Long ago the Entities drew the wrath of something greater than themselves. Now, the most recent weapon against them has activated, empowering a new champion. Game On!
Worm: Collector's Edition
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- Ongoing
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Prologue: ???
- Location
- United States
???:
The Technician was pleased. While it, unfortunately, couldn't -and wouldn't- simulate anything- unlike the uncaring monsters destroying life in the multiverse it was charged with caring for- it did have a more comprehensive understanding of existence than even the Entities that had drawn its ire, though testing was more difficult.
Its campaign of decreasingly subtle attacks against the Entities had started long ago, not long after they started destroying occupied planets, and had resulted in several deaths of such specimens- three had been revived by their partner; the next two had shown that process could occur without a guiding intelligence; then the pair's shards started having problems after their deaths, resulting in the ultimate destruction of the host species; and the last attempt had destroyed the shards as well, resulting in the deaths of all the afflicted and the- usually explosive- failing of any technology they had built, resulting in the planet's destruction anyway.
The last had caused the Technician to decide the best result would be the shards coming under the control of one of its champions, and caused a change in tactics- rather than using methods the Entities hadn't encountered every "cycle", it requested permission to skip several response stages, then would observe them as closely as possible to determine weaknesses- aside from the obvious one of being completely unimaginative, anyway.
After receiving permission, tests with surviving shards from the first pair had shown that living energy could be metabolized by them quite efficiently, far less than would be filtered by even the weakest of sensitive lifeforms, giving its next champion an effective tool for positive reinforcement, and after some time determined the Entities used certain types of "encryption" as an identifier- for external communication, they had "public" keys for trading and other neutral interactions, along with another set to hand out to those they were allied with, while internal communication had three ranks: core, important, and standard- and would change the top-level identifier to one reserved for the action when trading shards with another Entity- this behavior would allow for the next champion to give top-level commands to target shards, including changing the identifiers, allowing them to take undisputed control if desired. As a side effect, any shards attempting to connect would automatically be stolen, preventing the corruption that had occurred early on.
The being would spend three of the ten cycles it worked just deciphering the encryptions of every Entity it knew of, in the hopes that by the time its champion encountered others they would be powerful enough to emerge victorious. The remaining time was mostly spent getting the shard subversion functionality correct, then deciding on a good location for the champion to originate.
The base of the system was a copy of the process used to communicate with sensitive mortals- which used a small pocket dimension outside of the timestream of any reality, allowing seemingly instantaneous communication- although adapting it to allow for travel to other realities was a little more difficult, as was ensuring that while its champion could access knowledge of other realities, it would be clear what was and wasn't part of each one. Locking that down until after their death in their birth reality so they wouldn't just escape their duties was obvious, as was ensuring they needed to die to pass on to the next portion of the cycle. The decision of when to activate was more difficult; ultimately, it was decided to use the end of the champion's sexual maturation process as the primary trigger, with a situation that would activate a shard as a secondary trigger.
The death of the targeted pair's Thinker was a pleasant surprise, especially since the mortals harvesting its corpse would provide plenty of shards that could be subverted without the other one noticing. A decision was made only a few planetary revolutions before the ultimate champion was conceived, and the powerset completed under three dozen planetary rotations before it was carefully grafted to the champion during her conception. It was relieved when the champion's soul wasn't returned to its waiting pool, as that could have complicated matters.
Following that was working on a series of upgrades to it in preparation for the champion taking a mate- or several; some mortals preferred it that way, and some species even required it, so the upgrades would take such into account- and would allow her to bring them with her should she decide to continue her duties after her inevitable death. The original protocols for the champion's reproductive process would be hidden until a date that had given the being some trouble, finally deciding on the highest minimum legal age for such activities in all the provinces of the nation she was living in- as she was more likely to move to or visit such locations than elsewhere- so long as it was within certain biological milestones- onset of puberty and biological peak, so as to prevent both problems stemming from behavior the champion wasn't physically or mentally ready for and to ensure she- and any other champions that may be granted such power- was given the choice to reproduce if she desired- which was preferred by the being as that would spread most of her unique powers faster than inducing them in others, which would require she help them achieve potential beyond what they were naturally capable of.
While inducing sensitivity to living energy in a species was discouraged- hence its request- the Entities were a greater danger, and any hybrid-Entities produced by the champion, including herself, would by their very nature induce sensitivity in their shards' hosts over a period about a revolution of their home planet, and their children would all be sensitive as well. Ensuring the reproductive process would also include any chosen rewards and would adapt to its champion's lifespan had taken nearly a decade, after which ensuring the dominance of such traits was simple.
The chosen champion was mentally resilient- both the death of her mother and the betrayal of her closest friend after her mental corruption by one of the afflicted following a traumatic event failed to meet the activation conditions, as did the following campaign of harassment. It hadn't, however, missed the trap created by two of her main antagonists, and watched closely when she encountered it- even so, the actions of her afflicted antagonist was unexpected- and prepared to gently influence her when she looked at potential rewards- the Entities were capable of space-travel, so she would need to be as well.
The Technician was pleased. While it, unfortunately, couldn't -and wouldn't- simulate anything- unlike the uncaring monsters destroying life in the multiverse it was charged with caring for- it did have a more comprehensive understanding of existence than even the Entities that had drawn its ire, though testing was more difficult.
Its campaign of decreasingly subtle attacks against the Entities had started long ago, not long after they started destroying occupied planets, and had resulted in several deaths of such specimens- three had been revived by their partner; the next two had shown that process could occur without a guiding intelligence; then the pair's shards started having problems after their deaths, resulting in the ultimate destruction of the host species; and the last attempt had destroyed the shards as well, resulting in the deaths of all the afflicted and the- usually explosive- failing of any technology they had built, resulting in the planet's destruction anyway.
The last had caused the Technician to decide the best result would be the shards coming under the control of one of its champions, and caused a change in tactics- rather than using methods the Entities hadn't encountered every "cycle", it requested permission to skip several response stages, then would observe them as closely as possible to determine weaknesses- aside from the obvious one of being completely unimaginative, anyway.
After receiving permission, tests with surviving shards from the first pair had shown that living energy could be metabolized by them quite efficiently, far less than would be filtered by even the weakest of sensitive lifeforms, giving its next champion an effective tool for positive reinforcement, and after some time determined the Entities used certain types of "encryption" as an identifier- for external communication, they had "public" keys for trading and other neutral interactions, along with another set to hand out to those they were allied with, while internal communication had three ranks: core, important, and standard- and would change the top-level identifier to one reserved for the action when trading shards with another Entity- this behavior would allow for the next champion to give top-level commands to target shards, including changing the identifiers, allowing them to take undisputed control if desired. As a side effect, any shards attempting to connect would automatically be stolen, preventing the corruption that had occurred early on.
The being would spend three of the ten cycles it worked just deciphering the encryptions of every Entity it knew of, in the hopes that by the time its champion encountered others they would be powerful enough to emerge victorious. The remaining time was mostly spent getting the shard subversion functionality correct, then deciding on a good location for the champion to originate.
The base of the system was a copy of the process used to communicate with sensitive mortals- which used a small pocket dimension outside of the timestream of any reality, allowing seemingly instantaneous communication- although adapting it to allow for travel to other realities was a little more difficult, as was ensuring that while its champion could access knowledge of other realities, it would be clear what was and wasn't part of each one. Locking that down until after their death in their birth reality so they wouldn't just escape their duties was obvious, as was ensuring they needed to die to pass on to the next portion of the cycle. The decision of when to activate was more difficult; ultimately, it was decided to use the end of the champion's sexual maturation process as the primary trigger, with a situation that would activate a shard as a secondary trigger.
The death of the targeted pair's Thinker was a pleasant surprise, especially since the mortals harvesting its corpse would provide plenty of shards that could be subverted without the other one noticing. A decision was made only a few planetary revolutions before the ultimate champion was conceived, and the powerset completed under three dozen planetary rotations before it was carefully grafted to the champion during her conception. It was relieved when the champion's soul wasn't returned to its waiting pool, as that could have complicated matters.
Following that was working on a series of upgrades to it in preparation for the champion taking a mate- or several; some mortals preferred it that way, and some species even required it, so the upgrades would take such into account- and would allow her to bring them with her should she decide to continue her duties after her inevitable death. The original protocols for the champion's reproductive process would be hidden until a date that had given the being some trouble, finally deciding on the highest minimum legal age for such activities in all the provinces of the nation she was living in- as she was more likely to move to or visit such locations than elsewhere- so long as it was within certain biological milestones- onset of puberty and biological peak, so as to prevent both problems stemming from behavior the champion wasn't physically or mentally ready for and to ensure she- and any other champions that may be granted such power- was given the choice to reproduce if she desired- which was preferred by the being as that would spread most of her unique powers faster than inducing them in others, which would require she help them achieve potential beyond what they were naturally capable of.
While inducing sensitivity to living energy in a species was discouraged- hence its request- the Entities were a greater danger, and any hybrid-Entities produced by the champion, including herself, would by their very nature induce sensitivity in their shards' hosts over a period about a revolution of their home planet, and their children would all be sensitive as well. Ensuring the reproductive process would also include any chosen rewards and would adapt to its champion's lifespan had taken nearly a decade, after which ensuring the dominance of such traits was simple.
The chosen champion was mentally resilient- both the death of her mother and the betrayal of her closest friend after her mental corruption by one of the afflicted following a traumatic event failed to meet the activation conditions, as did the following campaign of harassment. It hadn't, however, missed the trap created by two of her main antagonists, and watched closely when she encountered it- even so, the actions of her afflicted antagonist was unexpected- and prepared to gently influence her when she looked at potential rewards- the Entities were capable of space-travel, so she would need to be as well.
Last edited:
1.1: Tutorial
- Location
- United States
Jan 3, 2011:
Taylor was trying hard not to hyperventilate, not that anyone would blame her- not only was she forced into a locker-her locker! - that was filled with as many used tampons and pads as it could hold, but now she was, somehow, standing on the bridge of a ship, looking out at what she thought was Brockton Bay. The most jarring thing, however, was not the abrupt change in location, the lack of mess, or even the view, but the words floating in front of her.
'Clearly I've gone crazy,' was the first thought that went through her mind, 'but what's this about a prologue?' She tried to find a door only to find herself rooted in place, resulting in yet more panic. "Wha-! Why can't I move?!"
"What?" was her only response for nearly a minute. 'I suppose I might as well play along. If I'm crazy I don't really want to be bored; if it's a Master effect I can't see them, nor how I can escape; and… if it's real I might be in a coma or something.' "Exit."
"Ah… Technician? Who- or what- is that?" After nearly a minute of nothing happening, she decided to move on, "Um… Options?"
The environment rotated around her, showing a console with another menu floating in front of it
After a brief moment of shock, she shook herself and exclaimed, "Help!"
The environment moved again, putting her by another console.
"Um…" Taylor hesitated for a moment, "About."
"Story- Save Earth?! What do you mean- 1994?" Taylor found herself speechless for a moment. "That's before I was even born! What relevance- Whatever," she shook her head, "What's Story Mode?"
With a nervous swallow, she stared at what she was now certain was a delusion. How could she be that important? What could possibly threaten all Earths? Still, even if this was all in her head, playing along was better than being bored out of her skull and unable to move. "Character." When nothing happened, she tried again, "Help: Character."
Another change, this time focusing on a poster of the Vitruvian Man.
"Stats."
"Right… next is… Characters: Perks."
"Mastering- no, go in order, Taylor. Character: Attributes."
Taylor went through the menu options, finding that negative attributes could be bought off or mitigated with attribute points, the inventory would allow her to change clothes instantly, though she would apparently have to make a deliberate choice to change- or remove- her underwear, relationships would track everything from "Family"- or "Lover"- to "At war", and the party system was dependent on her level and charisma, and anyone, including "Non-Player Characters (NPCs)", could become a party member.
Moving on to the "Achievements" section of the Help Menu, she was told that any action she took, from fighting or playing games to helping others or certain behavior could and probably would contribute to Achievements, which would grant powers in the form of Rewards, which she could select from the Rewards menu. Most Achievements, and thus Rewards, had multiple ranks, and some Rewards could apparently unlock others, usually in conjunction with different "Reward Lines", or Rewards that were related to each other. In addition, some Rewards that would normally be in "Science" would be in "Technomagic" due to some of the components containing or being made of various forms of "Magicite", such as Star Trek's Dilithium.
It was in the "Interface" section that she got another shock- while in the Main, Achievements, and Rewards Menus time was paused, at least if the text was accurate. She took a moment to digest that before learning that the menu she could call up "in-game" would not pause time, and that she could choose to command the interface mentally, though it was not the default. Quests was obvious, but hidden objectives and quests less so, as some Perception Perks would reveal them. Miscellaneous told her that some features had not been implemented yet, such as Multiplayer and Modding, whereas "Exit" could not be selected while a game was active- she would have to die before she could exit the game.
With that pleasant thought, she moved onto the "Options: Interface", moving from the "Help" console to a third, along with another menu.
In "Graphics" she made it semi-transparent, changed the background color, after some deliberation, to a medium blue, then moved on to Audio, then Controls, where she set it to "Voice and Mental Commands", before selecting "Alerts", setting them to "Important Alerts only", "Keep record of all alerts", and "Sort by type and time" before deciding to take a look at the options for Rewards so she could set herself a goal.
This time the movement was more pronounced, taking her to a spot overlooking the cargo holds of what she was now assuming was the ship blocking part of the bay.
Here Taylor hesitated; while she preferred fantasy, she didn't care to be ridiculed like Myrddin for claiming her powers- if the boxes could be trusted, anyway- were magic, and the idea of creating spaceships called to her, but most series she knew of introduced some new element or material, which she thought would likely be considered technomagic by her power. Finally shrugging, she chose "Technomagic", immediately being moved into one of the cargo holds which was filled with statues, to find she could move around.
As she looked around, three statues immediately caught her eye. One had her dressed like Han Solo, blaster in her hand and holograms of ship blueprints around her. Another had her dressed in captain's dress from Star Trek, leaning over a console. The third had her clad in the oddest-looking dress she'd ever seen, under which was white and gold armor. Choosing to take a closer look at the third, as she thought she could tell what the other two were, she found it was called "ArkShipgirl Spear of Adun," required "Protoss Mothership Tier 2" and "Shipgirl Tier 4". While Taylor had never heard of the first or last, she did vaguely recall Greg Veder talking about the Protoss, though not what game. Considering the dress looked like a stylized ship, she guessed if she chose this she'd be turned into a starship but maintain a human appearance, which the ratings seemed to bear out.
She was certain she could fight- and maybe even win- against an Endbringer with such a power, but she wanted to look at the others that caught her eye, and maybe a few others before looking at the prerequisites, so she moved on to the Star Trek statue.
This was… much more limited, though the requirements- "Star Trek Fanatic Achievement" seemed less difficult as well. She moved on to the Star Wars statue.
This one had "Jedi Master" and "Any Tinker power" as requirements, but again was less powerful than the Arkshipgirl. She looked around, seeing powers like "Alteran Tinker", "Dune Fremen", the vaguely familiar "Kryptonian", and even found "Shipgirl", which had a requirement of "Shipgirl Tier 4," like the Arkshipgirl. She moved on to "Magic", which had a variety of dragons as the most apparent top-tier powers, though the "Midchildan" and "Belkan" powers also were high-level Tinkers, though they apparently required high mathematics skill- 75+- and another magic system. In the "Science" section she was entranced by yet another top-tier power- the "Entity."
The requirements- "Subvert 1000 shards" for "Minor Entity" and "Subvert 5000 shards" for "Entity" made her wonder if she had discovered the ultimate source of powers- it said it controlled "shards" and "powers," so could these shards be what grant powers? Either way, while this would be desirable, it would also leave her vulnerable- even Brockton Bay, with its unusually high percentage of capes, did not have even the 1000 for "Minor entity," and that's assuming a shard could only grant one person a power at a time, which Fenja and Menja, a pair of Neo-Nazi twins who could grow into giants, made unlikely. She went back to the Rewards menu, hesitated, then selected "Unlocked".
She noted "Magical Being" was listed as "Equipped," so assumed the different color title and the faint glow indicated the same. She also assumed that "Bug Control" was what she would have gotten if not for this game power. With an uneasy glance at the two statues she left for "Rewards: Technomagic," heading immediately to Arkshipgirl, before hesitating briefly.
"This is crazy…" she sighed, then firmed her resolve. "Show requirements." She Immediately got 18 results in two lines- 16 two-tier selections led by a one-tier selection on one side and one four-tier to the other. Taylor blanched, then looked closer at the longer line, seeing that, with two exceptions they all had Brute and Blaster or Striker powers on the second tier and a Master and Striker component on the first tier. The one-tier was a Master power that summoned a "Probe", and the odd two-tier either summoned or turned her into a "Warp Prism" which could apparently be a transport or power source.
Aside from the first power, they all had two ways to unlock- play an Earth Aleph collaboration game- the name was blocked out, unfortunately- with an increasing number of players or have the "Probe" build the required buildings- and all of them had a Striker power for "Material Transmutation" on the first tier. The four-tier was more complicated- with each tier she could summon, maintain, upgrade, and eventually become a Shipgirl, but the requirements… "Aide the Shipgirls of Brockton Bay's Boat Graveyard" sounded easy enough at first, but what if they wanted her to repair them? Where could she get the materials, or the money for them?
Either way, she'd probably have to talk to her father about what to do about this. She was hesitant to bother him, considering he'd all but collapsed upon the death of her mother, but she'd tried dealing with everything herself and look what happened- stuck in her locker among biological waste. Moreover, her city was dying because of the Boat Graveyard, and she knew it. She made her choice.
Quest aside, she had distracted herself from her situation for nearly two hours, but if the help text was right, she would be right back in the locker and looking at achievements wouldn't change that. The beginnings of a plan had been percolating in the back of her mind, however, and several minutes later she had a plan worked out. Taylor took a deep breath, steeled herself, and said "Main Menu: Continue."
Taylor was trying hard not to hyperventilate, not that anyone would blame her- not only was she forced into a locker-her locker! - that was filled with as many used tampons and pads as it could hold, but now she was, somehow, standing on the bridge of a ship, looking out at what she thought was Brockton Bay. The most jarring thing, however, was not the abrupt change in location, the lack of mess, or even the view, but the words floating in front of her.
Prologue Complete! |
'Clearly I've gone crazy,' was the first thought that went through her mind, 'but what's this about a prologue?' She tried to find a door only to find herself rooted in place, resulting in yet more panic. "Wha-! Why can't I move?!"
Main Menu |
New Game |
Load Game |
Continue |
Achievements |
Rewards |
Options |
Exit |
"What?" was her only response for nearly a minute. 'I suppose I might as well play along. If I'm crazy I don't really want to be bored; if it's a Master effect I can't see them, nor how I can escape; and… if it's real I might be in a coma or something.' "Exit."
We apologize for the inconvenience, but Exit is not currently available. -The Technician |
"Ah… Technician? Who- or what- is that?" After nearly a minute of nothing happening, she decided to move on, "Um… Options?"
The environment rotated around her, showing a console with another menu floating in front of it
Options Menu |
Interface |
Difficulty |
Settings |
Help |
Back |
After a brief moment of shock, she shook herself and exclaimed, "Help!"
The environment moved again, putting her by another console.
Help Menu |
Character |
Achievements |
Rewards |
Interface |
Quests |
About |
Miscellaneous |
Back |
"Um…" Taylor hesitated for a moment, "About."
About |
Welcome to Worm: Collector's Edition Alpha! You are currently in Story Mode and need to finish the story before unlocking other options. The city of Brockton Bay, and indeed Earth Bet and its multiverse, hold myriad wonders, dangers, and secrets- what will you do to save Earth, and what will you find in the process? ©1994 |
"Story- Save Earth?! What do you mean- 1994?" Taylor found herself speechless for a moment. "That's before I was even born! What relevance- Whatever," she shook her head, "What's Story Mode?"
Story Mode |
You start out in Brockton Bay, as the ultimate Trump, though you need to work for your powers. With the ability to live life like a video game character, complete with stats, perks, and more, and the ability to gain powers through Achievement Rewards, you are the lynchpin to saving all Earths across your multiverse. |
With a nervous swallow, she stared at what she was now certain was a delusion. How could she be that important? What could possibly threaten all Earths? Still, even if this was all in her head, playing along was better than being bored out of her skull and unable to move. "Character." When nothing happened, she tried again, "Help: Character."
Another change, this time focusing on a poster of the Vitruvian Man.
Character |
Stats |
Perks |
Attributes |
Inventory |
Relationships |
Party |
Back |
"Stats."
Stats |
Each stat starts at 10, with a base cap of 5 times level plus 10. |
"Right… next is… Characters: Perks."
Perks |
Most perks are linked to your basic stats, each tier unlocks at a given amount of the corresponding stat. Upon unlocking the final perk tier at 100, or upon mastering a skill, you gain a choice of Prestige Perk, special, powerful perks that relate to the stat or skill in question- choose carefully, as you can only choose one of the options! |
"Mastering- no, go in order, Taylor. Character: Attributes."
Taylor went through the menu options, finding that negative attributes could be bought off or mitigated with attribute points, the inventory would allow her to change clothes instantly, though she would apparently have to make a deliberate choice to change- or remove- her underwear, relationships would track everything from "Family"- or "Lover"- to "At war", and the party system was dependent on her level and charisma, and anyone, including "Non-Player Characters (NPCs)", could become a party member.
Moving on to the "Achievements" section of the Help Menu, she was told that any action she took, from fighting or playing games to helping others or certain behavior could and probably would contribute to Achievements, which would grant powers in the form of Rewards, which she could select from the Rewards menu. Most Achievements, and thus Rewards, had multiple ranks, and some Rewards could apparently unlock others, usually in conjunction with different "Reward Lines", or Rewards that were related to each other. In addition, some Rewards that would normally be in "Science" would be in "Technomagic" due to some of the components containing or being made of various forms of "Magicite", such as Star Trek's Dilithium.
It was in the "Interface" section that she got another shock- while in the Main, Achievements, and Rewards Menus time was paused, at least if the text was accurate. She took a moment to digest that before learning that the menu she could call up "in-game" would not pause time, and that she could choose to command the interface mentally, though it was not the default. Quests was obvious, but hidden objectives and quests less so, as some Perception Perks would reveal them. Miscellaneous told her that some features had not been implemented yet, such as Multiplayer and Modding, whereas "Exit" could not be selected while a game was active- she would have to die before she could exit the game.
With that pleasant thought, she moved onto the "Options: Interface", moving from the "Help" console to a third, along with another menu.
Interface |
Graphics |
Audio |
Controls |
Alerts |
Back |
In "Graphics" she made it semi-transparent, changed the background color, after some deliberation, to a medium blue, then moved on to Audio, then Controls, where she set it to "Voice and Mental Commands", before selecting "Alerts", setting them to "Important Alerts only", "Keep record of all alerts", and "Sort by type and time" before deciding to take a look at the options for Rewards so she could set herself a goal.
This time the movement was more pronounced, taking her to a spot overlooking the cargo holds of what she was now assuming was the ship blocking part of the bay.
Rewards |
Science |
Technomagic |
Magic |
Unlocked |
Back |
Here Taylor hesitated; while she preferred fantasy, she didn't care to be ridiculed like Myrddin for claiming her powers- if the boxes could be trusted, anyway- were magic, and the idea of creating spaceships called to her, but most series she knew of introduced some new element or material, which she thought would likely be considered technomagic by her power. Finally shrugging, she chose "Technomagic", immediately being moved into one of the cargo holds which was filled with statues, to find she could move around.
Your First Goal |
You've discovered the powers you can gain! Choose one to work towards. |
|
Reward: EXP +15, Player's Guide to Fiction |
As she looked around, three statues immediately caught her eye. One had her dressed like Han Solo, blaster in her hand and holograms of ship blueprints around her. Another had her dressed in captain's dress from Star Trek, leaning over a console. The third had her clad in the oddest-looking dress she'd ever seen, under which was white and gold armor. Choosing to take a closer look at the third, as she thought she could tell what the other two were, she found it was called "ArkShipgirl Spear of Adun," required "Protoss Mothership Tier 2" and "Shipgirl Tier 4". While Taylor had never heard of the first or last, she did vaguely recall Greg Veder talking about the Protoss, though not what game. Considering the dress looked like a stylized ship, she guessed if she chose this she'd be turned into a starship but maintain a human appearance, which the ratings seemed to bear out.
Arkshipgirl Spear of Adun |
Blaster 10 (Weapons) |
Brute 12 |
Breaker 12 (Shipgirl form) |
Master 12 (Crew, Arkship Projection) |
Mover 12 (Superluminal) |
Shaker 9 (Shields) |
Stranger 8 (Cloaking) |
Striker 8 (Material Transmutation) |
Thinker 12 (Sensors, Computers) |
Tinker 12 (Protoss Tech) |
Trump 8 (Empowers crew and allies) |
She was certain she could fight- and maybe even win- against an Endbringer with such a power, but she wanted to look at the others that caught her eye, and maybe a few others before looking at the prerequisites, so she moved on to the Star Trek statue.
Star Trek Captain |
Striker 8 (Material Transmutation) |
Tinker 12 (Star Trek tech) |
This was… much more limited, though the requirements- "Star Trek Fanatic Achievement" seemed less difficult as well. She moved on to the Star Wars statue.
Star Wars Admiral |
Blaster 7 (Force Manipulation) |
Brute 2 |
Master 7 (Force Manipulation) |
Mover 2 |
Shaker 7 (Force Manipulation) |
Striker 8 (Material Transmutation) |
Thinker 7 (Precognitive, Sensing) |
Tinker 12 (Star Wars tech) |
This one had "Jedi Master" and "Any Tinker power" as requirements, but again was less powerful than the Arkshipgirl. She looked around, seeing powers like "Alteran Tinker", "Dune Fremen", the vaguely familiar "Kryptonian", and even found "Shipgirl", which had a requirement of "Shipgirl Tier 4," like the Arkshipgirl. She moved on to "Magic", which had a variety of dragons as the most apparent top-tier powers, though the "Midchildan" and "Belkan" powers also were high-level Tinkers, though they apparently required high mathematics skill- 75+- and another magic system. In the "Science" section she was entranced by yet another top-tier power- the "Entity."
Entity |
Brute 12 |
Master 12 (Control of shards) |
Mover 12 (Superluminal) |
Shaker 12 (Interdimensional) |
Thinker 12 |
Trump 12 (Controls and creates powers) |
The requirements- "Subvert 1000 shards" for "Minor Entity" and "Subvert 5000 shards" for "Entity" made her wonder if she had discovered the ultimate source of powers- it said it controlled "shards" and "powers," so could these shards be what grant powers? Either way, while this would be desirable, it would also leave her vulnerable- even Brockton Bay, with its unusually high percentage of capes, did not have even the 1000 for "Minor entity," and that's assuming a shard could only grant one person a power at a time, which Fenja and Menja, a pair of Neo-Nazi twins who could grow into giants, made unlikely. She went back to the Rewards menu, hesitated, then selected "Unlocked".
Arthropod Control |
Master 8 (Bug control) |
Thinker 3 (Multitasking, Bug senses) |
Magical Being |
Thinker 6 (Spirit sight) |
Trump 12 (Develops magic systems, Allows subversion of shards) |
She noted "Magical Being" was listed as "Equipped," so assumed the different color title and the faint glow indicated the same. She also assumed that "Bug Control" was what she would have gotten if not for this game power. With an uneasy glance at the two statues she left for "Rewards: Technomagic," heading immediately to Arkshipgirl, before hesitating briefly.
"This is crazy…" she sighed, then firmed her resolve. "Show requirements." She Immediately got 18 results in two lines- 16 two-tier selections led by a one-tier selection on one side and one four-tier to the other. Taylor blanched, then looked closer at the longer line, seeing that, with two exceptions they all had Brute and Blaster or Striker powers on the second tier and a Master and Striker component on the first tier. The one-tier was a Master power that summoned a "Probe", and the odd two-tier either summoned or turned her into a "Warp Prism" which could apparently be a transport or power source.
Aside from the first power, they all had two ways to unlock- play an Earth Aleph collaboration game- the name was blocked out, unfortunately- with an increasing number of players or have the "Probe" build the required buildings- and all of them had a Striker power for "Material Transmutation" on the first tier. The four-tier was more complicated- with each tier she could summon, maintain, upgrade, and eventually become a Shipgirl, but the requirements… "Aide the Shipgirls of Brockton Bay's Boat Graveyard" sounded easy enough at first, but what if they wanted her to repair them? Where could she get the materials, or the money for them?
Either way, she'd probably have to talk to her father about what to do about this. She was hesitant to bother him, considering he'd all but collapsed upon the death of her mother, but she'd tried dealing with everything herself and look what happened- stuck in her locker among biological waste. Moreover, her city was dying because of the Boat Graveyard, and she knew it. She made her choice.
Your First Goal |
You've discovered the powers you can gain! Choose one to work towards. |
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Adun's Spear |
You're considering getting the power "Arkshipgirl Spear of Adun", but there are prerequisites. Complete them all to earn this power. |
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Reward: EXP +750, Protoss Faction Units |
Quest aside, she had distracted herself from her situation for nearly two hours, but if the help text was right, she would be right back in the locker and looking at achievements wouldn't change that. The beginnings of a plan had been percolating in the back of her mind, however, and several minutes later she had a plan worked out. Taylor took a deep breath, steeled herself, and said "Main Menu: Continue."
Last edited:
1.2: Tutorial
- Location
- United States
Jan 3, 2011
The smell was terrible, the locker vile, and the laughter of her tormentors monstrous. Fortunately, she was let out within three minutes by the janitor, upon which she demanded someone call the police about the locker filled with biological waste and an ambulance for herself in case she got infected- she could feel the muck squishing in her shoes every time she moved, and her hands were covered from the parts that had been taped or glued or whatever to the sides of the locker.
She forced herself to ignore the names and titles- those she knew anyway, otherwise they read "???"- hovering above the heads of those around her, instead making a point to thank the janitor and whoever went to get him for getting her out of the mess in her locker. A couple hours later, after having had blood drawn, and alone in a hospital room, she determined it was time to check her stats.
Taylor winced at the low stats for strength, constitution, and charisma, but moved on anyway.
After pausing briefly to wonder why perks had not been assigned like the stats apparently were, Taylor opened the Perk Menu
She hesitated, before choosing INT, remembering it handled experience and point gain as well as "spell damage".
She immediately selected Stat Point gain, reducing her to 2 perk points, before looking at the other options. Strength had a similar damage increase and an additional inventory page; dexterity gave options for attack speed and movement speed; constitution gave damage mitigation and a hit point increase; perception granted increased loot value and the ability to tell when quests have secret objectives, the latter of which she bought immediately; willpower listed mana point increase and pain resistance, which she hesitated over before moving on; and charisma could improve the "Haggling" skill or reduce any charisma penalties incurred by her clothing by 1 point per item, which she also considered before opting to see what the next tier of intelligence perks would have and moving on to "Character: Attributes"
Forcing herself not to scowl at the number of negative attributes, she immediately opened the attribute menu, finding she could sell good attributes and buy off negative ones in addition to buying positive attributes and selecting negative ones for additional attribute points as long as she had encountered them- she noticed her active power was included in her AP total before buying off "Depression" for two points- one to reduce it to "Minor Depression" which had half the effect and one to eliminate it- and immediately felt like a weight she hadn't even noticed had lifted from her mind. She could tell already that her more cheerful outlook from before her mother died had re-asserted itself, though apparently the minor case of PTSD caused by being trapped in a locker filled with used pads and tampons was mitigating that somewhat.
She hesitated before buying off "Low Self-Esteem" and saving "Out of Shape" and "PTSD (Minor)", along with the other three points, for when she wasn't surrounded by medical professionals. She didn't notice anything immediately different, unlike when she bought off her depression, but having a more accurate view of herself was probably a good thing. She was also worried by the implication that she likely had a much lower perception previously, as Magical Being increased it quite a bit, relatively, and she didn't think that was active before.
Inventory showed nothing new, and Relationships showed that Emma was probably the driving force behind the Trio, considering she had the worst relationship at "Hostile"- Taylor shuddered to think what she would have done if she was at "At war"- but Emma's family was much higher up than she thought they would have been from Emma's cruel taunts- her mother Zoe was at "Family" while her father Alan and sister Anne were at "Trusted"- perhaps they could moderate Emma's behavior, or at least explain what happened?
Taylor paused first at the quests, then at the description of "torture" the second used- perhaps it was referring to the locker? That suggested Madison didn't take part in it; she may not have even known about it beforehand.
Just then Taylor heard footsteps, so she closed her menu so she would not be distracted by it shortly before her father rushed into the room. Above his head floated his name, title, and level.
Danny Hebert ???
DWA Director of Hiring
"Taylor!" he sighed in relief, "What happened? I came as soon as I could when I heard you were in the hospital!"
"I-I was forced into my locker after it had been filled with biological waste- u-used pads and tampons which, based on the s-smell, were left to rot over break." Taylor's voice was a little shaky, as she forced herself not to get lost in the image of the locker, now determined not to give the Trio even the smallest victory more than she had to. "I'm pretty sure Sophia Hess pushed me in, though she grabbed me from behind as I was th-throwing up."
"Is there anyone else you suspect to be involved, Miss Hebert?" came from a police officer who had followed her father in, along with a PRT officer, the latter of whom confused her. Both of them were female, presumably to make her more comfortable
??? ???
BBPD ???
??? ???
PRT ???
Taylor took a deep breath to calm herself. "I- Sophia Hess is one of three ringleaders who've been tormenting me since school started last year- she usually does the physical stuff, like pushing me around, shoulder-checking me, that kind of thing; Madison Clements usually sticks to juvenile stuff- glue in my seat, spitwads, pencil shavings in my hair, stuff like that; and the last," she hesitated, "the last is my former best friend Emma Barnes-"
"Emma's what?!" came from her father.
"I don't know what happened, but when I went to visit her after camp last summer she- she pretended she was looking for an excuse to stop being my friend after Mom died- that's when I first met Sophia, as she was there- and told me to leave, that she'd call the police if I didn't. After that she started to use things I told her against me. The three of them got other students to do things like hem me in and insult me, or push me around- that was usually boys that wanted to date them, I think- and they- I'm sorry dad- they stole Mom's flute and destroyed it-"
"They WHAT?!"
"I brought it to school, put it in my locker- so I could look at it throughout the day- and they somehow got it, smashed it up and coated it in something nasty, and put it in a dumpster. Emma told me where it was, but I couldn't bring myself to touch it as it was, so I left to get something to pick it up with and when I got back it was GONE!" Taylor sobbed, the memory hitting her hard. After a few moments she visibly pulled herself together and continued, "She told me that her family didn't want to see me again-"
"Zoe asked about you shortly before the break, Taylor. She seemed concerned about you."
Taylor paused to absorb that, then continued, "I'm not sure if Sophia was pushing them to go after me or if it was Emma- Madison strikes me as more of a follower, especially since she didn't join in for a month or so, and the stuff she did was mild, if frequent, so I'm not sure if she was involved, but Emma taunted me about my locker before I opened it, and laughed after I was forced in it. I don't know if she's Mastered or just broken, but something changed over that summer and I think it has something to do with Sophia."
The detective spent the next hour gently drawing details from Taylor, while taking notes via a tape recorder. Then her PRT counterpart drew attention by re-entering the room during this time, informing them that she had contacted her superiors, telling them that because she suggested one of "the suspects" had been Mastered, they would have to put them in M/S Quarantine for a period of time. Eventually, the detective finished and reviewed her notes, before wishing them a better day.
"Thank you, Miss Hebert, we'll look into this- improper disposal of a biohazard is a crime, as is illegal imprisonment. It's possible we'll get destruction of private property as well." The detective left, leaving them with the PRT officer.
"Good morning Miss Hebert, I am Lieutenant Harlow. Have you ever heard the term 'Trigger Event?'" Her nameplate updated to "??? Harlow ???"/"PRT Lieutenant"
"No, but since the PRT's involved I'm guessing it's to do with how powers happen?"
"Essentially, yes. Parahumans get their powers in what's called a Trigger Event, after an incredibly stressful event or series of events. What you went through could easily be considered a potential Trigger Event and the PRT, when we find out about them, try to have someone come by, both to try to convince new triggers to join the Protectorate and to help them get used to their powers. I'll let you two think about that and talk with each other and wait outside."
Without even waiting for a response, she leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Taylor and her father stared at the door for a moment, then looked at each other.
"Dad-"
"Taylor-"
They stopped, then Danny indicated for her to go first.
"Dad, I-" she hesitated, before forging on, "I did get powers in the locker, but they're… weird."
"I… see. Weird how?"
"They- They're like I'm the protagonist in a videogame, and when I got shoved into the locker I was taken to the main menu, and even though I spent a couple hours there it was like it took no time at all. It also said something about the prologue being complete. I thought I was going crazy."
Danny absorbed this for most of a minute, then hugged Taylor, who tensed, then hugged him back, a few tears rolling down her face. "Well, I can see what you mean by weird. Any idea what kind of game?"
"Um, I can unlock more powers by performing certain actions, for example to get one of the powers I was looking at I need to unlock others, and the first two require me to- hold on, I need to check my quests."
He paused, then nodded, "Alright."
"Menu: Quests."
"Active Quests: Adun's Spear. The two initial Rewards require me to 'Play 1000 games as Protoss' and 'Assist 5 Shipgirls'. There are thirty-three tiers in the Protoss line separated into seventeen distinct Rewards and four tiers in the Shipgirl line." Taylor looked at her father, "Apparently there's also a party system, and there are stats, relationships, attributes, perks, and more. I already made some choices, like getting rid of "Depression" and selecting a couple perks."
Danny was frowning, "I see… Depression? I'm sorry I didn't know. I-"
"It's- well, it's not okay, but I understand. I wouldn't be surprised if you're the same, Mom's- Mom's death hit you harder than me."
Danny deflated a bit, "I suppose. Still, I should have paid more attention, and I'm sorry I didn't."
"Apology accepted."
The smell was terrible, the locker vile, and the laughter of her tormentors monstrous. Fortunately, she was let out within three minutes by the janitor, upon which she demanded someone call the police about the locker filled with biological waste and an ambulance for herself in case she got infected- she could feel the muck squishing in her shoes every time she moved, and her hands were covered from the parts that had been taped or glued or whatever to the sides of the locker.
She forced herself to ignore the names and titles- those she knew anyway, otherwise they read "???"- hovering above the heads of those around her, instead making a point to thank the janitor and whoever went to get him for getting her out of the mess in her locker. A couple hours later, after having had blood drawn, and alone in a hospital room, she determined it was time to check her stats.
Stats |
Taylor Hebert Locker Girl |
Level 7 603/700 EXP 86.14% EXP Multiplier: 300% |
60/60 HP +3 HP/min 200/200 MP +10 MP/min 2200 STA +22 STA/min |
STR 13 (6) DEX 15 (16) CON 13 (6) INT 17 (20) PER 15 (13) WIL 17 (23) CHA 15 (5) 0 Stat Points |
Taylor winced at the low stats for strength, constitution, and charisma, but moved on anyway.
Perks |
3 Perk Points |
Perk Menu |
After pausing briefly to wonder why perks had not been assigned like the stats apparently were, Taylor opened the Perk Menu
Perk Menu 3 Perk Points |
STR: 2 Perks Available |
DEX: 2 Perks Available |
CON: 2 Perks Available |
INT: 2 Perks Available |
PER: 2 Perks Available |
WIL: 2 Perks Available |
CHA: 2 Perks Available |
Back |
She hesitated, before choosing INT, remembering it handled experience and point gain as well as "spell damage".
INT Perk Menu 3 Perk Points |
Spell Damage + 10% |
Stat Point gain +1 per level |
Back |
She immediately selected Stat Point gain, reducing her to 2 perk points, before looking at the other options. Strength had a similar damage increase and an additional inventory page; dexterity gave options for attack speed and movement speed; constitution gave damage mitigation and a hit point increase; perception granted increased loot value and the ability to tell when quests have secret objectives, the latter of which she bought immediately; willpower listed mana point increase and pain resistance, which she hesitated over before moving on; and charisma could improve the "Haggling" skill or reduce any charisma penalties incurred by her clothing by 1 point per item, which she also considered before opting to see what the next tier of intelligence perks would have and moving on to "Character: Attributes"
Attributes |
Relationship Growth -50% below "Trusted, Cost: 0
INT +5, Gain Skills through reading, Cost: 1
CHA +2, Disabled by Depression, Cost: 1
PER -2, WIL -5, CHA -2, Cost: -2
CON +2, WIL +5, Cost: 1
Better interactions with heroes, Cost: 1
INT -2, WIL +5, Cost: 1
CHA -2, CHA +6 as Adult, Cost: -1
Perceived self-worth -25%, Cost -1
EXP +100%, Enables mana, Enables spirit sight, Enables Shard subversion, Cost: 2
STR -5, DEX -2, CON -2, Cost: -1
WIL -2, Chance of Flashbacks +15%/50% while sleeping, Cost: -1
WIL +5, Percieved self-worth -25%, Cost: -1
Poorer interactions with age group, Cost: 0
STR -2, CON -2, PER -2, WIL -2, CHA -5, EXP +100%, Cost: 0
STR -3, DEX +3, CON -5, Cost: -1
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Attribute Menu |
Forcing herself not to scowl at the number of negative attributes, she immediately opened the attribute menu, finding she could sell good attributes and buy off negative ones in addition to buying positive attributes and selecting negative ones for additional attribute points as long as she had encountered them- she noticed her active power was included in her AP total before buying off "Depression" for two points- one to reduce it to "Minor Depression" which had half the effect and one to eliminate it- and immediately felt like a weight she hadn't even noticed had lifted from her mind. She could tell already that her more cheerful outlook from before her mother died had re-asserted itself, though apparently the minor case of PTSD caused by being trapped in a locker filled with used pads and tampons was mitigating that somewhat.
She hesitated before buying off "Low Self-Esteem" and saving "Out of Shape" and "PTSD (Minor)", along with the other three points, for when she wasn't surrounded by medical professionals. She didn't notice anything immediately different, unlike when she bought off her depression, but having a more accurate view of herself was probably a good thing. She was also worried by the implication that she likely had a much lower perception previously, as Magical Being increased it quite a bit, relatively, and she didn't think that was active before.
Inventory showed nothing new, and Relationships showed that Emma was probably the driving force behind the Trio, considering she had the worst relationship at "Hostile"- Taylor shuddered to think what she would have done if she was at "At war"- but Emma's family was much higher up than she thought they would have been from Emma's cruel taunts- her mother Zoe was at "Family" while her father Alan and sister Anne were at "Trusted"- perhaps they could moderate Emma's behavior, or at least explain what happened?
A Sister's Betrayal |
Discover why Emma betrayed you |
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EXP +30, "Betrayed" replaced by "Mistrustful" OR EXP +30, "Mistrustful" removed |
A Fair Punishment |
You were tormented for a year and a half and were recently tortured by being forced into a biohazard. Get your bullies punished! |
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EXP +30, "Betrayed" replaced by "Mistrustful" OR EXP +30, "Mistrustful" removed |
Taylor paused first at the quests, then at the description of "torture" the second used- perhaps it was referring to the locker? That suggested Madison didn't take part in it; she may not have even known about it beforehand.
Just then Taylor heard footsteps, so she closed her menu so she would not be distracted by it shortly before her father rushed into the room. Above his head floated his name, title, and level.
Danny Hebert ???
DWA Director of Hiring
"Taylor!" he sighed in relief, "What happened? I came as soon as I could when I heard you were in the hospital!"
"I-I was forced into my locker after it had been filled with biological waste- u-used pads and tampons which, based on the s-smell, were left to rot over break." Taylor's voice was a little shaky, as she forced herself not to get lost in the image of the locker, now determined not to give the Trio even the smallest victory more than she had to. "I'm pretty sure Sophia Hess pushed me in, though she grabbed me from behind as I was th-throwing up."
"Is there anyone else you suspect to be involved, Miss Hebert?" came from a police officer who had followed her father in, along with a PRT officer, the latter of whom confused her. Both of them were female, presumably to make her more comfortable
??? ???
BBPD ???
??? ???
PRT ???
Taylor took a deep breath to calm herself. "I- Sophia Hess is one of three ringleaders who've been tormenting me since school started last year- she usually does the physical stuff, like pushing me around, shoulder-checking me, that kind of thing; Madison Clements usually sticks to juvenile stuff- glue in my seat, spitwads, pencil shavings in my hair, stuff like that; and the last," she hesitated, "the last is my former best friend Emma Barnes-"
"Emma's what?!" came from her father.
"I don't know what happened, but when I went to visit her after camp last summer she- she pretended she was looking for an excuse to stop being my friend after Mom died- that's when I first met Sophia, as she was there- and told me to leave, that she'd call the police if I didn't. After that she started to use things I told her against me. The three of them got other students to do things like hem me in and insult me, or push me around- that was usually boys that wanted to date them, I think- and they- I'm sorry dad- they stole Mom's flute and destroyed it-"
"They WHAT?!"
"I brought it to school, put it in my locker- so I could look at it throughout the day- and they somehow got it, smashed it up and coated it in something nasty, and put it in a dumpster. Emma told me where it was, but I couldn't bring myself to touch it as it was, so I left to get something to pick it up with and when I got back it was GONE!" Taylor sobbed, the memory hitting her hard. After a few moments she visibly pulled herself together and continued, "She told me that her family didn't want to see me again-"
"Zoe asked about you shortly before the break, Taylor. She seemed concerned about you."
Taylor paused to absorb that, then continued, "I'm not sure if Sophia was pushing them to go after me or if it was Emma- Madison strikes me as more of a follower, especially since she didn't join in for a month or so, and the stuff she did was mild, if frequent, so I'm not sure if she was involved, but Emma taunted me about my locker before I opened it, and laughed after I was forced in it. I don't know if she's Mastered or just broken, but something changed over that summer and I think it has something to do with Sophia."
The detective spent the next hour gently drawing details from Taylor, while taking notes via a tape recorder. Then her PRT counterpart drew attention by re-entering the room during this time, informing them that she had contacted her superiors, telling them that because she suggested one of "the suspects" had been Mastered, they would have to put them in M/S Quarantine for a period of time. Eventually, the detective finished and reviewed her notes, before wishing them a better day.
"Thank you, Miss Hebert, we'll look into this- improper disposal of a biohazard is a crime, as is illegal imprisonment. It's possible we'll get destruction of private property as well." The detective left, leaving them with the PRT officer.
"Good morning Miss Hebert, I am Lieutenant Harlow. Have you ever heard the term 'Trigger Event?'" Her nameplate updated to "??? Harlow ???"/"PRT Lieutenant"
"No, but since the PRT's involved I'm guessing it's to do with how powers happen?"
"Essentially, yes. Parahumans get their powers in what's called a Trigger Event, after an incredibly stressful event or series of events. What you went through could easily be considered a potential Trigger Event and the PRT, when we find out about them, try to have someone come by, both to try to convince new triggers to join the Protectorate and to help them get used to their powers. I'll let you two think about that and talk with each other and wait outside."
A New Path Forward |
The PRT suspects you have triggered, you now have a decision to make: what does your future hold? |
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Reward: Depends on choice |
Time Limit: 3 Months |
Without even waiting for a response, she leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Taylor and her father stared at the door for a moment, then looked at each other.
"Dad-"
"Taylor-"
They stopped, then Danny indicated for her to go first.
"Dad, I-" she hesitated, before forging on, "I did get powers in the locker, but they're… weird."
"I… see. Weird how?"
"They- They're like I'm the protagonist in a videogame, and when I got shoved into the locker I was taken to the main menu, and even though I spent a couple hours there it was like it took no time at all. It also said something about the prologue being complete. I thought I was going crazy."
Danny absorbed this for most of a minute, then hugged Taylor, who tensed, then hugged him back, a few tears rolling down her face. "Well, I can see what you mean by weird. Any idea what kind of game?"
"Um, I can unlock more powers by performing certain actions, for example to get one of the powers I was looking at I need to unlock others, and the first two require me to- hold on, I need to check my quests."
He paused, then nodded, "Alright."
"Menu: Quests."
Quests |
Active Quests: 4 |
Completed Quests: 1 |
Failed Quests: 0 |
"Active Quests: Adun's Spear. The two initial Rewards require me to 'Play 1000 games as Protoss' and 'Assist 5 Shipgirls'. There are thirty-three tiers in the Protoss line separated into seventeen distinct Rewards and four tiers in the Shipgirl line." Taylor looked at her father, "Apparently there's also a party system, and there are stats, relationships, attributes, perks, and more. I already made some choices, like getting rid of "Depression" and selecting a couple perks."
Danny was frowning, "I see… Depression? I'm sorry I didn't know. I-"
"It's- well, it's not okay, but I understand. I wouldn't be surprised if you're the same, Mom's- Mom's death hit you harder than me."
Danny deflated a bit, "I suppose. Still, I should have paid more attention, and I'm sorry I didn't."
"Apology accepted."
Last edited:
1.3: Tutorial
- Location
- United States
Jan 3, 2011:
Taylor took a moment, then continued, "Moving on, I think we should talk about the Protectorate. I- my power seems to need a lot of build-up, and until then I'm basically just a Thinker- I can see 'spirits' apparently- with a lot of potential. I guess I could control bugs too-"
"Control bugs? Where did that come from?"
"I'm guessing it's what I would have Triggered with if I hadn't gotten this game power, it and 'Magical Being' were unlocked by default, but bug control isn't active." Taylor shrugged, "Apparently I'll have access to the bugs' senses, and I don't know how that would affect me."
"Back up, 'Magical Being'? Are you saying your power is magic?" Danny seemed skeptical.
"That's what I thought too. My Reward powers are split into 'Science', 'Technomagic', and 'Magic'. Some of the science-fiction stuff like Star Wars and Star Trek are in 'Technomagic' though, apparently because they use 'solid magic' as components."
"I thought you preferred fantasy, why did you end up going for science fiction?"
Taylor blushed, "One, I didn't want to be compared to Myrddin, and two, I felt… compelled, I guess, to make spaceships, and while there were a couple of interstellar magic systems… anyway, the Star Trek Tinker was a lot more vulnerable and Star Wars Tinker took longer to get a tinker power. Even then, the Protoss starts with an indirect Tinker power in the form of a projection that can make the structures required-"
"Structures? I was under the impression that Tinkers built objects, not buildings." His incredulity was obvious
She shrugged, "The Probe builds the buildings that build the other units, if I build the necessary buildings I'll unlock the units it's required for in my Rewards, then I need to train them up to access tier 2. As for the Shipgirl line, it requires me to help increasing numbers of Shipgirls from the Boat Graveyard- hm, maybe I could make a base on the cargo ship if I can repair it. A floating base could be more easily defended, right?"
Danny sat back in shock, then frowned, "I suppose. Are you saying your power wants you to clean up the Graveyard? What is a Shipgirl anyway?"
Taylor nodded, "That's what it looks like. I think that a Shipgirl is a ship that looks like a girl, maybe they're a form of spirit? Anyway, I think they'd probably want to be repaired and put to use again." She bit her lip, then continued, "I want to be a hero, but I think I might need the resources of the Protectorate, what do you think?"
He frowned, then replied, "A-Annette had some concerns about how the PRT and Protectorate were run, from when she ran with Lustrum, and I've come to share some of them, such as their inordinate focus on public relations. That said, you may have a point about needing Protectorate resources to repair the Boat Graveyard. I certainly don't want you to join one of the gangs, nor Über and Leet, even if they are fairly minor. I doubt New Wave has the resources needed, and the Association is struggling to just hold steady. So you want to join the Wards?"
She winced, "I'm concerned about how they might act, but I can now recognize that that's probably paranoia caused by a year and a half of non-stop torment at school, and at the loss of independence and control, but there's no point in cutting off my nose to spite my face."
Danny smiled, "I'm glad you can recognize that," he frowned, "Now to talk to Lieutenant Harlow." As he got up, Taylor was surprised by a pop-up accompanied by a small ding.
She started slightly, then turned as the door was opened and Danny told the lieutenant that they were ready for her. As the woman entered the room, Taylor shifted slightly, then closed the Quest window.
"Not all powers are immediately obvious, so if you haven't noticed anything yet I'll give you a number to call, should it be necessary. That said, parahumans have been observed to need to use their powers, and seem to have an instinctive understanding of how to use them," she informed them.
Taylor shifted, then replied dryly, "Mine seems to be fairly obvious, to me at least." At Lieutenant Harlow's raised eyebrow she continued, "It seems to be a game interface, complete with menus, achievements, levels, stats, even a party system. It also came with a help feature, which claims I'll get more powers by completing achievements, and quests."
"A… game interface? That's a new one to me. Do you have any other powers, ah, 'unlocked'?"
Taylor sighs faintly, then replies, "Two. One is active, called 'Magical Being'- I know, but that's what it calls it- which lets me see 'spirits', develop 'magic systems', whatever that might mean, and 'subvert shards', while the other is bug control. That said, I looked at some of the Achievements Rewards, some of them seem to be really powerful. One of them said something about controlling and creating 'shards' and powers, so I'm guessing they're related somehow."
The lieutenant's attention was focused on Taylor now, "Did you say you can control powers?"
She shrugged, "Possibly, probably not yet though. It might be a bad idea to 'subvert' any 'shards' for now, though, since I doubt that whatever entity they're commanded by would take kindly to that. Well, assuming they're alive, anyway."
"Right. Moving on, you said you have a 'party system', does that mean you can grant similar powers to others?"
"Yes, though if a party member goes too far from me they'll be dropped from the party. And," she added before the lieutenant could ask," anyone can be invited to the party, not just parahumans- at least that's what I assume 'Non-Player Character' refers to."
"I see. Is there any benefit to doing so?"
"Possibly," She admitted, "when I looked at my character menu it said I had unused perk and attribute points, so it's possible that those don't get automatically allocated for others, if they have them."
"I think I'll leave further questions to the power-testing department- I assume since you're being so open you want to join the wards?"
Taylor looked down, then nodded, "One of my quests wants me to help 'Shipgirls'- which I assume are some sort of spirit- from the Boat Graveyard, and the most likely thing I can think of that they would want is to be repaired. Another objective is to 'play 1000 games as Protoss', not that I know what game that's part of-"
"My little brother used to play an Aleph import called 'Starcraft' which had a race with that name- he raved about it. Most of what he said went over my head, but the names of the races stuck. He got excited about a sequel coming out a few months ago. Apparently, the Aleph company released it about three months before it got released here, and it's fairly popular. Does that help?"
Taylor blinked, "Yes, it even gave me a reward for completing a hidden objective, enough experience to level up and a 'Player's Guide to Starcraft'. Back to what I was saying, both objectives have multiple levels, based on the Rewards selection I was looking at earlier. Um, do you mind if I allocate my points now or should I wait for power testing?"
"Ah, probably wait for power testing, that will let them get a measurement of how much each point would affect you."
Taylor nods, then looks at the windows before closing them, "If the help feature is accurate, intelligence makes my personal growth faster, so that might be the best thing to focus on at first."
Lieutenant Harlow pauses, then shakes her head, "I never thought that listening to my brother talk about his games would ever be useful. Once you're discharged call this number, " she gives Danny a card, "And we'll make an appointment. If anyone asks why the PRT was involved we'll tell them there was a possibility of parahuman involvement in the locker event, but further details are restricted until the investigation is complete. For now, I need to report to my superiors. I hope your day gets better."
After bidding her farewell, Taylor and Danny looked at each other for a few moments, before Taylor sighed, "I think we need to talk to Uncle Alan and Aunt Zoe, before the police do. They deserve that much." She frowned, then continued, "But I'm worried about Uncle Alan's reaction- he was really protective of Emma and Anne and I don't really see that changing."
Danny sighed, "We'll just need to be careful about how we approach him about it. Might be better to lead with asking what happened that summer, since that's when she changed."
Taylor thinks for a bit, then nods, "If you think so. You should call them, tell them I'm in the hospital, maybe? Have them tell you when they should get here, so you can bring them up? Possibly tell them Emma and I had a bad falling out last summer and it wouldn't be a good idea to bring her, or maybe even tell her? Not yet, anyway."
He grimaced, "I'll call them, let them know. Probably not a good idea to talk about Emma unless they don't come by until after quarantine lifts."
"Quarantine? It was that bad?"
"From what I was told, they closed off the school so they could check it and quarantined the student body to check them all for infection, though I suspect they'll interview them as well."
"I-I see."
"I'll go find a phone. See you in a bit." With that, Danny left the room, leaving Taylor to her thoughts.
Taylor took a moment, then continued, "Moving on, I think we should talk about the Protectorate. I- my power seems to need a lot of build-up, and until then I'm basically just a Thinker- I can see 'spirits' apparently- with a lot of potential. I guess I could control bugs too-"
"Control bugs? Where did that come from?"
"I'm guessing it's what I would have Triggered with if I hadn't gotten this game power, it and 'Magical Being' were unlocked by default, but bug control isn't active." Taylor shrugged, "Apparently I'll have access to the bugs' senses, and I don't know how that would affect me."
"Back up, 'Magical Being'? Are you saying your power is magic?" Danny seemed skeptical.
"That's what I thought too. My Reward powers are split into 'Science', 'Technomagic', and 'Magic'. Some of the science-fiction stuff like Star Wars and Star Trek are in 'Technomagic' though, apparently because they use 'solid magic' as components."
"I thought you preferred fantasy, why did you end up going for science fiction?"
Taylor blushed, "One, I didn't want to be compared to Myrddin, and two, I felt… compelled, I guess, to make spaceships, and while there were a couple of interstellar magic systems… anyway, the Star Trek Tinker was a lot more vulnerable and Star Wars Tinker took longer to get a tinker power. Even then, the Protoss starts with an indirect Tinker power in the form of a projection that can make the structures required-"
"Structures? I was under the impression that Tinkers built objects, not buildings." His incredulity was obvious
She shrugged, "The Probe builds the buildings that build the other units, if I build the necessary buildings I'll unlock the units it's required for in my Rewards, then I need to train them up to access tier 2. As for the Shipgirl line, it requires me to help increasing numbers of Shipgirls from the Boat Graveyard- hm, maybe I could make a base on the cargo ship if I can repair it. A floating base could be more easily defended, right?"
Danny sat back in shock, then frowned, "I suppose. Are you saying your power wants you to clean up the Graveyard? What is a Shipgirl anyway?"
Taylor nodded, "That's what it looks like. I think that a Shipgirl is a ship that looks like a girl, maybe they're a form of spirit? Anyway, I think they'd probably want to be repaired and put to use again." She bit her lip, then continued, "I want to be a hero, but I think I might need the resources of the Protectorate, what do you think?"
He frowned, then replied, "A-Annette had some concerns about how the PRT and Protectorate were run, from when she ran with Lustrum, and I've come to share some of them, such as their inordinate focus on public relations. That said, you may have a point about needing Protectorate resources to repair the Boat Graveyard. I certainly don't want you to join one of the gangs, nor Über and Leet, even if they are fairly minor. I doubt New Wave has the resources needed, and the Association is struggling to just hold steady. So you want to join the Wards?"
She winced, "I'm concerned about how they might act, but I can now recognize that that's probably paranoia caused by a year and a half of non-stop torment at school, and at the loss of independence and control, but there's no point in cutting off my nose to spite my face."
Danny smiled, "I'm glad you can recognize that," he frowned, "Now to talk to Lieutenant Harlow." As he got up, Taylor was surprised by a pop-up accompanied by a small ding.
A New Path Forward |
The PRT suspects you have triggered, you now have a decision to make: what does your future hold? |
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Reward: Wards Route: Assistance with branding, $50,000 per year trust, minimum wage Salary, assistance with empowerment, EXP +150, "Government Sponsored" |
Time Limit: 3 Months |
She started slightly, then turned as the door was opened and Danny told the lieutenant that they were ready for her. As the woman entered the room, Taylor shifted slightly, then closed the Quest window.
"Not all powers are immediately obvious, so if you haven't noticed anything yet I'll give you a number to call, should it be necessary. That said, parahumans have been observed to need to use their powers, and seem to have an instinctive understanding of how to use them," she informed them.
Taylor shifted, then replied dryly, "Mine seems to be fairly obvious, to me at least." At Lieutenant Harlow's raised eyebrow she continued, "It seems to be a game interface, complete with menus, achievements, levels, stats, even a party system. It also came with a help feature, which claims I'll get more powers by completing achievements, and quests."
"A… game interface? That's a new one to me. Do you have any other powers, ah, 'unlocked'?"
Taylor sighs faintly, then replies, "Two. One is active, called 'Magical Being'- I know, but that's what it calls it- which lets me see 'spirits', develop 'magic systems', whatever that might mean, and 'subvert shards', while the other is bug control. That said, I looked at some of the Achievements Rewards, some of them seem to be really powerful. One of them said something about controlling and creating 'shards' and powers, so I'm guessing they're related somehow."
The lieutenant's attention was focused on Taylor now, "Did you say you can control powers?"
She shrugged, "Possibly, probably not yet though. It might be a bad idea to 'subvert' any 'shards' for now, though, since I doubt that whatever entity they're commanded by would take kindly to that. Well, assuming they're alive, anyway."
"Right. Moving on, you said you have a 'party system', does that mean you can grant similar powers to others?"
"Yes, though if a party member goes too far from me they'll be dropped from the party. And," she added before the lieutenant could ask," anyone can be invited to the party, not just parahumans- at least that's what I assume 'Non-Player Character' refers to."
"I see. Is there any benefit to doing so?"
"Possibly," She admitted, "when I looked at my character menu it said I had unused perk and attribute points, so it's possible that those don't get automatically allocated for others, if they have them."
"I think I'll leave further questions to the power-testing department- I assume since you're being so open you want to join the wards?"
Taylor looked down, then nodded, "One of my quests wants me to help 'Shipgirls'- which I assume are some sort of spirit- from the Boat Graveyard, and the most likely thing I can think of that they would want is to be repaired. Another objective is to 'play 1000 games as Protoss', not that I know what game that's part of-"
"My little brother used to play an Aleph import called 'Starcraft' which had a race with that name- he raved about it. Most of what he said went over my head, but the names of the races stuck. He got excited about a sequel coming out a few months ago. Apparently, the Aleph company released it about three months before it got released here, and it's fairly popular. Does that help?"
Adun's Spear |
You're considering getting the power "Arkshipgirl Spear of Adun", but there are prerequisites. Complete them all to earn this power. |
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Reward: EXP +750, Protoss Faction Units |
Level up! |
You are now level 8! |
+6 Stat Points +1 Attribute Point +1 Perk Point |
Taylor blinked, "Yes, it even gave me a reward for completing a hidden objective, enough experience to level up and a 'Player's Guide to Starcraft'. Back to what I was saying, both objectives have multiple levels, based on the Rewards selection I was looking at earlier. Um, do you mind if I allocate my points now or should I wait for power testing?"
"Ah, probably wait for power testing, that will let them get a measurement of how much each point would affect you."
Taylor nods, then looks at the windows before closing them, "If the help feature is accurate, intelligence makes my personal growth faster, so that might be the best thing to focus on at first."
Lieutenant Harlow pauses, then shakes her head, "I never thought that listening to my brother talk about his games would ever be useful. Once you're discharged call this number, " she gives Danny a card, "And we'll make an appointment. If anyone asks why the PRT was involved we'll tell them there was a possibility of parahuman involvement in the locker event, but further details are restricted until the investigation is complete. For now, I need to report to my superiors. I hope your day gets better."
After bidding her farewell, Taylor and Danny looked at each other for a few moments, before Taylor sighed, "I think we need to talk to Uncle Alan and Aunt Zoe, before the police do. They deserve that much." She frowned, then continued, "But I'm worried about Uncle Alan's reaction- he was really protective of Emma and Anne and I don't really see that changing."
Danny sighed, "We'll just need to be careful about how we approach him about it. Might be better to lead with asking what happened that summer, since that's when she changed."
Taylor thinks for a bit, then nods, "If you think so. You should call them, tell them I'm in the hospital, maybe? Have them tell you when they should get here, so you can bring them up? Possibly tell them Emma and I had a bad falling out last summer and it wouldn't be a good idea to bring her, or maybe even tell her? Not yet, anyway."
He grimaced, "I'll call them, let them know. Probably not a good idea to talk about Emma unless they don't come by until after quarantine lifts."
"Quarantine? It was that bad?"
"From what I was told, they closed off the school so they could check it and quarantined the student body to check them all for infection, though I suspect they'll interview them as well."
"I-I see."
"I'll go find a phone. See you in a bit." With that, Danny left the room, leaving Taylor to her thoughts.
1.4: Tutorial
- Location
- United States
Jan 3, 2011:
After a short period of consideration, Taylor decided to start considering how to repair the ships in the Boat Graveyard, just in case she was right. She rapidly navigated to the Rewards menu, only slightly surprised to once again be looking over the cargo holds, though she noticed something she had missed the last time she was here- overhead, in the sky were a pair of shapes, massive in scale, orbiting each other. After a long while of staring at them, she forced herself back to what she had previously intended.
Entering first the "Science" section, she requested a power to fix the Boat Graveyard, somewhat disheartened when only about a half-dozen powers were left- one was a Striker ability to deoxidize metals, but required she subvert the shard of a cape she'd never even heard of; another was a Shaker ability to reverse time in a given area, but she would have to subvert Grey Boy's shard, and as far as she knew he was dead- killed by Glaistig Uaine, who was imprisoned in the Birdcage; and four different Tinker powers, only one of which she knew- Squealer's Transportation specialty could apparently be applied to all forms of transportation, though whether she could do so was another question.
Taylor moved on to "Technomagic", making the same request, finding a much larger wealth of powers, though most required her to spend large amounts of time reading, watching, or playing various media. A few, however 'only' required her to write fanfiction, or in one case an actual series of books with a main character that used that power. She marked the Terran Master 0 (Summon SCV, Transmute Materials) for later review as its requirements were similar to Protoss Master 0 that she already had as an objective.
After a moment of hesitation, Taylor moved on to "Magic", finding a multitude of systems that held some form of repairing magic, though she wasn't certain she'd have enough mana to actually repair a fishing boat, let alone some of the larger ones that made up the Graveyard.
Moving back to "Technomagic", she looked at what the Terran Rewards could build up to, finding herself surprised that the structures the SCV could build could outfit normal humans, and the vehicles built by them could be crewed by people as well. Taylor found herself mildly surprised that all the vehicles, land and air, had a "Shipgirl" power based on them, by getting the Protoss Master 0 power and a Zerg Master 0 power as well she could unlock a Shaker version of their Striker powers, allowing her to make self-sustaining pockets of the solid and gaseous mana materials needed to build their structures and units, and by getting the Protoss and Zerg powersets to their maximum levels she could unlock a "Xel'naga" breaker power. She looked at the Zerg only to grimace- they apparently had an organic technology base, which reminded her of Nilbog, who had in the period of a week overrun a city. She wasn't certain she would be willing to use them, and the PRT might object to her even getting the abilities. She would tell them about it and let them make the call, in the meantime she had a different decision to make. After some deliberation, she made a choice.
Taylor frowned, then resolved to talk over the quests with her father when he got back, as well as the power testing people at the PRT. She found the idea irked her, but thought it would probably end better if she got advice, especially since her effective perception stat was still too low for her liking. She still planned on focusing on intelligence for a while, though, as it would help her grow faster. As she left the menu, she decided to focus on trying to figure out a name until her father came back. The only one she came up with in that time that she thought at all good was "Star Maiden".
Zoe Barnes ???
Editor
She was mildly surprised to see Zoe enter after her father and more surprised when she hugged her, saying how good it was to see her before asking what happened to hospitalize her. She assumed that Alan wasn't there because he was at work, while Zoe worked from home. After a brief explanation, omitting names for the moment, Taylor broached the topic she really wanted to get to.
"Aunt Zoe, there's something I've wanted to know for a while, but Emma has been… unreasonable."
Zoe raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I know Emma said you two had a falling out last year, but she didn't give details. What did you want to know?"
"Did something happen while I was at camp last summer? She didn't want to talk to me when I got back, and she seems to have been trying very hard to distance herself from me- she even went so far as to tell me you and Uncle Alan didn't want to see Dad or me. I didn't tell Dad because he was… fragile, and I didn't think to ask you either."
Zoe's brow furrowed, "She said what? I'll have to talk to her when she gets home, then. I don't know what happened, but I do know that she and Alan ran into some problems while going to a modeling shoot. She didn't come out of her room for days, but shortly afterward she met a new friend-"
"Sophia Hess, I know. She was there when I went to talk to her that summer, she was fairly rude to me before Emma basically told me to get lost, along with telling me that she wanted to stop being my friend after Mom died, but looking back I think she was lying."
Zoe took a moment to absorb what she was told, "There's more, isn't there. Was she involved in your hospitalization?"
Taylor grimaced, "I don't know, but she certainly didn't help. Her, Sophia and their friend Madison Clements have been bullying me since high school started last year, and I'm pretty sure Sophia pushed me into my locker. I don't know how they got the used tampons and pads in it, but-"
"She pushed you in with what?!" Zoe shouted, furious, "How could she do something like that?"
Taylor shrugged, trying and failing to suppress a shudder, "I don't know. They let up a couple months ago, but before that it was mostly little things, a shove or body-check; glue in my seat or a ruined lunch; Emma using secrets I told her against me; near-constant insults when the teachers weren't around… I'm starting to think she's insane, or maybe Mastered. The worst thing before this was s-stealing, d-destroying and def-defiling Mom's f-flute…" Taylor trailed off, trying to maintain her composure.
Zoe hugged her tightly, stroking her hair, "I never would have thought Emma would do such things. I mean, I've noticed some changes, but nothing like that. She'll have some serious explaining to do when she gets home, and will almost certainly be grounded. I'll have to talk with Alan about any other punishments, however. How long were you in your locker?"
"I think it was less than five minutes, though it felt like hours."
"That's certainly understandable. Anne only has a few classes today, so I'll text her and have her come by when she's finished for the day."
Taylor smiled shakily, "Thanks for coming Aunt Zoe, I just wish it was under better circumstances."
Taylor watched as Zoe left the room, presumably to call her husband as well as notify her elder daughter, leaving her and her father alone in the room. An awkward silence fell as neither could think of something to say for several minutes before she huffed and told her father she had thought some more on how to repair any ships whose spirits wanted it, and chosen a power that could help. She mentioned that it was from the same game as the Protoss, and along with a third race would let her make lasting pockets of the special materials they used- "but the third race is creepy, like something Nilbog would make, but not short-lived. I think that the PRT will have to approve it, if they do."
"So you're saying you could be Nilbog 2.0?"
"I- sort of? I get the feeling it'll be slower to start off but would ramp up higher- Nilbog stopped at a city, based on just the ships the Protoss have they'd probably be Nilbog in space. Especially since the Mover rating on the 'Spear of Adun' was 'superluminal'."
"Impressive. I don't think you have too much to worry about, seeing as you spent so long holding back against your tormentors. That said, you should bring your concerns to the administration and, if it doesn't violate confidentiality, myself as soon as you can, rather than wait a year and a half for things to boil over."
"I-I suppose you have a point. Maybe if I'd contacted Uncle Alan or Aunt Zoe about her behavior they would have stopped. Maybe not. I just wanted Emma to go back to being my friend at first, then later I just wanted it to stop."
Danny hugged her, but stayed quiet. Zoe, unnoticed, stayed by the door for a few moments before knocking and entering.
"Alan was disbelieving at first, but he did admit that Emma has changed since whatever happened. He didn't want to acknowledge it in case she went back to hiding in her room. He still doesn't want to talk about what happened, but he does think you deserve to know, all things considered. I think what swayed him was the suggestion she's mentally ill and he didn't do anything to help her." She shrugged, "He's very protective of both our daughters, the idea he failed her so badly is probably tearing him up."
"I-I see. Thank you, Aunt Zoe."
She hugged Taylor, "I'm happy to help, Little Owl."
They spent some time catching up before Anne replied, saying she would arrive in about twenty minutes. It was at this time that Zoe said she would need to leave, as she still had work to do, but she hoped to see them soon.
The next ten minutes were spent in silence, with the occasional false start as Taylor and her father tried to find something to talk about. Finally, Taylor gave up and started on the first thing that came to mind- her powers.
"I apparently got some books as rewards from a quest and two hidden objectives I completed. Maybe we should start looking them over?"
Danny started slightly, then smiled a little, "What are the books called?"
"Ah, let me check. Menu: Inventory"
"'Player's Guide to Fiction', which I guess has the sources my powers are derived from, and maybe more information on them; a 'Public Relations' Skill Book; and 'Player's Guide to Starcraft', which may or may not help with the actual game. I think we should start with the Starcraft one, since I now have two quests that require playing it."
Her father raised an eyebrow, "Two? I take it the second one is for repairing the Boat Graveyard?"
Taylor blushed, "Yeah. It apparently would also create buildings that would make usable vehicles and equipment, if I can get enough resources."
"Wouldn't it be better to get the self-sustaining version, then?"
"Probably, but the third race is basically Nilbog in space, and I don't know if I want to be associated with that," she reminded him.
With a frown, Danny leaned back, "If they're similar to Nilbog, could they safely re-take Ellisburg? Are they permanent? If they are, what happens when you die?"
"Um, probably? But I think the other projections could too. The buildings and any creatures they spawn probably would be, and I would need more information on the source material to tell." She pulls "Player's Guide to Starcraft" from her inventory, "Let's find out, shall we?"
By the time Anne had arrived, they had determined that any Zerg she left behind after dying would likely need a new leader or run wild; such behavior could be delayed by creating "Broodmothers"; and somehow the copyright date for the guide was 2018. Taylor mentioned that the "About" section of her Help menu had a much earlier copyright date, and they pondered the implications of that for a couple minutes. Taylor had just put the Starcraft guide back in her inventory when Anne arrived.
After a short period of consideration, Taylor decided to start considering how to repair the ships in the Boat Graveyard, just in case she was right. She rapidly navigated to the Rewards menu, only slightly surprised to once again be looking over the cargo holds, though she noticed something she had missed the last time she was here- overhead, in the sky were a pair of shapes, massive in scale, orbiting each other. After a long while of staring at them, she forced herself back to what she had previously intended.
Entering first the "Science" section, she requested a power to fix the Boat Graveyard, somewhat disheartened when only about a half-dozen powers were left- one was a Striker ability to deoxidize metals, but required she subvert the shard of a cape she'd never even heard of; another was a Shaker ability to reverse time in a given area, but she would have to subvert Grey Boy's shard, and as far as she knew he was dead- killed by Glaistig Uaine, who was imprisoned in the Birdcage; and four different Tinker powers, only one of which she knew- Squealer's Transportation specialty could apparently be applied to all forms of transportation, though whether she could do so was another question.
Taylor moved on to "Technomagic", making the same request, finding a much larger wealth of powers, though most required her to spend large amounts of time reading, watching, or playing various media. A few, however 'only' required her to write fanfiction, or in one case an actual series of books with a main character that used that power. She marked the Terran Master 0 (Summon SCV, Transmute Materials) for later review as its requirements were similar to Protoss Master 0 that she already had as an objective.
After a moment of hesitation, Taylor moved on to "Magic", finding a multitude of systems that held some form of repairing magic, though she wasn't certain she'd have enough mana to actually repair a fishing boat, let alone some of the larger ones that made up the Graveyard.
Moving back to "Technomagic", she looked at what the Terran Rewards could build up to, finding herself surprised that the structures the SCV could build could outfit normal humans, and the vehicles built by them could be crewed by people as well. Taylor found herself mildly surprised that all the vehicles, land and air, had a "Shipgirl" power based on them, by getting the Protoss Master 0 power and a Zerg Master 0 power as well she could unlock a Shaker version of their Striker powers, allowing her to make self-sustaining pockets of the solid and gaseous mana materials needed to build their structures and units, and by getting the Protoss and Zerg powersets to their maximum levels she could unlock a "Xel'naga" breaker power. She looked at the Zerg only to grimace- they apparently had an organic technology base, which reminded her of Nilbog, who had in the period of a week overrun a city. She wasn't certain she would be willing to use them, and the PRT might object to her even getting the abilities. She would tell them about it and let them make the call, in the meantime she had a different decision to make. After some deliberation, she made a choice.
Repairing the Dead |
You have chosen a power for repairing any of the Boat Graveyard Shipgirls that want to be repaired. Now you need to implement your plan. |
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Reward: EXP +300, Choice of Shipgirl spirits |
Taylor frowned, then resolved to talk over the quests with her father when he got back, as well as the power testing people at the PRT. She found the idea irked her, but thought it would probably end better if she got advice, especially since her effective perception stat was still too low for her liking. She still planned on focusing on intelligence for a while, though, as it would help her grow faster. As she left the menu, she decided to focus on trying to figure out a name until her father came back. The only one she came up with in that time that she thought at all good was "Star Maiden".
Zoe Barnes ???
Editor
She was mildly surprised to see Zoe enter after her father and more surprised when she hugged her, saying how good it was to see her before asking what happened to hospitalize her. She assumed that Alan wasn't there because he was at work, while Zoe worked from home. After a brief explanation, omitting names for the moment, Taylor broached the topic she really wanted to get to.
"Aunt Zoe, there's something I've wanted to know for a while, but Emma has been… unreasonable."
Zoe raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I know Emma said you two had a falling out last year, but she didn't give details. What did you want to know?"
"Did something happen while I was at camp last summer? She didn't want to talk to me when I got back, and she seems to have been trying very hard to distance herself from me- she even went so far as to tell me you and Uncle Alan didn't want to see Dad or me. I didn't tell Dad because he was… fragile, and I didn't think to ask you either."
Zoe's brow furrowed, "She said what? I'll have to talk to her when she gets home, then. I don't know what happened, but I do know that she and Alan ran into some problems while going to a modeling shoot. She didn't come out of her room for days, but shortly afterward she met a new friend-"
"Sophia Hess, I know. She was there when I went to talk to her that summer, she was fairly rude to me before Emma basically told me to get lost, along with telling me that she wanted to stop being my friend after Mom died, but looking back I think she was lying."
Zoe took a moment to absorb what she was told, "There's more, isn't there. Was she involved in your hospitalization?"
Taylor grimaced, "I don't know, but she certainly didn't help. Her, Sophia and their friend Madison Clements have been bullying me since high school started last year, and I'm pretty sure Sophia pushed me into my locker. I don't know how they got the used tampons and pads in it, but-"
"She pushed you in with what?!" Zoe shouted, furious, "How could she do something like that?"
Taylor shrugged, trying and failing to suppress a shudder, "I don't know. They let up a couple months ago, but before that it was mostly little things, a shove or body-check; glue in my seat or a ruined lunch; Emma using secrets I told her against me; near-constant insults when the teachers weren't around… I'm starting to think she's insane, or maybe Mastered. The worst thing before this was s-stealing, d-destroying and def-defiling Mom's f-flute…" Taylor trailed off, trying to maintain her composure.
Zoe hugged her tightly, stroking her hair, "I never would have thought Emma would do such things. I mean, I've noticed some changes, but nothing like that. She'll have some serious explaining to do when she gets home, and will almost certainly be grounded. I'll have to talk with Alan about any other punishments, however. How long were you in your locker?"
"I think it was less than five minutes, though it felt like hours."
"That's certainly understandable. Anne only has a few classes today, so I'll text her and have her come by when she's finished for the day."
Taylor smiled shakily, "Thanks for coming Aunt Zoe, I just wish it was under better circumstances."
A Sister's Betrayal |
Discover why Emma betrayed you |
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EXP +30, "Betrayed" replaced by "Mistrustful" OR EXP +30, "Mistrustful" removed |
Taylor watched as Zoe left the room, presumably to call her husband as well as notify her elder daughter, leaving her and her father alone in the room. An awkward silence fell as neither could think of something to say for several minutes before she huffed and told her father she had thought some more on how to repair any ships whose spirits wanted it, and chosen a power that could help. She mentioned that it was from the same game as the Protoss, and along with a third race would let her make lasting pockets of the special materials they used- "but the third race is creepy, like something Nilbog would make, but not short-lived. I think that the PRT will have to approve it, if they do."
"So you're saying you could be Nilbog 2.0?"
"I- sort of? I get the feeling it'll be slower to start off but would ramp up higher- Nilbog stopped at a city, based on just the ships the Protoss have they'd probably be Nilbog in space. Especially since the Mover rating on the 'Spear of Adun' was 'superluminal'."
"Impressive. I don't think you have too much to worry about, seeing as you spent so long holding back against your tormentors. That said, you should bring your concerns to the administration and, if it doesn't violate confidentiality, myself as soon as you can, rather than wait a year and a half for things to boil over."
"I-I suppose you have a point. Maybe if I'd contacted Uncle Alan or Aunt Zoe about her behavior they would have stopped. Maybe not. I just wanted Emma to go back to being my friend at first, then later I just wanted it to stop."
Danny hugged her, but stayed quiet. Zoe, unnoticed, stayed by the door for a few moments before knocking and entering.
"Alan was disbelieving at first, but he did admit that Emma has changed since whatever happened. He didn't want to acknowledge it in case she went back to hiding in her room. He still doesn't want to talk about what happened, but he does think you deserve to know, all things considered. I think what swayed him was the suggestion she's mentally ill and he didn't do anything to help her." She shrugged, "He's very protective of both our daughters, the idea he failed her so badly is probably tearing him up."
"I-I see. Thank you, Aunt Zoe."
She hugged Taylor, "I'm happy to help, Little Owl."
They spent some time catching up before Anne replied, saying she would arrive in about twenty minutes. It was at this time that Zoe said she would need to leave, as she still had work to do, but she hoped to see them soon.
The next ten minutes were spent in silence, with the occasional false start as Taylor and her father tried to find something to talk about. Finally, Taylor gave up and started on the first thing that came to mind- her powers.
"I apparently got some books as rewards from a quest and two hidden objectives I completed. Maybe we should start looking them over?"
Danny started slightly, then smiled a little, "What are the books called?"
"Ah, let me check. Menu: Inventory"
Inventory |
Weight limit: 30lbs per stack |
1x "Player's Guide to Fiction" 1x "Public Relations" Skill Book 1x "Player's Guide to Starcraft" Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty Empty |
<-Previous Page Next Page-> |
"'Player's Guide to Fiction', which I guess has the sources my powers are derived from, and maybe more information on them; a 'Public Relations' Skill Book; and 'Player's Guide to Starcraft', which may or may not help with the actual game. I think we should start with the Starcraft one, since I now have two quests that require playing it."
Her father raised an eyebrow, "Two? I take it the second one is for repairing the Boat Graveyard?"
Taylor blushed, "Yeah. It apparently would also create buildings that would make usable vehicles and equipment, if I can get enough resources."
"Wouldn't it be better to get the self-sustaining version, then?"
"Probably, but the third race is basically Nilbog in space, and I don't know if I want to be associated with that," she reminded him.
With a frown, Danny leaned back, "If they're similar to Nilbog, could they safely re-take Ellisburg? Are they permanent? If they are, what happens when you die?"
"Um, probably? But I think the other projections could too. The buildings and any creatures they spawn probably would be, and I would need more information on the source material to tell." She pulls "Player's Guide to Starcraft" from her inventory, "Let's find out, shall we?"
By the time Anne had arrived, they had determined that any Zerg she left behind after dying would likely need a new leader or run wild; such behavior could be delayed by creating "Broodmothers"; and somehow the copyright date for the guide was 2018. Taylor mentioned that the "About" section of her Help menu had a much earlier copyright date, and they pondered the implications of that for a couple minutes. Taylor had just put the Starcraft guide back in her inventory when Anne arrived.
1.5: Tutorial
- Location
- United States
Jan 3, 2011:
Anne Barnes ???
Psychology Major
Anne spent some time catching up with Taylor and her father, revealing that she didn't know much more about Emma's betrayal than something traumatic happened to her, but not what. Apparently, Emma had kept that quiet, and had only revealed that she and Taylor had had a falling out the Thanksgiving after it happened, implying it had happened after school started. She was disgusted to learn what had happened to her namesake's flute, and furious over the locker incident, but still found it difficult to believe her baby sister could perform such acts- not, she quickly clarified, that she disbelieved Taylor, just that the mental image she had of her sister wouldn't do such things.
Anne left after about twenty minutes, leaving Taylor and her father to spin their wheels for a few minutes before turning back to the Starcraft guidebook. They spent about an hour looking it over, before a knock on the door interrupted them.
Alan Barnes ???
Divorce Lawyer
Alan, like Anne, found it difficult to match what Taylor said about his youngest with his perceptions of her, but acknowledged that she had gone through a traumatic event, apparently involving the ABB, who had dragged her out of the car and threatened her with a knife. He hadn't been close enough to hear what they had said, but she had started struggling shortly before they were rescued by then-vigilante Shadow Stalker. He apologized for not pushing harder for Emma to get therapy, but admitted that he was just happy she seemed to be getting better. That, and from what little he knew of the subject, it wouldn't have helped her if she didn't want to be helped, so it may have been an expensive waste of time even if she had. Alan ended with apologizing for Emma's behavior again, before leaving them to their devices once more.
They finished off the first guidebook half an hour later, a few minutes before a nurse came to check on her. They were informed that it would be a couple days before the blood work results came back, and until then they wanted to keep Taylor for observation. Shortly after she left, Taylor encouraged her father to get something to eat and visit friends, as she would apparently not be going anywhere until the results came back and it wouldn't do him any good to fret all day about her. Danny countered that he would be back after work or if he was called in, then paused, hugged her, and left.
Jan 5, 2011:
Two days went by quickly, though Taylor kept herself busy looking through the guides her power gave her, her school books, and the occasional recreational book her father had brought from home, when she wasn't entertaining visitors. Apparently, the school district got enough of a black eye to encourage them to pay for her to attend Arcadia, though she would have two weeks before she would have to take Arcadia's tests to determine if she could actually attend.
When the test results came back clean she was relieved, as was her father when he came to visit. She was discharged shortly after. The PRT had contacted them several times over her hospitalization regarding potential requirements and concessions for joining- apparently, while Thinkers couldn't tell anything she hadn't demonstrated, they could predict anything she had already done and usually could model things she said she could do, and some of both made her very valuable to them. They had, apparently, been more accommodating than usual due to her potential.
They made an appointment with the PRT for the next day, before going home for dinner. Conversation was sparse, as neither was certain how to connect to each other anymore, but both were determined to repair their relationship. After dinner, Taylor resumed studying for her exams, certain that she'd rather have a fresh start at Arcadia rather than being the favored victim of her grade at Winslow.
With any luck, removing the Boat Graveyard would see their available money increase, while the Wards salary would, hopefully, help her fit in once she started. She wasn't certain if she'd be patrolling before she got her first combat units, but once she had them she was certain she would be- the situation in Brockton Bay was too dire not to.
Jan 6, 2011:
The side entrance to the PRT building Taylor and her father were taken to was discreet, though they were told that there were others for the Wards, so they wouldn't have to worry about being seen. Taylor had also tested and prepared her Equipment slots, so she would have something to show as beyond human standard, though she left one alone so she'd have room for a costume- not that she expected to get one so quickly, but she felt it best to be prepared.
Before they even left the car she received a series of quests- "Joining the Wards", "Power Testing", "Branding", and "Announce a new Ward!". First was a powers demonstration, where she focused on her inventory and mentioned some of her other abilities, such as quests, the nameplates she had noticed and how they seemed to work, and her Achievement system. She carefully neglected to mention the fact that her menu had an exit feature- even if it was disabled while she was alive- the inactive save/load functions, and that it was possible for her power to "update", assuming it ever did.
After that, they confirmed that they wanted to sign her up for the Wards, upon which they were delivered to paperwork. After reviewing and filling that out, they were sent to power testing, where she informed them of what her Help menu had told her, as well as how much "experience" her actions over the last four days had advanced her, which caused the examiners to ask her for information on the rewards of all her quests and any hidden objectives she had obtained, including looking at the Starcraft guide she brought out for their examination- apparently some of the data in later chapters covered expansions and updates that hadn't happened- and if the release dates for "Heart of the Swarm" and "Legacy of the Void" were any judge, wouldn't for some years.
They then got her baseline tests, telling her to wait for a psychologist's okay before removing "PTSD (Minor)", before allowing her to remove "Out of Shape" and spend her stat and perk points, giving her the relevant tests- physical for "Out of Shape" and mental for her stat and perk points- which she put into intelligence and chose "EXP +25%" and "Perk point every level". She did note that it appeared that only base stats counted for perks, as she couldn't see four of the options before increasing her intelligence, which now had an effective score of 26. Her "Power Testing" quest got a hidden objective revealed- "Display the effects of a perk point"- which granted her 81.25 experience points, which she promptly informed the power testers.
Taylor also discovered that her "Magical Being" attribute led to a mini-menu that let her see her developed magic systems (none) and her subverted shards (Queen Administrator- massively parallel operations- Bug Control), which she dutifully reported, causing some discussion about the implications.
After that they broke for lunch, then she was then passed to the PR department for branding, where she mentioned her Quest for the Arkshipgirl power, before being asked to sketch out what it and its prerequisites would look like, along with looking up the Protoss units from Starcraft for costume ideas. Names were bandied about, ranging from her initial "Star Maiden" idea and derivatives- "Stellar Warrior" and "Stellar Soldier", which was rejected- to names focused on her power or her target Reward. "Drydock" was considered and rejected, as was the related "Spacedock". One of the specialists lamented that "Narrator" was taken by a Rogue in Florida who could make realistic illusions and used them to entertain children, claiming that it was perfect for someone who could pull powers from fiction. Eventually, they decided that "Star Maiden" would do until she graduated to the Protectorate, upon which they thought their suggestion of "Stellar Warrior" would be a decent rebrand.
From there, they quickly decided on colors- gold, silver and blue- before moving on to the costume itself, eventually deciding to look at the combat units she could gain. A short visit to her rewards menu followed by looking it up in her Starcraft guide gave them the general idea; taking the Adept armor, they added a visor, removed the weapon on the left arm and the arch behind the back, changed the gems to blue-painted sections of metal, along with rounding the edges and reworking the legs to fit a human shape. This completed another hidden objective- to call out to the Protoss in her theming.
They took her measurements, then moved on to weapons- Taylor suggested batons, as she was basically a law-officer-in-training, while the PR specialists were reluctant to give the Wards "a soldier feeling", as one of them put it. Taylor countered with her power's adaptability, and that it would take at least a couple months to get herself combat-ready and she would grow faster if she could go out in costume before being more than a "glorified Thinker", specifically mentioning her Objective to "assist", not specifically "repair", the spirits of the ships in the Graveyard. They decided to kick the issue up the chain.
At this point they broke for the evening, with Taylor being led out the entrance she came in, her father picking her up after a half-day of work. The drive home was quiet after awkward questions about each other's day, but once home Taylor was more animated, talking about the prospective costume. After dinner, Taylor spent more time studying, then reviewed how her power interpreted her actions before going to sleep.
Anne Barnes ???
Psychology Major
Anne spent some time catching up with Taylor and her father, revealing that she didn't know much more about Emma's betrayal than something traumatic happened to her, but not what. Apparently, Emma had kept that quiet, and had only revealed that she and Taylor had had a falling out the Thanksgiving after it happened, implying it had happened after school started. She was disgusted to learn what had happened to her namesake's flute, and furious over the locker incident, but still found it difficult to believe her baby sister could perform such acts- not, she quickly clarified, that she disbelieved Taylor, just that the mental image she had of her sister wouldn't do such things.
Anne left after about twenty minutes, leaving Taylor and her father to spin their wheels for a few minutes before turning back to the Starcraft guidebook. They spent about an hour looking it over, before a knock on the door interrupted them.
Alan Barnes ???
Divorce Lawyer
Alan, like Anne, found it difficult to match what Taylor said about his youngest with his perceptions of her, but acknowledged that she had gone through a traumatic event, apparently involving the ABB, who had dragged her out of the car and threatened her with a knife. He hadn't been close enough to hear what they had said, but she had started struggling shortly before they were rescued by then-vigilante Shadow Stalker. He apologized for not pushing harder for Emma to get therapy, but admitted that he was just happy she seemed to be getting better. That, and from what little he knew of the subject, it wouldn't have helped her if she didn't want to be helped, so it may have been an expensive waste of time even if she had. Alan ended with apologizing for Emma's behavior again, before leaving them to their devices once more.
A Sister's Betrayal |
Discover why Emma betrayed you |
|
You've learned about as much of why Emma betrayed you as you can without talking to her. EXP +30, "Betrayed" replaced with "Mistrustful" |
They finished off the first guidebook half an hour later, a few minutes before a nurse came to check on her. They were informed that it would be a couple days before the blood work results came back, and until then they wanted to keep Taylor for observation. Shortly after she left, Taylor encouraged her father to get something to eat and visit friends, as she would apparently not be going anywhere until the results came back and it wouldn't do him any good to fret all day about her. Danny countered that he would be back after work or if he was called in, then paused, hugged her, and left.
Jan 5, 2011:
Two days went by quickly, though Taylor kept herself busy looking through the guides her power gave her, her school books, and the occasional recreational book her father had brought from home, when she wasn't entertaining visitors. Apparently, the school district got enough of a black eye to encourage them to pay for her to attend Arcadia, though she would have two weeks before she would have to take Arcadia's tests to determine if she could actually attend.
Testing In |
Pass Arcadia's Entrance Exams or be forced to return to Winslow! |
|
|
Reward: EXP + 75, admission to Arcadia |
Time Limit: 2 weeks |
When the test results came back clean she was relieved, as was her father when he came to visit. She was discharged shortly after. The PRT had contacted them several times over her hospitalization regarding potential requirements and concessions for joining- apparently, while Thinkers couldn't tell anything she hadn't demonstrated, they could predict anything she had already done and usually could model things she said she could do, and some of both made her very valuable to them. They had, apparently, been more accommodating than usual due to her potential.
They made an appointment with the PRT for the next day, before going home for dinner. Conversation was sparse, as neither was certain how to connect to each other anymore, but both were determined to repair their relationship. After dinner, Taylor resumed studying for her exams, certain that she'd rather have a fresh start at Arcadia rather than being the favored victim of her grade at Winslow.
With any luck, removing the Boat Graveyard would see their available money increase, while the Wards salary would, hopefully, help her fit in once she started. She wasn't certain if she'd be patrolling before she got her first combat units, but once she had them she was certain she would be- the situation in Brockton Bay was too dire not to.
Jan 6, 2011:
The side entrance to the PRT building Taylor and her father were taken to was discreet, though they were told that there were others for the Wards, so they wouldn't have to worry about being seen. Taylor had also tested and prepared her Equipment slots, so she would have something to show as beyond human standard, though she left one alone so she'd have room for a costume- not that she expected to get one so quickly, but she felt it best to be prepared.
Before they even left the car she received a series of quests- "Joining the Wards", "Power Testing", "Branding", and "Announce a new Ward!". First was a powers demonstration, where she focused on her inventory and mentioned some of her other abilities, such as quests, the nameplates she had noticed and how they seemed to work, and her Achievement system. She carefully neglected to mention the fact that her menu had an exit feature- even if it was disabled while she was alive- the inactive save/load functions, and that it was possible for her power to "update", assuming it ever did.
After that, they confirmed that they wanted to sign her up for the Wards, upon which they were delivered to paperwork. After reviewing and filling that out, they were sent to power testing, where she informed them of what her Help menu had told her, as well as how much "experience" her actions over the last four days had advanced her, which caused the examiners to ask her for information on the rewards of all her quests and any hidden objectives she had obtained, including looking at the Starcraft guide she brought out for their examination- apparently some of the data in later chapters covered expansions and updates that hadn't happened- and if the release dates for "Heart of the Swarm" and "Legacy of the Void" were any judge, wouldn't for some years.
They then got her baseline tests, telling her to wait for a psychologist's okay before removing "PTSD (Minor)", before allowing her to remove "Out of Shape" and spend her stat and perk points, giving her the relevant tests- physical for "Out of Shape" and mental for her stat and perk points- which she put into intelligence and chose "EXP +25%" and "Perk point every level". She did note that it appeared that only base stats counted for perks, as she couldn't see four of the options before increasing her intelligence, which now had an effective score of 26. Her "Power Testing" quest got a hidden objective revealed- "Display the effects of a perk point"- which granted her 81.25 experience points, which she promptly informed the power testers.
Taylor also discovered that her "Magical Being" attribute led to a mini-menu that let her see her developed magic systems (none) and her subverted shards (Queen Administrator- massively parallel operations- Bug Control), which she dutifully reported, causing some discussion about the implications.
After that they broke for lunch, then she was then passed to the PR department for branding, where she mentioned her Quest for the Arkshipgirl power, before being asked to sketch out what it and its prerequisites would look like, along with looking up the Protoss units from Starcraft for costume ideas. Names were bandied about, ranging from her initial "Star Maiden" idea and derivatives- "Stellar Warrior" and "Stellar Soldier", which was rejected- to names focused on her power or her target Reward. "Drydock" was considered and rejected, as was the related "Spacedock". One of the specialists lamented that "Narrator" was taken by a Rogue in Florida who could make realistic illusions and used them to entertain children, claiming that it was perfect for someone who could pull powers from fiction. Eventually, they decided that "Star Maiden" would do until she graduated to the Protectorate, upon which they thought their suggestion of "Stellar Warrior" would be a decent rebrand.
From there, they quickly decided on colors- gold, silver and blue- before moving on to the costume itself, eventually deciding to look at the combat units she could gain. A short visit to her rewards menu followed by looking it up in her Starcraft guide gave them the general idea; taking the Adept armor, they added a visor, removed the weapon on the left arm and the arch behind the back, changed the gems to blue-painted sections of metal, along with rounding the edges and reworking the legs to fit a human shape. This completed another hidden objective- to call out to the Protoss in her theming.
They took her measurements, then moved on to weapons- Taylor suggested batons, as she was basically a law-officer-in-training, while the PR specialists were reluctant to give the Wards "a soldier feeling", as one of them put it. Taylor countered with her power's adaptability, and that it would take at least a couple months to get herself combat-ready and she would grow faster if she could go out in costume before being more than a "glorified Thinker", specifically mentioning her Objective to "assist", not specifically "repair", the spirits of the ships in the Graveyard. They decided to kick the issue up the chain.
At this point they broke for the evening, with Taylor being led out the entrance she came in, her father picking her up after a half-day of work. The drive home was quiet after awkward questions about each other's day, but once home Taylor was more animated, talking about the prospective costume. After dinner, Taylor spent more time studying, then reviewed how her power interpreted her actions before going to sleep.
1.6: Tutorial
- Location
- United States
Jan 7, 2011:
After breakfast, Taylor was brought to the PRT building to continue her induction. To the power testers she mentioned her hidden objective the previous day, learning the branding department had mentioned it to them after she left, before running through a series of tests based on what she had mentioned the previous day, before mentioning they were still getting permission to test her party system and sending her on to branding.
After being given permission to carry a baton for self-defense, along with a longer staff for greater reach, they went over other potential loadout options, such as zip cuffs and evidence bags, before running into the issue of whether she would be able to carry the weight of her proposed armor. After some deliberation, Taylor decided that there were probably fitness attributes, considering the fact that she had "Out of Shape", but conceded that those might not be enough, and would probably need some time to come into effect either way.
After designing a lighter version of her costume as a just-in-case measure, they submitted her primary costume design with her power testing results, mentioning they had a lighter variation should it be too heavy.
On the heels of that meeting were a series of introductory classes, then lunch, another class, and her introduction to the rest of the Wards team, where she was briefly distracted by a new sense she hadn't noticed before. Gallant stood out- whatever her sense was detecting registered him as- she interpreted it as "tired", or "hungry", and "lonely", though those weren't entirely accurate. She resolved to confront him about it when they were alone.
They didn't unmask- Aegis claimed that they weren't allowed to unmask to probationary members, which those who hadn't been introduced all counted as, which also meant Shadow Stalker was forbidden from knowing who they were until she graduated, and they didn't know who she was either. Clockblocker let slip that Shadow Stalker was potentially in trouble anyway, and if she got out of it not to let her get to Taylor, as she was pretty bitchy. Vista chimed in that that didn't stop him from staring at her rear, with him protesting that personality and physical attractiveness didn't always coincide, to the amusement of the others.
Taylor's hesitance was eased as while they were fairly boisterous, they behaved in a friendly way rather than the subtle hostility she had feared. Upon mentioning her power, both Clockblocker and Kid Win complained that some people got all the luck, with Kid Win complaining that his Tinker power was negatively affected by his dyscalculia and lack of understanding his specialty while Clockblocker was just envious. They were even more envious when she mentioned that she could gain power from playing games, but stared when her objective to basically clear the Boat Graveyard came up.
Taylor hesitated, before admitting that the main reason she joined the Wards at all was her monetary situation and the likelihood that restoring and/or removing the Boat Graveyard would be expensive and time-consuming, and it would likely draw lots of attention to her, which could be very bad if she wasn't ready for it. Clockblocker sympathized, admitting that his father was being treated for cancer, and much of his salary was going towards that. Vista chimed in that her parents were constantly fighting, which led her to be at the PRT building as often as she could, while Kid Win admitted the resources were what drew him to the Wards. Gallant admitted he just wanted to help, while Aegis agreed with him, though both said they didn't think less of the rest of them for having ulterior motives.
From there Taylor asked if it was alright if she started "training", as 1000 games would likely take some time. The rest of the Wards asked to watch, as only Clockblocker and Aegis had played, and they had only played the original game, which had come out in 1998. Aegis hadn't even known there was a new one out, while Clockblocker hadn't played it, being too busy with school and Wards work. Vista and Kid Win warned they'd have a patrol later, but would love to watch.
An hour and many suggestions later, Taylor was retrieved for another meeting, this time with Miss Militia, who also registered on her new sense, and a couple of techs, who admitted to playing Starcraft, among other games, in their downtime, before being introduced to more advanced strategies she could use, along with some time practicing. After watching them play a few games each, then team up, she spent a couple hours playing herself, listening to their advice and occasionally changing her strategies. Taylor found she could rush the AI pretty consistently, but was warned that it would be far more difficult against players who knew what they were doing, and Starcraft had a ladder system that would keep her matched against those in her skill range.
Finally, she was let out of the building and her father picked her up again, this time talking about meeting most of the Wards and playing games with first them, then Miss Militia and the two PRT people who also played. Danny, after listening to Taylor share the parts of her day that could be shared while in public, reciprocated.
Over dinner he talked about how difficult it was finding work for the Dockworker's Association and how he usually had to balance who got work so they all had enough to live on. Taylor expressed hope that when she started on clearing the Boat Graveyard things would get better for them, to which her father replied that while it wouldn't be as good as before the riots due to several ports' destruction at the claws of Leviathan, overseas shipping hadn't been killed off yet and would likely appreciate another port, even one so close to Boston. Taylor spent more time after dinner completing a daily studying quest she had first gotten Monday, as a complement to her quest to get in to Arcadia, then went to bed.
The next day brought a short power testing session, followed by a meeting with the branding department, where she learned that she should be able to handle her full costume, though they recommended training with it for at least an hour every day. Taylor asked if that meant exercising in it or just wearing it, and got the answer of "exercise at least four days a week, but wear it for several hours if you aren't exercising." Apparently her proper costume would be finished the 14th, but until then they had a basic costume with the proper styling, and they spent another half-hour finalizing her normal loadout, before telling her she would need staff and baton lessons so she wouldn't end up accidentally killing or crippling someone.
At this point she got the experience reward for completing the Branding quest. She asked if she should change into her temporary costume, getting an affirmative response, before putting the pieces in her equipment slots and switching to the third outfit. She idly wondered what the armor and durability values of her finished costume would be like, before discarding the thought as irrelevant.
After checking out her appearance in the mirror, and admitting it looked good for an interim costume, she asked if she would be allowed to investigate the Boat Graveyard, admitting it would probably be a good idea to know which "spirits" would like to be repaired, which would prefer to be refitted, and which would prefer to be scrapped- when they asked how she would scrap them she pointed out that the other two powers she had quests for gave a striker ability to convert materials to the crystalline material used as a raw material in the games, before answering the follow-up question of where the gas the more advanced technologies required came from with "I don't know, but if I get all three of the workers I'll get a Shaker version of the conversion power that can create limited capacity self-sustaining areas of both the mineral structures and the gas pockets" which drew incredulous looks.
One of them went to look up the other two races, having focused on the Protoss for branding, while another asked for her best guess- the reply of "probably generated somehow in the refinery structures" drew curious looks to which she shrugged and said she didn't get any data on the technologies, just a rating and description. When asked what it would use as an energy source, she replied that her power seemed to think there was some form of energy she could direct, so it probably used that- how it may renew itself was the subject of nearly an hour's worth of debate before they broke for lunch, at which point Taylor met the Wards again.
This time she broached the subject of the Protectorate heroes, getting the impressions that Armsmaster was a driven, socially inept workaholic; Miss Militia was calm and compassionate, though very loyal to the Protectorate; Assault was an irreverent joker but knew when to be serious; Battery was a serious woman who was usually Assault's straight man; Velocity was good-natured, but had an undercurrent of frustration that Gallant could apparently sense; Dauntless was capable, but was still finding his feet, so to speak; and Triumph had been a little arrogant but had been knocked down a peg or two recently and had a strong sense of justice.
The member of the PR department stopping by to tell Taylor that the decision of whether to push for or against getting the power she had mentioned in her previous meeting had been pushed up the chain led her to explain it to the rest of them, leading to Clockblocker asking if it was possible for any of the tech she could potentially build could be replicated, to which she answered that her assumption was that if any of it could be then it would be the Terran tech, as the Protoss tech seemed to mostly need "magical" potential that humans didn't seem to have developed, although whether she could empower someone to have it was an interesting theory put forth by Clockblocker after she mentioned that her attribute points hadn't all been spent when she Triggered- after all, if her attribute and perk points hadn't been spent, who's to say anyone's had been- she then clarified that some seemed to have been spent- usually personality traits- while other attributes seemed to have been applied by certain events- such as "Depression" and "Out of Shape".
At this point Gallant broke in, asking if that meant she could affect her mental processes, to which she replied that it seemed she could, as she got rid of "Depression" and "Low Self-Esteem", and planned to do the same to "PTSD (Minor)", and could detect the difference in her thought processes with the removal. She added that she could increase her stats, then proceeded to go through them for her audience. Taylor finished by mentioning that she could also buy new attributes that she had encountered, having looked the previous night and discovering various levels of dyscalculia had been added to her options, granting an increasing number of attribute points at the expense of increasing difficulty with math and focusing.
When Vista asked if there as an attribute for magic and if so what kind of magic she could do, Taylor answered yes, there were, and she could, apparently, see spirits and develop magic systems, though she wasn't sure how, and that the first would probably be needed for her first power quest, which Vista pounced on, asking several questions, while the others were skeptical, although the implications stunned them. Upon noticing their faces, Taylor admitted she was skeptical as well, but pointed out that everything else she could test had been accurate.
Kid Win then asked what other kinds of powers she could get, where she admitted that her power classified them into three categories. She summed them up as "Science, Science Fantasy, and Fantasy, though that's not what their labels are", before Clockblocker begged the titles out of her with several increasingly elaborate displays. Before breaking for lunch Kid Win asked the reasoning for her name, with Taylor admitting she had chosen a power that would turn her into a personification of a starship, "or as the name put it, 'Arkshipgirl Spear of Adun.'"
After lunch Taylor had a series of classes for various forms of combat, followed by a first-aid class, before she headed home for dinner and her studying, then sleep.
After breakfast, Taylor was brought to the PRT building to continue her induction. To the power testers she mentioned her hidden objective the previous day, learning the branding department had mentioned it to them after she left, before running through a series of tests based on what she had mentioned the previous day, before mentioning they were still getting permission to test her party system and sending her on to branding.
After being given permission to carry a baton for self-defense, along with a longer staff for greater reach, they went over other potential loadout options, such as zip cuffs and evidence bags, before running into the issue of whether she would be able to carry the weight of her proposed armor. After some deliberation, Taylor decided that there were probably fitness attributes, considering the fact that she had "Out of Shape", but conceded that those might not be enough, and would probably need some time to come into effect either way.
After designing a lighter version of her costume as a just-in-case measure, they submitted her primary costume design with her power testing results, mentioning they had a lighter variation should it be too heavy.
On the heels of that meeting were a series of introductory classes, then lunch, another class, and her introduction to the rest of the Wards team, where she was briefly distracted by a new sense she hadn't noticed before. Gallant stood out- whatever her sense was detecting registered him as- she interpreted it as "tired", or "hungry", and "lonely", though those weren't entirely accurate. She resolved to confront him about it when they were alone.
They didn't unmask- Aegis claimed that they weren't allowed to unmask to probationary members, which those who hadn't been introduced all counted as, which also meant Shadow Stalker was forbidden from knowing who they were until she graduated, and they didn't know who she was either. Clockblocker let slip that Shadow Stalker was potentially in trouble anyway, and if she got out of it not to let her get to Taylor, as she was pretty bitchy. Vista chimed in that that didn't stop him from staring at her rear, with him protesting that personality and physical attractiveness didn't always coincide, to the amusement of the others.
Taylor's hesitance was eased as while they were fairly boisterous, they behaved in a friendly way rather than the subtle hostility she had feared. Upon mentioning her power, both Clockblocker and Kid Win complained that some people got all the luck, with Kid Win complaining that his Tinker power was negatively affected by his dyscalculia and lack of understanding his specialty while Clockblocker was just envious. They were even more envious when she mentioned that she could gain power from playing games, but stared when her objective to basically clear the Boat Graveyard came up.
Taylor hesitated, before admitting that the main reason she joined the Wards at all was her monetary situation and the likelihood that restoring and/or removing the Boat Graveyard would be expensive and time-consuming, and it would likely draw lots of attention to her, which could be very bad if she wasn't ready for it. Clockblocker sympathized, admitting that his father was being treated for cancer, and much of his salary was going towards that. Vista chimed in that her parents were constantly fighting, which led her to be at the PRT building as often as she could, while Kid Win admitted the resources were what drew him to the Wards. Gallant admitted he just wanted to help, while Aegis agreed with him, though both said they didn't think less of the rest of them for having ulterior motives.
From there Taylor asked if it was alright if she started "training", as 1000 games would likely take some time. The rest of the Wards asked to watch, as only Clockblocker and Aegis had played, and they had only played the original game, which had come out in 1998. Aegis hadn't even known there was a new one out, while Clockblocker hadn't played it, being too busy with school and Wards work. Vista and Kid Win warned they'd have a patrol later, but would love to watch.
An hour and many suggestions later, Taylor was retrieved for another meeting, this time with Miss Militia, who also registered on her new sense, and a couple of techs, who admitted to playing Starcraft, among other games, in their downtime, before being introduced to more advanced strategies she could use, along with some time practicing. After watching them play a few games each, then team up, she spent a couple hours playing herself, listening to their advice and occasionally changing her strategies. Taylor found she could rush the AI pretty consistently, but was warned that it would be far more difficult against players who knew what they were doing, and Starcraft had a ladder system that would keep her matched against those in her skill range.
Finally, she was let out of the building and her father picked her up again, this time talking about meeting most of the Wards and playing games with first them, then Miss Militia and the two PRT people who also played. Danny, after listening to Taylor share the parts of her day that could be shared while in public, reciprocated.
Over dinner he talked about how difficult it was finding work for the Dockworker's Association and how he usually had to balance who got work so they all had enough to live on. Taylor expressed hope that when she started on clearing the Boat Graveyard things would get better for them, to which her father replied that while it wouldn't be as good as before the riots due to several ports' destruction at the claws of Leviathan, overseas shipping hadn't been killed off yet and would likely appreciate another port, even one so close to Boston. Taylor spent more time after dinner completing a daily studying quest she had first gotten Monday, as a complement to her quest to get in to Arcadia, then went to bed.
The next day brought a short power testing session, followed by a meeting with the branding department, where she learned that she should be able to handle her full costume, though they recommended training with it for at least an hour every day. Taylor asked if that meant exercising in it or just wearing it, and got the answer of "exercise at least four days a week, but wear it for several hours if you aren't exercising." Apparently her proper costume would be finished the 14th, but until then they had a basic costume with the proper styling, and they spent another half-hour finalizing her normal loadout, before telling her she would need staff and baton lessons so she wouldn't end up accidentally killing or crippling someone.
At this point she got the experience reward for completing the Branding quest. She asked if she should change into her temporary costume, getting an affirmative response, before putting the pieces in her equipment slots and switching to the third outfit. She idly wondered what the armor and durability values of her finished costume would be like, before discarding the thought as irrelevant.
After checking out her appearance in the mirror, and admitting it looked good for an interim costume, she asked if she would be allowed to investigate the Boat Graveyard, admitting it would probably be a good idea to know which "spirits" would like to be repaired, which would prefer to be refitted, and which would prefer to be scrapped- when they asked how she would scrap them she pointed out that the other two powers she had quests for gave a striker ability to convert materials to the crystalline material used as a raw material in the games, before answering the follow-up question of where the gas the more advanced technologies required came from with "I don't know, but if I get all three of the workers I'll get a Shaker version of the conversion power that can create limited capacity self-sustaining areas of both the mineral structures and the gas pockets" which drew incredulous looks.
One of them went to look up the other two races, having focused on the Protoss for branding, while another asked for her best guess- the reply of "probably generated somehow in the refinery structures" drew curious looks to which she shrugged and said she didn't get any data on the technologies, just a rating and description. When asked what it would use as an energy source, she replied that her power seemed to think there was some form of energy she could direct, so it probably used that- how it may renew itself was the subject of nearly an hour's worth of debate before they broke for lunch, at which point Taylor met the Wards again.
This time she broached the subject of the Protectorate heroes, getting the impressions that Armsmaster was a driven, socially inept workaholic; Miss Militia was calm and compassionate, though very loyal to the Protectorate; Assault was an irreverent joker but knew when to be serious; Battery was a serious woman who was usually Assault's straight man; Velocity was good-natured, but had an undercurrent of frustration that Gallant could apparently sense; Dauntless was capable, but was still finding his feet, so to speak; and Triumph had been a little arrogant but had been knocked down a peg or two recently and had a strong sense of justice.
The member of the PR department stopping by to tell Taylor that the decision of whether to push for or against getting the power she had mentioned in her previous meeting had been pushed up the chain led her to explain it to the rest of them, leading to Clockblocker asking if it was possible for any of the tech she could potentially build could be replicated, to which she answered that her assumption was that if any of it could be then it would be the Terran tech, as the Protoss tech seemed to mostly need "magical" potential that humans didn't seem to have developed, although whether she could empower someone to have it was an interesting theory put forth by Clockblocker after she mentioned that her attribute points hadn't all been spent when she Triggered- after all, if her attribute and perk points hadn't been spent, who's to say anyone's had been- she then clarified that some seemed to have been spent- usually personality traits- while other attributes seemed to have been applied by certain events- such as "Depression" and "Out of Shape".
At this point Gallant broke in, asking if that meant she could affect her mental processes, to which she replied that it seemed she could, as she got rid of "Depression" and "Low Self-Esteem", and planned to do the same to "PTSD (Minor)", and could detect the difference in her thought processes with the removal. She added that she could increase her stats, then proceeded to go through them for her audience. Taylor finished by mentioning that she could also buy new attributes that she had encountered, having looked the previous night and discovering various levels of dyscalculia had been added to her options, granting an increasing number of attribute points at the expense of increasing difficulty with math and focusing.
When Vista asked if there as an attribute for magic and if so what kind of magic she could do, Taylor answered yes, there were, and she could, apparently, see spirits and develop magic systems, though she wasn't sure how, and that the first would probably be needed for her first power quest, which Vista pounced on, asking several questions, while the others were skeptical, although the implications stunned them. Upon noticing their faces, Taylor admitted she was skeptical as well, but pointed out that everything else she could test had been accurate.
Kid Win then asked what other kinds of powers she could get, where she admitted that her power classified them into three categories. She summed them up as "Science, Science Fantasy, and Fantasy, though that's not what their labels are", before Clockblocker begged the titles out of her with several increasingly elaborate displays. Before breaking for lunch Kid Win asked the reasoning for her name, with Taylor admitting she had chosen a power that would turn her into a personification of a starship, "or as the name put it, 'Arkshipgirl Spear of Adun.'"
After lunch Taylor had a series of classes for various forms of combat, followed by a first-aid class, before she headed home for dinner and her studying, then sleep.
1.7: Tutorial
- Location
- United States
Jan 9, 2011:
Sunday brought a number of classes, followed by a game break with Miss Militia, then lunch with the Wards, after which was more classes, then home for dinner and a study session ended the day. She was startled to get skill level-ups for programming and history, but those had been near leveling up anyway and the quest rewards just made that faster. She found she could remember dates and programming rules slightly but noticeably better, and resolved to mention that on Monday.
More classes were her first scheduled actions for the day, followed by obtaining baselines for each of her skills, though she reported better fact regurgitation in history and greater ease in writing more complicated programs, though neither boost was significant. One of the power testers suggested that the level-up was more to cement the information she had gained during her study of the material rather than an actual increase of her knowledge, which she considered, before agreeing- a few details she hadn't realized she had forgotten were more prominent now, although she wondered if that meant she wouldn't get experience for improperly learning something.
Another class and then lunch, where she was waved over to Miss Militia and her gaming group for shop talk, followed by game gossip, an hour and a half of gaming, then visiting the Wards again. Taylor was asked about her day, to which she mentioned her power testing results, briefly covered her gaming, and mentioned her lunchtime chat before asking about their days- apparently Clockblocker had a pop quiz and had nearly started a prank war, Aegis and Gallant had a patrol, Kid Win had bombed a math test, and Vista had a good day, with only one short argument before school. Clockblocker then asked about her weekend, before she resumed her "training", spending nearly two hours playing against the AI while chatting with Vista. After that she said her goodbyes and headed home, before another awkward dinner and more studying.
Tuesday found Miss Militia and the other two members of their gaming group assisting in the testing of her party system. Miss Militia was level 29, while the other two were 20 and 23, respectively, and the three of them would fit in a little under her party level cap, which was apparently based on her level and charisma stat.
They quickly determined that they couldn't see the others' stat pages without permission, though they all noticed something odd about Miss Militia's- one of her attributes was "Conflict Drive (Low)" which was a two-point malus to her perception, which concerned all of them, especially since Taylor had reported such effects had a tendency to double when upgraded, made worse by the way it jumped to 5 instead of 4, as if using a value of 2.5 even though it didn't behave that way otherwise. Miss Militia couldn't buy it off either, which made them assume it came with her powers, as "Always Armed" and "Sleepless" also had greyed-out buy-off buttons. They talked about buying off "PTSD" and seeing if they could buy "Magical Being"- Miss Militia found it for 2 attribute points, which in combination would bring her down to 26- but they would need permission from higher up before trying such a test.
The other two- Jack and Hazel- had no unexpected attributes, though Jack's "Mild HF Autism" drew questions, then sympathy from Taylor- she had a hard enough time with social situations without such difficulties. He laughed when she suggested buying it off, replying that he wouldn't change that part of himself even if he got rewarded for it, as it was part of what made him unique. Taylor wasn't sure if she agreed, but conceded that she wasn't in his position- Hazel noticed, and warned her against changing who she was too much- if she didn't stand for anything, then what could she be counted on for? Taylor paused to consider that, then agreed, resolving to run any self-improvement plans by someone she trusted first.
Lunch came quickly, followed by quest progress, then spending more time with the Wards, where she agonized over telling them about the conflict drive attribute they had found that morning, eventually having the choice made for her by Gallant, who mentioned seeing her indecision. They were, naturally, concerned about the implications, especially if more parahumans had such attributes, which in turn led to discussion of the disparity of Villain/Hero ratios, which were attributed to the nature of Triggers, but they agreed the conflict drive could be a contributing factor.
They all wondered at her lack of conflict drive in her attributes, to which Clockblocker suggested her powers had a different source than normal powers. When Vista and Kid Win left for their patrol, Taylor gravitated to a computer, discussing theories with Clockblocker while playing. After getting home and dinner, Taylor quickly finished up her studying for the night before getting in nearly fifteen minutes of pleasure reading before going to sleep.
Taylor was startled the next morning during power testing when her "A Fair Punishment" quest announced its completion out of nowhere, discovering that each member of her party could see there was a box in front of her, but could only see the contents when she allowed them to. This had the consequence of also completing a hidden objective from the "Power Testing" quest, which she noted brought her pretty close to leveling up again. She had noticed that even Vista, the youngest of the Wards, was half again her level, despite being a fair bit younger, and assumed the combination of experience and training, plus her stunted growth from her time as Winslow's favorite target, explained the power disparity.
Once they had finished testing as much as they could without permissions they hadn't obtained yet, Taylor was sent to yet more classes, then lunch. She spent time chatting with Hazel and Jack while playing, then spent some time socializing with the Wards, then playing some more as Taylor was closing in on the 200-game mark. The drive home was more animated, and the silences were less awkward, while dinner was quiet. Taylor happily noted that another few days would result in another level-up, and she could complete the "Power Testing" quest before her introduction.
Thursday started dramatically, with Taylor being called to the Director's office, where Director Piggot explained that thinkers had decided she needed to be told soon, then dropped the bombshell that Sophia Hess had been Shadow Stalker, but Principal Blackwell had been lying to them about her behavior- apparently investigations had revealed several athletes had had misdeeds covered up by Blackwell, but Sophia's were the worst.
The Director did mention that mild bullying would have only merited a reprimand, a campaign such as what she had been subjected to would have seen her sanctioned but still serving, but the locker was spitting on her probation and she had been sent to juvenile hall. Emma Barnes, meanwhile, had been committed, while Madison Clements got community service, as she hadn't been involved in the locker attack.
Taylor barely kept her temper through the explanation, before forcing herself to think through what she had been told. After some thought, she asked what sanctions would have been imposed, getting an answer involving pay reduction in favor of her victims, increased oversight, and pressure to remove her from extracurricular activities and any positions of authority she may have had, along with the possibility of separating her from the victims and movement restrictions.
Director Piggot then mentioned that Principal Blackwell was facing fines and possible jail time, along with almost certainly losing her job. Taylor was asked if she had any more questions, then excused when she answered in the negative. She then moved toward the gym, asking for lessons on how to use a baton or staff upon arriving and venting her frustration that way.
An hour went by before she was called to her next lesson, and she was feeling much calmer, though a savage combination of anger and satisfaction bubbled beneath the surface. Game time saw her ravage the AI for almost two hours before lunch, then a couple classes followed by chatting with Clockblocker and Vista, where she vented her treatment by her tormentors to their sympathy.
Some more time spent to unlock her Probes and a little more venting later, and she looked at the pop-up that she had minimized after leaving the Director's office- apparently by not throwing a fit as she had been sorely tempted to do he had completed a hidden objective, apparently impressed the Director and other leadership, and leveled up. She made a note to mention it the next day so she could complete "Power Testing" and assign her points then said her goodbyes and left. Her only comment about her day was that she had received frustrating news, though it wasn't bad, and she wasn't allowed to say anything more.
Friday started with the arrival of her period, then allocation of a point to each of her untested stats, along with the accompanying tests between each assignment. The pop-up displaying the results of a completed quest was gratifying, though the fact that hidden objectives remained frustrated her, but the extra 7 stat points was a welcome sight.
She then discussed her stat progression with the power testers, where they agreed with her plan to focus on intelligence until she had access to all its perks, but opinion was divided on how to advance from there. One person thought having more inventory pages would be useful, but Taylor pointed out she already had twenty-five slots, which could carry a total of half a ton in aggregate, plus her three equipment pages. Finally, they decided that she would push everything up a rank after her intelligence was finished and make a plan from there.
After power testing she was shuffled off to Branding, where she got to see her new armor. She rapidly switched out her costume for her new armor, then equipped it, excitedly looking in the mirror. After a period of time she decided she liked the look, though she still thought her mouth was too wide and wished she had a figure, but she forced herself not to focus on negatives.
More classes, then lunch, where she showed off her new costume to Miss Militia, then more Starcraft. After that she chatted with the other Wards, happily showing off her new costume before Aegis and Kid Win left for an aerial patrol, leaving Vista to her homework while Gallant and Clockblocker played a console game and Taylor got herself over the quarter-way mark. Taylor almost forgot to change out of her armor, but caught it before she left the restricted areas and switched to her casual wear. That night her cheerful attitude amused her father, and her studying went by faster than normal.
Sunday brought a number of classes, followed by a game break with Miss Militia, then lunch with the Wards, after which was more classes, then home for dinner and a study session ended the day. She was startled to get skill level-ups for programming and history, but those had been near leveling up anyway and the quest rewards just made that faster. She found she could remember dates and programming rules slightly but noticeably better, and resolved to mention that on Monday.
More classes were her first scheduled actions for the day, followed by obtaining baselines for each of her skills, though she reported better fact regurgitation in history and greater ease in writing more complicated programs, though neither boost was significant. One of the power testers suggested that the level-up was more to cement the information she had gained during her study of the material rather than an actual increase of her knowledge, which she considered, before agreeing- a few details she hadn't realized she had forgotten were more prominent now, although she wondered if that meant she wouldn't get experience for improperly learning something.
Another class and then lunch, where she was waved over to Miss Militia and her gaming group for shop talk, followed by game gossip, an hour and a half of gaming, then visiting the Wards again. Taylor was asked about her day, to which she mentioned her power testing results, briefly covered her gaming, and mentioned her lunchtime chat before asking about their days- apparently Clockblocker had a pop quiz and had nearly started a prank war, Aegis and Gallant had a patrol, Kid Win had bombed a math test, and Vista had a good day, with only one short argument before school. Clockblocker then asked about her weekend, before she resumed her "training", spending nearly two hours playing against the AI while chatting with Vista. After that she said her goodbyes and headed home, before another awkward dinner and more studying.
Tuesday found Miss Militia and the other two members of their gaming group assisting in the testing of her party system. Miss Militia was level 29, while the other two were 20 and 23, respectively, and the three of them would fit in a little under her party level cap, which was apparently based on her level and charisma stat.
They quickly determined that they couldn't see the others' stat pages without permission, though they all noticed something odd about Miss Militia's- one of her attributes was "Conflict Drive (Low)" which was a two-point malus to her perception, which concerned all of them, especially since Taylor had reported such effects had a tendency to double when upgraded, made worse by the way it jumped to 5 instead of 4, as if using a value of 2.5 even though it didn't behave that way otherwise. Miss Militia couldn't buy it off either, which made them assume it came with her powers, as "Always Armed" and "Sleepless" also had greyed-out buy-off buttons. They talked about buying off "PTSD" and seeing if they could buy "Magical Being"- Miss Militia found it for 2 attribute points, which in combination would bring her down to 26- but they would need permission from higher up before trying such a test.
The other two- Jack and Hazel- had no unexpected attributes, though Jack's "Mild HF Autism" drew questions, then sympathy from Taylor- she had a hard enough time with social situations without such difficulties. He laughed when she suggested buying it off, replying that he wouldn't change that part of himself even if he got rewarded for it, as it was part of what made him unique. Taylor wasn't sure if she agreed, but conceded that she wasn't in his position- Hazel noticed, and warned her against changing who she was too much- if she didn't stand for anything, then what could she be counted on for? Taylor paused to consider that, then agreed, resolving to run any self-improvement plans by someone she trusted first.
Lunch came quickly, followed by quest progress, then spending more time with the Wards, where she agonized over telling them about the conflict drive attribute they had found that morning, eventually having the choice made for her by Gallant, who mentioned seeing her indecision. They were, naturally, concerned about the implications, especially if more parahumans had such attributes, which in turn led to discussion of the disparity of Villain/Hero ratios, which were attributed to the nature of Triggers, but they agreed the conflict drive could be a contributing factor.
They all wondered at her lack of conflict drive in her attributes, to which Clockblocker suggested her powers had a different source than normal powers. When Vista and Kid Win left for their patrol, Taylor gravitated to a computer, discussing theories with Clockblocker while playing. After getting home and dinner, Taylor quickly finished up her studying for the night before getting in nearly fifteen minutes of pleasure reading before going to sleep.
Taylor was startled the next morning during power testing when her "A Fair Punishment" quest announced its completion out of nowhere, discovering that each member of her party could see there was a box in front of her, but could only see the contents when she allowed them to. This had the consequence of also completing a hidden objective from the "Power Testing" quest, which she noted brought her pretty close to leveling up again. She had noticed that even Vista, the youngest of the Wards, was half again her level, despite being a fair bit younger, and assumed the combination of experience and training, plus her stunted growth from her time as Winslow's favorite target, explained the power disparity.
Once they had finished testing as much as they could without permissions they hadn't obtained yet, Taylor was sent to yet more classes, then lunch. She spent time chatting with Hazel and Jack while playing, then spent some time socializing with the Wards, then playing some more as Taylor was closing in on the 200-game mark. The drive home was more animated, and the silences were less awkward, while dinner was quiet. Taylor happily noted that another few days would result in another level-up, and she could complete the "Power Testing" quest before her introduction.
Thursday started dramatically, with Taylor being called to the Director's office, where Director Piggot explained that thinkers had decided she needed to be told soon, then dropped the bombshell that Sophia Hess had been Shadow Stalker, but Principal Blackwell had been lying to them about her behavior- apparently investigations had revealed several athletes had had misdeeds covered up by Blackwell, but Sophia's were the worst.
The Director did mention that mild bullying would have only merited a reprimand, a campaign such as what she had been subjected to would have seen her sanctioned but still serving, but the locker was spitting on her probation and she had been sent to juvenile hall. Emma Barnes, meanwhile, had been committed, while Madison Clements got community service, as she hadn't been involved in the locker attack.
Taylor barely kept her temper through the explanation, before forcing herself to think through what she had been told. After some thought, she asked what sanctions would have been imposed, getting an answer involving pay reduction in favor of her victims, increased oversight, and pressure to remove her from extracurricular activities and any positions of authority she may have had, along with the possibility of separating her from the victims and movement restrictions.
Director Piggot then mentioned that Principal Blackwell was facing fines and possible jail time, along with almost certainly losing her job. Taylor was asked if she had any more questions, then excused when she answered in the negative. She then moved toward the gym, asking for lessons on how to use a baton or staff upon arriving and venting her frustration that way.
An hour went by before she was called to her next lesson, and she was feeling much calmer, though a savage combination of anger and satisfaction bubbled beneath the surface. Game time saw her ravage the AI for almost two hours before lunch, then a couple classes followed by chatting with Clockblocker and Vista, where she vented her treatment by her tormentors to their sympathy.
Some more time spent to unlock her Probes and a little more venting later, and she looked at the pop-up that she had minimized after leaving the Director's office- apparently by not throwing a fit as she had been sorely tempted to do he had completed a hidden objective, apparently impressed the Director and other leadership, and leveled up. She made a note to mention it the next day so she could complete "Power Testing" and assign her points then said her goodbyes and left. Her only comment about her day was that she had received frustrating news, though it wasn't bad, and she wasn't allowed to say anything more.
Friday started with the arrival of her period, then allocation of a point to each of her untested stats, along with the accompanying tests between each assignment. The pop-up displaying the results of a completed quest was gratifying, though the fact that hidden objectives remained frustrated her, but the extra 7 stat points was a welcome sight.
She then discussed her stat progression with the power testers, where they agreed with her plan to focus on intelligence until she had access to all its perks, but opinion was divided on how to advance from there. One person thought having more inventory pages would be useful, but Taylor pointed out she already had twenty-five slots, which could carry a total of half a ton in aggregate, plus her three equipment pages. Finally, they decided that she would push everything up a rank after her intelligence was finished and make a plan from there.
After power testing she was shuffled off to Branding, where she got to see her new armor. She rapidly switched out her costume for her new armor, then equipped it, excitedly looking in the mirror. After a period of time she decided she liked the look, though she still thought her mouth was too wide and wished she had a figure, but she forced herself not to focus on negatives.
More classes, then lunch, where she showed off her new costume to Miss Militia, then more Starcraft. After that she chatted with the other Wards, happily showing off her new costume before Aegis and Kid Win left for an aerial patrol, leaving Vista to her homework while Gallant and Clockblocker played a console game and Taylor got herself over the quarter-way mark. Taylor almost forgot to change out of her armor, but caught it before she left the restricted areas and switched to her casual wear. That night her cheerful attitude amused her father, and her studying went by faster than normal.
1.8: Tutorial
- Location
- United States
Jan 15, 2011:
Saturday started with classes, then some more power testing. Sunday was full of classes. Monday brought a surprise in one of her classes- apparently they were announcing that Shadow Stalker had broken her probation in a number of ways, including unauthorized patrols and use of proscribed weapons- apparently she had been forbidden the use of "live" bolts, being restricted to tranquilizer ones the PRT had supplied her- among other things, and she was being sent to a containment zone to serve her punishment. This was apparently a lead-in to potential punishments, though they made sure that she knew she would have refresher courses every few years.
Lunch was spent with Miss Militia and their gaming group, as was fast becoming habit, followed by more quest progress and then time spent socializing with her peers. The main topic this time was patrols and console etiquette. When that afternoon's patrol left, Taylor went back to her daily grind, trying to cut her time more so she could get combat-ready faster. When she got home she found she had a notice from Arcadia- apparently she would be starting her tests that Thursday, though she was required to not bring anything as everything would be supplied for her.
Tuesday brought an increase in staff and baton lessons, followed by public relations classes that should help her with her introduction. Before lunch the PR expert who was teaching her had her write a short speech, before breaking it down to what was good, what could be improved, and what was a bad idea, along with reasons for all of it. He ended by saying it was decent for a first attempt, but one of the reasons they focused on PR so hard was that parahumans could be so dangerous, and if the public was too afraid they were worried their presence would do more harm than good, though he warned that fear of bad publicity could easily paralyze even the best heroes if they let it.
Wednesday saw Taylor take a series of tests ranging from rule recitation to how she would handle a series of hypothetical situations. After that they covered what she got wrong and why, then sent her on to weapons classes, followed by more PR lessons. She was then given time to work on gaining her intended power before lunch, after which was rehearsing for her introduction. They ran through it several times before the PR experts were satisfied, before running her through a series of questions that were usually asked at hero introductions, then another series they thought she could reasonably expect to be asked- empowerment by fiction was an interesting power, they said, and there would likely be a great deal of interest.
After that she spent some time with the other wards who weren't patrolling- apparently Clockblocker had blurted out his name instead of the one the Branding department had chosen, which had earned him a fair amount of punishment details, though he apparently felt that their intended name deserved the scorn he gave it.
Thursday saw Taylor entering Arcadia for the first time, spending the entire school day bar lunch taking tests. She felt confident that she would easily pass, though she didn't let that stop her from double-checking her work. Lunch saw her enter a school cafeteria for the first time in nearly a year, where she hesitated, not certain where to sit. Her indecision was cut short by a curious group inviting her to sit with them, then drawing out the reason for her presence.
Their sympathy made her a little uncomfortable, but she was determined not to hide- hiding may have helped a little, but it also isolated her from any potential assistance, which was something the Wards had drummed into her. The stream of curious students, including Glory Girl, her boyfriend Dean, and her sister Panacea, was intimidating and irritating in equal measure, though she did her best to remain gracious.
Glory Girl's- or rather Victoria's- story of meeting Taylor's tormentors at one point, but being soured on them when they made fun of a disabled girl made Taylor sigh, admitting that Emma hadn't always been like that, before mentioning that she changed after an apparent attack by the ABB the summer before they started high school made Victoria scowl. She then invited Taylor to hang out any time, before pausing and suggesting a shopping trip over the weekend. Taylor hesitated, before mentioning reluctantly that she wasn't sure she could afford such, before Victoria offered to pay for anything she bought.
Taylor was saved from answering by the end-of-lunch bell, stating she would consider it, but she had tests to continue. After she was excused for the day she headed for the PRT building, where she admitted to Gallant that she could identify him as Glory Girl's boyfriend due to his nameplate. At home, dinner was a combination of listening to her father express hope over a series of jobs and telling him about her tests.
Friday saw her back at Arcadia, where she had a little trouble in her history and civics exams, but felt she did well enough. Lunch saw her sitting with a different group, though apparently she had been one of the major topics of the gossip mill, as there were fewer people coming over to question her, though by no means were there none. Victoria and her sister came by again- apparently Victoria found her interesting, though felt her fashion sense could use some work. Taylor directed some questions Panacea's way, though she got the feeling that Amy was hiding her true emotions, though she couldn't tell why, and resolved to ask Gallant about it after school.
Taylor was told she would be getting her results over the weekend, and should she pass, would start classes on Monday the 24th. At the PRT building Gallant admitted that he had noticed Panacea's emotions getting darker, along with a complex mix he couldn't decipher while around Glory Girl, but he hadn't told anyone. Taylor advised him to at least talk to Panacea, and maybe her parents, about it. When he asked how she could tell, she admitted she recognized some of what she saw in Amy from the mirror before her Trigger, though there were a number of differences that she had a hard time deciphering as well.
Saturday was busy, as she and the other Wards unmasked to each other in the morning, followed by her introduction. The admission that her power didn't seem restricted to fiction from Earth Bet caused some murmurs, though her answering that yes, she did have to work for her powers did seem to calm them. She almost stumbled over a couple unexpected questions, though the fool who asked after her relationship status had been quickly escorted out while she glared at him. Her response of "Any relevant questions?" drew some chuckles, resulting in an overall positive image despite her inexperience.
The completion of two quests and two hidden objectives made her smile when she was in private, as did the increase on her PR skill's level. She was close to leveling up again, though she was sure that that would be done by Monday. Her title had also changed to her cape name, granting her a significant boost to her effective intelligence and perception while in costume.
The rest of the time before lunch was spent chatting with Aegis and Clockblocker while chasing her target power's quest objective. After lunch she sat through a critique of her introduction, followed by combat and first-aid classes. When she got home she got a quest completion pop-up along with the notice from Arcadia- apparently she would be in some of the honors classes, and had completed a hidden objective by getting over 90% in all her tests.
Sunday saw Star Maiden and an escort consisting of Miss Militia and a PRT squad of four meet six Shipgirls, one of whom wanted to be scrapped rather than endure abandonment again, while the others wanted to be repaired. The fact that she was over halfway to unlocking Probes and would have a little more time to play in the future excited her, though she made plans to use the time over the weekend dedicated to helping Shipgirls for getting her SCVs once the survey was completed.
Monday saw her first day back to classes, where she was playing catch-up on homework for the most part, though she wasn't far behind the material in the cases she hadn't studied ahead. At lunch the Dallon sisters caught up to her, with Victoria encouraging her to sit with them, which Taylor decided to do after some thought. She tried to engage Amy, as her snark and bravado didn't disguise her tired eyes. Taylor resolved to help the famous healer, though she was worried she wouldn't accept the assistance.
The Quest that appeared indicated she was right, as well, though she was curious why it would reward her with a level of Parahuman Psychology, then worried that she might need such a skill. After school she asked Gallant about the wisdom of talking to Glory Girl about Panacea, explaining that she got a quest to "Help Panacea recover from mental stress". They decided it would be best to talk to Glory Girl, then the PRT, then Lady Photon before going to Panacea's parents, as Flashbang had worse depression than Star Maiden had, and Gallant thought Brandish had at least mild paranoia.
Star Maiden suspected that resolving those issues would account for at least one hidden objective, but wasn't sure she could do anything about Brandish due to the very problem she would be trying to solve. Star Maiden learned that now that she was introduced she had been scheduled for patrols, though she would only do weekends for now as she still wasn't proficient enough in her weapons to do more than show the flag. After more training, followed by quest time she headed home, where she did her homework after dinner.
Tuesday through Friday saw her fall into a pattern, though she usually sat at a different table every day, Victoria, occasionally accompanied by her sister or boyfriend, would visit her to chat, and she ultimately took Victoria up on her invitation to go shopping that weekend, though she did restrict it to an hour.
Wednesday afternoon Gallant told her he had talked to Glory Girl about her sister, saying he could see her increasing mental exhaustion, guilt, and some mess of emotions he couldn't identify sometimes. Glory Girl had, apparently, been concerned, though once he brought up his concerns wasn't sure if she could get anywhere by direct confrontation, though she was determined to help her sister. He said he hadn't mentioned Star Maiden's party ability, though he did suggest telling New Wave that she could help, to which she agreed, but reluctantly said they should get permission first. The news that the most famous healer in the world was on a fast track to burnout was not welcome, but was viewed as important enough to act on.
Friday saw Star Maiden, Gallant, Miss Militia, New Wave's PRT liaison, and Deputy Director Renick meeting with Lady Photon, where Gallant expressed concern over Panacea's mental state, followed by Star Maiden admitting she also had a degree of control over her personality traits, and could share this ability with a limited number of people at any given time. Lady Photon was concerned by the news of her niece, but skeptical about Star Maiden's newly revealed ability, though the party invitation shocked her. She thought it was a Master trick at first, but Star Maiden rebutted this by saying she was just sharing an aspect of her power, admitting that a Master effect was her first thought after her Trigger event as well.
The Deputy Director admitted that they had tested her "party system" as well, while Miss Militia admitted she had gotten rid of PTSD during the testing and wasn't as worried about nightmares, though she still rarely slept, and her therapist said she was doing better. Lady Photon was conflicted, but admitted that her sister and her husband could use any help they could give, as could Panacea if they were right, though she wasn't sure if she and her husband or their children and Glory Girl would need such extremes, admitting none of them were as badly affected by life as her sister and Flashbang.
Miss Militia rebutted that she had triggered in the same situation as her sister, even if she wasn't as badly affected by it she could probably due with at least significant therapy- not that there were that many therapists experienced in parahumans, and all of them were either overworked or what she derisively referred to as "fad doctors", who would falsely claim their patients had whatever diagnosis was popular if they could so much as stretch the definition to cover a fraction of what they were seeing. Lady Photon decided to talk with her team about it before making a decision, though she felt that helping her sister, brother-in-law, and niece was important.
Star Maiden finally got her private chat with Gallant, where he ultimately admitted his father had purchased a vial he was told would give him powers for him to take, as that was the only power-related difference he could determine between himself and the other Wards, expressing concern over what she informed him her shard sense was telling her about him.
After some discussion, they decided it was "possible, maybe even likely" that the "lonely" sensation indicated other powers were communicating, while his wasn't for some reason; after that, they focused on the possible interpretations of the "tired"/"hungry" sensation, eventually concluding it likely meant it wasn't getting enough energy to offset his use, which concerned both of them. Star Maiden decided that if his shard wasn't communicating, then it was probably the best option for testing her shard subversion power, while Gallant reluctantly agreed- he would probably have to admit to his abnormal empowerment, but if his power was failing as they thought it might be, then that may be his best option, even if she needed to get the "Minor Entity" or "Entity" powers to resolve it.
Saturday saw Taylor following Victoria and Amy on their planned shopping trip, though she didn't buy much. Victoria was enthusiastic, while Amy seemed tolerant of, sometimes even amused by, her sister's eccentricities, while Taylor engaged her in discussions of their favorite books. After an hour Taylor said her farewells and dropped her purchases at home before heading in to the PRT building, where she would spend some time chasing her Probe unlock before going on a short patrol of the Boardwalk with Aegis and Clockblocker. After that she got lunch before leaving for the Boat Graveyard, finding five Shipgirls, three of whom wanted to be repaired, while the other two wanted to be upgraded to protect their port. She got back to base in time for a short lesson in baton use before going home.
Sunday Star Maiden and her escorts met five Shipgirls, one of whom preferred scrapping, and tested her party system with her escort to see if they could see the spirits- they couldn't. She had an afternoon patrol with Gallant and Kid Win, after which they reported their observations and theories regarding Gallant's power, followed by making arrangements for the testing, then she spent some time closing in on her reward. Star Maiden was certain she would get it during the week.
She would be proven right, as she got the completion notice late Tuesday afternoon, along with a query.
After giving a positive response, she gained what she felt was best described as a mental switch when she touched something inanimate. Her Quest page also changed: now she had "Current level: Complete Zealot 0/1000 1vs1 games OR Build Gateway". She immediately sent a message to Miss Militia, stating that she had obtained the Probe projection power.
Saturday started with classes, then some more power testing. Sunday was full of classes. Monday brought a surprise in one of her classes- apparently they were announcing that Shadow Stalker had broken her probation in a number of ways, including unauthorized patrols and use of proscribed weapons- apparently she had been forbidden the use of "live" bolts, being restricted to tranquilizer ones the PRT had supplied her- among other things, and she was being sent to a containment zone to serve her punishment. This was apparently a lead-in to potential punishments, though they made sure that she knew she would have refresher courses every few years.
Lunch was spent with Miss Militia and their gaming group, as was fast becoming habit, followed by more quest progress and then time spent socializing with her peers. The main topic this time was patrols and console etiquette. When that afternoon's patrol left, Taylor went back to her daily grind, trying to cut her time more so she could get combat-ready faster. When she got home she found she had a notice from Arcadia- apparently she would be starting her tests that Thursday, though she was required to not bring anything as everything would be supplied for her.
Tuesday brought an increase in staff and baton lessons, followed by public relations classes that should help her with her introduction. Before lunch the PR expert who was teaching her had her write a short speech, before breaking it down to what was good, what could be improved, and what was a bad idea, along with reasons for all of it. He ended by saying it was decent for a first attempt, but one of the reasons they focused on PR so hard was that parahumans could be so dangerous, and if the public was too afraid they were worried their presence would do more harm than good, though he warned that fear of bad publicity could easily paralyze even the best heroes if they let it.
Wednesday saw Taylor take a series of tests ranging from rule recitation to how she would handle a series of hypothetical situations. After that they covered what she got wrong and why, then sent her on to weapons classes, followed by more PR lessons. She was then given time to work on gaining her intended power before lunch, after which was rehearsing for her introduction. They ran through it several times before the PR experts were satisfied, before running her through a series of questions that were usually asked at hero introductions, then another series they thought she could reasonably expect to be asked- empowerment by fiction was an interesting power, they said, and there would likely be a great deal of interest.
After that she spent some time with the other wards who weren't patrolling- apparently Clockblocker had blurted out his name instead of the one the Branding department had chosen, which had earned him a fair amount of punishment details, though he apparently felt that their intended name deserved the scorn he gave it.
Thursday saw Taylor entering Arcadia for the first time, spending the entire school day bar lunch taking tests. She felt confident that she would easily pass, though she didn't let that stop her from double-checking her work. Lunch saw her enter a school cafeteria for the first time in nearly a year, where she hesitated, not certain where to sit. Her indecision was cut short by a curious group inviting her to sit with them, then drawing out the reason for her presence.
Their sympathy made her a little uncomfortable, but she was determined not to hide- hiding may have helped a little, but it also isolated her from any potential assistance, which was something the Wards had drummed into her. The stream of curious students, including Glory Girl, her boyfriend Dean, and her sister Panacea, was intimidating and irritating in equal measure, though she did her best to remain gracious.
Glory Girl's- or rather Victoria's- story of meeting Taylor's tormentors at one point, but being soured on them when they made fun of a disabled girl made Taylor sigh, admitting that Emma hadn't always been like that, before mentioning that she changed after an apparent attack by the ABB the summer before they started high school made Victoria scowl. She then invited Taylor to hang out any time, before pausing and suggesting a shopping trip over the weekend. Taylor hesitated, before mentioning reluctantly that she wasn't sure she could afford such, before Victoria offered to pay for anything she bought.
Taylor was saved from answering by the end-of-lunch bell, stating she would consider it, but she had tests to continue. After she was excused for the day she headed for the PRT building, where she admitted to Gallant that she could identify him as Glory Girl's boyfriend due to his nameplate. At home, dinner was a combination of listening to her father express hope over a series of jobs and telling him about her tests.
Friday saw her back at Arcadia, where she had a little trouble in her history and civics exams, but felt she did well enough. Lunch saw her sitting with a different group, though apparently she had been one of the major topics of the gossip mill, as there were fewer people coming over to question her, though by no means were there none. Victoria and her sister came by again- apparently Victoria found her interesting, though felt her fashion sense could use some work. Taylor directed some questions Panacea's way, though she got the feeling that Amy was hiding her true emotions, though she couldn't tell why, and resolved to ask Gallant about it after school.
Taylor was told she would be getting her results over the weekend, and should she pass, would start classes on Monday the 24th. At the PRT building Gallant admitted that he had noticed Panacea's emotions getting darker, along with a complex mix he couldn't decipher while around Glory Girl, but he hadn't told anyone. Taylor advised him to at least talk to Panacea, and maybe her parents, about it. When he asked how she could tell, she admitted she recognized some of what she saw in Amy from the mirror before her Trigger, though there were a number of differences that she had a hard time deciphering as well.
Saturday was busy, as she and the other Wards unmasked to each other in the morning, followed by her introduction. The admission that her power didn't seem restricted to fiction from Earth Bet caused some murmurs, though her answering that yes, she did have to work for her powers did seem to calm them. She almost stumbled over a couple unexpected questions, though the fool who asked after her relationship status had been quickly escorted out while she glared at him. Her response of "Any relevant questions?" drew some chuckles, resulting in an overall positive image despite her inexperience.
The completion of two quests and two hidden objectives made her smile when she was in private, as did the increase on her PR skill's level. She was close to leveling up again, though she was sure that that would be done by Monday. Her title had also changed to her cape name, granting her a significant boost to her effective intelligence and perception while in costume.
The rest of the time before lunch was spent chatting with Aegis and Clockblocker while chasing her target power's quest objective. After lunch she sat through a critique of her introduction, followed by combat and first-aid classes. When she got home she got a quest completion pop-up along with the notice from Arcadia- apparently she would be in some of the honors classes, and had completed a hidden objective by getting over 90% in all her tests.
Sunday saw Star Maiden and an escort consisting of Miss Militia and a PRT squad of four meet six Shipgirls, one of whom wanted to be scrapped rather than endure abandonment again, while the others wanted to be repaired. The fact that she was over halfway to unlocking Probes and would have a little more time to play in the future excited her, though she made plans to use the time over the weekend dedicated to helping Shipgirls for getting her SCVs once the survey was completed.
Monday saw her first day back to classes, where she was playing catch-up on homework for the most part, though she wasn't far behind the material in the cases she hadn't studied ahead. At lunch the Dallon sisters caught up to her, with Victoria encouraging her to sit with them, which Taylor decided to do after some thought. She tried to engage Amy, as her snark and bravado didn't disguise her tired eyes. Taylor resolved to help the famous healer, though she was worried she wouldn't accept the assistance.
The Quest that appeared indicated she was right, as well, though she was curious why it would reward her with a level of Parahuman Psychology, then worried that she might need such a skill. After school she asked Gallant about the wisdom of talking to Glory Girl about Panacea, explaining that she got a quest to "Help Panacea recover from mental stress". They decided it would be best to talk to Glory Girl, then the PRT, then Lady Photon before going to Panacea's parents, as Flashbang had worse depression than Star Maiden had, and Gallant thought Brandish had at least mild paranoia.
Star Maiden suspected that resolving those issues would account for at least one hidden objective, but wasn't sure she could do anything about Brandish due to the very problem she would be trying to solve. Star Maiden learned that now that she was introduced she had been scheduled for patrols, though she would only do weekends for now as she still wasn't proficient enough in her weapons to do more than show the flag. After more training, followed by quest time she headed home, where she did her homework after dinner.
Tuesday through Friday saw her fall into a pattern, though she usually sat at a different table every day, Victoria, occasionally accompanied by her sister or boyfriend, would visit her to chat, and she ultimately took Victoria up on her invitation to go shopping that weekend, though she did restrict it to an hour.
Wednesday afternoon Gallant told her he had talked to Glory Girl about her sister, saying he could see her increasing mental exhaustion, guilt, and some mess of emotions he couldn't identify sometimes. Glory Girl had, apparently, been concerned, though once he brought up his concerns wasn't sure if she could get anywhere by direct confrontation, though she was determined to help her sister. He said he hadn't mentioned Star Maiden's party ability, though he did suggest telling New Wave that she could help, to which she agreed, but reluctantly said they should get permission first. The news that the most famous healer in the world was on a fast track to burnout was not welcome, but was viewed as important enough to act on.
Friday saw Star Maiden, Gallant, Miss Militia, New Wave's PRT liaison, and Deputy Director Renick meeting with Lady Photon, where Gallant expressed concern over Panacea's mental state, followed by Star Maiden admitting she also had a degree of control over her personality traits, and could share this ability with a limited number of people at any given time. Lady Photon was concerned by the news of her niece, but skeptical about Star Maiden's newly revealed ability, though the party invitation shocked her. She thought it was a Master trick at first, but Star Maiden rebutted this by saying she was just sharing an aspect of her power, admitting that a Master effect was her first thought after her Trigger event as well.
The Deputy Director admitted that they had tested her "party system" as well, while Miss Militia admitted she had gotten rid of PTSD during the testing and wasn't as worried about nightmares, though she still rarely slept, and her therapist said she was doing better. Lady Photon was conflicted, but admitted that her sister and her husband could use any help they could give, as could Panacea if they were right, though she wasn't sure if she and her husband or their children and Glory Girl would need such extremes, admitting none of them were as badly affected by life as her sister and Flashbang.
Miss Militia rebutted that she had triggered in the same situation as her sister, even if she wasn't as badly affected by it she could probably due with at least significant therapy- not that there were that many therapists experienced in parahumans, and all of them were either overworked or what she derisively referred to as "fad doctors", who would falsely claim their patients had whatever diagnosis was popular if they could so much as stretch the definition to cover a fraction of what they were seeing. Lady Photon decided to talk with her team about it before making a decision, though she felt that helping her sister, brother-in-law, and niece was important.
Star Maiden finally got her private chat with Gallant, where he ultimately admitted his father had purchased a vial he was told would give him powers for him to take, as that was the only power-related difference he could determine between himself and the other Wards, expressing concern over what she informed him her shard sense was telling her about him.
After some discussion, they decided it was "possible, maybe even likely" that the "lonely" sensation indicated other powers were communicating, while his wasn't for some reason; after that, they focused on the possible interpretations of the "tired"/"hungry" sensation, eventually concluding it likely meant it wasn't getting enough energy to offset his use, which concerned both of them. Star Maiden decided that if his shard wasn't communicating, then it was probably the best option for testing her shard subversion power, while Gallant reluctantly agreed- he would probably have to admit to his abnormal empowerment, but if his power was failing as they thought it might be, then that may be his best option, even if she needed to get the "Minor Entity" or "Entity" powers to resolve it.
Saturday saw Taylor following Victoria and Amy on their planned shopping trip, though she didn't buy much. Victoria was enthusiastic, while Amy seemed tolerant of, sometimes even amused by, her sister's eccentricities, while Taylor engaged her in discussions of their favorite books. After an hour Taylor said her farewells and dropped her purchases at home before heading in to the PRT building, where she would spend some time chasing her Probe unlock before going on a short patrol of the Boardwalk with Aegis and Clockblocker. After that she got lunch before leaving for the Boat Graveyard, finding five Shipgirls, three of whom wanted to be repaired, while the other two wanted to be upgraded to protect their port. She got back to base in time for a short lesson in baton use before going home.
Sunday Star Maiden and her escorts met five Shipgirls, one of whom preferred scrapping, and tested her party system with her escort to see if they could see the spirits- they couldn't. She had an afternoon patrol with Gallant and Kid Win, after which they reported their observations and theories regarding Gallant's power, followed by making arrangements for the testing, then she spent some time closing in on her reward. Star Maiden was certain she would get it during the week.
She would be proven right, as she got the completion notice late Tuesday afternoon, along with a query.
Activate Reward? |
Activating Protoss Master 0 requires 7 AP. Current AP: 20 |
Yes/No |
After giving a positive response, she gained what she felt was best described as a mental switch when she touched something inanimate. Her Quest page also changed: now she had "Current level: Complete Zealot 0/1000 1vs1 games OR Build Gateway". She immediately sent a message to Miss Militia, stating that she had obtained the Probe projection power.
1.I: Tutorial Interlude: PRT ENE
- Location
- United States
Jan 3, 2011:
Lieutenant Harlow's call just after lunch was infuriating- one of their Wards had been accused of attacking the potential new Trigger, causing the situation in the first place. That she and two alleged accomplices had been also been accused of tormenting the poor girl for a year and a half made things worse- especially since the reports from Principal Blackwell never indicated so much as a hint of such behavior ever occurring. Not that they believed her now- she was currently insisting that a deliberately-made biohazard that the victim was forced into and locked in was "just a prank", so her judgement was being considered suspect at best.
None of them had liked Hess, as she was a moody, passive-aggressive little shit at the best of times, but she was effective on the job. In addition to the potential PR disaster that Hess and Blackwell had opened them up to, Thinkers were having trouble with the victim- they all agreed she could do something with powers when they learned about her, but now they thought she could adapt to situations more easily than normal- one of them even changed his report mid-sentence. The only positive note was they had a decent idea of her personality, and apparently she was more inclined to heroism than villainy, assuming they didn't push her that way in the first place, anyway- not that that would stop some of the Directors from doing something stupid if she didn't join, but the good news was she wasn't in their jurisdiction, so they would find that quite difficult.
The second call from Lieutenant Harlow was difficult to believe, but Thinkers' belief she could adapt easily made some sense, though the odd interference less so. Even stranger was the claim of "spirits", though one theory proposed was that it was a form of Psychometry that let her personify the history of the abandoned ships, while the rest of the empowerment "Quest" was pedestrian by comparison, if apparently long-winded- the closest thing they had to experts- Miss Militia and two chronic gamers they had on staff- thought that 1000 games was a pretty long time, even if she could get her average time down as low as she could get and spent half her waking hours on it they were looking at a period of over a week to finish the first new power, and she would likely be far too busy for that, which would push it further away.
That said, upon researching the game she would play everyone- Thinker or not- had agreed that she could be a significant asset, assuming she could last long enough to set up. As for the part regarding the Boat Graveyard, even the Thinkers were divided, though they agreed that if she could clear or restore it that would help the city immensely.
Jan 8, 2011:
Shadow Stalker and her two friends had been put under Master/Stranger protocols in part due to Miss Hebert's suggestion her former friend could have been mastered and in part to stop Miss Hess from fleeing during the investigation. On the topic of Miss Hebert, the suggestion that her power had usurped another power was worrying, but would explain how Thinkers agreed she could do something with powers- so far everything, from her "removing negative traits" to using her inventory had required she do it first, though they had no idea if her "main menu's" "pausing" function was real or if it just sped up her personal perceptions while inducing a hallucination.
The name could have been worse, though "Star Maiden's" preferred costume would probably draw fits from the Youth Guard over "child soldiers". The experts regarding her armor said she should be capable of wearing it, though practicing with it would both increase her stamina should she not be capable of wearing it all the time and get her used to it.
They were still considering the issue of the "party system", though the way she changed when "buying off" her negative attributes was both intriguing and concerning. Thankfully, the meeting with the Wards went well. Miss Militia and their "game experts" had volunteered to help test the party system, though they were still uncertain about it.
On the other hand, the difficulty Thinkers had with her powerset had leaked into the PRT and Protectorate rumor mill, leading to numerous theories being bandied about- God had noticed what was going on in the world and granted her power to fix it for whatever reason; her mother was actually a conceptual tinker, and had managed to empower her, possibly overextending and being killed by the backlash; whatever was the source of powers in the first place was playing a joke, and making the other powers play along, etc. Most were worrying to some degree, others were amusing, but most everyone was making guesses.
Jan 11, 2011:
Star Maiden's first party system tests had gone well, though everyone was concerned by the report that Miss Militia, one of the calmest and most rational parahumans they knew, had reported she had an odd "attribute" they thought might be induced by her power- if even half of parahumans had this "conflict drive"- and she had reported hers was considered "low"- well, it didn't paint a pretty picture. It was made worse by the suggestion all of them had such an affliction, but that raised the question of why Star Maiden didn't report ever having such an "attribute".
Meanwhile, the investigation into the activities of Shadow Stalker and her civilian friends had revealed a number of other offenses on Hess' part, among them bringing a civilian on unauthorized patrols, use of deadly weapons that she had been forbidden to use, and theft with a parahuman power. Hess would be getting an all-expenses paid trip to juvenile hall, Miss Barnes had been determined to be mentally ill, and would be needing serious therapy, while the hanger-on was likely to be handed community service and would probably have a black mark on her record for academic sabotage.
Jan 13, 2011:
Director Piggot didn't fail to notice Miss Hebert's barely-contained anger, but was slightly impressed by both her restraint and her immediate reaction- going somewhere she could expend her rage safely was commendable- and admitted to herself she probably would have started shouting at someone had she been in her place. She was just glad this mess would be behind them shortly, though she was still furious at both Blackwell and the two morons who lead Miss Hebert's tormentors. Miss Hebert's armor had apparently been finished, and would be arriving tomorrow, and her training was coming along, so she was done with that for now.
Jan 17, 2011:
Everyone was thankful that the announcement of Shadow Stalker's probation violation was over with- while they took a PR hit, it could have been much worse. The fight between the ABB and E88 was more trouble, though thankfully it was just unpowered grunts, even if they did have guns.
As for Star Maiden, there was now some chatter among those who had played or researched Starcraft of whether she could build the structures in some way, and if so how long it would take, how big they would be, and how they would function.
Jan 19, 2011:
Everyone thought Miss Hebert did well, from her training exams to her rehearsal introduction, she was, if not good, then at least decent for a novice- and she actually listened to the PR department, even when it was clear she was skeptical. Then again, one of the concerns she said she had about the PRT was their focus on PR- though she admitted that good PR was better than bad PR, she felt they weren't doing as much good as they could be doing, though learning just how skewed the parahuman population was towards villains had both concerned her and answered why they had so much difficulty making headway against the gangs.
The theories regarding her power, on the other hand, were becoming more numerous and starting to run into the absurd- she was in a stable time loop and was encouraging exactly half the conspiracy theories to amuse herself until she got caught up; her mother was a new Outer God and she had just developed her powers late; reality was a simulation for the entertainment of others; the shapeshifting lizard conspiracy originating on Aleph had performed experiments that gave her powers; she was really an AI with a frame that mimicked the human body nearly-perfectly, but allowed her to act like a video game protagonist, the list went on.
Jan 22, 2011:
Director Piggot was furious- Star Maiden was a minor, her "relationship status" was unimportant, especially to busybody reporters. The PR department was already raising a fuss with the company that had sent that joker, though at least Star Maiden had reacted well to that nonsense. She had done well overall, in fact, though Emily had noticed that she hadn't mentioned the underlying videogame theme her powers had.
While she didn't believe in magic, she was also a realist- if magic actually existed and Star Maiden could use and empower others to use it then rejecting it would be foolhardy. Everyone was curious if she could actually empower others, but the specter of Teacher hung in the way- what if the empowerment had a Master component like his?
Jan 28, 2011:
Star Maiden and Gallant's report that Panacea was well on her way to burnout was concerning, but there unfortunately wasn't much they could do beyond notify New Wave- which may well backfire, if Gallant's report of problems at home was accurate- and offer their help. Thankfully Star Maiden's power might be a boon in this case, though if any of the issues were power-related they may have problems.
She was apparently still concerned about the potential for whatever was granting powers to notice if she "subverted" another power, but her report that if she subverted enough of them she would be able to control them was intriguing, terrifying, and may well be the only hope of helping those with power-induced mental issues.
Star Maiden and her escort would continue their "survey" of the "Shipgirls" on the 29th, though no one was certain whether they were actually spirits or just an interpretation of psychometry yet. There was a fair amount of chatter about it among those with high enough clearance to actually know about it, though nothing had been decided yet- Star Maiden had a point that she could draw unwanted attention if she actually started subverting powers.
Jan 30, 2011:
Gallant's admission of how he gained his powers was concerning to those who knew about it, but not as much as the news it seemed to be failing. While they didn't know how long he had before it no longer worked, or even the effects it would have on him, they were concerned by how all powers were connected to the brain.
Star Maiden's revelation that it seemed uncommunicative- "lonely", as she put it- made it as good a test as they could likely find, and if other "vial-capes" were similarly uncommunicative, then finding them could possibly help her empowerment- especially if the two reported "Entity" powers could prevent such capes from losing their powers in whatever way was suggested.
Feb 1, 2011:
Star Maiden reported unlocking her first power, though she apparently didn't use any part of it yet so Thinkers were still blind to what she would be able to do beyond what she had told them. The report of the change in empowerment requirements was more interesting, and brought up questions of whether it would change more, as well as where they could build her structures if that proved to be the best way to empower her- Thinkers thought it was likely, as it would incur a material cost which could mitigate the temporal cost that had been displayed so far- while Miss Hebert had been maintaining an average of around five minutes against the AI, they were reliably told against players the average was three times that, as it as more difficult to "rush" an actual player, especially one of your skill level.
Director Piggot had already filed for permission to buy land in the run-down industrial sectors of the Docks area for Star Maiden to build her infrastructure, though she expected that would take some time, especially if a paper-pusher thought it was a joke. With any luck, she would have some combat projections by the time the Simurgh's projected attack came, it was close to the estimated time for the next Endbringer and the feathered bitch was next in rotation.
Lieutenant Harlow's call just after lunch was infuriating- one of their Wards had been accused of attacking the potential new Trigger, causing the situation in the first place. That she and two alleged accomplices had been also been accused of tormenting the poor girl for a year and a half made things worse- especially since the reports from Principal Blackwell never indicated so much as a hint of such behavior ever occurring. Not that they believed her now- she was currently insisting that a deliberately-made biohazard that the victim was forced into and locked in was "just a prank", so her judgement was being considered suspect at best.
None of them had liked Hess, as she was a moody, passive-aggressive little shit at the best of times, but she was effective on the job. In addition to the potential PR disaster that Hess and Blackwell had opened them up to, Thinkers were having trouble with the victim- they all agreed she could do something with powers when they learned about her, but now they thought she could adapt to situations more easily than normal- one of them even changed his report mid-sentence. The only positive note was they had a decent idea of her personality, and apparently she was more inclined to heroism than villainy, assuming they didn't push her that way in the first place, anyway- not that that would stop some of the Directors from doing something stupid if she didn't join, but the good news was she wasn't in their jurisdiction, so they would find that quite difficult.
The second call from Lieutenant Harlow was difficult to believe, but Thinkers' belief she could adapt easily made some sense, though the odd interference less so. Even stranger was the claim of "spirits", though one theory proposed was that it was a form of Psychometry that let her personify the history of the abandoned ships, while the rest of the empowerment "Quest" was pedestrian by comparison, if apparently long-winded- the closest thing they had to experts- Miss Militia and two chronic gamers they had on staff- thought that 1000 games was a pretty long time, even if she could get her average time down as low as she could get and spent half her waking hours on it they were looking at a period of over a week to finish the first new power, and she would likely be far too busy for that, which would push it further away.
That said, upon researching the game she would play everyone- Thinker or not- had agreed that she could be a significant asset, assuming she could last long enough to set up. As for the part regarding the Boat Graveyard, even the Thinkers were divided, though they agreed that if she could clear or restore it that would help the city immensely.
Jan 8, 2011:
Shadow Stalker and her two friends had been put under Master/Stranger protocols in part due to Miss Hebert's suggestion her former friend could have been mastered and in part to stop Miss Hess from fleeing during the investigation. On the topic of Miss Hebert, the suggestion that her power had usurped another power was worrying, but would explain how Thinkers agreed she could do something with powers- so far everything, from her "removing negative traits" to using her inventory had required she do it first, though they had no idea if her "main menu's" "pausing" function was real or if it just sped up her personal perceptions while inducing a hallucination.
The name could have been worse, though "Star Maiden's" preferred costume would probably draw fits from the Youth Guard over "child soldiers". The experts regarding her armor said she should be capable of wearing it, though practicing with it would both increase her stamina should she not be capable of wearing it all the time and get her used to it.
They were still considering the issue of the "party system", though the way she changed when "buying off" her negative attributes was both intriguing and concerning. Thankfully, the meeting with the Wards went well. Miss Militia and their "game experts" had volunteered to help test the party system, though they were still uncertain about it.
On the other hand, the difficulty Thinkers had with her powerset had leaked into the PRT and Protectorate rumor mill, leading to numerous theories being bandied about- God had noticed what was going on in the world and granted her power to fix it for whatever reason; her mother was actually a conceptual tinker, and had managed to empower her, possibly overextending and being killed by the backlash; whatever was the source of powers in the first place was playing a joke, and making the other powers play along, etc. Most were worrying to some degree, others were amusing, but most everyone was making guesses.
Jan 11, 2011:
Star Maiden's first party system tests had gone well, though everyone was concerned by the report that Miss Militia, one of the calmest and most rational parahumans they knew, had reported she had an odd "attribute" they thought might be induced by her power- if even half of parahumans had this "conflict drive"- and she had reported hers was considered "low"- well, it didn't paint a pretty picture. It was made worse by the suggestion all of them had such an affliction, but that raised the question of why Star Maiden didn't report ever having such an "attribute".
Meanwhile, the investigation into the activities of Shadow Stalker and her civilian friends had revealed a number of other offenses on Hess' part, among them bringing a civilian on unauthorized patrols, use of deadly weapons that she had been forbidden to use, and theft with a parahuman power. Hess would be getting an all-expenses paid trip to juvenile hall, Miss Barnes had been determined to be mentally ill, and would be needing serious therapy, while the hanger-on was likely to be handed community service and would probably have a black mark on her record for academic sabotage.
Jan 13, 2011:
Director Piggot didn't fail to notice Miss Hebert's barely-contained anger, but was slightly impressed by both her restraint and her immediate reaction- going somewhere she could expend her rage safely was commendable- and admitted to herself she probably would have started shouting at someone had she been in her place. She was just glad this mess would be behind them shortly, though she was still furious at both Blackwell and the two morons who lead Miss Hebert's tormentors. Miss Hebert's armor had apparently been finished, and would be arriving tomorrow, and her training was coming along, so she was done with that for now.
Jan 17, 2011:
Everyone was thankful that the announcement of Shadow Stalker's probation violation was over with- while they took a PR hit, it could have been much worse. The fight between the ABB and E88 was more trouble, though thankfully it was just unpowered grunts, even if they did have guns.
As for Star Maiden, there was now some chatter among those who had played or researched Starcraft of whether she could build the structures in some way, and if so how long it would take, how big they would be, and how they would function.
Jan 19, 2011:
Everyone thought Miss Hebert did well, from her training exams to her rehearsal introduction, she was, if not good, then at least decent for a novice- and she actually listened to the PR department, even when it was clear she was skeptical. Then again, one of the concerns she said she had about the PRT was their focus on PR- though she admitted that good PR was better than bad PR, she felt they weren't doing as much good as they could be doing, though learning just how skewed the parahuman population was towards villains had both concerned her and answered why they had so much difficulty making headway against the gangs.
The theories regarding her power, on the other hand, were becoming more numerous and starting to run into the absurd- she was in a stable time loop and was encouraging exactly half the conspiracy theories to amuse herself until she got caught up; her mother was a new Outer God and she had just developed her powers late; reality was a simulation for the entertainment of others; the shapeshifting lizard conspiracy originating on Aleph had performed experiments that gave her powers; she was really an AI with a frame that mimicked the human body nearly-perfectly, but allowed her to act like a video game protagonist, the list went on.
Jan 22, 2011:
Director Piggot was furious- Star Maiden was a minor, her "relationship status" was unimportant, especially to busybody reporters. The PR department was already raising a fuss with the company that had sent that joker, though at least Star Maiden had reacted well to that nonsense. She had done well overall, in fact, though Emily had noticed that she hadn't mentioned the underlying videogame theme her powers had.
While she didn't believe in magic, she was also a realist- if magic actually existed and Star Maiden could use and empower others to use it then rejecting it would be foolhardy. Everyone was curious if she could actually empower others, but the specter of Teacher hung in the way- what if the empowerment had a Master component like his?
Jan 28, 2011:
Star Maiden and Gallant's report that Panacea was well on her way to burnout was concerning, but there unfortunately wasn't much they could do beyond notify New Wave- which may well backfire, if Gallant's report of problems at home was accurate- and offer their help. Thankfully Star Maiden's power might be a boon in this case, though if any of the issues were power-related they may have problems.
She was apparently still concerned about the potential for whatever was granting powers to notice if she "subverted" another power, but her report that if she subverted enough of them she would be able to control them was intriguing, terrifying, and may well be the only hope of helping those with power-induced mental issues.
Star Maiden and her escort would continue their "survey" of the "Shipgirls" on the 29th, though no one was certain whether they were actually spirits or just an interpretation of psychometry yet. There was a fair amount of chatter about it among those with high enough clearance to actually know about it, though nothing had been decided yet- Star Maiden had a point that she could draw unwanted attention if she actually started subverting powers.
Jan 30, 2011:
Gallant's admission of how he gained his powers was concerning to those who knew about it, but not as much as the news it seemed to be failing. While they didn't know how long he had before it no longer worked, or even the effects it would have on him, they were concerned by how all powers were connected to the brain.
Star Maiden's revelation that it seemed uncommunicative- "lonely", as she put it- made it as good a test as they could likely find, and if other "vial-capes" were similarly uncommunicative, then finding them could possibly help her empowerment- especially if the two reported "Entity" powers could prevent such capes from losing their powers in whatever way was suggested.
Feb 1, 2011:
Star Maiden reported unlocking her first power, though she apparently didn't use any part of it yet so Thinkers were still blind to what she would be able to do beyond what she had told them. The report of the change in empowerment requirements was more interesting, and brought up questions of whether it would change more, as well as where they could build her structures if that proved to be the best way to empower her- Thinkers thought it was likely, as it would incur a material cost which could mitigate the temporal cost that had been displayed so far- while Miss Hebert had been maintaining an average of around five minutes against the AI, they were reliably told against players the average was three times that, as it as more difficult to "rush" an actual player, especially one of your skill level.
Director Piggot had already filed for permission to buy land in the run-down industrial sectors of the Docks area for Star Maiden to build her infrastructure, though she expected that would take some time, especially if a paper-pusher thought it was a joke. With any luck, she would have some combat projections by the time the Simurgh's projected attack came, it was close to the estimated time for the next Endbringer and the feathered bitch was next in rotation.