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Ring-Maker [Worm/Lord of the Rings Alt-Power] [Complete]

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I'm looking forward to seeing how Annatar reacts to the endbringer fight and afterward. This will be a defining moment for her future choices, and may well determine what kind of cape and cape leader she ends up being. Also I'll be very interested to see if any of the rings of power have interactions with the endbringers.
 
So... Any bets on whether or not this is Behemoth coming to show of the volcano/dragonfire clause of the rings of power? It isn't raining so Leviathan seems unlikely.
 
FullNothingness said:
How exactly would that one help?
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The Endbriger, whichever of the three it is, kills a Ward and takes one of the rings for themselves (probably Sophia and Cenya, respectively). And then promptly goes off the normal enbringer attack schedule and starts attacking non-stop. Taylor then needs to make The One to salvage the situation and take control of the empowered Endbringer.

I hope this worst-case scenario I just concocted doesn't come to pass. Killing Sophia just as she's making progress toward becoming a better personand a hero would be a very, very poor path to take, I think. I can't recall a single story where outright aborting character development just for the shock value of a plot twist death didn't ruin the story with all the what-could-have-beens.
 
I'm reasonably sure the Lesser Rings were plain bands of metal, with no stone. Like the One. That's why Gandalf was (kinda-sorta) okay with Bilbo having a ring for so long: he thought it was one of the Lesser Rings.
 
Nah, no new rings today. Just the Three, to the Triumvirate. Which is a bad idea in its own right, but Taylor doesn't know that yet.
 
Rudh Righ said:
I'm reasonably sure the Lesser Rings were plain bands of metal, with no stone. Like the One. That's why Gandalf was (kinda-sorta) okay with Bilbo having a ring for so long: he thought it was one of the Lesser Rings.
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It's definitely true that there were lesser Rings which were just gold bands. However, nowhere is it stated that all of the lesser rings looked the same. I simply assumed they weren't.
 
It's kind of endearing to see that Annatar is worried over a mere name like Endbringer or Slaughterhouse Nine. There is one phrase that she should really be on guard for though. That's fwhen someone refers to a "He Who Arises in Might".
 
I have to admit, I was expecting Leviathan to show up before Taylor could leave for San Diego, but considering that the EMP meant that Coil couldn't release the Empire names, I was kind of hoping that he wouldn't appear, and we would get to see Taylor interacting with new people and seeing how different another city is from Brockton Bay (such as the Wards being involved in fights much less often) as well as seeing how the others, and Sophia in particular, deal without Annatar there.
 
And now I've been thinking about a Morgoth/Melkor character in this universe. Would definitely be the head of a business conglomerate, very persuasive and good at conversational manipulation without even having to use his powers. Recruits capes to work for him in the various companies under him. Utumno/Udun Corp. Thangorodrim Technologies. Angband Industries. Ballman-Rogg Security.

I'm not very familiar with Worm-verse powers but would imagine that Melkor would possess some tinker abilities, maybe form-shifting/changing if that's a thing in universe, but then I'm not sure if emotional aura/presence would be in his domain or an ability to infuse others with his power, ie, helping a form-shifter to go Balrog.
 
Having just found this, I still can't believe I have found an AU that has made it not only feasible but sensible to ship Sophia and Taylor. It is an unholy abomination that i never knew i never wanted to see. More please.
 
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Douse 6.1
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    • Many thanks to @themanwhowas, @Assembler, @fabledFreeboota, and @Skyrunner for betareading.
    Many thanks to @MugaSofer for fact checking.

    -x-x-x-​

    "Dad!" I hollered, hammering on his door.

    "I'm coming!" His voice was slightly higher than usual, and I heard a frantic racket from inside the bedroom—drawers opening and closing rapidly and various items being tossed aside.

    From down the hall, Sophia jogged out of my room, her duffel bag under her arm. "Think you can carry me?" she asked, slightly out of breath. "It'll be the fastest way to get to the staging area."

    "Sure," I said, unclipping the Jewelry Box from the back of my armor and opening it with a whisper. Off came Vilya, and on came Nenya.

    Even as I shut the box, Dad's bedroom door opened. He looked disheveled and his eyes were wild, but he was dressed and a small bag was on his back. "Taylor," he said, staring at me, resplendent in my armor. "Are you sure—"

    "I'm fighting, Dad."

    He bit his lip. I held out a hand to forestall Sophia when she moved to speak. Seconds passed, and I watched him, unmoving.

    "…Okay," he said, finally, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Okay."

    I nodded. "We'll have to split up as soon as we're out the door, to protect our identities," I said. "Let's go. Be careful, okay?"

    "You too." He swallowed. "Please, please be careful."

    "I will. I promise." I turned to Sophia. "Think you can carry Aeglos for me?"

    "I'll try."

    "Then let's go."

    -x-x-x-​

    "Annatar!"

    "Aegis." I stopped and set Sophia down gently, taking Aeglos from her and leaning on it as I turned to face my team leader.

    The Parahuman Response staging area was a surprisingly quiet and organized affair. No panicking civilians lingered here—they had all long since vacated this part of the town. A single six-story building sat alone on a grassy knoll, and beyond it I could see the ocean. The rising sun was shrouded, hidden behind a thick, black cloud—a massive, tall thunderhead, towering upward for miles. Below it was a curtain of rain so thick that no light passed through it, save the occasional flash of lightning.

    Armsmaster stood upon that hill, beside the head of a great, four-legged Dragon-suit, golden and glittering. Miss Militia and the other members of the Protectorate stood together nearby, talking lowly.

    Even at this distance, I could see it creeping steadily closer, as furious as any hurricane and inexorable as the tide.

    "Leviathan," Sophia breathed beside me.

    "Yes." Aegis' voice was hard. "Come on, you two. We need to go to the briefing."

    We followed him, picking our way between mixed groups of heroes, villains, and rogues. Soon I spotted Clockblocker and Kid Win standing together—and with them…

    Sophia practically growled beside me, her hackles rising. "Grue."

    The three turned to us. Clockblocker nodded. "Annatar, Shadow Stalker."

    "What the fuck," Sophia hissed, jabbing a finger at Grue, "is he doing here?"

    "Fighting," said Grue. I'd only heard his voice once or twice before. It was oddly hollow, ringing from his black motorcycle helmet as though he spoke from within a deep, wide cavern. "Would you rather I sit with my thumb up my ass while—"

    "Enough," I said. "Where are the others?"

    "On their way," Kid Win replied. "Vista's gone to pick up Gallant and Browbeat."

    "Someone say my name?" Vista's melodic voice came from behind me.

    "Ah," said Gallant, coming to stand at my left. "Grue. They released you?"

    "Technically. I had to promise to come back quietly after the fight," Grue said, chuckling. The sound was ghastly as it echoed in his helmet. "We'll see."

    "That's not a concern right now," I said. "What—"

    I was interrupted by a sound like a muffled thunderclap, coming from the center of the empty lot behind me. I turned.

    Alexandria stood there, standing as tall and dark as the grey tower emblazoned on her chest. She hovered some three inches above the ground, and her heavy cape waved ponderously in the cold breeze. Beside her were her teammates, each recognizable in their own right—Rime, Bleak, Arbiter, Guile, and Usher. They strode forward, following their leader as she approached Armsmaster and Dragon. Meanwhile the man in blue and black—Strider—who had teleported them in disappeared in another, smaller thunderclap.

    "It's almost inspiring," murmured Browbeat. "How we all come together for this."

    I glanced at him, then followed his gaze. There was Lung, tall and bulky, and beside him was Kaiser in his complex armor and crown. They were hunched slightly into each other in private conversation, and their lieutenants stood around them.

    "Yeah," said Gallant. "Almost."

    "Grue!"

    "Tattletale."

    I turned. The blonde in the purple bodysuit was running up towards us, and beside her was the same jester who had concussed me the last time we fought.

    They came to a halt beside us. Tattletale shifted on the balls of her feet. "Grue," she said haltingly. "I—are you—"

    "I'm fine." His voice was cool and hard. There was none of the warmth I'd have expected for a former teammate.

    Tattletale's lips pursed. "I'm sorry," she said.

    Grue didn't answer, except by turning away.

    Tattletale swallowed visibly. Then she sighed, shrugged, and glanced at me. "By the way," she said, "Circus thought you were a brute. Never meant to hit you that hard."

    "I can apologize for myself, thanks." Circus' voice was low for a woman's. She looked at me. "I'm sorry, Annatar," she said. "It was—I wasn't trying to hurt you as badly as I did."

    I studied her. Her shoulders were tense, her legs straight, her arms folded behind her. "This has really been bothering you," I said wonderingly.

    "I almost killed a kid," Circus said. Her voice was hollow—not literally, like Grue's, but in tone. "That's the kind of thing that bothers you, yeah."

    "I'm fine," I said. "But—yeah, sure, I forgive you. I'm still going to try and take you in the next time we see each other, though"

    "Sure you're not going to just chop our heads off?" Tattletale's smile was sharp and toothy. "I hear you've got a knack for it."

    A few of my Wards tensed around me, but I met the blonde's eyes. "It's not my fault," I said clearly, "that you fucked Grue over this badly."

    She staggered back, blinking. "You—"

    "Escalation," I told her. "Don't bring a knife if you're afraid to be stabbed."

    She pouted at me. "Hey, this is my shtick. I've been doing this for years."

    "If this is how you've been doing it," I said, smiling falsely, "I can't believe you're still alive and free."

    She squinted at me, but I noticed how she suppressed a flinch. "I'll get you," she said, waggling her finger at me. "There can be only one."

    I rolled my eyes and turned away as Aegis cleared his throat.

    "Door's opening," he said. "Let's go."

    We Wards—and Grue—followed him in through the building's main doors into a large lobby. A matrix of folding chairs had been set up—and was still being set up, around the edges, by heroes and PRT officers. Three large screens were set up at the front of the room, and behind them were large, open windows, looking into the east and the oncoming storm.

    A young man who seemed to be made entirely of metal found himself in our group by the crush of people. He was a dark grey, primarily, with veins of brightest silver tracing his arms where veins would have been on an ordinary human.

    "Hey," he said, "you're Wards, too, right?"

    Aegis nodded. "Wards ENE," he said. "Local branch. You?"

    "Weld. Boston branch. Is this all of you?"

    Aegis nodded. "I'm the team captain. Name's Aegis. These are Clockblocker, Gallant, Vista, Kid Win, Browbeat, Shadow Stalker, and Annatar."

    Weld gave us smiles in turn as we were introduced. He wore no mask, and despite the oddity of his metallic features, his smile was a nice one—wide, gentle, and honest. He did not seem at ease, exactly, but he seemed to be going into the day with no loose ends tying him down.

    "How about you?" Gallant asked. "Did your team come?"

    "Some," Weld replied. "Buckler and Pinprick. They're around. Most of them couldn't get permission from their parents, or they'd be here too. All of you got permission?"

    Kid Win nodded. "It was hard to convince them," he admitted. "But yeah."

    I glanced at him, and remembered a conversation he and I had once had about courage and heroism.

    Before Weld could say any more, however, a familiar voice called from nearby. "Annatar!"

    I turned. It was Laserdream, and beside her…

    "Shielder," I said, smiling. "Good to see you on your feet."

    He grinned back, his visor doing little to hide the joy in his expression. "It's good to be back on my feet."

    "That's what I wanted to ask about," said Laserdream. "Annatar, is he safe to be in this fight?"

    "Is anyone?" I countered, then shook my head. "Sorry. Yeah, he's good."

    "I told you!" Shielder said, smirking at his sister. She didn't smile back as she looked at him. Her teeth worried her lower lip for a moment. Then she turned—not to me, but to Clockblocker.

    "Be careful," she murmured.

    "You too," he replied quietly.

    She seemed to struggle with herself for a moment before coming forward. He met her halfway, and they embraced. Then, without another word, she turned and returned to her cousins, Shielder following after her.

    "Hey, while we're on the topic of fraternizing with other hero teams," said Kid Win brightly, turning to Gallant, "have you and—"

    "We're talking," said Gallant, cutting him off. "We're not together yet, but she seems to want to try again."

    "Again is right," muttered Vista.

    "We need to find seats," Aegis suddenly said. "Look—Legend's getting ready to speak."

    So he was. The leader of the Protectorate, eye-catching in his bright white and blue, was pacing in front of one of the three screens, looking across the crowded room.

    "There." Browbeat pointed at a section of the grid of chairs that was relatively empty. We picked our way through and took our place.

    I took the opportunity to look around the room. Many faces I recognized. Many more I didn't. I spotted the adults of New Wave, and over there was most of the local Protectorate. Many heroes from further afield mingled among them. In another part of the room was Empire Eighty Eight. Lung and Oni Lee were both in attendance, as were Faultline and her crew.

    The Merchants, however, had not come. Nor had Coil.

    As we reached our seats, Legend cleared his throat and the conversation throughout the room died almost immediately. His voice was a clear tenor, with that piercing quality all great orators had, and he captured his audience's attention as soon as he began to speak.

    "We have Dragon and Armsmaster's research to thank for the early warning," he said. I glanced out at the storm outside—it didn't feel early. "We've had time to assemble and prepare, instead of jumping into the fight, one by one, as we arrive. This is a luxury we rarely get. With a little luck, some teamwork, and a lot of hard effort from each of us, I hold out hope that this could be one of the good days."

    But. I knew the Endbringer statistics. I knew what a 'good' day looked like. A good day looked like a war, followed by days of successive funerals and weeks of mourning.

    It was still better than a bad day, though.

    "That being said, you should know your chances," continued Legend. "Given our track record in past fights against Leviathan, this still means that one in four of us here will be going home in body bags." Or lost forever, body washed out to sea, he didn't say.

    Sophia shifted beside me. She wasn't the only one—around the room, many capes were shuffling, glancing at one another for reassurance, though there was none to be had. It wasn't that they didn't know the numbers—most did—but to hear it said so directly cast things in a different light.

    "You deserve to know this. I'm grateful for the chance to tell you—we don't often get it. But beyond anything else, what I want to impress upon each of you is that you should not underestimate Leviathan. I've seen too many good heroes"—he paused, for just a moment—"and villains, too, die because they let their guard down."

    Leviathan. Livyatan. Jörmungandr. No, I did not think I would be underestimating my enemy today.

    Aegis touched my arm. "We need to pass out armbands," he whispered in my ear.

    "Armbands?"

    "Dragon tech. It'll keep the fighters coordinated. Tell Shadow Stalker and let's go."

    I nudged Sophia, and she followed me out of our seats and over to the side of the room, where Miss Militia and a few other members of the various Protectorate teams were unpacking boxes of equipment. Wards from across the country were being given handfuls of these mechanical armbands, each bearing a square display screen and two buttons.

    On a whim, I got in line for the box Miss Militia was working with. She stopped as she was handing me the gear.

    "Annatar," she said quietly. "Now isn't the time for grudges."

    "Agreed," I said.

    "I'm sorry, for—"

    I cut her off. "Me too. It's fine."

    She forced a smile onto her face through the lines of care and worry. "Good luck out there."

    I smiled back. "You too, Miss Militia."

    I took the armbands and started making my way down a row of capes, handing one to each person. It was interesting, seeing the continuum of expressions and feelings.

    Some were tense, like the Ward who passed me in the next aisle over. She wore a skintight purple-and-black costume, plated with silvery platinum, and bore a quiver of bolts and a crossbow on her back. She looked down as she passed me, avoiding my gaze.

    Some were nervous, like the E88 cape I handed one armband to. From under the concealing cowl of her robe, Rune gave me a quick, harried smile as I passed. I smiled back.

    Some were terrified. The local rogue Parian was practically quaking in her boots as Weld gave her an armband. She was nestled into one of her large minions, as though seeking to bury herself in the plush.

    Some were even excited. One cape from out of town gave me a sharp smirk as I handed her an armband. She wore a frilly little dress and didn't look more than eight or nine, but there were years behind her eyes. I didn't smile back at that one.

    As I finished with my row, Armsmaster took the podium and explained the functions of the armbands. I listened, and then returned to my seat with the other Wards.

    Legend returned to the stage. "Capes! If you've faced an Endbringer before, please stand!"

    Most of the Protectorate, many of the out-of-town Wards, and a few others stood.

    "When in doubt," Legend continued, "the Protectorate should be the first people you listen to. We have trained and planned for this! If you don't hear from one of us, the ones standing now are the next in the chain of command. They've been through this before, so trust their instincts."

    He took a deep breath and carried on, his voice loud and clear in the silence. "You'll be splitting into groups based on your abilities. If you believe you can take a hit from Leviathan and survive, or if you can produce expendable combatants, you'll be on the front line. Alexandria and Dragon will direct you."

    That's my cue. With Nenya's protection, in conjunction with my armor—and my helmet, newly padded after my close call with Circus—I was hopefully going to be able to survive at least most of what the Endbringer would do to me.

    Sophia grabbed my hand as I stood and began to leave. I turned back to her. Her eyes were glittering under her mask, somehow brighter than usual.

    "Don't die," she whispered.

    I smiled at her. "I don't plan on it." I squeezed her hand, and pulled away. She let me go.

    Alexandria's lips were turned down into a stern frown when I joined her and her growing group in one corner. Her gaze swept across the group.

    "You heard Legend," she said. Her voice was low enough that the larger group of unassigned capes would still be able to hear Legend, but carried well enough that I had no trouble making it out. "We're the first line of defense. What he said about hemming Leviathan in? That's on us.

    "We don't have time to go through everyone's abilities and figure out exactly who should be where, so I'm just going to assume each of you knows your powers. We're going to get in close—and if that sounds like suicide, good, it means you've got survival instincts." She smiled mirthlessly. "Try not to die. Our primary objective is keeping Leviathan in place. Like Legend said, we cannot afford to allow him free reign through the city. We're the shield wall, you understand? We're the phalanx."

    There was a round of nods.

    "Good," she said. "Then—"

    Suddenly, a hero I didn't recognize gave a shout: "Incoming!" The group around him—shakers, mostly, some of whom I recognized—acted as one. Shields and forcefields went up both behind and in front of the rear windows as a wall of water rushed forwards towards us. They weren't enough. On the left, the shields fell away, shattering like prismatic glass, and water rushed in, crushing one of the three screens even as they flickered between images of the city's coastline being ravaged by tidal waves.

    But that wasn't what drew my eye. No, my eye was drawn to the middle screen, which for an instant showed an image of an oncoming wave, taken from a camera at ground level. The cresting wall of water seemed to hang in the air like so much green crystal—and deep within its heart, shrouded in brine, was the silhouette of a tall figure.

    The image flickered on the screen for only an instant, but it was burned into my mind. The figure was disproportionate, alien. Its shoulders were too broad for its hips, its neck too wide for its head. Its legs were digitigrade, jointed oddly, and four pinpricks of laser-green light glowered from its face—three from the left, and one from the right.

    All this I saw in the barest moment for which that image remained visible—and none of it left half as much of an impression as the flash I saw with some sense other than my eyes. Something shone, a piercing glow as bright as any star, deep within the monster's chest, shining straight through the flesh of its body and the watery bulwark as though they were no more barrier than a thin veil of cloth.

    Then the moment was gone, and the image passed away. Legend was shouting, "Strider, get us out of here!"

    Then there was sound, and pressure. Air was forced out of my lungs as the violent rush of noise filled my ears. Nenya flared, and I weathered the sensation.

    In a moment, I found myself outside—I, and all the others. We were on a street I recognized, higher up from the water, but still with a clear view of both the sea and the Boardwalk—or what was left of it. The wooden framework was crushed, shattered, scattered, until it was less a path and more a tangled mess of broken and twisted beams.

    And it was there, too, visible through the spray and rain only as a shadow, but one which Nenya cast in sharp, horrific relief. It was thirty feet tall or more, and most of that was legs—legs which were long and spindly and seemed almost too weak to hold it up.

    The light was still there—that glaring radiance which pierced through air, water, and flesh undimmed, shining where the thing's heart should have been. It was, at once, the most beautiful and the most terrible thing I had ever seen. The beast seemed wrapped around it like a cocoon of spider's silk twined around her meal, layer upon layer.

    Leviathan began to approach.

    "Form up!" Alexandria bellowed. Around us, the other groups were organizing.

    I found myself beside Aegis. "Ready?" he asked.

    I swallowed. Words came unbidden. "Spear shall be shaken," I whispered, "shield be splintered—"

    "Get ready!" Legend hollered.

    Even as he spoke, Leviathan was rushing forward, as fast as any speedster, moving like a torpedo. Its echo of water trailed it, sending ripples crashing through the water, shattering stone and asphalt and concrete. In a moment it was upon us, and blood and water sprayed like so much seafoam.

    I raised Aeglos and charged into the storm.

    —A sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises.

    -x-x-x-​

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    • This week is a two-update week. Douse 6.2 will be posted on Friday, October 13th. Unless, of course, something particularly unfortunate happens.
     
    One hopes that this battle will not be as close as the one Annatar's words echo from.

    But it's an Endbringer. So it has the potential to be even closer and costlier.
     
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