Not really.
Taylor did kinda give permission. Even if it was purely sarcastically.
Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)
- Thread starter Silently Watches
- Start date
Not really.
Taylor did kinda give permission. Even if it was purely sarcastically.
...You are massively overstating things here. She does a couple of hours, some/most days: I haven't checked cites in a while, but I think it was ~10 hours from someone else who went digging. She's burnt out from stress/other issues, not directly due to time spent.
Which is still only ~10-15 hours, and heavily implied it's non-marginally less than that.3.x said:
Which means no actual permission was given, then.
Suntan 13.12
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
[] The spa group
[] Non-lethal
[] Calamity Witch and the Last Volley
Suntan 13.12
"What do we know about the group that set up shop in the spa?" you ask, watching as the image showing all forty Fallen regains color and then turns grey again, shifting the focus from the missing group to the one you mentioned. "Besides that they have the Tinker?"
"A bit." Dragon hits a couple of holographic keys and pulls up a few more screens. One of them is another Behemoth cape in white and red armor. Another shows the same creepy cape in the blue snakeskin jacket who tried hitting on you before killing you. "The cape on the left is Eligos. Aerokinetic, similar in fighting style to Ifrit. The cape on the right is Zagam. I know he's here because you brought back victims of his attacks. He duplicates and hurls small objects at high speeds. Most commonly he uses coins as a weapon, but he is not limited to them. I've seen pictures of what he can do with nails." She shakes her head. "It isn't pretty. The middle screen shows Vex. Teeth cape, can make razor-sharp forcefields.
"Besides them, I don't recognize anyone. I see two gunmen in that group, so with these three and the Tinker accounted for, there should only be two other combat-capable capes you'll need to deal with." The world's preeminent Tinker dismisses the screens and leans back in her chair. "I'm somewhat glad that we're here, if only because otherwise these people would have no one to protect them, but I really feel like we're going to need a vacation from our vacation."
Her comment pierces through the fog of anger still roiling around in your head, and you snort almost against your own volition. "Let's just give the beach a pass, okay? And between this and hearing that Disney apparently has its own black ops crew, I'm just writing Florida off entirely."
That gets a chuckle from the gynoid.
Strangely, the little bit of laughter helps your mood immensely, and you roll your shoulders. The issue with Cailleach's utter selfishness is something to be dealt with later, of course, but it can wait until you do not have murderous cultists bearing down on you. Since you know where the spa is, it should be a fairly short trip. «Sam!» you call out. «Meet me on the roof. It's time to go hunting.»
Your Guardian Beast finds you sitting on the edge of the roof, your thoughts sorting through the tactics available. Go in slashing with your scythe like you have been doing? It has certainly proven its worth, but you do not know if they might have hostages to use as human shields. You are pretty sure you did not manage to evacuate everyone before Zagam interrupted you. Solar Wrath, even on non-lethal, is ill-advised for the same reasons. You already need to dig people out of the restaurant's rubble. You would rather not have to do that twice.
No, an attack like this requires more than just overwhelming speed or force. You will need near surgical precision.
"We moving out?"
You hum in affirmation and drop off the roof to start the short flight to the spa. "Six capes, two gunmen, and an unknown number of hostages who are worth a lot more to us than they are to them. This has the potential to get messy."
"Yeah, it does," Samantha agrees, "but from the tone of your voice, it sounds like you have a plan."
"Something like that. Once we get to the spa, I need you to drop a Wide Area Search field onto the building. I need to know everything that's going on in there, and more importantly where everybody is."
"Okay. What will you be doing?"
You shoot her a crooked, cruel grin. "Setting up to make use of it."
There is a convenient roof just across the street from the spa, and you land on top of it while Samantha flies over the spa itself and unleashes the bright red sparks that will give you a perfect map of the building. While she is coming back, you fit action to words and start manifesting fireballs.
You can probably give up this whole 'disguising your identity' thing up as a bad job.
Still, now is not the time for self-recriminations. It is the time for spellcasting. Eight fat Flare Shooters appear in a ring in front of you, and then a second ring pops up next to it. You have used this variant of your classic spell only a few times in Perfect Storm's simulator and for sure never in the real world, but if there was ever a time to give it a try, this is it.
The Fallen want a war? You will remind them that war is hell.
Specifically, a war with you is a hell filled with fire and pain.
A screen opens in front of Samantha, and she spreads her hands as though she plans to enlarge it to the size of chalkboard. It does not grow that big, thankfully, but instead slides out multiple additional screens that show video feeds from the perspective of the individual sparks. It is clear that the Fallen do not know what to do about the sudden nonviolent intrusion, and that is worrying them.
That's okay. You can give them something they are more familiar with.
The rings of Flare Shooters start spinning, going faster and faster until they are nothing more than rings of light. "Mark the Fallen for me. I want to make sure I don't traumatize any of the hostages any more than necessary."
"Done. Model's 3D too. Whenever you're ready."
Your grin grows wider. "Storm? You want to do the honors?"
"With great excitement. Flare Shooter, Multishot. Fire!"
The two rings start spitting out bullets faster than the eye can follow, as fast as a machine gun. You can feel the spells draining your remaining mana at a wicked rate, but that does not matter. What matters is that the air has been filled with attacks, and all of them are flying into the building to carry your fury to those who truly deserve it.
"Sucks to be them," Samantha mutters at the sight of all the Flare Shooters soaring through the air.
Pulling your attention from the now more than a hundred bullets careening towards the spa, you focus your efforts as well as a circle bearing multiple lines on three red dots on the map that are close together. You are curious just how well this is going to work—
Thanks to the camera angles from the Wide Area Search field, you have a perfect view as the bullets punch through the walls and slam into the trio. You are pretty sure the first few bullets are enough to knock them out, but even once they are on the ground the hits just keep coming.
So that is the downside of this Flare Shooter variant, you tell yourself while switching the target to another red dot. The linked image shows Zagam flicking coins into a man and woman, both of them still alive but in obvious agony from all the coins already lodged in their bodies. Torture is just a way to pass time for him, is it? This time when the streams of bullets come from everywhere and pummel him, you intentionally leave the focus on him for a few more seconds than absolutely necessary.
"Taylor, don't lose focus," you Guardian Beast reminds you. She taps a video screen that shows a man in jeans and t-shirt hurriedly hooking something onto another cape in bloodstained armor. "That must be the Tinker."
An easy problem to solve. A simple shift of the targeting reticle has your bullets abandoning Zagam to hit the Tinker and who you can only assume is Vex. They go down as easily as the others, and then you send more bullets to absolutely demolish the table bearing all the Tinker's tech. No more power enhancements for the Fallen.
"Two more. Gunman is on that end of the complex. Eligos is running."
Your mind is already following her words and shifting the bullets' wrath onto the gunman. He stupidly tries shooting your bullets, but not only is his aim less than perfect, the few times he does get lucky he just causes them to explode in gouts of flame that set the interior to burning. Which… might be less than grand. "We're going to have to put that out, aren't we?" you ask.
"Probably should."
The front door of the spa is flung open, and the spiky costume of Eligos runs out. He looks behind him, no doubt expecting more bullets to follow him. Turning around, he looks up and sees the two of you standing there like judges preparing to decide his fate. He raises his hand as if to attack, but all he has done is put himself closer to the source of the bullets, and he is pounded into the ground before he can get a single shot off. Too bad.
You cut off the flow of magic to the rings of fire in front of you and let the remaining bullets hit Eligos. A wave of fatigue hits you, and you almost stumble off the rooftop if not for Samantha catching you. "You okay?" the raccoon woman demands.
"I'm okay. Just tired." You shake your head. "That spell is exhausting."
"Apologies, Mistress," Perfect Storm says. "Multishot variant significantly increases rate of fire, but efficiency decreased as result."
You give the Intelligent Device a pat. "It's fine. It did what it was supposed to. And did it like whoa," you add when you look at the building. Now that you are focusing on what your eyes are showing you instead of Wide Area Search, you cannot help but marvel at all the holes you put in the side of the building. You did not demolish it the way you would have with Solar Wrath, but considering how the walls look to be more hole than wood, it was a close thing. "Might as well put out those fires now before they burn up anyone we don't want them to."
"Alright." Samantha kneels slightly and pats herself on the shoulder. "Climb on."
That startles a laugh out of you. "I can fly on my own, Sam."
"Not right now you can't. Or shouldn't," she amends. "You're running on fumes, Taylor. I can fly us both over there, and that way you can conserve your power."
You are not running on fumes, exactly, but you have to admit that right now you are not at your best. You normally do not spend a solid half hour engaged in high level combat. The last time you did, in fact, was fighting Leviathan, and you leaned heavily on your cartridges for that fight to keep up with the grueling pace.
"Fine, but just this once," you tell her in resignation.
Climbing onto her back, you have to hold on tight at the sudden acceleration. She carries you into the spa, and you drop back down onto the ground and look around the inside with a tiny bit of regret welling up inside. You might have made a rather big mess with your assault, and your boots slide unsteadily on the splinters from the walls that litter the floor. The couple Zagam was torturing you already know about, so you move down the hallway looking for others.
You eventually find them. Splayed out on the floor of one of the storage rooms with eyes staring blankly at the ceiling and wounds that have already stopped leaking blood. Spas are meant for people to enjoy themselves, but looking around at the bodies that have been tossed inside here without care, you cannot imagine it as anything but a mausoleum.
"Calamity, Samantha," Dragon's voice comes from a new screen, "I need you to get back here."
You pull your gaze from the bodies. "What's wrong now?"
"Remember how I lost track of the group that had been heading towards the suites? I found them."
She found them? Why is that a reason for you to come back to her then rather than taking off after them? Your heart sinks as the obvious explanation comes to mind. "They're attacking the activity center, aren't they?"
"They're certainly trying to. Missy is stretching things out to make it harder for them to approach, but she's having difficulties with all the hostages they brought with them. I'm still coordinating security as best I can, and I sent Cassiel to hide with the rest of the noncombatants. We do not want the Fallen getting their hands on the Simurgh."
"How many attackers are we talking about?"
Dragon gives you a humorless expression. "Somewhere north of a hundred. And those are just the ones I can see. They Mastered everyone in the suites."
"Sam!"
Your Guardian Beast is instantly at your side and all but pulling you onto her back again. She can fly as fast as you can, so it takes only seconds before you have crossed half the length of the island and can see what Dragon is talking about.
"Is it just me," Samantha says in the ensuing silence, "or does this look like a scene out of a zombie movie?"
You really, really want to argue against that, but you just can't. The Mastered hostages are a thick crowd rushing the building, and as you watch they seem to slide backwards as Missy applies her power to the space in between. Even with that, though, the hostages are steadily gaining ground. Her power does not work well with a large human presence, and this certainly counts as large.
"Let me off," you order Samantha, and you take to the sky under your own power.
"What are you planning?"
Her question is quickly answered when Perfect Storm's staff forms in your hand and you level it at the group. At the head gathers a ball of flame that grows steadily larger.
"Do you have enough juice for that?" she asks worriedly.
"I better," you reply as the fireball grows slowly, so slowly, into a miniature sun. At long last it reaches full size, and not a moment too soon. The crowd of hostages are at the walls and the door on that side of the building leading into the activity center. "Solar Wrath!"
The beam from your Buster is narrow, focused, and you drag it to carve a swath through the crowd of hostages. When the attack ends, everyone in its path is on the ground unconscious and the walls have been melted and smeared together. No one is getting in or out through that door, of that you can be certain.
Samantha catches you as you wobble in the air. "Okay, now I'm running on fumes," you admit.
"Really, you think?!" The Guardian Beast shakes her head. "Let's get you inside, and you can rest while I work on taking out the Fallen."
Just as she is finished detailing her plan, a chipper yellow light flashes inside the building. It looks almost like the light of a fireplace seen through a window.
"Ifrit," you guess, and it is telling that Samantha does not argue with you. "They're inside."
A low rumble vibrates against your chest. "Storm," Samantha demands, her growl audible in her voice, "what's the most efficient attack spell Taylor has in her repertoire?"
"Programmed non-lethal, Flare Blade highly contained. Little mana requirement for upkeep."
"Then I'll rely on Flare Blade," you say before your Guardian Beast can order you to do just that. "Now let's stop quibbling over the details and get in there before someone gets hurt!"
Rather than find the next closest door, which undoubtedly will also be under assault by the enslaved horde, Samantha zips towards the nearest skylight and drops through. The sudden crash and falling glass distracts the red-armored cape spraying fire from his hands and makes him look up at you.
You did just promise to use Flare Blade, but you are sure Samantha will not mind if you toss out a Ring Bind just this once.
Circles of orange magic lock around the cape's wrists and ankles, and Ifrit grunts and struggles against being caught in the same spell once again. "You bitch!"
Instead of flying and using up your remaining mana, you simply run towards the main room in the activity center and raise your middle finger as you pass the captured cape. One of the security guards who had been pinned in place by Ifrit's flames raises his pistol, closes one eye, and squeezes off a single round. You do not look behind you at the end result, and while you would rather not have to kill anyone else for the foreseeable future, you can not muster up any tears for the loss of that villain.
Turning the corner, you can only stare in horror at the chaos that has taken over the activity center.
It has become impossible to tell from a distance who is Mastered and who has not. Everyone is engaged in fisticuffs with everyone else. The guards have pulled nightsticks and are beating anyone who jumps at them with demented howls, of which there are surprisingly many. You do not hear any more gunshots, for which you are thankful, but that does not mean the air is not being filled with screams and shouts and the sound of fists violently hitting flesh.
Two more screams join the din, and a man and woman with unnaturally bright blue eyes rush towards you. They are quickly dropped with a swing of your now-blunt scythe blade.
"This is madness," Samantha says, stealing a length of pipe from one of the attacking hostages and hitting him upside the head with it.
You do not have time or inclination to argue with that, so rather than try you jump into the fray. It becomes easier for you to sort through who is who when you do, as the people who are possessed of their own mind take one look at you and your weapon and either get out of the way or return their focus to whoever is hitting them. Those who are not their own men and women see you instead as a greatest threat and turn their aggression on you. You are not sure whether this desire to attack the most dangerous person in the room is a bug in Purson's ability or a feature, but whichever it is seems to be playing in your favor.
Glass shatters above you, and you look up to see a figure wrapped in white fall out of an upstairs window and land on the ground. She rolls and springs back up to her feet before unrolling more of the fabric around her body.
Sheets, you realize with no little shock. This girl has covered herself completely in clean sheets and is using them as unusually effective weapons. The long lengths of cloth flick out with each movement of her hands, cracking like bullwhips and catching the attention of several hostages. They run at her only for the sheets to unfold themselves as though they were extensions of her body and wrap around their heads before clonking them together at speeds that make you wince.
A new Trigger. That is the only explanation. Not that somebody Triggering as a parahuman in the midst of an attack by the Fallen is unexpected. If you were powerless and at their mercy, this would probably be among the worst days of your life, too. An ugly part of your mind cannot help but note that this new cape, working without a name or a costume or even any experience with their powers, is more willing to help than a certain other individual you could name.
"They're Mastered!" you yell at the telekinetic cape. "Take them down, but don't hurt them too much!"
"I know!"
Her words stagger you, and you stare at her in confusion for several seconds, averting your eyes only to swing your scythe at a knot of hostages attempting to tackle you. The other cape's voice is familiar. Suspiciously so. With your most recent attackers knocked down and knocked out, you look back at the new cape.
As she continues to fight, she has weaponized more and more of the sheets around her and in the process has revealed a head full of fluffy white hair. Hair that you know you have seen not too much earlier in the day on a much smaller head. She spins around and hurls a hostage across the room as though she is competing in an Olympic hammer throw competition, and the movement brings with it a flash of blue just above her face. Paint, probably.
Or hair dye.
There could be any number of teenagers with blue hair in this resort, but no matter how hard you try to convince yourself of that, the most obvious explanation refuses to leave your mind. The cape raises one hand towards you and clenches her fist.
The sound of something exploding comes from right behind you, and you spin around to find a cape all in white with a long mask pierced through by javelins of ice. Purson, the Fallen's Master, stares at you as eyes flashing blue, then his head slumps in death.
«Telepathic intrusion ineffective.»
It is impossible to ignore what is right in front of you now. That is Laura. Laura is a mage.
And a mage can join forces with a Unison Device to become something greater.
You force your eyes away from the whirling dervish and back to the task at hand. There will be a time to talk to Laura and Cassiel about this in the future, once you are no longer being attacked by all and sundry. Not that the hostages are that much of a danger except to themselves. You take a moment to look at the battlefield again. Maybe it is the addition of two mages and a Guardian Beast, maybe it is just the natural course of the fight, or maybe it is the result of Purson's death. Regardless, the hostages are fighting more clumsily and are becoming easier for the other civilians and guards to take down. The tide is turning against the Fallen.
Gunshots ring out from one corner of the room, and the sheets around Laura thrash wildly in the split second before the hostages next to her fall to the ground with red stains on their bodies.
The Fallen's foot soldier.
You jump into the air and over the crowd, your energy blade failing as you divert your magic into a different spell. Not the gunman, you realize as the shooter looks up at you. It was Empusa firing into the crowd. She likewise leaps into the air at an angle, dodging you swing as you fall into the space where she was standing. The hostages who had been surrounding her jump on top of you in a dog pile.
«Stop the other cape in white!» you scream in your mind at both Samantha and the Laura-Cassiel duo. Your scythe reignites with an angry hiss, and you spin yourself and the hostages holding on to you as you slash at them. The heat coming off the scythe causes several of them to scream, but nevertheless you are free and on the hunt for your own target.
Empusa, hovering in the middle of the room near the ceiling, wears the expression of someone who is coming to realize that they might have screwed up.
You take off after her like a gunshot. She tries to dodge, but while she is fast, you are faster. You slam into her and drive both her and you into the floor. Her gun would in some other circumstances act like an effective club, but between the lack of leverage and your Barrier Jacket, all she can do is flail it around and scream hateful invectives at you.
That leaves an opening that is just too tempting to pass up. A single fireball forms in your palm, and you shove it into her screaming mouth and detonate it.
Non-lethal is not the same as non-crippling, and your stomach squirms when her bottom jaw shatters and rips itself off her face.
The world lights up, and you whirl around prepared to put what is left of your magic into your Strong Shield. It is not a massive attack, however. It is simply the light of day, light that you had not even realized had been blocked out as much as it was, shining through the windows.
The dome must have fallen.
Above you the ceiling shatters, and five capes in costume drop into the building. "Tampa Protectorate! Everyone down on the ground!"
You sigh and flop down on top of the – hopefully unconscious – Leviathan-themed flier.
Finally. The cavalry has arrived.
In case you were wondering, this is how Laura gets off Taylor's Shit List™.
I thought it would be cruel to make you wait for the interlude considering the impact of this chapter, so just keep scrolling down.
[] Non-lethal
[] Calamity Witch and the Last Volley
Suntan 13.12
"What do we know about the group that set up shop in the spa?" you ask, watching as the image showing all forty Fallen regains color and then turns grey again, shifting the focus from the missing group to the one you mentioned. "Besides that they have the Tinker?"
"A bit." Dragon hits a couple of holographic keys and pulls up a few more screens. One of them is another Behemoth cape in white and red armor. Another shows the same creepy cape in the blue snakeskin jacket who tried hitting on you before killing you. "The cape on the left is Eligos. Aerokinetic, similar in fighting style to Ifrit. The cape on the right is Zagam. I know he's here because you brought back victims of his attacks. He duplicates and hurls small objects at high speeds. Most commonly he uses coins as a weapon, but he is not limited to them. I've seen pictures of what he can do with nails." She shakes her head. "It isn't pretty. The middle screen shows Vex. Teeth cape, can make razor-sharp forcefields.
"Besides them, I don't recognize anyone. I see two gunmen in that group, so with these three and the Tinker accounted for, there should only be two other combat-capable capes you'll need to deal with." The world's preeminent Tinker dismisses the screens and leans back in her chair. "I'm somewhat glad that we're here, if only because otherwise these people would have no one to protect them, but I really feel like we're going to need a vacation from our vacation."
Her comment pierces through the fog of anger still roiling around in your head, and you snort almost against your own volition. "Let's just give the beach a pass, okay? And between this and hearing that Disney apparently has its own black ops crew, I'm just writing Florida off entirely."
That gets a chuckle from the gynoid.
Strangely, the little bit of laughter helps your mood immensely, and you roll your shoulders. The issue with Cailleach's utter selfishness is something to be dealt with later, of course, but it can wait until you do not have murderous cultists bearing down on you. Since you know where the spa is, it should be a fairly short trip. «Sam!» you call out. «Meet me on the roof. It's time to go hunting.»
Your Guardian Beast finds you sitting on the edge of the roof, your thoughts sorting through the tactics available. Go in slashing with your scythe like you have been doing? It has certainly proven its worth, but you do not know if they might have hostages to use as human shields. You are pretty sure you did not manage to evacuate everyone before Zagam interrupted you. Solar Wrath, even on non-lethal, is ill-advised for the same reasons. You already need to dig people out of the restaurant's rubble. You would rather not have to do that twice.
No, an attack like this requires more than just overwhelming speed or force. You will need near surgical precision.
"We moving out?"
You hum in affirmation and drop off the roof to start the short flight to the spa. "Six capes, two gunmen, and an unknown number of hostages who are worth a lot more to us than they are to them. This has the potential to get messy."
"Yeah, it does," Samantha agrees, "but from the tone of your voice, it sounds like you have a plan."
"Something like that. Once we get to the spa, I need you to drop a Wide Area Search field onto the building. I need to know everything that's going on in there, and more importantly where everybody is."
"Okay. What will you be doing?"
You shoot her a crooked, cruel grin. "Setting up to make use of it."
There is a convenient roof just across the street from the spa, and you land on top of it while Samantha flies over the spa itself and unleashes the bright red sparks that will give you a perfect map of the building. While she is coming back, you fit action to words and start manifesting fireballs.
You can probably give up this whole 'disguising your identity' thing up as a bad job.
Still, now is not the time for self-recriminations. It is the time for spellcasting. Eight fat Flare Shooters appear in a ring in front of you, and then a second ring pops up next to it. You have used this variant of your classic spell only a few times in Perfect Storm's simulator and for sure never in the real world, but if there was ever a time to give it a try, this is it.
The Fallen want a war? You will remind them that war is hell.
Specifically, a war with you is a hell filled with fire and pain.
A screen opens in front of Samantha, and she spreads her hands as though she plans to enlarge it to the size of chalkboard. It does not grow that big, thankfully, but instead slides out multiple additional screens that show video feeds from the perspective of the individual sparks. It is clear that the Fallen do not know what to do about the sudden nonviolent intrusion, and that is worrying them.
That's okay. You can give them something they are more familiar with.
The rings of Flare Shooters start spinning, going faster and faster until they are nothing more than rings of light. "Mark the Fallen for me. I want to make sure I don't traumatize any of the hostages any more than necessary."
"Done. Model's 3D too. Whenever you're ready."
Your grin grows wider. "Storm? You want to do the honors?"
"With great excitement. Flare Shooter, Multishot. Fire!"
The two rings start spitting out bullets faster than the eye can follow, as fast as a machine gun. You can feel the spells draining your remaining mana at a wicked rate, but that does not matter. What matters is that the air has been filled with attacks, and all of them are flying into the building to carry your fury to those who truly deserve it.
"Sucks to be them," Samantha mutters at the sight of all the Flare Shooters soaring through the air.
Pulling your attention from the now more than a hundred bullets careening towards the spa, you focus your efforts as well as a circle bearing multiple lines on three red dots on the map that are close together. You are curious just how well this is going to work—
Thanks to the camera angles from the Wide Area Search field, you have a perfect view as the bullets punch through the walls and slam into the trio. You are pretty sure the first few bullets are enough to knock them out, but even once they are on the ground the hits just keep coming.
So that is the downside of this Flare Shooter variant, you tell yourself while switching the target to another red dot. The linked image shows Zagam flicking coins into a man and woman, both of them still alive but in obvious agony from all the coins already lodged in their bodies. Torture is just a way to pass time for him, is it? This time when the streams of bullets come from everywhere and pummel him, you intentionally leave the focus on him for a few more seconds than absolutely necessary.
"Taylor, don't lose focus," you Guardian Beast reminds you. She taps a video screen that shows a man in jeans and t-shirt hurriedly hooking something onto another cape in bloodstained armor. "That must be the Tinker."
An easy problem to solve. A simple shift of the targeting reticle has your bullets abandoning Zagam to hit the Tinker and who you can only assume is Vex. They go down as easily as the others, and then you send more bullets to absolutely demolish the table bearing all the Tinker's tech. No more power enhancements for the Fallen.
"Two more. Gunman is on that end of the complex. Eligos is running."
Your mind is already following her words and shifting the bullets' wrath onto the gunman. He stupidly tries shooting your bullets, but not only is his aim less than perfect, the few times he does get lucky he just causes them to explode in gouts of flame that set the interior to burning. Which… might be less than grand. "We're going to have to put that out, aren't we?" you ask.
"Probably should."
The front door of the spa is flung open, and the spiky costume of Eligos runs out. He looks behind him, no doubt expecting more bullets to follow him. Turning around, he looks up and sees the two of you standing there like judges preparing to decide his fate. He raises his hand as if to attack, but all he has done is put himself closer to the source of the bullets, and he is pounded into the ground before he can get a single shot off. Too bad.
You cut off the flow of magic to the rings of fire in front of you and let the remaining bullets hit Eligos. A wave of fatigue hits you, and you almost stumble off the rooftop if not for Samantha catching you. "You okay?" the raccoon woman demands.
"I'm okay. Just tired." You shake your head. "That spell is exhausting."
"Apologies, Mistress," Perfect Storm says. "Multishot variant significantly increases rate of fire, but efficiency decreased as result."
You give the Intelligent Device a pat. "It's fine. It did what it was supposed to. And did it like whoa," you add when you look at the building. Now that you are focusing on what your eyes are showing you instead of Wide Area Search, you cannot help but marvel at all the holes you put in the side of the building. You did not demolish it the way you would have with Solar Wrath, but considering how the walls look to be more hole than wood, it was a close thing. "Might as well put out those fires now before they burn up anyone we don't want them to."
"Alright." Samantha kneels slightly and pats herself on the shoulder. "Climb on."
That startles a laugh out of you. "I can fly on my own, Sam."
"Not right now you can't. Or shouldn't," she amends. "You're running on fumes, Taylor. I can fly us both over there, and that way you can conserve your power."
You are not running on fumes, exactly, but you have to admit that right now you are not at your best. You normally do not spend a solid half hour engaged in high level combat. The last time you did, in fact, was fighting Leviathan, and you leaned heavily on your cartridges for that fight to keep up with the grueling pace.
"Fine, but just this once," you tell her in resignation.
Climbing onto her back, you have to hold on tight at the sudden acceleration. She carries you into the spa, and you drop back down onto the ground and look around the inside with a tiny bit of regret welling up inside. You might have made a rather big mess with your assault, and your boots slide unsteadily on the splinters from the walls that litter the floor. The couple Zagam was torturing you already know about, so you move down the hallway looking for others.
You eventually find them. Splayed out on the floor of one of the storage rooms with eyes staring blankly at the ceiling and wounds that have already stopped leaking blood. Spas are meant for people to enjoy themselves, but looking around at the bodies that have been tossed inside here without care, you cannot imagine it as anything but a mausoleum.
"Calamity, Samantha," Dragon's voice comes from a new screen, "I need you to get back here."
You pull your gaze from the bodies. "What's wrong now?"
"Remember how I lost track of the group that had been heading towards the suites? I found them."
She found them? Why is that a reason for you to come back to her then rather than taking off after them? Your heart sinks as the obvious explanation comes to mind. "They're attacking the activity center, aren't they?"
"They're certainly trying to. Missy is stretching things out to make it harder for them to approach, but she's having difficulties with all the hostages they brought with them. I'm still coordinating security as best I can, and I sent Cassiel to hide with the rest of the noncombatants. We do not want the Fallen getting their hands on the Simurgh."
"How many attackers are we talking about?"
Dragon gives you a humorless expression. "Somewhere north of a hundred. And those are just the ones I can see. They Mastered everyone in the suites."
"Sam!"
Your Guardian Beast is instantly at your side and all but pulling you onto her back again. She can fly as fast as you can, so it takes only seconds before you have crossed half the length of the island and can see what Dragon is talking about.
"Is it just me," Samantha says in the ensuing silence, "or does this look like a scene out of a zombie movie?"
You really, really want to argue against that, but you just can't. The Mastered hostages are a thick crowd rushing the building, and as you watch they seem to slide backwards as Missy applies her power to the space in between. Even with that, though, the hostages are steadily gaining ground. Her power does not work well with a large human presence, and this certainly counts as large.
"Let me off," you order Samantha, and you take to the sky under your own power.
"What are you planning?"
Her question is quickly answered when Perfect Storm's staff forms in your hand and you level it at the group. At the head gathers a ball of flame that grows steadily larger.
"Do you have enough juice for that?" she asks worriedly.
"I better," you reply as the fireball grows slowly, so slowly, into a miniature sun. At long last it reaches full size, and not a moment too soon. The crowd of hostages are at the walls and the door on that side of the building leading into the activity center. "Solar Wrath!"
The beam from your Buster is narrow, focused, and you drag it to carve a swath through the crowd of hostages. When the attack ends, everyone in its path is on the ground unconscious and the walls have been melted and smeared together. No one is getting in or out through that door, of that you can be certain.
Samantha catches you as you wobble in the air. "Okay, now I'm running on fumes," you admit.
"Really, you think?!" The Guardian Beast shakes her head. "Let's get you inside, and you can rest while I work on taking out the Fallen."
Just as she is finished detailing her plan, a chipper yellow light flashes inside the building. It looks almost like the light of a fireplace seen through a window.
"Ifrit," you guess, and it is telling that Samantha does not argue with you. "They're inside."
A low rumble vibrates against your chest. "Storm," Samantha demands, her growl audible in her voice, "what's the most efficient attack spell Taylor has in her repertoire?"
"Programmed non-lethal, Flare Blade highly contained. Little mana requirement for upkeep."
"Then I'll rely on Flare Blade," you say before your Guardian Beast can order you to do just that. "Now let's stop quibbling over the details and get in there before someone gets hurt!"
Rather than find the next closest door, which undoubtedly will also be under assault by the enslaved horde, Samantha zips towards the nearest skylight and drops through. The sudden crash and falling glass distracts the red-armored cape spraying fire from his hands and makes him look up at you.
You did just promise to use Flare Blade, but you are sure Samantha will not mind if you toss out a Ring Bind just this once.
Circles of orange magic lock around the cape's wrists and ankles, and Ifrit grunts and struggles against being caught in the same spell once again. "You bitch!"
Instead of flying and using up your remaining mana, you simply run towards the main room in the activity center and raise your middle finger as you pass the captured cape. One of the security guards who had been pinned in place by Ifrit's flames raises his pistol, closes one eye, and squeezes off a single round. You do not look behind you at the end result, and while you would rather not have to kill anyone else for the foreseeable future, you can not muster up any tears for the loss of that villain.
Turning the corner, you can only stare in horror at the chaos that has taken over the activity center.
It has become impossible to tell from a distance who is Mastered and who has not. Everyone is engaged in fisticuffs with everyone else. The guards have pulled nightsticks and are beating anyone who jumps at them with demented howls, of which there are surprisingly many. You do not hear any more gunshots, for which you are thankful, but that does not mean the air is not being filled with screams and shouts and the sound of fists violently hitting flesh.
Two more screams join the din, and a man and woman with unnaturally bright blue eyes rush towards you. They are quickly dropped with a swing of your now-blunt scythe blade.
"This is madness," Samantha says, stealing a length of pipe from one of the attacking hostages and hitting him upside the head with it.
You do not have time or inclination to argue with that, so rather than try you jump into the fray. It becomes easier for you to sort through who is who when you do, as the people who are possessed of their own mind take one look at you and your weapon and either get out of the way or return their focus to whoever is hitting them. Those who are not their own men and women see you instead as a greatest threat and turn their aggression on you. You are not sure whether this desire to attack the most dangerous person in the room is a bug in Purson's ability or a feature, but whichever it is seems to be playing in your favor.
Glass shatters above you, and you look up to see a figure wrapped in white fall out of an upstairs window and land on the ground. She rolls and springs back up to her feet before unrolling more of the fabric around her body.
Sheets, you realize with no little shock. This girl has covered herself completely in clean sheets and is using them as unusually effective weapons. The long lengths of cloth flick out with each movement of her hands, cracking like bullwhips and catching the attention of several hostages. They run at her only for the sheets to unfold themselves as though they were extensions of her body and wrap around their heads before clonking them together at speeds that make you wince.
A new Trigger. That is the only explanation. Not that somebody Triggering as a parahuman in the midst of an attack by the Fallen is unexpected. If you were powerless and at their mercy, this would probably be among the worst days of your life, too. An ugly part of your mind cannot help but note that this new cape, working without a name or a costume or even any experience with their powers, is more willing to help than a certain other individual you could name.
"They're Mastered!" you yell at the telekinetic cape. "Take them down, but don't hurt them too much!"
"I know!"
Her words stagger you, and you stare at her in confusion for several seconds, averting your eyes only to swing your scythe at a knot of hostages attempting to tackle you. The other cape's voice is familiar. Suspiciously so. With your most recent attackers knocked down and knocked out, you look back at the new cape.
As she continues to fight, she has weaponized more and more of the sheets around her and in the process has revealed a head full of fluffy white hair. Hair that you know you have seen not too much earlier in the day on a much smaller head. She spins around and hurls a hostage across the room as though she is competing in an Olympic hammer throw competition, and the movement brings with it a flash of blue just above her face. Paint, probably.
Or hair dye.
There could be any number of teenagers with blue hair in this resort, but no matter how hard you try to convince yourself of that, the most obvious explanation refuses to leave your mind. The cape raises one hand towards you and clenches her fist.
The sound of something exploding comes from right behind you, and you spin around to find a cape all in white with a long mask pierced through by javelins of ice. Purson, the Fallen's Master, stares at you as eyes flashing blue, then his head slumps in death.
«Telepathic intrusion ineffective.»
It is impossible to ignore what is right in front of you now. That is Laura. Laura is a mage.
And a mage can join forces with a Unison Device to become something greater.
You force your eyes away from the whirling dervish and back to the task at hand. There will be a time to talk to Laura and Cassiel about this in the future, once you are no longer being attacked by all and sundry. Not that the hostages are that much of a danger except to themselves. You take a moment to look at the battlefield again. Maybe it is the addition of two mages and a Guardian Beast, maybe it is just the natural course of the fight, or maybe it is the result of Purson's death. Regardless, the hostages are fighting more clumsily and are becoming easier for the other civilians and guards to take down. The tide is turning against the Fallen.
Gunshots ring out from one corner of the room, and the sheets around Laura thrash wildly in the split second before the hostages next to her fall to the ground with red stains on their bodies.
The Fallen's foot soldier.
You jump into the air and over the crowd, your energy blade failing as you divert your magic into a different spell. Not the gunman, you realize as the shooter looks up at you. It was Empusa firing into the crowd. She likewise leaps into the air at an angle, dodging you swing as you fall into the space where she was standing. The hostages who had been surrounding her jump on top of you in a dog pile.
«Stop the other cape in white!» you scream in your mind at both Samantha and the Laura-Cassiel duo. Your scythe reignites with an angry hiss, and you spin yourself and the hostages holding on to you as you slash at them. The heat coming off the scythe causes several of them to scream, but nevertheless you are free and on the hunt for your own target.
Empusa, hovering in the middle of the room near the ceiling, wears the expression of someone who is coming to realize that they might have screwed up.
You take off after her like a gunshot. She tries to dodge, but while she is fast, you are faster. You slam into her and drive both her and you into the floor. Her gun would in some other circumstances act like an effective club, but between the lack of leverage and your Barrier Jacket, all she can do is flail it around and scream hateful invectives at you.
That leaves an opening that is just too tempting to pass up. A single fireball forms in your palm, and you shove it into her screaming mouth and detonate it.
Non-lethal is not the same as non-crippling, and your stomach squirms when her bottom jaw shatters and rips itself off her face.
The world lights up, and you whirl around prepared to put what is left of your magic into your Strong Shield. It is not a massive attack, however. It is simply the light of day, light that you had not even realized had been blocked out as much as it was, shining through the windows.
The dome must have fallen.
Above you the ceiling shatters, and five capes in costume drop into the building. "Tampa Protectorate! Everyone down on the ground!"
You sigh and flop down on top of the – hopefully unconscious – Leviathan-themed flier.
Finally. The cavalry has arrived.
In case you were wondering, this is how Laura gets off Taylor's Shit List™.
I thought it would be cruel to make you wait for the interlude considering the impact of this chapter, so just keep scrolling down.
Suntan 13.x
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Suntan 13.x
Saturday, July 30
The bathroom rang with the echoes of Taylor's accusation.
"Um," Kayleigh said, breaking the disturbing silence. That was apparently all she had to say because she fell quiet again immediately afterwards.
Laura sighed and leaned against the sink. "Well. That went… badly."
"I, um, I'm sure she didn't mean that. About leaving you to die."
It was hard to hold back the snort that wanted to escape, but Laura managed it. Kayleigh had not seen the look in Taylor's eyes as she made that threat. The anger, the disgust. In the heroine's mind, by refusing to come to the aid of the normal people stuck on this island, Laura had lowered herself to somewhere around or below the level of pond scum.
And she could not exactly argue against that opinion.
That was not what Kayleigh needed to hear, though. She did not need to know how close Taylor had been to trying to melt Laura's face off. Kayleigh, even after years of knowing her, still had a slightly romanticized view of cape life. It was a view Laura had gone to great lengths to preserve. Her friend, her sister in all but blood, was an optimist and an idealist who somehow thought that everyone had a spark of good somewhere inside them. She did not need to see the dark and brutal underbelly of humanity.
So instead of disagreeing and disabusing Kayleigh of the notion that this was something that could be patched up, she simply said, "Maybe. Hey, can I get a little privacy? Just for a few minutes."
Kayleigh looked at her with narrowed eyes. "You want me to go away so you can mope, don't you?"
"I don't mope!" Laura immediately denied. She didn't! "I just… need some time to think, okay? And I bet your parents are going to start looking for you soon if you don't head back."
The other girl sighed in exasperation but walked out the door, flicking a knowing glance at her as she passed. "If you're not back in ten minutes, I'm dragging you out of here."
Ten minutes. Ha. As if ten minutes would be enough time for her to figure out what in the world she was going to do about all this.
Taylor – Calamity Witch – thought she was too selfish and too cowardly to help out defending the resort. That was not the case at all, though Laura could see why Taylor thought that was what was going on. It was not that she did not want to help. She did!
She just couldn't.
The Fallen were among the largest villain organizations in the United States. They had, apparently, beaten back an entire branch of the Protectorate and kidnapped its members as they tried to escape. This was the kind of group that was suicide for someone to fight all on their own. And Taylor expected her to hold them off by herself?
She shook her head. Taylor had a dangerous blind spot, one she did not think the taller girl even knew about. It was obvious from the way she had talked on the beach. Taylor made social calls to the Triumvirate. She collaborated with Dragon to Tinker. She had the raw strength to make an Endbringer hurt.
Laura would be the first to agree that Calamity Witch was a powerful cape, easily in the top tier. She deserved to be on such casual terms with the big name capes. The problem was that she saw her power and the power of those she associated with and had convinced herself that it was the norm, that all capes had this much power at their fingertips.
She was wrong.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Laura thought about trying to fight a team of the Fallen like she had seen breaking into the spa and could not help the shiver that ran down her spine. It was impossible. Her powers were not so strong that she could hold them off, not if her life depended on it and definitely not as casually as Taylor seemed to think she could.
It was one of the first things Jotunn had pounded into her head when she joined up. Could her ice blasts cause property damage? Sure. Could they stop a Brute from breaking her in half? Keep a speedster from slipping behind her and stabbing her in the back? Stop a Master from taking over her mind and turning her into nothing more than a puppet?
Hell no.
Her ice was on the weak side of powers. That had been proven in the ring time and time again by Jotunn and Pounce and Solaire. The only cape she could regularly beat was Angel Dust, who as a Tinker should not be fighting in the first place anyway. She was no Alexandria, no matter how much she had wanted to be when she was little. If anyone shrugged off her attacks and got close, she was nothing more than a regular teenaged girl. She would be defenseless.
At least against Leviathan, there were much more tempting targets he could go after, especially since her powers had done absolutely nothing other than give the flying bricks something to hit him with besides their fists. She would be the only cape here for the Fallen to focus on.
Those were just the immediate dangers, too! Taylor was an independent cape. If someone figured out who she was, who were they going to attack to get back at her? Samantha? An image of the animalistic woman covered in the blood of the Maras came to mind, and Laura shook her head. If anyone tried attacking Samantha to get at Taylor, that would not be a fight. It would just be natural selection in action.
Her? She had a team. If she revealed her powers in such a public display, it opened up all of Winter Hill to reprisals. Any dumb normie who took a picture or video and posted it to the Internet would be painting a target on her back for the Fallen to take a shot at, and that shot would come at Winter Hill's expense. They would know it, too. They would know that she was putting herself and her own interests, even if those interests were to protect other people, in front of the gang's. It would be seen as a betrayal.
Winter Hill did not treat traitors kindly. She had not yet had her powers when Malachite tried breaking off from the gang and taking part of their territory for himself, but she had heard what happened. They would not butcher her for this, of that much she could be sure, but they would still cast her out so any revenge was her own to deal with. The other members of Winter Hill were not her friends, she had been honest to Taylor about that, but they were still all she had. She did not like her chances if she was thrown out in the streets to watch her own back.
She had no delusions that Jotunn would step in, either. He cared for her, loved her, but if he had to choose between his gang and his daughter, everybody who knew him knew which one he would pick.
No matter what Taylor thought of her choices, she had good reasons for them, Laura told herself with a sniff. Nor was it just self-interest. If she died, which was too possible not to consider when fighting the blasted Fallen of all capes, who was going to stand guard over the people who paid Winter Hill to provide them with protection? None of the other capes were interested. Pounce had actually laughed at her when it came out that she routinely spent her free time patrolling their territory and making sure things were calm and safe, that there were no muggers or rapists lying in wait down dark alleys. Jotunn, once he heard, had never told her to stop, but he never told anyone to help out either. Between nobody else caring and them making it clear that the Protectorate were not welcome on their turf, she was the only protector those people had.
Laura took a deep breath and held it for a moment. She was doing the right thing. She knew it. Taylor and Samantha would have to deal with this themselves. It was not as if they did not already have everything well in hand, not if Taylor's comment about killing some of the Fallen was anything to go by. All they had to do was overpower a group of villains who no one smart was willing to fight head on because they were so strong that nobody could stop them.
All they had to do was keep dancing one step ahead of certain death or worse.
She punched the door, then again and again. Only when her hand ached from the abuse did she stop and curl up on herself. She would not cry. She did not deserve to cry.
Because Taylor was right. The bitch was one hundred percent on the nose. She wanted to help, wanted to help out the only person Kayleigh had ever forced on her who might actually get it and understand her life, but instead she was standing here in a bathroom coming up with every flimsy excuse under the sun why she should not when the reality was so much simpler.
She was just too much of a weakling and a coward.
"Everyone seek shelter," a voice came from the speakers outside. "The Fallen are approaching this building. I repeat, everyone seek shelter. All guards assemble in the main lobby."
Laura tried to laugh, but the sound was quickly choked out by a sob. How fucking perfect! Here she was, trying to save her own hide, and as a result she had just killed them all. Taylor's prediction was about to come true sooner than either of them expected.
Someone knocked on the door, and she forced her face into an expressionless mask. Thankfully it was not Kayleigh who walked through the door, but a little kid. It took a minute for her to recognize the blonde girl as Taylor's cousin. Something that started with a 'c'. Cassie, that was it! It took a moment for the reality of her situation to sink in, and Laura almost laughed.
Great. If the Fallen did anything to Taylor's cousin and did not kill Laura in the process, Taylor sure as hell would finish the job for them. "I don't think this is the best hiding spot, kid," she told the girl in a gruff voice.
"Hiding from the Fallen is not my primary concern," Cassie said in that weird way of speaking she had. Seriously, did her mother shove a dictionary down her throat when she was born or something? "Even if it were, I have alternate options." The girl scanned her with baby blue eyes and frowned. "You are distressed, but not just about the Fallen attacking us. Something else. What is it?"
"I'm not upset," she muttered petulantly.
"Of course you are not." At least the girl had sarcasm down pat. Cassie grabbed her hand, and her eyes grew wide.
Laura pulled away from the creepy nine-year-old and scowled. "What the hell? You don't just go grabbing people and shit like that—"
"How much do you wish to assist Taylor?"
She blinked at the strange question. "What?"
"You wish to assist Taylor in fighting against the Fallen. I can see that." Cassie put her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth. "You also would prefer not to reveal your powers or your identity. What would you be willing to do if I said I could turn that desire into a reality?"
Creepy. Crazy. Both those words crossed Laura's mind, but what finally stuck was 'scary'. "What the fuck? How do you know that?"
"I know much. You have yet to answer my question."
"Well, it's a weird question, isn't it? I've got some little girl talking about fighting the Fallen and acting like I'm a cape or some shit."
A smirk settled on Cassie's face. "I am no little girl."
Laura opened her mouth to argue that was exactly what she was when she started glowing. That glow turned her entire body into white light, and Laura had to shield her face. Once the light showed ended, she lowered her hand to find a tiny person with pure white hair and wings drifting in front of her. "As I said," the fairy-like creature said with Cassie's voice, "I am no girl. I am the intelligence forged by Dragon from the remains of the Simurgh. I am the angel who sees the past and the future. I… am Cassiel."
She was insane. That was the only explanation that made sense. She had some kind of nervous breakdown when the Fallen attacked and was now totally bug-fucking nuts.
"Be not afraid," the fairy said with another smirk, "for I come with glad tidings. You wish to fight against the Fallen. I can aid you in this endeavor."
Laura bit her lip. If she was insane, which was definitely the case… then did it really matter if she listened to whatever offer this was? It was all in her head anyway, right? "How?"
"We would merge for a short time. You would have access to my abilities and my knowledge, abilities that would serve as your weapons."
…Was it bad that she wished this was real, if only because it sounded like the answer to all her current problems. Still, the idea that a little creature, fairy, Ziz-baby, whatever would be capable of doing something like this was hard to swallow. "And this would make me strong enough to fight off the Fallen?" she asked in a cautious voice.
Cassiel giggled darkly, the sound putting to rest any doubts Laura had about her relation to the Hopekiller. "Have no concerns about that, Cailleach. If it is power you seek, then power shall be given to you."
Warnings about making deals with devils ran through her head. This was the kind of thing her common sense yelled at her was a terrible idea. She should run out of this bathroom screaming at the top of her lungs because everything about this situation should scare the living daylights out of anyone with two brain cells to rub together.
…And she was so tired of being scared.
"Ah, fuck it. You know what? Let's do this." She stretched her hand out and let Cassiel land on her palm. After a moment, she frowned. "How, uh, how do we do this?"
"Open your mind to me. It is as simple as that." The mini-angel started glowing again. "Also, you should brace yourself. This will feel a little weird."
"What do you mean, weird?"
Cassiel shot into her chest in a streak of light, and Laura fell to the ground as something suddenly coursed through her body. It was something comfortable and soothing, like her mother's bedtime songs when she was just a little kid. And yet, it also felt like new strength surging into her limbs. It felt like a piece of herself being opened up and revealed for the first time, a piece she did not know was missing.
«This is your magic,» Cassiel's voice said from inside her own head. «Few people have the capacity to use it. It is the same power that makes Taylor such a formidable fighter. It is within you as well.
«You will have time to luxuriate in this feeling later. Right now, we must find you a weapon with which to fight. Something you can manipulate through my telekinesis with ease.» The angel laughed. «In fact, I have the perfect idea.»
"This is a bad idea."
«It will be fine.»
"No, seriously, it's an awful idea."
«Laura, you underestimate me and yourself. Both these actions irritate me, but the former in particular. Everything will be fine.»
"I don't think you're—"
«Just throw the weight!»
Laura looked down at the twenty pound weight they had borrowed from the gym in the process of assembling her disguise. If a dozen sheets could even be considered a disguise. She looked out through the window again at the absolute mess that had filled the lobby, regular people fighting against Mastered people in a no-holds-barred melee. Even if the 'good guys' won, this was going to be ugly.
A flash of orange caught her attention, and she looked to the left to find none other than Taylor, still in her Cinder disguise, and Samantha charging into the fray. The orange turned out to be some kind of odd Tinkertech energy blade Cinder was using to drop people like flies.
«I suppose if you have elected not to fight, we should end Unison,» Cassiel said in a bored voice, her mood a 180-degree turn from her previous impatience. «Taylor is here, after all. You can go back to pitying yourself and wallowing in your fears—»
"Shut. Up!" Reaching out with the power – the magic – Cassiel was channeling through her, Laura picked the weight off the ground and hurled it at the window. The metal disc hit the glass and shattered it into thousands of shards.
«Good. Now jump through!»
Laura forced herself not to think about what she was doing and sprinted at the opening. "If I die, it's your fault!" she snapped at the little devil nestled somewhere inside of her. Jumping up and curling into a ball to make sure her shoes cleared the broken glass, she brought her arms up in front of her face and did her best not to scream as she fell.
Her body moved without her control, and when her feet hit the ground she pushed off to turn her fall into a roll. «You will not die from this,» Cassiel promised her. «Now. Just as we practiced.»
The girl did her best not to roll her eyes. Taking her eyes off the enemies rushing at her was a dumb idea, something she had been trained not to do, but Cassiel really needed to learn not to call one single attempt at snapping sheets with telekinesis 'practice'. Still, now was not the time to gripe. She unraveled the sheets wrapped around her arms and flung her hands out, the movement helping her guide the telekinesis she was using to throw the sheets at the Mastered people and pulling back at just the right time snap the ends in their faces. She muttered to her passenger, "You're sure this is going to work?"
«I am. Purson's Master ability takes time to settle. When it is fresh, sufficient trauma to the head to render someone unconscious will end his control.»
So she had to knock all these people out. Simple enough. Untwisting the sheets she had hit them with, she wrapped the ends around their heads and smacked them together. If she had to hit their heads hard, she might as well make it a two for one kind of deal.
"They're Mastered!" Cinder yelled at her as if she had somehow missed that little fact. "Take them down, but don't hurt them too much!"
"I know!" she yelled back. Quieter, she asked, "Any chance you can use that precog of yours to help me out?"
The fairy snickered at her, and the world abruptly slowed down. «If I might borrow terminology from you, I am the fucking Simurgh. The future is my bitch.»
Returning her attention to the people trying to hurt her, she blinked as they kept moving at half speed. They also had echoes or something similar in front of them that they looked like they were chasing down. She asked for this, Laura reminded herself, and pulling off more of the sheets wrapped around her chest and head she cast them out to wind around the ankles that were going to be where she was aiming. A tug dropped several of them onto the hard tile floor.
The sheets streaming from her hands lashed themselves around the shoulders of a big guy barreling towards her, and she spun on her heels to get enough momentum to throw him across the room. Was there an easier way to do this? Targeting the Master himself, maybe?
«It is worth an attempt,» Cassiel said, catching her by surprise. Laura then felt a flash of exasperation, though she knew it was not her own. «I am inside you. I can hear your thoughts, as could all mages should you wish them to do so. Regardless of whether incapacitating Purson would stop his victims, it would prevent him from making more. He is… Oh. Sneaking up on Taylor.»
He was what?! She turned her head to find the shadow echo of a cape dressed all in white running at Cinder's back. Oh, no. Taylor getting Mastered? That would be bad. He was too far away for her to hit with her sheets. The only power she had that could stop him was something Cassiel could not provide.
To hell with it, Laura decided as she stretched out her power to latch onto the patch of floor where his echo was running. If he managed to snag Taylor, they were all dead anyway. Purson's real body stepped on the trapped spot, and she clenched her hand closed.
Spikes of ice longer than she was tall burst out of nowhere and punched through him like needles fixing bugs to a pinboard. It looked for a moment as though he was still giving it a go of ensnaring Taylor, but then his head drooped and the other cape went back to somehow nonlethally whacking people with a scythe blade.
«Behold, the world did not end because you used your powers.»
«Shut up,» she thought at Cassiel, somehow sure the winged brat had heard her. A spin sent the edges of her sheets circling her to wrap around the heads and hands of the Mastered people and throwing them onto the ground where another flick knocked their heads against the floor.
«All I have done is point out— Be careful!» Once more her hands – her whole body, really – moved against her will and turned her to the left. A cloud of something or other was coming towards her at a decent speed for this slowed down world, and Cassiel moved the ends of the sheets in a bizarre dance.
Laura was about to ask just what she was doing and why it required taking control of her body with an assault rifle started firing. She winced, preparing herself for the worst, only for the ends of the simple sheets around her to deflect the bullets into the bodies surrounding her. «Thanks.»
«You are welcome to mention your gratitude again at your leisure.»
«…You do know the phrase is 'don't mention it', right?»
She could almost feel Cassiel blink. «Where would be the fun in that?»
Before she could offer any kind of retort, yet another voice, this one sounding like Taylor, barged into her head. «Stop the other cape in white!»
Hearing all these voices was not helping to convince her she was not crazy, but she passed her next question to the angel on her proverbial shoulder. «Any idea where he is?»
Cassiel gave her a mental head shake, however strange that was to feel, so Laura had little choice but to get a better vantage point. Finding that point involved jumping up and onto the shoulders of one of the Mastered vacationers and from there hopping onto a column before before wrapping a sheet around it to hold herself tight. Was increasing her physical abilities part of this bargain, she had to wonder, because if so she might be willing to let the little Barbie doll stick around.
«I am worth far more than some simple child's play thing,» Cassiel protested, «and I am not enhancing your body. I can, however, use my telekinesis to negate part of the pull of gravity on you to enhance your jumps and slow your fall. Also, I see our quarry.»
The cape in question was in the back of the room, looking around himself as though he was seeing or hearing something terrifying that only he knew about. He was not actively engaged in the fight, which normally would mean he was all but a noncombatant.
Or, considering he was a member of the Fallen, just meant he was stupid.
Once more he was too far away for Laura to hit him with her sheets, but her eyes landed on something laying on the ground. It would be a good experiment if nothing else.
«Oh, yes. Laura? Do it. Please. You have to do it.»
That was all the temptation she really needed. A wave of her hand launched the twenty pound weight at high speed to collide with the cape's face. Down he went, out cold and apparently covered in blood. Was he supposed to be that much of a wimp?
«Not in the slightest. He gave Taylor substantial difficulty due to his danger sense. I can only presume that due to us focusing my precognition like this, it created enough psychic interference that he could not predict from where the threat was to come.»
Something exploded in the middle of the room, and Laura had just enough time to glance over and see that Taylor had mutilated another cape in blue when the ceiling collapsed to let in a bunch flying lawmen.
«Not a moment too soon,» chimed in Cassiel. «They can handle the clean up. We need to rid you of the evidence so you will not be questioned as a cape. Trust me, you will be in Master/Stranger lockup pretending to be a civilian for long enough already.»
Not dealing with the Protectorate any longer than absolutely necessary? That was a plan she could get behind.
Cassiel's character sheet updated.
Cailleach added to Magical Potentiates.
In many ways, Laura is in the same situation Theo would have been in had he Triggered while Kaiser was still running the Empire.
Considering how few skills Taylor has left to purchase, I'm going to expand things a little. This arc earned you a new spell, but you can use it to teach Taylor something new like normal…
…OR you can use it on Lacey. Your choice.
Go ahead and talk it out amongst yourselves.
Saturday, July 30
The bathroom rang with the echoes of Taylor's accusation.
"Um," Kayleigh said, breaking the disturbing silence. That was apparently all she had to say because she fell quiet again immediately afterwards.
Laura sighed and leaned against the sink. "Well. That went… badly."
"I, um, I'm sure she didn't mean that. About leaving you to die."
It was hard to hold back the snort that wanted to escape, but Laura managed it. Kayleigh had not seen the look in Taylor's eyes as she made that threat. The anger, the disgust. In the heroine's mind, by refusing to come to the aid of the normal people stuck on this island, Laura had lowered herself to somewhere around or below the level of pond scum.
And she could not exactly argue against that opinion.
That was not what Kayleigh needed to hear, though. She did not need to know how close Taylor had been to trying to melt Laura's face off. Kayleigh, even after years of knowing her, still had a slightly romanticized view of cape life. It was a view Laura had gone to great lengths to preserve. Her friend, her sister in all but blood, was an optimist and an idealist who somehow thought that everyone had a spark of good somewhere inside them. She did not need to see the dark and brutal underbelly of humanity.
So instead of disagreeing and disabusing Kayleigh of the notion that this was something that could be patched up, she simply said, "Maybe. Hey, can I get a little privacy? Just for a few minutes."
Kayleigh looked at her with narrowed eyes. "You want me to go away so you can mope, don't you?"
"I don't mope!" Laura immediately denied. She didn't! "I just… need some time to think, okay? And I bet your parents are going to start looking for you soon if you don't head back."
The other girl sighed in exasperation but walked out the door, flicking a knowing glance at her as she passed. "If you're not back in ten minutes, I'm dragging you out of here."
Ten minutes. Ha. As if ten minutes would be enough time for her to figure out what in the world she was going to do about all this.
Taylor – Calamity Witch – thought she was too selfish and too cowardly to help out defending the resort. That was not the case at all, though Laura could see why Taylor thought that was what was going on. It was not that she did not want to help. She did!
She just couldn't.
The Fallen were among the largest villain organizations in the United States. They had, apparently, beaten back an entire branch of the Protectorate and kidnapped its members as they tried to escape. This was the kind of group that was suicide for someone to fight all on their own. And Taylor expected her to hold them off by herself?
She shook her head. Taylor had a dangerous blind spot, one she did not think the taller girl even knew about. It was obvious from the way she had talked on the beach. Taylor made social calls to the Triumvirate. She collaborated with Dragon to Tinker. She had the raw strength to make an Endbringer hurt.
Laura would be the first to agree that Calamity Witch was a powerful cape, easily in the top tier. She deserved to be on such casual terms with the big name capes. The problem was that she saw her power and the power of those she associated with and had convinced herself that it was the norm, that all capes had this much power at their fingertips.
She was wrong.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Laura thought about trying to fight a team of the Fallen like she had seen breaking into the spa and could not help the shiver that ran down her spine. It was impossible. Her powers were not so strong that she could hold them off, not if her life depended on it and definitely not as casually as Taylor seemed to think she could.
It was one of the first things Jotunn had pounded into her head when she joined up. Could her ice blasts cause property damage? Sure. Could they stop a Brute from breaking her in half? Keep a speedster from slipping behind her and stabbing her in the back? Stop a Master from taking over her mind and turning her into nothing more than a puppet?
Hell no.
Her ice was on the weak side of powers. That had been proven in the ring time and time again by Jotunn and Pounce and Solaire. The only cape she could regularly beat was Angel Dust, who as a Tinker should not be fighting in the first place anyway. She was no Alexandria, no matter how much she had wanted to be when she was little. If anyone shrugged off her attacks and got close, she was nothing more than a regular teenaged girl. She would be defenseless.
At least against Leviathan, there were much more tempting targets he could go after, especially since her powers had done absolutely nothing other than give the flying bricks something to hit him with besides their fists. She would be the only cape here for the Fallen to focus on.
Those were just the immediate dangers, too! Taylor was an independent cape. If someone figured out who she was, who were they going to attack to get back at her? Samantha? An image of the animalistic woman covered in the blood of the Maras came to mind, and Laura shook her head. If anyone tried attacking Samantha to get at Taylor, that would not be a fight. It would just be natural selection in action.
Her? She had a team. If she revealed her powers in such a public display, it opened up all of Winter Hill to reprisals. Any dumb normie who took a picture or video and posted it to the Internet would be painting a target on her back for the Fallen to take a shot at, and that shot would come at Winter Hill's expense. They would know it, too. They would know that she was putting herself and her own interests, even if those interests were to protect other people, in front of the gang's. It would be seen as a betrayal.
Winter Hill did not treat traitors kindly. She had not yet had her powers when Malachite tried breaking off from the gang and taking part of their territory for himself, but she had heard what happened. They would not butcher her for this, of that much she could be sure, but they would still cast her out so any revenge was her own to deal with. The other members of Winter Hill were not her friends, she had been honest to Taylor about that, but they were still all she had. She did not like her chances if she was thrown out in the streets to watch her own back.
She had no delusions that Jotunn would step in, either. He cared for her, loved her, but if he had to choose between his gang and his daughter, everybody who knew him knew which one he would pick.
No matter what Taylor thought of her choices, she had good reasons for them, Laura told herself with a sniff. Nor was it just self-interest. If she died, which was too possible not to consider when fighting the blasted Fallen of all capes, who was going to stand guard over the people who paid Winter Hill to provide them with protection? None of the other capes were interested. Pounce had actually laughed at her when it came out that she routinely spent her free time patrolling their territory and making sure things were calm and safe, that there were no muggers or rapists lying in wait down dark alleys. Jotunn, once he heard, had never told her to stop, but he never told anyone to help out either. Between nobody else caring and them making it clear that the Protectorate were not welcome on their turf, she was the only protector those people had.
Laura took a deep breath and held it for a moment. She was doing the right thing. She knew it. Taylor and Samantha would have to deal with this themselves. It was not as if they did not already have everything well in hand, not if Taylor's comment about killing some of the Fallen was anything to go by. All they had to do was overpower a group of villains who no one smart was willing to fight head on because they were so strong that nobody could stop them.
All they had to do was keep dancing one step ahead of certain death or worse.
She punched the door, then again and again. Only when her hand ached from the abuse did she stop and curl up on herself. She would not cry. She did not deserve to cry.
Because Taylor was right. The bitch was one hundred percent on the nose. She wanted to help, wanted to help out the only person Kayleigh had ever forced on her who might actually get it and understand her life, but instead she was standing here in a bathroom coming up with every flimsy excuse under the sun why she should not when the reality was so much simpler.
She was just too much of a weakling and a coward.
"Everyone seek shelter," a voice came from the speakers outside. "The Fallen are approaching this building. I repeat, everyone seek shelter. All guards assemble in the main lobby."
Laura tried to laugh, but the sound was quickly choked out by a sob. How fucking perfect! Here she was, trying to save her own hide, and as a result she had just killed them all. Taylor's prediction was about to come true sooner than either of them expected.
Someone knocked on the door, and she forced her face into an expressionless mask. Thankfully it was not Kayleigh who walked through the door, but a little kid. It took a minute for her to recognize the blonde girl as Taylor's cousin. Something that started with a 'c'. Cassie, that was it! It took a moment for the reality of her situation to sink in, and Laura almost laughed.
Great. If the Fallen did anything to Taylor's cousin and did not kill Laura in the process, Taylor sure as hell would finish the job for them. "I don't think this is the best hiding spot, kid," she told the girl in a gruff voice.
"Hiding from the Fallen is not my primary concern," Cassie said in that weird way of speaking she had. Seriously, did her mother shove a dictionary down her throat when she was born or something? "Even if it were, I have alternate options." The girl scanned her with baby blue eyes and frowned. "You are distressed, but not just about the Fallen attacking us. Something else. What is it?"
"I'm not upset," she muttered petulantly.
"Of course you are not." At least the girl had sarcasm down pat. Cassie grabbed her hand, and her eyes grew wide.
Laura pulled away from the creepy nine-year-old and scowled. "What the hell? You don't just go grabbing people and shit like that—"
"How much do you wish to assist Taylor?"
She blinked at the strange question. "What?"
"You wish to assist Taylor in fighting against the Fallen. I can see that." Cassie put her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth. "You also would prefer not to reveal your powers or your identity. What would you be willing to do if I said I could turn that desire into a reality?"
Creepy. Crazy. Both those words crossed Laura's mind, but what finally stuck was 'scary'. "What the fuck? How do you know that?"
"I know much. You have yet to answer my question."
"Well, it's a weird question, isn't it? I've got some little girl talking about fighting the Fallen and acting like I'm a cape or some shit."
A smirk settled on Cassie's face. "I am no little girl."
Laura opened her mouth to argue that was exactly what she was when she started glowing. That glow turned her entire body into white light, and Laura had to shield her face. Once the light showed ended, she lowered her hand to find a tiny person with pure white hair and wings drifting in front of her. "As I said," the fairy-like creature said with Cassie's voice, "I am no girl. I am the intelligence forged by Dragon from the remains of the Simurgh. I am the angel who sees the past and the future. I… am Cassiel."
She was insane. That was the only explanation that made sense. She had some kind of nervous breakdown when the Fallen attacked and was now totally bug-fucking nuts.
"Be not afraid," the fairy said with another smirk, "for I come with glad tidings. You wish to fight against the Fallen. I can aid you in this endeavor."
Laura bit her lip. If she was insane, which was definitely the case… then did it really matter if she listened to whatever offer this was? It was all in her head anyway, right? "How?"
"We would merge for a short time. You would have access to my abilities and my knowledge, abilities that would serve as your weapons."
…Was it bad that she wished this was real, if only because it sounded like the answer to all her current problems. Still, the idea that a little creature, fairy, Ziz-baby, whatever would be capable of doing something like this was hard to swallow. "And this would make me strong enough to fight off the Fallen?" she asked in a cautious voice.
Cassiel giggled darkly, the sound putting to rest any doubts Laura had about her relation to the Hopekiller. "Have no concerns about that, Cailleach. If it is power you seek, then power shall be given to you."
Warnings about making deals with devils ran through her head. This was the kind of thing her common sense yelled at her was a terrible idea. She should run out of this bathroom screaming at the top of her lungs because everything about this situation should scare the living daylights out of anyone with two brain cells to rub together.
…And she was so tired of being scared.
"Ah, fuck it. You know what? Let's do this." She stretched her hand out and let Cassiel land on her palm. After a moment, she frowned. "How, uh, how do we do this?"
"Open your mind to me. It is as simple as that." The mini-angel started glowing again. "Also, you should brace yourself. This will feel a little weird."
"What do you mean, weird?"
Cassiel shot into her chest in a streak of light, and Laura fell to the ground as something suddenly coursed through her body. It was something comfortable and soothing, like her mother's bedtime songs when she was just a little kid. And yet, it also felt like new strength surging into her limbs. It felt like a piece of herself being opened up and revealed for the first time, a piece she did not know was missing.
«This is your magic,» Cassiel's voice said from inside her own head. «Few people have the capacity to use it. It is the same power that makes Taylor such a formidable fighter. It is within you as well.
«You will have time to luxuriate in this feeling later. Right now, we must find you a weapon with which to fight. Something you can manipulate through my telekinesis with ease.» The angel laughed. «In fact, I have the perfect idea.»
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
"This is a bad idea."
«It will be fine.»
"No, seriously, it's an awful idea."
«Laura, you underestimate me and yourself. Both these actions irritate me, but the former in particular. Everything will be fine.»
"I don't think you're—"
«Just throw the weight!»
Laura looked down at the twenty pound weight they had borrowed from the gym in the process of assembling her disguise. If a dozen sheets could even be considered a disguise. She looked out through the window again at the absolute mess that had filled the lobby, regular people fighting against Mastered people in a no-holds-barred melee. Even if the 'good guys' won, this was going to be ugly.
A flash of orange caught her attention, and she looked to the left to find none other than Taylor, still in her Cinder disguise, and Samantha charging into the fray. The orange turned out to be some kind of odd Tinkertech energy blade Cinder was using to drop people like flies.
«I suppose if you have elected not to fight, we should end Unison,» Cassiel said in a bored voice, her mood a 180-degree turn from her previous impatience. «Taylor is here, after all. You can go back to pitying yourself and wallowing in your fears—»
"Shut. Up!" Reaching out with the power – the magic – Cassiel was channeling through her, Laura picked the weight off the ground and hurled it at the window. The metal disc hit the glass and shattered it into thousands of shards.
«Good. Now jump through!»
Laura forced herself not to think about what she was doing and sprinted at the opening. "If I die, it's your fault!" she snapped at the little devil nestled somewhere inside of her. Jumping up and curling into a ball to make sure her shoes cleared the broken glass, she brought her arms up in front of her face and did her best not to scream as she fell.
Her body moved without her control, and when her feet hit the ground she pushed off to turn her fall into a roll. «You will not die from this,» Cassiel promised her. «Now. Just as we practiced.»
The girl did her best not to roll her eyes. Taking her eyes off the enemies rushing at her was a dumb idea, something she had been trained not to do, but Cassiel really needed to learn not to call one single attempt at snapping sheets with telekinesis 'practice'. Still, now was not the time to gripe. She unraveled the sheets wrapped around her arms and flung her hands out, the movement helping her guide the telekinesis she was using to throw the sheets at the Mastered people and pulling back at just the right time snap the ends in their faces. She muttered to her passenger, "You're sure this is going to work?"
«I am. Purson's Master ability takes time to settle. When it is fresh, sufficient trauma to the head to render someone unconscious will end his control.»
So she had to knock all these people out. Simple enough. Untwisting the sheets she had hit them with, she wrapped the ends around their heads and smacked them together. If she had to hit their heads hard, she might as well make it a two for one kind of deal.
"They're Mastered!" Cinder yelled at her as if she had somehow missed that little fact. "Take them down, but don't hurt them too much!"
"I know!" she yelled back. Quieter, she asked, "Any chance you can use that precog of yours to help me out?"
The fairy snickered at her, and the world abruptly slowed down. «If I might borrow terminology from you, I am the fucking Simurgh. The future is my bitch.»
Returning her attention to the people trying to hurt her, she blinked as they kept moving at half speed. They also had echoes or something similar in front of them that they looked like they were chasing down. She asked for this, Laura reminded herself, and pulling off more of the sheets wrapped around her chest and head she cast them out to wind around the ankles that were going to be where she was aiming. A tug dropped several of them onto the hard tile floor.
The sheets streaming from her hands lashed themselves around the shoulders of a big guy barreling towards her, and she spun on her heels to get enough momentum to throw him across the room. Was there an easier way to do this? Targeting the Master himself, maybe?
«It is worth an attempt,» Cassiel said, catching her by surprise. Laura then felt a flash of exasperation, though she knew it was not her own. «I am inside you. I can hear your thoughts, as could all mages should you wish them to do so. Regardless of whether incapacitating Purson would stop his victims, it would prevent him from making more. He is… Oh. Sneaking up on Taylor.»
He was what?! She turned her head to find the shadow echo of a cape dressed all in white running at Cinder's back. Oh, no. Taylor getting Mastered? That would be bad. He was too far away for her to hit with her sheets. The only power she had that could stop him was something Cassiel could not provide.
To hell with it, Laura decided as she stretched out her power to latch onto the patch of floor where his echo was running. If he managed to snag Taylor, they were all dead anyway. Purson's real body stepped on the trapped spot, and she clenched her hand closed.
Spikes of ice longer than she was tall burst out of nowhere and punched through him like needles fixing bugs to a pinboard. It looked for a moment as though he was still giving it a go of ensnaring Taylor, but then his head drooped and the other cape went back to somehow nonlethally whacking people with a scythe blade.
«Behold, the world did not end because you used your powers.»
«Shut up,» she thought at Cassiel, somehow sure the winged brat had heard her. A spin sent the edges of her sheets circling her to wrap around the heads and hands of the Mastered people and throwing them onto the ground where another flick knocked their heads against the floor.
«All I have done is point out— Be careful!» Once more her hands – her whole body, really – moved against her will and turned her to the left. A cloud of something or other was coming towards her at a decent speed for this slowed down world, and Cassiel moved the ends of the sheets in a bizarre dance.
Laura was about to ask just what she was doing and why it required taking control of her body with an assault rifle started firing. She winced, preparing herself for the worst, only for the ends of the simple sheets around her to deflect the bullets into the bodies surrounding her. «Thanks.»
«You are welcome to mention your gratitude again at your leisure.»
«…You do know the phrase is 'don't mention it', right?»
She could almost feel Cassiel blink. «Where would be the fun in that?»
Before she could offer any kind of retort, yet another voice, this one sounding like Taylor, barged into her head. «Stop the other cape in white!»
Hearing all these voices was not helping to convince her she was not crazy, but she passed her next question to the angel on her proverbial shoulder. «Any idea where he is?»
Cassiel gave her a mental head shake, however strange that was to feel, so Laura had little choice but to get a better vantage point. Finding that point involved jumping up and onto the shoulders of one of the Mastered vacationers and from there hopping onto a column before before wrapping a sheet around it to hold herself tight. Was increasing her physical abilities part of this bargain, she had to wonder, because if so she might be willing to let the little Barbie doll stick around.
«I am worth far more than some simple child's play thing,» Cassiel protested, «and I am not enhancing your body. I can, however, use my telekinesis to negate part of the pull of gravity on you to enhance your jumps and slow your fall. Also, I see our quarry.»
The cape in question was in the back of the room, looking around himself as though he was seeing or hearing something terrifying that only he knew about. He was not actively engaged in the fight, which normally would mean he was all but a noncombatant.
Or, considering he was a member of the Fallen, just meant he was stupid.
Once more he was too far away for Laura to hit him with her sheets, but her eyes landed on something laying on the ground. It would be a good experiment if nothing else.
«Oh, yes. Laura? Do it. Please. You have to do it.»
That was all the temptation she really needed. A wave of her hand launched the twenty pound weight at high speed to collide with the cape's face. Down he went, out cold and apparently covered in blood. Was he supposed to be that much of a wimp?
«Not in the slightest. He gave Taylor substantial difficulty due to his danger sense. I can only presume that due to us focusing my precognition like this, it created enough psychic interference that he could not predict from where the threat was to come.»
Something exploded in the middle of the room, and Laura had just enough time to glance over and see that Taylor had mutilated another cape in blue when the ceiling collapsed to let in a bunch flying lawmen.
«Not a moment too soon,» chimed in Cassiel. «They can handle the clean up. We need to rid you of the evidence so you will not be questioned as a cape. Trust me, you will be in Master/Stranger lockup pretending to be a civilian for long enough already.»
Not dealing with the Protectorate any longer than absolutely necessary? That was a plan she could get behind.
Cassiel's character sheet updated.
Cailleach added to Magical Potentiates.
In many ways, Laura is in the same situation Theo would have been in had he Triggered while Kaiser was still running the Empire.
Considering how few skills Taylor has left to purchase, I'm going to expand things a little. This arc earned you a new spell, but you can use it to teach Taylor something new like normal…
…OR you can use it on Lacey. Your choice.
Go ahead and talk it out amongst yourselves.
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I'm curious; why one spell? Normally even in combat focused arcs like this it is one spell per battle update and we've had 13.9 (CW vs. Oriax and Co), 13.10 (CW vs. Ose), 13.11 (CW vs. Fallen Teeth), and the most recent 13.12 (CW vs. Fallen Tinker and CW vs. Purson). I wouldn't be surprised if one or more didn't count for various reasons (like CW vs. Ose not being a real fight) but I'm kinda surprised after all that we only unlocked one spell.
Edit: Just to be clear this isn't meant as a complaint, I'm fine with just one spell vote, but more seeking clarification on what seems like a rules change.
That's true of Devices, not Unison devices. In the FAQ on Unison devices.
And, for my first contribution here (since I finally finished reading all 954 pages yesterday) that we should probably pick reforge armour.
So we can get that second cross-training Silently's been mentioned on and off for a while.
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Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Well,
.
It's not a rule change necessarily. When it's an arc spent fighting a specific enemy (like this arc and Arc 10 where you fought Coil), it's one spell as a reward. Only when it's an Endbringer fight (where just participating is worth a spell all on its own) or when it's a series of fights against unrelated enemies (like most of our subquest arcs) or strewn out over several days (like Arc 8) do they count separately.
Or put another way, if all your fighting takes place in a single day, it's probably only good for one spell because you aren't looking at separate fights. It's just one long slog.
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Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
So running a quick tally of named Fallen:
- Eligos (Disabled)
- Ifrit (Dead)
- Toro
- Seir
- Empusa (Disabled)
- Vex (Disabled)
- Spree (Disabled)
- Oriax (Disabled)
- Reaver (Dead)
- Ose (Dead)
- Unnamed Cape #1 (Dead)
- Unnamed Cape #2 (Dead)
- Unnamed Cape #3 (Dead)
- Animos (Dead)
- Hemorrhagia (Dead)
- Raum (Dead)
- Unnamed Cape #4 (Dead)
- Zagam (Disabled)
- Unnamed Tinker (Disabled)
- Unnamed Cape #5 (Disabled)
- Unnamed Cape #6 (Disabled)
- Purson (Dead)
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
4 Fallen capes escaped as well as 2 local capes working with them (the teammates of the size-changer and teleporter). All of them were in the last, hidden group.
Also, Seir is among the dead. He was part of the restaurant group Taylor blendered.
Laura was a guaranteed mage, which is why I could reveal it without worrying about rolls. You can't alter her LC strength.
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Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
I DID say I picked another Fate equivalent when you guys passed up on Purity.
The funny part? I didn't make that number up. That's what I actually rolled months ago for her sync rate.
Pity about that.
Though... this is probably the biggest damage dealt to the Fallen in years. Not to mention the loss of the Teeth as meatshields and the deaths of multiple Masters and Strangers with significant power not to mention the number of hanger ons.
The Protectorate is probably somewhat aghast at the resort basically becoming a warzone.
Well, now we just need to get more social with Kayleigh to guarantee her magic.
Laura has seen the power that Taylor can wield... wonder if its possible to convince her to leave the gang if she can achieve comparable power?
Edit: We really can't afford to let the Fallen be now. We need to hunt down that magic capable cape and put the rest of the Fallen in the ground. We need to make a call with Legend or Alexandria.
When we go after the Fallen I want to have a full court press of Taylor, Sam, Laura, Missy (after her LCM treatment and getting her a device) and whatever allies we can get that are immune to master effects.
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Is there anything in the other templates that we want? (I couldn't find a link to them) Support, maybe, but I can't see Taylor going the tinker route. Maybe 3 more spells from the Knight template?
If we do spend the spell on Lacey, I'd think Barret Boost?
- Location
- Belfast
So the Fallen took over 50% casualties in under an hour... Huh.
How many of them are getting nightmares out of this?
It was well over 50% casualties. Only 4 Fallen capes escaped along with two local hanger ons.So the Fallen took over 50% casualties in under an hour... Huh.
How many of them are getting nightmares out of this?
The question is how many civilians are dead or wounded.
- Location
- USA
An interesting way to write in the decision to go mostly* non-lethal* after the way last chapter ended for Taylor.
Hahahahahaha. Wasn't she already double-grounded.... well, she was halping. Dragon's reaction might still be funny.
Its odd but I was almost sad this wasn't really a new trigger. Its actually a pretty interesting power depending on the exerted force and all... or Parian was at the resort and that could've been a fun way to meet her.
So was Empusa (or maybe Oriax) maintaining the barrier? Or was it just a group able to both hide and keep an eye on the fight, deciding that was the moment (and not before) to give up???
....... Whats the window on medical attention for a blown-off jaw and god knows what internal burns not killing you?
Interesting in being sort of the opposite take I had on it, thinking the fight should seem less scary because she's got a massively over-leveled guest in her party right now.
All the more reason to love Laura for me though <3 <3 "Pacifism and mercy are the luxury of the strong" is a decent foundation for an anti-hero yeah? And why I much prefer reading about very very strong characters in genres like this. (Doesn't have to go grimderp, and I don't have to watch them get punished over and over for their kindness).
Huh, is she really that weak? Her ice was fine on the brute Rats after all, but I wonder now how many other capes she's actually fought compared to gang mooks or susceptible constructs like the stone dwarves of Snow White. As opposed to just the people who both intimately know her powers and are forewarned by the nature of being a spar.
Yiiiiikes. Big Yikes. 
Even those disinterested in the Ship should probably have a desire to see that particular "Meet the Family / Introduce the X-Friend" scene, be it awkward or drama ? Out of costume ofc. (Did Laura quite appreciate she unmasked Jotun when she did herself?)And the poor girl was freaked out before this about the circles Taylor runs in. When the shock and adrenaline wears off..... ahahahaha.
If Parian is still alive, someone or other (I can see Laura and Kayleigh watching anime... some of it) absolutely MUST get a Kyuubey plushie commisisoned to give to Cassiel.
..... Though Dragon probably has a full AI tasked to keeping Cassiel from ever watching that show, now I think of it. (Dragon absolutely watches anime.)
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Shall I take this as a hint at the strength of Laura's Core
? As far as skill learning, DEFINITELY Reforge Armor. After all we leaned on it in this arc, a second dip in Extinction Knight sounds just lovely. Whether it has anything for the Flare Blade/Blitz combo OR just the help for that nice Barrier that lets us laugh off fairy-brutes and all manner of gunfire.
ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
Cassiel went full ham here, and it's amazing. I have no idea why I didn't expect Ziz to be a total drama queen, but it still surprised me and was hilarious.
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Of the capes who escaped, one of them (one of the locals) had a clairvoyance power keyed to people he "tagged". Similar to Mouse Protector's powers, but Thinker not Mover. The other local was the one holding up the barrier.
Uh, well, without a jaw she might not need to be intubated?
This opinion is a combination of a couple of things.
First, look at the people she listed as who she sparred with. Jotunn, her dad, who she doesn't want to hurt anyway and is also ice-themed so has the resultant secondary power of ice immunity. Solaire, who has an armor of flame. Pounce, who has superspeed. She is at a major disadvantage with any of the three of them.
Second, keep in mind that she IS a pure Blaster and has no Brute rating to keep her safe at close range anyway.
Third, Jotunn has a very good reason to make sure she thinks she's too weak to run off on her own. Namely, she's the only long-range cape Winter Hill has. Without her, they're limited to close and mid range.
Taylor doesn't know that Jotunn is Laura's dad. Nobody outside of Winter Hill and Kayleigh do.
Shall I take this as a hint at the strength of Laura's Core
I was talking about via social events, silly goose.I had a metric ton of fun writing this interlude.
I thought about leaving the combat portions out because it was basically a rehash of what Taylor saw, but the interplay between Cassiel and Laura was too good not to go deeper into.All valid, but I think there's also something to be said that Calliach has a ranged power, one best used from cover. A Ring? Sounds like they'd start close, making sure she'd be at a disadvantage from the start, even if they didn't know her powers.
Of the spells from the Infinite Enhancement tree (check Aeris' character sheet to see all we know about it), I'd imagine Cover to be one of the ones in the cross-training. Invisibility? It's probably entirely unnecessary, but still... invisibility.
And if there isn't something shiny hidden behind the second dip into Extinction Knight I'd be shocked.
As for giving Lacey Barret Boost—getting her in place to use it is tricky. There was a WoG that it had only a few feet range, so she'd need to be up with the blasters to use it. Not so good for someone adverse to combat.
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