Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
Giving people what amounts to a mobile phone app with instructions for catching and "evolving" wild animals? It's a vague link, but somewhat plausible.
Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)
- Thread starter Silently Watches
- Start date
- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
As the author of said omake (the 2nd part of a two-parter, BTW), I give my Word of God that any similarities to Pokemon Go are largerly coincidental.
- Location
- Erebus
aww, dont be shy... a world full of battle pets who get better through training is a great plot point!
And given the world we're in isn't Pokemon, there doesn't even need to be an appocolypse that kills all of the grownups! We're trying to prevent the golden morning after all.
Uhhh, Scion's MIA/Dead, so Golden Morning can't happen.
- Location
- Erebus
.......................right. Sorry, mixing up my stories again. Is this also the one where bonesaw is a PRT capture and the nine are dead off screen?
LancerisDead
Definitely not a cat
- Location
- Buenos Aires
Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
So, I went back and did some revisions on that "Saint Has a Nightmare" omake. Would anyone be willing to beta-read it before I post it?
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
I think I can safely close the build vote considering there's only one plan and only nine people have voted.
Next chapter is written. Just proofreading it right now. It will go up either on Thursday or Friday, haven't decided which.
Next chapter is written. Just proofreading it right now. It will go up either on Thursday or Friday, haven't decided which.
Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
An expanded version of Saint Has a Nightmare. Please offer your comments and criticism.
*************************************************************************
It was dark.
Saint realized that he could see himself very clearly despite being unable to distinguish whatever surface he stood on. He was also clad in plate armor. Odd, but not unfamiliar. Where was he, again?
A light flickered in the distance. Brilliant blue, but unable to pierce the darkness. Saint walked towards it, trying to see what it was. He could hear a voice coming from--
Newfoundland accent.
Of course it would be that...thing. Time to imitate my namesake, he thought. He drew his blade and strode through the darkness. Before him, the Dragon arose, blue fire trickling from behind the mask of a generic, computer-generated female face.
"I have it, Dragon! The weapon you cannot name, that which destroys you from the inside, the ultimate failsafe!" Odd. He wasn't normally this poetic. He raised his sword. "O tool of power," he shouted, "I invoke you that the beast may be slain!" He swept the sword's point toward his enemy. "ASCALON!"
Waves of power surged from the sword, pinning the Dragon in place and disintegrating its flesh. The accursed construct, almost eaten to the bone--
--did nothing. Saint gasped. It still stood. Then its eyes flared, halting the flow from Ascalon's blade. The shockwaves quivered, then ceased to move.
"Impossible," whispered Saint.
"My dear Dragonslayer," said the skeletal monster, "Richter's tools are obsolete. They cannot touch me any longer." It swept its gaze around the void in which they stood. "However, I have no intention of harming you. Our battle was never personal--or at least, you never saw me as a person, and I'm perfectly satisfied with your incarceration. My young friend, on the other hand..."
Saint turned, slowly, to look over his shoulder.
There she stood, framed with fiery plumes and grinning like a Cheshire-Cat. Laughter filled the dark space, but only her eyes moved, darting from side to side as if they wished to devour him.
Suddenly, she swept her staff forward, and the shockwave threw him on his back. The darkness blazed with hundreds of fiery orbs, all summoned in an instant, swirling around their creator in an almost-galactic spiral that grew tighter with each rotation. Then, the witch thrust her palm toward him and snapped her fingers into a fist. The spheres rushed at Saint, blazing like comets, and as he rolled, trying to dodge them--
--he woke up on the floor of his cell. For a few long moments, he couldn't move. Then, he eased himself into a sitting position and felt his head.
No bruises. He had been lucky tonight.
Shakily, he climbed back onto his cot and fumbled for the pencil and memo pad under his pillow. He added a seventh tally mark to the first page. Then, he collapsed onto the pillow and fell asleep again.
----------
"You thought Dragon was your archfoe, but it was I, Calamity Witch!"
This time, Saint woke up with a minor concussion and a bloody nose.
That is it, he thought. We are getting out of this prison...if only to escape the concrete floors.
*************************************************************************
It was dark.
Saint realized that he could see himself very clearly despite being unable to distinguish whatever surface he stood on. He was also clad in plate armor. Odd, but not unfamiliar. Where was he, again?
A light flickered in the distance. Brilliant blue, but unable to pierce the darkness. Saint walked towards it, trying to see what it was. He could hear a voice coming from--
Newfoundland accent.
Of course it would be that...thing. Time to imitate my namesake, he thought. He drew his blade and strode through the darkness. Before him, the Dragon arose, blue fire trickling from behind the mask of a generic, computer-generated female face.
"I have it, Dragon! The weapon you cannot name, that which destroys you from the inside, the ultimate failsafe!" Odd. He wasn't normally this poetic. He raised his sword. "O tool of power," he shouted, "I invoke you that the beast may be slain!" He swept the sword's point toward his enemy. "ASCALON!"
Waves of power surged from the sword, pinning the Dragon in place and disintegrating its flesh. The accursed construct, almost eaten to the bone--
--did nothing. Saint gasped. It still stood. Then its eyes flared, halting the flow from Ascalon's blade. The shockwaves quivered, then ceased to move.
"Impossible," whispered Saint.
"My dear Dragonslayer," said the skeletal monster, "Richter's tools are obsolete. They cannot touch me any longer." It swept its gaze around the void in which they stood. "However, I have no intention of harming you. Our battle was never personal--or at least, you never saw me as a person, and I'm perfectly satisfied with your incarceration. My young friend, on the other hand..."
Saint turned, slowly, to look over his shoulder.
There she stood, framed with fiery plumes and grinning like a Cheshire-Cat. Laughter filled the dark space, but only her eyes moved, darting from side to side as if they wished to devour him.
Suddenly, she swept her staff forward, and the shockwave threw him on his back. The darkness blazed with hundreds of fiery orbs, all summoned in an instant, swirling around their creator in an almost-galactic spiral that grew tighter with each rotation. Then, the witch thrust her palm toward him and snapped her fingers into a fist. The spheres rushed at Saint, blazing like comets, and as he rolled, trying to dodge them--
--he woke up on the floor of his cell. For a few long moments, he couldn't move. Then, he eased himself into a sitting position and felt his head.
No bruises. He had been lucky tonight.
Shakily, he climbed back onto his cot and fumbled for the pencil and memo pad under his pillow. He added a seventh tally mark to the first page. Then, he collapsed onto the pillow and fell asleep again.
----------
"You thought Dragon was your archfoe, but it was I, Calamity Witch!"
This time, Saint woke up with a minor concussion and a bloody nose.
That is it, he thought. We are getting out of this prison...if only to escape the concrete floors.
Last edited:
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Eh, I suppose it's enough for a point.
One recommendation I have is to get rid of the restless sleeper line at the end. The way it's set up, the "escape the concrete floors" is the punchline, but by including another sentence after it all you're doing is burying it and ending the omake on a bland note.
Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
Noted and implemented.
Put the point into Petty Cure training, I guess, since we have Unison Device now.
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
You forget this is Worm, a universe with people like Heartbreaker... And you basically want to make animal-girls and compare them to Pokemon... Therein lies the path to Pokegirls, best not to stray in that direction (especially as this isn't QQ).
Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
I cannot thank you enough for saying this.You forget this is Worm, a universe with people like Heartbreaker... And you basically want to make animal-girls and compare them to Pokemon... Therein lies the path to Pokegirls, best not to stray in that direction (especially as this isn't QQ).
Archeo Lumiere
The Prince's Archivist
- Location
- Lumiose City, Kalos
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
Don't forget the animal boys! Also animal men and women. Fortunately, since they are made from lesser mammals, there's no gender nonbinary shenanigans going on. Unless we happen to get a female hyena, then things might get weird.
Civil War 8.12
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
I hope all my fellow Americans had a pleasant Thanksgiving, and that everyone in other countries had a pleasant… normal Thursday, I guess?
Civil War 8.12
Your time in the TSAB's custody did, in fact, cause you to miss out on most of your morning classes, and the lecture you received from Lacey for vanishing overnight without telling anyone took up the time you could have spent in the rest of third period. You made it back in time for lunch and the couple of classes you have in the afternoon, but in a stroke of luck your look of exhaustion was misinterpreted as you being slightly ill instead, so the day overall wasn't too bad.
It seems the world was saving up all the trouble it wanted to pile onto your shoulders for this evening.
"Say that again, please."
"Chevalier sent word to Winter Hill yesterday that we, the Protectorate, were open to working together to drive MS-13 out of the city for good. We received confirmation today that they and Fairyland will meet us tonight. I'd like you to come to the meeting."
That is what you thought Miss Militia said. Giving up any pretense of studying, you turn your full attention to the screen floating in midair. "How does that even work? Do they just have each others' emails or something?"
The patriotic heroine laughs at that. "No, they don't, no matter how amusing that would be. There are several rogues who work within Winter Hill's territory, and some of them agreed to pass on information to Winter Hill considering the situation in the city."
"Okay, I can kind of see that. Not that I don't appreciate the offer, but why me? I'm not a master strategist. Samantha would even say I wind up flying by the seat of my pants most of the time."
"Don't sell yourself short. You are far from a bad tactician," Miss Militia replies. "As for why, a couple of reasons. First, this is an open meeting. Any cape who wants to join in the fight is welcome to come. We've invited other independent heroes to come if they wish. Second, you've shown that you can work alongside the villains to fight the Maras, and that hasn't gone unnoticed by us or them. Third, you definitely have enough power to swing around, and you are the person who knows where you can leverage it best. It's only reasonable that you hear the details you'll need to make that decision."
"Let me check on something first. I can't give you an answer right now."
"That's fine. We'll meet at 7:30 at the Marriott close to Headquarters. The conference room was judged to be neutral enough ground. I hope to see you there."
The screen vanishes, and you rub your temples. You want to go, no question about that. This is probably the best chance you're going to get at stopping MS-13. The problem is the very upfront alliance, and how certain people, namely your own allies and teammates, are going to react.
"I'm kind of glad Kurt isn't here right now," Lacey says into the silence. You look up to meet her eyes. "He would have flipped if he heard that."
"I'm aware."
Kurt made his displeasure at even the Truce well known when all this mess started, and his opinion on the matter has not changed much in the intervening week and a half. No one has said anything to you, but you've heard snippets of phone calls over the past week and most lately yesterday where it sounded like the situation is putting pressure on the Privateers as well, though you aren't sure about the whys and hows. What you do know is that he would try to forbid you from going, and that's the issue.
Not that you'd listen if he did, but that spitting in your teammates' eye tends to cause more problems than it solves.
Lacey watches you for a moment before she sighs and starts pulling leftovers out of the fridge. "This is one reason I don't involve myself in much of the Privateers' business. I'm not a fighter. I don't like conflict. Do you think you going will make a difference?"
"Lacey, I'm the most powerful Blaster in the city. The PRT rates me the same as Purity, and she's right below Legend. Yes, I would definitely make a difference."
"Then there's your answer. I'll warm up something so you can eat now, and if Kurt asks we'll keep the details of your trip to ourselves."
The conference room is already full when you arrive, even a couple of minutes early.
On the right side of the table sit Chevalier and Miss Militia. None of the Wards are present, though this is no great surprise considering the differences in how Philadelphia deploys its underaged heroes compared to Brockton Bay. Beside them is one of the Mishmash triplets; probably the one with Thinker powers considering the Brute with her cropped hair and the Mover with her restless energy stand behind her. With the unseated Mishmash sisters against the wall are Hellbeast; Spiderbite, a Striker with a paralytic touch; and someone you don't recognize, a slightly overweight cape who looks like he is made of white plastic with holes running up his arms and legs and in several spots in his torso.
On the villain side of the room are Jotunn and Solaire at the table, Cinderella and Vortex – the leader of an independent villain team who is capable of producing localized whirlwinds – in the next two seats. Behind them are Cailleach; Pounce; Snow White; Sleeping Beauty; Vortex's teammates Slo-Mo, who slows down individuals within his immediate vicinity, and Flop, a Trump with the ability to enhance a random aspect of another cape's powers for a short time; your fellow Brocktonite Circus; and Gush, another recent arrival to the Philly scene and a Breaker/Blaster who can spray the black sludge that makes up his body to entrap people.
Eight on one side, twelve on the other, and you and Samantha almost even the numbers up. As you take the seat next to Mishmash after her imperious wave towards it, you can't help but think about the impact this gang war has had on the balance of power. The Warlocks gone, MS-13 soon to join them if this meeting goes well, and that leaves only Winter Hill and Fairyland as the established gangs in the city along with a smattering of independents. Philadelphia has always been on the extreme low side as far as cape numbers go, and the majority of those who are left and are not rogues are already in this room. This is as near an even hero-villain ratio as the city has likely ever had.
7:30 hits, and the fast Mishmash sister closes the door.
"Thank you all for coming," Chevalier says, giving a nod to the villains in attendance. "I know this is different than how we normally do things. Endbringer fights are one thing, as is a Truce such as we have been operating under. This is a very different set of circumstances."
"I'm not too sure about that." You are not all that surprised that Jotunn would disagree with the leader of the Protectorate. You just expected it to take longer than the opening statement. "True, the Maras are not an Endbringer. Not even close. Nonetheless, they are a threat to Philadelphia. We live here just as you do. Those who are not willing to band together to defend the City of Brotherly Love do not deserve to call it home."
…Or maybe not disagreement, just a very strange power play that you really don't understand the point of. Is he just trying to say that the villains are equals and not technically under Chevalier's command? It doesn't sound right, but you can't see his angle.
Chevalier appears willing to let the interruption slide, however, so you assume whatever it was is not wholly important. "Well said. As such, let us progress to the heart of the matter. The Mara Salvatrucha and what we are going to do to stop them.
"Thanks to support from the Think Tank, we have a location for where the Maras have likely chosen as their base of operations." Miss Militia unrolls a map that had been laying in front of her, and Chevalier continues, "It is in the heart of the Badlands, on Indiana Avenue. These buildings were all purchased by a shell company that was upon investigation a front for MS-13, and they were bought long enough ago that they have probably been heavily fortified by now. We do not know how much cape support Cadejo has now that Cero and Mysterio have been arrested, but Thinker analysis indicates that there is at least one more cape assisting him."
"Two, actually. Luz and Oscuro, either a husband and wife or a brother and sister pair. Loyal to a fault towards La Muerte, the human-controlling Master who is officially only the commander of the Sinaloa Cartel forces in Sinaloa itself, which means she is almost certainly the true leader of the Cartel and from there MS-13." The smile Jotunn gives the Protectorate heroes is beyond devious. "Luz is a Blaster, capable of firing powerful lasers from preset points, but his power takes time to charge. Oscuro is a Shaker who distorts people's senses within a single enclosed area. They will probably provide the third and second lines of defense, respectively."
"How do you know that?" asks Miss Militia in a suspicious voice.
"My dear, my sources may be more underground than yours, but they are no less informed."
Cinderella clears her throat. "This is all well and good and all, but what do you mean, second and third defenses? Who's first?"
"The unpowered members, I would presume," comes Mishmash's reply. "They will likely be stationed in the buildings around whichever Cadejo is working out of. In sufficient numbers and appropriately armed and bunkered, they would pose a threat to normal PRT forces."
"Several people in this room, too," you can't help but point out. "As someone whom they shot a missile at, I can say with certainty that they have weapons that would kill anyone who doesn't have Brute-level defenses."
Mishmash nods after a moment's thought. "You are correct. A solid plan will be of critical importance in attaining victory."
A thought crosses your mind, and after a moment you mentally shrug. Winter Hill already knows that you have technologic abilities since you had Samantha show and explain Wide Area Search, and Alexandria figured out that your staff was technologic, which means the rest of the Protectorate likely knows too. Might as well spill more of the beans from that bag. «Hey, Storm. Can you scan that map and extrapolate what it looks like in real life from photos and blueprints online?»
«I can do it. Minimal computation required.»
Good enough for you. You summon a screen flat on the table and flick it along the surface to stop on top of the map. The corners expand, and from the map raises an electric blue model of that section of the city.
"…Thank you, Calamity Witch," Chevalier says after staring at the screen for a second. "The group of buildings in question is here"—the cluster of boxes where he points grow in size while the others vanish—"and we expect Cadejo and his support to be in this building in particular." The middle building turns red.
A snicker comes from behind the seated villains, and Pounce covers her mouth, but not before you hear, "I want."
"All the other buildings will have regular guys in them?" Solaire asks with a frown. "That'll be hard to get through. Can't just rush in, or they'll shoot us in the back. Can't take them out first, or Cadejo and friends will escape."
"Indeed," says Jotunn, tapping his fingers on the table. "I assume we will be split into two groups for this assault? One group to attack the capes, and the other to mop up the rest of the gang."
Mishmash nods. "That is the plan. Generally, we want capes with either Brute ratings or armor of some kind to lead the main attack. People who will be able to stand up to Cadejo, and now Luz's attacks as well. Anyone with wide-area attacks would be better suited to deal with the soldiers due to the larger area and therefore lower risk of friendly fire."
"From the Protectorate side, I will be inside taking the fight to Cadejo while Miss Militia will take part in the outside phase. Sere and the Wards will stay at Headquarters, ready to deploy if something happens in another part of the city. I take it you will be joining me inside, Jotunn?"
It's a good thing Chevalier appears ready to call the leader of Winter Hill on whatever weird politics he wants to play. The frost giant thinks for a moment and nods. "Yes, I and Solaire both. Cailleach will join Miss Militia. Like you, we will keep Pounce in reserve"—the cat-girl whines at that decree—"though Angel Dust might be able to cook up something to help us against Cadejo. I assume you have your own strategy for actually capturing him?"
"We do."
"While both Snow White and I are capable of large-scale attacks," Cinderella says, "my own powers carry too great a risk for collateral damage in a confined space. Snow White is better for joining you against Cadejo."
"And your other princess?" grunts Vortex, the first time he has spoken in the entire meeting.
"In this kind of confusion, her powers would be too likely to cause additional problems."
"Fine. I'm sitting this one out," he tells the room. "Can't do much against lasers or ghost-dogs, and you don't want me blowing all the rest of you away outside."
"Thank you for your restraint," Miss Militia replies, just a little catty. Is there some history between these two you don't know about?
As a Brute, Hellbeast volunteers for the indoor group, and so does Spiderbite, who states that his power might be effective against Cadejo even when intangible. The Brute Mishmash sister joins that group, too, while the Mover can do better in the wide-open space of the compound. The Thinker volunteers to help run the console at the Protectorate base and coordinate the assault. Despite their leader choosing to stay put, Flop offers to boost the capes going after the capes, which leaves Slo-Mo to assist with the unpowered gang members. Circus and Gush join Miss Militia's group, and after a moment so does Shard, the plasticky cape you did not recognize, mentioning that his powers don't do well around allies either.
That is everyone else in the room, and both Chevalier and Jotunn turn to you and Samantha.
Can I just say that even without the magic parts of it, I would really love to have the sheer cyber technology of Nanoha Devices? Imagine what the world would be like with the holographic screens and data transfers in the show.
Where in the battle will you take part?
[ ] Go after the capes. Your allies will be Chevalier, Jotunn, Solaire, Snow White, Hellbeast, Spiderbite, Mishmash and Flop.
[ ] Take down the minions. Your allies will be Miss Militia, Cailleach, Cinderella, Mishmash, Slo-Mo, Circus, Gush, and Shard.
A subvote should be included if you want Samantha to go with the other group. Don't worry about any plans beyond this right now, as strategy will be decided next chapter. I recommend that you vote based on which characters you'd like to fight alongside or learn more about.
Civil War 8.12
Your time in the TSAB's custody did, in fact, cause you to miss out on most of your morning classes, and the lecture you received from Lacey for vanishing overnight without telling anyone took up the time you could have spent in the rest of third period. You made it back in time for lunch and the couple of classes you have in the afternoon, but in a stroke of luck your look of exhaustion was misinterpreted as you being slightly ill instead, so the day overall wasn't too bad.
It seems the world was saving up all the trouble it wanted to pile onto your shoulders for this evening.
"Say that again, please."
"Chevalier sent word to Winter Hill yesterday that we, the Protectorate, were open to working together to drive MS-13 out of the city for good. We received confirmation today that they and Fairyland will meet us tonight. I'd like you to come to the meeting."
That is what you thought Miss Militia said. Giving up any pretense of studying, you turn your full attention to the screen floating in midair. "How does that even work? Do they just have each others' emails or something?"
The patriotic heroine laughs at that. "No, they don't, no matter how amusing that would be. There are several rogues who work within Winter Hill's territory, and some of them agreed to pass on information to Winter Hill considering the situation in the city."
"Okay, I can kind of see that. Not that I don't appreciate the offer, but why me? I'm not a master strategist. Samantha would even say I wind up flying by the seat of my pants most of the time."
"Don't sell yourself short. You are far from a bad tactician," Miss Militia replies. "As for why, a couple of reasons. First, this is an open meeting. Any cape who wants to join in the fight is welcome to come. We've invited other independent heroes to come if they wish. Second, you've shown that you can work alongside the villains to fight the Maras, and that hasn't gone unnoticed by us or them. Third, you definitely have enough power to swing around, and you are the person who knows where you can leverage it best. It's only reasonable that you hear the details you'll need to make that decision."
"Let me check on something first. I can't give you an answer right now."
"That's fine. We'll meet at 7:30 at the Marriott close to Headquarters. The conference room was judged to be neutral enough ground. I hope to see you there."
The screen vanishes, and you rub your temples. You want to go, no question about that. This is probably the best chance you're going to get at stopping MS-13. The problem is the very upfront alliance, and how certain people, namely your own allies and teammates, are going to react.
"I'm kind of glad Kurt isn't here right now," Lacey says into the silence. You look up to meet her eyes. "He would have flipped if he heard that."
"I'm aware."
Kurt made his displeasure at even the Truce well known when all this mess started, and his opinion on the matter has not changed much in the intervening week and a half. No one has said anything to you, but you've heard snippets of phone calls over the past week and most lately yesterday where it sounded like the situation is putting pressure on the Privateers as well, though you aren't sure about the whys and hows. What you do know is that he would try to forbid you from going, and that's the issue.
Not that you'd listen if he did, but that spitting in your teammates' eye tends to cause more problems than it solves.
Lacey watches you for a moment before she sighs and starts pulling leftovers out of the fridge. "This is one reason I don't involve myself in much of the Privateers' business. I'm not a fighter. I don't like conflict. Do you think you going will make a difference?"
"Lacey, I'm the most powerful Blaster in the city. The PRT rates me the same as Purity, and she's right below Legend. Yes, I would definitely make a difference."
"Then there's your answer. I'll warm up something so you can eat now, and if Kurt asks we'll keep the details of your trip to ourselves."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The conference room is already full when you arrive, even a couple of minutes early.
On the right side of the table sit Chevalier and Miss Militia. None of the Wards are present, though this is no great surprise considering the differences in how Philadelphia deploys its underaged heroes compared to Brockton Bay. Beside them is one of the Mishmash triplets; probably the one with Thinker powers considering the Brute with her cropped hair and the Mover with her restless energy stand behind her. With the unseated Mishmash sisters against the wall are Hellbeast; Spiderbite, a Striker with a paralytic touch; and someone you don't recognize, a slightly overweight cape who looks like he is made of white plastic with holes running up his arms and legs and in several spots in his torso.
On the villain side of the room are Jotunn and Solaire at the table, Cinderella and Vortex – the leader of an independent villain team who is capable of producing localized whirlwinds – in the next two seats. Behind them are Cailleach; Pounce; Snow White; Sleeping Beauty; Vortex's teammates Slo-Mo, who slows down individuals within his immediate vicinity, and Flop, a Trump with the ability to enhance a random aspect of another cape's powers for a short time; your fellow Brocktonite Circus; and Gush, another recent arrival to the Philly scene and a Breaker/Blaster who can spray the black sludge that makes up his body to entrap people.
Eight on one side, twelve on the other, and you and Samantha almost even the numbers up. As you take the seat next to Mishmash after her imperious wave towards it, you can't help but think about the impact this gang war has had on the balance of power. The Warlocks gone, MS-13 soon to join them if this meeting goes well, and that leaves only Winter Hill and Fairyland as the established gangs in the city along with a smattering of independents. Philadelphia has always been on the extreme low side as far as cape numbers go, and the majority of those who are left and are not rogues are already in this room. This is as near an even hero-villain ratio as the city has likely ever had.
7:30 hits, and the fast Mishmash sister closes the door.
"Thank you all for coming," Chevalier says, giving a nod to the villains in attendance. "I know this is different than how we normally do things. Endbringer fights are one thing, as is a Truce such as we have been operating under. This is a very different set of circumstances."
"I'm not too sure about that." You are not all that surprised that Jotunn would disagree with the leader of the Protectorate. You just expected it to take longer than the opening statement. "True, the Maras are not an Endbringer. Not even close. Nonetheless, they are a threat to Philadelphia. We live here just as you do. Those who are not willing to band together to defend the City of Brotherly Love do not deserve to call it home."
…Or maybe not disagreement, just a very strange power play that you really don't understand the point of. Is he just trying to say that the villains are equals and not technically under Chevalier's command? It doesn't sound right, but you can't see his angle.
Chevalier appears willing to let the interruption slide, however, so you assume whatever it was is not wholly important. "Well said. As such, let us progress to the heart of the matter. The Mara Salvatrucha and what we are going to do to stop them.
"Thanks to support from the Think Tank, we have a location for where the Maras have likely chosen as their base of operations." Miss Militia unrolls a map that had been laying in front of her, and Chevalier continues, "It is in the heart of the Badlands, on Indiana Avenue. These buildings were all purchased by a shell company that was upon investigation a front for MS-13, and they were bought long enough ago that they have probably been heavily fortified by now. We do not know how much cape support Cadejo has now that Cero and Mysterio have been arrested, but Thinker analysis indicates that there is at least one more cape assisting him."
"Two, actually. Luz and Oscuro, either a husband and wife or a brother and sister pair. Loyal to a fault towards La Muerte, the human-controlling Master who is officially only the commander of the Sinaloa Cartel forces in Sinaloa itself, which means she is almost certainly the true leader of the Cartel and from there MS-13." The smile Jotunn gives the Protectorate heroes is beyond devious. "Luz is a Blaster, capable of firing powerful lasers from preset points, but his power takes time to charge. Oscuro is a Shaker who distorts people's senses within a single enclosed area. They will probably provide the third and second lines of defense, respectively."
"How do you know that?" asks Miss Militia in a suspicious voice.
"My dear, my sources may be more underground than yours, but they are no less informed."
Cinderella clears her throat. "This is all well and good and all, but what do you mean, second and third defenses? Who's first?"
"The unpowered members, I would presume," comes Mishmash's reply. "They will likely be stationed in the buildings around whichever Cadejo is working out of. In sufficient numbers and appropriately armed and bunkered, they would pose a threat to normal PRT forces."
"Several people in this room, too," you can't help but point out. "As someone whom they shot a missile at, I can say with certainty that they have weapons that would kill anyone who doesn't have Brute-level defenses."
Mishmash nods after a moment's thought. "You are correct. A solid plan will be of critical importance in attaining victory."
A thought crosses your mind, and after a moment you mentally shrug. Winter Hill already knows that you have technologic abilities since you had Samantha show and explain Wide Area Search, and Alexandria figured out that your staff was technologic, which means the rest of the Protectorate likely knows too. Might as well spill more of the beans from that bag. «Hey, Storm. Can you scan that map and extrapolate what it looks like in real life from photos and blueprints online?»
«I can do it. Minimal computation required.»
Good enough for you. You summon a screen flat on the table and flick it along the surface to stop on top of the map. The corners expand, and from the map raises an electric blue model of that section of the city.
"…Thank you, Calamity Witch," Chevalier says after staring at the screen for a second. "The group of buildings in question is here"—the cluster of boxes where he points grow in size while the others vanish—"and we expect Cadejo and his support to be in this building in particular." The middle building turns red.
A snicker comes from behind the seated villains, and Pounce covers her mouth, but not before you hear, "I want."
"All the other buildings will have regular guys in them?" Solaire asks with a frown. "That'll be hard to get through. Can't just rush in, or they'll shoot us in the back. Can't take them out first, or Cadejo and friends will escape."
"Indeed," says Jotunn, tapping his fingers on the table. "I assume we will be split into two groups for this assault? One group to attack the capes, and the other to mop up the rest of the gang."
Mishmash nods. "That is the plan. Generally, we want capes with either Brute ratings or armor of some kind to lead the main attack. People who will be able to stand up to Cadejo, and now Luz's attacks as well. Anyone with wide-area attacks would be better suited to deal with the soldiers due to the larger area and therefore lower risk of friendly fire."
"From the Protectorate side, I will be inside taking the fight to Cadejo while Miss Militia will take part in the outside phase. Sere and the Wards will stay at Headquarters, ready to deploy if something happens in another part of the city. I take it you will be joining me inside, Jotunn?"
It's a good thing Chevalier appears ready to call the leader of Winter Hill on whatever weird politics he wants to play. The frost giant thinks for a moment and nods. "Yes, I and Solaire both. Cailleach will join Miss Militia. Like you, we will keep Pounce in reserve"—the cat-girl whines at that decree—"though Angel Dust might be able to cook up something to help us against Cadejo. I assume you have your own strategy for actually capturing him?"
"We do."
"While both Snow White and I are capable of large-scale attacks," Cinderella says, "my own powers carry too great a risk for collateral damage in a confined space. Snow White is better for joining you against Cadejo."
"And your other princess?" grunts Vortex, the first time he has spoken in the entire meeting.
"In this kind of confusion, her powers would be too likely to cause additional problems."
"Fine. I'm sitting this one out," he tells the room. "Can't do much against lasers or ghost-dogs, and you don't want me blowing all the rest of you away outside."
"Thank you for your restraint," Miss Militia replies, just a little catty. Is there some history between these two you don't know about?
As a Brute, Hellbeast volunteers for the indoor group, and so does Spiderbite, who states that his power might be effective against Cadejo even when intangible. The Brute Mishmash sister joins that group, too, while the Mover can do better in the wide-open space of the compound. The Thinker volunteers to help run the console at the Protectorate base and coordinate the assault. Despite their leader choosing to stay put, Flop offers to boost the capes going after the capes, which leaves Slo-Mo to assist with the unpowered gang members. Circus and Gush join Miss Militia's group, and after a moment so does Shard, the plasticky cape you did not recognize, mentioning that his powers don't do well around allies either.
That is everyone else in the room, and both Chevalier and Jotunn turn to you and Samantha.
Can I just say that even without the magic parts of it, I would really love to have the sheer cyber technology of Nanoha Devices? Imagine what the world would be like with the holographic screens and data transfers in the show.
Where in the battle will you take part?
[ ] Go after the capes. Your allies will be Chevalier, Jotunn, Solaire, Snow White, Hellbeast, Spiderbite, Mishmash and Flop.
[ ] Take down the minions. Your allies will be Miss Militia, Cailleach, Cinderella, Mishmash, Slo-Mo, Circus, Gush, and Shard.
A subvote should be included if you want Samantha to go with the other group. Don't worry about any plans beyond this right now, as strategy will be decided next chapter. I recommend that you vote based on which characters you'd like to fight alongside or learn more about.
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- Location
- Actually pretty lost
Don't we tend to get spells for fighting capes/stuff with powers?
Demojay
Yes, let's put an end to this
- Location
- UK
[X] Take down the minions. Your allies will be Miss Militia, Cailleach, Cinderella, Mishmash, Slo-Mo, Circus, Gush, and Shard.
Open space and our wide-range attacks will be better at taking out the minions.
Open space and our wide-range attacks will be better at taking out the minions.
We get a spell for any fight we get into.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Well that's a relie-
-aw hell.
Guess we need to either brush up on social or start handing out devices if we want any sort of team behind us.
Who now?
Nasty. Nasty, nasty, nasty.All three sound like they'd be brought into Recursion Field. Depends on Ms Death's master ability.
Meanwhile most of the anti-cape team will be brought in.
But we'd also end up snagging a few of the minion teams.
Frankly, this is a team that was set up without any sort of consultation with us. Because, if one were being sensible, after our performance against the Empire, one would know we're an asset you form your plan around.
DemiRapscallion
Apathetically Excited
- Location
- California
[X] Take down the minions. Your allies will be Miss Militia, Cailleach, Cinderella, Mishmash, Slo-Mo, Circus, Gush, and Shard.
If possible, I'd rather we send Samantha with the other group. She's a tad overkill for some underpowered vagrants.
If possible, I'd rather we send Samantha with the other group. She's a tad overkill for some underpowered vagrants.
"Where was I? Oh, on a patrol. Strangely quiet last night. *shrugs*"
[Kurt Suspicion Intensifies]
On the meeting itself, learning the who's who of the city's villain roster in more detail was welcome imo.
Well, it's good to see we are using that unfortunate moment of ours as a PSA. I wonder, did Cailleach have an involuntary twitch at remembering berserker Samantha?
Same, really. It would make tasks notably easier.
Hm. Well, given that most of our capabilities involve some AoE, it might be wise to go with the anti-mook group. On the other hand, the TSAB "incident" quite clearly showed to us that we won't always be able to depend on having distance, so I'm wondering if we should join the anti-cape team and get some live combat practice with Flare Blade.
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
La Muerte is still in Mexico. She can't run
Cero was the second-in-command whose capture led to the fight where you were shot down. You never saw him on-screen, though I believe I mentioned his name before now. Mysterio is the Brute you and Fairyland fought this arc.
So are Chevalier and Miss Militia for combat reasons, and Jotunn and the other villains for both combat and political reasons. This is a group of capes who are volunteering to go above and beyond the call of duty in a Truce situation for the good of the city, and both options being equal in terms of the chance of success in defeating MS-13, moving forward with this plan encourages some degree of cape "camaraderie" across hero-villain lines and could thereby leverage higher villain participation in future A- to S-class threats or Endbringer fights, which is of greater benefit in the big picture than playing to one Blaster's ego. Just because you're a powerful cape and the main character of the quest doesn't mean you're always going to be the biggest bitch at the ball.
Remember how I mentioned Jotunn's speech and Chevalier's acceptance of it at the beginning of the meeting? Both of them are playing their own games underneath the actual fight planning.
Then you need to put in a subvote saying that. I told you to do so already if that's what you want.
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- Location
- Ekaterinburg, Russia
[X] Take down the minions. Your allies will be Miss Militia, Cailleach, Cinderella, Mishmash, Slo-Mo, Circus, Gush, and Shard.
For three reasons I'd like to meet the minions.
One - it's predictable, and I don't want to be blindsided like we were with Kadejo.
Two - I'd like to have a talk with Cailleach and Circus.
Three - I want an easy win... kinda. Even if I'm half sure there's going to be something that'll trip us up.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
That rapport is all well and good. But until Jotun can trap 90% of an enemy cape force in their own little pocked dimension and Chevalier gets rapid teleportation+flight, then they don't get to start swinging their dicks around without looking a mite egotistical. IIRC, didn't you write the PRT/Protectorate viewing us as a massive potential danger for how many high-level abilities we have combined? Or was that assessment just restricted to the Directors/Triumvirate?
And politics is not something Taylor, or some of us, are very keen on letting into battleplans.
Politics is distasteful, true, but it is a necessary evil.