Remove ads

Samedi (Worm Altpower)

Reader mode
Well, we're certainly getting closer to a fic where Sophia gets shot out of hand when her bullshit comes to light(gut or head, I'm not picky).


Three cheers for fast forwarding past all of the suffering, delaying of vengeance, and trying to conceal that she has powers in any case.
 
consequences said:
Well, we're certainly getting closer to a fic where Sophia gets shot out of hand when her bullshit comes to light(gut or head, I'm not picky).


Three cheers for fast forwarding past all of the suffering, delaying of vengeance, and trying to conceal that she has powers in any case.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Waaaaaay too many fics get bogged down in pain and isolation or power wank in the beginning. I'm not against these things, but in this as in all else, timing is everything.
 
SquirrelZombie said:
CONGRATULATIONS Storms! You are post 100! In recognition of this milestone, you may ask one question about the story which I will answer truthfully.

Probably.

Maybe.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Woohoo~! I am quite pleased.

Okay... I could ask about Danny's power, but I'm sure we're going to learn that. I could also ask about Baron Samedi, but your omake may or may not have indicated that He is around as well. Something interesting, then...

Oh great and powerful SquirrelZombie, will we be seeing any other Loa (Haitian/West African gods), their servants, or anything similar to them happening in this story as well? Thank you!
 
The Stormbringer said:
Woohoo~! I am quite pleased.

Okay... I could ask about Danny's power, but I'm sure we're going to learn that. I could also ask about Baron Samedi, but your omake may or may not have indicated that He is around as well. Something interesting, then...

Oh great and powerful SquirrelZombie, will we be seeing any other Loa (Haitian/West African gods), their servants, or anything similar to them happening in this story as well? Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
*Takes a long, thoughtful pull from a glass of bourbon*
Yes.
 
Hey question, will the other 2 show up?

I admit I was like "man Baron Samedi sounds familiar, where have I heard that before...?"
->Baron La Croix From, Problem Children From another world LN
->No wait Baron Samedi is the college of La Croix. No swallowtail coat here. What a shame.
But hey at least she has the cane and top hat. Looking spiffy is important for those who work in the Death Field.

SquirrelZombie said:
*Takes a long, thoughtful pull from a glass of bourbon*
Yes.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
*Hopeful for multiple top-hat's being spiffy*

Will there be any crossovers with anything?
 
thefluffyone said:
Don't think I didn't notice this, you magnificent bastard.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Ain't I a stinker?
The thing I'm most proud of about that joke is that it's so easy to miss given the general tenor of Samedi's usual conversational style.

Also! I'm about 2/3 done with 1.5. Expect it fairly shortly.
Edit: Er, as the dwarven judge said to the stonemason's daughter.
 
Last edited:
Remove ads
Bourbon Street 1.5
  • Threadmarks
    • Samedi

    Bourbon Street 1.5



    I spent the morning on the street while I waited to see which way Piggot would fall. I knew I had seriously fucked up, but we were sort of past the point where that mattered any more. Here in the street I had spent a couple hours thinking through the whole situation. The occasional bout of acute panic served to add spice to my ruminations.

    I was pretty sure that Piggot was going to cave. It was obvious how much she hated and feared me. After I curb-stomped Armsmaster, everyone in the Protectorate and the PRT would be stepping carefully around me. At least until they could figure out how to stop me.

    I took a moment of profound pleasure to bask in the thought that I had beaten Armsmaster in one on one combat. Armsmaster. I really didn't need to worry about the bullies any more. I knew it intellectually as soon as I figured out my powers weren't shit. But I hadn't really understood it until I realized that I could take down one of the best tinkers in the world.

    What the fuck could Emma do to me that Armsmaster couldn't?

    Well, okay, that was stupid. She knew me, knew my secrets, my thoughts and feelings. She was my best friend. Armsmaster just had some fucking dossier. Emma knew where to cut, and she liked to cut deep.

    But there was a bigger problem than Emma, a problem more urgent than the Protectorate.

    Because something was wrong with me. Not with my body.

    With me.

    I was sure of it after the fiasco that last night's meeting had turned into.

    Normal people don't do that. And it wasn't just that I was making crazy decisions. The way my mind made decisions was itself crazy when I was in their world.

    On the street, I still felt like Taylor Hebert. Out in the real world, It was like someone was wearing a 'Taylor's Personality' costume. All the parts were there, but they weren't stuck together the right way.

    It sort of reminded me of the difference between walking and riding a horse. I knew where I wanted to go, and I usually got somewhere pretty close, but I didn't have a ton of control over the path we took.

    But however much I managed to steer it, it was still dangerous.

    I needed some rules. I needed something to anchor me to myself.

    And I should probably figure out how to make a friend.

    - - -

    So, here were my rules. No killing unless I had no other way to save the life of an innocent or ally. No torture. No locking Emma into a nightmarish cesspit of depravity from which nothing sane would ever emerge.

    Some of them were gonna be harder to follow than others.

    See, this is why it was better when I stayed on the street. But I didn't have any kind of cell phone at all, let alone the kind that could get service in another dimension. So if I wanted to answer the phone when Miss Piggy called to capitulate, I was gonna have to wait out here. Sound didn't carry across the portals. Marquis might be able to help with that too. Bone conducts sound really well.

    No! Bad Taylor! Stop it!

    I was hoping I would be getting a phone call. If agents showed up in person, it was almost certainly the other answer. The one that came with tranquilizer darts and frontal lobotomies.

    Just because it didn't seem likely doesn't mean it won't happen.

    But it would have to be fast acting, or I could just yank back to the street and let it wear off. And they'd have lost their one chance to get the drop on me.

    What if they sent Sophia after me? Would they be stupid enough to do that? I hoped not. If they did something like that, I might have to revisit my rules. They probably wouldn't serve that well for a villain anyway.

    I was interrupted by the phone ringing. Thank God for that.

    "Director Piggot! What a lovely surprise to hear from you today! I was just thinking about you."

    "Ms. Hebert. Shall we get right to the point?" Huh. No weird sensations over the phone, I guess.

    "Sounds like a plan, Stan."

    "We have investigated the claims you made against Sophia Hess. We do not have sufficient evidence to convict her of any additional crimes. However, her actions certainly constitute a breach of the parole under which she was allowed to join the wards. Her status has been reverted, and she has been sent to a medium security parahuman containment facility until she is of age."

    "Not what I was hoping for, but I suppose it will do. I'm sure it's hard to find qualified executioners willing to work with kids, right?"

    "I trust that this satisfies the terms of your ultimatum?" She really had no sense of humor.

    "Oh, sure, you betcha. I'm one hundred percent on board for not raining hell down upon you. Still gonna have to pass on joining the wards though."

    "Yes, you made that abundantly clear last night."

    "Right. Well. Thanks for the heads up. Oh, and you don't have to worry about any of your other wards. I liked the ones I met. If the Protectorate ever needs me for a joint operation or something, I'd be happy to work with them. Sophia was a bit of an outlier."

    "Yes. That seems like a productive line of thought for you to follow. Sophia was an outlier. Our mission is to try to help the people of this city against the threats that face them, threats against whom there is no other reasonable defense. I sincerely hope you will bear that in mind going forward."

    "See, right here, this, if you had just been like this at the meeting last night, all that other unpleasantness might have been avoided."

    There was a long pause.

    "Is there anything else, Ms. Hebert?"

    "Well bless your heart, I think that ought to just about do it. Have a great day!"

    She hung up without saying goodbye.

    - - -

    With that weight off my shoulders, I retreated back to the street.

    I was practicing running from one portal spot to the next. I needed to be able to pop around the city quickly, and that meant I had to be able to find where I was trying to go the first time, every time. And that meant practice.

    I was getting into a sprinter's stance, about to run and open the portal to the library, when an extremely thin man I had never seen before appeared on the street in front of me for a fraction of a second, a startled expression on his face.

    And quick as a blink, he was gone.

    Fuckin weird, right?
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • She's not in the wards is she? That would be fucked up.
    Hoping she announces on PHO what her real name is. The PRT is really a ass with naming people.
     
    Hmm, my guess is Coil tried to poke her in an "alternate timeline", and that version of her pulled him to the Street, and the woogieness of the Street meant that he existed for a moment while perceiving the street, until suddenly he didn't.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top