- Location
- Georgia
Updates are updates. The social stuff can be just as fun to read as the other, so if that's what you need to make things fit, go for it.
Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)
- Thread starter Silently Watches
- Start date
Updates are updates. The social stuff can be just as fun to read as the other, so if that's what you need to make things fit, go for it.
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Yes, patrolling is a viable social eventDoes going on a patrol count as a social event, with the right partner? We need to keep up our hero-ing quota after all!and salvage the good parts of Beach Episode so they don't go to waste
- Location
- Ural, Russia, Earth
Nice to know you're assuming we'll survive this fight.
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
it's stated in the introduction that we don't die if we die, but there are horrible consequences. So... they aren't.
- Location
- Earth, Sol System, Virgo Supercluster, Earth-1218
We're VERY unlikely to die from the Fallen, we're pretty OP vs. most of them, a point blank Solar Wrath or the Flare Blade would kill 90% of capes in one shot, defensively our Barrier Jacket can probably shrug off at least a few hits from 90% of capes. (That said, we wouldn't want to fight them en-mass to try and avoid exposing ourselves to the 10% that can negate / one-shot US)
On the other hand, there's quite a few possible fail conditions that would suck almost as bad as death. (Public outing, accidentally-ing civilians, death of Cassie / Dragon / Missy / Laura / Kayleigh / Sam, or mind control of Missy / Laura / Kayleigh)
On the other hand, there's quite a few possible fail conditions that would suck almost as bad as death. (Public outing, accidentally-ing civilians, death of Cassie / Dragon / Missy / Laura / Kayleigh / Sam, or mind control of Missy / Laura / Kayleigh)
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Overconfidence can lead to nasty surprises. Remember how we were and still are pretty OP to street gang mooks? Didn't stop one from getting the drop on us and hitting us with an anti tank munition that sidelined us for a while.
- Location
- Earth, Sol System, Virgo Supercluster, Earth-1218
Hence the second half of that line "don't ignore the 10% that CAN mess us up"
- Location
- Georgia
That was before we upgraded to Knight armor, and we're already in our barrier jacket. If we weren't using it, then anybody with a knife or gun could kill us before we have a chance to react, though. We have plenty of weaknesses. RPGs just aren't really one of them any more =)
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Ignore this. It is irrelevant to the events of this arc
- Location
- Georgia
Since the one thing we didn't roll for was how successful the Fallen are, I'm really, really glad that these dice are not relevant to the current situation.
I do not share your confidence, frankly. Yeah, sure, we can tank an RPG better now, but no-selling one completely? Lol, no imo.
A foe with RPGs could just do what modern insurgents do when fighting the latest tanks and low flying helicopters with old RPG-7s: concentrate big volleys of them on single targets. We might be able to take one RPG to the face and remain combat effective, but multiple hits might be a different story.
Katsuragi
The 1%
A protagonist who can't / is unlikely to die just means losing changes gears.
Like, you read a story and you generally don't expect the MC to die. If they're unlikely to even be seriously physically harmed that means mental trauma, friends getting hurt / killed, failing objectives, etc. Because the risk points.
There's always stakes.
Like, you read a story and you generally don't expect the MC to die. If they're unlikely to even be seriously physically harmed that means mental trauma, friends getting hurt / killed, failing objectives, etc. Because the risk points.
There's always stakes.
- Location
- Georgia
Knight armor is supposed to be good enough to engage an Endbringer in melee. We don't have the other Knight abilities that make that a good idea, but I would be really surprised if something of the power of a basic RPG* could harm us, and that's without considering the mobility that should keep us from being hit in the first place.**
*A tinkertech weapon, on the other hand, that could be wielded by a vanilla minion, on the other hand...
**Unless we crit fumble again...
Are you sure about that? Because while the AAR no longer says it would certain death like it did back in Psychic Smasher that doesn't mean we could actually handle fighting in melee.
In fact if we look at evidence from the quest, which I compiled for the last Endbringer fight:
Knight Armor actually means that stray hits/glancing blows won't instagib us, just cause serious injuries.
I'll probably skim over the quest sometime later to find examples of what Sam could and couldn't take damage wise since she is our only point of refrence on Knight Armor capabilities. However we can confirm that anti-Brute tinkertech should go straight through our Knight Armor since the anti-Brute taser in one of the Dragonslayers' stolen suits was enough to OHKO Sam:
- Location
- Georgia
While Knights shouldn't try to just tank everything sent their way, the template is supposed to give us melee focused mages, complete with point blank Breaker tier spells. How much, if any, change came about after the initial choice of class is something only SW could say, as is how close "point blank" actually means. Still, to be able to survive even a glancing blow from an Endbringer is a rather hefty Brute rating.
Darn, I didn't get any alerts from SV until last night on this thread until last night and I missed the revote. I would have voted for "attack now with solar wraith or other attacks likely to take out multiple targets with the masters as primary targets, then retreat" plan.
I hate it when I don't get notified that the thread has updated.
[X] Attack the Fallen now and stop the problem in its tracks
-[X] Tell Laura to go get Kayleigh to safety.
-[X] Tell Samantha to go secure Cassiel.
-[X] Try to get a surprise alpha strike, and then keep up the assault to try to thin the herd and keep them occupied.
--[X] Prioritize taking out the Simurgh group. They're both some of the most generally problematic of the Fallen and likely to be soft targets.
--[X] Disengage if it turns into a slugging match with their heavy hitters while the rest of them go to continue their attack on the resort.
--[X] Use lethal force. We cannot afford the drawbacks of non-lethal attacks in this situation.
Vote's closed @SlickRCBD . You're too late.
Suntan 13.7
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
[] Rescue Kayleigh at the spa
-[] Alter your costume
-[] Use Laura to slow the Fallen down
Suntan 13.7
Watching the Fallen as they start to split up into mixed groups, part of you desperately wants to go out guns blazing. Right now they are still clumped together, and you know that this is the best – possibly the only – opportunity you will have to blast them all. If you let them go, you will have to go hunting them down a few capes at a time. That will take far longer and will put all the civilians within the resort at risk.
And yet…
You look over at Dragon's screen. She knows more about your capabilities than anyone but Samantha. Even Tim knows less, either because he does not feel that he needs a full list or because he knows he can ask Dragon for whatever he needs to know at the moment. Not only is she knowledgeable about your abilities, she is a member of the Guild. Her entire job is dealing with S-class threats, the worst of the worst. She was worried about you fighting the Dragonslayers, her personal nemeses, but ever since then she has not once told you not to get in a fight with anyone specific. That even she advises caution against the Fallen is telling.
A glance back at the Endbringer cult has you gritting your teeth. "Dragon, of all the Fallen in front of me, who are the ones we need to worry about the most?"
"…All of them?" You give her a glare, but she is not apologetic about that slightly sarcastic retort. "Normal PRT procedure would say the ones in white because the Simurgh family often has Master powers, but right now we're in an enclosed space and we can't reach anyone on the outside. The weighs the scales more to the Behemoth and Leviathan capes because they can cause more direct damage. Don't rule out the capes in the back, either. Most likely they are victims, but you would be surprised how often we hear rumors about villain groups voluntarily working with monsters like the Fallen or the Slaughterhouse 9 when they were still around."
"Not exactly what I was asking," you say with a sigh. "I realize that all of them are dangerous in their own way. What I meant was which ones are the most dangerous. The biggest Blaster or Master, for instance."
Dragon looks off screen for a moment as though rechecking the feeds. "There are several we have to watch for. The Behemoth group as a whole has Brutes, Blasters, and a few Shakers. I see Eligos and Ifrit, both of whom can cause destruction in a wide area, and I think one of them might be Toro. He was a Protectorate hero, a powerful Brute, who was caught and brainwashed; the Austin branch lost half their number trying to recapture him shortly after he was taken, which is why they were folded into the Houston branch." You blink at that, but before you can say anything she continues, "In the Leviathan group are Seir and Empusa; he is the one creating the shadow people you see and can teleport between them while she can create a sphere that lets her and people near her fly and duplicate objects. I can't see anyone in the Simurgh group that I recognize, but treat all of them as dangerous. You and Samantha may be invulnerable to Masters, but that does not mean the people around you are. I don't know any of the others off the top of my head, and I can't access the Protectorate's database. They could have any power under the sun."
"Wait, wait, wait," Laura says, waving her hands as though she intends to ward off the information physically. "I know the Fallen are tough shit, but they killed half a Protectorate branch in a single fight?"
"It was more of a running battle with multiple engagements, and some of the heroes were taken rather than killed, but otherwise yes."
That is actually worse than the situation you imagined. Thanks to fighting the Dragonslayers twice, once being attacked and once being the attacker, you are familiar with how useful ambushes are. The Fallen luring the Austin Protectorate into an ambush and killing half of them? Bad. Clashing with them multiple times and being able to Master yet more members of the group in the process? Much, much worse. "Tell me it took every single member of Fallen to do that," you plead.
Dragon shakes her head.
"Fine, attacking them now is out of the question." The Fallen have five targets in mind if the way they have split up is any indication, and there seem to be members of each family within each group. Without knowing their powers, using Recursion Field is a crap shoot; you risk leaving several of them in the real world without any heroes or heroic-leaning villains around to protect them. It may still be the best chance you have of limiting casualties. «Storm, from what you figured out analyzing this dome, is Recursion Field a possibility?»
«Structure of dome similar to Recursion Field. Hypothesize spatial effect rather than dimensional. Probability of interference high.»
Fantastic. Just wonderful. «Any guesses on how to break the dome, then?»
«Assuming structural integrity of Recursion Field, requires high-power bombardment. Solar Wrath likely not sufficient. Ragnarök effective, but effect on surroundings unpredictable. Assume high lethality. Alternate option, terminate mage casting spell.»
So no. You sigh long and low. "This is just great. Really. Please tell me we got lucky and the security for this place is made up of ex-Marines or something."
"No such luck, I'm afraid." Dragon really does look apologetic about that. "Most of the security is guards with little to no prior training. They are little more than mall cops; useful for breaking up fights between drunk people, not so much against any kind of cape. From what the head of security told me, about a quarter of them have sidearms while the rest are unarmed. He claims to have a cape on call, but with how cagey he is being about it, either he is lying or it is someone on the other side of this dome. Resorts like this don't often have need to fend off villains."
"Which means we're on our own." Dragon gives you a small nod. "Okay. We'll come back to you in a minute. We have something to do first."
She looks like she is about to argue, but in the end she settles for telling you simply, "Don't do anything stupid."
She should know better than to ask for something like that. Dismissing both screens, you consider your options briefly. If you are planning to fight in close proximity with Cailleach, she will figure out aspects of your 'powers' quickly enough. More importantly, you do not want random people who do not already know you are a cape identifying you in the future. "Storm, can you seal up my clothes without making enough light that the Fallen will notice?"
"Who are you talking—"
"Affirmative."
Perfect Storm's response catches Laura by surprise. Your shirt and shorts glow a dull orange and slowly fade from sight, leaving you clad only in your bikini. You surely are not about to try saving people dressed like this, but you can not use your normal costume either. "Change my Barrier Jacket to something else. Something that isn't obvious as me."
Waves of light creep over your body. Not waves like those you can see on the beach, but more like the edge of a flame creeping over a sheet of paper. What is left in its wake is not what you would choose to wear normally, but Perfect Storm certainly cannot be accused of leaving you recognizable. Stiff boots that look like etched obsidian are pulled over the legs of a form-fitting sleeveless catsuit. You have no hat on your head, but you can feel the weight of a heavy domino mask hiding your eyes. Looking down at the plunging V-neck of the outfit, you mutter, "Maybe this could show a little less skin?"
"Recalibrating." The light moves over you again, and when it finishes you find that you are now also wearing a pair of gloves that come up to the middle of your upper arms. A blue diamond identical to Perfect Storm's normal form sits on the back of your right hand and glows as it asks, "Acceptable?"
A sigh is your first response. "Yeah, yeah. It's fine."
"That looks… different," Laura says in a strangled voice. "Do you, uh, plan to always look like that?"
You blush all the way down to the cleavage on display and cross your arms over your chest. "No, I don't. This is just so I can't be identified. And don't call me by my normal name. Either of them."
"What should I call you, then?"
You think about that for a second, the image of the consuming flame sticking in your head. "As long as we're here, call me Cinder. Storm, track down Kayleigh's phone and teleport us there."
"You can teleport, too?"
You grab Laura's hand when your casting sigil appears beneath your feet. A couple of seconds pass, and the inside of a room becomes visible. Glancing around at all the cubbies surrounding you, you blink and admit, "I have no idea where we are. We were supposed to appear close to Kayleigh."
"You've never been to a rich bitch spa before, have you?" Laura asks. "All your stuff goes in a cubby. The only thing people are going to be wearing in there is their underwear under a robe, if that."
Disclaimer: I've never been to a rich bitch spa either. Suspend your disbelief.
"That's going to make this more difficult." You had hoped to teleport in, grab Kayleigh and everyone else nearby, and get out of here to the activity center. They might resist doing that if everyone's naked. "Um. Okay, new plan. I'm the one who looks like a cape. If I walk in and say villains are attacking, that should motivate people to get moving. I need you to keep the Fallen from getting inside."
Laura stares at you with her mouth hanging slightly open. "Uh huh. And how am I supposed to do that?"
"Do you think you can freeze the door shut?" Her mouth snaps closed, and you give her a disbelieving look. "Did you think I meant for you to stand outside and fight them off single-handedly or something? That's crazy. I mean, I want them to pay for what they're trying to do, don't get me wrong," you admit after a moment, "but now's not the time. First we need to get Kayleigh and everyone else in this building out of the line of fire."
Your companion grabs a baseball cap from one of the nearby cubbies and a small towel from a stack, then throws a robe over her shoulder. "Not everyone can put on a costume and change it at will," she reminds you as she runs out the far door.
Some people cannot put on a costume at all, you tell yourself, and they are the ones you need to worry about. Putting on your best game face behind the volcanic mask, you open the door closer to you and step inside.
Thankfully for your sanity, everyone who is in your light of sight are wearing robes and not walking around in the nude. A cape barging into the spa is not enough to grab their immediate attention, but you have something that will. A single Flare Shooter shines bright enough to blind you if your Barrier Jacket did not filter out the excess light, and you let that light fill the room before snuffing it out. "Can I have your attention?!"
That earns you several panicked screams, and you roll your eyes when the nearest staff member cringes away from you. Everyone in Philadelphia has become accustomed enough to your costume that you had forgotten what it feels like to be mistaken for a villain on first sight. It was not something you wanted to relive. "My name is Cinder. I'm a hero. A group of villains is approaching this building, and we need to get out of here."
"Why should we believe you?" a bedazzled woman demands in a shrill voice. Apparently here clothes are optional but gaudy jewelry is a necessity because she clutches her massive necklace as though you were reaching out to grab it. "You could be a villain trying to trick us!"
A bunch of Endbringer cultists are headed this way, and this dumb bimbo thinks you are the enemy? In your frustration Missy's comment from yesterday feels less like a morbid joke and more like an accurate summation of the situation, and you find yourself paraphrasing it. "Lady, if I was a villain, I would have blown your head off already for talking back to me like that." She lets out a strangled gasp, and you look around. "Anyone else have any stupid accusations? No? Good. Let's get you over to the activity center before the villains who do want to hurt you show up." Panning your gaze around the room, you finally find Kayleigh sitting in a chair with her feet in a small tub, several other girls and women and one lone guy all with their own feet in their own tubs. You point to the group as a whole and call out, "All of you getting pedicures, you're up first. Get in the circle." Your sigil spreads out beneath your feet for emphasis.
«Plug in the coordinates for the activity center,» you order your Device. Better to get that necessary step over with sooner than later.
The gaggle of pamperees looks at each other for a long second, but then Kayleigh is the first to stand and start walking over. "What's going on at the activity center?" she asks.
That is actually a good question, and you realize that you might be pursuing this just slightly wrong. You are the only person here who is fully in the know, and while you are trying to evacuate everyone before the Fallen get here, no one else here knows anything other than that a dark-dressed cape is demanding they leave. Dragon told you she was broadcasting a message but not what exactly it said or what information she shared with them. It is entirely possible all she told them was that there were villains in the resort and to lock their doors. If that is the case, then they would be right not to believe the strange cape from the start.
Kayleigh being so trusting – in hindsight, perhaps overly trusting – and following your commands is in reality a second chance to make your case and put their fears to rest.
"It's where security is assembling and where the few heroes who are already here are coordinating our efforts. The Fallen are attacking the resort." That gets you the reaction you were originally expecting, and you yell over the hubbub, "They are coming from the bridge, which means this is one of the first places they will attack. I'm going to teleport all of you out of here, but we're working against the clock, people. Get a move on."
Everybody starts moving around, but most of them are doing so in panic. Several rush in your general direction only to go through a number of doors on the same wall where you came from. "I guess they're more nervous about being undressed than they are about getting killed," Kayleigh says from her new place next to you. She looks you up and down and grins. In a whisper, she asks, "And 'Cinder'? You planning on keeping this new look back home?"
You roll your eyes and shake your head. Kayleigh is not being too trusting; she just somehow has the ability to recognize you even in a different costume. "I don't really care about their embarrassment." Reaching out your hands, you grab a couple of fleeing women with telekinesis and physically drag them towards you. Moving multiple people is a strain on your spell's limits, but you get them in the circle and sit them down on the ground before catching someone else. Apparently the sight of a cape dragging people around with their powers is enough to get through to the staff, and they add their shouted orders to go to you join the din.
Two options are before you, and you look over the dozen or so people who are huddled nearby. You would rather take everyone in one trip, but a deeply cynical part of you wants to reward the people who have their priorities straight, namely that being half-naked and alive is better than dressed and dead. You also have to admit to yourself that the only person here you know and who therefore is highest on your own priority list is Kayleigh, who is already well within teleport range. Laura would surely prefer you take her out of danger as soon as possible; with your group being the only capes within this bubble you know about, you will need to keep her goodwill if you want to ensure she fights alongside you. "Jumping out in five seconds!" you shout. "Four! Three!"
The countdown draws several more people to you, and if they are all wearing the blue polos of the resort's staff, you are not about to throw stones right now. 'One' passes your lips, and you shake your head in disgust. The spa is huge, maybe with a hundred people inside, and you only have twenty of them close enough to evacuate. You stop holding the spell back and allow reality to fall away in a curtain of orange light. When the light cuts out, it reveals several security people backing away and a few reaching to their waists as though to grab their guns. "First load of evacuees from the spa!" you call out, which should hopefully be enough to spare you yet more unneeded drama. "Security will direct you to the safest location. Follow their orders to the letter." You look to the side to find another clump of guards nearby and tell them in a quieter voice, "There are another eighty or so people in the spa still. I'm bringing all of them to this location."
"O-Okay," one flustered guard answers.
Light flares around you again, this time wrapping tightly around you so that you are the only person sent hurtling through space. Your disappearance must have reinforced the idea that no, you are not kidding about this whole evacuation thing, because this time it is a horde of women wearing shirts or pants but not both and one woman who only put on her shoes who crowd around you. Even with all these people, you can still hear others hurriedly putting on clothes in the changing rooms. Or maybe they are taking photos of the approaching villains, you really cannot say for sure. "Five seconds," you tell the room again, and soon you are escorting the next group out.
When you return again, you find Laura looking ridiculous in her hasty costume and wearing a worried expression. "We have a problem," she says without preamble.
"Were you able to freeze the doors shut?"
She nods. "Yeah, but once they couldn't get through the door, they started breaking through the windows and the wall. I froze a few sections of the hall, but we have no more than a minute before they get in here and probably a lot less."
"The Fallen are right outside! Get your asses over here or I will leave you behind! Last jump, ten seconds!"
"Is Kayleigh…?" Laura asks as you anxiously count down the seconds.
"First group I 'ported out."
This set of people coming to you now are fully clothed, but at least they are finally convinced that this is a dangerous situation. They do not appear to know what to do about the cape in the shoddy costume beside you, but most of them seem to have come to the conclusion that they have wasted enough time already.
Screams come from behind you, and you turn around to see the farthest changing room door get blown off its hinges. Two men step out. The first, wearing blood-red armor with assorted human remains, you recognize as Vex, a member of the Teeth with the ability to fill a room with innumerable razor-sharp forcefields. Not someone you want nearby in a hostage situation. The second you do not know, though you doubt many capes wear blue-dyed snakeskin jackets. He looks at you, and you can just imagine the grin he wears behind his face mask. "Hey, pretty pretty. How 'bout you send the trash away and come on over here?"
The shiver of disgust that runs down your spine is apparently enough of a sign for your Device to start the teleportation process.
Whoever the creep cape is holds up his left hand to show something glinting within. That something or somethings streak toward you, cutting through the rising curtain and hitting some of the people you are trying to rescue if their shouts of pain are any hint.
Then you are gone.
You reappear in the activity center and immediately check on Laura. She is fine, but one of the women next to her is not. That woman instead has fallen to the ground, a blood stain growing on the trendy dress she was so desperate to put on, and you lean down to take a better look at something stuck within the wound. It looks—
You blink. It looks like a coin, one of those half-dollars that nobody ever uses. A glance shows several other people were injured by the Fallen's attack, and they too seem to have coins or something else of a similar size stuck within their bodies. "We need a medic over here!" you shout out.
Guards are quick to come to the aid of this last group, and Laura taps you on your shoulder. "I'm going to check on her," she tells you, leaving no doubt in your mind who the 'her' in question is. You give the villainess a nod and watch her pull off the robe she used to cover her clothes before turning away. You have something else you need to do, namely find out what other disasters have been going on.
Perfect Storm easily leads you to what you have to assume is the true security center, and pushing open a door you find Dragon still in her Diana chassis but with holographic screens surrounding her and a glowing keyboard at her fingers. More surprising is the young blonde girl sitting in another chair against the wall. "Cassie? You got out of the suites okay?"
"She did," Dragon replies instead, an angry bite to her voice for some reason. "She's also grounded." The Tinker turns around and stares. "…What are you wearing?"
"Blame Perfect Storm," you answer with a sigh. "I got most of the people out of the spa. It was like herding cats, and now the Fallen are for sure inside the building. How bad are things going everywhere else?"
"Overall? About as badly as can be expected. We've already lost several guards. I was trying to organize them where they could do the most good, but it seems some of them didn't like my suggestions and decided to do things their own way," she says with a disgruntled sigh. "It probably didn't help that it was just Diana Richter, computer engineer, giving them those orders and not Dragon. We're down ten, and there were only ninety to start with."
That is far from good.
She nods at the thought that must be painted across your face. "The restaurant where Samantha and Missy are holed up is actually fine for right now. The Fallen attacking noticed the barricaded windows and are acting cautiously, though I wouldn't count on that lasting. The big problem, though, is headed towards the suites." She turns one of the screens so you can better appreciate the group of eight capes walking through the resort, a trail of civilians in swimwear following along behind them. "Some people apparently decided they didn't want to leave the pool, and one of the Masters got to them. They are both hostages and assailants now."
"Spa, restaurant, and suites. That's three groups, but I saw them split off into five. Where are the others?"
"That I don't know. The cameras don't cover the entire resort, so I keep losing them here and there. They could be anywhere. And that," she says with a grimace, "is what worries me the most."
Was that the most efficient evacuation ever? No, but there was really little you could have done vote-wise to change that. I am a firm believer in the mind-boggling stupidity of the human race, particular when people are acting out of fear.
That's the end of round 1. You have two more before I throw another curveball at you. Where is the next fire you need to put out?
[ ] Work on how to get information through the dome
[ ] Attack the Fallen outside the spa
[ ] Evacuate the restaurant along with Samantha and Missy
[ ] Attack the Fallen outside the restaurant
[ ] Evacuate the suites before the Fallen arrive
[ ] Attack the Fallen headed towards the suites
[ ] Hunt down one of the other Fallen groups
-[] Alter your costume
-[] Use Laura to slow the Fallen down
Suntan 13.7
Watching the Fallen as they start to split up into mixed groups, part of you desperately wants to go out guns blazing. Right now they are still clumped together, and you know that this is the best – possibly the only – opportunity you will have to blast them all. If you let them go, you will have to go hunting them down a few capes at a time. That will take far longer and will put all the civilians within the resort at risk.
And yet…
You look over at Dragon's screen. She knows more about your capabilities than anyone but Samantha. Even Tim knows less, either because he does not feel that he needs a full list or because he knows he can ask Dragon for whatever he needs to know at the moment. Not only is she knowledgeable about your abilities, she is a member of the Guild. Her entire job is dealing with S-class threats, the worst of the worst. She was worried about you fighting the Dragonslayers, her personal nemeses, but ever since then she has not once told you not to get in a fight with anyone specific. That even she advises caution against the Fallen is telling.
A glance back at the Endbringer cult has you gritting your teeth. "Dragon, of all the Fallen in front of me, who are the ones we need to worry about the most?"
"…All of them?" You give her a glare, but she is not apologetic about that slightly sarcastic retort. "Normal PRT procedure would say the ones in white because the Simurgh family often has Master powers, but right now we're in an enclosed space and we can't reach anyone on the outside. The weighs the scales more to the Behemoth and Leviathan capes because they can cause more direct damage. Don't rule out the capes in the back, either. Most likely they are victims, but you would be surprised how often we hear rumors about villain groups voluntarily working with monsters like the Fallen or the Slaughterhouse 9 when they were still around."
"Not exactly what I was asking," you say with a sigh. "I realize that all of them are dangerous in their own way. What I meant was which ones are the most dangerous. The biggest Blaster or Master, for instance."
Dragon looks off screen for a moment as though rechecking the feeds. "There are several we have to watch for. The Behemoth group as a whole has Brutes, Blasters, and a few Shakers. I see Eligos and Ifrit, both of whom can cause destruction in a wide area, and I think one of them might be Toro. He was a Protectorate hero, a powerful Brute, who was caught and brainwashed; the Austin branch lost half their number trying to recapture him shortly after he was taken, which is why they were folded into the Houston branch." You blink at that, but before you can say anything she continues, "In the Leviathan group are Seir and Empusa; he is the one creating the shadow people you see and can teleport between them while she can create a sphere that lets her and people near her fly and duplicate objects. I can't see anyone in the Simurgh group that I recognize, but treat all of them as dangerous. You and Samantha may be invulnerable to Masters, but that does not mean the people around you are. I don't know any of the others off the top of my head, and I can't access the Protectorate's database. They could have any power under the sun."
"Wait, wait, wait," Laura says, waving her hands as though she intends to ward off the information physically. "I know the Fallen are tough shit, but they killed half a Protectorate branch in a single fight?"
"It was more of a running battle with multiple engagements, and some of the heroes were taken rather than killed, but otherwise yes."
That is actually worse than the situation you imagined. Thanks to fighting the Dragonslayers twice, once being attacked and once being the attacker, you are familiar with how useful ambushes are. The Fallen luring the Austin Protectorate into an ambush and killing half of them? Bad. Clashing with them multiple times and being able to Master yet more members of the group in the process? Much, much worse. "Tell me it took every single member of Fallen to do that," you plead.
Dragon shakes her head.
"Fine, attacking them now is out of the question." The Fallen have five targets in mind if the way they have split up is any indication, and there seem to be members of each family within each group. Without knowing their powers, using Recursion Field is a crap shoot; you risk leaving several of them in the real world without any heroes or heroic-leaning villains around to protect them. It may still be the best chance you have of limiting casualties. «Storm, from what you figured out analyzing this dome, is Recursion Field a possibility?»
«Structure of dome similar to Recursion Field. Hypothesize spatial effect rather than dimensional. Probability of interference high.»
Fantastic. Just wonderful. «Any guesses on how to break the dome, then?»
«Assuming structural integrity of Recursion Field, requires high-power bombardment. Solar Wrath likely not sufficient. Ragnarök effective, but effect on surroundings unpredictable. Assume high lethality. Alternate option, terminate mage casting spell.»
So no. You sigh long and low. "This is just great. Really. Please tell me we got lucky and the security for this place is made up of ex-Marines or something."
"No such luck, I'm afraid." Dragon really does look apologetic about that. "Most of the security is guards with little to no prior training. They are little more than mall cops; useful for breaking up fights between drunk people, not so much against any kind of cape. From what the head of security told me, about a quarter of them have sidearms while the rest are unarmed. He claims to have a cape on call, but with how cagey he is being about it, either he is lying or it is someone on the other side of this dome. Resorts like this don't often have need to fend off villains."
"Which means we're on our own." Dragon gives you a small nod. "Okay. We'll come back to you in a minute. We have something to do first."
She looks like she is about to argue, but in the end she settles for telling you simply, "Don't do anything stupid."
She should know better than to ask for something like that. Dismissing both screens, you consider your options briefly. If you are planning to fight in close proximity with Cailleach, she will figure out aspects of your 'powers' quickly enough. More importantly, you do not want random people who do not already know you are a cape identifying you in the future. "Storm, can you seal up my clothes without making enough light that the Fallen will notice?"
"Who are you talking—"
"Affirmative."
Perfect Storm's response catches Laura by surprise. Your shirt and shorts glow a dull orange and slowly fade from sight, leaving you clad only in your bikini. You surely are not about to try saving people dressed like this, but you can not use your normal costume either. "Change my Barrier Jacket to something else. Something that isn't obvious as me."
Waves of light creep over your body. Not waves like those you can see on the beach, but more like the edge of a flame creeping over a sheet of paper. What is left in its wake is not what you would choose to wear normally, but Perfect Storm certainly cannot be accused of leaving you recognizable. Stiff boots that look like etched obsidian are pulled over the legs of a form-fitting sleeveless catsuit. You have no hat on your head, but you can feel the weight of a heavy domino mask hiding your eyes. Looking down at the plunging V-neck of the outfit, you mutter, "Maybe this could show a little less skin?"
"Recalibrating." The light moves over you again, and when it finishes you find that you are now also wearing a pair of gloves that come up to the middle of your upper arms. A blue diamond identical to Perfect Storm's normal form sits on the back of your right hand and glows as it asks, "Acceptable?"
A sigh is your first response. "Yeah, yeah. It's fine."
"That looks… different," Laura says in a strangled voice. "Do you, uh, plan to always look like that?"
You blush all the way down to the cleavage on display and cross your arms over your chest. "No, I don't. This is just so I can't be identified. And don't call me by my normal name. Either of them."
"What should I call you, then?"
You think about that for a second, the image of the consuming flame sticking in your head. "As long as we're here, call me Cinder. Storm, track down Kayleigh's phone and teleport us there."
"You can teleport, too?"
You grab Laura's hand when your casting sigil appears beneath your feet. A couple of seconds pass, and the inside of a room becomes visible. Glancing around at all the cubbies surrounding you, you blink and admit, "I have no idea where we are. We were supposed to appear close to Kayleigh."
"You've never been to a rich bitch spa before, have you?" Laura asks. "All your stuff goes in a cubby. The only thing people are going to be wearing in there is their underwear under a robe, if that."
Disclaimer: I've never been to a rich bitch spa either. Suspend your disbelief.
"That's going to make this more difficult." You had hoped to teleport in, grab Kayleigh and everyone else nearby, and get out of here to the activity center. They might resist doing that if everyone's naked. "Um. Okay, new plan. I'm the one who looks like a cape. If I walk in and say villains are attacking, that should motivate people to get moving. I need you to keep the Fallen from getting inside."
Laura stares at you with her mouth hanging slightly open. "Uh huh. And how am I supposed to do that?"
"Do you think you can freeze the door shut?" Her mouth snaps closed, and you give her a disbelieving look. "Did you think I meant for you to stand outside and fight them off single-handedly or something? That's crazy. I mean, I want them to pay for what they're trying to do, don't get me wrong," you admit after a moment, "but now's not the time. First we need to get Kayleigh and everyone else in this building out of the line of fire."
Your companion grabs a baseball cap from one of the nearby cubbies and a small towel from a stack, then throws a robe over her shoulder. "Not everyone can put on a costume and change it at will," she reminds you as she runs out the far door.
Some people cannot put on a costume at all, you tell yourself, and they are the ones you need to worry about. Putting on your best game face behind the volcanic mask, you open the door closer to you and step inside.
Thankfully for your sanity, everyone who is in your light of sight are wearing robes and not walking around in the nude. A cape barging into the spa is not enough to grab their immediate attention, but you have something that will. A single Flare Shooter shines bright enough to blind you if your Barrier Jacket did not filter out the excess light, and you let that light fill the room before snuffing it out. "Can I have your attention?!"
That earns you several panicked screams, and you roll your eyes when the nearest staff member cringes away from you. Everyone in Philadelphia has become accustomed enough to your costume that you had forgotten what it feels like to be mistaken for a villain on first sight. It was not something you wanted to relive. "My name is Cinder. I'm a hero. A group of villains is approaching this building, and we need to get out of here."
"Why should we believe you?" a bedazzled woman demands in a shrill voice. Apparently here clothes are optional but gaudy jewelry is a necessity because she clutches her massive necklace as though you were reaching out to grab it. "You could be a villain trying to trick us!"
A bunch of Endbringer cultists are headed this way, and this dumb bimbo thinks you are the enemy? In your frustration Missy's comment from yesterday feels less like a morbid joke and more like an accurate summation of the situation, and you find yourself paraphrasing it. "Lady, if I was a villain, I would have blown your head off already for talking back to me like that." She lets out a strangled gasp, and you look around. "Anyone else have any stupid accusations? No? Good. Let's get you over to the activity center before the villains who do want to hurt you show up." Panning your gaze around the room, you finally find Kayleigh sitting in a chair with her feet in a small tub, several other girls and women and one lone guy all with their own feet in their own tubs. You point to the group as a whole and call out, "All of you getting pedicures, you're up first. Get in the circle." Your sigil spreads out beneath your feet for emphasis.
«Plug in the coordinates for the activity center,» you order your Device. Better to get that necessary step over with sooner than later.
The gaggle of pamperees looks at each other for a long second, but then Kayleigh is the first to stand and start walking over. "What's going on at the activity center?" she asks.
That is actually a good question, and you realize that you might be pursuing this just slightly wrong. You are the only person here who is fully in the know, and while you are trying to evacuate everyone before the Fallen get here, no one else here knows anything other than that a dark-dressed cape is demanding they leave. Dragon told you she was broadcasting a message but not what exactly it said or what information she shared with them. It is entirely possible all she told them was that there were villains in the resort and to lock their doors. If that is the case, then they would be right not to believe the strange cape from the start.
Kayleigh being so trusting – in hindsight, perhaps overly trusting – and following your commands is in reality a second chance to make your case and put their fears to rest.
"It's where security is assembling and where the few heroes who are already here are coordinating our efforts. The Fallen are attacking the resort." That gets you the reaction you were originally expecting, and you yell over the hubbub, "They are coming from the bridge, which means this is one of the first places they will attack. I'm going to teleport all of you out of here, but we're working against the clock, people. Get a move on."
Everybody starts moving around, but most of them are doing so in panic. Several rush in your general direction only to go through a number of doors on the same wall where you came from. "I guess they're more nervous about being undressed than they are about getting killed," Kayleigh says from her new place next to you. She looks you up and down and grins. In a whisper, she asks, "And 'Cinder'? You planning on keeping this new look back home?"
You roll your eyes and shake your head. Kayleigh is not being too trusting; she just somehow has the ability to recognize you even in a different costume. "I don't really care about their embarrassment." Reaching out your hands, you grab a couple of fleeing women with telekinesis and physically drag them towards you. Moving multiple people is a strain on your spell's limits, but you get them in the circle and sit them down on the ground before catching someone else. Apparently the sight of a cape dragging people around with their powers is enough to get through to the staff, and they add their shouted orders to go to you join the din.
Two options are before you, and you look over the dozen or so people who are huddled nearby. You would rather take everyone in one trip, but a deeply cynical part of you wants to reward the people who have their priorities straight, namely that being half-naked and alive is better than dressed and dead. You also have to admit to yourself that the only person here you know and who therefore is highest on your own priority list is Kayleigh, who is already well within teleport range. Laura would surely prefer you take her out of danger as soon as possible; with your group being the only capes within this bubble you know about, you will need to keep her goodwill if you want to ensure she fights alongside you. "Jumping out in five seconds!" you shout. "Four! Three!"
The countdown draws several more people to you, and if they are all wearing the blue polos of the resort's staff, you are not about to throw stones right now. 'One' passes your lips, and you shake your head in disgust. The spa is huge, maybe with a hundred people inside, and you only have twenty of them close enough to evacuate. You stop holding the spell back and allow reality to fall away in a curtain of orange light. When the light cuts out, it reveals several security people backing away and a few reaching to their waists as though to grab their guns. "First load of evacuees from the spa!" you call out, which should hopefully be enough to spare you yet more unneeded drama. "Security will direct you to the safest location. Follow their orders to the letter." You look to the side to find another clump of guards nearby and tell them in a quieter voice, "There are another eighty or so people in the spa still. I'm bringing all of them to this location."
"O-Okay," one flustered guard answers.
Light flares around you again, this time wrapping tightly around you so that you are the only person sent hurtling through space. Your disappearance must have reinforced the idea that no, you are not kidding about this whole evacuation thing, because this time it is a horde of women wearing shirts or pants but not both and one woman who only put on her shoes who crowd around you. Even with all these people, you can still hear others hurriedly putting on clothes in the changing rooms. Or maybe they are taking photos of the approaching villains, you really cannot say for sure. "Five seconds," you tell the room again, and soon you are escorting the next group out.
When you return again, you find Laura looking ridiculous in her hasty costume and wearing a worried expression. "We have a problem," she says without preamble.
"Were you able to freeze the doors shut?"
She nods. "Yeah, but once they couldn't get through the door, they started breaking through the windows and the wall. I froze a few sections of the hall, but we have no more than a minute before they get in here and probably a lot less."
"The Fallen are right outside! Get your asses over here or I will leave you behind! Last jump, ten seconds!"
"Is Kayleigh…?" Laura asks as you anxiously count down the seconds.
"First group I 'ported out."
This set of people coming to you now are fully clothed, but at least they are finally convinced that this is a dangerous situation. They do not appear to know what to do about the cape in the shoddy costume beside you, but most of them seem to have come to the conclusion that they have wasted enough time already.
Screams come from behind you, and you turn around to see the farthest changing room door get blown off its hinges. Two men step out. The first, wearing blood-red armor with assorted human remains, you recognize as Vex, a member of the Teeth with the ability to fill a room with innumerable razor-sharp forcefields. Not someone you want nearby in a hostage situation. The second you do not know, though you doubt many capes wear blue-dyed snakeskin jackets. He looks at you, and you can just imagine the grin he wears behind his face mask. "Hey, pretty pretty. How 'bout you send the trash away and come on over here?"
The shiver of disgust that runs down your spine is apparently enough of a sign for your Device to start the teleportation process.
Whoever the creep cape is holds up his left hand to show something glinting within. That something or somethings streak toward you, cutting through the rising curtain and hitting some of the people you are trying to rescue if their shouts of pain are any hint.
Then you are gone.
You reappear in the activity center and immediately check on Laura. She is fine, but one of the women next to her is not. That woman instead has fallen to the ground, a blood stain growing on the trendy dress she was so desperate to put on, and you lean down to take a better look at something stuck within the wound. It looks—
You blink. It looks like a coin, one of those half-dollars that nobody ever uses. A glance shows several other people were injured by the Fallen's attack, and they too seem to have coins or something else of a similar size stuck within their bodies. "We need a medic over here!" you shout out.
Guards are quick to come to the aid of this last group, and Laura taps you on your shoulder. "I'm going to check on her," she tells you, leaving no doubt in your mind who the 'her' in question is. You give the villainess a nod and watch her pull off the robe she used to cover her clothes before turning away. You have something else you need to do, namely find out what other disasters have been going on.
Perfect Storm easily leads you to what you have to assume is the true security center, and pushing open a door you find Dragon still in her Diana chassis but with holographic screens surrounding her and a glowing keyboard at her fingers. More surprising is the young blonde girl sitting in another chair against the wall. "Cassie? You got out of the suites okay?"
"She did," Dragon replies instead, an angry bite to her voice for some reason. "She's also grounded." The Tinker turns around and stares. "…What are you wearing?"
"Blame Perfect Storm," you answer with a sigh. "I got most of the people out of the spa. It was like herding cats, and now the Fallen are for sure inside the building. How bad are things going everywhere else?"
"Overall? About as badly as can be expected. We've already lost several guards. I was trying to organize them where they could do the most good, but it seems some of them didn't like my suggestions and decided to do things their own way," she says with a disgruntled sigh. "It probably didn't help that it was just Diana Richter, computer engineer, giving them those orders and not Dragon. We're down ten, and there were only ninety to start with."
That is far from good.
She nods at the thought that must be painted across your face. "The restaurant where Samantha and Missy are holed up is actually fine for right now. The Fallen attacking noticed the barricaded windows and are acting cautiously, though I wouldn't count on that lasting. The big problem, though, is headed towards the suites." She turns one of the screens so you can better appreciate the group of eight capes walking through the resort, a trail of civilians in swimwear following along behind them. "Some people apparently decided they didn't want to leave the pool, and one of the Masters got to them. They are both hostages and assailants now."
"Spa, restaurant, and suites. That's three groups, but I saw them split off into five. Where are the others?"
"That I don't know. The cameras don't cover the entire resort, so I keep losing them here and there. They could be anywhere. And that," she says with a grimace, "is what worries me the most."
Was that the most efficient evacuation ever? No, but there was really little you could have done vote-wise to change that. I am a firm believer in the mind-boggling stupidity of the human race, particular when people are acting out of fear.
That's the end of round 1. You have two more before I throw another curveball at you.
Where is the next fire you need to put out?[ ] Work on how to get information through the dome
[ ] Attack the Fallen outside the spa
[ ] Evacuate the restaurant along with Samantha and Missy
[ ] Attack the Fallen outside the restaurant
[ ] Evacuate the suites before the Fallen arrive
[ ] Attack the Fallen headed towards the suites
[ ] Hunt down one of the other Fallen groups
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FictionPack
Monochromatic Ursine
- Location
- Tennessee
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Attack the Fallen headed towards the suites
They are the biggest problem we know about, and the evacuation of the suites would likely be far less effective than the spa. Plus the resturaunt is currently fine and can be dealt with next round. Dragon might be the best person to try to breach the dome 's communcation block with Cassie 's help, and taking out the masters before they can get even more people is a good idea because The Fallen already have the numbers advantage, and I don't think we should waste time looking for the other groups.
They are the biggest problem we know about, and the evacuation of the suites would likely be far less effective than the spa. Plus the resturaunt is currently fine and can be dealt with next round. Dragon might be the best person to try to breach the dome 's communcation block with Cassie 's help, and taking out the masters before they can get even more people is a good idea because The Fallen already have the numbers advantage, and I don't think we should waste time looking for the other groups.
- Location
- Vancouver, Canada
[x] Attack the Fallen outside the restaurant
[x] Evacuate the restaurant along with Samantha and Missy
My thinking is Taylor distracts the Fallen team outside the restaurant while Samantha and Missy get people out, then join you in wiping out that team of attackers with terminal prejudice. That or send Taylor out in search and destroy mode to wipe out whatever Fallen she can find.
[x] Evacuate the restaurant along with Samantha and Missy
My thinking is Taylor distracts the Fallen team outside the restaurant while Samantha and Missy get people out, then join you in wiping out that team of attackers with terminal prejudice. That or send Taylor out in search and destroy mode to wipe out whatever Fallen she can find.
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Archeo Lumiere
The Prince's Archivist
- Location
- Lumiose City, Kalos
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
Hey, heyheyhey! I got that reference!
Hell fucking yeah she is!
Okay screw you Railgun.
[X] Attack the Fallen headed towards the suites
- Location
- Canada
Really a great opportunity to Unison with them both present so we can pick our choice and finally try that out in a real fight... But looking like the simurgh is bad atm and dragon is busy.
Sulks.
Sulks.
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