The Shard Alchemist (Worm, OC)

[Zerrer]

Spoiler: Author's Note

This is a new quest I'm starting here on QQ, and one I'm pretty excited about. In short, it's a quest where you're trapped in a Quarantine Zone, as a Tinker with an extremely narrow, yet powerful specialization: Powers. Steal them, remix them, feed them to allies. The sky's the limit. The first update will be all story-based, due to the need to establish what's going on, and the second will involve actual vote prompts and such.

Five miles east to west. Seven miles north to south. That's what you're limited to.

There used to be a river. There also used to be a lake nearby. A reservoir, with a dam and everything.

There was a time when you'd looked at the horizon and saw more than the wall.

You put your palm onto it- the cold, heartless concrete and rebar, standing amidst the ruins that once were houses, streets, sidewalks- all bulldozed and shoved away from the wall. All of it locking you away from the outside world.

It's just the first layer of defense. There's a second- an empty zone of no-man's-land, a mile long. Then a second wall, only with guard towers. Gun emplacements. Capes.

Your name is Lucas Delaune. And you're one of the one-hundred-twenty thousand souls trapped here. Or at least, you were. You wouldn't know how many's left by now. Twenty thousand? Ten thousand? Even both of those seem pretty high for the abandoned houses, empty streets, empty cars.

A crack like thunder has you suddenly aware and alert. You look up, and see a figure, slim and thin, shooting through the sky. There's another crack- and it's suddenly elsewhere in the sky, coming down toward you. Another crack- and it's even closer, falling through the sky. A fourth crack-

And a figure in black leather lands on the ground. She's slim, and very fit, a black motorcycle helmet. She keeps running, slowing down and panting for a moment. She wheezes, and you toss her a pitcher of water. She drinks it greedily, then wordlessly, silently, flickers in place. The pitcher is gone- and instead, in her hands is a black crate. Latches and a handle.

You take it. It looks very durable, but surprisingly light for how big it is.

"This is it?"

"Yeah," She says. "Is it safe to get this close?" She asks, glancing warily at the wall.

"This spot has a dead sensor, somewhere." You respond. "Missus Garcia told me about it."

"Good," She pants for a moment- then glances back. "Shit, I think they figured out my trajectory. Will you be safe?"

"I'll go into the sewers," You say, and she wrinkles her nose. "Nah, it's all long-dry. It'll be safe there, and I can get back to the safehouse from there."

"Is it worth risking your spot with the waterboys?" She asks.

"... They won't let me through again, once they hear about this," you respond.

"I'll lead them off, then double back," She says.

"Take care, Skipper."

She tilts her head for a moment. You'd known her long enough to know that there was a wink behind that helmet. She takes a few steps back, and then begins to run. Picking up velocity, and momentum. She kicks off a piece of rubble, and jumps upward, back toward thecenter of town- and then there's a crack like thunder, and she reappears for a moment, still moving upward and away, in the sky. Another crack, she's even further up… Up and away.

You glance down at the black case she'd dropped off.

Stolen from Tyrant, one of the biggest assholes left in this city. One of the assholes thriving. One of those fucking capes that were happy with the status quo. Happy with this fucking wall, in this fucking prison.

You could hear people yelling and coming close- and you ran toward the storm drain that would be your exit.

---

"Lucas?" One of the guards ask. He's wearing a bright blue handkerchief- a sign he was with the Waterboys. You wave back, brandishing my own handkerchief- one you keep stuffed in your pocket. "What do you have there?"

"David," you wave, "It's just some salvage, I was digging through the suburbs, and found some electronics in a box. Thought I might be able to piece together another computer."

"What, really? Sweet!" He says. Then he frowns again. "You look like you're in a hurry."

"Yeah, well… Tyrant's men saw I had it, and they wanted to take it from me," You respond.

"... I can't… You know that we're supposed to be neutral. Split up whatever Waterfall produces, and give it out equally to each group. You can't use the courier routes for personal business."

"It's just a bit of salvage." you lie, "It's not tinkertech or anything. And they never saw my face. It'll be fine. Most people don't even know the courier routes exist."

"... Dude." He sighs. "Yeah, I'll let you through. But this is the last time. And I'll have to tell Garcia about it."

Shit. That means it might be your last day as a waterboy. But you smile and nod, stepping past him, almost picking up into a run.

It will definitely be worth it.

---

You quietly creak open the door from the basement, looking up into the dusty, boarded up house. You can hear the television running- the subtle high pitched whine of a CRT that doesn't quite work properly. It's a familiar sound, one you'll soon be able to drown out with music.

You make your way up the stairs, and there he is. Your brother. Michael.

"Hey, Mike." You say. "I'm home."

He doesn't respond. His figure is hunched forward, eyes staring unerringly into the static of the television screen. It isn't connected to cable or anything- it's all white noise, but he seems entranced.

His head is cracked, blackened skin near the edges of the 'cracks', and blue light is shining out, crackling with an inner lightning. His hand is placed atop a repurposed generator, and it's chugging along with no visible power source- static crackling from his fingertips. Through his eyes, nostrils, and lips, the same blue light crackles. His brain is glowing- like the rest of the Broken.

Ever since Tyrant had his way with your brother, he hasn't been the same. Turned from human minion into a cape… But something had gone wrong. Turned him into this instead. Broke him. Gone were the smiles, gone were the laughs, the crude jokes. It's been a year. He hasn't eaten a bite of food, or drank a drop. But his body keeps on going, fueled by whatever his power had given him.

There were Broken all throughout the city, if you know where to look. Once upon a time they'd been a member of a gang. The Firebirds. Highway. MedCent. Promising minions, once upon a time. But then something went wrong, and they were turned into these things. Walking corpses. Mindless zombies.

It had taken you and Katie- You and Skipper- months to figure out how, why. The black boxes. They contained… something. Somehow turning normal people into capes. A limited amount, or it only made a little bit at a time. The more you got, the stronger your power was. Trooper. Balrog. Guyver. The best and strongest must have had the most. But as time went on, the newer capes are just getting weaker. Barely anything. They're getting weak powers… or becoming Broken.

You set the box down at the table, and flick open the latches.

You pull it open, taking a breath-

And then you're staring at a human brain. Pulsating, electronics keeping it moving, filling the plastic bag with fluid-

You… don't know what to do about this. You thought it might be a potion. Like a big glass vial you could drink the rest of. Or some weird alien artifact you could wear. Or something. But this is just… life support for someone's brain.

You don't know what the fuck this is. Or who the- what- you don't-

The world seems to tilt.

All that risk… Skipper would never be able to show her face anywhere near Tyrant's territory again. Near anyone's territory. After the heist, they'd kill her if they found her.

All the time you spent- the time you wasted. You'd burned your last bridges with the Waterboys. No more Courier jobs for you. No more delivering water to people in need. No more skimming off the top, or walking freely through town.

All for this brain..

Good thing, because you must have been fucking missing yours.

"They ate him." Comes a quiet, whispering voice.

"... Michael?"

Your brother isn't looking at the television anymore. Now he's looking at the brain.

"Piece by piece. The toes and fingers came first." He murmurs. "Then all that was left was the parts they kept alive. The brain. The heart. The arm."

You look back.

"He took fire from the gods. So now his fellow man picks away at his liver. Bite by bite." Your brother says.

Then he glances back at the television.

You look down at the brain.

If your brother was right. If he wasn't just rambling- if his broken mind was trying to help… Maybe he knew something you didn't.

This time, you take a breath. Pull over a lamp- plugged into your brother's generator- and flick on the light, taking a closer look.

You don't understand the tinkertech parts of it, the part keeping him alive. But you'd seen Moreau's work before. She'd worked on this, that's clear.

But the rest was added afterwards. Mundane technology. Stuff you can understand.

They're pumping some kind of saline solution through the brain. Running it through, and what's coming out the other end is tinged slightly with pink. Then it's being filtered, and… the blood is being siphoned out, into a glass vial at the side.

The brain is producing more blood from nothing, and this is designed to isolate it.

That's where the rumour of red potions came from. Moreau, Heckton, Tyrant… They were feeding their minions the blood of whatever cape this had once been. And it was becoming less effective.

Bite by bite. This cape's flesh… gave powers. The blood was losing effectiveness, but… the brain was the heart of where cape powers came from, wasn't it? The something-Gemma?

Carefully, trembling, you grab a retractable box cutter out of your toolbox, and slice the container open.

You glanced outside, through the boarded windows. The wall still loomed over you. Maybe, if you consumed all of it- the rest of the cape- you'd get something powerful.

Maybe something strong enough to protect you and Katie from Tyrant.

Maybe something to get the fuck out of here.

Maybe something to help you fix your brother.

You take a deep breath, and begin.

It's all to get the hell out of Flint, Michigan.

 

[Zerrer]

[DESTINATION]

[ILLEGAL]

[BYPASS]

[DISAGREEMENT]

[BYPASS]

[AGREEMENT]

You jerk to consciousness, sitting up.

The television set is still blaring static behind you, your brother stationary, as always. He doesn't seem to have any physical needs, due to his power, but you still like to check on him now and then.

"You doing alright, man?" You ask, your voice hoarse. He doesn't respond, peering into the white noise. "Okay. If you need anything, just tell me."

You clear your throat, and glance back at the table. Where the… object had once been. Tinkertech, pumping devices, glass vials, and a pair of AA batteries powering the thing.

It's not there anymore. Somehow, while you were out- after you were done- some strange, alien mania had taken over you.

You're looking at a syringe. The sort of syringe from someone's nightmares. Like someone had fused together a gas pump, replacing the nozzle of the device with a long, sharp needle. You'd made it from a long-nosed lighter. Glassworks and tubing from the container. Some spare electronics you had on hand, a few magnets… and the contents of the container.

It has the look of tinkertech, so you shouldn't know what it does. But you do. Something in your mind whispering, telling you that all you have to do is insert the needle into the brain of your subject, through the nose or ear.

Simple business to extract the shard uplink organ. Fluid will fill the glass container… And you'll have it. A power in a bottle. Stolen from the target. Able to… be remixed. Centrifuged. Interfaced with.

The possibilities in this little device are endless.

Something behind you bangs, and the door opens. For a second, you get ready to bolt- but relax when you see the figure in the motorcycle helmet and black leather. She pulls off her helmet, and tosses it onto the couch next to your brother.

Katie is tall. Long-legged. She'd be a model, if it weren't for the ragged, long scar curving around her cheek and up into her hairline. She keeps her frayed, black hair short in a frayed, wild bob. Almond eyes and a button nose. Your brother's girlfriend.

Her pollentia gemma is exactly between two lobes you don't know the name of. You can reach it through the left ear, if she holds still enough.

"Katie." You say, shaking off the urge.

"Lucas. You … okay?" She asks. "You look a little out of it. How about the box? What happened with it?"

"... It worked." You say. "I have a power now."

"Really?" She asks. "What can you do? Can we get out of here?"

"Your power's natural," You say.. "And you can teleport. If you can't get out of here, why would you think I could?"

"... I dunno," She says, a little quieter. "You're dodging the question. What can you do?"

"I'm a tinker."

"What can you make?" She leans in- and glances past me, at the needle.

You close your eyes for a moment. Blueprints flicker in your mind. "Things that mess with powers. This needle lets me steal them, turn them into potions that anyone could drink."

She meets your eyes. "No way."

"Yeah."

"Then-" Her eyes widen, and she turns toward Michael, hope in her eyes.

"... No." You say. His pollentia gemma is… Elsewhere. Through the portal in his skull. You're not sure how you know that, but by looking at him, you just do. Nothing you can build- at this point, anyway- would survive the transit. "I can't help him. Not- not right now. Not yet."

"Yet." She says, and lets go of a breath. "Still. We fucked over Tyrant. Got revenge. Mission accomplished."

"Yeah. We should lay low a few days," You say, looking out at your tools and scraps you'd been collecting, 'recycling' them into useful things for people. Already, you can see how you'd build a workbench… "I have a thing I should probably build, and then…" You rail off.

"Then what?" She asks.

"We need a long-term plan," You say. "I can build stuff, but I need stuff to build more stuff, and…"

"You also need a name," She adds, and you give her a look. "What? We can't go around calling you Lucas. And most tinkers have to use their own equipment, so you'll need to go out there. Trust me, I was undercover with Tyrant for months."

"Alright, we can add that to the list. But first, Long term goals."

"Fix Mikey." She responds, holding up one finger, "Escape," She adds, holding up the other. "Boom. Quests established. Now how do we get there, Tinkerboy?"

"Time, resources, and… people to steal powers from," I said. "I need powers to do stuff with, I'm… pretty sure. Otherwise a bunch of the things I'll build won't do anything."

Together, the two of you put your heads together and brainstorm.

---

AN: I'll almost always be allowing write-in options. Feel free to vote for anything, or multiple options. The options with the majority vote will usually be taken first.

[] Ambush or lure a cape from one of the three big gangs, and have Skipper knock them out.
[] Pretend to join one of the big gangs, and then when you find someone alone.
[] No, you're getting ahead of yourself. Focus on your tinkering, first. You need resources. Trash, junk, etc. Skipper can steal some food and water from the next airdrop.
[] No, you're getting ahead of yourself. Make sure the device actually works. Experiment with Katie's power. You can always give it back to her, after all. Right?
[] Something else? (Write-in)

 

[Zerrer]

Your Faction: You just want to fix your brother and get out of town. That said, the more you can fuck over the gangs that ruined this place, the better.
Unnamed: You. Lucas Delaune. A tinker that creates devices that mess with powers. Bitter at the Tyrant for what happened to your brother.
--Michael: Your brother. Joined the Firebirds last year for food and resources, and ended up given a power... but it Broke him. Barely responds to stimuli. Doesn't eat or drink. Glows with an inner power, and when in the mood, generates electricity for your base.
--Skipper: Katie. Your friend, and Michael's girlfriend. Can teleport further depending on how fast she moves. If stationary, can instead 'disappear' and wait to reappear, or store stuff in the 'between space' she ends up in. Used this to remove Tyrant's power effect on herself.

Tyrant's Firebirds: Controls the East side of town. Based out of the Dort Financial Center. All of the Firebirds have orange, flickering energy collars around their necks, arms, or legs. Focuses heavily on acquiring tinkers, and trading useful tinkertech to others.
Tyrant: A cybernetic hulk of a man, Tyrant has the power to apply an energy 'collar' around targets he touches. Tyrant can choose to percieve through his subjects, cause pain, paralyzes, or kill his subjects.
--Trooper: Second in command, Trooper is a Blaster that fires powerful beams of energy.
--Tinktank: A hyrdro-tinker that powers things with water and fluids.
--Bucky: A tinker that makes garish, overly-loud and impractical energy weapons.
--Guyver: A Tinker that can make trash into treasure.

The Highway: Controls the North side of town. Based out of the Highway Fort, a structure built post-quarantine at the northern end of the wall. Controls a lot of empty space, and thus farmland.
Heckton: Short for Hekatonkheires. Is a casual, lanky man that goes around shirtless. Has the power to 'insert' himself into a solid object and extend limbs from it. Limbs increase in size and power depending on the object he's inserted into. Uses the intact northern highway to extend his 'arms' out near-infinitely when needed. Hedonistic and lazy.
---Vixen: Second in command. Supposedly psychic, able to read minds and emotions.
---Dancer: A speedster of some variety. You don't know the details behind her power, but you've seen her blurring around.

MedCent: Sometimes called 'Medicine'. Controls the West side of town. Based out of the Hurley Medical Center, and extends to the nearby schools and universities. If you're injured or sick, you go there... and bring a lot of supplies to pay with.
Moreau: A powerful medical tinker, also known as the Mother of Monsters, Moreau is now strapped into place somewhere in the dark, haunted hive that is the Den. Doesn't go outside.
--Balrog: A horned, bulky regenerator with a cybernetic jetpack and a flamethrower. While most assume he's MedCent's second in command, he tends to be more of an incredibly dangerous enforcer.
--Wolf/Wolves: A generic name for the many low-level brutes Moreau has running around the west side of town. Most of them have some kind of modifications.

Waterboys: A neutral faction, untouched due to their access to pure water. Functions as a volunteer organization.
Waterfall: Nobody really knows anything about her. She creates water. Or teleports it in. Nobody's sure. She's the only reason the Waterboys exist.
---Courier: A cape with a tunneling power that leaves behind stable, structurally-sound tunnels behind them.
---Jeanette Garcia: Your 'manager' at the waterboys.
---Dave: A distant buddy you worked with, once.

Others:
--Source: you don't know his true name, but he's the cape that somehow caused this whole shit to go down. Anybody who consumes part of his body gains a power. The big three have split his body apart, using the blood his limbs 'regenerate' to make their own loyal capes from the survivors.
--Broken: Those who have consumed part of the Source and instead of gaining a power, were broken by it. No longer need to eat or drink, but amble around the city mindlessly.
--Civvies/Mundanes: Innocent civilians who aren't part of a gang. Usually ends up having to pay tribute to whoever's territory they're living in.

 

[Zerrer]

AU Elements and setting details:
This quest isn't quite considered an alternate universe, though some might perceive it to be. While the quest takes place in Flint- a part of the setting that is barely elaborated on- I'll be following canon as best I can. While I haven't read the entirety of Ward, there are certain setting elements or revelations from the sequel that I'd prefer to avoid, or don't know about (and thus can't integrate into the quest). Finally, there's a point at which certain bits of canon and fanon end up mixed up beyond all recognition and it's hard to tell the difference between the two... not to mention that in some cases, I prefer the latter over the former.

What this means for you is that, for the most part, things are sticking to the general 'status quo' of the typical Worm setting. The Protectorate and Endbringers are as you recall them, capes with the same names have the same powersets, etc. Identical from a distance, but some differences may be too subtle to notice even close-up.

Some differences will be the makeup and proclivities of Shards and Entities, though I don't foresee the quest going into details behind this. Another difference is that the canonical storyline won't be happening in Brockton Bay, either. Not that that should matter much either, seeing as you're nowhere near that. Despite all of this, 'extra-canon' details can be picked up or dropped as I see fit; things like characters only seen in Ward, or details from Wildbow's PRT Quest.

Voting and vote guidelines:
This quest uses Approval voting, which means that (usually) options with the highest amount of overall votes will win, and you're able to vote for as many different options as you'd like. Priority will go to those with the highest of overall votes, of course, but multiple options can end up being taken into account over the course of an update, as long as they don't directly or indirectly oppose one another.

Some options will be multi-section. That is to say, in some cases there will be prompts with multiple categories. In these cases, you're able to make multiple votes- one in each category. Different categories will be marked on each option with descriptive one-word prefixes. If you're being asked what to do with Bob and what to do with Alice, your options will be prefaced with '[] [Bob] Do X', and '[] [Alice] Do Y'

During ties, or in situations where the votes are pretty even between exclusive options, I'll have to take certain measures to determine which option will win. Sometimes that might be a combination of options, to waiting until the next person to make a vote. In drastic cases, I might end up being the 'tiebreaker' myself, and picking which of the tied options will be most interesting to me. Or I'll just flip a coin- who knows?

Write-ins are almost always permitted- except when it comes to votes relating to your power, where you'll be limited to the chosen options.

Difficulty:
Your attempted actions can and will fail. For each attempted action, a D100 will be rolled against a scaling Difficulty, depending on the action you're attempting. Depending on your various attributes or abilities, you may have numeric boosts (or maluses) to such attempts.

One important thing to know about how I personally manage options and the quest is that this is, first and foremost, a narrative quest. We're here together to make a fun story, not play a game focused on winning or losing. There won't be anything like 'trap options', which sound positive but have extremely negative consequences. This isn't a blanket promise that nothing will go wrong, through- some choices may be extremely poor ones, or ones with high difficulty. There may be consequences for choices, or you might be missing crucial information.

Tinkering and Survival:
Creating Tinkertech requires Materials. You can work on any given project over time, and as long as time passes, you'll be tinkering during your spare time. This is automatic, and not exactly something you can maximize- making sure you have extra spare time does very little to improve your Tinkering speed- after a certain point, your progress will slow, and eventually stop. To survive in Flint, you need more than safety. You also need food and water, enough for your entire faction. For each week you need to survive, you'll need a unit of Supplies for each person in your faction, unless that person doesn't eat for some reason.

 

[Zerrer]

Spoiler: Tally Results

Vote Tally : The Shard Alchemist (Worm, OC) | Questionable Questing [Posts: 3-12]
##### NetTally 3.1.4

[X] No, you're getting ahead of yourself. Focus on your tinkering, first. You need resources. Trash, junk, etc. Skipper can steal some food and water from the next airdrop.
No. of Votes: 6
[X] Eyemore
[X] Biigoh
[X] Bob123123
[X] Galler
[X] IlyaFallout
[X] thewhiteraven22

[X] Ambush or lure a cape from one of the three big gangs, and have Skipper knock them out.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Vanbers

[X] No, you're getting ahead of yourself. Focus on your tinkering, first. You need resources. Trash,
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Parzival95


Total No. of Voters: 8

You bang a few times on the door. There's no response, of course. Most houses are abandoned around here, but it's polite. If someone's hiding out here, or trying to survive, you've given them a chance to respond. For similar reasons, you look around the house for a moment, for signs, writing, even graffiti.

There's nothing, though, so you make your way inside. The cupboards and refrigerator have already been looted, left open and probably eaten years ago. But that's not what you're looking for. You rummage through laundry rooms, the garage, and eventually crowbar your way into the shed out back. Mason jars, tools, a half-full propane torch… Useful things.

You can already see what you'd be putting into your workbench. The tools you'd be using. Glass is what you'll need the most of, you're sure, at this point at least. Electronics will come later- but you still find yourself piling in small devices, dead batteries. You end up stuffing things into the mason jars the former owner had collected, dumping them into a duffel bag half full of old, motheaten clothes.

It's enough, for now at least. Along with the tools you already had, your scavenged resources should be enough to tide you over for a few weeks. You throw the duffel bag over your shoulder, and step outside-

"Hey!" Someone calls. It's three men. They're wearing tanktops, walking through the street. Two in the back are pulling along shopping carts, stuffed with scrap. More focus on electrical devices- remotes, broken television sets, whatever they've been able to pull out of the houses nearby. One of them even got lucky- you can see a few cans of food at the bottom.

However, the men have flaming, vibrant bands of energy coiling around them. The man in the lead has one around his arm, and the other two have them around their necks. They're Firebirds. Tyrant's minions. You doubt he's looking through their eyes right now, but just the idea he can… It makes you want to avoid them.

"Hey, guys!" You wave. "You guys got pretty damn lucky with that food, didn't you?"

"Yeah," the man in the lead responds. "Listen, though. You ain't with the Firebirds, and this is our territory. You shouldn't be scavenging here."

"The lines changed again?"

"Expanding." He says. "Tyrant's always been the strongest, and a lot of the independents around here have joined up. So we need more scavenging space."

"How far?"

"All the way to four-seventy-five." He responds. That's basically the last of the neutral space in the city.

"... Shit. Alright, I'll get out of here," You lie- you'll have to come back eventually, and this is furthest away from most of the gangs.

"Hey, wait!" One of the guys in the back says. "Give us your bag."

"What?" You ask, putting an arm over it protectively.

"You looted that house. It's in our territory. Hand it over."

The other guy gives him a look.

"What? We'll hit our quota if he hands it over."

The three glance at eachother, and finally the guy in the lead sighs. "Yeah. Sorry, man, but give us the bag."

---

Materials: 1 (+4)
Supplies: 2 (+?)
Tinkering: Workbench [II--------] 20%

[] You've always been reckless. Cover your face and attack. Maybe you can get their stuff.
[] Running away is always the best option. Flee.
[] You always were gifted with a silver tongue. Try to talk your way out of this.
[] Just hand it over. It's not worth the fight. (-4 Materials)
[] Something else? (Write-in)

 

[Zerrer]

You are a Power-based Tinker, able to build and construct devices that affect powers


Inventory:
Resources:
2 Tinkertech Materials
7 Food Supplies (3 Weeks)

Vials:

Chameleon

Grants low-level physical shapeshifting ability. Allows the user to perfectly blend into one's environment by altering exact color pigments of skin. Enhances the target with thermal vision, improved physical strength, improved physical agility, improved reaction times, a tail for improved balance, and inherent natural weapons.

Aspects:
None.

Artifacts:
None.

Tinkertech:

Extractor: Level 1 - Basic
A large, needle-like device, where glass canisters can be attached to the back. Permenantly steals the power of a targeted parahuman to produce a Vial. Can also be used to inject a power into any sentient being. NOTE: A parahuman cannot have more than one power. Attempting to apply a second power to a parahuman will cause the powers to fuse together.
COST: 6 Materials to Upgrade.
-- Level 1: Requires an unresisting or unconscious target. Needle must be carefully inserted into the brain through the ear or nose by the Tinker.
-- Level 2: Automatically targets the Corona Pollentia of the target. Still requires time and the target must stay relatively still, but can actively resist the effect. Can be used by others, as long as the target is unresisting or unconscious.
-- Level 3: A wearable glove that can knock out a parahuman on touch. Can extract their power over a minute of time.

Workshop: Level 1 - Basic
A set of tools for creating and upgrading various devices. Without the Workshop, only a Level 1 Extractor can be produced.
COST: 6 Materials to Upgrade.
-- Level 1: Allows for basic devices to be built and upgraded: Centrifuge, Analyser, Extractor
-- Level 2: Allows for more advanced devices to be built and upgraded: Processor, Amplifier
-- Level 3: Allows for extremely advanced devices to be built and upgraded: Nullfier, Duplicator

Centrifuge: Level 0 - Unconstructed.
A stationary device that takes a Vial and allows you to seperate it into distinct 'Aspects'.
COST: 3 Materials to Construct.
-- Level 1: Irrevocably destroys a power, generating 1-3 Aspects from it.
-- Level 2: Irrevocably destroys a power, generating all of the power's aspects.
-- Level 3: Converts the power into a 'Hollow' power that does nothing, and generates all of the power's aspects.

Analyser: Level 1 - Basic
A device that allows you to scan Vials or Parahumans and gather data from them. Each level can gather additional details.
COST: 6 Materials to Upgrade.
-- Level 1: A large stationary device. You can scan a nearby Vial or Parahuman to analyze the specifics of their powers.
-- Level 2: A bulky, handheld device. Can be used on Vials to determine what Aspects it can generate.
-- Level 3: A slim, easily hidden device. Can be used on Parahumans to determine what Aspects their power can generate.

 

[Zerrer]

Spoiler: Tally Results

Vote Tally : The Shard Alchemist (Worm, OC) | Questionable Questing [Posts: 17-26]
##### NetTally 3.1.4

[X] You always were gifted with a silver tongue. Try to talk your way out of this.
No. of Votes: 4
[X] Vanbers
[X] dizzydrizzy
[X] Grand Munchkin
[X] Parzival95

[X] You always were gifted with a silver tongue. Try to talk your way out of this.
-[X] Offer up half of the contents of the bag if it doesn't work. It's their territory but you did the work, let's share like good neighbors.
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Asheram
[X] Langy
[X] thewhiteraven22

[X] Offer up half of the contents of the bag if it doesn't work. It's their territory but you did the work, let's share like good neighbors.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Bluesnowman


Total No. of Voters: 8

"Shit," You say, sighing loudly. "I don't suppose you guys could just let me off with this, could you?"

The guys glance to eachother.

"It's all just mostly glassware anyway. I just- I need something to sell for water. It's my daughter. She's come down with something, and the waterboys aren't giving us enough…"

You frown for a moment, lower lip trembling just enough to sell it. You always were a good actor, and you always did have a silver tongue.

After a few seconds, the three of Tyrant's men glance at eachother, and the one who spoke up just says "Naw, man, keep it. Just take care of your girl."

"If you ever decide you want to join up,": The man in the lead says. "The firebirds treat you and your family right."

You wave, thanking them, and move on, dragging your heavy duffel bag with you.

---

Back at your safehouse, Katie is sitting, lounging back in the sofa next to Michael. The former is sleeping, the latter staring mindlessly at the television set. You make your way through the den, heft up your new bag, and set it down at your worktable,

There's a tickle in your brain- your power- almost makes you dive straight into work instantly, but you hold back the urge, temporarily. If you set up your tools and worktable here, it'll be harder to move it later. Instead, you make your way through your safehouse, into the old storage room you hadn't used in a year or two. It's an hour of breaking down old cardboard boxes and piling things up, reorganizing them, before you have a nice open space for your tinker workshop.

Then, that all done, you begin your work. You add chemical mixes to cans and canisters, make some modifications to blowtorches, constructing a crucible to recycle broken glass…

"Whatcha working on?"

"Holy shit!" You jump about a foot in the air, completely lost in your work.

"Pff." She snorts, laughing. "I've never seen you so focused."

"It's almost ready."

"What are you even making?"

"A workbench." You say."It should have everything I'll need to make things. Glassworks, mostly. Chemical pools, too. I have this one mix that should propagate and generate a small drip-feed of both primary and secondary catalysts," You say, pointing to the small, dripping device that's generating fluid from trace elements in the atmosphere.

"The hell does that mean?"

"They're chemicals that allow me to recode shardmatter," You respond. "Spoofing signals, reconfiguring the cognitive interface to extrude further into this reality to be divided, that sort of thing."

"... Are you speaking english?" She asks.

"I guess not," You say, eventually. "Did you get those supplies?"

"Yep," She says. She flickers for a moment, fading out of reality. It's similar to her teleportation, you know- but when she's not moving, not being carried through the 'otherspace' with her momentum, she's in a spot she can store things.

When she reappears, there's a large orange crate in her hands- a heavy, bulky thing she can barely lift- she drops it as soon as she appears. You pop it open- there's pure water in gallon containers, food and rations. Enough for a few weeks, with just the two of you.

"That thing held me back. Could barely use my power getting out of there."

"How were the gangs?"

"Probably pretty pissed. They took the time to split everything up and went their separate ways after the drop. So, since the firebirds are still pretty fucking mad at me, I shot past and stole the crate after they left."

"... They're going to be out to kill you, you know," You say. "You have to be more careful."

"We took the black box," She says. "They don't know we… what, used it? Converted it?"

"Ate it," You say.

"Yeah. They probably think I hid it somewhere. So they won't kill me."

"They'll just interrogate you. Tie you up, maybe Tyrant will use his power on you-"

"He already did that, back when I went undercover." She says.

"What?" You ask. You would have noticed if she was wearing a glowing collar. Tyrant would have been able to see through her eyes, torture her, paralyze her- even kill her from afar.

"Slipped it." She says. "I just went into my little 'otherspace', and I was able to take it off, and then it fell apart."

"... Jeez. That has some potential."

"What do you mean?"

"That means that if I gave your power to someone- anyone- they could free themselves, too."

"... Wouldn't that mean taking my power away?"

"I could give it back afterward," You say.

"I… I guess." She says, looking away. "So what do you think we should do next? We have food and resources, but what's the next step?"

---

Roll Result: 54, Success.
Materials: 5
Supplies: 6
Tinkering: Nothing.

[] [Tinker] Upgrade the Injector (-6 Materials)
[] [Tinker] Upgrade the Workbench (-6 Materials)
[] [Tinker] Construct the Centrifuge. (-3 Materials)
[] [Tinker] Construct the Analyser. (-3 Materials)
[] [Tinker] Don't build anything.

[] [Plan] If the Firebirds hate Skipper right now, it would be a perfect way to lure out their capes and ambush one.
[] [Plan] See if you can recruit some old friends from the waterboys. None of them are capes, but with your power… they could be, eventually.
[] [Plan] Sneak into Firebird territory, see if there are any imprisoned capes who would want to escape.
[] [Plan] It'll be a risk to go scavenging so soon again, but you need the materials.
[] [Plan] Something else? (Write-in)

 

[Zerrer]

Spoiler: Tally Results

Vote Tally : The Shard Alchemist (Worm, OC) | Questionable Questing [Posts: 29-34]
##### NetTally 3.1.4

Task: Tinker

[X][Tinker] Construct the Analyser. (-3 Materials)
No. of Votes: 6
[X] ompa60
[X] Langy
[X] Parzival95
[X] thewhiteraven22
[X] TolarianPro
[X] Vanbers

---

Task: Plan

[X][Plan] Sneak into Firebird territory, see if there are any imprisoned capes who would want to escape.
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Vanbers
[X] Langy
[X] thewhiteraven22

[X][Plan] See if you can recruit some old friends from the waterboys. None of them are capes, but with your power… they could be, eventually.
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Parzival95
[X] TolarianPro

[X][Plan] If the Firebirds hate Skipper right now, it would be a perfect way to lure out their capes and ambush one.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] ompa60


Total No. of Voters: 6

"Alright, here's the plan," You say. "What do you know about people the Firebirds keep as prisoners?"

"They're kept under the financial center." She says. "Barely given food or water. Usually left pretty close to Tyrant."

"Any kind of defenses? Tinker stuff?"

"Not that I noticed." She says. "There's always people moving in and out everywhere in the Firebird territory. They all rely on Tyrant's power. Probably too much. It's how I was able to hang out for a few weeks and get the lay of the place."

"Yeah, but you were wearing a collar. Just nobody knew you could take it off."

"True… So, what's the plan?"

"... I take your power." You say. "I won't be able to put it into myself- I don't think that stuff works on me. My own power is too rigid, But if I find someone else who wants to escape, if they're willing…"

"You give them my power, they skip out of Tyrant's power, and then follow you home. Wait. Can someone have two powers?"

You consider it for a moment, thinking about the idea, and.. No, you don't think that's possible.

"I think they'd… fuse, somehow."

"So you'd have to extract someone's power before you could give them mine," she says. "Or if you don't trust them… just take the power and leave."

"I guess," You say. "But if it's someone imprisoned by Tyrant, then they'll probably hate him as much as we do."

At that, she nods. "Alright then. Let's see how this thing works."

You pull out a small case that used to be a toolset, and pull it open to reveal your extractor. You assemble it in seconds, twisting an empty thumb-sized vial into the port in the back.

Katie's eyebrows raise at the sight of it. "You were way too ready to put that thing together," She says. "Does it have to look so sinister?"

You glance at it. "Sorry, do you have a thing against needles?"

"... No," She says. "Well, maybe a little. I'm a bit more disturbed about the idea of losing my power. What if something happens and I need to escape?"

"Just stay here," You say. "I'll be back before you know it."

"... Alright." She says, settling into the couch. "Alright. What do I do?"

"Just hold still," You say. She does. "Close your eyes, and relax."

She jumps a little when you hold her head in place, but eventually relaxes… and doesn't seem to feel the needle as you insert it into the base of her neck. A few moments later, almost a second, you pull the needle back out- and watch as the vial itself is quickly flooding with a vibrant, glowing fluid- shifting blues and reds, coiling and twisting like a lava lamp.

"Alright.," You say. "It's done."

"That's it?" She asks- Then, suddenly, the vial shudders- and a few objects start falling from the air around it. Clothing, ration bars, a few tools, a knife, a handgun with a few bullets- all falling to the ground.

"Welp. Shit." She says.

"... Was that all stuff you had in your otherspace?" You ask.

"Y-yeah." She responds. "Wait, that was it?"

"That was it," You say. "Now to get it back, you could either drink the contents of the vial, or I could inject it back into you."

She wrinkles her nose for a moment, focusing…

"Best wait until we don't need to do it again," she says.
"Yeah. Can't use my power," She says, and lets out a long breath. "Shit. This whole thing is real, isn't it."

"You didn't believe me?"

"I let you shove a needle in my brain," She says. "You know by now that I trust you. Just… go do what you need to do."

---

The building is like an anthill, with people coming in and out of all kinds. Hundreds of people hard at work. Throughout the parking lot, there are dozens of people working hard on piles of junk, carefully separating parts by materials, recycling them by hand. Others are wheeling around shopping carts full of supplies, bringing them in from other places- handing it to be split apart to various groups. Everyone's hard at work- and almost all of them have the blazing collars around their arms or neck.

You've got on what fits for a disguise. A baseball cap, sunglasses, and a resolution to shave your weeks-long beard after this. Tied around your neck is a blue handkerchief, a sign that you're with the waterboys.

You make your way toward the entrance to the center, only to get stopped by a guard with a glowing collar around his neck.

"Hey, buddy."

"Delivery from the waterboys." You say, hefting the luggage container you were wheeling, "Been a sunny few days, and we heard you guys were expanding. Peace gesture." You motion toward the wheeled luggage container you'd brought with you, and give it a shake. The gallons inside slosh with each movement. It's not full of clean water, but they don't need to know that- and they probably won't even check it. They never had before.

"Alright, I'll take it in," He says- and you raise a hand.

"No can do. I've also got a message for your boss himself," You say. "Gotta deliver it in person. Confidential stuff."

"... Shit. Alright, go on in," He says. It doesn't even occur to him that you might be lying, or a cape.

But that's because any capes or anybody stupid enough to lie about the waterboys would find themselves without any deliveries again. The one time MedCent risked their neutrality, they came back months later begging for supplies again- what was coming in from the drops wasn't enough for them. You'd heard people died.

To be honest, it's a risk for you, too. But you're not a large faction- the waterboys don't deliver to you anyway, and you're hoping to get out of here before any long-term problems arise.

You wheel the luggage inside, nodding to one of the guards as you do so, making your way down the hall. You'd memorized Katie's explanations of how the building was arranged, and make your way toward the stairs down, wheeling your luggage container with you, going nowhere near

You all but stumble into a guard standing next to a pair of locked doors. He eyes you up and down dispassionately.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Water delivery," You say. "This the way?"

"Fucking idiot. No, it's the other side of the building."

"Sorry, I've been getting lost all fucking day. Can you just show me?" You ask, putting a whinge in your voice. He scoffs, and walks to lead you away.

You slip your hand into the luggage, and pull out the long, heavy homemade sap. Before he can react- and possibly alert Tyrant with his collar- you crack it against his temple. The guard goes down, unconscious. Possibly worse. You take his gun and stuff it into the luggage as well, and make for the door.

Only to find it's locked. Joy. You shuffle through the guard's belongings, finding the keys, and making your way inside.

The Firebird's prison used to be a large bathroom, full of cubicles. They'd welded chainlink fence over each of the cubicles, and cut thin holes in the doors, leaving the prisoners with nothing to do but sit on useless toilets and while away their days. You walk through the bathroom, looking at each of the cubicles, to find most of them empty. In fact, there's only one that is full- and inside is a thin, wiry man, with unnatural looking eyes and a whipping green tail. Thin spikes poke out of his shoulders and back. He doesn't say anything as he glares at you for a moment.

"Hey," You say.

"Fuck you, I still ain't joining up." He responds- and tenses, as if he's ready for the collar to shock him., When he doesn't, he gives you a wary glance.

"He's probably not even paying attention right now," You say. "I'm not from here."

He gives you a glance- and you respond by handing him the gun through the slit in the wall. You'd taken the magazine out, but he doesn't need to know that.

"Why the hell are you here? You with MedCent?" He asks. "Breaking me out? Fucking finally, it's been long enough."

"... Sorry, man. I'm indie. You were with MedCent?"

"Moreau did this to me, gave me powers," He says- and as a demonstration, he flickers, his skin changing colors. "Had me spying on these assholes when I got caught. Some tinkertech heat sensor."

"... They're probably not going to rescue you, you know." You say.

"Yeah? How are you so sure?"

You gesture toward the collar on his neck. "Not worth the risk. If Tyrant figures out you're missing, before they can… I don't know, detach your head and reattach it with Moreau's tinkertech, you're dead."

"Yeah. I know. Trust me, I've had a lot of time to think. So why are you here?"

"I'm indie. And I'm recruiting."

"Yeah? You have some way to handle this?" He asks, poking at the energy construct around his neck. "

"I might. If I did… Would you be in?"

"In on what? If you're indie, you're basically fucked, long term. Ain't gonna get supplies from the waterboys without trading, and you won't get a split of the dropoffs."

"We've got a plan. One I can tell you later, when we're not here anymore."

"A plan."

"I mean, you could stay in the shitter if you want, no skin off my back," You say.

He sighs. "Yeah. Fine. I'm in if you can get me out of here. Name's Devin. Chameleon. I can change color and climb walls."

---

Result: 84, Extraordinary Success
Materials: 5 (-3)
Supplies: 6
Tinkering: Analyser [IIIII-----] 50%

[] Release Chameleon, and get the hell out of there.
[] Take Chameleon's power, kill him so he can't out you, and get the hell out of there.
[] Something's off about this guy. You don't trust him. Just leave.
[] Something else? (Write-in)

 

[Zerrer]

Spoiler: Tally Results

Vote Tally : The Shard Alchemist (Worm, OC) | Page 2 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 37-48]
##### NetTally 3.1.4

[X] Take Chameleon's power, kill him so he can't out you, and get the hell out of there.
No. of Votes: 9
[X] KingMako
[X] Breakdown_Brkdwn
[X] BreezyWheeze
[X] dizzydrizzy
[X] Enorgalo
[X] OriginTrainer
[X] thewhiteraven22
[X] Vanbers
[X] zagan

[X] Something's off about this guy. You don't trust him. Just leave.
No. of Votes: 5
[X] KingMako
[X] Irdiumstern
[X] thewhiteraven22
[X] Vanbers
[X] zagan

[X] Release Chameleon, and get the hell out of there.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Langy


Total No. of Voters: 11

AN: Haha, this is a good example of a time the players did something I didn't expect.

---

"Alright. Now, this'll be a bit finicky," You say, and pull out the needle. Devin leans back, eyebrows raised.

"The hell is that?"

"Tinkertech." You say. "I give you an injection, and you get power immunity for a short time. It won't last more than a few seconds, but it's enough that the collar will pop. Then we can get you out of here.

"Shit, you're a tinker? Hell yeah." He says. "Almost like I'm back at MedCent. Have to get used to giant needles there."

"Lean close, and close your eyes," You say. He does.

You twist an empty vial onto the back of the device, and plunge the tip of the needle into his ear. He flinches a little, his eyes shimmering colors- and then you extract his power.

His needles quiver, and his tail writhes for a moment- and as you watch, they begin retracting, turning to ash- and he hisses- ripping himself away from the needle.

"It f-fucking h-hurts," He writhes for a moment, fingers and hands seizing.

Then, he slumps on the toilet, arms and legs limp. Slowly, carefully, he opens his eyes.

"W-was that it?" He asks. He glances at his own neck. "Shit. The collar's still here."

"Yeah," You say. "There's another step."

He looks up- and doesn't have time to react as you plunge the sharpened end of the broomstick into his neck, through the hole in the door. Devin falls back, ripping at it, trying to scream. He rips it from his neck- and almost instantly loses consciousness, bleeding out in the bathroom stall he'd been trapped in.

You turn, and leave the bathroom behind. You'd been hoping for something more than a political prisoner- someone who wasn't loyal to any of the gangs.

It might be harder to find a cape like that than most…

But you glance down at the vial, before pocketing it.

You don't need a cape anymore.

---

Katie flickers through the room, picking up her various 'inventoried' items and vanishing them into her otherspace, more than happy to have her power back.

"A normal trigger situation would have the power reconfigure itself to fit you," You say. "But since I just put it into stasis, I've effectively tricked it into thinking that you pretty much… kinda went to sleep and woke up later."

"So someone else would have the same exact copy of my power as I did?" She asks.

"Yep," You say. "Unless it was fused with something, The power would even think that you were still the owner. Might even get confused about the new user was acting differently," You say, and finish hooking the wires up to the CRT monitor. It whines, and then you're looking at a mostly-black screen.

"Wait, powers can think?"

"Not sure," You shrug. "Anyway, come on in here."

She speeds up to a walk- and then flickers into your tinker workshop. "What is it?"

"This in your mouth, touching the top of your palate," You say, handing her a once-digital thermometer, connected to a long wire, and then a different scanner that used to be a camera. "Hold this against your left temple. Right there."

"O-okay?"

She asks, doing it exactly. You type a few words into your new device- your analyser- and then it runs, old harddrive clicking as it does, a mason jar crackling with red lightning as it draws information from her power.

The screen chirps, and then displays its results.

"Allows the user and inanimate objects they carry to temporarily shift into an alternate plane of existence with unusual interactions with the user's home dimension. While moving at significant speed, The user will reappear at a significantly further distance effectively teleporting. While stationary, the user can leave behind physical objects. Time does not pass in the alternate plane while stationary," You say. "Then there's some more details here. Raw numbers, I think they're the speeds it'll take you to travel certain distances, based on some factor I can't tell."

"... A hundred forty miles per hour to get out of here," She says, taking the scanner out of her mouth. "If I'm lucky and this 'factor' is high. And I'm fine getting out alone."

"If I work on it more, I'll get more details," You say. Then, carefully, you scan yourself. "What's it say?"

"Ineligible Target," Katie says. "Likely immunity to … Shard… Shardspace Spoofing and Intrusion? Do not attempt Power Extraction or Injection." She says. "The letters are all flickering."

"Yeah, like I thought." You say. "I had an impression that most of my stuff won't work on me, but.. Thought I'd try."

That said, you finally place the vial on the table, into a clamp designed for it- wires hanging from both ends of the clamp. The vial sparks for a moment.

"Grants low-level physical shapeshifting ability. Allows the user to perfectly blend into one's environment by altering exact color pigments of skin. Enhances the target with thermal vision, improved physical strength, improved physical agility, improved reaction times, a tail for improved balance, and inherent natural weapons." You say. "It says 'improved', but I'm not sure by how much. If I had more time and materials, I could make it a bit smarter and get some exact terms on it."

"... Wait." She says. "What about Michael?"

"Think we could convince him over here?" You ask. She frowns, and shakes her head.

"Yeah, I don't wanna force him…" She says.

"I'll grab some longer cables for the sensor," You say.

---

"Grants the user electrokinetic abilities from a limited pool of energy that slowly regrows. Absorbs various energy sources to recharge the limited pool. Also grants advanced sensory abilities." You say, walking out of your tinker room, to where Katie has the scanning devices carefully held against your brother's head. "That's it."

"That's it?" She asks. "Nothing about… you know?"

"A lot of it was garbage noise," You say. "But that's all I could gather. With this version of the machine, anyway."

"Well, fuck." She says.

Suddenly, there's a loud knock on the door. Katie all but throws herself behind the sofa, hiding behind it, despite the windows being similarly barricaded.

Carefully, you creep toward the front door, peeking out of the peephole. Your door had been reinforced years ago, as had the windows- the building clearly has been modified for someone to live here… And you relax.

"It's Dave." You whisper. She throws up a thumbs up, but then throws a blanket over herself, just in case.

You unbolt the door and open it up.

"Hey, Dave."

"Lucas." He says. "Sorry, but I've got some pretty bad news for you."

"What is it?"

"It sounds like you're losing your place as a carrier," He says. "You haven't been in in weeks, and there's all sorts of shit going on with Tyrant now. Garcia heard about that time I let you through a few days ago, and she's worried that might be one of the reasons why."

"What?" You ask. "What happened?"

"Someone from MedCent went into DFC disguised as one of us two days ago," He says. "Killed some people. Tyrant's on the warpath now. This might even reignite the gang war."

"Fuck," You say. That… might have been you. "Anything we can do?"

"No, just keep your head down." He says. "Oh! And even though she's pretty much firing you, I was able to talk her into giving you a bit more water. Severance pay, I guess."

He slides over a wagonfull of bleach containers- emptied and refilled with water, to keep them from growing shit for a while- and hands you two of them.

"Thanks," you say. "Anything else?"

"Just the typical warning. You know the stuff we have to keep secret- courier routes and the underground paths, mostly. If that stuff gets out, we'll know who, and then you won't even be able to trade for supplies."

"Yeah, I know." You say.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Dave says. "But it sounds like you're busy with stuff anyway. This'll probably be for the best."

"Yeah. You be careful too, okay?" You ask. "And if something happens, hit me up."

He grins. "Yeah, I'll leave you to it." He claps a hand on your shoulder, and heads on out.

You shut and bar the door again, and turn back to Katie.

"What was that?"

"A pink slip," You say. "I'm not a waterboy anymore."

"Knew that was coming," She says, and you shrug.

"Alright. So we didn't get a new recruit. But we got a vial," She says. "What now? I … Might know a few people that might want out of the Firebirds, if we really need more people."

"Yeah, but they might be on high alert, after, you know," You shake the vial.

She frowns, but nods.

"... Hey, while we're lying low," She says. "You need a name."

"A name?"

"Yeah." She responds. "I'll need to call you something other than Lucas. Most people don't hide your identity, but it's best if you do. You'll need a proper cape name." She says. "Maybe something like Big Prick."

"What? Hey," You say.

"Because of the needle," She giggles. You roll your eyes.

---

Materials: 2
Supplies: 7 (3 weeks)
Tinkering: Nothing.

[] [Tinker] Upgrade the Injector (-6 Materials)
[] [Tinker] Upgrade the Workbench (-6 Materials)
[] [Tinker] Upgrade the Analyser. (-6 Materials)
[] [Tinker] Construct the Centrifuge. (-3 Materials)
[] [Tinker] Don't build anything.

[] [Plan] You know a few people from the waterboys who might want out, especially if the war's starting up again. Meet with them.
[] [Plan] You and Skipper go scavenging. With the two of you together, you can carry a lot more.
[] [Plan] It might be worth selling your services… Scout out the Highway and MedCent to see how they might react.
[] [Plan] Something else? (Write-in)

[] [Name] Alchemist. What? It fits.
[] [Name] Solomon.
[] [Name] … Prick.
[] [Name] Something else? (Write-in)

 

[Zerrer]

Spoiler: Tally Results

Vote Tally : The Shard Alchemist (Worm, OC) | Page 2 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 50-58]
##### NetTally 3.1.4

Task: Tinker

[X][Tinker] Don't build anything.
No. of Votes: 4
[X] Parzival95
[X] Langy
[X] thewhiteraven22
[X] Vanbers

[X][Tinker] Construct the Centrifuge. (-3 Materials)
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Enorgalo

---

Task: Plan

[X][Plan] You know a few people from the waterboys who might want out, especially if the war's starting up again. Meet with them.
No. of Votes: 5
[X] Parzival95
[X] KingMako
[X] Langy
[X] thewhiteraven22
[X] Vanbers

[X][Plan] You and Skipper go scavenging. With the two of you together, you can carry a lot more.
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Enorgalo
[X] zebes

---

Task: Name

[X][Name] Thaumaturge
No. of Votes: 4
[X] Parzival95
[X] Enorgalo
[X] mobip
[X] thewhiteraven22

[X][Name] Alchemist. What? It fits.
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Vanbers
[X] Langy

[X][Name] Eden. Not like it's taken.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] KingMako

[X][Name] Eve. Gave power to humanity.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] KingMako

[X][Name] Grace. Goddess of nature, fertility, and human creativity.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] KingMako


Total No. of Voters: 8

---

While Skipper collects what few materials she can find, you make your way toward the closest thing the Waterboys have to a central location. It's near the Highway, for sure, being on the northern side of town, but Heckton is probably the least caring of the gang leaders. As far as he's concerned, the Waterboy's 'charity' counts as their rent for the place.

The field outside the Flint Water Center is a truly interesting piece of human ingenuity. Large grassy fields have been torn up, ripped apart, and replaced- through nothing but shovels and a lot of tarps- into long, flowing systems meant to catch rainwater. The lakes aren't far off, and the fucking government couldn't stop the clouds with their wall even if they tried, so you still do have rain. It's not raining right now, so the solar panels are facing upward, rather than being rotated out of the way, keeping the building powered and running.

The water plant was full of chemicals and bareilly-used filtration systems, back when it had first been taken over during the quarantine. The water tower was worth its weight in gold, once people noticed that they weren't getting anything from Detroit anymore- that everything had been cut off. The rivers and lakes started running low, seeping into the groundwater. It was only a quick choice by the leader of the Waterboys at the time- a tunneling cape called Courier- that had him splitting it into the at-the-time six main gangs in town.

Now, it stands still as a symbol that despite being technically neutral, despite fulfilling all the city's needs that the airdrops don't, the Waterboys are still the wealthiest gang in the city. The rainwater is pumped into the filtration systems, cleaned and checked, and then later split up and delivered to various groups. That alone wouldn't supply the city, though, so the new leader is completely unknown- a cape known only as Waterfall, a matter creator that's able to produce pure, clean water. Supposedly. You've never seen it in action, but the numbers don't match up otherwise, so you kind of have to buy it.

You make your way into the main office, and see a bunch of fellow carriers, lounging and waiting for their next loads. Some of them leeching off the free power, keeping toys and gadgets charged.

"The hell are you doing back here, Lucas? You asking for your job back?" Comes a snide response from one of the guys. Trevor's always been an ass, so you ignore him.

"Hey, you guys see Ash?" You ask. "Or Neem?"

"... Dude. Neem joined the Highway last week." One of them respond. Caleb. He's a good guy, but you're not close enough with him. "Where have you been?"

"Busy," You respond. Damn. There goes one of your choices. You could probably go meet with him too, but knowing him, Neem joined Highway for the price of getting a power. He wouldn't leave for something that's a 'maybe'. Wasn't a gambling man, really.

"Ash has been in her room." Caleb folds his book. "Why do you ask."

"I owe her money," You respond, and he snorts. Money hasn't been useful since the government fucked you, so it's a common joke. "Mind getting her for me?"

"Eh, just go get her yourself. Just because Garcia has her panties in a twist doesn't mean you haven't been here for years," He says. You shrug, and walk past, into the many offices of the building- most of which having been repurposed into dorms.

You used to stay here- mostly due to the running power- until your little personal salvage-and-repair business started taking off, even before Michael came back with the Broken.

You make your way down the hall and knock on Ash's door. After a few minutes, she cracks itopen to give you a glare- then, immediately softens and opens it.

She's a short, mousy girl. Her hair's a tangled mess of black ringlets and her dark skin is a mass of tattoos along the arms, most of them homemade. You can notice a very notable change in the tattoos- ones she'd gotten before you made her a needle, and ones she'd gotten after. It's a small point of pride for you- and one she doesn't let you brag about.

On her walls are portraits of fantasy paintings, excerpts from old ripped books, album covers, the like. She's a big fan of bright, colorful things. She has a skillset… but it wasn't one that was useful for the heist against Tyrant, so you hadn't dragged her into it.

"Luke." She says. "What's…" Then she trails off, examining your expression. "... No. You asshole."

"What?"

"You fucking idiot." She snaps- but there's no real heat in it. "You and Katie pulled it off, didn't you?"

You sniff, casually brushing your nose- and give her a slow, languid smirk. She smacks you in the chest.

"Yeah. We pulled it off. The box is ours." You say. "... In fact, I'd say, uh, we did it a bit too well."

"What do you mean, a bit too well?" She asks, squinting at you- trying to read you.

"I can't say too much, obviously," you say. "Not here. But,m well… You know where my safehouse is, yeah?"

"Yeah. Dave asked me for it. Had a message from Garcia, but I didn't tell him the secret entrance." She responds. Then squints again. "Why?"

"Because it's my workshop." You say.

"I know," She says, rolling her eyes-

"My Workshop," You say, emphasizing the word. She pauses.

"No." She says. "What can you do?"

"Well… You know the box?"

"Yeah…" She trails off. She'd been part of the original discussion- the theorycrafting, at least, about the theoretical 'power creating device' you thought Tyrant had.

"I can make them." You say, voice low- making sure you aren't heard. "I just… have to take something from certain special someones."

"... No way."

"I might be able to fix my brother, with enough tools and materials." You say.

"You want me to help. " Ash says, flatly. "Just scavenging, or…"

"I can't use them on myself," You say. "And Katie already has a… box of her own. I'm confident we can get the hell out of this town."

".... Alright." She says, as if that tipped the scales. "Fuck it. I'm in. What do you need?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm still a waterboy," She says. "So I wanted to know if you wanted me to… steal a printer or something on my way out the office. So to speak."

---

Edit: I'm sorry, this quest has been canceled.

 

[Zerrer]

So, I've got some bad news. I'd originally started this quest under the idea that I'd be able to keep two quests going at a time. 'It'll be easy', I'd thought, 'I'll just write an update for one while waiting for votes on the other.'

Sadly, it hasn't worked out like that. Working on one quest and one story is very different than two quests at once, and I'm not able to handle it. I've made so many mistakes and haven't done my due diligence on the setting of Quarantine Flint well enough for my liking, because I'm too focused on my other quest, and the latest choices and systems in place feel so anemic - in both projects- that I'm unhappy with it.

Due to that, I'm going to be shutting this quest down. While I don't exactly want to pick between my two babies, I feel obliged to focus more on the one that had started earlier and has more weight behind it. On top of that, this one is new enough that putting it on break or hiatus would mean that, months from now, when I come back to work on this, the already-low playerbase will be even more reduced

So I think what I'll be doing is continuing to work on my other quest, and going back to writing my TES fic on the side. In the future, when Sleeping Dragon is over, I'll be starting over and rebooting the Shard Alchemist as something I can devote real time and focus to.