Nothing to do with Dionysus [Worm Fanfiction]

[FacelessDoll]

Hello [insert species here]. This is my first time posting here on Sufficient Velocity, and as such, take this as a disclaimer. I will likely mess up thread marks and tags and formatting, etc. At least at first. This is a learning experience, one might say, for me. Now onto the reason you are here, presumably.

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Summary:

Annette Hebert loved Greek and Roman myths and literature. She had quite the collection before she died, and now that collection belonged to her daughter, Taylor. Taylor has been having a hard time. Between a father drowning in grief and alcohol, the betrayal of a one time close friend, and constant harassment by her peers, among other things, it is thanks to her mother's books that she has managed to stay sane. And now she is a Tinker who specializes in robotics, and a Thinker on top of that. Maybe it would be healthy for her to get a new hobby to take her mind off of everything. Look out world! The modern day Daedalus has arrived!
​

Hope you all enjoy!

 

[FacelessDoll]

Parodos 1.1

It will be easy for us once we receive the ball of yarn from Ariadne and then go through all the mazes of the labyrinth and kill the monster. But how many are there who plunge into life without taking that precaution?
- Soren Kierkegaard​

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My eyes took in the words written in the thick book nestled in my lap in all their majesty, my hands turning the well worn pages slowly, with reverence, careful not to tear or crumble to old paper. Though I tried to take care of the book the best I could, it still showed signs of its age, more a product of over use than of time. That, however, was not entirely my own fault. My fingers fluttered over old coffee stains and half faded fingerprints, and as I inhaled in through my nose I couldn't help but be reminded of mom; of Annette Hebert.

I knew, intellectually, that it was not good to dwell on grief, but it was difficult to leave the past behind when it sullied the present so markedly. Every night of burnt food and lukewarm water, every morning without a greeting as I come down the stairs, everyday dad tries to hide the empty bottles of alcohol he accrues trying to smother his grief, and every day I pretend like I don't see them…they were all vivid reminders of who wasn't there. Of what I had lost and of what I had needed.

But where dad escaped into a bottle, I escaped into literature. Her books were what filled the shelves of my room. Works from Homer to Hesiod, Sophocles, Tatius and Lucian of Samosata, to name a few, were stacked neatly wherever I could make room for them. I remember the stories of Achilles, Odysseus, Jason and so many more almost by heart now. It is a pale replacement for my mother's own voice, reading the stories aloud to me on quiet evenings in bed, but it was all I had. It was funny, reading the stories myself and seeing all the details mom had chosen to omit.

Dad told me that mom had apparently begun amassing her collection after her grandmother, who was Greek, had died. This had been sometime after she had finished college, and the two of them had never been particularly close, but she felt a need to immerse herself into that culture, that history, to try to connect with a relative that wasn't with her anymore. She ended up loving it, and soon she was collecting Greek and Roman literature because she loved it, not out of grief. I guess me and mom really are a lot alike.

I let out a long sigh as I finally put the book down, not needing to mark its page to remember where I left off. I remembered the contents perfectly anyways, so it wasn't like keeping track of where I left off was that big of a deal, but I couldn't exactly turn that part of me off. I had tried. Experimented a bit with what I could do. I had tried some more convoluted things first, like meditation and trying to get into my mind palace, or whatever. After that I had just tried really hard not to pay attention to things I didn't feel like remembering, but I quickly found out that trying not to pay attention to something just made you focus on it more.

I blinked, and suddenly found myself back in my body. I was glad that I had directives in place for whenever that happened. General things, sure, but they were enough that I didn't look strange when I spaced out like that. And my body had even put away my book and packed my bag! How nice of it.
Oh, yeah, I guess this is the part where I say I have powers.

I'm a Thinker. Thinker being one of the twelve power classifications used by the PRT. Their powers relate to knowledge, skills, and enhanced perception. Yes, I used my powers to memorize the Thinker wiki page. Sue me.

My power gave me perfect memory and an improved learning curve, though the latter may just be a byproduct of the former. I could call up memories at will, which meant that I aced every test in school. I could also accelerate my ability to think. I could have an hour long debate in my head in the span of a single minute, though doing that for that long tended to give me a splitting headache. It was also kind of difficult to move my body normally while doing that. I think about picking up a pencil, but then start thinking about writing before my hand is even halfway to its original destination, and now it is off waving in the air in some sort of weird pantomime. That was where my ability to give my body directives came in handy.

Basically, I could tell my body to do something, then it will act automatically without me having to use any brain power on the task. I could even give conditional directive, like telling my body to perform whatever task I was intending to perform whenever I spaced out like I sometimes did. All together my Thinker powers didn't exactly make me suited for being a crime fighting cape, but they were damn useful.

You probably noticed that I haven't talked about how I got my powers. Well, I prefer not to think about it. Perfect memory and all that.

"Bye dad", I call out over my shoulder as I walk out of the house, my backpack slung over my shoulders looking conspicuously fuller than usual, not that dad had noticed. I walk down the block a ways towards the bus stop to go to school, then take a right turn. I wasn't planning on going to school today. My grades were good enough that one absence (or a few dozen) wasn't going to hurt anything, and the less time I had to spend around Emma and her posse the better.

I stop at another bus stop. Most of the buses in Brockton Bay, especially in this part of town, only went to very specific location, and only had a few stops. This one, luckily, would take me near the boat graveyard. Near enough that I'd be able to walk the rest of the way. I left my body once it had boarded and began going over designs in my head, looking over blueprints and taking stock of exactly what I would need and what I already had. I'd need to scavenge a bit more metal off of one of the boats, but that shouldn't be too hard.

Oh yeah, I'm a Tinker too. My specialization, far as I can tell, is robotics. I figured that out when I took apart my alarm clock and made a mechanical bird out of it. Making autonomous creations tended to come easier to me than anything else, but with limits I had on resources and time, though the latter was self imposed, I couldn't exactly make anything too impressive on that front. The little clockwork rats and birds I made were good practice, not that I think I really need to practice my Tinker ability, but they were pretty fragile and didn't have much use in a fight.

But if I thought hard enough, and given my Thinker powers I could think pretty hard, I could get designs a bit outside of that scope. Augmentations came fairly easily, though that seemed a bit too risky to try out right now. I had memorized their designs, and let them move aside for different ideas. After that were a few gadgets which I memorized but ultimately decided wouldn't be enough, then finally found that there was something else that came fairly easily to me. Power armor.

I mean, it was sort of a robot. Just with a person inside.

So, yeah, I had been going out to the boat graveyard whenever I could to work on building my power armor suit. I decided against making anything big, at least right now, and had made a number of gadgets and add ons for it so I would be able to subdue criminals non lethally. I mean, I could just beat them up, but I would be in power armor that could lift over a thousand pounds. I might break someone.

I had also spent a lot of time brainstorming names for myself. I wanted to highlight my Tinker ability, since it would be the most obvious one and drawing attention away from my Thinker powers which, while not suitable for combat on their own, could give me an edge in a fight. I also wanted to relate it to the books and stories that my mom had left behind, and as such had gone through all the inventors I could think of in Greek myth.

Hephaestus was my first thought, but using the name of a god, mythical or not, seemed arrogant and presumptuous. I wasn't even sure if I was a particularly good Tinker or not yet, so I didn't exactly feel comfortable with calling myself the God of Craftsmen. I also threw Icarus out, feeling like using his name would just bring me bad luck, and it would likely be easy to make fun of on PHO. I eventually settled on Daedalus, a mythical inventor who was famous for constructing the labyrinth that contained the minotaur and who, in some versions of the myth, created the great automaton called Talos.

Despite his feats he wasn't exactly the best of guys. He was arrogant and envious all at the same time, going so far as to kill his own nephew just because he thought the boy would become a better inventor than him. I had initially thrown the name out because of this, but eventually found it growing on me. It would be a reminder to keep my ego in check and not to let myself use my powers for evil.

Maybe I could make myself a secret base? I could construct a giant maze above it to confuse invaders. It wouldn't be a problem for me. I would have the layout of the whole thing memorized before I even started building it. Though, that would be a project for another day. I day well in the future. Instead, I go over the blueprints for the suit I was making myself one last time. I should probably name my creation once it's complete. Especially if I planned to make more. After all, why have just one suit of power armor when I could have two or more?

I laugh to myself as I fall back into my body. Oh, look, I've already gotten off the bus and am walking towards through docks. My body is so considerate. I laugh again.

I had made myself a small workshop inside one of the old ships that lay beached on the graveyard. It wasn't much. Just a room filled with piles of metal and old wires. There was really only one thing in iit of any worth. I walk over to one side of the room and lean over, tapping my finger against an invisible surface. There is a metallic thunk sound, and then a metal box, about the size of a carry on bag, fades into focus. I had gotten the active camouflage system working first, to lessen the chance of anyone stumbling across my work. I'd also made sure it could collapse into a smaller form when I could. Made everything much easier to manage.

"Identification: Taylor Hebert" I intoned, smiling to myself at how important and cool it sounded. Like I was a secret agent or something. The box gave a small beep before expanding, coming apart and eventually settling into a humanoid shape a bit taller than myself. It looked like a form fitting one piece outfit with metal plates put over it, though I knew that the whole thing was made of metal.

The suit was made in layers, with the bottommost layer being a sort of brass or gold color, though the only area where you could see it was around the midriff. It was flexible and thin, practically cloth, and was surprisingly hard to cut through despite how fragile it should be. The next layer was more of a lighter tan brown color, which was thicker than the previous layer, but still flexible enough that I could put it over my elbows and knees without it significantly affecting my flexibility.

Then I had black armor plating, the plates also having a gold outline to them that I hoped made me look more heroic given how dark the thing was as a whole. The plates were placed to cover my shoulders, collar, my chest and ribs, as well as the side of my legs. These plates were held in place by grey pieces of metal which, while also able to act as armor, was thinner and lighter. I had also made boots and gauntlets out of them, my boots going up to my knees. They had a slight heel, a product of their greater purpose beyond protection. They made it easier to run, increasing my speed.

My helmet was made from a thick grey metal, a giant slab over my face with green glowing slots over the eyes and more black metal plates over the top of my head. There was an opening in the back that let my hair through, which also doubled as an iron to straighten it. I know, sounds silly, but my hair was naturally very curly, and I figured that it would add another layer of deception to keep my secret identity hidden.

Mounted on the suit, on the shins, gauntlets, the back of the helmet and the front of the pelvis were cylindrical generators that glowed green. Normally my creations didn't need batteries, but the fact that this was a suit meant that I had a lot less room to work with where I could fit gears and wires and the like, and as such it wouldn't be able to move on its own like my robot birds. The generators were amazing, making power by some complex chemical process similar to respiration that I did not fully understand. I had tried hooking them up to the tv at home, but found that they only seemed to work on my suit.

I put the final touches on it. On the back of the suit, encased in grey armor like my helmet, was a larger generator, or rather a number of them. They would make more power than I needed, which meant that I could expend more energy, sending it to power my defenses or self repair protocols or to my weapons as necessary. It also had another function which I was dying to try.

After finishing that, I still felt like something was missing. I eventually found an old brown blanket in the ship, and washed it the best I could in the ocean water, which probably wasn't very clean itself. After drying it using the heat from the iron on the back of the suit's mask, I tied attached it to the back of the suit around the waist. The suit seemed to glow for a second, then it opened, the torso and limbs splitting along an invisible seam and the helmet front face plate of the helmet lifting up. I smiled. It was still the middle of the day, so I couldn't really go out on patrol yet, but she just seemed so eager. Taking off my glasses and resting them on a piece of metal that was resting stably on one of my many piles of junk, I stepped inside. Should probably test some things out before fighting crime anyways.

The suit closed, and for a second I was in total darkness. Then there was a burning sensation along my spine as I was connected to the suit, and then suddenly I could see. Perfect vision. No, more than perfect. I could make out small cracks on a wall a dozen feet away without effort. I knew somehow intuitively the state the suit was in without the use of any sort of overlay, and I could control the thing with my thoughts alone, like the suit was an extension of myself. I reached to my side and, pulling a dark grey and black gun from a metal holster on my right hip. With a click I felt it connect to a port on the palm of my hand and start taking power from the suit. I pressed down on the trigger and it began accumulating power. Then I released after five seconds and a bolt of electricity shot out, impacting the far wall and letting loose arcs of energy that traveled across the wall up to the ceiling and down to the floor before they dispersed.

I smiled, then pulled the trigger again, releasing it immediately instead of holding it. What came out was more a pellet than a bolt, and it dispersed upon impact with the wall. Would probably disorientate a normal person, but if I wanted to take them out I'd need to charge the shot up some. I holstered the gun and felt it disconnect from me. It was weird, feeling the gun become a part of my body then feel it sever like that. Something to get used to, I suppose.

I walked over to a reflective mirror I had liberated from the bridge of the ship and haphazardly tossed onto a pile of other junk. I lifted it with such ease that I almost threw it into the ceiling, but managed to keep my grip. I did crack the mirror where my hands were though. So I was really strong in the suit. Even if I had the blueprints memorized, I didn't know exactly what it would be capable of or how it worked. I should probably test out the strength of the suit and practice holding back my punches before going out.

My thoughts came crashing to a halt when I looked in the mirror, and I'm pretty sure I exited my body at that very second.

I…I was hot!

I mean, I had made the suit so form fitting simply to conserve resources, but I looked good. I'm pretty sure the armor was making my hips look wider and my chest bigger, like padding, but still. Damn. I looked cool, and dangerous, and hot. And my hair, while I loved how it normally looked so much like my mom's, looked amazing. And I was taller too. I normally didn't like my height. I was tall for my age, five foot six inches, but in the suit I was three inches taller and I looked powerful. I felt powerful.

Was it weird that I was more comfortable in a super advanced suit of power armor than in my own skin?

Also, why was I posing? Ugh, right, left my body, and I guess my intention before leaving had been to see how I looked. But still, what the heck. I groaned as I fell back into control of myself.

There were still a couple things I needed to test. One I didn't want to test in an enclosed space incase something went wrong, but the other I could check right now. I flexed right wrist, and I heard a sort of zipping sound as a long industrial cable extended from an opening at the bottom of my gauntlet. There was a hook at the end of it, so it could be tethered to something if it needed to. It could extend up to sixty feet, and I had a targeting system in my helmet that I could activate to help me aim it, so I could potentially use it like a grappling gun.

Looking at myself, I couldn't help but to hum in thought. I unconsciously activated the navigation system in the suit, and got a display in my peripheral vision showing a map of the city. I remembered the story of the minotaur, of Theseus being sent into the labyrinth to kill the monster. Before going in he was given a ball of thread by the daughter of the Minos, King of Crete, who had fallen in love with him at first sight. I patted my side --or was it the suit's side?-- and smiled beneath my faceplate.

"I think I'll call you…Ariadne."

'May you never lose your way…'

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Power Armor: Ariadne

Welp, here is a little introduction. Let me know what you think (and what I messed up, haha). Feedback is appreciated. I have no work or school this week, so I'll be able to keep an eye on this thread more than I would normally.

 

[AXCN]

Uh.... maybe post the actual chapter when you create a thread? Just for future reference

 

[FacelessDoll]

Uh.... maybe post the actual chapter when you create a thread? Just for future reference

Click to shrink...

Yeah...sorry about that. Hadn't been aware of the moderator approval thing. Oops
Waiting for the chapter to get mod approval

 

[BurnNote]

Yeah...sorry about that. Hadn't been aware of the moderator approval thing. Oops
Waiting for the chapter to get mod approval

Click to shrink...

You only need mod approval if you have stuff in there that skirts the edges of what the rules allow. From the summary, it doesn't really sound like it should be a problem for you.

 

[FacelessDoll]

You only need mod approval if you have stuff in there that skirts the edges of what the rules allow. From the summary, it doesn't really sound like it should be a problem for you.

Click to shrink...

I'm kind of confused. Again, new to the site. As far as I know I just posted the chapter normally. Pasted it from my document to the text box...thing...edited it for formatting and all that. I hit post, then it said above my chapter that the message was awaiting mod approval. So...yeah...I'm a tad lost...

I feel all sorts of incompetent right now -.- Sorry people

 

[Lizbeth]

Cheer up, everyone's first was rather disappointing, it's not so strange that your very first thread got a hiccuping start. It happens.
Try contacting a mod to see where the problem lies.

 

[Hollow Mask]

Based on the absence of content, I immediately pictured Taylor accidentally creating Hedonismbot but, more seriously, will a modern day Icarus be making an appearance?

 

[FacelessDoll]

Yay! It posted! It was apparently because I'm new and thus subject to more spam screening. So, yeah, that should be fixed now.

Based on the absence of content, I immediately pictured Taylor accidentally creating Hedonismbot but, more seriously, will a modern day Icarus be making an appearance?

Click to shrink...

Haha, it would be amusing to see her make such a bot. As far as Icarus goes, I'm going to say that I am not sure at this time. For now Taylor is avoiding the name Icarus because she doesn't like the connotations of it and thinks that it would be bad for her PR. (not in that it will make her look evil, but in that she has experienced high school and is afraid that such a name would be too easy to make fun of because of the history.)

I have thoughts on how Icarus could be implemented though, but haven't settled on a set course as far as that goes just yet.

 

[Honorous]

Sweet armor. I'm eager to see what she will accomplish.

 

[EternallyColdFox]

Fox's interest is piqued.

 

[FacelessDoll]

Parodos 1.2​

Tinkers are fucking bullshit.

Seriously. There wasn't exactly a lot of room in my suit for mechanical improvements and the like to fit, but even so I was somehow able to lift what had to be close to a thousand pounds of metal above my head. That felt like I was approaching my threshold though, so it wasn't too ridiculous, but still, I just didn't see how my suit could make me so strong.

Well, whatever. No point looking a gift horse in the mouth.

I practiced a bit with my gun too, and found that I was rather comfortable with it. Probably the whole thing with it becoming an extension of my body. I had done pretty good with aiming, then realized that my suit was correcting my aim which made me both more insecure because I couldn't shoot the gun on my own and incredibly proud because my suit was just awesome.

I hadn't gotten around to testing the alternative function of the generator on my back. It would be flashy, and I was nervous that I'd be noticed if I tried it outside, and I didn't feel comfortable doing it in a metal box either. I was planning on sticking to common crimes tonight anyways. Muggings, maybe a robbery…things like that. My gun alone would be enough to hand that, and I had super strength and invisibility on top of that!

I'd practiced punching too, to get a feel for my strength and how much I needed to hold back. Apparently my punching power did not improve proportional to my strength, which was kind of weird. I mean, I guess my mass didn't really increase much --the suit wasn't even a hundred pounds for crying out loud-- and I didn't punch any faster than I did before. Given those factors, I guess it was kind of understandable that the power behind my punches didn't suddenly become enough to break through the ship's hull, or something.

I had gone home later and timed it so I'd be coming back at around the time I normally would from school. Dad hadn't gotten back from work yet, but I wanted to be careful. We had a silent dinner when he got home, he watched the news, I read about Achilles' death, and then we both went to bed.
Well, he went to bed. I went into my room, closed my door, then immediately snuck out the window. I managed to catch the bus to the docks right before it left, which was good. I wanted to get out on patrol as soon as possible. As I put my body on autopilot, I went over my capabilities, and made a note to myself to bring Ariadne home. I was finished making her --er…it-- and between her invisibility and her more portable form I was sure that I could keep her hidden from dad. I'll probably put her in the basement. He never went down there.

And now I was out on patrol. I considered keeping my invisibility off while I was walking around, but decided that I'd do a better job of cleaning up the streets if the bad guys didn't see me coming. Also, I would rather make my debut by kicking some ass, not by having some random kid with an iphone take grainy video of me walking around aimlessly. My invisibility would drop if I bumped into someone, but no one walked around this part of the city at night unless they were part of a gang or buying drugs. Or were a cape, I guess. This also meant that I'd be revealed the second I landed a punch, which meant I couldn't pretend to be a ghost or something while I beat up goons. I was really looking forward to trying out the reverb setting on my speakers too.

Still, as I walk around I can't help but feel that it's a bit too quiet. Had I been visible I would be thinking that maybe the criminals were scattering at the sight of an obvious cape, but I wasn't. That left me with a bad feeling in my gut. The calm before the storm was a common cliche, but I couldn't help but to apply it here. I was in ABB territory, so I should be seeing a bunch of asian gangbangers walking around flaunting their power and looking out for neo nazis. Instead I hadn't seen a single member. Where were they? My mind drew a couple of worrying conclusions. Either there was a big fight going on right now between the ABB and the E88, or they were getting ready for something big.

Shit, maybe I should move into Merchant territory instead. I wasn't ready to fight other capes, and if either of the scenarios I had come up with were true that was definitely who I'd be facing. Yeah, I needed to get out of here. I made a left to cut through an alleyway, looking at the map in my peripheral vision to see what the quickest path out of ABB territory was.

Then I almost bumped into Lung.

I almost fell over as I came to a sudden stop. Lung, the dragon of the ABB, a gang leader and probably the strongest cape in Brockton Bay was right there. Facing away from me, which was good --I'd probably have had a heart attack otherwise-- talking to a group of gangbangers outfitted with assault rifles. Ok, so something big was definitely about to go down. Time to make a hasty retreat.

I had trouble making my legs move, so I ended up awkwardly moonwalking away. I was just glad Lung was too busy giving a speech to hear me.

"Those fucking kids went too far this time. We are going to make those damn Undersiders pay. You all understand? You see a kid, you shoot them. Shoot them while they are on the ground. Make sure they are dead." Lung was speaking English, probably because not all the ABB gangers were from the same parts of Asia. Some of them were probably born here and didn't speak any language other than English.

I exited my body, letting it hide itself on autopilot as I sped up my thinking, and called up memories pertaining to the Undersiders. I hadn't read much about them. They had four members, one of which, Grue, could create some sort of blinding cloud, while another controlled giant monster dog things. Hellhound --there had been a comment on her page saying she preferred being called Bitch, but I'm pretty sure that was a joke-- was known for breaking up dog fighting rings, and the group as a whole typically targeted illegal casinos. They were either a group of teenage villains, as the PRT had labeled them, or a group of teenage vigilantes.

Considering their reputation for being very skilled at running away from authorities, I'd guess the former.

I should probably leave. This wasn't my fight, and I wasn't ready to face Lung. I mean, it's fucking Lung, what the hell am I going to do to him? I mean, from what I read, his power came with escalation. He had a high rate of regeneration, so could recover from most mundane attacks normally, but the longer he fought the stronger he became, eventually turning into a full blown dragon. A dragon that held off an Endbringer, if PHO was to be believed. He could also control fire, to a degree. Mainly spewing it from his mouth. So, all in all very powerful and scary, but if I caught him by surprise, took him out in one hit before he could escalate, maybe I could win.

But it was risky. Really risky. But could I really just leave four kids to die?

I can't believe I'm doing this.

I fall back into my body, and find myself hiding on a roof overlooking Lung and his little group. This…this was good. I grab my gun from my holster, feeling my invisibility fall as I press down on the trigger.

Lung was a regenerator, and I needed to guarantee that he went down. I would need to hit him with more power than I'd normally feel safe using, but I could also afford to use more than I needed to. Afterwards his goons would either get into position to fight, or would scatter. The latter scenario was worse. If they got away and called for back up I'd probably have Oni Lee showing up, and I wouldn't have the element of surprise anymore. Even if I got away, I'd likely lose Lung, and I'd have a pissed off dragon with a grudge against me. I needed to take them out as soon as Lung went down.

The gun was shaking. I keep holding down on the trigger. I stand up, holding the gun with both hands to keep it steady, pulling away from my body, as I do so. My body acts on autopilot, following the directions of the targeting system in my helmet, and lets go of the trigger. It had been held down for thirty seconds. I pull myself back into my body but am surprised by how dark my visual display is. Then I realize why.

What came out of my gun was not a simple ball of electricity. It was a veritable lightning bolt. The flash would have blinded me had my suit not somehow anticipated the sudden flash and made my display darker. Lung didn't even have a chance. He had turned when I stood up, but was sent flying back by the sudden lightning strike. I jump off the building, not paying attention to him but instead to his goons who were covering their eyes in pain, blinded by the sudden light. I holster my gun on the way down and punch my fist into the concrete as I land, leaving a large imprint there.

The generator on my back was already already whirring to life as I descended, and one I finished my hero landing it released a sudden wave of electricity in all directions. The wave hit the goons, sending them into a fit of spasms before they collapsed onto the ground. I stood up slowly, waiting for an attack that didn't come. I took out my gun again, felt it become my hand, and surveyed the area. The gang members looked to be out cold, but I walked around and checked each to make sure. I shot a couple with a half second charge of electricity when I saw them waking up. Then I got to Lung.

His shirt had been completely burned away, and most of his exposed torso was charred black, though I could already see the burnt skin scabbing off and healing. I say most of the exposed torso because the rest was a giant hole. I could see his ribs, his beating heart, his lungs as they compressed and expanded. His stomach had erupted, but was already almost completely regrown. How the hell did he survive this? Like…fuck.

Ok, thirty second charge on the gun was fucking overkill. Don't use it unless they are on the level of Lung. Fuck.

That was stupid. Like, really fucking stupid. I exit my body after instructing it to find a working phone on one of the ABB. Seriously, what was I thinking? I know what I was thinking. I was thinking that Lung was scary but that I had to save people. Neat, but seriously, I knew that Lung wasn't really scary until he was allowed to ramp up for a while. I should have known that thirty second was way too much. He could have died! I was almost a murderer!

Ok Taylor, calm down. So you almost killed the strongest cape in the city, no big deal. He didn't actually die, and you did good. You are obviously able to stand on level with the other capes of the city…if you get the drop on them. Ugh. Now I feel like a coward. A smart coward, but a coward nonetheless.
I sink into my body and find that I still have no phone. Well, I found plenty of phones, but they are all fried. Damnit. This was a real mess. What was I going to do with these people? I could lift a lot, but somehow I don't think I'd just be allowed to carry Lung and a couple dozen of his lackeys through ABB territory unmolested. God damnit, how did I mess up this bad?

I leave my body again, leaving it with the job of standing guard over the downed ABB members. Shoot any that wake up, shoot Lung hard if he wakes up, and wave down any passing law enforcement. I didn't need to leave my body, but I would be dead bored if I had to just stand here. I should probably install some sort of communicator into my suit so that I could call the police at times like this. I begin to go over blueprints, going through a few varying designs for a communicator that could hack into police and PRT signals and pausing for a moment to examine a particularly interesting design for a robot that popped into my head. Huh, well that could be useful. I'll memorize it and maybe put it together once I had more to work with.

Eventually my body moves. I notice only because it had been still for so long. I fall back into it and find myself waving at a man on a motorcycle. He is wearing blue armor, his helmet covering the top of his face with a black visor while leaving his goatee exposed. He has a large halberd in his hands, and his gaze sweeps across the alley, his mouth set in a harsh frown.

I am surprised that I manage to keep my composure. I was meeting Armsmaster. I was meeting Armsmaster! He had always been one of my favorite heroes growing up, and those feelings had only been renewed when I had discovered that I was a Tinker as well. He was the leader of the local Protectorate, and was known to work closely with Dragon, the best Tinker in the world. And now he was here, to witness the aftermath of my debut!
I get a hold of myself. Right, I needed to look professional and capable. I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of my idol.

Armsmaster stood up straight, still holding his halberd but no longer seeming like he was about to lunge forward with it. He looked at me and nodded his head. "Report. What happened here."

Had I not been able to see the bottom half of his face, I might have assumed he was a robot, considering his mechanical tone and stiff delivery. Nonetheless, I figured that he was just following some protocol that was drilled into his head and thought that it would be best to answer in kind.

"Sir", I began, not sure of how I should be addressing him but deciding that 'sir' worked just fine, "I arrived on the scene fifteen to twenty minutes ago, and encountered a gathering of ABB members planning a strike against the group known as the Undersiders. After assessing threat levels and several scenarios, I concluded that I could not allow their attack to move forward. I engaged, catching the group by surprise, and was able to incapacitate their leader before he could react, followed shortly by the rest of the group."

If he was going to be a robot then I could be a robot too.

He stared at me for a moment, or, at least, I assume he was staring at me. His mouth hadn't so much as twitched throughout the entire conversation, so I really had no idea what he was thinking. Finally, he turned away from me, now looking directly at Lung's brutalized body.

"Armsmaster to console. I require pick up for…" I tune him out for a second, instead sending out small waves of electricity from the generator on my back to see if I could pick up on and analyze the radio signal he was using. No such luck. My generator either released a giant wave or it released nothing at all, it seems.

Armsmaster looks at me, and I realize his call is over. I don't move at first, then I realize that he has no way of knowing if I was paying attention or not given my blank faceplate and move my head slightly to indicate that my attention was on him. "You took out Lung." He says simply, a statement more than a question, but there was some inquiry there, I think.

I pat my armor on the armor plating guarding my collar, my chest puffing up with pride in my invention. Underneath my helmet I smile. "Nothing Ariadne can't handle."

The blue armored hero's frown deepens. He looks like he wants to say something, but seems to decide against it, instead asking, "Are you affiliated with any group or organization, criminal or otherwise?"

I blink. "No sir."

"So you are currently operating as an independent. Is this correct?"

"Yes sir."

"How long have you been operating?"

"This was my first night out, sir."

He goes silent, and I begin to feel distinctly uncomfortable. I beat the bad guys, right? I was a hero…so why did I feel like I was the one being interrogated?

"Why did you not contact the PRT?" He finally asked.

I frown to myself. It was a reasonable question, but it felt accusatory, and that set me on edge. "I currently lack a communication device, sir, and felt I had only a small window of opportunity and that there was not enough time to reach a pay phone." Not that I had any quarters I could use anyways. "After engaging the group, all communication devices in the immediate vicinity were fried." I'm sure there was a fancier word I could have used there, "As such, I stood watch over the criminals and waited for the next patrol by authorities to pass through here."

Armsmaster was still frowning. Maybe he couldn't smile? I could imagine him tinkering with a device and giving himself a bad shock that left him unable to use some of the muscles on his face, like some sort of weird partial paralysis. "I will make note of what you have just said. You did good work here today." I warm feeling washed over me. "However, independent heroes do not last very long. I'm sure you know this. It would be best for you to join a group as soon as possible, and the Protectorate is always looking for more good intentioned capes like yourself."

Was he offering me a spot in the Wards? I had considered it before. It would give me access to more resources, give me a team watching my back, and he was right about heroes not lasting long as independents. But still, while the Wards kept up good PR, I remembered everything I read about them, and every video I saw of them. It might be easy for some people to overlook, but the Wards public image was not who they actually were. There was obvious friction in the group. Shadow Stalker seemed to be the center of most of it, but there was something weird between Gallant and Vista as well. There were obvious social dynamics at play in the group that I just didn't want to deal with. I didn't even think I could deal with them if I tried. No, I want to get away from high school drama, and I wouldn't be able to do that if I joined the Wards.

Armsmaster, noticing my lapse of silence no doubt, began to press harder, and I could almost feel his gaze locked on the generators placed throughout my armor. "Tinkers are especially high targets, and your recruitment, or elimination, will likely become priority to the gangs in the city."

Right, I knew that too, and that did make me nervous. Or it did. I feel a lot more confident now. My armor, Ariadne, was strong and powerful. She took out Lung! I knew that I might be at higher risk just because of what my powers were, but I felt like she could handle it, Ariadne had my back. She had proven herself tonight, so I'd trust my invention.

"She can handle anything they throw at her." I say aloud without totally meaning to, patting my gun holster affectionately. Was it weird that I felt so close to my power armor? I mean, I guess we were connected right now, but still…

"I see." Armsmaster says curtly, pulling me from my thoughts. "Then, in my report I will write that I had been the one to subdue Lung. It will take a lot of attention off of you, and make your chances at a successful career as an independent higher."

Now it is my turn to frown. It made sense. I've just made an enemy of the ABB, and taking down Lung would draw the attention of the other gangs too. But wouldn't me just being a Tinker draw their attention? Besides, I had no delusions that the gang members that I took down wouldn't be able to get their story out even while in prison. In the end, I could benefit more from the positive PR and intimidating reputation.

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather take credit for this." Armsmaster remains silent, so I continue. "Word of my involvement is going to get out regardless, and like you said, attention is going to be on me anyways because I'm a Tinker. Having a reputation, if anything, will help me more than it will harm me."

Armsmaster's face is the picture of cold stoicism. He looks like he might have argued further, but a number of armored vehicles with the PRT logo on their sides arrive just then. He turns to speak with a PRT agent as gang members are hauled into the vans. I help by picking up Lung, who is now healed enough that I can't see his insides, and a half dozen other gang members over one shoulder. Armsmaster pauses in his conversation to watch me as I toss Lung into one van, where he is promptly encased in what I know to be containment foam from my time on PHO, and drop the rest in a separate van.
I wave awkwardly at the surrounding agents, and, deciding that if I stayed any longer I'd just be further pressured to join the Wards, activated my invisibility and left.

Tonight had been eventful to say the least.

---

Power Armor: Ariadne

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...or I guess every American. I'm pretty sure it is just an American holiday, but maybe I am mistaken. Anyways, I'd love to hear your feedback on this chapter. I know people find Lung fights cliche, so I hope I handled that well enough. Thank you all for reading.

 

[aguy]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...or I guess every American. I'm pretty sure it is just an American holiday, but maybe I am mistaken. Anyways, I'd love to hear your feedback on this chapter. I know people find Lung fights cliche, so I hope I handled that well enough. Thank you all for reading.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the update! And ya, it's just a US holiday, since it's all about the colonists way back when surviving when they weren't really prepared to.

 

[Solipsomancer]

If she makes a gundam sized suit, say for Endbringers, might she name it Talos?

So far, this is enjoyable. Thank you for your efforts.

 

[globalwarmth]

cool gear, though the belly window in her armor worries me.

I think that this is one of the few good reasons not to have a normal cape phone. she would fry them when doing stuff. the "fight" was fun too.

 

[EternallyColdFox]

If she makes a gundam sized suit, say for Endbringers, might she name it Talos?

Click to shrink...

...Fox is intrigued by this.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...or I guess every American. I'm pretty sure it is just an American holiday, but maybe I am mistaken. Anyways, I'd love to hear your feedback on this chapter. I know people find Lung fights cliche, so I hope I handled that well enough. Thank you all for reading.

Click to shrink...

Thanksgiving is a US only holiday. Fox feels it should be called "Apologize-to-the-Native's Day" instead though.

 

[draconix]

Intriguing so far. I find it interesting that her suit has a self repair function. It will limit the amount of time she has to spend doing repairs. I also wonder what Dragon would be able to do with some of her blueprints. The ability to create augmentation also sound cool. Overall, a nicely put together power set.

 

[Shadowcub]

Taylor you can be such a idiot sometimes, lol.

 

[Franklymydear]

Taylor you can be such a idiot sometimes, lol.

Click to shrink...

I realize this is probably just you being you, but what exactly are you even referring to?

She's barely done anything yet.

 

[WorstPacifist]

Sorry, there are a lot of things that are bothering me about this chapter, so I had to do some nit-picking.


Armsmaster seemed pretty unprofessional in this encounter, he first assumed that there were no hostiles and then asked a complete unknown to report to him.

He then asked Taylor if it was her first night when he should have all parahumans that live in and around the bay memorized and realized that, yes this was in fact a new parahuman.

Later in their conversation (which Taylor should probably be paying more attention to), armsmaster started pressuring Taylor to join the wards. My question is: how did Armsmaster know what age she was? Last chapter you described the power suit made her look more tall and womanly. I'll let this point slide because Armsmaster could have identified her age from her voice.

And finally, I don't think Armsmaster actually asked Taylor her cape name; Reading the conversation from his perspective makes it seem like Taylor is referring to herself in the third person as 'Ariadne'
Edit: just checked, the word Daedalus is not mentioned in this chapter

Other then that, I'm loving the story so far. Usually lung fights are long and drawn out but this time it was short and sweet.
I'll admit I was expecting Taylor to run into the Undersiders like in cannon. I think Taylor's thinker power is going to have an odd interaction with Lisa's power because she can draw back from her body and Lisa won't be able to get any of Taylor's subconscious micro-movement clues.

Keep up the good writing!

 

[Pax_Empyrean]

Looks promising so far. Watched.

It's a little odd that Armsmaster didn't ask for a cape name. Also, when he's giving her the recruiting pitch, he should probably refer to the Protectorate rather than the PRT.

 

[FacelessDoll]

Taylor you can be such a idiot sometimes, lol.

Click to shrink...

I think I know what you are talking about, and I think what you are talking about will become obvious in the interlude I'm about to post, but if not I guess you'll need to share with the class. Hahaha

Looks promising so far. Watched.

It's a little odd that Armsmaster didn't ask for a cape name. Also, when he's giving her the recruiting pitch, he should probably refer to the Protectorate rather than the PRT.

Click to shrink...

Oops, my mistake. I've changed it to Protectorate now. Thank you.

Also, Taylor gave him her cape name, or rather he thinks she did. Taylor is such a dork, isn't she

Sorry, there are a lot of things that are bothering me about this chapter, so I had to do some nit-picking.


Armsmaster seemed pretty unprofessional in this encounter, he first assumed that there were no hostiles and then asked a complete unknown to report to him.

He then asked Taylor if it was her first night when he should have all parahumans that live in and around the bay memorized and realized that, yes this was in fact a new parahuman.

Later in their conversation (which Taylor should probably be paying more attention to), armsmaster started pressuring Taylor to join the wards. My question is: how did Armsmaster know what age she was? Last chapter you described the power suit made her look more tall and womanly. I'll let this point slide because Armsmaster could have identified her age from her voice.

And finally, I don't think Armsmaster actually asked Taylor her cape name; Reading the conversation from his perspective makes it seem like Taylor is referring to herself in the third person as 'Ariadne'
Edit: just checked, the word Daedalus is not mentioned in this chapter

Other then that, I'm loving the story so far. Usually lung fights are long and drawn out but this time it was short and sweet.
I'll admit I was expecting Taylor to run into the Undersiders like in cannon. I think Taylor's thinker power is going to have an odd interaction with Lisa's power because she can draw back from her body and Lisa won't be able to get any of Taylor's subconscious micro-movement clues.

Keep up the good writing!

Click to shrink...

Wow! Firstly, thank you for the feedback!

Armsmaster seems like the sort to me to fall back on protocol and formality when in unfamiliar territory. I wasn't trying to make him seem unprofessional, and I will probably go back and try to rework that encounter at a later date, but I did want to show him to be blunt, abrasive, and to be someone who has the report he is going to have to write up on his mind. Hence some of the questions he asked. Yes he knows this is a new cape, but it would be harder to write in a report "I believe this to be a new cape because they are an unknown and I know all the capes in this city" than "I know this is a new cape because I asked."

Also, regarding cape name, that was because of this wonderful thing that seems to happen in Worm fanfictions. Misunderstandings!
But yeah, if their encounter seemed awkward, I was kinda trying to make it seem that way. This is an encounter between two Tinkers with less than stellar social skills.

 

[FacelessDoll]

Interlude 1.2x (Armsmaster)​

Piggot sat stiffly in her chair, her form leaning over her desk with her hands steepled beneath her chin. I stood across from her with a straight back and pristine armor, a well rehearsed stance that made me look like a soldier standing at attention before his commanding officer. My helmet was off, a gesture of trust and respect. Director Piggot knew about the lie detector I had installed inside of it, so choosing not to wear it would serve to show that I felt she wouldn't lie to me. The absence of my helmet also meant that my face was visible, so she could look me in the eyes, an act which I understood to be important to most people.

Still, speaking with the director would be much easier if I was wearing it.

"So", Piggot began, drawing out the word in an attempt to gain my attention, I think. How inane. She hed never lost my attention. "You went out tonight and encountered a new parahuman. What happened? What do you know about her?"

Actually, it would have been this morning, though such a correction would likely be taken as rude, so I hold my tongue. Besides…"It has all been included in my report, Director."

She frowns. "Yes, but I want to hear it from you."

Of course she does.

"The new parahuman, who has named herself 'Ariadne', was encountered this morning at approximately oh two hundred, apparently standing watch over a number of incapacitated ABB gang members as well as their leader, Lung."

I had considered leaving Ariadne out of the report and taking credit for Lung myself, despite her arguments, but I had no means of dealing the massive damage that she had inflicted on the parahuman. My halberd could potentially replicate the electrical burns to a degree, but not to that extent. In the end, any claims that I had been responsible for Lung's capture could be easily disproven, and the appearance of possibly two new capes was too big to ignore.

I continue. "I spoke with the new parahuman, and began gathering the requisite information for my report. I confirmed that they were an independent, not currently affiliated with any group. Based on my observations they are possibly in their mid twenties to early thirties. Their appearance, from what I could see, coupled with their for the most part mature tone of speech led me to this conclusion."

I spent a lot of time training the Wards, more time than I would have liked, but my time with them made me understand young capes a bit better. This girl was too collected and professional to be their age. True, she slipped up at times, the blatant overconfidence she showed in near the beginning of their meeting being an example, but I know Assault, so I knew not every adult was perfectly mature.

Director Piggot let out a long exhale, seeming to be turning the information over in her mind. "I assume you extended an offer for her to join the Protectorate?"

I nod my head. "She refused." I keep it simple. It is not uncommon for new capes to originally bristle at authority and regulation, and I'd be spoke more on her refusal in my report anyways. Perhaps it was petty of me, but if Piggot was going to make me give her an oral report than I was going to make her read my written one.

Piggot looks annoyed, but unsurprised. "Powers?"

Now this was where things would get interesting.

"My original assessment was that 'Ariadne' was a Tinker."

Her eyes narrow as she picks up on my choice of words. "Original assessment, as in not your current one. Explain."

"Much of her outfit appears Tinker made. There are obvious battery packs, and the pistol she used to take Lung down is an obvious Tinker weapon. All the ABB members were electrocuted, with Lung himself suffering a severe enough blast of electricity to burn a hole into his chest. Based on the rate he healed while I was on the scene, my guess is that the wound was much worse when it was first inflicted."

"You are right, that does sound like a Tinker. What makes you think she is not?"

"While attempting to recruit her into the Protectorate, I mentioned how Tinkers are of higher risk of being forcibly recruited by other group, such as the E88 or the ABB themselves. Her response was, and I quote: 'She can handle anything they throw at her.' Based on this statement, it can be concluded that she is not in fact a Tinker, and instead that she has a partner. My lie detector did not find a single falsehood in her statements, so this is likely a partnership, not a team, based on her statement that she is not affiliated with any organization."

The director leaned back in her chair, looking tired. "So we possibly have two new parahumans out there, active, acting as independents, one of which is a Tinker who is supplying her partner with equipment." Her eyebrows knit together in thought. "Any chance that this 'Ariadne' is not a cape and is instead just relying on the Tinker's equipment?"

"I had considered that." I really wished she just read my report. I included all of this. "And given that the capabilities of the equipment beyond the weaponization of electricity is unknown, we cannot rule it out. However, it would be safer to assume that she is a parahuman, and there is some evidence to support this."

She waves at me to continue, so I do.

"When attempting to scan her equipment, I found that my sensors were disrupted. It was not that they could not detect the tech, but the information came back distorted, like the visual equivalent to white noise. Furthermore, when leaving the scene 'Ariadne' reportedly vanished into thin air, though my scans were able to find the same white noise shape. This can be attributed to Tinker tech, of course. A cloaking device for the invisibility, and the batteries may have created electromagnetic interference that affected my scans, so a Stranger ability is perhaps unlikely, but it should be kept in mind."

"Perhaps more promising is the imprint that was found in the concrete at the scene. It seems she surprised the group by jumping down from a nearby roof. Normally I'd say that her boots, which were obvious Tinker tech, could have been built to take the impact of such a fall, but for that to happen she would have needed to land on both feet. Judging by the impact, it seems she landed on one knee, and did not roll. The equipment is relatively small and compact, and does not cover her entire body. Judging by the fact that she was able to withstand such a fall with such an awkward landing, and how she showed herself able to lift several unconscious ABB members with ease, it seems likely that she is a low to mid tier Brute."

The director studies me for a moment, though I am unsure why. She sighs. "But we cannot say it isn't simply more Tinker bullshit."

I am thrown off balance by her language, and as such fail to immediately respond.

Piggot rubs her temples. "This could be a problem. It sounds like we have two new players in the city. Two parahumans working together, one seeming to have some sort of loyalty in the other, or at least a high level of faith, and they do not seem to want to join the Protectorate. They attack the leader of the ABB and put a number of their members into custody."

She leans forward again, looking at me seriously. "This sounds too much like the start of a new gang to me."

I grimace.

---

Power Armor: Ariadne

I was going to wait to post this interlude until I had the next proper chapter ready, but next week looks like it is going toe fairly busy for me, and I realized that that chapter might not be ready when I thought it would. So, in an attempt to keep things alive, I've decided to post this right now.

Thank you all for all the great feedback!

EDIT: Fixed some spelling mistakes

 

[globalwarmth]

Well, they'll be more wary and respectful of two capes instead of the lone one. No stealing thunder and hands off hopefully.

 

[Pax_Empyrean]

This is an encounter between two Tinkers with less than stellar social skills.

Click to shrink...

Both of them wear power armor that automatically drops spaghetti out of a pocket whenever appropriate.

Piggot sat stiffly in her chair, her form leaning over her desk with her hands steepled beneath her chin.

Click to shrink...

Piggot, internally: "I wish I wore glasses so I could do that scary shiny thing with them, since I'm already Gendo-posing like a fucking champion."

Their appearance, from what I could see, coupled with their for the most part mature tone of speech led me to this conclusion."

Click to shrink...

Armsmaster: "I like robots better than people!"
Dragon: "Good boy."

This girl was too collected and professional to be there age.

Click to shrink...

*their

Her response was, and I quote: 'She can handle anything they throw at her.' Based on this statement, it can be concluded that she is not in fact a Tinker, and instead that she has a partner. My lie detector did not find a single falsehood in her statements, so this is likely a partnership, not a team, based on her statement that she is not affiliated with any organization."

Click to shrink...

She's on a team with her armor. I guess if you personify your gear that much, you might as well get the Protectorate in on it.

Her tendency to refer to her armor as a person is only going to get worse when she starts making actual robots.