Author Note: Sorry about posting this later than I meant to, it just kept getting longer.
1.3
I arrived back home feeling exhausted, mentally. The day I had had so far was enough to make me wish that I could fall asleep, if only to forget everything for a few hours. Instead, I did the next best thing. Passing the counter that still had mom's note on it, I trudged up the stairs to my room and collapsed on my bed. I- I just needed to get away from everything for a bit. I closed my eyes-
-and opened them in Terraria. Trent was sitting down at a table in his hut, reading a book, but he glanced up when I arrived, a smile entering his face. "Ah, Greg, good to see you!" Something about my inner turmoil must have been visible on my face, because almost immediately, he frowned. "What's wrong, Greg?"
I stared at him for a moment, before I grimaced. "My," I choked, and glanced away from him. "My mom got hurt pretty badly today. She got caught up in a fight between some powerful groups. I want to finish my copper armor, and then I'm going underground." I managed to bring my gaze back up to him, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that his face wasn't full of the pity I had begun to get used to from others. Trent didn't really understand much about our world, and that included things like injuries, family relationships, and politics, and I was never more glad about that than right now.
Trent's eyebrows raised, and I could tell he was struggling with whether he should look sad for my situation, or happy that I was going underground. Trent always seemed to be happier when I was making visible progress on… everything, really. Trent didn't look like he had much by the way of hobbies. He just sat around in this cabin all day. In the end, Trent simply nodded, and let me get on with my work.
Even after smelting all the copper I had found, I only had enough to make the chain-mail and greaves. I equipped them anyways, a little disappointed at how little of a difference it had made to how tough I was. I sighed, and I stood up, having resigned myself to the fact that I would have to go and gather more copper outside, when Trent broke into my musings. "Just go underground now, man. You want to make gains faster? Take the risk. It's not like you can die, anyways!" I nodded, hesitantly. I was afraid to tell him that I was fairly sure that every death rendered me a little less sane. After all, I had died a lot in the beginning, and I felt like I had PTSD whenever it came to interacting with people these days.
Was that just a psychological effect of being torn apart by zombies? Dissolved in the stomach of a slime? Falling off a cliff? Drowning? Or was it something more, another strange rule of this world, that dying put a little less of you back together each time? I was in no hurry to find out, but… I needed to get stronger, strong enough to get back at the Undersiders for hurting my mom.
Trent grinned widely. "Perfect! Alright, here's what you should do this time: Build a small hut a little ways away from the shack, and begin tunneling downwards, a vertical mine shaft. Mark how high you can jump, and place platforms at that height repeatedly, to allow you to jump out of the shaft and get back down safely. Alright?" I nodded again, still not feeling up to much enthusiasm. Before, it was kinda fun to explore and gather stuff here, especially once I could get back at the zombies for killing me so much. But now? I felt a burning drive. I needed to avenge my mother's injuries.
I took a stack of wood out of my construction materials chest, and made a few dozen platforms. Then, I headed out. The work was monotonous, repetitive, but I found that that actually helped me. I fell into a pattern. Dig deeper, set up a platform. I did so for a time, trying to lose myself in the task. Occasionally, I would run into a vein of ore, some copper, some iron. Not too much of either, sadly.
Suddenly, my pickax broke through the ceiling of a cavern. I nearly stumbled, but avoided plummeting into the unknown pit. I peered into the darkness, but I couldn't make out anything. Pulling out a glow stick from my inventory, I shook it, popped it, and dropped it into the pit. Dang, that was kinda far to fall. Not an option. Good thing I've got rope.
As I was setting up the rope to be long enough to allow me to reach the floor in one piece, I was assaulted by the one of the most annoying creatures known to man. Bats.
Quickly dispatching the creature, I peered warily through the hole and tried to catch sight of motion. Failing to spot any more monsters, I grabbed the rope and slid down.
After setting up some more torches, I began to explore the cavern. I excavated a few more ore deposits, and killed a few skeletons. I couldn't help but wonder, again, where did all the zombies, skeletons, and other undead even come from? I hadn't spotted any other signs of a defunct civilization. No abandoned towns or cities on the surface, no cemeteries for the zombies to crawl out of, nothing. I had some strange clues that pointed to absolutely no real conclusion. Whenever I died, I re-spawned, and the location of my death had mysteriously spawned a Tombstone, detailing how I had died. Mysterious? Yes. Creepy? Most certainly. Could I do anything about it? Avoid dying. Right-o.
Down one of the dark caves branching off from the cavern, I saw something. Getting closer, I shone the light from my torch in that direction. It turned out to be… A house? What? This far underground, a spontaneous house just sat there, in this cave. It wasn't in perfect condition, a few walls had caved in, there were large holes in the floor, and cobwebs had overtaken a majority of the interior, from what I could see of it. Still, it was in better condition than an uninhabited house two-hundred feet underground had a right to be.
I walked up to the door cautiously, though in truth I wasn't all that worried. If there had been a creature lying in wait in the house, by the time I got this close, it would have burst out of the structure, or at least be beating itself against the walls, in an attempt to kill me. They always did. Unless there were smarter monsters underground…
I frowned at the thought, and increased the amount of caution I paid the situation. I shuffled towards the door, having placed a torch on the wall, with my spear ready for action in my hands. Still no action from within the house. I carefully reached out and opened the door, placing another torch inside, and looked around. There were a few signs of society on the inside. A table, a painting (Which actually looked like it was undamaged, as well as a high quality work), and a piano? But the real prize here was a yellow chest, sitting in the middle of the floor, looking quite similar to the wooden chests I had discovered on the surface, but higher quality.
I pumped my fist in the air. "Jackpot!" I crowed. Eagerly moving forward, I opened the chest, peering into the curiously large container. Inside, I found some potions, including a purple one I'd never seen before, some iron ingots, a beautiful statue of an angel, and a green pair of shoes with wings.
Hmm, shoes with wings? There wasn't a 'Feet' slot in my inventory's equippable zone, so it must be an 'Accessory', which was good news to me, as I could put on accessories and make them vanish, while still gaining their effects. This allowed me to wear my climbing claws and the strange, broken, shackles I had obtained from a zombie without people in the streets giving me odd looks. Those and the Aglet were my current accessories, and with the addition of these shoes, I would have one more slot remaining.
I wonder what the shoes do? They had little wings on them, so I crossed my fingers for flight. Flight was one of those powers just about everyone wanted, which made the fact that it was also a very common power, or at least side effect of powers, quite welcome indeed.
Equipping them, I hopped into the air. There wasn't a noticeable difference from my earlier jumps, so that was out. I thought really hard about flying. Cracking open my eyes, I was disappointed, though not exactly surprised, to note that my feet were still very firmly connected to the ground. Sighing, I began to walk back out of the cavern with the derelict house towards my rope. I took a slightly different path through the cave, hoping to find at least one more iron deposit before I began my ascent. Instead of an iron deposit, my foot discovered something else.
A button, made of a material similar enough to the surrounding stone to blend in, pressed into the floor, and I froze up as a loud groaning sound echoed through the cavern. Then something enormous slammed into the ground behind me, and I started to run. When the sound of something behind me snapping stalagmites reached my ears, I risked a glance behind me. I nearly tripped at the sight of a boulder, three times my height rolling along just meters away from my back, and it was gaining. What the heck? Am I reenacting Indiana Jones? I redoubled my efforts, nearly instantly achieving a pace faster than any I had set before.
But I went even faster than that, and I just kept building speed. In an incredibly short period of time, I was blurring across the ground, deftly stepping out of the way of stalagmites and outcropping rock formations. Before I knew it, I was coming up to the cavern walls. I slid to a stop, and jumped up onto a ledge in the wall. Scrambling to get upright, I looked behind me, watching the rolling stone continue in its destructive path. It was… pretty far away, and it took a disconcertingly long time for it to reach the wall below me, where it shattered into pieces. I thought, absently, that that was strange. It had hit the floor when it fell from the ceiling with far greater force than its impact with the wall, so why did it only shatter now?
I shook the thought from my head, chalking it up to another example of Terraria's bizarre physics. More importantly, I was now a speedster! Those green shoes were actually pretty awesome. Super speed was an incredibly rare power, as Human beings usually just couldn't handle high speeds without injury, unless their power specifically protects them. Well, my powers were definitely pretty good at keeping me safe, even if the methods I used to gain those powers did anything but. Was it odd, I wondered, that the city of Brockton Bay, one of the most crime-infested cities in the United States, was less dangerous to me than my dreams?
As I ascended the rope, and then the platforms, I felt the carefree euphoria of battle and adventure fall away from me, and I returned to the darker mindset that had hung over me since leaving the hospital. Trent quietly hung about in the background as I smelted the iron ore I had retrieved and added the newly forged ingots to the stack I had obtained from the chest. Good. I had enough for a full set of armor and a sword. While I set about the grim business of constructing my armaments of war, I wore a savage grin as I considered the use that I had in store for this sword.
The Undersiders would be brought to justice. This, I swear.
OoOoO
That night found me jumping, once again, from roof to roof, in search of the Undersiders. I just had one little problem.
Where were they? I mean, I knew, logically, that even if I had been capable of scouring the city from above in a single night, fast enough that someone couldn't avoid me by doubling back on my path, they might not be pulling a heist right now.
Heck, they could be out of costume, for all I knew, or in bed.
Like sane people would be, at this hour.
Heedless of such common sense, I ran onward, allowing myself to go a fraction faster than my normal pace. I couldn't go too quickly, as I didn't want to miss any signs of my quarry, but I was still moving at a pretty good clip, far faster than the average human can sprint.
I may not have found the criminals I had been looking for, but I had still disrupted several other crimes. A gang fight between some ABB toughs and some Empire thugs had been ended pretty fast when I dropped down in the middle of them and whacked a couple guys with the butt of my spear. A quick call to the police later and I had been back on my way. Another incident had been dealt with, through inaction, on my part. A merchant selling some drugs to a scruffy looking dude had broken up just by me poking my head into the alley to ensure that nothing untoward was occurring. Heck, I wouldn't have done anything to them anyways. If some guy wanted to pay another guy some cash to ruin his life, who was I to deny him? Just don't forcibly addict someone, and I won't step into it.
Another fruitless half hour passed, and I was just about ready to head home, when I was interrupted by a voice.
"Eh, uh, Tin Man? Mind stopping for a sec?" I stumbled at the perfectly wrong moment in my leaping, and ended up face planting into the concrete after falling off the roof.
"Ow." I said dumbly. When footsteps approached me rapidly from the general direction of the distracting voice, I contorted my neck into a position more commonly found on human beings than the current position, and pushed myself to my feet.
The voice was frantically apologetic now. "Jesus, are you alright? Sorry about startling you!" I shook the pain off and nodded my still broken neck. I watched my health bar slowly filling up absently, noting that the damage to my overall health was pretty minor. Falls didn't do much damage, after all. "Do you need an ambulance? How on earth are you still alive, your neck was bent at a right angle!" The voice was still panicking.
I held up a hand to forestall the worried tirade. "Nah, nah, I'm fine. Just a bit lost in thought when you called out to me. What's up?" Then I noticed exactly who I was talking to. Red bodysuit, Orange visor… Yep, this was Assault, member of the Brockton Bay Protectorate, one of my role models. All of a sudden, I was glad that my helmet hid the burning blush on my face. I had just face planted in front of Assault. God, I was so pathetic.
He eyed me with concern, but responded in a light tone, as though from a distance. "...If you say so, wow, you must be some kind of Brute to tank a broken neck like that. Regeneration?" He questioned. I cringed inwardly. I had wanted to keep my powers a secret but… well, I kinda had just fallen off a building into what would normally be a fatal injury right in front of him. Of course he'd want to know how I'd lived through that.
"Yeah, if it's not instantly fatal, I get over it. Just a bit of a perk." I attempted to rub the back of my neck sheepishly, but was hampered in that action by my armor. Assault seemed to understand the gesture, at least.
"Well, sorry all the same, I'll try to avoid startling you in the future. Who are you? Got a cape name?" He tensed up a little here, making me wonder what could be making him nervous. Me? Surely not, this was Assault, one of the strongest members of the Protectorate here in Brockton Bay. Of course, if he didn't know who I was, I suppose it was possible that my powers could be anything, to him.
Anyways, I had better answer him. "The name's Terrarian, did, uh, did Miss Militia mention our fight with Stormtiger and Cricket the other night?" Suddenly, I was uncertain. Maybe Miss Militia hadn't told the Protectorate about it? For all I knew, that wasn't anything special, just another Wednesday night for them. Nothing to write home about.
Assault's cry of recognition shook me from that train of thought. "OH! That guy that got his arm chopped off by Cricket?" He sounded entirely too cheerful about that. "Miss Militia did come back and mention that some kid had some powers like hers, with some sort of Regen to boot. Didn't you have to drink some sort of healing agent last time, though?" He sounded a bit uncertain on that last point, as though he didn't think he had remembered it properly.
"Eh, that was just something to bolster my natural regeneration. It wouldn't do anything for anybody else." I said, quickly trying to dispel any thoughts that I could be some sort of Panacea-esque healer. I had already tried to test if my potions did anything for anybody else. The cat I had gotten to drink a Gills potion had completely failed to gain water-breathing organs, and the dying frog had just kept dying even after a dose of healing potion.
He made a noncommittal humming sound. "Huh, okay. Wait, weren't you wearing wooden armor last time? The picture she showed us had it look like you were wearing tree branches." His wide grin belied the teasing for what it was, though I still bristled at the statement. That armor didn't look like random wooden bits, it was very intricately carved! A work of art that was also a functional set of armor! It had been one of the first things I had managed to make with my own hands, and I was proud of it, even if it wasn't particularly effective. Wait, when had Miss Militia taken my picture?
Before I could manage to voice my annoyance at my hard work being belittled, he made a little placating gesture to silence me before speaking again. "Hey, Miss Militia mentioned that you had asked for a rain check on that tour of the Rig and PRT building. The Rig's on lockdown at the moment, Armsmaster is doing his regular bug-sweep. But hey, tomorrow's a Saturday, would you like a tour of the PRT building now, or do you have another appointment to keep?" His tone was light now, and he was pretty relaxed. I guess it must have just been the fact he hadn't known who I was earlier that created the concern.
My first instinct was to decline, but after remembering that there wasn't anyone waiting for me back home, I sighed. "You know what? Sure. I need something to take my mind off of things." Maybe a chat with some other heroes was what I needed. Surely they had had to track down some villains before, I could probably get some tips. "Lead the way?" I gestured in the general direction of the flashy structure. At least, I think it was in that direction. I had gotten a little turned around up on the roofs.
Assault grinned. "Sure thing," He paused for a moment, before drawing out the next word. "...Woody."
He began dashing away before my irritated squawk left my lips.
OoOoO
After a quick jog to the PRT building, I followed Assault through a small unmarked door in the lobby. It was a good thing that it was around midnight, as if it were still in visiting hours, there would probably be people taking pictures. As we walked down a hallway, Assault piped up again. "So, Aegis and Vista are out on a patrol at the moment, but Shadow Stalker, Gallant, Clockblocker, and Kid Win are all on site. Well, Kid Win technically is, but it's more likely that he's dead to the world right now, tinkering.
I nodded in understanding. I might not exactly be a tinker, but I could understand the feeling of getting lost in a project. That was pretty much what happened when I crafted things on autopilot. The world would blur together for a bit, and when I resurfaced, I'd have a finished product! At least, that's how I did it, I didn't really know how most tinkers worked.
He pressed a button outside a door, and I looked expectantly at it. Ten seconds later, I gave Assault a questioning look. He merely grinned, and spoke. "That's basically a doorbell. Let's 'em know that someone's coming in that they might not want seeing their faces, gives 'em a little time to throw on their masks and such." Question answered, I simply hummed in recognition of the idea. Another thirty seconds later, and a little light on the button turned green. "Alright, let's go!" He began whistling a merry tune as he pushed the door open.
In the next room, I saw an interesting sight. It looked like a fairly normal living room. Well, for a millionaire or something. There was a little kitchenette, mini fridge and microwave included, off to one side, and a big flat screen television. A flat screen television that Gallant and Clockblocker were playing a very familiar game on…
"Wait, is that Super Cape Duelists 4?" I blurted out. After all the heads in the room turned to me, I had to fight myself not to visibly wilt under the sudden scrutiny. "Ah, because, um, that's a great game. I've played it a lot. I hadn't thought that the Wards would be into that kind of thing." I mentally flailed. Why couldn't the Wards like video games, like normal people? Darnit, I always put my foot in my mouth!
The silence continued for a moment, before Clockblocker shattered it. "Oh, hey, you must be that Terrarian guy. Got rid of your wooden armor? Shame, I had a couple of puns set up." He said, cheerfully ignoring the fact that his character on the game was getting slaughtered.
Gallant groaned. "Ugh, wow, you dodged a bullet there man. At least until Clockblocker comes up with some new puns." Clockblocker hummed at that, and tried to fail at looking innocent. He succeeded.
Assault sat heavily on the couch besides the two Wards. "Eh, Terra-guy, join us. You two, start a new match. Let's psychoanalyze the independent through his SCD playstyle." His strange smile made me doubt that the claim was entirely false, actually.
But was I really going to turn down a chance to fight real capes in video games? Hell no! I sat down.
The next hour was pretty fun.
OoOoO
Our ferocious game-playing was cut short by Shadow Stalker… well, stalking out of a nearby door. "Oi, Clockblocker! You were supposed to take over for your shift ten minutes ago, you asshole!" Her voice sounded kinda familiar, but I was too focused on taking down Assault's character, Eidolon, with Mouse Protector.
Five seconds later, Assault started shouting. "Bullshit! I call bullshit! Eidolon's the strongest cape in the world, no way would Mouse Protector beat him in a fight!" I grinned back at him, not that he could see it under my helmet.
"What's that? Is that… whining? Face it, man, you got schooled." I boasted. I was very proud of my skill at this game, seeing as it was the last thing dad… I mean, it was a pretty important gift from someone.
Clockblocker looked impressed. "Wow, I've never seen anyone that good at this game before. Do you play a lot?" He sounded interested, which made me happy. I haven't exactly had a friend that cared about my hobbies in a long time, unless you count Trent. Which I kinda do, actually. Maybe Clockblocker and I could hang out some other time, again.
Shadow Stalker snorted. "Hey, listen up. Who cares how good this schmuck is at video games? It's not like it's real fighting. More importantly, Clock, get your backside to the console. I have stuff to do, moron!" You could just hear the sneer in her voice.
Assault pitched in here. "Well, little shadow," She bristled at this, but very wisely refrained from talking back to one of her direct superiors. "It just so happens that this 'Schmuck' as you call him, is not only a devil to beat at video games," Here he shot me a brief dirty look, before turning his head back to Stalker. "But he also happens to be pretty good in a real fight too. Didn't you hear? He fought off Cricket two nights ago, even if she did lop off his arm." He grinned hugely at the wide eyed stare that Clockblocker shot me. Shadow Stalker glanced at me with what was probably a disbelieving stare under her mask. Gallant just shifted uncomfortably.
I tried to chuckle to ease the tension. "I regenerate, I was fine after a minute." I checked the time, before sighing. It had been fun to hang out here for a little while, but I should probably get back home and get some work done. I still had a long way to go, according to Trent. I stood up. "Hey, uh, do I need an escort to get out of here?" I questioned Assault.
He shrugged. "It'd probably be a good idea. Next time, though, I swear I'll defeat you!" He said with mock gravity in his tone. I just laughed and followed him out the door. Waving goodbye to a solemn Clockblocker that Shadow Stalker was dragging into what was probably the Console room she had mentioned, I left the room smiling.
That had been nice.