Chapter 1: No Schools for Gifted Youngsters
Well this story, I believe, will be the shortest of all of my stuff. Relatively speaking. Eh, still gonna do it. Cause it's fun.
Now word of warning, I won't be using the whole 'can do literally anything' most of the time. At least in public. I'm still going to make the Ultimate Gary Stu, make no mistake, but he's going to give the illusion that he's balanced.
The power he'll have in this is metal. He'll produce it and be able to shoot shrapnel, blunt objects, and create melee weapons on the spot. Think a kind of lower level Magneto, but he can make metal out of his body, too.
Oh, yeah. I'm also not Suckerpunch. Therefore, inFAMOUS and everything associated with it. Does not belong to me. And it never will.
Anyway, on with the story!
On the outskirts of the city of Seattle, there was a large party being held inside a longhouse. The people inside were Akomish, a Native American tribe.
Well, there were two exceptions. One of which is on top of the nearby fish cannery.
Unknown to that guy, there was someone who happened to be walking by as he expressed his artistic talent. This particular 'young' man had short messy brown hair with green eyes. He wore a faded gray hoodie that had an Omega symbol with a smaller Alpha symbol inside it on the back with the sleeves ripped at the elbows with a red shirt underneath. Black jeans and gray running shoes.
Hi. My name is Duncan Verser. I'm the King of the Multiversers. Basically, that means I'm God. I can do anything I think of, and nothing will ever be able to do anything to me. Oh, and I can be in multiple realities at once. Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence are pretty useful abilities, once you learn how to block out things you don't wanna see and such.
Bad memories, Duncan. Bad memories!
Anyway, I've been roaming around this particular reality for a few years now. A while back, I helped Cole MacGrath take down the Beast. Fun times.
Of course, now everything here is like in the Marvel universe. 'Conduits' here are like Mutants there. And there ain't no schools for Conduits.
There is a massive prison for them, though. Run by a Conduit that decided submission was better than freedom for her entire kind.
Anyway, I've been here, walking the country for the last few years. I've been waiting for this day for quite some time now. And it's finally starting.
On top of that fish cannery I mentioned earlier, is Delsin Rowe. A member of the Akomish tribe and, unknown to him, a Conduit. His power, specifically, is to touch and copy other Conduits' abilities. This isn't like Rouge's power; It's permanent.
Now, I have the power to make reality my bitch, I've got a Dragon God-powered gauntlet that can turn into armor, and an alien inside me. All of which makes me THE MOST OP person you'd have ever met. Which wouldn't be fair, by any definition. But who here really listens to things like... balance, and fair, or logic, or other such nonsense.
So see, I've had to use a cover power when in public. And I specifically use metal. I produce metal, I shoot metal, I bend metal, the whole she-bang. This has been how I've going the entire time I helped Cole and after he went.
But it's gonna take all my power to BS my way into helping Delsin and getting him all those powers. Of which I will take as well. Behind his back, for the time being.
'Ah, it looks like Delsin just started.' I noted, looking at the billboard on top of the roof. 'Might as well him.'
Grabbing onto the nearest pipe, I began my ascent up the building. Not that good that it reeks of fish. I mean, Jesus, it smells awful. At least I know how to ignore it. Pushing through the foul stench, I finally made it to the top.
The rebellious artist was halfway finished with the white paint when I reached him. He was unaware of my presence until I commented on his work.
"I'm liking it so far." I said, getting his attention and making him turn to face me. "Might I add some input?"
"Huh? How'd you...? Where'd you...?" Delsin asked.
"Same way you did, I assume." I told him, glancing back at the edge. "Saw modern art in this making and wanted to see up close. What else you gonna add?"
"Oh. Well, after this is done I'll put sprinkles on the donut and paint a gun shooting drops and that's about it." He answered, gesturing to the billboard and cardboard near it. "Why, did you have anything else to add?"
"Did you think about adding the cop mustache and shades?" I questioned, holding my chin in my hand. "Might add more to the whole thing."
He turned back to it, look at his work. There was an imaginative gleam in his eyes as he visualized those two additions. "Hmm, I can see it. It might be laying it on a bit thick, but it fits. Could you hold the boards in place once I finish this part? I didn't really make anything for those."
"No problem." I shook my head, before extending my hand. "Duncan, by the way."
"Delsin." He greeted back, grabbing my appendage. "Now, let's make some art!"
Unfortunately, we were 3/4 finished with the whole thing when the police siren could be heard.
"Uh, Delsin?" I began, looking over the edge. "Got any ideas on how to not end up in that truck?"
"Uhh..." The modern day artist looked around for our salvation and found it in the longhouse down the road. "Yeah. We get to the longhouse, mingle, establish an alibi... I'm a goddamn criminal mastermind."
"Yeah, Al Capone, let's get outta this first." I said as he opened the window for our descent.
It would, key word WOULD, have been a perfect getaway had Delsin NOT made any noise after we got inside. But he knocked some random object over and the lady in charge of the empty building came to see what was wrong. With a stapler.
"Who's out there?!" The old lady asked/ordered, well, us, to tell her.
"Ugh, it's me Betty." Delsin sighed, shaking his head walking towards her. "And would you put the stapler down?"
"Hey man," I called out. "Don't underestimate staplers. They're untapped weapons."
The two stared at me like I was an idiot (not gonna respond to that). "Who is this?" Betty asked.
"Just-just a guy I met a few minutes ago." Delsin answered.
"And what were you doing 'a few minutes ago'?" Betty asked, hands on her hips in a scolding manner. "Were you up to mischief?"
The rapid knocking at the front answered that for him.
"Alright, I know you're in there." The officer called out. "So just come on out. Or I'll call Betty, and she'll be here in five minutes with the keys!"
"You were up to mischief."
"Oh come on, seriously. What're you gonna do here?" Delsin sighed, trying to get out of this and to the longhouse.
"She could, you know, go get the keys." I said, interrupting them. "In five minutes."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"… See?" Betty began, looking back at Delsin. "He seems to know how things work. So you two get out of here." She told us, walking to her office. "I'm expecting a phone call."
The two of us stood there, for a few minutes. Finally, Delsin's brain kicked in and we began booking it to the exit in the back.
"Alright." I said, surveying our little obstacle course. "Remnants of a dock smashed by Mother Nature, bird crap, water, and time. Anything I missed?"
"No, that sums it all up pretty well." Delsin deadpanned. I can just tell we'll be great friends.
So began a long hardcore parkour trip over floating wooden planks, bird-marked rock faces, and other such cliché ways to give a tutorial. Though Delsin was curious as to how I was able to jump so well from moderately long distances between places to avoid shimmying on dried fecal matter. I just excused it by saying I eat a lot of protein.
"Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down." Delsin kept saying to himself as the two of us shimmed along the last part to the longhouse.
"Yeah, 'cause looking to the side doesn't cause the same effect."
"Shut up, Duncan." He grunted, lifting himself back up. After helping me up, he sprinted to the door.
Only for his brother Reggie, the cop, to be on the other side.
I could hear Reggie scolding him from my position as the two moved farther away. I kept close enough for what was going to happen. The two continued to bicker back and forth, neither side really gaining anything over the other. Reggie would still win by default since he was a cop. At least he would if it weren't for the military truck swerving out of control on the road smashing into parked cars.
The crash caused a small gas leak, which was already threatening to explode like. I could see that the driver was dead, though it wouldn't matter in terms of the story. What did matter were the two young Conduits that were escaping the wreckage: one boy, one girl. Both obviously young.
"I'm going after those two!" Reggie yelled, running after Fetch and Eugene. "You stay back, that thing's gonna blow!"
"Stay away from the exploding thing, got it." Delsin said to himself, going after it anyway. He could already hear that someone was still trapped. I chose that moment to run up and join him. "Hey, where the hell were you?!"
"Sorry about that, man." I apologized. "Little psyched out by your bro. Accessory to 'vandalism' isn't something I want on my rap sheet. Maybe a more glamorous one, but not that."
"Ugh, fine. No problem." He waved off, pointing to the junk holding down the man in the orange jumpsuit. "Just help me with this, and I might, MIGHT forgive you."
"On it."
It was easy enough, though the smoke was annoying. "Oh, thanks man. Ah thought Ah was gonna die." The guy we rescued said. Great, he sounds like a redneck. Ah, that never goes well with me.
"Hey, you alright?" Reggie called, walking back our way.
"Ah, cop…" The escapee groaned before punching Delsin in the stomach and holding him in a chokehold as a shield. This forced Reggie to pull out his gun, ordering him to let Delsin go. "Ah don't wanna hurt nobody. Ah just wanna get gone 'fore she gets here."
"I said let him go or I will shoot you!" Hank's only response was to drain the smoke coming off the wrecked truck. He shot one blast over Reggie's shoulder as a warning shot. "Ah said I don't wanna hurt nobody!"
And then Delsin touched Hank's arm, and passed out.
Out of Hank's arms, I tackled the convict to the ground. Before Reggie could cuff him, useless as that was, I was punched and pushed off. The criminal took this chance to start running in the direction of the fish cannery to get away from the two conscience people here.
"You, whoever you are, consider yourself deputized!" Reggie pointed at me before pointing at his brother's prone body. "Help him, than help me catch him!"
"Sir, yes sir!" I responded, pulling Delsin to a safe distance away from the wreckage before joining in the chase.
15 minutes later… (A/N: Yeah, it's lazy writing. But I'm tired and I wanna post this already before I get to the next three then start working on everything. So I'll likely come back and add more to this chapter later. It's just been a long couple of days, and I hate it when I take too long to get things finished.)
Out of sight from the authority, I sat atop the burning building. I was surveying the whole scene, waiting for my opportunity. But…
I knew what else I'd have to see before I could do anything.
"Listen, just let me go, just let me walk away, nobody's ever gotta know about any of this-." Hank tried to plead, concrete coming up his legs. "Wait a minute, stop, let's talk about thi-!" Were his final words before his body was fully encased within the rocky prison.
The one responsible, a middle-age red-headed woman in a D.U.P. long coat, walked up to the statue. "Oh, Henry… I am so very disappointed in you." She sighed, though I knew she wasn't really. Her plans in Seattle could now begin, and she'd have one less Conduit (for the moment) to deal with while she worked.
"Well, we got'em. Right?" Delsin clapped once, hoping to get out of the area immediately. "I, uh… flushed that mean old Conduit for you. Good job, everybody. Especially you guy-."
"Bio-terrorist."
"Wha?" Delsin questioned, looking back at Augustine.
"Henry Daughtry, was a 'bio-terrorist'." She reiterated, slowly walking towards the young delinquent. "'Conduit', is a word used by traitors who sympathize with their cause. You're not a traitor, are you?"
"I, uh… I try not to be."
"You seem nervous."
"No, I'm not nervous."
"It's been my experience that there are two reasons for people to be nervous." Augustine started, walking around Delsin. "Either they're cowards, or they have something to hide."
"Well, I also get nervous around pretty girls." Delsin reasoned.
I'm pretty sure everyone who saw that scene face palmed. I certainly just did.
"You were in there with that bio-terrorist for some time. Did he share anything with you?"
"Um, 'share'-?"
"Did he say anything to you?" She specified, running out of patience. "Share any of his ramblings about… conspiracies?"
"Oh." Delsin hesitated. "Um, no… no, he didn't share anything."
"Good." Augustine smiled, though it was still… distrustful. A smart person would see right through it. Most people aren't smart though. "That's good to hear." She said, before explaining how the D.U.P. was in a 'life or death' war with 'bio-terrorists' and how it was her job to deal with it as she saw fit. A… tactful way to say 'I'm legally allowed to hurt you to get answers if I think you're not being honest'.
Delsin made the mistake of pointing out how she was also a 'bio-terrorist'. And that took him right out of the 'coward' section in Augustine's book and into the 'hiding something' section. She signaled her men to prepare to take action if necessary.
"Wait, you can't do this." Delsin protested. "I got rights!"
"And I have the legal authority to suspend those rights whenever I feel it's necessary." She told him, amused. "Like now, for instance. I'll ask again, what happened in there?"
"And I'll tell you again, noth-Agh!" The new prime Conduit yelled as a spike of concrete came out of his leg.
"I'm told that hurts."
So came the event where Delsin was given the choice to tell the D.U.P. he was a Conduit or sacrifice his tribe to save his own skin. Both would end the same. Thankfully, Delsin made the morally right decision. But, the Akomish at the front gates would still get the same treatment.
And all I could do was watch.
I'm perfectly capable of helping them. I can help them. I'm allowed to. My master won't stop me… But, then if there wasn't at least half of the people at the front gates with concrete in them…
Then Delsin would have no reason to go and stop Augustine.
So, I sat there. And for ten minutes after Delsin passed out from the pain of the shard in his leg, I watched and heard the torture his people would endure to protect his secret. And I did nothing.
Till now.
Kunai embedded themselves into the legs of the dups holding the ninth victim before she could get the same treatment as the ones who went before her. The knives looked sloppily made, hastily crafted. That made it worse in the two soldiers' eyes. And their knees. The group looked up to see me, liquid metal flow around my forearms. Two more kunai molded into my hands before they began shooting at me. I threw the two knives at two more soldiers' arms, disabling them.
Augustine, however, was not so easily scared.
"I don't recall you being on that truck." She observed. She didn't even care that I just assaulted her men. "And who might you be."
"A wandering revolutionary?" I suggested, shrugging. "All I know is that I really don't like that dumbass smile smile you have, and I like shooting knives at guys that torture other people. Just a, ya know, a little eccentric hobby of mine."
"Oh goody." She scowled, looking at me like she already hated my guts. Pretty sure she did, too. "You like to run your mouth. I know how to deal with that."
"You can certainly try." I chuckled, beginning to sprint away from her.
Her concrete lifted her into the air as she began her pursuit of me. I would not make it easy on her. And it will be easy for me to escape. I just need to get her near Seattle and away from Delsin, Reggie, the Akomish, all of them.
And then the real fun begins. And hopefully, I can gain Delsin's forgiveness for letting his people go through what they just did.
Okay. I know. It's short. It's basic. It doesn't have the same life I try to give to the first chapters of all the stories I write. But then again, the R+V fic was taken down rather quickly, so I'm not in the highest of spirits.
Don't get me wrong. That's not gonna stop me. I'm still gonna write that fic… but it will be on a different site; Archive of our own. I still trust this site. I love it. But it is safer and logical to post on a couple different sites. So as soon as my phone starts cooperating with me, and I get my laptop fixed, I'll begin posting all my stories here on AO3 as well. DeviantArt, too. Less likely for them to get pulled down, too. So that's a bonus.
Anyway, I'm sorry again that this took so long. And I'm sorry that it's off to such a boring start. A kind of depressing one, too. But, I've got three more fics to start as well. And I refuse to take any longer to get them started. I'll come back to this later and fix up this chapter and lengthen it. Along with adding some more mirth. But for now, please bear with me. I'm paranoid and tired enough. And I really don't want another suspension for another two days. Only have had that happen twice, and it was annoying. So, wait for the hilarity.
Up next (Oh, boy)... Monster Girl Quest.
I'm going to hell. I just know it.