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Project Prometheus (Original Setting Superhero Quest)

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Kermie said:
A Stage Slightly To The Left: Goldheart​

What if… Ellie was kinder at just the right moments?

Horizon, City of Leviathan's Rest– The Apiary– January 17, 2068

"As we said, we have responsibilities. We are finished running for crimes whose punishments have long been met."

You see her eyes flicker back to the hooded figure. She's been very careful to not let it away from her side. She sees you looking and then stares you down.

You don't back away.

There's something here that you're missing. Something more. There has to be something that can turn this situation around.

DC 15.

Stat Check: REPUTATION 10. Valiant Gold has REPUTATION 6.

You rolled: 14.

14 - 2 + 3 (Previous Minor Success) = 15. Success!

And then, it hits you like a jolt of lightning. "Fine then. If you really want to be responsible, we can talk in private, so that the kid," you nod your head in the hooded figure's direction, "doesn't get put in any unnecessary danger."

It's a leap of logic that you're making. A huge one, that might end with you (or Leviathan forbid Mona) face down on the foot of a cliff. But it works.

Warpstar's entire outline visibly stiffens up. Marie Marionette's blood-arm starts to drop back into liquid form for a second right before it rehardens. Acid Rain and Heracles are as quiet as they were before, but there's something different about the way that their stance is now. Before, they were ready to explode into action, but now… it seems that they're ready to retreat. And Monarch is as still as the crowd around you, her eyes widening just a bit.

You see it in her eyes now. There's a silent calculation being made, about whether she can afford losing face, and whether— did her eyes flicker to the side for a second there— she can risk any other assets that she has. And that's not even taking Crusade into account.

After a few seconds of the world holding its breath, she sighs. "Subjects, you may return to the throne room. Call Dollman on your way there. This is something for me to deal with."

There's a shared look of uneasiness between the Wonderland inmates, as they look between each other. The tension breaks, however, as Warpstar teleports back onto the drill and walks through the pillar into the NID, followed by the rest of the former Wonderlanders. The only person left standing by Monarch is the hooded figure, who holds onto her leather costume like a lifeline. Monarch barely acknowledges the figure, but doesn't push them off either. Instead, she walks a few paces away from any of the evacuating crowds, and leans against one of the walls, closing her eyes.

You take a second to close off your suit's external speakers as you go back onto comms. "Everyone, I'm going to try and figure out why Monarch's here. Keep an eye on Stockpile and the other Wonderland inmates."

"Ronin should hold back any of the other Crusaders, and Mona is silently en route as we speak. We'll worry about the rest for you, Valiant Gold." Lady Leizi whispers into her comms, so far underneath her breath you almost have to wonder if you really heard her or not. But as Rhys, John, Maddie, and the rest of New Dawn whisper their own agreements, it suddenly falls into your head that you're going to try and interrogate Monarch. This could end poorly.

With quiet, poised steps, you walk across the garden, pointedly ignoring how Silvio stares at you as his fingers fiddle with the triggers of his stolen armor. When that's done, you walk up next to Monarch and lean on the spot next to her. When you're sure that you're out of earshot, you reopen your speakers and address Monarch.

"How important is the kid to you?"

The hooded figure leans out of Monarch's shadow. Somehow, you feel their gaze lock onto you, even though you can't see their face at all.

Monarch turns her head to look at you. As she does, you notice that there are bags underneath her eyes. When she speaks, her commanding tone from earlier seems to be nowhere in sight. Instead, there is an exhaustion in her words, one that reminds you of…

Something clenches inside your throat. Mom. "Her name is Princess. She was born in Wonderland. Her mother was… I'm not allowed to say. She was one of the first people I prioritized during my escape."

Something dangerous rises up inside your heart, but you force it down as soon as Princess goes to look at you. She pulls her hood up but not fully off, and you see her appearance in full. She can't be younger than 10, but the mutations that she has give her the appearance of something between a walking lizard and someone with a Siamese twin. And on her back?

A head that looks like a red cow's skull. Scarlet Maturity.

"…Hello there." Princess says shyly. You silently nod, and you can't help but smile a bit at how here already wide eyes widen a bit more and her toothy smile extends. Monarch smiles a bit, but it's closer to a momentary smirk. When you blink, it's gone.

Monarch waves a hand around, averting her gaze from you and crossing her arms. From afar, it looks like she's barely listening to you, barely feigning interest. But you can hear her whispered words, and how underneath it all, she's desperate. "The Elysiumites and Horae Guard are after her, Valiant Gold. There is nowhere in the world where she wouldn't be recognizable. Even I can't escape. That's why I had to get the other Wonderlanders on my side. You may not believe it, but they care about her as well."

You look up a bit. Mona floats in the sky, and right now, all eyes are oscillating between her, Stockpile, Scarlet Maturity (who looks straight ahead at the Wonderlanders, all of whom look severely uncomfortable) and the rest of the Horae Guard, with White Hawk floating weightlessly on the air. Just like you, he's looking at Princess. She's small, and probably scary for anyone that hasn't gotten used to her. And reminds you of…

Of…

DC 12.

Stat Check: REPUTATION 8. Valiant Gold has REPUTATION 6.

You rolled: 20.

20 - 1 + 3 (Protected Them With Your Life) = 22. Nat 20! Critical Success!

Your girls. They remind you of all the girls who are so, so close to being taken by the Frozen Throne. All the girls who you fought for, day in and day out. The world seems to freeze up for a few seconds, time slowing to a crawl as everything closes in on you, Monarch, and Princess. And in those seconds, the words that you want to say leap onto your tongue as if they were meant to be there.

"I can't condone your actions. But I understand. There's also some people who I need to protect from something bigger than me. The Frozen Throne. The girls thrown away by Yellow Qillin."

Monarch sucks in a breath, holding one of Princess's scaly green hands, out of sight from any of the other funeral-goers. Princess looks up at her, something imperceptible welling up in those yellow eyes. "Mom? Are you ok?"

"It's fine sweetie, nothing to be worried about," Monarch says underneath her breath. She trains her brown eyes onto you, and whispers. "If you've come to swear revenge on me, know that I'll take it on myself. It's my fault that monster is still running, even if I need her money to keep some of the inmates from killing. Blame me."

"No. I'm not mad at you at all. In fact, I… understand why you're doing what you're doing. I'd have done the same. Elysium wants Princess for a reason, right? Justice Unlimited will protect her with our lives, I promise. She'll be safe inside the Apiary. It's the most fortified position in Horizon."

DC 15.

Stat Check: REPUTATION 8. Valiant Gold has REPUTATION 6.

You rolled: 17.

17 - 1 + 5 (She's Vulnerable) - 5 (? ???????) = 16. Success!

Monarch does that same thing from before, running a calculation inside her head. Then, she begins to you speak to you again, still with that feigned disinterest. Her eyes are closed, but there's a fire behind he words now. "Tell everyone on your comms to get ready then. If Crusade wants her they can try their damn best to get her. We can fake a battle and "in the chaos" get you all a "scared hostage from Monarch's faction". Do not let anybody touch her. Keep her safe, or else."

"Mom, am I going to see you again…?"

She looks down at Princess. If there's any room for tears in her eyes, they've long been shut out. But even so, you can still sense the care she has for… her daughter. "Maybe not for a while, but I promise that I'll see you again one day, Princess. Stay safe. I love you."

You tap on your comms, and there's a few taps and grunts of affirmation. It's suddenly not you against the Wonderland inmates. It's a fight to get Princess away from Crusade. And there's not a single person who's going to take Crusade's side.

Princess holds out her hand to you, just far enough to maintain plausible deniability. Far above in the sky, Mona gets ready for the first round, nodding to you silently. And almost invisibly, you notice as all the Wonderland inmates meet Monarch's gaze, and get ready for a fight. The world holds its breath for a second—

And as Monarch drives a shiv into your shielded gut, you grab Princess over to your side, and all hell breaks loose.


Author's Note:
"The worst thing about a tragedy is what could have been."

I meant to have this have a Silvio half, but I got sidetracked, so the Silvio thing will have to come later. The question marks in that last bit translate to "A Promise", the one that Monarch probably made to Princess's bio mother. This omake was written in the Morrowlark style, as an attempt to quickly generate an omake point. That is, I looked at the thread and then wrote this all entirely inside the reply box in such a way where if the servers bent by 5 millimeters everything goes up in smoke.

Don't write like that.

This is part of a series which I wanted to make a normal thing but then life kept on happening. The Stage Slightly to the Left omake series. Check out the other parts here, here, and also here.
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Oh... oh thats goooood. Nicr one Kermie!
 
That omake kind of encompasses, what I am thinking about when it comes to VG: Why are so bad at Diplomacy when you have 7 REP?
 
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No I meant why would you write in the manner I specifically told everyone not to xD I'm coping with like eighteen layers of deep-seated trauma and neurodivergence, I am not an example to follow!
 
Kermie said:
I wrote an FAQ, a conspiracy corkboard, the first candidate sheet, the first omake, and did a lot of other things for this quest that I don't have time to explain.

At this point, keeping the omake point streak up is kind of a pride thing for me. I like that number being greater than or equal to five, so sue me.
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I feel you on a physical level. Same, just... same. Besides with how the dice like acting from to time, its not a crime...its a gosh dang Insurance policy!
 
Honestly with taht rep Roll while i dont think is Silvio gonna be ireedamble his definatelly gonna end up commiting even worst crimes for what he believes is the greater good.

It really makes me wonder and dread how much hell crash once the inevitable truth of what Prometheus really is and the Ladders true purpose even worse.

He could probably cope about JU not having that much power but its not like he can prove that coprs and America would be able to use Ambrosia better or have any right to it.

Ironically by the time we manage to flip and recruit him he could end up having the same rep as Cain.
 
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Morrowlark said:
No I meant why would you write in the manner I specifically told everyone not to xD I'm coping with like eighteen layers of deep-seated trauma and neurodivergence, I am not an example to follow!
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The worst thing by that could happen is that I lose 1 hour of writing, and I've lost 7 google doc pages of writing before. It's fine. :V
 
@Morrowlark Putting aside any of the base-building or economy or rolling mechanics confusing you, are you also confused by the powerset creation system?

With further context on the back half of what we have so far, how do you like Rhys? Opale? John Henry? Ellie?
 
If Wolong had rolled better on his speech roll from Obsequies, would he have also gotten a +1 Rep that would have just been hidden until the New Dawn full merge that would have let us see his stat sheet, or would there have been a different reward?
 
ScorpioSting said:
@Morrowlark Putting aside any of the base-building or economy or rolling mechanics confusing you, are you also confused by the powerset creation system?
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Yes.

With further context on the back half of what we have so far, how do you like Rhys? Opale? John Henry? Ellie?
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Rhys is...inoffensive. Inoffensive is the word I will use for Rhys. He's connected to the group but it feels in some ways like he doesn't want things, as if he's a participant in his own life rather than a driver of it. Admittedly, it appears that Rhys shares this opinion of Rhys, so I'm holding out there for development. The man just got handed super powers and while he has a definite job with those (to wit: being a superhero), it'd be nice to see him make that leap from "I can't see my family again" to "so I need to build a new life here".

Opale my beloved, Opale my wife, Opale the love of my life.

John Henry...I feel like the way the voters sidelined him for awhile did not service that juicy revenge plot very well, and I'm sorta in a holding pattern here, to see what power reveals in him. He went from a side character to a main character real fuckin' fast.

Ellie needs her own post.
 
Morrowlark said:
Rhys is...inoffensive. Inoffensive is the word I will use for Rhys. He's connected to the group but it feels in some ways like he doesn't want things, as if he's a participant in his own life rather than a driver of it. Admittedly, it appears that Rhys shares this opinion of Rhys, so I'm holding out there for development. The man just got handed super powers and while he has a definite job with those (to wit: being a superhero), it'd be nice to see him make that leap from "I can't see my family again" to "so I need to build a new life here".
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If it helps, my turn for next plan definitely involves taking a mission that will absolutely put his unique spycraft skills in the spotlight. He's a good fighter but he's a great infiltration agent, after all.
 
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Guide To Making Ambrosia - Kermie New
  • Informational
    • Guide To Making Ambrosia
    By Kermie Sarah "Massive" Ibis    ​

    1… 2… 3…

    Ok, is this thing on… splendiferous!

    If you are watching this now, welcome! I am Dr. Massive Ibis, daughter to the esteemed Dr. Mammoth Ibis, and I am here to— Leviathan's Blood, Mittens, no!


    Ok, I'm back. As I was saying before one of Maddie's little creatures so rudely interrupted me, I am here to explain how Ambrosia can be compounded and administered, and also how each genetic profile fits into it. Let us get started! MUAHAHAHAH—

    *cough*

    Urk, I need to practice that.

    Ambrosia starts with the resource cost. For a reasonable cost of income, (1000) roughly equal to our monthly income from our partnership with New Dawn and the Worker's Mitt contract, me and my dear father can begin to synthesize Ambrosia. Aside from that, we need a dose of raw goldnine— the kind that you get fresh from the source at the QZ.

    Base Cost: 1000 Income (subtracted from total income) and 1 dose worth of Ambrosia.

    Then, we need to pick a candidate. Say hello, our spectacular candidates!

    (The camera pans over to Shelley and Soraria, who are sitting down and crunching numbers. They both barely look up and wave.)

    Yes, them! Each of our candidates has a specific Tolerance for Ambrosia. Think of each candidate as a cup. If we fill them with enough liquid, that is Ambrosia filled with more DNA samples, they'll "overflow" and… well, we don't have research data for that. Probably better that way, goldnine is expensive.

    Shelley has 6 Tolerance for Ambrosia.

    Bitterman said:
    Name: Shelley Marie
    Age: 27
    Stats: HIT 1, ESPIONAGE 5 REPUTATION 4, OPERATIONS 3
    Tolerance: 6
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    If she takes a mixture of [Adamant+Dragonsteeth], 3+3=6, and she will be fine. However, if she takes [Zeno+Soldier X], 9+1=10, and she will explode. (Please do not make my blorbo explode)

    As for how we know what types of Ambrosia will work on each candidate, my dear father (and Valiant Silver, but don't tell him that) have created a system for that! It's called Potency.

    Returning back to the cup analogy again, each dose of Ambrosia is a unique cocktail, personalized to each candidate. And each DNA sample is an ingredient, which we can only use once per cocktail. Some ingredients will take over the taste and be bigger in the mixer.

    However, I'd like to note that while we cannot use "ingredients" twice in one cocktail, we can reuse the ingredients in other mixtures. So say we have Crimson Soprano. We already used her powers to power up Mona. But if we want another flier, we can use Crimson Soprano in that person's Ambrosia without any consequences.

    Golem and Frostbite have similar powers.

    Bitterman said:
    Name: Frostbite, Randolph Lindstrom
    Power: Elemental Manipulation, Enhanced Strength, Invulnerability
    Potency: 3
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    Bitterman said:
    Name: Golem, Samson Road
    Keywords: Elemental Manipulation, Invulnerability, Enhanced Strength
    Potency: 5
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    However, because Golem has higher Potency, his power (rock and stone, cannot produce his element but manipulates surrounding elements) is more likely to come through and have an influence on the final Ambrosia than Frostbite (ice creation, self-centered).

    I would also like to now note a few things, however. My dear father and me can lower the Potency of each Ambrosia dose. Take it as dumping out some of the spare ingredients without compromising the unique taste. However, each Ambrosia dose has a likelihood of side effects. The more we dump out, the more chance there is that one of those side effects happens. Side effects can theoretically range from minor physical changes, such as an eye color change, to big things, such as Mona's weakness to psychic attacks.

    A new candidate is applied Ambrosia. Their tolerance is 4, and the Ambrosia's total Potency is 7. However, because of the artificial reduction of -3 that we can do, the candidate does not explode.

    However, the candidate rolls for side effects. Since Potency was reduced, they get a +15 on the d100 side effect roll, which gives them a larger chance of hitting a side effect.

    Aside from that, the maximum intensity of side effects varies depending on the Potency of the Ambrosia pre-reduction. So while the candidate would normally be able to only hit Minor Side Effects at Potency 4, the 7 Potency of that Ambrosia gives them a chance of hitting a Moderate Side Effects, since it's high enough to hit that range.

    I suppose it's an interesting time to note that all of our heroes so far have gone through complete Potency reduction, with both Rhys Gardner and John Henry also having had operations to increase their Tolerance. So far, side effects haven't lead to any dysmorphic transformation, but we've only had three tests so far. We need more sample data…

    The Global Actions Fast Pass and Spoonful of Sugar (selected at issue start) can increase a Candidate's Tolerance. However, they are both very costly, and we're currently a bit broke.

    (No, I'm not fucking making a cup size joke, thank you very much!)

    Ahem! Was sidetracked for a second there. Two more things I need to talk about. First off, resonance.

    (Sarah leans into the camera, before taking out a piece of paper from offscreen.)

    Let's not trigger resonance. When two Ambrosia candidates have the exact same DNA samples used in their thing, they will occupy the same psychic space, and… well, let's not talk about that.

    Mona's Ambrosia was comprised of [Novalight+Crimson Soprano+Soldier X+Steadfast]. If someone else uses [Novalight+Crimson Soprano+Soldier X+Steadfast], both Mona and that person would die.

    However, this only applies to exact formula matches. If that person takes [Novalight+Crimson Soprano] as their Ambrosia, they'll live just fine.

    And what was the other thing I wanted to say. Right. Keywords! This system created by my dear father once again (and Valiant Silver but I should probably edit that out) shows what kinds of powers will show up in a finished Promethean. The more repeat Keywords show up, the more obvious those powers will be in finished Ambrosia. And in some cases, those powers will combine together into brand new Synergy Powers, which seem to be the core of each powerset. But could there be synergies that are just there to support? Hm, more testing required…

    Daggermaw and Adamant share the Keywords [Transformation] and [Enhanced Strength]. Those two powers are more likely to show up in the finished Ambrosia.

    Bitterman said:
    Name: Daggermaw, Christian Soler
    Power: Transformation, Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Senses
    Faction: New Dawn
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    Bitterman said:
    Name: Adamant, Rakeem Wade
    Power: Transformation, Enhanced Strength, Regeneration
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    Meanwhile, the Keywords at 1 copy each, [Regeneration] and [Enhanced Senses] may or may not show up in the final hero.

    Meanwhile, Crimson Soprano and Hydrocity share this combo:

    [Energy Manipulation+Solar Absorption+Elemental Manipulation=Fundamental Force Manipulation]

    When all those keywords are in Ambrosia, they will combine and FFM will automatically show up in the finished product.

    Bitterman said:
    Name: Crimson Soprano, Balduína "Bidu" Rios Barroso
    Power: Flight, Solar Absorption, Energy Manipulation
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    Bitterman said:
    Name: Hydrocity, LaTrell Johnsmith
    Power: Elemental Manipulation
    Faction: New Dawn
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    Bitterman said:
    Name: Black Swan, Mona Merola-Morales
    Keywords: Fundamental Force Manipulation, Invulnerability, Regeneration, Flight
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    Now, let's put it all together!

    Example Ambrosia - Plan Provided By @Pawn Lelouch

    Yara has (or will have) 10 Tolerance.

    Today, we'll use:
    Red Huntress + Memoria + Millions + Daggermaw + Hunch = Potency 13 - Potency 3 = Potency 10

    Thanks to the Potency reductions, Yara will not explode!

    Here are what keywords that will appear in this mixture:

    3x (Guaranteed to show up, main focus of power if not absorbed by Synergy):
    -Clarivoyance, the psychic power!

    2x (Extremely likely to show up, going to be great side powers):
    -Transformation
    -Energy Manipulation
    -Enhanced Senses

    1x (may or may not show up, depends on if Bitterman feels like they'll help out):
    Teleportation
    -Enhanced Strength
    -Fitness
    -Enhanced Speed
    -Invisibility

    And here is a synopsis of each DNA donor's powers:
    Red Huntress: Total beast transformation, multitude of powers, scaled up based on opponent marked, could keep track of marked person.
    Memoria: Teleportation to location in a picture, live feed of what's happening in pictures location
    Millions Minefield: storing up energy mines, sapping and giving energy
    Daggermaw: permanent crocodile transformation, good strength and senses
    Mr. Hunch: postcognition, focused on objects.

    Assuming that there are no Synergies, and a Major Side Effect was rolled, the finished power looks something like this! (Ibis isms taken out)

    Name: Watcher    , Yara Oliviera
    Keywords: Clairvoyance, Transformation, Energy Manipulation, Enhanced Senses, Teleportation, Invisibility
    Side Effect: Permanent Dysmorphic Transformation
    Faction: Justice Unlimited
    Potency: 13
    Kermie's Notes: Yara is stuck in the form of a humanoid owl, thanks to having rolled a Major Side Effect. Her power allows her to tap into somebody's "perception" when she sees them— at will, she can relive up to 10 days of their past memories in a few seconds. Once she's perceived that person, she gains an "All-Seeing Eye" over them, which allows her to perceive anything within a 5 mile radius of that person. Once an "All-Seeing Eye" has been planted, Yara may make it so that person cannot see her specifically, and teleport herself and anybody she sees within that radius. She also has access to powerful energy attacks which I'm too tired to write out the specifics of but assume she can orbital strike people.

    The "tracking/hunting" effect came from Memoria and Red Huntress, while the focus on "past trails" came from Mr. Hunch. The specifics of those powers changed up how the final power manifested, and the high potency made it super powerful!

    And that's the full explanation of Ambrosia! Mix together different Potencies of dead metahumans, use the Keywords showing up at 2x or 3x to predict what type of powerset will show up, and pray that your luck rings true with Side Effects! Now, is there anything I forgot?

    *grumble*

    Ah, yes. Lunch. Shoot, gotta go eat something—
     
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  • New
  • Informational
    • Bitterman said:
    should be goldnine, Ambrosia is after it's refined.
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    I'll fix it.

    …right after I do one last thing! Quick, somebody give me an Ambrosia plan of theirs. Now that this is Informational, I wanna make an edit showing an example of Ambrosia, start to finish! First person wins, so go quick.
     
    Kermie said:
    I'll fix it.

    …right after I do one last thing! Quick, somebody give me an Ambrosia plan of theirs. Now that this is Informational, I wanna make an edit showing an example of Ambrosia, start to finish! First person wins, so go quick.
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    Red Huntress + Memoria + Millions + Daggermaw + Hunch - Potency 3 = Potency 10
    3x Clairvoyance, (2x all), Transformation, Energy Manipulation, Enhanced Senses, (1x all) Teleportation, Enhanced Strength, Fitness, Enhanced Speed, Invisibility

    Figure it could help with giving an explanation of how power sources can help with changing how a particular power may express itself.
     
    Kermie said:
    I'll fix it.

    …right after I do one last thing! Quick, somebody give me an Ambrosia plan of theirs. Now that this is Informational, I wanna make an edit showing an example of Ambrosia, start to finish! First person wins, so go quick.
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    My Song plan, lemme grab it real quick.

    E: Soldier X+Mr Hunch+Diggermaw+Deadman, Spoonful of Sugar on Song to pay for it, Tolerence decreases/etc.
     
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