- Location
- A place
So chance to still absorb Global Justice remaining 2 metahumans or Stockpile? Maybe turning them?
Project Prometheus (Original Setting Superhero Quest)
Ayup and we can atleast make Potency 13 rabgers to hopefully deal with the bullshit america is gonna throw at us.
The fact Olympus problem is long term means that while its gonna be hard we can hopefully powerleve enough to be able to handle the problems they cause well
SolarGemX
The Crystalized Sun
- Location
- Somewhere in the Cosmos
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yes we dodge a bullet, and imstead we got hit by Scarlet shaped wrecking ball.. worth it?
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
I think the important thing is that we breached their tight info security, which means that the whole "Nobody wants one dude to just own the setting" issue Should be Powers' new problem.
Unless, of course, everyone is just going to genuflect to their true master at this point and we're fighting the entire world.
Unless, of course, everyone is just going to genuflect to their true master at this point and we're fighting the entire world.
Yes actually a fight with SM is a better than a war with all of Powers and Dominon while framed as Murderers.
Edit: Note if we ddint have Mona this would have been suicide but as long as we didnt fuck up in giving Mona Powers and getting atleast 1 synergy we had a chance of dealing with this well. Chimera probably would have went with Mona getting inside and be the one to take faust Hostage and Potency 13 assassin is different from handymans.
Mind BS build was the only plan that could take SM headon though thinking about it Metamorph could have infiltrated inside then blast everyone of our enemies to give an opening to escape.
Metamorph would probably be better replacing Daggermaw with Hdrocity now, and that would give us both Unkillable Autobiokinetic and FFM in a single hero.
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One good point I can see from this is that this will definitely give Powers and Scarlet Maturity a big Rep hit. They're turning into a real villain group now with their forced recruitment from what we know of Faust combined with their big stick Scarlet Maturity. We should really hit them with some more bad PR by pointing out that the people in Powers are really just mastered up slaves since they can't even really disobey Powers at all thanks to the contracts.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
#FreeThePower
#DevilDealerDominion
#DevilDealerDominion
- Location
- USA
Agreed, they can try to frame it in a way that benefits them. But like, they invited us, they teleported SM in to ambush us, they didn't let us leave, and SM launched an attack that flattened the restaurant. If anybody survived that and leaks Powers' culpability, that's a big hit to their rep.
I think revealing SM's power is a double-edged sword. It paints a giant target on his head ("kill him now before he gets any stronger"), but he has an unknown number of allies (all of Faust's pawns) and is so damn strong already.
Probably need chihiro and her PR Global Actions for that, but I'm really feeling like not taking Hero Worship next turn so we can take both Meet the Rookies and Cenotaph. That should let us Recruit Chihiro at Turn 4 and start the PR campain against POwers.
That would let us bring John in resuing Yara as well and we give him Teleportation that makes keeping Yara safe easier, since we can just port out once we got her.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Moon River would probably also really help. She seems like a master of astroturfing.
Probably gonna need about 10 Heroes before we can do Moon Rivers mission atleast without not being able to anything else for that issue. Even then were probably gonna do milk runs in that turn while going all in on saving eve.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It was more of a broad idle thought.
- Location
- A place
how long will it take before Mendicant finishes fixingup New Dawn'sHeroes....
With Hiver we prbably have enough actually to g after Moon River.... ...... Also my thinking is the more Global Justice is forced to push further the more disillusined and desperate we can get Stckpile and then turn hm to our side.
With Hiver we prbably have enough actually to g after Moon River.... ...... Also my thinking is the more Global Justice is forced to push further the more disillusined and desperate we can get Stckpile and then turn hm to our side.
Turns 5 is when we can buy from medicant again.
also hell no we dont have enough stats with just Hiver to rescue moon river, we need Org stats in the 35+ for it
as for stockpile thats cope rhys pointed out he's a die hard fallower of GJ and if wanted to recruit him we would have needed to do our best to prop of GJ even if it would fail in the end. We gave up chance to recruit him when we didnt do olmypia.
Now if things go well we might managed an alliance with him, but more than likely he's gonna hit rebound and die as part of the consequences of not doing Olympia.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Actually curiosity: Is Mendicant unavailable because they're busy, or unavailable because they're mad we sold them right off to ND?
should just be busy, were just asking them to help a Powerful Hero on life support instead of buying from them directly afterall. Hell QM noted ND will pay.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
idk about you, but I don't really understand why Medicant would be particularly mad about that, especially when we're mediating the transaction between them and New Dawn. They're still open to public business, just that they're more first come first serve to Justice Unlimited.
Arcs injuries are just so bad that medicant needs to both be careful and take time healing her. QM noted Medicant cant restore arcs limbs too so healing Arc up is gonna keep them busy.
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
I don't really buy the "Socialite Butterfly has a Scarlet Maturity clone" theory. Mainly, because it would need Socialite Butterfly to actually know Scarlet Maturity's secret which we know is incredibly well-hidden, and then get close and touch Scarlet Maturity. Getting close to the big guy himself is too risky for someone as well-hidden as Socialite Butterfly.
Then there's the Wonderland Escapees' power-ups. We haven't established a link between them and Socialite Butterfly at all, and considering Socialite Butterfly has been laying low all this time, why risk discovery by interacting with high profile convicts? I just don't see it happening without further evidence.
Then there's the Wonderland Escapees' power-ups. We haven't established a link between them and Socialite Butterfly at all, and considering Socialite Butterfly has been laying low all this time, why risk discovery by interacting with high profile convicts? I just don't see it happening without further evidence.
Thinking about it Anansi probably got scooped up by the same 'negotiation' tactic we see displayed right here. Who knows how many other good heroic people are stuck there now.
I think Earthen Owl would have been there during the Movement if the orders from Faust weren't given. He seems like a nice enough person.
I think Earthen Owl would have been there during the Movement if the orders from Faust weren't given. He seems like a nice enough person.
Issue #2.4: Faustian pt. 3
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Depictions of gender dysphoria, transphobia, ScorpioSting 1000% calling it and you ignored them
[X] Plan: Chew Toys
-[X] Menagerie Witch and Hiver:
--[X] Hiver should vent all his frustrations with Ete and Printemps, keep their eyes focused on him while he uses his barriers to cordon Ete and Printemps away from Blue Sky via repulsion and hopefully disorient them.
--[X] Menagerie Witch and Echidna should focus on taking Ete down while the married couple are disoriented. Have Echidna charge at Ete and savage her while the rest of her constructs chase after Blue Sky.
--[X] As this happens, Hiver should separate Ete and Printemps using the same trick he used on Blue Sky.
--[X] Once Blue Sky is down, get ready to bolt atop the Nevermores and retreat while Hiver keeps Printemps disoriented inside a bubble and Echidna keeps Ete in its jaws.
-[X] Lady Leizi and Handyman:
--[X] Contact the others and try to get back into the fight. Stalk the fog and shadow together in search for a disoriented Blue Sky, and ambush him together in hopes of dealing with him in one blow while he's distracted by Menagerie Witch's constructs.
--[X] Before the ambush is sprung, Handyman should take a denser and more armored form for protection.
--[X] Get ready to bolt on Menagerie Witch's Nevermores once the fog disappears.
-[X] Black Swan:
--[X] Stall Scarlet Maturity for as long as possible. Taunt him over how despite all his power, Faust has him on a leash like an attack dog.
--[X] Rely on your superior speed and flight to outmaneuver the brute, kicking up dust with your attacks and movement to further help obscure yourself, while your beams gun for his eyes and ears.
--[X] If you're successful at blinding Scarlet Maturity, get under his guard and blast him skywards.
-[X] Menagerie Witch and Hiver:
--[X] Hiver should vent all his frustrations with Ete and Printemps, keep their eyes focused on him while he uses his barriers to cordon Ete and Printemps away from Blue Sky via repulsion and hopefully disorient them.
--[X] Menagerie Witch and Echidna should focus on taking Ete down while the married couple are disoriented. Have Echidna charge at Ete and savage her while the rest of her constructs chase after Blue Sky.
--[X] As this happens, Hiver should separate Ete and Printemps using the same trick he used on Blue Sky.
--[X] Once Blue Sky is down, get ready to bolt atop the Nevermores and retreat while Hiver keeps Printemps disoriented inside a bubble and Echidna keeps Ete in its jaws.
-[X] Lady Leizi and Handyman:
--[X] Contact the others and try to get back into the fight. Stalk the fog and shadow together in search for a disoriented Blue Sky, and ambush him together in hopes of dealing with him in one blow while he's distracted by Menagerie Witch's constructs.
--[X] Before the ambush is sprung, Handyman should take a denser and more armored form for protection.
--[X] Get ready to bolt on Menagerie Witch's Nevermores once the fog disappears.
-[X] Black Swan:
--[X] Stall Scarlet Maturity for as long as possible. Taunt him over how despite all his power, Faust has him on a leash like an attack dog.
--[X] Rely on your superior speed and flight to outmaneuver the brute, kicking up dust with your attacks and movement to further help obscure yourself, while your beams gun for his eyes and ears.
--[X] If you're successful at blinding Scarlet Maturity, get under his guard and blast him skywards.
Echidna obeys your orders as if she thought with your own mind. Été conjures a battalion of soldiers made of flames, which Echidna barrels right through. Still, they're persistent, clinging to her body and trying to damage her in what way they can. There are no plants around for Printemps to convert, so he pulls a handful of seeds from his pockets that sprout and grow at an accelerated rate. Blue Skies disappears into the mist, but you doubt he's left the fight.
You frown. He's the real problem here. Été and Printemps aren't able to shoot down all of your Nevermores, but the fog created by Blue Skies is dangerous. You'll have to take care of him.
Été creates two more groups of soldiers on either side of you and Hiver, and he responds by immediately surrounding you with a barrier.
"Give up, Harrier!" she screams, "Your fate is sealed!"
"Don't call me that!" he shoots back as fire crackles against his barriers.
"I thought an Apep nearly ripped off her arm," you say stroking your chin, "But she's fine now."
Hiver replaces his barriers, face shining with sweat at the effort. "Look at her eyes. She's out of her mind. I've seen this before—I think Faust gave her and Printemps the stuff he threatened Lady Leizi with.
You squint and, sure enough, Été eyes are crazed. Her pupils are dilated, the whites of her eyes bloodshot. Printemps is in a similar state; you think he's drooling out of the sides of his out.
". . .what do those drugs do?" you ask.
"Uhhh, crap, what was it? Regeneration, stronger senses, increased tolerance to pain, umm, raised aggression . . . and withdrawal is fatal."
The soldiers use a flaming trebuchet to lob a ball of fire the size of a house at Hiver's barrier, which shatters. He creates another one, but his arms are shaking.
Your frown deepens. Okay, this isn't working. You need a real plan.
DC 10
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 8. Hiver and Menagerie Witch have a collective OPERATIONS 13.
You rolled: 8.
8 + 2 = 10. Success!
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 8. Hiver and Menagerie Witch have a collective OPERATIONS 13.
You rolled: 8.
8 + 2 = 10. Success!
"Ungrateful, ungrateful, ungrateful! You were always ungrateful, Hiver! Everything I did for you? All of the sacrifices I made? I asked so little of you, and you couldn't even do the simple courtesy of not being a bumbling fool!" Été's face turns red from the force of her screams, and she only stops to inhale. "You—!"
You make a show of yawning and stretching while ignoring. "Hey Hiver, you ever see this skit Black Swan made in high school? Her acting sucks but the names are funny."
You open your screen and pull up that video Mona made you watch. As it plays in the background, you furiously write a message that you show to Hiver. He taps your back once in acknowledgement, and then you send it to its recipients.
There. A real plan. Now you just need to buy some time.
"Echidna!" you call, "Enough playing! Get rid of these eyesores."
At the same time, your remaining Nevermore descend, an Apep as thick as a tree trunk wrapped around one of them. Hiver takes this as his cue, and springs into action.
Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.
Stat Check: HIT 15. Menagerie Witch and Hiver have a collective HIT 14.
You rolled: 9.
9 + 0 = 9. Minor Success!
Stat Check: HIT 15. Menagerie Witch and Hiver have a collective HIT 14.
You rolled: 9.
9 + 0 = 9. Minor Success!
Printemps finally gets his plants up, and they turn to spit seeds in every direction, shredding your Nevermores. You pull at least two large ones away to keep in reserve, cursing. Echidna manages to knock Été to the ground and pin her, but all of her soldiers charge at your creation at once.
Echidna disappears under a sea of flames, before erupting and taking to the air. She tries to blow the fires out with her wings, but they remain burning. Été attempts to climb to her feet, only to slam her head on a glowing, white barrier created by Hiver. The barrier's gravity repulses her downwards as Hiver closes the distance with Printemps.
"Little Harrier! How I've waited for this moment!" Printemps calls with a savage grin. None of his plants are in position to hit Hiver, so he steps forward with a raised fist.
"Don't call me that!" Hiver cries as he meets Printemps' blow. A barrier appears across Printemps' forearm, stopping his swing short. He tries to take a step back, only to stumble as his foot lands, not on the ground, but on a white barrier and bounces off. Hiver strikes him the ribcage, breaking Printemps' floating rib, and then checks Printemps in the chest with his shoulder.
Printemps stumbles, flopping backwards as he trips over a barrier that stretches across the back of his knees. Hiver is there as Printemps falls, grabbing him by the wrist and collarbone, and driving his face into the ground.
Printemps' nose is a bloody mess as Hiver keeps him in an arm-lock. "I always told you to work on your CQC. I always . . . always told you and Gwen so much and you never listened. Never."
Hiver positions himself behind Printemps and encircles his right arm around Printemps neck, placing Printemps trachea in the crook of his elbow. Hiver grabs his left bicep with his right hand, puts his left hand behind Printemps head, and then brings his elbows together in an attempt to blood choke his cousin-in-law.
The veins bulge in Printemps neck as he struggles to fight free, somehow staying awake through the pressure on his carotid arteries.
"Look at yourself, Jean-Luc!" Hiver cries, "Leviathan's Blood, you're trying to kill a little girl! You're taking Lethal Anodyne's drugs! You've seen what they do to people! And you know you can't just quit using it!"
He tightens the pressure on Printemps, trying to choke him out.
"Is it worth it? Is being Dominion's lap dog so great you'll sell yourself to them in two different ways?! Stop! Just stop it, please."
"You don't understand anything, boy!" Printemps roars, as he struggles to stay awake, "This is what's necessary! This was the only choice we had left! With Ophélie gone, this was the only way we could esure a good life!"
Spittle flies from Printemps mouth as he raves.
"You never understood! Every decision we've made, it was for this family! Every sacrifice, every cent we scrapped for, it was so you could live a dignified life! You, Harrier—"
"Don't call me that!"
"You never deserved it! You were always weak. The worst decision my Gwendolyn ever made was bringing you into this home! She should have let you die! You coddled Ophélie—"
"Get her name out of your mouth! After what you and Gwen put her through!"
The plants slowly swivel their buds. But they're not pointing at Hiver. They're pointing at you. And Echidna is still fighting the flame soldiers.
"Us?" Printemps roars, "You made her weak! She would have been perfect, married off to someone with connections and power! She would have been safe, we would have been secure, but you and that créature she dallied with filled her head with nonsense."
The plants fire at you. You dive to the floor, a seed screaming through your hat, obliterating the spot where your head just was.
Hiver sees you hit the deck. His eyes go wide. "Stop it Printemps! Call them off! Call them off right now! This is your last warning!"
"It's your fault! You scum! You swine! You pathetic, weak, disgusting little worm! Everything that has happened is your fault! Yours, Harrier—"
"That's not my fucking name!"
Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.
Stat Check: REPUTATION 8. Hiver has REPUTATION 7.
You rolled: 11.
11 + 0 + 5 (That's Not Her Name.) = 16. Major Success!
Stat Check: REPUTATION 8. Hiver has REPUTATION 7.
You rolled: 11.
11 + 0 + 5 (That's Not Her Name.) = 16. Major Success!
Hiver pulls up on Printemp's neck, and twists.
* * *
You are Black Swan.
Scarlet Maturity is flying at you with the speed of the bullet train. He called you "interesting". That's all you can see in his face—not anger, not determination, not the consideration of someone in pitched battle, just a passive interest. The same way you might nod and pause at a street performer for a moment before continuing on your way.
Rude!
Back when you first tested your powers, you were flying near your top speed when Dr. Ibis told you that you were nearly out of comms range. You stopped on a dime and turned back immediately. When you got back everyone's mouths were hanging wide open, and they were just staring at you. It was creepy. Everyone, that is, except Dr. Ibis who was jumping for joy.
Apparently stopping that quickly at that speed should have ripped your body in half. Except, you were invincible. You had "unprecedented high-speed mobility and agility while airborne" according to the doctor. Then he made you repeat the maneuver like thirty times until you were bored.
You privately promise to help Dr. Ibis set up his dating profile when you get home, because that maneuver is the only thing keeping you out of Scarlet Maturity's grasp.
DC 15.
Stat Check: HIT 12. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 17.
17 - 1 = 16. Major Success!
Stat Check: HIT 12. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 17.
17 - 1 = 16. Major Success!
Scarlet Maturity is upon you in the blink of an eye, but you can move even faster than that. You zoom hard to his left, then turn right at a ninety-degree angle. You have a perfect shot of his ear, which you immediately destroy.
Before he even starts descending, you rock in a "v" to his other side. Anyone else would have broken their neck a dozen times over, but you aren't anyone else. You destroy his other ear and zip in front of him.
You jab your thumbs in his eyes and blast.
You don't have time to push through to his brain before his arms come around to try to grab you, so you settle for blinding him and zip up, back, down, not letting him get a sense for where you'll attack next.
Then you're below him. You don't need to worry about hitting anyone at this angle. So you fire.
You hyper-accelate all of the mass in your construct-body's left leg and create a miniature star. Night turns to day as raw plasma burns its way into Scarlet Maturity's stomach. He covers his chest and neck with his arms and you fry those too.
You push, and you're rewarded with the sight of skin peeling and blackening, muscle boiling away as you expose his organs, his arms reduced to ribbons of flesh and bone. But even before your light completely fades, his flesh is already reknitting itself. His eyes and ears are already restored and his arms are healed enough that he can clap.
The air splits with a visible ripple of sonic force, and you have to retreat. By the time you return, Scarlet Maturity has landed. He stands up and looks at you, completely uninjured.
That's . . . that's bullshit! You helped with Rhys' power testing! You know what a regenerating metahuman can do. This is nothing like that. You may as well have patted him on the tummy for all the long-term damage it did!
You want to call him cheating pee-pants, but you're trying to work on your banter.
Scarlet Maturity is merely standing, looking at you with a glimmer of something new in his eye. You furrow your brow—but cutely!—and ready your next move.
He can regenerate injuries like they're nothing? Fine! During Rhys' powertesting, you were told to be careful where you hit him. If the strike was immediately fatal, it didn't matter if he could regenerate—his brain would be dead by the time his body healed. You bet the same is true for this pee-pants!
You zip around again, faster than the eye can see and try to position yourself behind his neck. You blast where his brain stem connects to his spine. Let's see him survive that! You ready a shot and fly until your in position and stop—
Right into his waiting hand.
Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.
Stat Check: HIT 15. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 1.
1 - 3 = -2. Uh oh.
Stat Check: HIT 15. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 1.
1 - 3 = -2. Uh oh.
He somehow knows where you'll be and catches you by the head. You try to pull away, but his grip is like black hole of his own. You can't escape.
"It seems, Black Swan, that I was not showing you proper respect," he rumbles, "I will correct that immediately."
Scarlet Maturity slams your head into the ground and buries you deep, deep into the soil. He then starts running, dragging your body through the earth like he was tilling a field. He goes faster, and faster, building momentum until he plucks you free and flings you horizontally with an underhand toss.
Your shield generator crackles and fails, the defensive shield overwhelmed.
The Shield Generator absorbs one injury level and is destroyed.
Scarlet Maturity claws the earth, running on all fours horizontally and nearly pulling himself along the ground. He goes faster and faster, flings himself harder and harder, until he catches your leg mid-air. He swings you back into the ground, and lands on top of you with a seismic punch that drives you through the soil and into the bedrock. And that shatters as he punches you again, the might of a single fist more powerful than TNT could ever dream.
Black Swan takes one injury level! Superficial Injury!
You're dazed, but not hurt. You try another blast, but Scarlet Maturity is careful to not stand directly over you.
"I've seen this way of fighting before," he says, "You fight like a faster Novalight."
Scarlet Maturity lifts you out of the ground by your hair. He studies you for a second.
"In all our fights, Novalight never helped me grow stronger. By the end, she stopped trying to defeat me altogether."
He readjusts his grip and grabs you by the head once more. He steps out of the hold in the ground, dangling you above the ground.
"You're stronger than her. But you're more concerned with collateral damage. Scared of hurting anyone. That alone has lost you this battle." He rears back one arm and makes a fist. "That won't do. Let's change the venue."
Scarlet Maturity hits you so hard the air explodes. Literally, it catches on fire, blinding you. You fly through the air, spiraling helplessly and breaking the sound barrier. Eventually, you crash through a large building—a warehouse? You blow through it too quickly to tell—and rocket through the otherside. Your momentum carries you through a second building and through a ship floating in the docks. You hit the water, skipping like a stone until, mercifully, you finally stop.
Black Swan takes one injury level! Severe Injury!
You try to focus, your vision blurry. He punched in the direction of the Atlantic Docks, in Powers' territory? You think? It's hard to tell.
You breathe in and try to remember what Dr. Ibis told you: that you don't have a body. You have an energy construct in the shape of a body. It is as human as you let it be.
It's, um, something that gives you nightmares, kinda? But it helps you see again.
Just in time to see the supertanker Scarlet Maturity is swinging come crashing down on you. All 1,500 feet of it.
Black Swan takes one injury level! Critical Injury, Adrenaline!
Your world becomes a fiery holocaust of metal and flame as the fuel inside the ship ignites, turning the sea to hell. You can't see out of one eye. With horror, you realize your construct-body has been so depleted that part of your true core on your head has been exposed. You erupt from the wreckage, screaming in terror and rage, and float in the sky trying to see him through all the smoke.
You need not have expended the effort, however. Standing at the docks, is a twelve foot visage of cruelty. He's now staring at you, a bloodthirsty grin stretched across a mouth too large to be human.
"Marvelous. Marvelous, Black Swan. Is that the real you I see?" His eyes glitter with a greedy light that makes you want to hide under your covers and not come out until your mom makes you. "Truly, it was worth coming out tonight. Not since King have I fought someone who could survive that. "
You did your job. You well out of the French Quarter. You can leave right now and rendezvous with Lady Leizi. If you're fast enough, you can meet up with everyone and get away to the Apiary. You can hide there. Not even Scarlet Maturity would try to breach your headquarters by himself.
You'll be safe where he can't get you. You don't have to stay here. You can just leave.
But if you do, you'll never have the courage to fight him again.
One day, you'll have to. He'll never stop. You can see it in his eyes—he's excited. If you can't stop him, he'll take over the city. Unless King comes back, there will be no one to oppose him.
Fudge. That.
You rip the broken shield generator off your chest and crush it in your hand. The device sparks and shatters, releasing enough radiation for you to absorb that you're able to cover your core again and restore your sight.
You stare down the demon of Powers and match his grin with one of your own.
"What, like it was hard?" you say, "Now, are you here to talk or get your butt-kicked?"
* * *
You are Opale Houdin-Reyes.
You roll backwards off Jean-Luc with a sick feeling in your stomach. You know he's not dead. You've seen Lethal Anodyne's worst connections in action too many times to think breaking a user's neck is enough to take them down.
Still, even though you hate him, even though he made your life hell, Jean-Luc was family. You didn't want to hurt him. You didn't want to hurt anyone.
If only he felt the same.
Even as Gwen screams "meurtre!" over and over again, Jean-Luc rises to his feet. Mist is rising off his body as his skin grows so hot it turns his sweat to steam.
"'Arry-air. . ." he groans as his vertebrae realign themselves and his jaw snaps back into place.
"That's not my name," you whisper.
* * *
You don't remember when it started, but it was sometime after you hit puberty. For some people it came earlier. For some it came later. For you, it happened when you were looking at yourself in a mirror and all you could think was "I look wrong."
Your hands didn't look like your hands. Your face didn't look like your face. Your body didn't look like your body. You stared and stared and stared, trying to make it look right in your head, but you couldn't. You started hyperventilating and the person in the mirror copied you, but they looked wrong in a way you couldn't explain. Your chest started hurting and you couldn't breathe. You sank to your knees, screaming to your grandmother that you needed to go to the hospital.
It was your first panic attack. You would eventually get used to them.
Mami told you that everyone's body changed at this age. That it was normal to feel awkward and uncomfortable in your own skin while you became a man.
You nodded at her answer, and hoped she was right. But then, a thought crossed your mind.
"What if you didn't want to be a man?" Mami had just laughed and told you everyone must grow up one day.
That wasn't what you think you meant, but she didn't get it. You continued to grow up, and the wrongness never went away.
You eventually stopped looking in the mirror.
It was almost a relief when they found the cancer a few years later. At least then you knew for certain there was something wrong with your body.
* * *
Jean-Luc is back on his feet, but he's regarding you differently now. Wary. He's shaken at feeling his neck snap and heal itself, and he's not sure how to deal with you now.
Gwen is.
"Meurtre!" she screams, charging at you with a rapier made of fire, "You are nothing but a blight on this family! How dare you! You kill my sister and now my husband? Meurtre!"
Unlike Jean-Luc, Gwen knows how to fight at close range and quickly scores a hit on your shoulder. But you've sparred with her countless times, and you're not high out of your mind. You parry her sword with a barrier, and strike her in the throat with another.
"I haven't killed anyone, Gwen! Stop it!" you shout, hoping, praying, you can still get through to her, "You're completely out of control. You have no idea what you're doing. Just stop before you do something you can't take back!"
"I understand exactly what I am doing! With Ophélie gone, we lost our chance a easy future—"
"Is that all she was to you?" Something inside you breaks. "Your baby sister? Who loved you despite everything you put her through?"
"What I 'put her through?'" Gwen scoffs, "You make me out to be some kind of monster—"
"You are!"
* * *
"Look, Gwen, it sounds really cool, but I just don't know—"
"Harrier, be reasonable!" Gwen had protested. She was nicer back then. "There are four seasons, not three! You have your metahuman powers, it would be a crime to hide them away!"
"Yes, Harrier," Jean-Luc had said, "Be a team player!"
"Yes, I just—" you words caught in your throat. There was something about the way he said your name that made the wrongness come back..
"Listen, cousin, we need you," Gwen placed a hand on your thigh and spoke very softly, "Les Quatre Saisons is a perfect opportunity. A crime fighting family! With a memorable theme! The merchandise will fly off the shelves!"
"Y-yeah, but—"
"Listen, Harry," Jean-Luc interrupted, "I hate to say this, but you're being selfish. You can't agree to help us with this after your sister spent our life savings on your treatment?"
"I-I'm sorry. I'm grateful, really, but—"
"Harry, don't do it for me," Gwen said, so soft and reasonable, "Do it for Ophélie. I don't want her to have the life I did growing up."
You had squeezed your eyes shut. Yeah, you did kind of rob Ophélie of stability, huh? But . . .
"Isn't Ophélie too young to be a superhero? Gwen, she's only fourteen."
"We won't do anything too dangerous, Harry. We'll patrol safe streets and pose for pretty pictures with the masses. Then we will get a sponsorship with a corporation, and never have to do real work again. Ophélie will be beloved, happy, and safe. But we need you to do it."
You rubbed your face. "C-can I least pick out my costume . . . ?"
"It's already been made!" Jean-Luc said, "Tailored to fit you, personally, Harry. We can't get the deposit back."
You wouldn't get to decide who you were as a hero? The thought made it hard to breathe. You wanted to explain the claustrophobic feeling in your chest, but deep down, you knew they wouldn't get it.
"Y-yeah, but me? As 'Hiver'?" you protested, weakly, "My powers have nothing to do with winter. . ."
"Is that all man? Good god! Some clever marketing and no one will notice! Now stop being so self-centered."
"Okay," you said, feeling trapped, "Okay, I'll do it."
Except he was wrong. Everyone noticed. Everyone.
* * *
Gwen recoils like you slapped her. She stares at you, suddenly sober like you poured a bucket of water all over her. For a second, just a second, the fighting mercifully stops.
"Whoa," Blue Skies says, poking his head out from the thick layer of clouds where he was hiding, "That's some heavy stuff, my guys. Sounds like you got a lot to work out—oh shit!"
DC 15 - 3 (You are Lady Leizi) = DC 12.
Stat Check: ESPIONAGE 10. Lady Leizi and Handyman have a collective ESPIONAGE 17.
You rolled: 7.
7 + 3 = 10. Failure!
Stat Check: ESPIONAGE 10. Lady Leizi and Handyman have a collective ESPIONAGE 17.
You rolled: 7.
7 + 3 = 10. Failure!
Blue Skies whips around drops low, just as a giant, screaming shadow-bird erupts from the fog bearing Lady Leizi and an armored version of the thing you saw holding Faust hostage. The armored creature swings a scythe-like arm at Blue Skies' head, but he's already moved out of the way.
You swear. It was a good idea, but Blue Skies can sense the movement of water vapor—it's hard to sneak up on him in mist like this.
Blue Skies brings two hands together, and superheats a burst of steam that launches at the belly of the shadow-bird.
DC 10.
Stat Check: HIT 8. Lady Leizi and Handyman have a collective HIT 12.
You rolled: 5.
5 + 2 + 2 (Critical Injury, Adrenaline!) = 9. Failure!
Stat Check: HIT 8. Lady Leizi and Handyman have a collective HIT 12.
You rolled: 5.
5 + 2 + 2 (Critical Injury, Adrenaline!) = 9. Failure!
The steam destroys the bird, melting it into a steam of black particles. The armored creature grabs Lady Leizi and twists its body into a glider shape in an effort to land safely.
But that just gives Jean-Luc's plants a bigger target.
Hundreds of seeds, fired like rounds from gatling guns, pierce the creature's body and rend it to shreds. It drops like a stone and hits the ground with a sickening crunch.
Handyman takes one injury level! Handyman has four injury levels!
Printemps was injuring with the intent to kill.
BUT
Handyman was in an armored form.
AND
Handyman has [regeneration].
THUS
Equal odds of death and incapacitation.
Even = Death.
Odd = Incapacitation.
You rolled: 3.
Handyman is incapacitated! Any further injury levels will result in death!
Printemps was injuring with the intent to kill.
BUT
Handyman was in an armored form.
AND
Handyman has [regeneration].
THUS
Equal odds of death and incapacitation.
Even = Death.
Odd = Incapacitation.
You rolled: 3.
Handyman is incapacitated! Any further injury levels will result in death!
"Jean-Luc!" you roar. It's your fault. You should have finished him off. You shouldn't have let him hurt anyone. It's all your fault.
You ignore the seed that takes a bite out of your biceps and tackle your cousin-in-law to the ground.
Hiver takes one injury level! Superficial injury.
You put a barrier with gravity facing down in front of his face and then grab his neck and pull up. His face bounces off it and the back of his head smashes into the ground. You do it over and over and over until the earth is slick with his blood.
He gurgles something, and you go to punch him, but Gwen creates a whip of fire and wraps in around your wrist. She yanks you off him, searing your arm, and stands over you with a flaming ax in her other hand.
"It's over, Harrier!"
"My name is Opale!"
* * *
"Abs? Abs, are you awake? Please, I . . . I need to talk to someone. Right now."
"Snowdrop?" Abigail Reyes, The Giant Slayer, said, sitting up in bed. She sleepy rubbed at her eyes, "What's wrong? Is it Gwen again?"
"N-no." You paced around her bedroom like a maniac. You felt terrible for waking her up—SLAYERS had a job in the QZ tomorrow—but she had told you to come over at any time when she gave you a key to her apartment. And you—you needed to talk to her. You needed to talk to her right now before you exploded.
"Snowdrop, calm down." Abigail got up and wrapped her arms around you from behind. "You're shaking."
"I . . . I just—there was a job tonight and—"
"Is everyone okay? Ophélie?"
"Ophélie fine," you said. Leviathan's Blood! You didn't mean to scare her. "Gwen and Jean-Luc too."
"Ah. Shame."
That drew a laugh from you that turned into a sob. Your girlfriend guided you to her new bed—big enough for both of you when you stayed over—and pulled your head into her lap. She stroked your hair until you were able to speak.
"There was a blowout in the French Quarter today. Some burglary from a high-profile tech corp. They burglars hired a few metas to cover their escape."
"Hmm. Who was there?"
"Uhh, Flashdancer—"
"Oh, I haaaaate her. That costume sucks."
"It's the worst," you agreed, "The 1980s were nearly a hundred years ago. She needs to let it go."
"Who else?" Abigail started rubbing the back of your neck. Your heartbeat slowed down.
"Knight-Stick."
"Don't know that one—wait, yes I do. Paladin-cop person?"
"Yep."
"Ugh, that asshole. Did I tell you that he hired Inmaculada to figure out what was wrong with his horse once? He got his answer and skipped out on the bill."
"What was wrong with the horse?" you asked, feeling relaxed.
"He was tired of lugging around an idiot in power armor. Go figure."
You laughed, feeling delightfully languid and safe. Abigail was the best, she really was. She was . . . home.
"So, who else was there?"
Suddenly the warm, relaxed feeling evaporated. Abigail must have felt the sudden tension in your body, but she didn't ask. She just sat there until you were ready to answer.
". . . Foxglove. Foxglove was there too."
Abigail tilted her head, confused. "The pollen lady, right? Causes hallucinations? Puts people to sleep and gives them good dreams so they don't want to wake up?"
"Y-yeah. And, uh, she got me. Ophélie had to wake me up."
"Ouch," Abigail said, "That stinks. At least you got a good nap out of it?"
"The nap was the problem." You start shaking again. "Or, the dream was. It . . . I—"
Abigail leans over and cups your face. She looks at you with those brown eyes you could drown in, and such a sweet smile you fall in love all over again.
"Snowdrop, what was the dream about?"
You take a deep breath and force it out. "I dreamed I was a woman."
"Oh." Your heart drops as you see Abigail doesn't get it. "And that was bad?"
"No, it was perfect. It felt right. It felt like . . . me."
"Oh. Oh!" Abigail's eyes widened in understanding.
"Abs, I think I'm a woman," you swallow the saliva in your mouth and speak quickly before you lose your courage. "I've had dreams like this before. They're . . . they're always nice, but this time it was so vivid. I-I've thought maybe that's what's been wrong with me, but now I know for sure. When I was dreaming, when I was her, for the first time in my life I felt right. It was like I was finally free."
You're crying. Even now, you can still feel the euphoria.
"Please don't leave me," you beg, "I know you've always wanted the suburban life—lots of kids, white-picket fence, husband coming home from work everyday. I know I'm not that, but I can't be. I can't go back anymore. I'll die. If I have to keep pretending it will kill me—"
"Snowdrop, Snowdrop, Snowdrop," Abigail lightly bops you on the forehead and then kisses it, "You're being silly. That's not what I want anymore. You're what I want. And I want you to be happy. I love you."
The rest of the night was the best night of your life. Neither of you went back to sleep. You just . . . stayed up all night talking. About you. About how you've felt your whole life, and about your future together. You even found your real name: Opale. It was more happiness than you had ever felt before, and you wound up sobbing again and begging Abigail to marry you while dripping snot all over her shirt.
It was very kind of her to give you a do-over.
She asked you to move in right away, leave Les Quatre Saisons, and start your real life right away. You wanted to, you wanted to more than anything, but it would mean abandoning Ophélie. And you couldn't leave her in that house alone.
So you and Abigail made plans, imagined a future together, and you steeled yourself to pretend just a little longer. You could do it—there was one person who you could be yourself with, one person who loved who you really were. With Abigail, you could hold on just a little longer and then you could be you. Everything would finally be right.
Then the Leviathan began to move. And your life descended into hell.
* * *
Your words right through the foggy air. You're bleeding, fighting for your life, you're pretty sure you have third-degree burns on your arm, but you can't stop smiling.
You said it. You finally said it.
Gwen's mouth is hanging open as she tries to make sense of what you just said. Jean-Luc is just starting the rise—the healing is noticeably slower. They're probably starting to come down.
"Yo, whaaaaaat?" Blue Skies says from overhead. He ducks his head back in the cloud when you all look at him. "Sorry, sorry! Not my moment, sorry! I was just—yo, what?"
"My name is Opale, Gwen." You roll to your feet. "I'm a woman. I always have been."
God, why are you about to cry? Why . . . why can you still feel so happy when Abigail and Ophélie are gone? You stare down Gwen.
"Harr—" Gwen visibly stops herself from saying your deadname, before puffing herself up again. "And how long has this been the case? Why did you never say anything?! How long have you been keeping secrets from this family?!"
"I never said anything to you because it wasn't safe to tell you!" you shout back, "Anything, anything that threatened what you wanted Les Quatre Saisons to be had to go! Ophélie going to school? Me not wanting to go on that pig Baxter's talk show? You got us to do what you wanted, or you found a way to make us suffer."
"I-I never threatened either of you—"
"You didn't have to! Y'know, the first time Jean-Luc 'accidently' broke my leg during training, I really thought he didn't mean to do it. Then I realized it happened right after I told you I was going to change my costume. Weird that Ophélie's only picture of your mother mysteriously burned after she refused to patrol with Global Justice. It was just a weird coincidence that bad things always happened when you didn't get your way."
Your breath is coming fast, but you can't stop now.
"Can you, honestly, look me in the eye and say that you would have let me come out and live as myself if I had told you I was a woman? Can you?"
Gwen pales. You both know she can't.
"Y-you," she says, stumbling over your words, "You truly want to make me out to be a villain because I would not have indulged your . . . your . . . sexual perversion?"
You close your eyes. And there it is. You expected it, but it still hurts a little.
"Oh, fuck that, boooo! Booooooooooooo! It sucks ass that you're on my team, fire-lady," Blue Skies shouts, "Hey, dudette, I support your journey of self-discovery even if I kinda have to try to murder you . . .sorry . . ."
"It's alright," you say, "And, hey, for what it's worth, I'm sorry too."
"Ah, no worries, girl! Wait, for what?"
"For doing this."
DC 12.
Stat Check: HIT 13. Lady Leizi, Menagerie Witch, and Hiver have a collective HIT 20.
You rolled: 19.
19 + 3 + 2 (Critical Injury, Adrenaline!) = 24. Critical Success!
Stat Check: HIT 13. Lady Leizi, Menagerie Witch, and Hiver have a collective HIT 20.
You rolled: 19.
19 + 3 + 2 (Critical Injury, Adrenaline!) = 24. Critical Success!
Before he can hide again, you create three barriers: one behind his head, one to the right of his head, and one to the left, all pushing with gravity towards Blue Skies. Then you hit him with a fourth, right in his face. Blue Skies' head rockets backwards, hits the barrier with a crack and pinballs between the two barriers on the sides. He drops like a marionette with cut strings, and falls bonelessly to the ground.
Gwen shrieks like a banshee. She's next to you, swinging the ax at your next. It's too late to react. But you are content. The witch-girl can get away, at least. Someone will know the truth about Powers.
You just wish . . . someone else would know the truth about you too.
"Harrier!" Gwen cries as she moves to end your life.
You give her a sad smile and say, gently, "That's not my name."
"Quite right, darling."
Before Gwen can decapitate you, arm whips out and strikes her in the chest. The blow is followed by a flash of lighting that blinds you and burns Gwen. Gwen turns, even anger, only to have her attacker grab her head and shatter her nose with a knee to the face. Light flashes again and lighting burns appear all over Gwen's skin.
Lady Leizi turns to you, her coat turned into a makeshift sling on one arm, and gives you a smile.
"I'm glad you are alright. Thank you for taking care of Menagerie Witch. And I am sorry for calling you the wrong name earlier, Opale."
There's a lump in your throat that makes it impossible to talk. Gwen tries to rise, but Lady Leizi stomps on the back of her head and lightning strikes in the same place twice.
"Do stay down. Try to get up again and we'll see if Lethal Anodyne is still watering down his solutions."
"Mon amour!" a mostly-healed Jean-Luc says, "Get your foot off her, you ill-breed mongrel—ahhhhh!"
Jean-Luc's words are cut off as a shadow wolf-lion-snake-bird thing grabs him in its jaws and shakes him until he goes limp.
The witch-girl—who must be 'Menagerie Witch'—lands next to you on a shadow bird, the creature from earlier strapped onto two of them.
"Echidna, drop it! You don't know where it's been!" She turns to you, not even watching as her creation obeys and a groaning Jean-Luc hits the ground, "Handyman is hurt bad. We need to get to the Apiary, now."
"My thoughts exactly," Lady Leizi says as she mounts a bird. "Coming, Opale?"
You're still finding it hard to talk, so all you can get out is, "Why . . .?"
Why save you? Why fight Powers for you? Why do they care about you more than your family?
"Why?" Lady Leizi says, "What a curious question. You're a hero, Opale. And Justice Unlimited doesn't leave heroes behind. Now, let's be rid of here."
"Don't you leave!" the wounded Gwen screams. Jean-Luc is moving very slowly, but doesn't say anything in response, "You can't leave!"
You smile.
"Yes, I can," you say, "Goodbye, Gwen."
But just as you speak, a second sun blooms far up in the sky and air shatters with a loud "BOOM!"
"What in the world . . . ?"
"Black Swan . . ." Lady Leizi whispers.
* * *
You are Black Swan.
You dart and dash around Scarlet Maturity, blasting him every chance you get. Your fight has gone on for what feels like hours, but is probably only a few minutes.
He's fast. He's strong. But as you battle the monster, you realize the true difference between you. He's experienced.
Minor Success: DC 12. Moderate Success: DC 15. Major Success: DC 18.
Stat Check: HIT 15. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 8.
8 - 3 + 2 (Critical Injury, Adrenaline!) = 5. Failure!
Stat Check: HIT 15. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 8.
8 - 3 + 2 (Critical Injury, Adrenaline!) = 5. Failure!
Your pattern becomes just a little too predictable and you just a little too slow to get away. Scarlet Maturity completes his swing in the place he knew you'd be and smashes into your core with the force of the Tsar Bomba. You explode through a cargo ship and back onto dry land, destroying more buildings in the process.
Black Swan has [Invulnerability] and takes no injury level.
Black Swan has [Invulnerability] and takes no injury level.
Black Swan has [Invulnerability] and takes no injury level.
Black Swan has [Invulnerability] and takes no injury level.
Black Swan has [Invulnerability] and takes no injury level.
Scarlet Maturity has been an active "hero" for fifteen years. He's fought all kinds of metahumans. He's fought King! And he's fought metahumans who fight the way you do. He knows what you want to do. He knows how you'll try to do it. And you can't beat him if you keep playing into his expectations.
But there's something else . . . weird that's happening.
Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 4. Black Swan has OPERATIONS 4.
You rolled: 2.
2 + 0 + 3 (He's Punched You So Many Times.) = 5. Minor Success!
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 4. Black Swan has OPERATIONS 4.
You rolled: 2.
2 + 0 + 3 (He's Punched You So Many Times.) = 5. Minor Success!
Why does he keep punching your core? That's like, the least punchable part of you! It's kind of a good thing to be honest—it's allowed you to conserve what's left of your construct-body.
And you emerge from the rubble, you inadvertently give Scarlet Maturity such a deep look of bewilderment that he actually stops fighting for a second.
". . . what?"
"Ummm." You feel like saying "why do you keep hitting the only part of me that won't break?" isn't a good idea. "Uhhh, your pants!"
". . . my pants?"
"Yeah, I just noticed they haven't even torn yet! And we've been blowing lots of stuff up. What are they made of?"
". . . it's a carbon-fiber nanoweave," he admits, "I custom order them from Kelso-Allard Industries. It's the same material they use in some of their spacecraft."
"Whoa! Space-pants!"
"It truly irritates me how likable you are."
"Aww, thankies—oh poop, you're actually annoyed!" you scream as you weave out of the way of the metal pole he throws at you at supersonic speed. He leaps back at you, and the fight is back on.
You desperately weave, but you're running out of energy. If he hadn't been hitting your core all this time, you'd be down for the count. You need to keep him occupied so he can't track everyone else down and kill them. You need to stop fighting in a way he can guess. You need to . . . be creative!
And you think you have an idea.
DC 15.
Stat Check: HIT 15. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 11.
The Audience has given you + 5 to this roll.
11 - 3 + 5 + 2 (Critical Injury, Adrenaline!) = 15. Success!
Stat Check: HIT 15. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 11.
The Audience has given you + 5 to this roll.
11 - 3 + 5 + 2 (Critical Injury, Adrenaline!) = 15. Success!
The next time you cycle around Scarlet Maturity, you deliberately stay in front of him a little too long. He grabs you with a hand. Instead of blasting him to get free, you pull back your construct- body and expose more of your core—like you're hurt. Scarlet Maturity greedily grabs your core with his other hand and begins to squeeze, like he's trying to crush you.
Uh, good luck. You're pretty sure there's nothing he can do to your core that gravity hasn't already.
While he does that, you pull all of your remaining energy to the bottom of your core, pointing directly down, and fire.
For as strong as he is, Scarlet Maturity isn't actually that heavy. You two fly into the sky faster than a rocket, going higher and higher. Coupled with your natural flight, your core is digging into Scarlet Maturity's chest.
He realizes his mistake and tries to let go, but you fire a pinpoint blast from the top of your head so you just pierce his chest. His body quickly regenerates, but around your core. Scarlet Maturity can pull himself free, but you have an opening.
You're nearly out of gas. You're thousands of miles in the air. You kind of need to pee, but that might just be psychosomatic.
You need to finish this fight. You must . . .
[ ] . . . go up. You will regenerate faster outside of the Earth's atmosphere. You can survive the vacuum of space. Can he?
(Black Swan will attempt to defeat Scarlet Maturity by enhancing her [Regeneration].)
[ ] . . . go through. You have a hyper-dense core. You have enough juice for one light speed dash. Can he survive a direct hit at relativistic speeds? Let's find out.
(Black Swan will attempt to defeat Scarlet Maturity by enhancing her [Flight]).
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