Shoot First (Worm/Games)

Kadmus · Feb 28, 2016

And Ask No Questions

AN: So I made a thing. I like The Gamer, and I like Worm, and I like writing, but I wanted to try a different twist on the typical Gamer cross. This time, it's not with RPGs; it's with FPSs, with RPG elements. This is intended to be a fairly light-hearted quest, although with certain choices it could definitely end up super dark. It'll be using a mashup of all sorts of different 'rules', but it's going to be freeform. I'll aim to update this once a day, if possible.

You wake up.

This surprises you, because the last thing you remember is dying.

Of course, the environment around you doesn't help change that idea; it's totally black in here, save for a pair of floating green words.

You take a look. They're backwards, so you walk around to the other side.

YOU DIED!

Welp. You called it. I guess? You aren't certain that this makes any sense. Or rather, you're certain this doesn't make any sense, but it's happening anyway.

Why?

Fucking Tinkers, is your first guess. It's everyone's first guess.

Well, that or Endbringer Bullshit. But you don't seem to remember an Endbringer. Not that it means anything; any one of them could easily kill you before you noticed them.

They're like ninjas. Building sized ninjas.

You think you might have brain damage. You don't usually go off on strange tangents like this. Or do you?

Death is fucking with your head, you decide.

The floating words change.

PROLOGUE: END

[ ] PLEASE ENTER NAME (Write In)

You do so.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE PROLOGUE.

You wait.

IT WOULD HELP IF YOU RESPONDED, YOU KNOW

Yeah, well it would help if you stopped shouting.

Sorry.

That's better.

Anyway, welcome to the game! You've just died. This is totally normal. You'll respawn-

Respawn?

… You've never played a video game, have you?

You shrug. You might have.

As I was saying, you'll respawn – come back to life, n00b – at the checkpoint.

You smack the text-speak, and it changes to a much more agreeable 'noob'.

Stop that! Fine, ignore immersion. The checkpoint will be, uh.... Let me check my notes.

You are deeply confused by this incompetent narrator.

*rustle*

You don't need to type 'rustle'.

Shh. I'm enhancing the verisimilitude. Aaaanyway, as I was saying...

You're listening. Or reading, rather.

Yeah, you'll come back in your bedroom. I hope you don't have anyone sharing with you?

You doubt it.

Yeah, loser. I knew it.

You punch the text again. It's spongy, and the letters flip around their axes when you strike them.

If I could feel or understand the concept of pain, that might hurt.

If you could feel or understand the concept of not being an asshole, it would be a good start.

This is awfully self aware for you.

You don't understand what it's talking about.

In that I am you.

You don't think so.

Well, an expression of your superpower filtered through your subconscious. I like the sarcasm part best.

You're fairly certain you don't have a superpower.

Didn't have. Do now.

Ugh. If you do have a superpower, why did it have to suck?

Be thankful. Without me, you'd be dead in a ditch somewhere.

You're pretty certain there's no ditches near where you died.

I liked you better when you were rebooting. It was less snarky in here.

So when do you get to come back to life?

I was getting there! You'll come back after you pick your initial loadout.

Come again?

You. Need. To. Choose. What. Items. You. Want.

From where?

I'm glad you asked;

Welcome to ElderShock Six: Fall Of Duty.

Pick A Melee Weapon!

[ ] Wrench (For... well, for, y'know. Tightening things. And loosening things. And cracking skulls)
[ ] Crowbar (I always thought it looked more like a snake, personally)
[ ] Knife (You don't want this one, so you? It's so dull! Metaphorically. It's actually very sharp.)
[ ] Electro-Glove (Well, if you're going for non-lethal. Also protects you from the elements.)

Pick A Sidearm!

[ ] Six-Shooter (Classic!)
[ ] Semi-Automatic Pistol (Boring!)
[ ] Tazer (Shocking!)
[ ] Bio-Mechanical Thing (Yeah, you got me. What?)

Pick A Main Weapon!

[ ] Shotgun (This is, indeed, your boomstick)
[ ] Shockgun (It's like a shotgun, but with lightning, and thus better)
[ ] Assault Rifle (AK-47s for EVERYONE! But actually, just you)
[ ] Sniper Rifle (I know they aren't called that. Live with it.)
[ ] Light Machine Gun (Okay, this one stumps me. The damn thing weighs half a ton)

Pick An Element!

[ ] Lightning (I know these aren't elements. Don't judge me)
[ ] Fire (Seriously, it's just my coding. I know already)
[ ] Ice (Still not an element)
[ ] Crows (GODDAMNIT)
[ ] Surprise! (Why do I even bother?)

And Finally...

Pick An Explosive!

[ ] Frag Grenade (I like this one. Very little work involved)
[ ] Smoke Grenade (Ehhhhhh)
[ ] Flashbang Grenade (I still like the frag)
[ ] Claymore Mine (Okay, I can sort of see it? But still. Go for the frag grenade)
~~[ ] White Phosphorous~~ (No, you can't have that. Geneva conventions are a drag)
[ ] Tinker-Tech Bullshit (Ooh. Man, random effects, that'll be fun. For me.)

Kadmus · Feb 28, 2016

CHARACTER SHEET(S?)

Thomas M. Gaunt, AKA Dakka

CHARACTER SHEET(S?)

Level: 16

Name: Thomas M. Gaunt

Cape Name: Dakka

Mana: 260/260

Melee Weapon: Tier 2 Electro-Shock Gloves

Sidearm: Generic Bio-Mechanical Thing (4 Firing Modes)

Main Weapon: Tier 2 Shockgun

Element: Surprise!

Explosive: Generic Tinker-Tech Bullshit Grenade, Heal Grenade.

Miscellaneous Gear: None!

Perks:
ROATS

Reach Out and Touch Someone: increase your melee reach by 5 feet!

SLA

Stretch Like Armstrong: Increase your melee reach by a further 5 feet!

SLI, BLS

Skin Like Iron, Bones like Steel: Increases resistance to damage! Now bullets bounce off you!

Talents:
Terrifying Touch

Terrifying Touch: Increased melee accuracy.

Shock And Awe

Shock and Awe: Your electrical attacks have an increased chance to stun enemies.

Skills:
Electrosmith Rank 2

Electrosmith: Allows you to improve your electro-gloves and shockgun. Below-average improvements available at Rank 2.

Sorcerer Rank 1

Sorcerer: Allows you to improve your spells. Basic improvements available at Rank 1.

~~SpellsPlasmidsMagicVigors~~SPELLS:
Release Unrefined Elemental Surprise!

Release Raw Elemental Surprise!
Mana Cost: 10
Duration: 5 seconds
Effect: Try it and find out! You're the one who picked Surprise!

You can now change the result of the roll by up to 2 points either way!

Bolt of Elemental Surprise!

Bolt of Elemental Surprise!
Mana Cost: 25
Effect: Try it and find out! Now at long range!

Range of 50ft

You can now change the result of the roll by up to 2 points either way!

Dragon's Breath

Dragon's Breath

Mana Cost: 50 to initiate, 5 per second to maintain.
Effect: Create a continuous cone of flame from a point six inches in front of your mouth. It can be as short and narrow as a pin, or 60ft long and covering an entire 90 degree sector, or anything in between.

Can currently burn through iron without resistance.

Money: $00.00

XP: 5/26

Kadmus · Feb 28, 2016

STORY POSTS

0.1 - In Which You Are Introduced

1.1 - In Which You Have Powers
1.2 - In Which You Test Out Stuff
1.3 - In Which You Make A Very Poor Decision
1.4 - In Which You Do The Right Thing
1.5 - In Which You Stand At A Crossroads
1.6 - In Which You Talk To Jessica
1.7 - In Which You Get A Costume
1.8 - In Which You Get Trained

2.1 - In Which You Get Introduced
2.2 - In Which You Start A Fight
2.3 - In Which You Don't Fuck Up And Kill Everyone
2.4 - BOSS FIGHT 1 PART 1: BAKUDA
2.5 - BOSS FIGHT 1 PART 2: BAKUDA
2.6 - In Which Everything Went Pretty Well, Actually

3.1 - In Which You Might Find TTBGs Useful
3.2 - In Which You Hit The Gym
3.3 - In Which Tinkers Are Really Creepy
3.4 - In Which You Play With Computers
3.5 - In Which You Hunt Dragons
3.6 - In Which You Ride The Dragon
3.7 - In Which You Find Dragons Relatively Unchallenging

4.1 - In Which You Are Not The Protagonist
4.2 - In Which You Realise The Hardest Part Is The Paperwork
4.3 - In Which You Decide On A Plan
4.4 - In Which You Talk To Your Boss
4.5 - In Which You Set The Trap

Kadmus · Feb 29, 2016

AN:

LOADOUT!

Name: Thomas M. Gaunt

Melee: Electro-Glove – 9 Votes
Sidearm: Bio-Mechanincal Thing – 16 Votes
Main Weapon: Shockgun – 15 Votes
Element: Surprise! - 11 Votes
Explosive: Tinker-Tech Bullshit – 19 Votes

Emma got a lot of votes, so I'll try to work her in later!

You see the numbers tick down in front of you.

3

You wonder if this is all just some bizarre dying dream.

2

Nah.

1

Everything goes white.

And then you're in your bedroom. It's small and spartan, as you'd expect from a poor university student. You haven't decided on a major yet, and from the way things are going, it looks like you'll drop out before you do.

Money is tight. That's how you died, you remember; run down while you were going from place to place, handing out CVs (You like the sound of a 'curriculum vitae' better than 'resumé') in a desperate attempt to get a job.

Because you're running out of money. The loan doesn't cover everything. Your parents are poorer than you are, not to mention divorced and living in cities on the opposite side of the country from each other.

You look at your room.

Or rather, you look at the glowing green text hovering at the corners of your vision, forming a... well, it's an HUD. A heads-up display, showing what weapons you have on the bottom left, a little minimap in the top right corner, and an eye with a cross through it in the top middle. Bottom right is an infinity symbol – since your electro-gloves are 'equipped', you suspect that means that they can be used however much you want.

Everyone's played at least Medal of Honour, right? The newer games have declined in quality, too focused on trying to top that big shock in the first 'Recent Combat' game to give good gameplay or story.

But you digress. A quick thought scrolls through your weapons – Shockgun, Tinker-Tech Bullshit Grenades, Electro-Gloves, Bio-Mechanical Thing-

Oh, god. That's- You don't know what the right word is. What do you call something that, at the same time, makes you want to cuddle it and void your bowels in existential terror? Adorrifying? Horradorable?

Either way, you quickly switch away from the Thing. Your guns are appearing in your hands as you toggle between them, just there one moment and gone the next. No transition, no particle effects, not even an attempt to holster or draw them. Just thought, weapon.

Neat.

Their names pop up as you select them – 'Generick Shockgun' is a poorly-textured thing shaped vaguely like a trumpet, a dull bueish-grey with... is that JPEG artifacting?

The grenades are, well, little round metal balls with a ringpull on the top. Like a cross between a Coke can and a Bomberman bomb, but about the size of an orange.

The gloves are pretty cool, heavy leather gauntlets with green glass inset in round panels on the top and bottom and brass plating around the underside and fingers.

It occurs to you that you've never fired a gun in your life.

Further thought allows you to realise that it doesn't matter, because holy shit you have superpowers.

There's a little prompt flashing on the right side of your screen; 'New Spell Unlocked!'

You mentally select it.

Congratulations, hero! You finally did it! You typed your fucking name and ticked some boxes. Are you proud of yourself?

No, seriously, you should be proud. You're awesome. As a reward, have a spell!

Release Raw Elemental Surprise!
Mana Cost: 10
Duration: 5 seconds
Effect: Try it and find out! You're the one who picked Surprise!

You close the popups, rubbing your temple to try and dispel the growing headache.

You're Thomas M. Gaunt, newly minted super- well, super something.

Super asshole.

You pointedly ignore the narrator.

What do you want to do?

[ ] Go out and be super!
[ ] Test out all of these new gadgets!
[ ] Shitpost on forums and go to sleep.

AND

What will your super-alias be?

[ ] Tommy Gun
[ ] Piecemaker
[ ] Eastwood
[ ] The Unexpected
[ ] (Write In)

Kadmus · Mar 1, 2016

Test out all of these new gadgets – 11 Votes
Dakka. Because there's never enough of you – 9 Votes

TTBG Roll: 10
Surprise! Roll: 1

You briefly consider whether you've been drugged. It seems perfectly reasonable; you're seeing some truly weird shit, and what's more likely, that you have superpowers, or that you're on some acid trip?

Superpowers.

You aren't helping.

You decide to roll with it anyway, because why the hell not. You've only ever done pot before; drugs are for rich kids, but you aren't going to say no if someone passes you a joint at a party. Even so, this doesn't feel like a drug, or too much to drink, or a vivid dream. It feels too real.

You look out the window. It's morning, the sky covered in fluffy white cloud, casting the city into a dull grey pallor. It's also cold as balls out, given that it's February. Brockton my be warmer than average for the north-east USA, but it's still on the north-east coast.

You throw on a cheap, third-hand hoodie, slip on a pair of 'well-loved' jeans, and wrap a scarf around your neck. You figure out how to hide your weapons easily enough; you just mentally 'select' the same one twice, and you hands are empty.

You were distracted by your new powers a moment ago, but it's cold enough inside that your breath is fogging. That's not unusual; this place has such bad insulation it's frequently colder inside than it is out, and you haven't been able to afford to heat it. Ever.

At least the constant threat of supervillains keeps the property prices low. You still have to live in the Docks district, where there's a hooker on every corner and a drug dealer in every alley, but the one-room studio box is the cheapest part of your whole stay here. Food bills cost you more.

You're pretty sure the building is legally condemned.

Whatever. You jog down the stairs, hopping the missing one on the third flight from long habit, and push out into the chilly streets. You decide to head to the ship graveyard; no-one goes there but capes wanting to practise their new powers. Or break things.

Seriously, it's a thing. You can just about see it from your window, and you've lost count of the number of times you've been woken up by strangely-coloured flashes and explosions coming from the place.

It's abandoned when you get there, luckily. Most capes only come out at night. They probably have day jobs, or school, or something equally banal. You push your scarf up to cover your face a little, but you aren't too worried about being spotted.

First things first. You select the shockgun, feeling its solid mass fill your hands, and point it experimentally. It doesn't seem like it's much of a precision weapon. There are no sights, and the flared bell at the end would make them nearly pointless even if they were present.

Well. You pull the trigger, and, with a thundercrack that pushes you back a step, the barrel erupts with a cone of lightning, the bright flash blinding you momentarily.

When you've managed to blink away the spots, you see that the ship hull you had it pointed towards is...

Completely undamaged. Wait, no, there's a little bit of soot. It was only about thirty feet away, to boot; that cone should have hit a big chunk of the rusting metal. Maybe it works better on dirt?

Another thunderclap, although you close your eyes just before pulling the trigger this time. The wet sand is steaming in an elongated oval where the lightning hit, but... Yeah.

It's a stun flamethrower. Neat.

The little green bar that fills the 'ammo' section of your HUD has gone down a little. There's an empty one above it. You hold down the trigger, this time, and watch as it fills, the ammo bar below it draining slowly.

This time you're blown clean off your feet.

Fucking ow. Well, full power...

There's a big crater. A handful of damp sand lands on your head.

Awesome.

You don't know where the fuck you're going to find ammo for this thing, but it's great.

The electro-glove is much less awesome. You can't get it to have any noticeable effect, although it does emit a faint hum when you press it to things.

You reluctantly equip the Thing. It pulses wetly in your hand, little tentacles furling around your fingers like a lover's caress. Or like a hand full of baby squid. You can feel it ticking, too, as the gears you can see through the translucent patches on it turn, quite possibly driven by a heart of some sort.

It has a trigger, at least, and when you pull it there's a sound between a wet, hacking cough and an explosive sneeze. The little ammo bar, this time five spheres with legs, ticks down one, although the outline of the spidersphere immediately begins to slowly fill back up again.

And a little glass ball the size of a marble plops wetly to the sand at your feet. It's transparent, and full of some sort of organ-meat. Little spindly legs unfold from the ball, and it scuttles off towards the hull you had it aimed towards.

Once it gets close – within a foot or so – it explodes into a green cloud that immediately starts sizzling, eating through whatever it touches.

Oh, boy. There's a little dial – wait, it's an eyeball – on the side of the gun, and when you turn it, the little spidersphere indicators change colour. You fire on each of the three other settings. The first makes a flying sphere that just rams right into the target, shattering as it hits and leaving behind some sort of clear residue. The second setting burrows under the sand, and explodes underneath your target. The third heads for the target and erupts into a purple mist, this time. One which doesn't burn anything, or explode, or anything unusual.

Time to try out the grenades. You only have five, so you're only going to throw the one.

You pull the ringpull, with a sound like a well-shaken soda being opened, and lob the grenade towards the now-damaged ship hull you've been practising against. It bounces off and plops onto the sand, then explodes with an oddly distorted wail.

Nothing's happening. It made a noise, and now nothing's happening. You switch back to the Thing, and fire a flying projectile at the area it blew up in. No way are you getting close to something called 'Tinker-Tech Bullshit'. As the little fly-spider-marble gets close, it goes slower and slower, until it's like it's passing through treacle.

Time grenade!

After all of that, you suspect that your 'spell' – hah! Everyone knows there's no such thing as magic. Despite all the bullshit capes do that breaks the laws of physics. Or biology. Or chemistry.

Or mundane laws, for that matter.

Anyway you suspect that your 'spell' will be underwhelming.

You, uh...

Select it in your quickbar. It's the one with the exclamation point surrounded by an explosion.

Thanks. You select it in your quickbar, feeling something drain out of you, and then...

Ah, fuck.

You fall into the sky, screaming.

Five seconds later, you fall back down, still screaming, and land chest-first on a rusty metal spike.

Fucking ow.

But it doesn't impair you. It doesn't-

Why the fuck does your chest not have a massive hole in it now?

How the fuck did you just roll off that spike.

You might want to take cover for a few seconds so you can heal.

You're in too much pain to argue, so you put your back to the nearest chest-high...

Huh. The ship graveyard really does look like a videogame level. Also, the pain is fading quickly.

You were too busy screaming and flailing to notice, but there appear to be a large number of raggedly-dressed men and women approaching. Most of them seem to have a gun of some sort – why they wouldn't sell the guns to buy food or something, you don't know.

You're a little concerned that your power might be making things worse.

Off in the distance, you hear gunfire and explosions.

Slightly nearer, you hear the siren call of your bedroom.

What do you do?

[ ] Fight the approaching horde.
[ ] Go see what's up with all that noise.
[ ] Fuck this, go home and see about signing up for the Protectorate.

Kadmus · Mar 2, 2016

Fight The Approaching Horde – 8 Votes
- after firing a warning shot or something, you're not a bad guy – 3 Votes
TTBG Roll: 5

As you decide to stand your ground, the approaching horde – although that's a pretty grandiose way of putting it. Small mob would be more accurate. Anyway, they start to appear on your minimap, little red triangles moving through the debris and ruin of the ship graveyard.

You notice that the little eye in the top centre of your screen has changed from grey and crossed out to red with an exclamation point behind it. You suspect that means they see you.

You select your shockgun – the only ranged weapon you have that might be non-lethal – and aim it at a forty-five degree angle, then let off a shot. The electricity arcs over their heads, crackling as it dissipates into the sky.

They start to shoot at you.

You feel that this situation is rapidly getting out of hand. Also, these people look like vagrants and drug-addicts; not exactly the type to form mobs and hunt down incredibly dangerous capes. You think. You're not an expert or anything, but it seems kinda counterproductive.

You peek back over the low section of rusted ship you're hiding behind, checking where they are. They seem to have followed your lead, taking cover behind various bits of hull and spar. You pop off a shot at the nearest one, then yelp and duck back into cover as a bullet skims your ear.

However, the red triangle in your target's location goes grey.

Non-Lethal Takedown! 2 XP!

Double however, your shockgun seems to be running out of ammo; you figure another ten or twelve shots, at most, before it's empty.

There are at least twenty guys out there, shooting at you. The pistol rounds ping against the metal around you, and there's the odd roar of a shotgun.

You really don't want to kill anyone.

You really don't have a choice.

Well, you'll try your best. You'll feel like shit later, no doubt, but right now you just don't want to die.

You scuttle along the low cover you've been hiding behind, while your enemies keep firing at the location they last saw you. You know where they all are; their locations are clearly marked on your minimap.

You keep low as you round the corner, switching to your electro-gloves, and get around the back of the nearest gunman. Er, gunwoman. She's focussed on the last place you were, so you can grab her bare arms with your gloves. She goes down in a limp heap immediately.

Non-Lethal Takedown! 2 XP!
Melee Takedown! 1 XP!

Man, those messages are distracting. Not as distracting as the shotgun in your face, however.

It goes off just as you duck, and you feel it rip the top of your scalp. Your vision gets a little blurry, but you snag an ankle with your electro-glove.

He doesn't go down immediately, instead firing another round into your back. You can't feel your legs.

Then he falls on top of you.

Fucking ow.

Non-Lethal Takedown! 2 XP!
Melee Takedown! 1 XP!
Shockgun Ammo Collected!

You manage to heave him off you, and, through sheer fuck-you-edness, claw your way across the foot and a half of sand needed to put you back into 'cover'.

Your vision starts to clear again, the pain diffusing across your body, and then vanishing. Holy shit. Once was a fluke. Twice is enemy ac– no, twice is a pattern that gives you the idea that the voice might be right. You heal when you're 'in cover'. What the fuck constitutes as 'in cover' beyond these conveniently-placed chest-high walls, you aren't certain.

You fire over the top with your shockgun again, just pointing the gun over the barrier and pulling the trigger in the general direction of the red triangles. Two more go grey.

Non-Lethal Takedown x 2! 4 XP!
Double-Tap! 1XP!
LEVEL UP

Another bullet embeds itself in your exposed hand, taking off half your fingers. They almost immediately start to grow back. You sidle along your new cover and pop off shots as you go, hopefully keeping-

FUCKING OUCH

-them from shooting you in the fucking knees. You scream pathetically for a few moments while they heal. You decide that, frankly, fuck these guys, and pull out another TTBG. The tab pops off nice and easily, and a well-judged – how did you know how to do that – lob puts it in the middle of the biggest cluster of armed menaces.

Then the world turns into fire, as a blastwave shunts your cover, and you with it, a hundred feet down the beach.

Holy fuck

Lethal Takedown x 15! 15XP
Hot Streak! 1XP
Killing Spree! 2XP
Massacre! 4XP
LEVEL UP
LEVEL UP

You just killed fifteen people with a grenade that seemed just sub-nuclear. You can feel your skin burning, even as your cover comes to a rest on top of you, pressing you into the wet sand.

Well, at least it puts you out. You dig your way out from under it, fully healed.

Well, physically.

An arm falls from the sky and lands on your shoulder. It's still leaking.

You throw up a lot.

You pause.

You throw up some more.

You decide that this is significantly more bullshit than you ever wanted to have to deal with. You lie in the sand and cry.

CHOOSE NEW PERK!
CHOOSE NEW TALENT!
CHOOSE NEW SKILL!

Sure. You don't really feel like moving too much right now.

PERKS AVAILABLE:

[ ] Reach Out And Touch Someone: Increase your melee reach by 5 feet!
[ ] Baggage Handler: Increases your grenade capacity by 2!
[ ] Shockingly Decadent: Recharge your shockgun with 80 proof or higher alcohol!

TALENTS AVAILABLE:

[ ] Unnerving Hearing: Increased accuracy while firing blind.
[ ] Eerie Eyesight: Increased long-range accuracy.
[ ] Terrifying Touch: Increased melee accuracy.

SKILLS AVAILABLE:

[ ] Electrosmith: Gain the skill Electrosmith, allowing you to improve your electro-gloves and shockgun.
[ ] Explosives: Gain the skill Explosives, allowing you to improve your explosives.
[ ] Sorcerer: Gain the skill Sorcerer, allowing you to improve your spells.

You make your selection, then manage to force yourself to your feet.

Where do you go?

[ ] Check the bodies. There might be wounded. Or loot.
[ ] Call the authorities and turn yourself in.
[ ] Man, fuck this.
[ ] (Write In)

Kadmus · Mar 3, 2016

Reach Out And Touch Someone – 13 Votes
Terrifying Touch – 11 Votes
Electrosmith – 11 Votes
Check the bodies – 17 Votes

AN: I did warn you it would get very dark very fast if certain choices were made.

You stagger towards the blast site. There might be survivors, and fuck leaving people to die because you screwed up. They might have been shooting at you, but you're not a fucking monster.

You hope.

It takes you a long time to cover the hundred feet to ground zero. Not because you're injured; you're totally recovered by now, your bullshit regeneration thing leaving you fresh as a daisy. But because you don't want to see.

Body parts litter the sand and surf around you; little bits and pieces of people caught on the edge of the blast, you reckon. You try not to look too hard.

You fail.

You're just glad you've already thrown up everything in your stomach. It smells like burning copper and pork. As you get closer to your atrocity, things start to get... weird.

There's a massive crater dug out of the sand, the edges melted to slick glass. You search for what feels like hours, although it can only be minutes. The explosion didn't leave anything to hide behind.

There are no survivors.

Cheer up, partner! They shot first, right?

So what? It was alright to horrifically murder all those people because they plinked at you with rusty pistols?

No. No, it wasn't.

The arm is still on your shoulder, you suddenly realise. It's just sitting there, the elbow hooked over you, the hand hanging down over your chest. You finally shrug it off. It falls to the sand with a thump.

What did you think was going to happen when you decided to stay and fight? That everything would end up neat and tidy, with no-one hurt?

You know better than that. Life doesn't work that way.

The most sickening thing is that as you searched for survivors, you kept getting messages popping up in your vision. Letting you know that you'd found more ammunition, or that you'd found money.

You know that every time that happened, someone died on that spot.

You fish in your pocket and pull out your phone. You key in 911.

"I'd like to report a-" You don't have the words for it. "Lots of people. Dead."

"Where is this, sir?" They don't quite sound like they believe you.

"I'm- it's-" You choke on the words, tears forming at the corners of your eyes. "The ship graveyard. The big- the big explosion."

"You're at that location? Did you see who was responsible?"

"Yes. Me."

You drop the phone and sit down on the edge of the glassy crater, crying.

It takes fifteen minutes for the police to arrive. They've brought backup; a full PRT van and three heroes.

You recognise them; Armsmaster on his blue motorcycle, his power armour the same colour. Behind him is Miss Militia, in her army fatigues and American flag scarf. Dauntless hovers overhead, holding his crackling spear and golden shield.

You can't look at them any longer. You look back at the crater, at the now-cooled glass.

"You're the one who did this?" Armsmaster wastes no time on pleasantries. He's standing, now, holding his halberd.

They're only a handful of feet from you. You nod.

"I didn't-" You swallow the tears. "I didn't mean to. I just- I didn't know."

You're shocked – not to mention terrified – when he sits on the edge of the crater next to you. All around, the police and PRT are securing the site, marking out the bits and pieces of bodies.

"First fight?"

You nod again. "Yeah. I- I was just trying out my-" You can't finish.

"Ah. When did you trigger?" He looks at you for a moment, then elaborates. "Get your powers."

"Today."

"And you lost control?"

You nod, then shake your head. "Yea- No. Not- not exactly. I just." You grip the knees of your shabby jeans in white-knuckled fingers. "Some of it's random."

He gives you a mechanical smile. "Well. You'll have to be brought in for questioning, you understand."

You nod.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to foam you."

You nod again, head hanging and miserable.

"It's standard procedure."

You don't resist as they lead you to the back of the PRT van, then seal you in place with containment foam.

The trip is mercifully short. You're glad you threw everything up earlier.

They decant you into a cell, one with thick walls and no visible door. There's a camera in one corner.

"I hope you're ready to answer questions. The investigative team has identified at least sixteen different people from the scene, and they aren't done yet."

The walls are speaking to you in a calm, mechanical voice.

You nod again.

"Alright, let's start from the top..."

What Do You Do?
[ ] Tell them everything
[ ] Lie about the situation
[ ] Write in.

Kadmus · Mar 4, 2016

AN: It's been pointed out that I'm not giving everyone enough choices. I'll try to rectify that going forwards.

Tell them everything – 11 Votes

You tell them everything.

You start with getting run over, early this morning. You move on to your powers, how they manifested, how they talk to you and give you bizarre and arbitrary rewards.

You talk about your weapons, how they just appear from no-where. How they seem illogical and inconsistent.

The voice from the walls listens in silence.

You talk about testing your powers. About how the first grenade you threw just slowed time.

You tell them about the people that attacked you. That there's no evidence, because you regenerate. That you fucked up. You threw another grenade, hoping to slow them down so you could deal with them non-lethally.

How that slagged half the ship graveyard.

"Well. You're either insane or have a very strange power, Mister Gaunt. Or do you have a cape name you'd prefer?"

You wince. It's childish and silly, but you decided on it. "Dakka."

"It could be worse, Dakka. There's a villain called Skidmark, after all. Now, you have two options here. We could send you to the Birdcage. You'd never be able to hurt anyone who didn't deserve it there. Or you could join the Protectorate. You would be under probation while we finish the investigation into the deaths, but everything adds up so far. You wouldn't be the first cape to accidentally massacre a crowd, and you won't be the last."

You're shocked. You thought that they'd just lock you up and throw away the key.

"You're a valuable resource, if what you say is true. We don't throw away people on a whim, Dakka. We've only got one other known cape whose powers improve over time. Another would put morale sky-high. You'd be restricted on which weapons you could use, of course; we can't have you using those grenades in city limits."

You don't want to use them ever again. "Can't I give them away?"

"We'll certainly try that. But I think they'd be able to give an Endbringer something to think about, if we can reverse-engineer them. You've got a day to make your choice."

What do you choose to do?
[ ] Birdcage
[ ] Protectorate
[ ] Break Out
[ ] (Write In)

Kadmus · Mar 5, 2016

Protectorate – 12 Votes

You make your choice. It's not hard; $50k a year plus double minimum wage starting salary, for being a hero? It's not exactly peanuts. It also means you can do good, make up for your mistakes.

They let you out of the cell, and fit you with a tracking bracelet. 'Just until the investigation's over.'

You don't care either way; if it comes to it, you can just take off the arm it's attached to. It'll grow back, after all.

They give you back your things, most important among them your cell phone.

They let you duck into an isolated room so you can try to call your parents. Mom doesn't answer, but then she's in San Diego and probably off her head on smack, so it doesn't surprise you. Dad doesn't answer either. He's in New Orleans, and he's probably too busy working.

Or is it Dad that's the smackhead? You can't ever really remember. Your parents weren't exactly present when you were growing up. You've said maybe five words to them in the past eight years. But you had to try to call them anyway. You still hope that one day they'll actually notice you exist.

You give Aunt Jessica a call. She's not actually related to you, but is the little old lady who lived next door to your Dad and who fed you most days.

She answers the phone after a few long rings.

"Hey, Aunt Jessica. How are you doing?"

"Oh, Tom! I'm fine, dear. How are you?" It's comforting just to hear her voice; she's always represented stability to you.

"I'm- Things are kinda complicated at the moment. But, uh, they might be looking up." You think.

"That's good. Will I be seeing you for Easter break?"

You let out a strained chuckle. "Sure, if I can afford the airfare."

"I hope you can. Well, I have a pie in the oven, so I need to go make sure it doesn't burn. Take care of yourself, Tom."

She hangs up. Always busy, is Aunt Jessica.

You slip the phone back into your-

Okay, it disappears and you get a notification.

Mobile Phone added to Miscellaneous Inventory.

Fucking powers. You can pull it back out just as easily, though, so you let it fade out of reality. You leave the room, and outside, waiting for you, are two costumed heroes. Miss Militia and Armsmaster.

It makes sense; Militia has a power that seems very similar to yours, superficially, and Armsmaster is a Tinker who can figure out most technology.

They lead you off to test out your powers and to process you for Protectorate membership.

What colour is your costume?

[ ] Red and White
[ ] Blue and Gold
[ ] White and Black
[ ] (Write in)

What do you show them?

[ ] Just the weapons
[ ] Weapons and regeneration
[ ] Weapons and your new skills
[ ] Everything (Except TTBGs and Surprise!)

Kadmus · Mar 6, 2016

AN: Sorry this one's a bit late, been busy with Mother's Day today.

Everything (Except TTBGs and Surprise!) - 22 Votes
Black and Gold – 7

You show them everything; the shockgun, the electro-gloves, the Thing. You offer to demonstrate the TTBGs and your spell, but they wisely decide that they'll wait to do that until they need a few city blocks demolished.

They analyse the different firing modes for the Thing, and discover that the homing, flying projectile delivers an anaesthetic that can drop a grown man in seconds, and the purple fog is hallucinogenic. The green mist is some sort of extremely concentrated acid, and melts all the sample tools used on it. The burrowing projectile is just a burrowing explosive. 'Just'.

You try to hand off your weapons, but the second they leave your hands they disappear. Fuck.

Then you have Armsmaster stab you a few times. His halberd hurts, but the injuries disappear almost immediately, and you stop feeling the pain after a few seconds.

You don't know if you like the speculative looks he's giving you; something tells you he's sizing you up for an Endbringer fight. One where they put you in front of said Endbringer, and let it get tired trying to kill you.

You demonstrate your new ability to deliver melee attacks at a distance, which is extremely weird; you measure out the distance, putting your palms flat against the test dummy, then take a step back. You reach out tentatively, and feel your fingers brush against the dummy, despite your hands being a good three feet away from it. You can even use your electro-shock gloves at that distance.

Your new skill, electrosmith, uses a completely new system. You select it in your menu, and it pops up with the items needed to improve your weapons; just some copper wire and a few batteries, for the first level of improvements. Armsmaster hands them over without a word, and you click 'Improve'. Your gloves shimmer briefly, and then it's done. You can't really see much of a difference, although maybe there are a couple new wires?

You do the same for the shockgun, and it basically gets a texture update. The JPEG artifacting is gone, and it's now a low-resolution steel, with a few blue-glowing wires running along the barrel.

PR have decided that they're going to sell you as the new Miss Militia, and you're issued black-and-gold camo fatigues, a matching cap, and a black bandanna to cover your lower face. It's pretty obviously a rush job, but they seem to want to get you out on the streets as soon as possible.

Maybe because you're not white? You've got a truly convoluted family tree, with your dad's parents being Polish by way of England and Hong Kong Chinese, and your mom's parents being Brazilian. The Empire don't like you, and you suspect the Protectorate want to use that.

You're a walking insult, for the Nazis. You like that idea. Fuck them.

You've got a few weeks of training before they let you out on patrol, though.

How do you spend it?

[ ] Work hard, do your best.
[ ] Slack off, you're basically a conscript.
[ ] Balance it so you don't get worn out.

What about university?

[ ] Drop out. It's too much to do everything at once.
[ ] Try and keep up with your courses. You don't need sleep.
[ ] Keep it in balance.

Shoot First (Worm/Games)

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