands only a burning crater slowly filling with glass and lava.
In the few moments you needed to shake yourself out of your shock, people started pouring out of the buildings in streams as they come to find out just what happened. From this distance you cannot see much, but what you do see is how they are almost all garbed in white, and those few who aren't all carry what look to be rifles of some kind or another. Movement to the left catches your attention, and a figure standing on the driveway swings a weapon that in turn unleashes a wave of glistening white. Spears of ice grow larger and larger as the wave moves, punching up from the ground to rip holes in the few cars and vans can be seen in the open space that serves as the garage. The holes are quickly rimmed with ice that cascades over the vehicles until they are totally frozen through.
Tim had told you that Laura's Device was programmed with its own Buster equivalent, you recall. This must be it.
Shaking your head, you turn around to look at a building from which no one has escaped. Maybe it is empty. Maybe the villains inside hope to be safe if they hide. Or maybe it is where the Fallen keep any of the Tinkers they have enslaved. There is no way to tell without getting closer.
Another big ball of fire forms, and Solar Wrath punches through the roof. Something within explodes, sending great gouts of fire out through the windows and doors. Something vaguely human-sized flies out one doorway and lands on the ground burning and unmoving.
Whatever that building might have been before no longer matters.
A third Solar Wrath charges as you glance about the battlefield. Laura has apparently stepped over or through the icy terrain she created and is now hacking away at the approaching Fallen with abandon, spinning her body and her halberd in a dancing display you cannot recall Armsmaster ever using in the clips posted on PHO. Screams come from the forest where only a small number of the villains ran into, then are quickly silenced. Something moves in the tree line, and before you can wonder if it is friend or foe a bright green energy flies out and punches a massive hole through one side the building farthest to the south. Another particle beam hits the other side, and with both corners gone the building collapses under its own weight.
The grassy yard where Kayleigh was stationed is alight with crackling bolts of electricity, and as you watch a clump of something or other explodes into wet chunks. That makes you grimace; one of the benefits of using fire is that most of the wounds you make are instantly cauterized. Whatever Kayleigh did doesn't have that advantage.
«Ready to fire,» Perfect Storm reminds you, and you unleash another blast at the next hapless building. That leaves only one standing, but it is the one just to the south of the first target you hit and already has flames billowing out. If there was anyone still inside, they are undoubtedly char and ash already.
You drift down and to the side towards Kayleigh. The colorful girl stands alone, totally untouched by anything the Fallen could have possibly thrown at her, but despite being unharmed her arms are just hanging at her sides with her guns still in her hands. Your feet settle on the grass, and you take the few additional steps farther until you are close enough to rest one hand on Kayleigh's shoulder.
The touch makes her jump, and behind her sunglasses you can just barely see her eyes focus on you instead of whatever she was staring at in her own head. "Oh! Hey. I, uh, I guess we won?" she asks in a weak voice.
"You okay?"
"Good. I'm good." Your face must show the doubt you feel at that answer, and her fragile smile breaks away. Her eyes shift to the side, and follow her gaze to the pile of meat that was previously at least one and possibly a couple of people. "It's just… I've never seen anybody die before. Not for real, and especially not like that. It's… It doesn't look the same way it does in movies or video games."
"Do you want me to take you back to base?"
She rapidly shakes her head. "No. Seriously, Taylor, I'm fine. I just learned that I shouldn't use explosive bullets on people, that's all."
Your eyes move to the four intact bodies lying on the ground. "What about the others? Are they still alive, or?"
"Firefly warned me that hitting somebody with multiple thunder rounds ran the risk of stopping their hearts or sending them into horrible seizures." You turn your head back to Kayleigh, who shrugs helplessly. "I plugged them with an entire magazine. I don't think they're getting up."
Movement catches your eye, but when you turn to face it you find that it is just Laura and Missy coming into view. The latter waves her hand, and you motion for them to come closer. "You two doing okay?"
"I'm good. Don't know about Ice Knight over here," Missy replies. She waits for said knight to arrive before she looks out over the burning remnants of the compound. She shakes her head and says in a marveling voice, "I still can't believe we just did that. Do you know how long the Fallen have been a thorn in the Protectorate's side? They were all but untouchable, as much as nobody wanted to admit it. Even Haven could barely keep up with the aftermath of their attacks, and it was all they did pretty much. Five minutes, and look at this."
"…Is there a reason you know so much about how heroes feel about the Fallen?" Laura slowly asks.
The shorter girl flinches faintly, but before you can say or do anything she rallies. "I was a Ward, once upon a time," she tells Laura. "Means I know bits and pieces of different things."
"Okay."
You glance between the pair, but Missy does not appear willing to offer any more information and Laura looks uninterested in digging any deeper. Considering how strongly Laura values the Unwritten Rules, that does not truly surprise you. "I guess this means it's time we head to Kansas City and tell them what we did."
"No one's going to believe us."
"Kind of hard to assume we did anything besides attack considering what this place looks like," Kayleigh tells Missy.
The younger girl shakes her calico head. "That's not what I mean. Sure, they'll know something happened, but if we want to collect any bounties we need to bring proof of what we did. Video works, but the PRT is always suspicious of outside video evidence because of how easily it can be manipulated by normal people, let alone Tinkers. They prefer some kind of physical evidence. Thing is, the bigger the accomplishment, the stronger the evidence you need. When Breakdown obliterated the Slaughterhouse Nine, he didn't leave anything of them behind, and if it weren't for the fact that he had Bonesaw in custody who confirmed what he had done and plenty of witnesses to him killing the Siberian, he'd probably still be fighting for those bounties."
"So if we need proof…" Laura trails off, and you look at her strangely. She waves you off. "Don't worry about it. Something from history class came to mind."
"Killing the Fallen reminded you of history class?" you can not help but ask.
"Not the Fallen themselves, but yeah." Seeing four pairs of eyes staring at her, she shrugs and says, "We were talking about the Romans, I think? Anyway, what was going on was…"
Laura keeps talking about what people did in ancient times, and about halfway through you turn to stare in horror at Kayleigh, who is looking right back at you with a similar expression. There is no way we're doing that.
"You know," Missy says in a thoughtful tone, "that would totally work. It'd be hard to argue with, too."
"You really think we should do… that?" you ask her.
She wiggles her hands like weighing on a set of scales. "It isn't the weirdest thing I've ever heard of heroes doing, and it would definitely give us a solid reputation outside of Philadelphia. On the other hand, it's the kind of thing that would give Chambers a heart attack if he ever heard of a Ward being part of it—"
Missy stops mid-sentence and stares into space with widening eyes. When she does not snap out of it on her own, Samantha clears her throat and asks, "Who is Chambers?"
"Glenn Chambers. He's the head of Marketing for the Protectorate as a whole. He's the one who came up with a lot of the stupid rules we had to follow about how heroes were supposed to be seen by the general public." Her expression turns into something wicked, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "He'll be beside himself when he hears about this, and as far as I'm concerned, that's reason enough to do it."
You look over at Samantha, who shrugs, and then Laura. "If she's sure it's going to work, maybe?" the blue-haired knight says weakly.
A resigned sigh, and you ignite your scythe.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Orange light deposits the five of you in front of the PRT office in Kansas City. It lies within a squat building, four stories tall and made out of dull grey stone. You can see a stream of people coming in and out, many of whom have stopped to stare at the group of girls in full costume who just appeared. Squaring your shoulders, you start walking towards the door with long strides. «Look alive, girls. This might be the last chance we have to make a positive impression on people.»
«You worry too much,» Missy replies. «Everything will be just fine.»
A telekinetic push throws the doors open in front of you, and your heels clack against the tile floor once you cross the threshold. There is one desk, right in the middle of the room, so that is where you go. The three agents stationed there all move their hands to their hips. You are not sure if that is because of your sudden entrance, your obvious status as capes, or the fact that Missy is the only one who does not have a weapon in plain view. If only they knew the truth.
One of them, apparently the most senior based on the amount of grey hair peaking through the red, steps forward to the edge of the desk and orders in a stern voice, "State your business here."
That is a super polite greeting that is sure to make friends, you think sarcastically. "We are here to claim some bounties."
Something in his face relaxes now that he is back on familiar ground. He sits down in a chair and types on a keyboard, his eyes no longer on you but on the computer screen that you now see is built into the desk. "And what villain's bounty are you claiming?"
"The Simurgh branch of the Fallen."
The quiet whispers that had followed your team into the room die into silence, and the agent looks back up at you with doubt painted across his features. "Which members of that branch did you kill?"
"All of them. At least, all of them that were possibly there," you immediately add. "There are several that we're sure were there, but with the way we killed them, there isn't much in the way of evidence. We brought all we could."
"Uh huh," he says, his doubt somehow even more obvious. "Show me. Put it right here, on the desk."
You open your mouth to reply and close it to look over at all the random people in the lobby. And oh, how wonderful, there looks to be a group of kids from one of the local elementary schools around as well. That is just perfect. "We're a little hesitant to produce them right here and now. Maybe somewhere with a little more… privacy?"
"Girl, you aren't the first con man who's come in claiming to be a cape who's killed one of the Fallen. Not the first con cape, either. I've seen good men die against just some of the Fallen, and you want to claim you killed an entire group of them? If you have proof, you can show me right here," the man said with a sneer.
"Think about where we are," you caution him. "This isn't something you want the regular public to see, I don't think."
"I don't want a bunch of no-name capes wandering around in the PRT office, either. Put your 'proof' on the desk."
You open your mouth to argue, but he taps the fake wood. "Put. It. Here," he whispers.
Letting out a quiet sigh, you can already see any chance of a positive debut swirling down the drain. "You heard him, girls," you tell the group. "Let's give him our proof."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kayleigh asks.
"No, but it looks like we won't get any better a reception." You wave for the others to flank you on either side. Your position does not give the other two agents any further peace of mind. "Unseal on three. One, two… three."
Five flashes of light, and when the afterimages fade you hear the visitors all gasp in shock and horror. Several of them pull out their cell phones, guaranteeing that this is going up on PHO. The agent sitting at the desk can only stare wordlessly at the evidence sitting eye-level with him.
Said evidence in this case being a row of seventeen severed heads, their masks still affixed to their faces but stained with dried blood and ash.
'You wanted proof, you got it' you want to say, but that would not paint you in any better light. You have done enough damage to your group's reputation as is already. "One of us will be back tomorrow to get the bounty money. That should give you time to show this to your superiors." Moving your attention to the rest of the team, you tell them, «Let's go. Samantha can come back tomorrow, I guess.»
«We're just walking away? After everything we just did?» Laura all but demands.
«We are walking away because staying will just make a bigger scene. A bigger scene will get us more negative attention and possibly cause problems if they call for help from the Protectorate, assuming that we're villains. If one of us comes back tomorrow, after they have a chance to process what we've done and come up with an appropriate response, then we avoid an unnecessary fight.»
«Makes sense,» Kayleigh cuts in, «but won't it put Samantha in danger to come by herself? What if they do decide we're the bad guys and attack her when she returns?»
You are sure you are not the only one who can feel the smug radiating off your Guardian Beast. «Out of all of us, I'm the one who can best fight off a bunch of heroes by myself. I'm happy you're worried about me, but Taylor's right. I am the best choice.»
"W-Wait!" the desk agent calls out. You look back to find him on his feet, one hand pointed at you and the other at the heads you are leaving behind. "What— Who are you?!"
You take a breath in and let it out. As first impressions go, this one is pretty awful, but maybe you can still salvage something from it. "We are the Arcana," you tell him in a strong voice that rings through the lobby. "The cards of fate. We're what's waiting for people like that."
Your own pointing finger shows just who you refer to with such disgust.
Flashing from some of the phones catches your attention, and you whip around praying desperately that your mask hides the blush staining your cheeks. Part of you wants to remind him that you will be back, just to make it look like you are not running away, but the larger common sense part of you insists that would be a bad idea and too close to a villainous monologue for your tastes. Instead you give Perfect Storm a prompt for the code for Spatial Translocation.
And then the five of you are gone.
You know what goes well with severed heads? Miracle on 34th Street references! This is why I recommended going with an edgy name because just WTF.
This time you actually got into a fight, so the other girls each get 1 XP for this and Taylor gets a spell point. And I'm going to try something different, mostly because Taylor has so few spells left to learn.
[ ] Sabotage Shift – Create dozens of bullets surrounding you and fire them in all directions.
[ ] Singularity – Create a gravity well to pull enemies into a single spot for easy shooting.
[ ] Barrage – Upgrade for Rust Shooter. Fire four bullets at one time.
[ ] Bind Mine – Lay a trap that, when disturbed, encases the target in a magic block that prevents escape.
[ ] Vampiric Ray – Forcibly drain another's mana to partially refill your Linker Core. If target is not a mage, they are left permanently weakened and somewhat more frail.
[ ] Lion's Pelt – Coat yourself in an additional defensive forcefield three times as strong as your Knight Armor for a short time.
[ ] Convert your spell point into 1 XP
-[ ] for Missy
-[ ] for Laura
-[ ] for Kayleigh
-[ ] for Lacey
-[ ] for Maclibuin
