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If your going to have a Dojo, pulling from the whole multiverse, you really need to look at the Matador series, by Steve Perry. The art of Sumito, also called the ninety-seven steps, is supposedly the Pinnacle of martial arts; a system built by examining all the thousands of types of martial arts throughout history, and distilling them down to one art.
(I won't even mention that the books in question are well worth reading, but the fact that I still remember them despite not having seen them since first year of college should say enough.)
(I won't even mention that the books in question are well worth reading, but the fact that I still remember them despite not having seen them since first year of college should say enough.)
- Location
- edinbrugh
Hope this 'predator' stuff dials down a bit. Feels like a parody
With Grace and Confidence
Nimodes
Weary Worldwalker
- Location
- Arizona
* Late Night *
She was vengeance! She was the night! No, that didn't sound right.
She was the top predator in this city of shadows, which was why she was Shadow Stalker!
Yeah. Much better.
Let everyone talk about this or that, or...
Did a white fox just bounce off her head, then run off across the rooftops? "DAMN IT!"
Chasing it proved difficult but it didn't stick to one area long enough for her to shoot it with a crossbow bolt.
It DID however got her to where she could see some obvious villain standing on this roof, trenchcoat and one of those old hats weird old men wore.
She needed to work out some aggression and weirdo girl had just volunteered!
She fired, the woman proved she was indeed suspicious by not even looking in her direction but moving just enough that the perfect shot missed.
No matter, reload, shoot. The target moved again, just enough the shot missed hitting anything vital but the broadhead quarrel sent a few hairs tumbling.
The woman was now facing her, she was at least paying attention. Good. Better to see their face when their life was about to be over!
"I've got you now, villain!" Huh, that slipped out. While she preferred the whole silent killer vibe, it wouldn't matter in just a -
How was that woman behind her and what was...
(ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAP!)
* Contessa *
She was still trying out various Paths, trying to figure out what had happened to Coil's Path, when someone shot a crossbow at her.
Path to Deal With This Idiot - 10 Steps.
Move a half-step to the right, done.
Duck halfway, done.
Straighten and move to the left and two steps forward, done.
Twirl right and forward one step, done.
Grab crossbow bolt as it missed her, twirl and release, done.
Step through her when she turns to shadow, done.
Charge tinkertech taser, done.
Trigger taser, done.
Contessa looked over the collapsed vigilante before her, considered how best to use this new piece on the board, and if she was just a little bit vindictive about being attacked out of the blue?
Well, there was a Path for that.
* Zenko *
Edgelord Girl, who according to the PRT was actually calling herself Shadow Stalker, was somewhere behind her. The PRT had told her not to try and associate with that person because she was a bit overly violent due to using hunting equipment designed for taking down deer or other big animals against normal humans.
Seriously, considering her outfit and attitude, it was a wonder she didn't cut herself on all that edge.
Her foxes were constantly moving in orbits around herself, and if one ran across something particularly interesting would dispel itself in order to feed that information back to all her other selves. (She was up to 10 foxes at the moment.)
One ran by and... okay, that was another new cape there.
Zenko replaced the one that had just dispelled in order to get a better look.
Apparently there was a Fashion Cape, who quite frankly was rocking the 'trenchcoat and fedora' look. Probably a Thinker leaning into the whole 'noir detective' aesthetic? Who was changing out the outfit of Edgelord Girl (Edgelady?)? Oh, and she was changing out Edgelady's costume while the girl was unconscious? Well, that was understandable if Edgy had peed herself, kami knew how difficult one-piece bodysuits were to get off and on when you had to visit the bathroom.
Which was why she was doing the multi-piece outfit herself. The undersuit was actually two pieces that joined together.
[+100 points. XXXX Encounter - Currently Non-hostile]
Zenko felt her tail swish and fox-ears go back. Best to explain to the fox she kept near her, dismiss it, and have the one watching back the heck off. Anything that was blocked off was probably something to avoid.
The tik-tik noise indicated the Celestial Dojo was active. It would be interesting to see if she got something particularly noteworthy this time around, or it could be something like:
[Appearance/Social]
Heck, what DID that mean?! Zenko was a bit confused as it wasn't as straightforward as ninja skills. Which was odd as it put straightforward and ninja in a sentence where it was not ironic.
[Extreme Grace/Acrobatics]
Zenko smiled before she went to train, as this fit pretty neatly into her brand as it was. Sure, she wasn't going to take on Lung or some other stupid manuever like that but acrobatics skill would be on-point for a ninja like herself.
* Elsewhere *
"Okay, where the heck am I now?" asked Zenko, looking around. "Damn, that's a big coin."
"You're on private property," said the man, getting up from some really big computer.
"Sorry," apologized Zenko. "No control over where the Dojo sends me. You're wearing a costume, so I take it I'm in somebody's Tinker lab?"
"'Dojo'?" asked the guy who was dressed like a bat for some reason.
Wait. Old pre-cape comic books. She KNEW this guy. "Wait wait wait wait. This isn't some afterlife thing where I'm getting training from ninja? You're BATMAN?!"
"'Afterlife'? 'Comic books'?" asked Batman.
"Yeah, before capes were a real life thing you had comics and an old TV series," said Zenko, looking around.
"So you're from another Earth," said Batman. "And this 'dojo' brought you here for training?"
"Wow, you really are a great detective," said Zenko. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Zenko, proud ninja hero of Brockton Bay, trained by Konohagakure to Tokubetsu Jonin level!"
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm just wearing the costume while the real Batman heals from some recent injuries," said the not-Batman-after-all. "My name's Nightwing."
"I don't know a Nightwing," admitted Zenko. "I only read about Batman because Dad had some old comics in the attic."
"Well, if you're here for training, how about we do a little exchange of techniques?" suggested Nightwing.
"I don't know," hedged Zenko, wondering if that was against the rules.
"I'll take you for a ride in the Batmobile," offered Nightwing.
Zenko blinked and looked at the vehicle in question. If there was a picture for the Cool Car trope, surely this would be on the main page. "Sold!"
* One month/0.02 seconds later *
She shifted slightly as she re-manifested in Brockton Bay, checking to make sure this WAS Brockton Bay.
She caught her breath for a moment on the roof then remanifested her swarm.
Extreme Grace had turned out to be a massive agility/coordination/prioperception boost. Acrobatics increased her sense of balance, flexibility, and speed. Training had allowed her to get a handle on both.
After training (and getting to kick Joker in the face) she now had merged her Danger Sense and Acrobatic Skill into her Strong Fist/Konoha Taijutsu Martial Arts style to produce something unique in her own estimation.
Zenko checked and found she still had the signed autographs. Nobody would believe they were real, but that just made them more unique. Batgirl, Supergirl (apparently the two got together for lunch every so often), Batman (the real one), Nightwing, a flying Blaster type named Starfire, and even Harlequin and Poison Ivy (both had been very confused by the whole asking for an autograph thing) that one time they'd crossed paths.
She even had a souveneir batarang. She almost felt like she should call it her precious or something.
Both Nightwing and Batgirl had gone through the awakening their chakra, learning to mix it, and were going to train the heck out of it. She'd left notes. Maybe it would help them out.
Even better, she'd improved by training with the Bat Family and learned a few things about various gadgets and such. Her martial arts had improved and she had a handle on how to use a variety of weapons that were not common in Konohagakure.
Her fox clone had just run across Edgelady and determined her new costume involved lots of pink and ribbons. Weird. But it came apart in the middle so it at least allowed for bathroom breaks.
Actually looked kind of nice. Fashion Woman (or whatever the woman was called) obviously knew her stuff.
There was no sign of Fashion Woman though, but unfortunately Zenko knew what this meant.
She had to fill out one of the PRT forms dealing with contact with an unknown parahuman. Paperwork, bleah.
* Monday 22, 2009 *
"'Fashion Girl'?" asked Alexandria. As much as she had to do, once that report had crossed her inbox she'd HAD to follow up on it.
"I may have indulged in dealing with an irritation a bit much," admitted Contessa.
"'Fashion Girl'?" repeated Alexandria, enjoying this just a little.
"It's one interpretation for what happened," admitted Contessa. "I might point out that the Brockton Bay cape Parian has an existing similar role which put the idea out there."
"You braided her hair and put little pink bows... how irritated were you?" asked Alexandria.
"The Path to make sure she never attacked me again was quite clear," stated Contessa. "More physical violence to her would have encouraged further violence from her. Posting photos of her image change ignited a debate on the forum and now she fears what would happen if she failed to eliminate me with the first shot."
* Winslow *
"Did you see the photos? What do you think, original flavor or..."
Sophia's teeth were grinding together as stupid Greg effing Veder started talking about THAT.
"Yeah, Edgy McEdgeface versus Pretty Princess?" put in one of the jocks, holding up a phone displaying the side-by-side pictures.
SNAP!
"Sophia. That's the second pencil you broken. Is something wrong?"
"No," growled Sophia. "Everything's peachy."
"Well, she posted on PHO that side-by-side comparison and was asking for opinions," said Greg. "Only fair to give her some feedback."
Julia looked at the pictures on her own phone. "Honestly? I think a combination of the two would work better. Use the peach coloring to accentuate the darkness of the rest of the outfit."
Sophia had been trying not to comment or say anything but this could NOT be ignored. "Shadow Stalker's a real hero! She's a lone vigilante who prowls the night hunting the villains! She should NOT wear pink!"
Julia looked askance at Sophia for a moment. "But she's a girl. If she wants to change it up a bit and look prettier..."
Sophia was sure that at any moment now, she'd crack one of her own teeth.
"You know, you're both right," said Greg Veder unexpectedly. "She's a stealth hero so peach pink doesn't work too well."
"Right!" said a relieved Sophia, though a bit put off that VEDER was agreeing with her. That might mean she was wrong except for the fact that she was never wrong.
"Dark blue panels would let her blend into the shadows a bit more, and she could throw on a red scarf or something for a splash of color but still put it in a pocket or something for when she needed to hide," continued Greg. "Or maybe something reversible or tinker-made that can change colors when she needed it."
"Oh, like that Stranger in Toledo - Chameleon Girl?" asked Madison, who then shrank a bit in her seat when noticing Sophia's glare at her. "Never mind."
"Her original costume," insisted Emma, apparently deciding that this conversation was NOT beneath her after all.
"Right," agreed Sophia, glaring at Veder who was apparently too stupid to realize he was being glared at.
"I think it's because of Zenko," stated Veder.
"Excuse me?!" asked Sophia. "Why would a real hero like Stalker care about some PR-hunting bitch?"
"Because she's an effective hero but she's more popular and a better arrest record," said Veder, tapping away at his phone and then turning it to show them. "See. Someone graphed out the arrests. Zenko was responsible for more arrests and when it came down to charges and keeping them in jail, less of them are getting dropped for the whole serious bodily harm thing."
Sophia got up, slapped Veder's phone out of his hand and looked about ready to punch the boy in the confused-looking face.
Mister Rhodes, the World Affairs 101 teacher, interrupted by coming in. "Everyone take your seats. I hope you all read up on the death of Vikare and are prepared for questions on the direct and indirect results of that."
"The Vikare Act?" asked Greg.
"There is NO Vikare Act," said Mister Rhodes, glaring at Greg. "That's one of those web conspiracy theories that you can disprove if you do any research."
* Taylor *
She mused over the lesson as the class let out, trying to ignore Greg Veder being Greg Veder and going on about some game called Remnant Evil.
He could definitely ramble, and it served as a wonderful example why she should rein it in when she herself was getting overly chatty about something.
Now he was making parallels between this Remnant Evil's Parasol Corporation and Medhall. Seriously, a major company like Medhall having undercover capes on the board of directors as they planned criminal activities? A biotinker mad scientist type and an AI mass murderer? Okay, a biotinker working in pharmaceuticals wasn't too bad of a stretch, but why were all AI kill-crazy? Why not have one that was actually nice and helpful? Maybe with some odd quirks picked up in development that could be used for comic relief without getting into the whole "kill fleshbags" thing?
Ah, here was the group of hanger-ons trying to block her in so that Sophia could approach from behind.
Here was the part where Emma started the obvious distraction with a verbal assault about how worthless she was.
Blah your mother blah blah killed blah.
Maybe it was all the subjective years between events to dull some things or the training and accomplishments as a ninja, but... wait.
"Hold on," said Taylor, making a "T" gesture with both hands. "Hold on. You're saying that if your mother died you would NOT cry? Or miss her? None of you?"
There was a brief silence before Sophia spoke from right behind her. "I'd be relieved."
"Damn, I'm sorry to hear that," responded Taylor. She thought it explained a bit though.
Sophia punched her in the back of the head for that.
* Emma *
Sophia threw the first punch, not that unexpected and she would not face consequences because all the witnesses would later proclaim a different narrative.
Taylor's glasses hit the ground and Emma smiled as she casually stomped down on them. "Oops."
Now was when Taylor would show how weak she was, drawing into herself, giving that sheep-like expression, maybe cry a little.
That was what Emma expected.
A white fox scampering along the ceiling tiles?
No, she hadn't expected THAT.
* Taylor *
The "Cute Fox Swarm" were shadow clones under a henge (disguise) that were about the same mass as one arm. She could do ten at a time at this point and she could maintain them for hours. Sure, they could only take one hit before dispelling - but they were used for reconnaissance and distraction and for her whole "brand" thing.
That was what the "ninja foxgirl" thing was for and why she leaned into that image despite no longer being necessary. It was a clear difference between Taylor Hebert and Zenko.
She had one or two she'd send scampering along the Boardwalk just to keep an eye on things, and yes to sell her image as the helpful heroic ninja-girl.
Oh, there was that one twit who kept going on about "furries" and such online. She didn't have fur except the tail and ears, so she wasn't sure what that guy's deal was. Other than being more annoying than that Void Cowboy person, which might be a bit of an accomplishment in itself.
Heck, even THAT troll hadn't gone after her tail. He (she?) had gone off about a secret society of kitsune and supernatural beings hiding in plain sight as part of some shadow-world thing. Which was crazy but it was more his kind of crazy.
For herself, she kept one or two fox-clones going even when she was in her Taylor identity as part of the exercising of her chakra. Since they were independent as long as they lasted, having one decide to serve as a distraction wasn't that much of a reach.
Taylor smiled, seeing she could add an extra layer of confusion about secret identities. "Wow! Isn't that one of Zenko's foxes?"
Everyone's attention immediately went to the fox that was ignoring gravity by clinging to the ceiling.
At which point Taylor went to class as everyone else was fumbling with their phones or otherwise not contributing to the Trio's attempts to bully her.
A ninja's tools included deception, distraction, and pulling something unexpected on your opponents. At least according to Iruka-sensei. For now her white fox clone would scamper about looking unbearably cute and photogenic, it would dismiss shortly and she'd do it later.
[+100 CP. Roll postponed until active situation resolves? Y/N]
"Yeah," whispered Taylor to herself, and to the power. She was in an active situation? Something going on she couldn't see with her own eyes or either active clone as far as she could tell.
* Orochimaru *
Coil would be dead very soon. For certain values of dead.
Victor was almost entirely burned out. A pity as the Skill Thief power had struck him as being extremely useful.
He'd had to prepare Coil and prepare to move in. That body would probably not last even as long as Victor as the life energies within Thomas Calvert were even lower.
Neither actually had any chakra to start. Life energy and spiritual energy, but not much of either and mingling them to prepare things for the move was taking valuable time.
He'd had a year to prepare and train Danny Hebert as a ninja. Not nearly enough time, in his opinion. Enough time to start on the path but not much else. Still, with the resources of Coil in hand - he'd be able to get more resources to start the two Heberts and their Hidden Village developing.
Honestly, he had experience with the whole 'develop a ninja village' thing - he'd done a credible job with Otogakure after all. Made a few mistakes there but he'd learned from that and wouldn't repeat them here.
Orochimaru smiled as various parts and machines were being delivered. In some ways, this world was even more convenient towards building a Hidden Village. Same-day deliveries? Online sales? Tinkertech auctions? This world had intriguing possibilities.
Oh, sure, these mercenaries had some basic training in taijutsu and otherwise relied on equipment. Yet he had minions again. Some would have to be let go of course. No point in keeping this number on the payroll when the whole city takeover thing was such a waste of time and resources.
Which was when a doorway opened up in mid-air, some sort of teleportation jutsu from what he could see, and a woman stepped out with one of those guns pointed in his direction.
"Isn't it the normal custom to knock before entering?" asked Orochimaru/Victor.
"This was the simplest way to find out what is happening here," said the woman.
"Hmmm, you're Mister Calvert's mysterious sponsor then?" asked Orochimaru. "It's quite simple, I'm taking over his operations temporarily."
"Go on," prompted the woman.
"My 'cape name' in your local culture would be 'Orochimaru' and I propose an exchange of information that could well benefit both of us," said Orochimaru.
There was a moment of hesitation, her eyes flicking to something only she could see, before holstering her gun. "Proceed."
She was vengeance! She was the night! No, that didn't sound right.
She was the top predator in this city of shadows, which was why she was Shadow Stalker!
Yeah. Much better.
Let everyone talk about this or that, or...
Did a white fox just bounce off her head, then run off across the rooftops? "DAMN IT!"
Chasing it proved difficult but it didn't stick to one area long enough for her to shoot it with a crossbow bolt.
It DID however got her to where she could see some obvious villain standing on this roof, trenchcoat and one of those old hats weird old men wore.
She needed to work out some aggression and weirdo girl had just volunteered!
She fired, the woman proved she was indeed suspicious by not even looking in her direction but moving just enough that the perfect shot missed.
No matter, reload, shoot. The target moved again, just enough the shot missed hitting anything vital but the broadhead quarrel sent a few hairs tumbling.
The woman was now facing her, she was at least paying attention. Good. Better to see their face when their life was about to be over!
"I've got you now, villain!" Huh, that slipped out. While she preferred the whole silent killer vibe, it wouldn't matter in just a -
How was that woman behind her and what was...
(ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAP!)
* Contessa *
She was still trying out various Paths, trying to figure out what had happened to Coil's Path, when someone shot a crossbow at her.
Path to Deal With This Idiot - 10 Steps.
Move a half-step to the right, done.
Duck halfway, done.
Straighten and move to the left and two steps forward, done.
Twirl right and forward one step, done.
Grab crossbow bolt as it missed her, twirl and release, done.
Step through her when she turns to shadow, done.
Charge tinkertech taser, done.
Trigger taser, done.
Contessa looked over the collapsed vigilante before her, considered how best to use this new piece on the board, and if she was just a little bit vindictive about being attacked out of the blue?
Well, there was a Path for that.
* Zenko *
Edgelord Girl, who according to the PRT was actually calling herself Shadow Stalker, was somewhere behind her. The PRT had told her not to try and associate with that person because she was a bit overly violent due to using hunting equipment designed for taking down deer or other big animals against normal humans.
Seriously, considering her outfit and attitude, it was a wonder she didn't cut herself on all that edge.
Her foxes were constantly moving in orbits around herself, and if one ran across something particularly interesting would dispel itself in order to feed that information back to all her other selves. (She was up to 10 foxes at the moment.)
One ran by and... okay, that was another new cape there.
Zenko replaced the one that had just dispelled in order to get a better look.
Apparently there was a Fashion Cape, who quite frankly was rocking the 'trenchcoat and fedora' look. Probably a Thinker leaning into the whole 'noir detective' aesthetic? Who was changing out the outfit of Edgelord Girl (Edgelady?)? Oh, and she was changing out Edgelady's costume while the girl was unconscious? Well, that was understandable if Edgy had peed herself, kami knew how difficult one-piece bodysuits were to get off and on when you had to visit the bathroom.
Which was why she was doing the multi-piece outfit herself. The undersuit was actually two pieces that joined together.
[+100 points. XXXX Encounter - Currently Non-hostile]
Zenko felt her tail swish and fox-ears go back. Best to explain to the fox she kept near her, dismiss it, and have the one watching back the heck off. Anything that was blocked off was probably something to avoid.
The tik-tik noise indicated the Celestial Dojo was active. It would be interesting to see if she got something particularly noteworthy this time around, or it could be something like:
[Appearance/Social]
Heck, what DID that mean?! Zenko was a bit confused as it wasn't as straightforward as ninja skills. Which was odd as it put straightforward and ninja in a sentence where it was not ironic.
[Extreme Grace/Acrobatics]
Zenko smiled before she went to train, as this fit pretty neatly into her brand as it was. Sure, she wasn't going to take on Lung or some other stupid manuever like that but acrobatics skill would be on-point for a ninja like herself.
* Elsewhere *
"Okay, where the heck am I now?" asked Zenko, looking around. "Damn, that's a big coin."
"You're on private property," said the man, getting up from some really big computer.
"Sorry," apologized Zenko. "No control over where the Dojo sends me. You're wearing a costume, so I take it I'm in somebody's Tinker lab?"
"'Dojo'?" asked the guy who was dressed like a bat for some reason.
Wait. Old pre-cape comic books. She KNEW this guy. "Wait wait wait wait. This isn't some afterlife thing where I'm getting training from ninja? You're BATMAN?!"
"'Afterlife'? 'Comic books'?" asked Batman.
"Yeah, before capes were a real life thing you had comics and an old TV series," said Zenko, looking around.
"So you're from another Earth," said Batman. "And this 'dojo' brought you here for training?"
"Wow, you really are a great detective," said Zenko. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Zenko, proud ninja hero of Brockton Bay, trained by Konohagakure to Tokubetsu Jonin level!"
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm just wearing the costume while the real Batman heals from some recent injuries," said the not-Batman-after-all. "My name's Nightwing."
"I don't know a Nightwing," admitted Zenko. "I only read about Batman because Dad had some old comics in the attic."
"Well, if you're here for training, how about we do a little exchange of techniques?" suggested Nightwing.
"I don't know," hedged Zenko, wondering if that was against the rules.
"I'll take you for a ride in the Batmobile," offered Nightwing.
Zenko blinked and looked at the vehicle in question. If there was a picture for the Cool Car trope, surely this would be on the main page. "Sold!"
* One month/0.02 seconds later *
She shifted slightly as she re-manifested in Brockton Bay, checking to make sure this WAS Brockton Bay.
She caught her breath for a moment on the roof then remanifested her swarm.
Extreme Grace had turned out to be a massive agility/coordination/prioperception boost. Acrobatics increased her sense of balance, flexibility, and speed. Training had allowed her to get a handle on both.
After training (and getting to kick Joker in the face) she now had merged her Danger Sense and Acrobatic Skill into her Strong Fist/Konoha Taijutsu Martial Arts style to produce something unique in her own estimation.
Zenko checked and found she still had the signed autographs. Nobody would believe they were real, but that just made them more unique. Batgirl, Supergirl (apparently the two got together for lunch every so often), Batman (the real one), Nightwing, a flying Blaster type named Starfire, and even Harlequin and Poison Ivy (both had been very confused by the whole asking for an autograph thing) that one time they'd crossed paths.
She even had a souveneir batarang. She almost felt like she should call it her precious or something.
Both Nightwing and Batgirl had gone through the awakening their chakra, learning to mix it, and were going to train the heck out of it. She'd left notes. Maybe it would help them out.
Even better, she'd improved by training with the Bat Family and learned a few things about various gadgets and such. Her martial arts had improved and she had a handle on how to use a variety of weapons that were not common in Konohagakure.
Her fox clone had just run across Edgelady and determined her new costume involved lots of pink and ribbons. Weird. But it came apart in the middle so it at least allowed for bathroom breaks.
Actually looked kind of nice. Fashion Woman (or whatever the woman was called) obviously knew her stuff.
There was no sign of Fashion Woman though, but unfortunately Zenko knew what this meant.
She had to fill out one of the PRT forms dealing with contact with an unknown parahuman. Paperwork, bleah.
* Monday 22, 2009 *
"'Fashion Girl'?" asked Alexandria. As much as she had to do, once that report had crossed her inbox she'd HAD to follow up on it.
"I may have indulged in dealing with an irritation a bit much," admitted Contessa.
"'Fashion Girl'?" repeated Alexandria, enjoying this just a little.
"It's one interpretation for what happened," admitted Contessa. "I might point out that the Brockton Bay cape Parian has an existing similar role which put the idea out there."
"You braided her hair and put little pink bows... how irritated were you?" asked Alexandria.
"The Path to make sure she never attacked me again was quite clear," stated Contessa. "More physical violence to her would have encouraged further violence from her. Posting photos of her image change ignited a debate on the forum and now she fears what would happen if she failed to eliminate me with the first shot."
* Winslow *
"Did you see the photos? What do you think, original flavor or..."
Sophia's teeth were grinding together as stupid Greg effing Veder started talking about THAT.
"Yeah, Edgy McEdgeface versus Pretty Princess?" put in one of the jocks, holding up a phone displaying the side-by-side pictures.
SNAP!
"Sophia. That's the second pencil you broken. Is something wrong?"
"No," growled Sophia. "Everything's peachy."
"Well, she posted on PHO that side-by-side comparison and was asking for opinions," said Greg. "Only fair to give her some feedback."
Julia looked at the pictures on her own phone. "Honestly? I think a combination of the two would work better. Use the peach coloring to accentuate the darkness of the rest of the outfit."
Sophia had been trying not to comment or say anything but this could NOT be ignored. "Shadow Stalker's a real hero! She's a lone vigilante who prowls the night hunting the villains! She should NOT wear pink!"
Julia looked askance at Sophia for a moment. "But she's a girl. If she wants to change it up a bit and look prettier..."
Sophia was sure that at any moment now, she'd crack one of her own teeth.
"You know, you're both right," said Greg Veder unexpectedly. "She's a stealth hero so peach pink doesn't work too well."
"Right!" said a relieved Sophia, though a bit put off that VEDER was agreeing with her. That might mean she was wrong except for the fact that she was never wrong.
"Dark blue panels would let her blend into the shadows a bit more, and she could throw on a red scarf or something for a splash of color but still put it in a pocket or something for when she needed to hide," continued Greg. "Or maybe something reversible or tinker-made that can change colors when she needed it."
"Oh, like that Stranger in Toledo - Chameleon Girl?" asked Madison, who then shrank a bit in her seat when noticing Sophia's glare at her. "Never mind."
"Her original costume," insisted Emma, apparently deciding that this conversation was NOT beneath her after all.
"Right," agreed Sophia, glaring at Veder who was apparently too stupid to realize he was being glared at.
"I think it's because of Zenko," stated Veder.
"Excuse me?!" asked Sophia. "Why would a real hero like Stalker care about some PR-hunting bitch?"
"Because she's an effective hero but she's more popular and a better arrest record," said Veder, tapping away at his phone and then turning it to show them. "See. Someone graphed out the arrests. Zenko was responsible for more arrests and when it came down to charges and keeping them in jail, less of them are getting dropped for the whole serious bodily harm thing."
Sophia got up, slapped Veder's phone out of his hand and looked about ready to punch the boy in the confused-looking face.
Mister Rhodes, the World Affairs 101 teacher, interrupted by coming in. "Everyone take your seats. I hope you all read up on the death of Vikare and are prepared for questions on the direct and indirect results of that."
"The Vikare Act?" asked Greg.
"There is NO Vikare Act," said Mister Rhodes, glaring at Greg. "That's one of those web conspiracy theories that you can disprove if you do any research."
* Taylor *
She mused over the lesson as the class let out, trying to ignore Greg Veder being Greg Veder and going on about some game called Remnant Evil.
He could definitely ramble, and it served as a wonderful example why she should rein it in when she herself was getting overly chatty about something.
Now he was making parallels between this Remnant Evil's Parasol Corporation and Medhall. Seriously, a major company like Medhall having undercover capes on the board of directors as they planned criminal activities? A biotinker mad scientist type and an AI mass murderer? Okay, a biotinker working in pharmaceuticals wasn't too bad of a stretch, but why were all AI kill-crazy? Why not have one that was actually nice and helpful? Maybe with some odd quirks picked up in development that could be used for comic relief without getting into the whole "kill fleshbags" thing?
Ah, here was the group of hanger-ons trying to block her in so that Sophia could approach from behind.
Here was the part where Emma started the obvious distraction with a verbal assault about how worthless she was.
Blah your mother blah blah killed blah.
Maybe it was all the subjective years between events to dull some things or the training and accomplishments as a ninja, but... wait.
"Hold on," said Taylor, making a "T" gesture with both hands. "Hold on. You're saying that if your mother died you would NOT cry? Or miss her? None of you?"
There was a brief silence before Sophia spoke from right behind her. "I'd be relieved."
"Damn, I'm sorry to hear that," responded Taylor. She thought it explained a bit though.
Sophia punched her in the back of the head for that.
* Emma *
Sophia threw the first punch, not that unexpected and she would not face consequences because all the witnesses would later proclaim a different narrative.
Taylor's glasses hit the ground and Emma smiled as she casually stomped down on them. "Oops."
Now was when Taylor would show how weak she was, drawing into herself, giving that sheep-like expression, maybe cry a little.
That was what Emma expected.
A white fox scampering along the ceiling tiles?
No, she hadn't expected THAT.
* Taylor *
The "Cute Fox Swarm" were shadow clones under a henge (disguise) that were about the same mass as one arm. She could do ten at a time at this point and she could maintain them for hours. Sure, they could only take one hit before dispelling - but they were used for reconnaissance and distraction and for her whole "brand" thing.
That was what the "ninja foxgirl" thing was for and why she leaned into that image despite no longer being necessary. It was a clear difference between Taylor Hebert and Zenko.
She had one or two she'd send scampering along the Boardwalk just to keep an eye on things, and yes to sell her image as the helpful heroic ninja-girl.
Oh, there was that one twit who kept going on about "furries" and such online. She didn't have fur except the tail and ears, so she wasn't sure what that guy's deal was. Other than being more annoying than that Void Cowboy person, which might be a bit of an accomplishment in itself.
Heck, even THAT troll hadn't gone after her tail. He (she?) had gone off about a secret society of kitsune and supernatural beings hiding in plain sight as part of some shadow-world thing. Which was crazy but it was more his kind of crazy.
For herself, she kept one or two fox-clones going even when she was in her Taylor identity as part of the exercising of her chakra. Since they were independent as long as they lasted, having one decide to serve as a distraction wasn't that much of a reach.
Taylor smiled, seeing she could add an extra layer of confusion about secret identities. "Wow! Isn't that one of Zenko's foxes?"
Everyone's attention immediately went to the fox that was ignoring gravity by clinging to the ceiling.
At which point Taylor went to class as everyone else was fumbling with their phones or otherwise not contributing to the Trio's attempts to bully her.
A ninja's tools included deception, distraction, and pulling something unexpected on your opponents. At least according to Iruka-sensei. For now her white fox clone would scamper about looking unbearably cute and photogenic, it would dismiss shortly and she'd do it later.
[+100 CP. Roll postponed until active situation resolves? Y/N]
"Yeah," whispered Taylor to herself, and to the power. She was in an active situation? Something going on she couldn't see with her own eyes or either active clone as far as she could tell.
* Orochimaru *
Coil would be dead very soon. For certain values of dead.
Victor was almost entirely burned out. A pity as the Skill Thief power had struck him as being extremely useful.
He'd had to prepare Coil and prepare to move in. That body would probably not last even as long as Victor as the life energies within Thomas Calvert were even lower.
Neither actually had any chakra to start. Life energy and spiritual energy, but not much of either and mingling them to prepare things for the move was taking valuable time.
He'd had a year to prepare and train Danny Hebert as a ninja. Not nearly enough time, in his opinion. Enough time to start on the path but not much else. Still, with the resources of Coil in hand - he'd be able to get more resources to start the two Heberts and their Hidden Village developing.
Honestly, he had experience with the whole 'develop a ninja village' thing - he'd done a credible job with Otogakure after all. Made a few mistakes there but he'd learned from that and wouldn't repeat them here.
Orochimaru smiled as various parts and machines were being delivered. In some ways, this world was even more convenient towards building a Hidden Village. Same-day deliveries? Online sales? Tinkertech auctions? This world had intriguing possibilities.
Oh, sure, these mercenaries had some basic training in taijutsu and otherwise relied on equipment. Yet he had minions again. Some would have to be let go of course. No point in keeping this number on the payroll when the whole city takeover thing was such a waste of time and resources.
Which was when a doorway opened up in mid-air, some sort of teleportation jutsu from what he could see, and a woman stepped out with one of those guns pointed in his direction.
"Isn't it the normal custom to knock before entering?" asked Orochimaru/Victor.
"This was the simplest way to find out what is happening here," said the woman.
"Hmmm, you're Mister Calvert's mysterious sponsor then?" asked Orochimaru. "It's quite simple, I'm taking over his operations temporarily."
"Go on," prompted the woman.
"My 'cape name' in your local culture would be 'Orochimaru' and I propose an exchange of information that could well benefit both of us," said Orochimaru.
There was a moment of hesitation, her eyes flicking to something only she could see, before holstering her gun. "Proceed."
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It's time for the superior snake to join Cauldron!
- Location
- miami
You know all things considered Orochimaru didn't get the screen time he should have he is technically immortal and should have been a threat that no one could permanently put down. Like a tailed beast instead he was just another villain. Granted he came across as too cartoonishly evil at times.
- Location
- England
Wrong 'rein'. It's a horse metaphor.
You're quite right. At the very least it needs a selection of under-funded orphanages with negligent carers.
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i get that you're taking a shot at a fanon thing, but the question of whether or not there is or isn't a law making it actually illegal [rather than unwritten rules] to reveal the identity of capes doesn't seem like it would be the subject of a conspiracy theory.
verycoolname
Not actually cool
Contessa: "Want to help us experiment on an alien's corpse to create strange and unique superpowers?"
Orochimaru: "…I can't help but feel that there has been some sort of cosmic filing error. I am in heaven right now and I must admit that I don't deserve to be."
Orochimaru: "…I can't help but feel that there has been some sort of cosmic filing error. I am in heaven right now and I must admit that I don't deserve to be."
Mwahahahaha, well, in defense of Contessa, Sophia with her very toxic attitude brought it on herself, and she had it easy, because Contessa could have simply killed her and that's it, but she preferred to get even in another way (I wonder if Fortuna is going to use her new identity , courtesy of Taylor, Fashion Woman, XD)
In addition to seeing Fortuna, at the end of the chapter, finally meeting Orochijackson, whose actions seem to be focused on helping Taylor and her father (good); That and I suppose PtV would not have given Contessa many chances of winning, against a ninja with the skills of Orochimaru (who in this world could also be considered a Stranger), hence she agrees to the parley
Also being quite cool, that just about to meet Contessa for the first time, the Celestial Dojo sends Taylor to - train in two categories - none other place than Gotham, just when Dick wears the Batman suit to cover for Bruce, a place that Taylor recognizes of her father's comics, and in addition to training, taking back with her great memories from that place (autographs of the Bat Family - Batman/Bruce, Batgirl, Nightwing -, Supergirl, Starfire and even Hayley and Ivy - I would have loved to see their reactions to Zenko/Taylor's appearance -; and kicking Joker in the face)
Sophia obviously not enjoying what happened to her at all or the criticism of her Shadow Stalker costume, as well as hating when Greg implies that Zenko is a better hero than her, which I suppose would make her obsess over her.
Good luck and keep going
In addition to seeing Fortuna, at the end of the chapter, finally meeting Orochijackson, whose actions seem to be focused on helping Taylor and her father (good); That and I suppose PtV would not have given Contessa many chances of winning, against a ninja with the skills of Orochimaru (who in this world could also be considered a Stranger), hence she agrees to the parley
Also being quite cool, that just about to meet Contessa for the first time, the Celestial Dojo sends Taylor to - train in two categories - none other place than Gotham, just when Dick wears the Batman suit to cover for Bruce, a place that Taylor recognizes of her father's comics, and in addition to training, taking back with her great memories from that place (autographs of the Bat Family - Batman/Bruce, Batgirl, Nightwing -, Supergirl, Starfire and even Hayley and Ivy - I would have loved to see their reactions to Zenko/Taylor's appearance -; and kicking Joker in the face)
Sophia obviously not enjoying what happened to her at all or the criticism of her Shadow Stalker costume, as well as hating when Greg implies that Zenko is a better hero than her, which I suppose would make her obsess over her.
Good luck and keep going
Honestly, I'm looking forward to him running into so much of the stupid things they do. XD
Thozmp
Gets my kicks above the waistline, Sunshine.
Because despite the horrific methods, Orochimaru actually gets results?
MultipleChoice
(Verified Unverified)
Since this is Orochimaru from the afterlife, he's from well after the events of Boruto. While still twisted he's largely redeemed himself, so I think we can trust he'll act in the best interests of Taylor & Danny.
As for morality I would place him above Alexandria due him being amoral as opposed to RCB's willingness to commit atrocities because Contessa said so. Orochimaru was a scientist before anything else, and while not ethical everything he did served a purpose. Cauldron just throws crap at the walls to see what sticks.
On an amusing side note, my auto cow wreck keeps trying to correct "Orochimaru" to "pro binary". Not sure how it got from A to B, but it's strangely appropriate.
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Oh good, someone else caught that first. "Rein/reign" confusion drives me up a wall.
- Location
- England
You can blame Henry Ford. If car travel hadn't been normalised we'd be more aware of all the words and phrases originating from carriage driving and horse riding.
Nimodes
Weary Worldwalker
- Location
- Arizona
fixed, thanks for the catch
FaerieKnight79
Verified Pixie
- Location
- The Internet
I have no idea why you would think that.
Orochimaru is only a scientist in the same sense that Cave Johnson (from Portal) is a scientist. No experimental control groups, no real clue what he's doing, and no theories being tested. Orochi just throws shit at the wall to see what sticks.
- Location
- Here, There, and Everywhere
Holy fuuuuu.....
Orochimaru's Mad Science no Jitsu backed with Cauldron's resources!
Orochimaru's Mad Science no Jitsu backed with Cauldron's resources!
VC Project
Infinite Possibilities at the Point of No Return
Orochi's getting a more nonperishable body courtesy of Cauldron, I'm guessing.
- Location
- United States
Because Orochimaru is a competent researcher while Cauldron only plays pretend. I can only see him tearing apart their entire body of research, not on ethical grounds but on how poorly constructed, poorly executed, and often outright pointless they are.
I am the terror that stalks in the night! I am the pebble in the shoe of evil! I am Darkwi-Shadow Stalker!
Goddammit, Madison. Why did you make me watch that cartoon.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RJsjeoP8_w&ab_channel=QueenMeshi
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I can't help but now picture that actually becoming a meme thanks to Taylor getting annoyed at her for trying to intimidate Zenko.
Gonna hope for the possibility now for the Yakuza styles to possibly show up so we can have everyone freak out as Zenko pulls a Tiger Drop on Lung. Which sends him flying out to sea by accident.
Or Leviathan getting it instead...