I would say time is variable as this is about degree of explosion. Sophia is 1/3 of her bullies, and seemingly by the chance, Taylor hasn't interacted much with Shadow Stalker. The moment they start interacting, anything less than highly positive or hyper-focused on professionalism, is a ticking time-bomb.
Maybe, Taylor can immediately tell it's Sophie, but she enters a state of denial until the truth is unavoidable. Taylor's a bit of unreliable narrator that way. Maybe, she picks up on Sophie's poor attitude, and chooses not to interact while at 'work,' which can delay a confrontation. The only guarantee that exists is that when Taylor learns, Sophie= ShadowStalker, then we're seeing a negative response; either destructive or an implosion.
Oh, even if she doesn't figure out that Shadowstalker is Sophia, Shadowstalker's general Sophia-ness is likely to trigger something in her hind brain. She might not even make the connection between being reminded but she's spent more than a year and a half getting tormented by those girls and that leaves scars. The more she interacts with Shadowstalker, the more she is going to twig onto the association.
That said, I have to wonder if Taylor doesn't ask for an official investigation into her bullying. It sounds very much like a thing that Alex would suggest to help give her some catharsis with his new Psychology knowledge.
Would that stranger ratings count if it was a Tinker that just happened to make a few devices that look like ordinary junk laying around the place?
I still think Stranger Rating is only applies if she knows how to do her Bug Clone techniques.
I always thought stranger ratings had to do with powers manipulating persecptions in some way. Usually through bypassing things like 5 senses, such as invisibility.
I always thought stranger ratings had to do with powers manipulating persecptions in some way. Usually through bypassing things like 5 senses, such as invisibility.
I...I... don't think they count if it's something the bug is. I used the Tinker example because if a made stuff out of junk and that junk wasn't activated quite yet therefore looks like junk while a Trooper was walking by would that given the Tinker in question a Stranger Rating? What if Armsmaster or KW made a one off that didn't look abnormal till it started working?
Bugs just normally are ignorable. There's nothing Parahuman about them. Only what she does with them when she changes behavior. So that's Mastering.
She gets Tinker 1 for the suit bare minimum and Bug Clones, to me, are when she gets the Stranger.
Brute possibly with Atlas.
Idk. Probably need a Worm buff to settle that hair splitting debate...
Does the Eva 01 have its OWN soul? I've just been discussing things with more lore focused people. The Eva might need a soul to generate an AT Field... just doesn't have to be a HUMAN soul.
According to others they are basically giant homunculi that you need to shove a soul into in order for it to work. Which NERV did by humans.
So in this case, as the Celestial Menagerie wants them to be their own biological, spiritual, and so forth entities for the preservation of their species... would 01 just have an Eva soul?
Not to challenge you or anything about it, just curious. Evangelion Lore is as bullshit as Worm Lore. And as insane if not moreso. I'm curious as the Celestial Menagerie does all the heavy lifting and how it works.
Oh, are you concerned about positive feedback loops? I'll admit NGE lore is loaded, but in that light, there's might be some interesting implications regarding Absolute Terror Fields.
I...I... don't think they count if it's something the bug is. I used the Tinker example because if a made stuff out of junk and that junk wasn't activated quite yet therefore looks like junk while a Trooper was walking by would that given the Tinker in question a Stranger Rating? What if Armsmaster or KW made a one off that didn't look abnormal till it started working?
Bugs just normally are ignorable. There's nothing Parahuman about them. Only what she does with them when she changes behavior. So that's Mastering.
She gets Tinker 1 for the suit bare minimum and Bug Clones, to me, are when she gets the Stranger.
Brute possibly with Atlas.
Idk. Probably need a Worm buff to settle that hair splitting debate...
Does the Eva 01 have its OWN soul? I've just been discussing things with more lore focused people. The Eva might need a soul to generate an AT Field... just doesn't have to be a HUMAN soul.
According to others they are basically giant homunculi that you need to shove a soul into in order for it to work. Which NERV did by humans.
So in this case, as the Celestial Menagerie wants them to be their own biological, spiritual, and so forth entities for the preservation of their species... would 01 just have an Eva soul?
Not to challenge you or anything about it, just curious. Evangelion Lore is as bullshit as Worm Lore. And as insane if not moreso. I'm curious as the Celestial Menagerie does all the heavy lifting and how it works.
Oh, are you concerned about positive feedback loops? I'll admit NGE lore is loaded, but in that light, there's might be some interesting implications regarding Absolute Terror Fields.
I admit that my reasoning did not go that far. Let's just say that while our Eva got a soul it's an artificial animal soul custom made for it. So there's no trouble with compatibility and no risk of contamination or whatever.
I was close, yesterday, to starting a dive into the alleyways of NGE lore, and the exact method on how and why the Tang Event could occur like it did. Even the cursory look implies maddening things.
I was close, yesterday, to starting a dive into the alleyways of NGE lore, and the exact method on how and why the Tang Event could occur like it did. Even the cursory look implies maddening things.
First thing to establish: In Evangelion, souls are real. This is important, and it'll be referenced often.
Second thing: Although Wildbow has been circumspect regarding souls and spirituality( as that's not what he wants to write about), we're going to say humans on Earth Bet have souls as well. The implications of whether a Earth Bet Human's Soul runs on the same basic mechanics as a Human from Evangelion can be another discussion. We will assume the soul of a Human of Earth Bet is a simple, small amorphous shape; humble in form and function and no inherent power.
So the story and world of Evangelion, is a mostly normal Earth. It wasn't until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 that we get a hint there might be work at work here. Irl, the Dead Sea Scrolls are a dozen plus scrolls and text in Hebrew and Aramaic of the Old Testament. In our world, this is only a major theological and archeological discovery. Not to say they're lesser; far from it, as the authors of NGE wrote them in as part of the canon. However, in NGE the Dead Sea Scrolls are very valuable and very censored. The Scrolls contain information on the Future, the Soul, as well as the process of Instrumentality( we'll get to that). With such volatile information, the original scrolls are kept hidden away and secret from the public, whereas irl people would know about them. Canonical, we can guess that the secret society called SEELE has the scrolls sequestered somewhere.
Though it takes decades, the value of this secret knowledge doesn't show itself until the a destructive event, we'll can this the Impact occurs. On September 13, 2000, Humanity loses the Antarctic, and about half of humans alive at this time dies as a result of rising sea levels, and geopolitical instability. Things don't com down until February 14 of the next year. It is very difficult to envision the amount of chaos that occurred in those 5 months, but for reference, in that time India and Pakistan go to war, the Tokyo gets nuked, and the ocean gains it's iconic red color.
What can cause such horrific change? It was the result of a being named Adam, and his destruction was as much purposeful as it was accidentally flailing. Adam was something of a pathfinder/bodyguard/Spiritual Gene-Vault. He and each of his six peers were sent out to by a Precursor Race, known as First Ancestral Race (original isn't it?), to find a suitable planet, and kickstart new life so the Precursors could leave behind a legacy; a sentient Race. They're transportation is a space ship model called a Moon or Egg with which they can sail the void between space. For protection, they were each given a living weapon called a Lance of Longinus for protection, and some other things.
Now, little known information is that Adam and his peers are split into two variants: The Fruit of Life, and the Fruit of Knowledge. The Fruit of Life is characterized by pure power that new race can employ. The Fruit of Knowledge is characterized by information and the ability to generate it. The generated race might be weak, but with their expanded minds then this race can make themselves powerful given enough time. Adam is of the Life Variant, so it checks out that they may cause Planetary Destruction. It's terrifying, but when the First Ancestral Race meant power, they meant Power. So what does that mean for Humanity?
To start, Humanity is not derived from the Fruit of Life Variant, but from the Fruit of Knowledge Variant. This progenitor is called Lilith. They arrived to Earth some time after Adam in the Age we would call the Prehistoric Era. Unfortunately, one of the few rules that the First Ancestral Race is that two different variants can't be on the same planet. It would risk too much combining all this Power and Knowledge together. Don't forget, they also handed out cosmic shanks called Lance of Longinus so Adam, Lilith and their peers can settle any issues. A Lance can kill, but the First Ancestral Race put in a special feature to deactivate either Fruit Variants. It's almost like inserting a USB drive, and it'll automatically shut down a Fruit. Awkwardly, the conflict ends with Lilith dead, Lilith's Lance is missing, Lilith's Ship on a crash course with the Earth, but most importantly, Adam incapacitated on his own Lance. Since Adam is stabbed by his Lance, the shutdown sequence goes off, all life that Adam produced was stopped, so Lilith's Creations (what few she made) get the whole planet. Cut forward to millions of years, and the progeny of Lilith awaken Adam, and cause the Impact. Adam could only be partial subdued this time around.
So, we have aliens, Ancient Knowledge, and Conspiracy. How exactly does Adam's Power Work? The answer is Souls. The First Ancestral Race achieved a great deal of understanding concerning Souls, and this understanding can be used to achieve great feats. They even wrote some of this knowledge down for their Descendants, and it would eventually be known to humanity as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Granted, these are long time scales, so sometimes things get lost or degraded but some info did last the ages until 'modern,' times.
Now, NGE doesn't go too far into specifics or soul components like seen with Egyptian Mythology 5-fold Soul, but it does call out the source of Adam, Adam's Children, and the EVA's power. It's called the Absolute Terror Field by modern humans, or AT field for short.
The Absolute Terror Field is, surprisingly enough, generated by all living things, as all life have a Soul. It is only Adam and his children, who are called Angels, that have a Soul strong enough to impose changes on the physical world. A power that EVA's have the ability to….use.
Make no mistake, the Evangelions are mighty, but theirs is a power greater than any individual person. Any individual human soul is unable to really force an EVA to do anything. Remember, Humans are descended from the Lilith, the 'Fruit,' of Knowledge, so we did not start with Power. A tiny Human soul trying to direct a Soul significantly large enough to be projected outside the physical body? A challenge would be one way to describe it. How and why does an Eva work then?
Eva's are made from portions of the flesh of either Lilith or Adam. They're biologically in nature, and by taking samples from the source, a measure of Lilith's or Adam's Lineage goes into the Evangelion. The problems start as the Evangelion isn't inherently alive at the beginning. From the blood of Lilith, an organization can clone a Giant Human Clone ( or perhaps kindred is more accurate? Like Australopithecus, Homo Hablus or Neanderthals), but it's just a giant lump of flesh. The most likely cause is that Lilith is largely dead( even if Rei muddies the waters), so she can't direct the creation of the Eva nor is Humanity able to create a soul wholesale (they weren't at the Ancestral Races' level yet). There is no spark to give this thing a soul, and no soul means no AT field.
In comes a donor, a human soul, and now the EVA lives.
Though, it doesn't function as it should since humans do not naturally grow to be Giants. Again, knowledge, not power. This is where a pilot comes in to direct the unwieldy form, but doing so is very dangerous. The Eva's armor is not for protection, it's a restraint and shackle against the Eva for the safety of the pilot and everyone outside the Eva. But there is a soul, and a pilot system can do it. What is needed is a really good pilot as there is one property of the AT field that ruins everything.
The Soul makes an AT field, and the AT field mean affect reality. What an AT field also does is ensure consciousness is possible. I what makes a person that specific person, and not some other person or a brain in a jar? Well, it is the AT of each individual life form that keeps it separate from all other life forms. Abraham Lincoln is Lincoln, and not John Wilkes Booth because Abraham Lincoln's AT field ensures his unique existence. In NGE, each living creature gets to be due to their Souls putting up a wall for their defense.
The problem, that uniquely reveals itself, is the massive difference between the size of the Pilot's Soul, and the size of the EVA's Soul. This was never a problem beforehand as nothing on Earth got this big, and needed to maintain a separation of consciousness. Typically, if there was a massive difference, then it was due to predation, so the difference doesn't matter; the physical body of the smaller soul is getting eaten anyway. Thankfully, this problem is sort of solved with the donated soul, but it forceable restricts the number of pilots (Shinji or a clone of the person who donated the soul[Rei]) to a minuscule pool.
Taking a step back, SEELE's goal of Human Instrumentality was to build multiple EVAs. Gaining enough pilots would be tricky, but with about 13 EVAs, SEELE predicted they'll overwhelm the AT fields of every other surviving Human on the Planet to forcefully becoming one Being. A soul fusion with all of Humanity's AT field. The properties of NGE Souls would mean only a human with legendary will could retain their individuality( and thus independence) or recollect their identity while within the slurry of Human Souls. From their the Fusion consumes the corpse of their progenitor Lilith, and then fuse with Adam, the Fruit of Life. With both all members of the Fruit of Life and the Fruit of Knowledge in a single Entity, that Being would transcend to an even higher level of Godly Power.
The juicy stuff is what happens when the Eva already comes with a cooperative pseudo-soul?
Right, away we don't need a Soul Donor, human or otherwise, to give it life. By NGE standards, this is impressive. Although the First Ancestral Race could probably do it, this was an insurmountable problem for Humanity. They had neither the technology at the time, and it wasn't possible to use Adam. Even restrained and dazed, Adam would make any attempt fail, and Lilith is dead. Humanity had no defense as before Shinji Ikari got into the Robot; Rei was handicapped at the Series Start. By an outsider's standards, that means there is a single soul that has the blueprints/form of an EVA within it like some kind of ghost fundamentalist hanger bay when ordinarily the First Soul in question is too small. Wat? Holy Father, that means the First Soul should have exploded or been subsumed by the Copy (By CM rules this isn't necessarily the original) Second Soul. That handwavium ensures some incredible coding compression capabilities.
This also means Compendium doesn't need to power or direct the EVA with his own Soul. The EVA already has 'software,' to speak, so that leaves his Soul free to do other things. Much less flailing and we'll assume a modest sync-rate of 50%. Half the time the Eva does as he directs, and the other half, the Eva does what they think is best.
Next, we should by the general guidelines set forth in the beginning
see that First Soul expand like Kirby when he sees a Food. If the previous events of the Tournament Rally, Rex the Zilla, Zordiark, Bakugami, and Sapientia were heavy on Alex's Soul than this will be more so. Thankfully, there are enough points for the Engrave, so much like Bruce the Denshark's engraving, this will be mostly painless. Potentially, even less so than Alex's Magical Circuit Activation. Speaking of, would more Circuits, or bridges between his body and the Soul, appear? Now obviously, Magical Circuits are restricted to the Fate Category, but an Expansion of the Soul from a being where unique Soul Mechanisms are in play? Sounds like something is about to go down.
A counter to that is Alex just got some Jinchūriki tattoos, so decent odds he doesn't notice or feel anything as the Seal Work acts as a Flood Barrier. In addition to the regular Celestial Menagerie protection, means it all good in the metaphorical and metaphysical car hood. No problems here. Also, his Soul has slowly been accommodating more patterns, so it's been expanding recently. There was little chance to blitz toward an Eva as the first summon, and he collectively contains more than 2000+ point Creatures to act as a Spiritual and Conceptual Counter-Balance.
Moreover, none of the Eva pilots started out as skilled. They needed time in the Eva training, and more time working on teamwork before they became deadly. Time and training, Compendium can possibly do all the time. Unlike the canon cast, Alex can carry his Eva around like he's the Evangelion while the EVA-01 is the Pilot. He's doing a mini-workout while making lunch. He could play catch within his Soul to the other Eva's Soul using his own Soul. All this Soul Interaction sounds like the beginning of a feedback loop. I doubt we're going to reach Soul-Ception like Inception does with the dreams, but in a different continuity and different setting this could be a Quest Victory Condition.
Moreover, none of the Eva pilots started out as skilled. They needed time in the Eva training, and more time working on teamwork before they became deadly. Time and training, Compendium can possibly do all the time. Unlike the canon cast, Alex can carry his Eva around like he's the Evangelion while the EVA-01 is the Pilot. He's doing a mini-workout while making lunch. He could play catch within his Soul to the other Eva's Soul using his own Soul.
Speaking of skilled pilots, went looking through Alex's character list for relevant powers and wanted to share the fun. Starting from @zagan posts on what the EVA-01 has to start with.
-Eva 01 (NGE): When you summon Eva 01 you are immediately teleported into its cockpit wearing a plug suit. Eva 01 comes equipped with an S2 engine, a Progressive Knife, and a Pallet Rifle. You gain the knowledge necessary to pilot it. Your Eva 01 does not contain a human soul but is naturally subservient toward you.
As a creature of the Menagerie complete control. As for Berserk mode, yes but it's useless because it's already subservient and we have 100% compatibility. It got an S2 engine, and already has access to its full strength, and all. It's fully worth the 800 points.
So fully cooperative, unlimited energy reserves, and able to go all out without the loss in control... where can I get one? That's without the luck of the draw his CM powers give him already like these three do.
-Rider: You become extremely skilled in riding living creatures as long as they can bear your weight, and it's even more impressive when you're riding one of your summoned creatures.
-Perfect Teamwork: You and your creatures can cooperate perfectly, you'll never get in each other's way, you can anticipate each other's actions, and you can easily coordinate your strike,s and move just the right way to protect each other.
Rider with Perfect Teamwork while working an EVA just seems broken in the best way, and Zoologist pulling in clutch with the oh so necessary context of what an EVA can do and how dangerous it can be if your careless.
-Armored Creatures: You can choose when you summon a creature to give equipment appropriate for its shape. This can include horseshoes, barding, saddle, armor, and/or weapon. For weapons, the creatures must possess limbs able to wield them. The equipment possesses no special property but is strong enough to resist the creature's own strength and is generally not cumbersome. You can only have one creature at a time equipped this way.
The weapons are likely irrelevant compared to the EVA-01's loadout, but an armor that can match with EVA-01 in combat is just as good as it is with Rex.
Taking a step back, SEELE's goal of Human Instrumentality was to build multiple EVAs. Gaining enough pilots would be tricky, but with about 13 EVAs, SEELE predicted they'll overwhelm the AT fields of every other surviving Human on the Planet to forcefully becoming one Being. A soul fusion with all of Humanity's AT field. The properties of NGE Souls would mean only a human with legendary will could retain their individuality( and thus independence) or recollect their identity while within the slurry of Human Souls. From their the Fusion consumes the corpse of their progenitor Lilith, and then fuse with Adam, the Fruit of Life. With both all members of the Fruit of Life and the Fruit of Knowledge in a single Entity, that Being would transcend to an even higher level of Godly Power.
Huh just goes to show half remembered trivia is no match for wiki trawling, but would that mean it's dangerous to share the AT field control between his creatures?
-Resource Network: You form a network with all your summoned creatures. This network allows you and your creature to share any type of physical (health, endurance, electricity, etc…), mental (stress, emotion, psionic, etc…), or mystical (magic pool, chakra, haki, etc…) resource with any other member of the network. You are at the center of the network, you can refuse to share your resources and you can forcefully take the resources of your creatures.
[X] Armsmater contacts me, it's time to summon a full-sized Rex.
Add by QM: Armsmaster said he wants to talk
Add by QM: I need to explore Princess's Orb. (Minor action)
[X] Write-In: Medical Knowledge
[X] Creature
Creature Roll: (1530 points)
Category Roll D50=20 Terraria, Entry Roll D137=122
200 Ivy Whip, 300 Nettle Burst, 300 Snapthorn
Category Roll D50=50 Various, Entry Roll D200=118
500 Dark Shadow (My Hero Academia), 800 Eva 01 (NGE), 700 Shamshel (NGE)
Sub vote result: 200 Ivy Whip + 800 Eva 01 (NGE)
Banked: 530
And here we go. It's time for the Kaiju to show itself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Saturday, 04/09/2011
When I reached Miss J's classroom that night, I informed her that I wish to learn medical knowledge, centered on humans this time. I was tired of relying on my Veterinary knowledge for it, I was afraid to slip up and use something that only works for a gorilla.
"That will be interesting, I won't have to teach you a lot of things like the terms, or the basics of biology, only covering human-specific illness. I'll say that two days should be enough."
"That's perfect. Thank you, Miss J."
I sat down at a desk, thankfully sized for an adult.
"Let's start with the letters."
I chuckled as the alphabet appeared on the blackboard in colorful images.
"Repeat after me, A."
Dutifully I repeat after her. This was always a little boring but it was part of her charms.
During my lesson, the Menagerie triggered and gave me a Turtle crab. While the mix of arthropod and reptiles puzzled me it wasn't weirder than a Frog Squirrel.
The next morning I finally managed to carve out some time to explore Princess's Orb for real.
And it was massive, I spent nearly two hours exploring the pocket dimension with the help of Clank and Harvest. A hill surrounded by a featureless barrier that imitates the sky including an unmoving sun, three big buildings and a bunch of smaller ones, all in ruins, a lot of vegetation, and a giant guardian Hydra.
It would take time but I could already imagine numerous things to do with a personal pocket dimension. First of all, would be making a lab and a storage area. Much more secure and practical than navigating between the PRT HQ and the Rig.
Second, a training ground, for me, for my partners, and even for my fellow heroes. Utterly private, enough room to go all out with nearly all sorts of powers, and no risk of collateral damage.
Thirdly it could act as a bunker or a prison in an emergency. I wouldn't want to keep prisoners year long but in a pinch, it would do.
The possibilities were endless.
When I returned to reality the first thing I did was fashion a pocket for the Orb on the inside of my costume. That way I could access the pocket dimension whenever I want and deploy Princess at will. With a little experimentation, we even discovered that it was possible for Olky to teleport inside.
Coming out of Orb I found an urgent message from Collin. Dragon is coming to pick us up straight after lunch. They found a site to summon Rex in its full glory. I was giddy with anticipation, I had seen Rex plenty of times in the Mental Realm but there I instinctively knew that it wasn't real. This would be different, my giant iguana Tailed Beast would take his first step in the real world.
The rest of the morning, spent doing paperwork, seems to stretch on forever. After inhaling my lunch in record times I was on the helipad of the Rig with half an hour still to wait. It was a little silly of me but I felt like a kid before Christmas.
To distract myself, I spent the time observing the horizon, the boat graveyard in particular. Could I do something about that blight upon our city?
At the very least Rex should be able to push the majority of the wrecks, including the tanker, either further at sea or at least to the side. Not a perfect solution, particularly ecologically, but it would at least free the bay. Would it be possible to go further? No one among my partners was perfectly suited for it, however, I may be able to cobble something together.
My musings were cut short when I spotted a point on the horizon that soon resolved into an aircraft coming this way. Zooming in I saw that it was a dragoncraft. Seeing it for real was interesting. It was a boxy thing with four thrusters at each corner, each one shaped like a dragon claw, a pair of adjustable wings strutting from the top on each side equipped with one big thruster each, a short tail with an ornate aileron at the back, and a cockpit molded to look like a dragon's head.
It was an impressive piece of work, worthy of Dragon's reputation. Still, I couldn't help but ask myself if the extra time and work necessary to give it such shape wouldn't have been better spent elsewhere.
While I was musing on its design the dragoncraft managed to close the distance and was already in the process of landing.
A noise from behind signaled Armsmaster's arrival.
I turned around and looked at my superior. What little I could see of his face showed signs of fatigue. I wondered how much sleep the man has gotten in the last few days. It wasn't my place to comment but if it continues for much longer I'll talk to Miss Militia about it. Apart from that, his armor was in perfect shape and lighter blue than usual. Blue steel certainly.
After exchanging some greetings we were quick to enter the dragoncraft. The inside was spartan with enough room for six people, three on each side, and some cargo at the back.
There was a closed door leading to the cockpit, above it was a screen showing Dragon's face. A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and a cute button nose, there was nothing remarkable about her look. My greatly enhanced eyesight allowed me to see that this image was artificial, it was extremely well done but some tiny flaws still existed. In truth, she may look nothing like that. I didn't say anything, it was the electronic equivalent of a domino mask.
After another round of greetings, we got on our way. Dragon informed us that our journey would take an hour. We even exchanged our names, it was only logical. After all, both Armsmaster and Dragon knew each other's names, I knew Colin and he knew mine. That's how I learned that the most powerful tinker on the planet was named Theressa.
And then she asked me a question.
"So are you willing to tell me what this is all about?"
Dragon's question caught me by surprise, I expected Colin to tell her the truth. I said so out loud. "You didn't tell her?"
He shook his head. "It wasn't my secret to tell."
"Well thank you for that. However she'll get to see it soon enough, and It's not something that you show off without warning."
On the monitor, I could see Dragon's open curiosity.
I addressed her. "If you read my daily power report you know that by now I have a whole lot of partners that I can call upon. Their size can vary greatly. There is one that I didn't put in my report who exceeds them all by a significant margin. I want to summon him for real today. He may be a big help against the Endbringers."
There was a moment of silence before she spoke up. "That's a bold claim, a lot of parahumans have made it before, none have succeeded so far and most are dead."
I nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm aware of that. And I'm not saying that it will be the solution we're all looking for. Still, it's worth trying. And even if my partner cannot deal with them permanently I have no doubt that it will at least make them pause. You'll understand why when you see him."
Dragon appears dubious but didn't comment further.
Colin spoke up next. "There is something that I wish to discuss with you Compendium."
I turned my attention toward him. "I'm listening."
"I'll go straight to the point. I want to groom you so that in one or two years you can take my place as the leader of the Protectorate ENE."
I blinked in shock. All my Minds screeched to a halt at the same time. When taken one by one the meaning of his words was perfectly clear but I couldn't make heads or tails of the whole phrase. It simply didn't make sense.
The armored hero didn't say anything more giving me some time to process the information.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw that, on her screen, even Dragon was surprised by this revelation.
After what seemed like an eternity the floodgate opened. "What!!! What?! That's… You can't do that! I'm not leader material! I hate giving orders! I joined less than a month ago. You're an icon of the Protectorate, you can't just retire! You're too young! And what about Miss Militia?"
I stopped the onslaught only when I was forced to take a gasping breath.
Colin's response didn't take long to come. "In reverse order, I already talked to Hannah. She has no interest in leading and she's not suited for it anyway. I'm nearing forty, I'm past my prime, and my tech cannot compensate for that forever. I have no intention to retire, I can continue being a Protectorate hero without being the leader of the team. The fact that you joined recently won't be an argument in one or two years. You give orders to your partners all the time. And you certainly are a leader, people were more than willing to follow you Tuesday."
That left me speechless and Dragon chose that moment to intervene. "He's right Compendium. You're not ready for it now but with Armsmaster guidance, you can be."
Colin picks up from there. "I truly think that you're well suited for the role. Look at the Wards, you already did more for them in a month than I did in a year. And it's not even your responsibility. You helped with their training. You found a potential solution for Kid Win's Dyscalculia. You gave Vista a tinkertech weapon and got the PR department approved. And you even recruit a new member."
As he talked, I could only nod dumbly. I want to protest. I only want to help. It's just that I had way more means to do so than most. Anyone decent would have done the same in my position.
Dragon continued in the same vein. Those two made for a frightening team. "In a way, it's inevitable. You are one of the most powerful parahumans on the planet and you're still growing. Multiple studies proved that parahuman respect strength. You would have ended up in a leadership position sooner or later."
Colin took pity on me. "Take a little time to think about it. I'll need time to organize our lessons. You need to learn strategy, how to handle paperwork, what you can and cannot delegate, the securities protocol, the communication channel with the other region, and how to play politics when talking with the other agencies."
As the man detailed my future duties I got the urge to throw myself out of the aircraft, it wouldn't kill me but perhaps I could go hide on a desert island.
Thankfully Dragon was there, and she changed the subject to tinkering. That gave me some time to digest that news, a heated debate taking place among my Minds.
When I returned my attention to the real world the two tinkers were speaking about some interesting subject so I focused on their words.
Notably, they talked about their latest cooperation project, well two closely related projects, a combat algorithm, and an Endbringer prediction program.
While that was something I could get 100% behind, I couldn't give them any specific help.
As we talked the subject changed and evolved over time until Colin said that he was making plans to create a drone to assist during his patrol, inspired by my own. On that point, I could help much more.
Dragon asked me a question about robotics and drones. "I'm curious about something Compendium. In your report you mentioned gaining Veterinary knowledge and that it encompasses all your partners, no matter how exotic they may be. Does that include your robotic companion?"
"Yes, absolutely. I'm qualified to repair even the most extreme damage that they could receive as long they're not outright destroyed. In practice it's not very useful, I would need time, specific tools, and materials for it. It's much easier to just dismiss them and resummon them whole the next day. Still, it helped a bit with my tinkering."
"I see. But in that case, couldn't you build replicas of them using local materials? Those would be independent of your power and other people could be given command of them."
I shake my head. "I asked myself the same question. However, my power got a weird quirk that way. If I ever tried to envision building a copy of, let's say my spider drone, from scratch all the knowledge left my head. I couldn't even draw a blueprint."
I detected some disappointment in her voice when she responded. "That's a shame. And what about repairing or modifying robots created by other people?
"I never tried but my knowledge is very specific to my partners. For repair, it would depend on how close they are to my own. For modification, I wouldn't dare make anything more than some very superficial work."
Our discussions petered out after that. Silence reigned in the dragoncraft for the last few minutes of our trip.
I used that opportunity to review another gain from the Menagerie that appeared while we were talking.
This time we can't really call it a partner./It's a plant, and not a sapient one, by itself it's inert./Our new Ivy Whip is a sort of living grappling hook. It can send up to three whips at the same time and anchor itself to any surface./Considering the number of ways that we can fly it probably won't see much use. But it could be fun to try at least once.
I was indeed having a hard time imagining a scenario where using it would be superior to simply flying. Perhaps a densely forested area?
When we stepped out of the dragoncraft it was to find a desolate piece of land. A vaguely triangular island around two kilometers on each side, made of bare rock, the only sign of life being a few birds using the place as a nesting site. We landed on the summit of the island, culminating at an impressive 20m in altitude. It was a depressing sight all around. And it wasn't helped by the drizzle falling from the sky.
"Will it be sufficient?"
I nodded in response to Armsmaster's question. "Yes, my partner will have his feet in the water but it's not a problem. Do you need time to set up some recording or scanning equipment?"
"My equipment is already running." I turn around to see another screen next to the door of our vehicle with Dragon's head on it.
Armsmsater shook his head and gestured for me to proceed.
I focused on the point of the island the farthest from us, zooming in to be sure of the location. "Very well. Then it's my pleasure and my honor to present you, Rex."
Even for me hearing and seeing Rex in the flesh wasn't in any way normal. A towering mountain of muscle and scales, his shadow looming over us. I could hear Armsmsater swearing behind me and Dragon emit a clear, My God.
Once he finished announcing his triumphant arrival, my nuclear iguana lowered himself until his head touched the ground in front of me.
"Hello, big guy. It's great to see you." He emitted a rumble of contentment. "Stay here for a moment."
The duo of tinkers was beginning to move past their shock. Dragon was the first to recover.
"How is he even moving? His bones should break under their own weight. What is he made of?"
That was an excellent question. Before becoming a Tailed Beast it was mainly because his bones and muscles were reinforced at the atomic level by a sort of energy field that he generated passively. Now the point was moot, he was made of condensed chakra, and physics could go cry in a corner.
Once my colleagues managed to regain their composure it was time for Rex to be put to the test.
"We don't have anything that could realistically test his strength but we can test his speed."
Dragon was right on that point, there was nothing for him to lift or push against here. We did try having him carve a furrow in the ground with one claw. It worked really well. And that was without any Nuclear Chakra enhancement.
Of course, I didn't call it Chakra, I just said that he possessed some form of energy manipulation centered around nuclear forces. At that Colin produced a miniature Geiger counter out of a compartment in his armor. Thankfully there was nothing to worry about, Rex did not emit harmful radiation in his resting state. And what he produces when he wants to could be reabsorbed easily.
With that out of the way, we returned to our speed tests. That included the speed of his limbs, claws strike, tail sweep, bites, and so on. But also his land speed and swim speed.
It turns out that with no outside enhancement he was too slow to catch either the Simurgh or Leviathan. With Speed Boost, only Leviathan could possibly escape him.
That leaves the matter of hurting them, another thing impossible to test.
On the opposite spectrum, we did try a few things to gauge his resilience. It was pretty damn good and with both Defense Boost and Armored creature. We were confident that Rex could last a while against an Endbringer. Even if he couldn't hurt them, if he could just pin them down that could change a lot of things.
Even Colin was smiling when we discussed that point.
Before we departed I asked for permission to let Rex play a little around the island and they agreed.
And damn, seeing a ninety-meter-tall lizard jump out of the water like a dolphin was a treat that I wouldn't forget anytime soon.
While individually each one was much less impressive than Rex, seeing them all arrayed in such close proximity was no less awe-inspiring.
After I instructed them to have some fun together I turned around toward the duo of Tinkers. Both were looking at the scene of Princess and Centi play-fighting with something approaching fear.
After a moment of silence, Dragon spoke up. "Compendium, Alex, I'm really glad that you're on our side."
Colin nodded in silence.
Once that awkward moment passed, they used the opportunity to scan my other partners. It was much easier than for Rex.
During that period of data gathering, I felt the Menagerie trigger once again. I was forced to hold my head as the most powerful creature I ever gained engraved itself on my soul.
An artificial being as massive as Rex, humanoid in shape and designed to be piloted from the inside by a human. It was created to fight supremely powerful beings. I had no details on those foes but what little I knew brought to mind startling similarities with the Endbringers.
And this creature, Eva 01, could fight those things because it was created using their DNA as a base. The epitome of fighting fire with fire.
"Theressa, Colin, I gained something else that I need to show you."
I ignored their questioning look and directed my monstrous partners to clear sufficient space.
Without looking back I spoke out loud.
"Please do not be alarmed. This one is different, when I summon it I will be teleported into its cockpit at the same time."
"Cockpit?" Again I ignored Dragon's voice.
With my full focus behind it, I call on my Eva. At the same time as I felt it appear, I felt myself moving through space.
When I returned to the real world I was wearing a plugsuit and I was surrounded by LCL. Breathing a liquid should have been hard at first, but no, it came naturally to me. In fact, I did not feel like I was in the entry plug at all, it felt like I was once again standing on the shore of this tiny island lost in the Atlantic ocean. It was like I was still myself just suddenly enlarged to be equal with Rex. All around me I could feel the soul of my Eva, ready to leap to my help at the slightest hint from me. It was comforting in a way that was impossible to describe. I felt safer than I have ever been in my life, with Eva's AT-field I knew that even the Endbringers would have a hard time hurting me.
Looking down I saw Colin speaking urgently to Dragon and gesturing. Not wanting to worry my colleagues too much I triggered my radio and tuned it to the frequency I knew Armsmaster used. At the same time, I gave a little wave with Eva's right arm.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. As I said, this one is different. I'm in the cockpit."
I heard a huff of exasperation. "Alex, a little warning would be appreciated next time." A pause. "What is that thing?"
"Colin, Theressa, It is with the utmost honor that I present to you EVA-01. A living weapon developed by another humanity specifically to kill beings very much like the Endbringers."
After dropping that bomb it took a little while for me to explain more about Eva. I omitted the word soul when talking about the AT field, simply saying that it was a forcefield that could only be pierced by someone using another forcefield with the exact same characteristic.
A curious Rex emerged from the sea and started sniffing Eva curiously. Absently I start petting him under the chin while I continue talking.
One of my Minds got a funny idea and couldn't help but share it with the rest of us. He said that if we enlarged and armored Rex, he would be the right size to serve as a mount for Eva. I could think of no situation where this could be relevant but it was indeed funny.
Another Mind also noticed that Eva's armor wasn't restraining him at all, unlike in his original, where it served to stop the Eva in case it went berserk. As there was no risk of that here, Eva was perfectly loyal, his armor served its true purpose, protection.
Once both tinkers were satisfied with my explanation we proceeded to do some quick tests with Eva. The AT-field proved able to block all the attacks from my available partners, well all those that we were willing to test anyway, Colin refused when I asked if we could try Rex Nuclear breath. Even the laser cannon equipped on the dragoncraft proved to be too weak to even dent the AT-Field.
I also demonstrated the Progressive Knife on the ground, cutting it like butter. Colin was particularly fascinated with it, it seemed to inspire him a lot.
Sadly after nearly three hours of testing, it was time to return home. I dismissed my partners one by one after thanking them for their help.
Today was a good day, hope was once again present on Earth bet.
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Elsewhere:
In a dark room only illuminated by the light of a duo of monitors, three persons stood, transfixed by the images on the screens. Images showing a giant lizard and an equally giant purple robot opposed in a friendly wrestling match.
After a long silence, the man in the center spoke. "So, we agreed, no direct confrontation with Compendium."
The response was immediate, unanimous, and accompanied by frantic nodding. ""Agreed!""
Wordcount: 4022
Excess words: 104
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It's getting worse! This chapter broke the 4k words barrier.
Here's the vote for tomorrow's activity.
[] I should tell Armsmaster the truth about the Menagerie.
[] I think it's time to talk to Armsmaster about Grant Summoning
[] 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 need to train myself more. I'm sure that there's some power combo that I haven't explored yet.
[] I'm being asked to certify my healing partners and powers at the hospital
[] I have an appointment with Doctor Yamada.
[] I want to spend time with my colleague, maybe dinner, testing my cooking.
[] I've been summoned to Director's Piggot office.
[] Clank wants to talk about something.
[] Sergent Blair contact me to organize another training exercise with the Wards
[] I should check on that animal shelter that accepted the dogs from the dog fighting rings.
[] Now that Elytra is a Ward it's time to seriously test her power with my partners.
[] On patrol I need to keep an eye for a new vigilante that has been running around.
[] The Mayor is organizing a gala to celebrate the end of the Empire. I've been ordered to go.
[] The PR department organized a visit to an orphanage for me.
[] The first test of Miss J with a trooper has been approved.
[X] My partners need some serious training, let's make a day of it.
[X] I need to train myself more. I'm sure that there's some power combo that I haven't explored yet.
[X] Creature
Here is hoping we totally derail the plot by getting an Entity or Leviathan itself. Yeah, you can roll and get Leviathan in this.
[x] My partners need some serious training, let's make a day of it.
[x] I need to train myself more. I'm sure that there's some power combo that I haven't explored yet.
