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Charm Learning Shard (Worm/Exalted) (COMPLETED)
- Thread starter Daniel Snuts
- Start date
ses
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She wants Jack-senpai to notice her. But yeah that was enough interaction in my opinion for Soul's price but Snuts tends to be a little strict with triggering it. Also Taylor didn't talk about Shatterbird being a Case 53, I dunno if Lisa clued her in vis a vis bottle capes being the source of the different color.
I do kinda want to see Taylor's internal thoughts snarking about the shatterslash ship
What are you talking about?
PlasticSoldier
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Time to kill the birb.
Zxzx24
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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I think the simurgh might also make it to tye end of the story.
John Doey
Making the rounds.
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Skill issue, Taylor is very good at being a sociopathic cockroach.
Dakkah
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You mentioned sacrificing Sophia: there was a prophetic poem that pretty much told her life/end so that won't be the case.
ses
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No there wasn't. Scripture of the Hunted Maiden only talked about her getting her ass kicked by taylor which is long in the past. Also I said nothing of the kind, I was just calling out there was no such scripture. Are you talking about Dragon's scripture? Cause that was talking about Ascalon after richter died, not Sophia.
Earth-Destroyer
Versed in the lewd.
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Crawler would likely give something from Infernal Monster style. That our a Lunar Regen charm.
ses
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Crawler is Wound-Mastering Body Evolution and it isn't even slightly close.
Shatterbird is probably something from Silver Voiced Nightingale Style. My guess is Resounding Songbird's Cry on the basis that it was the charm that gave a result when I went to the Style's page and CTRL-F'd for the word "Shatter"
Gremlin Jack
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Is it a joke if the story has set it up that way on purpose?
My guess is her Thinker ID will attract Jack Slash, Smith will attract Mannequin, and we already know Shatterbird picked Poltergeist.
Poorly. Taylor is there simply to gather powers, Jack is an egomaniac who hates being used, and Cherish thinks herself way smarter than she is. I predict that Taylor's membership in the S9 will be brief and end with the group imploding in spectacular fashion. Well, more like I'm hoping that's how it goes. Watching Taylor pal around with racists was tedious enough, I don't think I'll be able to stand her spending ages with the S9.
Whitesnake Pelinal
Like a dream without a dreamer
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I can't tell if she's worried about the teen pregnancy or the miscegenation.
On a very different note, the tone of the discussion makes think back to the 'drinking Sophia's tears' scene. I wasn't sure then if it was limit break or character development, but it sounds a little more like the former now.
Hot damn, minions with survival instincts. Not that I think Taylor would deliberately throw them under the bus, but collateral damage is a thing.
When Poltergeist was first described I thought Aunt Jemima, but her voice has been a thing twice now. Is she playing Madea?
Aurora Raven
Corvids are cool
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Strolling around in front of everyone whilst under the protection of the truce does feel like a very S9 thing to do.
Daniel Snuts
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Acquired, but deferred to the start of next chapter for narrative flow reasons.
Basically this, but a teenage girl:
B.12
Daniel Snuts
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Behind you, every window explodes into shards of glass. But your persuasion succeeded: The effect does not overtake you to engulf the entire city.
Rather than fall to the ground, the countless shards rise into the air and fly back towards Shatterbird, where they form a giant tornado of glass around her. Then she starts to move. The tornado grows as fresh glass enters her range and is absorbed. In this way she will scour the city (except detouring around the Silver Desert).
You probably saved countless lives just now, and not just because you kept her from angering the Desert. The poor bastards in the middle of that tornado are a lost cause, but everyone else is much better off: Instead of everything exploding all at once with no warning, people get to see it coming. This way they can hide, or run, or circle around to hide in its wake.
But, that's no longer your problem. You think back to what Shatterbird told you before you left.
"Most recruits fail a test or two," she'd said. "But you should give it your all regardless. The penalty isn't always death, but it's always worse.
"Siberian will be coming for you next, her test is always the same: She'll hunt you across the city until she gets bored - usually a couple of days. Her penalty is always death, but she'll probably just mutilate you and let you go the first couple of times she catches you."
"How many are 'a couple?'" you'd asked.
"Depends on how bored she is."
So, that's something you have to look forward to now. You can probably manage. You imagine it would be worse for people who sleep. You also consider what Shatterbird didn't tell, you, but you found out anyway:
Shatterbird wants Jack-sempai to notice her.
You'd been taken aback at first, but it does make sense when you think about it. Jack is fairly handsome, in an 'old enough to be your dad' way. And while the whole 'psychotic mass murdering serial killer' thing would ordinarily be a turnoff, well, Shatterbird is one too. Hell, when you think about it like that Jack must be the millionaire CEO of the mass murdering serial killer dating pool. You can totally see where she's coming from.
---
You get quite the shock when you first spot Siberian, and it's not because there's an indestructible tiger-striped nudist cannibal Case 53 bearing down on you. Because there isn't. It's an indestructible tiger-striped nudist cannibal Master projection. Holy shit. How the hell has she managed to keep that under wraps for so long?
You still run the fuck away, of course, even as you marvel at this feat of... reverse sandbagging? Everyone thinks Siberian is an indestructible Brute, but there's actually been a normal squishy human hiding in the wings the whole time?
You get the impression that she's just playing with you for now. She keeps leaping out at you from ambush, but as long as you promptly spot her and run away, she doesn't try very hard to catch up. She probably gets her jollies from seeing her prey gradually tire itself out. Maybe you should pretend to grow sleepy as the chase goes on, to keep her in a good mood.
Spotting her ambushes are not a problem, not with sorcerer's sight. Since she's a Master projection, there's a glowing umbilical cord connecting her to her real body. As long as you keep the cord in sight, you can always tell which way she's going.
It works really well, right up until cord vanishes without warning. Before you can figure out what's going on, Siberian leaps out of the wall next to you (leaving a cartoonishly neat Siberian-shaped hole) and grabs you by the throat. That's not where she was a moment ago!
Oh. The downside of your plan is obvious in retrospect. In order to keep the umbilical cord in sight, you had to remain more or less directly between Siberian and Secret Tiger Mom at all times. And if you are staying between two people and keep running away from one of them, you'll inevitably approach the other. Tiger Mom must have gotten nervous about your proximity, and resummoned her projection in front of you stop stop you from getting any closer.
But you're still alive, so she probably doesn't suspect that you know her secret. Just a precaution. But she has caught you, and you were told what happens next.
You briefly consider turning into shadow to escape. No, better not. She did catch you fair and square (or at least, she doesn't know you know she cheated), she might start playing for keeps if you try to avoid your punishment. Not releasing her grip on your throat, she starts removing your right glove with her free hand.
You could bad touch her with Flechette's power. No, that's an even worse idea. It probably won't work, because the bad touch only works on living beings, which she isn't. That's what got you caught in the first place. But even if it did work, Tiger Mom would just a) create a new projection, and b) murder you to keep secret that 'Siberian' can respawn.
So instead you just squirm in her grip and flail at her with your mind-hands. Not because it could possibly hurt her, but because prey that doesn't struggle is boring. And you very much don't want her to be bored right now.
Having removed your glove, Siberian brings your hand to her mouth, gripping it so that only your index finger is extended. She gently licks your finger before taking it into her mouth. She sucks on it for a while, her eyes half-lidded and an expression of bliss on her face. You'd call it disturbingly sexual, if you didn't know what comes next.
She bites down.
You snatch your hand away with a hissed curse, and stop the bleeding. She grins at you with bloody lips and lets go of your throat. She makes a shooing motion, and you obligingly scurry off. Away from Tiger Mom, this time.
You've had your fair share of injuries, but you've never been amputated before. It feels wrong, nothing but throbbing pain where a finger ought to be. It's going to make it a bitch to maintain multiple identities, too. Ugh, she's just a master projection, she doesn't even need to eat! Fucking psycho cannibal LARPer!
---
You were so focused on getting to Shatterbird that you completely forgot about the Slaughterhouse 9's other tradition on arriving in a new city: They completely wipe out one of the parahuman gangs. With Lung gone, and Trousers forewarned and taking measures to ensure her own safety, that only leaves one gang. And a pile of bodies in front of you, left in the street as a statement. This is S9's playground now, where none may contest them.
They're all there. Purity, Krieg, Aurelius, Hookwolf... The S9 casually destroyed one of the most powerful gangs in the country. Cricket, Crusader, Night, Fog, all gone. Just to show that they could. Fenja, Stormtiger, Victor, Othala... Rune. Rune's mask is gone, and her empty eyes stare at you accusingly. 'Why did you not warn us?' she seems to be asking you. 'Were you not one of us? Were we not friends?'
You look away from her without answering, your eyes moving to the top of the pile and the source of the screaming that drew you here. Alabaster is immortal. The S9 solved this with crucifixion, though not the traditional kind. He'd heal from having nails driven through his limbs, so instead they bound him to a steel cross. It has some sort of mechanism above his head to keep him doused in burning gasoline. Every four seconds he is healed to perfect health, but this does not remove the gasoline. He screams as he burns.
You turn and run away. No, you're not leaving him like that, but you're not getting any closer either. There's no way that thing isn't booby-trapped to kill rescuers. A hundred feet away, at the utmost edge of your mind-hand range, you stop to slash at his bonds.
It's slow going. He's held in place with steel cables, and your mind-hands are sluggish and clumsy so far from your body (though still more dextrous than your normal hands). But the cables are thin, and perhaps softened by the heat of the fire. One by one they give way as you saw at them.
Distracted as you are by your task, Siberian catches unaware. Middle finger, gone. You stop the bleeding. She waves an admonishing finger of her own in your face afterwards, glancing meaningfully towards Alabaster. No messing with the art installation.
You hang your head submissively in response. As much as you want to circle back around and try again, you can't. She'll be expecting it. You got one of his arms free, he'll have to do the rest himself.
---
There's a note in your hand. You'd wonder where it came from, but you have bigger problems right now. You know it's trustworthy.
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
It's not asking the easy questions, is it? What do you need, right now? "Faultline has a golden amulet set with a milky white stone," you say out loud. It wouldn't ask a question if it wasn't safe to answer. "I could use that."
---
Almost two full days after she warned you away from Alabaster, Siberian manages to corner you in an alley. You consider your options as she closes in. She'll mutilate you and let you go the first couple of times. A couple is at least two, as you've already demonstrated. It might not be three.
Gonna have to drop one of the sandbags, huh. As she pounces, you fly straight up the side of the building. You grab random points on the facade with your mind-hands as you rise, as if you were hauling yourself up. You aren't, of course, your mind-hands do not transmit any force back to your body. You're using your regular flight power. But this way it plausibly looks like something Poltergeist could do all along.
Siberian looks up in surprise, but quickly grins and gathers herself for a leap. She launches herself with explosive force, but it's all muscle. Or whatever Master projections use in place of muscle. Point is she can't fly, and has no more aerial maneuverability than any other Brute. You easily dodge out of the way as she shoots past you, and again as she grabs the side of the building and throws herself back down at you.
You meet each other's eyes as you alight on the edge of the roof. What now?
Now she walks calmly walks into the building, apparently. But not in order to take the stairs, as you quickly discover. In order to casually stroll through all the load-bearing walls. You discover this because the building starts to collapse.
No matter. You leap (fly) over to the neighboring building before yours can settle more than a couple of feet. Then you keep going, running across rooftops and flying across streets. It's tempting to stick around and taunt her with your slipperiness, but also dumb. Between her speed and your low flight ceiling, you're not entirely sure you could dodge her leaps if she demolished every building in the vicinity.
Looking behind you, you spot her gliding up above roof level. Wait, gliding? She isn't supposed to - oh. You see what's going on. She is immune to all forces that would act on her body. Including, at her discretion, gravity. Okay, you somewhat underestimated her aerial maneuverability, but it doesn't matter. A mere 32.2 ft/s2 of wiggle room is not enough to make a difference, especially not when it can only be applied in one direction. Which you proceed to prove as you avoid her next several leaps, careful to always dodge to the side, never above or below her.
She still chases you halfway across the city before she gives up, collapsing another half dozen buildings in the process (at least some of them intentionally). From the way the other end of the umbilical moves to keep up, Tiger Mom must be in a vehicle of some sort.
She even starts throwing rubble at you towards the end. ...you feel almost insulted by that, Shatterbird must not have told her how your first test went. Then the next time you see her she doesn't try to chase, she just waves at you and beckons you closer.
"I passed your test?" you ask warily, not approaching.
She nods and offers you smile that would be a lot friendlier if she didn't still have your dried blood around her lips. Seeing as how not a single speck of dust or dirt stuck to her after running straight through multiple walls, she must be doing it on purpose. Hell, it's not just that she's allowing it to stick, she must be extending her invulnerability to the blood itself or it would have rubbed off several buildings ago.
She's still beckoning you closer. You'll just have to trust that she won't eat you when you approach.
She doesn't. She ruffles your hair affectionately, then picks you up and slings you over her shoulder. Then she leaps away with what would have been bone-pulverizing, organ-rupturing force if she hadn't granted you invulnerability first. You guess she knows where your next test is taking place.
Rather than fall to the ground, the countless shards rise into the air and fly back towards Shatterbird, where they form a giant tornado of glass around her. Then she starts to move. The tornado grows as fresh glass enters her range and is absorbed. In this way she will scour the city (except detouring around the Silver Desert).
You probably saved countless lives just now, and not just because you kept her from angering the Desert. The poor bastards in the middle of that tornado are a lost cause, but everyone else is much better off: Instead of everything exploding all at once with no warning, people get to see it coming. This way they can hide, or run, or circle around to hide in its wake.
But, that's no longer your problem. You think back to what Shatterbird told you before you left.
"Most recruits fail a test or two," she'd said. "But you should give it your all regardless. The penalty isn't always death, but it's always worse.
"Siberian will be coming for you next, her test is always the same: She'll hunt you across the city until she gets bored - usually a couple of days. Her penalty is always death, but she'll probably just mutilate you and let you go the first couple of times she catches you."
"How many are 'a couple?'" you'd asked.
"Depends on how bored she is."
So, that's something you have to look forward to now. You can probably manage. You imagine it would be worse for people who sleep. You also consider what Shatterbird didn't tell, you, but you found out anyway:
Shatterbird wants Jack-sempai to notice her.
You'd been taken aback at first, but it does make sense when you think about it. Jack is fairly handsome, in an 'old enough to be your dad' way. And while the whole 'psychotic mass murdering serial killer' thing would ordinarily be a turnoff, well, Shatterbird is one too. Hell, when you think about it like that Jack must be the millionaire CEO of the mass murdering serial killer dating pool. You can totally see where she's coming from.
---
"That was different from your usual performance," Jack says.
I look away, my cheeks heating up. "It- I just wanted to try something different." It's not that I want to keep secrets from him, but... I'm not sure I can explain why I believed Poltergeist about the Desert.
She was genuinely concerned, or I'm no judge of character at all. But if he doesn't believe me, he'll think I'm gullible. Or maybe worse, if he thinks there really is a slumbering Endbringer-thing in the city, he's going to poke at it just to see what happens.
He would probably be fine. He always knows what to do. But the rest of us? Something that scares Poltergeist... I glance up to find him still looking at me. I squirm under his evaluating gaze.
"Sit still!" Bonesaw commands. "You're throwing off my stitches!"
"I didn't expect there to be anyone brave enough to shoot the tornado," I complain. "Much less hit me inside it."
"Hm," Jack says. "It could use some improvement, but I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with next."
He liked it! Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I look away, my cheeks heating up. "It- I just wanted to try something different." It's not that I want to keep secrets from him, but... I'm not sure I can explain why I believed Poltergeist about the Desert.
She was genuinely concerned, or I'm no judge of character at all. But if he doesn't believe me, he'll think I'm gullible. Or maybe worse, if he thinks there really is a slumbering Endbringer-thing in the city, he's going to poke at it just to see what happens.
He would probably be fine. He always knows what to do. But the rest of us? Something that scares Poltergeist... I glance up to find him still looking at me. I squirm under his evaluating gaze.
"Sit still!" Bonesaw commands. "You're throwing off my stitches!"
"I didn't expect there to be anyone brave enough to shoot the tornado," I complain. "Much less hit me inside it."
"Hm," Jack says. "It could use some improvement, but I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with next."
He liked it! Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!
You get quite the shock when you first spot Siberian, and it's not because there's an indestructible tiger-striped nudist cannibal Case 53 bearing down on you. Because there isn't. It's an indestructible tiger-striped nudist cannibal Master projection. Holy shit. How the hell has she managed to keep that under wraps for so long?
You still run the fuck away, of course, even as you marvel at this feat of... reverse sandbagging? Everyone thinks Siberian is an indestructible Brute, but there's actually been a normal squishy human hiding in the wings the whole time?
You get the impression that she's just playing with you for now. She keeps leaping out at you from ambush, but as long as you promptly spot her and run away, she doesn't try very hard to catch up. She probably gets her jollies from seeing her prey gradually tire itself out. Maybe you should pretend to grow sleepy as the chase goes on, to keep her in a good mood.
Spotting her ambushes are not a problem, not with sorcerer's sight. Since she's a Master projection, there's a glowing umbilical cord connecting her to her real body. As long as you keep the cord in sight, you can always tell which way she's going.
It works really well, right up until cord vanishes without warning. Before you can figure out what's going on, Siberian leaps out of the wall next to you (leaving a cartoonishly neat Siberian-shaped hole) and grabs you by the throat. That's not where she was a moment ago!
Oh. The downside of your plan is obvious in retrospect. In order to keep the umbilical cord in sight, you had to remain more or less directly between Siberian and Secret Tiger Mom at all times. And if you are staying between two people and keep running away from one of them, you'll inevitably approach the other. Tiger Mom must have gotten nervous about your proximity, and resummoned her projection in front of you stop stop you from getting any closer.
But you're still alive, so she probably doesn't suspect that you know her secret. Just a precaution. But she has caught you, and you were told what happens next.
You briefly consider turning into shadow to escape. No, better not. She did catch you fair and square (or at least, she doesn't know you know she cheated), she might start playing for keeps if you try to avoid your punishment. Not releasing her grip on your throat, she starts removing your right glove with her free hand.
You could bad touch her with Flechette's power. No, that's an even worse idea. It probably won't work, because the bad touch only works on living beings, which she isn't. That's what got you caught in the first place. But even if it did work, Tiger Mom would just a) create a new projection, and b) murder you to keep secret that 'Siberian' can respawn.
So instead you just squirm in her grip and flail at her with your mind-hands. Not because it could possibly hurt her, but because prey that doesn't struggle is boring. And you very much don't want her to be bored right now.
Having removed your glove, Siberian brings your hand to her mouth, gripping it so that only your index finger is extended. She gently licks your finger before taking it into her mouth. She sucks on it for a while, her eyes half-lidded and an expression of bliss on her face. You'd call it disturbingly sexual, if you didn't know what comes next.
She bites down.
You snatch your hand away with a hissed curse, and stop the bleeding. She grins at you with bloody lips and lets go of your throat. She makes a shooing motion, and you obligingly scurry off. Away from Tiger Mom, this time.
You've had your fair share of injuries, but you've never been amputated before. It feels wrong, nothing but throbbing pain where a finger ought to be. It's going to make it a bitch to maintain multiple identities, too. Ugh, she's just a master projection, she doesn't even need to eat! Fucking psycho cannibal LARPer!
---
"Well?" Jack asks. "Did you find our wayward Cherish?"
"Yes and no," I say. "The tracker pointed towards a pile of fresh rubble in Regent's territory. Looks like her little suicide bomber countdown act finally caught up with her."
Bonesaw stamps her foot in anger. "Ugh! I offered to make her a virus-bomb instead. But nooo, she wanted to stick with her dumb explosives. I can't vaccinate you against blowing up!"
"Disappointing," Jack says. "But she never was all that bright."
"But we were going to do the 'none of us were Mastered all along' surprise party! Now I installed all those redundant ganglia in everyone for no reason!"
"Cheer up, poppet. Look on the bright side. Your own candidate did well enough on her first trial, didn't she? Heartbreaker's kids blowing each other up means there's another spot open, and less competition. Better odds for your 'big sis' to make it in."
"I suppose," Bonesaw says, but she's still pouting.
"Maybe you can take Crawler to dig through the ruins?" I suggest. "See if you can salvage any parts of her brother?"
Bonesaw crosses her arms and does her best to look disdainful. "No! She's dumb and he's dumb too and he'd make dumb art!"
"Yes and no," I say. "The tracker pointed towards a pile of fresh rubble in Regent's territory. Looks like her little suicide bomber countdown act finally caught up with her."
Bonesaw stamps her foot in anger. "Ugh! I offered to make her a virus-bomb instead. But nooo, she wanted to stick with her dumb explosives. I can't vaccinate you against blowing up!"
"Disappointing," Jack says. "But she never was all that bright."
"But we were going to do the 'none of us were Mastered all along' surprise party! Now I installed all those redundant ganglia in everyone for no reason!"
"Cheer up, poppet. Look on the bright side. Your own candidate did well enough on her first trial, didn't she? Heartbreaker's kids blowing each other up means there's another spot open, and less competition. Better odds for your 'big sis' to make it in."
"I suppose," Bonesaw says, but she's still pouting.
"Maybe you can take Crawler to dig through the ruins?" I suggest. "See if you can salvage any parts of her brother?"
Bonesaw crosses her arms and does her best to look disdainful. "No! She's dumb and he's dumb too and he'd make dumb art!"
You were so focused on getting to Shatterbird that you completely forgot about the Slaughterhouse 9's other tradition on arriving in a new city: They completely wipe out one of the parahuman gangs. With Lung gone, and Trousers forewarned and taking measures to ensure her own safety, that only leaves one gang. And a pile of bodies in front of you, left in the street as a statement. This is S9's playground now, where none may contest them.
They're all there. Purity, Krieg, Aurelius, Hookwolf... The S9 casually destroyed one of the most powerful gangs in the country. Cricket, Crusader, Night, Fog, all gone. Just to show that they could. Fenja, Stormtiger, Victor, Othala... Rune. Rune's mask is gone, and her empty eyes stare at you accusingly. 'Why did you not warn us?' she seems to be asking you. 'Were you not one of us? Were we not friends?'
You look away from her without answering, your eyes moving to the top of the pile and the source of the screaming that drew you here. Alabaster is immortal. The S9 solved this with crucifixion, though not the traditional kind. He'd heal from having nails driven through his limbs, so instead they bound him to a steel cross. It has some sort of mechanism above his head to keep him doused in burning gasoline. Every four seconds he is healed to perfect health, but this does not remove the gasoline. He screams as he burns.
You turn and run away. No, you're not leaving him like that, but you're not getting any closer either. There's no way that thing isn't booby-trapped to kill rescuers. A hundred feet away, at the utmost edge of your mind-hand range, you stop to slash at his bonds.
It's slow going. He's held in place with steel cables, and your mind-hands are sluggish and clumsy so far from your body (though still more dextrous than your normal hands). But the cables are thin, and perhaps softened by the heat of the fire. One by one they give way as you saw at them.
Distracted as you are by your task, Siberian catches unaware. Middle finger, gone. You stop the bleeding. She waves an admonishing finger of her own in your face afterwards, glancing meaningfully towards Alabaster. No messing with the art installation.
You hang your head submissively in response. As much as you want to circle back around and try again, you can't. She'll be expecting it. You got one of his arms free, he'll have to do the rest himself.
---
The orders from Director Tagg had been very clear: Remain at HQ until an evacuation can be arranged. Do not go outside, do not get involved.
One of the PRT troopers also let slip a quote that did not appear on the official orders: 'A blessing in disguise, frankly. It's all ruins anyway, we'll just let the psychos cull the villains my useless predecessors failed to root out.'
No one was very happy about it. People were dying out there, innocent people, while we did nothing to help! But the alternative was disobeying direct orders... and going up against the Slaughterhouse 9. How many of us would go out there if we could? Perhaps it was better to this way, to have the excuse of orders to salve the guilt of cowardice.
Clockblocker and I also got a second set of orders: Under no circumstances were we to use our powers against Crawler. He must not be allowed to build up a resistance against temporal or durability-ignoring effects.
It made sense. There were few enough things that could hurt him already, and we needed to keep those in reserve until we could set up a sure kill. It continued to make perfect sense, right up until Crawler came crashing into the Ward's common room with a cry of "Fhechekke!"
The troopers downstairs must have tried to stop him, because he's splattered with blood and containment foam. But rather than hinder him, the foam is flowing off his skin like water from a raincoat - it's something he's encountered previously, and adapted to.
Clockblocker promptly decides to completely ignore his orders and throws himself in front of Crawler, freezing him in time.
"Run!" he shouts.
What choice do I have? I run.
He was coming for me, I realize. That had been my name he tried to pronounce. I was one of the recruits. Did the Director not consider that heroes might be targeted for recruitment? Or... with a sinking feeling I recalled the report of what happened to the E88. Would he not sacrifice a pawn or two for such a result, and consider it a bargain?
That was it, then. I could no longer sit back and wait for evacuation. I could no longer hide. I would have to take the fight to the S9, and either win or die.
One of the PRT troopers also let slip a quote that did not appear on the official orders: 'A blessing in disguise, frankly. It's all ruins anyway, we'll just let the psychos cull the villains my useless predecessors failed to root out.'
No one was very happy about it. People were dying out there, innocent people, while we did nothing to help! But the alternative was disobeying direct orders... and going up against the Slaughterhouse 9. How many of us would go out there if we could? Perhaps it was better to this way, to have the excuse of orders to salve the guilt of cowardice.
Clockblocker and I also got a second set of orders: Under no circumstances were we to use our powers against Crawler. He must not be allowed to build up a resistance against temporal or durability-ignoring effects.
It made sense. There were few enough things that could hurt him already, and we needed to keep those in reserve until we could set up a sure kill. It continued to make perfect sense, right up until Crawler came crashing into the Ward's common room with a cry of "Fhechekke!"
The troopers downstairs must have tried to stop him, because he's splattered with blood and containment foam. But rather than hinder him, the foam is flowing off his skin like water from a raincoat - it's something he's encountered previously, and adapted to.
Clockblocker promptly decides to completely ignore his orders and throws himself in front of Crawler, freezing him in time.
"Run!" he shouts.
What choice do I have? I run.
He was coming for me, I realize. That had been my name he tried to pronounce. I was one of the recruits. Did the Director not consider that heroes might be targeted for recruitment? Or... with a sinking feeling I recalled the report of what happened to the E88. Would he not sacrifice a pawn or two for such a result, and consider it a bargain?
That was it, then. I could no longer sit back and wait for evacuation. I could no longer hide. I would have to take the fight to the S9, and either win or die.
There's a note in your hand. You'd wonder where it came from, but you have bigger problems right now. You know it's trustworthy.
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
It's not asking the easy questions, is it? What do you need, right now? "Faultline has a golden amulet set with a milky white stone," you say out loud. It wouldn't ask a question if it wasn't safe to answer. "I could use that."
---
Almost two full days after she warned you away from Alabaster, Siberian manages to corner you in an alley. You consider your options as she closes in. She'll mutilate you and let you go the first couple of times. A couple is at least two, as you've already demonstrated. It might not be three.
Gonna have to drop one of the sandbags, huh. As she pounces, you fly straight up the side of the building. You grab random points on the facade with your mind-hands as you rise, as if you were hauling yourself up. You aren't, of course, your mind-hands do not transmit any force back to your body. You're using your regular flight power. But this way it plausibly looks like something Poltergeist could do all along.
Siberian looks up in surprise, but quickly grins and gathers herself for a leap. She launches herself with explosive force, but it's all muscle. Or whatever Master projections use in place of muscle. Point is she can't fly, and has no more aerial maneuverability than any other Brute. You easily dodge out of the way as she shoots past you, and again as she grabs the side of the building and throws herself back down at you.
You meet each other's eyes as you alight on the edge of the roof. What now?
Now she walks calmly walks into the building, apparently. But not in order to take the stairs, as you quickly discover. In order to casually stroll through all the load-bearing walls. You discover this because the building starts to collapse.
No matter. You leap (fly) over to the neighboring building before yours can settle more than a couple of feet. Then you keep going, running across rooftops and flying across streets. It's tempting to stick around and taunt her with your slipperiness, but also dumb. Between her speed and your low flight ceiling, you're not entirely sure you could dodge her leaps if she demolished every building in the vicinity.
Looking behind you, you spot her gliding up above roof level. Wait, gliding? She isn't supposed to - oh. You see what's going on. She is immune to all forces that would act on her body. Including, at her discretion, gravity. Okay, you somewhat underestimated her aerial maneuverability, but it doesn't matter. A mere 32.2 ft/s2 of wiggle room is not enough to make a difference, especially not when it can only be applied in one direction. Which you proceed to prove as you avoid her next several leaps, careful to always dodge to the side, never above or below her.
She still chases you halfway across the city before she gives up, collapsing another half dozen buildings in the process (at least some of them intentionally). From the way the other end of the umbilical moves to keep up, Tiger Mom must be in a vehicle of some sort.
She even starts throwing rubble at you towards the end. ...you feel almost insulted by that, Shatterbird must not have told her how your first test went. Then the next time you see her she doesn't try to chase, she just waves at you and beckons you closer.
"I passed your test?" you ask warily, not approaching.
She nods and offers you smile that would be a lot friendlier if she didn't still have your dried blood around her lips. Seeing as how not a single speck of dust or dirt stuck to her after running straight through multiple walls, she must be doing it on purpose. Hell, it's not just that she's allowing it to stick, she must be extending her invulnerability to the blood itself or it would have rubbed off several buildings ago.
She's still beckoning you closer. You'll just have to trust that she won't eat you when you approach.
She doesn't. She ruffles your hair affectionately, then picks you up and slings you over her shoulder. Then she leaps away with what would have been bone-pulverizing, organ-rupturing force if she hadn't granted you invulnerability first. You guess she knows where your next test is taking place.
zapking5
But I don't want to have a title!
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Well, that's the end of Empire 88 lol. Just unceremoniously deleted by the Slaughterhouse.
I guess Taylor is really going to join the Slaughterhouse. She basically has nobody left but Aisha considering that Regent is probably dead, and Cherish's death neatly resolves her potential exposure.
I suppose it isn't necessarily a permanent fate for her, since her shapeshifting can resolve a lot.
It's weird that there has been zero indication of what Taylor is thinking or planning in her internal monologue, she is just kinda going with the flow.
I guess Taylor is really going to join the Slaughterhouse. She basically has nobody left but Aisha considering that Regent is probably dead, and Cherish's death neatly resolves her potential exposure.
I suppose it isn't necessarily a permanent fate for her, since her shapeshifting can resolve a lot.
It's weird that there has been zero indication of what Taylor is thinking or planning in her internal monologue, she is just kinda going with the flow.
zharshoul
Not too sore, are you?
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Well thats that I guess, kinda sad they are all dead just like that, but life is cheap in Worm. Not gonna be surprised if she insta gibs atleast half the S9 at the end of this section either. So they got Alec too? Or is it still nebulous, Shadow stalker might have gotten away and maybe Aisha evaded notice if she wasn't present for the bombs.
I hope you don't shy away from killing or enslaving bonesaw if it fits the story. Too many authors let her off for various reasons.
What was the cannon reason why the S9 were allowed to run around again? Contessa covering for them?
I hope you don't shy away from killing or enslaving bonesaw if it fits the story. Too many authors let her off for various reasons.
What was the cannon reason why the S9 were allowed to run around again? Contessa covering for them?
néocorvinus
Experienced.
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Ok, Lisa is dead, Regent is dead, the Empire is dead, I think we all know where the power-copying junky is going.
I wonder if we will see the secret Slaughterhouse 10, with Aisha following Taylor, as she has nothing left to lose.
I wonder if we will see the secret Slaughterhouse 10, with Aisha following Taylor, as she has nothing left to lose.
Anonymous Brainwash
Ex-Lurker
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Huh… well the Nazis are gone…Yeah…?
Don't entirely know how to feel about this.
Don't entirely know how to feel about this.
zapking5
But I don't want to have a title!
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Man I forgot about Shadow Stalker, that is not looking good for Taylor. It won't be so bad if Sophia just tries to kill her, but Taylor might be exposed and end up with a kill order even if she doesn't join the Nine.
Doctor Mother wanted them around to scare people into joining the Protectorate. Broadcast is enough to deal with the non Cauldron elements of the Protectorate I think.
Whitesnake Pelinal
Like a dream without a dreamer
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Warning rule 1: not appropriate
Never were, never could have been.
Rest in pepperoni, sweet (removed)
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Whitesnake Pelinal
Like a dream without a dreamer
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lol, you wouldn't spend 30 seconds to @all your contacts list "s9 inc"?
zharshoul
Not too sore, are you?
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If I was freaking out , yeah I totally would forget, I forget shit all the time, even as its happening sometimes even.
With her it says she forgot, either out of panic or focusing on homing in on her new power up source, or both. It wasn't done intentionally. She even tries to free Alabaster.
I hope "evil" Taylor is still alive, you barely introduced her, seems like a waste if she is.
With her it says she forgot, either out of panic or focusing on homing in on her new power up source, or both. It wasn't done intentionally. She even tries to free Alabaster.
I hope "evil" Taylor is still alive, you barely introduced her, seems like a waste if she is.
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space turtle
Not too sore, are you?
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Or quite a few less with the E88 reduced to ruins.
Snooze
Plant-person with facial hair
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Way too much. Enough to team up with Evil Taylor.
Zxzx24
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Woo hoo!
Anyway.
I think they are going to be great friends.