"Iustitia!" – Regular Speech
'Mistress!' – Thoughts/Telepathy
[Justice for All]! – Skill/Ability being used.
Beta'd by BigCC
Session 1.5
Waking up the Undersiders had been easy for Panacea. What was troublesome had been the reaction they had to discovering they couldn't use their powers. Grue had been relatively calm after a brief bout of disbelief, but Hellhound ("Bitch, dammit!"), Regent and Tattletale had been very outspoken about the loss of their powers.
Well, Tattletale had actually mostly been complaining about her Thinker Headache. Evidently, all Thinkers had a tendency to develop bad headaches if they overused their powers, headaches that no amount or quality of painkiller (outside possible Tinkertech pharmaceuticals) could hope to alleviate or even soften.
"Why does she have a Thinker Headache?" Glory Girl asked with a raised eyebrow. "She can't even use her powers right now."
"Her Gemma is working overtime…" Panacea mused, her fingertips resting on a small portion of Tattletale's exposed face as she, reluctantly, tried to do something to help. "I honestly can't say. I haven't seen anything quite like this before…"
"Maybe it's another aspect of Hamelin's power." I suggested thoughtfully. "He only takes the useful aspects of the power, leaving any negative blowback with the original wielder?"
"Owwwwwwwww!" Tattletale groaned. "Yeah…he's been overusing my power if this headache is anything to go by…where's my gun, by the way?"
"Clock took it to fight off the rats." Kid Win informed her.
"Great. And I guess we're going to be arrested once we get out of this mess…" Grue said darkly.
"IF we get outta this." Regent chipped in testily.
"Why?" I asked in confusion.
"Justitia…they're villains." Aegis said patiently.
"At the moment they aren't Parahumans and we're trapped here, so arresting them is pointless." I said testily. "Also, they're victims of Hamelin as much as we are, more so even because they've had their powers stolen! What kind of asshole move would arresting them at this point be?"
The Wards leader flinched.
"Much as I hate to admit it, she's right, Aegis." Clockblocker said seriously. "I think a mini-Endbringer Truce is called for here."
"Director Piggot will have our heads!" Aegis protested.
"Tell her to take a long walk off a short pier." I suggested waspishly. "We need as many able bodies as we can get if we want to get out of this fucking nightmare house. Hero, villain, independent or rogue doesn't matter. Blame me for it if you want, but just shut up and get with the program."
"And that's you told." Kid smirked at Aegis, who sighed and slumped down in defeat.
"This should be on daytime TV." Regent said with a laugh. "A rookie hero pushing around the leader of the Wards…I'd go pay per view for that!"
Grue absently whacked Regent over the head with the practiced motion of someone who had carried out an action so many times it had become ingrained into their muscle memory.
"So what's the plan, Justitia?" Vista asked.
"I'll draw the attention of those things guarding the town." I said, taking a deep breath to keep myself calm and centered. This was not going to be fun. "While I'm doing that, the rest of you will infiltrate the town, locate the captured Capes and get as many of them out of there as you can."
"Not happening." Glory Girl shook her head firmly. "You're pretty good with that sword of yours, but no way can you fight so many of those human projections."
"Can any of you fight and kill something that looks so human?" I challenged. "This isn't like the Giant Rats; these things are shaped like people, who you all are trained to go easy on. The only possible exceptions might be the Undersiders, but they're powerless right now. I'll handle it."
Panacea sighed. "She's right. Everyone here has been conditioned not to attack humans with everything that they have. Against these projections, that's too big of a handicap."
"Actually, they aren't too bad to fight against." Grue interjected. "We appeared here and got swarmed by them when that bastard Hamelin teleported us."
I could see Aegis visibly fight down the urge to scold Grue for his language.
"So how'd you get your butts kicked?" Clockblocker asked.
"He teleported us here without Bitch's dogs and there were at least twenty of those clay-faced bastards waiting for us." The leader of the Undersiders growled. "We were overwhelmed before we could even try to put up a fight. And those things definitely have some kind of Brute rating for durability if nothing else; I punched one in the throat and didn't even phase it. Brute 1 or 2 at least."
"Yep. My stun gun did squat as well." Regent chipped in.
"Well, I was sort of expecting that." I sighed. I had secretly hoping I'd been wrong but sadly once more reality had decided to butt in. "If this is where Hamelin keeps his captives, then the guardians would have to be stronger than rats he's got running rampant all over the place. What about weapons or armour?"
"Clubs and staves, mostly." The villain answered me simply. "One had a sword, but it kept to the back."
"A commander-type?" I mused.
"Sounds like it." Kid Win agreed thoughtfully. "Maybe some sort of demi-avatar that allows Hamelin to direct and coordinate his projections…?"
"Probably another power he's stolen." Vista scowled.
It took a while to get everyone on board with my plan, but in the end they gave in. Guess my mom's stubborn streak lives on in me.
We would split into three groups. Panacea and Tattletale, along with Vista, were staying behind. Tattletale was too wracked by the debilitating Tinker Headache, to be of any use, Panacea wasn't a combat Cape, and Vista was too small to carry anyone who'd been captured. Her space-warping would also be useful for keeping our way out secure while so the others could focus on finding and freeing the prisoners.
I was my own group, along with Iustitia. Our job would be to draw the guards away from the entrance and keep their attention while everyone else worked.
Everyone else would be on the infiltration team, they'd go in after I had the guards' attention, find and rescue as many of the captured capes as they could, and then book it back to the entrance.
Changing Iustitia into her weapon form, I straightened my spine and headed down the path to the town. I could see that the path curved around to end at a clearing in front of the gates to the town. There was no cover to shield anyone from the sight of the projections patrolling the wall and none in the clearing to use to my advantage. Lovely.
'You have all the advantage you need with me by your side, Mistress.' Iustitia telepathically offered me her support.
'Thanks.' I sent back with a small smile. I tightened my grip on my sword as I walked into the clearing, stopping a handful of paces in. The gates of the town walls slammed open and five humanoid projections charged out, clubs held in one hand.
"[Balance the Scales]!" I stated, holding up the scales. The wave of energy hit the oncoming projections, but unlike the Giant Rats, these…Hamelinites…weren't staggered whatsoever. Hopefully I wasn't getting in over my head here.
I used [Blade Charge] to leap forwards and stab the lead projection in the stomach, but it was like trying to stab limestone. So damn tough! I did manage to withdraw the sword before he could swipe at me with his club. Dodging the blow, I then used [Blade Sweep] to deal out some more damage to it. It was a basic horizontal slash with a bit more power to it, but it was effective. Either that or these things were resistant to Piercing attacks and weak against Slashing attacks.
Avoiding several more blows from the projections, I tested my theory. I stabbed one a couple of times before cutting a different one a couple of times. No matter how I looked at it, the cuts did more damage than the stabs. Lesson learned.
I continued with single-minded focus until one of the projections crashed to the ground, unmoving.
[Hamelinian Warrior] (LV5) defeated! You gain 105 EXP!
Hey! At least I get decent EXP from these guys. That's something right?
Now that I knew their weakness, it didn't take long for the other four to fall to my blade, earning me another Level Up, putting it into the Swordsman Class again. I didn't get any skills this time, but that was perfectly fine by me.
'We took care of the advance party, Mistress!' Iustitia rejoiced as I quickly gathered the loot from the bodies.
'Yeah, but now we have to deal with the main horde.' I pointed out, as at least ten more guys stormed out of the gates, including one who had a sword rather than a club. Oh, so the leader has decided to show up too? Just wonderful.
Stopping a few meters away from me, the sword-wielder gestured with his weapon and the other [Hamelinian Warriors] spread out around me. An encirclement attack, eh?
"Well then…let's [Balance the Scales]!" I shouted. The wave of energy erupted around me and washed over the projections. Again, there wasn't much visible sign of it taking effect, but I had to assume that half of the reason I survived that little tussle earlier with the five previous projections was because of my little trick.
With another wave of its sword, the lead projection sent two of its compatriots at me. I dodged around their attacks and used a mixture of regular slashing and [Blade Sweep] to dispatch them. That netted me 90 EXP apiece. I noticed that the leader seemed to be watching the way I moved closely, so the chance that Hamelin is watching me through him is pretty high too, I'd guess.
"Are these guys the best you have, Hamelin?" I asked aloud. "I've already figured out the trick to beating them. Unless you want to simply bury me under superior numbers, you'd better up your game."
OK, so taunting the nigh-omnipotent Cape in his own personal dimension might not be the best plan, but I'm the distraction, dammit!
Wordlessly, the sword-wielding Hamelinian merely gestured with his sword and sent the rest of the Warriors at me. Eight of them. This would be tough.
The first lunged at me with a solid blow of his weapon, but I slammed my sword into the side of his weapon as it descended and threw the strike off target, following up with a [Blade Sweep] to the neck, cutting its head off.
Critical Hit!
Ok, I could use this.
None of the projections so much as flinched as their compatriot fell to the ground headless and pressed their assault. They also compensated for the moment of vulnerability shown during their club attack by attacking two-man teams, one attacking me at a different angle at the same time as the first. It was irritatingly effective, as dividing my attention to avoid both attacks stopped me from mounting a proper counterattack.
'I don't have to win; I just have to endure.' I chanted to myself as I danced through their attacks, occasionally slicing with Iustitia's blade. I could endure these attacks. I was good at enduring things. Mom's death, Dad falling into a depression, Emma betraying me, The Trio's constant attacks…I could handle something like this easily.
Outlasting things being my specialty, first one, and then another of the Warriors fell. Then, abruptly, they pulled back to their encircling positions. The sword wielder then stood forwards and pointed its blade at me.
'Mistress, you only have 830 Stamina remaining.' Iustitia warned me. 'End this fight quickly, or you may be captured by this man.'
'Roger that.' I thought back. Holding my blade ready, I waited for the attack from my opponent.
I didn't have long to wait. It flew at me with its weapon drawn back. Even without [Swordsman's Eye], I could've read the attack; it was a basic top-right-to-bottom-left diagonal cut. I dodged to the side as it struck, carving a line across the top of its chest, just beneath the neck, with my counter-strike.
Then something slammed into my side like a charging bull, sending me flying with a cry of pain. It'd reversed its sword strike and countered my counter in such a short amount of time?!
With another pained cry, I slammed into the ground and rolled over several times, coming to a rest at the foot of one of the Warriors, which raised its club to strike me down for good. I still had the ability to move though, so I cut off its feet before it could do more than draw back its weapon, and then cut its head off.
Turning back to the sword wielder, I winced as my ribs protested my movement. It was sore, but I hadn't any broken ones. I think.
'Mistress, you've lost over a hundred HP!' my Embryo cried out in worry. 'You should retreat! This isn't an opponent you can defeat by yourself!'
'Sorry, Iustitia.' I told her with a wry smile crossing my face. 'I can't do that. The Wards and the rest are counting on me. I will not fail them. Because…'
"…that is my justice!"' I finished aloud.
There was silence for a moment before the Sword and Scales of Justice burst into dazzling light.
"Yes, my Mistress!" Iustitia exulted. "I am your Embryo and I shall give my all to upholding your justice!"
A screen popped up in front of me.
[Embryo Evolution! Second Stage Evolution Confirmed!]
Mapping all 126 evolutionary paths…
Selecting best possible evolution choice for current situation…
…Completed.
Second Form: [Cudgel of the Law]!
'Iustitia! Take on your new form!' I ordered her, smirking in anticipation.
'Yes, Mistress!' She sounded even more eager than I was.
In another blaze of light, I was holding a short club, about a foot long. It looked to be made of white gold, with a golden crest of a sword and scales inlaid on the shaft. At the opposite end of the handle was a ball about the size of an apple which was glowing.
I recognised it as a tipstaff, a ceremonial club used by tipstaves, a type of bailiff normally called court officers. Thank you Mom for being interested in uncommon and old-fashioned words.
'Mistress, this form has two different abilities.' Iustitia informed me. 'The first is [Order in the Court], which gives you increased damage for every enemy you are facing. The second is [The Law Stands Alone],which increases the amount of damage you deal out based on a condition; the lower your Stamina gauge is compared to how full it should be, the higher the extra damage you deal is. It also reduces the rate of your stamina consumption by three-quarters while active.'
'In other words, it's the perfect weapon to use now, when I'm both outnumbered and low on Stamina!' I summed up, a truly ferocious smile spreading across my face. This was going to be good!
With a roar, I charged in and swung my new weapon at the sword wielding projection. It attempted to block my attack, but the sheer force of my blow shattered its sword into pieces.
Reacting quickly, it fell back as its sword started to regenerate and the other Warriors launched an attack on me. Unlike before, my blows were enough to send the projections flying with one hit. I stomped the last three of them in quick succession before returning my attention to the sword wielder, which had finished regenerating its sword.
Just about the only disadvantage of this new weapon was that my [Swordsman] Class Attack Skills [Blade Charge] and [Blade Sweep] couldn't be used. I'd have to pick up another class to use this new weapon form to its fullest.
"Justitia!" Glory Girl shouted as she swooped in and hammered the projection from behind with one fist. It was sent flying towards me and I swung my Cudgel of the Law like a tennis racket, slamming into it midsection, which practically disintegrated under the force of the impact.
[Hamelinian Warrior Chief] (LV7) defeated! You earn 190 EXP!
That was enough to push me to another level as well, but I put it to one side as I replaced Iustitia into the safety of the crest on my hand.
"Mission complete?" I asked as I grabbed her hand, letting her fly me to the top of the valley.
"And then some." The Flying Brick agreed. She dropped me down and Panacea walked over and looked me in the eyes, worry in them.
"Are you alright?" she asked. "That projection threw you quite a distance."
"I think I have a few bruised ribs, but nothing too bad." I answered with a wince, reminded of their existence.
"Do I have your permission to heal you?" the healer asked.
"Go ahead." I nodded. She reached out and touched me on the cheek with one hand, the pain fading away almost instantly. "Wow. That feels so much better! Thanks."
"All in a day's work." Panacea answered with a smile. "The others brought some food from the town. You should get something to eat, my healing draws on the bodies protein and fat stores in order to heal and replace any damaged tissue. Not to mention you're probably starving after being stuck in here for so long."
"I hear that." I sighed.
As I grabbed the first sandwich I saw and dug in, I listened in on Aegis talking to the other Wards.
"We have Road Runner, a villain from Philadelphia. He was rated to be a Mover 5, superspeed limited to when he was being chased. Also, we have an unknown Tinker, Lightray from Texas, a Vigilante Shaker 4 who makes solid-light structures, and several others that I don't recognise." He listed. "How long has this guy been active? Lightray vanished over a year ago!"
"Justitia was right. The Protectorate really should keep a better track of Indies." Gallant sighed.
"Great, so we have a dozen unconscious bodies." Vista grumbled in between bites from a granola bar. "All of whom will be useless in a fight because they're without their powers. More people to protect."
"What was it like in there?" I asked Kid Win.
"Like a freaking ghost town." The Tinker shuddered. "The place is built like a town from the Swiss Alps a couple of hundred years ago and I half expected to see men running around in lederhosen every time I peeked in the houses."
"Most of 'em are just empty shells; no furniture or even floors, just an outer casing." Glory Girl added. "Only the buildings around the town center are anything close to real. And boy, are they freaky too. Just rows of stone slabs and the Capes on top of them."
"One was even solely dedicated to housing a power generator, along with a couple of fridges and freezers." Kid Win added. "There were perishable storage units too. He had enough to last him quite a while. We took a bit, but we do need to get out of here."
"I beat sixteen of those humanoid projections, so he has to have noticed things are not going according to plan by this point." I said with a nod. "Speaking of which…"
I checked my list of jobs via my mirror.
Available Jobs:
- Fighter
- Soldier
- Duelist
- Academic
- Bailiff (*)
- Maceman (*)
- X - Sergeant-at-Arms (*)
Oooh, three new ones!
According to Iustitia, [Maceman] was the basic club user, which provided several useful strength boosts and skills. [Bailiff] was a hybrid between a [Maceman] and the [Scribe] class, acting kind of similar to a Red Mage in that while I could gain skills from both classes, I wouldn't master either of them to the same degree, although there were unique class only skills.
The last class, [Sergeant-at-Arms], was one I had the right stats for, but not the right classes. In order to unlock it fully, I had to have the [Swordsman], [Soldier], [Spearman], [Maceman], [Halberdier], [Archer] and [Crossbowman] classes levelled at 25 each at least. It was a shame, but I didn't think I'd do that. The likelihood of Iustitia becoming all of those weapons was unlikely and I would need to keep with the classes that worked for my Embryo.
With that in mind, I chose the [Maceman] class.
[Congratulations!]
You have acquired the [Club Mastery] passive skill!
You have levelled up!
You are now a Maceman (LV1)
You gain +50 HP!
You gain +5 Strength!
You gain +5 Toughness!
You gain +5 Endurance!
By the effect of your Embryo, you are granted the accumulated stat points to your Wisdom and Intelligence!
You gain +45 Intelligence!
You gain +45 Wisdom!
You gain the [Mighty Smash] Skill!
You gain the [Buckler Mastery] Skill!
You gain the [Second Health Boost] Skill!
From your Embryo's evolution, you gain the [MP Up!] Skill!
Name: Taylor Hebert
Cape Name: Justitia
Gender: Female
Level: 7
Title: None
Job (s): (1) Swordsman (LV6)
(2) Maceman (LV1)
EXP: 73/550
Embryo: Maiden of Justice Iustitia
Embryo Type: Maiden with Arms
Embryo Forms Achieved: 2/7
Stats
HP: 650
STA: 1500
MP: 205
Strength: 47
Toughness: 45
Endurance: 47
Intelligence: 65
Wisdom: 60
Luck: ?
Given that my mental stats had been higher initially, it wasn't a surprise that they were higher now too.
"Oh yeah!" Glory Girl exclaimed. "You were throwing those creeps around like they were nothing! What the hell happened?"
"Iustitia achieved her second form." I answered as I put my mirror away. "It gave me two new abilities that increases my damage output depending on how many enemies I face at any given moment, and ups my damage further depending on how low my stamina is."
"A Trump/Brute powerset?" Clockblocker whistled. "Not bad."
"Trump/Striker, Clock." Kid Win objected. "She said damage, not strength. It isn't actually increasing her physical strength, just the damage she deals out. I'd put it at Trump/Striker 4 or 5."
"What about the fact those projections were getting airtime with every hit?" Glory Girl asked pointedly. "It was like watching a Brute fight."
"A secondary component to her Striker section reflecting the damage as what the equivalent of physical strength would do to the target." The Tinker rattled off.
"What is your new weapon?" Aegis asked me. I silently called out Iustitia, my Embryo showing off her new form as a tipstaff.
"A club?" Panacea asked with a raised eyebrow.
"A tipstaff." I corrected her. "A ceremonial mace used since the 15th century as a symbol of rank for a certain kind of bailiff. It fits in with the 'justice' theme Iustitia and I have going. I'm looking forward to seeing what her third form will be."
"Anyway…what do we do now?" Gallant asked.
"We have to wait until Hamelin notices that we've pretty much taken over the inner sanctum of his dimension." I said as I got Iustitia to resume her human form. She looked even older now, barely a year younger than me. She also had bigger boobs than I did, dammit!
"How long'll that be?" Grue asked. The Undersiders had been silent aside from Tattletale's infrequent groans of pain.
A deafening roar of fury filled the cavern. It was male, it was coming from everywhere and, boy oh boy, did it sound angry.
"I'd say right about now." Regent put in snidely.
Grue whacked him over the head again.