My return to Brockton Bay is considerably less introspective than the first. Having activated the first Genesis Chamber, I step through Kaleidoscope back out into the city to waste some time and get the lay of the land. It's a bit unfortunate, but even though my memory seems to have been made nearly perfect, even effecting memories from before my powers activated, there is much about the city and the world that I simply don't know. Part of that is the author of Worm having limited freedom to wax endlessly about the worldbuilding of his setting, while the second, much larger part of it was my previous self's tendency to quickly skim prose and scene setting text. I'm quite certain the author had at least described the general layout and many of the landmarks of Brockton Bay, but for the life of me, I have no context for most of them.
Boat graveyard? That definitely exists in Brockton, but where? I have no clue. The Boardwalk? Well, that's a place that exists for sure. If I am on the ground, I'm fairly certain I can use my awareness from Psychokinesis to map out large sections of the city at a time, but that gives me structural data—useful, but not contextual. As such, my first inclination is to appear in the sky looking over the city once more.
This time, it is mid-morning, the day after my previous visit. I glance down at the city below, extending my psychic awareness. It is a rather mundane use of such power, but over the course of around three seconds, I filter and skim the geographical memories of some odd two thousand individuals from various areas across the city, building a mental map of Brockton Bay from the knowledge of those that live there.
"Huh. That was really easy," I mumble, surprised despite knowing that I shouldn't be. All of the psychic might of the Emperor of Mankind and then some is within me. Such a trivial task is not even taxing to me. But still, after that, I feel like a regular resident of the city in just a few seconds.
"What to do, what to do?" I ask both myself and my predecessor.
Plan.
"Right. It's probably best to actually sit down and work out a list of priorities and points of conflict we'll need to resolve before actually doing anything. Good idea." I had been considering doing that very thing before the suggestion, but hearing my mentor agree with that course of action only made me believe that it was even more critical. Worm wascomplexand it was really fucking long. There were tons of little details that could be missed if I didn't force myself to lay out my goals.
"It's still morning, which means it's too early to be functional without coffee." I state firmly.
Confusion.
"Don't worry, I know a good place. Actually I know like seventeen good places, but this place has a cute waitress that works on weekdays, so we're going to go there and hope it's not the weekend right now," I say, mirth in my voice.
Confusion.
"Also, they have good cake. But first…" I look down at my admittedly nice-looking armor, "I've got to get rid of this."
Disagreement. Keep wearing the armor.
"Sorry, friend-o, but we need to blend in," I laugh, and a power slot causes the armor to flash into clothes more suitable for a trip to the Boardwalk. I summon the same power I had utilized the previous night—Doormaker's power, but with a small alteration.
"But don't worry, we're still golden, predecessor." A golden rectangular portal opens in the air in front of me as if to punctuate my words, leading to a quiet alley a three minutes' walk from my chosen destination. I float through it even as I receive a strange combination of discontent and approval from my mental passenger.
"Ah shit, you know, I don't actually have any money."
--
I am not blending in. It's rather easy to forget in the moment that I had just last night made myself seven feet tall with a mane of back-length hair, not even mentioning the literally glowing golden eyes that now resided within my skull, but needless to say, I was attracting way more attention than I had intended. As I make the short walk to my destination, I am the target of many open stares, dozens of pointing fingers, and two camera flashes, and it's possible I may have caused one car to rear-end another. I look down at my clothes.
A rich black suit trimmed with gold filagree along the cuffs and collar, left with the jacket open. No tie, and the top button of the gold shirt underneath was open, so basic business casual rules were being followed, except for the golden laurel wreathing my head, which I was really loathe to remove. Nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fact that I looked like I probably owned like eight boats. I had even shown restraint and made the shoes black instead of gold.
'I'm not good at blending in, predecessor.'
Agreement.
Another small issue I'm having as my destination comes into sight, is the fact that I'm thinking far faster than any human has any right to. Typically, that seems like a net benefit. It gives me more time to plan my actions, plan my words, think out decisions, and execute them all quickly. Back in my laboratory complex, I had scarcely even noticed the difference in perception, except for the fact that if I wanted, I could keep exact track of the passage of time using Kaleidoscope. That was the only indicator there that my mind significantly faster.
Here in the middle of the crowded Boardwalk, it's noticeable to a painful degree. Pedestrians seem near frozen mid stride, to my relative mental speed. Only my newly enhanced eyesight alerts me to the micro-movements that indicate their continued motion. A walk that should have taken three short minutes feels as if it has dragged for close to several longhours. During combat, I imagine this kind of ability to perceive the world in slow-motion would be invaluable. Here in a casual setting, I'm being forced to crawl my way to a café at a speed that I can barely even measure the progress of. I remember reading a particularly high-powered comic about The Flash in my previous life, describing how he perceived the world in atto-seconds, and how agonizing it was for him to think so quickly, and find myself comparing it to my current situation.
'This isn't going to work.'Paging through the options at my disposal, I consider the powers I have. A power slot could likely fix this, if I want, but that's a temporary fix. Do I really want to have a slot attuned just to slowing down my thoughts eighty to ninety percent of the time? No, not particularly.
Instead, I extend my consciousness towards the as-of-yet untouched motes of power I received from Power Manipulation. I pull three towards myself, and begin shaping them. I had intended on mostly saving the Power Manipulation charges for others, to empower minions and servants, but needs want, as they say.
A few more relative moments of work, and I feel the new power take hold, becoming apart of the collection of abilities I have. This one isn't as esoteric as the others, not a wellspring, or a nexus of power, but rather a simple dial. I had spent three full charges on this power, so I imagine it's fairly potent. Experimentally, I crank the dial up.
'Holy hell.'
My perception seems to freeze. The world around me halting almost completely. Psychokinesis, by way of the just-barely shifting atoms informed me that time was notstopped completelybut that it was close enough to be nearly the same thing. I had cranked my mental speed so high that for all intents and purposes, I had given myself infinite time to think. That was huge. In combat, with the level of versatility at my disposal, it would represent a massive force multiplier.
I crank the dial down, all the way to where it had been previously, and then even lower. Slowly, as I tune towards my desired speed of thought, the people around me start moving faster, and I find myself falling into a more comfortable stride that doesn't leave me with relative hours of time to think to myself.
'Awesome. I fixed a problem, and got a pretty ridiculously strong power out of it. Win-win."
Now much more comfortable in my own head, and with my destination quickly approaching, I prepare myself to interact with people for the first time since I gained powers.
Curiously, I also take note of an additional sense I have not yet utilized. Within the building I'm walking up to, I can sense three sets of powers. Three parahumans. I review my CYOA choices again and recognize it as one of the side effects of Power Manipulation.
'Darkness Generation, Nervous System Manipulation, and... Deductive Inference? Wait, that's—'
No way. What are the fucking chances? Briefly, I scan their minds to see why they're even here. Really? Here? What the fuck guys, why are you planning a heist in the middle of a fucking café?
The Beanshackis a quaint little café situated between two clothing stores. It's full of comfortable booths, comfortable A/C, and the delicious aroma of coffee and pastries. I duck my head as I enter to keep from hitting my forehead on the doorframe, and I can literally hear the conversation peter out as I do so. I glance around, noticing that everyone in the room that is facing me seems to be looking at me with trepidation, including the cute waitress that I had mentioned to my predecessor earlier. Despite the infinite source of confidence that now resides within me, I find myself somewhat self-conscious, and feeling remarkably like my old self.
"Uh, table for one?" I say in possibly the most awkward manner possible, my deep, booming voice carrying easily across the entire room. No one moves, but I think I hear a faint snicker from someone in the café. Damnit.
Humor.
I fight the urge to snarl at my predecessor, instead stepping further into the room and quickly making my way to an empty booth and sitting down heavily. It feels cramped at my new size, and I push the table away from me, hoping to make it more comfortable. The table makes an ungodly racket as the metal table legs scrape against the hardwood floor. Finally situated, I lean back into the booth and consider the choices that led me to this situation. What the fuck was I thinking, turning off my super fast brain. Now I'm back to being a dumbass. Even with all of the Emperor's infinite charisma, I had the all the social graces of a considerably ugly goldfish in my past life.
Agreement.
'AgReEmeNt. Shut the fuck up, predecessor.'I think at him heatedly. A surge of emotion that I can only compare to mental laughter radiates from him.
"Um, can I take your order, s-sir?" The waitress has approached me warily, and the stutter in her voice makes it clear that she considers me either frightening, or devilishly handsome. I desperately try and pretend that it's the latter, studiously ignoring my psychic ability to discern emotions.
"Uh, yeah. Can I just get a latte, double espresso? And just whatever cake is fresh? That's all." I say in my entirely too loud voice. She nods quickly, not even bothering to write the order down on her little notepad before walking away much faster than she probably would from someone who she thinks is devilishly handsome.
'Alright, ignoring how badly that went, let's get down to business.'I think to myself. A power slot shifts, and a sheet of paper and a golden fountain pen appear in a flash of gold light. I quickly hunch over the paper and begin writing.
'So, for sure Scion is an issue, but we don't really need to worry about him for a while, so what are the most pressing concerns?'I think to myself for a moment before writing down:
Come up with a cool name for Super-Custodes
Figure out how to handle training for Super-Custodes
Unify humanity!
'Eyyy, that's a pretty good start to the list isn't it, predecessor.'
Despair.
'Fuck you.'I continue writing.
Deal with Eidolon?
Honestly, I'm not really all that sure what to do with Eidolon. Technically, he seems to be the cause of the Endbringers, but it doesn't seem to be intended, or even voluntary, except for some vague wish for "Worthy Opponents." Not exactly something I'd want to kill him for, or even depower him for. He, for all that he causes a shit ton of strife, seems to be a mostly okay guy. I add another item to the list just under Eidolon.
Kill Endbringers?
I need to get rid of the Endbringers for sure, but did I necessarily need to kill them? If they could be turned to my ends, they could be very powerful assets to have in my back pocket. I idly imagine forge-worlds dedicated to producing Superweapons in the same vein as them for my future Imperium's defense. That could be fun.
Kill Slaughterhouse 9
No question mark here. Honestly, this should probably be done as soon as physically possible. It'd probably be an afternoon trip to take care of them, and every day I leave them rampaging is a day where their victims could've been saved by my intervention.
'Hey, predecessor, you haven't chimed in for a while, you got anything?'
No. Unfamiliar Variables. Continue production of Custodes. Conquer humanity.
'Not sure about the whole conquering thing. That tends to involve massive loss of life. Eh, we'll add it as a provisional item'
Conqu—
"Hey, you mind if we sit?" My writing is interrupted as a female voice derails my train of thoughts. I look up. A pretty young blonde girl with a dusting of freckles across her face smiles at me, pointing to the empty seats in the booth. Behind her stands a rather muscular black dude with cornrows, shifting uncomfortably, and a thin pale boy with black curly hair looking completely unconcerned. The powers I sense in them instantly lets me place them in my mind as the Undersiders.
"Yeah, for sure. Wait—no. I mean no I don't mind. Yes sit down. I mean—If you want—"
--
Despite my active attempts to sabotage myself, they do in fact end up sitting down with me, the three of them piling into the booth seat opposite from me in a way that looked cramped and uncomfortable, with Brian against the wall, Lisa in the middle, and Alec on the outside edge. Lisa looks entirely too amused at my awkward rambling, but also has an edge in her eyes, likely already pinging her power for information about me.
"Lisa, scoot over, my buttcheek is hanging off the seat," Alec says in a whining tone. Lisa rolls her eyes.
"Your buttcheek will be fine, Alec. I have faith in it." She responds without looking at him, eyes still fixed on me. Alec doesn't respond to her jab, seemingly more interested in complaining at her than bantering with her. He leans against her limply, forcing her to ward him off with one of her arms. Brian sits grumpily against the wall.
Deceiver.
My mental companion chimes in helpfully, indicating Lisa.
'Yeah, I know. Thanks though.'
"So," she begins, "We couldn't help but notice the little show you put on. You a new cape?" She asked, eyes flitting from my face to my body and back, likely watching my body language. I put exactly no effort into trying to control it.
"Yes, I received my powers yesterday," I say, idly finishing item number seven on my to-do list. Lisa's eyes flick down to it, but the combination of my hand in the way and it being upside down seem to do a lot to keep her from being able to read it.
"Wow! That's so cool," She flashes me a very pretty smile that is likely designed to lower my guard, "What kind of powers do you have, if you don't mind me asking?" She leans in and tilts her head in a cute manner that I freely admit makes me want to answer her. I consider for a moment. How to best summarize all of what I can do?
"Way too many, way too strong." I say. I think for a beat, and then nod. That probably sums it up. Brian and Alec look disappointed with that vague information, but Lisa looks interested and gives Brian an extremely smug look, at which he rolls his eyes.
"I mean, summoning pens is cool and all, but is there more to it than—" Lisa is cut off from her continued interrogation as Alec interjects himself into the conversation.
"What are you writing? Can I see it?" He asks completely unabashed. He reaches out for it as if to grab it while looking directly at me. I slide it to him halfway. Lisa immediately leans in closer to him and suddenly he is the one fending her off.
"I'm planning. I've got lots I need to do, so I figured I'd get some of it written down. I came here to do it because the cake is good, and the waitress is cute." Alec laughs at my bluntness. Lisa's eyes scan the paper quickly, narrowing, widening, narrowing, and then widening again.
"K-kill the End—" She's cut off as Alec's hand mashes into her face as he tries to push her away from him. She slaps his hand away and glares at him, and then at me.
"Are you crazy? You triggered yesterday and you're sitting in a café plotting to kill the Endbringers, the unstoppable monsters that the combined power of hundreds of combined heroes and villains, including theTriumvirate," she emphasizes the word Triumvirate, as if it has special meaning, and I suppose to her, it does, "haven't even managed to significantly injure? Is that right?" She finishes incredulously. I nod. Her left eye twitches.
"I mean, it's possible that I could convert them to my side, but if not, then yeah, I'll probably have to just kill them." Lisa looks gobsmacked. Alec taps her on the shoulder and points to my list.
"He's also gonna kill the Slaughterhouse Nine." He informs her. I nod again. Lisa makes a high-pitched keening noise and screws her eyes shut. I look at Alec, and then at Brian.
"Is she okay?" Brian just sighs, rubbing his eyes, but Alec wears an open-mouthed grin while he watches her have a small breakdown.
"You—you're not just crazy, you're stupid." She accuses as she opens her eyes back up, taking my list from Alec and throwing it at me, "And what the hell is up with you?" She asks incredulously, pointing and giving a vague gesture towards my stomach up, seemingly gesturing to all of me.
"Like, specifically?" I ask, more to keep the conversation flowing than because it makes any actual conversational sense. While she continues to rant, I add another item to my list, it brought to mind due to the Undersiders' unexpected appearance:
Kill Coil?
Alec leans across the table, trying to read what I'm adding. I let him.
"Who's Coil? Why do you want to kill him?" Alec asks loudly. Lisa freezes, eyes wide. Brian's face goes down, forehead flat on the table. Lisa suddenly tries to stand before realizing she's sitting between two other people in a café booth, quickly sitting back down and huddling back.
"How the fuck do you know who Coil is?" she whispers harshly, shoulders tense, her expression frightened, "Do you work for him?" Brian sits back up and is looking inquisitively at her now. Alec seems content to continue watching the fireworks.
"I don't work for him. Never even met him actually. I read about him in a book on the internet." I say openly, attempting to convey the honesty in that statement. Lisa stares at me searchingly, seemingly looking for something. Her mouth opens, and then closes, then opens again.
"That doesn't make any sense!" She yells, some patrons of the café startling as she does so. She looks around sheepishly, and then leans in again, whispering, "You have no idea what you're doing. You are going to get yourself, and a lot of peoplefuckingkilled. Coil isn't someone you can just go an—" I tune her out as she continues. This is way more fun than I thought it'd be. I don't know why people always give Tattletale shit in fanon, she's fun to mess with. I glance down at my list and add the next item.
Bully and Impregnate Tattletale...Multiple times [IMPORTANT!]
I look up at Alec and meet his eyes. A moment of understanding passes between us and he grins. He leans in to read the latest addition to my master plan, and I turn it towards him to facilitate this. He takes about two seconds to read it, two seconds to process it, and then one second to look up at me in surprise. Our eyes meet again, and I grin. His lips twitch.
He chuckles, and suddenly he's actually laughing. Full on, head-back, shoulder-shaking laughter. Lisa looks at him in shock, and even Brian looks surprised at the outburst. She snatches the paper, and I am more than happy to let her. She glares at the list intently, her eyes zeroing in on the newest item.
She looks at it for several seconds before she looks back up at me, the list falling from her hands to the table. Her lips tremble, her eyes scrunch up again, and she quickly flushes red in the face, though whether it's from anger or embarrassment I can't really tell. Oh wait, I can actually. I scan the surface of her thoughts. Ah. Both.
"So, Lisa darling, I'm actually pretty strapped for cash at the moment. Do you think I could borrow some money? I promise to pay you back." I ask her earnestly.
Lisa shrieks.
Alec laughs.
Brian groans and his forehead returns to the table.
Poor guy, dealing with this bunch of misfits can't be good for your sanity.
THE GOD EMPEROR'S MASTER PLAN TO SAVING THE EARTH
Come up with a cool name for Super-Custodes (TAKING GOOD NAME FROM COMMENTS PLEASE HELP ME)
Figure out how to handle training for Super-Custodes
Unify humanity!
Deal with Eidolon?
Kill Endbringers?
Kill Slaughterhouse 9
Conquer Humanity? *PROVISIONAL
Kill Coil?
Bully and impragnate and Impregnate Tattletale [ IMPORTANT!]
Truly, the world is blessed to have me as its savior.