The S9 is kinda predictable like that, sure there a big deal but there surface level simplicity, it's what makes the complexities of them great, Jack being a big deal in relation to the world.
Summoner Quest (Celestial Menagerie)
- Thread starter zagan
- Start date
- Crossover IC
- Location
- france
- Pronouns
- He
That will be explored in the next chapter. But mainly they want to reduce the risk of painting a target on his back.
In Dauntless's case, he's growing much more slowly so it's less worrying.
So how will Kaiser react to being responsible to ending the empire his father founded
Hard to say. Like Max to his son Theo, Allfarter tortured Max into Triggering. And Max may have been the one to kill him.
Regardless I think Max be more upset that all his plans were upended and failed if anything.
I am more curious what the guzzleshaft will do in response.
Chapter 127: Aftermath
- Location
- france
- Pronouns
- He
[X] Dragon
[X] Creature
Roll: (1040 points)
Category Roll D50=30 Warhammer 40,000, Entry Roll D64=4
100 Carnivorous Sand Clam, 200 Carnodon, 300 Catachan Devil
Category Roll D50=14 Monster Hunter/Dauntless, Entry Roll D355=184
100 Raphinos, 300 Rathalos, 300 Rathian
Sub vote result: Catachan Devil + Rathalos
Banked: 440 points + 120 points from the interlude
[X] Creature
Roll: (1040 points)
Category Roll D50=30 Warhammer 40,000, Entry Roll D64=4
100 Carnivorous Sand Clam, 200 Carnodon, 300 Catachan Devil
Category Roll D50=14 Monster Hunter/Dauntless, Entry Roll D355=184
100 Raphinos, 300 Rathalos, 300 Rathian
Sub vote result: Catachan Devil + Rathalos
Banked: 440 points + 120 points from the interlude
I was hoping for a short and quick chapter but as usual, it ballooned in size. It's far from my best work, more a transitional chapter. I think that the next few chapters will be much more interesting.
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I didn't have time to play fanboys. In a few words, I explained the situation and he said that he responded to an alert launched when I disappeared.
We needed to get back to Brockton Bay asap but we couldn't leave the Empire members behind. Eidolon used some sort of gravity manipulation to force back Fog into a human shape.
I used Dream Flower on everyone except Othala, who's still controlled by Star. With the capes secured I called Olky. And for the first time ever, he berated me. Said that I should have summoned him back immediately, that he couldn't do his job if he wasn't there, that I was offending his professional pride. And all the while remaining perfectly polite and calling me Master every two words. I took it with good grace under the amused gaze of Eidolon.
When he calmed down he agreed to teleport us to town, it took a few back and forths but it was done. We chose to land on the Rig because we were sure that it was secure. We put them all in the training room, under guard by an anchored Sekmet who would use her sleeping gas on them regularly to keep them under. I also called Malcolm and Snow to be on guard duty, using Relay on a willing PRT Sergeant that was in charge of the Rig while everyone was elsewhere.
I want more but I was at my limit of Anchored and Relayed partners, still, it should be enough particularly with the injuries sported by the majority of the Empire's capes. I thanked Star for its help and unsummoned it. Othala freaked out once she was freed and fainted in short order.
With that taken care of, we teleported to the HQ. I expected a scene of chaos with fighting everywhere but no, things have calmed down considerably. There was some commotion at our sudden appearance, particularly considering my look. I was still wearing Scorgem's armor over my destroyed costume. Olky wanted to repair it but I want proof of what happened. Anyway once people recognize me, Eidolon vouching for me, they all breathe a sigh of relief. My disappearance worried them much more than I expected. It was gratifying to know that they cared.
I was welcomed by Miss Militia, thankfully she wasn't injured but she did look very tired. The greetings didn't last long, there was work to do. The HQ was in shambles, mostly on the lower levels. Notably a great big hole at the back of the building.
There was work to do everywhere. Keep watch of the numerous prisoners, fix the most urgent damage, prevent the intrusion of curious peoples, and a million other things.
Before doing anything I took five minutes to give mom a quick call. As expected she was sick with worry and it took some time to calm her down. I promised her that I was in perfect health, and it was true, but that I would remain busy for a while longer.
For my part, I was directed toward the infirmary, because there were a lot of injured. And a few dead. I avoided looking at the covered bodies, I couldn't do anything for them. For the injured I did the best I could, summoning everyone that could help even a little, and using my veterinary skills whenever I could. It was far from pretty, multiple times I needed to take a rest in the Mental Realm while one of my Minds took a turn. I hoped to never witness another amputation again.
At some point, I dismissed Aylamon and Skitter. I left Beeauty in the care of Elytra, I trust her enough to hide my bee partner if necessary. Giving a future Ward additional protection wasn't a bad thing.
It was only early evening that someone came looking for me, I was needed for a debriefing. After cleaning myself up I followed the guard to a meeting room. Here we found the rest of the Protectorate, Director Piggot, Deputy Director Rennick, Lady Photon, Manpower, Dragon via a monitor, and of course Eidolon.
The debriefing covered everything that happened step by step, starting from the moment the attacks started up to now.
It was the occasion for me to learn more about the attacks at the Police Station and the HQ.
Unlike the places where I intervened, those were not hostage-taking operations but purely offensive moves with the side goal of freeing Empire Members. Victor here and unpowered members at the police station. Director Piggot confirmed that Victor escaped, making him the last Empire cape free. Almost made me regret capturing him, he would have been with the others and I would have captured him with them.
At the Police Station, a few people did escape, the guys that were transporting the tinkertech attachment were among those. However far more gang members were captured than the number that escaped.
The damage was much more impactful with numerous explosions, bullet holes, and burn marks. Notably, more than a dozen police cars were completely destroyed and as many were in need of serious repairs.
But of course, the most important thing was the human cost, five officers were confirmed dead, two in a critical state, four with potentially crippling injuries, and ten more lightly wounded.
It was a frontal assault, with no subtlety, conducted by around thirty gang members with a bevy of weapons, including a few equipped with the Tinkertech attachment.
Armsmaster and Battery were able to beat them back, but it was a harrowing battle.
Concerning the HQ it was a multipronged assault, a frontal attack on the main entrance, an attack against the garage entrance, a third one at the back where the explosives were used, and an infiltration by a three-man team just before the start of the attack. They start it off by cutting the main power line and by destroying the main antenna with a rocket launcher.
The heroes on base were forced to split up to deal with all that at the same time. The damage inside was important, but limited to the first two stories of the building. They targeted anything that seems even remotely useful, computers, files, locks, equipment, etc...
They didn't seem to have any specific objective, besides freeing Victor. They mainly seek to create chaos.
I had already seen in the infirmary the result of that attack but when they gave out the numbers I couldn't help but feel angry all over again. And I wasn't the only one, that feeling was reflected in everyone around the table. We lost eleven people, trooper and administrator both, thirteen gravely wounded, and nearly forty lightly wound. And that wasn't even considering the psychological damage.
After a short break, it was my turn to retell everything that happened during my intervention at the school, the hospital, the town hall, and during my abduction.
I used illusions to showcase some of the partners I call for help. There was some disbelief concerning a number of them. Harvest drew considerable interest and I was warmed to not spy on the inside of the PRT or Protectorate building. I didn't mention losing Deathbringer. It wasn't the right time.
Obviously, the most attention was given to my abduction. Together we dissect every action taken both by me and by the Empire members. Kaiser's words were analyzed in detail. My strategy was taken apart. When I mentioned Zodiark and Megaera they were incredulous and I knew that I would be questioned on the topic at some point in the future. Eidolon's calculating gaze unsettles me a little.
Director Piggot reprimanded me, arguing that I should have gone all out from the start and that I was overconfident.
The last piece of the puzzle was why Eidolon intervened and how he found me. The why was easy. A national alert was launched by Dragon as soon as she was contacted by Armsmaster about the Empire attacks. And a second alert was launched when I was abducted. When Eidolon received the first alert he prepared himself should the situation escalate further and when he received the second one he decided to act. Apparently, I was deemed by the higher-ups to be a key asset and that losing me would be a major blow to the Protectorate as a whole.
While it was understandable on a strategic level, learning about it was unsettling. And it means that on some level Kaiser was right, a Triumvirate member intervened only because it was me specifically as the victim. No other heroes would warrant that sort of reaction. I didn't say anything but I didn't like that, I didn't like receiving special treatment and I like even less the fact that other people are considered expendable. This painted the organization I was working for in a new light. Changing it in my eyes from a purely heroic group to a pragmatic one.
I returned my attention to the table when Eidolon explained in more detail how he found me. Mainly a combination of high-level Mover and Thinker powers. Of course, having Bakugami hovering in the sky helped a lot.
Briefly, we discussed Bakugami and I was given the go-ahead to use it more often, keeping in mind the property damage generated by the explosion. And that it would be publicly revealed that I was among my powers. That made me happy because that would mean one more partner all the time for Strength of Many.
Then the discussion turned toward the question of how to handle so many prisoners, we simply didn't have the room for that many capes at the same time. Eidolon was the one to provide the solution. He would take the majority of the capes with him on his way back to Houston; he would deposit them at various other PRT branches. It was an unusual arrangement, borderline illegal even, but considering the scope of today's events, it was approved.
And at the end of the reunion, around eleven, we broached the last subject. How would we present today's event? In particular my kidnapping and my return with all the Empire's capes in tow. I asked if we could hide it completely but that was a no-go, too many people have seen me disappear and come back. In order to avoid drawing an even bigger target on my back, Deputy Director Rennick proposed that Eidolon be given full credit for my rescue.
That would have been fine with me, however, Eidolon argues against it. Saying that building my reputation would protect me much more effectively in the long run.
Nothing was decided at the end of the debrief, the details would be settled by the PR department. Certainly, a middle ground where I was in the middle of fighting when Eidolon arrived to finish the fight.
At last, we were all free to go. Because I was loath to waste a day, I made a quick detour by my lab to summon my various materials.
Finally, after all that, I was able to relax. It was now one in the morning and I was in my bed at home. I allowed myself to think back to the latest gain from the Menagerie. Chain Summoning obviously, and also two more partners that I gained during the debriefing.
So Chain Summoning, it's among the most complicated of our power even if the effect itself is fairly basic./When we summon one partner we can designate it as the first member of a chain. With a max of ten, and a size restriction between each member./And then when the first member of the chain is dismissed the second one is summoned in its place, and so on until you reach the last members./Already it's interesting just like that, mainly to lock someone in combat./But it gets better because every boost, and only boost, that's active on a previous member of the chain gets passed on to the next one./Obviously it applies to the power of the Menagerie. I can already see some combo with Anchored or Relay, to defend a location or person, the undying bodyguard. Designated Target is obvious too./And it doesn't stop there, it applies to boosts from other sources. Chandelle's barrier, Thorne's Haste, and so on.
Next was a new partner.
We got a Catachan Devil. Basically a cross between a centipede and a scorpion the size of two buses in length. Not something you want to encounter in the middle of the night./Personally, I wouldn't want to encounter it even in bright daylight./Fair./Nothing more to say about this one, a big bruiser. Useful certainly but not game-breaking.
The last one looked to be much more promising.
A Rathalos, it's some sort of flying wyvern./But the public will call it a dragon./They're not entirely wrong, it's a flying reptile the size of a truck able to breathe fire./That's another excellent combat mount to add to our stable. Not too big, not too small, intimidating, firepower aplenty, fast, and maneuverable./I'm not sure we'll be calling him all that often. Material Extraction on that guy is insane for some reason. A laundry list of body parts that can be used to make a lot of weapons and armors.
Satisfied with that recap, I chose to sleep for real today, I fell into dreamland wondering what tomorrow would bring.
Wordcount: 2241
Excess words: 660
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So, for a little while, I will be changing the passing of the quest. Each chapter (or two max) will equate to one day in the setting. I'll ask you to vote on that day's activities. As time advances some activities will be added, some may be removed, and some may be added if some other activities have been done before. If I think the winning activity is not sufficient for a full chapter I may opt to combine it with one or two more. Activities that are most likely to be combined will be in the same color. For example, I may combine "Tinkering with Kid Win" with "Build Vista's Weapon". Finally, an activity that is removed from the list may still happen on its own, but it won't be the focus of a chapter.
For reference, The first day of activity will be Wednesday, April Sixth, Twenty Eleven (06/04/2011).
Here's the list of activities available for this first day.
[] I need to rest, I should spend time at home with mom.
[] I should tell Armsmaster the truth about the Menagerie.
[] I think it's time to talk to Armsmaster about Grant Summoning
[] Velocity wants to talk with me, I should go see him.
[] I need to explore Princess's Orb.
[] I promised Vista to go on patrol with her and Aylamon
[] I want to talk with Assault and Battery about converted Villains
[] My partners need some serious training, let's make a day of it.
[] I promised Kid Win to do some Tinkering with him.
[] I received the go-ahead to craft Vista's weapon. Time to craft.
For the roll, 800 points.
[] Creature
[] Power
Voting will be closed Tuesday at 3 PM GMT
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- Location
- USA
[X] I need to rest, I should spend time at home with mom
[X] Power
We need some powers to survive what is to come
[X] Power
We need some powers to survive what is to come
[X] I promised Kid Win to do some Tinkering with him.
[X] I received the go-ahead to craft Vista's weapon. Time to craft.
[X] Velocity wants to talk with me, I should go see him.
[X] I need to explore Princess's Orb.
[X] I promised Vista to go on patrol with her and Aylamon
[X] I want to talk with Assault and Battery about converted Villains
[X] Power
[X] I received the go-ahead to craft Vista's weapon. Time to craft.
[X] Velocity wants to talk with me, I should go see him.
[X] I need to explore Princess's Orb.
[X] I promised Vista to go on patrol with her and Aylamon
[X] I want to talk with Assault and Battery about converted Villains
[X] Power
[X] I need to rest, I should spend time at home with mom.
[X] Velocity wants to talk with me, I should go see him.
[X] I need to explore Princess's Orb.
[X] Power
[X] Velocity wants to talk with me, I should go see him.
[X] I need to explore Princess's Orb.
[X] Power
So cute. He's Alfred now.
Non-canon omake: Mellow Surprise by Doccer
Somewhere on a rooftop in the North of the Bay...
Skidmark was chillin' on an old Lazy-E-Boy on a 20 something story building. He went up there after he heard the fuckwads E88 started blowing up the city with one attack after another. Dumbasses. Even he knew this was going to come down on them harder than the shit Iron Rain and Allfarter did in the day. Heh Allfarter that's a good one.
BAMF!
And there comes some more screams. Skids took a drag before passing the fatty to his bitch. Then pulled up his binoculars to lazily look at the PRT HQ and saw a new smoking hole in it. Some of his guys cheered. Why shouldn't they. The more effort the pigs gotta deal with whenever this shit blew over the more time his gus can take over E88 old territory!
He grabbed the fatty back for another pull before sleeping this high off. His high was almost ending but he was tired from staying up for so long. Skids nearly tossed his binocu- bino- beny- Aw fuck the looksee glasses over to someone, when he saw something get dark in the horizon, practically on the ground, yet not, in the middle of the shiny fucking day...
Something in Skids made him get up. Instincts let's call it. He peered thru the looksee glasses to look at the black thing. Somehow it wasn't both near and far. But he couldn't say he would have seen much with out his, looksee thing. In it he saw something that looked like an eclipsed sun and and a sea of oil. And over the course of a few minutes saw that sea lay an Egg which gave birth to the Simurgh's deranged cousin, lit up, then body slammed the Empire into the oil sea.
After a moment Squealer asked what's wrong. He wasn't even looking any direction into the city.
Skids tossed the looksee, stubbed out the fatty. Then looked around for somebody not so high or drunk looking. What's that guy's name?
"Hey hey you!" Skidmark shouted at a guy he didn't know the name of, "Steve. Steve! Yes! You Steve! Take this fatty, save it and the batch it came from. Sell it for high and name it...Mellow Surprise. Smooth as a regular MJ gives you prophetical visions at the tail end."
Skids then promptly threw himself back into his Lazy-E-Boy and went to sleep
My attempt at an Omake
Skidmark was chillin' on an old Lazy-E-Boy on a 20 something story building. He went up there after he heard the fuckwads E88 started blowing up the city with one attack after another. Dumbasses. Even he knew this was going to come down on them harder than the shit Iron Rain and Allfarter did in the day. Heh Allfarter that's a good one.
BAMF!
And there comes some more screams. Skids took a drag before passing the fatty to his bitch. Then pulled up his binoculars to lazily look at the PRT HQ and saw a new smoking hole in it. Some of his guys cheered. Why shouldn't they. The more effort the pigs gotta deal with whenever this shit blew over the more time his gus can take over E88 old territory!
He grabbed the fatty back for another pull before sleeping this high off. His high was almost ending but he was tired from staying up for so long. Skids nearly tossed his binocu- bino- beny- Aw fuck the looksee glasses over to someone, when he saw something get dark in the horizon, practically on the ground, yet not, in the middle of the shiny fucking day...
Something in Skids made him get up. Instincts let's call it. He peered thru the looksee glasses to look at the black thing. Somehow it wasn't both near and far. But he couldn't say he would have seen much with out his, looksee thing. In it he saw something that looked like an eclipsed sun and and a sea of oil. And over the course of a few minutes saw that sea lay an Egg which gave birth to the Simurgh's deranged cousin, lit up, then body slammed the Empire into the oil sea.
After a moment Squealer asked what's wrong. He wasn't even looking any direction into the city.
Skids tossed the looksee, stubbed out the fatty. Then looked around for somebody not so high or drunk looking. What's that guy's name?
"Hey hey you!" Skidmark shouted at a guy he didn't know the name of, "Steve. Steve! Yes! You Steve! Take this fatty, save it and the batch it came from. Sell it for high and name it...Mellow Surprise. Smooth as a regular MJ gives you prophetical visions at the tail end."
Skids then promptly threw himself back into his Lazy-E-Boy and went to sleep
My attempt at an Omake
[X] I need to rest, I should spend time at home with mom
[X] Power
[X] Power
- Location
- france
- Pronouns
- He
Thanks for the Omake it was funny.
- Location
- California
[X] Velocity wants to talk with me, I should go see him.
[X] I promised Kid Win to do some Tinkering with him.
[X] I received the go-ahead to craft Vista's weapon. Time to craft.
[X] Power
You know, reading this I hope our minds kept up a poker face. I would hate for Eidolon to gain more information to Compendium's irregularities. It sounds like Alex is having whiplash as he receives basic confirmation o a number of details.
[X] I promised Kid Win to do some Tinkering with him.
[X] I received the go-ahead to craft Vista's weapon. Time to craft.
[X] Power
You know, reading this I hope our minds kept up a poker face. I would hate for Eidolon to gain more information to Compendium's irregularities. It sounds like Alex is having whiplash as he receives basic confirmation o a number of details.
Thanks! Wasn't sure if I was getting the tone right.
I was thinking. Should there be an option to have a party or something private between himself and his partners? Particularly the ones that were out and about? Especially the ones that took hits? Will there be a event for the Heroes and PRT? Will the Creatures get an invite?
By party I mean "We survived. E88 are no more. You all did well kinda party?" Less lively than Christmas, more lively than a Wake is the gist of what I mean if that's coming across?
- Location
- france
- Pronouns
- He
No comment. Spoiler.
Side note: I just realized that the colors weren't included in my activities list. Corrected.
GamingandReading
Browses and Replies With Haste
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] I need to rest, I should spend time at home with mom.
[X] My partners need some serious training, let's make a day of it.
[X] Creature
My idea is to have a day to ourselves. What just happened f@cking sucked on many levels. Give this dude rest.
[X] My partners need some serious training, let's make a day of it.
[X] Creature
My idea is to have a day to ourselves. What just happened f@cking sucked on many levels. Give this dude rest.
[X] I need to rest, I should spend time at home with mom.
[X] Velocity wants to talk with me, I should go see him.
[X] Power
[X] Velocity wants to talk with me, I should go see him.
[X] Power
A bunch people die in this incident so I doubt people would want to "party" after this tragedy and It would be inconsiderate with the families of the dead prt agents.
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Sry. I was thinking in line with morale boosting and saying goodbye to the dead while celebrating that it wasn't for nothing now that a long time enemy and staple of Brockton's scenery is now finally gone.
- Location
- California
Which is surprising as as I kind of expected higher casualties.
Probably because of all those do not kill orders Kaiser gave. Trying to toe the line between local threat and terrorist. Luckily he seemed to have a lot of hapless loyalists. But even then it's nice the causalities we're low end.