Will of The Force (Star Wars / Worm)

[Xedornox]

Leaning back, Coil turned on a secondary screen and started watching the video from the Snitch. A sense of vertigo hit him, his first timeline collapsing as if shattered into a million shards that all pierced through his brain.

Turning aside, he managed to keep from puking and turned disbelieving eyes to the image.

That wasn't supposed to happen! Polaris just didn't have that level of power! Again and again he had tested it, the man had died several times for fuck's sake!

Releasing a stream of lightning from his hand, Polaris forced Lung's head high and pulled his plasma sword back, nearly decapitating the Endbringer-sized dragon, with a pull of his Shaker power, he pulled the head off and finished it with a sword to the brain right in front of Miss Militia and Velocity.

Gripping his chair tightly, his head killing him, Coil watched the man point at the fires covering at least four blocks and simply… willed them out in a show of both power and control he had only seen from Eidolon.

That was impossible!

He was unable to think, his breathing coming faster as he realized he couldn't even split the timelines, his exhausted power only making the headache worse and forcing his eyes to tear up.

For a minute, he watched Polaris leave the heroes behind and actually locate the Snitch. The recording device's demise finally snapped Coil out of his daze.

Scrambling for his comms, he didn't even care how he looked while contacting the Mercenaries and Noelle. "Retreat, retreat now! Lung is dead and Polaris is on the way. drop everything and retreat!"

"We almost have her," one of Circus's clones said on the comms. "Five minutes and I'll have her out from under the rubble!"

"Polaris will be there in two," Coil grit his teeth, swallowing the desire to curse.

Turning off the comms, he leaned back, his mask digging into his face, cloth blocking his nose and mouth until he desperately pulled it off and took a deep breath. Holding his face with both hands, he felt the cold sweat running down his skin.

What the fuck was that? Running a hand through his head, he reached for some medication and stuffed three pills into his mouth, hoping to alleviate his killer headache. Then he ran an arm over his desk, throwing everything to the floor in a fit of rage.

Finally, he managed to get himself under control. Finding his phone, he started watching Polaris fight from the beginning, he needed to know what the hell happened.

Two days, it took him two days and Tattletale's help in a discarded timeline —no, he supposed they weren't timelines but truly nothing more than simulations— to understand what went wrong.

Coil had assumed Dinah was the one responsible for his power's failure, he had been wrong. Polaris, now renamed to Susanoo by the Asian population, was almost immune to Thinker powers.

After experimenting, the only conclusion he could make was that he couldn't split into two timelines, his power simply simulated a different set of choices and showed him the result in real-time.

While he could simulate Susanoo, the man's immunity meant he couldn't be certain any information was accurate nor discover any powers he hadn't shown before.

In hindsight, the only reason he hadn't been screwed by the attempts on Susanoo's life was that they were always intended as probes. Coil would never keep the simulation unless there was a perfect victory, Susanoo dead, the girl in his hand and no proof he was the one to do it.

The realization that his power was far weaker than he'd first believed was a bitter pill to swallow. Oh, it was still incredibly useful, but much less impressive than he ever thought.

It also meant he couldn't take as many liberties as before, mostly because there was always a risk goddamned Susanoo would block his power and force him to make a wrong choice. And the man wasn't the only Trump out there.

Click to shrink...

Oh that was incredibly pleasing, the entire first part of the chapter I was like Coil has no idea that Anakin/Darth Vader/Polaris/Susanoo is vastly stronger than anything his power can let him see.

So seeing him just nearly have a mental breakdown at witnessing Anakin fight the Dragon of Kyushu was spectacular.

"Indeed," Coil gave the man the recognition he so craved. "Susanoo has an impressive but limited ability to multitask. As Lung found out, it's challenging to do one-on-one, but if we can pressure him to defend himself in different ways, he'll be unable to go on the offensive."

Click to shrink...

I read this and all I could think of was that one time in the Vader Comics -I think it was those comics from 2018. Where Vader entered a sort of 'dark dimension' where he could access all of his potential and was forced to fight the entirety of the Jedi Masters -Or was it the entire order? Can't recall, all at once.

He slaughtered them. Obliterated them. They weren't even a challenge.
-From my understanding the people he fought were as strong as they ever were. I've seen some people claim that they were weaker or in reduced states or it was all in Vader's head but from what I remember -I could be wrong here, it's implied they are manifestations of The Force itself and considering The Force is well connected to everything and that all Jedi and those who die become one with The Force when they die... I believe they are as powerful as they were when they were alive. He still destroyed them all.

They really aren't ready for what Anakin can bring to bear. Dude is the literal Chosen One, Force Jesus, Destined to become as strong or even surpass The Father(Who is essentially a Force God same as his children, The Son and The Daughter.) Who is powerful enough to deal with abeloth seemingly without much difficulty which is insane.

Shame about your ear infection, I got like four or five of them back to back rapidly over a period of a few months a couple years back, would go from one ear to the other and back and forth just on repeat. As soon as one ear had recovered it would just come back. They are genuinely painful and annoying to deal with. But hardly the most painful thing I've experience either, I too have had the need to be cut open and have my appendix removed, and while I haven't broken an arm I have broken both my feet at least twice each and my ankle once. But the fact the ear infections even register as a similar 'ball park' of pain just shows how fucking painful they can be.

Thank's for the chapter.

 

[Yohnos]

I hope that Anakin will borrow a page from Palatine when dealing with Coil

 

[ogami-kun]

Thanks for the chapter, hope you get better

 

[Vanbers]

High-Level Thinker: "Yeah, no, going with you guys is RIDICULOUSLY unsafe for me."

PRT, after immediately noticing how horrendously riddles with moles they are literally at a single glance after it's pointed out, and about to lose two prisoner transports: "No, no, her power must be limited or work wrong, she'll be much safer with us."

Man, PRT really makes it easy to dislike them, geez. Though part of that is on them for hiring a literal supervillain as a high-level consultant.

The chapter WAS almost finished, but I caught an ear infection that is incredibly painful, so much so that I have only slept 6 hours in three days.

Really, it's not THE most painful thing I ever experienced, not by a long shot, that would be when I had my appendix operation, but it's probably second place slightly above when I broke my arm.

Damn, I never knew it could be so painful, I can barely concentrate. My family said such infections usually go away on their own, but this one seems to only be getting worse.

Yesterday I went to the doctor and he gave me some antibiotics, as well as a ton of painkillers and antipyretics so, hopefully, I'll get better soon.

Click to shrink...

As someone that had two ear infections in the past few years, going to the doctor is 110% the right move. Sure, it *might* go away on it's own, but holy shit is it less painful when you get some decent antibiotics.

Had to straight-up hold my head in a specific position or be in immense pain, while also having to walk around for other reasons which just made the whole shit worse. And sleeping? Absolute shitshow, and damn near impossible. I tend to have issues where I wake up and go back to bed, but with an infection on top it's impossible to get back to sleep, leading to constantly being tired.

Ear infections are awful, man. Anyone that says "Just wait it out lol" should absolutely be ignored. Hope it passes soon, if it hasn't already. Only ever took a few days/1 week before it was gone for me after I got antibiotics.

 

[Barbaric_Bob]

Always nice to see coils plans blow up in his face.

Click to shrink...

Sundancer is probably going to have fun flash-frying his legs off
then after this story is done and we get the bio-tinker wars spinoff he'll make a re-appearance out of nowhere with robot legs and everything

 

[Oniasm]

Alright, I was planning on releasing the next chapter of Will of the Force Tuesday, unfortunately, that wasn't possible.

The chapter WAS almost finished, but I caught an ear infection that is incredibly painful, so much so that I have only slept 6 hours in three days.

Really, it's not THE most painful thing I ever experienced, not by a long shot, that would be when I had my appendix operation, but it's probably second place slightly above when I broke my arm.

Damn, I never knew it could be so painful, I can barely concentrate. My family said such infections usually go away on their own, but this one seems to only be getting worse.

Yesterday I went to the doctor and he gave me some antibiotics, as well as a ton of painkillers and antipyretics so, hopefully, I'll get better soon.

Ugh, I REALLY have to get a reserve of chapters to prevent such things, but I can never quite make it, something always come up or I start dragging my feet.

Anyways, chapter 19 is finally finished, so you guys get this one which is... well, very large, so it kinda counts as two?... Yeah, sorry about taking so long.

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.
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Click to shrink...

Just a quick rant.

TAKE ALL OF YOUR ANTIBIOTICS PLEASE! DO NOT fuck around. EVEN if you're feeling better or theirs no pain. Take that whole damn bottle so that whatevers got you hurting doesn't come back with antibiotic resistance.

Use to be a dental assistant and holy shit man, the amount of people that just take it until they don't hurt anymore or they "Think it looks fine" and end up developing WORSE infections is astounding.

Take it all and I can almost guarantee you'll be fine by the end of it.

 

[mpbjunkie]

Thanks for the chapter. Always nice to see Coil on the backfoot and I'm very interested to see where this going.

Like others said I've also had an ear infection and know how much it sucks. Hope you get better soon. Make sure to follow the antibiotics regimen to the letter.

 

[S!ËGFR!ÊD]

Welp, they're all gonna fuckin' die. Can't wait to see the slaughter.

 

[Prince awsome]

It's always a pleasure to see coil portrayed as an actual competent villain, instead of the usual send a nuke to his base and be done with it.

are we going to get an empire reaction soon?

get better soon , an ear infection can't be pleasant

 

[SIDoragon]

I foresee Anakin going Full Jedi/Sith Master. Using the Force to it's True potential.

If the Force can stop a Star Destroyer then it can Lift an Entire City from the Very Foundations High into the Sky.

They thought Anakin is a normal Cape? They walked into an Endbringer Level Battle for the City.

Click to shrink...

That is what I'm waiting for.
I keep thinking back to the end of Fallen Order, when you run into Vader in the base deep under the ocean. If you thought Starkiller pulling an entire Star Destroyer down from orbit was impressive, that is nothing compared to Vader holding back the entire fucking ocean.

 

[ogami-kun]

PRT, after immediately noticing how horrendously riddles with moles they are literally at a single glance after it's pointed out, and about to lose two prisoner transports: "No, no, her power must be limited or work wrong, she'll be much safer with us."

Click to shrink...

I really hope someone from the PRT asks Anakin or Minikin that and this is what they answer, because it is ridiculously stupid

 

[CapCaverna]

Ah, I really shouldn't have spent time on this one, but I couldn't help myself, I hope you guys enjoy it. Probably won't write another one for a few weeks. But if someone wants to, I can put it on sidestories too. (Or not, if you don't want to)

The actual chapter is coming tomorrow.
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Dinah stared at the large box, it was nearly bigger than her and had been put there by one of the ABB when they weren't in the workshop. Unfortunately, it was also blocking the way to the storage room where she put her armor and mask.

Humph. Gang members were so lazy and incompetent. She'd have to find a way of motivating them.

Staring at the cardboard box, she frowned, eyes narrowing in concentration as she changed the tools from one hand to the other and extended her free lame, human hand toward it, fingers curled into a grasping motion. Then she frowned harder, arm extended.

With a long, suffering sigh, she lowered the hand.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to choke people with your mind soon enough, dear Mistress," Hal patted her shoulder and moved the damn box.

Walking inside, she put on her equipment, grabbed her mask and went back to the main room, sitting at one of Anakin's work desks.

Carefully, she put on the safety gear before taking out the lenses that covered the mask's eyes and started working.

Dinah had been annoyed when Anakin vetoed the eyepatch but, in hindsight, it wouldn't show under the mask anyway, and she had found a workaround.

Tongue poking from the side of her mouth, she adjusted the new lenses on her helmet and smiled. The left side was disguised to look the same as the rest of the mask's material, making it seem like there was no eyehole, while the right side had a red lamp she could activate when she wanted to intimidate people.

Anakin made it look so easy but, with her age, she had to cheat if she wanted to be taken seriously.

"Ah, I remember when you first started messing with the temple's droids," the ghost said, sitting on the sofa and eating a bag of chips. "Good times."

In the beginning, Dinah hadn't been able to see Uncle Obi. She had thought Anakin was talking to the dark voices in his head, fighting off the evil influence of his power that wanted to consume him, to break free and lay waste to his enemies… which was so cool!

Uncle Obi was cool too, and she liked it when he told her stories of Anakin when young, he was just not as cool as the dark temptation of the voices.

Still, she wasn't completely wrong, there was the Dark Side, so he did fight against the evil within.

Putting on the helmet, she smiled and turned to Anakin, activating the red lamp and making her eye shine ominously. "So, what do you think?"

"Very impressive," Anakin had to admit, sipping from a coffee mug while looking at her newly created lenses.

"You should install some air circulation at the back," Uncle Obi suggested. "This one liked to make his cape flutter with the Force, but I bet you can make it do that with some air vents, and it will make the armor more comfortable to wear."

"I did not use the Force to flick my cape," Anakin said, frustrated.

"Riiiight, and all those times your cape was waving while in space were coincidences. Star's end, I knew I should have corrected it when you were younger."

Anakin dropped the tool he had been using and pinched the bridge of his nose. With frustration, he asked. "Why didn't you then?"

"Ah, let me see if I remember," Uncle Obi-Wan bit into another ghostly snack, then changed his voice. "Flair for the theatrical, he has. Rebellious age, he is. Mention it, we will not, only encourage him, it will."

Dinah let Uncle Obi bicker with Anakin and looked back at the large box, wondering what exactly was inside it now that she had finished her helmet.

Opening the container, she stared inside. There were a lot of smaller cardboard boxes filled with a collection of cylindrical objects, they were all different shapes and could fit on her hand, kind of like they were made for throwing.

Lifting one of the boxes with six cylinders, she read 'Sand Grenade, based on Sere'. Looking at another, she saw. 'Time grenade, based on Grey Boy'. "Coooool. Hey, Jun left us Bakuda's old bombs, can I take some?"

Turning away from Uncle Obi, Anakin looked at the box and the sand grenade in her hand, then he shuddered. "What are the chances you'll hurt yourself with one of them?"

"One point five, seven, nine, nine, three percent," she said, her face growing eager.

"Very well, you may get rid of the… devices."

"Ah, letting children play with explosives, very responsible, Anakin," Uncle Obi scolded him.

"What? But she's not going to hurt herself?" Anakin asked, confused. "I have been dealing with thermo-detonators for Watto since I was 5. Besides, wasn't it you who took me to fight Krayn's slavers at 13? I remember having grenades thrown at me, at least she'll be the one throwing them this time."

"... Fair point."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said, giving Anakin a quick hug before ordering Hal to grab one of each grenade and running towards the door. "I'm going out with Hal. Bye Uncle Obi, bye Ani."

"What are the chances you're attacked by anyone?" Anakin made sure to ask.

"Ugh," Dinah complained, she only had a few questions left! "Three point two, seven, nine, two, one percent."

"Very well, stay on ABB territory and come home for dinner," Anakin waved her goodbye, then turned back to his friend? Adopted brother? Dinah didn't know what relationship they had. "What? I made the droid to protect her, what's the worst that can happen, she brings back a scruffy, womanizer smuggler?"

"You know, you should really thank that smuggler," Uncle Obi said with amusement.

"Please, Leia could do so much better."

"Yeah… Did I ever tell you about her kissing Luke?"

Anakin spewed his coffee, coughing. "WHAT!"

Dinah snickered, then rushed out of the workshop, Hal put on a long, brown cloak that hid his entire body, a cowl covering his head so nobody could see he was a robot, then followed after her, closing the door.

Taking out her leather glove, she revealed the robotic hand in all its shining glory, then sent a command through the visor. With a 'click,' the hand reconfigured itself into a grenade launcher and she loaded one of the grenades based on Narwhal. Dinah still wasn't good enough to make such modifications herself, but Hal had helped her.

"Where now, oh Mistress mine?"

"The rooftops, capes always run through the rooftops."

"Ah, of course.

Picking her up, Hal climbed the side of the building like a spider, only much faster. Sitting on his shoulder, they started their patrol. It was a pity she couldn't leave ABB territory… but she could go to the edge?

Using her last questions, she discovered there was an 80% chance something would happen if she went downtown. Great!

"Onwards!" She pointed.

Hal moved. He wasn't exactly a comfortable ride, but she couldn't jump buildings yet, and Anakin hadn't installed a jetpack on her armor… could he install a jetpack? She'd have to ask.

A few minutes later, she heard it, the sound of fighting, a few gunshots, and some cursing. Stepping on the edge of the building, she stared down at the street to see the air twisting. A second later, Vista stumbled on the street, her costume dirty.

The small, green girl twisted around, a bent police baton in her arm. She grit her teeth and throws the damaged weapon to the ground, desperately looking around for something else to use. Vista was clearly cursing up a storm, but Dinha was too far away to hear it.

"Not again, bitch," Hal said from behind Dinah. "That's what she just said. Very dirty mouth for a pipsqueak."

Turning a corner, Hookwolf appeared. The bladed creature in the shape of a wolf had a huge dent on his side, but he was already recovering, new blades sprouting from the metal and correcting his shape.

"Take us down," Dinah ordered.

"Very well, Mistress."

Grabbing her, Hal leaped from the building, falling on top of a car and utterly collapsing the roof, metal and glass flying everywhere as the two capes paused to stare at their entrance. Dinah approved.

Using her newly acquired dexterity, she jumped down from the robot's shoulder and flapped her cape, making sure to activate the red lamp on her mask, making her eye shine with crimson light.

Taking a stance, she ignited her lightsaber, tip pointed to the ground, then she put her robotic hand in front of her face, fingers in a gripping motion. "It would be wise to retreat, criminal scum! I will give you one chance."

Hookwolf stared at her, then at Hal who stepped back behind the car, letting her deal with the situation. "Children shouldn't play with adults, not when you don't have Susanoo protecting you."

"This is my last warning, do not make me unleash the darkness within my arm!" She growled.

"Hmmm, I already intended to teach one kid a lesson, I can make it two," Hookwolf commented, then he rushed her.

"Dinah!" Vista screamed, voice strangely recognizable.

Dinah smiled under the mask, a single visual order reconfigured her arm and she shot. The grenade flew straight at the villain. Hookwolf dodged, showing far more dexterity than she thought he was capable of.

Fortunately, Anakin had taught how to use grenades; the explosive hadn't been aimed at him, but at the ground right beside him. Bakuda's bomb exploded in a wave of purple shards, passing through the street as if there was no resistance and cutting the villain into ribbons.

Hookwolf fell apart, metal pieces continuing to move from Momentum. He wasn't dead, a central piece quickly started regrowing, blades almost exploding from the surface. Dinah calmly recharged the launcher, putting one of the Grey Boy's grenades.

"I have given you one chance," She warned, walking closer with her lightsaber ready. "Do not make me continue. When I let go of my restrictions, I scare even myself."

Diminished, the villain stared at her, then turned away and started to run away. Dinah flicked her cape and turned away –-Hal was keeping an eye so the villain wouldn't turn around— then she focused on the ward.

"... that's so fucking unfair," Vista cursed under her breath, looking from Dinah's lightsaber to the damaged street, clear envy in her voice.

"... Missy?" Dinah asked, she knew she recognized that voice.

In her mind, she quickly asked the chances Missy Biron was Vista and it turned out to be 98%,

"Ah, no?" Vista said, looking away from her.

Dinah disassembled her grenade launcher and put both hands on her waist. "You guys do know I'm a Thinker, right?"

"Fine," Missy grumbled. "Can you, like, not mention this when we rescue you later? I'm not supposed to be out on patrol right now… or engaging a villain."

Dinah looked at her school friend, the dirty costume, the scraped dress and the bruise on her exposed face. She had always liked Vista but, now that she was a parahuman herself, she couldn't help thinking about her situation.

As a Thinker, Dinah had been helpless to do anything to protect herself, her power was restricted to information only and it had been incredibly frustrating, she couldn't even imagine how it felt to HAVE the power to do something, but always be denied it, not even allowed a weapon.

"Say… want to have some ice cream?" She offered.

"No!" Patting her costume down, Missi sighed. "... FIne, anything not to have to go home."

Inside ABB territory, Dinah called Jun and had the minion bring them into one of their hideouts, another minion quickly bought a liter of ice cream for them to share. Sitting on the balcony, they had Jun prepare ice cream cones for them.

"... And they don't even give me a teaser," Missy grumbled. "I had to buy a police baton with my own money! How am I supposed to arrest people if I can't even beat them?"

"I don't have a taser," Dinah tried to be sympathetic, but Missy just stared at her with a frown, then angrily pointed at the lightsaber lying on the balcony without saying a word. "... it's not a taser."

"Gah!" Missy bit into her ice cream, taking a big piece off and withstanding the brain freeze without saying a word. "So unfair, and you even get Bakuda's bombs! I was the one who helped disable her giant EMP and Armsmaster wouldn't let me near the rest of the grenades!"

Staring at her school friend, Dinah had an idea. Capes used costumes not to be recognized, and she read on PHO that the Protectorate sometimes took villains and changed their names, why couldn't they do the same?

Looking up from her scone, she asked the question. "Eighty-nine point seven, three, nine percent chance nobody recognizes you if you change costume."
.
.
.
.
An hour later, Uncle Obi looked up from Anakin's latest work to see Dinah starting to teach her friend the beginning Matukai exercises. "Hey, look, they're multiplying!"

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[SnappingTurt3ls2]

HA! That's great. Thanks for the 'chapter'

 

[Xedornox]

"Ah, let me see if I remember," Uncle Obi-Wan bit into another ghostly snack, then changed his voice. "Flair for the theatrical, he has. Rebellious age, he is. Mention it, we will not, only encourage him, it will."

Click to shrink...

So it is Yoda we have to blame for the unrepetend dramatic flair Anakin/Darth Vader has... that actually makes so much sense.

An hour later, Uncle Obi looked up from Anakin's latest work to see Dinah starting to teach her friend the beginning Matukai exercises. "Hey, look, they're multiplying!"

Click to shrink...

Hahaha, that''s funny, Obi was fun this entire omake though but this part was proper funny to me for some reason.

Thanks' for the Omake.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Kek a sand grenade must be Anakins worst nightmare.

 

[Hellbeny]

Sand grenade but I hate sand it gets everywhere...

 

[loki98065]

that was great chapter. wonder how long it'll be before anikin opens his own force school/temple lol

 

[SwagoJosh]

I really want this to not be an omake. Having the force ghosts of Obi-wan and Qui-gon meme on Anikan would be hilarious and would do a lot to help him chill out.

 

[Childe Roland]

"Hey, look, they're multiplying!"

Click to shrink...

Anakin(*Headdesk*): "Why me?"
Obi Wan: "Karma."

 

[CapCaverna]

This was supposed to come out yesterday, but I kept making changes to the latest chapter. In the end, I spend a day on the damn thing and didn`t change all that much.

Still, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
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Parahumans.

At first, they were merely of passing interest, another Force-sensitive sect amongst the hundreds he had met… and destroyed, in the Galaxy. When it became clear they were not using the Force, they became more interesting, but only slightly so.

In truth, Anakin himself could replicate the vast majority of their powers with either technology or the Force. Of those he couldn't, it wasn't that they were impossible, he had simply never cared to learn.

Now, having started to bond with the youngling and being responsible for her training, his perspective had changed. Parahumans' powers were no longer a passing curiosity, but instead something he needed to understand if he wanted to guide her.

Fingers typing on the keyboard, Anakin continued to code almost unconsciously even as he thought about what he had learned those last few days.

Trigger events were not widely known to the average population, information about them seemed to be somewhat curated on the internet, presumably to prevent those foolish or difficult to control from seeking powers without understanding their consequences.

Second-generation parahumans had an easier time acquiring powers, but that could indicate a genetic modification or spreading pathogen. Perhaps an attempt to create a race of soldiers and tools?

What he could find was that they were, almost without exception, traumatic, life-changing events, often referred to as the worst day of their lives. The developed power also seemed connected to the type of trigger event.

Dinah, as a Thinker, had experienced strong emotional and mental strain in a short period of time. Anakin had yet to ask her what it had been, mostly because he had yet to fully understand the process.

The phenomenon was clearly artificial, either restricted to this planet or the local star system and truly didn't seem to be connected to the Force, at least not on the human side. Anakin had only interacted with a few parahumans, but none of them were significantly more Force-sensitive than the average civilian.

Regardless, there were three aspects that most worried him. First, triggers were always traumatic, no parahuman gained power when happy, or even stressed in a mundane fashion. The event needed to be devastating to them.

Second, all parahumans were aggressive on some level. They seemed to be driven to conflict even when their powers were not particularly effective in that area or could be better utilized in other ways.

Third, the acquired powers did nothing to fix the problems that birthed them. More than that, parahumans seemed unnaturally averse to even speaking about such events, causing the trauma to linger like an open wound even decades later.

To Anakin, it felt like deliberate cruelty, as if designed by a malicious mind with a touch of irony… not unlike the experiments his former master was so fond of, or that the Sith had created throughout history.

Seeing as 'Earth' hadn't been on any Star Chart he knew of, it was possible this was a hidden Dark Sider experiment or, more likely, a rediscovered Sith weapon. They were well known for using primitive locals as pawns and experimental subjects, as well as leaving… gifts discovered long after their passing.

Unfortunately, Anakin had never been skilled in that particular aspect of the Force and Sidious hadn't trained him in Sith alchemy. Perhaps if he had a test subject to study, he could extract more information.

It was a pity he hadn't thought about it with Oni Lee or Lung, but he wasn't as interested in them at the time and he was unwilling to kill another parahuman JUST to experiment on them, or worse, capture one alive.

Not when results weren't even certain to come from the exercise.

The Endbringers were another indication. He understood their names were given from mythological figures, but the simple fact the name Leviathan was remembered by the locals was worrying. Such creatures were once used by the Sith as weapons of war.

A search on the internet gave him a description of the mythological creature that gave name to the Endbringer. It was not a perfect description of the creatures as he knew them, but the insatiable hunger, colossal size, and emanating evil were characteristic.

Perhaps Endbringers were an attempt to improve the colossal Sithspawn of old and, from the damage they caused and the powers they demonstrated, a successful one.

Regardless, he did not wish to assume things. While the Force dwarfed any technological marvel or horror he knew of, it wouldn't do to entirely dismiss such a possibility out of hand.

Perhaps it was not a Sith who had created such means, but a scientist attempting to copy their means through technology. Many such men worked under his former master. Even if none had this level of success.

Pushing his chair back, Anakin ran the program one last time and nodded when there weren't any mistakes. Earth's programming languages had taken him a few weeks to master, at least enough that his programs could freely interact with the underlying processors, but he had always been talented in that area.

Taking the small chip out of the computer, he turned to watch Dinah sparing with the droid.

The girl had just been sent flying, rolling to her feet in a second and reigniting her lightsaber. Glaring at the droid, Dinah released a long breath and took a second to look at her feet, correcting her stance… then she started spinning her sword, twirling the weapon around her body in a great display of dexterity.

Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose, he had NOT taught her that.

Hal waited until her lightsaber was almost behind her back and smacked the top of her head, hard. In the girl's defense, she didn't drop her weapon, but she still fell on her ass, robotic hand immediately holding her head.

"Aw! Why?!"

"Mistress Raven, spinning lightsabers are for expert Force-sensitive showoffs who can afford to present such openings," the android chided. "While I have a description of Form IV, Master Anakin has not registered its movements in my database at this time. Beginners, droids, and normal humans shall stick to efficient movements or they will be smacked in the head."

"Dinah, where exactly did you learn that?" Anakin asked.

"Ah, well…" the girl avoided his eyes. "It's just… there was a tutorial on PHO?"

"Ah, the internet. Such a wonderful fountain of idiocy," Hal nodded, leaning on his staff. "And to think meatbags used to believe the source of their stupidity was a lack of information. Oh how wrong they were."

Anakin couldn't help glancing down at the chip on his hand, maybe he shouldn't have made it after all? "I hope you have not been posting on this PHO?"

"No!" Dinah quickly said, turning off her lightsaber and scratching her aching head with both hands. "You told me not to. Plus, there's like, 89% chance they track me using it."

"Good, while I have no doubt the workshop's location is already widely known, I would prefer this house remains hidden for now."

"So… what were you making?" she asked, putting the lightsaber aside and starting to stretch.

Anakin sighed but threw the chip toward Hal. "Here, insert this into your circuitry. It will allow you to intercept her phone's signal and scramble its location, preventing any future tracking."

Dinah had been stretching her legs, both hands on the ground and her head between her knees, but she immediately snapped to attention, glancing at the chip and then towards Anakin with a glint in her eyes.

"Thank you!" the girl threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Having slowly gotten used to her antics, Anakin wasn't as disconcerted by the physical show of affection, but it still took him a few moments to reciprocate —after so long, it was taking some effort to relearn such things.

Finally, he smiled down at her and put a hand on her hair, tussling it until she looked up at him with a large smile.

"You mean Mistress will finally be able to acquire a verified account and start posting?" Hal said with some amusement, even as he inserted the chip through an opening on his neck. "Oh, the horror."

"Shut up," Dinah growled, finally releasing Anakin. "Right, about PHO, people keep asking: why did you cut off Victor's legs?"

"Finish your stretches," Anakin said and then lifted an eyebrow when she started to obey. "Did you not ask me to avoid killing?"

"No, I mean, yes! It's just… I guess you shouldn't be so brutal? And why the legs, wouldn't the arms be better since he's a sniper?"

"... Moderation does not come easy to me. I am attempting to correct my actions, but even without using the Dark Side, it is not easy. As for why I took his legs? I did not want Victor to flee."

"That IS one way of doing it," Hal nodded in approval. "Very efficient, I might add. I will have to keep that in my memory bank for later."

"Seriously?" Dinah said, a little disappointed. "But, didn't you already capture him?"

"You misunderstand," Anakin shook his head. "I have dealt with the likes of the 'Empire' before. At first, I miscalculated the lengths they'd go to, thinking the gang still respected the authorities, but they had gone unchallenged for too long.

"I understand men like Kaiser. They have built their power not only on brutality but also on reputation, a reputation that would force his hand. Even if Kaiser recognizes he's outclassed, he cannot simply accept a total defeat without a justification even his most staunch detractor would accept."

"So… you're saying the Empire is gonna attack us again?" Dinah asked, sitting down in a meditating position in front of him. "But, aren't they afraid of breaking the Unwritten Rules? You said Victor aimed for your head, right? Won't both heroes and villains turn on them?"

"In a healthy city? Perhaps. Here, no," Anakin shook his head. Crossing his legs, he sat in front of her and decided to teach her a little. "The Travelers broke the truce, they attacked you before Lung was dealt with, and yet, no villain is hunting them down. Why?"

While Dinah thought about his question, Hal rested his staff against the wall and walked towards the geological compressor. Briefly checking to see if his crystal was finished before starting to work on finishing the second droid.

Anakin would have preferred to give the droid an electrostaff instead of his own lightsaber, but even with the ABB, he didn't have access to any materials strong enough to make one, and one of Hal's goals was to help teach Dinah.

"I don't know, they can't find them?" Dinah finally answered, then paused. "No, there's only a 2.7% chance anyone finds them so… they aren't looking?"

"The Travelers are a powerful team of capes, they are not local, show no desire to gain territory and, besides breaking the truce, are not antagonistic to the Empire, Coil, or the PRT. They don't threaten any of their objectives.

"Men like Kaiser don't follow the rules because they believe in any code, but because the veneer of civility gives them an advantage. Hunting down the Travelers will only give the Empire a minor increase in reputation while requiring them to make a large effort and take major risks."

"So, everyone is just gonna ignore it?"

"They will certainly claim to be searching and, were the Travelers to present an easy opportunity, every villain will join the fray, most likely only after the Travelers have received enough damage. But effectively yes, every gang will ignore the Travelers. Now, what does this say about our impending attack?"

Dinah looked at him for a moment and then frowned, her eyes looking down in thought. Anakin knew the girl was young, but she was also incredibly smart, he was fairly certain she could come to the right conclusions.

"That the Empire will just lie about ignoring the rules," Dinah said, sounding incredibly disappointed at the realization. "Say they didn't break anything and think people will believe them. No, they'll ignore them because there's no advantage. Even the heroes wouldn't kick up a fuss."
Anakin smiled. Yes, the villains in the city would ignore the Travelers and attack him because, contrary to the roving parahuman group, he did threaten their plans, he did take territory and showed a willingness to challenge anyone.

Coupled with the disrespect he showed in the meeting and what the Empire certainly thought was a good counter to his powers, namely, the varied attack vectors they employed, fighting him was far more important than dealing with the Travelers.

"Indeed, the Empire certainly believes so," Anakin had his doubts.

Without Lung, it was the perfect moment for the PRT to regain control of the city, but that wouldn't affect his confrontation. As long as the damage didn't spread, the PRT would still let his confrontation with the Empire happen and attempt to deal with the survivors.

If the authorities had been biding their time as he suspected, that is.

"They're like Coil," Dinah growled, her true hand gripping the lightsaber while her robotic hand dug into the ground. "Nine eight point seven, three, nine, four percent chance they attack us this week. They won't leave us alone."

"First, they will attempt to free Victor," Anakin said. "Thus the reason for his mutilation. Without his legs, Victor will require carrying and, without Rune, the Empire does not have an easy way of transport. Any rescue will require significantly more effort, be it logistical or from parahumans. It will also involve a significant amount of manpower."

Dinah looked up at him, seeing the serious look on his face and, slowly, realizing his true goal. "You aren't going to wait for them to attack, are you?"

"I have never been a patient man."

That, at the very least, had remained a constant throughout his life. Be it as a Jedi or a Sith, Anakin had never been content with waiting for things to happen. It had never sat well with him.

The Empire would have to gather their forces to attempt Victor's rescue and, while he didn't think they'd deploy their full complement, Kaiser would have to deploy enough personnel to either rescue Victor and cover their retreat or beat back the Protectorate entirely.

The Empire was far too accustomed to being handed the initiative. They fought other gangs and the Protectorate but were never truly challenged, their numerical superiority, power and organization had made them arrogant. They freely broke the rules while assuming others would simply follow their lead.

He would break that misbegotten belief. Still, that was not Dinah's concern, there was no need for her to split her focus so much. Anakin would deal with the Empire.

"Tell me, how goes your planning?"

"I can't attack him directly," Dinah grumbled, both her hands relaxing as she laid them on top of her knees. "Gah! If I ask the chance he's gonna be someplace, it's always 50% at most, but if I ask the chances I hit him there, it immediately turns to 1 or 2%! So annoying."

"His power still counters yours. As long as he has options, you will not be able to directly attack him."

"I know, but it would be nice. Can you deal with the Travelers if I point them out?"

"Have you located them?"

"They're always in his downtown base. According to Hal, there's a park there, so they're probably underground or invisible… or in a parallel dimension. PHO says Toybox has one, so maybe Coil bought it from them."

"Good," Anakin gave her a proud smile. "I certainly can. What else?"

"Well, the Undersiders are somewhere in the Docs, but I think Hal and I can convince them to side with me. Also, there's only a 5% chance he's directly controlling any of the heroes, so at least they won't defend him."

"The Undersiders?"

Those children didn't leave a very good impression on him, but they didn't feel evil, just selfish and self-centered. Kids who didn't think, or care, too much about others.

"Well, before you, I saw one of them rescuing me," Dinah confessed. "I don't think the others… cared all that much, but they could be useful and you said it's gonna take some time until I get better with the Force, right?"

"Indeed, the means by which my former Master empowered his tools are a perversion of the Force, a trap for any he chose to anoint. Were we desperate, I would still empower you, but we have time," Anakin shook his head, thinking about his plans. "I believe I could eventually replicate a ritual used by Dathomirian Witches — much of what they called spells were not restricted to the Dark Side— but I have very little knowledge of it and such things were never my specialty. It would demand much study and adaptation."

"Either way, I could use some minions. Have them help with some of my predictions," Dinah said, then couldn't help smirking. "And I like the thought of stealing the Undersiders from him."

"I will suggest you wait until Hal's new droid is ready," Anakin said. He could go with her, but he could feel she wanted to accomplish this by herself. "Does Coil have any other support?"

"Well, there's around a 75% chance he sends the Empire after us if I beat him," Dinah shrugged. "I was gonna mention it, but you're already going to deal with them so… Yeah, I bet he's got other capes too, but they aren't really gonna help him on their own."

"And in case he flees?" Anakin probed. "Those like him are never without means of escape. You have said he spends much of his time out of the city, have you narrowed down where?"

"Yeah, I got Hal to show me a map, he goes to Concordia. Still can't narrow down where in town though," she looked up at him and Anakin sensed the attack coming. "I was thinking, could I hire Faultline again? We got all that ABB money, I could send her after him in the other city and cut off his escape?"

"That will not work forever," he snorted, ignoring her begging eyes since he never intended to deny her in the first place. "But yes, Faultline should be willing to work in another city as long as you are able to give her a target."

"Great! I'm still limited to a few questions per day, but my power grows every day, I'll narrow it down soon."

"Good, meditate with me?" He asked, adjusting his posture and unclasping his lightsaber, putting it in his lap.

As limited as her sensitivity was, Dinah wouldn't be able to even sense the Force for a few months yet, but meditation would help her when the time came, and Anakin recognized her presence helped him center himself.

Dinah nodded, imitating his posture, her lightsaber in front of her. Together, they closed their eyes.

"Oh, your power is growing by the day, Mistress?" Hal said, causing them to glance his way. Changing his voice, he mocked. "Be careful it doesn't grow too much and escape from your hand, consuming you in a wave of darkness."

"Shut up!" Dinah quickly barked, blushing. "You said you wouldn't mention it!"

Anakin glanced at her robotic hand, frowning, then he noticed the modifications and sighed. "Dinah, what did I say about equipping lasers into your prosthesis?"



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[ThunderBasilisk]

Dinah being on PHO is gonna be hilarious. Cant wait till he fights the Empire

 

[Jao]

Undersiders are somewhere in the Docs,

Click to shrink...

Docks*

 

[Xedornox]

"I have never been a patient man."

Click to shrink...

Understatement Anakin.. the motherload of an understatement. You ain't fooling no one.

As always it is amusing to see Anakin/Darth Vader's and Dinah together, it really does show them bonding and getting closer as mentor, guardian and student. The Empire won't know what hit's it when Anakin comes knocking while they are 'preparing' their own attack, wonder if he'll catch them with their 'pants down' as they say.

Anakin is getting curious about the Parahuman phenomena, he's correct about it not being natural, but he's incorrect about it being a Sith Artifact or Imitator trying to replicate said artifacts. Wonder how long it will take for him to clue in that it's something non-'human'.
-Non-Human as in 'non-humanoid/alien' as he is familiar with them. Wonder what the Force will 'lead' him to learn or figure out.

Thanks' for the chapter.

 

[mpbjunkie]

Excellent, as always. Thanks for the chapter.

 

[Vanbers]

Dinah being on PHO is gonna be hilarious. Cant wait till he fights the Empire

Click to shrink...

PRT_Official: "He's a master! He's mastering her!"

Definitely_Not_Dinah: "Cope+Seethe+Mald+L+Ratio, Go let some villains escape, you're better at that than catching us after all."

 

[Barbaric_Bob]

Dinah will be Darth Edgeius

 

[xbox432]

Definitely_Not_Dinah: "Cope+Seethe+Mald+L+Ratio, Go let some villains escape, you're better at that than catching us after all."

Click to shrink...

Well, she's not wrong... The Brockton branch of the Protectorate/PRT is hilariously bad at their jobs...

Also, I'm still chuckling at Dinah's continued descent into the dark and abyssal depths of Chunni. It's adorable to see her acting her age despite all that's happened.

Lastly, I'm curious about how the meeting with the Undersiders will go. I wonder who will win the battle of smug, Lisa or Dinah? Either way, they can both bond over their mutual hatred of snakes.

 

[Ahtu]

"Mistress Raven, spinning lightsabers are for expert Force-sensitive showoffs who can afford to present such openings," the android chided. "While I have a description of Form IV, Master Anakin has not registered its movements in my database at this time. Beginners, droids, and normal humans shall stick to efficient movements or they will be smacked in the head."

"Dinah, where exactly did you learn that?" Anakin asked.

"Ah, well…" the girl avoided his eyes. "It's just… there was a tutorial on PHO?"

"Ah, the internet. Such a wonderful fountain of idiocy," Hal nodded, leaning on his staff. "And to think meatbags used to believe the source of their stupidity was a lack of information. Oh how wrong they were."

Click to shrink...

Were they tho? I think it was mostly just not specific enough. It was a lack of 'GOOD' information.

I would agree that such a thing alone would not fix things, but it still the main reason. Even if the problem is more multi-faceted than that.

The problem today is mostly how ppl drown in bad info.

Now ofc, I'm using rather broad umbrella terms for easy descriptions here - But the point still stands.

 

[Jeff Roy]

Dinah developing Chuunibyou is honestly my favorite part of this story.

I want her to start acting and talking like The Mistress of Explosion from Konosuba.

 

[grime]

Dinah developing Chuunibyou is honestly my favorite part of this story.

I want her to start acting and talking like The Mistress of Explosion from Konosuba.

Click to shrink...

Oh my god, I neeeeeed Dinah to give a (modified) Megumin introduction monologue at some point, but in complete seriousness to someone, maybe PRT or something.