My mind was elsewhere, the thought of what had just happened weighing heavily on my mind.
So much so that I barely even put thought to my one parents.
She must have been a thinker… but who.
I knew her name was Contessa but from cursory searches there was nothing about her.
Maybe she had just hidden well but that wasn't much of an option either as my Necron technology was far superior compared to them.
It would be child's play to dig up her background but why haven't I.
It was like things were going just her way.
'Just her way' I thought, my mind going to an absurd place.
Was she able to plan out everything? Maybe some super organization type thinker.
Where she could organize the events of things in order to come upon her desired outcome.
It was what would make sense. She could have been waiting for me to trigger.
Hell she could have made me trigger or at least the circumstances in order for someone to trigger.
But that couldn't be… she would have to be a cape comparable to the Triumvirate, no even the Triumvirate weren't enough. You would need to be someone comparable to the simurgh in ability. Was that what she was, a massively overpowered cape with precognition.
Or maybe it was postcognition with powerful calculating abilities.
But that comes with the caveat of the Manton limit. Powers couldn't go beyond space and because of that the predictions would be faulty.
It was a theory that I had, one that had most likely been thought of before but it was a possible solution.
Every reaction has a cause and because so you could predict with a hundred percent accuracy the result of an event.
The most obvious example of this would be if you knew that b came after a and because of that after a happens you know that b would happen.
And if you were to extrapolate that into the world, knowing the position and vector of every single atom of the universe then you could predict with a hundred percent accuracy the events of the whole universe down to the end. Entropy.
But that was silly, and relied on the fact that everything was predetermined and not random. But if it was and everything was known and you had the right calculations you would be a god. An omnipotent god that could change history with absolute certainty as long as you knew what sorts of strings to pull.
'That could… that could work.' If a parahuman power was just a manipulation of nature in certain ways which was my running theory. Then it wouldn't be a stretch for one to extrapolate the future with the variables given to it.
Of course it wouldn't be absolutely certain and there would definitely be some abilities that might be able to hide from its information gathering but that could work.
Say this Contessa had a power that gathered the information of every single working part of the earth, then used those to calculate the future. Then it could know where to pull the strings to cause a certain action to occur.
And if that was truly the case then the power would be one where you ask a question to it and it would give you the steps in order to achieve that. Pulling on the right strings.
I sighed as my head hit the table, there was so much to consider and that was only when grasping at strings and analyzing past events.
There was a high almost certain possibility that my analysis of Contessa's capabilities was completely wrong but for now I needed to move with the illusion that she had those abilities.
My eyes hardened as I found myself startling from my chair. If I were to continue my survival, my mission in this world there would be no more need for doubt.
I would struggle and fight through all this as though it was true, as though every move that I could and would take was calculated.
It would be hard, almost impossible yet I would struggle through. The first order of business being to create some sort of information deprivation device that I could create.
One that would block any and all sensory inputs that I could reasonably find and block. And while I was sure that it would not work completely it would be a start.
I tapped on my thigh, the telltale buzzing of the scarabs filling my ears as they take in my inputs. I found myself standing next to them. The costume that I had created filling my whole body.
It was not one that would leave any weaknesses. In fact it could probably tank an endbringers attack before breaking and having to regenerate.
And yes, it could regenerate, I had made it of necrodermis. Or living metal. As long as it had energy it would be able to regenerate and as if it had its own memory it would form back into the form it had been set to.
I looked to the mirror, my face concealed by a skull. I was no longer me, no, now I was a different person. This would be my cape persona.
I had yet to think what I would call myself in this persona but for now…
It was a cold night, one that had played on the minds of many people. They were lined with thick coats, their hoods played above their head as they avoided the gazes of others.
The sun was setting, the many people turning into few as night approached. It was a familiar feeling, a sentiment that most agreed with.
That to survive unscathed in this here bay, that you should not be out at night. Not with the gangs, even with the everpresent eye of the heroes they were not omniscient, they were not gods.
Would you put your fate into a nebulous concept such as luck. Luck that you may be unharmed, luck that you may be saved from a horrifying fate. No, many people had rejected luck and had taken their protections into their own hands.
The most common of which being to not stray at night. And those that could not were armed, even now, with a critical eye, I could see the bulges and the clenching of fists as they prepared to defend themselves against any unknown threats.
Guns and knives gave hope and comfort to those without power, without a space that they could call safe.
Yet there was another group, the one that I had paid most attention to. It was the ones with hardened eyes, the ones that had shown no fear at the closing of day.
With vicious smiles and wandering gazes, looking for nothing more than their next prey. Ones that could not defend themselves from their hands.
Those would be most of the time teen's still stuck in that phase where they think of themselves as invincible, as if nothing could hurt them.
I scoffed behind my helmet, the sound coming out more as a rasp of metal than anything legible as a scoff.
I was out in full regalia, the armor around me painting me as nothing more than a vengeful skeleton. No doubt many would have thought of me as a villain.
Even now I could see it in their eyes, the fear that I would be cruel, that I would hurt them or worse.
The small noise that I had made did not go unnoticed. The gang's enforcers approached with arrogance in their eyes.
Idly my finger played with the labyrinth that I held in my hand. A scarab floating beside me approached with grace in the air.
I placed the labyrinth upon it, leaning against the wall as I waited for them to come closer.
They being the gangsters that had thought it wise to approach an unknown cape, one that must have looked villainous to them.
"Hey! This is ABB territory here, beat it before I have lung kill you weirdo!" One of them yelled, waving the pistol in his hand in a manner that others would see as threatening.
But I did not, I raised an eyebrow at his display before in a display of speed and agility I grasped his neck with my arm.
With barely any effort I raised him above the ground. His comrades opening fire on me, yet they did not even reach close to me. ra
Upon the firing of the first round of bullets the guns in their hands were promptly disassembled and turned into usable energy. The bullets that had been fired disintegrated by an idle blast of one of the many scarabs following me.
I had kit them with simple gauss weaponry. Ones that could be fired at will by them. I trusted in the nascent AI that I had programmed to keep them in order.
Yet the weapons were not as powerful as I would have liked them, a problem of size if anything. Because of the relatively small size of the scarabs there was not much room to fit anything on them, not in the least a full gauss weapon.
That was why I had downsized it and replaced their disintegration capabilities for a more offensive reach.
Though only a couple had been fit with this, I had only needed maybe ten or so of them, enough to take out any exotic weaponry that I was not comfortable reaching me and for covering fire.
After all, the staff that I held was meant for close combat. Even if it was the most deadly blade that this world could ever see I would still need to close in and stab them.
It was only after a moment of terrifying them that I finally spoke.
"It seems…" I spoke, my voice modulated to imitate the accents and mannerisms of a Necron, "That you and your ilk know where this Lung figure is, bring him."
I left no room for arguments, terrifying him by liquidizing one of his friends arms. Was it cruel? Yes, but I was already a villain in the eyes of society and they were ABB there was no need for sympathy or mercy.
I let go of the man's neck and dropped him to the floor.
"Make sure this Lung obtains my message, be here or I release the info of all of his capes and those of affiliation to his own."
Obviously I did not have this information but with a quick search through the systems of this primitive internet and I was almost completely assured of my accuracy.
"And if that is not enough mention the name Kenta"
With that I let them go, stabbing the tail end of my staff into the ground and waiting.
They scurried like mice, making their way to some location that I had no interest in. As long as my message was delivered I had no care about where they went.
Yet I still had a scarab trail, making sure to keep a weapon aimed at them. The moment that they would try and escape their fate as messengers I would kill them.
No mercy for the gangs of this city. I had already decided that Lung would be the first of many in my museum but I would not only capture him but his entire legacy.
Everything that made Lung, Lung would be contained and kept in its own exhibit.
"So you finally come, I have been waiting O' mighty Lung"
The sun had already set, darkness taking hold of the bay. Moonlight shone down, illuminating my figure over the cold dark of the night. Across from me was the mighty Lung, the one that had gone toe to toe with Leviathan, one of the endbringers.
A worthy addition to my budding museum. But not in the state that he was in right now. No, it would be such a shame for me to merely take in the human counterpart when there was something much more valuable.
I looked up and watched as the man growled at me, an animalistic part taking hold at my sheer arrogance.
My cape, a fluid metal one, flapped in the wind creating a view that to others would be nothing more than dramatic respect but to the eyes of one 'Kenta' it was a show of pure arrogance.
"In the name of the… hmm… Yes, that would work… In the name of the Impermanent Galleries I hereby announce that you shall be of the first exhibit. Be honored, to be part of the collection of human history, O' mighty Lung"
With that I stopped with all communications, ignoring the arrogant ramblings of the nascent dragon in favor of swinging my arm in the air.
An invisible command known only to the scarabs being transmitted.
For a moment the entire world was silent, a shot of pure energy taking with it the arm of the so named Lung. It disintegrated the very building blocks of his arm and turned it into energy. Energy that was then used to take shots at his other limbs.
Each of them were given the same treatment, turned into energy for the continued use of my extensive collection of weapons.
But that was not the end of Lung, for if it was then he would surely not have been chosen as a candidate for my newly named Impermanence Gallery.
The nascent dragon grew, his body turning more and more draconic with each passing second. The people around us hurriedly withdrew from the vicinity but I took no notice of them. They were inconsequential, mere specks of dust that held no value.
I smirked behind my mask as the dragon ramped up. From a human that could hold no candle to the superiority of the Necron dynasty, to a speck of dust that held some value.
Again and again I peppered shots at him, every single one of them in fatal places as he grew bigger and bigger, taller and taller.
Yet despite the fatal shots that I had taken towards him he was never taken down. Not at this level. If I were to want to kill him for good then all I would need to do was to disintegrate every single speck of his existence in one go.
Something laughably easy for one such as me, one blessed with the tech of the Necrons. Yet this was to be my first exhibit and I would not sabotage myself with such delusions.
From ten to twenty, to even fifty. He grew taller and taller, gaining wings, claws and extra limbs with every foot of height he gained.
And it was not just that, fire rained down unto me like some sort of angry god. Not that it would ever reach me. Fields of distortion and suicidal scarabs protected me from ever even feeling the heat.
If it could even burn through the veritable suit of armor that I wore. I smirked behind my mask as I called the scarab behind me.
It held with it the Tesseract Labyrinth. The object of Lungs' defeat. By now he had grown to a sufficient height and any time longer spent here would only lessen the time I had to escape from the heroes.
Don't get me wrong, I would have no trouble dismantling their whole team with what I had now but I did not want to confront them yet. There was no need. They had a more noble end.
I had already set forth their stage, the stage in which they would be captured for all of eternity.
But for now, I walked and walked. Each step climbing closer to Lung.
The heat beat at my armor, yet it did not reach me. By now the distortions in the air because of Lung could be seen with the naked eye. It had even started to distort my armor and any scarab that had come remotely close to it.
But there was no need for them any more.
"I… I'll… U" The dragon roared seeing my drones leave him alone. He approached as I did. Unknowingly lessening his time on this Earth.
Once more I took a step but now I was stood before the Dragon. He was within arms reach and could do nothing as with a swift swing of my arms the Labyrinth touched him.
For a moment the world was silent but then it happened. An earth shattering force sucked within it everything in a set radius. All the fire, every burned building and charred corpse. It took with it everything.
Sealing it into the cube.
It settled within my hand, my other hand stabbing the staff into the ground.
I smiled as I pocketed my first exhibit. Thinking on where I would place him and how I would represent this.
A/N: I'm taking the technology from the Warhammer wiki so if I get anything wrong then you can blame the wiki. Or me, doesn't matter to me just letting ya'll know.