- Location
- Somewhere in Space
Would any of the "wizard time" favorites count?
Baleful polymorph: turn the target into another creature of your choice permanently.
They gain the physical stats of the new creature, but retain their mental stats.
Imagine, if you will, being a newt, but with your own mind in it.
They gain the physical stats of the new creature, but retain their mental stats.
Imagine, if you will, being a newt, but with your own mind in it.
FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
There's a long tradition of people being turned into a newt, then getting better.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Earlier DnD, it was 'Polymorph Self' (more a sorta fake transformation, and temporary), and 'Polymorph Others', forces someone to pretty well become that creature. Indefinitely, subject to 'dispel', which may cause death. Presumably to discourage people from doing 'Polymorph Others' on themselves (or getting someone else to)? Unclear.
Sometimes people lost their minds in the new shape, but maybe not. Odds are not good for mental health. But, arguably better than being dead. Hence, 'White Rabbit!', not unpopular. Particularly for things like Rust Monsters... Or, sometimes Trolls. Throw-in rabbit, 'Dispel Magic', hope for amusing results. Whether something like magic (protective potion?) could reduce the risk of death (by System Shock) on 'dispel', not something I've seen much explored.
'Baleful Polymorph' isn't a bad spell name, but rather ignores that magic to alter shapes to benefit magic-users was quite common in stories/mythology. Making your minions into something a lot stronger, so they are more useful (Ogre? Giant?). Something a lot more dangerous. Maybe with a promise to turn them back, 'after their service', or an agreed period. So, not just to make your enemy helpless (or, for the really nasty magic-users, tasty...).
It'd be interesting to know what Libris considers good/correct use of her transformation magics...
Of course the 'newt' bit, Monty Python and the Holy Grail...
- Location
- Neptune
A freshly fried onion ring. Don't let it get soggy or out will show you *all* assholes in your vicinity.
Unless there is some kind of magical or parahuman shenanigans going on, this sequence suspends my disbelief. Bullies like this never do stuff so blatantly in front of an adult at school for fear of losing the plausible deniability that protects them from punishment.
This sequence I find unbelievable once the woman is revealed to be a social worker, camera or no camera.
If the pack saw Taylor walking up with an adult, they would just ignore her and/or have somebody attempt to distract or lure the adult away and only start on their harassment after the adult was out of earshot or thoroughly engaged.
Sorry, but I've been in Taylor's situation and the bullies are usually not that stupid.
So unless Victor has drained some self-preservation skills, or some unseen magician has cast an enchantment on them, or some parahuman Master or Stranger is affecting their judgement, this seems unbelievably stupid compared to the bullies I knew in 8th grade and high school.
That would take too long to learn. Fireball is a 3rd level spell and takes years to get to the point of being able to cast.And I really want her to nerd out and lose her shit the first time she casts a proper repair spell. That sadly neglected classic car she hopefully owns? Yeah, show room shiny now, like that beauty just rolled off the assembly line.
I vote for Emily Piggot casting Fireball.
Now on the other hand she could learn to cast Burning Hands, a first level spell in a reasonable time frame.
Sorry, it always irks me that people jump to the mid level spells for characters that have never interacted with magic before instead of looking at the magic system and realizing that it will take years to get to the point of casting 3rd level spells instead of having the characters start with first level spells.
When you teach somebody to read you begin with ABC and Dr. Seuss, not with high school literature.
With music you start with "Frère Jacques" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" not with Mozart or Beethoven.
With D&D magic you start with 1st level spells, not jumping to 3rd or higher.
Except that the spell doesn't do what Tina is thinking. It instead gives you an image of what the target's butthole looks like under their clothes.
The spell was a botched attempt at a "determine penis size" spell by a perverted witch.
Further discussion on the subject should be moved to QQ.
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MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
Not unless it is one and half a year that not only the so-called Adult Supervision failed to even make the token effort of "solving the bullism problem", but also blatantly looks the other way/play at not having seen anything (Hello Prof. G, still trying to curb favours with the Cool Kids?) and/or blame the victims because one of the heads of the bully clique is a lawyer's daughter and the other is 'strangely favoured' by the administration.
At this point of time, the pack of [censored] is in the habit that they can do anything they want to Taylor and no adult will bat an eye for her.
You're forgetting that Sophia and Emma have been successfully bullying Taylor for appx 18 months. Sophia has shard based personality issues, and was likely a sociopath to begin with. She thinks nothing can touch her, 'cause she's special, therefor blatantly stupid far too often. Emma is functionally broken due to Sophia's influence and couldn't make a good decision on her own if her life depended on it. She's of the opinion that anyone Taylor has with her is just a pathetic attempt at trying to be normal, and that must be stopped at all costs.
Basically, you're assuming that these mid-teen kids are capable of critical thinking skills, when they obviously aren't.
Edit: Thx Ace Dreamer for pointing out I used Emma as the one being bullied - fixed
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This mini trilogy was good. I'm hoping that it turns into more. Thanks for all the chapters!
Nimodes
Weary Worldwalker
- Location
- Arizona
The actual spell in her book is Detect Enemies, which simply reveals hostile intent or creatures in a 60ft radius. It's higher level than Detect Good/Evil because it has a little more utility. Concentration spell, 10 minute duration, level 3. Divination school.
Honorguard Ra
(Verified Lizard Dude)
In my defense, I've never actually played a D&D session, so didn't realize Fireball was actually that difficult to master. I AM happy that you offered an alternative spell that Emily could use instead. What do you think, she pretends to shake Calvert's hand, then casts Burning Hands? Incendiary Politician Handshake sounds brutal enough.
Or does the spell work differently than what I'm thinking of?
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FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
For wizards, who gain magic ability via hard study, it takes them (typically) years as an apprentice to learn how to use magic, the underlying principles, and a handful of cantrips along with one or two 1st level spells. Depending on how much travel and how long it takes between adventurers is involved, an adventurous wizard can reach level 5 (getting their first 3rd level spell) within a few months or a few years.
As for Fireball it's self, depending on the edition Fireball either flows like water or acts like you'd expect an explosion to act. In 2nd edition, and I think 3rd edition, a fireball fills an area that's 30 foot high by 30 foot wide by 30 foot long. It will always fill said total volume of area. The blast will go around corners if it needs to do so in order to fill the total volume. Which means launching a fireball in a dungeon is pretty damn suicidal unless the room/chamber is really really big.
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Honorguard Ra
(Verified Lizard Dude)
Throw at a boss monster's feet and hope they don't use counterspell/teleport/levitate an object into the spell's path?
There are, indeed. For this victim to get better, all you need is an equal level or higher caster with a seventh level or better dispelling effect. Don't recall off hand how to spell his name, but Mordakane's(sp?) Disjunction is the go to spell for dispelling baleful polymorph.
Depending on who cast it, that might be a bit difficult to dispel.
Baleful polymorph was created as a combat spell; not to be confused with other poly spells for self or allies. This spell was specifically designed to permanently remove an enemy from the board.
Polymorph self, polymorth other, those spells can be used to assist yourself or allies. Baleful polymorph, on the other hand, can't be used for that in a traditional campaign. (Now, if you or an ally wish to permanently change race, gender or species... this spell would work.)
Just read Celestial Forgery, discovered this thread yesterday. You keep getting me invested in un-finished snippets while getting me to forget that they are snippets until the end damnit!
Academic Guardian
Just an old man with a hobby
- Location
- Somewhere in the twisting Kaleidoscope
Celestial Forgery? hm....link?
Page 2 of the threadmarks on this Snippets thread. There is also a version with Taylor on page 3, where this one is Danny. Snippet Farm (Worm/???) Crossover - Superhero
Yer A Wizard, Taylor 3
New
Nimodes
Weary Worldwalker
- Location
- Arizona
* Thursday, January 6, 2011 *
* Director Piggot's Office *
Shadow Stalker came in, flopped down into the chair, and glanced at her phone to check the time.
Director Piggot steepled her hands in front of her, leaning forward ever so slightly. "Plans, Stalker?"
"Well, you know, got a patrol later today. Something up?" asked Shadow Stalker.
The door behind her opened and Armsmaster and Miss Militia came in. That made this a little more serious so she straightened up. This was something official, maybe?
"Yes, something is certainly up," said Director Emily Piggot. "Tell me, Shadow Stalker, how have you been handling your various duties lately? I'm told you've been taking down criminals with exceptional vigor lately."
"You mean I've been real effective and stopping crooks, yeah," said Stalker, relaxing just a bit.
"Good, good," said Director Piggot, a faint smile showing behind her laced-together hands.
The door shutting caused Shadow Stalker to glance that way, then turn back to the Director. Her eyes widened, and then her head turned so quickly one would half-expect her to sprain a neck muscle.
"I believe you've met Troop Leader DeJesus?" said Director Piggot in a particularly calm and measured voice.
"Ah, no, never met her before," said Shadow Stalker.
"Right, of course," said Director Piggot. She hit play on her console before returning to the same Gendo Ikari pose.
A scene played out on the monitor.
"That was taken illegally, I didn't consent, and it was made with computer animation, and you can't prove anything!" said Sophia, more rapidly than usual.
"I see, I see," said Director Piggot. "What you may not have realized if you've never read the various contracts you signed as part of your probation deal? If we have cause we can go over your phone records, including the daily backups on your PRT-issue phone. If we have probable cause of that pesky little probation being violated? We can subpoena your regular phone as well."
"That's illegal!" said Shadow Stalker, her eyes flicking towards the window.
"Are you sure you want to go with that choice, Miss Hess?" asked Director Piggot.
"You're bluffing," tried Shadow Stalker/Sophia Hess, not sounding all that certain.
"Oh?" asked Director Piggot.
"Yeah. You don't actually have anything on me or I'd-" Without any other warning, Shadow Stalker lunged forward, phasing as she went for the window.
(Sound of taser going off!) (Shriek) (Thump)
"Both of you using tasers may have been a bit much," noted Director Piggot.
Armsmaster stepped forward, put a pair of cuffs on the twitching teenager, and activated them.
"That'll be all, Troop Leader DeJesus," said Director Piggot.
* Friday, January 7, 2011 *
When the government wanted something done NOW, it was surprising how many people would throw up roadblocks. To Taylah, at least. She was used to what the locals would call a "Constitutional Monarchy" where people would throw things to their local magistrate, usually appointed by the Queen's Court, and things would either get done or be kicked up to a higher functionary. When she worked for the Great Library in the capitol city of Emeraldis - things got done fast.
The idea that it took this long just to schedule the paperwork to be reviewed so that she could go from one school to another in the same city was ridiculous. She still had to go through placement testing, which she suspected would be a right pain.
After all, she had very little in the area of local memories to tap into, so things like social studies would be beyond her besides what she could cram into place in the meantime.
In Emeraldis, she would file a form and it would be reviewed and it would take a day or so to get back to her. Two days at the most. How much of that was magical sorting of paperwork and how much just the efficiency of the system back home was something else she didn't know.
In the Kingdom of Shadar she'd done her mandatory time in the Guard. "Militia Training" was one of the terms given, and it did install a certain degree of familiarity with the various processes.
Whereas the current system involved the "vox populi" and various people who were not screened for things like corruption or even sanity were allowed to sit in the seats of power.
Or so it seemed to her at least.
She was seated at a desk in the offices of this "Dockworkers Association" which was a kind of guild. It appeared to be the local version of the Stevedore & Wharfsman Guild in fact. What kept throwing her off were not the parallels between Taylor's father and her own - it was the differences between them.
Her own father had been a sailor first, working his way up the ranks to Bosun's Mate before retiring from the sea and working his way up through the ranks of administrators of the Wharfsman Guild in the archipelago. He had then eventually become the Assistant Guildmaster, who basically ran everything while the functional Guildmaster mainly attended meetings and spent time in the taverns.
"So, these 'Unwritten Rules'?" asked Taylah. "Apparently developed since the days of someone named 'Vikare'?"
"I'm not really up on that sort of thing," admitted Danny Hebert.
"Understood," agreed Taylah, going back to her reading for a few minutes before stiffening and sitting fully upright. "Ah."
"Something happening?" asked Danny, looking up from the papers spread across his desk.
"Taylor's awake, be just a few minutes," said Taylah, sitting back in the chair and closing her eyes.
Danny stared at his daughter's body and wondered exactly how one was supposed to handle this sort of thing.
* Dreamscape *
"WHAT IN HELL IS GOING ON?"
"Hello, Taylor. My name is Taylah."
"What?"
"I'm you, except having grown up in an entirely different environment," said Taylah.
"What?"
Taylah sighed and looked over her shorter and younger counterpart. "We're merging. Look within yourself."
Taylor stared, tried to look within herself, and then tried to make sense of what she was finding. "I am thou, thou art I?"
"Essentially," agreed Taylah. "Put a bit oddly, but correct in the salient point."
"This is very weird," said Taylor.
"I am not arguing that point, not at all," agreed Taylah.
Taylor stared at her other self for a few moments, processing things.
"Your father is here, did you want to speak to him?" asked Taylah.
Again Taylor hesitated, weighing the pluses and minuses before finally deciding that this might be the better option.
* Troop Leader DeJesus *
There was a certain satisfaction in watching one's duties come to a successful conclusion.
"I'M GOING TO SUE EVERYONE! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DADDY, HELP ME!"
Seeing Alan Barnes turn away from his daughter, and Emma Barnes' expression on seeing that, was just a little bit uncomfortable. Neither had done anything to her after all. Still, after a psychological evaluation the girl might receive some help because she clearly needed it. Oh, and she just kicked a police officer between the goal posts. That was NOT going to win her any points.
Blackwell had stopped in her own progress towards the police cruisers, shaking her head once before allowing the officers to escort her the rest of the way.
In the meantime she was watching the crowd. If there was someone with trope-enforcement powers, because that could actually be a thing and this place was rife with cliches, they weren't being obvious.
"I always knew that girl was nuttier than a sack of squirrel feed," drawled one of the watching students to another.
"No more than anyone else around here," commented the second boy.
Tina shook her head and headed back to her car. She had to get tools out, clear out Sophia Hess' locker, get copies of all relevant records to check against what they had back in the office, see if Hebert's locker had been cleaned, and see if she could get those rear tires replaced as they were wearing a bit thin.
It was truly a pity, Tina thought to herself, that the Mending cantrip required the original materials to be present. If things went well with the testing later, being able to cast that and fix her tires would save her some much needed cash.
* Taylah *
While Taylor and her father were getting acquainted, Taylah gave them some privacy (as much as she could despite the whole sharing-a-body thing) and went over her spell load.
As a wizard of the 14th rank, or in terms more common back home - as a sapphire-rank wizard - she could cast a single spell of the 7th power. Which was entirely respectable in her opinion. Let those who insisted she was a failure as an Amazon or as a wizard back in her own school days be admonished for their lack of foresight.
She could, through the compartmenting of her memories, cast five cantrips as many times as she wished per day. She had 4 spells of the 1st power, 3 of the 2nd, 3 of the 3rd, 3 also of the 4th power ranking, 2 of the 5th power, and a single spell of both the 6th and 7th complexity/power ranking.
Her cantrips, chosen as were the actual spells for their utility in this realm, were: Fire Bolt (frequently handy), Mage Hand, Mending, and Prestidigitation. Utility magic with the exception of Fire Bolt - which was because she'd well noted this was not a particularly safe city.
Of the first power spells she had ready to unleash: Comprehend Languages because she could understand the English due to Taylor speaking it - but there were other languages in use in this city and so she had that available. Grease and Mage Armor, because as noted this was not an entirely safe city. She had chosen Sleep for similar reasons, though she had been tempted to go with Shield instead.
Of the second power spells, she had another set of power testing scheduled and had chosen Continual Flame as something for their analysts. Misty Step and Web were also useful in a dangerous environment. Especially used in combination with Web immobilizing opponents and Misty Step for getting away.
The third power spells had been a little less easy as far as choices. Detect Enemies, Speak With Dead, and Fly were today's selection. Fireball had been considered but rejected as apparently that wasn't the image these authorities wanted to put forth. Detect Enemies had been suggested by Tina. Which was an obscure one and had a very limited range, but perhaps the Troop Leader had her reasons?
Fourth power spells memorized for today included one specifically requested by Troop Leader Tina. Taylah's understanding was that Tina was essentially a sergeant of this branch of their Guard, so Divination was one of the three spells to be demonstrated later today. Polymorph she had demonstrated before but apparently they wanted further demonstrations of that for some reason.
Fifth power spells, she only had the two up. Scrying and Summon Dragon. The latter had not been suggested by anyone, but Tina had asked a few questions about dragons and so that spell might be seen as a reward. It was truly a pity she couldn't summon a specific dragon, as she did have somewhat friendly relations with two individuals.
Maybe she could work that out sometime when Taylor was "driving" the body. Perhaps.
The single spell of the sixth power was Tasha's Bubbling Cauldron. Because they were still testing that one. Still. She had other spells of that power level but all they wanted to do was test healing potions produced by the cauldron.
The spell of the seventh power was Symbol: Sleep. That had been requested specifically by the Director. Taylah didn't know the why of it, but the powdered diamond had been acquired for it.
Not that she actually needed material components, but the locals seemed to be more accepting of her abilities with limits stated on such things.
They were still talking, mostly talking around things instead of talking about things.
This might take awhile.
* Dockworkers Offices *
Taylor had been slouching and evasive ever since Taylah had relinquished control. So, when she suddenly straightened up and scowled at nothing in particular - it was as clear as anything he'd seen that Taylah was back.
"Hey, Taylor, you actually have a chance to TALK to your father. I first met my father when I was sixteen! I've seen him three times in my life! Now go ahead and talk because we need to get ready for the meeting at your Parahuman Response group later and there's the issues with joining the Wards."
"Wait. What? Wards?!" That was said in Taylor's voice, not the slightly more melodic manner of Taylah.
"Yes, your junior Adventurer's Guild," said Taylah's voice. "They're why we're going to Arcadia after we finish the placement tests."
"Wards? Arcadia? Tests?!"
"We have several tests to go through," said Taylah's voice. "And I've got to make scrolls still."
"I just woke up!" complained Taylor.
"We're the same person, or will be. Talk to your father and actually answer something besides 'I'm fine' or 'It's nothing'. You're not a rogue, so just stop dodging everything. And YOU."
"Me?" asked Danny, noting that attention had just snapped to him.
"You're the adult between the two of you, so stop with the evasiveness. I swear, if I was a hakima I'd throw up a Dome of Truth and force you two to talk."
There was brief silence before Taylor ventured a tentative. "I'm not really sure how she made a copy of our couch in our mindscape, but she's reading some book and now she's glaring at me..."
"So, let's talk before she comes out again?" suggested Danny.
"I think that might be for the best."
* 1/7/2011, 20:05 hours *
* PRT Test Chamber *
"Okay, Libris. Do you have them?"
"Yes, these are the basic exercises for developing magical reserves. To determine if someone can manage that much, these are scrolls for the cantrip 'Mending' - which repairs simple breaks or tears in material."
"Very well. Trooper Tyrone Jackson, if you'll try reading from this scroll and repairing this pencil?"
"Damn, my eyes hurt trying to look at this."
"That's because it's a two-dimensional representation of four-dimensional geometry. You get used to it."
"Ow ow ow. HOLY SHIT! It worked?"
"Because it only repairs simple breaks of a limited size, there are people who dismiss 'Mending' as useful or worthy of the time needed to master it. Those people have never worked in a library."
"Honestly, I can think of a few dozen times a day I could use this in the motor pool."
"Not everyone is cut out to be a wizard, but you might one day, Mister Jackson."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Next? Ah, Tina. It is good to see you again."
The rest of it went fairly well. Three of the four could, after some coaching and with some degree of headache pain, managed to cast Mending from the scroll.
"Okay, what 'spells' are she demonstrating now?" asked Director Piggot as she entered the Testing facility.
"This one is called 'Detect Enemies'," said Researcher Ikari. "Divination appears to be information-gathering powers, so these are all Thinker type abilities."
"Why are so many people lingering around here?" asked Director Piggot.
"Actually, we leaked the testing of a new cape here, but Libris is mostly concealed behind those partitions - so no clear sight of... oh, that's interesting."
Director Piggot looked from her own vantage and could clearly see Libris pointing at people she had no clear line-of-sight on. "Get the names of those she's pointing at... though I recognize Calvert myself."
"Yes, Director."
"What's next?" asked Director Piggot. "Is it the question one?"
Researcher Yui Ikari checked her clipboard. "A divination spell called Divination. Yes. That's the one where she needs a question, it must be something that will happen within seven days."
Director Piggot went to the microphone and waited until the odd ritual was completed and then asked the question she'd come up with. "Libris. Where and how can we stop the Slaughterhouse Nine?"
When Libris spoke, her voice had an odd echo to it. "The Nine you seek hide in shadows to prepare, their cruel reputation deserved, to face their power if you dare, Cherry Creek in Nevada is observed. Parahuman attention they will detect, and scurry from your light, with other means - you may collect, and strike with all that might."
Director Piggot was quiet for a moment. "That was a damn sight better than most ThinkTank precogs. I'm used to lavender-white and coconut-ginseng and crap like that where I need an interpreter to make sense of it."
* Saturday, 1/8/2011, 0900 hours *
"Magic," said Rebecca Costa-Brown.
"Trump effect that can be taught, requiring months of study to begin with but then quickly growing in power if she's correct." Director Piggot sipped at her coffee, then continued. "Currently, we are leaning towards her claims that she is actually from another universe and merging with her duplicate here. It's not so outre since we know people born before the advent of parahumans on our Earth also largely exist on Earth Aleph."
"'If'," stressed Rebecca Costa-Brown. "I'll review the footage. Even if this teaching process is not viable, a Trump with a wide range of powers... Did she just turn that man into a newt?"
"He got better," pointed out Director Piggot. "Effect lasted fifty-nine minutes."
"That could still make capture of villains much easier," said Rebecca Costa-Brown.
"So would the higher-order 'Symbol' particularly the 'Sleep' effect," pointed out Director Piggot. "Once activated, the effect lasted for two hours."
"Then we come to this, this prediction," said Rebecca Costa-Brown, the Chief Director of the Parahuman Response Team letter-boxing the result of the Divination. "As soon as it reached my office we were able to determine that the Slaughterhouse was in the area but they have since moved out of that area entirely."
"Which means that Libris was accurate and that somewhere along the line a parahuman has access to our intel," guessed Piggot.
"Or Libris' precog abilities are insufficient to be relied on," counter-concluded the Chief Director.
"As a Trump with other capabilities, including several non-lethal takedown methods, I am fast-tracking her into the Wards if we can meet the single condition she insisted on," said Director Piggot. "I understand your office put a stop on the proceedings? Why? You have to know that a parahuman attacking a civilian at the time, with evidence that she's violated her probation repeatedly, does not fly with me or with most other Directors. Putting Libris and Shadow Stalker on the same team is most likely to end with one or the other dead sooner or later."
"Let me check and get back to you," said the Chief Director. "There must be some kind of extenuating circumstances or information I'm not seeing on the file."
* Sunday 1/9/2011, 1100 hours *
Danny Hebert put the phone down and regarded the way Taylor was sitting with her legs crossed, floating in midair. "That was the PRT."
"Hmmm?" asked Taylor, her book in front of her with pages flipping by themselves.
"It's a go," said Danny.
Taylor looked down at him, then dismissed the effect. "Yeah, well, it'll panic people a lot less when they realize what I can do and it'll let me put a set of runes around the house."
"Oh, like that Rune villain?" asked Danny.
"Hardly, and I'm not an Artificer so this isn't as easy for me," said Taylor, unfolding her legs to stand in a more normal fashion. "Runic arrays and ward-lines are their sort of magic."
"Different types of magic?" asked Danny.
"Well, it's kind of like how you have a General Practitioner or Family Medicine doctor, who refers you to someone who specializes in, oh, Allergies or something," Taylor grabbed a mug of tea out of the air. "My kind of wizard specializes in research and information-gathering. Not so much as a Diviner but still along the same line. Enchanters deal with laying magic INTO objects and people. Abjurers specialize in protection magic. Evokers are the guys and gals that use magic that smashes stuff. And so on."
"Magic is complicated," summed up Danny.
"That is very true," agreed Taylor.
"So, you two are merged now?" asked Danny, who was a little conflicted about having his daughter back, finding he now had two versions of his daughter, and then now was coming back to one version but altered. Various metaphors like coffee with creamer or two glasses of water had largely been unsatisfactory on the emotional level.
"About 80-90%," admitted Taylor. "Still running into things which get a purely Taylor or purely Taylah reaction."
"Ah," said Danny, not sure how to feel about this.
"I mean the memories of growing up in Brockton Bay and the memories of growing up on the island of Sokal until I moved to Emeraldis," continued Taylor as she began stretches. "Both memories are sort of faded. So I can remember mostly growing up here, and I can also remember the creche of House Southern Cross until I ended up going to the school system in Emeraldis. Then getting a job in the Great Library. Very different lives and upbringing though there were some similarities."
There was a solid minute of silence before Danny decided he had to ask. "Okay, HOW are there similarities between growing up as an Amazon wizard-woman and growing up as a normal New England girl?"
"Grew up without a lot of friends," said Taylor. "Father was distant, physically in Taylah's case. Reunited later on, kept in touch for years through magical means. Mother died but Taylah's died to goblin pirates off the coast of Sokal. Best friend turned betrayer after she met up with a new best friend. Hopefully Emma ends up at least a little better off than Taylah's former-friend. Societal pressure to be something - fitting in with a crowd. Wizard, warlock, artificer - they're rare professional tracks for Amazons, even House Southern Cross. More likely you'll run into fighters, rogues, rangers, or some sort of soldier type. Cleric, if you get into spellcasting but even that's pretty rare. Wizards are not common."
"Okay," mused Danny.
"I, or Taylah, was rescued by a barbarian named Domger - mainly because he hates bullies." Taylor's voice dropped a little in pitch, indicating Taylah had just taken over the narrative. "We all graduated, but the three that were trying to bully me ended up trying to flee the war that had just broken out. They pissed off the crew of their ship enough that when the Free States intercepted the vessel they were surrendered. Ended up as undead troops of the Free States and on the front lines where Domger's tribe was fighting. They didn't last long."
"These Free States used zombies or something?" asked Danny.
"You can name your nation or group anything for PR purposes," said Taylah, making an off-hand gesture that left a good section of room cleaner than it had been. "Results and actions count more than words. Anyway. Breaks in their anti-divination wards during the Battle of Winter's Edge let the Kingdom's mages determine that it's more of a necrocacy - rule by the undead. Elven undead, close enough to Nazis if you squint, specifically."
"Sounds complicated," noted Danny.
"Life is," noted Taylah. "Anything life is involved in grows more complicated as time goes on. The Kingdom of Shadar wasn't perfect, but it was a damn sight better than the Free States or anywhere near the Nameless City."
Deciding that sounded like a rabbit hole he was best not exploring, Danny let that reference pass for now. "So there's a me in this other world?"
"Sailor turned dockworker turned Assistant Guildmaster, though he might as well be Guildmaster himself for all the duties he's undertaken," Taylah's voice had a quality of longing begin as she spoke. "Knows the airship docks and watercraft docks and oversees both. A bit of a warrior, though old and out of practice. Favors a heavy crossbow and still practices with that though. Pureline human, which is a rare thing in the Seventh Age. Has three magical tattoos, where one is normally common for sailors in that part of the world. The compass, the eagle, and the mermaid. So, once per day he can use the tattoo to determine North, has great distance eyesight, and can speak the language of any sapient who lives underwater. In my part of the world, the Kingdom, tattoos have fallen out of public favor. They're expensive as hell for something that only lasts a few minutes out of each day. And then someone puts an arrow in it or swipes you with a knife and the magic's lost."
Danny blinked at that, and realized that his other self had made up for his absence with the other Taylor. He had to do better himself.
* Monday, February 7, 2011 *
* PRT National Offices, Washington DC *
Rebecca Costa-Brown double-checked the e-mail despite her Alexandria Thinker power making that completely unnecessary. She set the coffee cup down on the desk, looked into space for a moment as she weighed options, and then pressed a button on her phone.
"Legal? It's a go on Shadow Stalker. Anything keeping her in Brockton Bay or from facing legal trouble? Eliminate that. I want to hear by this time tomorrow she's no longer anywhere near Brockton Bay."
"Gotcha, Chief."
"Don't call me 'Chief'," grumbled Costa-Brown as she disconnected. Really, Smithers had a horrible fascination for 1960s television but was sufficiently efficient in his duties that such could be tolerated. In small doses at least.
As for the highly classified e-mail report she'd just gotten from Brockton Bay? That one Troop Leader Tina DeJesus had just successfully cast "Mending" without a scroll and worked out from observation how to cast another cantrip that involved a cold ray?
Libris could teach abilities that were not covered by the Shards? Not some sort of Trump-gifting power like Othala in that city or Teacher's skills?
Yes, a copy of that classified report was going to Contessa to see what this would do to the Plan. Even if it had no measurable impact on defeating Scion - afterwards there were distinct possibilities. If they survived, of course.
* Director Piggot's Office *
Shadow Stalker came in, flopped down into the chair, and glanced at her phone to check the time.
Director Piggot steepled her hands in front of her, leaning forward ever so slightly. "Plans, Stalker?"
"Well, you know, got a patrol later today. Something up?" asked Shadow Stalker.
The door behind her opened and Armsmaster and Miss Militia came in. That made this a little more serious so she straightened up. This was something official, maybe?
"Yes, something is certainly up," said Director Emily Piggot. "Tell me, Shadow Stalker, how have you been handling your various duties lately? I'm told you've been taking down criminals with exceptional vigor lately."
"You mean I've been real effective and stopping crooks, yeah," said Stalker, relaxing just a bit.
"Good, good," said Director Piggot, a faint smile showing behind her laced-together hands.
The door shutting caused Shadow Stalker to glance that way, then turn back to the Director. Her eyes widened, and then her head turned so quickly one would half-expect her to sprain a neck muscle.
"I believe you've met Troop Leader DeJesus?" said Director Piggot in a particularly calm and measured voice.
"Ah, no, never met her before," said Shadow Stalker.
"Right, of course," said Director Piggot. She hit play on her console before returning to the same Gendo Ikari pose.
A scene played out on the monitor.
"That was taken illegally, I didn't consent, and it was made with computer animation, and you can't prove anything!" said Sophia, more rapidly than usual.
"I see, I see," said Director Piggot. "What you may not have realized if you've never read the various contracts you signed as part of your probation deal? If we have cause we can go over your phone records, including the daily backups on your PRT-issue phone. If we have probable cause of that pesky little probation being violated? We can subpoena your regular phone as well."
"That's illegal!" said Shadow Stalker, her eyes flicking towards the window.
"Are you sure you want to go with that choice, Miss Hess?" asked Director Piggot.
"You're bluffing," tried Shadow Stalker/Sophia Hess, not sounding all that certain.
"Oh?" asked Director Piggot.
"Yeah. You don't actually have anything on me or I'd-" Without any other warning, Shadow Stalker lunged forward, phasing as she went for the window.
(Sound of taser going off!) (Shriek) (Thump)
"Both of you using tasers may have been a bit much," noted Director Piggot.
Armsmaster stepped forward, put a pair of cuffs on the twitching teenager, and activated them.
"That'll be all, Troop Leader DeJesus," said Director Piggot.
* Friday, January 7, 2011 *
When the government wanted something done NOW, it was surprising how many people would throw up roadblocks. To Taylah, at least. She was used to what the locals would call a "Constitutional Monarchy" where people would throw things to their local magistrate, usually appointed by the Queen's Court, and things would either get done or be kicked up to a higher functionary. When she worked for the Great Library in the capitol city of Emeraldis - things got done fast.
The idea that it took this long just to schedule the paperwork to be reviewed so that she could go from one school to another in the same city was ridiculous. She still had to go through placement testing, which she suspected would be a right pain.
After all, she had very little in the area of local memories to tap into, so things like social studies would be beyond her besides what she could cram into place in the meantime.
In Emeraldis, she would file a form and it would be reviewed and it would take a day or so to get back to her. Two days at the most. How much of that was magical sorting of paperwork and how much just the efficiency of the system back home was something else she didn't know.
In the Kingdom of Shadar she'd done her mandatory time in the Guard. "Militia Training" was one of the terms given, and it did install a certain degree of familiarity with the various processes.
Whereas the current system involved the "vox populi" and various people who were not screened for things like corruption or even sanity were allowed to sit in the seats of power.
Or so it seemed to her at least.
She was seated at a desk in the offices of this "Dockworkers Association" which was a kind of guild. It appeared to be the local version of the Stevedore & Wharfsman Guild in fact. What kept throwing her off were not the parallels between Taylor's father and her own - it was the differences between them.
Her own father had been a sailor first, working his way up the ranks to Bosun's Mate before retiring from the sea and working his way up through the ranks of administrators of the Wharfsman Guild in the archipelago. He had then eventually become the Assistant Guildmaster, who basically ran everything while the functional Guildmaster mainly attended meetings and spent time in the taverns.
"So, these 'Unwritten Rules'?" asked Taylah. "Apparently developed since the days of someone named 'Vikare'?"
"I'm not really up on that sort of thing," admitted Danny Hebert.
"Understood," agreed Taylah, going back to her reading for a few minutes before stiffening and sitting fully upright. "Ah."
"Something happening?" asked Danny, looking up from the papers spread across his desk.
"Taylor's awake, be just a few minutes," said Taylah, sitting back in the chair and closing her eyes.
Danny stared at his daughter's body and wondered exactly how one was supposed to handle this sort of thing.
* Dreamscape *
"WHAT IN HELL IS GOING ON?"
"Hello, Taylor. My name is Taylah."
"What?"
"I'm you, except having grown up in an entirely different environment," said Taylah.
"What?"
Taylah sighed and looked over her shorter and younger counterpart. "We're merging. Look within yourself."
Taylor stared, tried to look within herself, and then tried to make sense of what she was finding. "I am thou, thou art I?"
"Essentially," agreed Taylah. "Put a bit oddly, but correct in the salient point."
"This is very weird," said Taylor.
"I am not arguing that point, not at all," agreed Taylah.
Taylor stared at her other self for a few moments, processing things.
"Your father is here, did you want to speak to him?" asked Taylah.
Again Taylor hesitated, weighing the pluses and minuses before finally deciding that this might be the better option.
* Troop Leader DeJesus *
There was a certain satisfaction in watching one's duties come to a successful conclusion.
"I'M GOING TO SUE EVERYONE! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DADDY, HELP ME!"
Seeing Alan Barnes turn away from his daughter, and Emma Barnes' expression on seeing that, was just a little bit uncomfortable. Neither had done anything to her after all. Still, after a psychological evaluation the girl might receive some help because she clearly needed it. Oh, and she just kicked a police officer between the goal posts. That was NOT going to win her any points.
Blackwell had stopped in her own progress towards the police cruisers, shaking her head once before allowing the officers to escort her the rest of the way.
In the meantime she was watching the crowd. If there was someone with trope-enforcement powers, because that could actually be a thing and this place was rife with cliches, they weren't being obvious.
"I always knew that girl was nuttier than a sack of squirrel feed," drawled one of the watching students to another.
"No more than anyone else around here," commented the second boy.
Tina shook her head and headed back to her car. She had to get tools out, clear out Sophia Hess' locker, get copies of all relevant records to check against what they had back in the office, see if Hebert's locker had been cleaned, and see if she could get those rear tires replaced as they were wearing a bit thin.
It was truly a pity, Tina thought to herself, that the Mending cantrip required the original materials to be present. If things went well with the testing later, being able to cast that and fix her tires would save her some much needed cash.
* Taylah *
While Taylor and her father were getting acquainted, Taylah gave them some privacy (as much as she could despite the whole sharing-a-body thing) and went over her spell load.
As a wizard of the 14th rank, or in terms more common back home - as a sapphire-rank wizard - she could cast a single spell of the 7th power. Which was entirely respectable in her opinion. Let those who insisted she was a failure as an Amazon or as a wizard back in her own school days be admonished for their lack of foresight.
She could, through the compartmenting of her memories, cast five cantrips as many times as she wished per day. She had 4 spells of the 1st power, 3 of the 2nd, 3 of the 3rd, 3 also of the 4th power ranking, 2 of the 5th power, and a single spell of both the 6th and 7th complexity/power ranking.
Her cantrips, chosen as were the actual spells for their utility in this realm, were: Fire Bolt (frequently handy), Mage Hand, Mending, and Prestidigitation. Utility magic with the exception of Fire Bolt - which was because she'd well noted this was not a particularly safe city.
Of the first power spells she had ready to unleash: Comprehend Languages because she could understand the English due to Taylor speaking it - but there were other languages in use in this city and so she had that available. Grease and Mage Armor, because as noted this was not an entirely safe city. She had chosen Sleep for similar reasons, though she had been tempted to go with Shield instead.
Of the second power spells, she had another set of power testing scheduled and had chosen Continual Flame as something for their analysts. Misty Step and Web were also useful in a dangerous environment. Especially used in combination with Web immobilizing opponents and Misty Step for getting away.
The third power spells had been a little less easy as far as choices. Detect Enemies, Speak With Dead, and Fly were today's selection. Fireball had been considered but rejected as apparently that wasn't the image these authorities wanted to put forth. Detect Enemies had been suggested by Tina. Which was an obscure one and had a very limited range, but perhaps the Troop Leader had her reasons?
Fourth power spells memorized for today included one specifically requested by Troop Leader Tina. Taylah's understanding was that Tina was essentially a sergeant of this branch of their Guard, so Divination was one of the three spells to be demonstrated later today. Polymorph she had demonstrated before but apparently they wanted further demonstrations of that for some reason.
Fifth power spells, she only had the two up. Scrying and Summon Dragon. The latter had not been suggested by anyone, but Tina had asked a few questions about dragons and so that spell might be seen as a reward. It was truly a pity she couldn't summon a specific dragon, as she did have somewhat friendly relations with two individuals.
Maybe she could work that out sometime when Taylor was "driving" the body. Perhaps.
The single spell of the sixth power was Tasha's Bubbling Cauldron. Because they were still testing that one. Still. She had other spells of that power level but all they wanted to do was test healing potions produced by the cauldron.
The spell of the seventh power was Symbol: Sleep. That had been requested specifically by the Director. Taylah didn't know the why of it, but the powdered diamond had been acquired for it.
Not that she actually needed material components, but the locals seemed to be more accepting of her abilities with limits stated on such things.
They were still talking, mostly talking around things instead of talking about things.
This might take awhile.
* Dockworkers Offices *
Taylor had been slouching and evasive ever since Taylah had relinquished control. So, when she suddenly straightened up and scowled at nothing in particular - it was as clear as anything he'd seen that Taylah was back.
"Hey, Taylor, you actually have a chance to TALK to your father. I first met my father when I was sixteen! I've seen him three times in my life! Now go ahead and talk because we need to get ready for the meeting at your Parahuman Response group later and there's the issues with joining the Wards."
"Wait. What? Wards?!" That was said in Taylor's voice, not the slightly more melodic manner of Taylah.
"Yes, your junior Adventurer's Guild," said Taylah's voice. "They're why we're going to Arcadia after we finish the placement tests."
"Wards? Arcadia? Tests?!"
"We have several tests to go through," said Taylah's voice. "And I've got to make scrolls still."
"I just woke up!" complained Taylor.
"We're the same person, or will be. Talk to your father and actually answer something besides 'I'm fine' or 'It's nothing'. You're not a rogue, so just stop dodging everything. And YOU."
"Me?" asked Danny, noting that attention had just snapped to him.
"You're the adult between the two of you, so stop with the evasiveness. I swear, if I was a hakima I'd throw up a Dome of Truth and force you two to talk."
There was brief silence before Taylor ventured a tentative. "I'm not really sure how she made a copy of our couch in our mindscape, but she's reading some book and now she's glaring at me..."
"So, let's talk before she comes out again?" suggested Danny.
"I think that might be for the best."
* 1/7/2011, 20:05 hours *
* PRT Test Chamber *
"Okay, Libris. Do you have them?"
"Yes, these are the basic exercises for developing magical reserves. To determine if someone can manage that much, these are scrolls for the cantrip 'Mending' - which repairs simple breaks or tears in material."
"Very well. Trooper Tyrone Jackson, if you'll try reading from this scroll and repairing this pencil?"
"Damn, my eyes hurt trying to look at this."
"That's because it's a two-dimensional representation of four-dimensional geometry. You get used to it."
"Ow ow ow. HOLY SHIT! It worked?"
"Because it only repairs simple breaks of a limited size, there are people who dismiss 'Mending' as useful or worthy of the time needed to master it. Those people have never worked in a library."
"Honestly, I can think of a few dozen times a day I could use this in the motor pool."
"Not everyone is cut out to be a wizard, but you might one day, Mister Jackson."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Next? Ah, Tina. It is good to see you again."
The rest of it went fairly well. Three of the four could, after some coaching and with some degree of headache pain, managed to cast Mending from the scroll.
"Okay, what 'spells' are she demonstrating now?" asked Director Piggot as she entered the Testing facility.
"This one is called 'Detect Enemies'," said Researcher Ikari. "Divination appears to be information-gathering powers, so these are all Thinker type abilities."
"Why are so many people lingering around here?" asked Director Piggot.
"Actually, we leaked the testing of a new cape here, but Libris is mostly concealed behind those partitions - so no clear sight of... oh, that's interesting."
Director Piggot looked from her own vantage and could clearly see Libris pointing at people she had no clear line-of-sight on. "Get the names of those she's pointing at... though I recognize Calvert myself."
"Yes, Director."
"What's next?" asked Director Piggot. "Is it the question one?"
Researcher Yui Ikari checked her clipboard. "A divination spell called Divination. Yes. That's the one where she needs a question, it must be something that will happen within seven days."
Director Piggot went to the microphone and waited until the odd ritual was completed and then asked the question she'd come up with. "Libris. Where and how can we stop the Slaughterhouse Nine?"
When Libris spoke, her voice had an odd echo to it. "The Nine you seek hide in shadows to prepare, their cruel reputation deserved, to face their power if you dare, Cherry Creek in Nevada is observed. Parahuman attention they will detect, and scurry from your light, with other means - you may collect, and strike with all that might."
Director Piggot was quiet for a moment. "That was a damn sight better than most ThinkTank precogs. I'm used to lavender-white and coconut-ginseng and crap like that where I need an interpreter to make sense of it."
* Saturday, 1/8/2011, 0900 hours *
"Magic," said Rebecca Costa-Brown.
"Trump effect that can be taught, requiring months of study to begin with but then quickly growing in power if she's correct." Director Piggot sipped at her coffee, then continued. "Currently, we are leaning towards her claims that she is actually from another universe and merging with her duplicate here. It's not so outre since we know people born before the advent of parahumans on our Earth also largely exist on Earth Aleph."
"'If'," stressed Rebecca Costa-Brown. "I'll review the footage. Even if this teaching process is not viable, a Trump with a wide range of powers... Did she just turn that man into a newt?"
"He got better," pointed out Director Piggot. "Effect lasted fifty-nine minutes."
"That could still make capture of villains much easier," said Rebecca Costa-Brown.
"So would the higher-order 'Symbol' particularly the 'Sleep' effect," pointed out Director Piggot. "Once activated, the effect lasted for two hours."
"Then we come to this, this prediction," said Rebecca Costa-Brown, the Chief Director of the Parahuman Response Team letter-boxing the result of the Divination. "As soon as it reached my office we were able to determine that the Slaughterhouse was in the area but they have since moved out of that area entirely."
"Which means that Libris was accurate and that somewhere along the line a parahuman has access to our intel," guessed Piggot.
"Or Libris' precog abilities are insufficient to be relied on," counter-concluded the Chief Director.
"As a Trump with other capabilities, including several non-lethal takedown methods, I am fast-tracking her into the Wards if we can meet the single condition she insisted on," said Director Piggot. "I understand your office put a stop on the proceedings? Why? You have to know that a parahuman attacking a civilian at the time, with evidence that she's violated her probation repeatedly, does not fly with me or with most other Directors. Putting Libris and Shadow Stalker on the same team is most likely to end with one or the other dead sooner or later."
"Let me check and get back to you," said the Chief Director. "There must be some kind of extenuating circumstances or information I'm not seeing on the file."
* Sunday 1/9/2011, 1100 hours *
Danny Hebert put the phone down and regarded the way Taylor was sitting with her legs crossed, floating in midair. "That was the PRT."
"Hmmm?" asked Taylor, her book in front of her with pages flipping by themselves.
"It's a go," said Danny.
Taylor looked down at him, then dismissed the effect. "Yeah, well, it'll panic people a lot less when they realize what I can do and it'll let me put a set of runes around the house."
"Oh, like that Rune villain?" asked Danny.
"Hardly, and I'm not an Artificer so this isn't as easy for me," said Taylor, unfolding her legs to stand in a more normal fashion. "Runic arrays and ward-lines are their sort of magic."
"Different types of magic?" asked Danny.
"Well, it's kind of like how you have a General Practitioner or Family Medicine doctor, who refers you to someone who specializes in, oh, Allergies or something," Taylor grabbed a mug of tea out of the air. "My kind of wizard specializes in research and information-gathering. Not so much as a Diviner but still along the same line. Enchanters deal with laying magic INTO objects and people. Abjurers specialize in protection magic. Evokers are the guys and gals that use magic that smashes stuff. And so on."
"Magic is complicated," summed up Danny.
"That is very true," agreed Taylor.
"So, you two are merged now?" asked Danny, who was a little conflicted about having his daughter back, finding he now had two versions of his daughter, and then now was coming back to one version but altered. Various metaphors like coffee with creamer or two glasses of water had largely been unsatisfactory on the emotional level.
"About 80-90%," admitted Taylor. "Still running into things which get a purely Taylor or purely Taylah reaction."
"Ah," said Danny, not sure how to feel about this.
"I mean the memories of growing up in Brockton Bay and the memories of growing up on the island of Sokal until I moved to Emeraldis," continued Taylor as she began stretches. "Both memories are sort of faded. So I can remember mostly growing up here, and I can also remember the creche of House Southern Cross until I ended up going to the school system in Emeraldis. Then getting a job in the Great Library. Very different lives and upbringing though there were some similarities."
There was a solid minute of silence before Danny decided he had to ask. "Okay, HOW are there similarities between growing up as an Amazon wizard-woman and growing up as a normal New England girl?"
"Grew up without a lot of friends," said Taylor. "Father was distant, physically in Taylah's case. Reunited later on, kept in touch for years through magical means. Mother died but Taylah's died to goblin pirates off the coast of Sokal. Best friend turned betrayer after she met up with a new best friend. Hopefully Emma ends up at least a little better off than Taylah's former-friend. Societal pressure to be something - fitting in with a crowd. Wizard, warlock, artificer - they're rare professional tracks for Amazons, even House Southern Cross. More likely you'll run into fighters, rogues, rangers, or some sort of soldier type. Cleric, if you get into spellcasting but even that's pretty rare. Wizards are not common."
"Okay," mused Danny.
"I, or Taylah, was rescued by a barbarian named Domger - mainly because he hates bullies." Taylor's voice dropped a little in pitch, indicating Taylah had just taken over the narrative. "We all graduated, but the three that were trying to bully me ended up trying to flee the war that had just broken out. They pissed off the crew of their ship enough that when the Free States intercepted the vessel they were surrendered. Ended up as undead troops of the Free States and on the front lines where Domger's tribe was fighting. They didn't last long."
"These Free States used zombies or something?" asked Danny.
"You can name your nation or group anything for PR purposes," said Taylah, making an off-hand gesture that left a good section of room cleaner than it had been. "Results and actions count more than words. Anyway. Breaks in their anti-divination wards during the Battle of Winter's Edge let the Kingdom's mages determine that it's more of a necrocacy - rule by the undead. Elven undead, close enough to Nazis if you squint, specifically."
"Sounds complicated," noted Danny.
"Life is," noted Taylah. "Anything life is involved in grows more complicated as time goes on. The Kingdom of Shadar wasn't perfect, but it was a damn sight better than the Free States or anywhere near the Nameless City."
Deciding that sounded like a rabbit hole he was best not exploring, Danny let that reference pass for now. "So there's a me in this other world?"
"Sailor turned dockworker turned Assistant Guildmaster, though he might as well be Guildmaster himself for all the duties he's undertaken," Taylah's voice had a quality of longing begin as she spoke. "Knows the airship docks and watercraft docks and oversees both. A bit of a warrior, though old and out of practice. Favors a heavy crossbow and still practices with that though. Pureline human, which is a rare thing in the Seventh Age. Has three magical tattoos, where one is normally common for sailors in that part of the world. The compass, the eagle, and the mermaid. So, once per day he can use the tattoo to determine North, has great distance eyesight, and can speak the language of any sapient who lives underwater. In my part of the world, the Kingdom, tattoos have fallen out of public favor. They're expensive as hell for something that only lasts a few minutes out of each day. And then someone puts an arrow in it or swipes you with a knife and the magic's lost."
Danny blinked at that, and realized that his other self had made up for his absence with the other Taylor. He had to do better himself.
* Monday, February 7, 2011 *
* PRT National Offices, Washington DC *
Rebecca Costa-Brown double-checked the e-mail despite her Alexandria Thinker power making that completely unnecessary. She set the coffee cup down on the desk, looked into space for a moment as she weighed options, and then pressed a button on her phone.
"Legal? It's a go on Shadow Stalker. Anything keeping her in Brockton Bay or from facing legal trouble? Eliminate that. I want to hear by this time tomorrow she's no longer anywhere near Brockton Bay."
"Gotcha, Chief."
"Don't call me 'Chief'," grumbled Costa-Brown as she disconnected. Really, Smithers had a horrible fascination for 1960s television but was sufficiently efficient in his duties that such could be tolerated. In small doses at least.
As for the highly classified e-mail report she'd just gotten from Brockton Bay? That one Troop Leader Tina DeJesus had just successfully cast "Mending" without a scroll and worked out from observation how to cast another cantrip that involved a cold ray?
Libris could teach abilities that were not covered by the Shards? Not some sort of Trump-gifting power like Othala in that city or Teacher's skills?
Yes, a copy of that classified report was going to Contessa to see what this would do to the Plan. Even if it had no measurable impact on defeating Scion - afterwards there were distinct possibilities. If they survived, of course.
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verycoolname
Not actually cool
Taylah's mom being an Amazon is hilariously fitting.
How satisfying it is to see when bullies are made to pay, like what happens with Emma and Sophia (who is caught and sent away from BB, like Taylor/Taylah's condition to be a Ward), or with Taylah, exasperated by the situation between an awake Taylor and Danny, forcing them to talk and start fixing things (at least before the merge, because after hearing what his alternate version was like, Danny also decides to put more effort into improving his relationship with his daughter/daughters).
By the way, although the source is another one, for some reason, the sites mentioned by Taylah and that Danny reflects on made me think of GoT.
In addition to the reactions to several of Taylah's spells, especially when she discovers enemies among the PRT (cough, Calvert, cough), or predicts a possible S9 attack.
Good luck and keep it up.
By the way, although the source is another one, for some reason, the sites mentioned by Taylah and that Danny reflects on made me think of GoT.
In addition to the reactions to several of Taylah's spells, especially when she discovers enemies among the PRT (cough, Calvert, cough), or predicts a possible S9 attack.
Good luck and keep it up.
FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
She predicts where the S9 will be and that Parahumans can't be involved in the takedown, Costa-Brown immediately forks that up due to being a parahuman and lying about that to the public in order to be the chief director of the PRT despite that needing a non-parahuman in the role..
Hexcalibur
Not So Ordinary Sword
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- It
It was obvious in the divination that having parahuman looking for the S9 would alert them. RCB used parahumans anyway. Was it done so Jack can escape? Cauldron did want Jack to escape in canon so he can trigger Scion.
FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
Not quite. I believe they were protecting the S9 for two reasons. Jack Slash scares Contessa who realizes he could influence her, and they thought William Manton's projection might be useful against Scion. While ignoring the fact that the S9 wouldn't actually help fight Scion.
I suspect the use of Parahumans when told "don't do that" was because Costa-Brown disregards the ability of normal humans to be effective in any situation that a Parahuman could be used. Information gathering? Use a parahuman, they're more reliable then normal humans gathering intelligence. Need to take down a threat? Use parahumans, normal humans can't do it. Ignore the fact that most parahumans are not immune to being shot.
