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A dragon making a Marker: MAKE US WHOLE!
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Project: Gamer Ver. 2 (Young Justice/Gamer/Multicross OC)
- Thread starter Mister Ficser
- Start date
Something has just occurred to me in regards to Dick and Bruce. Just how old is Batman right now? Sure he's s an adult, but going by physical age, he's essentially in the prime/peak years when Damien shows up in his life. So if we assume Batman is in his mid thirties when Damien shows up, that means he was probably raising Dick when he was roughly in his twenties.
I bet Bruce in some reality's is more akin to an older brother, while Alfred becomes Dick's father figure.
Bruce might not be even a decade older than Dick, and I think it would be good for Alchemist to go in and realize he's talking to an incredibly young Bruce Wayne, who isn't the experienced father and business man he's used to dealing with.
I bet Bruce in some reality's is more akin to an older brother, while Alfred becomes Dick's father figure.
Bruce might not be even a decade older than Dick, and I think it would be good for Alchemist to go in and realize he's talking to an incredibly young Bruce Wayne, who isn't the experienced father and business man he's used to dealing with.
- Location
- Where Else?
Lmao, I was gonna make that reference, but I felt that it would undermine attempt to be serious there.
Also, as for the Beast Boy power debate, I recall rather clearly an episode of TT, the one where Cyborg gets kidnapped by robobro to be turned into a full robot after he got knocked around by the magician dude in the scrapyard. While they were asking for him, BB transformed into Cy to give a reference to someone they were talking to. It was a one off gag, but it shows that BB transforms into copies of what he See's. Probably more information to be gleaned from there...
Beast Boy's powers are probably limited by non-sapience of the animal, as opposed to sentience. He's never really imitated something that could classify as sapient, although he's come close on a couple alien species... and in things like whales, its hard to prove. That big brain basically exists to manage the huge body, not to be smarter than humans.
Imitating a naturally sapient animal might be beyond his powers. If not... well, there's Krypto there, sure enough, and a Super-horse, and a I think a super-cat. All the standard Greek mythological creatures can be found on paradise island... and that includes pegasi, which Alc has access to, as well.
Mimics are generally treated as Aberrants or Shapechangers themselves, not Beasts. I think many people are mistaking Creatures with Beasts, and BB's power has never included 'all creatures'.
In D&D terms, his powers are probably restricted to Beasts/Animals and maybe Magical beasts (depends on the sapience filter, as many Magical Beasts are fully sapient).
Imitating a naturally sapient animal might be beyond his powers. If not... well, there's Krypto there, sure enough, and a Super-horse, and a I think a super-cat. All the standard Greek mythological creatures can be found on paradise island... and that includes pegasi, which Alc has access to, as well.
Mimics are generally treated as Aberrants or Shapechangers themselves, not Beasts. I think many people are mistaking Creatures with Beasts, and BB's power has never included 'all creatures'.
In D&D terms, his powers are probably restricted to Beasts/Animals and maybe Magical beasts (depends on the sapience filter, as many Magical Beasts are fully sapient).
- Location
- Out in the banjoes
He has turned into:
Admittedly, this is in a Medieval DC alt-world
a Starro in the main comic series, and, most relevant considering this example is the local BB,
The only ones who know his limits are the writing staff, and who knows how long those limits would stay where they are.
However, I fear this is becoming a general Beast Boy derail for what's honestly just a pitstop for Al, given the Garfield Logan in the Young Justice earth may not come into his powers due to butterflies (like teaching any folks healing magic if they ask, negating the need for a transfusion from M'gann), while we're only currently seeing Teen Titans Beast Boy (which may or may not be in DCAU, as the Titans are at least referenced in a Static Shock-Batman crossover episode).
- Location
- Oklahoma
But in the that verse there are the TYPE beings which are different species altogether and other creatures like ORT
ORT
ORT (オルト, Oruto?), One Radiance Thing (ワン・ラディアンス・シング, Wan Radiansu Shingu?), is an Ultimate One from the Oort CloudWP surrounding the edges of the Milky Way,[2] currently residing on Earth.[1] Within Tsukihime Worlds, it is recognized as the fifth of The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. ORT...
typemoon.fandom.com
- Location
- Ohio
I am pretty sure that is exactly how it works in Final Fantasy 9, essentially the stuff resonates with a person and if a...pattern that is compatible with them is within... They can learn to use it as either an active or passive ability, like a master thief ability for Yuffie would show her how to maneuver in certain ways to have a better chance of stealing things without notice.
Thing is the system in the game seems to imply that as you grow more experienced you can hold more passives easier, but can't go over that many because it probably impairs the ability to actually function during combat.
I mean we see that the active abilities usually need nothing but mana, or focus on what they are doing.
In other words you can extract abilities and passives from the equipment and clothing, as long as you can actually learn them/have the capabilities to use them. Like how Zidane has the abilities to learn a number of his skills because he grew up learning to be a thief, his agility, and his ability with blades.
Dagger learning White Magic because of course her "Mother" wouldn't have approved of her learning offensive magic, and it basically being something she could get away with. I am pretty sure that the other girl from the Summoner village knew Black Magic and White Magic, if its only white magic... Then maybe it's just a quirk of the Summoners?
I hope I made some sense, and that this helps people.
Largely in getting people to think of what it could mean, or even is he right or wrong...
And now we all realise why most Kryptonians went with artificial everything for reproduction in most continuities where it comes up. Not only was their "natural biological way" horrifyingly complex, it was also probably faster and simpler to let the birthing chambers deal with it.
- Location
- Mt. Holly, North Carolina
ORT is TYPE Mercury. Gaia decided no one on her surface would get the chance to survive so she called for the other planets to send their ultimate life forms to make sure everything died. Mercury arrived early and has been hiding out as the crystal spider of South America. This still causes problems due it's very nature as a TYPE. TYPE Earth is actually dead already, but as a result Arcueid Brunestud exists. Upside, she is kinder than TYPE Earth, downside, she could return to being Crimson Moon Brunestud at any time she feels like it.But in the that verse there are the TYPE beings which are different species altogether and other creatures like ORT
ORT
ORT (オルト, Oruto?), One Radiance Thing (ワン・ラディアンス・シング, Wan Radiansu Shingu?), is an Ultimate One from the Oort CloudWP surrounding the edges of the Milky Way,[2] currently residing on Earth.[1] Within Tsukihime Worlds, it is recognized as the fifth of The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. ORT...
Apologies, I generally base my references off the comic books instead of the cartoons. The Cartoons are all over the place. A native beast of a hell plane could be a magical beast, dragons are entirely up in the air as to where they come from as incarnations of magic/ideals or are simply lizards with wings and a bit of magic, and Starro could be a Magical Beast or an Aberration, likely the latter since he can survive in vacuum.
All depends on what the filter/cap for his power is. In the comics, it was basically level of intelligence, but who knows if that's been busted, too.
- Location
- Whadjuk Noongar boodja
Note: I am not a physicist, let alone an astrophysicist or a cosmologist, and therefore no kind of Authority on the topic at all. If anyone has more informed data or corrections to anything I say below, please do enlighten me.
That said, AFAIK, the universe came from nothing is more of a shorthand for we don't know/can't tell what set off the big bang, what happened during the earliest parts of it, nor even what came before, inasmuch as before and during are at all meaningful concepts when discussing an event or process that happened at or even prior to the actual beginning of time as we currently consider it.
Also, the entire astrophysics/cosmology world seems to be at the start of some so far rather minor conniptions caused by the recent-ish discovery of quite convincing evidence that the currently accepted age of this universe (~13.4 billion years, IIRC) is very definitely incorrect. How much is that off? From what I've read and heard, they don't actually know enough for even ballpark figures currently, but somewhere between a bit more and A LOT more seems to be the likely range. Or maybe it will just cause a massive shake-up in how long is considered possible for how long things like stellar and galactic formation.
For myself, I'm hoping it will turn out the be the start of another massive paradigm shift/replacement, 'cause it's been several decades since we last had one of those, minimum, and I'm not all that fond of certain central parts of the current accepted dogma. But regardless, unless this turns out to be a very minor speed-bump it will likely be at least a couple of decades before the dust even starts to settle on this.
It's pretty much personal headcanon, but I'm firmly of the opinion that anything that is capable of holding a detailed, specific and long-term grudge is both sentient and sapient, which means that all sorts of critters that most folks wouldn't consider as falling under either category in fact do so. Under that definition at least the vast majority of cetaceans qualify, as do many species/families of birds, Octopodes and Cuttlefish among the cephalopods and far more mammals than people realise.
Of course, neither sentient nor sapient equates to trustworthy, safe or pleasant to interact with (Orca and Dolphins particularly) or even vaguely sane by human standards. (Sperm Whales stand out there. By even the most lax of human definitions Sperm Whales as a species are utterly nucking futs.)
Huh. Paradise Island must be vastly larger than I've ever considered, and also far, far more dangerous.
I can't imagine this particular idea having any positive outcome at all for anyone other than Starro, barring Editorial or at the very least Authorial Fiat.
That's a fascinating question and one I'd never thought to consider. A quick ponder leaves me leaning towards Yes, at least under certain circumstances and with at least some limitations. That aside, even if BB could turn into Fenrir, Jörmungandr or similar and bring similar levels of power, neither TT nor YJ Gar would be anything other than a hindrance at most to Al and co. He's just not nearly experienced, tactically or strategically talented, nor ruthless enough.
This is not intended as any kind of slight on the assorted versions of BB at all, I adore many of them and respect pretty much all the others, but even indirectly assisting Al in taking on Zeus is like the saying 'Come at the King and you'd best not miss' in the same way that a mountain range is like a molehill.
DC? It's been busted, probably repeatedly and retconned back to break it even further. What's the 'rules' today? Who knows, certainly not the readers.
Chapter 300
New
Project: Gamer Ver. 2 Alpha Build 3.0.0
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of what you don't recognize, I still don't own.
_________________________________________________________________________
20/07/2003 (TT)
Alchemist had a lot of things that drew his attention but didn't actually demand much actual effort or initiative on his part.
The majority of those were people. Who they were, why they did certain things, what they thought; it wasn't any of his business, ninety percent of the time, and interjecting himself into other people's lives and situations uninvited just seemed... rude?
And typically, Alchemist was fine with that. He could live with a bit of unsatisfied curiosity. He didn't need to know every detail of someone's life or pluck out every mystery behind their traumas or triumphs.
Sometimes, that left people thinking he was generally disinterested in them. Other times, he was surprised to learn that some people enjoyed how little stress he would put into his interpersonal interactions.
However? Rarely? Alchemist could find it within himself to hunt down answers, to focus his puzzle-solving skills on people instead of tasks.
And, currently, that was Alchemist's intention as he flew over Gotham, shrouded among the clouds and the pitch darkness of the night sky. His keen eyes focused downwards, watching. Listening.
The dragon's wings flapped silently as he circled the city. As he saw the baser crimes play out in Crime Alley. Muggings, drug deals, theft... He was tempted to intervene. That would draw out his quarry with a speed that would put the Flash to shame.
But the wizard abstained, much as he didn't want to. He knew that Batman left most of the street level crime alone much like an ecological researcher would avoid tampering with the scavengers wherever they were researching. The people that made up the bottom tiers of the food chain were often the ones most sensitive to the moods and appetites of the greater predators.
Bruce knew that he couldn't really stamp out crime. The man was intelligent enough to understand that, to a degree, it was just human nature. Instead, Bruce's serious efforts were often focused on organized crime and metahuman crime. The people that spread suffering and misery the farthest with the least effort.
Alchemist's head tilted to the side, slightly, as he caught sight of a brief movement atop a tower. One on which five... ah.
Atop one of the tallest towers in Gotham, a gargoyle statue was situated on each wall of the building. Batman had set himself up upon the back of the one facing East, angled towards Falcone's operations.
Circling back around, Alchemist descended on the West side and shifted to his armored, human form before one foot touched the roof.
"...And who are you?" Batman demanded, stepping back from his perch and turning to look at Alchemist before the wizard had made it two whole steps.
Given that the mage's equipment was magically silenced, atop his own inability to leave behind traces of his movement?
That was impressive.
"Tracy Whittaker," Alchemist answered with practiced ease. "I've been looking for you."
"Clearly," Batman growled, one hand reaching to his utility belt. He didn't grab anything, not yet, but the threat was clear. "What do you want?"
"To talk." Alchemist leaned to the side, placing one hand on the gargoyle on his side of the building. "I came across your apprentice, recently."
"I don't have-!"
"Bruce?" Alchemist cut in, cutting off whatever tirade Batman was probably about to dig into. "I'm actually rather serious right now. Your son is struggling over whatever happened between you two and there's too much-"
Batman... jumped off the building.
Batman legitimately jumped off of the building rather than continue with whatever conversation Alchemist was trying to have with him!
Alchemist worked his jaw back and forth for a moment, debating what he should do.
Leaving things alone was certainly an option. Bruce clearly didn't want to talk about Dick.
Unfortunately, Alchemist actually had critical information for the man and his emotional constipation was not going to be allowed to interfere.
With a frustrated sigh, Alchemist raised one hand and snapped his fingers, the magic he'd cast washed over the area.
The air was filled with the sound of grinding stone as the four granite gargoyle's turned their heads to observe the mage, waiting for orders.
"Capture Batman and bring him back here," the mage told them as he reached up to hold his palm over his face. "Unharmed, preferably. Otherwise, just make sure he's alive and in one piece."
The wizard shook his head in frustration as the four animated objects launched themselves into the air, impossibly flying after the Caped Crusader.
"...Gotham," Alchemist cursed as he extracted several flasks of Holy Water.
If he was going to be stuck waiting for the man to turn back up, he could at least do something productive. To that end, the wizard snapped his fingers again and the clouds overhead began to weep, Holy Rain falling to the streets below.
"It's always something with Gotham..."
-----
Elsewhere, several states away but roughly about the same time...
Alchemist adjusted the lapel of his stolen uniform irritably. The whole ensemble itched terribly and felt entirely too stiff.
Well, 'stolen' might have been something of a strong word.
A semi-solid illusion that wrapped over his body, assuming the form of another person would be more accurate.
Still, the outfit Alchemist wore was not one he'd ever so much as touched, in this life or his last. An olive green jacket with four large, brass buttons, a breast pocket on both sides and another pocket further down. The cap on Alchemist's head was pulled low, covering the 'eyes' of the illusion. There wasn't anything of special note about the slacks but the shoes were polished to a mirror finish.
A Vietnam war era officer's uniform.
The mage felt more than a little bit uncomfortable wearing it, for a multitude of reasons. It would serve a specific purpose, yes, and he'd checked and double-checked to make sure the man who owned the face he was borrowing was both dead and, more importantly, a victim of the wizard's target.
That had taken a lot of research throughout the last few weeks. It was far easier than trying to track down facts from the earlier World Wars, the Vietnam War being the one that was 'fought inside the living room', but quite a lot of information wasn't available on the internet in the ancient age of two-thousand and three so he'd been hitting the books. And cross referencing the books.
...And then the wizard had made a few trips to Arlington, Virginia, to try and commune with specific soldiers who'd died while serving under a specific commander. He'd expected that to be a drawn out process but Alchemist had found a spirit that was willing to let him use its name and face on his second trip.
The wizard, wearing the face of a dead man and layered under a variety of charms and spells, lifted his wrist to check the time.
20:01
Go time.
With a displeased sniff, his nose wrinkling at the magical scent of oil and smoke, Alchemist adjusted his tie and stepped forward, directly past the security guards that were ignoring him.
"...What's that smell?" one of the guards, seated next to a metal detector, asked as Alchemist walked by him, his shoes clacking loudly on the polished marble floors. "Hey, Jim, you bring some pork in again for dinner?"
"Not tonight," the other guard, apparently named Jim, told his coworker. "Think it's coming from the Air Force boys? They bring in some pretty good stuff for lunch..."
Alchemist carried on, walking unchallenged into the Pentagon.
People arced around him as he kept apace, not a soul paying attention except a few who sniffed at the air as he passed. Well, he was almost unnoticed.
The mage lifted his head to face the security cameras, making sure to stare into them until he passed out of view from one and to another.
"What the-?!" a security guard shouted, nearly knocking people over as he reached the spot that Alchemist was standing. "There's nothing here!"
The wizard turned to look at the man, slowly circling the guard as he raised his radio to his mouth.
"Kowalsky, there's nobody here! Where's the intruder?" the man asked, his fingers held right over the controls of his walkie-talkie.
"Rico! He's right next to you!" the man on the other end shouted.
The security guard, Rico, turned around, his eyes dancing wildly around as he looked at, and through, Alchemist.
"Kowalsky, I don't see anybody!" Rico shouted. "What am I looking for?"
"Rico, how can you miss him?! He's right in-" Alchemist reached over and twisted the volume knob of the walkie-talkie, turning the device off as the security guard was in the process of revealing his location.
"...Kowalsky?" Rico asked, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the handset. "Kowalsky? What's going on? Kowalsky?!"
Alchemist turned back to face the camera and looked up, shooting off a smart salute before he began to trek deeper into the facility.
All of his actions served a purpose, and every spell upon him was just a piece of the puzzle.
As the wizard came up to a door that was barred by an electronic lock, the man reached up to his neck and pulled a pair of dogtags out of his shirt. He leaned down to the card scanner, pressing the metal against it as he cast Bypass Password. The light turned green and the man stepped through the secured door as several more security guards came running down the hall after him.
He was getting closer to his goal...
"All personnel, be advised!" a panicked voice shouted over the P.A. system. "An unknown individual has infiltrated the Pentagon! Capabilities unknown. Do not engage! I repeat: Do not engage!"
The wizard didn't slow down in the slightest as people stepped out of their workstations and into the hallways, curious about the uproar despite the fact that Alchemist was sure that they were supposed to find a shelter somewhere until they got the all-clear.
Well, they were going to get an ass-ripping later, weren't they.
"~Mc-Na-Ma-Ra sent some men..." Alchemist softly sang, his scratchy voice echoing harshly throughout the halls. "E-I-E-I-O..."
Quite a few people turned to try and find the source of the noise. Some were actually doing a good job of tracking the mage by the sound of his voice.
Alchemist did not snap his fingers as he intensified the smell of burning gasoline and laundry detergent. This might have been a show, of sorts, but it wasn't something that needed to be connected back to the wizard through his own little idiosyncrasies.
"Everybody get back!" an older man shouted, startling the milling crowd into action. Most of them slammed their backs against the walls of the hall, revealing the person that had given the command.
A man that needed a cane to stand upright was revealed. He only had hair growing along the left side of his head, and similarly only had one eye. The right side was warped and pale, covered over in thick, ropy burn scars.
"Where are you?!" the man shouted, his lone eye darting around the room. It lingered on some of the faces around him but never for very long. "Come out and face me like a man!"
"~and all those men he sent were idjits," Alchemist continued as he walked right by the old veteran. "E-I-E-I-O..."
Alchemist wasn't looking to tussle with someone that had earned their medals.
His target was deeper within.
No, he just kept up his pace as he walked towards the heart of the facility. He came across another secured door but it, too, simply opened for him through the use of the Starfinder spell, Bypass Password.
"Fan out!" an armed guard shouted as Alchemist turned down a hall. "Keep your eyes peeled and pay attention to your ears and nose! The intruder is invisible to the naked eye, so keep your radios on and keep your guard up!"
Oddly enough, Alchemist noted that the man's nametag just said 'Private'. Nothing else.
Was that... actually his name?
What was it with people giving their kids names based off of military rank?
The wizard didn't bother pondering on it as he passed by the group of guards. Several of which went stiff as they got a noseful of what he was prestidigitating.
"It's here!" Private shouted as he raised his gun to the ready position and started turning in a circle.
Alchemist stopped in place as Private and his squad basically took turns aiming at each other.
That-
That was-
Alchemist... had no words for how utterly idiotic that was! He was honestly tempted to break character and do something about how insanely offensive he found their lack of gun safety!
Instead... Instead, the man just shook his head and carried on.
"It's moving in!" a voice crackled to life over the radios. "Shoot it!"
Alchemist didn't bother to turn around-
~~ -15 MP! ~~
~~ -20 MP! ~~
~~ -10 MP! ~~
~~ -5 MP! ~~
~~ -8 MP! ~~
-as the soldiers opened fire at his back. They couldn't hurt him, not anymore.
"It's still going!" Alchemist heard the operator over the radio shout. Something that was probably lost on the guards, given that they'd been firing live ammunition inside of a narrow hallway. The only thing they could probably hear was a loud, sharp tone that signified hearing loss. "Someone, get the General out of there!"
...That part, however. That got Alchemist's attention.
The mage didn't exactly hurry. He didn't want to give the game away, especially not when he was so close.
But he did put a little hustle in his steps.
The next blockade tried using heavier weapons on him, and the security around the doors got tighter and tighter but Alchemist hadn't yet run into an actual, physical lock yet.
After two more groups of security, one of which seemed to be made up of actual soldiers, Alchemist found his quarry.
General Wade Eiling.
The man was in the process of cramming papers into a suitcase, along with several aides who looked to be about as old as he was.
Cronies, then.
In a room on the opposite side of the hall, through a glass panel that was probably bulletproof, Alchemist also saw his prize for this little venture.
"...General," Alchemist growled, his voice low and guttural as the door slammed shut behind him. He stalked forward, the illusion hiding him from mundane eyes fading in pieces as he stepped towards the man. "General Wade Eiling."
"I don't know who you think you-" Wade's voice was firm and commanding as the old, powerful man continued to put away his work, regardless of the threat in the room. At least, until he looked up. "...Lieutenant Prowler?"
"Second Lieutenant Daniel Prowler," Alchemist said as he lifted one hand up into a formal salute. "Sir."
Wade kept his eye on the hand that Alchemist had raised, color draining from his face as he traced the deep, black burns and oozing red cracks that made up the skin.
"...That- That's not possible," Wade stuttered as he backed away from the desk. "You're dead, we sent you back in a casket!"
"Sir?" One of the aides asked as he backed away towards a corner of the room. "Sir, what's going-"
"It took twenty-eight years to earn a day pass in Hell, Sir," Alchemist said as he stepped forward, menace oozing from his every motion. "And I intend on making the most of it!"
Credit given where credit is due, Wade was not unarmed. Quick as a shot, Eiling pulled a service pistol from a holster at his side, dropped into firing stance and pulled off a shot in the span of about two steps-
~~ -35 MP! ~~
-hitting Alchemist dead center in the forehead. It knocked off his cap, revealing the burnt and blistered flesh underneath, as well as the black, empty eye sockets that the brim had barely been able to cover.
The wizard pretended to stumble back as a number of security guards began to hammer at the door.
"You can't kill me with something like that, Sir," Alchemist said as the illusion over his eyes began to brighten, as flames began to lick at the eye sockets of the burnt remnants of a face. "You used fire last time, Eiling. I think I'll return the favor!"
The mage held out one hand towards the briefcase that Eiling had been so focused on when he'd come in and released a torrent of sweltering flames, the fires of Cremation.
"What are you-?!" Wade shouted as the papers he'd been trying to save were swallowed in fire. "No! Do you have any idea what-"
Whatever the man was trying to say was cut off as Alchemist first began to laugh, then chuckle and the sounds just grew more and more hysterical. The man laughed and laughed as he spun about in a circle, his hands aimed towards the ceiling as the fire suppression system activated.
"Out!" Eiling shouted, shoving one of his aides towards the door. "We need to get out, now!"
The water from the sprinklers wasn't actually helping, much. Cremation was a spell that Alchemist had made for the sake of burning the corpses of the restless undead. It reached temperatures hot enough to soften steel, even melt it if the flames were focused tight enough.
All the water did was fill the room with steam.
"You killed me, Wade!" Alchemist shouted, making damned sure his voice was loud enough to be heard over the hissing, sizzling roar of the flames.
Quite a few people were going to be reviewing the security footage, after all.
"You killed me!" Alchemist repeated as he walked after the fleeing man, fire consuming his form. "And now I'll burn everything you care about!"
Of course, if, in the confusion that followed Alchemist's brief rampage, a certain X-Ionizer went missing?
Well, who would know?
"You'll never escape, Wade!" Alchemist shouted down the halls as people fled the burning building. "We will never let you-"
-----
Hundreds of miles away, atop a clocktower in Gotham, Alchemist, now the only Alchemist, calmly sipped at a mug of hot chocolate.
"Well..." the man said to himself as he considered what he'd gotten up to.
He'd thought for a long time about trying to do a subtle assassination of Wade Eiling's character. He'd tried to research what the man had gotten up to, what he'd been involved with and come up short. His knowledge from comics and cartoons was real, at least real enough, but it wasn't actionable.
So, if subtle wasn't going to work?
Well, there's not a whole lot out there that's more blatant than a screaming, burning skeleton that stinks of napalm who's outright accusing someone of murder.
"...That went well enough."
-----
~~ FROM: Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ Heeey! Been a while since I sent you anything! Kind of been doin' stuff. Kind of been busy.
Which was all your fault, b-t-dubs.
And, y'know, then Mama Tia got involved and made even more work for me.
So, y'know, we can't figure out how the class system got destroyed. We can see how it happened just fine but we can't figure out why it broke. That one's a real head scratcher.
Also? Just so you know? Your system wasn't really meant for wholesale multiversal travel. Normal people don't do that, kay? It took me a good fifteen minutes to figure out where you went.
Seriously, I had to run a search on Prayer (When you need help, it's just a prayer away!) to find out what the hell a 'Error 503: Temporal Shift Misalignment' even was. Most of my time traveling gamers? I know they're going to be getting up to that, they start off in some place like the Who-verse or make a side trip to Chrono Trigger. You went and did it the dumbest way I've ever seen.
Seriously, you could've picked up the Epoch. You got the dosh!
Oh, hey, real quick? I saw a skill manifest into your character sheet for a second before it self-deleted. I don't know what you're messing with but could you give me a heads up? I sort of don't need to have your system crash again. The whole thing glitched like Skyrim the last time you talked with the local avatar of Lucifer and I can't even begin to tell you how much stuff got wiped on my end.
Like, kind of getting creepy over here. I'm supposed to be the top administrator but there's a lot of stuff that it's telling me I don't have clearance to access. Never seen an instance of the gamer act like that. Kinda don't like, y'know?
Bout to go gets me another coffee, but I really gotta ask you a favor, kay?
Seriously. Go test my tutorial equipment. I know you're holding out on me. Just tell me what you want as payment and we'll see what we can do.
K?
Hugs and kisses!
~ Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ FROM: @**&@%$#% ~~
~~ Five Quest Tickets. For everyone in my party. Do that and I'll put your repurposed demi-gods to work when I feel like it. ~~
~~ FROM: Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ lol. Someone's got jokes today. Howbout 1? howbout dat? ~~
~~ FROM: @**&@%$#% ~~
~~ If you're not interested in negotiating, I do have other things to take care of. Like right now, I'm working on tracking down a manchild with anger issues. ~~
~~ FROM: Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ Ooh, cranky. Fine, I might be willing to do 2. ~~
~~ FROM: @**&@%$#% ~~
~~ Three. And I'll take care of putting one through its paces tomorrow. ~~
~~ FROM: Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ Deal! No take-backs! ~~
~~ FROM: @**&@%$#% ~~
~~ Deal. ~~
In her office, a golden-haired otaku leaned back in her chair and carefully put her feet up on her desk next to a pyramid of empty coffee cups.
"Hah!" the goddess laughed. "Sucker!"
-----
"Heh," Alchemist chuckled as he leaned over the edge of the roof, tracking his gargoyles as they pursued their prey. "What a sucker."
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of what you don't recognize, I still don't own.
_________________________________________________________________________
20/07/2003 (TT)
Alchemist had a lot of things that drew his attention but didn't actually demand much actual effort or initiative on his part.
The majority of those were people. Who they were, why they did certain things, what they thought; it wasn't any of his business, ninety percent of the time, and interjecting himself into other people's lives and situations uninvited just seemed... rude?
And typically, Alchemist was fine with that. He could live with a bit of unsatisfied curiosity. He didn't need to know every detail of someone's life or pluck out every mystery behind their traumas or triumphs.
Sometimes, that left people thinking he was generally disinterested in them. Other times, he was surprised to learn that some people enjoyed how little stress he would put into his interpersonal interactions.
However? Rarely? Alchemist could find it within himself to hunt down answers, to focus his puzzle-solving skills on people instead of tasks.
And, currently, that was Alchemist's intention as he flew over Gotham, shrouded among the clouds and the pitch darkness of the night sky. His keen eyes focused downwards, watching. Listening.
The dragon's wings flapped silently as he circled the city. As he saw the baser crimes play out in Crime Alley. Muggings, drug deals, theft... He was tempted to intervene. That would draw out his quarry with a speed that would put the Flash to shame.
But the wizard abstained, much as he didn't want to. He knew that Batman left most of the street level crime alone much like an ecological researcher would avoid tampering with the scavengers wherever they were researching. The people that made up the bottom tiers of the food chain were often the ones most sensitive to the moods and appetites of the greater predators.
Bruce knew that he couldn't really stamp out crime. The man was intelligent enough to understand that, to a degree, it was just human nature. Instead, Bruce's serious efforts were often focused on organized crime and metahuman crime. The people that spread suffering and misery the farthest with the least effort.
Alchemist's head tilted to the side, slightly, as he caught sight of a brief movement atop a tower. One on which five... ah.
Atop one of the tallest towers in Gotham, a gargoyle statue was situated on each wall of the building. Batman had set himself up upon the back of the one facing East, angled towards Falcone's operations.
Circling back around, Alchemist descended on the West side and shifted to his armored, human form before one foot touched the roof.
"...And who are you?" Batman demanded, stepping back from his perch and turning to look at Alchemist before the wizard had made it two whole steps.
Given that the mage's equipment was magically silenced, atop his own inability to leave behind traces of his movement?
That was impressive.
"Tracy Whittaker," Alchemist answered with practiced ease. "I've been looking for you."
"Clearly," Batman growled, one hand reaching to his utility belt. He didn't grab anything, not yet, but the threat was clear. "What do you want?"
"To talk." Alchemist leaned to the side, placing one hand on the gargoyle on his side of the building. "I came across your apprentice, recently."
"I don't have-!"
"Bruce?" Alchemist cut in, cutting off whatever tirade Batman was probably about to dig into. "I'm actually rather serious right now. Your son is struggling over whatever happened between you two and there's too much-"
Batman... jumped off the building.
Batman legitimately jumped off of the building rather than continue with whatever conversation Alchemist was trying to have with him!
Alchemist worked his jaw back and forth for a moment, debating what he should do.
Leaving things alone was certainly an option. Bruce clearly didn't want to talk about Dick.
Unfortunately, Alchemist actually had critical information for the man and his emotional constipation was not going to be allowed to interfere.
With a frustrated sigh, Alchemist raised one hand and snapped his fingers, the magic he'd cast washed over the area.
The air was filled with the sound of grinding stone as the four granite gargoyle's turned their heads to observe the mage, waiting for orders.
"Capture Batman and bring him back here," the mage told them as he reached up to hold his palm over his face. "Unharmed, preferably. Otherwise, just make sure he's alive and in one piece."
The wizard shook his head in frustration as the four animated objects launched themselves into the air, impossibly flying after the Caped Crusader.
"...Gotham," Alchemist cursed as he extracted several flasks of Holy Water.
If he was going to be stuck waiting for the man to turn back up, he could at least do something productive. To that end, the wizard snapped his fingers again and the clouds overhead began to weep, Holy Rain falling to the streets below.
"It's always something with Gotham..."
-----
Elsewhere, several states away but roughly about the same time...
Alchemist adjusted the lapel of his stolen uniform irritably. The whole ensemble itched terribly and felt entirely too stiff.
Well, 'stolen' might have been something of a strong word.
A semi-solid illusion that wrapped over his body, assuming the form of another person would be more accurate.
Still, the outfit Alchemist wore was not one he'd ever so much as touched, in this life or his last. An olive green jacket with four large, brass buttons, a breast pocket on both sides and another pocket further down. The cap on Alchemist's head was pulled low, covering the 'eyes' of the illusion. There wasn't anything of special note about the slacks but the shoes were polished to a mirror finish.
A Vietnam war era officer's uniform.
The mage felt more than a little bit uncomfortable wearing it, for a multitude of reasons. It would serve a specific purpose, yes, and he'd checked and double-checked to make sure the man who owned the face he was borrowing was both dead and, more importantly, a victim of the wizard's target.
That had taken a lot of research throughout the last few weeks. It was far easier than trying to track down facts from the earlier World Wars, the Vietnam War being the one that was 'fought inside the living room', but quite a lot of information wasn't available on the internet in the ancient age of two-thousand and three so he'd been hitting the books. And cross referencing the books.
...And then the wizard had made a few trips to Arlington, Virginia, to try and commune with specific soldiers who'd died while serving under a specific commander. He'd expected that to be a drawn out process but Alchemist had found a spirit that was willing to let him use its name and face on his second trip.
The wizard, wearing the face of a dead man and layered under a variety of charms and spells, lifted his wrist to check the time.
20:01
Go time.
With a displeased sniff, his nose wrinkling at the magical scent of oil and smoke, Alchemist adjusted his tie and stepped forward, directly past the security guards that were ignoring him.
"...What's that smell?" one of the guards, seated next to a metal detector, asked as Alchemist walked by him, his shoes clacking loudly on the polished marble floors. "Hey, Jim, you bring some pork in again for dinner?"
"Not tonight," the other guard, apparently named Jim, told his coworker. "Think it's coming from the Air Force boys? They bring in some pretty good stuff for lunch..."
Alchemist carried on, walking unchallenged into the Pentagon.
People arced around him as he kept apace, not a soul paying attention except a few who sniffed at the air as he passed. Well, he was almost unnoticed.
The mage lifted his head to face the security cameras, making sure to stare into them until he passed out of view from one and to another.
"What the-?!" a security guard shouted, nearly knocking people over as he reached the spot that Alchemist was standing. "There's nothing here!"
The wizard turned to look at the man, slowly circling the guard as he raised his radio to his mouth.
"Kowalsky, there's nobody here! Where's the intruder?" the man asked, his fingers held right over the controls of his walkie-talkie.
"Rico! He's right next to you!" the man on the other end shouted.
The security guard, Rico, turned around, his eyes dancing wildly around as he looked at, and through, Alchemist.
"Kowalsky, I don't see anybody!" Rico shouted. "What am I looking for?"
"Rico, how can you miss him?! He's right in-" Alchemist reached over and twisted the volume knob of the walkie-talkie, turning the device off as the security guard was in the process of revealing his location.
"...Kowalsky?" Rico asked, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the handset. "Kowalsky? What's going on? Kowalsky?!"
Alchemist turned back to face the camera and looked up, shooting off a smart salute before he began to trek deeper into the facility.
All of his actions served a purpose, and every spell upon him was just a piece of the puzzle.
As the wizard came up to a door that was barred by an electronic lock, the man reached up to his neck and pulled a pair of dogtags out of his shirt. He leaned down to the card scanner, pressing the metal against it as he cast Bypass Password. The light turned green and the man stepped through the secured door as several more security guards came running down the hall after him.
He was getting closer to his goal...
"All personnel, be advised!" a panicked voice shouted over the P.A. system. "An unknown individual has infiltrated the Pentagon! Capabilities unknown. Do not engage! I repeat: Do not engage!"
The wizard didn't slow down in the slightest as people stepped out of their workstations and into the hallways, curious about the uproar despite the fact that Alchemist was sure that they were supposed to find a shelter somewhere until they got the all-clear.
Well, they were going to get an ass-ripping later, weren't they.
"~Mc-Na-Ma-Ra sent some men..." Alchemist softly sang, his scratchy voice echoing harshly throughout the halls. "E-I-E-I-O..."
Quite a few people turned to try and find the source of the noise. Some were actually doing a good job of tracking the mage by the sound of his voice.
Alchemist did not snap his fingers as he intensified the smell of burning gasoline and laundry detergent. This might have been a show, of sorts, but it wasn't something that needed to be connected back to the wizard through his own little idiosyncrasies.
"Everybody get back!" an older man shouted, startling the milling crowd into action. Most of them slammed their backs against the walls of the hall, revealing the person that had given the command.
A man that needed a cane to stand upright was revealed. He only had hair growing along the left side of his head, and similarly only had one eye. The right side was warped and pale, covered over in thick, ropy burn scars.
"Where are you?!" the man shouted, his lone eye darting around the room. It lingered on some of the faces around him but never for very long. "Come out and face me like a man!"
"~and all those men he sent were idjits," Alchemist continued as he walked right by the old veteran. "E-I-E-I-O..."
Alchemist wasn't looking to tussle with someone that had earned their medals.
His target was deeper within.
No, he just kept up his pace as he walked towards the heart of the facility. He came across another secured door but it, too, simply opened for him through the use of the Starfinder spell, Bypass Password.
"Fan out!" an armed guard shouted as Alchemist turned down a hall. "Keep your eyes peeled and pay attention to your ears and nose! The intruder is invisible to the naked eye, so keep your radios on and keep your guard up!"
Oddly enough, Alchemist noted that the man's nametag just said 'Private'. Nothing else.
Was that... actually his name?
What was it with people giving their kids names based off of military rank?
The wizard didn't bother pondering on it as he passed by the group of guards. Several of which went stiff as they got a noseful of what he was prestidigitating.
"It's here!" Private shouted as he raised his gun to the ready position and started turning in a circle.
Alchemist stopped in place as Private and his squad basically took turns aiming at each other.
That-
That was-
Alchemist... had no words for how utterly idiotic that was! He was honestly tempted to break character and do something about how insanely offensive he found their lack of gun safety!
Instead... Instead, the man just shook his head and carried on.
"It's moving in!" a voice crackled to life over the radios. "Shoot it!"
Alchemist didn't bother to turn around-
~~ -15 MP! ~~
~~ -20 MP! ~~
~~ -10 MP! ~~
~~ -5 MP! ~~
~~ -8 MP! ~~
-as the soldiers opened fire at his back. They couldn't hurt him, not anymore.
"It's still going!" Alchemist heard the operator over the radio shout. Something that was probably lost on the guards, given that they'd been firing live ammunition inside of a narrow hallway. The only thing they could probably hear was a loud, sharp tone that signified hearing loss. "Someone, get the General out of there!"
...That part, however. That got Alchemist's attention.
The mage didn't exactly hurry. He didn't want to give the game away, especially not when he was so close.
But he did put a little hustle in his steps.
The next blockade tried using heavier weapons on him, and the security around the doors got tighter and tighter but Alchemist hadn't yet run into an actual, physical lock yet.
After two more groups of security, one of which seemed to be made up of actual soldiers, Alchemist found his quarry.
General Wade Eiling.
The man was in the process of cramming papers into a suitcase, along with several aides who looked to be about as old as he was.
Cronies, then.
In a room on the opposite side of the hall, through a glass panel that was probably bulletproof, Alchemist also saw his prize for this little venture.
"...General," Alchemist growled, his voice low and guttural as the door slammed shut behind him. He stalked forward, the illusion hiding him from mundane eyes fading in pieces as he stepped towards the man. "General Wade Eiling."
"I don't know who you think you-" Wade's voice was firm and commanding as the old, powerful man continued to put away his work, regardless of the threat in the room. At least, until he looked up. "...Lieutenant Prowler?"
"Second Lieutenant Daniel Prowler," Alchemist said as he lifted one hand up into a formal salute. "Sir."
Wade kept his eye on the hand that Alchemist had raised, color draining from his face as he traced the deep, black burns and oozing red cracks that made up the skin.
"...That- That's not possible," Wade stuttered as he backed away from the desk. "You're dead, we sent you back in a casket!"
"Sir?" One of the aides asked as he backed away towards a corner of the room. "Sir, what's going-"
"It took twenty-eight years to earn a day pass in Hell, Sir," Alchemist said as he stepped forward, menace oozing from his every motion. "And I intend on making the most of it!"
Credit given where credit is due, Wade was not unarmed. Quick as a shot, Eiling pulled a service pistol from a holster at his side, dropped into firing stance and pulled off a shot in the span of about two steps-
~~ -35 MP! ~~
-hitting Alchemist dead center in the forehead. It knocked off his cap, revealing the burnt and blistered flesh underneath, as well as the black, empty eye sockets that the brim had barely been able to cover.
The wizard pretended to stumble back as a number of security guards began to hammer at the door.
"You can't kill me with something like that, Sir," Alchemist said as the illusion over his eyes began to brighten, as flames began to lick at the eye sockets of the burnt remnants of a face. "You used fire last time, Eiling. I think I'll return the favor!"
The mage held out one hand towards the briefcase that Eiling had been so focused on when he'd come in and released a torrent of sweltering flames, the fires of Cremation.
"What are you-?!" Wade shouted as the papers he'd been trying to save were swallowed in fire. "No! Do you have any idea what-"
Whatever the man was trying to say was cut off as Alchemist first began to laugh, then chuckle and the sounds just grew more and more hysterical. The man laughed and laughed as he spun about in a circle, his hands aimed towards the ceiling as the fire suppression system activated.
"Out!" Eiling shouted, shoving one of his aides towards the door. "We need to get out, now!"
The water from the sprinklers wasn't actually helping, much. Cremation was a spell that Alchemist had made for the sake of burning the corpses of the restless undead. It reached temperatures hot enough to soften steel, even melt it if the flames were focused tight enough.
All the water did was fill the room with steam.
"You killed me, Wade!" Alchemist shouted, making damned sure his voice was loud enough to be heard over the hissing, sizzling roar of the flames.
Quite a few people were going to be reviewing the security footage, after all.
"You killed me!" Alchemist repeated as he walked after the fleeing man, fire consuming his form. "And now I'll burn everything you care about!"
Of course, if, in the confusion that followed Alchemist's brief rampage, a certain X-Ionizer went missing?
Well, who would know?
"You'll never escape, Wade!" Alchemist shouted down the halls as people fled the burning building. "We will never let you-"
-----
Hundreds of miles away, atop a clocktower in Gotham, Alchemist, now the only Alchemist, calmly sipped at a mug of hot chocolate.
"Well..." the man said to himself as he considered what he'd gotten up to.
He'd thought for a long time about trying to do a subtle assassination of Wade Eiling's character. He'd tried to research what the man had gotten up to, what he'd been involved with and come up short. His knowledge from comics and cartoons was real, at least real enough, but it wasn't actionable.
So, if subtle wasn't going to work?
Well, there's not a whole lot out there that's more blatant than a screaming, burning skeleton that stinks of napalm who's outright accusing someone of murder.
"...That went well enough."
-----
~~ FROM: Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ Heeey! Been a while since I sent you anything! Kind of been doin' stuff. Kind of been busy.
Which was all your fault, b-t-dubs.
And, y'know, then Mama Tia got involved and made even more work for me.
So, y'know, we can't figure out how the class system got destroyed. We can see how it happened just fine but we can't figure out why it broke. That one's a real head scratcher.
Also? Just so you know? Your system wasn't really meant for wholesale multiversal travel. Normal people don't do that, kay? It took me a good fifteen minutes to figure out where you went.
Seriously, I had to run a search on Prayer (When you need help, it's just a prayer away!) to find out what the hell a 'Error 503: Temporal Shift Misalignment' even was. Most of my time traveling gamers? I know they're going to be getting up to that, they start off in some place like the Who-verse or make a side trip to Chrono Trigger. You went and did it the dumbest way I've ever seen.
Seriously, you could've picked up the Epoch. You got the dosh!
Oh, hey, real quick? I saw a skill manifest into your character sheet for a second before it self-deleted. I don't know what you're messing with but could you give me a heads up? I sort of don't need to have your system crash again. The whole thing glitched like Skyrim the last time you talked with the local avatar of Lucifer and I can't even begin to tell you how much stuff got wiped on my end.
Like, kind of getting creepy over here. I'm supposed to be the top administrator but there's a lot of stuff that it's telling me I don't have clearance to access. Never seen an instance of the gamer act like that. Kinda don't like, y'know?
Bout to go gets me another coffee, but I really gotta ask you a favor, kay?
Seriously. Go test my tutorial equipment. I know you're holding out on me. Just tell me what you want as payment and we'll see what we can do.
K?
Hugs and kisses!
~ Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ FROM: @**&@%$#% ~~
~~ Five Quest Tickets. For everyone in my party. Do that and I'll put your repurposed demi-gods to work when I feel like it. ~~
~~ FROM: Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ lol. Someone's got jokes today. Howbout 1? howbout dat? ~~
~~ FROM: @**&@%$#% ~~
~~ If you're not interested in negotiating, I do have other things to take care of. Like right now, I'm working on tracking down a manchild with anger issues. ~~
~~ FROM: Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ Ooh, cranky. Fine, I might be willing to do 2. ~~
~~ FROM: @**&@%$#% ~~
~~ Three. And I'll take care of putting one through its paces tomorrow. ~~
~~ FROM: Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~
~~ Deal! No take-backs! ~~
~~ FROM: @**&@%$#% ~~
~~ Deal. ~~
In her office, a golden-haired otaku leaned back in her chair and carefully put her feet up on her desk next to a pyramid of empty coffee cups.
"Hah!" the goddess laughed. "Sucker!"
-----
"Heh," Alchemist chuckled as he leaned over the edge of the roof, tracking his gargoyles as they pursued their prey. "What a sucker."
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Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
I hope one of Alchemist's clones managed to swap all the paperwork and take it all before his main self got there.
It's good to have evidence of wrongdoing, after all.
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Sounds like Ultra-powerful best goddess Terra-Tan! ~~ is running into admin blocks set up by Gaia. Or maybe just some laws of the universe not even she can mess with.
- Location
- U.S.
or she is seeing Al separating his skills from the system and being blocked out by Lucie
Batman: I'm not paying child support!
ohh! chapter 300! wow!
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
The tune was for "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."
I think he was using his own lyrics for it.
Another great chapter, can't wait for the next! Return of troll master Alchemist! Seriously if you dropped a hundred chapters tonight I would be done by morning, can't get enough. Thanks for a great story
Arlington National Cemetery is in VIRGINIA, not West Virginia.
To get the information, sure. To get ACTION, maybe not. But, yeah, Alfred is definitely go-to in this situation where empathy is a virtue.