How to Beat Fried Worms
Disclaimer: Worm is owned by Wildbow, and he can keep it.
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Chapter 19: Dance!
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Alec tapped his fingers against his steering wheel, thinking, as he drove back home.
He had his cape costume. Yay... And he had a rough plan forming. He needed to fight -and beat- parahumans to acquire a copy of their powers. Or at least something Game flavored.
Close enough.
And there were a few options in the Bay that he could probably take without drawing any heat. Uber and Leet were right at the top of the list. Uber could use his power to 'master' a small list of skills, though he wouldn't necessarily get the requisite training that made those skills dangerous. Leet had the capability to make just about any kind of Tinkertech, the first expression of something would be exceptional and any iterative works would be more and more failure prone with shorter and shorter function times.
They were also gamers, lowercase-G, who liked to commit various crimes while dressed up as videogame characters.
Alec sighed as he stopped at a red light and pressed a bit of Investment into his van. He could feel... that power, the potential within it reach critical mass. It reached out to him, asking him, seeking direction and purpose-
Just a little off the top (Trump 1): When someone capable of using Empowered Investor is within the vehicle and they have full SP, 100 SP will automatically be drained and added to the vehicle's investment pool!
-and Alec answered, focusing on something he hoped would be useful.
He wasn't intending on doing it, but, if he had to start sleeping in his van? That'd let the van keep getting charged even when he was asleep. Hopefully, it might even level up Empowered Investor.
The man chewed on his bottom lip, thinking of his guns as he continued to make his way through the ill-maintained roads of Brockton Bay.
The Barrett was... lethal. After its enhancements, it was incredibly lethal. And, if he kept focusing on the two traits it had instead of creating any more, it'd be silent but deadly.
But his pistol and carbine had been lagging behind, neglected as he focused on making the Barret into something that should rip clean through Hookwolf, if it proved necessary.
Alec pulled over and parked on the curb, outside of the big, soulless gray block he lived in. He pulled his pistol out of his inventory and then removed the holster he'd bought from a bag listed as coming from 'Mad River Outfitters' and slipped the pistol into it.
Then he removed it, then replaced it and just repeated the process a number of times. Once he felt as though he had a good feel for it, he ran a belt through the loops on it, then put the belt on.
The holster was a bit awkward but, honestly, the 9 was one of the smallest handguns that Alec had worn in recent memory.
Alec ran a finger along the back of the gun, investing a charge into it before his own SP hit full and the van ate its share-
Aim Assist (Thinker 1): Better tracking of moving targets while aiming downsight.
-Alec shivered in discomfort at what he'd just made. He was confident in his own abilities. Incredibly confident, given the years of practice behind him. But he knew that his own abilities would fall short of someone like Circus. Let alone someone with an actually potent Mover or Combat Thinker ability.
Harbinger, the Number Man, honestly came to mind.
Alec sighed and holstered his pistol. He couldn't think about the Number Man. He couldn't keep worrying about the bastard. Stressing out about Harbinger was ultimately about as useful as worrying over Contessa.
A waste of time and another night of sleep, lost.
Instead he pulled one of the rifle straps out of the bag and extracted his carbine. Attaching it was quick and simple, then loading a pair of magazines into it was just as simple. They weren't at full capacity, Alec only put fifteen bullets into them, but that still added up to sixty bullets across both guns and both magazines.
Too much more would just get unwieldy.
The man tapped his fingers on the picatinny rail on the top of the small rifle. There was another on the bottom, too. He could affix a sight to it, there were some wonderful holographic options. Perhaps a flashlight on the bottom, too?
Alec debated it as he fed a charge into the rifle-
Ammo Enhancement (Breaker 1): Improves the special effects of non-standard ammunition.
-and resolved to do some research when he had the time. He needed to buy some rubber bullets, anyway. Those weren't non-lethal, no, but they were... less-lethal. A much better option when dealing with mooks. The kind that were willing to surrender, anyway.
Alec tapped the carbine, sending it back into his inventory as he held out his hand and the Barrett appeared, the butt of its stock against the metal floor and the barrel in his hand. He carefully laid it down on the floor, then took a seat on his welder to attach the last strap.
That one was a bit harder to do, honestly. The sheer size of the Barrett made it an unwieldy nightmare and it was functionally impossible to realistically fire from a standing position. Maybe, if Alec had a few more points put into strength, but he didn't.
The magazines for the massive gun...
Alec pursed his lips as he considered them. One had already been loaded, all ten bullets already inside of it and loaded into the gun. The other four magazines that Victor owned, however, had been left alone.
The man looked around the mess in the back of his van for a moment before he managed to track down the associated magazines and the correct ammo can, full of .50 caliber bullets.
So, all of 100 rounds. Not nearly enough to really play around with, and the bullets were expensive to source.
Loading ten into one magazine was a struggle. The spring inside the magazine fought like a bear, especially on the last bullet. The second magazine...
Alec picked up the first bullet from the can and focused on it, just for a second. Slowly, the tip turned black, starting at the point and working its way down.
Decimation was one of the two abilities that Alec hadn't yet used. There wasn't much cause for it, much justification for it. It would simply ensure that any wounds inflicted would continue to grow worse for however long it was active, then make it so that those wounds would not heal well.
Ravager, from what Alec recalled, liked to scratch people. Because of course she did.
New York had three living people with powers that could impact an Endbringer; March, Flechette and possibly Ravager. None of them did jack, diddly or shit where said Endbringers were involved.
Personally, Alec actually didn't blame them. Eidolon's Endbringers were the stuff of literal nightmares. He didn't like the fact that they refused to stand up and push back the evils that were literally destroying the world but, well, he didn't blame them.
Alec stopped grumbling about things he couldn't control as he empowered and loaded in the tenth bullet.
Ability: Decimation has reached level-
Alec swiped through the notification as he put the Barrett back in his inventory. He had things to do that actually mattered.
Like getting home, cooking dinner, and turning one of his Dragon Quest characters into a jester.
Stepping out of his van, Alec passed by a car with a tarp over it and walked into his apartment complex. He was almost home, literally just a dozen steps away when he stopped.
There were people in front of his door. People wearing suits.
Nope! He turned right back around-
"Sir?" one of the suits called before Alec could exit, stage left. "Sir, are you Alec Mist?"
Shit!
"Yes?" Alec asked, well enough aware that they wouldn't be asking if they didn't think he was. "And who are you?"
"Agent Mallard," the man answered as he pulled a leather flip-case out of his breast pocket and opened it, showing a badge and I.D. to Alec. "I'm with the PRT. You've been named as a person of interest in an ongoing investigation. Would you be willing to come and answer some questions?"
Alec... really didn't want to do that. At all.
But he knew that anyone with a badge asking that question was actually giving you two choices.
Come with us voluntarily and we can pretend we're friends and professionals...
Or we can arrest you and make this very, very unpleasant for everyone involved.
"Sure thing, Ducky," Alec agreed as he reshuffled his plans for the night. "I can do that."
He didn't know what the PRT wanted, though to be fair it wasn't like they were short on options, but he'd rather do almost anything else.
The man put his hands in his pockets as he was led downstairs, one agent in front of him and one behind him.
Still, Alec thought as he ran his thumb over his cell phone. Being in custody would give him a lot of plausible deniability, wouldn't it?
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Worm Version 0.1.9: Character Sheet
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| Stats | Details |
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Level: 8
HP: 18/100
SP: 500
-STR: 1/20
-VIT: 1/20
-DEX: 1/20
-AGI: 1/20
-INT: 5/20
-WIL: 5/20 |
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Empowered Investor 8/20: You can invest your energy into an object, repairing it by 8%, empowering it by 8% of its original value and investing 8 points into it. Once that investment value reaches 600, the empowered object will develop a special trait. Another trait will be revealed at 1000 investment, then they will be improved or added to for every 1000 points after that. Cost: 100 SP
Gift 1/20: You may gift a copy of your own ability, equal to half that ability's level, to a target (Limit: 1 ability, level 1 for 1 minute) Cost: 10 SP
Phantom Force 8/20: Create a ghostly duplicate of yourself to perform additional actions! (Limit: 1 duplicate. At level 10, creates two duplicates, with an additional duplicate per five levels afterwards. Duration: 1 Minute per Level) Cost: 25 SP
Decimation 2/20: Imbue your weapons with an effect that increases the severity of wounds and causes additional damage! Duration: 30 Seconds per level. Cost: 10 SP
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ERROR! Previous skill levels not allocated!
Axe 1/20
Hand to Hand 2/20
Short Blade 1/20
Long Blade 1/20
Pistols 7/20
Rifles 7/20
Cleaning 5/20
Repairs 5/20
Cooking 4/20
First Aid 2/20
Sneaking 3/20
Running 1/20
Driving 6/20
Mechanics 2/20
Metalwork 6/20
Carpentry 2/20
Trapping 9/20
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On the Shoulders of Giants 4/20: Slowly gain experience in skills and abilities when in the presence of people with higher scores than your own!
ACCESS DENIED 7/20: ACCESS DENIED
Timed Hits 3/20: It's not just a matter of where you do something, but also when! And now you've got a better sense for when the right time to do something will be!
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Poisoner 1: Poisons you inflict cause an additional 10% damage per tick
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Weapons
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9mm Pistol (+601) Aim Assist (Thinker 1): Better tracking of moving targets while aiming downsight.
9mm Carbine (+601) Ammo Enhancement (Breaker 1): Improves the special effects of non-standard ammunition.
.50 Caliber Rifle (Barret 82A1) (+2580) (Stranger Lvl2: Moderately reduce noise and muzzle flash.)(Breaker Lvl1: Absorb kinetic energy and add it to fired bullets.)
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Equipment
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Omnitool (+998) (Changer Lvl 1: Basic Hand Tools)
Tailored Suit (Gray) (Masterwork)
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Miscellaneous
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1990 Chevrolet Step Van (Legendary) (+1006) (Perception Filter Level 1) Just a little off the top (Trump 1): When someone capable of using Empowered Investor is within the vehicle and they have full SP, 100 SP will automatically be drained and added to the vehicle's investment pool!
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