Project Prometheus (Original Setting Superhero Quest)

Bitterman · Dec 16, 2024

[X] Plan Have Faith
-[X] Yara Takes the shield Generator and Symbiote then takes cover inside the house.
-[X] BS fights WH and SK with a focus on SK to force him to attack which BS can try and absorb to heal.
-[X] Chatelet Rides Flying Hit Chimera and Fights Seraph to take her down and at least keep her away from BS.
-[X] MW Creates a Hit Chimera, then Sends her Menagerie to support DS and Belle Sabreuse against Brass Shield.
-[X] DS Puts a Barrier in Chatelet and Handyman. Puts the Hustle in Belle, Chimera and A Wall in the House reapply it to another wall if destroyed.
-[X] Belle Sabreuse Fights Brass Shield supported by DS and MW.
-[X] VG uses Scissors to throw Stockpile Away into the C4 or beyond until everyone is out of his range. Insult him in order to keep his focus on VG.
-[X] LL and HM fights Ete and Joules with Handyman using Ant-Flame armor and taunts so he can pummel ete H2H.

[X] Plan Bases Covered
-[X] Mona fights Sunlight Knight and White Hawk, avoiding Seraph's range.
-[X] Handyman and Lady Leizi take on Ête and Joules; Handyman will taunt Ete before using the forested area as cover to hamper the summons.
-[X] Valiant Gold uses Telekinesis to throw Stockpile towards the C4 and generally away from the group.
-[X] Menagerie Witch makes a flying HIT Chimera; Châtelet rides it and goes to fight Seraph. The rest of the people in the house fight Brass Shield. Doc puts a shield on Handyman and Châtelet and Hustle on the Chimera and Belle Sabreuse.

You are Valiant Gold.

Lady Leizi says something, but you don't know what. Some distant part of you responds, but you're already moving.

Stockpile is going to kill everyone if you don't stop him. He has to go.

Does he even understand what he's doing? The EXCEED armor took a year of life for every second it was used; he's offloading that burden onto everyone else.

It doesn't matter. He has to go.

For a normal person, the drain would be a slow poison. Nearly imperceptible, but the victims would be lethargic, irritable, unable to focus . . . and it would just get worse over time. For a normal person. If you had any kind of psychic sensitivity . . .

Black Swan. You can still hear her scream reverberating in your bones, making your heart seize. He has to go.

Oho! So Black Swan "matters", eh?

You should be nervous. You should be panicking. Stockpile has to be defeated now, or everyone will be at his mercy. Yet, you're perfectly calm. Your heart is clear, your thoughts unburdened.

It's a feeling that comes when you're in danger, when all the other noise in your head fades away. Rhys calls it "being in the zone". John Henry calls it "getting your blood up". The books you read call it "flow state".

Either way, it's how you feel now as you charge down your counterpart. He's glowing with a bright, blue aura, and the lights on his armor are flashing. A blade of energy traces the whole way down his left arm, starting at his elbow and ending a foot beyond his fingertips. Around him swirls a thinner miasma of power, enveloping everything within fifty feet with a blue luminescence.

But none of that matters.

Activate Module: Scissors.

You charge into his aura, cutting through it with a streak of red. In a second, you're upon him.

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 12. Valiant Gold has HIT 9.

You rolled: 20.

20 - 1 + 5 (Red Guy vs. Blue Guy) = 24. Major Success! Natural Crit!

He has to go.

As you rush him down, he does something so the cloud around him stops moving. It becomes almost solid, crackling with power. A pulse races out from the PREVAIL armor that makes your dangersense tingle, but you're a step ahead of it.

Before it can reach the end of Stockpile's aura and trigger whatever it is that it's supposed to do, you trace your psychic blade along the ground and send a wave of energy at him. He cuts it with his arm, but then you're in his face. He parries your swing with your right arm, but over-commits to the move, leaving him open for the jab with your left. A second blade springs to life, pointed squarely at his chest. You trust, intending to end this fight with one blow.

But suddenly, he's just outside your reach. He teleported backwards to avoid your strike, and now you see six glints of light condensing at his back, just above his shoulders. They solidify into orbs right before they burst into lasers that are coming directly at you.

Oh, fucking shit!

But they may as well be moving in slow motion. You dodge the first with a twitch of your shoulder. You take a step and one zips between the newly opened space in your legs. A second step, a duck of your torso, and two more go wide. You spin around the fifth, pivoting on your left foot, and then dive over the sixth. The whole sequence takes place in the space between heartbeats, and again you find yourself upon Stockpile.

Oh. Fucking shit.

You swing at him again, but he disappears before you connect. You feel him appear behind you and react before your conscious mind is even aware of what's going on.

Activate Module: Rock.

He swings down, trying to bisect you vertically, but Nora's engineering is equal to the task. A barrier of nearly-solid light springs to life and halts his arm in place.

And now you have him.

Available Shields: 2 (Module Rock, Advanced Energy Shielding).

Valiant Gold loses 1 shield! Valiant Gold has 1 shield remaining!

You shove a hand into the chest of his armor, grab something, and crush it. You then grab his leg, take a great step with your foot, and throw him as far away from everyone else as you can.

The obvious shock in his body language as he sails through the air warms your heart.

Activate Module: Scissors.

But you aren't finished there. You know exactly what he'll do next. And, sure enough, once he recovers, his form flickers and he teleports back onto his feet.

Right where you're waiting for him.

As he touches the ground, you twist his ankle with Scissor's telekinesis, making him stumble. He fails his arms and falls forward, into your waiting grasp.

Activate Module: Rock.

Shield regenerated. Valiant Gold now has 2 shields again in Module: Rock!

You smash your forehead into his helmet, cracking his visor. You then hurl him again.

Activate Module: Scissors.

You give chase, but he flickers back to his feet and then flickers again, before you can grab him. He stands at a distance eyeing you warily.

But that doesn't matter. He has to go.

Now, to beat his ass. And not in the sexy way like those fanfics!

. . . your retribution upon Menagerie Witch for putting those images in your head will be swift and merciless.

"You won't get away with this!" Stockpile snarls, "I'll stop you even if it kills me!"

"Then die."

His aura flashes again in a way that would be intimidating if it weren't for the fact that you were reasonably sure he was just wasting energy.

"I already know what Justice Unlimited has planned! You're going to absorb what's left of New Dawn! Powers is already in shambles! Crusade will be all that stands in the way of your total control of Horizon!"

"Shut up."

"You—! It's always the smiling face that hides daggers. I've seen what kind of person your leader was! The madness in the woman who built these suits. She cared nothing, nothing, for other people! She despised them, thought they were beneath her, and in her contempt she woke up the Leviathan!"

Okay, being grouchy in the morning without a coffee is not the same as being fucking omnicidal.

Stockpile jabs an accusing finger at you. It strikes you how . . . childish he looks.

"That's why you're trying to kidnap the Oliveira heiress—"

"Her name is Yara."

"—and take partial control of Ọsanyìn, Crusade's largest backer! You want to make sure no one can stop your mad quest for power! You won't stop until you dominate every person who lives in this city! You don't care who you hurt or why, so long as you get what you want!"

I know you are, but what am I?

"I'll stop you, I'll put an end to this! I swear it!"

"Then shut up and fight me."

"You don't even care—!"

"About you?" you say neutrally, "Yes. I also don't listen to children throwing tantrums. The difference is they can't help it."

He's so caught up in himself, he doesn't realize that you've already won; everyone else is out of range of PREVAIL. And you have him in the exact location in the yard you wanted him—the place Belle Sabreuse told you to avoid.

You're already standing on his throat. Now you just need to press down.

And you will. You take a step forward, and then you're upon him.

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 10. Valiant Gold has HIT 9.

You rolled: 16.

16 + 0 + 5 (Red Guy vs. Blue Guy) = 21. Major Success! Critical Success!

He tries teleporting behind you again, but you've seen this trick before. By the time he rematerializes in your blind spot, you already have a blade waiting for him. You shear off a pauldron from PREVAIL and continue your swing toward his head, right before he disappears again.

But now you've got his scent.

Activate Module: Paper.

He's repeated himself one too many times. He likes being in your blind spot. He'll always make sure he'll land on his feet. And, when he needs to make space, he'll always get the maximum distance away from you that he can.

Fifty feet. He can only teleport inside that aura.

You pull the trigger on your arm-cannon right where you know he'll be. At the exact same moment he reappears, your blast hits his legs. His balance is taken out from under him, and you can hear him scream and curse your name as he stumbles back.

Activate Module: Scissors.

That's really the difference between you two, huh? He's flailing and pissing and shitting all over himself, while you're actually winning the fight. Your heart is totally clear, while his is filled with bullshit.

You jump high up into the air. As you hit your apex, you fling yourself at Stockpile at a forty-five degree angle with telekinesis, kicking him square in the face. He falls backwards in a heap, and you land on top of him.

YEAAAAAAAH! That's my girl!

You move with machine-like precision. Press down. Make a blade. Downward thrust. Same place you hit before, seemed to disrupt something. Pin him down with the other blade, can't seem to teleport while you're touching him.

Fuck, is this what focus feels like?! Maybe those ADHD meds were a good idea . . .

Stockpile screams impotently as you kneel on top of his chest, blades pinning him to the ground. The energy around you fluctuates wildly—it seems you hit something important.

"You—! You . . . ! You don't understand what you're doing!" Stockpile roars, "You didn't see what I saw! I have to stop this! I'm the only one who can! I won't let you—!"

DC 13.

Stat Check: REPUTATION 10. Valiant Gold has REPUTATION 7.

You rolled: 13.

13 - 1 + 3 (Beat Him so Badly He Has to Listen to You Now) = 15. Success!

"Then don't," you say, "But stop talking. Stop throwing a tantrum. Stop acting like you're the only person who's ever lost someone they love."

You push down, further on his chest. His shields flare to life, rebuffing your attack, but they won't last forever.

"You think Horizon would be better off being ruled by megacorps and the Americans?" you say, "Fine. Then fight for it, if that's what you believe in. But I'm sick of hearing you run your mouth about how terrible everyone else is. Who are you trying to convince of your righteousness?"

He stiffens underneath you.

Tee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee—

Shut up. You see that your words have an impact from the way his posture changes. He looks away from you and says, so softly that you almost miss it:

"There's no going back now."

"Well said," you agree. And then you continue to cut into the core of his armor.

But as you do, you realize your mistake. Stockpile is impulsive and brash, but he's not stupid. He was just running his mouth just now. He was buying time.

The wave of energy you saw earlier pulses out of his armor and hits the edge of his aura. And, suddenly, he's gone.

But he also isn't. His form waivers and flicks in your vision, appearing everywhere you look, just to disappear again.

You feel a swing from behind you coming for your head. You dodge, only to collide with Stockpile's waiting fist in the opposite direction. He wasn't behind you, he is in front of you. You swing back at him, but you pass through empty air.

He wasn't in front of you, he is behind you. He slashes at you again, and you just barely get out of the way. You counterattack, but he was never there. And yet, he is. He's everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

. . . quantum mechanics. This field is introducing quantum mechanics on a macro level.

How do you know that? You've seen it in action for all of five minutes. Yet, every detail about it is sharp and clear in your mind. You can almost see how the pieces of information slot together, forming a greater whole. But how?

Why do you understand what his armor can do? Why do you understand how it does it? Why do you feel like you know how to build it yourself if you had to?

Because it was always meant for two.

What . . . who is speaking? Who are you?

You know.

Sometimes, when your mind is clear, you think you can hear another voice in your head. Well, 'voice' might be too strong a word. Another set of memories, an impression, the bundled feelings of someone you once knew. It's so faint, sometimes you think you imagine it. But right now, you can hear her loud and clear.

Nora.

No time.

Stay with me.

I can't. I don't even know why you can hear me. Because you're fighting, I think? That's what I think I am now. A weapon.

Please don't go.

Sorry. Doomed to always disappoint the people I love, I guess. But I can do this much for you.

Nora uses Algernon-type.

Algernon-Type

It was always meant for two. Qe̵̛̞n̶̫͗j̵̥̾ ̷̫̉ẕ̵̈ḃ̴̪ě̴̤ŗ̷̇ ̵̯͒O̸̭͗ÿ̴̪n̶͙̒p̵̼̚x̸̰̄t̴̪̎b̶͖̂ý̸̘q̶͖̍ ̸̬̆l̶̜̆ḧ̷͈́e̷̝͊v̸̢͛.̶̖̆ ̵̩͐W̸̙̑x̵͖̊,̶͈̎ ̸̥̓w̶̠͝x̷̨̓.̷̮̈ ̸̫̽Ő̸͍h̵̖̉g̶̠̕ ̷̛̱l̷̰̎b̶̖́h̷̻͗ ̶͚̽q̵̌ͅb̸̼̃a̷̡̔'̷͔͆ġ̸̻ ̸̱͑x̵̝́ạ̷̒b̶͕̒j̴͈̾ ̸̗͠ ̵̢̓u̴͍̾b̴̘̑j̷͚͑ ̴̯̍g̵̫̕u̶̖͐v̸̼̇f̴̺͒ ̷̟̃n̴̟̆ǒ̴͉v̴͓̒y̸͎̍v̸̟̍g̵͖̃l̷͎͘ ̷͙͗j̸̭̚b̸͘ͅé̷̢ẋ̴̪f̵͚̆ ̷̼̀l̴͚͛r̴̬̽g̶̠͋!̶̔ͅ

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 9. Valiant Gold has HIT 9.

You rolled: 7.

7 + 0 + 5 (Algernon-Type) + 5 (Red Guy vs. Blue Guy) = 17. Major Success!

Win.

And like that, you're suddenly unbearably alone in your too-empty head. But you have what you need.

Activate Module: Paper.

Four drones fly out from your back as you change modules. Two are destroyed instantly by Stockpile, a third is batted away, but one flies high above you both.

Checkmate.

Stockpile's PREVAIL lets him reduce his existence to a wave function that's a superimposition of several eigenstates—he exists in a cloud of uncertainty. He has no definite position, only a probabilistic one.

It's a terrifying ability. He can attack from all angles at all times if he wanted—only his lack of familiarity with using this power has spared you being cut to pieces. If he had used this when everyone was within range . . . well, you're glad he didn't. He could be anywhere at any given time inside his aura, and, because he could be anywhere, he is also never in a particular location at a specific time.

But that's only true inside his aura. And that's his weakness. Because as anyone with a passing knowledge of quantum mechanics knows, there's a simple way to collapse a wave function:

Have it be measured by an outside observer.

Your drone, safely outside the aura, tags Stockpile's position and transmits it to you. He's right in front of you. He tries to move away, but he can't. His position is known. He has to be right where he is now, because that's where he's being observed. For a moment, he's stuck.

And a moment is all you need. You raise your arm-cannon, press it to his forehead, and fire.

He desperately teleports away from your blast—back to the same place he always flickers away to. He's guarding his legs with his arm, having no doubt learned from last time, but that won't be enough.

Because your second blast goes slightly wide of him and hits the stack of C-4 that you were warned about earlier today.

The shockwave detonates the plastic explosive, and Stockpile is swallowed by a maw of concussive flame.

* * *

You are Lady Leizi.

Joules cracks another whip made of plasma at you, but you swipe it away with an almost-dismissive backhand gesture. The sizzle of the superheated matter fails to pierce your lighting, and you're unharmed for having touched something thousands of degrees hot.

You step and explode forward, thrusting your fist out in a punch aimed at Joules' mid-section. He blocks with a burst of plasma from both of his hands and steps back to get away from you.

DC 12

Stat Check: HIT 5. Lady Leizi has HIT 5.

You rolled: 17.

17 + 0 + 3 (Feel Recharged) = 20. Critical Success!

But you see his retreat coming and step with him. You spin, grabbing his shoulder with your right hand, and grab his ribcage with your left. You finish your turn behind him, your momentum pulling him off his feet.

As Joule's back hits the ground, you drop to one knee and punch him in the sternum with a strike followed by a bolt of lightning. Spittle flies out of Joules' mouth as all of the wind is knocked out of him.

But, to his credit, Joules knows how to fight. He claps his hands together and gets you off him with a geyser of plasma. You just barely retreated before the upward bolt strikes your face.

Well . . . no. Actually, you didn't get out of the way in time. You felt some of the fourth state of matter crackle against your skin. But it didn't hurt. It merely flowed through you, like your body was part of a circuit. It was invigorating if anything.

What is going on?

"How the fuck are you not tired, lady?" Joules pants from the ground, "We've been tossing around juice like goddamn Tesla coils, and you're not even out of breath? Bullshit!"

. . . you hate that he makes a good point.

DC 10

Stat Check: OPERATIONS 5. Lady Leizi has OPERATIONS 5.

You rolled: 14.

14 + 0 = 14. Success!

Come to think of it, how many times have you fought hand-to-hand with another electricity user? Two, maybe three times? One of which was Joules. And you can't remember getting exhausted in those fights either.

. . . is there another aspect of your power of which you were not aware?!

". . . you still there?" Joules calls from the ground.

"Quiet, darling," you say, staring at your hand in wonder, "I'll finish you off in a moment."

"O-okay. I could use five minutes anyway . . . I think that last punch broke something."

You think back to how vigorous you've felt lately. You've used your power more in the last few months than you did in the last few years. You were always the woman in the background with your old team—your power was for emergencies, not your option of first resort. But now, you have to lead from the front and you've had to use your power.

. . . so does this mean can you literally recharge your body?!

Leviathan's Blood, for the first time ever, you're glad Nora's dead. She was always badgering you to experiment more with your power. If she knew about this, she would never let you live it down.

You're still kicking yourself when you notice several figures walk by. But they're not the priority right now, and you forget about them as soon as Joules speaks up again.

"A-alright, I think I'm ready—oh shit, no. My ribs!"

You shake your head in disgust, deeply furious at yourself. Well, enough dallying then; time to finish off Joules. You must hurry to help Handyman. You doubt he's having as easy a time with Été as you are here.

* * *

Nearby, a woman in a blue and white dress designed to look like a flower stands flanked by soldiers made of fire. Her constructs stand at attention, inactive for the moment.

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: ESPIONAGE 5. Handyman has ESPIONAGE 9.

You rolled: 16.

16 + 4 = 20. Major Success! Critical Success!

Été peers into the surrounding foliage. She sees nothing, but, from the trees, her own voice mocks her.

"Ophélie was the only reason anyone cared about me. I clung to my sister like a drowning woman, and did everything I could to keep her in a cage. She flew as far away as she could as soon as she got free, and she died a real hero. Without her, I'm just a parasite without a host."

Été gazes stoned-faced into the forest.

"The nicest thing anyone could say about my husband is that he didn't hit me. Sure liked beating up my cousin though. He was a braggart, a bully, and a fool. His own foolish choices led to his death, as mine will for me. I'm destined to join him as food for a monster, and—the worst part?—we couldn't have signed on the dotted line fast enough. We deserved each other."

There's maybe a glimmer in her eye or a quiver of her lip, but she otherwise may as well be one of her fiery warriors for all she reacts.

"My only living family member wants nothing to do with me. She can't even look at me. And yes, it's 'she'. Because no matter how much of a bigoted wretch I am, I can't change reality: Opale is a woman and she's thriving without me. Thriving because I'm not there."

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: REPUTATION 10. Handyman has REPUTATION 3.

You rolled: 11.

11 - 3 + 3 (Dead on the Inside) + 5 (Using Her Voice to Speak Her Inner Thoughts) = 16. Major Success!

"I did not mean what I said," Été says quickly, quietly, "I . . . I just said the thing that I thought would cause Har—that would cause Opale the most pain."

There's a long silence from the woods.

"You get how that's not any better, right?" Handyman calls in his regular voice, "That it's actually worse in a lot of ways? That you can still be bigoted without being a bigot?"

"Yes," Été says, eyes wet, "And I believe you forgot to mention earlier that I am now a drug addict. They give a small dose each morning to keep me lucid. And I am still a slave to my contract. I-I cannot even think about disobeying. You must also mock me for that."

There's a longer silence from the woods. Then Handyman walks out.

"I thought they were voidin' those?"

Été gives a we laugh. "And you took them at their word? Is it even possible to break my contact? Only Faust would know, and he carried his secrets with him when he 'resigned'."

Now it's Handyman's turn to snort. "Suuuure. If Goethe isn't just Faust in a wig and heels, then I'm a choirboy."

Été lets out another laugh that turns into a wet sob. Tears stream down her face.

"Is Opale happy?"

"Why do you even care?" Handyman sighs, "Not like you treated her right when you had the chance."

". . . I loved my cousin once. Like I loved my sister. Before I became a terrified, hateful shrew of a woman. Before I became this."

Été looks down at her feet.

"Don't answer my question. I can see the truth for myself. She is radiant now. Unlike me."

". . . are you somehow making this about you?"

"It is my greatest talent," Été admits. Then, "I would now like to die."

". . . fuckin' what?"

"I cannot surrender. I've been given a direct order to fight on no matter what; disobedience is strictly forbidden by my contract. And I cannot take my own life for the same reason. So, you must do it for me."

Her soldiers level their flaming weapons at the clay-man.

"Hurry, or they will strike."

"Oh, you fuckin' bitch," Handyman snarls, "You are not putting this shit on me!"

"There is no other choice—"

"There's always another choice! You just keep making the wrong ones."

With boneless, inhuman flexibility, Handyman coils himself and strikes like a snake at Été. He positions himself behind her and places her in a sleeper hold.

"Now, you just take a nap and, when you wake up, fuckin' go see a shrink!"

Été's response is inaudible as she futility taps against Handyman's arm. In a second she goes limp, and in another she's unconscious. Her soldiers disappear.

Handyman looks around the now-empty clearing. He rubs his face, inhales, holds for ten seconds, and then exhales.

"Just what is it with today?!"

* * *

You are Doctor Silver.

Being in the field is nothing like you thought it'd be. Fighting Monarch was one thing—you were on your home turf—but being in a strange place? Under attack from another "hero" team? Feeling everything in a hundred foot radius and having to keep track of it?

It's a rush. If you survive this, you are going to show Sandra tonight exactly what kind of superman her husband has become.

You can't help the mad grin that stretches across your face, even as Maddie and Opie put their heads together.

"Doctor Silver, where is everyone now?" Châtelet demands.

"Same place they were a minute ago," you say, "Valiant Gold and the thief are outside my range. Lady Leizi is fighting Joules—seems like she hurt him bad, he's limping. Handyman's taken out Été—"

You don't miss how she flinches at that name.

"—she's on the ground, not moving. Seems like she's breathing though. And Black Swan disappeared into the sky with Seraph, White Hawk, and Sunlight Knight on her tail."

"We have to help rocks-for-brains," Menagerie Witch says, creating clones as fast as she can.

You see how she tries to play it cool, but she's wringing her hands like dishtowels. The poor kid is terrified for her friend.

"She's up there fighting three members of the Horae guard by herself! Including that fucking mind-fucking bitch."

"Language!" you and Châtelet scold at the same time.

"But yeah, kid's right," you say, "VG told me flag-boy was taking readings off Swan at the memorial. He may have deduced something."

Châtelet nods in understanding, pulling at her lip, "Right, right. Okay. Black Swan needs back up."

"I'm going," Menagerie Witch says.

"No," you and Châtelet say in unison. The two of you look at each other, and she gracefully lets you provide the explanation.

"Kid, you can't fly and we need you to maintain your constructs," you say, "They probably know that too. That White Hawk kid is tough. He'll probably be able to chew through whatever you throw at him, and then Black Swan has to fight them and protect you."

"If they knock you off your mount, you're as good as dead," Châtelet echoes, "We need you here. But—"

"I'm not abandoning Rockhead!"

"—yes, which is why—"

"I'm going!"

"You don't—"

"Don't try to stop me!"

"Do you want to help Black Swan or throw a tantrum?!" Châtelet explodes, "You are a hero in the field. You will listen to orders or you will wait for us back at the Apiary!"

The room goes quiet except for Châtelet's heavy breathing. She blinks and shakes her head.

"Umm, sorry. I kinda snapped there—"

"Stay snapped, stay snapped!" you say eagerly, "It's working!"

"It's true, you've actually earned my respect!" Menagerie Witch agrees.

"Right, okay, umm . . . ah, crapbaskets, I lost it."

"People have started shipping you with Été online again! They're calling it 'doomed yuri'!"

"What?! Are you kidding me?!"

"Good, good," you coach, "Use that!"

"Gaaaah!" Châtelet shouts, "Okay! I'll go help Black Swan. I can corral them with my barriers and slow my fall if I take a hit. I've fought in the air before. I just need to get up there."

She points at Menagerie Witch.

"You! Make a flying chimera. As big and ugly as you can go!"

"By my words, I decree: a flying beast it shall be!"

Châtelet jabs a finger at you.

"Shields on me and Handyman. We're the only ones without protection or invincibility. Put the Hustle on Menagerie Witch's chimera."

"How can I assist?" Belle Sabreuse says from the floor, where she and Yara watch the back-and-forth between all of you.

Châtelet thinks for a second, but an idea strikes you.

"You can take a beating, right?" you say, "Come over here."

Belle Sabreuse comes close and you touch her arm. She pulls back in surprise and examines the red glow that envelopes her body.

"What . . . what is this?!"

"Sorry, sorry," you say soothingly, "Didn't mean to spook ya."

You take the Hustle off her and put it on a nearby wall and let her observe it.

"It's part of my pow. . . gear. Any hits you take with the Hustle on you will recharge my shields. Let me keep them on everyone. But you don't have to take it if you're uncomfortable."

Belle Sabreuse eyes you warily, but then inhales and holds out her hand.

"Alright. If it will protect Yara."

"Thank you," you say, applying the Hustle. You also leave it on the wall for good measure. You see Yara on the ground, a far-away look in her eyes.

"Hey, Little Miss," you say to her, "Chin up. You got that stuff Double L gave Belle?"

Yara snaps up, the shield generator pinned to her waist, the symbiote tucked away. "Y-yeah. I've got them right here."

"Good," you smile, "Then sit tight, and we'll have you at the Apiary in time for dinner. It's taco night! If you still have room after all that food you snarffed for lunch that is!"

She flushes. "It wasn't that much . . ."

"Ha! The hell it wasn't!" you laugh, "I'm amazed we don't have to roll you out of here. But don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from! The missus will fatten you and Belle up real good."

"They'll be no fattening anyone up, knave!" The Brass Shield shouts from the other side of the room, "You'll not be abducting her for your perfidious plots!"

"Are you still here?!" Menagerie Witch demands, mid-chimera creation, "Get lost, pizza-face!"

The Brass Shield flushes, and the tips of his ears turn red.

"Y-you've been ignoring me this whole time!" he shouts.

"Yes," Châtelet snarls, still channeling 'the darkness', "Don't make us change our minds."

"Y-you don't scare me!" he lies, "I'll stop you all and rescue the fair Ms. Oliveira!

"I told you before," Yara says, jaw-set, "I don't need any rescuing, thank you. Please leave."

DC 15.

Stat Check: REPUTATION 10. Doctor Silver, Menagerie Witch, Châtelet, Belle Sabreuse, and Yara have a combined REPUTATION 27.

You rolled: 7.

7 + 8 = 15. Success!

The Brass Shield's face flushes even deeper, making his blemishes stand out, pale white against lobster-red skin.

"I-I'll protect you, fair maiden!"

"Son . . . clean out your ears," you sigh, "She said she doesn't need rescuing."

"S-she . . . Justice Unlimited has her held hostage! She doesn't know what she wants."

"Wooooooooooooooooow."

"Excuse me?"

"Deplorable."

"Like I haven't heard that my whole life . . ."

"Do you hear yourself when you talk?" you say, shaking your head, "Who raised you like this? To treat women like they have no agency of their own. Your mother?"

"N-no . . ." he stutters.

"I didn't think so. You should be ashamed."

The boy looks like he's going to cry. He starts shaking, and then blue light crackles across the surface of his armor.

"I-I'm a hero! I'll show you! I'll show you all!"

But just then, Menagerie Witch's shadow churns and bubbles. From it rises a tendril of darkness, spreading like a blot of ink. It shapes itself into a long, sinuous, serpentine form covered in dark fur. Its head has the snout of a wolf and eight, round, jewels for eyes with long, feathered wigs growing out of its neck and back at regular intervals. It has no limbs, instead twisting its body into long coils. Its massive bulk doesn't fit inside the house, so the creature gazes at you from a nearby window.

Menagerie Witch takes one injury level! Superficial injury!

Menagerie Witch's HIT temporarily increases to 9!

Menagerie Witch points her finger at The Brass Shield. "Quetzalcoatl, kill!"

Quetzalcoatl opens its jaw, revealing two sets of ebony teeth, and roars.

DC 12.

Stat Check: HIT 6. Doctor Silver, Menagerie Witch, Châtelet, Belle Sabreuse, and Yara have a combined HIT 28!

You rolled: 4.

4 + 11 + 3 (Distracted by a Pretty Face) = 18. Success!

The blood disappears from The Brass Shield's face as he goes bone-white pale. He freezes in place, screaming with his eyes. You're willing to bet his knees are knocking under all that armor.

He's so terrified that he fails to do anything with his shields, and, in doing so, he commits the cardinal sin of battle: he surrenders the initiative.

And Justice Unlimited seizes it.

A series of tightly-clustered, white pillars of energy form behind The Brass Shield, but his attention is drawn to the large, shadowy wolves and cats that charge him. He tries leaping back, only to smack right into Châtelet's barriers and be knocked forward. A large shadow-cat breaks his barrier with a swipe of a claw, but fails to piece the metal of his armor. He looks around wildly, breathing hard, hands shaking as he tries to reengage his shields.

And so he misses Belle Sabreuse calmly walking up behind him.

She taps his armor with the lightest of touches from her hand, and then smashes the pommel of her sword against it. The metal exosuit shatters like glass and flakes off The Brass Shield. The armor loses its ability to support itself, and The Brass Shield topples over onto his side.

You all stare slack-jawed at the casual display of power. All of you, except Menagerie Witch.

"Enough playing with this idiot, more saving my best friend!"

Châtelet snaps out of her stupor and looks at Quetzalcoatl. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and then uses a barrier to launch herself onto the chimera's back.

"O-okay. Let's do thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssssssssssss—", her voice fades into the distance as the chimera rockets away.

At the same time, you feel several people enter the range of your perception. But they're unimportant, and they slip from your memory as soon as The Brass Shield begins sniffling on the ground.

"M-my armor! It's broken! Ohhhhh, noooooooo. . ."

"Shut up!" Menagerie Witch snaps, "Just buy another one, corp-boy!"

"I-I caaaaan't! I don't have any money! I stole this one!" The Brass Shield's sniffles have turned into full-blown sobs. "I just wanted to be a h-hero! But they locked me up! They said they would let me out if I gave them ten years of f-field testing, but now I can't! I'm gonna go back to jail! Waaaaaaaaaaah!"

You all exchange awkward glances at that revelation. Yara, the kind girl she is, moves to comfort him. Belle Sabreuse grabs her arm, and you shake your head at her.

Better to not encourage him. Instead, you crouch down next to him.

"Now, have you learned your lesson?" you say in your 'I'm-not-mad-I'm-just-disappointed' voice, "Next time, your opponents might not take it easy on you. You could get really hurt. You understand?"

"Y-y-yeah," he sobs. This close, you can see he's Nathan's age. Leviathan's Blood . . . where are this kid's parents?

"Okay," you sigh, looking through his armor, "It looks like it's mostly the shell that's cracked. The internals are intact, but burnt out. And you're gonna need new hydraulics in the arms, but . . . I think we can patch this up."

He sniffles. "Y-you can? Y-ou can . . . help me?"

You can't believe you're saying this, but . . .

"Yeah, of course. Do you have any idea how often I've fixed Valiant Silver's suit after a fight? Come by the Apiary and we'll figure this out. It won't be pretty, but you can get your 'test data'."

Belle Sabreuse gives you a look of open shock as Yara smiles and nods in approval. Honestly, you're getting soft in your old age. But it's not this kid's fault a megacorp's got him by the shorthairs, and he seems more dumb than malicious.

He wipes his nose on the back of his hand.

"I can see the Apiary?"

"Absolutely not. But I'll meet you out back."

"O-oh."

You feel more people in your range, but they're not important and they slip from your memory as soon as the smell of something foul hits your nose.

You look around, realize where it's coming from, and pinch your nose. You don't want to embarrass the kid but . . . come on.

"You need a fresh pair of pants?" you whisper.

He nods, tears still in his eyes.

Leviathan's Blood . . . who let this child on a battlefield? You hold your nose and call out behind you.

"Hey, Belle, can you help me cut him out of this armor? And, uh, show me where the bathroom is?"

* * *

You are Black Swan.

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 19. Black Swan has HIT 12.

You rolled: 17.

17 - 3 + 3 (Good Plan) = 17. Major Success!

The air explodes around you as you zip at supersonic speeds, stopping and starting your acceleration with a suddenness that would snap any other person's neck.

Well, any other person unless they were White Hawk. The poo-head!

He's nearly as fast as you, he can change his angle and speed nearly as quickly as you can, and he won't leave you alone. You tried blasting him, but it bounced right off him. You need to hit him with a larger blast to really hurt him, and, to do that, you need to pause for a second.

White Hawk isn't as fast as you, so it'd totally be doable, but then there's the other poo-head.

You create some distance and turn back to line up a shot, but, the second you do, Sunlight Knight charges you with a lance made of fiery, orange light. You think you have time to blast White Hawk before he gets to you, but his lance grows to a massive size and you have to dodge to avoid him.

Then you feel something tingling in the back of your skull and your heart starts pounding.

The pain you felt when that stupid, not-cute-at-all jerk activated his armor was the worst you've felt . . . ever. Worse than getting punched by Scarlet Maturity. Worse than when you broke your leg when you were ten. Worse than when Ellie said she didn't like you.

Just the thought of feeling that pain again makes you want to cry. But you're a hero, so you have to hold in your tears. But that doesn't mean you can't do anything.

You see that super-duper-mega-poo-head Seraph and realize that's where the feeling is coming from. You shoot a quick burst at her, and the feeling disappears.

Maddie's been calling you dumb a lot lately, but she's just mad because she had to buy clothes from the kid's section last time you went shopping. You're not actually stupid. You realize that they were probably counting on Valiant Justice's armor being able to knock you out before the fight. But, since Ellie warned you and it didn't, now they have to figure out a different way to fight you.

White Hawk takes advantage of your split-second pause, and shoulder-checks you toward Sunlight Knight who is swinging a gigantic energy-sword. You dodge easily, but the skull tingles start again.

You fly up, as fast as you can, until the feeling stops. Annoying!

The poo-heads don't hit as hard as Scarlet Maturity, so they can't win by beating you up. So they're not even trying! White Hawk and Sunlight Knight are trying to distract you long enough for Seraph to whammy you, but you're too fast for her. So now, no one is able to do anything!

You blast Seraph long-range, but she flies out of the way. You try leading your next shot to catch her, but White Hawk steps in front of it and tanks it.

He's still smiling at you, like a creeper. Then he races after you.

"Just let me blast you already!" you shout, "You're too much of a slowpoke to catch me!"

"Why, Black Swan," he says, "I don't need to catch you. I merely need to keep you occupied. As we speak, Valiant Red, White, and Blue is laying waste to the rest of your team."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Believe what you choose. However, I have seen the true might of the PREVAIL armor. By the time we finish here, Justice Unlimited will be no more and Ms. Oliveira will be safely in our custody."

"Shut up! Your smile is creepy and how you never open your eyes is creepier!"

He actually chuckles at you. "I must say, I'm quite fascinated by our chat. So this is who defeated Scarlet Maturity."

He opens his cold, blue eyes.

"How disappointing."

He lunges for you again, but he's too slow. You pretend to blast him, and switch your target to Sunlight Knight when he tries to take advantage of your distraction. He leaps from his constructed horse, falls out of the way, and then creates another. White Hawk flies at you, trying to push you toward Seraph.

"During the memorial, Valiant Red, White, and Blue managed to take readings from you. Were you aware? His data collection was unfortunately interrupted, but he did determine one thing: you have a particular sensitivity to mental attacks."

He watches your face for any reaction like his namesake bird.

"I'm rather curious. If a simple push is all it takes for you to lose control as you did during your interview, what could other kinds of mental persuasion do to you?"

"S-shut up, butt-breath!" you say, flustered, "Y'know for all your talking, you haven't considered what will happen if you guys lose! You guys are outnumbered down there."

He smirks. "I am unworried. So long as we take care of you here, cleaning up will be simple. And you can't run forever. My allies will complete their tasks, or they will not. It makes little difference in the end."

You pull back from him and you two stare at each other in the air for a second. Sunlight Knight's steed paws the nonexistent ground, and Seraph flies closer, panting. She's not nearly as fast as the other two.

"I guess that's what makes us different," you say, looking White Hawk in his cold eyes, "You have allies. I have friends."

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 20. Black Swan, Châtelet, and Quetzalcoatl have a combined HIT 28.

You rolled: 19.

19 + 4 = 23. Major Success! Critical Success!

A giant, showy serpent the size of a subway train strikes Seraph from behind, sending out a spray of blood. She plummets to the ground like a bird with a wounded wing, spinning helplessly.

Luck Check: 13. Lucky!

"Did that snake just kill somebody?!"

You see here land on the east side of the house, crashing into some trees from above. You, uh, think they broke her fall?

"Black Swan!" Châtelet calls from the back of the monster, "Are you okay?"

"Did you just kill somebody?"

"What was that? I can't hear you!"

"Okay, I'm pretty sure I see her moving down there . . . Uhh, I'm fine! Thanks for the assist!" you call, "I-is that one of Menagerie Witch's?"

"She named it Quetzalcoatl!"

Quetzalcoatl woofs happily.

"Aww! Cute! Okay, cover me! Ima blast these guys real good, real quick!"

Just as you finish speaking, you see White Hawk fly towards Châtelet like an arrow, Sunlight Knight not far behind. Are they ignoring you? The poo-heads! They think Châtelet's an easier target!

Dummies!

White Hawk avoids a snap from Quetzalcoatl with a barrel roll and strikes out at Châtelet. But she slides off Quetzalcoatl's back and drops into the air to dodge. She creates a large barrier for herself to land on, and quickly surrounds White Hawk on all sides with pillars of energy. He shatters them easily, but, by the time he does, Châtelet has repositioned herself behind him.

She hits him with a barrier between his shoulder blades, knocking him toward the ground and into the path of the jaws of Quetzalcoatl. White Hawk tries to hold the construct's mouth open, but, when he reaches for the jaws, his hands collide with two more barriers. He again breaks right through them, but the delay is enough for Quetzalcoatl to snap its maw shut.

You desperately wish you could pull out your screen to capture the image of White Hawk being carried away with only his head and one arm sticking out.

Sunlight Knight charges Châtelet, but she blocks his path with another series of barriers. He has to abandon his strike, and Châtelet keeps hampering his path with pockets of odd gravity.

It's actually really neat! You can't help but admire how the older heroine uses her power to the utmost; Sunlight Knight is fast and can fly, but he's not particularly maneuverable. Having to constantly change directions is preventing him from gaining any kind of speed and getting anywhere near either of you.

Which is good, because White Hawk punches free of Quetzalcoatl's mouth and zips away with a sonic boom. You see him lining up to strike the sky-serpent and destroy it completely.

Well, you can't have that! Maddie would get so grumpy!

Faster than he can react, you fly behind White Hawk. You're so close you can almost touch his back. He only has time to turn his head and flash his eyes in surprise as you blast him.

Colorless light drowns out the sun as you pour a whole arm into your shot. You can still see White Hawk's silhouette in the nuclear light as you push him back. Eventually, the bloom fades and you see your foe.

He's . . . extra crispy, but otherwise intact. The limbs of his costume have melted off, and there are shiny burns all over his arms, legs, and chest. You can see him breathing hard from the effort of not being launched further away.

You see him glaring at you, his eyes chips of ice.

You reallocate the energy in your construct body and rebuild your arm. You put a hand on your chin and stick your tongue out the side of your mouth.

"Hmmm, two arms next time!" you proclaim, "I was holding back too much on that last one! This isn't even a teeny-weeny amount of my true power!"

Something shifts in White Hawk's eyes as he realizes you aren't bluffing.

DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 9. Black Swan has HIT 12.

You rolled: 8.

8 + 1 = 9. Failure!

Then the air explodes and he disappears.

Motherfugder! Where did poo-head go? You look around desperately, only for Châtelet to spot him first.

"Black Swan! Below! He's heading for the front yard!"

The front yard? Why would he go there? Who's in the—

"Motherfudger!" you scream as you dive after him.

* * *

You are Châtelet.

What has happened to your life . . . ?

Four months ago, you were planning your wedding with Abigail and looking for homes big enough to start a family and house Ophélie. Two months ago, you had accidentally discovered the secret behind the power of one of the strongest metahumans on the planet and had fully made peace with dying without ever having the chance to be your true self.

Now? You wake up every morning and see yourself looking back. You're second-in-command of Justice Unlimited. You're surrounded by people who actually like you. Who respect you. Who you like and respect, even if they make you want to pull you new, silky hair out sometimes.

Oh, and you're also dueling a flying member of the Horae Guard mid-air while providing cover for another one of the strongest metahumans in the world.

What has happened to your life?!

Sunlight Knight creates a wall of flaming energy, hiding himself from your sight and your barriers. Quetzalcoatl circles around to attack, but, before it can, Sunlight Knight crashes through his barricade with a full head of steam.

You throw a barrier in his way to throw him off, but he barrels right through it. Ah, crapbaskets! You can't make a construct strong enough to stop him while simultaneously maintaining one for you to stand on. And now he's here!

Double crapbaskets.

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 7. Châtelet, and Quetzalcoatl have a combined HIT 16.

You rolled: 19.

19 + 4 = 23. Major Success! Critical Success!

You wait until he's seconds away from you to act. As he levels his lance of energy at you, you create a barrier with upwards gravity just under his elbow. It pushes his arm down, and his lance goes wide of you.

He rears his mount back in surprise, and you create another upwards barrier to launch yourself over his head. On your way down, you kick him in the back of the skull. The energy licks at your foot, but doesn't burn you through your armor. You create footing for yourself to land on and then another barrier in front of you. You kick off it and push yourself backwards—

—out of the way of Quetzalcoatl. The great serpent coils around Sunlight Knight's steed, crushing it. It is rearing its head back to bite the armored warrior in half, when he dismisses his mount and drops from the sky.

And right into a barrier that strikes him directly in his chest. You hear him gasp and wheeze as the wind is knocked out of him.

You wonder . . . can he make his constructs like this? Or do you have an opportunity here? You decide to press your luck and bounce closer to him . . . juuuuuuust as he reignites.

Aww, come on!

He remounts and creates a glaive, which he swings at you. He's too far away to hit, but the blade of his weapon just keeps growing and growing until it will strike you.

If you stay still.

You stick a pillar of energy in the path of the glavie's haft. While it's not the strongest construct you've ever made, Sunlight Knight is holding a very long weapon at the very far end. He doesn't have the leverage to swing right through it. His motion stops, and now you have an opportunity.

To do something very stupid. Leviathan's Blood, you hope you survive this. This would be an embarrassing way to die.

You land on the glaive and run up it toward Sunlight Knight. It singes the bottom of your boots, but doesn't injure you. As you race at Sunlight Knight, you try the same trick you used to take out Blue Skies.

Unfortunately, Sunlight Knight is better protected than a bare-headed stoner. But he's still disoriented as you reach him, tackle him, swing around his neck, and try choking him out.

His hard-light horse bucks wildly, trying to throw you off, but you cling to him like a barnacle. He pounds your arm again and again, before wrapping himself in an even thicker layer of energy that starts to glow and heat up. You feel your own armor start to smoke as it rapidly warms, but you don't let go. Even as it burns your arms, you don't release your grip. You feel him start to slow down and grow weak, when you see a spot of power glow on the back of his neck.

Years of experience saves your life. You move without thinking just as a beam races by where your head just was. Your grip slackens enough that you're thrown free, and you need to create several barriers to stop yourself from falling.

Your arms are smoking and your skin is tender, but you're ultimately unharmed. Sunlight Knight rubs at his throat and slowly glides towards you.

You're panting, but you ready yourself for the next clash. Quetzalcoatl circles behind you, ready to strike.

Sunlight Knight slows down as nears, the hooves of his mount silently treading on the air. Then, he dismounts, standing on a platform of energy across from you.

The two of you stare each other down.

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: REPUTATION 7. Châtelet has REPUTATION 9.

You rolled: 16.

16 + 1 + 3 (Matching Knight Aesthetic) = 20. Major Success! Critical Success!

Then he removes his helmet, falls to one knee, and holds up his hand to say, "Fair maiden, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Adrenaline is still surging through your veins. He's disarming, but it might be a gambit. He's a handsome man, around your age, with curly black hair and a neat, well groomed beard. His eyes are a warm blue staring at you as he—wait, what?!

"Wait, what?!" you shout.

"Wha waa?" Quetzalcoatl growls.

"Ah! Excuse me, that was much too forward of me!" Sunlight Knight says, rising, "I-I apologize. I was just stricken by your . . . daring. Your courage. Your—if you'll forgive me—beauty. I temporarily took leave of my senses."

He chuckles self-deprecatingly.

"Allow me to start again. I am Simon MacAllister, also known as the Sunlight Knight. I am a Minute of the Horae Guard. I enjoy ballroom dancing and light wines, although I must confess I've recently developed something of a sweet tooth for all of the confections here on the surface."

"Wha . . . waaa?"

He gives you a shy smile. "May I have the privilege of knowing your name?"

"O-oh. Opale." You blink and shake your head. "I-I mean, I guess my name is public? I'm Opale Houdin-Reyes. My hero name is Châtelet."

"Ah, Opale!" he says, savoring the word, "Like the precious jewel you are!"

"Well, that's very nice of you—no, okay. Wait. Backup. You want to marry me?"

He flushes, his cheeks tinted red like a boy. "Ah, I'm sorry. Can we please forget my indiscretion? As I said, I was moved by your great willpower and skill."

He scratches his cheek. "When I saw you, I thought 'This! This is the woman I want to mother my children!'"

"Oh! Wow, uh, sorry!" you say, waiving your hands, "I can't have kids. So, uhhh, I guess we can't get married!"

"Oh, no you misunderstand!" he says quickly, "It seems I've lost my ability to be articulate today! I'm well aware of your story—I was moved by your speech at the memorial! I'm so glad you're finally able to live as your authentic self—and I'm not looking for someone to bear my children. I have six already! No, my children need a strong example to learn from."

". . . you have six children?"

"Yes." A happy smile spreads across his lips as his eyes turn fond with a slight shadow in them. "One from my previous marriage with my late wife. The other five were orphans I took in. But they're all my children."

" . . . you adopted five kids?"

"Well, you make it sound as if I'm just plucking them from loving homes! No, they were children living in the lower levels of Jacob's Ladder, abandoned by the people living above their heads. 'Rung-trash' they call them! As if another person was garbage merely as a circumstance of their birth!"

He clutches a hand to his chest.

"I've lived in Elysium all my life, and I've seen what such an existence of decadence does to the soul. My fellows in Elysium are selfish and short-sighted. They think themselves the 'elite' of this word by right, rather than understanding that being a true noble means you conduct yourself with honor! Integrity! Dignity! Respect for you fellow man, whoever they be!"

His eyes blaze with passion.

"That is why I follow White Hawk. He is the youngest member of the Hours in a generation. He understands that if we allow people to treat their privilege as divine fiat, only rot will follow. And that is why I came to the surface. To find a place where my children can learn unjudged, unhindered by the same hedonism that infects my countrymen."

". . . you moved to Horizon for the school districts?"

"Haha! I suppose I did!" Sunlight Knight laughs, "Such a wit! Please, allow me to get to know you."

Oh wow. Wow. You have not come to terms with Abigail's death nearly enough to deal with this right now. And do you even like men? It's honestly never come up. You mean, he's kinda cute? In an insane way, but you guess that's your type? He . . . well . . . maybe?

It doesn't matter! You should really deal with those people who've been watching you that you've been ignoring . . .and, well, he's a member of Crusade! Who is currently fighting your team just below your feet, and do you even like guys?! Even if you do, not him. 100% no.

. . . but maybe?!

". . . I have so many issues to work through first," you murmur, dazed.

"I understand completely! I too find the world of the surface busy and confusing. But delightful! Perhaps . . . we could discuss it together?"

. . . well, every second he's talking to you, he's not trying to fight your team, right? And, you think he just accidentally revealed part of the command structure of the Horae Guard . . . ? May as well let him talk while you try to find a way to knock him out without killing him.

You really hope things are going this well for everyone else.

* * *

You are Lady Leizi.

Joules is doing everything he can to keep you at a distance, but between his injuries, your stamina, and his plasma's inability to actually harm you, the battle is a foregone conclusion.

DC 10.

Stat Check: HIT 5. Lady Leizi has HIT 5.

You rolled: 6.

6 + 0 + 3 (Feeling Recharged) + 5 (Broken Ribs) = 14. Success!

Joules fires a cannon of energy at you, but it flows in one side of your body and harmlessly out the other. Then you're in range.

You strike him with an open-palm cross to the jaw. You kick him in the stomach, and then hit his face with a back hand as he doubles over. While he's still reeling, you use your lighting to burst off the ground, above his head, and stomp down with both of your feet. The heels of your shoes cut into his chest as his back hits the ground with you on top of him.

You lean on your knee as you bend over and look him in the eyes.

"Oh, darling, I never did talk to you about stealing Valiant Silver's armor, did I?"

"Ah, shit."

"Aptly put."

White hot plasma of your own gathers in your hand, and you bring it down on Joules' chest with a tremendous crash. The force of it pushes the lighting away from Joules in two separate streams, creating the image of wings behind your back. Then, the power dissipates, and you step away from the fallen crusader's unconscious body.

Sparks still dance in your palm. There's no doubt about it: your power has some ability to absorb electricity. You do not feel like you were just in a pitched battle; in fact, you feel more awake than you did at the beginning of the day.

Which is the only reason you see White Hawk before he strikes.

DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 9. Lady Leizi has HIT 5.

You rolled: 10.

10 - 2 = 8. Failure!

You swing around to meet the flying brick, but you're too slow; he's nearly as fast as Black Swan. In seconds, he has you by the throat and is lifting you off the ground. His fingers dig hard into your skin—not hard enough to trigger the shield generator or obstruct your breathing, but hard enough to send a message.

"Lady Leizi," he says amicably, "My compliments to your organization. I was a child the last time an opponent pushed me like this."

You're unable to speak in order to give a proper response. Likely for the best. You detest swearing.

"Let her go, doo-doo head! Or you see what happens when the cute soldier of justice gets mad!"

Black Swan appears from the foliage, stepping out of some bushes. She strikes a pose and aims a hand at White Hawk.

"An empty bluff," White Hawk says, "I will be unharmed—"

He lifts you in front of him.

"—but your leader will not."

Black Swan puffs out her cheeks in frustration. "What is Crusade's problem anyway?! Why do you keep picking fights with us? 'Cuz some rich buttheads on a space station told you to?"

White Hawk chuckles. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. You've lived here your whole life after all."

"Uh, duh. I don't even have a passport!"

"You misunderstand. I mean the surface." His eyes glitter. "Growing up in Elysium gives one a . . . skewed perspective. So many forget that Jacob's Ladder is supposed to lead to the heavens, not be a destination in of itself. And yet, the spaceport has lain unfinished for decades. The number of people who understand how to maintain the Ladder dwindles by the day, the actual labor left to discarded children. The stewards of this world are more concerned with their next idle pleasure than securing the future."

Black Swan narrows her eyes. "Are you monologuing?"

"What's worse, the 'elite' of this world have forgotten the inconvenient fact that life in Elysium is dependent on the surface. And without their guidance, what has Horizon become? A series of feudal states governed by corporations and metahumans vying for power. The people are left at the whims of their masters, unprotected, uneducated, and uncared for. A firm hand is needed to set things right."

He resecures his grip on your neck.

"That is the source of my philosophical disagreement with you, Justice Unlimited. You would merely staunch the bleeding of this world, not excise the cancers necessary to rebuild it. You would let people live as they are, rather than what they could be."

"Such . . . inspiring words . . ." you manage to choke out, "But . . . I preferred it when Memoria said them . . ."

Something dark flashes in his eyes. "You take issue with what I have to say?"

". . . I just know when I'm being sold something . . . darling . . ."

"Yeah!" Black Swan shouts, "You don't care about any of that! You're just . . . justificating or whatever!"

DC 15.

Stat Check: ESPIONAGE 7. ???????? has ESPIONAGE 9.

You rolled: 8.

8 + 1 = 9. Failure!

His smile is like a razor. "Perhaps that is true. Perhaps not. But what we know is true is that you are not Black Swan."

You close your eyes in frustration. He noticed.

"What do you even mean by that?!" Black Swan shouts, "Is this part of your monologue again? I hate metaphors!"

"Enough playing," White Hawk says, "I have never once seen Black Swan walk on the ground. She flies everywhere. And if you were truly Black Swan, you would certainly be in the air, ready to attack at a moment's notice."

"Black Swan" shifts uneasily.

"You are Handyman. We theorized that you could change your shape to a greater extent than you claimed, and this confirms it. Black Swan is no doubt hiding in the trees, waiting for the right moment to strike."

He squeezes your throat, cutting off your air.

"Come out now, or I will break her neck. This, I swear."

There's a long stare down, a moment of tension where violence could explode at any moment. But then, Black Swan raises her arms in surrender. There's a twisting of flesh, and Handyman stands before you. The real Black Swan drifts out from behind the trees, shaking in anger.

"Poo-head. Poo-head! Poo-head! When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna blast you so good!"

"You will surrender immediately," he commands, "I hold the leverage."

You try to say something with the air remaining in your lungs, but it fails to come out. You look toward Handyman and Black Swan.

White Hawk sees you. "Do you wish to speak? Very well. Order your subordinates to surrender, or you will die."

Your voice from your mangled throat is too quiet to be heard.

"Speak louder," White Hawk says, holding you closer to his ear.

"Does you cheek still sting, darling?"

And with all of the electricity newly coursing through your veins, you slap him again.

Minor Success: DC 5. Moderate Success: DC 10. Major Success: DC 15.

Stat Check: HIT 9. Lady Leizi Black Swan, and Handyman have a combined HIT 25.

You rolled: 10.

10 + 8 + 3 (Feel Recharged) = 21. Major Success! Critical Success!

The hit is like a bolt from Leigong, blinding you and burning White Hawk's face. You wriggle free, but he tries to crush your skull with a fist—

The Shield Generator absorbs one injury level and is destroyed.

—only for a solid pane of light to stop it cold. Black Swan appears, the air behind her screaming, and pulls you to safety. White Hawk moves to give chase, but Handyman grabs him from behind.

And smothers his head.

You see matter flow down Handyman's arm as the bubble of clay around White Hawk's head rapidly solidifies. White Hawk wretches free with a great twist of his waist, but Handyman has already detached his arm.

White Hawk punches through the clay and tears his head free, but the layer has hardened over his face like a mask and sealed his eyes shut. He reaches and tears them free, glaring at you with enough hatred to drown the world.

He opens his mouth to speak, and that's when you realize this entire throat has been filled with solidified clay. His entire body shakes as he dry-heaves.

"I know some of the more invincible types don't need to breathe. Looks like he's one of them. A shame," Handyman says, shaking his head, "But I gotta figure having ya esophagus glued shut with organic concrete has gotta suck ass anyway, am I right?"

"Handyman," you wheeze, massaging your throat.

"Yeah, boss?"

"Remind me to give you a raise."

White Hawk punches the ground in rage, the super-strong muscles of his esophageal track unable to do more than slowly ground down the substance choking him.

"Where's Valiant Justice?" Black Swan says, looking around. She blushes when you raise an eyebrow. "I-I mean, Stockpile?"

"Valiant Gold drove him off, away from us. I heard explosions earlier, but I haven't yet gotten a report."

Black Swan's eyes widen in alarm. "She's fighting him alone?! We have to go help her!"

"Black Swan," you say sharply, "You will stay put. You are particularly vulnerable to his armor. We cannot afford to have you incapacitated considering—"

"We can't just leave her!"

"Uhh, guys?" Handyman says, looking around, "Where did Joules and Été go?"

You look around yourself, but, sure enough, your downed foes are nowhere to be seen. How—

Just then, you hear the sound of several vehicles approaching. Three armored personnel vehicles pull into clear, and three dozen armed soldiers leap out and point their weapons at you.

"Justice Unlimited!" Perspective calls from an APC, her voice echoing from megaphone. Plasticity is next to her. "Surrender! You're surrounded. We will open fire!"

You're rapidly running the numbers in your head—can Handyman protect you both? Can Doctor Silver feel what's going on? How quickly can Black Swan disable everyone?—when a great shard of ice manifests into being and throws the APC holding the twins. It rolls around three times before coming to a rest, just as a second carrier is destroyed by a blast from above and third is cut in half by a razor-sharp stream of water. At the same time, the groups of soldiers all suddenly start to collapse, their eyes glassy and unseeing.

Another group fires their weapons, which discharge beams of energy. But something pulls all of the beams in and absorbs them. Then, a series of glowing balls appears around the soldiers before detonating.

It's a massacre. They're being systematically cut down by . . . something.

And at it the center of it all is a familiar figure your mind can't focus on.

* * *

You are Valiant Gold.

The fight is over, but Stockpile doesn't realize that. Or he won't accept it.

His armor is more suggestion than protection at this point. Most of the plates have been blasted away, and you can see exposed wiring start to spark. He crawls on the ground away from you.

You casually stride behind him and stomp on his back.

"Give up," you say, "You've lost. It's over."

"No! I can't! Not like this—!"

"What is wrong with you?" you say exasperated, "Do you really believe in Crusade this much? You're an Algernon-type. You're a resource to them. Even I can see that they're just using you—"

"You think I don't know that?!" he screams, "Of course I know they're using me! Crusade's just an excuse to take what Global Justice could never give them! What the Captain would never let them have! My 'teammates' care nothing about protecting anyone else! I know they tried to feed me doctored data—I'm not stupid!"

"Then why—"

"Because there are some things they couldn't have faked! Uiara's warning is real! I checked it over and over again, even with my power! It's not a fake! And, even beyond that, in studying her armor, I learned who Valiant Silver was. I saw what the inside of her head was like—!"

"You. Didn't. Know her," you snarl, pressing down. Even now, the silence in your head where her voice should be fills you with a brittle emptiness.

"I didn't need to!" Stockpile's armor glows blue again, and he begins to push himself up and you back.

PREVAIL is still functional? After that explosion?! How? And where is all this power coming from? He has no one left here to drain. He must have a backup source, but what—

DC 8.

Stat Check: OPERATIONS 5. Valiant Gold has OPERATIONS 9.

You rolled: 8.

6 + 2 = 8. Success!

Something clicks together in your head.

"This is ridiculous!" Soraia had shouted, slapping a palm on the table. You sat with her and Shelley in the cafeteria—it was the middle of the day, and you found yourself at odds with what to do with yourself. So, you figured you could start to get to know the possible future participants in Project Prometheus.

"Something's definitely fishy. And more than the usual 'corpo-hellhole fishy'," Shelley agreed, "I can't find anyone who knows anything about what's going on at the Brig. I tried snooping around, but the area is sealed tighter than a drum."

"It's wrong," Soraia shouted, "These people haven't been tried! They haven't been convicted of any crimes yet. But they're not even allowed to see their lawyers! What kind of jail is this?!"

"Isn't it obvious? "A dry dry voice chuckled, drifting from a nearby table. Soraia looked over and scrunched her face in dislike. Shelley's face went blank, but you looked over and nodded at Cain.

"What's obvious?" you asked him.

"It isn't a jail," he said, leaning forward, a sardonic grin on his face, "It's a black site."

"The people in the Brig," you say in a dawning realization. Stockpile freezes.

"You're draining the psychic fields of everyone you have imprisoned in the Brig. That's what powers your armor. People, metahumans, everyone. Do they even know what is happening to them?"

Stockpile is still.

"Do they?" you demand.

". . . I had no choice," he says in a quiet voice.

"'No choice'?"

"Yes!" he shouts, "The only alternative is to keep using my power!"

He throws you off, his chest heaving. You can see him shaking.

"I never . . . I didn't know what the Rebound felt like. I know now why the Captain never let me use my power. Because once I did, the Brass won't let me stop. It's always one more thing, one more order, one more project I don't understand that they need me to perfect. I can . . . I can feel it getting closer. And if I had to use my power every time I wore the PREVAIL armor, then I would be a vegetable by now!"

You can see him crying through the cracks in his visor. You realize the shaking is sobs.

"It . . . it doesn't hurt them! It's diffused across a population of hundreds. At most, a given person will feel dizzy or disoriented. But they'll recover. And . . . and they're criminals anyway! It's part of their sentence."

"Just who are you trying to convince?"

"I . . . I don't have anyone—I . . . can't . . ."

He's curled up now, his head between his legs. You can see how scared he is. You can see how ashamed he is. You can see his sins crawling on his back, put there with the encouragement of unfeeling masters.

You know in that moment there is something you can say to get through to him. Some combination of syllables that will make him realize what he's become. What he's been doing. How he can choose to stop—to be more. Mona would know what they are. She would fix all of this in a second with her gentle eyes and sunny smile. She should be here.

But she isn't. You are. And, when you look inside yourself, when you try to speak what's in your heart, all that comes out is—

DC 12.

Stat Check: REPUTATION 8. Valiant Gold has OPERATIONS 7.

You rolled: 1.

1 + 3 (He's Alone) = 4. Failure!

"You disgust me."

Stockpile looks up at you. You see something brittle inside him snap. The light in his eyes fade, and then they harden. His whole body has become hewn from stone.

And it's then that you know for certain that whatever connection there was, whatever chance there had been, whatever bridge he was trying to build with his cry for help—

Is gone forever.

* * *

You are Doctor Silver.

"It's time to go," you announce grimly to Menagerie Witch, Belle Sabreuse, and Yara. You've been keeping track of the various battles with your spacial sense, and you don't like the direction things are going.

Luck Check: 1. Unlucky!

"Three trucks full of soldiers just pulled up on Lady Leizi, Handyman, and Black Swan. There's some kind of fighting going on, but I can't tell who's doing what. We need to go now before we're surrounded."

"Land or sky?" Menagerie Witch asks, biting the nail of her thumb, "I can make us mounts but . . ."

"Sky," you say, "Seraph and White Hawk are down, and Châtelet has Sunlight Knight occupied . . . I think. They haven't moved in a second, at least."

Menagerie Witch nods and begins making mounts for the four of you. Belle Sabreuse approaches.

"Is this safe?"

"As anything is right now," you say, "We don't have much of a choice at the moment. Everything is going to hell in a handbasket, and we have a window of opportunity. I say we seize it while we can."

"I still have concerns . . ."

"It's okay, Belle," Yara says, face pale, "Let's go. They haven't led us astray yet."

She looks nervous . . . but is that a sparkle of excitement you see in her eye? You smirk at her over Belle Sabreuse's shoulder. Seems like the youngest Oliveira has a wild side.

She sees you and flushes, but then gives a little shrug. Oh, you like her. She reminds you of . . . of Nat.

You hide your face as your smile winks out.

DC 13.

Stat Check: OPERATIONS 10. Doctor Silver, Menagerie Witch, Belle Sabruse, and Yara have a combined OPERATIONS 21.

?????? uses ?????????? ????????????

AUTO-FAIL

It's at that precise moment that you heard a loud thump behind you. You turn around to see Menagerie Witch on the ground, unmoving. Her pets are similarly stunned; even Apep. Belle Sabreuse approaches her quickly, but in flash you see her collapse as well.

You spy a strange, glowing symbol on the swordswoman's neck. A circle made of linked chains. You ignore the people walking by to see if Belle Sabreuse is conscious. She is, but she's screaming something with her eyes.

You wipe around to Yara. "We need to get out of here—"

Your words fail you as all of the energy leaves your body. There's a woman in a blue and red bodysuit with an emblem in the same shape as that symbol touching your neck. How . . . how did you not notice her before?

No, you did, but . . . she wasn't important?!

All of the strength leaves your body as you fall on your face, paralyzed. You try to roll over, but you can't. You try to speak, but your mouth won't move. You hear a woman talk, voice shrill and impatient.

"No, seize her! Her, you fools! Yes, grab that little bitch. Bring her here! I want her to know why she's being replaced before I dispose of her."

All you can see from your position is someone in white robes. Their hem is right in your face.

Wait. Those look familiar . . .

"You! Formulate a plan to get those soldiers killed and Justice Unlimited blamed for it! That is exactly the kind of opening those fools in Crusade need to do our dirty work."

The person in front of you—Wolong?—makes no sounds other than a pained, rasping gurgle.

"Are you all used up again?! Already?! Useless! Useless! What have I done to be cursed with such worthless Admirers?! Kill yourself so I can make new one, now."

The gurgling sound repeats and then you hear someone draw metal. There is the sound of a blade piercing flesh, and the figure in front of you begins to melt. Like wax left in the sun.

"Well, I suppose we won't be going anywhere for a moment then! That's fine . . . that's fine. I can be patient. I am the very portrait of temperance. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, Madam!" a number of voices chorus at once. And . . . one voice that sounds only in your head."

"Delightful! Perhaps I will play with my new toy while I wait . . ."

The Wolong in front of you is still slowly melting. If this person is only staying until it's done . . . you don't have long. But you can't move! Dammit, dammit all! Come on John Henry, think of something you worthless old man!

Something is digging into your chest. It's in the pocket of your lab coat—your communicator! You can't move . . . but you don't need to.

You create a barrier and click it on and off. Three short bursts. Three long bursts. Then three short bursts again. You do it over and over, waiting, praying.

It's all you can do.

* * *

You are Valiant Gold.

You look at Stockpile, trying to decide what to do, when your communicator kicks on. It's Doctor Silver.

"Doctor Silver, I read you," you say, disabling your helmet's external speakers, "What is it?"

There's no response.

The signal cuts, and then reconnects, only to cut again. It repeats three more times with a longer interval between the connecting and disconnecting, and then repeats for three more shorter intervals.

DC 5.

Stat Check: OPERATIONS 3. Valiant Gold has OPERATIONS 9.

You rolled: 13.

13 + 3 = 16. Success!

It's code . . . Morse code.

Short. Short. Short.

Long. Long. Long.

Short. Short. Short.

SOS.

Activate Module: Scissors.

You explode back toward the house, moving as fast as you can, adrenaline surging in your blood.

Stupid. Stupid. You wasted too much time with the faker and someone made a move on the house. Stupid.

Your fight with Stockpile carried you to the west end of the house, so you don't pass anyone as you arrive back at Yara's residence. You are about to burst in, when an instinct makes you freeze.

Doctor Silver didn't call for help. He had to send a message. He must be in a position where he can't speak . . . which means, painful as it is, you have to go slow. You carefully approach a window, and you feel your heart seize at the sight of Menagerie Witch, Belle Sabreuse, and Doctor Silver on the floor, unmoving. Someone is holding up Yara by the stuff of the neck, but they're not what matters right now—

Psychic Interference Detected. Counteracting.

—what were you thinking?! Of course they matter! Who are they and what are they doing here?!

DC 10.

Stat Check: OPERATIONS 5. Valiant Gold has OPERATIONS 9.

You rolled: 9.

9 + 2 = 11. Success!

You count nine people who aren't supposed to be here. Which is deeply concerning, especially since many of them are supposed to be dead.

Memoria of The Defiance Unit. A teleporter who died in the Movement.

Shutdown of Global Justice. A woman with the ability to "seal" whoever she touched. She could take away one thing from a person at a time, whether it be their sensorium, ability to move, ability to use their powers, or any other number of other things. Died in the Movement.

Indemnity of Global Justice. A "healer" able to transfer injuries from one person to another. Also died in the Movement.

Palisade. Who was supposed to currently be on the other side of Horizon, patrolling the NID.

The next one makes you pause. It's a person in a grey suit, bowler hat, and a full face mask with a question mark on it. He . . . looks familiar, but . . . wait. You do know who he is.

It's Mr. Whaaa?.

Leviathan's Blood, he's been missing since you were a child. Mr. Whaaa? was a metahuman with the ability to become unnoticeable, impossibly easy to overlook. A person could be staring at him and dismiss his presence completely as "unimportant" or "someone else's problem". The effect even applied to recordings of images of him. He could have been the world's greatest thief, but instead he became a children's entertainer.

You remember you and your mom went to a fair where he was performing. His show was a kind of game; a play would go on and Mr. Whaaa? would undetectably do things to make it go wrong. If you could catch him in the act, you would win a prize. But no one ever did. You made your mom stay there all day, trying to win, but it was impossible. Mr. Whaaa? was undefeatable.

And now he was here. Is that how all these people got here without being seen? You thought his power only worked on himself. And why was he here now?

Well . . . looking at the rest of the people in the room, you think you know.

You see Man o' War of New Dawn. Died in the Movement. He currently has eight arms.

Seraph of Crusade floats in the air, staring straight ahead. Next to her, a severely bloodied and battered Seraph of Crusade is held up by her neck by Man o' War. He has Seraph in one of his flesh arms . . . and Yara in the other.

But he's not where your eye falls.

In the middle of everything is a tall, blonde woman. She wears a blood-red evening gown that clings to her curvy frame, and white, elbow-length opera gloves. Her hair is styled in an updo and secured with a diamond tiara, and over her eyes is a black mask shaped like a butterfly.

She can only be Socialite Butterfly. The mastermind behind all the attacks on Yara, and the architect of this battle.

She sticks a thumb in the unharmed Seraph's mouth, inspecting her teeth like a show dog. She laughs in amusement, delighted with herself.

"Ah, this improves my mood from this wretched day! My very own telepath! How I've coveted one—they've so accursedly difficult to sneak up on!"

She turns to the injured—the real Seraph—and strokes her chin.

"But you, little bird, just fell into my lap. Didn't you?" Her smile is like a cruel joke. "And you were good and didn't warn anyone about what was going on, weren't you?"

"Y-yes! Yes! I didn't tell anyone anything!" Seraph's telepathic voice 'says', "S-so you see you can trust me, right? Y-you can let me go?"

"Let you go? And let someone else have you? Why would I do that?" Socialite Butterfly waves a dismiss hand at Man o' War. "Dispose of her before she finds her courage. I have what I need of her."

"N-no! Wait—"

Man o' War squeezes. The sound of snapping vertebrae fills the room. And Seraph's lifeless body drops to the floor.

Yara muffles her gasp of horror with her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut. Socialite Butterfly notices and slaps her across the face with a gloved hand.

"Quiet you mewling idiot!" Socialite Butterfly shrieks, "That will be you soon! You better make peace with it."

She cackles.

"And your pathetic bodyguard. And these fools for Justice Unlimited. Oh, how my Admirers will grow on this day!"

She throws her head back, laughing. "Can you believe that slut Speaker forbade me from coming in person? Forbade. Me. As if that whore is better than me simply because Hand speaks through her!"

She leans forward, face inches from Yara's.

"She'll learn who is better. She's making the same mistake your cunt-sister did. She's taking what is mine!"

She starts screaming, spittle flying from her mouth.

"Harper was well on her way to learning her place! I might not have even needed to replace her the way I did with Mother and Father, but then that bitch stuck her nose where it didn't belong! She had me investigated! Men sent after me! I had just come into my power; it was too soon. So I had to go into hiding. Me!"

It's disturbing, watching a room full of dispassionate clones and motionless bodies stare at a woman who is absolutely out of her mind.

"I was this close to adding every major CEO in Horizon to my Admirers. I could have had this world on a string. But instead, I go on the run! Because your sister didn't know what was hers. And then she takes my sister—my Harper—and makes her a hero? Take her where I cannot risk getting to her? She. Was. MINE!"

She slaps Yara again, and you get ready to spring into action.

"Well, now I'll repay the favor! I'll take her sister for myself. And then daddy-dearest will have to obey his true betters rather than run to the Horae Guard!"

She slips off a glove.

"All it will take is one . . . little . . . touch."

She reaches for Yara's face with her bare hand. Yara closes her eyes and tries to pull away, but Man o'War holds her steady. Socialite Butterfly is inches away—

And a barrier of blue light surrounds her bare arm.

"What is this?! What is this?!"

Doctor Silver. She didn't know he didn't need line of sight for his power. You say a silent prayer of thanks, and explode into the room.

But you're not alone. There's someone right behind you.

DC 12.

Stat Check: HIT 12. Valiant Gold and Valiant Justice have a combined HIT 18.

You rolled: 9.

9 + 3 = 12. Success!

You dash into the room, create a blade, step and swing—

And decapitate Shutdown.

Next to you, Stockpile leaps and strikes at—Mr. Whaa?!

You curse under your breath. No! Not him! That idiot!

He needed to kill Indemnity! If he doesn't, Socialite Butterfly will just use his power to transfer any injuries she sustains to someone else! There will be no beating her!

Sure enough, Palisade quickly covers Indemnity with her barrier. Man o' War turns to both of you.

You swear under your breath so badly it would make Nora proud. Dammit! Why—?! If you had just coordinated your attacks—

"You disgust me."

—well, nothing you can do about it now.

Socialite turns to you both, eyes bloodshot with hate.

"You? Attack me?! ME?! And my darling Admirer?! I needed him! Now anyone can remember me!" Foam flecks at her mouth as she begins to hyperventilate. "You all will have to die!"

She points to her Seraph. "Send the order! KILL THEM ALL!"

Your eyes go wide as you realize your mistake—with Seraph she can give orders to remote clones. Who knows how many others she has hidden? What . . . what do you do?

Your finger hovers over the trigger for Dynamite. But something in your head screams 'no'. Not yet. You use it and you're done for the fight. And Socialite Butterfly hasn't played her full hand yet.

This is just the opening gambit. And it's a strong one. Man o' War swings—

And you're fighting for your life.

* * *

Somewhere high in the sky, three previously obscured figures suddenly flicker into perception. One is a man in a three piece suit, hiding below in the branches of a nearby tree. An archer with a bullseye emblem is next to him.

But Châtelet only has eyes for the redhead, dancing on the wind in front of her. A name escapes the heroine's lips as the gusts around her accelerate to hurricane speeds.

". . . Ophélie . . ."

* * *

The massacre of the soldiers is no less horrific for finally being able to see who is committing it.

A Japanese woman in light blue robes over dark blue armor. The kanji for "water" is inscribed on her chest. Umibōzu.

A dark-skinned man dressed in a white, three piece suit. His dreadlocks are tied together in a ponytail underneath his white Sutler-style hat. Millions Minefield.

A man standing around insensate soldiers, growing to eight feet tall. He wears a black justaucorps, white cravat, white breaches, and a bone-white half mask on top of face. Nox Esurientem.

A woman in a crimson gown and sun-shaped mask flies above. You can see light dancing into her body. Crimson Soprano.

But they're not who the Lady of Lightning is staring at. They're not who makes Handyman grit his non-existent teeth. They're not who Black Swan gawks at, not knowing how to feel.

Because, surrounded by water, is a clone of a dead woman everyone in Horizon can recognize. Blue costume. White accents. The symbol of a swirl of water.

Yazmin Oliveira. Uiara.

Currently:

Yara has one injury level.

Doctor Silver has one injury level.

Black Swan has three injury levels.

Menagerie Witch has one injury level.

Doctor Silver, Yara, and Menagerie Witch all have one shield generator.

Yara has one healing symbiote.

Doctor Silver has 3 charges of his shields remaining. He has applied a shield to Châtelet and Handyman. He has placed the Hustle on Quetzalcoatl, Belle Sabreuse, and a wall in the house.

Your combat theaters are:

House: Valiant Gold, Menagerie Witch, Doctor Silver, Belle Sabreuse, and Yara vs. Valiant Justice vs. Socialite Butterfly, Indemnity, Palisade, Man o' War, Memoria, and Seraph.

Sky: Châtelet, Sunlight Knight, and Quetzalcoatl vs. Automne, Gentleman James, and Miss Naught.

Yard: Lady Leizi, Handyman, and Black Swan vs. White Hawk, Plasticity, Perspective, and about a dozen remaining soldiers vs. Uiara, Umibōzu, Nox Esurientem, Millions Minefield, Crimson Soprano.

What are your orders? Bonuses will be awarded for good plans.

[ ] Write-In (Subject to QM veto)

VOTING WILL OPEN TOMORROW EST.

Bitterman · Dec 16, 2024

I have never struggled with typos like this in my life. I'm certain I missed some.

No Dynamite. I'll tell you now. If I had let you use the ults last update, you'd be out Paper or Scissors before the real fight even began. In the future, I'll let you make mistakes like that, but the training wheels are on for now, especially since you don't know what it does yet.

For those who are curious:

The first luck check is if Socialite Butterfly was going to kill Seraph right away or gloat first. The second is if Seraph would find her courage to warn everyone in the room about SB's play. She did not, and now she's just a corpse filled with useable DNA.

My brain itches. I'll read comments tomorrow.

EternalObserver · Dec 16, 2024

Oh fuck, I just skimmed through the list of copied metahumans. That luck check really did matter

Gore17 · Dec 16, 2024

Bitterman said:
Qe̵̛̞n̶̫͗j̵̥̾ ̷̫̉ẕ̵̈ḃ̴̪ě̴̤ŗ̷̇ ̵̯͒O̸̭͗ÿ̴̪n̶͙̒p̵̼̚x̸̰̄t̴̪̎b̶͖̂ý̸̘q̶͖̍ ̸̬̆l̶̜̆ḧ̷͈́e̷̝͊v̸̢͛.̶̖̆ ̵̩͐W̸̙̑x̵͖̊,̶͈̎ ̸̥̓w̶̠͝x̷̨̓.̷̮̈ ̸̫̽Ő̸͍h̵̖̉g̶̠̕ ̷̛̱l̷̰̎b̶̖́h̷̻͗ ̶͚̽q̵̌ͅb̸̼̃a̷̡̔'̷͔͆ġ̸̻ ̸̱͑x̵̝́ạ̷̒b̶͕̒j̴͈̾ ̸̗͠ ̵̢̓u̴͍̾b̴̘̑j̷͚͑ ̴̯̍g̵̫̕u̶̖͐v̸̼̇f̴̺͒ ̷̟̃n̴̟̆ǒ̴͉v̴͓̒y̸͎̍v̸̟̍g̵͖̃l̷͎͘ ̷͙͗j̸̭̚b̸͘ͅé̷̢ẋ̴̪f̵͚̆ ̷̼̀l̴͚͛r̴̬̽g̶̠͋!̶̔ͅ

Translation:
Draw more Blackgold yuri. Jk, jk. But you don't know how this ability works yet!

EternalObserver · Dec 16, 2024

God, because of that Rep nat 1, it's now an actual three-way. It's a good thing Valiant Gold is in the building now instead of outside.

Kermie · Dec 16, 2024

Alright, I'll be going to sleep now and—

UIARA AND MEMORIA?!!?!??!?

Ah fuck, I'm gonna wake up to a lot of messages when I have the time to fully read.

Edit: THE ENTIRE DEFIANCE UNIT MINUS ZENO?! MAN O WAR?!

AlysPower · Dec 16, 2024

Yeah, I called it, the Yazmin in the video was totally the SB clone.

ScorpioSting · Dec 16, 2024

Okay, hard confirmation that SB is Key, at least.

Pawn Lelouch · Dec 16, 2024

That the sky is by far the easiest avenue we're having to deal with here is atrocious...

Ironically while the clonefest with SB is still a 3 way fight, I imagine Silvio is probably going to focus on the SB front first? The White Hawk side I expect he will try to jump us if he gets the space to meanwhile.

Gore17 · Dec 16, 2024

Bitterman said:
"You disgust me."

Stockpile looks up at you. You see something brittle inside him snap. The light in his eyes fade, and then they harden. His whole body has become hewn from stone.

And it's then that you know for certain that whatever connection there was, whatever chance there had been, whatever bridge he was trying to build with his cry for help—

Is gone forever.

This makes me really sad.

ScorpioSting · Dec 16, 2024

at least with Seraph's DNA if we win, we don't have to gamble or hope for a telepathy set.

spiderhellian · Dec 16, 2024

Holy. Fuck.

Loved that fight scene, with the mounting dread of people going unnoticed.

Poor Nora, though it's nice to get confirmation of what she's left as. A weapon in the hand of ? (The Interlocutor?).

Oh, Silvio, tragic doomed awful Silvio. God you are a mess, aren't you. That would have been a nice roll to not get a Nat 1 on. Alas, it seems like you cannot be more, not today.

What an intro to Socialite Butterfly. That's terrifying. Lord. The imagery towards the end… I could almost see the panning shots, hear the music playing crescendo, feel the thumping of my heart. Intense.

Also full credits to people who thought it was another random villain who was keeping her incognito, totally right!

…Hmmmmmmmmm does this confirm or deconfirm Fish as Uiara…

ReaperofInterest · Dec 16, 2024

...it's amazing. You actually made me pity Valiant Justice.

As for what to do now...I think we should target Memoria. He's capable of teleporting others and we don't know what sort of photos this one has, so maybe targeting him will force SB to have Palisade change who she's protecting.

Wing101r · Dec 16, 2024

I think we need Power Null to shut down seraphs order and kill Indemity and seraph?

or has Seraph clone given the order already?

Edit: I wonder if we can actually kill SB here or shed immediately run.

hostelcalifornia · Dec 16, 2024

Fucking amazing update. The Rep nat 1 is an incredible moment.

Pawn Lelouch · Dec 16, 2024

The House needs Indemnity and Memoria gone first I'd imagine, while the Yard needs Nox dusted asap even though Uiara/Umibozu/White Hawk are all threats in their own right.

Wing101r · Dec 16, 2024

Pawn Lelouch said:
The House needs Indemnity and Memoria gone first I'd imagine, while the Yard needs Nox dusted asap even though Uiara/Umibozu/White Hawk are all threats in their own right.

Yeh Power null and get rid of the 2? we dont need to worry about killing the clones atleast.

Edit: God this update really makes the follow up of public reveal on SB tempting even if itw ould be a bad idea. Due to chaos and panic.

Pitchouli · Dec 16, 2024

Wing101r said:
Edit: I wonder if we can actually kill SB here or shed immediately run.

That's probably entirely up to the dice to decide, which means we have an exact 50/50 chance of either decimating her and being so back or getting cooked in the three-way and being so over

ScorpioSting · Dec 16, 2024

Bitterman said:
Shutdown of Crusade. A woman with the ability to "seal" whoever she touched. She could take away one thing from a person at a time, whether it be their sensorium, ability to move, ability to use their powers, or any other number of other things. Died in the Movement.

Ah, yep, that would explain why she was sent to deal with C-22-13. She could get individual members shut out of the hivemind, crippling them one by one.

TheGrape · Dec 16, 2024

Bitterman said:
"You won't get away with this!" Stockpile snarls, "I'll stop you even if it kills me!"

"Then die."

Valiant Gold:

Bitterman said:
Why do you understand what his armor can do? Why do you understand how it does it? Why do you feel like you know how to build it yourself if you had to?

Because it was always meant for two.

*whew*

Better hope nobody's listening in on this internal narration, or the fanfics will never end.

Bitterman said:
"Quiet, darling," you say, staring at your hand in wonder, "I'll finish you off in a moment."

"O-okay. I could use five minutes anyway . . . I think that last punch broke something."

You too LL?! Why are metahumans all so shippable? Aren't y'all fighting to the death?

Bitterman said:
"People have started shipping you with Été online again! They're calling it 'doomed yuri'!"

🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮

Bitterman said:
"I-I caaaaan't! I don't have any money! I stole this one!" The Brass Shield's sniffles have turned into full-blown sobs. "I just wanted to be a h-hero! But they locked me up! They said they would let me out if I gave them ten years of f-field testing, but now I can't! I'm gonna go back to jail! Waaaaaaaaaaah!"

.... on one hand, poor guy, on the other hand, very cringy. You can't just have a mental breakdown like that, there's like 2 3 4 other metahumans currently fighting that deserve it more!

Bitterman said:
As we speak, Valiant Red, White, and Blue is laying waste to the rest of your team.

Bitterman said:
During the memorial, Valiant Red, White, and Blue managed to take readings from you.

Never mind. This tool is the cringiest, he might very well be the only person in Horizon still using that name for Valiant Justice.

Bitterman said:
Then he removes his helmet, falls to one knee, and holds up his hand to say, "Fair maiden, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

I repeat: why are metahumans all so ~~horny~~ shippable?

ScorpioSting · Dec 16, 2024

Bitterman said:
"Can you believe that slut Speaker forbade me from coming in person? Forbade. Me. As if that whore is better than me simply because Hand speaks through her!"

...this might just be how Socialite Butterfly talks, but there's a thought crossing my mind now of "Speaker is sleeping with Hand".

Pawn Lelouch said:
The House needs Indemnity and Memoria gone first I'd imagine, while the Yard needs Nox dusted asap even though Uiara/Umibozu/White Hawk are all threats in their own right.

Seraph would also make the other two theatres much easier, as they'd prevent a direct link of commands that would hinder their ability to coordinate and make them dumber.

Wing101r · Dec 16, 2024

Yeh so with Everyone bunch up in the room think we need to risk Power Null and Kill as many as we can in that time. Maybe even force SB to retreat which should atleast slow down the clones commands.

Byzantine · Dec 16, 2024

So, the clones will all defend SB with their lives. And I suspect SB is not really much of a direct fighter.

Can we take advantage of that?

spiderhellian · Dec 16, 2024

An Annotated Battlefield

Wow, that's a lot of enemies we're going up against. Thanks for not letting us use any ultimates, QM! To help with planning, here's details on all Socialite Butterfly's Admirers' powers, as far as we know them:

House: Valiant Gold, Menagerie Witch, Doctor Silver, Belle Sabreuse, and Yara vs. Valiant Justice vs. Socialite Butterfly, and

Indemnity: A "healer" able to transfer injuries from one person to another.
Palisade: Has a forcefield all over her body she can freely move off herself and anywhere she wishes in a 30 foot radius. Can use both to protect and as a weapon.
Man o' War: Man o' War manifests autonomous additional limbs from his body, each wielding a randomly selected melee weapon like swords, axes, or tridents. These phantom arms are highly skilled with their assigned weapons and operate independently. As he creates more limbs, his physical strength and durability increase proportionally, creating a compounding effect that makes him more formidable with each new appendage.
Memoria: Memoria captures photographs of locations that function as live video feeds, showing real-time activity at those sites. He can teleport himself and others to any location he has photographed, though he's limited to maintaining only five active photographs at once.
Seraph: Seraph flies, shoots lasers, and is telepathic.

Sky: Châtelet, Sunlight Knight, and Quetzalcoatl vs.

Automne: She is an aerokinetic, one of the most powerful in the world. She can create tornadoes, generate hurricane-force winds, move the clouds themselves, and so forth.
Gentleman James: The ability to fix two objects in space he can see with unbreakable chains he can freely extend or contract. Works on people too.
Miss Naught: Can "call out a target". All projections launched at that target move with some degree of homing capability.

Yard: Lady Leizi, Handyman, and Black Swan vs. White Hawk, Plasticity, Perspective, and about a dozen remaining soldiers vs.

Uiara: One of the strongest hydrokinetics in the world. Her command of water starts slow, but eventually ramps up to the point where you can drown cities. She can freely shape and move water like it is part of your body, and can flash freeze or boil it with a thought. Additionally, while she is not invincible, she is "super-durable".
Umibōzu: Umibōzu is a hydrokinetic who requires an existing water source to use her powers. She specializes in precise water manipulation, focusing on creating high-pressure water streams capable of piercing through enemies and slicing through metal. She can also form autonomous water constructs that act as remote sentries, firing water jets and providing her with visual feedback through their liquid forms.
Nox Esurientem: Nox Esurientem drains emotions from nearby victims, gaining different powers based on the specific emotion he absorbs. Fear grants him super strength, anger increases his size, happiness provides regenerative abilities, sadness enables energy projection, disgust allows teleportation, and surprise enhances his speed. His victims become temporarily comatose after being drained and wake up with no memory of the incident. ~~He actively provokes specific emotional responses to access the powers he needs in any given situation~~ (probably too dumb).
Millions Minefield: Millions Minefield absorbs and redirects energy into floating orbs that he strategically positions like mines across a battlefield. These orbs detonate on contact or at his command, with explosion force proportional to their size. He typically creates a mix of large and small orbs, using the smaller, less visible ones to trigger chain reactions with the more powerful hidden ones, allowing him to control the battlefield while neutralizing enemy attacks.
Crimson Soprano: Crimson Soprano harnesses solar radiation to power her flight and devastating energy projection abilities. Her powers gradually weaken without exposure to sunlight.

DevilsAdvocate · Dec 16, 2024

Ok, could someone explain to me how the whole Valliant Gold VS Stockpile fight worked, roll wise? I feel like I don't understand the mechanics or what the actual results of that fight where.

Project Prometheus (Original Setting Superhero Quest)

eYe Gaze baCk

eYe Gaze baCk

Surprisingly Not A Frog

The King of Games

Herald of Disaster

The King of Games

Always follow the golden rule.